Star Trekking for July 28, 2020
For All Mankind
Welcome to Star Trekking, my weekly attempt to share points of interest and random intersections in the final frontier.
Lower Decks starts next week, Discovery returns in October. It’s a good time to be a Trek nerd. Er, fan. I mean fan. Trek fan.
From the Why Didn’t We Think Of This When We Were Kids Department.
Endorse.
Look, I don’t love every minute of Discovery or Picard (or even the JJverse films) and I have no idea if Lower Decks will be in my wheelhouse at all. Heck, I haven’t even seen more than three or four episodes of Enterprise and don’t mind pretending it doesn’t exist. But I’d never argue that any of those shows aren’t “real” Star Trek.
Got a 3D printer?
FOR ALL MANKIND
My wife and I are in the midst of watching this series on Apple TV+. I’m quite enjoying it and have been struck by two Trek references so far.
The first is really more of an echo than a direct reference: one episode features extensive location work at Vazquez Rocks.
The second came in episode 7 with discussion of the actor John Fiedler.
When he appeared on Star Trek, Fiedler was already a familiar face from playing meek, nervous characters in numerous films and TV shows.
In For All Mankind, Fielder is commented upon from his appearance as the mild-mannered Mr. Peterson on the Bob Newhart Show. A few of his other roles are noted, including that of Hengist in Star Trek.
What I really loved about this mention is that - as we know - Mr. Hengist turns out to be a murderous alien spirit who was also Jack the Ripper. And in this episode of For All Mankind, one of the main characters has a similar change - not from meek to murderous, but from easy going to bug nuts freaked out. Wolf in the Fold subverted audience expectations of what they ‘knew” was the typical John Fielder role. And by discussing Fiedler at the top of an episode of For All Mankind, writer Ronald D. Moore foreshadows the journey of the character of Gordo - someone we think would always be the most easygoing in a stressful environment turns out to be, well, not so easygoing.
Good work, Ron.
Honestly, the main reason I was excited to play Vinnie in a production of The Odd Couple a few years back is that John Fiedler played that role on Broadway and in the movie. Always happy to follow in illustrious Trek-adjacent footsteps.
ART TREK TUESDAY
with Lee Sargent
Each week, one of my favorite artists, Lee Sargent, draws a random Trek-related scene. However, this week we have something a little different.
Lee has started a new podcast, the Art Trek Podcast. And his most recent episode includes discussion of this birthday card.
Check out those boots!
You can see more of the card and listen to the podcast on Lee’s site: https://leedrawsstuff.com/art-trek-podcast-3-captain-kirk-random-house-birthday-card
Check out more of Lee’s art at LeeDrawsStuff.com. Support his work at Patreon.com
Never forget that the Enterprise has a bowling alley.
This simple feeling.
MIND MELD
With Leslie E. Owen.
In which we get to know a Trek fan just a little bit better.
Please tell us a little about yourself.
Name is Leslie E Owen, I use both my birth name and Milo Owen for writing. Grew up in Connecticut with summers in Maine, my dad was a physical oceanographer, my mom was in retail & owned her own businesses with my stepdad. I have two younger sisters. Graduated from the University of Arizona in Tucson with a major in Creative Writing and English Lit (having changed from physics) and worked in publishing for most of my career, as an agent, international rep, film rep, editor, and freelance writer in the trade. I taught publishing & writing courses at the college level & then started teaching high school when we moved to Florida from Vancouver BC. I still live in Pensacola. I have two kids, grown.
Hobbies: I've written all my life. I'm an amateur herpetologist (what is known as a citizen scientist) and Star Trek is the only fandom I care about. I read, garden, ride, sail, and love films, opera, and jazz.
What’s your first Star Trek memory?
September 8, 1966. My dad said there was a new science show on and that I could stay up and see it (it was on half an hour past my bedtime). I was eight. I had other favorite shows (The Wild Wild West, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., The Avengers, Dark Shadows) but Star Trek was different. As I told Nichelle when I met her the first time, Uhura showed me that there could be a future for me. I was very gifted -- but if I wanted to have friends I had to pretend I wasn't. If I wanted the teachers to be nice to me, I had to pretend I wasn't smarter than they were. Uhura showed me that there was a place for women who were intelligent, who were leaders, who did good, cool stuff. When Star Trek came back on in reruns, I realized that I didn't have to hide my love for math and science anymore. It's why I went to the U of A, to be a physics major at one of the best schools in the country.
Favorite main character from any series?
My favorite character as a kid was a tie between Kirk and Uhura. I wanted to be both of them. My favorite character as an adult (and as a writer) is William Riker. I loved TNG from the beginning, and I still do. When I write TNG fiction (on AO3 as miloowen) it's from Riker's POV.
Why? Because I sense that Riker carries the same emotional baggage as I do as an adult survivor of child abuse. I could give you a show by show tour to back this up, but that's an essay.
Tell us about a Trek episode that you think is underrated and why folks should give it another chance.
My favorite episode of TOS is Conscience of the King. I was already writing stories and plays at eight. When I saw Conscience of the King, I suddenly understood the importance of the past, the importance of emotions, the importance of psychology. I know that sounds crazy, but my writing changed after Star Trek. Star Trek taught me character, and how to use character to tell a story. Kirk doesn't want the guy to be Kodos. He doesn't want to look at the past, to tear off the scar tissue and feel the pain again. In one episode, we see who Kirk is: a 14 year old traumatized boy. (And we see that boy repeatedly.) In Star Trek V, Kirk says, "I need my pain!" and that's absolutely true: his pain is his best self.
How has Star Trek made a difference in your life?
I was physically, emotionally, and sexually abused as a child. The year 1966-67 was a terrible year for me. The sexual abuse started. I was in fear for my life every single day. We moved from Baltimore to Connecticut, leaving all my friends, and lived in a dark, damp house with my mom and baby sister who were both ill. My dad was away all the time. I had no friends. But there was this show on every week that promised me that there could be a future in which kids like me would matter. I was so sad that year. Then my friend David's The Trouble With Tribbles aired. Star Trek gave a sad, frightened little kid the gift of laughter -- and I've taken that gift and used it my whole life, in my writing and in my relationships.
Tell us about a StarTrek-related rabbit hole you fell deep into.
So I wrote a psychological suspense novel set on the Enterprise D and I don't like to make mistakes. I built up a great community of Star Trek friends, and one of my friends was a Hollywood FX guy who shall remain nameless but who helped me with all kinds of technical stuff (like can you replicate a working phaser or comm badge?). I needed a Type 6 shuttle to go from Alpha Station Lya to Rixx on Betazed quickly, and I needed to know how fast it could go and how long it would take, and how long it would take the Enterprise to get to Rixx and be on the other side of planet when the shuttle landed. You have to account for going around our solar system and Vulcan's too. The fastest speed the Type 6 can go is warp 4.4 if you modify the deflector shields....anyway, there's a lot of math involved. It took us a couple of hours but it's 23 minutes for the Hypatia to get from Alpha Station Lya to Rixx and 15 minutes for the Enterprise at warp 5 for the same destination (but on the other side). Also, I needed a park for the shuttle to land in. I love researching stuff like that.
Thanks, Leslie!
Follow Leslie on Twitter.
Today is Trek Tuesday. Here’s how I celebrated last week, which was also the sixteenth anniversary of Jerry Goldsmith’s death.
Reminder.
DIRECTIVES
My friend William’s deep dive into The Wrath of Khan.
TrekMovie’s live tweet of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier makes for a fun thread.
Did you see the SDCC Trek panel?
Not related to Trek at all, but I have committed to running (okay, walking) 100 miles in the month of August to raise money for the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation. My favorite program of theirs is Dogs for Joy, providing full-time dogs for children’s hospitals. I’d really appreciate your support, both spiritually and financially. If you’re able to make a donation, please visit this page: https://dunkinjoyrun.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=1171 (And yes, I do flash the LLAP in my profile photo.)
That’s all for this week. Thank you for reading. Please share with other Trek folks and let me know what random Trek references you come across during your week.
Grok you later.
LLAP,