Did We Ever See The Real Remmick

[Mojochi]

I'd say that the writing certainly didn't reflect that he was always compromised. There doesn't seem to be anything to dispell thinking he was, so I wouldn't argue against anyone saying he was. It's actually a cool & plausible idea or bit of head canon, but the look of his initial appearance plays like they never intended us to suspect he is anything more than an investigative pain in the butt

The idea that he & Quinn are overtaken thereafter, because their investigation was getting too close to exposing the infiltration is a cool idea too, & is something I like as my own head canon, but I don't have any reason to substantiate it as having been the intention either

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

At the time "Coming of Age" was broadcast, was the conspiracy still intended to be a military coup within Starfleet and not have aliens involved? I know Gene shot that idea down when they made "Conspiracy" but I'm wondering if it was still intact here.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

There's nothing to disprove it, but there's no reason to think that he wasn't the real Remmick in Coming Of Age.

 

[at Quark's]

I agree; I think we say the actual (non-overtaken) guy in Coming of Age. IIRC (but it's a long time ago since I actually saw the ep), there was nothing really weird in his behaviour, he just seemed to be this somewhat hardboiled investigator that had to do his (unpleasant) duty. Can't prove it, though.

 

[WarpFactorZ]

Weren't the parasites reimagined as the Borg? The two ideas always seemed related to me. I figured it was some big web the writers were trying to weave with the Romulan absence, the imminent invasion, and the scooping up of cities and starbases along the Neutral Zone. They just decided that parasites were dumb, and replaced them with the fearsome Borg (which was probably a good idea, if that's what really happened).

 

[ozzfloyd]

I really enjoyed the Starship Excelsior team's follow-up on the parasites in their season 3 arc. That's my head canon, pending any official take.

Starship Excelsior: The Star Trek Audio Adventure

 

[Mudd]

And here I must again mount my hobby-horse and declare that Data was quite seriously mistaken about that signal.

There's no evidence whatever in canon to support that claim, of course.

 

[Timo]

Ah, to the contrary, it's the only thing that is supported by the episode at all. Everything else would be speculation based on no data.

That speculation based on actual data proves Data wrong is just as side effect of Star Trek not being real. There's nothing in the process to reveal implausibilities or impossibilities until it's too late, not even peer review: not only is the writer uninterested in getting such, there's no real mechanism for getting any. So we get heroes who just happen to be dead wrong against writer intent. Or at best sprouting headscratchers based on nothing evident in the episode itself, as Spock often does.

Anyway, in the end, the signal got no response, nicely proving it was an abort rather than a beacon.

...Unless it was a devious and bitter parting gift from the bugs, inviting in the Borg, to no gain for the bugs other than the satisfaction of a vengeance well served.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[dupersuper]

I really enjoyed the Starship Excelsior team's follow-up on the parasites in their season 3 arc. That's my head canon, pending any official take.

Starship Excelsior: The Star Trek Audio Adventure

Oooo, new Trek. Thanks for the link. The parasites also show up in DC Comics annual #3 and the post DS9 novels.

 

[Mojochi]

I really enjoyed the Starship Excelsior team's follow-up on the parasites in their season 3 arc. That's my head canon, pending any official take.

Starship Excelsior: The Star Trek Audio Adventure

Ooo! A fan! Thanks for the plug. I voice a character on that show. Glad you like it

We even tied the Borg into our continuation

 

[Orphalesion]

Weren't the parasites reimagined as the Borg? The two ideas always seemed related to me. I figured it was some big web the writers were trying to weave with the Romulan absence, the imminent invasion, and the scooping up of cities and starbases along the Neutral Zone. They just decided that parasites were dumb, and replaced them with the fearsome Borg (which was probably a good idea, if that's what really happened).

Yeah the parasites were supposed to be part of the Borg who went ahead of an invasion to weaken the Federation.
At that point the Borg were still supposed to be Insectoid Aliens, but when Season 2 came along insect aliens were deemed to expensive, so we got pale humans in cyberpunk-gimp outfits.

 

[NigellaDeanna20]

I always believed the Remmick from "Coming of Age" was the real deal. I figured that the parasites found out that Quinn and Remmick were on to them, and made it a priority to body-snatch them between that episode and "Conspiracy "

you beat me to it. I was going to say the same thing.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Also if Remmick wasn't the real Remmick at that point, there's an argument he'd have asked more softball questions.

 

[Lynx]

He was definitely infected for Coming of Age. There's no reason for him to have been taken over by the Queen in between this and Conspiracy.

I'm disappointed they never revisited these parasites, especially when they left it open with Datas line about the possibility of a homing beacon being transmitted. Even in a later series, there's potential for that to become a storyline.

Yes, I've always wondered why the writers didn't follow up this episode.

 

[NigellaDeanna20]

yes i think we did in Coming Of Age. That to me anyway, was the real Remmick. That mother creature had taken over him by the time we got to Conspiracy.

 

[Quinton]

He was definitely infected for Coming of Age. There's no reason for him to have been taken over by the Queen in between this and Conspiracy.

I'm disappointed they never revisited these parasites, especially when they left it open with Datas line about the possibility of a homing beacon being transmitted. Even in a later series, there's potential for that to become a storyline.

This would make for a pretty cool continuation. Quite easy to explain to newer viewers, too. "There was a conspiracy. Parasites were at the core of it. A head exploded. We never heard from the parasites again... until now."

 

[cgervasi]

the signal got no response, nicely proving it was an abort rather than a beacon

To me the line never made sense. They had taken over top leadership positions and were trying to contol vital areas of Federation space. They knew where Earth was already.

 

[Timo]

Yup. If we're to think Data had the right idea there, I guess we have to think pirates. That is, "We failed, now we reveal your location to every other pirate out there in retaliation - see how you cope with that!"...

It's easier to think Data got it all wrong. But if the beacon did lure somebody in, it would probably have to be the Borg, because nobody else ever came.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[USS Firefly]

But if the beacon did lure somebody in, it would probably have to be the Borg, because nobody else ever came.

I believe the parasites came in the mission gamma novels

 

[Timo]

Which wouldn't have called for the putative beacon, because we already have this lurking invasion fleet that knows the location of Earth, and is not suggested to have been lost in any other sense, either.

If the parasites choose to come a second time, they're free to do so (even if they appear one-trick ponies and wouldn't fare well against a Starfleet already paranoid about Changelings!). But the one thing they could have gleaned from that signal is "this is not a good time to try"...

Timo Saloniemi