The Big Three (glossary term)

The Big Three is usually shorthand for the three main characters in a movie, television show, book, or other source and is almost always used in a gen, friendship way, not in a slash or threesome context.
It is most prevalent in Star Trek: The Original Series fandom, where it refers to the characters Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Less common is its use in Star Wars to refer to Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and Han Solo. It may be a term that has fallen out of use.
The phrase is also used in literary science fiction fandom where it is a nickname for the three top science fiction writers of the Golden Age of English-speaking Science Fiction. As of the twenty-first century, the list usually consists of Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke. However, fancyclopedia lists other candidates as well: A. E. van Vogt and Ray Bradbury.
Some other Big Threes are: 
* Comics Fandom - the Big Three refers to the three main fanfiction archives launched in the 1990s: Shifting Sands (1997-2006); Lori's X-Men Archive (1994-1996) and Fonts of Wisdom (1997-2009). 
==Examples of Use: Star Trek==
* "In "Noli Mi Tangere" Kate Birkel examines Spock's reaction to McCoy's painful probing of the barriers he places around his humanity. A rather more acerbic view of the "Big Three" not entirely consistent with my own perceptions, it is nonetheless interesting." comments in Universal Translator #11 (1981) about a story in Sublight Reading #2 
* "Star Trek is science fiction, not interstellar soap opera, and the Big Three are merely characters in a far larger setting of time and space...." from an issue of The Halkan Council 
* "Kirk and Spock must solve the mystery behind a forcefield which has immobilized the Enterprise. A fine look at the Big Three." from a story summary in Orion Archives: 2266-2270 The First Mission 
* "... a hard fact that I've just learned: stories that do not include the Big Three don't sell. I've just written a T'Pring story that is looking for a good home because there just isn't a market for the background characters." from a letter in Treklink #8 in 1986 
* "M.R.O. Ludwig's illos for this are interesting as they show us the Big Three in turbans and robes. I'm a student of the Middle East and I loved the thought of Spock looking like Lawrence of Arabia." comments in Datazine #33 (1984) about Footprints in the Sand by Joan Marie Verba 
* "'Alliance' is in need of work. The characters were a little too out-and-dried, and the Big Three acted like they hardly knew each other, the story substituting action for characterization." from comments in Jundland Wastes #3 (1981) about a story in Millennium 
File:Ridersstars2-gordon-1.jpg|by Barbara P. Gordon, from Riders to the Stars #2 (1983)
File:Nakedtimes3-5.jpg| by Ruth Kurz for the story Intruder in Naked Times #3 (1979) -- While this is a Kirk/Spock story, McCoy is shown here in a close non-sexual context
File:Moremissions5-9.jpg|artist is Dragon, from More Missions, More Myths #5 (1986), -- The accompanying poem is "Three Together" is by Anne K. Monnig: "How lovely it is -- The heavens with A myriad of stars, Lighting our way. On the bridge, The three of us, As usual: Drawn together. In Friendship, Loyalty, And Love." 
File:Nome8art1.jpg|artist is Suzan Lovett, printed in Nome #8 (1985). The illo was also used as the cover of the 1992 book Enterprising Women. In the book, the author wrote: "Suzan Lovett's death-and-resurrection illustration for the poem "All Stories New"... Note the religious referents: cross, flames, touching hands from Michelangelo's Creation of Man, and the three principals from Star Trek, all set against a background of stars and planets." 
File:ST ThereAreThree.jpg|artist is Suzan Lovett, from There Are Three (1985)
File:Neverandalways3.jpg|artist is Ellen Conway, from Nome #9 (1986)
==Examples of Use: Star Wars==
* "The ending of the story could have been more positive and conclusive but I should remember this is a continuing series. Still, I did so want a final scene with the Big Three." comments in From Star Wars to Jedi: The Fanzine Way (1985) about Maggie Nowakowska's COUNTERPOINT: THE BATTLE FOR RYNAN 
* "The Big Three (Luke, Leia and Han) turn up just in time to get her involved in an unexplained rebel plot, then disappear, leaving her to be captured by Darth Vader." comments by a fan in Jundland Wastes about "Tarleen Vahylon by C.A Bucar" in Galactic Flight #4 
File:Idontsmell7.jpg|Kate is the artist, from I Don't Care What You Smell #7 (2002)
File:Tremor10-1.jpg|artist is Catherine Churko, from A Tremor in the Force #10 (1997)
File:Fanzine-anewhope-01.jpg|Karen River, from A New Hope #1 (1986)
==References==
Category:Star Trek Fandom Glossary