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  1. #1
    Boisterously Confused
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    Default Has There Ever Been A Character Like Captain Christopher Pike?

    Anson Mount's turn on Star Trek: Discovery provokes a bit of a question. Captain Pike had exactly 1.5 appearances in All Star Trek lore (consolidating "The Cage" and "The Menagerie"), prior to his brief appearances in the Abrams-verse.

    Yet, Captain Pike seems to have a claim on the imagination of Star Trek fans everywhere. I myself consider him my favorite Starfleet captain perhaps because in his absence I get to fill in the blanks for myself. But he does not objectively deserve that kind of adulation. We've only seen him a few times, and he doesn't have Kirk's, Picard's, Sisko's, or Janeway's visibly earned record.

    So I ask two questions:
    • Is his popularity a function of our lack of canonical data about him?
    • Is there another character in comics or films that seems to have this kind of reputation with so little appearance?

  2. #2
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    Well, Boba Fett for one

  3. #3
    Astonishing Member LordMikel's Avatar
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    Abin sur from Green Lantern. He died and gave the ring to Hal. I don't think there has ever been more than that.
    I think restorative nostalgia is the number one issue with comic book fans.
    A fine distinction between two types of Nostalgia:

    Reflective Nostalgia allows us to savor our memories but accepts that they are in the past
    Restorative Nostalgia pushes back against the here and now, keeping us stuck trying to relive our glory days.

  4. #4
    Extraordinary Member Jokerz79's Avatar
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    While they got audios I'd say the 8th and War Doctors of Dr. Who both have very little on screen appearances.

  5. #5
    Astonishing Member Frobisher's Avatar
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    Paul McGann Dr Who. He's had spin-offs in other media though.

  6. #6
    Extraordinary Member Jokerz79's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Cochese View Post
    Paul McGann Dr Who. He's had spin-offs in other media though.
    I mentioned the audios and yes there is also books and comics same for Pike or Boba Fett but on screen these characters got very little.

  7. #7
    Astonishing Member Frobisher's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jokerz79 View Post
    I mentioned the audios and yes there is also books and comics same for Pike or Boba Fett but on screen these characters got very little.
    I only saw you mention him after I posted. Possibly your avatar subconsciously influenced me tho.

  8. #8
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    Professor Moriarty actually appears very little in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, yet he's been made into a much bigger adversary by all the adaptations of the Holmes casebook.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Kelly View Post
    Professor Moriarty actually appears very little in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, yet he's been made into a much bigger adversary by all the adaptations of the Holmes casebook.
    Irene Adler too, who appears in one short story but is now one of the most iconic characters of the Sherlock Holmes mythos.

    I suppose on some level its a product of the same fascination people have for prequels. People want to understand the history of these richly developed worlds, and the people and events that shaped the people and events that we've seen on screen. In the case of Star Trek, Pike is actually the obvious 'prequel' character given the actual production history of the show. People are fascinated by the idea of a previous Enterprise captain, whom Spock served under to boot!

  10. #10
    Extraordinary Member Cyke's Avatar
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    I mean, it also helps that Mount's interpretation was the most charismatic one of all the Pikes. He could've been a complete dud and that too would've defined Pike, but probably not as receptively as he is now.

    The Ambiguously Gay Duo started out at the Dana Carvey Show. Though no one actually watched the Dana Carvey Show, creator Robert Smigel reran their one lone episode for Saturday Night Live, which was so well-received that future episodes were inevitable; however, their episodes were a sporadic 12 episodes over 15 years -- not that anyone knew much about them (so no "canonical" data, for whatever that means to a gag show like this) -- but popular demand kept bringing them back.

    On a side note, it also helped popularize more filmed shorts, which then paved the way for the Lonely Island's shorts and the short film format for SNL, which continues to this day under Kyle Mooney. While SNL had short films since the 70s, TV Funhouse helped standardize them.
    Last edited by Cyke; 06-10-2019 at 10:10 AM.

  11. #11
    Spectacular Member PoorStudent's Avatar
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    I really think Anson Mount made the role what it is. Even though star trek has a hardcore fan base, and a lot of people know about Pike, the attention Pike is getting really is because what he brought to it.

    In terms of screen time and fan interest I kind of think of Harrow's character from Boardwalk Empire. He's in the show very little, but when he's on screen the show just gets so much better.
    Hawkeye before Avengers, but after Avengers Age of Ultron fans were like ....nevermind.

    Maybe Boba Fett from SW, Vincent from FFVII. A lot of times when a minor character or performance becomes popular hollywood starts to exploit their popularity until it becomes tired and old. See Jack Sparrow, Loki, Bronn, etc.

  12. #12
    Extraordinary Member Cyke's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PoorStudent View Post
    I really think Anson Mount made the role what it is. Even though star trek has a hardcore fan base, and a lot of people know about Pike, the attention Pike is getting really is because what he brought to it.
    Hot take -- all respect to Jeffrey Hunter, but his Pike was such a stiff, uncharismatic bore. Shatner, for all his faults, is dynamic, theatrical, and memorable. Both Bruce Greenwood and Anson Mount are the superior Pike, even if we're counting just their first appearances (ST09 and Season 2, Episode 1, respectively).

    Hunter's Pike was as if George Lucas wrote and directed him as a Prequel character.

    Now, could Hunter gradually improve his Pike the way Stewart chilled Picard over time? Maybe, but he (and his wife) weren't all that keen about being in the show, nor should they be forced to. So I don't think Hunter was all that invested in the role, either.

  13. #13
    Ultimate Member ChrisIII's Avatar
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    There doesn't seem to be a lot of love for Captain April though, who was the very first captain.
    chrism227.wordpress.com Info and opinions on a variety of interests.

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  14. #14
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    Pike was originally meant to be the main captain before they changed it to Kirk. The 'what if' has a pretty strong pull.

    We got a sense of of his character from the Menagerie, where we also saw how loyal Spock was to Pike. Someone who served with Spock and commanded that much loyalty from our favorite Vulcan was always going to have a certain fascination. I think if Pike was not presented as having a prior relationship with Spock he would have have been anywhere near as popular.

    April, who was only introduced in an animated episode and never served with any of the main crew, was never going to fascinate people as much as Pike.

  15. #15
    Ultimate Member ChrisIII's Avatar
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    There's a bit of proto-McCoy with the Phillip Boyce character too. I don't think he's gotten quite the attention other members of Pike's crew-Number One, Colt etc. although the comics did flesh him out a bit.
    chrism227.wordpress.com Info and opinions on a variety of interests.

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