Unrealized Stories From Throwaway Lines

[Farscape One]

I don't know if this has been a subject before, so if it has been talked about, my apologies.

While working, I was randomly thinking about VGR's "EX POST FACTO" and the line about how an artificial lifeform serves as host for the memories of the victim.

A completely overlooked piece of dialogue, but it makes you wonder if there was a big story there. We very rarely saw artificial lifeforms in societies on VGR, and really not that many in general.

This made me wonder... how many other throwaway lines could have easily developed into a story? I know there's a lot in the franchise, but which ones can you all think of?

Temba, his arms open.

 

[FederationHistorian]

A line from one of the Denobulan geologists in the episode “The Breach” about the Denobulan Science Academy not respecting the geologists findings. Not sure why they wouldn’t; it must be of importance to know what the geological properties of a planet are, especially if you employ miners to extract resources.

It made me wonder – is the Denobulan government at its core fundamentalist?

Think about it. Almost every Denobulan we have seen so far (Phloz, Feezal, the geologist, the medical freighter captian briefly kidnapped by Arik Soong, the researchers at Cold Station 12, those researchers following the Mugato on LD) are all in the science and medical field. Meaning science and medicine is as core to Denobulan identity as being a warrior is to Klingon identity.

And yet...

- Despite awareness of different gender identity and orientations on other worlds and being okay with it, Denobulan poly marriages and relationships are all strictly hetero. And they never come into contact with those of different orientations and identity unless they have to.

- Everyone on the NX-01 crew was hetero, despite it not making sense in the 22nd century. And with all of the shows that have come since, it makes less sense today than in the early ‘00s. And if there were gay crewmen aboard, then that means that the Orion pheromones overrides the orientation of homosexual men. But that's a completely different topic altogether.

- Archer bizarrely went along with Phlox’s interpretation of evolution without a fight. While its possible the definition of evolution is more fluid in Archer’s time, from a viewer’s perspective in the early ‘00s, its not. To think otherwise is scientifically ignorant. Why would someone as accomplished as Phlox state something so wrong?

I wonder if the Denobulan government was against homosexuality, evolution and in general scientific findings that challenged them and forced them to reevaluate their viewpoints. As they are following their version of the Voth Doctrine.

We also know they waged a war with the Antarans that lasted hundreds of years, but the reasons for it were left vague. Only that both sides used propaganda, Denobulan doctors experimented in Antarans, and that Denobulans grew more open minded afterwards.

We also know that they used genetic engineering which lead to positive results. What if these positive results were rooted in homophobia, and was what they came up with in place of conversion therapy? Its never been clarified as to what Denobulans dealt with that they needed genetic engineering for. Its dark, but makes sense with what we saw on ENT and explains certain shortcomings.

And with S5 planned to be more socially conscious and Denobula planned for a visit, I wonder if that episode was intended to become an allegory for the Bush admin and RWNJs at the time (yes I know, all political talk belongs in TNZ).

The evidence certainly adds up.

 

[WarpTenLizard]

In the "Voyager" episode "Course: Oblivion," the captain's log mentions "Ensign Harper's new baby." This is never mentioned again, but has horrifying implications given what happens in the episode.

Granted, "new baby" is an odd wording, so it's possible that it wasn't a literal baby, but just a new invention or project or something.

Then of course, there's the dolphins mentioned on TNG. They got their limelight on "Lower Decks" of course.

 

[Oddish]

It seriously made no sense that by Y7 of Voyager's journey, the crew weren't dodging toddlers and preschoolers in the hall. There was one marriage. One. And two children born, one of them a preexisting condition and the other right at the very end.

Yes, I could see Janeway choosing the celibate life, because of the "Lessons" we learned about captains and romance. But 140 others, many of them women who were effectively giving up their chance at motherhood (yes, Voyager got home after 7 years, but they were expecting 70, and while i think Federation longevity tech has pushed menopause back a decade or two, biological clocks do run out)... it just further pushes the notion that the Voyager "family" was nine main characters and 130 or so nobodies, about as much a part of the family as the toaster on your kitchen counter.

 

[Lord Garth]

Q versus Guinan.

 

[Farscape One]

It seriously made no sense that by Y7 of Voyager's journey, the crew weren't dodging toddlers and preschoolers in the hall. There was one marriage. One. And two children born, one of them a preexisting condition and the other right at the very end.

Yes, I could see Janeway choosing the celibate life, because of the "Lessons" we learned about captains and romance. But 140 others, many of them women who were effectively giving up their chance at motherhood (yes, Voyager got home after 7 years, but they were expecting 70, and while i think Federation longevity tech has pushed menopause back a decade or two, biological clocks do run out)... it just further pushes the notion that the Voyager "family" was nine main characters and 130 or so nobodies, about as much a part of the family as the toaster on your kitchen counter.

Never mind the fact that, as Chakotay pointed out in "ELOGIUM", they would need replacement crew in about half the time of the 70 year trip.

 

[1001001]

Then of course, there's the dolphins mentioned on TNG. They got their limelight on "Lower Decks" of course.

Beluga Whales

 

[Oddish]

It would have been nice if we'd found out what happened to Simon Tarses, the (mostly) innocent victim of the "Drumhead" affair. Non-canon sources are rather contradictory.

 

[Farscape One]

"DEATH WISH" - when Q tells Janeway that one of the suicide attempts ignited the 100 year war between the Vulcans and Romulans.

This must have been far back in their history, considering the revelation in "BALANCE OF TERROR". And considering how long lived Vulcans are, too... otherwise, the knowledge would be passed down to their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Records of what Romulans looked like must have been purged or lost, too.

All of this implies that Vulcans had warp drive for at least 1,000 years. This is also implied when T'Pol tells Archer that when Vulcans first set out, there were very few races that had interstellar travel.

I wonder what Q did that caused that war, and when exactly it took place.

 

[publiusr]

The Douwd…what remains of them.
What did the Husnock look like?
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Husnock

 

[Oddish]

And given that the Husnok numbered in the tens of billions, and were powerful and aggressive enough to pose a threat to a Federation colony... why didn't the Federation know about them? How could they not notice the sudden, total annihilation of this violent race?

 

[Farscape One]

We don't know exactly where that colony was located in relation to unexplored regions. It could be close to uncharted space.

It's also possible the Husnock ship was a long range scout. We will never know, but I wish we did.

The bigger question is also this... when he killed the Husnock, did he eliminate all traces of them, or are there empty cities and ships and stations out there?

 

[Oddish]

And what were the extent of his powers? He was obviously not a Q, since a Q could have harmlessly teleported the Husnok away or disabled their ships, or simply brought the colonists back for real. But, he could create pitch-perfect illusions. More to the point, he could kill any number of beings at any distance, with a mere thought.

 

[Farscape One]

Probably on par with the Organians.

 

[Extrocomp]

We don't know exactly where that colony was located in relation to unexplored regions. It could be close to uncharted space.

It's also possible the Husnock ship was a long range scout. We will never know, but I wish we did.

The bigger question is also this... when he killed the Husnock, did he eliminate all traces of them, or are there empty cities and ships and stations out there?

There is more information about the Husnock in the novel Star Trek: Titan - Fortune of War. There are indeed a lot of empty ships and cities. It's implied that the Husnock have exterminated every race they've encountered, so when they get wiped out themselves, there is no one to remember them or notice they are gone.

 

[Markonian]

[QUOTE="FederationHistorian, post: 14291885, member: 79553"It made me wonder – is the Denobulan government at its core fundamentalist?
[…]
The evidence certainly adds up.[/QUOTE]
Mind blown!
Now I wish this could’ve been explored in the Rise of the Federation novels.
I also wonder if Lower Decks might ever show the effect of Orion pheromones on members of the LGBTQ+ communities. I watched ENT as a kid but even then I thought, wouldn’t a gay man be immune?

 

[Oddish]

also wonder if Lower Decks might ever show the effect of Orion pheromones on members of the LGBTQ+ communities. I watched ENT as a kid but even then I thought, wouldn’t a gay man be immune?

Depends on how the pheromones work. They might directly activate the chemical process that facilitates sexual desire, basically bypassing whether you actually find them physically attractive. That would make for a... strange experience.

 

[at Quark's]

This made me wonder... how many other throwaway lines could have easily developed into a story? I know there's a lot in the franchise, but which ones can you all think of?
Temba, his arms open.

Perhaps a story about how the Klingon Imperial Empire got that somewhat redundant name ?

 

[at Quark's]

All of this implies that Vulcans had warp drive for at least 1,000 years. This is also implied when T'Pol tells Archer that when Vulcans first set out, there were very few races that had interstellar travel.

Logically speaking there's no self evident reason why a 1000 years ago, warp drive would have been much rarer than today. After all, races come, and races go (either go extinct or transcend or whatever), and 1000 years is rarely a blip in the galactic history of millions and even billions of years that came before. We also know there were already extremely advanced civilizations much further back in time. (The Iconians or the T'Kon Empire, for example).

So that leaves one to wonder if something cataclysmic happened some time before that, and only a 1000 years ago the very first races of that generation of species recovered sufficiently (or became advanced enough) to start traveling the stars again.

 

[Farscape One]

Those ancient ones like the Iconians and T'Kon were gone for hundreds of thousands of years before Vulcans even had warp, so I'm not sure how those examples work here.

It's very possible, given Bajor as an example, that some achieved warp but stagnated for whatever reason.

Others might have died off, as you said... they could have been more advanced than Vulcans but were killed off by a plague, supernova, Black Friday sale, etc.

Others might have ascended, as you mentioned.

Logically, I agree. But resources for those worlds could also have been an issue. Dilithium isn't found everywhere, nor are the other materials to make warp coils. (Some of those races could have kept to their own system simply because they had finite material.)