Should Arex and/or M'Ress appear in Discovery?

that is a distinct possibility, indeed a near certainty

 

Discovery will need to demonstrate it can stand on its own stories and characters as a new series, at least in its first year. Their already starting with two TOS characters.

 

Agreed, but that doesn't rule it out in the future...

 

While I understand the hesitation to have more familiar faces after Sarek and Harry Mudd, I think this would be a great idea. I love both characters (both on the show and in their capacity in the New Frontier series written by Peter David) and it would be wonderful to finally see them depicted in live action.

 

No they shouldn't appear. But by all means another one of their species should.

 

M'RYess.

 

I see what you did there

 

I think we should merge the "M'Ress thread" with this thread...
https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/is-it-time-for-naked-aliens-on-discovery.287226/

If you know what I mean.

 

I think you're saying you wouldn't mind being placed under M'Ress.

 

The gutter I can understand (and even relate to when appropriate), it's the cat species part I don't understand....

 

Supposedly, he was one of Chekov's instructors a long time ago. That doesn't make him old, necessarily, from a biological standpoint...Spock was Uhura's teacher in the '09 film, and he's not an old man.

 

Different species age at different rates. Tuvok's 100+ years old in Voyager.

 

It's my fault, I'll take fur responsibility.

Now, for my totally serious response () on the subject. Do I think that M'Ress/Arex and/or other members of their species should appear in Discovery? Probably not.

As it has already been said any feline aliens that appear in DSC will bring copyright infringement complications with either Larry Niven's Kzin(ti) from the Known Space series or with Chris Roberts' Kilrathi from the Wing Commander series. Even if there's no copyright problem with using the Caitians, feline aliens are rather quaint and colorful (in an old-fashioned way) and belong to retro sci-fi like Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers. That's evidenced by their live-action appearances so far (TFF, STID*) but also by this thread.

As for Arex and the Edo(si)ans/Triexians, despite their three appendages, don't think are very interesting for them to appear in DSC. I'd rather see some totally new (and visually interesting) alien species in DSC.

(*Both appearances highly sexualized and/or sexist BTW.)

 

Would I like them to appear? Sure, though as a few others have noted, it might work better if we encountered new characters representing the Edoan and Caitian species. That way, they could be written any way the creators desire, even killing them. What are the chances we may might see Edoans and/or any Caitians. Like my chances with the lottery (if I bothered to play), very minimal. IF we are lucky, we might hear a mention of their species in dialogue or, more likely, an "Easter egg" consisting of text on a monitor, providing one freezes at the right couple of frames.

I mean, these are creatures presenting a major challenge to "do right". An Edoan would have to be puppeteered or (CG) animated, at least partially. Unless it were a recurring or a "guest" character (critical to a given plot), I just don't see the production investing the time and money to create one. A Caitian would not be that much easier. Depending upon what is shown and how close they stick with the Filmation design, the props team would have to puppeteer a tail an/or digitigrade feet. Of course, they could "write around" these features. The Caitian might be a "bobtail" or a plantigrade sub-species.

the makeup would be the other challenge. From a practical standpoint, it would be easier to present a quasi "Sphinx" breed, omitting the fur on the face and hands. Yes, Some will recall Novice Hame from the Doctor Who episodes "New Earth" and "Gridlock". She had fur on her face. Therein lies the key, her "face". That was probably one reason she and her "sister" were dressed like nuns. The robes and cowl meant only the face had to be shown, everything else was covered. Similarly, Brannigan from "Gridlock" wore a WWI inspired flying ace ensemble including an aviator cap that revealed nothing more than his face. How would you handle this in Discovery, dress the character in a "clean room" suit? The uniforms to date have normally exposed the entire head.

Even if the production gave a reason to have the Ciatian reveal nothing more than his or her face, an appliance with fur fibers is a "one use" piece. At least they proved such on Doctor Who. They were so delicate that they got too damaged upon removal to be used a second time. Ear points or even a forehead piece is one thing, but punching "hair" fibers into a mask that can only be used once would eventually prove too daunting, at least for a regular or even a recurring character.

But if you're going to present a bobtailed, hairless Sphinx with plantigrade feet, you might as well consider it a different alien species.

 

I don't see why not, Enterprise had an only briefly glimpsed Tholian and Gorn...

 

Hey, that's cool! Thread appropriate Avatars!

Both of which were the episode's main antagonists though and thus essential to the plot.

 

In Emilia's case, I think it's just coincidental as she swaps her thumbnail every so often.

As for me, well, that's a mask I sculpted in clay and cast in rubber during the 1990s when I habitually attended Dragon*Con, an Atlanta based, genre spanning convention. I've been intrigued by Caitians and other felinoid characters since 1982 when I saw Paul Schrader's "Cat People" starring Malcolm McDowell and Natasha Kinski. I've used that thumbnail since 1997 when I first accessed the internet.