John M. Ford - The Final Reflection

[Wingsley]

Who was John M. Ford?

When I read the pre-TOS Ford novel "The Final Reflection" in 1984, I was very puzzled. Over the years, I wondered if Ford was a pen name for a known TREK author, such as David Gerrold.

I was baffled to eventually learn that, unlike many writers for the various TREK TV shows and movies, Ford was an actual literary sci fi author. Did Ford have a presence at TREK or other sci fi conventions or anything like that? He seemed to have an intimate grasp of both TOS and the literary works of the 1980's, including the gaming genre.

 

[AJBryant]

No, John Ford was just a really cool guy. He passed away a few years ago, much to the sadness of those who loved him and his work.

The Final Reflection is my favorite Trek novel.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Who was John M. Ford?
I wondered if Ford was a pen name for a known TREK author, such as David Gerrold.

No, but John M Ford himself used the pseudonym (of Michael J Dodge to write the choose-your-own-adventure book, "Which Way?: Star Trek: Voyage to Adventure"). He was also known as Milo Dennison.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._Ford

Did Ford have a presence at TREK or other sci fi conventions or anything like that?

Yep. He attended a Syncon SF convention in Sydney, Australia, and a group of local ST fans attended just to hear him talk about "The Final Reflection" and "How Much for Just the Planet?", and how he intended for the tunes for each song in the latter to be listed in the book, but Paramount (or Pocket) didn't want him to. He also signed our copies of hi novels and talked hilariously about the inadequacies he kept finding in "The Klingon Dictionary" because some very important terms just wouldn't be there when he'd go researching.

He was a very friendly guy, and thrilled that both of his ST books - so different to each other - were beloved by many ST fans.

 

[Wingsley]

Silly question, but I can't help wondering why he never wrote any screenplays, teleplays or novels for any of the subsequent TREKs...

 

[Therin of Andor]

Silly question, but I can't help wondering why he never wrote any screenplays, teleplays or novels for any of the subsequent TREKs...

Wikipedia mentions how he hated repeating himself, hence his two Klingon-heavy ST novels are "Worlds Apart" (the sub-series title they were given when they went into reprint). And just because someone's a highly respected novelist or RPG writer doesn't mean they enjoy the unique and demanding format of the screenplay.

 

[F. King Daniel]

The Final Reflection was utterly awesome. One of the best Star Trek novels ever. IMO, Ford's Klingons are far more interesting than those found in TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT. I'd love the nuKlingons to use Ford's template, rather than being honour-obsessed Hulk wannabes.

TFR also gave us the Klingon f-word, "khest!"

Btw, shouldn't this be in the Treklit forum?

 

[milo bloom]

The Klingons of Ford's novels are a rich, multi-layered people that have yet to be matched by any onscreen depiction. I still hold out some hope that that particular part of their culture is still lurking just offscreen, waiting for the right screenwriter to bring them to life.

 

[Wingsley]

Well, this thread isn't strictly about Ford's books, but about Ford himself and his relationship with STAR TREK.

I was curious to see if anyone either knew why he did not write a TREK movie or TNG/DS9/ENT ep, or, if he did write one under a pseudonym that was not listed on Wikipedia. It seems Ford never penned any screen/teleplays. Too bad he apparently never did and did not talk about it.

There was a time in the 1980's and '90's when the free flow of internet-based information we now take for granted simply was not there. For years, I was puzzled by such an excellent author suddenly popping into the genre, writing a couple of books, and then vanishing. The notion of Ford hating to "repeat himself" is interesting, and seems to finally explain what happened (or didn't happen).

 

[Captain Robert April]

Is there any way to get the tunes for "How Much For Just The Planet?"?

 

[Dukhat]

To Ron D. Moore's credit, he did use "The Final Reflection" as the basis for the rebooted Klingons in TNG, which is why the concept of honor is so prevalent when before in TOS and the films the Klingons were just cardboard Snidely Whiplash-style villains. However, other than the concept of honor, there's very little else that they have in common with Ford's depiction of them.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I liked TFR but I had a hard time following the rules of the game the Klingons were playing.

 

[T'Girl]

I had a hard time following the rules of the game the Klingons were playing.

Try this:

http://www.tasigh.org/takzh/

 

[Christopher]

To Ron D. Moore's credit, he did use "The Final Reflection" as the basis for the rebooted Klingons in TNG, which is why the concept of honor is so prevalent when before in TOS and the films the Klingons were just cardboard Snidely Whiplash-style villains.

Err, no. The idea of Klingons as an honor-driven race was established in the first two seasons of TNG, particularly "Heart of Glory" and "A Matter of Honor," and Moore didn't begin writing for TNG until the third season. Making the Klingons honorable was a decision made by TNG's developers in order to justify their presentation as "good guys" and Federation allies in the 24th century. Moore just took what his predecessors had established about the Klingons and ran with it.

 

[Dukhat]

To Ron D. Moore's credit, he did use "The Final Reflection" as the basis for the rebooted Klingons in TNG, which is why the concept of honor is so prevalent when before in TOS and the films the Klingons were just cardboard Snidely Whiplash-style villains.

Err, no. The idea of Klingons as an honor-driven race was established in the first two seasons of TNG, particularly "Heart of Glory" and "A Matter of Honor," and Moore didn't begin writing for TNG until the third season. Making the Klingons honorable was a decision made by TNG's developers in order to justify their presentation as "good guys" and Federation allies in the 24th century. Moore just took what his predecessors had established about the Klingons and ran with it.

Sorry, but I'm pretty sure I read an interview where Moore stated being influenced by the book. Keep in mind that the whole Klingon society thing (and Worf's place in it), didn't really take off until season three, so maybe that's what he was talking about.

 

[Christopher]

I'm not disputing whether Moore was influenced by Ford. I'm saying it's incorrect to say that's the reason why TNG's Klingons were honor-driven, because that was established well before Moore began writing for TNG.

 

[Captain Robert April]

Didn't Kruge say something along the lines of "You will be remembered with honor," just before he blew up Valkris' ship in TSFS?

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Didn't Kruge say something along the lines of "You will be remembered with honor," just before he blew up Valkris' ship in TSFS?

Yep!

I think it's important to note, though, that STIII's Klingons started out as Romulans, who were much more concerned with honor in TOS.

 

[Therin of Andor]

It seems Ford never penned any screen/teleplays. Too bad he apparently never did and did not talk about it.

As I said earlier, just because someone's a highly respected novelist or RPG writer doesn't mean they enjoy the unique and demanding format of the screenplay.

Ford is on record as not liking to repeat himself, and even if he had once decided to write for TNG or DS9, those shows did not portray Klingons the same way as his novels (his Klingons have very short life spans, which is partly why they are so feisty, and they interbreed Vulcan/Klingon and human/Klingon lower slave classes), so it's not as if he could have used much of his back-histories in the shows. DS9 even reintroduced three revered elderly Klingon captains from TOS. "The Final Reflection" suggests that their appearances in TOS would have been towards the end of their lives, and that revered Klingons are supposed to die in battle in their prime.

Wikipedia also mentions that Ford wasn't particularly well. Towards the end of his life he refused the opportunity to be interviewed for "Voyages of Imagination", an officially licensed book about Star Trek novels; at the time the public wasn't aware of his illness.

 

[ghoyle1]

Pardon the late entry here, but Ford's version of the Klingons also appeared in the FASA Star trek RPG at about the same time as they did in the novels.

 

[Christopher]

^Yes, because Ford worked on the FASA games.