I finally got around to renting Nemesis this weekend and after watching the deleted scenes, I’ve gotten to wondering how DVDs and their showing deleted scenes (but not incorporating them into the movie itself) affects the canon history of franchises.
The reason I ask is because in one of the scenes, Picard mentions Beverly going off to Starfleet Medical while sharing a glass of wine with Data. In the movie proper, there’s no other mention of this whatsoever and since this has a distinct possibility of being the last TNG (or Trek) movie, I’m wondering how this’ll be done officially.
I know that us Trekkies (or sci-fi fans in general, rather) take our shows a bit more seriously and that this might not be an issue to others but I’m really curious as to how showing these scenes can affect a character’s history.
I’m of the opinion that deleted scenes in any medium, if included in the DVD but not incorporated into the movie, have standing, but only if they don’t contradict other aspects of a character or something in the actual movie (or TV show). In other words, deleted scenes have a slightly lesser standing. As a hypothetical example… the deleted scene says that Beverly is going off to Starfleet medical. This should be considered canon UNLESS the movie, or a later movie, says specifically that she didn’t (like if Beverly says, “I never went off to Starfleet medical,” or somesuch).
My rationale is this: If the parent or owner, or whatever, releases the material, that means that they’re giving it a nod of official standing UNLESS otherwise specified (for example, the Star Trek novels don’t have any canonicity, in Parmount’s eyes). However, since it’s not included in the primary medium - TV show or movie - it should be taken with a slight grain of salt.
I don’t think that’s necessarily true. Not every deleted scene is cut because of time constraints or faulty pacing or some such. Sometimes the people behind it actually think that the story is preferable without that scene.
There’s a deleted scene on the Back to the Future III DVD wherein Buford Tannen kills Marshal Strickland. According to the commentary, they cut it because of the implications it would have had for the character. In this case, they said that if Tannen had actually murdered someone, he would have deserved to die in the climax of the film, instead of just getting arrested.
[spoiler]I watched Red Dragon earlier today and one of the bonus features was “Lector’s FBI and Life History.” Trouble is, the history is a wierd hybrid of events from the films (titles in italics) and the novels (titles in quotes):
Benjamin Raspail: Lector kills him in Red Dragon, confirmed by events in “The Silence of the Lambs”, but denies it in The Silence of the Lambs. The DVD file says Lector killed him.
Lector’s escape: The DVD and “The Silence of the Lambs” describe Lector meticulously forming an improvised handcuff key from a pen’s ink tube and a paper clip. The Silence of the Lambs shows Lector using a pen clip, picked up quite unexpectedly during his transfer to Tennessee.
Dr. Chilton: The DVD file claimes Chilton’s last known location (and the probable source of Lector’s call to Agent Starling at the FBI Academy after his escape) is Buenos Aires. This is supported by Silence of the Lambs but not “Silence of the Lambs.”
Lector’s final disposition: The DVD file claims Agent Starling vanished after Paul Krendler’s de-brained body was found, and that a woman matching her description was spotted along with a possible Lector sighting at an opera in Buenos Aires. This lines up with “Hannibal” but not Hannibal.[/spoiler]
I’d have expected the movies to use only other movies as canon, and the novels to only refer to other novels.
If I recall correctly, in All Good Things… (Future-Enterprise Era), Beverly had moved to Starfleet Medical. The Pasteur? Which gives you where they got it from.
Thanks, SPOOFE. Your assesment is what I basically believe as well. I was just curious if others felt the same way and if so, how common the belief is.
And, E-Sabbath, All Good Things… isn’t canon - it was an alternate future.
So, what about edited scenes in a re-release? I’m thinking of Star Wars of course, specifically Greedo shooting first. I guess the re-release is canon, but does the original have any standing?
Speaking of which, I wish that they’d re edit Daredevil back into an R-rated movie for the DVD. With the half hourish of stuff it feels like was taken out of the theatrical version.