Did they overdo the amount of aliens in Titan?

[Sci]

Saying they overdid the number of aliens in Star Trek: Titan is like saying they overdid the amount of time spent in outer space in Star Trek. It's the fundamental premise of the series.

Its been sorta a turn-off for me the Titan books with all the alien species. Yeah, I'm for IDIC & all, but it seems it was just jammed downed our throats.

In other words, you're not for IDIC.

 

[DEWLine]

I remember seeing it - briefly - when Alan Dean Foster's edition of Nero went into a digression about his actual name as opposed to asking Pike and company to use a name they could actually pronounce.

 

[JD]

I love the aliens in Titan, the fact that it has so many unique aliens is one of my favorite aspects of Titan. Yeah, they might have focused on it a little to much in the first books, but after a while it gets better. As for having trouble picturing characters, the only one that's ever really given me a hard time is Cethente.

 

[Starbreaker]

I have a serious time visualizing anyone on the crew other than Dr. Ree. I honestly can't even remember any of the other alien character's names honestly... they're kind of generic.

 

[Thrawn]

Ok, seriously people. Like, seriously.

Look at the list of main characters here: http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Trek:_Titan

I assume no one has a problem with Cardassian, Betazoid, Human, Vulcan, or Bajoran, yes?

That leaves:

- Aili Lavena. SHE'S ON A BOOK COVER.
- Torvig. He's a velociraptor with mechanical arms & tail. And a little smaller.
- Melora Pazlar. SHE WAS IN A DS9 EPISODE.
- Xin Ra-Havreii. He looks just like the Federation president from the TOS movies.
- Dr. Ree. Everyone has already said they have no problem with him.

Other characters I remember that aren't on that list:

- The Ferengi scientist. Is a Ferengi.
- The Caitian scientist. Looks like a cat.
- Huilan, the counselor. I quote UssGlenn: "Like Stitch from Lilo and Stitch".
- K'chak'!'op. Is a spider.
- Pava Ek'Noor. Is an Andorian.
- Y'Lira Modan. Is golden, and otherwise looks human. Unless she's mad.
- Cethente. Looks like this: http://home.fuse.net/ChristopherLBennett/Cethente.jpg

Usually when people complain, I can at least understand why, but I find this mystifying. You all have the same reading comprehension skills I do, yes? Just which characters, exactly, are you having trouble imagining?!

 

[Kelso]

Never! It's the most charming thing about the series.

And I have had no trouble picturing the characters.

 

[Andy Mangels]

Saying they overdid the number of aliens in Star Trek: Titan is like saying they overdid the amount of time spent in outer space in Star Trek. It's the fundamental premise of the series.

Its been sorta a turn-off for me the Titan books with all the alien species. Yeah, I'm for IDIC & all, but it seems it was just jammed downed our throats.

In other words, you're not for IDIC.

Bingo.

The specific premise of the ship (and the series) was to give it the most diverse crew in Starfleet, and the first book or two were tasked with showing how that might or might not work well... culturally, physically, emotionally, intellectually.

So, if you don't like reading about a ship full of aliens, there are other Star Trek books for you to read. The diversity is the very PREMISE of Titan.

Put in analogy form: if the only flowers you like are roses, don't go to an arboretum, go to a rose garden.

And for those still having a hard time visualizing the characters, there are photos and book covers, and ARTWORK (by one of the authors no less - mind you, they're animated versions) of the characters on my website at this link:
http://www.andymangels.com/startrektitan.html

 

[Mage]

I'd like to point that I don't dislike the amount of aliens. I see the topic title I used, and it's misleading.
My issues were more with the fact that in the first book I'm reading now, there's so much focus on it. Every few pages there's a comment on it, that's my real issues.

 

[Smitty]

Yes, it was a little over the top but if you push through it then the novelty of it all passes and it is not dwelled on upon so much. I had to google names just to get an idea of how they looked.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Ok, seriously people. Like, seriously.

Look at the list of main characters here: http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Trek:_Titan

I assume no one has a problem with Cardassian, Betazoid, Human, Vulcan, or Bajoran, yes?

That leaves:

- Aili Lavena. SHE'S ON A BOOK COVER.
- Torvig. He's a velociraptor with mechanical arms & tail. And a little smaller.
- Melora Pazlar. SHE WAS IN A DS9 EPISODE.
- Xin Ra-Havreii. He looks just like the Federation president from the TOS movies.
- Dr. Ree. Everyone has already said they have no problem with him.

Other characters I remember that aren't on that list:

- The Ferengi scientist. Is a Ferengi.
- The Caitian scientist. Looks like a cat.
- Huilan, the counselor. I quote UssGlenn: "Like Stitch from Lilo and Stitch".
- K'chak'!'op. Is a spider.
- Pava Ek'Noor. Is an Andorian.
- Y'Lira Modan. Is golden, and otherwise looks human. Unless she's mad.
- Cethente. Looks like this: http://home.fuse.net/ChristopherLBennett/Cethente.jpg

Usually when people complain, I can at least understand why, but I find this mystifying. You all have the same reading comprehension skills I do, yes? Just which characters, exactly, are you having trouble imagining?!

This is probably one of the most condescending posts I've come across in quite awhile...

 

[Kinggodzillak]

Xin Ra-Havreii. He looks just like the Federation president from the TOS movies.

Which one?

 

[David cgc]

The Undiscovered Country.

 

[Corran Horn]

It is forced. The characters pretty much mention it's forced.

Given that, it's not forced in such a way that detracts from the stories.

 

[Thrawn]

Usually when people complain, I can at least understand why, but I find this mystifying. You all have the same reading comprehension skills I do, yes? Just which characters, exactly, are you having trouble imagining?!

This is probably one of the most condescending posts I've come across in quite awhile...

Ok. I'm still struggling with this, and you didn't answer the question - which aliens are you having trouble imagining? Your post, among others, make it sound like there's dozens of major characters that've never been seen onscreen, with no distinguishing features. Except: I count... six. And two of them are dinosaurs, one of them is a giant walking lamp, one is a tiny blue teddy bear, one is a spider, and the other one is solid gold.

Really: how can you possibly have a hard time telling these characters apart?

Sure, there are often a few minor characters on security teams or whatever that melt into the generic background. But that's true of all the other series, too.

 

[BillJ]

It's not the premise I have a problem with... it's the execution.

The pacing of the Star Trek: Titan (loved Taking Wing) books are terrible. Everytime something interesting is about to happen the various authors stop to take time and describe each character involved. I know this is for the sake of the uninitiated. But it got to the point where I was reading more in the way of character descriptions than actual story material.

So I stopped reading the series...

YMMV.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Usually when people complain, I can at least understand why, but I find this mystifying. You all have the same reading comprehension skills I do, yes? Just which characters, exactly, are you having trouble imagining?!

This is probably one of the most condescending posts I've come across in quite awhile...

Ok. I'm still struggling with this, and you didn't answer the question - which aliens are you having trouble imagining?

Actually, I stated that in my very first post which new alien stood out to me. Pay attention.

Your post, among others, make it sound like there's dozens of major characters that've never been seen onscreen, with no distinguishing features.

I know my post didn't say that. I did say, however, that for those aliens who have never been seen onscreen before, it's hard to visualize them until a distinguishing feature is mentioned.

Except: I count... six. And two of them are dinosaurs, one of them is a giant walking lamp, one is a tiny blue teddy bear, one is a spider, and the other one is solid gold.

Really: how can you possibly have a hard time telling these characters apart?

Have you taken into account for one second that maybe some of us haven't read every book in the series or began late? So if an alien is physically described in an earlier book and is simply identified by name in later one, then a new reader who began with a later book doesn't have the faintest clue what that alien looks like until he or she is ultimately described. And even then, we may not get a complete picture if it's something cursory like "he moved his hoof." It's even possible for some of us to even forget what some of these individual aliens look like after awhile when a bunch of them are thrown together. As I said earlier, that's when distinguishing features become extremely important for me.

 

[shanejayell]

I like the IDEA but I think the books have handled it rather clumsily at times. In a way it shouldn't even be a issue in the novel, just a fact of life for the crew... it doesn't need to be brought up all the time.

Or at least that's my two cents.

 

[Thrawn]

Have you taken into account for one second that maybe some of us haven't read every book in the series or began late? So if an alien is physically described in an earlier book and is simply identified by name in later one, then a new reader who began with a later book doesn't have the faintest clue what that alien looks like until he or she is ultimately described. And even then, we may not get a complete picture if it's something cursory like "he moved his hoof." It's even possible for some of us to even forget what some of these individual aliens look like after awhile when a bunch of them are thrown together. As I said earlier, that's when distinguishing features become extremely important for me.

Ok, sure, but how is that any different from any other series? I don't know what any character looks like until they're described. Why is that a flaw in Titan?

Or, to put it another way, if the idea for the series is to contain Really Weird Aliens (like, say, dinosaurs and spiders), how else could that possibly work except for the authors to describe the characters over again in each new book?

 

[C.E. Evans]

Have you taken into account for one second that maybe some of us haven't read every book in the series or began late? So if an alien is physically described in an earlier book and is simply identified by name in later one, then a new reader who began with a later book doesn't have the faintest clue what that alien looks like until he or she is ultimately described. And even then, we may not get a complete picture if it's something cursory like "he moved his hoof." It's even possible for some of us to even forget what some of these individual aliens look like after awhile when a bunch of them are thrown together. As I said earlier, that's when distinguishing features become extremely important for me.

Ok, sure, but how is that any different from any other series? I don't know what any character looks like until they're described. Why is that a flaw in Titan?

See, I never said it was a flaw. But if you're a newbie or whatever, one alien might as well be another unless otherwise noted. That's pretty much all that I said.

 

[BillJ]

Or, to put it another way, if the idea for the series is to contain Really Weird Aliens (like, say, dinosaurs and spiders), how else could that possibly work except for the authors to describe the characters over again in each new book?

I'm pretty good at retaining what I read... so I don't need the same characters described to me over and over and over.