Robert April
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Robert M. April | |
|---|---|
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| Species: | Human |
| Gender: | Male |
| Home planet: | Earth |
| Affiliation: | Starfleet |
| Position: | USS Enterprise commanding officer |
| Rank: | Captain |
Robert T. April is a fictional character associated with the Star Trek universe. He has appeared on-screen in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "The Counter-Clock Incident", where he is portrayed as the first captain of the USS Enterprise. The character has not appeared or been mentioned in any live-action Trek works, but has made frequent appearances in spin-offs. For example, he is listed in the Chronology as the first captain of the Enterprise, accompanied by a photo of the creator of Star Trek Gene Roddenberry, sitting on a captain's chair wearing a Starfleet uniform, and is listed as such on the official Star Trek website.
When Roddenberry submitted his first proposal for Star Trek to MGM Studios in 1964, his name for the starship commander was "Robert M. April" (another name, Captain Winter, was also considered). The proposal was rejected, and Star Trek did not become a television reality until later that year when NBC accepted the premise, by which time various changes to the premise had led to the captain's name being changed to Christopher Pike (with more changes to come before series finally began in 1966).
In 1974, the writers for the animated series picked up on this early legacy and included Robert April, now a Commodore, in the final episode of the series titled "The Counter-Clock Incident." The character's voice was provided by James Doohan, who also portrayed "Scotty". The episode establishes his, wife, Sarah, was the Chief Medical Officer of the Enterprise during his tenure.
Note the character's middle initial is T and not M as in Roddenberry's original proposal. The official Star Trek website, maintained by Paramount Pictures and the Star Trek Encyclopedia, an official publication both instead give the name Robert T. April. Most of April's appearances in Star Trek novels give his background as English, hailing from Coventry. April also wears various cardigan sweaters over his Starfleet uniform, due to a rare blood disorder which causes him to feel slightly chilly most of the time. Commander George Kirk, father of Captain James T. Kirk, serves as April's executive officer in the early years of the Enterprise. One young adult novel, however, ("Crisis on Vulcan") portrays Pike as the first officer under April when Spock visits the ship.
[edit] Further reading
- Star Trek Chronology: The History of the Future (Pocket Books, 1996; ISBN 0-671-53610-9)
- Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future (Pocket Books, 1999; ISBN 0-671-03475-8)
- Diane Carey, Final Frontier (Pocket Books, 1989; ISBN 0-671-69655-6) Carey's novel of April and George Kirk's first mission.
- Diane Carey, Star Trek Best Destiny (Random House Value Publishing, 1995; ISBN 0-517-13905-7) A young James T. Kirk visits April and his father George aboard the Enterprise.
[edit] External links
- Robert April article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
| Captains of Star Trek vessels named Enterprise | ||||||||||
| Jonathan Archer | Robert April | Christopher Pike | James T. Kirk | Willard Decker | Spock | John Harriman | Rachel Garrett | Jean-Luc Picard | William Riker | Edward Jellico |
