From: smd@hrt216.brooks.af.mil (Sten M. Drescher)
Subject: Relics Novel Critique (Was: Re: Aye, Captain! "Relics" SPOILERS)
Organization: AL/HRTI, Brooks AFB
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 19:11:22 GMT

	First, the reply:
On Tue, 13 Oct 92 16:20:30 GMT, dpe@inel.gov (Don Palmrose) said:

 Don> In article <1992Oct12.163041.12522@tin.monsanto.com>, lesnyd@monsanto.com (Larry E. Snyder) writes:
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 Don> My only problem with the show that has not been posted yet was why
 Don> was someone "out of the loop" for 75 years left utterly alone
 Don> without an escort to help him adjust (a perfect job for Counselor
 Don> Troi).  They could have done all of the same stuff (going to
 Don> Ten-forward and the holodeck), still have the effect of Scotty
 Don> feeling badly out of place, and yet show that the current crew
 Don> were worried about his fitting in rather than the "just a bother"
 Don> attitude displayed by the non-engineers.  BTW, the conflict with
	Agreed.  With all the experience the E-D has had with people
displaced in time (the 3 humans in cryo-sleep, the Klingon vessel, the
'Cheers' ship), it should be SOP (standard operating procedure) to have
the people meet with a counselor, especially when they make the trip alone.

 Don> Geordi was perfect but the afterward part could have been built on
 Don> differently in a way like I suggested above (i.e. Geordi calls
 Don> Troi right after Scotty leaves and says "help").  It would also
 Don> worked better if Whoopi's character was the one at the bar
 Don> beside/or along with Data.
	Well, in the novelization, Guinan is there, but I suppose that
Whoopi's schedule just didn't allow for her to be in the show.

 Don> That's my $0.02 worth.  Overall, I will say that this one is a
 Don> keeper and could have been a better two parter than Time Arrow I
 Don> and II.
	Well, I like the idea of keeping it as a 1 parter, but since I
haven't seen the show yet, I'll reserve judgement.

	Now, for my critiques of the book:

	Naturally the book had more in it than the show could, which
probably helps make a more complete story.  Overall, I liked the book,
but there were some problems.  The first was in the lack of immediate
counseling, as noted above.  Another is the gratuitious death of Ensign
Franklin, which I saw as pretty pointless.  Along with that, _Realm of
Fear_ showed that a perceivable amount of time passes while in
transport.  While that's definitely a YATI, it should have been somehow
acknowledged, since it's pretty well accepted (here at least) that _RoF_
set's the stage for Scotty's 75 years in transport.  I was less than
pleased with the idea of letting Scotty take off with the shuttle at the
end (I'd like to see how Picard justified the loss to SFC, for
instance), and shipping him off to a StarBase would still allow for him
to return.  I never felt that the subplot about the friction between
Riker and Ensign Kane was really ever fully explained.  Going along with
that, the landing party sequence seemed pretty senseless aside for the
connection to the Riker-Kane subplot.  Had they actually FOUND
something, or somie indication of something, in the shielded area, it
could have stood on it's own, but as it is...  On the writing end, I
would have liked for Friedman to remember what he's written.  For
example, when Ensign Kane shows Scotty to his quarters, he tells him
that Ten Forward is available to him, but later, when he meets up with
Data, he's never heard of Ten Forward before.  It's a minor point, but
it did detract from my reading pleasure.

	On the positive side, I thought the characterization of Scotty
was pretty good.  He was a bit too caught up in reminiscing over past
adventures, but I'll chalk that up to the emotional shock of being 75
years in the future.  I felt that the circumstances of his being aboard
the Jenolen (going to a retirement planet), and his comments upon being
retrieved (Kirk bringing the Enterprise out of mothballs), place the
initial trip as being shortly after ST6, so I'll be dismayed if Scotty
shows up in a TOS ST7. I liked the scene in the holodeck, although
Spock's memory should have been limited to things he might have known at
that time.  I wish they could have found some younger actors to do the
scene on the show, but I suppose that between *certain* fan displeasure
and the salaries, that would have been impossible.  I liked the
interplay between Scotty and Geordi, especially the way Geordi's
attitude went from annoyance, through tolerance, to respect.  As far as
character development goes, the two important ones, Scotty's acceptance
of the situation and Geordi's attitude toward Scotty, rightly,go hand in
hand.  The miracle on the Jenolen was classic Scotty (who needs
McGyver?), and hopefully Geordi will have learned a few things from him
(maybe he'll even call up a holodeck Scotty next time he needs advice,
now that his fantasy about Dr Brahm(sp) has been shattered <g><hint,
hint>).  I would like to have TNG/DSN run into Scotty from time to time,
because I can't envision him going quietly off into the sunset.

-------------------------------+---------------------------------------------
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.

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