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What if Gary Mitchel didn't die at the end of the 2nd pilot? What if he were cured instead? This means Spock wouldn't have been promoted to 1st officer. How different would things have turned out?

Speculate away

It is possible Mitchell may have gotten a command of his own during the 5 year voyage and Spock made first officer anyway.

But if Mitchell did stay XO the crew dynamic would have been different, certainly. We did see Kirk and Spock seemed to be friends in the second pilot; they played 3D chess together and Spock's council was blunt and honest. In the end Spock admission, saying "I felt for him too" seemed to be something he would say only to someone he felt a close bond too.

So, where would Gary fit into the trinity? Chances are McCoy would have been seen less, with Kirk, Mitchell and Spock being the new trinity, as it were. All three served on the bridge and worked more closely together. McCoy would have still gotten in his arguments with Spock, but I think his place in the hierchy would have been below Spock/Mitchell, above Scotty.

And I think Mitchell would have insisted Kirk stay on board more often. Mitchell was young, athletic, courageous, and he would have insisted on putting his own life at risk rather than Kirk. Spock as science officer, McCoy as doctor, they would have both been key landing party members, with Mitchell leading many missions. On more diplomatic missions Kirk would have probably gone (i.e. Friday's Child, A Taste of Armageddon) or in instances where his personal knowledge was key (A Private Little War).

And in other instances crises might not have happened at all; The Deadly Years, for example, happened because Commodore Stocker was an idiot. But if Mitchell or Kirk had not gone on that landing party, then one of them would have been fit to command.

All this presupposes that only one of the two guys would go on missions, but I really think if Mitchell had been around Kirk would have preferred leaving someone of his rank and experience in charge. Spock as science officer was too important for landing parties so he would have to come almost always.

katefan wrote:It is possible Mitchell may have gotten a command of his own during the 5 year voyage and Spock made first officer anyway.

But if Mitchell did stay XO the crew dynamic would have been different, certainly. We did see Kirk and Spock seemed to be friends in the second pilot; they played 3D chess together and Spock's council was blunt and honest. In the end Spock admission, saying "I felt for him too" seemed to be something he would say only to someone he felt a close bond too.

So, where would Gary fit into the trinity? Chances are McCoy would have been seen less, with Kirk, Mitchell and Spock being the new trinity, as it were. All three served on the bridge and worked more closely together. McCoy would have still gotten in his arguments with Spock, but I think his place in the hierchy would have been below Spock/Mitchell, above Scotty.

And I think Mitchell would have insisted Kirk stay on board more often. Mitchell was young, athletic, courageous, and he would have insisted on putting his own life at risk rather than Kirk. Spock as science officer, McCoy as doctor, they would have both been key landing party members, with Mitchell leading many missions. On more diplomatic missions Kirk would have probably gone (i.e. Friday's Child, A Taste of Armageddon) or in instances where his personal knowledge was key (A Private Little War).

And in other instances crises might not have happened at all; The Deadly Years, for example, happened because Commodore Stocker was an idiot. But if Mitchell or Kirk had not gone on that landing party, then one of them would have been fit to command.

All this presupposes that only one of the two guys would go on missions, but I really think if Mitchell had been around Kirk would have preferred leaving someone of his rank and experience in charge. Spock as science officer was too important for landing parties so he would have to come almost always.

Wow....that makes alot of sense. I could totally see that happening. At least that way, Scotty could have stayed in Engineering where he belongs

katefan wrote:It is possible Mitchell may have gotten a command of his own during the 5 year voyage and Spock made first officer anyway.

But if Mitchell did stay XO the crew dynamic would have been different, certainly. We did see Kirk and Spock seemed to be friends in the second pilot; they played 3D chess together and Spock's council was blunt and honest. In the end Spock admission, saying "I felt for him too" seemed to be something he would say only to someone he felt a close bond too.

So, where would Gary fit into the trinity? Chances are McCoy would have been seen less, with Kirk, Mitchell and Spock being the new trinity, as it were. All three served on the bridge and worked more closely together. McCoy would have still gotten in his arguments with Spock, but I think his place in the hierchy would have been below Spock/Mitchell, above Scotty.

And I think Mitchell would have insisted Kirk stay on board more often. Mitchell was young, athletic, courageous, and he would have insisted on putting his own life at risk rather than Kirk. Spock as science officer, McCoy as doctor, they would have both been key landing party members, with Mitchell leading many missions. On more diplomatic missions Kirk would have probably gone (i.e. Friday's Child, A Taste of Armageddon) or in instances where his personal knowledge was key (A Private Little War).

And in other instances crises might not have happened at all; The Deadly Years, for example, happened because Commodore Stocker was an idiot. But if Mitchell or Kirk had not gone on that landing party, then one of them would have been fit to command.

All this presupposes that only one of the two guys would go on missions, but I really think if Mitchell had been around Kirk would have preferred leaving someone of his rank and experience in charge. Spock as science officer was too important for landing parties so he would have to come almost always.

Wow, that is extremely well done. Mitchell as XO would really be quite interesting, however we'll never get to see what it would be like so we can only wonder.

We could hold a group of screenwriters hostage and threaten them until they do it.
Mwhahahahaha
sorry
i'm feeling evil today

Nickswitz wrote:We could hold a group of screenwriters hostage and threaten them until they do it.
Mwhahahahaha
sorry
i'm feeling evil today

Should I be worried that that doesn't sound like such a horrible idea????

No, Don't be worried
youre just stating that you think that doing something thatll land you in prison for a good long time is a good idea.
it's fine, it's the way serial killers rationalize their actions
Just kidding
of course it's a good idea
i came up with it
and its for the betterment of human society

Sometimes you worry me bro.

Not me. He's just considering the needs of the many over the needs of the few.

Or the one.


Just couldn't resist

I got one... What if, at the end of ST IV, the situation in Stardock was reversed. They first pull in, seeing a gleaming, newly refitted Constitution. They all get that sentimental, misty eyed look, thinking that Starfleet has seen fit to hand them a new copy of the old E.

Then, they rotate past the Connie to see the Excelsior, newly re-christened USS ENTERPRISE NCC 1701-A.

Here's what I think:

First and foremost, Sulu would probably hug Spock in excitement, and McCoy would make a good crack about it, or maybe just hit him.

They could throw in a nice scene with ol' Captain Styles and his futuristic riding crop thing getting his comeuppance, again.

Of course, it would take the senior staff time to figure out the new systems, (maybe the writers could have some fun with that) but ultimately it would mean that they could potentially be in action much longer. I think that aside from his personal attitudes to Klingons and the fact that he captained a somewhat outdated ship, Kirk should not have retired for a very very long time. Look at Picard, he went from Captain of the Stargazer to captain of the E-D (so learning a more advanced ship is possible) and never even thought about becoming an admiral or retiring, even by the end of Nemesis (as far as we know). Patrick Stewart did the right thing by keeping his weight down.

The most immediate questions on my mind are:

Who would come to Kirk's aid during the Khitomer Crisis?

If the E-A was already an Excelsior, would it last long enough for the E-B to be an Ambassador? And was the Ambassador class short lived enough that the E-C might not be a Galaxy class?

These are the questions that haunt me. What does everyone else think?

I doubt it would change what the future Enterprises are much. Unless the new one lasted ages or died sooner it would all happen pretty much the same I imagin.

Chances are that it would have to get blowed-up itself in the same fashion.

Starships named Enterprise USUALLY have rather short life expectencies. They live fast and die hard.

Given that they're always on the front lines of whatever's happening, that's not too surprising.