Mackenzie Calhoun
Encyclopedia
Mackenzie Calhoun is a fictional character
from the Star Trek
universe
. Created by Peter David
, Calhoun is an extraterrestrial
from the planet Xenex, and is captain of the Federation
starship
USS Excalibur.
Calhoun appears primarily in Star Trek: New Frontier
, a series of spin-off
novels and comic books set during the 24th century
era of Star Trek: The Next Generation
, in which he is the main character. He first appeared in the 1997 New Frontier debut novel
, Star Trek: New Frontier: House of Cards.
Calhoun is the only Star Trek character that has not appeared in any of the Star Trek television series or movies to have an action figure
.
Calhoun encounters Jean-Luc Picard
, who, while commanding the USS Stargazer, visits Xenex as a representative of the United Federation of Planets
to assist in negotiations between Xenex and Danter. Picard convinced Calhoun to join Starfleet
, the scientific and defensive arm of the Federation. Calhoun leaves Xenex, a move which rouses the ire of many of his people, to enter Starfleet Academy
, where he meets Elizabeth Shelby, who would become his lover, rival and, eventually, fiancée. Their engagement ends after Calhoun took the Kobayashi Maru
test.
As a Starfleet officer, Calhoun served aboard the USS Grissom, where he meets Katarina "Kat" Mueller, who would become his lover. It was on the Grissom that he learns to play poker
, and establishes a reputation for being able to bluff his way through any hand, even evading an empath's attempt to get a bead on him. Calhoun was present during a catastrophic event aboard the Grissom, which led to his apparent departure from Starfleet. In reality, he becomes an undercover operative for head of Starfleet Intelligence Admiral Alynna Nechayev who, years afterward, fearing Calhoun was getting "too deep" into the lifestyle of the thugs and criminals he was associating with, pulled him out and gave him his own starship to command, the USS Excalibur. It was in taking this command that he is reunited with both Shelby, who was now his First Officer, and Mueller, whom he picked as his Executive Officer
(the terms are normally synonymous on the various television series, but in the New Frontier novels, a First Officer heads the ship's day shift, while the Executive Officer commands the night shift watch). Calhoun is assigned to Sector 221-G, the area of space of the former Thallonian Empire, which has collapsed, resulting in destabilization of the region.
Calhoun makes an appearance in the 2007 Star Trek: The Next Generation
novel Before Dishonor by Peter David
. In the novel, Calhoun encounters Picard en route to Sector 001 to defend Earth
against a new Borg
threat.
The Mirror Universe counterpart of Calhoun first appears in "Cutting Ties," a story in the 2007 anthology
Star Trek Mirror Universe: Obsidian Alliances. In the Mirror universe, instead of witnessing his father's fatal beating at the hands of the Danteri, young M'k'n'zy begs for his father's life, insisting that he has no knowledge of D'ndai's rebellious activities. Humiliated by what he sees as his son's weakness, Gr'zy disowns the boy, who is treated as an outcast. When Praetor Hiren, the leader of the Danteri's allies, the Romulans, comes to Calhoun, he takes the boy, whom he renames "Muck", to live with him on Romulus, as assurance against further rebellion. The abusive Hiren gives Muck a scar on his face corresponding to the one possessed by Captain Calhoun in our universe. After a year in Hiren's residence, Hiren orders the boy to execute Gr'zy, who has continued his rebellion, but Gr'zy commits suicide before Muck can do this. The furious Hiren banishes Muck to the mines of Remus, where the young slave endures years of torment from other miners, until he kills his tormenters. He is eventually purchased by the Mirror Soleta and her father, Rojan, and becomes Soleta's lover. Muck and Soleta are present during a meeting arranged by Praetor Hiren between Rojan and the Mirror Lord Si Cwan of the Thallonian Empire and Falkar of Danter aboard Si Cwan's ship, the Stinger. There, Muck meets the Mirror Kalinda, Burgoyne 182, Zak Kebron, Robin Lefler and Elizabeth Shelby. Muck discovers that the Mirror Mark McHenry's god-like powers are used as the ship's intelligence and power source.
Rojan is murdered on the orders of Hiren, along with Falkar and Shelby, enraging the heartbroken Muck. Si Cwan, Kebron and Burgoyne are also killed, and Muck and Soleta take control of the Stinger, with Muck intending to destroy the surface of Danter, Romulus, Xenex, and every planet he can find, arguing that the universe deserves to die. McHenry shows Muck the Mackenzie Calhoun of our universe, and the life he has led. Inspired by the possibilities he can fight for, Muck destroys only Danter's military infrastructure and uninhabited areas of its surface, liberating Xenex. Inspired by his counterpart, he takes the name "Mac", and begins his life anew as a freedom fighter.
Mac and his crew next appear in the 2008 comic book
miniseries Star Trek: New Frontier: Turnaround. It is revealed that they embarked on a series of successful strikes against the Alliance, during which the mirror Edward Jellico joined Mac's crew. During one such engagement, Soleta is killed, and the Stinger finds itself transported through a portal in space into our universe. Mac's crew spends the next several weeks making allies, before stealing the Paradox, an experimental timeship
created by Starfleet and the Daystrom Institute, which Mac intends to use to re-write the Mirror Universe's history to prevent the Alliance from taking over his galaxy. His plan is foiled by the crews of the Excalibur, the Trident and Bravo Station, and his counterpart from our universe, Captain Calhoun, who cautions him not to try to reshape an entire universe, lest catastrophic results occur. When Calhoun tells him that Admiral Shelby is aboard Bravo Station, which is being pummeled by the Paradox, Mac surrenders, and the Paradox is destroyed. Mac takes his crew back to the Mirror Universe, where the mirror McHenry reveals that he arranged the confrontation between the two Calhouns so that Mac would reach the right conclusion himself, and call off the plan.
Mac next appears in "Homecoming", a short story in the 2009 anthology Star Trek Mirror Universe: Shards and Shadows. The Stinger has now been renamed the Excalibur, and has embarked on a campaign against the Alliance, gathering a small army as it attacks Alliance colonies, becoming a symbol of the rebellion. The Excalibur rescues the Mirror Selar from an escape pod. Selar, a scientist and spy disguised as a Romulan named Thue, was part of a team en route to Romulus
to assemble a thalaron bomb in order to establish weapons parity with the Alliance. Her cargo vessel, which carried the bomb's final component, C-170, was attacked by the Alliance to prevent the Romulans from using the bomb against them. The Excalibur crew track down the hijacked supply ship and retake it, before journeying to Romulus with the C-170. As they assemble the bomb, they are confronted by Praetor Hiren, meeting Mac for the first time since his childhood. Hiren is forced into an allegiance with Mac against the Alliance, who arrive to take possession of the thalaron bomb, which they intend to test detonate on Romulus. During the ensuing melee, Hiren, who had tried to prevent an open confrontation with the Alliance, orders his forces in orbit to attack the Alliance ship battling the Excalibur, and the bomb is accidentally detonated. Mac and his crew, along with Hiren, are transported to the Excalibur. Romulus is rendered uninhabitable for a millennium, with only 50,000 Romulans surviving among their fleet - which, on Hiren's orders, proceeds to join Mac's rebel forces.
Edward Jellico sees Calhoun as an unpredictable maverick and a cowboy, and Jean-Luc Picard
has observed that reverence was never one of Calhoun's strong suits. Calhoun feels that, deep down, he is a savage, and that any appearance of civilization on his part is a façade that he wears like a cloak, though he keeps the scar Falkar gave him as a reminder of his roots. Calhoun has commented on his personality thus: "I’m an officer. I’m just not a gentleman."
Like all Xenexians, Calhoun resembles a human being almost entirely, with the exception of his purple
eyes. His skin has a leathery, burnished texture, the years of hardship he endured early in life having given him a weathered look, with several deep creases already lining his forehead by the time he was 19. Calhoun has a scar down the right side of his face from his right temple down across his cheek, left by the wound Falkar inflicted on him with his short sword in 2373. He is a head shorter than his older brother, D'ndai. The renditions of Calhoun on the New Frontier
novel covers, and in the comic book Double Time, consistently depict him as resembling a Caucasian
human male with dark brown hair, though it appears as black in Turnaround.
The Mirror Universe Mac has been described as having black hair, and appears thus in Turnaround. Whereas our universe's Calhoun has a scar down the right side of his face, the mirror Calhoun has one down the left side of his. Mac spent a year on Romulus educating himself in areas such as philosophy
, war strategy, and chess
. He learned to defend himself during his many years in the Reman mines.
's Star Trek
characters, Commander Quintin Stone from David's 1991 TNG
novel, A Rock and a Hard Place. David has explained that Calhoun was not intentionally a remodeled Stone, but that interestingly, both were based to some extent by characters portrayed by film actor Mel Gibson
: the apparently unstable "cowboy diplomat" Stone was based on Martin Riggs
from the Lethal Weapon
films, and Calhoun, who was a rebel leader at 20, was inspired by the Scottish
rebel leader William Wallace
from Braveheart
. David has added that Calhoun is closer to the historical Wallace, in that like Calhoun, Wallace was much younger than the real-life Gibson was when he portrayed Wallace in the movie.
In addition, Calhoun, who is depicted as something of a cowboy, has been compared by other characters in the stories to James T. Kirk
, as in a conversation with Edward Jellico in the novel Martyr. David has stated that on his blog that Calhoun indeed looks up to and identifies with Kirk, seeing himself very much in the cowboy mold that Kirk personified.
which was available only via mail order through the Star Trek Communicator fan club magazine, and began shipping in September 1998. There were approximately 10,000 of these figures produced.
In September 2005, Calhoun made a cameo appearance
in "Vigil", a sixth season episode of the Star Trek
fan film
series Star Trek: Hidden Frontier
, in which he meets his old lover, Elizabeth Shelby, now commanding the Excelsior, in the Briar Patch. Calhoun was played by James Cawley
, producer and star of Star Trek: New Voyages
, in which he plays James T. Kirk
. Peter David
stated on his blog that although the creators of the episode did not check with him beforehand, he thought it was very entertaining.
In the online game Star Trek Online
, Calhoun is a Starfleet mission contact based on Starbase K-7. He issues PvP
missions to federation players so they can fight other STO players playing the Klingon faction.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
. Created by Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
, Calhoun is an extraterrestrial
Extraterrestrial life in popular culture
In popular cultures, "extraterrestrials" are life forms — especially intelligent life forms— that are of extraterrestrial origin .-Historical ideas:-Pre-modern:...
from the planet Xenex, and is captain of the Federation
United Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
starship
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
USS Excalibur.
Calhoun appears primarily in Star Trek: New Frontier
Star Trek: New Frontier
Star Trek: New Frontier is a Star Trek novel series created by John J. Ordover and Peter David and published by Pocket Books. The idea behind it was to create a Star Trek book series with its own continuity and not one that is purely a reaction to the television shows. Nearly every story of the...
, a series of spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
novels and comic books set during the 24th century
Timeline of Star Trek
Below is an abridged timeline of events established in the group of television shows and feature films set in the Star Trek universe. Many dates are estimates as the various shows and films are not consistent in their use of dates...
era of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, in which he is the main character. He first appeared in the 1997 New Frontier debut novel
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
, Star Trek: New Frontier: House of Cards.
Calhoun is the only Star Trek character that has not appeared in any of the Star Trek television series or movies to have an action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
.
Fictional character history
Calhoun is born M'k'n'zy of Calhoun on the planet Xenex, in the city of Calhoun. He grows up under the brutal rule of the Danteri, who occupied his world. As a child, M'k'n'zy witnesses the public execution of his father in a town square by Falkar of Danter, which spurs him to grow into a rebel warlord. He kills his first person at age 14, and is given command of a strike vessel that marked the beginning of the Xenexian rebellion. By the time M'k'n'zy is 20, he liberates Xenex. Shortly after doing so, he fathers a son, Xyon, with Catrine, a woman from the Calhoun clan whose husband had died, as she requests as part of Xenexian culture.Calhoun encounters Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
, who, while commanding the USS Stargazer, visits Xenex as a representative of the United Federation of Planets
United Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
to assist in negotiations between Xenex and Danter. Picard convinced Calhoun to join Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
, the scientific and defensive arm of the Federation. Calhoun leaves Xenex, a move which rouses the ire of many of his people, to enter Starfleet Academy
Starfleet Academy
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet Academy is where the future's recruits to Starfleet will be trained. It was created in the year 2161, when the United Federation of Planets was founded...
, where he meets Elizabeth Shelby, who would become his lover, rival and, eventually, fiancée. Their engagement ends after Calhoun took the Kobayashi Maru
Kobayashi Maru
The Kobayashi Maru is a test in the fictional universe of Star Trek. It is a Starfleet training exercise designed to test the character of cadets in the command track at Starfleet Academy. The Kobayashi Maru test was first depicted in the opening scene of the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan...
test.
As a Starfleet officer, Calhoun served aboard the USS Grissom, where he meets Katarina "Kat" Mueller, who would become his lover. It was on the Grissom that he learns to play poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
, and establishes a reputation for being able to bluff his way through any hand, even evading an empath's attempt to get a bead on him. Calhoun was present during a catastrophic event aboard the Grissom, which led to his apparent departure from Starfleet. In reality, he becomes an undercover operative for head of Starfleet Intelligence Admiral Alynna Nechayev who, years afterward, fearing Calhoun was getting "too deep" into the lifestyle of the thugs and criminals he was associating with, pulled him out and gave him his own starship to command, the USS Excalibur. It was in taking this command that he is reunited with both Shelby, who was now his First Officer, and Mueller, whom he picked as his Executive Officer
Executive officer
An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
(the terms are normally synonymous on the various television series, but in the New Frontier novels, a First Officer heads the ship's day shift, while the Executive Officer commands the night shift watch). Calhoun is assigned to Sector 221-G, the area of space of the former Thallonian Empire, which has collapsed, resulting in destabilization of the region.
Calhoun makes an appearance in the 2007 Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
novel Before Dishonor by Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
. In the novel, Calhoun encounters Picard en route to Sector 001 to defend Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
against a new Borg
Borg (Star Trek)
The Borg are a fictional pseudo-race of cybernetic organisms depicted in the Star Trek universe associated with Star Trek.Whereas cybernetics are used by other races in the science fiction world to repair bodily damage and birth defects, the Borg use enforced cybernetic enhancement as a means of...
threat.
Mirror Universe
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
Star Trek Mirror Universe: Obsidian Alliances. In the Mirror universe, instead of witnessing his father's fatal beating at the hands of the Danteri, young M'k'n'zy begs for his father's life, insisting that he has no knowledge of D'ndai's rebellious activities. Humiliated by what he sees as his son's weakness, Gr'zy disowns the boy, who is treated as an outcast. When Praetor Hiren, the leader of the Danteri's allies, the Romulans, comes to Calhoun, he takes the boy, whom he renames "Muck", to live with him on Romulus, as assurance against further rebellion. The abusive Hiren gives Muck a scar on his face corresponding to the one possessed by Captain Calhoun in our universe. After a year in Hiren's residence, Hiren orders the boy to execute Gr'zy, who has continued his rebellion, but Gr'zy commits suicide before Muck can do this. The furious Hiren banishes Muck to the mines of Remus, where the young slave endures years of torment from other miners, until he kills his tormenters. He is eventually purchased by the Mirror Soleta and her father, Rojan, and becomes Soleta's lover. Muck and Soleta are present during a meeting arranged by Praetor Hiren between Rojan and the Mirror Lord Si Cwan of the Thallonian Empire and Falkar of Danter aboard Si Cwan's ship, the Stinger. There, Muck meets the Mirror Kalinda, Burgoyne 182, Zak Kebron, Robin Lefler and Elizabeth Shelby. Muck discovers that the Mirror Mark McHenry's god-like powers are used as the ship's intelligence and power source.
Rojan is murdered on the orders of Hiren, along with Falkar and Shelby, enraging the heartbroken Muck. Si Cwan, Kebron and Burgoyne are also killed, and Muck and Soleta take control of the Stinger, with Muck intending to destroy the surface of Danter, Romulus, Xenex, and every planet he can find, arguing that the universe deserves to die. McHenry shows Muck the Mackenzie Calhoun of our universe, and the life he has led. Inspired by the possibilities he can fight for, Muck destroys only Danter's military infrastructure and uninhabited areas of its surface, liberating Xenex. Inspired by his counterpart, he takes the name "Mac", and begins his life anew as a freedom fighter.
Mac and his crew next appear in the 2008 comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
miniseries Star Trek: New Frontier: Turnaround. It is revealed that they embarked on a series of successful strikes against the Alliance, during which the mirror Edward Jellico joined Mac's crew. During one such engagement, Soleta is killed, and the Stinger finds itself transported through a portal in space into our universe. Mac's crew spends the next several weeks making allies, before stealing the Paradox, an experimental timeship
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
created by Starfleet and the Daystrom Institute, which Mac intends to use to re-write the Mirror Universe's history to prevent the Alliance from taking over his galaxy. His plan is foiled by the crews of the Excalibur, the Trident and Bravo Station, and his counterpart from our universe, Captain Calhoun, who cautions him not to try to reshape an entire universe, lest catastrophic results occur. When Calhoun tells him that Admiral Shelby is aboard Bravo Station, which is being pummeled by the Paradox, Mac surrenders, and the Paradox is destroyed. Mac takes his crew back to the Mirror Universe, where the mirror McHenry reveals that he arranged the confrontation between the two Calhouns so that Mac would reach the right conclusion himself, and call off the plan.
Mac next appears in "Homecoming", a short story in the 2009 anthology Star Trek Mirror Universe: Shards and Shadows. The Stinger has now been renamed the Excalibur, and has embarked on a campaign against the Alliance, gathering a small army as it attacks Alliance colonies, becoming a symbol of the rebellion. The Excalibur rescues the Mirror Selar from an escape pod. Selar, a scientist and spy disguised as a Romulan named Thue, was part of a team en route to Romulus
Romulus
- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...
to assemble a thalaron bomb in order to establish weapons parity with the Alliance. Her cargo vessel, which carried the bomb's final component, C-170, was attacked by the Alliance to prevent the Romulans from using the bomb against them. The Excalibur crew track down the hijacked supply ship and retake it, before journeying to Romulus with the C-170. As they assemble the bomb, they are confronted by Praetor Hiren, meeting Mac for the first time since his childhood. Hiren is forced into an allegiance with Mac against the Alliance, who arrive to take possession of the thalaron bomb, which they intend to test detonate on Romulus. During the ensuing melee, Hiren, who had tried to prevent an open confrontation with the Alliance, orders his forces in orbit to attack the Alliance ship battling the Excalibur, and the bomb is accidentally detonated. Mac and his crew, along with Hiren, are transported to the Excalibur. Romulus is rendered uninhabitable for a millennium, with only 50,000 Romulans surviving among their fleet - which, on Hiren's orders, proceeds to join Mac's rebel forces.
Personality and appearance
Calhoun is depicted as intelligent, cunning, canny, resourceful and sneaky. His success as a tactician is due in part to his ability to sense imminent danger, and anticipate his enemies' moves. As a young rebel, he trained himself to control his respiration, heartbeat and pulse in order to make himself a more efficient killer, though Peter David has explicitly made it unclear whether this ability is common to Xenexians or unique to Calhoun.Edward Jellico sees Calhoun as an unpredictable maverick and a cowboy, and Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
has observed that reverence was never one of Calhoun's strong suits. Calhoun feels that, deep down, he is a savage, and that any appearance of civilization on his part is a façade that he wears like a cloak, though he keeps the scar Falkar gave him as a reminder of his roots. Calhoun has commented on his personality thus: "I’m an officer. I’m just not a gentleman."
Like all Xenexians, Calhoun resembles a human being almost entirely, with the exception of his purple
Purple
Purple is a range of hues of color occurring between red and blue, and is classified as a secondary color as the colors are required to create the shade....
eyes. His skin has a leathery, burnished texture, the years of hardship he endured early in life having given him a weathered look, with several deep creases already lining his forehead by the time he was 19. Calhoun has a scar down the right side of his face from his right temple down across his cheek, left by the wound Falkar inflicted on him with his short sword in 2373. He is a head shorter than his older brother, D'ndai. The renditions of Calhoun on the New Frontier
Star Trek: New Frontier
Star Trek: New Frontier is a Star Trek novel series created by John J. Ordover and Peter David and published by Pocket Books. The idea behind it was to create a Star Trek book series with its own continuity and not one that is purely a reaction to the television shows. Nearly every story of the...
novel covers, and in the comic book Double Time, consistently depict him as resembling a Caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
human male with dark brown hair, though it appears as black in Turnaround.
The Mirror Universe Mac has been described as having black hair, and appears thus in Turnaround. Whereas our universe's Calhoun has a scar down the right side of his face, the mirror Calhoun has one down the left side of his. Mac spent a year on Romulus educating himself in areas such as philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, war strategy, and chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
. He learned to defend himself during his many years in the Reman mines.
Influences
Fans have noted the similarity between Calhoun and another of Peter DavidPeter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
's Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
characters, Commander Quintin Stone from David's 1991 TNG
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
novel, A Rock and a Hard Place. David has explained that Calhoun was not intentionally a remodeled Stone, but that interestingly, both were based to some extent by characters portrayed by film actor Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
: the apparently unstable "cowboy diplomat" Stone was based on Martin Riggs
Martin Riggs
Martin Riggs is a fictional police officer and protagonist from the Lethal Weapon franchise. He is played in all four films by Mel Gibson.- Military career :...
from the Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon is a 1987 American buddy cop action film and the first in a series of films, all directed by Richard Donner and starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of LAPD detectives, and Gary Busey as their primary adversary...
films, and Calhoun, who was a rebel leader at 20, was inspired by the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
rebel leader William Wallace
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence....
from Braveheart
Braveheart
Braveheart is a 1995 epic historical drama war film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace...
. David has added that Calhoun is closer to the historical Wallace, in that like Calhoun, Wallace was much younger than the real-life Gibson was when he portrayed Wallace in the movie.
In addition, Calhoun, who is depicted as something of a cowboy, has been compared by other characters in the stories to James T. Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
, as in a conversation with Edward Jellico in the novel Martyr. David has stated that on his blog that Calhoun indeed looks up to and identifies with Kirk, seeing himself very much in the cowboy mold that Kirk personified.
In other media
Playmates Toys produced a limited edition Captain Calhoun 4.5 inch action figureAction figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
which was available only via mail order through the Star Trek Communicator fan club magazine, and began shipping in September 1998. There were approximately 10,000 of these figures produced.
In September 2005, Calhoun made a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in "Vigil", a sixth season episode of the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
fan film
Fan film
A fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book or a similar source, created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been amateurs, but some of the more notable films have actually been produced by...
series Star Trek: Hidden Frontier
Star Trek: Hidden Frontier
Star Trek: Hidden Frontier was a Star Trek fan film project. Produced on digital video, the show's sets are almost completely virtual, using a green-screen chroma keyed process to place performers into virtual settings....
, in which he meets his old lover, Elizabeth Shelby, now commanding the Excelsior, in the Briar Patch. Calhoun was played by James Cawley
James Cawley
James Cawley is an American executive film producer and actor, known for his assumption of the role Captain James T. Kirk in the fan film series Star Trek: Phase II.-Star Trek: Phase II:...
, producer and star of Star Trek: New Voyages
Star Trek: New Voyages
Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II is a fan-created science fiction series set in the Star Trek universe. The series was created by James Cawley and Jack Marshall in April 2003...
, in which he plays James T. Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
. Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
stated on his blog that although the creators of the episode did not check with him beforehand, he thought it was very entertaining.
In the online game Star Trek Online
Star Trek Online
Star Trek Online, often abbreviated as STO, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Cryptic Studios based on the popular Star Trek series created by Gene Roddenberry. The game is set in the 25th century, 30 years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis...
, Calhoun is a Starfleet mission contact based on Starbase K-7. He issues PvP
Player versus player
Player versus player, or PvP, is a type of multiplayer interactive conflict within a game between two or more live participants. This is in contrast to games where players compete against computer controlled opponents, which is correspondingly referred to as player versus environment...
missions to federation players so they can fight other STO players playing the Klingon faction.
External links
- Star Trek: New Frontier: House of Cards at Amazon.comAmazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...