A Captain by any other name

[baxart]

Please help, I'm beating my head against a wall.

Regarding the second pilot of the TOS, I know I've seen a list of other names that were considered for the Captain, and that Kirk was one of the last on the list.

Can someone point me to that list? I thought it was in Memory Alpha but I'll be darned if I can find it.

 

[M'Sharak]

Were you thinking of this one?

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

 

[Sir Rhosis]

The OP means names considered for the fictional Captain, not performers. They were included in Whitfield's "Making of" book, and were:

January
Flagg
Drake
Christopher
Thorpe
Richard
Patrick
Raintree
Boone
Hudson
Timber
Hamilton
Hannibal
Neville
Kirk
North

So, Kirk was actually next to last.

Sir Rhosis

 

[Nerys Myk]

I'm glad they went with Kirk.

 

[Red Ranger]

Y'know, I kind of like Flagg, Drake and North. -- RR

 

[baxart]

The OP means names considered for the fictional Captain, not performers. They were included in Whitfield's "Making of" book, and were:

January
Flagg
Drake
Christopher
Thorpe
Richard
Patrick
Raintree
Boone
Hudson
Timber
Hamilton
Hannibal
Neville
Kirk
North

So, Kirk was actually next to last.

Sir Rhosis

Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks!!

 

[TheLonelySquire]

Y'know, I kind of like Flagg, Drake and North. -- RR

Colonel Flagg?

 

[Red Ranger]

Y'know, I kind of like Flagg, Drake and North. -- RR

Colonel Flagg?

Forgot all about that character -- from M*A*S*H*, right? I also think there was a Howie Chaykin comic book character named American Flagg. -- RR

 

[M'Sharak]

The OP means names considered for the fictional Captain, not performers. They were included in Whitfield's "Making of" book, and were:
<snip>

I had forgotten about that list. Looking at it now, quite a few ring familiar even after 35 years or so.

 

[baxart]

Y'know, I kind of like Flagg, Drake and North. -- RR

Colonel Flagg?

Forgot all about that character -- from M*A*S*H*, right? I also think there was a Howie Chaykin comic book character named American Flagg. -- RR

The comic was American Flagg, the character Ruben Flagg. A very 80's comic, but a pretty fun read. I do recommend the collections coming out this year. Hardcover July, 2 paperbacks fall & winter.

 

[erastus25]

The OP means names considered for the fictional Captain, not performers. They were included in Whitfield's "Making of" book, and were:

January
Flagg
Drake
Christopher
Thorpe
Richard
Patrick
Raintree
Boone
Hudson
Timber
Hamilton
Hannibal
Neville
Kirk
North

So, Kirk was actually next to last.

Sir Rhosis

IRIC this wasn't a ranked list. Kirk being second to last just means they came up with the name second to last, not that they preferred the others.

 

[Timo]

One wonders why they'd drop the older ideas like Winter and April. And whether there was a specific reason for the "seasonal" theme...

Is there a real family with the name January?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[M'Sharak]

One wonders why they'd drop the older ideas like Winter and April. And whether there was a specific reason for the "seasonal" theme...

Is there a real family with the name January?

Yes, it's a real surname. I remember a professional golfer named Don January.

Edit:

Interesting:

January - Name Meaning and History

• Americanized form of the Latin personal name Januarius or its Italian derivative Gennaro, which was borne by a number of early Christian saints, most famously a 3rd-century bishop of Benevento who became the patron of Naples.
• English: altered form of Janeway.
• In New England, a translation of French Janvier.

 

[Triskelion]

One wonders why they'd drop the older ideas like Winter and April. And whether there was a specific reason for the "seasonal" theme...

Is there a real family with the name January?

Timo Saloniemi

Beats the name Captain Year-of-the-Pig.


I thank ye. 500th post and Captain.

 

[baxart]

Beats the name Captain Year-of-the-Pig.

 

[Elder Knight]

Weren't Winter and Spring (and maybe some other seasons) considered as captain names?

 

[Sir Rhosis]

^^^Yes. The November 20, 1964 Revised Draft of "The Cage" had James Winter as the captain's name instead of Christopher Pike.

If I remember my chronology of the making of the pilot, it went: Robert M. April, Christopher Pike, James Winter, and back to Christopher Pike mere days before shooting began.

I've never seen a draft with Spring as the captain's name. James Blish once mentioned it offhandedly in one of his episode adaptation introductions (or maybe it was in an interview, I can't remember), but I've often thought he may have been misrembering and threw it into the mix based on the names Winter and April.

Sir Rhosis

 

[Warped9]

Y'know, I kind of like Flagg, Drake and North. -- RR

Whenever I hear the name Flagg I think of that doofus Military Intelligence character from M*A*S*H.

 

[Iowagirl]

James Tomcat Raintree, Mr. Pinchmeldmock, and Diehard McGrumpy would've been nice....