From: YANJUNA@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu
Subject: Re: **MILD SPOILER*** Dread of Scotty Episode
Organization: Yale University
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 92 20:08:38 EDT

   I have just finished reading the novelization of "Relics" the Scotty
episode.  I am NOT going to describe the plot (though any good Trekkie
can probably guess.), but I am going to make some comments.
   Of course, novelization is not the same thing as the show itself,
and you will have to wait for the satellite people for the full reviews.
   Possible spoiler for Relics.  Since I intend to reply somewhat to the
following article, I'll use that for spoiler protection.
 
>In article <Bvu541.Gsw@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> hucke@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Matt Hucke) writes:
>
>   2. it might be retconned away at a later date: it is said that he was
>   trapped for "75 years".  Now, most timelines would put that as anywhere
>   from immediately after ST6 to 5 years later.  Would Paramount really
>   stick to continuity and leave Captain Scott out of the next few movies,
>   because he's trapped in limbo?  If he isn't allowed to appear in ST7 or
>   8, because he's been scrambled, all his fans will be angered.  If he's
>   there anyway, after the date he disappeared, people who value continuity
>   will be angered.  Personally, I fall under both categories, so I'm
>   really going to be pissed at the next movie unless they say it's
>   immediately after TUC... why couldn't Paramount simply have said he was
>   trapped for *sixty-five* years?  Much simpler, and Doohan would be able
>   to appear in at least 3-4 more movies.
>
>	Personally, I hope that the ONLY TOS characters who appear in
>ST(tos)7 are Capt Sulu and (maybe) Cmdr Chekov as his First Officer.
>While I agree that the characters have been shamefully neglected, there
>are 3 reasons I don't want them in ST7:
>
>1) It would take too much reconning to bring the whole crew back after
>they retired after ST6.  They can easily retcon Chekov retiring ('Well,
>Chekov wasn't one of the people Kirk was referring to when he said his
>crew was retiring.'), but there's only so many people I'd buy that for.
>
>2) The Enterprise-A is scrap!  The Enterprise-B is supposed to be an
>Excilsior-class vessel (re:_TNG Tech Manual_), and the Excelsior itself
>should be recommissioned to be it.  Given that, I can't see Scotty
>working for Sulu (since Scotty was Captain in ST3, while Sulu apparently
>wasn't promoted until between ST4 and ST6 [strange numbering of the
>movies, isn't it?  I think they took lessons from the Naked Gun folks
>;)], Scotty out-ranks Sulu).
>
>3) Assuming that they don't recommission the Excelsior, I think the
>characters of Kirk/Spock/McCoy have been over-explored, and I don't want
>another movie revolving around them.  Since Scotty shows no desire to be
>in command of a ship, a new character would need to be brought in to
>become captain, and I want to see Capt Sulu!
>
>	It wouldn't be bad if the reason Scotty was in Starfleet for the
>accident was if SF reactivated him for a special project (a la Adm Grace
>Hopper, who found that the only way the Navy would let her stay retired
>was to die), and he had the accident, but I think that all of the
>original crew (characters and actors) except Sulu and Chekov are a bit
>too old to continue.
 
   I enthusiastically support the idea of a movie, or perhaps even a TV
show with Sulu and Checov as main characters, with perhaps Kirk, Spock
and McCoy showing up as guest characters.  In fact, when I first heard
rumours of "Next Generation", I thought they would follow this course.
 
   I have just read the novelization of the Scotty episode.  It takes
place after Scotty has "retired."  The timing is ambigous enough so that
if the Kirk and the Gang decided to buck Starfleet orders and go off
on another mission, it gives them the opportunity.  Of course, one can
never tell how much of the novelization is official.  According to
the original scripts of STII, Sulu was promoted as the Captain of
Excelsior.  Also, "Captain of Engineering" is not the same thing
as the Captain of a starship (as the original poster stated above.)
It may be just an honorific given to Scotty exclusively.  The novelization
goes on and on about how Scotty was THE best engineer in Starfleet of
the 23rd century, and how he wrote some of the specs.  I have never
heard any reference to Captain of Engineering either in Trek, or
in any military literature.  (Other than Scotty, of course.)
   The story itself looks somewhat boring.  The interplay between
Geordi and Scotty may be very good.  Considering that Picard possesses
the memories of Sarek and Spock (the mindmeld goes both ways, doesn't it?)
the interplay between Picard and Scotty seems woefully small.  The special
effects should be good.  There was a wonderful scene in the book where
Scotty relives an anniversary party on the original TV bridge of the
Enterprise.  I hope they keep it, but they probably never even filmed it,
since it requires Shatner, Nimoy, etc.
   Brush up on your Dyson Spheres.
 
                          Junsok Yang (YAMJUNA @YALEVM.ycc.yale.edu)