Last night's "Enterprise" kicked off a three-part story which looks to address the prequel show's (shall we say) unique interpretation of the Vulcans. It was written by longtime Star Trek novelists Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. I've not read all of the R-S's books, but have read enough to know they love reconciling the different strands of Trek lore. This episode, "The Forge," did just that, incorporating scads of trivia from Surak and T'Pau to the mental disciplines (including the katra), the inner eyelid, the sehlat, and even a hint of the Romulan connection. It came just short of a Unified Theory of Vulcan, but it never bogged down in exposition.
I probably don't need to tell you how thrilling this kind of thing is for a longtime fan of any large, complicated universe. Not only does its cohesion make the universe seem more real, but it also at least gives the illusion that it can be explained to the neophyte. (Imagine my happy surprise when, during the last 3-parter, the Best Wife Ever mentioned "the Eugenics Wars" before a character could!) I think this is a big part of the reason fans revere writers like Kurt Busiek, Mark Waid, and Geoff Johns for taking what we already know and making something new out of it.
I probably don't need to tell you how thrilling this kind of thing is for a longtime fan of any large, complicated universe. Not only does its cohesion make the universe seem more real, but it also at least gives the illusion that it can be explained to the neophyte. (Imagine my happy surprise when, during the last 3-parter, the Best Wife Ever mentioned "the Eugenics Wars" before a character could!) I think this is a big part of the reason fans revere writers like Kurt Busiek, Mark Waid, and Geoff Johns for taking what we already know and making something new out of it.
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