TOS characters status in TNG era?

[Marco Palmieri]

And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Crucible trilogy out of phase with mainstream Trek Lit continuity? So even if McCoy died in it, in the rest of the novels he could still be alive.

Right. But the original point I was trying to make was that it's been my inclination to keep TNG-era appearances of TOS characters to a minimum.

Put another way, it rarely matters in the context of most of the TNG-era fiction I edit whether those characters are dead or alive.

 

[flandry84]

TBH the use of TOS characters in recent years feels(in most cases)"stunt-y" and poorly handled.Centegenarians running down corridors pulling off last minute saves just doesn't feel plausible.
And yeah,there seems little effort apart from some wry quipping to give these characters any real inner life.
Can you imagine Bones watching those mooted SFacademy holo recreations of TOS missions?Knowing that those redshirts are long ago turned to dust.Real people,people he knew,being used as a training programme.

 

[Stevil2001]

The 24th century is just like the 23rd, but with fewer primary colors and more pajamas.

I may have to swipe that for a signature quote...

I'd be honored.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Crucible trilogy out of phase with mainstream Trek Lit continuity? So even if McCoy died in it, in the rest of the novels he could still be alive.

Right. But the original point I was trying to make was that it's been my inclination to keep TNG-era appearances of TOS characters to a minimum.

Put another way, it rarely matters in the context of most of the TNG-era fiction I edit whether those characters are dead or alive.

I know I keep saying this over and over, but I wish these TOS people *would* be allowed to die. I hope there's not some unwritten law saying that they can never die just because of how special they are, or that it might cause TOS fans to claim that it raped their childhood, or any of that crap. Nobody lives forever, not even them.

I mean, come on. They're all way older even than Elias Vaughn, and that oughta say something...

Kirk, though, I can understand. The Shat will never allow Kirk to die, not in any Shatnerverse novel. And since Kirk's already been killed off *onscreen*, there's not likely to be any kind of 'rebuttal' to this ridiculous "Kirk immortality".

 

[Stevil2001]

I mean, come on. They're all way older even than Elias Vaughn, and that oughta say something...

Scotty is younger than Vaughn.

 

[ClayinCA]

The 24th century is just like the 23rd, but with fewer primary colors and more pajamas. Culture shock between, say, the 19th and 20th centuries has a lot of big differences and very practical, obvious changes going for it. The fictional 23rd and 24th, not so much.

I dunno--if you believe Gene Roddenberry, 24th-century humans argue with each other an awful lot less than 23rd-century ones...

 

[Stevil2001]

Hmmm... so maybe fiction about Scotty in the 24th century should revolve around his need to get into a good argument?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I mean, come on. They're all way older even than Elias Vaughn, and that oughta say something...

Scotty is younger than Vaughn.

Scotty gets a free pass. He skipped over the intervening years. He's not afflicted with the "TOS immortality" that the rest of them are.

But if Scotty *is* younger than Vaughn, why was Scotty on the verge of retirement while Vaughn is in the prime of life?

 

[Mysterion]

I mean, come on. They're all way older even than Elias Vaughn, and that oughta say something...

Scotty is younger than Vaughn.

Scotty gets a free pass. He skipped over the intervening years. He's not afflicted with the "TOS immortality" that the rest of them are.

But if Scotty *is* younger than Vaughn, why was Scotty on the verge of retirement while Vaughn is in the prime of life?

Was there any indication anywhere that Scotty's retirement was a mandatory age thing from Starfleet? Was Scotty retiring because of his age, or because he was tired and wanted to do something else with his time?

On the general subject of TOS characters in the TNG era: I once wrote a really bad fanfic where Harry Mudd was found in cryogenic suspension (part of his escape plan from the android planet), is brought aboard the Ent-D and come promptly face-to-face with Data. Needless to say, not what Harry was expecting or needing at that point. He then saved the day by out-Ferengi-ing the Ferengi for some sort of critical (TECH) thingy.

 

[Christopher]

But if Scotty *is* younger than Vaughn, why was Scotty on the verge of retirement while Vaughn is in the prime of life?

They were born in different generations. Average longevity for Vaughn's generation may be greater than it was for Scotty's, thanks to advances in medical science.

Also, Scotty's led a life of drinking, carousing, and sitting around reading technical manuals, and clearly hasn't made a great effort to stay in good shape over the decades. Whereas Vaughn is an intelligence officer who's no doubt kept himself in peak physical condition. It stands to reason that Vaughn would be able to go far longer before he starts slowing down.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

On the general subject of TOS characters in the TNG era: I once wrote a really bad fanfic where Harry Mudd was found in cryogenic suspension (part of his escape plan from the android planet), is brought aboard the Ent-D

They almost did that on TNG. Roger C. Carmel's death put a stop to it.

 

[Mysterion]

On the general subject of TOS characters in the TNG era: I once wrote a really bad fanfic where Harry Mudd was found in cryogenic suspension (part of his escape plan from the android planet), is brought aboard the Ent-D

They almost did that on TNG. Roger C. Carmel's death put a stop to it.

I heard that and thus was born the fanfic, actually.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

On the general subject of TOS characters in the TNG era: I once wrote a really bad fanfic where Harry Mudd was found in cryogenic suspension (part of his escape plan from the android planet), is brought aboard the Ent-D

They almost did that on TNG. Roger C. Carmel's death put a stop to it.

I heard that and thus was born the fanfic, actually.

AFAIK, it would have been "The Neutral Zone". After Carmel's death, Mudd 'became' Ralph Offenhouse.

 

[Mysterion]

They almost did that on TNG. Roger C. Carmel's death put a stop to it.

I heard that and thus was born the fanfic, actually.

AFAIK, it would have been "The Neutral Zone". After Carmel's death, Mudd 'became' Ralph Offenhouse.

A poor replacement, IMO. Offenhouse was okay on his own , I suppose. But when put in terms of "might have been Harry Mudd", not so much.

 

[FalTorPan]

Has Cyrano Jones lived long enough to start selling tribbles again, post T&T?

 

[JD]

They almost did that on TNG. Roger C. Carmel's death put a stop to it.

I heard that and thus was born the fanfic, actually.

AFAIK, it would have been "The Neutral Zone". After Carmel's death, Mudd 'became' Ralph Offenhouse.

I didn't know that.

 

[Christopher]

^^Well, it's not quite as one-to-one as that, since of course Harry Mudd came from the 23rd century and the characters in "The Neutral Zone" came from the 20th. It would be more accurate to say that the story idea that would've brought back Mudd was reworked into a story about reviving some people from the 20th century. I mean, Harry had at least as much in common with the country singer as he did with Offenhouse.

 

[Rush Limborg]

^^Well, it's not quite as one-to-one as that, since of course Harry Mudd came from the 23rd century and the characters in "The Neutral Zone" came from the 20th. It would be more accurate to say that the story idea that would've brought back Mudd was reworked into a story about reviving some people from the 20th century. I mean, Harry had at least as much in common with the country singer as he did with Offenhouse.

For what it's worth, Offenhouse appeared again in a TNG novel. I forget the title, but he was the Federation ambassador to the Ferengi!

As I recall, he was pretty darn good at that job....

I think Offenhouse is pretty cool. He keeps his calm (usually!), and has a real "in control" attitude. I liked how (in the ep) he was the one who figured out the Romulan's intent before anyone else!

Hey...I wondered what happened to "Sonny" and the lady? Were they featured in any tales? I loved the cameraderie between Sonny and Data, and how it seems like he'll be the one who'll adapt to the 24th Century the quickest!

 

[JD]

I just checked Memory Beta, and neither of them appear in any books set after TNZ. However it does say that the second Eugenics Wars book revealed that Claire Raymond, "the lady", actually died because of the EU, not an embolism like they thought in the episode.

 

[Therin of Andor]

However it does say that the second Eugenics Wars book revealed that Claire Raymond, "the lady", actually died because of the EU, not an embolism like they thought in the episode.

IIRC, the novel - which has many, many cameos from 20th century ST characters - features her being exposed to gas released by Eugenics terrorists, causing an embolism.