When did synthahol appear?

[sbk1234]

When was the first on-screen mention of synthahol? I remember it being in the TNG bible, as well as mentioned in the novelization of Encounter at Farpoint, by David Gerrold, so it must have been discussed behind the scenes early on, but when did it truly become canon?

 

[Good Will Riker]

When was the first on-screen mention of synthahol?

After the 1st season finale "The Neutral Zone," because the replicator allowed a man to order a dry martini. Alcoholic beverages could be ordered freely through the replicator during the 1st season.

Synthahol became canon sometime during the 2nd season, thus ret-conning the fact that crew members were able to order alcoholic beverages during the 1st season. Someone needs to look this up in Memory Alpha.

I remember it being in the TNG bible, as well as mentioned in the novelization of Encounter at Farpoint, by David Gerrold, so it must have been discussed behind the scenes early on, but when did it truly become canon?

Whatever it was, it was a bad invention, because it took away the whole point of socializing and having an alcoholic beverage: getting "buzzed" or drunk. That is the whole point, or else there would be no point in consuming gallons of bitter tasting liquid if it doesn't do anything for you.

What was the point of having that, except for sending messages to little kids that it is bad for them to drink?

Even sweetened beverages would be preferable in social settings than synthahol.

 

[Mike Farley]

Synthahol could get you drunk. It was just a drunk that you could banish at will.

 

[Good Will Riker]

Synthahol could get you drunk. It was just a drunk that you could banish at will.

Well, according to Scotty the stuff tasted "Blech," so there goes that enjoyment.

 

[Timo]

After the 1st season finale "The Neutral Zone," because the replicator allowed a man to order a dry martini. Alcoholic beverages could be ordered freely through the replicator during the 1st season.

Uh, they could be ordered freely through the replicator during all the seasons. In "Up the Long Ladder", Worf explicates that one can get the real stuff, and both whiskey and Klingon chech'tluth are subsequently replicated for the pseudo-Irish partiarch.

The episode also makes mention of synthehol, as O'Brien initially tried to offer this to the colonists. Either he was mindful of the risks of getting these people drunk for real, or he actually prefers that stuff himself.

This might also be the first episode to mention the product, BTW. At least I haven't found earlier mentions of it in a cursory search through the transcripts.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[SonicRanger]

Roddenberry fought hard to keep smoking out of TOS, and there is a memo in the Phase II book that he wanted to keep alcohol out of that series, so I'm not surprised that it was in the TNG bible since he'd already had the idea (more or less) for a decade already.

 

[Timo]

If so, it displayed amazing restraint that the first mentions of synthehol would only come in "Up the Long Ladder", and in such a casual, unobtrusive way... Congratulations on Snodgrass for appropriate subtlety!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Research on synthehol development began shortly after the Galaxy was nearly invaded by Andromedans, and the best hope for preventing it nearly failed when the Chief Engineer of the Enterprise passed out dead drunk in his quarters.

 

[Good Will Riker]

Roddenberry fought hard to keep smoking out of TOS, and there is a memo in the Phase II book that he wanted to keep alcohol out of that series, so I'm not surprised that it was in the TNG bible since he'd already had the idea (more or less) for a decade already.

You have to ask yourself, was Gene Roddenberry a man who practiced what he preached?

Biographies on Roddenberry claim frequent drug use, smoking, and drinking as his lifestyle.