Characters in the book that really have no S/L

[Nathan]

I just finished The Folded World by Jeff Mariotte and it was poor. I read the reviews here on the books and thoughts were generally the same. It got to thinking of other Planet 'o Week books were they have characters in the book in there as a plot device.

For example...in Balance of Power by Dafydd Ab Hugh (which also suxed) in which there is some contrived auction. It still sticks with me after all these years when in the book Crusher says, "I'll be representing Starfleet Medical in the action." Troi says, "I'll be representing Betazed on their behalf."

I was thinking, what a poor plot device just to give Troi and Crusher some lines.

Yes, yes, I know folks say, "Hey, I want to read about my favorite TV characters, not just Picard and the rest are some characters I never heard of before." I guess I feel the same way, but I get annoyed when an author (D. A. Hugh & Mariotte in this case), just give some shitty lines to the characters just so they have something to do in the book.

Guess I would rather have Troi or Crusher not seen in the book rather than some drivel so the Troi & Crusher fans are satisfied.

Wondering if anyone else felt the same?

 

[Greg Cox]

S/L?

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

S/L?

Spock and Lore slash fiction?

I guess if Data had male parts, it stands to reason that Lore would as well.

 

[Lonemagpie]

S/L?

In the context it must stand for something meaning "reason to be included" but I'm fucked if I can figure out what the acronym is actually for...

 

[zarkon]

Storyline maybe?

 

[Greg Cox]

S/L?

In the context it must stand for something meaning "reason to be included" but I'm fucked if I can figure out what the acronym is actually for...

Ditto. Good to see that I'm not the only one unfamiliar with it. I was wondering if this was some sort of twitter-speak the young people use these days . . .

 

[Sho]

It's "storyline", jargon used by soap opera watchers to classify characters.

 

[Lonemagpie]

It's "storyline", jargon used by soap opera watchers to classify characters.

Then there shouldn't be a "/" in it...

 

[Sho]

Then there shouldn't be a "/" in it...

It's a widespread use of the glyph these days: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_%28punctuation%29#Abbreviations

(And since we're having fun with punctuation, a bonus: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115726/period-our-simplest-punctuation-mark-has-become-sign-anger - sorry for linking that publication, but it's a cute and astute observation.)

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Then there shouldn't be a "/" in it...

It's a widespread use of the glyph these days: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slash_%28punctuation%29#Abbreviations

(And since we're having fun with punctuation, a bonus: http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115726/period-our-simplest-punctuation-mark-has-become-sign-anger - sorry for linking that publication, but it's a cute and astute observation.)

It's not exactly a new use of the slash, cf "b/c" for because, "w/" for with, "w/o" for without, "c/o" for care of, ....

 

[Sho]

^ Yeah, that's exactly what the Wikipedia link points out.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Oh, lol. So it does!

 

[Therin of Andor]

I had been thinking "shelf life".

 

[Nathan]

sorry guys....now the topic is jacked up....but I meant storyline....my bad on the S/L

 

[Elias Vaughn]

I had been thinking "shelf life".

I assumed "sex life", but I'm a filthy bastard, so.

 

[The Wormhole]

Guess I would rather have Troi or Crusher not seen in the book rather than some drivel so the Troi & Crusher fans are satisfied.

Wondering if anyone else felt the same?

The shows have done this exact same thing at one point or another, usually so the actors can have something to do for the week and earn their keep. Granted, that's not a requirement in the books, but it does help the story feel familiar and "legitimate."

 

[Jarvisimo]

But nowadays television does not pay heed to this model - especially premier cable television. Note on Mad Men, each year there are a certain number of episodes that Vincent Kartheiser, Roger Slattery, Christina Hendricks, etc, will not appear on. It is both budgetry and better for storytelling purposes. You see the same on other expensive shows, like the big HBO shows.

Having every actor appear, irrespective of plot requirements, belongs to a more commonly older model of television where contracted actors appeared in every episode. And as we can see with Trek it sabotaged the plot of these shows, and arguably the charcaterisation of the individuals as they did not require plots to be focused on each. So the model of television is not so helpful as a good storytelling device, especially in a very different media.

 

[The Wormhole]

Having every actor appear, irrespective of plot requirements, belongs to a more commonly older model of television where contracted actors appeared in every episode. And as we can see with Trek it sabotaged the plot of these shows, and arguably the charcaterisation of the individuals as they did not require plots to be focused on each. So the model of television is not so helpful as a good storytelling device, especially in a very different media.

In all honesty the only time in Trek it really bothered me was in DS9's Soldier's of the Empire where they have a couple of scenes establishing that while Worf is away Dr. Bashir is covering for him as Intelligence Officer. Even ignoring that Worf should have had someone working for or with him who would be a better choice to cover for him than the station's medical officer, the whole thing served no purpose to the episode in particular or the show in the general other than it gave Alexander Siddig some lines of dialogue that week. Plus they never told us who was covering for Dax as science officer while she was gone.

For that matter, who took over the job after Jadzia was killed? Yes, I know, in the novels it was eventually Shar, but he wasn't assigned until after the series ended leaving the post vacant during season 7.

 

[Jedi_Master]

It seems in modern Trek Lit that the various "stars" of the TV shows are scattered throughout the galaxy, so the larger portion of dialogue and action are split between "stars" and the newer characters. As long as the new characters are compelling and interesting, that is fine by me. There is no need for everybody to have a line. I do hope that the storytellers will eventually go away from "events" like the Fall and return to novels that contain the entire story within the cover. Those kind of stories allow a main or secondary character to be the focus of the story and allow us to understand them and relate to them.

 

[KRAD]

I've been hearing the same "I wish they'd return to standalones and stop the events" complaint pretty much since the events started in 1996. Thing is, the events are what sell. Time and time again. "Cold Equations" and "The Fall" put Trek novels back on the Times best-seller list for the first time in ages. You really think that a company in a capitalist society whose function is to, y'know, make money is going to abandon a strategy for profit that is proven to work?