Spoilers Discovery and the Novelverse - TV show discussion thread

[Tim Thomason]

It could be that Romijn wanted a Star Trek cameo, so they gave her Number One.

It could be that, with Number One being an iconic character played by Star Trek royalty, they went all out on paying for a name actress to play her, even if only a brief scene.

It could be that they have plans for her in future episodes/seasons, and are just planting the seed with this appearance.

 

[thribs]

Yeah, she probably shows up a few episodes down the line as Pike is in his DSC uniform when he meets here on the Discovery.

Seems rather cruel that he has to wear that monstrosity. Should have used his captain privilege.

 

[Enterprise1701]

Maybe "Kelpia" is an exonym contrived by stupid humans who don't bother learning native geography.

Nope. Kelpia is mentioned in Saru's internal monologue.

If he's thinking in English, he might use the English name out of habit. A German talking about their country in English will call it Germany instead of Deutschland. And if he's not thinking in English, then it's been translated for our benefit by the chronicler, and thus the name might have been translated as well.

Ugh. I like the novel continuity's smoothing-over that "Andor" is a native name while "Andoria" is an exonym variant, but having that in mind just makes me cringe at Shran's dialogue in ENT episodes.

I really don't like exonyms.

 

[Christopher]

Ugh. I like the novel continuity's smoothing-over that "Andor" is a native name while "Andoria" is an exonym variant, but having that in mind just makes me cringe at Shran's dialogue in ENT episodes.

I really don't like exonyms.

Who says either one is an exonym? Sci-fi is too fond of the lazy habit of reducing entire planets to monocultures with zero diversity. If our planet can be Earth to Anglophones and Erde to German-speakers, if it can be Terre to French-speakers and Tierra to Spanish-speakers, if it can be Chikyuu to the Japanese and Jeegoo to the Koreans, then Shran's planet can easily be both Andor and Andoria to its natives, and probably several dozen other names that aren't remotely similar.

After all, there's already evidence of Andorian linguistic diversity in the novelverse, because the novels' Andorians post-2000 tend to use a naming convention that's never been used on the shows or in earlier books. In Rise of the Federation: A Choice of Futures, I explicitly codified that as an "Imperial" language that's the preferred default for the global culture, while establishing that there were other regional languages and naming patterns that didn't conform to it, and individuals who chose not to adjust their names to fit (which is how I reconciled the semi-canonical "Thy'lek Shran" with the novels' "Hravishran th'Zoarhi").

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

Yeah, historically, Star Trek has always been heavy on making all groups having one set culture, which... I mean, that’s not even true of any given CITY, let alone a planet or species. Like Christopher says, human languages themselves refer to Earth by different names, what exactly is the problem with it happening with other planets? Especially when it’s canonically happened before?

 

[mattman8907]

i wouldn't mind another DSC novel focus solely on Christopher Pike. I know he had a supporting role in Desperate Hours but i wouldn't mind him being the fore front.

 

[David cgc]

They could fill out a month in the schedule by reprinting "Burning Dreams" with Discovery branding and a cast photo of Mount on the cover, he said, only half joking.

 

[F. King Daniel]

They could fill out a month in the schedule by reprinting "Burning Dreams" with Discovery branding and a cast photo of Mount on the cover, he said, only half joking.

Some PR stuff for Into Darkness used details from Burning Dreams. I'm not sure if DiscoPike will be consistent though, his service record is shown in "Brothers"

 

[David cgc]

They could fill out a month in the schedule by reprinting "Burning Dreams" with Discovery branding and a cast photo of Mount on the cover, he said, only half joking.

Or, alternatively, they could release a novel titled The Enterprise War by John Jackson Miller, chronically Pike and co's adventures during the Klingon War. Catalog Entry here, hat-tip to TrekCore for the heads-up.

Cover Text:
A shattered ship, a divided crew—trapped in the infernal nightmare of conflict!

Hearing of the outbreak of hostilities between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire, Captain Christopher Pike attempts to bring the U.S.S. Enterprise home to join in the fight. But in the hellish nebula known as the Pergamum, the stalwart commander instead finds an epic battle of his own, pitting ancient enemies against one another—with not just the Enterprise, but her crew as the spoils of war.

Lost and out of contact with Earth for an entire year, Pike and his trusted first officer, Number One, struggle to find and reunite the ship’s crew—all while Science Officer Spock confronts a mystery that puts even his exceptional skills to the test…with more than their own survival possibly riding on the outcome….

 

[mattman8907]

LOL son of a..... I was just talking about this like a day ago and then this drops. LOL.

 

[marlboro]

Or, alternatively, they could release a novel titled The Enterprise War by John Jackson Miller, chronically Pike and co's adventures during the Klingon War. Catalog Entry here, hat-tip to TrekCore for the heads-up.

Cover Text:
A shattered ship, a divided crew—trapped in the infernal nightmare of conflict!

Hearing of the outbreak of hostilities between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire, Captain Christopher Pike attempts to bring the U.S.S. Enterprise home to join in the fight. But in the hellish nebula known as the Pergamum, the stalwart commander instead finds an epic battle of his own, pitting ancient enemies against one another—with not just the Enterprise, but her crew as the spoils of war.

Lost and out of contact with Earth for an entire year, Pike and his trusted first officer, Number One, struggle to find and reunite the ship’s crew—all while Science Officer Spock confronts a mystery that puts even his exceptional skills to the test…with more than their own survival possibly riding on the outcome….

Awesome news.

But...

I'd add The Children of Kings by Dave Stern in there too.

Maybe if Pike's return is popular we'll we'll see a continuation of the Early Voyages comics. Slim chance, I'm sure, but stranger things have happened.

 

[The Wormhole]

Maybe if Pike's return is popular we'll we'll see a continuation of the Early Voyages comics. Slim chance, I'm sure, but stranger things have happened.

I think it far more likely IDW would launch their own series set on the Pike era Enterprise. I think the only realistic expectation regarding the Early Voyages comics is an omnibus reprint.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Wasn't there talk of a Pike/Spock/Enterprise spin-off after Discovery season 2 awhile ago? Someone may have just seen the DiscoTOS uniform and set designs and gotten a little carried away, but if they're doing a show based around a genoicide-comitting, sapeient-eating psychopath, anything's possible.

 

[Christopher]

Wasn't there talk of a Pike/Spock/Enterprise spin-off after Discovery season 2 awhile ago?

There were fan speculations, but I think someone official said there were no such plans. Whenever fans talk about their wish that something would be made, it never takes long for the rumor mill to mistake that wishful thinking for actual news.

 

[Stevil2001]

I think it far more likely IDW would launch their own series set on the Pike era Enterprise. I think the only realistic expectation regarding the Early Voyages comics is an omnibus reprint.

Which in fact, IDW already did in twice, first in Star Trek Omnibus, Volume 2 and then in volumes 1-2 of the Stardate Collection. The omnibus is out of print and goes from crazy money on Amazon, but you can still buy the the other volumes.

But yeah, no one is reviving a twenty-year-old cancelled tie-in comic series.

 

[TheAlmanac]

But yeah, no one is reviving a twenty-year-old cancelled tie-in comic series.

That's right, IDW would never, ever revive a tie-in comic book series originally cancelled by Marvel in the Nineties.

 

[Stevil2001]

That's right, IDW would never, ever revive a tie-in comic book series originally cancelled by Marvel in the Nineties.

Ha, fair enough! I don't know American Hero from squat, but I suffered through the first volume of that Transformers series.

 

[marlboro]

Ha, fair enough! I don't know American Hero from squat, but I suffered through the first volume of that Transformers series.

"A Real American Hero" is apparently a continuation of the 80s G.I. Joe comic series. It looks like they even got Larry Hama to pick up where he left off. Kinda neat.

 

[Stevil2001]

"A Real American Hero" is apparently a continuation of the 80s G.I. Joe comic series. It looks like they even got Larry Hama to pick up where he left off. Kinda neat.

Well, I feel dumb. I just moused over the link because I was on mobile and was like, "I don't know what that is." But I do know what G.I.Joe is, and I do know about Larry Hama's revival of it! So I'm oh for two.

 

[JD]

It's not a tie-in so it's not entirely the same situation, but they are also finishing up the Image Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series from the late '90s.