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Star Trek: A French Connection

Ragitsu

Ragitsu

Commodore
Commodore
Good evening.

As I think back on the "TNG era" of Star Trek, I note a distinct binding element: French culture and/or language.

The Next Generation - Jean-Luc Picard. Phillipa Louvois. Chateau Picard. Data's indeterminate French citizenship. New Orleans reference.

Deep Space Nine - Benjamin Lafayette Sisko. New Orleans. Talk of eating escargot. Les Miserables references.

Voyager - Tom Paris. The Val Jean. Marseilles. Chez Sandrine. French resistance (Le Coeur de Lion) in a holodeck simulation set during the second World War.

All of the above - The Maquis.
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I am not nearly as familiar with the original series or anything following Voyager; feel free to add to that list.
 
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  • Haha
Reactions: kkt
How could I have forgotten?

The Next Generation - Frère Jacques and Sur le Pont d'Avignon.
 
They'd have to recast Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider, but this sounds fun, like when they'll drive the Enterprise under an elevated train track.
 
In TOS "The Squire of Gothos" Lt. DeSalle is of French ancestry.

There are a lot of French people with a very important culture to humans. It's not surprising that there are a lot of French things.
 
kkt said:
In TOS "The Squire of Gothos" Lt. DeSalle is of French ancestry.

There are a lot of French people with a very important culture to humans. It's not surprising that there are a lot of French things.
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I wonder how much of that cultural influence in the various Trek writer's rooms was incidental as opposed to intentional; of the "big three" mainland European nations (i.e., France, Germany and Italy), I have not recognized as many scriptwriting touches inspired by the latter two.
 
Ragitsu said:
I wonder how much of that cultural influence in the various Trek writer's rooms was incidental as opposed to intentional; of the "big three" mainland European nations (i.e., France, Germany and Italy), I have not recognized as many scriptwriting touches inspired by the latter two.
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Perhaps it's coincidence, but Italy and Germany weren't countries until the late 1800s.
 
America is a "melting pot." most European names are as American as apple pie. We have French enclaves in New England, Louisiana (Named for Louis XIV) and elsewhere. We also have a ton of Spanish, Native American and British placenames.
In the SF Bay Area I pass through towns called San Ramon, Dublin and Verona while driving Highway 680.
 
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