Geekery

[fj]

Is ST:TAS considered canon?

Edit: Yes, I corrected spelling.

Comments

[quirkstreet.livejournal.com]

I've always assumed Niven did the rewrite; he must, at least, have sanctioned it.

I didn't read the story till years after seeing part of the Trek episode, so I was initially confused at the similarities. ;-)

[urbear]

Niven is indeed credited as a writer, both in this Wikipedia entry and this IMDB entry.

I also didn't read the Niven story until a few years after the TAS episode ran, but the first time I encountered Niven's Kzinti I remembered the show. It didn't take me long to track down "The Soft Weapon" and realize that the show was a re-write.

Funny side story... according to this Memory Alpha Wiki entry, the Kzinti uniforms were pink in the episode due to a misunderstanding between the animation crew and the director, who was colorblind. D.C. Fontana personally apologized to Niven on his behalf for the error.

[popebuck1.livejournal.com]

Geez, shouldn't "animation director" be right up there with "airplane pilot" on the list of jobs you really shouldn't pursue if you're colorblind?

I'm just sayin'.

[urbear]

One would think. One would also think a president should be a smart guy not prone to rushing to war, but...

[popebuck1.livejournal.com]

Yeah, for some reason, "idiot guy frothing at the mouth to bomb everybody" is (inexplicably) a selling point for some people. Go figure.

[shanynrose.livejournal.com]

I just checked that Wiki; while I never read the original Niven story or saw the episode (I was really little when it was on TV and I *gasp* didn't like Star Trek) I do remember stasis boxes. Maybe from one of the novels?

I need to check, but I think Robert April was the captain in "Best Destiny" by Diane Carey. That's the book where a young Jimmy Kirk was bratty, arrogant, and constantly getting in trouble (okay, that sounds like the adult Kirk too,) so his dad - who was with Starfleet Security - took him along to "the office" (on that trip it was the brand new Enterprise on her maiden voyage.) Jimmy Boy sabotaged the Bad Guys, became a hero and, of course, straightened up and went on to the Academy.

Time to find that book.

[urbear]

Niven used Slaver stasis boxes in several stories; one entire novel, World of Ptaavs, revolves around the concept. Other authors have mentioned similar technologies... Vernor Vinge, for instance, wrote two novels (The Peace War and Marooned in Realtime) in which Bobbles, a similar doohickey, figure prominently.

[shanynrose.livejournal.com]

I remember now - I saw it in a >blush< fanfic, the only one I've ever read.