Vulcan first contact?

[Melakon]

When was it initially established, whether in the various television series or the films, that first contact with Vulcans was due to them arriving on Earth and being the more technologically advanced species? Prior to the film First Contact, I had assumed it was a chance encounter near Alpha Centauri, due to it being our nearest star and Zefram Cochrane knowing of them, and that the two races were more or less technological equals, rather than us being their students. I'm assuming the film may have been influenced by one or more of the novels, but I don't consider them canon. And I already know that ENT: Carbon Creek retcons first contact to the 1950s, but that wouldn't count. I think T'Pol was telling a tall story.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I think the movie First Contact established first contact took place on Earth and the Vulcans were technologically superior. From my research, I don't see any other films or series touching on it

 

[Melakon]

That's kind of what I was afraid of.

 

[F. King Daniel]

The old novel Strangers From the Sky gives a very different backstory for Vulcan/Human first contact. It takes the version from the Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology, and just like "Carbon Creek" tells the story of a secret earlier contact.

It's an excellent read.

 

[SPCTRE]

I think T'Pol was telling a tall story.

Coincidentally, it was also a T'all story, because that's the name of her grandma.

 

[Mister Spock]

I think T'Pol was telling a tall story.

The existence of her grandmother's handbag at the end would suggest otherwise. Besides, I don't think it would improve Human/Vulcan relations much at that point if they found out the Vulcans had been involved in their history already.

 

[T'Girl]

Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology (iirc) had a disabled Vulcan starship sending out a distress signal and a Human starship responding and assisting. This was the first contact between the two, but I believe Humans had had other contacts previously.

While not canon, I like this better than what we got in FC, it put Humans and Vulcans on more of a equal status and set them on a path towards a friends and allies arrangement.

 

[Melakon]

I think T'Pol was telling a tall story.

The existence of her grandmother's handbag at the end would suggest otherwise.

There is no proof that the story she told had anything to do with the handbag, or that it even belonged to her grandmother. That's the beauty of the episode. She doesn't admit it's true either, she answers only that they wanted a story. She may have been making it up as she went along, like Verbal Kint. The whole velcro connection is the biggest hint the entire story is false. She may have remembered the actual inventor's name and threw it in to see if they caught it.

Besides, I don't think it would improve Human/Vulcan relations much at that point if they found out the Vulcans had been involved in their history already.

If that's the case, why did she even mention it in the first place if it could only harm relations?

 

[HIjol]

What I do know is, from a "First Contact" point of view, it doesn't get any better than when the Vulcan survey ship T'Plana-Hath sets down and, when Cochrane figures out he cannot return the Vulcan greeting, does a mental "Ahhh...Fuck It" and extends his hand. You can "see" Cromwell doing it!!!

And, again, as the camera pulls back, when Senet/Solkar (Cully Fredrecksen) has been seated inside Cochrane's tent and "Ooby Dooby" suddenly comes on very loudly you can see Senet, alarmed, half-stands before Cochrane reassures him with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Fucking. Premium. Acting.

 

[Melakon]

Yeah, Fredricksen may only have one line, but he makes the most of what he can with the part.

 

[Kor]

I remember that First Contact's portrayal upset a certain segment of fandom because they took the Spaceflight Chronology (published in 1980) as Gospel, and believed that humans and Vulcans had met one another out in the stars as equals.

Kor

 

[uniderth]

I think in terms of first contact we are limiting to term to open, public contact. The Ferengi crash landed in Roswell in 1947. I'm sure there have been many more moments of contact between aliens and earth (abductees), secret government alliances. But I think that the public nature of the contact is what makes it the first contact.

In the Spaceflight Chronology a sublight earth ship goes to Alpha Centauri and makes first contact with people there. Among them is Zefram Cochrane who collaborated with the earth scientists to create the first space warp drive.

 

[T'Girl]

^ I think first contact would be just that. In FC the Vulcans eventually meeting with officials apparently isn't what is considered "first contact," but rather the meeting of Cochrane and the small number of inhabitant of the "silo community" with the Vulcans..

 

[Melakon]

Mork from Ork made first contact with a high school kid in Milwaukee.

 

[uniderth]

I suppose I should rephrase that because the Vulcan's appearing to the silo community really wouldn't have much effect beyond that community in the short term. I imagine that as the world started putting itself together people would hear, and easily dismiss, rumors that aliens landed in Montana. It wouldn't be until either some sort of Vulcan aided rebuilding or mass broadcast that confirmed the rumors that it would become common knowledge that Vulcan's were real.

Actually, this is a really interesting thought. Say your there working to rebuild your life after a devastating world war. Things are getting back to normal and your seeing videos of these pointy ears people. Who of us in our right mind would think, "Oh, yeah. Those are legitimate extraterrestrials." No, we'd think they were some guys in make up. It wouldn't be until the spaceship landed in our neighborhood that we might take it seriously. Even then given that in the Trek universe there was anti gravity by that point. A lot of people would probably think it was a hoax. Perhaps some ECon trick to take over completely.

I think it would take a lot of time for the legitimacy of First Contact to even be recognized.

But anyway back to the point, why is this moment deemed first contact with an alien civilization while previous encounters weren't? Probably because this was the equivalent of a "landing on the white house lawn" type of event. They're here, their out in the open. The encounter wasn't restricted to some hick farmer with a blurry photo or some top secret government facility.

 

[Melakon]

Apparently people thought Cochrane was crazy back then anyway, so the Companion in "Metamorphosis" must have done more than make him younger and shorter.

Probably because this was the equivalent of a "landing on the white house lawn" type of event.

I had an impression that the filmmakers were trying to do a Day the Earth Stood Still moment.

 

[Anwar]

The thing is that TOS implied that the Humans invented Warp Drive before anyone else did and that the Federation was really a benign Terran Empire that allowed aliens to join as weak partners instead of conquering them. IE, the humans were totally in charge from day one and were superior to all other Fed members.

TNG+ dispelled that notion by showing that the Federation was a proper Multi-Species Cooperative and the Humans weren't the first ones to invent Warp Drive.

 

[Green Shirt]

Mork from Ork made first contact with a high school kid in Milwaukee.

Cal El dropping in on the Kents predates Happy Days.

 

[Melakon]

Mork from Ork made first contact with a high school kid in Milwaukee.

Cal El dropping in on the Kents predates Happy Days.

Well if we're going to nitpick, it's Kal-El with a K. Cal El sounds like it should be a junior college in California.

 

[Tracy Trek]

What I do know is, from a "First Contact" point of view, it doesn't get any better than when the Vulcan survey ship T'Plana-Hath sets down and, when Cochrane figures out he cannot return the Vulcan greeting, does a mental "Ahhh...Fuck It" and extends his hand. You can "see" Cromwell doing it!!!

And, again, as the camera pulls back, when Senet/Solkar (Cully Fredrecksen) has been seated inside Cochrane's tent and "Ooby Dooby" suddenly comes on very loudly you can see Senet, alarmed, half-stands before Cochrane reassures him with a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Fucking. Premium. Acting.

You have 2 names here, "Senet/Solkar". The Vulcan who first came out of the T'Plana-Hoth and greeted Cochrane. Was the character listed as both names in the credits? Point of interest, wasn't Solkar the name of Sarek's grandfather? (From Search for Spock, "Sarek, child of Skon, child of Solkar).

The Vulcans greeting Cochrane is among my favorite parts of the movie.