News Cruz On The Return of Dr. Culber

[XCV330]

That’s an earned death and an earned resurrection in narrative terms. It’s not just a bit of dressing on the story. It is the story.

I don't think its been explained exactly what happened to Culber when he died, and how he transitioned into some presence in the mycellium network. Stamets had spores in his clothing, and its possible anyone else that worked often in the lab did as well. It will be interesting to see what happens. They could botch this or make it worth viewing.

 

[jaime]

I don't think its been explained exactly what happened to Culber when he died, and how he transitioned into some presence in the mycellium network. Stamets had spores in his clothing, and its possible anyone else that worked often in the lab did as well. It will be interesting to see what happens. They could botch this or make it worth viewing.

I think, as it stood, it was wrapped up in series one. They are gonna have to backtrack that in series 2

 

[Terok Nor]

Could be wrong (probably am) Culber was only ever meant to be a bit player who got killed off for shock value. The showrunners made a big deal about Stamets and Culber being the first gay male couple in Trek in interviews so had to backtrack and state Culber would be back because of the supposed outrage at killing one half (the boring half) of the gay couple. Somewhere before Season One was fully wrapped up it was contrived to resurrect a very boring, very stupid minor character to appease a vocal section of the fanbase and probably some who never even watched Star Trek but like to be professionally offended.

Culber's dead. The only way he should be returning is in another reality or in flashbacks. He ain't Spock. He ain't even Tasha Yar. I hope they don't waste a bunch of episodes on this. Especially not a bunch of episodes where Stamets could be getting up to something more interesting or indeed with someone more interesting.

Sorry Culber fans but this is up there with bringing Vedek Bareil back to life. Which was done. And it sucked. Because Vedek Bareil sucked.

 

[eschaton]

Sorry Culber fans but this is up there with bringing Vedek Bareil back to life. Which was done. And it sucked. Because Vedek Bareil sucked.

Culber was much better than Bareil, because Cruz is a much more talented actor.

That said, I agree that calling Culber a "character" is a stretch. All he really was was "the doctor" as was needed, and Stamet's boyfriend. A simple plot device and nothing more.

 

[Nyotarules]

Who says Discovery is a cushy post? Not to mention the idea that anyone can refuse a post whenever they like is seriously problematic, especially during a war.

Given what we've seen, it's clear that some Starfleet doctors just don't have that high of a rank, so it shouldn't be considered unusual for a low ranking Dr. to exist on the Discovery.

Discovery? My post had nothing to do with Discovery

 

[Grendelsbayne]

Discovery? My post had nothing to do with Discovery

You responded to a picture of Bashir which was a direct response to people saying that it was weird for Discovery to have a Dr. who was a Lt. JG by explaining why Bashir was a Lt. JG. Discovery was the topic being discussed. And my only point is that it's not weird for a Dr. to be a Lt. JG.

 

[Midquest]

For the record, the showrunners and Cruz basically came out on the night of Culber's death and hinted/stated that he'd be back. It's clear from behind-the-scenes comments that Culber was always, always going to return and was only temporarily gone. There was also an interview maybe a week after his death in which Cruz made clear that the plan was for him to return.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

For the record, the showrunners and Cruz basically came out on the night of Culber's death and hinted/stated that he'd be back. It's clear from behind-the-scenes comments that Culber was always, always going to return and was only temporarily gone. There was also an interview maybe a week after his death in which Cruz made clear that the plan was for him to return.

The way I remember those first 'hints' were them talking about his return in the following episodes and promising it would completely justify what came before. And then we found out he was just a completely unexplained spore ghost forced to spend half his time dealing with random plot stuff instead of actually dealing with his own fricking death.

 

[Trekkin]

Culber was much better than Bareil, because Cruz is a much more talented actor.

That said, I agree that calling Culber a "character" is a stretch. All he really was was "the doctor" as was needed, and Stamet's boyfriend. A simple plot device and nothing more.

See when you say it like that, the resurrection actually becomes more appealing to me.

I don’t tend to like resurections in principle, Spock’s being probably my number one pet peeve in probably all of Trek. Because even if the deaths weren’t all that satisfying (like Kirk’s, Data’s, or Trip’s) at least they felt like the end to a story. You mourn, the characters develop, etc. The deaths have...impact.

If it’s just a throwaway, then by all means bring ‘em back and make them more interesting. Because I have no investment in keeping them dead.

For eg. I never bitched about Tasha coming back, because she was basically a nothing character before hand. She was bettered for it. Of course that eventually lead to all the bullshit with Sela, but that’s for a different board.

 

[XCV330]

See when you say it like that, the resurrection actually becomes more appealing to me.

I don’t tend to like resurections in principle, Spock’s being probably my number one pet peeve in probably all of Trek. Because even if the deaths weren’t all that satisfying (like Kirk’s, Data’s, or Trip’s) at least they felt like the end to a story. You mourn, the characters develop, etc. The deaths have...impact.

If it’s just a throwaway, then by all means bring ‘em back and make them more interesting. Because I have no investment in keeping them dead.

For eg. I never bitched about Tasha coming back, because she was basically a nothing character before hand. She was bettered for it. Of course that eventually lead to all the bullshit with Sela, but that’s for a different board.

poor McCoy getting lanced in the heart and coming back to life.. the first main-character lazarus gets no attention.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

Eh, McCoy has the excuse of taking place on a holodeck like pleasure planet and his death isn't fully explained. One could assume that he wasn't really, really dead, but only seemingly dead.

The one I hate the most from TOS is The Changeling. Nomad kills Scotty for trying to protect Uhura who Nomad Mind-Wipes for no reason, and then Nomad brings Scotty back to life just because its told to, yet magically can't fix Uhura, leaving her to *relearn everything she's ever learned manually*. Then, one episode later, she's exactly the same as she always was.

 

[Terok Nor]

Pretty much everyone who dies and returns in the same episode gets a pass. I can only remember Neelix actually dealing with the ramifications of returning to life.

Coming back to life and to the main cast a year/season later seems like a cheat. Death should matter for the stakes to be high.

Obviously redshirts have no souls and don't count.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

Honestly, I know such a thing would never have been allowed in 60s tv, but part of me wishes Uhura had actually lived the consequences of that episode. I loved her as she was, but having to come back from having your entire life erased like that? That's one of the scariest, most unique, most dramatically rich concepts the franchise ever came up with and they just tossed it aside.

 

[Terok Nor]

Honestly, I know such a thing would never have been allowed in 60s tv, but part of me wishes Uhura had actually lived the consequences of that episode. I loved her as she was, but having to come back from having your entire life erased like that? That's one of the scariest, most unique, most dramatically rich concepts the franchise ever came up with and they just tossed it aside.

I agree. It always felt like a waste. Don't get me wrong, I love Uhura just as she is but this would have been a great storyline. While I'm not willing to lose any of the Uhura moments that took place after this episode I certainly wouldn't have minded seeing the premise you mentioned revisited elsewhere.

 

[Tenacity]

^ Realistic if that was the case Uhura would have been removed from the ship.

If it was "just" her personality, but she retain all her technical knowledge and social skills, then that might have worked with her remaining on the ship, but she would have been a new Uhura.

Not that we really knew the orginal Uhura all that well.

This would have been something that could have been explored on TNG, but probably not any of the other series.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

Realistically the crews wouldn't stay together so long in the first place, so that's not a problem. But it definitely could have been done on DS9 or Voy, arguably easier than on TNG. Voyager wouldn't have the option of removing them from the ship anyway and DS9 could have them have a civilian phase living on the station, off-duty while relearning what they needed to know. DS9 was also by far the best at long-term character arcs. But it didn't happen, so... maybe somewhere in the future. It would make an incredible story arc with the right actor/actress. It doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would fit well in DSC, but DSC is still new and could change. And who knows what the other new shows might be.

ETA: On second thought, it could possibly work with Culber. Highly doubt it will happen and I'm not entirely sure I'd prefer it to a straight return, but I think it could work.

 

[johnnybear]

I don't remember how he died only that he did! What's the point of bringing him back? Surely that defeats the drama of killing him off in the first place! Give a monkey a typewriter and eventually it will write the collected works of Shakespeare by hitting keys at random! Given time of course and I think that's what's happening with the writers of this show!
JB

 

[mdtauk]

Does he come back for everyone to interact with, or does he only exist for Stammets to see and talk to, through the changes he has gone through. Like a remnant clinging to Paul from within the Mycelium Network.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I don't remember how he died only that he did! What's the point of bringing him back? Surely that defeats the drama of killing him off in the first place! Give a monkey a typewriter and eventually it will write the collected works of Shakespeare by hitting keys at random! Given time of course and I think that's what's happening with the writers of this show!
JB

The point, will no doubt, be revealed during the course of the show. That's usually how it works. Does it defeat the drama? Again, it remains to be seen.

 

[shapeshifter]

Does he come back for everyone to interact with, or does he only exist for Stammets to see and talk to, through the changes he has gone through. Like a remnant clinging to Paul from within the Mycelium Network.

We only ever saw him alone interacting with Culber post mortem.