The Trill

[Bry_Sinclair]

The first appearance of the Trill in TNG throws up many inconsistencies with what we come to learn about the species in DS9. Leaving aside the changing appearance, what I’m trying to work out more is just how well known the symbionts and joining were?

Crusher, the flagships CMO, clearly didn’t know anything about them, yet Sisko and Bashir both seemed very familiar with them at first meeting, and all the Trill we meet never seem to hide or shy away from talking about joining. I’m guessing there is no real clarification and it’s best to just retcon “The Host” in favour for what came later.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Certainly some retconning done.
Aside from technical inconsistencies that the transporter is harmful to the symbionts, one could just assume that with the seer number of species in and around the Federation, Crusher just had never had any dealings with Trill or reasons to research them.
Where Sisko had a personal relationship with one and Bashir was about to be posted to a station with at least one Trill onboard in a senior officer position.
Of course he would get to know everything there is to know before he even got there.

Compare that to a Western European not being informed about every cultural and phenological trait of an Aborigine while barely being aware of them existing somewhere in Australia.

The transporter thing could even be explained as an Odan specific issue.

The one thing I have nothing for is the forehead and lack of spots.

 

[jackoverfull]

The first appearance of the Trill in TNG throws up many inconsistencies with what we come to learn about the species in DS9. Leaving aside the changing appearance, what I’m trying to work out more is just how well known the symbionts and joining were?

Crusher, the flagships CMO, clearly didn’t know anything about them, yet Sisko and Bashir both seemed very familiar with them at first meeting, and all the Trill we meet never seem to hide or shy away from talking about joining. I’m guessing there is no real clarification and it’s best to just retcon “The Host” in favour for what came later.

the only way to reconcile the first appearance with the others for me is to consider the first ones a complete different species that for some reason share a similar name.

Even the joining works differently: Bodan completely takes over the host, while on DS9 it’s a much more equal partnership. Incidentally, on Discovery they even went further in the opposite direction, with the symbiont only providing memories and capabilities while the personality seems to come from the body alone.

 

[Oddish]

As of DS9, the host was considered the dominant personality. I think "Playing God" was the episode where they really ran with that, hence the significant change in Dax's personality from that episode on.

 

[Annorax849]

I just consider “The Host” non-canon. There’s no way to square it, you can’t think of it like they’re different species, and the issues are too major to just retcon away.

 

[fireproof78]

I’m guessing there is no real clarification and it’s best to just retcon “The Host” in favour for what came later.

Yup.

 

[Awesome Possum]

There was an attempt to use the original makeup.

 

[James Cole]

A Captain Sulu novel (Forged in Fire?) argues a Trill colony was infected with a variant of the Klingon Augment Virus.

On the other hand, the Wildstorm TNG/DS9 comic series "Divided We Fall" treats it as a visual reboot.

 

[Shawnster]

Crusher, the flagships CMO, clearly didn’t know anything about them, yet Sisko and Bashir both seemed very familiar with them at first meeting, and all the Trill we meet never seem to hide or shy away from talking about joining. I’m guessing there is no real clarification and it’s best to just retcon “The Host” in favour for what came later.

No different than TOS with the mystery surrounding Vulcans. Founding members of the Federation. Surely people, humans, visited and even lived on Vulcan throughout the first century or two of the UFP existence. No doubt even the lowliest UFP employee or Earth diplomat could purchase a book on basic Vulcan anatomy and biology. Yet McCoy did not know much of anything about Ponn Farr or the inner eyelid.

Compare that to a Western European not being informed about every cultural and phenological trait of an Aborigine while barely being aware of them existing somewhere in Australia.

Lack of knowledge about the Trill (or Vulcans) is more like a Westen European official or doctor or even cultural attache not knowing the first thing about Romanian or Latvian life. The Trill were much more than mysterious, elusive, secluded aborigines

 

[Nerys Myk]

A Captain Sulu novel (Forged in Fire?) argues a Trill colony was infected with a variant of the Klingon Augment Virus.

On the other hand, the Wildstorm TNG/DS9 comic series "Divided We Fall" treats it as a visual reboot.

Enough with the Augment Virus!!!!!

 

[The Wormhole]

There was an attempt to use the original makeup.
View attachment 34159

IIRC, Terry Farrell had an allergic reaction to the forehead prosthetic, which is why that look was abandoned on DS9

 

[Enterprise is Great]

perhaps there are two species of Trill and the joining works differently with each species.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

IIRC, Terry Farrell had an allergic reaction to the forehead prosthetic, which is why that look was abandoned on DS9

I thought it was just that they thought the prosthetic detracted from her beauty too much. Even in the makeup test that Awesome Possum posted, they toned the forehead bumps WAY down.

They should just say that Odan from "The Host" was from a species called the Troll or something.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

There was an attempt to use the original makeup.
View attachment 34159

I find these makeup tests for Dax to be just weird, she doesn't look right, lol.

No different than TOS with the mystery surrounding Vulcans. Founding members of the Federation. Surely people, humans, visited and even lived on Vulcan throughout the first century or two of the UFP existence. No doubt even the lowliest UFP employee or Earth diplomat could purchase a book on basic Vulcan anatomy and biology. Yet McCoy did not know much of anything about Ponn Farr or the inner eyelid.

I hadn't thought of that (though I always assumed the pon farr thing to be something few outside of Vulcan really knew much about, they do have very Victorian attitudes to sex).

Enough with the Augment Virus!!!!!

It's very much proof that not everything needs an explanation and that sometimes leaving it up to wild speculation and fan theories is so much better.

I thought it was just that they thought the prosthetic detracted from her beauty too much. Even in the makeup test that Awesome Possum posted, they toned the forehead bumps WAY down.

I had heard that the bumpy forehead was abandoned because she wasn't attractive any longer (I'm guessing had they gone with that prosthetics then Dax's uniform would've ended up being a bikini, because the sexiness of the character is the most important thing).

 

[JonnyQuest037]

(I'm guessing had they gone with that prosthetics then Dax's uniform would've ended up being a bikini, because the sexiness of the character is the most important thing).

Well, obvi.

I'm sure there was an expectation that Terry Farrell and Nana Visitor would be the "babes" of the show.

 

[Oddish]

I'm sure there was an expectation that Terry Farrell and Nana Visitor would be the "babes" of the show.

Having good-looking women is fine, long as they aren't dolled up in outfits that look like they were applied with spray paint.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Having good-looking women is fine, long as they aren't dolled up in outfits that look like they were applied with spray paint.

Or if they are then that is the same standard that is applied to all the characters.

 

[Oddish]

We saw Jeri Ryan in a Starfleet uniform in "Relativity". She looked... pretty darn good in it.

 

[Elias Vaughn]

Crusher, the flagships CMO, clearly didn’t know anything about them, yet Sisko and Bashir both seemed very familiar with them at first meeting, and all the Trill we meet never seem to hide or shy away from talking about joining. I’m guessing there is no real clarification and it’s best to just retcon “The Host” in favour for what came later.

I think it's unfair to expect one human to be intimately familiar with hundreds if not thousands of different species. I'm more inclined to believe Crusher fucked up on her research; maybe she didn't realize the ambassador was a Trill. It's been forever since I've seen the episode though.

 

[The Wormhole]

maybe she didn't realize the ambassador was a Trill.

Quite the interesting oversight, given she was sleeping with the guy.