McCoy between VI and Encounter At Farpoint

[Dinosauricon]

In VI he's on the verge of retirement, however in EAF he's an admiral. I suppose that, like Kirk, he sort of semi-retired for a while but eventually came back. It's kind of weird that in VI, a film that tried to link TOS to TNG, they didn't really address that.

I'm sure the novels/comics/games have an explanation, or conflicting explanations, for his return to starfleet. One of them, if I recall, has him involved in the Cardassiasn crisis which reopens the rift between Spock and Sarek (as mentioned in Unification).

 

[plynch]

In VI he's on the verge of retirement, however in EAF he's an admiral. I suppose that, like Kirk, he sort of semi-retired for a while but eventually came back. It's kind of weird that in VI, a film that tried to link TOS to TNG, they didn't really address that.

I'm sure the novels/comics/games have an explanation, or conflicting explanations, for his return to starfleet. One of them, if I recall, has him involved in the Cardassiasn crisis which reopens the rift between Spock and Sarek (as mentioned in Unification).

I can't see him being a company man enough to make Admiral. Esp since we know he quit before TMP.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

I think he was more like an honorary admiral. he held the rank but not the actual responsibilies. Although he probably could order simple Android lieutenant Commanders to shuttle him around as much as he wants anyway.

 

[Crusher Disciple]

Was he the head of Starfleet Medical for a time? Maybe it was something like that.

 

[Anticitizen]

In VI he's on the verge of retirement, however in EAF he's an admiral. I suppose that, like Kirk, he sort of semi-retired for a while but eventually came back. It's kind of weird that in VI, a film that tried to link TOS to TNG, they didn't really address that.

I'm sure the novels/comics/games have an explanation, or conflicting explanations, for his return to starfleet. One of them, if I recall, has him involved in the Cardassiasn crisis which reopens the rift between Spock and Sarek (as mentioned in Unification).

I can't see him being a company man enough to make Admiral. Esp since we know he quit before TMP.

Agreed; I'd imagine he'd be sitting in a rocking chair sipping on mint juleps not long after TUC.

 

[Timo]

If he managed to climb two rungs on the rank ladder after ST6, he'd hold the lowest flag rank. And in TNG era, a holder of that lowest rank apparently is addressed as "Admiral". So perhaps McCoy held on long enough to make Captain, then retired, and got the second promotion as a parting gift (many officers do). He could have been on retirement for more than half a century by the time of "Encounter at Farpoint", then.

His "inspection" in that TNG episode, conducted in apparent civvies, was probably just Picard's way of being kind to an old retiree. Although one does have to consider that the inspection was conducted at the most distant reaches of explored space... How could a retired, civilian McCoy end up at Farpoint Station, or on the Hood?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Anwar]

Of course, the possible plot inconsistencies are excusable in that it resulted in one of the most touching moments in all of Trek.

 

[Candlelight]

The same as how Scotty thought James Kirk had come to rescue him in 'Relics'.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I think it's entirely possible that McCoy could come back from retirement. He could serve the higher ranks (Captain, Admiral) at Starfleet Command, in relative safety. McCoy is one of those few characters who I could see working like that. If he could run Starfleet Medical, he would.

 

[USS Triumphant]

The same as how Scotty thought James Kirk had come to rescue him in 'Relics'.

Have you ever been stuck in a transporter buffer for 75 years, after going through a rough crash landing and seeing almost everyone else on the ship you're on get killed?

He might have been a wee bit disoriented.

 

[SFRabid]

Maybe he treated a high ranking official for a disease that was best kept private and got a promotion as payment.

 

[Anwar]

The same as how Scotty thought James Kirk had come to rescue him in 'Relics'.

Have you ever been stuck in a transporter buffer for 75 years, after going through a rough crash landing and seeing almost everyone else on the ship you're on get killed?

He might have been a wee bit disoriented.

Yeah, I mean "Generations" made it clear Scotty was there when Kirk "died" but that he was a pattern trapped in a transporter for all that time justifies that he wasn't all there when he first was reformed.

 

[EnsignRicky]

At some point he saved the earth, accepted the admiralcy, turned down the starship and spent the pay increase on a nice purple sweater.

 

[Red Ranger]

The same as how Scotty thought James Kirk had come to rescue him in 'Relics'.

Have you ever been stuck in a transporter buffer for 75 years, after going through a rough crash landing and seeing almost everyone else on the ship you're on get killed?

He might have been a wee bit disoriented.

Yeah, I mean "Generations" made it clear Scotty was there when Kirk "died" but that he was a pattern trapped in a transporter for all that time justifies that he wasn't all there when he first was reformed.

I seem to recall LaForge remarking there was a minor degradation in the pattern, which probably accounts for why Scotty didn't remember Kirk had been killed on the Enterprise-B.

Back on topic, if I remember right, in the modern military, senior medical officers on board ships can be of captain rank, so it's possible McCoy made captain and was still CMO aboard another starship, or reached that rank while posted at Starfleet Medical.

Then, he probably got offered a promotion to rear admiral and headed Starfleet Medical or was a CMO at a starbase, or taught medicine at Starfleet Academy. Then he retired and became dean of a prestigious medical school in Georgia. That's how I explained it to myself in my own "personal canon."

Red Ranger

 

[Shatmandu]

In VI he's on the verge of retirement, however in EAF he's an admiral. I suppose that, like Kirk, he sort of semi-retired for a while but eventually came back. It's kind of weird that in VI, a film that tried to link TOS to TNG, they didn't really address that.

It isn't addressed in VI because it isn't important in the slightest.

Joe, with priorities

 

[Timo]

I seem to recall LaForge remarking there was a minor degradation in the pattern, which probably accounts for why Scotty didn't remember Kirk had been killed on the Enterprise-B.

Also, death had never stopped Spock from coming to the rescue. Or even slowed him down much. Why should Scotty assume that Kirk would do worse?

...headed Starfleet Medical...

But that seems to be a job for line officers, of lowly Commander rank even, as per Bev Crusher's stint on TNG Season 2.

Probably "Starfleet Medical" is a hospital of some sort, perhaps "the" hospital on Earth (and possibly the very building prominently featured in VOY "Endgame"), whereas the Starfleet Medical Division is another matter altogether, is commonly known by some other abbreviation, and is headed by a flag officer.

Timo Saloniemi