Lanthanites. Canon, speculation, questions, wishful thinking.

[Discovery McDiscoveryFace]

Plonking this here as with SFA launching, we now have two Lanthanites in canon.

I mean - what do we know. Has it been clarified if they are aliens who arrived on Earth millenia ago, or a subset of homo sapiens, or somewhere between these.

Uhurua mentions "the accent" on SNW - will that be retconned out now that Holly Hunter is using her southern drawl?

Wishful thinking - I think it would be rather cool if it transpires that only the female Lanthanites are long-lived, and the men live a lifespan approximate to humans of their era.

Random thoughts, would like to hear yours.....

 

[NCC-73515]

I'd like to know if Flint was one, and why they didn't simply keep using El-Aurians

 

[Christopher]

Plonking this here as with SFA launching, we now have two Lanthanites in canon.

I mean - what do we know. Has it been clarified if they are aliens who arrived on Earth millenia ago, or a subset of homo sapiens, or somewhere between these.

Captain Ake is reportedly half-Lanthanite, and implicitly half-human, so I guess that means they're aliens.

Uhurua mentions "the accent" on SNW - will that be retconned out now that Holly Hunter is using her southern drawl?

It makes little sense that a subculture hidden among Earth's population for millennia would have only a single accent among them. Uhura may have been referring to Pelia's accent being a hodgepodge of different influences over the eras. And since Ake is only half-Lanthanite, her accent could come from her (presumably) human parent.

I'd like to know if Flint was one, and why they didn't simply keep using El-Aurians

I wondered about Flint, but since Lanthanites are common knowledge a decade before TOS, McCoy would've just said "he's a Lanthanite" when he explained he was immortal. Indeed, that's my whole problem with the Lanthanite concept -- it undermines the premise that Flint's immortality was unique, and particularly that he despaired of ever finding an immortal companion to ease his loneliness. You'd think that in 6000 years, he would've run across a Lanthanite or two.

El-Aurians are from somewhere near or in the Delta Quadrant, and aside from the odd intrepid wanderer like Guinan, most of them didn't reach the Alpha Quadrant until 2293 when the Enterprise-B rescued their refugee ships (well, one of them) in Generations. Besides, while El-Aurians can live for centuries, I don't think they're supposed to be nigh-immortal. Holly Hunter said in an interview that full Lanthanites might be immortal, while a hybrid like Ake migh live 3000 years. Although she says Ake is only 422 years old, which is a relief, since I was afraid they'd have her constantly referencing experiences from the ENT/TOS/TNG eras. Instead, they can use her life story as an opportunity to fill in the unchronicled centuries before DSC/SFA, and build new continuity rather than just referencing the old. (And they already have Reno and the Doctor to cover the TOS/TNG-era references.)

 

[Discovery McDiscoveryFace]

Captain Ake is reportedly half-Lanthanite, and implicitly half-human, so I guess that means they're aliens.

As an aside to this, I notice that in Trek to date we only seen 50:50 hybridisation of most species from what I can tell. The only time we see an F2 scenario is when Klingons are involved. I can't think of any others.

 

[Discovery McDiscoveryFace]

It makes little sense that a subculture hidden among Earth's population for millennia would have only a single accent among them. Uhura may have been referring to Pelia's accent being a hodgepodge of different influences over the eras. And since Ake is only half-Lanthanite, her accent could come from her (presumably) human parent.

I think she says something like "I recognise that accent - you're Lanthanite" or similar.

 

[Christopher]

As an aside to this, I notice that in Trek to date we only seen 50:50 hybridisation of most species from what I can tell. The only time we see an F2 scenario is when Klingons are involved. I can't think of any others.

I had to look up "F2 hybrid." Apparently it's a term from botany referring to the second-generation offspring of F1 hybrid plants. I think to apply to humanoids, it would have to be a case where both parents were the same half-and-half mix, e.g. two Vulcan-human hybrids. That doesn't seem like it would happen very often.

I guess by "when Klingons are involved," you're referring to Alexander Rozhenko (3/4 Klingon and 1/4 human) and Miral Paris (vice-versa). As for non-Klingon examples, we've seen several characters who were 3/4 human and 1/4 Betazoid: Devinoni Ral from TNG: "The Price," Walter Pierce from TNG: "Eye of the Beholder," and Thaddeus and Kestra Troi-Riker from Picard. Neelix and his sister Alixia were 7/8 Talaxian and 1/8 Mylean. Simon Tarses from TNG: "The Drumhead" was 3/4 human and 1/4 Romulan. President Laira Rillak in Discovery was a mix of human, Bajoran, and Cardassian, with her human ancestry being several generations back. And we saw other instances in alternate futures like DS9: "Children of Time" and ENT: "E^2." Several far-future temporal agents in ENT were multispecies hybrids, and DSC and SFA are following suit in showing a lot of hybridization in the 32nd century.

I think she says something like "I recognise that accent - you're Lanthanite" or similar.

Actually it was "That's the accent. You're Lanthanite." Uhura was struggling to place it, which is why I'm thinking it's not a single definitive accent but more a type of accent. She could've been speaking imprecisely.

 

[The Wormhole]

Uhurua mentions "the accent" on SNW - will that be retconned out now that Holly Hunter is using her southern drawl?

As mentioned, Holly Hunter's character is only supposed to be half-Lanthanite, which I guess is how they're going to explain the accent. Yes, I know, that's not how accents work. Except in Star Trek, it apparently is. Well, fiction in general anyway. After all, a majority of Clonetroopers in Star Wars never even met Jango Fett, yet they all have his New Zealand accent.

 

[Tosk]

Flashbacks to Deanna's accent that was assumed to be Betazoid until it quickly wasn't.

I wouldn't even bother to address the accent. Uhura couldn't place it until she found out that Pelia was really old, so whatever it is that she vaguely recognized it doesn't have to be something we viewers can identify.

 

[The Wormhole]

Flashbacks to Deanna's accent that was assumed to be Betazoid until it quickly wasn't.

After Lwaxana was introduced, everyone said the accent came from Deanna's father. Then her father didn't have one either.

 

[Set Harth]

After all, a majority of Clonetroopers in Star Wars never even met Jango Fett, yet they all have his New Zealand accent.

iirc that was supposed to be semi-explained by flash training the clones received (and possibly the use of trainers with the same accent?)

 

[Christopher]

Yes, I know, that's not how accents work. Except in Star Trek, it apparently is.

Not necessarily. Spock has an American accent (Boston-tinged for Nimoy's Spock), but Sarek has either a mid-Atlantic accent (Lenard), an English accent (Cross), or an American accent (Frain, even though he's actually English). Then there's T'Pau, who had an American accent in the 22nd century (Zediker) and a thick Austrian accent in the 23rd (Lovsky). (I tend to assume that in Enterprise, T'Pau was speaking Vulcan and we heard it translated into American-accented English, but in "Amok Time" she was speaking English with a Vulcan regional accent that happened to sound Austrian.)

 

[Ronald Held]

Is it to much SUS to have Ake be an offspring of Pella?

 

[Discovery McDiscoveryFace]

Is it to much SUS to have Ake be an offspring of Pella?

Which raises a whole other question. Descendant? - maybe. Offspring? that needs a dive into whether Lanthanites ever hit menopause, if they're near-immortal, then when would it kick in??? Or maybe (like cats) they are forever fertile, which raises the prospect of a Pelia labour scene to come in SNW.

Well look, I brought us back onto topic!

 

[Verteron]

As an aside to this, I notice that in Trek to date we only seen 50:50 hybridisation of most species from what I can tell. The only time we see an F2 scenario is when Klingons are involved. I can't think of any others.

Aside from the Klingon second generation hybrids, we saw at least three Human/Betazoid second generation Hybrids, Kestra Troi-Riker, Walter Pierce and Devinoni Ral, all of whom were ¾ Human, ¼ Betazoid.

In an unrealised future we also saw Andrew Kim (¾ Human, ¼ Ocampa).