A l t e r E g o 9 Posted July 24, 2003 I know novels cannot be considered true canon, or can they? Hasn't the reason novels are not considered canon because there was always a chance something new would be created for the small or big screen that might contradict the printed page? What about Trek series that have completely ended their appearances on either screen like TOS? There's no more chance of contradiction there so could novels that have been written and have no contradictory plotlines in them be considered eligible for canonization? Yea or Nea? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Takara_Soong 4 Posted July 24, 2003 I think new TOS novels could be written that would still contradict canon if the author wasn't careful. If there were set guidelines on what could be written it might be easier to have some novels recognized as canon but I don't believe novels should be considered canon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VaBeachGuy 12 Posted July 24, 2003 The largest problem is that there are so many writers and it's so hard to control what's put into a book that TPTB decided that the only thing that would be considered canon would be what is filmed on TV or Movie. Could you imagine the headache the writers of a new movie or TV show would have if they had to make sure that they weren't stepping out of canon with one of the books as well as the other shows and movies? As far as the fact that TOS is no longer in production as a show or movies I don't think would have a factor. The reason would be because if someone wrote a novel for TOS and it's set 5 years after episode 79 and in the book they kill Kirk off and Spock defects to the Romulans what then? It couldn't be canon because we know those things didn't happen and couldn't happen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
roguedawg 0 Posted August 4, 2003 I would love to see the novels featuring the retired shows(TOS,TNG,DS9) granted canon status(at least the ones written after this year).Its working great for Star Wars.That universe's novels have added depth and texture to its characters and races that no film could ever have done.And they have advanced the storylines in exciting new directions.I can see why the older novels(especially TOS from the 70's) can't even be considered canon as some pretty goofy things happen in them.But there is no good reason why modern TOS novels can't be written in such a manner that Kirk and crew's continuing adventures and story cannot be told in a fresh and exciting way,while giving us all some insight into what ultimately happened to our cherished heroes.As for TNG,I'd love to see Riker and the USS Titan given a on-going series like Peter David's New Frontier series.Same for DS9. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
A l t e r E g o 9 Posted August 27, 2003 Thank you roguedawg. Many novel authors have put messages at the start of the book explaining exactly where the new story fits into the timeline, I find few contradictions of anything in most instance's (that's what keeps me reading them). I would like to see a Database of established Trek lore (canon and not) created, stories that were well crafted and have no imperfections (or too tiny to matter) become true canon, stories that don't fit, get blackballed. Next logical step after that would be THIS.<more beating the dead horse link. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Bolivar 0 Posted August 27, 2003 I don't think novels should be considered canon. There are just TOO many novels out there; TOO much information to process. It's hard enough with only the shows, lets not make things even harder for the writters. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
A l t e r E g o 9 Posted August 28, 2003 How about a Database for all established facts, they can do that with computers these days can't they, wouldn't a database which all writers of Trek Series, Movies and Novels could have acess to help with keeping the saga lines clean? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
A l t e r E g o 9 Posted November 19, 2003 Not counting novels that were simply BAD, can anyone remember anything they ever read in a novel that contradicted true Canon? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tattoo 0 Posted November 20, 2003 In my expiriance in keeping track of all thing Trek is that the writers no longer have a template. They haven't had one since the 37'S in Voyager. Note that each episode was mostly always consitant up to that point. Also I feel people seem not to enjoy the show unless they find the mistakes, for example like in All Good Things, Picards command chair in the past wasn't stapled to the floor. If you look at the first season and Encounter at Farpoint, note the chair is infact connected to the small wall walkway where the horse shoe is in the middle. Same as Star Trek II, and Khans line. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Bolivar 0 Posted November 20, 2003 They could make canon novels, so long as the setting is completely removed from any setting that could occur in a tv show. For example, what if a crew was duplicated and ended up in some random alternate universe? You would still have that crew in the mainstream star trek universe and thus anything that happens to the duplicate crew in the other alternate universe would have no effect on anything in televised trek. Futhermore, if they decided to do a tv show on the same ship where the ship gets duplicated and the duplicate goes to some alternate universe, but the writters want to take it in a slightly different direction such as altering a character that they encounter in this alternate universe, they could just say that it is an alternate universe similar to the one found in the book but not the same, and that the ship was actually duplicated to more than one universe: the universe in the tv show and the universe in the book. So yeah, a book could be made canon just by avoiding everything else all together. I'm not saying this is a good idea, just possible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrskirk 0 Posted November 20, 2003 Well, IMHO, the two main reasons that novels are not considered canon are: the "slash" authors..these novels feature a homosexual relationship between two main characters. Kirk/Spock slash was everywhere during the "down" time between the cancellation of TOS and the release of TMP. These novels were very graphic and, in my opinion, disgusting. The second reason is the "Mary Sue" authors. These authors were usually female and introduced themselves as a new character on the Enterprise. The authors favorite established character (usually Kirk, Spock, Sulu, Checkov or Scotty) would of course fall madly in love with her and she would either (a) marry the man of her dreams and they live happily ever after or (<_< die a heroic or tragic death, leaving the man of her dreams hopelessly shattered and unable to love again. These novels were so syrupy they left the reader diabetic and had established characters doing things they would NEVER do in the name of love. Just my two cents folks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tattoo 0 Posted November 20, 2003 Well, IMHO, the two main reasons that novels are not considered canon are: the "slash" authors..these novels feature a homosexual relationship between two main characters. Kirk/Spock slash was everywhere during the "down" time between the cancellation of TOS and the release of TMP. These novels were very graphic and, in my opinion, disgusting. The second reason is the "Mary Sue" authors. These authors were usually female and introduced themselves as a new character on the Enterprise. The authors favorite established character (usually Kirk, Spock, Sulu, Checkov or Scotty) would of course fall madly in love with her and she would either (a) marry the man of her dreams and they live happily ever after or ( die a heroic or tragic death, leaving the man of her dreams hopelessly shattered and unable to love again. These novels were so syrupy they left the reader diabetic and had established characters doing things they would NEVER do in the name of love. Just my two cents folks! Please explain to me what is with being homosexual have to do with weather or not books are not canon? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrskirk 0 Posted November 21, 2003 Please explain to me what is with being homosexual have to do with weather or not books are not canon? Sorry if I was misunderstood. It's not the homosexuality itself that makes these novels non-canon, it's just not something these characters, as portrayed on screen, would do. James T Kirk NEVER displayed any homosexual tendencies and Spock, being half-Vulcan, would probably see homosexuality as illogical because it cannot lead to procreation. That's just my personal opinion, though, OK? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tattoo 0 Posted November 21, 2003 They could be considered, not everything would be taken as canon you know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
