Is T'Shanik the first Vulcan in TNG...?

[WAMTNG]

Given Roddenberry's insistence on no Vulcan stories, is T'Shanik in "Coming of Age" the first Vulcan to appear in TNG? Or just the first named Vulcan to appear? I ask, because I don't remember if there was (for instance) a random Vulcan seen at Starbase 74 in "11001001" or indeed somewhere similar to this. Any thoughts welcome!

 

[Tosk]

We see a Vulcan kid during the saucer sep evacuation in Encounter at Farpoint.

 

[Orphalesion]

We see a Vulcan kid during the saucer sep evacuation in Encounter at Farpoint.

And an adult Vulcan science officer too (probably his father) Said adult Vulcan shows up again later on in the episode (he's with that lady Riker asks for assistance in finding Data)

Though you really gotta wonder why there's an evacuation at all...what were all those civilians doing in the star drive section?
I once read that a similar scene in Generations was explained by the civilians being directed to emergency shelters within the ship due to the saucer's imminent crash landing.
Would the same be true about the scene in Farpoint? But why? Or are they just told to retreat from the outer layers of the saucer section (the ones that would be right next to the hull and have them sucked out into space in case they are damaged)?

 

[Mojochi]

I never got the aversion myself. Sure, you've explored the daylights out of the species on TOS, & therefore there's little else to mine for new unexplained aspects, especially without tripping all over Spock's established stuff, but regardless, they live in your universe, in a very dominant way. They'd be around, even if you didn't want to spotlight them

I feel the Andorians got it even worse. They just up & damn near disappear. It wasn't just Vulcans, it was everything TOS. Even seeing an Orion or Tellerite would've been neat.

We didn't need ALL new aliens, & in the end we didn't get many new ones regularly anyhow. A Betazoid, a Bajoran, some Cardassians & some Ferengi...& a lot of one-offs

Oh... & obviously the Borg, & thankfully an El-Aurian. I still think keeping the established ones around in your universe too makes it seem even more diverse.

 

[Orphalesion]

One thing I don't understand why they didn't employ more alien skin/hair colours in 90s Trek, like TOS had done.
The funny foreheads most of 90s Trek aliens had got old pretty quickly. Why not throw in a couple cyan skinned people with pink hair or some such.
Particularly in situations where the alien make-up was restricted by the perceived need to keep an actress pretty for the male heterosexual audience it would have been easy to just slater them in paint and/or give them a strangely coloured wig.
Like with Troi...if you already force contact lenses on Marina Sirtis.. Why not make them purple instead of boring black?

 

[Mojochi]

Well, I mean some blue Bolians & Benzites did show up on TNG. Ironically, The 1st couple seasons of TNG were a little bolder about alien makeup than 3-7

 

[Tosk]

It wasn't just Vulcans, it was everything TOS.

Except Klingons.
And Romulans.

 

[Mojochi]

But the Klingons were Neo-Klingons, very unlike TOS, & very in line with embracing the film franchise , & honestly how much Romulans were there before season 3? Like one episode, that went largely forgotten? They'd actually had more Vulcans shown in season 1 & 2, with T'Shanik & Selar

Season 3 loosened up a bit on the abandonment, with the return of Sarek, & featuring the Primitive Vulcan Mintakins, just as much as The Enemy & the Defector featured Romulans

 

[Takeru]

Though you really gotta wonder why there's an evacuation at all...what were all those civilians doing in the star drive section?
I once read that a similar scene in Generations was explained by the civilians being directed to emergency shelters within the ship due to the saucer's imminent crash landing.

They didn't plan to crash the saucer in Generations so that explanation is nonsense.
Both Farpoint and Generations did it to make it look more dramatic on screen and to reenforce the fact that there are civilians on the ship, that's all.

 

[WAMTNG]

& honestly how much Romulans were there before season 3? Like one episode, that went largely forgotten?

Don't forget Season 2's "Contagion". I love that episode!

 

[WAMTNG]

We see a Vulcan kid during the saucer sep evacuation in Encounter at Farpoint.

And an adult Vulcan science officer too (probably his father) Said adult Vulcan shows up again later on in the episode (he's with that lady Riker asks for assistance in finding Data)

Thanks Tosk and Orphalesion - I felt I had forgotten an earlier appearance but I just couldn't work out when it could be.... Appreciate the assist!

 

[Orphalesion]

They didn't plan to crash the saucer in Generations so that explanation is nonsense.

There's only a couple of civilians visible before the crash becomes imminent.
By the time we see LaForge lugging around those children, we see even more civilians running to-and-fro and Crusher transports the patients in sick bay to somewhere else the crash is already happening.
And even before, their warp core w as breaching, seems like the stuff that can mess up the Saucer section through debris and stuff.
So it's not as much nonsense as you declare it to be.

 

[Takeru]

There's only a couple of civilians visible before the crash becomes imminent.
By the time we see LaForge lugging around those children, we see even more civilians running to-and-fro and Crusher transports the patients in sick bay to somewhere else the crash is already happening.
And even before, their warp core w as breaching, seems like the stuff that can mess up the Saucer section through debris and stuff.
So it's not as much nonsense as you declare it to be.

No, it's nonsense. At no point do they talk about anyone going to emergency shelters, Riker just orders everyone to evacuate to the saucer. The director wanted lots of movement and dramatic scenes even if they didn't make a lot of sense, making up "emergency shelters" as a justification after the fact doesn't change that.

 

[Orphalesion]

No, it's nonsense. At no point do they talk about anyone going to emergency shelters, Riker just orders everyone to evacuate to the saucer. The director wanted lots of movement and dramatic scenes even if they didn't make a lot of sense, making up "emergency shelters" as a justification after the fact doesn't change that.

Whatever, those scenes I mentioned literally happen after the Saucer has been separated, blasted by the explosion of the star drive section, and while it is nose-diving towards the planet.
Plus them having safe rooms would account how they got away with the "light" causalities.

I get what you're saying that it wasn't mentioned in the movie, but from an in-universe perspective it fits.

 

[Mojochi]

Don't forget Season 2's "Contagion". I love that episode!

Shoot! I always forget about her, and she was so good they actually brought the actress back for Face of the Enemy

 

[F. King Daniel]

No, it's nonsense. At no point do they talk about anyone going to emergency shelters, Riker just orders everyone to evacuate to the saucer. The director wanted lots of movement and dramatic scenes even if they didn't make a lot of sense, making up "emergency shelters" as a justification after the fact doesn't change that.

They were on a school trip to the antimatter processing facility on deck 42.

Or something.

 

[Takeru]

Whatever, those scenes I mentioned literally happen after the Saucer has been separated, blasted by the explosion of the star drive section, and while it is nose-diving towards the planet.
Plus them having safe rooms would account how they got away with the "light" causalities.

I get what you're saying that it wasn't mentioned in the movie, but from an in-universe perspective it fits.

Wouldn't sickbay be a safe room? In an emergency it's one of the most important places on the ship and should be one of the most secure but they drag everyone out and shove them into crew quarters or whatever away from all medical equipment ... makes no sense.
Like I said before, they most likely wanted motion and action on the ship so they had people running from A to B even if it didn't make a lot of sense

 

[WAMTNG]

Shoot! I always forget about her, and she was so good they actually brought the actress back for Face of the Enemy

Aye, the most excellent Carolyn Seymour! Two Romulan roles, but she is effectively the starring role in "First Contact" (the episode not the movie!) which is probably her biggest Trek moment. But she'll always be a Romulan in my heart.

 

[Mojochi]

Aye, the most excellent Carolyn Seymour! Two Romulan roles, but she is effectively the starring role in "First Contact" (the episode not the movie!) which is probably her biggest Trek moment. But she'll always be a Romulan in my heart.

I honestly think her role in Face of The Enemy is probably just as significant as First Contact (Which I'd actually forgotten was her), & for me, a bit more memorable, in that it wasn't just an alien of the week, & the stakes were higher, which is something she seems very well suited to, playing tension.

 

[WAMTNG]

I honestly think her role in Face of The Enemy is probably just as significant as First Contact (Which I'd actually forgotten was her), & for me, a bit more memorable, in that it wasn't just an alien of the week, & the stakes were higher, which is something she seems very well suited to, playing tension.

Aye, I agree with what you're saying - my point was more general (and perhaps less interesting). "Face of the Enemy" is a Troi story, in which Seymour plays an outstanding supporting character. In "First Contact", Seymour is effectively (and arguably) the lead character in the story - which since she isn't part of the core cast, is quite a significant event in Trek history.