Warning for spoilers for Caffrey Conversation stories.
First, I’ll confess I wasn’t a fan of Star Trek at first. My first exposure was when I was nine years old, and I saw part of an episode where two sets of guys in red shirts beamed down to a planet only to die moments later. That was too sad and violent for me. It wasn’t until my last year of high school that friends convinced me to give the show another try, promising me there were marvelous characters and even humor.
Of course, it’s the characters and the intelligent humor that drew me into White Collar, too. Offhand I can’t think of any specific references to Star Trek in canon, but it wouldn’t surprise me to learn there were some. I recall references to Raiders of the Lost Ark and other classics, so why not? At the very least, characters express an interest in outer space. Silbrith reminded me of a canon episode that features Peter’s love of the stars and astronomy: Season 3, Episode 2 (Where There’s a Will). And there’s Season 2, Episode 7 (Prisoner’s Dilemma) where Mozzie insists the moon landing was faked. Given his love of conspiracy theories, I’m sure he’s an expert on Area 51 and UFO sightings. It was a natural step for Silbrith to have him join SETI in The Dreamer.
Also in the AU, the character of Agent Travis Miller is envisioned by Silbrith as Zachary Quinto, who played Spock in the recent movies. How could we not tease a few references to Star Trek with him in our cast? In The Mirror, Silbrith sends many of our characters to a convention and showed some love for Star Trek sequels, with Jones in costume as Worf, and Angela, Sara and Fiona dressed as Bajorans. I took inspiration from the Travis/Spock connection in Caffrey Disclosure (chapter 22), with Neal advising Travis to treat an undercover assignment as an away team mission.
On a more philosophical level, I appreciate that White Collar, like Star Trek, put together a diverse set of characters who get along while respecting their differences. When I brought the AU back to New York and had larger casts, I wanted to make sure I had a diverse set of characters. And I was scared. Did I dare write a scene from Jones’ point of view? Would people freak out if a popular original character came out as gay? I feared that I’d get things wrong, that I’d be hit by trolls, and so forth. I’ve been fortunate that our readers have been so positive and supportive. I’m glad that I took the step to introduce characters with disabilities, including Thomas Gardiner in By the Book, and then George Knightley in Caffrey Flashback.
Given my fondness of both White Collar and Star Trek, perhaps it’s no surprise that the novel I’m attempting to write involves a search for a jewel thief on another planet, centuries in the future. It’s going so slowly, it feels like I’ve committed to a “five year mission…”
Given my fondness of both White Collar and Star Trek, perhaps it’s no surprise that the novel I’m attempting to write involves a search for a jewel thief on another planet, centuries in the future. It’s going so slowly, it feels like I’ve committed to a “five year mission…”
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