M'ress appreciation thread

[KeepOnTrekking]

Caitian = Kay-shan

Although never mentioned in the animated series, it was pronounced that way in Power Records' "Passage to Moauv" book-and-record set.

 

[Therin of Andor]

More modern Caitian in uniform (art):

Actually, we've also had M'Ress in that uniform, too. Peter David time jumped both Arex and M'Ress into his 24th century "New Frontier" novels (starting with "Gateways: Cold Wars"), and so they appeared in the IDW comic mini-series, "New Frontier: Turnabout", serving on the USS Trident:


Mress and Arex in New Frontier comic by Therin of Andor, on Flickr

it was pronounced that way in Power Records' "Passage to Moauv" book-and-record set.

Passage to Moauv by Therin of Andor, on Flickr

Where M'Ress had to be redrawn because the ownership of her image was in a state of flux.

 

[Kemaiku]

I've read a few of the New Frontier novels and M'ress' participation in the series, but I hadn't looked to see any art of her in the series, I'm more used to her in the TOS/TMP era uniforms.

 

[Moodib]

Who wants her and Arrex in a movie?

 

[Forbin]

My poor diseased mind is working on the fact that cats have what, six nipples?

 

[Redfern]

I sure you posted that for comic effect, but for a lil' mental exercise, let's consider it a bit seriously for a moment.

Terran felines, yes, have multiple pairs, but to paraphrase what Ptrope has repeatedly stated on the subject, just because Caitians may share some physical attributes with earthbound cats doesn't mean they have all those same features. Obviously, there are some differences. Housecats, or even lions for that matter, don't normally stand upon their hind legs (for any length of time), operate computer "switchboards", or talk. So why must we assume M'Ress has 3 or 4 pairs of mammary glands? Her ooficial model sheet (used as the basis for her pointing pose in "The Practical Joker") suggests she has a bustline comparable to that of human females, just a bit more subtle compared to the animated Uhura. True, that doesn't really prove anything. M'ress could be flat as an anorexic runway model and what we are seeing is merely her uniform being filled out by a thick and fluffy pectoral "tuft" of fur. In that case, she could have multiple pairs, and they enlarge only when she has cubs. Really, it's anybody's call.

But multiple pairs are not really my thing (though I'm aware some people go for that and who am I to judge?), so in my mind, M'ress leans a bit more towards the human norm' in that regard.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Kemaiku]

She has humanoid breasts, the typical arrangements of two, so if she did have more I'd say it would be an evolutionary holdover. Two breasts with funtional ones as per Humans, with four hidden under the fur that are like the rare Human third, looks more like an isolated mole, than anything else, and wouldn't be visible or noticeable at all.

 

[Redfern]

I'm sure we're "weirding out" moderator T'Bonz something fierce. I remember a thread a year or so ago that discussed M'Ress and the poor woman (?) reached her "squick" levels in short order.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Kemaiku]

I don't tend to get this technical myself anyway but its an interesting thought.

Anyway, M'ress in a rebooted universe would be a good way of representing the Caitain race and finally allow us to find out more about them, to see if the "scratch" language the TAS writers came up with is real or can work.

 

[Redfern]

The "scratch" language? I'm guessing it's an alphabet inspired by the scratches a feline makes with its claws. Sounds interesting, but I have to wonder, did the writers for TAS really go this far with the character or her species? I'm not refuting the notion, but this is the first I've ever heard of it. I thought the only thing worked out was the brief "bio" sold through Lincoln Enterprises which I suspect came well after the conclusion of the animated series.

When you think about it, the only thing we can determine from "on screen" evidence is that M'Ress is an organic lifeform since nitrous oxide and Mudd's "love crystals" affected her similarly to the way the chemicals affected humans. Really for all we know, she could have been a genetically "uplifted" lifeform (a "Moreau"), a human into extreme body modifications, or a "victim" of a bizarre transporter accident.

I just figured she and Arex were little more than "walk-on" characters taking advantage of the animated medium to drive home the idea "these humans are in really deep space working alongside aliens". Basically, the initial reason for Spock's creation, but taken to the next level. But given the expected number of episodes they'd get to make (this was years before the advent of weekday aired cartoons comprised of 65 episodes) and the short running time (22 minutes without commercials), I just assumed the creators would not have bothered to create detailed histories for "cameo" aliens.

Though I'd love to be proven wrong (I mean that earnestly without sarcasm). Can you elaborate?

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Kemaiku]

Well the Caitains are only fleshed out in TAS and Star Trek IV, them being a species and on the Federation Council in the 2280's is all we really know.

But they've seen a lot of mentions and building up in the books, some good characters and storylines that could easily be incorperated into future stories.

The language, I don't know when it was made, but it was part of some background material during the TAS days, an alphabet that looked like old Earth Cuniform, systematic scratches in groups representing letters and words.

 

[T'Bonz]

I'm sure we're "weirding out" moderator T'Bonz something fierce. I remember a thread a year or so ago that discussed M'Ress and the poor woman (?) reached her "squick" levels in short order.

Sincerely,

Bill

One of the few downsides of moderating this forum is reading threads like this.

I'll live. But ewww.

 

[Redfern]

Pray you never stumble across a "furry" chan board. Before you had finished the first page, it would leave you quivering in a dark corner, gibbering in utter madness as though you had looked the abyss inhabited by Lovecraftian horrors.

Me? I'd probably just roll my eyes and mutter, "Yeah, yeah, another 'rule 34' of Krystal from StarFox Adventures. Anything new?"

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Kemaiku]

Furries? Where?

 

[T'Bonz]

Pray you never stumble across a "furry" chan board.

Oh, I've run across quite a few things online that were weird, to say the least.

I've never got the "furry" love. Then again, learning about people getting turned on by uh, "elimination" was a real eye-opener.

Some people are just fucking weird. And I'm no longer naive.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Well the Caitains are only fleshed out in TAS and Star Trek IV, them being a species and on the Federation Council in the 2280's is all we really know.

But they've seen a lot of mentions and building up in the books, some good characters and storylines that could easily be incorperated into future stories.

The language, I don't know when it was made, but it was part of some background material during the TAS days, an alphabet that looked like old Earth Cuniform, systematic scratches in groups representing letters and words.

That's Kzinti script - originating from Larry Niven's Known Space book universe, where the "The Slaver Weapon" (adapted from the short story The Soft Weapon) and the Kzinti were borrowed from. In Alan Dean Foster's expanded novelizations of the TAS episodes, Star Trek Logs, the Kzinti and Caitians are distantly related, not unlike the Vulcans and Romulans.

 

[Kemaiku]

Oh, oh well

 

[Redfern]

Yeah, Daniel; that sounds more reasonable.

BTW, though I enjoyed most of the tidbits Foster gave us for M'Ress and the Caitians in his ...Log novels, I was not too keen on his suggesting a common ancestry between the Caitians and Kzinti. That lil' flashback could have worked equally well without any mention of a "link". I mean, Kirk wasn't related to the Romulans, yet he passed himself off as one well enough to go unnoticed by a few random personnel.

Heh, heh, you do realize M'Ress had to shave her tail to pull off that stunt.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Kemaiku]

Since Caitian tails are prehensile that must have felt weird, like having long hair then shaving your head.

 

[Redfern]

Are Caitian tails prehensile? I remember prehensile tails were a plot development in the early Pocket Books Trek novel "Uhura's Song", but neither of the two felinoid species depicted in that story were identified as Caitian. Rather, when pronounced, they suggested a caterwailing tone.

Sincerely,

Bill