questions from a newbie!

[witchbsword]

Ok, so i just started watching ST and TNG more specifically.
In the episode "Q who?" Q introduces us to the Borg. if the Borg are as nasty as is portrayed in that episode, what does that make Seven of Nine from Voyager?

Also, what happened to Dr. Crusher? Her son is now an ensign (or in training), but I haven't seen her around. is she still on, only with a limited role now or did something happen?

Are there no vulcans in TNG?

Is TNG before or after the original series with Kirk?

I guess what would be nice is a timeline for ST and a more detailed one for the series. any idea where I can find one other than going through a bunch of episode guides?

 

[GeorgeKirk]

But episode guides are fun! Best bet is to watch the show in order. To answer your questions:

if the Borg are as nasty as is portrayed in that episode, what does that make Seven of Nine from Voyager?

A transparent ploy on the part of the folks in charge of that show to increase ratings without going to the trouble of good writing or character development? Of course, the Borg were portrayed differently in Q-Who than in any subsequent appearance. For one thing, they didn't assimilate people at all. They were only interested in consuming the technology of the races they encountered.

Are there no vulcans in TNG?

Sure. Just no Vulcan main characters. Just because a race isn't represented in the main group of characters doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Vulcans were seen in the background fairly frequently , IIRC. If you keep watching the second season, you'll see the Vulcan Dr. Selar.

Is TNG before or after the original series with Kirk?

Well, it's called The Next Generation for a reason.

I guess what would be nice is a timeline for ST and a more detailed one for the series

I think Trekcore has one.

 

[witchbsword]

Is TNG before or after the original series with Kirk?

Well, it's called The Next Generation for a reason.

Damn, that was a stupid question. lol

Thanks for your help, GeorgeKirk.

Main reason I jumped around is because I don't have a lot of time to sit down and watch every single episode, so I just checked out the ratings on TV.com and went from there. Oh well, school is almost over, so I'll have more time then.

 

[CorporalClegg]

^
Granted the TV.com ratings don't always reflect the usual accepted general thoughts of an episode.

 

[Unicron]

Of course, the Borg were portrayed differently in Q-Who than in any subsequent appearance. For one thing, they didn't assimilate people at all. They were only interested in consuming the technology of the races they encountered.

This is never stated, and in fact it's implied that QW is consistent with the assimilation we saw as a common element later. The Borg are clearly enhanced humanoids who look assimilated, and Q repeatedly says that the Collective is the "ultimate consumer" and that the crew means nothing to them. If we assume that's true in regards to the crew as individuals, that such a way of life is meaningful to the Borg, then Q's statements are perfectly in line with how the Borg came to be depicted. Bottom line is, other races are simply a form of technology to them. Raw material to be added to the Collective, as Guinan says at the end. It is not limited only to mechanical technology, as some fans seem to think.

 

[Mr. Fergy]

Ok, so i just started watching ST and TNG more specifically.
In the episode "Q who?" Q introduces us to the Borg. if the Borg are as nasty as is portrayed in that episode, what does that make Seven of Nine from Voyager?

Also, what happened to Dr. Crusher? Her son is now an ensign (or in training), but I haven't seen her around. is she still on, only with a limited role now or did something happen?

Are there no vulcans in TNG?

Is TNG before or after the original series with Kirk?

I guess what would be nice is a timeline for ST and a more detailed one for the series. any idea where I can find one other than going through a bunch of episode guides?

SIGH! Just watch the show!

BTW: Welcome aboard!

 

[GeorgeKirk]

This is never stated, and in fact it's implied that QW is consistent with the assimilation we saw as a common element later. The Borg are clearly enhanced humanoids who look assimilated, and Q repeatedly says that the Collective is the "ultimate consumer" and that the crew means nothing to them. If we assume that's true in regards to the crew as individuals, that such a way of life is meaningful to the Borg, then Q's statements are perfectly in line with how the Borg came to be depicted. Bottom line is, other races are simply a form of technology to them. Raw material to be added to the Collective, as Guinan says at the end. It is not limited only to mechanical technology, as some fans seem to think.

It's certainly true that Q-Who doesn't explicitly state that the Borg don't assimilate people, but I don't believe it was part of the original Borg concept that the writer of that episode was working from.

In fact, in BOBW Borg expert Shelby was surprised at the Collective's interest in Picard. Her exact words were "I thought the Borg weren't interested in humanoid life forms, just our technology" to which Picard replied "Their priorities seem to have changed". I always believed the writers put that exchange in there to explain the seeming contradiction with Q-Who.

 

[Timo]

...Which made the story all the richer and more plausible. The Federation "experts" had the Borg figured out all wrong!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Unicron]

That's true, I'm not really sure what the writers might have intended, since the Borg were originally intended to be just an AOTW. In that case I just agree with Timo.

 

[GeorgeKirk]

...Which made the story all the richer and more plausible. The Federation "experts" had the Borg figured out all wrong!

Timo Saloniemi

I always wondered how Shelby became an "expert" anyway. She'd had no contact with them, and I seriously doubt she had any Borg technology to examine. Since Data was involved in the initial encounter and remembers every fact he's exposed to, shouldn't he have been the expert? It's really not surprising that Shelby turned out to be wrong, given how little hard data there was to work with. It was a very realistic twist.

 

[Forbin]

She may have had hard Data to work with - he was, after all, fully functional.

 

[GeorgeKirk]

She may have had hard Data to work with - he was, after all, fully functional.

And we know he goes for blondes. Y'know, I was going to make that joke but decided against it.

 

[Nebusj]

I always wondered how Shelby became an "expert" anyway. She'd had no contact with them, and I seriously doubt she had any Borg technology to examine. Since Data was involved in the initial encounter and remembers every fact he's exposed to, shouldn't he have been the expert? It's really not surprising that Shelby turned out to be wrong, given how little hard data there was to work with. It was a very realistic twist.

She spent on the order of a year working on the problem of studying the Borg from what data was available and developing weapons and techniques which might work against them. Data -- or anyone else -- might have more direct experience, but he's at work on other problems all this time.

 

[erastus25]

I always wondered how Shelby became an "expert" anyway. She'd had no contact with them, and I seriously doubt she had any Borg technology to examine. Since Data was involved in the initial encounter and remembers every fact he's exposed to, shouldn't he have been the expert? It's really not surprising that Shelby turned out to be wrong, given how little hard data there was to work with. It was a very realistic twist.

She spent on the order of a year working on the problem of studying the Borg from what data was available and developing weapons and techniques which might work against them. Data -- or anyone else -- might have more direct experience, but he's at work on other problems all this time.

She also may have had access to information collected by 7 of 9's parents, or other scientists like them, that most of the federation was not privy to.

 

[ZERO_of_ZERO]

if the Borg are as nasty as is portrayed in that episode, what does that make Seven of Nine from Voyager?

Seven of nine is one of many tragic victims of the Borg; Torn from her familly and enslaved by them.

 

[Red Ranger]

Witchbsword,

Welcome to the board. To answer your question about Dr. Crusher, she transferred for a year to Starfleet Medical, then comes back in the third season. Her "replacement" for season two is Dr. Katherine Pulaski, played by Diana Muldaur, who played two separate roles in TOS. Then, without explanation, Dr. Crusher comes back in Season 3.

The rumored real-world explanation for Gates McFadden's departure is she was allegedly the target of unwanted sexual advances by Maurice Hurley, who was a producer and writer on the show in its early seasons. As writer of Q Who, he also created the Borg. BTW, does anyone know why Gates changed her first name from Cheryl?

Red Ranger

 

[SiorX]

^ Explanation I've always heard was that she got sick of people mispronouncing her name.

 

[Forbin]

How do you mispronounce Cheryl?

 

[witchbsword]

Thanks for answering my questions, guys!

 

[KayArr]

Wikipedia, dude, you need wikipedia. You can read overviews of the whole franchise, overviews of each series, overviews of each season, there are separate pages for each character, etc. Very handy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek