Sulu's daughter: WTF? (Generations)

[MadBaggins]

Okay, first of all, WTF? There's NO indication in the previous movies that Sulu has a wife or child. NONE. In TUC he's surveying gasesous anomolies in the Natural Zone for a year or something but he never mentions how much he's missing his wife and kids back home. When he time travels back in Star Trek 4 he doesn't say "I NEED TO SAVE THE FUTURE FOR MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER!!" And so on. This was crap. They just threw it in there for no good reason. And furthermore, everyone knew George Takei is gay. Yes he only "came out" a few years ago, but everyone he worked with knew it for years. So why would they give him a daughter? Was it to taunt Takei, saying "ha, you'll never have one of these in real life!" How horrible if so.

WTF were they thinking giving Sulu a daughter?

 

[Data Holmes]

The novels...

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Read The Captain's Daughter. It explains where Demora Sulu came from.

And then reading Serpents Among the Ruins. It tells you where Demora ends up.

 

[Good Will Riker]

Read The Captain's Daughter. It explains where Demora Sulu came from.

And, he didn't even get to enjoy it from what I have read.

I've had R.E.M. sleep that was even better than that!

 

[EliyahuQeoni]

Okay, first of all, WTF? There's NO indication in the previous movies that Sulu has a wife or child. NONE.

There is also no indication at all that he doesn't have a wife or child(ren). While you posit some interesting arguments against, they don't really hold water. While never stated on-screen (that I recall), it had been the intention of the original creators of TOS that McCoy had an ex-wife and at least one daughter. We never hear him say "we must save the future to save my daughter," nor do we hear him lament not being with them. Does this prove that his daughter doesn't exist? No, not at all. The fact is that we know very little about the private lives of the TOS crew, especially Scotty, Sulu, Chekov and Uhura.

Personally, Demora Sulu was one of the parts of Generations that I quite liked. It showed that the crew had lives beyond the adventures we saw on screen. I also didn't much care for Peter David's "explanation" of where Demora came from, as it was way too complicated. The only explanation needed was that Sulu married after the original 5 year mission and had a daughter. Other Star Fleet personnel had families, despite being away from home for long periods of time (Matt Decker and Bob Wesley leap to mind), so why not Sulu?

As to what they were thinking when including Demora in the movie, she was a physical reminder to Kirk of what he didn't have and never made time for. He had told himself that his career prevented him from having a family, but Demora showed how Sulu had found time for a family AND a career.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Okay, first of all, WTF? There's NO indication in the previous movies that Sulu has a wife or child. NONE.

As to what they were thinking when including Demora in the movie, she was a physical reminder to Kirk of what he didn't have and never made time for. He had told himself that his career prevented him from having a family, but Demora showed how Sulu had found time for a family AND a career.

Just another example as to why, IMO, Generations is the superior Star Trek movie to FC....

Rob
Scorpio

 

[iguana_tonante]

And furthermore, everyone knew George Takei is gay. Yes he only "came out" a few years ago, but everyone he worked with knew it for years. So why would they give him a daughter? Was it to taunt Takei, saying "ha, you'll never have one of these in real life!" How horrible if so.

Gay people can be parents, too, you know.

One night stands with the other sex, in vitro fertilizations, surrogate pregnancies, just plain adoptions and, in the Star Trek universe, direct DNA mixing and manipulations can give an homosexual couple plenty of children.

 

[Mysterion]

And furthermore, everyone knew George Takei is gay. Yes he only "came out" a few years ago, but everyone he worked with knew it for years. So why would they give him a daughter? Was it to taunt Takei, saying "ha, you'll never have one of these in real life!" How horrible if so.

Gay people can be parents, too, you know.

One night stands with the other sex, in vitro fertilizations, surrogate pregnancies, just plain adoptions and, in the Star Trek universe, direct DNA mixing and manipulations can give an homosexual couple plenty of children.

And besides just because George Takei is gay, does not necessarily mean that Hikaru Sulu is gay (not that there's anything wrong with that).

 

[Rÿcher]

to the OP - ugh! I can't ask if you're 13 or ignorant or anything like that in this forum.

Suffice it to say that people who are on extended missions in the here and now CAN have children even if one partner is in Iraq or wherever OR maybe it's a matter of MAYBE he met someone aboard the Excelsior and they had a kid.

Think man, think!

 

[Haytil]

And furthermore, everyone knew George Takei is gay. Yes he only "came out" a few years ago, but everyone he worked with knew it for years.

I didn't know George Takei was gay.

Granted, I never worked with him - but neither did the writers of "Generations" - they were writers on TNG, not of TOS or the original movies. So maybe they were as ignorant as I was.

Furthermore, given how much Takei loves to evangelize about Sulu (remember the "Excelsior" series?), I'm sure he was delighted to learn that Sulu actually had a family and a life beyond working on a spaceship.

 

[LutherSloan]

And furthermore, everyone knew George Takei is gay. Yes he only "came out" a few years ago, but everyone he worked with knew it for years.

I didn't know George Takei was gay.

REALLY??? Wow. It seemed pretty obvious...

 

[Plecostomus]

And besides just because George Takei is gay, does not necessarily mean that Hikaru Sulu is gay (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Quoted for truth. Just because the man playing the character is gay doesn't automatically mean the character he plays is gay too.

Remember, there is a difference between George Takei and Sulu. One is a real person one is a fictional character played by him.

I'm sorry to have to take this tack with people but honestly I get tired of the Gay Sulu jokes when in all the years that I've watched TOS and the movies I've never seen one indication that the CHARACTER is gay.

Not that there would be ANYTHING wrong with that mind you.

 

[KeepOnTrekking]

Personally, I didn't have any problems with Sulu suddenly having a daughter in ST VII than I did with Kirk suddenly having a son in ST II.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Remember, there is a difference between George Takei and Sulu. One is a real person one is a fictional character played by him.

I'm sorry to have to take this tack with people but honestly I get tired of the Gay Sulu jokes when in all the years that I've watched TOS and the movies I've never seen one indication that the CHARACTER is gay.

Back in 1990 George Takei wrote an annual for DC Comics' Star Trek series in which Sulu is straight. He meets a woman, he falls in love.

Enjoyable story, by the way.

 

[Therin of Andor]

They just threw it in there for no good reason... WTF were they thinking giving Sulu a daughter?

Kirk's surprise at how little he seemingly knew about his colleagues' private lives, and to emphasise his own choices in life. Kirk says something like, "How did Sulu find time to have a family?"

In fact, the line was originally about Chekov's daughter. Nimoy and Kelley turned done the roles written for them, so Doohan was signed to say Spock's part, Koenig was signed to say Kelley's lines (which is why Chekov is suddenly assigning medics to assist the El-Aurian refugees) and the line about Chekov's daughter was changed to be about Sulu and Demora.

 

[GeneHunt]

Sulu isnt gay, look at the way he totally eye fucked ilea in the directors cut of TMP.

If he had a wife at the time of Star Trek V id love to know how he explained to her that he's spending it with Chekov.

 

[Timo]

Not that there would be ANYTHING wrong with that mind you.

But there would: Sulu showed definite interest towards females in TOS.

He could be bisexual, of course. Or trisexual. Or quadrisexual. But I draw the limit at pentasexuality, absolutely. Unconventional lifestyles are one thing, outright perversion is quite another!

I, too, regard Peter David's story with some disdain. The whole point of the ST:GEN scene was to show that Sulu had a life and Kirk did not. PAD's book now tries to say that Sulu didn't have a life, either.

And really, for all the convoluted fuss in the book, we could say that he was queer as Herbert Hoover, and this fancy-shmancy agent lady just date-raped him when he was in a state of reduced mental capacity.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[cardinal biggles]

...he was queer as Herbert Hoover...

J. Edgar.

 

[Finn]

They just threw it in there for no good reason... WTF were they thinking giving Sulu a daughter?

Kirk's surprise at how little he seemingly knew about his colleagues' private lives, and to emphasise his own choices in life. Kirk says something like, "How did Sulu find time to have a family?"

In fact, the line was originally about Chekov's daughter. Nimoy and Kelley turned done the roles written for them, so Doohan was signed to say Spock's part, Koenig was signed to say Kelley's lines (which is why Chekov is suddenly assigning medics to assist the El-Aurian refugees) and the line about Chekov's daughter was changed to be about Sulu and Demora.

He knew Sulu had a daughter. They mentioned long it had been (12 years I believe) since Kirk had last saw her. It just really hit him at that moment. He was going through a phase where he felt like he was missing something. And there was nothing in TOS and the movies to indicate that he didn't have time to have a kid. Kirk did manage to knock up AT LEAST one woman. Why not Sulu?

 

[Timo]

Because men can't get pregnant?

Timo Saloniemi