New fans & returning fans are always welcome on c/risa.
Star Trek is up to 11 different shows not including shorts & movies. Each has a core ensemble of ~ 7 characters plus recurring ones.
These characters are from two different 90s era shows Deep Space 9 (Martok and Kira) and Enterprise (T’Pol and Archer).
This instance has an FAQ and wiki that includes ‘where to start.’
For those struggling with the meaning of the lyrics for ‘Alouette’, there’s even a more bizarre Québécois nonsense song along similar lines ‘Mon Merle’.
In this case, the blackbird starts by losing a body part, then getting three back in its place. Worse, the singer asks each time ‘Comment vas-tu mon Merle’, literally ‘How’s it going blackbird.’
Here’s a rather delightful, celebrated 1958 animated short featuring the song, sung by ‘The Trio Lyrique of Montreal‘ with an English introduction . (It used an experimental cut-out animation method.)
Dr. Miglemo would be horrified.
One our kids is currently putting together a ‘Jaxi’ music box with a Christmas tree on it. Turns out to be a BlueBrixx product.
It’s fine, and encouraging us to get more from them.
There was a third species in TAS that some interpret as felinoid, but are more likely lemurians.
The ancient, advanced space-faring species the Vedala was introduced in the TAS episode’The Jihad’ written by Stephen Kandel, whose other episodes featured Harry Mudd.
Here are a few more images from TAS that show the breadth of sentient species that the show established
Kzinti are Star Trek canon.
Niven himself wrote The Animated Series (TAS) episode ‘The Slaver Weapon’, adapted from his short story ‘The Soft Weapon.’
Niven sees Star Trek as a separate universe or timeline, but it shares the Kzin with his own Known Space universe.
In Lower Decks, there is an ensign who is Kzin in addition to Dr T’Ana being Caitian.
Also, it was Niven himself, writing on the official Star Trek website, who put forward the view that Caitians and Kzinti are cousins, with the Caitians having settled on their planet Cait, and adopting a more scientific and technologically oriented culture.
In TAS, Lt. M’Ress was the Caitian second communications officer.
Erica was a young thing in a romantic triangle with a guy heading off to Vietnam in the early 70s. She became a cougar in the 80s.
Nor do we talk about John Colicos’ character in The Starlost…
Even if Ursula LeGuin had the script credit for that episode.
Then gatekeeping fans will say it breaks canon, has to be an alternate timeline/universe because they didn’t need those in TOS/TNG.
Oh, wait, that’s one of the criticisms of the environmental suits in Discovery and SNW…
Here she is as one eccentric and haunted character, two different versions, in a single episode of SurrealEstate season one.
‘Wackier than TOS on its most TAS day’ …
You packed an awful lot in that comparison.
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Ogawa was initially a nurse on TNG but decided to become a physician and medical officer.
Never have been convinced that the toy branding and marketing has been targeted appropriately for Star Trek.
Playmates never quite seemed to hit the mark. They were trying to create a mass market toy but marketing for collectors.
The other side of the Paramount house has done brilliantly with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles branding, tie-ins and toys since they took them away from Nickelodeon.
While the television franchise is in good hands with Secret Hideout, bringing in some fresh perspective from the TMNT team seems very needed.