Should TOS characters be seen or referred to?

[Masao]

Since ST: Discovery takes place 10 years before TOS in the prime universe (and even more before TNG and after ST: Enterprise), we can assume that the characters and crew we know are alive but 10 years younger than they were on TOS.

My question is: How much contact do you want with these characters/crew? Should young (or old) versions of them appear in episodes, should they be only briefly mentioned (for example, "I met an Starfleet academy cadet the other day named James K Turk, or something. He was a complete **hole!"), or should no reference be made to them at all?

What do you want to happen? What do you think will happen?

 

[F. King Daniel]

It would be hilarious if they do the godawful Agents of SHIELD thing where they constantly namedrop the Avengers movie characters and have the TV guys having one-sided phone conversations with them.

Seriously though, I'd be all for occasional episodes featuring young recast versions of the TOS characters.

 

[RJDiogenes]

It's fine with me. Scotty would be in his mid-30s, so he could easily pop up, Kirk and Spock would probably be Lieutenants at that point, Sarek would essentially be Sarek. Uhura and Sulu would be teenagers, so it might be funny to see one of them inspired by some incident with the Discovery crew to join Starfleet. McCoy probably was a civilian, but he'd be in his mid-30s, too, so he could easily show up. Chekov would be about twelve, but there's no reason he couldn't have a cameo somehow. The Discovery crew could also have a run in with a young, but still larcenous, Harry Mudd. There are lots of possibilities.

 

[OtherGene]

I'm sure I read somewhere they had plans to introduce familiar names and faces but not in this first season. That stuff may come in handy if the viewing figures need a boost. If the viewing figures are really bad I think we can expect to see the Borg in season three

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Personally, I'd prefer if the TOS crew were kept out of DIS, seeing as how most of them would be unknown to the wider fleet. Some guest/recurring characters would be alright, such as Sarek, Amanda, Harry Mudd, etc, though only in small doses.

Despite being so close to one another in terms of time, let DIS be an entity of it's own before bringing in nods to other series.

Though please, please, PLEASE, no more Borg!

 

[sbk1234]

Around that time Spock would be serving under Christopher Pike. It could be interesting to see them do something where a young Leonard Nimoy from The Cage is seen on a monitor or something. But it could become a disaster if they over did it.

I tend to agree with Bry_Sinclair, although I'd like to see it once or twice. If they could do it and not mess up the continuity.

I think it would frustrate me more than anything if they used the actors from the new movies to portray their younger selves. I don't know why.

 

[milo bloom]

I'm hesitant to bring in too many crossover characters, but I'd still like to see them continue the tradition of having an older character "pass the torch" in the pilot episode. But after that, the rest of the first season needs to be dedicated to the new cast to let them get their space legs, as it were.

And if they do bring in the other characters later on, I feel it would work better if they stuck to ancillary characters instead of recasting younger versions of the TOS cast.

 

[TheTowerBridgeFox]

Should TOS characters be seen or referred to?

YES!

 

[BillJ]

...or should no reference be made to them at all?

As little as possible. I'd rather Discovery succeed or fail on its own merits.

 

[shapeshifter]

Yes, eventually.

I remember before TNG came out, a big deal was made by the producers in some rag about It not relying on the Original, standing on its own two feet then - POW - The Naked Now aired nearly right out of the gate.

 

[USS Triumphant]

Admiral Komack, and various other Admirals or Commodores, might not be too "all in the family". Maybe they could even show Admiral Nogura, canonize Heihachiro as his first name.

I'd probably be okay with a brief appearance from someone like Emony Dax or maybe even Travis Mayweather, T'Pol, or Number One, just for the traditional hand-off from a character from a previous series. Or perhaps we could even see a very young version of Scotty leaving the Discovery at the end of his cadet cruise, before the action begins for the series. But beyond something like that (which would really pretty much *have* to be Scotty because of age and the fact that we already know that Spock and McCoy wouldn't have been there), I'd like them to leave the TOS crew out of the new show.

 

[Kevin Wolff]

I want them to reference Matt Decker and talk about what a stable, honorable officer he is, and how he never falls apart in a crisis, and is never prone to irrational judgement. Oh, and he's always well groomed.

 

[Kemaiku]

Yes. In the past tense.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Though please, please, PLEASE, no more Borg!

Agreed. No more Borg, EVER.

 

[skip bittman]

As little as possible. I'd rather Discovery succeed or fail on its own merits.

They didn't pick Prime to leave all the best toys in the box or strictly in the hands of an increasingly disinterested JJ Abrams.

Besides, weren't these characters supposed to be like Bond or Batman and there wasn't a problem endlessly recasting them?

 

[Mudd]

Sure, why not?

 

[Bob Karo]

I'm not fond of the idea of seeing any of the major characters, but like the idea of some character who were more peripheral. Admirals Komac or Mendez or have a younger Robert Wesley make an appearance somewhere. Nothing major.

 

[Masao]

Of an originally introduced well-liked, enduring, major, live-action character that has been quickly recast as a well-liked, enduring, major, live-action character, the only one I can think of, outside of TOS, is Paul McCartney, who was recast as "Paul McCartney." (Only we old guys know about this. Right, Dennis?). In most other recasts, the characters were originally introduced in other sources (James Bond), introduced but forgotten (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), recast and quickly forgotten (most old TV series made into movies), were not very important anyway (Darren on Bewitched, the youngest brother on The Partridge Family), or were recast over a long time in a reboot series (Starbuck in BSG). Sara Connor has been played by 3 different actresses, but I never saw the series, and the movie for the third Sara sucked.

If any of the TOS characters, even the major ones, appear in the new series, I don't mind if they're recast. I think that the actors since 2009 have taken us far enough away from the original cast of 50 years ago, regardless of whether you, for some reason, insist that the new movies have "destroyed your childhood." If a character has appeared only once in TOS, I almost hope the character is recast.

 

[Timo]

As for the in-universe angle on whether people should be referenced, Kirk seemed to know plenty of other officers "personally", first name basis and all, and some of them knew him. Was that just the "Constitution Community", a tightly knit brotherhood for those who operate a certain kind of frontier exploration ship? Or was Starfleet back then small enough for any random skipper to know half a dozen other random skippers personally?

The Discovery looks like a big ship in TOS terms; her CO and certain other people aboard might be the talk of the town aboard lesser ships. I can't see it working the other way around, though. And if we ever heard of the TOS folks on basis of their exploits rather than their mere existence, we'd finally learn that their exploits were exceptional. But that hasn't happened so far...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Balok's Decoy]

If it serves a good story, sure! Why not?