Looking for Advice on a List of Old Trek Books

[Christopher]

I wonder if those uniforms were suppose to be the mini-skirt uniforms that we saw both men and women wearing in Season 1 of TNG.

Kinda, but not quite. Here's editor Bob Greenberger's explanation in the letter column of issue 4 of the miniseries:

The Bickleys are of a race not yet revealed in the stories. Just as Worf modifies his uniform to represent his Klingon heritage, the Bickleys wear the capes as part of their culture. The uniform is also a modification of the coulottes many members of the crew wear.

That's right, the Bickleys weren't meant to be human, despite their name. Although I think the only indication of that aside from their costumes was a slightly reddish skin tone.

But what's with the super hero look?

It was designed by a comic-book artist. Not surprising that Marcos went with what he knew.

 

[JD]

Might there not be legal issues with that since the author has passed away?

From a purely legal standpoint, I don't think it would be an issue since Trek novels are work for hire and CBS owns everything in them. Now from a creative standpoint it would be a whole other issue....

 

[F. King Daniel]

Maybe they can do a bargin-basement ebook of unpublished Trek works that conflict with subsequent-to-writing canon and/or end in unresolved cliffhangers. Stick a disclaimer on the front, call it Lost Voyages or similar and I know I'd buy it.

 

[Tracy Trek]

I would also.

 

[Idran]

Maybe they can do a bargin-basement ebook of unpublished Trek works that conflict with subsequent-to-writing canon and/or end in unresolved cliffhangers. Stick a disclaimer on the front, call it Lost Voyages or similar and I know I'd buy it.

I remember Crispin's unpublished Zar book coming up in a thread not long ago too, and I think someone mentioned that even besides being part of a trilogy, it wasn't in a publishable state yet at the time she died and was only given to people in confidence to essentially beta read; that publishing it would actually be breaking that confidence and going against her wishes?

 

[Defcon]

I remember Crispin's unpublished Zar book coming up in a thread not long ago too, and I think someone mentioned that even besides being part of a trilogy, it wasn't in a publishable state yet at the time she died and was only given to people in confidence to essentially beta read; that publishing it would actually be breaking that confidence and going against her wishes?

Here's the thread @Idran means, I think:

http://www.trekbbs.com/threads/yesterdays-son-time-for-yesterday.282655

 

[Stevil2001]

It was designed by a comic-book artist. Not surprising that Marcos went with what he knew.

Yeah, there's also the Christmas special issue of that miniseries, where all the crew don civilian holiday outfits-- which are all skin-tight one pieces with lots of exposed skin.

I do have a fondness for the Bickleys, but only in the sense that one has a fondness for a creative choice so inexplicable it loops back around and becomes fascinating.

 

[Christopher]

I do have a fondness for the Bickleys, but only in the sense that one has a fondness for a creative choice so inexplicable it loops back around and becomes fascinating.

They were pretty much the polar opposite of Roddenberry's "no petty conflict" rule on TNG. (Which has often been read to mean "no conflict at all," but which I understand to mean that conflicts should be the meaningful kinds that reasonable, well-adjusted people have over difficult and complex issues, rather than the superficial, easily avoided conflicts that arise from characters being immature and dysfunctional.)

 

[Idran]

They were pretty much the polar opposite of Roddenberry's "no petty conflict" rule on TNG. (Which has often been read to mean "no conflict at all," but which I understand to mean that conflicts should be the meaningful kinds that reasonable, well-adjusted people have over difficult and complex issues, rather than the superficial, easily avoided conflicts that arise from characters being immature and dysfunctional.)

But didn't Frakes say that that rule was the source of some frustration as an actor in "The Icarus Factor" in terms of how he was directed? That potential conflict certainly was the result of some dysfunction in their relationship.

 

[Christopher]

But didn't Frakes say that that rule was the source of some frustration as an actor in "The Icarus Factor" in terms of how he was directed? That potential conflict certainly was the result of some dysfunction in their relationship.

Yes, that's the point -- there was resistance to doing that kind of conflict. Although I'm not quite clear what you're saying about Frakes's frustration.

 

[Idran]

Yes, that's the point -- there was resistance to doing that kind of conflict. Although I'm not quite clear what you're saying about Frakes's frustration.

If I remember right, he was frustrated because the director kept telling him that he should be playing it without resentment over Kyle leaving the family when Will's mom died, which makes no sense: either there is no dysfunction in relationships in the 24th century, in which case that shouldn't have happened in the first place, or there is, in which case he shouldn't have needed to play it staid.