I cared a lot which is why I needed cat head canon. To be happy.
Into Darkness: Why not use "real" Caitians?
- Thread starter Phantom
- Start date
So did Kirk, apparently.
That was still more than what they did for ID, where they were basically standard humans with a little bit of ear appliance and a CG tail.
It may have only been for a few on-screen seconds, but it would have made a point (in a subtle, non "in your face" way), and Abrams spent at least as much on background aliens for several scenes in both films.
Is it that big of a deal? No. But, like I said, it was a bit of a lost opportunity to do just a drop of commentary that would have also added a neat moment for Prime fans to enjoy.
ETA : doing it the way they did was cynical and manipulative on the part of the filmmakers. They get to name drop in the promotional materials, but they don't have to give it the full, respectful treatment that would have been a true nod to Prime continuity.
It does do one thing though, it firmly establishes that this is NOT a "split timeline" as originally claimed, because the Caitians are physiologically different. It's a near parallel timeline with close history parallels.
I still don't know what point it would've made? The Star Trek universe is okay with sex with people that look like cats but still don't want gay people around?
It does nothing of the kind, unless you can tell me where they were named as Caitians in the actual film?
^ And even if they had been named as such, let's remember what teacake just said. There can be variations in the species.
No, it doesn't. Because there is nothing in the actual film to establish them as Caitians. Yes, there have been comments from people behind the scenes that they were meant to be Caitians, but if it isn't in the final cut of the film, then it doesn't count. As far as we know canonically, they're just unidentified tailed humanoids.
(For that matter, we don't even know canonically that there is a species called Caitians. The name has never been spoken aloud in any Trek production. It comes exclusively from behind-the-scenes and tie-in materials.)
And as I said, it's simplistic to assume that a given demonym can only apply to a single species. Someone could be Caitian by nationality rather than by species. Or "Caitian" could be a blanket term for more than one related species, more a genus designation like "hominid." Even if the various species called Caitians behind the scenes had been officially referred to that way onscreen, it would still be possible to explain it. But they haven't, so we don't have to bother.
Last edited:
It's whatever the studio says it is - not that the explanation for the reboot matters one whit.
The writers confirmed that they were indeed Caitians (or at least that universe's version thereof.
Try applying that logic to the TOS/TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT continuity and let me know how well it holds up
(First up, the Trill)
One, it is only canon if it appears on screen. That has always been the rule regarding Star Trek. Two, the Caitian name has never been used on screen. So there is no evidence that M'Ress from the animated series was Caitian.
It's nice when writers and fans try to fill in the blanks. But if it doesn't make it to the screen, no one is obligated to follow it.
When I saw the tails, I thought, "Oh, OK. That's interesting," and kind of grinned. I think that's all that was intended. Leave it to us fans to dissect the more or less meaningless moment six ways to Tuesday.
They could've been only partly Caitian, too. Maybe one is half or more human and the other is partly another alien species (after all, the two women are not identical, the face and neck of one is very different than the face and neck of the other).
As far as them not looking "right" goes, and therefore establishing this as a parallel timeline, not a split one, I'd submit that no one in the movie looks "right" compared to how they looked in TOS.
I mean, hey, if they don't even take the trouble to have Pine wear the "right" colored contact lenses to be Kirk (so, Kirk has blue eyes, now?), then why should they bother to create an "authentic" Caitian?
They could've been only partly Caitian, too. Maybe one is half or more human and the other is partly another alien species (after all, the two women are not identical, the face and neck of one is very different than the face and neck of the other).
As far as them not looking "right" goes, and therefore establishing this as a parallel timeline, not a split one, I'd submit that no one in the movie looks "right" compared to how they looked in TOS.
I mean, hey, if they don't even take the trouble to have Pine wear the "right" colored contact lenses to be Kirk (so, Kirk has blue eyes, now?), then why should they bother to create an "authentic" Caitian?
Caitian is a silly name anyway. Like sexy women from Venus or Doglike aliens from Canis Major.
Or they could've been completely human. With the tail and stuff being integrated fashion accessories.
It is something vague that another creator could run with somewhere down the road.
Or they could've been completely human. With the tail and stuff being integrated fashion accessories.
It is something vague that another creator could run with somewhere down the road.
And they'd look back on it twenty years later and say, "Can you believe we actually wore those?" Madison Avenue, alive and well in the 23rd century.Or, they could've been Kirk's. "Here, put these on." That's probably going far enough on that one.
Their system is meant to be named for a real star though, I'll have to break out the Starcharts book and see where they lumped it in, think it's near the Cardassian border.
Oh...maybe Kirk was getting some action and a cheap booze deal at the same time. They serve Cardassian drinks on Earth in this timeline.
No. 15 Lyncis is a real star, but "Cait" is an imaginary name for it, coined in the M'Ress biography that was sold by Lincoln Enterprises. The only other designations it has are various catalog numbers.
Didn't read all the posts...so, that said:
I thought it would be funny if, during the scene, instead of Beastie Boys being blasted from the phonograph, we heard this: (likely by CD, since I doubt the song was on vinyl)
You an' me, baby, ain't nothin' but mammals. So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel!
That would have had me rolling on the floor laughing.
I thought it would be funny if, during the scene, instead of Beastie Boys being blasted from the phonograph, we heard this: (likely by CD, since I doubt the song was on vinyl)
You an' me, baby, ain't nothin' but mammals. So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel!
That would have had me rolling on the floor laughing.
Last edited:
It's placed in the 15 Lyncis system in the constellation Lynx. So it just gets worse!
Iloja was a bartender as well as a poet.
Lynx! that was it. Haven't got the book to hand to check where it is but I generally know where.
Well yes maybe there are a lot of different sub-species and the sisters were siamese-cat-twins. (What next, a chameleon Gorn?)
Similar threads
