From: smd@hrt216.brooks.af.mil (Sten M. Drescher)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.current
Subject: Re: Dread of Scotty Episode
Date: 11 Oct 92 23:08:09 GMT
Organization: AL/HRTI, Brooks AFB

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.
-------------------------------+---------------------------------------------
Sten Drescher                  | There are men who seem like more than men.
AL/HRTI                        | Living examples of what we could be if we
Brooks AFB, TX 78235           | tried.  They are men of courage, compassion,
-------------------------------+ and justice.  On the other hand, there are
sdrescher@animal.brooks.af.mil | presidential candidates.