Was Cochrane a Roddenberry stand-in?

[jackoverfull]

I was thinking about how the First Contact Zephram Cochrane resembles Gene Roddenberry, as someone that ends up causing something for all the wrong reasons and whose future generations worship ignoring all his flaws and original motivations. And also as someone that perhaps, later in life, also tried to live up to that worship, trying (maybe often failing) to follow those ideals he was associated with.

What do you think? Also keep in mind that people such as Rick Batman had worked with Roddenberry and knew him personally, so there might have been a bit of intentionality in this parallel.

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

If he wasn't basically Gene Roddenberry he wouldn't have been allowed to say "you're on a Star Trek" on screen during Star Trek.

 

[jackoverfull]

Good one, Ray!

 

[Indysolo]

"You wanna know what my vision is? Dollar signs! Money! I didn't build this ship to usher in a new era for humanity. You think I wanna go to the stars? I don't even like to fly. I take trains. I built this ship so that I could retire to some tropical island filled with naked women. That's Zefram Cochrane. That's his vision."

It sure sounds like it.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

I was thinking about how the First Contact Zephram Cochrane resembles Gene Roddenberry, as someone that ends up causing something for all the wrong reasons and whose future generations worship ignoring all his flaws and original motivations. And also as someone that perhaps, later in life, also tried to live up to that worship, trying (maybe often failing) to follow those ideals he was associated with.

I'd never thought about it before, but reading this and @Ray Hardgrit 's excellent point, I'm willing to more than speculate. Quite possibly you're right, yes!

 

[ChallengerHK]

I concur about the First Contact Cochrane. The one way I see that the Metamorphosis Cochrane might also be a Roddenberry analog is the aspect of alien interspecies sex, which I'm sure would have appealed to him.

 

[Kor]

Yes. I don't think the writers of FC have confirmed whether this was intentional. But in the 2009 audio commentary, trekmovie.com editor Anthony Pascale made this comparison between Cochrane and Roddenberry:

"I always felt that the way they treated Cochrane is kind of like Roddenberry. Roddenberry's revered as this god-like visionary, but Gene Roddenberry was a Human being with flaws, you know, but that doesn't mean he isn't also a great man and a great visionary.

Kor

 

[jackoverfull]

Thanks Kor, didn’t know about that.

 

[Vger23]

Intentional or otherwise, I think the parallels are pretty hard to ignore.

I tend to lean towards the idea that it was intentional, and brilliantly done.

 

[PCz911]

Never considered this before, but it makes a lot of sense. First contact Cochran was a very different person from metamorphosis

 

[Kamdan]

"You wanna know what my vision is? Dollar signs! Money! I didn't build this ship to usher in a new era for humanity. You think I wanna go to the stars? I don't even like to fly. I take trains. I built this ship so that I could retire to some tropical island filled with naked women. That's Zefram Cochrane. That's his vision."

It sure sounds like it.

Probably the only real contribution to the TNG movies Rick Berman did for the script.

 

[The Wormhole]

I don't think the writers of FC have confirmed whether this was intentional.

IIRC, Ron Moore actually denied it being the intent, but no one believes that anyway.

 

[Lord Garth]

Ron Moore wouldn't have been able to acknowledge Zephram Cochrane was based on Gene Roddenberry during the '90s. So if he denied it then, it would be understandable. If he denied it after he left Star Trek, that's something else. I think Ron Moore is one of the best Star Trek writers from the Berman Era and he's spot-on about almost everything. So I'm a huge fan of his. But I have to call a spade a spade. If he says Zephram Cochrane wasn't based on Gene Roddenberry, he's lying through his teeth.

 

[WarpTenLizard]

I don't know how this never occurred to me. But now I don't think I'll ever be able to unsee it. Now I'm wondering if Lily was a stand-in for the viewers, or something.

 

[Ssosmcin]

"You wanna know what my vision is? Dollar signs! Money! I didn't build this ship to usher in a new era for humanity. You think I wanna go to the stars? I don't even like to fly. I take trains. I built this ship so that I could retire to some tropical island filled with naked women. That's Zefram Cochrane. That's his vision."

It sure sounds like it.

Yup and this is the exact thing I tend to point out when people keep taking about "Gene's vision" this and that. I don't care if a person gets something inspiring out of the show, that's amazing and the true legacy of Star Trek. But elevating Gene's intention beyond making a living as a television series producer is misguided. Gene's "vision" was born when he realized nobody was buying his warmed over Star Trek Lite concepts and weird pilot movies.

 

[MakeshiftPython]

Even if the writers didn't intend for Cochrane to be an analog to Roddenberry, they clearly did so on an subconscious channel.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

Even if the writers didn't intend for Cochrane to be an analog to Roddenberry, they clearly did so on an subconscious channel.

I think this.
It probably wasn't intentional, but it still works that way without even having to squint too hard.

 

[PCz911]

The character of Cochrane in TOS and the one in the movie is SO different, it must have been intentional to have him be a representation of Roddenberry. Wish they had renamed the character.

 

[ChallengerHK]

The character of Cochrane in TOS and the one in the movie is SO different, it must have been intentional to have him be a representation of Roddenberry. Wish they had renamed the character.

Haven't you heard? Canon has no value

 

[Iamnotspock]

What do you think? Also keep in mind that people such as Rick Batman had worked with Roddenberry and knew him personally, so there might have been a bit of intentionality in this parallel.

I didn't know he had a sideline.