Q & Guinan
- Thread starter JD
- Start date
Nope, unless it was covered in Strange New Worlds.
This is definitely an event I would love to read.
This is definitely an event I would love to read.
I was tempted to work something in about it when I covered Guinan's backstory in The Buried Age, but there was no place for it in the story.
I respectfully, greatly disagree. Any story that can be told well should be.
True.
And I always suspected that Picard and Guinan had another meeting besides the one depicted in "Time's Arrow"(a.k.a. "Data's Head"). That episode certainly didn't develop their special friendship referred to on the series. It had to be another occasion or occasions that formed their bond.
--Ted
"Stargazer: Oblivion" by MJF.
And there was a one-panel cartoon in "Starlog" once that followed up "Q Who". Guinan was Q's... X.
Whoopi Goldberg says that she worked out what the first meeting Guinan/Picard was all about, in order to play Guinan with the proper depth, but she likes the idea that she'll never tell anyone. She believes that a little mystery is a good thing.
I kind of got the impression that the loose thread regarding Iliana Ghemor must have been something that someone must have really wanted to return to given the amount of attention focused on this character lately.
While I certainly don't share that desire, I can understand it because the scene where Guinan is apparently ready to defend herself against a Q is one that I've always thought was screaming for a follow up.
While I certainly don't share that desire, I can understand it because the scene where Guinan is apparently ready to defend herself against a Q is one that I've always thought was screaming for a follow up.
Well, it was quite explicit that "Time's Arrow" was not their first meeting from Picard's perspective. Before Picard went back in time, Guinan asked him if he remembered how they first met, and when Picard said yes, Guinan told him, "No, you don't."
And of course their first meeting from Picard's POV (the meeting depicted in Oblivion) was not their only meeting prior to TNG; one event over two decades in the past would not have been enough to account for their closeness.
The Buried Age depicts some of the key events in the Picard/Guinan relationship. They've already been good friends for many years at the time of TBA, but the novel's events help explain what there is about their relationship that's so profound to them both in later years.
You know, I actually...haven't been so sure about that choice myself. While I can see where the direction they went with it makes for some very interesting writing, I also felt the ambiguity was in line with the themes of "Second Skin" and "Ties of Blood and Water" and that leaving it open had its own message and impact.
As the fact that I once wrote an execrable SNW submission featuring Q and Guinan's first meeting should indicate, I've always been interested in the history of these two characters, though I do think it would be difficult to write something about it that would make for a worthwhile story without damaging either character.
Thanks for the heads up, Christopher. I knew that someone had to have touched on that.
--Ted
John DeLancie's standard answer is, "They went on a bad date."
I can understand that, but IMO this is a story that really has a ton of potential, and it would really be a shame if it were never told.
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that just because the story can be told well, that it actually will be. It would be a shame for a much-anticipated backstory to wind up being a disappointment.
Further, whether it is told well or not, is it fair to all the authors to allow one person to determine the background? Each would likely have their own story in mind, and some may well be equally good, if not better.
You could say that about any story that fills in a gap. It's just part of the job. We all have our own ideas about various events, but only one gets picked. I had my own idea of how the Eugenics Wars would've gone, but Greg Cox got to do his. But I got to be the one to tell Picard's missing years and how the TNG crew first came together. And Mangels & Martin got to explain how the Klingons got their grooves back. And so on.
Nice.
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