Ahh, right. I didn't read your post carefully enough.
Should there still be a future for Titan?
- Thread starter Mage
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I would like to see Titan take up the flavour and spirit of TOS.That is a light,freewheeling type of series where anything can happen with less emphasis on "hard science" and more emphasis on the sillier side(for example a "gangster"planet isn't very plausible but it sure is fun).
One word is cropping up time after time in this discussion and that word is fun.For goodness sake what with everything that has occured in Treklit over the past few years itshouldn't be too much to ask for a light,frothier series.
One word is cropping up time after time in this discussion and that word is fun.For goodness sake what with everything that has occured in Treklit over the past few years itshouldn't be too much to ask for a light,frothier series.
Oh, yes, a light, freewheeling series where Captain Kirk has to let the love of his life die to save the Earth from Nazi conquest and the destruction of everything he holds dear. Or where Spock has to fight his best friend to the death because his fiancee is a cheating, conniving manipulator and his supposedly logical society retains its barbaric ancient customs. Or where deadly space probes and parasite infestations destroy entire planets with startling frequency.
While TOS did indulge in humor on occasion, its intention was always to be an adult drama, to bring a level of maturity and sophistication to televised science fiction that far surpassed things like Lost in Space and was comparable with acclaimed dramas of the day like Naked City and Gunsmoke (shows specifically called out in the series bible as models for how to approach the concepts and characters believably).
And compared to everything else in SFTV in the '60s and '70s, TOS did have an emphasis on hard science. It was, as far as I know, only the second SFTV series in US history (after Tom Corbett, Space Cadet from 1951-55) whose producer consulted scientific advisors in an attempt to depict a plausible future. Things like gangster planets and Roman planets were necessary compromises for reasons of budget, so that the show could be made affordable enough to sell to a network.
I seem to recall this book of shorts in the NF universe where it was penned by different authors.
I seem to recall this book of shorts in the NF universe where it was penned by different authors.
A Titan short story collection would be ridiculously awesome.
And yet,with the unlimited budgets available to a prose writer here we are talking about a series that(judging from this thread)doesn't seem to be half as satisfying as those old hokey episodes.
I think Titan needs new blood on the author's side. I would love to see a KRAD Titan novel, for instance. Or Dayton Ward. 
^Or maybe David Mack could take a turn writing a Titan book. He could mix things up by killing off half the crew
Just kidding
Though his books top the BBS Lit Review Thread, so he would be a popular choice.
Just kidding Though his books top the BBS Lit Review Thread, so he would be a popular choice.
I'm not yet finished with "Fallen Gods" (Halfway through), but one point I think is worth mentioning: The criticism, that Titan isn't telling stories about exploration is completly unjustified in my opinion, each novel featured some interesting scientific aspects and told at least partially a tale of exploring those "strange new worlds" (e.g: Life on a Pulsar-Planet, can it actually get any stranger?) I concur, the last two installments of Titan were not exactly breathtaking or spectacular, like e.g. "Orions Hounds", but they were entertaining novels. But I also concur, a series handled by a single author is usually not a good idea. Not because I think Martin is a particularly bad author (which he certainly isn't, his Sulu-novels co-written with Andy Mangels are along my all-time-favourites), but because I like the variety of the different approaches the various authors take on the individual crews.
I have to disagree with your assessment of T'Pring. She's not human and therefore should not be judged by our standards. Everything she did was seen as correct by the other Vulcans present with the exception of Spock and he can hardly be counted as being of sound mind.
He actions were logical, a trait very highly regarded by her people. If Kirk is dumb enough to blindly wander into an alien ceremony without even asking questions about what exactly it entails then he pretty much got what he deserved.
Vulcans are aliens. Their values are different than ours, Their culture is different. Just because they don't act like mid-20th century American humans doesn't make them barbaric. It makes them different. Is that the Federations job, "civilizing" the barbarians of the galaxy? How well did that work out for the natives of North America?
I'd like to see the Federation taken down a peg or two in their dealings with other races. How would humanity react to another race showing up and declaring our culture are barbaric because we have equality of the sexes? Or we share political power equally regardless of physical strength? Barbarity is in the eye of the beholder. When Kirk found out that the fight was to the death, did he call T'Pau a barbarian? He knew that he had gotten himself into the situation and he had to play by the rules to get out. McCoy on the other hand didn't mind cheating but you wouldn't want a diplomat like McCoy.
I'd rather not have stories where, as David Gerrold once said, the Enterprise shows up like some cosmic Mary Worth, sticking it's nose into other peoples lives, upending their civilization and then wandering off to the next unsuspecting culture. If you want them to treat you with respect then you have to do the same, regardless of your feelings on their culture. You may not want them as Federation Members but that doesn't gice you the right to declare them barbarians and impose your will on them.
Of course, once a third party enters the equation then it's a much more complex situation but for a Federation-other culture one-on-one, it's fairly straightforward.
That's what drew me to Titan in the first place. Exploration. Strange new worlds. All that jazz. And with the diverse crew you don't even need to encounter an inhabited planed or an alien ship in order to do a little exploring. You can do it right on Titan herself. How do all these diverse races manage to live together?
I have a rule of three in most lit. If a specific author or a specific series gives me three disappointing books in short order then it's done. There's lots of other places I can spend my money.
Martin has worn out his welcome for me in Trek-lit. Although I did generally enjoy the books he did with Andy Mangles, If, by some miracle, they wrote another book together I'd give it a go but I'm done with him as a solo author.
Sadly, Titan is now scoring two out of three strikes. If he writes the next one or if the next one is by a different author but still doesn't grab me then I'm done with the series.
Pity really because I feel it's the most Trek like of all the series.
To be honest, I don't have an issue with Michael Martin's stuff - although I didn't like Seize The Fire, I've enjoyed the Romulan War books and his stuff with Andy Mangels.
I haven't really enjoyed the Titan books as much as I have other Treklit. I like Riker and Troi well enough, but the crew and the mission don't do that much for me. There have been one or two that I did like (Over a Torrent Sea by Christopher L. Bennett springs to mind) but on the whole they're 'O.K'.
I'll continue to read them - after all, they're Treklit and you never know when you'll find a gem !
I haven't really enjoyed the Titan books as much as I have other Treklit. I like Riker and Troi well enough, but the crew and the mission don't do that much for me. There have been one or two that I did like (Over a Torrent Sea by Christopher L. Bennett springs to mind) but on the whole they're 'O.K'.
I'll continue to read them - after all, they're Treklit and you never know when you'll find a gem !
T'Pring's maneuverings may have been correct by the letter of the ceremony, but were they seen as appropriate things to do by the Vulcans? Trying to break your bond with your marriage partner by having him kill a friend so you can end up with your illicit love object isn't the sort of behaviour most cultures approve of.
Sarek's statement in Spock's World, that, when Vulcans chose to talk about the incident at all, they found T'Pring's manipulation of Spock and Kirk into mortal combat to be "improper in the extreme" seems plausible.
Heck, if the Vulcans did approve of her actions, that would even further prove my point that TOS was not a "light, freewheeling series" all the time. It got as dark and serious as any '60s TV drama did, while also being free to embrace humor on occasion.
Based on their reactions, or rather their lack of reaction (except for Stonn), they may not have approved of her actions but they didn't disapprove either.
Spock was questioned for bring in two outsiders and he vouched for them. When T'Pring chose her champion the only one of the Vulcans who objected was Stonn. T'Pring was going off script and Stonn didn't see where she was going or why. Nobody else thought her decision was improper. She was following the rules as laid out by her culture. We may not like it but it's their culture, not ours and we have no right to judge the rightness or wrongness of her actions. If she was found to be breaking the rules then we could rightfully claim that she was in the wrong but she dotted the i's and crossed the t's. The only person who did something wrong was McCoy when he lied to T'Pau about what was in the shot he gave Kirk.
T'Pring's plan being "logical," rather than just saying, "I don't want to marry Spock, I want to marry Stonn," reminds me of this infamous fan fic I read once. Spock came aboard the Enterprise-D and questioned where the saucer section was, and Captain Picard said he gave it to the "Kids' Crew," which was Marisa Flores and the kids from "Disaster" and a Bajoran kid with the great name of Ro Nerys. Spock said, "Eminently logical."
NOOOOOOOOOOOO! You must NEVER speak of the "fanfic that shall not be named" EVER again!!! 
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