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Post by geoffrey on Jan 27, 2015 11:34:12 GMT -6
If someone wants to do some Star Trek gaming, the question arises as to what Star Trek stuff will be canon in your game. In other words, what Star Trek stuff "really happened" and what will be ignored. Of course, there is a metric ton of Star Trek stuff. The first and most obvious step is to accept nothing outside of the 79 episodes of the original Star Trek. Great! Now you only have to get up to speed on 66 hours of footage. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH.........
A second step would be to accept only the first season of Star Trek (before Chekov came on board). Now we're down to 29 episodes, but that's still 24 hours of footage. How can we further restrict this?
Very few people know that the character of Yeoman Janice Rand was supposed to have a bigger role in Star Trek than she ended up having. You will notice on the title cards of the early episodes of season 1 that she is listed on the same title card as Dr. McCoy. She was supposed to have a bigger role than Sulu, Uhura, or Scotty. Unfortunately, Yeoman Rand is mostly overlooked. Everybody focuses on the "big seven" (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura). Everyone else is regarded as an also-ran.
Try this: Restrict your canon to the first 11 episodes (of which Rand appears in 8) filmed in 1966 of the first season of Star Trek:
1. The Corbomite Maneuver (filmed May 24 to June 2, 1966) 2. Mudd's Women (filmed June 2 to 13, 1966) [Rand does not make an appearance.] 3. The Enemy Within (filmed June 14 to 22, 1966) 4. The Man Trap (filmed June 22 to 30, 1966) 5. The Naked Time (filmed June 30 to July 11, 1966) 6. Charlie X (filmed July 11 to 19, 1966) 7. Balance of Terror (filmed July 20 to 28, 1966) 8. What Are Little Girls Made Of? (filmed July 28 to August 9, 1966) [Rand does not make an appearance.] 9. Dagger of the Mind (filmed August 9 to 17, 1966) [Rand does not make an appearance.] 10. Miri (filmed August 22 to 30, 1966) 11. The Conscience of the King (filmed September 13 to 21, 1966)
Now you have only about 9 hours of footage to consider--still a lot, but now quite doable.
When you consider these 11 episdoes in isolation, you'll notice that they have a somewhat different flavor than later episodes. They are less humorous (with the notable exception of "The Naked Time"). Kirk doesn't have a girlfriend of the week. Plus it includes my all-time favorite Trek episode: "Balance of Terror".
I would end this post by saying, "Live long and prosper", but Spock doesn't say that in these 11 episodes. (There aren't any Klingons, either.)
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Post by Stormcrow on Jan 27, 2015 15:44:08 GMT -6
They'd obviously jumped the shark by the time they filmed "Mudd's Women," so just count "Corbomite." None of the rest of Star Trek ever happened and may not be referred to.
Or would that be silly?
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Post by talysman on Jan 27, 2015 16:20:13 GMT -6
They'd obviously jumped the shark by the time they filmed "Mudd's Women," so just count "Corbomite." None of the rest of Star Trek ever happened and may not be referred to. Or would that be silly? If you're going to pick just one episode, I'd rather go by the Gorn Canon. That give you two antagonistic alien species, one aloof and condescending, the other brutal and aggressive. It gives you the idea of colony worlds. It gives you powerful psi powers. The Pilot Canon is also a cool idea, but whether it's better to go with both pilots or only pick one is something I can't decide.
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Post by geoffrey on Jan 27, 2015 17:41:17 GMT -6
If I were limited to a single episode, I'd go with "Balance of Terror". Roman Romulans. Neutral Zone. Simmering antagonism.
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Post by tkdco2 on Jan 27, 2015 19:12:33 GMT -6
I agree with Balance of Terror. My group loved starship combat when we played FASA Trek.
Too bad my group isn't into comedic roleplaying, so I'd base my campaign on The Trouble With Tribbles.
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Post by cadriel on Jan 27, 2015 19:58:40 GMT -6
There is a clear original that can be mined pretty simply: the material from before "The Man Trap" ever aired. First, you've got The Cage, the episode starring Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike of the Enterprise. (The footage for "The Cage" was reused in "The Menagerie"). It's 63 minutes of black & white pilot, and it establishes a different overall continuity. Spock, for instance, is not nearly as cold and emotionless, and Pike is far more deliberative than Kirk. Then you use Roddenberry's written pitch, "Star Trek Is ...", to fill things out. There's a summary at Memory Alpha, and you can read the full text in a PDF scan. It contains enough rough detail to run a very full campaign; turn each paragraph-long snippet into a planet and stick them on a hex map, and then have the players choose which they will go to next. This is the utterly original Trek, after all, and since it lacks any of the official original series continuity, it gives a much greater degree of freedom. And it's all very digestible, one long episode and the original treatment. (And yes, in the 1990s when "The Cage" was on home video and I watched Next Generation in syndication every evening, Hunter's Captain Pike seemed like a refreshing switch from Shatner's hammy Captain Kirk. I didn't appreciate Kirk until I was in college. But I always thought exploring that proto-Trek would be cool, but I never got into Star Trek fanfic or anything like that.)
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Post by Falconer on Jan 27, 2015 21:06:48 GMT -6
I know exactly what you mean, Geoffrey, and I have a special fondness for the “Rand Canon,” when the Enterprise seemed so big and serious. It’s a good theme for a marathon of watching. (But I also like the idea of a marathon of the Christine Chapel episodes—she had some great episodes, and ultimately IMO she became probably the 5th most important character on the show.)
It’s like, you can sit down and watch 6 hours (or less) of Star Wars, or 8 hours (or less) of Firefly, and grok 99% of it, understand peoples references and quotes, etc., so it would be great for that option to exist for Star Trek.
I’m not completely sure this minimal canon exercise is really relevant to a RPG, though. Why does it matter, for example, whether or not “Miri” “happened”? Would the campaign have to use that planet, just because it’s one of only ~10 known planets and now essential to the Star Trek feel? Or is the point more that the second season’s “Amok Time” and “Journey to Babel” add an oppressive amount of universe-building? I don’t think so.
One thing’s for sure: I would eschew the path of the movies (basically all the movies). No hanging around Earth, saving it from blowing up all the time! You’re out in deep space on a 5-year mission, and the ship is your only home.
I might want to avoid the following topics altogether because the movies recycled them so much: Klingons, Romulans, Khan, and time travel. Okay, probably not…
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Post by geoffrey on Jan 27, 2015 23:02:24 GMT -6
In terms of RPGs, the Rand canon would be assumed as part of the galactic background. Romulans do exist, and we fought a war with them long ago. Klingons? What's that? Eugenics Wars? Huh? Weird Vulcan mating rituals? No such thing. Etc. There's simply less canon, less stuff. You can use the Rand canon to still have a Star Trek milieu, but allowing for greater variation. A Star Trek universe without Tholians, without all the stuff introduced in the 60-odd later episodes. The Rand canon gives you a springboard, a starting point. At some point, enough is enough. The 11-episode Rand canon is one possible and manageable basis for a fun Star Trek game. (Or, for that matter, just to watch. It's fun to watch them while pretending that no other Star Trek stories ever existed.)
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Post by Falconer on Jan 27, 2015 23:12:11 GMT -6
FYI: “Mister Spock, the men from Vulcan treat their women strangely. At least, people say that, but you’re part human too. I know you don’t, you couldn’t, hurt me, would you?” —The Naked Time
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Post by tkdco2 on Jan 28, 2015 1:49:18 GMT -6
Way back in the late 1980s/early 1990s, when my friends and I were playing the Sat Trek rpg by FASA, I wanted to run a a campaign with Christopher Pike and crew. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any interest in it. The first 4 movies were already out, and the rest of the group were more interested in that era instead of "regressing" as one of them put it.
I still think the idea has merit.
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Post by kenmeister on Feb 9, 2015 10:13:55 GMT -6
If someone wants to do some Star Trek gaming, the question arises as to what Star Trek stuff will be canon in your game. In other words, what Star Trek stuff "really happened" and what will be ignored. Of course, there is a metric ton of Star Trek stuff. The first and most obvious step is to accept nothing outside of the 79 episodes of the original Star Trek. Great! Now you only have to get up to speed on 66 hours of footage. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH......... A second step would be to accept only the first season of Star Trek (before Chekov came on board). Now we're down to 29 episodes, but that's still 24 hours of footage. How can we further restrict this? Very few people know that the character of Yeoman Janice Rand was supposed to have a bigger role in Star Trek than she ended up having. You will notice on the title cards of the early episodes of season 1 that she is listed on the same title card as Dr. McCoy. She was supposed to have a bigger role than Sulu, Uhura, or Scotty. Unfortunately, Yeoman Rand is mostly overlooked. Everybody focuses on the "big seven" (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura). Everyone else is regarded as an also-ran. Try this: Restrict your canon to the first 11 episodes (of which Rand appears in 8) filmed in 1966 of the first season of Star Trek: 1. The Corbomite Maneuver (filmed May 24 to June 2, 1966) 2. Mudd's Women (filmed June 2 to 13, 1966) [Rand does not make an appearance.] 3. The Enemy Within (filmed June 14 to 22, 1966) 4. The Man Trap (filmed June 22 to 30, 1966) 5. The Naked Time (filmed June 30 to July 11, 1966) 6. Charlie X (filmed July 11 to 19, 1966) 7. Balance of Terror (filmed July 20 to 28, 1966) 8. What Are Little Girls Made Of? (filmed July 28 to August 9, 1966) [Rand does not make an appearance.] 9. Dagger of the Mind (filmed August 9 to 17, 1966) [Rand does not make an appearance.] 10. Miri (filmed August 22 to 30, 1966) 11. The Conscience of the King (filmed September 13 to 21, 1966) Now you have only about 9 hours of footage to consider--still a lot, but now quite doable. When you consider these 11 episdoes in isolation, you'll notice that they have a somewhat different flavor than later episodes. They are less humorous (with the notable exception of "The Naked Time"). Kirk doesn't have a girlfriend of the week. Plus it includes my all-time favorite Trek episode: "Balance of Terror". I would end this post by saying, "Live long and prosper", but Spock doesn't say that in these 11 episodes. (There aren't any Klingons, either.) Not sure why you are leaving out Where No Man Has Gone Before, filmed in 1965. It lays the groundwork for having psionics in your game!
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Post by talysman on Feb 9, 2015 12:02:08 GMT -6
If someone wants to do some Star Trek gaming, the question arises as to what Star Trek stuff will be canon in your game. In other words, what Star Trek stuff "really happened" and what will be ignored. Of course, there is a metric ton of Star Trek stuff. The first and most obvious step is to accept nothing outside of the 79 episodes of the original Star Trek. Great! Now you only have to get up to speed on 66 hours of footage. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH......... A second step would be to accept only the first season of Star Trek (before Chekov came on board). Now we're down to 29 episodes, but that's still 24 hours of footage. How can we further restrict this? Very few people know that the character of Yeoman Janice Rand was supposed to have a bigger role in Star Trek than she ended up having. You will notice on the title cards of the early episodes of season 1 that she is listed on the same title card as Dr. McCoy. She was supposed to have a bigger role than Sulu, Uhura, or Scotty. Unfortunately, Yeoman Rand is mostly overlooked. Everybody focuses on the "big seven" (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura). Everyone else is regarded as an also-ran. Try this: Restrict your canon to the first 11 episodes (of which Rand appears in 8) filmed in 1966 of the first season of Star Trek: 1. The Corbomite Maneuver (filmed May 24 to June 2, 1966) 2. Mudd's Women (filmed June 2 to 13, 1966) [Rand does not make an appearance.] 3. The Enemy Within (filmed June 14 to 22, 1966) 4. The Man Trap (filmed June 22 to 30, 1966) 5. The Naked Time (filmed June 30 to July 11, 1966) 6. Charlie X (filmed July 11 to 19, 1966) 7. Balance of Terror (filmed July 20 to 28, 1966) 8. What Are Little Girls Made Of? (filmed July 28 to August 9, 1966) [Rand does not make an appearance.] 9. Dagger of the Mind (filmed August 9 to 17, 1966) [Rand does not make an appearance.] 10. Miri (filmed August 22 to 30, 1966) 11. The Conscience of the King (filmed September 13 to 21, 1966) Now you have only about 9 hours of footage to consider--still a lot, but now quite doable. When you consider these 11 episdoes in isolation, you'll notice that they have a somewhat different flavor than later episodes. They are less humorous (with the notable exception of "The Naked Time"). Kirk doesn't have a girlfriend of the week. Plus it includes my all-time favorite Trek episode: "Balance of Terror". I would end this post by saying, "Live long and prosper", but Spock doesn't say that in these 11 episodes. (There aren't any Klingons, either.) Not sure why you are leaving out Where No Man Has Gone Before, filmed in 1965. It lays the groundwork for having psionics in your game! Because that's the rule he set for himself: start and end with Yeoman Rand. Yeoman Rand isn't in either pilot. Now, you can suggest an alternative rule for your canon and see what kind of Trek universe that implies. I suggested a "Pilot Canon", based on!y on "The Cage" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before". That's an interesting Trek universe: psionic plays a central role in both, there are only three alien races, and colonization plays a heavier role.
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Post by Finarvyn on Feb 10, 2015 5:01:58 GMT -6
This is an awesome thread and I'm not sure how I've missed this for several days. The notion of a "Rand only" or "Chapel only" canon is an intriguing one, but I agree that Where No Man Has Gone Before is one I hate to leave out. Also, I don't like the notion of a canon list without Klingons, since they are so integral to the feel of Star Trek. Paramount put out a couple of DVD collections, one on the Borg and another on Klingons and another with Time Travel, and so on. It would be fun to take TOS and make some lists of "all Klingon" or "all Romulin" or whatever so that someone who wanted to pick and choose could have a small list of episodes for viewing. My "favorite TOS" is sort of that of the "Star Trek Technical Manual" combined with the map from the old "Federation Space" wargame. It has a Federation bordered by both Klingons and Romulins, has a space with the Tholians, room to explore in the "north" part of the map, and so on. To this end I'd want to include The Tholian Web (Tholians) and Arena (Gorns) to some sort of first season canon type list. Anyway, this is an awesome thread! Way back in the late 1980s/early 1990s, when my friends and I were playing the Sat Trek rpg by FASA, I wanted to run a campaign with Christopher Pike and crew. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any interest in it. The first 4 movies were already out, and the rest of the group were more interested in that era instead of "regressing" as one of them put it. I still think the idea has merit. There are a couple of paperback novels based on the Pike-era Enterprise. I don't recall if they are any good or not, but they might provide some inspiration and/or additional background since the original pilot is really all we know about Pike.
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Post by tkdco2 on Feb 10, 2015 19:51:32 GMT -6
Thanks. I had read a novel with the original crew with Robert April, the first captain. Kirk's father was his First Officer. April later handed over command to Pike at the end of the novel.
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Post by scottenkainen on Feb 10, 2015 23:57:39 GMT -6
Marvel Comics did a Star Trek: the Early Voyages comic book in the 1990s covering the Pike years. It was pretty good.
~Scott "-enkainen" Casper
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Post by Falconer on Mar 3, 2015 11:10:41 GMT -6
Ooh, another abridged canon would be to just watch episodes that had their own score written for them. That’s something that always elevates an episode to a true work of art, IMO. Or maybe pick a favorite composer or two…
ALEXANDER COURAGE The Cage Where No Man Has Gone Before The Man Trap The Naked Time [The Enterprise Incident] [Plato’s Stepchildren]
JERRY FIELDING The Trouble with Tribbles [Spectre of the Gun]
GERALD FRIED Shore Leave Catspaw Friday’s Child Amok Time [The Paradise Syndrome]
SOL KAPLAN The Enemy Within The Doomsday Machine
JOSEPH MULLENDORE The Conscience of the King
FRED STEINER The Corbomite Maneuver Mudd’s Women Charlie X Balance of Terror What Are Little Girls Made Of? Who Mourns for Adonais? Mirror, Mirror By Any Other Name [Elaan of Troyius] [Spock’s Brain]
I put Season Three episodes in brackets, because, come on, they really shouldn’t be on any minimalistic list!
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Post by coffee on May 4, 2015 23:43:44 GMT -6
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Post by tkdco2 on May 7, 2015 14:45:43 GMT -6
Rest in peace.
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Post by geoffrey on Jul 25, 2016 21:20:03 GMT -6
Here are the seven episodes in which Rand plays a part:
1. The Corbomite Maneuver (filmed May 24 to June 2, 1966) 2. The Enemy Within (filmed June 14 to 22, 1966) 3. The Man Trap (filmed June 22 to 30, 1966) 4. The Naked Time (filmed June 30 to July 11, 1966) 5. Charlie X (filmed July 11 to 19, 1966) 6. Balance of Terror (filmed July 20 to 28, 1966) 7. Miri (filmed August 22 to 30, 1966)
That comes to about 5 hours and 50 minutes of Rand Trek.
I'm not counting one episdoe in which Rand appears: The Conscience of the King (filmed September 13 to 21, 1966)
Why? Because in that episode Rand says not a word and appears on screen in the background for perhaps 5 seconds. (Real world explanation: She had already signed to be in that episode, but they had told her she was fired before filming it.)
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Post by Falconer on Jul 26, 2016 13:03:45 GMT -6
Yeah, but, surely “The Conscience of the King” should be on every minimalist list of great Trek episodes, so, we should accept the flimsy excuse of Rand’s brief appearance. I came up with another list based on the (“good”) episodes mentioned in this article: www.claremont.org/crb/article/the-politics-of-star-trek/The Conscience of the King Return of the Archons Space Seed Errand of Mercy Friday’s Child The Apple The Trouble with Tribbles The Omega Glory The Way to Eden The Wrath of Khan Not necessarily a “best of” in most senses, but, kind of neat to watch a group of episodes threaded together by a political-philosophical article like that. It would be neat to make similar lists of ~10 episodes in which a coherent story is threaded. Like a Romantic Exploits of Kirk thread culminating in “Requiem for Methuselah”; or a Space Empires thread that focuses on the allies and enemies of the Federation (warp-capable, non-primitive, non-godlike), something like this: Balance of Terror (Romulan) The Arena (Gorn) Errand of Mercy (Klingon) Amok Time (Vulcan) Journey to Babel (Vulcan-Andorian-Tellarite-Orion) A Private Little War (Klingon) The Enterprise Incident (Romulan) The Tholian Web (Thoilan) Day of the Dove (Klingon) The Slaver Weapon (Kzinti) By the way, there’s a bit of an uptick of activity over at the Old School Trek boards. Just one guy resurrecting old threads, mainly, but a few of of us are still around to respond.
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Post by Falconer on Jul 26, 2016 13:19:41 GMT -6
The Pilot Canon:
Forbidden Planet The Cage Where No Man Has Gone Before
How about a Space Battles canon (The Star Wars of Star Trek)?
The Corbomite Maneuver Balance of Terror The Doomsday Machine The Deadly Years The Immunity Syndrome The Ultimate Computer The Wrath of Khan ?
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Post by Falconer on Jan 5, 2020 1:16:57 GMT -6
Here’s a canon I’m mulling about. It’s a mix between Geoffrey’s concept of the Rand era and my ideas about original scores and about a pilot trilogy. I’m hoping the end result will be four sets of coherent trilogies. Here’s where I’m at. It will need a little more thought and perhaps things will be moved around a bit more, but so far it’s looking pretty good:
Forbidden Planet The Cage Where No Man Has Gone Before
The Corbomite Maneuver Mudd’s Women Charlie X
The Enemy Within The Man Trap The Naked Time
Balance of Terror What Are Little Girls Made Of The Conscience of the King
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Baron
Level 4 Theurgist
Invincible Overlord
Posts: 116
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Post by Baron on Apr 2, 2020 14:23:05 GMT -6
Popped over here to talk about something else, and spotted this thread. The "Rand Canon" is probably my favorite "restricted list" POV for Star Trek. I blogged about it last year: themichlinguide.wordpress.com/2019/10/01/yeoman-rand-female-lead-of-star-trek/The show has a very different feel in those early episodes that I miss and would like to emulate in a campaign. I don't know that I'd write out the existence of some other aspects of TOS such as (smooth-headed) Klingons and Romulans as enemies, though. To each their own.
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Post by Punkrabbitt on Apr 3, 2020 3:30:54 GMT -6
I am curious as to the "Forbidden Planet" addition to some of the lists. Would someone care to fill me in? Thank you.
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Post by Falconer on Apr 3, 2020 11:01:50 GMT -6
Because Star Trek is totally derived from it.
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Post by talysman on Apr 3, 2020 11:10:40 GMT -6
I am curious as to the "Forbidden Planet" addition to some of the lists. Would someone care to fill me in? Thank you. If you watch Forbidden Planet, immediately followed by "The Cage" (and possibly "Where No Man Has Gone Before", if you have enough time to do all three in one night,) it's very obvious that Forbidden Planet inspired the pilots, and all three have a very similar feel. Aliens seem rare and mysterious, colonies are far apart, and space is a little bit emptier, nothing like later seasons of TOS and no where near as crowded as TNG+, with all their stellar empires butting up against each other and competition for worlds. The first six episodes on Geoffrey's list fit in with that feel as well. "Balance of Terror" changed that a little. You now have an alien empire with history of conflict and a neutral zone protected by treaty. There's still some vestiges of the old feel: humans have never met the Romulans in person, and there's been no contact between them for a couple generations.
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Post by Piper on Apr 3, 2020 19:52:48 GMT -6
I am curious as to the "Forbidden Planet" addition to some of the lists. Would someone care to fill me in? Thank you. After vociferously denying it for years, Roddenberry finally admitted a few years before his death that "Forbidden Planet" was a big influence on the look and feel of Star Trek (TOS).
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Post by Punkrabbitt on Apr 4, 2020 3:10:34 GMT -6
I appreciate the input about Forbidden Planet. I thought there might be some sort of canon setting it earlier in the Star Trek timeline. However, for gaming in the Star Trek universe, adding Forbidden Planet opens up a lot of possibilities: smaller privately owned starships, self aware robots, and life outside of Star Fleet. So certainly worth including!
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Post by Falconer on Apr 4, 2020 7:23:41 GMT -6
Stuff from Forbidden Planet keeps coming back, too. For example, in The Man Trap you get the ship checking in on a scientific team on a planet, a team whose sole survivor just wants them to go away so he can hide his monster problem. I’m sure you can come up with many more examples. But I have always been struck by the description of the Earth-Romulan War, in which the ships lacked viewscreens. In my headcanon, that war was fought using ships like Cruiser C-57D.
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Post by Finarvyn on Apr 4, 2020 16:34:37 GMT -6
When you consider these 11 episdoes in isolation, you'll notice that they have a somewhat different flavor than later episodes. They are less humorous (with the notable exception of "The Naked Time"). Kirk doesn't have a girlfriend of the week. Plus it includes my all-time favorite Trek episode: "Balance of Terror". I would end this post by saying, "Live long and prosper", but Spock doesn't say that in these 11 episodes. (There aren't any Klingons, either.) I just skimmed this thread in re-read because it's been a while since I thought much about this, but I was curious if anyone has taken this concept and run with it. It would be fun to make a "what we know" list of information just from these 11 episodes to see what we wind up with. And from there one could add in (or not add in) what they like (or dislike) * The two pilots -- the first pilot brings in Talosians but also stuff like phaser cannons, while the second hits so much on ESP (which was never really brought back into the storyline) * The alien races (Andorian, Romulan, Klingon, whatever) -- one thing that is strange about some of the Discovery stuff is that they have aliens everywhere, but in early TOS days I sense a very human-heavy starfleet.
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