Unless it's Q.
Pilot Episode Cameo
- Thread starter Shane Cathcart
- Start date
Unless it's Q.
Why would they include T'Pol? To remind people of the "popular" Enterprise?
Hopefully there won't be a cameo, there's no reason to have one. TNG did it because it was a nice surprise, DS9 did it because it was spun off from TNG which had introduced the Bajorans and Ro specifically to be used on DS9 and because O'Brien transferred over. Similarly Voyager did it because the Maquis plot was set up on both TNG and DS9 and it had been established that the Maquis was active relatively close to DS9 so it made sense that they'd stop there on the way.
Enterprise did it because the others did it and it was almost expected at that point, it shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't happen in Discovery either, we already know Sarek will appear, the connection is there by having an actual character from TOS on the show. There's nothing T'Pol could do that Sarek couldn't, they even have similar backstories, relationships with humans, hybrid babies ...
Hopefully there won't be a cameo, there's no reason to have one. TNG did it because it was a nice surprise, DS9 did it because it was spun off from TNG which had introduced the Bajorans and Ro specifically to be used on DS9 and because O'Brien transferred over. Similarly Voyager did it because the Maquis plot was set up on both TNG and DS9 and it had been established that the Maquis was active relatively close to DS9 so it made sense that they'd stop there on the way.
Enterprise did it because the others did it and it was almost expected at that point, it shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't happen in Discovery either, we already know Sarek will appear, the connection is there by having an actual character from TOS on the show. There's nothing T'Pol could do that Sarek couldn't, they even have similar backstories, relationships with humans, hybrid babies ...
As others have said T'Pol is a great choice, not only because it's logical (pun not intended) We could time to time know what happened with Archer and his crew from her.
Example:
T'Pol is with some officer and she is frustrated:
"Even in the end when Captain Archer was suffering from Alzheimers, he could have outsmarted you"
Etc etc
Example:
T'Pol is with some officer and she is frustrated:
"Even in the end when Captain Archer was suffering from Alzheimers, he could have outsmarted you"
Etc etc
Said it before and I'll say it again, if T'Pol DOESN'T show up at some point, it's an opportunity missed. And Blalock must play her, not anyone else. Jesus, just the idea of seeing one of the ENT characters so many years after their adventures brings a tear to my eye, and T'Pol also makes more sense than any other main character from the other Trek shows.
As for Archer, current onscreen canon states he died the day that the 1701 launched, no? Or the day after? The writers claimed it wasn't meant to have been canon, but the fact is the cameras picked up what was written in his bio in In A Mirror, Darkly so it's canon until contradicted on air. So an Archer alive and well can't show up, but some sort of recording of him would be great. Would also cement his legacy in the Trekverse, which would make this ENT fan a very happy man.
That said, I've been a bit spoilt by the love that ENT has received across the three Kelvin movies mind
As for Archer, current onscreen canon states he died the day that the 1701 launched, no? Or the day after? The writers claimed it wasn't meant to have been canon, but the fact is the cameras picked up what was written in his bio in In A Mirror, Darkly so it's canon until contradicted on air. So an Archer alive and well can't show up, but some sort of recording of him would be great. Would also cement his legacy in the Trekverse, which would make this ENT fan a very happy man.
That said, I've been a bit spoilt by the love that ENT has received across the three Kelvin movies mind
I could be wrong, but I don't think that Archer death date and detail is onscreen. It's the second page of the database entry Hoshi taunts him with, and only the first appears and is legible. We're only aware of it, thanks to Mike Sussman once uploading the graphics to his website.
Anyway things change. Scotty turns up on TNG and his first reaction after being rematerialized, is to wonder if Kirk had pulled the Enterprise out of mothballs to come look for him. So at one point Kirk was alive before Scotty disappeared. A few years later, Generations shows Scotty and Chekov present on a mission where he gets killed.
Anyway things change. Scotty turns up on TNG and his first reaction after being rematerialized, is to wonder if Kirk had pulled the Enterprise out of mothballs to come look for him. So at one point Kirk was alive before Scotty disappeared. A few years later, Generations shows Scotty and Chekov present on a mission where he gets killed.
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I thought the details were taken from screen grabs people got? Wasn't Sussman the one saying it wasn't meant to be cannon, just a bit of fun?
Ah either way, it lives as part of my continuity until told otherwise onscreen
Agree with @Blooded that it makes the most sense for T'Pol to be the cameo. I hope the debacle of TATV and the way that ENT ended prematurely, hasn't soured Jolene Blalock on the possibility of reprising the role.
Well to be fair, Scotty's appearance on TNG was written well before Generations ever existed as a film.
Well to be fair, Scotty's appearance on TNG was written well before Generations ever existed as a film.
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And let's be honest here: the practical reason for doing this sort of thing is to use the current show to help promote the latest spin-off. You're trying to entice TNG fans to check out DS9, and using DS9 characters to promote VOYAGER, and so on.
But that doesn't really apply in this case since ENTERPRISE hasn't been a going concern for more than a decade. Is a cameo from a ENT cast member really going to attract a significant number of new viewers?
Granted, there was a big gap between TOS and TNG, but that was a very different situation. The TOS movies were still a going concern in 1987. Plus, that was the very first attempt to spin off a new series from TOS, so it made sense to try to symbolically pass the torch, to win over skeptical fans for whom STAR TREK had always meant Kirk and Co. up until then.
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They didn't have to get Zephram Cockran to cameo on ENT years after First Contact. It's become tradition. Instead of asking "Why?" I say "Why not?". As long as it feels natural, I say go for it.
Oh, it would probably do no harm. Just pointing out that it's hardly an immutable law, and that this "tradition" only really applies to one particular generation of STAR TREK shows, produced by a largely different creative team. It's not set in stone.
"Tradition" alone is not all that compelling a reason.
"Tradition" alone is not all that compelling a reason.
As long as the Klingons are going to like Reman-Armadillos, maybe it could use a bit of tradition
As long as the Klingons are going to like Reman-Armadillos, maybe it could use a bit of tradition
Perhaps, but sticking strictly to "tradition" would mean that the Klingons should be swarthy guys in greasepaint and Fu Manchu mustaches!
My money's on no cameos in the new show. Fresh start, new faces.
"Tradition" alone is not all that compelling a reason."
How about a nice homage to earlier days? A reminder of what went before...and a nod that the series probably wouldn't be made if it weren't for them?
How about a nice homage to earlier days? A reminder of what went before...and a nod that the series probably wouldn't be made if it weren't for them?
As long as Connor Trinner is also there.
I'm rather hoping (perhaps naively) that the new show will have more fleshed out, subtle, nuanced, and well written characters than we've seen in Trek for a long time. Certainly better than anyone from the Enterprise era. To the point that I'm hoping the presence of one of the stilted-dialogue, cardboard cut outs of that show would seem extremely out of place in Discovery.
I'd still wouldn't mind seeing T'Po in a light recurring role.. So much untapped potential. Plus, I'd like to see what Blalock could do with some decent material.
Unfortunately, that would be a pretty big can of worms to open.
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