So did HE forbid any novel writer to give Number One a name? Or was this another Richard Arnold thing?
Casting Pike's Number One
- Thread starter david kelly
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So did HE forbid any novel writer to give Number One a name? Or was this another Richard Arnold thing?
My bad^ No, I mean, why keep avoiding her name? It's not like they HAVE to leave it out. @Greg Cox's post made it sound like it was a directive imposed upon the novel writers and that they had to keep working around it.
Is there any reason why a novel - ANY novel, even before the novelverse - would have been forbidden from using Number One's name? It's not like "The Cage" decreed she didn't have one. And I hate to keep harping on this, but everyone knows that "Number One" is a common nickname for a ship's first officer, so..you do the math.
Why couldn't an author writing a Pike novel just give her whatever name they felt like? And if other novels did it differently - so what? It'd be like the Romulan Commander from TOS. Before the novelverse settled on "Charvanek", in the old days there'd be like 8 different explanations for her name and what eventually happened to her. This would be no different.
To be clear, I don't recall any official edicts to that effect, although I came along after the Richard Arnold era. I suspect that most writers just wanted to stick with the original conception, that she was an enigma known only as "Number One." Sticking close to the "canon" sources is always going to be your first instinct.
Although, as I discovered, this is easier to pull off on screen than in prose.
And it's not as though there have been a lot of Pike-era novels. She's a supporting character in a handful of books published over the course of decades, so I doubt there was ever any need for an "official" policy on the issue.
More like following Roddenberry's lead on the character. Though it becomes a problem when moving the character out of the XO role.
I doubt Gene gave the character much thought after The Menagerie. (if even then)
His thoughts were "How can I keep my girlfriend happy?" and "Damn, now how can I keep my girlfriend happy?"He married her...
I would surmise that Mr. Roddenberry gave that "character" A LOT of thought.
No - GR gave Majel just enough of a 'carrot' so she'd stay 'on the couch' with him (remember HE WAS married at the time he was doing the TOS - "The Cage" pilot; and NOT to Majel (she knew she was 'the other woman and seemly had no issues as it was hard for anyone to break into Hollywood, but tat's what she wanted); and THAT was NBC's primary objection - that GR had cast his current mistress as the show lead - and they were (IMO rightly) concerned what might happen IF the show was a hit, and GER and Majel broke up while the series was still in production. They had no issue with the character itself - more the situation and the actress GR cast for the role. That why GR told Majel (and continued to claim for the rest of his life) that the Network "Did like a female character as second in Command..."He married her...
I would surmise that Mr. Roddenberry gave that "character" A LOT of thought.
majel also wasn't dumb and probably realized why the Network really objected to her but she wanted to keep her relationship with GR going (she probably loved him and definitely knew of his proclivities because again, she started out as 'the other woman'); or she figured she would be able to have a nice/comfortable life and possibly a better career if she stayed around.
Re: Number One's name: If we hear her addressed "by name" onscreen, Una is likely to be the name used because the Discovery writers have flat-out said that they consider the show's tie-in novels to be Canon and will not contradict them unless doing so is narratively unavoidable.
Funny, that's what Jeri Taylor used to say about her VGR novels, isn't it? And Orci said it about the prequel comics to the Kelvin films, too, I think. Yet they all got contradicted onscreen, sooner or later. (Doesn't mean it will necessarily happen in this case, of course.)
Good grief, "Una" is rather a bit too on the nose, isn't it? Oh well...
^ The thing that sets Discovery apart from either of those examples is that one of its members, Kirsten Beyer, has been formally assigned to serve as a liaison between her fellow show writers and her fellow Star Trek tie-in authors to ensure that there is in fact Canonical synchronicity between what said authors have done/are doing and what the show itself has done, which provides incentive for the show itself to remain as in sync with what has been done in the tie-in novels as possible and only deviate if they absolutely must based on the particulars of the stories they're telling.
That would be funny why, exactly?
And by this, do you mean to suggest that a gay person would never internally indulge themself in fantasies about being with members of the opposite sex? I assure you, this would be a misapprehension on your part.
I'm not necessarily saying the show would or should do this, but making Number One gay could add whole new layer of dimension and nuance to her palpable discomfort in "The Cage"—both with respect to Pike's well-meaning-but-off-putting attitude toward her and to the highly intimate violation she suffers under the captivity of the Talosians. And on top of that, it would further reinforce the depth of their misunderstanding where humans are concerned, and the impossibility of their plan.
So, dramatically speaking, it's actually not a half bad idea, at that.
-MMoM
On the the nose? It's practically the entire nose!!!
Star Trek Discovery has been disgraceful for so many reasons. This show has pissed all over canon and now wants to screw up TOS history. No way is this even in the same continuity as TOS. I hope to God this series gets cancelled after this season. If not, I hope to God it doesn't go beyond a 3rd season.
Nope.
"I hope to God it doesn't go beyond a 3rd season"? I'm surprised Lt. Tyler even hopes for that much. But I'm glad to hear from this reliable source it's already been renewed!
And If it's not the same continuity, then it's not really pissing on anything. Is it?
And If it's not the same continuity, then it's not really pissing on anything. Is it?
FTFY.
Hmmm that's what I said I hope it does not go beyond this season. Most likely if Enterprise only went 4 seasons, Discovery will only go 2 or 3.
Different time. Different platform.
In all seriousness, though, DSC's only been renewed for its second season. Don't know anything about a third.
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