Beverly
- Thread starter Finn
- Start date
I think his name was Paul Howard, and I'm pretty sure he died with almost everyone else on Arvada III. If you use the pause button on Season Five's episode "Conundrum" when they show the Senior Crew's bios on screen, you can make out her birthplace, parents names, etc. I could be wrong though!
I love that she was born in Copernicus City, Luna.
Holy shit! Now THAT folks...THAT is a TNG fan right there! Nicely done!
He is Paul Howard according to Conundrum (which, given that her maternal family line is called Howard raises questions in and of itself). However, given the very scant information we have about Beverly's back story I'm inclined to believe he didn't die in the unspecified tragedy on Arvada III.
In Sub Rosa Beverly tells Deanna that all she remembers of her mother is her scent, and her face smiling down at her, and that Felissa took care of her after her mother died. In The Arsenal of Freedom she tells Picard that she lived on Arvada with her grandmother, who taught her to use herbal remedies during the disaster after the medical supplies ran out.
Unless whatever happened on Arvada lasted many years, it's likely that Beverly was on Arvada with her grandmother a number of years after her mother's death (to go from only being old enough to remember a face and a scent, to being capable of learning herblore).
Since Felissa raised Beverly after Isabel's death, my guess is that either Paul was no longer on the scene at that point, or died at the same time as Beverly's mother.
In short - adequate information: we lack it.
In Sub Rosa Beverly tells Deanna that all she remembers of her mother is her scent, and her face smiling down at her, and that Felissa took care of her after her mother died. In The Arsenal of Freedom she tells Picard that she lived on Arvada with her grandmother, who taught her to use herbal remedies during the disaster after the medical supplies ran out.
Unless whatever happened on Arvada lasted many years, it's likely that Beverly was on Arvada with her grandmother a number of years after her mother's death (to go from only being old enough to remember a face and a scent, to being capable of learning herblore).
Since Felissa raised Beverly after Isabel's death, my guess is that either Paul was no longer on the scene at that point, or died at the same time as Beverly's mother.
In short - adequate information: we lack it.
Felissa I believe was her grandmother. I'm drawing a complete blank on Arvada. I think it may have just been a reference to her father with no real backround.
Arvada III I believe it is. It's either the colony where she was born or one she grew up on, not sure. I'm not a Beverly expert.
Arvada III I believe it is. It's either the colony where she was born or one she grew up on, not sure. I'm not a Beverly expert.
In The Arsenal of Freedom Picard asks Beverly how she comes to know so much about the medical properties of roots. Beverly tells him her grandmother was forced to learn about them after the medical supplies failed on Arvada three, where Felisa and Beverly were colonists.
We don't know what actually happened there. Picard just acknowledges that he knows about it by saying "such a terrible tragedy".
As mentioned upthread, Beverly was born in Copernicus City, on the moon.
Heck, her female ancestor from the 17th century was a Howard in "Sub Rosa"!
In that episode, it almost sounded as if the Howard family had stayed matrilinear (child gets mother's surname) since those ancient times. But since matrilinearity was almost unheard of for families named Howard or Smith or Jones back then, we probably are to believe that the "long line of Howard women" that was plagued by a strange alien in that episode referred to the women who married into the patrilinear Howard family. But that would mean that Beverly herself no longer is a "Howard woman", as she married into the patrilinear Crusher family instead. Perhaps the alien was becoming a bit less monomaniacal or a bit more careless in its old days or something?
No reason why the Howards couldn't have gone matrilinear later on, though. That is, Paul could quite well have changed his name to match that of his wife.
Incidentally, it would seem natural to assume that Deanna Troi's father also had a "maiden name" and only took the name Troi from his wife. Not only is Lwaxana Troi a powerfully matriarchal influence, but she refers to a long line of former husbands, yet considers herself a Troi even in the flashback references of "Dark Page". Not that this in itself would mean much, as she was definitely already married to Ian Troi at that point (the flashbacks were about their kids) - but she had Mr Homn as her valet back then, and his backstory in turn suggests he saw further husbands of Lwaxana Troi's during his later career. So if Lwaxana retained the name Troi through those marriages, it certainly smacks of matrilinearity... Perhaps for all Betazoids, but at least for the Troi family line.
Timo Saloniemi
A theory confirmed (at least from my perspective) by both "Angel One", wherein Betazed is portrayed as a matriarchal society and "Nemesis" in which Picard somewhat jokingly, but still with an underlying seriousness refers to Riker as "Mr. Troi"
Yes, that was indeed the intention. To understand that one must know that the episode was based on Ann Rice's novel "The Witching Hour" in which the female Mayfair witches were required to keep the family name to be entitled to inherit the Mayfair family fortune.
My own in-head explanation has always been that the Howard women had a long and unusual history of matrilinear naming (the Howard-woman-by-marriage thing doesn't work because Beverly talks about genetic make-up both in terms of eye colour, and of why Ronin picked them). I figured either Paul Howard took his wife's name, or they met at a conference somewhere that was seated alphabetically and the name thing was a coincidence. 
It raises a question about Beverly's own character - why did she choose to take Jack's name (which is, incidentally, a terrible name for a doctor
) and end an 800 year old naming tradition?
Actually, I just had a look at the screenshot in Conundrum, and now I'm wondering how trustworthy it is. It lists Beverly as a Lt Cmdr. But she's a full Commander, right? Wears the three gold pips and everything.
It raises a question about Beverly's own character - why did she choose to take Jack's name (which is, incidentally, a terrible name for a doctor
) and end an 800 year old naming tradition?Actually, I just had a look at the screenshot in Conundrum, and now I'm wondering how trustworthy it is. It lists Beverly as a Lt Cmdr. But she's a full Commander, right? Wears the three gold pips and everything.
Right. There are other "inaccuracies" there as well: e.g. the things said about LaForge's parents didn't make it into "Interface" where we actually see Dad and hear about Mom.
It might be that the Satarrans fiddled a bit with the records in order to better manipulate the crew. Perhaps it was necessary to insert references to past fighting with the supposed enemy into the family histories, this in turn causing a cascade of other small changes?
As for Beverly abandoning tradition, it might be that she had a sister who took care of the "Howard women" thing already. It's just too bad the magic lantern wasn't passed to that sister, but to Beverly who had spoiled the good thing...
Timo Saloniemi
It might be that the Satarrans fiddled a bit with the records in order to better manipulate the crew. Perhaps it was necessary to insert references to past fighting with the supposed enemy into the family histories, this in turn causing a cascade of other small changes?
As for Beverly abandoning tradition, it might be that she had a sister who took care of the "Howard women" thing already. It's just too bad the magic lantern wasn't passed to that sister, but to Beverly who had spoiled the good thing...
Timo Saloniemi
Why? Worf's Human parents were alive and Beverly's weren't so... We didn't even see his birth parents.
My own in-head explanation has always been that the Howard women had a long and unusual history of matrilinear naming (the Howard-woman-by-marriage thing doesn't work because Beverly talks about genetic make-up both in terms of eye colour, and of why Ronin picked them). I figured either Paul Howard took his wife's name, or they met at a conference somewhere that was seated alphabetically and the name thing was a coincidence.
I would have to watch "Sub Rosa" again to hear the exact line, but maybe Felisa Howard was Beverly's paternal grandmother. She still would have contributed to Beverly's genetic makeup, Crusher's parents would have the same last name, and Felisa and all of the Howard women before her could have been the ones who kept their maiden names.
As for tradition, Beverly never seemed to care much about it until Felisa Howard's death. (Of course, the later traditions that she, Jack, Wesley, and Jean-Luc had are a separate matter.)
Besides, there are worse names for doctors.
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Aside comments:
1. I forgot that her parents were Paul and Isabel. Thankfully, she's nothing like Milander (CSI reference).
2. Requirements to be TNG character:
-At least one of your parents must be dead or die during the course of the show. (True for Picard, Riker, Data, Beverly and Wesley Crusher, Geordi, Worf, Troi, and presumably Tasha)
-You must not be alergic to spandex, wool, or any other 80's adornments.
-You must be willing to explore strange new worlds that look suspiciously like the set from last season.
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Perhaps there was a greater Howard family group that they consistently married into, which is how they maintained the family name over the centuries. Presumably there are enough Howards in the world that the inbreeding problem isn't an issue. Even if first or second cousins procreate the genetic problem isn't much of an issue.
Tasha's parents were both killed shortly after her younger sister was born. So, yup.
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