posted
So there's a YouTube Star Trek channel I like, and they do a series called "Back Trek" providing behind-the-scenes history of Trek's production. In most cases, it is stuff I'm already familiar with. In a recent episode on the TNG S1 episode Conspiracy, there were two bits he brought up that I thought everyone was in agreement on.
First -- when ordered to increase to a higher warp speed at the beginning of the episode, LaForge responds: "Aye, sir: full impulse." This was described by Back Trek as a mistake. I had assumed that everyone viewed this as I did: as Geordi telling a joke. Everyone on the bridge was relaxed, everyone was joking, Geordi, in response to being told to increase speed, joked that he was severely decreasing speed.
Second -- Back Trek conjectured that Dexter Remmick was carrying the mother parasite at the time of Coming of Age.
Uh, what? Have you seen Coming of Age?
First, if all it takes the end the parasite invasion is the death of the mother creature, I would not let its host off Earth for any reason.
Second, while Remmick comes across as a dick, there are two scenes that show he's still a human capable of amazement and compassion: first, when he is amazed by Picard's directions which saved the runaway in the shuttlecraft; and second, when he describes the casual friendship and family of the bridge crew, and relates to Picard that he would one day like to serve on the Enterprise.
I don't know -- you tell me if you disagree -- I just find it hard to believe that the mother parasite would express itself like that (and my impression had always been that the parasites exercised complete control over the host -- this was not a symbiotic relationship like the Trill).
Finally, if Remmick was carrying the mother parasite (or a parasite at all): why not bring some more along and infect Picard, Riker, and Dr. Crusher? Hell, why not infect Quinn? Why let him walk around raising Picard's wariness?
Frankly, we don't even know if what we saw and presumed to be Dexter Remmick in Conspiracy was actually Remmick. Certainly it is not out of question that the mother parasite could be capable of manifesting a form to reside within. For all we know, the "real" Dexter Remmick was shoved through an airlock on Stardock, and the mother alien just assumed his form.
Alternatively, perhaps the mother host must routinely change hosts frequently because she wears them out. Were McKinney, Ryan Sipe, and Onna Karapleedeez previous hosts?
"First -- when ordered to increase to a higher warp speed at the beginning of the episode, LaForge responds: "Aye, sir: full impulse." This was described by Back Trek as a mistake. I had assumed that everyone viewed this as I did: as Geordi telling a joke. Everyone on the bridge was relaxed, everyone was joking, Geordi, in response to being told to increase speed, joked that he was severely decreasing speed."
I've only ever heard this described as a mistake. I suppose a look at the original script would answer the question. If it was written the way it aired, it was presumably an intentional joke.
"First, if all it takes the end the parasite invasion is the death of the mother creature, I would not let its host off Earth for any reason."
This seems like a more compelling argument than anything to do with his behavior. I mean, the people who were infected didn't go around saying "gleep glorp, how do you do, fellow humans". They seemed perfectly capable of acting more-or-less normal. But, really, I don't think there's enough evidence to say one way or the other. If you want him not to have been infected during "Coming of Age", you can argue that the mother parasite would likely have stayed safe on Earth. If you do want him to have been infected, you can argue that it had some reason to be out there. The show will support (or, rather, fail to contradict) either interpretation.
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posted
I agree that Remmick was not the host until after “Coming of Age.” In fact, I think it would make sense that since Quinn and Remmick were looking for the conspiracy, and at some point after inspecting the Enterprise was when they found the conspiracy.
I suppose the reason people think Remmick was always the mother creature is how big it was. But considering how resilient the mother creature was, my speculation is that Remmick found the previous host of the creature, and the creature killed or abandoned its previous host and moved into Remmick. Or maybe Remmick tried to eliminate the threat, the host was killed, but Remmick couldn’t kill the mother creature on his own and was taken over. Either way, this definitely happened after “Coming of Age.”
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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quote:"This seems like a more compelling argument than anything to do with his behavior. I mean, the people who were infected didn't go around saying "gleep glorp, how do you do, fellow humans"
Well, no, they didn't say gleep-glorp, but as Walker Keel observed: "Officers I've known for years are bluffing their way through conversation." Capt. Rixx adds that the infected officers don't appear to retain their memory.
quote:"I've only ever heard this described as a mistake. I suppose a look at the original script would answer the question. If it was written the way it aired, it was presumably an intentional joke."
Sure, the production reason is probably a mistake. But Geordi LaForge is an experienced officer -- it's unlikely a mistake the character is going to make. Hence, a joke!
-------------------- "A film made in 2008 isn't going to look like a TV series from 1966 if it wants to make any money. As long as the characters act the same way, and the spirit of the story remains the same then it's "real" Star Trek. Everything else is window dressing." -StCoop
Registered: Jun 2000
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-------------------- "A film made in 2008 isn't going to look like a TV series from 1966 if it wants to make any money. As long as the characters act the same way, and the spirit of the story remains the same then it's "real" Star Trek. Everything else is window dressing." -StCoop
Registered: Jun 2000
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quote:. But considering how resilient the mother creature was, my speculation is that Remmick found the previous host of the creature, and the creature killed or abandoned its previous host and moved into Remmick. Or maybe Remmick tried to eliminate the threat, the host was killed, but Remmick couldn’t kill the mother creature on his own and was taken over. Either way, this definitely happened after “Coming of Age.”
It's possibly the mother creature is somehow able to generate some sort of "shell" from a DNA sample, so the real Remmick might've been at the bottom of the San Francico Bay. Or that, as a previous host's body started to die, a bunch of infected Starfleet admirals grabbed Remmick, held him down, and lasered open his chest for the mother parasite to crawl into, then sewed him up.
"Well, no, they didn't say gleep-glorp, but as Walker Keel observed: 'Officers I've known for years are bluffing their way through conversation.' Capt. Rixx adds that the infected officers don't appear to retain their memory."
True, but that seems to be entirely to do with a failure to convincingly act like the specific person the parasite is infecting, which is picked up on by people who know the person. When Remmick came to the Enterprise, he was a stranger to everyone. They wouldn't have known if he wasn't acting the way Remmick really would, or was missing memories that Remmick should have. So, just because he was acting convincingly like a human doesn't mean he wasn't infected.
That said, I agree that the intention was most likely that Remmick was Remmick in "Coming of Age", and that he got infected later, because—unfortunately for him—he actually found what he was looking for.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
I was under the impression that the impulse comment was a reference to the way warp drive was supposed to work in Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise. As I recall, the warp field was non-propulsive and it was the impulse drive that provided "go", so full impulse at warp would've been cruising speed.
(It was first season TNG so it's not much weirder than a lot of TOS and film-era tech.)
-------------------- . . . ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.
quote:rue, but that seems to be entirely to do with a failure to convincingly act like the specific person the parasite is infecting, which is picked up on by people who know the person. When Remmick came to the Enterprise, he was a stranger to everyone. They wouldn't have known if he wasn't acting the way Remmick really would, or was missing memories that Remmick should have. So, just because he was acting convincingly like a human doesn't mean he wasn't infected.
This is a very good point -- but there was someone on the Enterprise who knew Remmick very well: Quinn.
And Quinn, believing there was something suspicious going on at Starfleet Command, was unlikely to ask the Inspector General's office to assign any random old officer to him, but rather directly requested someone he knew and trusted be assigned: Remmick.
posted
Agreed, Snay. It also makes sense that Quinn and Remmick were infected at around the same time. Probably they got Remmick first, since he was doing, y’know, the actual work. Then Remmick called up Quinn and got him implanted.
-------------------- “Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” — Isaac Asimov Star Trek Minutiae | Memory Alpha
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