 |
"The Stars Flying By"
Star Trek #17
IDW
Written by Mike Johnson and F. Leonard Johnson, M.D.
Artist: Claudia Balboni
Cover by
Tim Bradstreet
January 2013 |
The secret origin of Leonard McCoy.
Read the full story summary of this issue at Memory
Beta
Didja Know?
This issue does not have an official title.
I chose the title used here from an appropriate line of dialog
in the story.
The co-writing credit to
F. Leonard Johnson, M.D. is to series writer Mike Johnson's
father.
Notes from the Star Trek
Chronology
This story opens on stardate 2258.247, placing it shortly
after
"Return of the
Archons" Part 2 and before
"The Truth About
Tribbles" Part 1.
Didja Notice?
On page 3, Leonard McCoy's father is wearing a t-shirt that
says "Ole Miss". "Ole Miss" is the
nickname of the
University
of Mississippi. According to
The Edge, Leonard would attend medical school
there.
This story reveals that McCoy's father was also a doctor.
On page 8, Steven mentions Aldorian beer pong. The Aldorian
variation has not been previously seen or mentioned in
Star Trek. Generic beer pong is a drinking game on
Earth.
On page 9, McCoy explains to his future wife the cause of
ice cream headaches (the coldness causing sudden contraction
of the blood vessels in the sinuses) and how to relieve one
(breathe through your mouth to let the warm air hit the roof
of your mouth). His description is accurate and his "cure"
one of many that have been suggested in the past.
This story reveals that McCoy's ex-wife is Pamela Branch.
However, his ex-wife was stated to be named Jocelyn in
The Assassination Game,
a name established in several
TOS novels previously.
On pages 9 and 21, McCoy is called a miracle worker. As
Trekkies know, it is usually Scotty who is referred to by
that term.
On page 10, McCoy's friend Steven reveals that McCoy
finished first in class (presumably meaning at Ole Miss).
On page 12, McCoy and his assistant, Maggie, discuss a
possible new interferon treatment
being tested in Helsinki
for a deadly disease. Interferons are proteins released by
host cells as part of the immune response of the body to
warn other cells to begin defending against a pathogen.
Helsinki is the capital of Finland.
Page 18 is a retelling of the scene on the Academy
shuttlecraft just before McCoy meets Kirk for the first time
in
"Parallels".
"Aviophobia" (fear of flying) is
misspelled on page 18 as "aviaphobia".
On page 19, McCoy remarks that the disease he's currently
trying to treat in an Enterprise crewman is proving extremely resistant
to current xenological treatments. "Xenological" is that
which pertains to the study of alien organisms.
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