Question for David Mack: Oliana Mirren?

[ToddCam]

So, I am getting to my Destiny notes soon, and I was curious. Oliana Mirren is on the Avantine, right? Is this supposed to be the same Oliana Mirren from "Coming of Age?" She is described as blond in Destiny, but is a clear brunette in the episode. And if I recall, you mentioned someone to be cast as her that was not her original actor. I've never heard of the first name Oliana or the last name Mirren, so maybe these are common names I'm not aware of.

 

[Therin of Andor]

So, I am getting to my Destiny notes soon, and I was curious. Oliana Mirren is on the Avantine, right? Is this supposed to be the same Oliana Mirren from "Coming of Age?" She is described as blond in Destiny, but is a clear brunette in the episode.

Characters can't change their hair colour? Just ask Christine Vale!

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Oliana_Mirren

 

[ToddCam]

Oh, of course they can. I just thought it, along with the casting thing, was odd. That's why I'm asking. If David Mack doesn't answer, I will just assume they are the same person.

 

[David Mack]

^ I am fairly certain I addressed this in another thread months ago; as near as I can determine, this is what happened:

I intended to use the established TNG guest character Oliana Mirren, and I wrote her into my outline and crew roster.

While writing the manuscript months later, I was juggling so many details and so many new characters that I forgot that Oliana Mirren wasn't one of my creations, and I described her with a different hair color than the one that was shown in TNG "Coming of Age."

One can safely assume it is intended to be the same character, but that she chose for whatever reason — vanity, curiosity, amusement — to go blond, either temporarily or permanently. She would hardly be the first woman in human history to choose to alter her hair color for aesthetic reasons.

ETA: Ah, here is a link to the post where I speculated that Charlize Theron could be a good Oliana Mirren.

 

[Chris McCarver]

Yeah, I was the one who asked David about Oliana. I wasn't so much confused by the appearance difference as I was making sure it was the same character from "Coming of Age."

David, if I may (and KRAD may be the man to ask since he wrote it)...

Spoiler: Regarding A Singular Destiny...

...noting Oliana's absence in A Singular Destiny, and I don't remember if ASD covered it, were her injuries that extensive?

 

[JD]

Wow, I must have missed that other thread, because I had no idea that that was her.

 

[David Mack]

David, if I may (and KRAD may be the man to ask since he wrote it)...

Spoiler: Regarding A Singular Destiny...

...noting Oliana's absence in A Singular Destiny, and I don't remember if ASD covered it, were her injuries that extensive?

Spoiler: Destiny Books 2 & 3

Mirren was left in critical condition; it's possible that she might still have been in physical therapy as of ASD. Or that the relevant scenes of that book took place while she was off-duty.

 

[ToddCam]

Ah, thanks very much David. I'm sorry I missed the first answer. I must have missed it.

 

[KRAD]

David, if I may (and KRAD may be the man to ask since he wrote it)...

Spoiler: Regarding A Singular Destiny...

...noting Oliana's absence in A Singular Destiny, and I don't remember if ASD covered it, were her injuries that extensive?

Spoiler: A Singular Destiny

Nothing so sinister, I just didn't have any need for an ops officer in ASD, so Mirren's condition never really came up....

 

[Chris McCarver]

David, if I may (and KRAD may be the man to ask since he wrote it)...

Spoiler: Regarding A Singular Destiny...

...noting Oliana's absence in A Singular Destiny, and I don't remember if ASD covered it, were her injuries that extensive?

Spoiler: A Singular Destiny

Nothing so sinister, I just didn't have any need for an ops officer in ASD, so Mirren's condition never really came up....

David, if I may (and KRAD may be the man to ask since he wrote it)...

Spoiler: Regarding A Singular Destiny...

...noting Oliana's absence in A Singular Destiny, and I don't remember if ASD covered it, were her injuries that extensive?

Spoiler: Destiny Books 2 & 3

Mirren was left in critical condition; it's possible that she might still have been in physical therapy as of ASD. Or that the relevant scenes of that book took place while she was off-duty.

Thanks, gents.

 

[Thestral]

Hey, I'm glad somebody else asked that question about ASD, because I thought maybe I'd just missed it... hopefully we get some follow-up with her in the Aventine-focused Typhon Pact novel? Maybe even an ongoing/semi-regular Aventine series?