How Old was McCoy in Encounter at Farpoint?

[Kegek]

looking into this - this question is more complex than you first think - based on later episodes, he's about 137,

Actually, according to this episode he's 137. To quote verbatim from the scene:

McCoy: How old do you think I am anyway?
Data: 137 years Admiral according to Starfleet records.

You're right about the class of '79, though. However, there was a near if not total absnece of specific Earth year dates on the original show (and aside from one throaway line which extrapolates much of the official timeline, the same goes for TNG). Data may have meant stardate 79.[random numbers] or whatever.

 

[highlander]

I think he said he was 137 or something.

Coincidentally, it's the same Joe Louis was when he fought Rocky Marciano.

Good one!!! :thumbsup:

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The only "real" dating reference we get is Data saying that he was a member of "the class of '79"

Which was made apocryphal by the later episode "The Neutral Zone", establishing a calendar year (2364) for TNG's first season. And since Data obviously was not referring to 2279, the 'class' line must be ignored (unless it's some form of stardate).

 

[Timo]

Spock was a few years younger than McCoy.

How do we know? Spock's age or birthday were never really referred to in the shows or movies, nor his seniority or juniority versus McCoy AFAIK.

And since Data obviously was not referring to 2279, the 'class' line must be ignored (unless it's some form of stardate).

Possibilities:

-AD 2378 (but then somebody screwed up, because that would make TOS take place in the 24th century, not the 23rd, since McCoy's age was unambiguous)
-AD 2278 (perhaps Data and McCoy were intended to be agemates - but that would play off badly against the theme of Data as a naïve Pinocchio)
-Stardate XYZ78 (but that makes no sense because at least the digits Y and Z would be nontrivial here; the "78" would only tell the month or the week)
-Stardate 78XYZ (but that would be inconsistent with the stardates given in the episode itself)
-Stardate X78YZ (possible but really obscure)
-Class with 78 people on it (possible as described, although obviously not the writer intention)
-Class held in the famous Building 78 (quite typical militaryspeak, but perhaps less typical for Data)
-Class taught by a person named "78" (certainly possible in the Trek context, although again obviously not the intention)

The bottom line of this seems to be, though, that the "78" was thrown in either without any thought whatsoever, or then at a point where the script did not yet include the cameo by McCoy.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Garth Rockett]

I think he said he was 137 or something.

Coincidentally, it's the same Joe Louis was when he fought Rocky Marciano.

Good one!!! :thumbsup:

Thanks. I was wondering if anybody got that one.

 

[Zeppster]

Spock was a few years younger than McCoy.

How do we know? Spock's age or birthday were never really referred to in the shows or movies, nor his seniority or juniority versus McCoy

TAS episode Yesteryear

 

[Timo]

Ah, right. That does give Spock's birth as being more than 37 but less than 38 years prior to the episode (Earth years, we assume...), as Spock goes back 30 years to visit his seven-year-old self.

If McCoy was born in 2226 (a bit more than 137 years before "Farpoint" that probably took place in late 2363), and "Yesteryear" takes place after the three seasons of TOS, then he's indeed Spock's senior. Spock's exact birthdate would depend on TAS dating, but at least "Yesteyear" has a semi-rational stardate in the 5000 range, meaning that whatever we do with dating the third season of TOS will give us this date as well...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Allyn Gibson]

While there's a wealth of evidence that McCoy is older than Spock, John M. Ford's The Final Reflection has Spock older than McCoy. There's a sequence where Krenn plays chess with Spock (aged about seven), then meets McCoy's grandfather, T.J., who talks about his infant grandson, Len.

 

[Anwar]

I always figured that the TOS actors were the same age as the real actors playing them.

 

[EliyahuQeoni]

I always figured that the TOS actors were the same age as the real actors playing them.

That's the same assumption made in the Okuda Chronology, though I've never really understood the logic of it. Actors often play characters that are much older/younger than they are, so the actors' actual age isn't necessarily revealing. After all Jean-Luc Picard is like 10 years older than Patrick Stewart.

 

[Timo]

And in case of Spock, using Nimoy's age is especially dubious, as Spock is not human.

On a similar vein, it wouldn't have been all that surprising, or objectionable, to learn that Worf was fourteen years old when TNG started. He did behave much like a teenager, after all.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Keith1701]

I think he said he was 137 or something.

Coincidentally, it's the same Joe Louis was when he fought Rocky Marciano.

I think it was mention {137} but I'm not sure.....I would have to rewatch the episode to be sure.