Comments on: D.C. Fontana On TAS Canon (and Sybok)

By: X

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 08:14:02 +0000

I truely think that Star trek TAS should be considered canon. In retrospect they only did three seasons of TOS then canceled the show. TAS had two seasons thus to me, combining the two gives us the full five year mission of TOS. And on top of that the cat girl M’Ress; Her species was brought into Star Trek 5 so that helps to solidify TAS as canon somewhat.

By: Crazy Guy

Crazy Guy — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 22:19:19 +0000

Personally, I don’t see what the big deal regarding ‘canon’ is. I mean, I can understand pointing at a Trek spoof or parody (or even a comedy set in the actual Trek universe), and saying, “Okay, THAT’S not canon,” while pointing at something that takes the source material seriously and saying “That over there IS canon.”

I believe that anyone who writes a good story for a franchise, be it Star Trek, Star Wars, Terminator, Babylon 5, whatever…I believe that if they write a story for that franchise and it’s an officially licensed work, then that story and what takes place in it should be considered canon. Spoofs, parodies and the like, however, while fun to read, shouldn’t be considered canon.

Again, it’s just what I think. Tell me what you think.

By: bob

bob — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 15:45:38 +0000

I love Star Trek, but we have to remember-

It’s fiction, it is not real.

We all share some reality- we all share some fiction.

If Gene Roddenberry were still here what he says would be it.

Since he is not, and Star Trek goes on, to say what is absolutely
canon and what is not is meaningless.

Just enjoy.

By: unstable awdo

unstable awdo — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 09:34:57 +0000

#13
i don’t understand. A true fan must accept the good and the bad, but TAS is not good enough… (or maybe not bad enough for that matter?)

I once pay a lot of attention to “canon”, “official” things. I don’t care anymore. I understand that things would get out of hand if novels and comics were accpted as canon. But if Ms. Block calls it a “very important tool”, i feel compelled to ask “ok, but a tool for WHAT?”. I simply can’t guess.

So everything on screen is canon, be it stupid (brainless Spock controlled by a five-key pad), impossible (a enterprise replica built on an overpopulated planet) or just ridiculous (hippiiiiiiiiiiiiiies in spaaaaaaaaaaaaaace…). And if at some point there’s inconsistencies (Perrin being the second wife of Sarek and a vulcan princess his first, so i guess Amanda was his first and a half…), well, that’s OK : both assertions are on screen, both are canon.

I suppose, too, that since the Defiant insignia in ENT seems to be considered “more canon” than the one seen in TOS by many, the remastered version of The Tholian Web will take care of that… (hell, a “fan” even wrote that she hoped the dedication plaque would be remastered, too!!!)

So it comes to this : all that “canon” thing hurts my head. If Paramount needs it for whatever reason, well, let’em go with it. But i don’t care anymore. Is the story good? that’s what i ask myself.

40
You’re right : STV is a poor story but an excellent dream! And the hints you gave do make sense… Thank you.

may everyone live long and prosper.

By: JamesRKirk

JamesRKirk — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 07:13:58 +0000

While it’s entertaining to argue about this it’s not that important. The best three Star Trek movies were written or co-written by Nicholas Meyer, who when he made the very best Trek movie had seen maybe three episodes of the original series.

Meyer’s comments in the youtube video posted here are excellent, especially the one about what makes a movie work. If you have strong characters and a solid plot almost nothing else matters, it will work. Even if Khan never met Chekov and the torpedo bay is full of metal grates that look like they belong in a world war two submarine and Kirk’s son has a goofy sweater.

By: chud

chud — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 22:13:44 +0000

Don’t you all realize that the only Star Trek canon was “The Doomsday Machine”? None of the other episodes of any of the shows actually happened.

By: Picard

Picard — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 20:21:11 +0000

I think anything that has been officially licensed should qualify as canon. That includes all the TV series (yes, that includes TAS), all the movies, and all the novels and comic books. In my opinion, it’s been licensed for a reason, and should be canon.

By: TJR

TJR — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:17:52 +0000

If I was a writer working on any kind of Star Trek Property be it film, comics, prose, or screen……I would only be concerned with what has appeared on screen insofar as making sure that I don’t write something contradictory.

I would not concern myself with every comic, or novel, etc that has ever been written.

I am not saying that these other mediums are not canon. I just wouldn’t be concerned with them.

By: Sean4000

Sean4000 — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:14:04 +0000

Although the TAS DVD was cleaned up nicely, seeing new animation is a tantalizing idea.

By: TJR

TJR — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 17:11:38 +0000

It’s cannon if you think it is.

I like the TAS so it’s cannon to me.

…And yes, I love the idea of a remastered TAS!

Keep the soundtrack, keep the all the character, set ,and background designs.

Just re-do all the animation.

I’d buy that DVD set!