Decker.....I want this....

[Therin of Andor]

1. Where did you come up with the names for such characters as Edward Logan, Gerry Auberson, Reiko Onami, and various others? Are these character names in tribute to people that you know?

And Shantherin th'Clane the Andorian was named for me! What Christopher probably didn't know when he was writing his novel is that the rec deck Andorian extra he chose to use was played by ST fan John Watts, a friend of Bjo Trimble. Coincidentally, John was often known to enter costumed events as a blue alien, and here was Robert Wise selecting him to be an Andorian!

I started playing Therin in 1980. When I met Bjo in 1984, she said, "Oh, you and John Watts would get along famously!" and decades later we are both playing the same character in "Ex Machina".


Captain Therin interviewed on "Jam Sandwich", 1983 by Therin of Andor, on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37203498@N00/4000736440/

Shantherin th'Clane portrayed by John Watts in ST:TMP by Therin of Andor, on Flickr

 

[xortex]

In western terms, Decker got the girl, Kirk got the horse and Spock got the money.

 

[iguana_tonante]

I'm sure somewhere in the story McCoy got the bourbon.

 

[Bob Karo]

McCoy always got the boubon.

 

[xortex]

Spock got the money alright.

 

[Kirby]

I know Will Decker's relationship to Matt Decker isn't canon, but still, I like to think that Decker believed that his father sacraficed himself to the planet killer, which ultimately led Kirk to perform the same thing on a bigger scale to save millions of people.

I think Decker saw this as his opportunity to go out a hero just like his Dad. I'm also assuming that the official report painted Matt Decker's demise more heroic than the emotional wreck who was unfit for command at the time of his death.

 

[jayrath]

It's pretty clear to me that Decker just wanted sweet, sweet probe sex.

 

[xortex]

Yea, the creator must join with V'ger. That's Deltan for let's get it on in a shower of energy. Uh. Captain, you can have that center seat, I'll take ultimate knowledge and power with a sexed up machine, thank you very much.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

It's pretty clear to me that Decker just wanted sweet, sweet probe sex.

In the novel... he did have "sweet, sweet probe sex."

 

[xortex]

He gets to have sex with the girl and the '57 chevy at the same time. Who could pass that up? That's what's called getting with the program. He got to be Captain of her ship. The U.S.S. Voyager? Wait a minute. He turned into Janeway. I knew it. He was a little feminine and ephemeral. No wonder why Q visited her all the time. He was a V'ger virus. Unprotected sex.

 

[xortex]

It makes too much sense now.

 

[xortex]

Suffice to say all the Decker sacrifices throughout history have all been in vain.

 

[Captrek]

Suffice to say all the Decker sacrifices throughout history have all been in vain.

August 10, 1995. Steve Decker’s 8th-inning sacrifice fly to left field scores Chuck Carr, giving the Marlins a 3-2 lead over the Rockies. This would be the final score.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/FLO/FLO199508100.shtml

 

[xortex]

I said vain, not entirely unsuccessful.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Hence the saying, "Hit the deck- "

 

[Yevetha]

I am not sure why he was needed for the movie but who cares.

TMP was one long movie.

 

[Christopher]

I am not sure why he was needed for the movie but who cares.

Decker and Ilia were created as regular characters for the Star Trek Phase II series revival project that got turned into TMP. With Nimoy not returning as Spock, Decker would've been the new first officer, with the full Vulcan Xon taking over as science officer. Decker would've been the younger action hero and romantic lead, taking over that role somewhat from the older Kirk, who'd move into more of a mentor role. Basically, when Roddenberry developed TNG, he lifted pretty much the whole core crew dynamic from Phase II, with seasoned veteran Kirk becoming Picard, Decker becoming Riker, Ilia becoming Troi, and Xon (combined with the title android from Roddenberry's failed pilot The Questor Tapes) becoming Data.

TMP's script was adapted from the pilot script for Phase II, so the presence of Decker and Ilia was a carryover from that. Once Spock was brought back into the story, though, Decker became something of a fifth wheel and so the story was structured to remove him (and Ilia) at the end.

 

[Pauln6]

I think that both characters had quite a lot of potential but with Decker and Ilia there were just too many characters for a movie franchise (And Chapel and Rand were later dropped as well, albeit the former absence was partly to do with Roddenberry steping away from the project). I think that a larger cast might have worked if they had been prepared to fragment the characters a bit more e.g. placing some at Starfleet Command rather than on the ship but giving them something to do that was of significance to the story. They did do this to a certain extent (Kyle & Chekov in TWOK; Rand & Chapel in TSFS & TVH; Sulu & Rand in TUC) but only by giving most of the supporting characters cameos.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Decker would've been the younger action hero and romantic lead, taking over that role somewhat from the older Kirk, who'd move into more of a mentor role.

And Shatner had suggested that he may not have been interested in more than a half season of full participation, perhaps moving Kirk into recurring guest roles after the first 13 episodes. He was really, really hoping for a movie career at the time and was hedging his bets.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

He was really, really hoping for a movie career at the time and was hedging his bets.

And in the end, Phase II was transformed into a movie.

I guess irony can be pretty ironic sometimes.