I am desperate to read these books, but gonna have to wait....I did read Fade In, which was a real eye opener about that film, and Patrick Stewart.
I highly recommend them but they are a frustrating read. Most books are written from a single viewpoint. Here we get ALL of the viewpoints and have to make up our own minds, as it should be when chronicling a collaborative effort. I've never read Fade In but will check it out.
Fade In was never published, hunt it out on the Internet. It's Michael Piller himself writing about the writing of Insurrection. He willed it to be released on the net after his death, but paramount got it pulled within a few days. Those books are the kind I loved when I was a kid...I have all the Captains Logs books, and recently read 'Return to Tomorrow' about Star Trek the motion picture. Between that and Chekovs Enterpise it was like being there in the late seventies lol. They should make a film based on it. Or a mini series, a 12 hour adaptation of the making of Star Trek TMP. Start it in 69 as the show is cancelled, and go from there right up to the premier. It would be awesome.
Now I remember. Piller talked about that book. Said it was a text book for writers and Insurrection was the case study. Paramount didn't feel the same way about readers getting a peek behind the scenes (including their notes), and terminated his deal to have it published. Now I'm really curious to read it.
I have a copy of the file somewhere probably. (given its shakey status...I allegedly might have the file somewhere or someone might. Or it might be google fuable.) Its pretty good and really deserved publishing.
I'd like to see some references, but not too much. Most of the Enterprise crew weren't particularly famous at that time, and I don't think they should be treated as such. The Tycho IV incident could be referred to, and maybe some of the adventures of Captain Pike and crew, but I think that should be about it. If the show goes on for quite a few seasons, one thing that might be cool to see is a sort of "here comes the cavalry" moment where the Enterprise beams in to save the Discovery from imminent destruction, and the crew gets to meet Pike and Spock. I realize that having the protagonists be rescued by the protagonists of another show might rub some people the wrong way, but I think it'd be really cool to see the Enterprise from another crew's perspective.
To the OP, I say: only if necessary. It shouldn't be something they're trying to do, but there are some instances when it just wouldn't make sense to exclude them. For example, if there's a large fleet deployment -- say, for a skirmish with the Klingons -- it would make sense that one or more of Starfleet's top ships would be on the scene, giving us a chance to see the Enterprise, or the Lexington, or Exeter. That might be a point at which it would be expected to namedrop without it seeming blatantly awkward. "Orders coming in from Captain Pike - we're to engage at coordinates blah blah blah" or some such.
Once the show is established, I wouldn't be averse to a recast Pike, Spock and the Enterprise of that era making a special guest appearance. Beyond that, there's an opportunity to show why some Trek eps happened. Why did John Gill go to study a facist culture anyway? What was Matt Decker like at his full capacity? Maybe Discovery is in on Kirk's first visit to those native American people? How about Captain Garth? Occupied Bajor? etc etc
Me too. I almost like the hummingbird scene, but it really just makes me realize all the wasted potential.
Bajor was occupied by Cardassia about fifty years prior to the start of DS9, so not during the time period of Discovery. When I first read "Occupied Bajor," I thought of Occupied Wallstreet, The Cardassian show up where they're not wanted, looking to get some else's stuff, which the legitimate possessors didn't want to give up.
The thing is, that's the kind of thing that's supposed to show up and be used in the finale of a film, not twice in the middle. Between that and leaving the green screens up, I wonder if something else got trimmed in production. Picard and his wondrous time stopping ability was a bit too super hero though.
I'd be stunned if lieutenant Kirk doesn't make an appearance in the second season. I'll be kind of surprised if anyone does in the first. So I started watching Enterprise last night. I'm digging it. Because I'm not putting the baggage of 40 years of Star Trek on it. I think if I approach Discovery the same way I should be cool. Didn't work for Into Darkness though. Still hated most of it. (LOVED the teaser. Weird.)
I'm guessing Pike's crew minus Spock if we see anyone from the main storylines. Along with a redesigned pre-refit 1701. I just hope that if they do, they cast and write him like Hunter did, not Greenwood. I like Greenwood but his Pike is too even tempered and well adjusted to be interesting, and way too old. Hunter's Pike was Picard with issues.
I'm with you, and it's more than likely that they will not go that route. A lot of those actors would be too high-budget I would think, and it would confuse people as to the timeline. I'd much rather them do the occasional namedrop.
Well, I'd rather they use the current "new crew" than re-cast again (though it's highly unlikely it would happen). I think the audience is intelligent enough not to get confused. As to cost, I don't think a very short appearance would be prohibitive. A full guest-star appearance for two or three episodes would be pricey, but also (to me) undesirable. In the end, I'd rather a simple name drop, at most, for any of the Enterprise crew.
Now *that* is a show that I would have watched..... and much more of what I expected initially.... I won't even pretend to understand the McCartney joke.