• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

What if Gary Mitchell didn't die?

CrazyMatt

Fleet Captain
Fleet Captain
HMMMMMMMMM..............just photoshopping for fun. What if the character of Lt Cdr Gary Mitchell had not been killed off and remained the old friend of Kirk, as well as the second officer? How would TOS have played out?

ifgaryhadlived.jpg
 
Last edited:
Then Frank Poole might have been played by someone else. Dying in STAR TREK probably allowed him to die in 2001, too.
 
He would have played the roles of Bailey in "The Corbomite Maneuver" and of Lt. Styles in "Balance of Terror". Possibly someone with an attitude like "hit them hard, while we still can" or "fire first and ask questions later".

Come to think of it it might have been pretty interesting. :)

Bob
 
HMMMMMMMMM..............just photoshopping for fun. What if the character of Lt Cdr Gary Mitchell had not been killed of and remained the old friend of Kirk, as well as the second officer? How would TOS have played out?

Some people think Mitchell was the first officer during "Where No Man...", so Spock would've been second officer.

If Mitchell were retained, then he probably would've brought the emotional component to the triumvirate that McCoy did. So what then of McCoy?
 
HMMMMMMMMM..............just photoshopping for fun. What if the character of Lt Cdr Gary Mitchell had not been killed of and remained the old friend of Kirk, as well as the second officer? How would TOS have played out?

Some people think Mitchell was the first officer during "Where No Man...", so Spock would've been second officer.

If Mitchell were retained, then he probably would've brought the emotional component to the triumvirate that McCoy did. So what then of McCoy?

Then there would be no McCoy as we know him. The doctor would be a secondary character at the level of the other secondary characters.
 
Mitchell's not really a "regular" type character. Not sure what role he would fill in the show beyond supernumerary.

HMMMMMMMMM..............just photoshopping for fun. What if the character of Lt Cdr Gary Mitchell had not been killed of and remained the old friend of Kirk, as well as the second officer? How would TOS have played out?

Some people think Mitchell was the first officer during "Where No Man...", so Spock would've been second officer.

If Mitchell were retained, then he probably would've brought the emotional component to the triumvirate that McCoy did. So what then of McCoy?

Then there would be no McCoy as we know him. The doctor would be a secondary character at the level of the other secondary characters.
Both pilots had a "McCoy". It's safe to say that that the Doctor character would not be dropped to secondary status.
 
Both pilots had a "McCoy". It's safe to say that that the Doctor character would not be dropped to secondary status.

But the second pilot was written around Mitchell turning into a megalomaniac and being killed. I'm sure if the show wanted a "triumvirate" that had Mitchell as the emotional element instead of the doctor character, the doctor would have been demoted to secondary status in the beginning.
 
Both pilots had a "McCoy". It's safe to say that that the Doctor character would not be dropped to secondary status.

But the second pilot was written around Mitchell turning into a megalomaniac and being killed. I'm sure if the show wanted a "triumvirate" that had Mitchell as the emotional element instead of the doctor character, the doctor would have been demoted to secondary status in the beginning.
To do that, Mitchell would have to be completely rewritten. The guy we see in WNMHGB does not fill the Doctor role of "emotion." He's a cocky womanizer, not unlike the guy Kirk would evolve into. If Kirk was more cerebral, Mitchell might be the Riker to his Picard.
 
To do that, Mitchell would have to be completely rewritten. The guy we see in WNMHGB does not fill the Doctor role of "emotion." He's a cocky womanizer, not unlike the guy Kirk would evolve into. If Kirk was more cerebral, Mitchell might be the Riker to his Picard.

He was a cocky womanizer in the "Gary Mitchell must die" episode they ended up with. My idea would hold that had they felt they wanted Gary to be the McCoy-like emotional character, they write him like that, the doctor becomes a secondary character, and someone else becomes an omnipotent megalomaniac and dies.
 
The Fanfilm "Of Gods and Men" takes place in an alternate universe where he did not die- he went on to control both the Federation and Klingon Empires (merged together). Great film with a lot of Franz Joseph style ships in a huge battle.
 
To do that, Mitchell would have to be completely rewritten. The guy we see in WNMHGB does not fill the Doctor role of "emotion." He's a cocky womanizer, not unlike the guy Kirk would evolve into. If Kirk was more cerebral, Mitchell might be the Riker to his Picard.

He was a cocky womanizer in the "Gary Mitchell must die" episode they ended up with. My idea would hold that had they felt they wanted Gary to be the McCoy-like emotional character, they write him like that, the doctor becomes a secondary character, and someone else becomes an omnipotent megalomaniac and dies.
Then it's not really "Gary Mitchell", it's just McCoy without a medical degree.
 
Mitchell had to die

There was only room for one smug womaniser on the Bridge

And quite frankly, Kirk was the better smug womaniser
 
[/QUOTE]

Yep, shame they never brought him back in one of the original trek movies. He could have been the god character.[/QUOTE]

TFF would have been a MUCH stronger film if "God" had actually been an entrapped Mitchell trying to revenge himself on Kirk while using Kirk's people to try and free himself.

Hey, JJ! I have the story for ST20! :)
 
I think that Gary did exactly what his character was written to do... It set the stage for trek to follow, I think that episode had much more depth and history to any others. It was a great one also.

Would he have made a great movie character, YES maybe even better than Kahn if done right( let the rants start haha). It's good they didn't bring back another "lost" TOS character though, same thing twice would have been lame.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top