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This Star Trek-related article or section describes an aspect of Star Trek in a primarily in-universe style. Please rewrite this article to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. |
| John Harriman | |
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| Species: | Human |
| Gender: | Male |
| Affiliation: | Starfleet |
| Position: | USS Enterprise-B commanding officer |
| Rank: | Captain |
| Portrayed by: | Alan Ruck |
Captain John Harriman is a fictional character, the commanding officer of the starship USS Enterprise-B. Played by actor Alan Ruck, he first appeared in the 1994 science fiction film Star Trek Generations, commanding the Enterprise-B on its maiden voyage during which James Kirk was apparently killed. Ruck reprised the role in the non-canonical fan mini-series Star Trek: Of Gods and Men. The character has also appeared in other Star Trek media such as books and video games.
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Character history
Star Trek Generations
At the beginning of Star Trek Generations, the Enterprise-B is launched with much fanfare, including a complement of journalists on board, as well as veteran officers James T. Kirk, Montgomery Scott, and Commander Pavel Chekov in attendance. Also present is the helm officer Demora Sulu, the daughter of Kirk's former navigator, Hikaru Sulu, now the Captain of the USS Excelsior. Although the voyage was intended to be a brief trip for the benefit of the press, the ship receives an emergency distress call from two El-Aurian refugee ships. Because the Enterprise is the closest ship to the El-Aurians, it is forced to attempt a rescue, despite being undermanned, and under-equipped. The Enterprise discovers the ships caught in strange spatial phenomena known only as an "energy ribbon", which destroys one of the refugees ships. The Enterprise manages to transport 47 of the 115 refugees from the second ship, the Lakul, before it too is destroyed. The Enterprise itself is caught in the ribbon's gravimetric field, escape from which requires Kirk to make a modification to the ship's deflector relays Deck 15. This allows the Enterprise to break free of the ribbon, but an energy tendril breaches the hull on Decks 13-15. Kirk is apparently lost in the incident and presumed dead.
In print
The Captain's Daughter
Harriman features prominently in the 1995 novel Star Trek: The Captain's Daughter by Peter David, who wrote the novel in part to rehabilitate Harriman's character.[1] Harriman is revealed to be the son of Admiral John "Blackjack" Harriman, a powerful and legendary Admiral who sees James Kirk as a glorified cowboy whose disrespect for regulations made him a poor officer. Blackjack is largely responsible for his son's captaincy, and his strict expectations that his son not follow in the footsteps of people like Kirk have presented much for Captain Harriman to live up to throughout his life.[2] The death of Kirk during Harriman's maiden voyage while in command of the Enterprise provides more weight for him to bear, and he is held personally responsible for the event by Pavel Chekov. In the story, Demora Sulu, daughter of Excelsior Captain Hikaru Sulu, and helm officer of the Enterprise-B, is apparently killed by Harriman after going berserk and attempting to kill him while on a landing party on the planet Askalon V. Fearing the possibility of some infectious agent that caused Demora's behavior, Harriman then quarantines the planet. Because Starfleet's resources are stretched thin due to a number of matters, including the fall of the Klingon Empire, a quarantine team may not be dispatched to the planet for eight or nine months. Refusing to wait for Starfleet to investigate the mystery of his daughter's death, Captain Sulu takes Excelsior there to rescue her, in direct violation of Starfleet regulations prohibiting starship contact with quarantined planets. Captain Harriman and the Enterprise-B are sent after the Excelsior. As Captain Sulu finds Demora very much alive on the planet, and confronts her kidnappers, who had replaced her with an imperfect clone, the Excelsior is confronted by the Enterprise. Although Harriman attempts to order the ship to surrender, Blackjack objects to what he perceives as leniency on his son's part, arguing that they are at war with the disobedience and contempt for regulations exhibited by Sulu. Blackjack takes over command of the Enterprise, and orders phasers fired at the Excelsior in order to "make an example" of them. Harriman, standing up to his father, belays the order, re-takes command of his ship, and relieves his father of duty. When his father refuses to comply, Harriman has his father beamed from the captain's chair into the brig. Harriman then takes a shuttlecraft down to the planet, where he rescues both Captain and Demora Sulu. When Harriman later informs Blackjack of this, Blackjack is persuaded not to court-martial his son or the crew of the Excelsior, though he insists to that this is not an endorsement of his actions, but a decision made to make his son look good.[3]
"Shakedown"
Harriman also appears in "Shakedown", a short story also by Peter David, that appears in the 2000 anthology Star Trek: Enterprise Logs. In this story, which David wrote in continuation of his desire to add depth and competence to Harriman's character, Harriman is apparently captured by the Romulans, and engaged in a battle of wills with the Romulan High Examiner, Rokan the Relentless, an interrogator who has a reputation for being able to break the most formidable of prisoners, regardless of race, and without resorting to physical pain or drugs, relying merely on verbal psychological tactics. The Romulans want information on Starfleet troop movements being made in response to Romulan incursions into the outer rim worlds. Harriman manages to withstand all of Rokan's verbal assaults, showing surprising resilience, and even manages to provoke inadvertent reactions from Rokan, before Rokan resorts to drugs and mechanical devices. During the course of the interrogation, Harriman is apparently broken, and reveals the information that Rokan wants. Rokan mentions the names of several Starfleet officials who are acting as Romulan sleeper agents, and says he intends to turn Harriman into one as well. However, once Rokan reveals this information, the interrogation is revealed to be a holographic simulation in a prototype holochamber on board the Enterprise-B. Harriman reveals that Rokan was captured by Starfleet while he slept, and led to believe he was interrogating a prisoner so that he would himself reveal information about the Romulan sleeper agents. With the deception revealed, the tables are now turned on Rokan.[1]
Serpents Among the Ruins
According to the 2003 non-canon Lost Era novel Serpents Among the Ruins by David R. George III,[4] Harriman remains in command of the Enterprise for nearly twenty years and develops a reputation as an excellent and capable officer. Harriman stands down as captain of the Enterprise after the Tomed Incident of 2311 and is succeeded by Demora Sulu.
Other media
The non-canon game Star Trek: Starship Creator by Simon and Schuster Interactive includes Harriman as a character who can be assigned to one of the various positions on players' ships. The game lists Harriman as a native of Chicago, Illinois, with a son named Ferris and an interest in 20th century sports cars, a reference to the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off which is set in Chicago, and in which Ruck, the best friend of Ferris Bueller, has a father who owns a collection of sports cars.
References
- ^ a b David, Peter (writer) Greenburg, Carol (editor); Star Trek: Enterprise Logs; Page 206.
- ^ David, 2000; Page 212.
- ^ David, Peter; Star Trek: The Captain's Daughter; 1995
- ^ George III, David R. (2003). Serpents Among the Ruins. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-7434-6403-6.
External links
- John Harriman article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
- StarTrek.com biography of John Harriman
| 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 |
