Changes: Argyle

Revision as of 23:10, 10 December 2009

Lieutenant Commander Argyle was one of the chief engineers aboard the USS Enterprise-D in 2364.

He oversaw Kosinski's warp drive experiment, as well as the reassembly of Lore, Data's android 'brother'. He spoke with a slight northern English accent. (TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before", "Datalore", mentioned by name in "Lonely Among Us")

Background

Argyle was played by actor Biff Yeager. Argyle appeared to have replaced Sarah MacDougal as Chief Engineer and was apparently replaced himself by Lieutenant Logan prior to TNG: "The Arsenal of Freedom". However, Commander William T. Riker's line in "Where No One Has Gone Before" that engineering matters were overseen by "one of our chief engineers, Lt. Commander Argyle in this case." seems to imply that the ship had more than one chief engineering officer at the time (possibly relating to the prolonged teething problems of the Template:ShipClass). Therefore, it is possible that MacDougal and Argyle both served as chief engineer simultaneously. This practice of having more than one chief engineer seems to have come to an end by 2365, when Geordi La Forge became the sole chief engineer of the Enterprise.

In a review of "Where No One Has Gone Before" for TV Squad, Wil Wheaton suggested that the character of Argyle was under consideration by producers to become a permanent chief engineer for the Enterprise until letters starting coming in campaigning for Argyle in the position before the episode featuring him was aired, and that Trekkies complained that they had been spammed via mail asking them to write in on behalf of Yeager. However, Wheaton acknowledged that his memories on the subject may have been faulty since it was over 20 years ago and he was only 14 years old at the time. [1]

Argyle's appearance, vocal pattern, and personality resembled that of Montgomery Scott's in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home which fueled the fire of critics who claimed that The Next Generation was (again, as there were many such accusations made in the early days of the series) ripping off the classic Star Trek series. The fact that when The Next Generation primeried the Enterprise-D is "short-staffed" is similar to The Original Series under Kirk's command not having the full staff at the very beginning (Dr. McCoy and Checkov were added later) Like Argyle is similar to Scotty, Miles O'brien, a transporter officer, bears similarity to Mr./Commander Kyle. Mr. O'brien on the other hand remained in both Star Trek and later Deep Space Nine.

In the episode Datalore, you can see Jonathan Frakes patting Yeager on the shoulder in the final scene featuring Argyle. It is possible that this is to thank Yeager for returning for this episode who likely did not want to return. (This is similar to Denise Crosby's wave in the episode Symbiosis)

Argyle (and his location) has never been mentioned in any following episodes of any Star Trek series or movies, nor has Biff Yeager returned as a guest star for any character.

Apocrypha

Argyle has appeared or been mentioned in non-canon releases, such as Pocket TNG novels Ghost Ship, The Peacekeepers, Power Hungry, Metamorphosis, and Vendetta.

According to the DC Comics comic book "Suspect", his first name was "Terence" and he was murdered around 2369 or 2370. However, according the current Pocket Books continuity, his first name was 'Michael', and he was killed aboard the USS Excalibur during the Borg incursion of 2373.

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 == Background ==
-Argyle was played by actor [[Biff Yeager]]. Argyle appeared to have replaced [[Sarah MacDougal]] as Chief Engineer and was apparently replaced himself by [[Lieutenant]] [[Logan]] prior to {{TNG|The Arsenal of Freedom}}. However, [[Commander]] [[William T. Riker]]'s line in "Where No One Has Gone Before" that engineering matters were overseen by "one of our chief engineers, in this case, [Mr.] Argyle" seems to imply that the ship had more than one chief engineering officer at the time (possibly relating to the prolonged teething problems of the {{ShipClass|Galaxy}}). Therefore, it is possible that MacDougal and Argyle both served as chief engineer simultaneously. This practice of having more than one chief engineer seems to have come to an end by [[2365]], when [[Geordi La Forge]] became the sole chief engineer of the ''Enterprise''.
+Argyle was played by actor [[Biff Yeager]]. Argyle appeared to have replaced [[Sarah MacDougal]] as Chief Engineer and was apparently replaced himself by [[Lieutenant]] [[Logan]] prior to {{TNG|The Arsenal of Freedom}}. However, [[Commander]] [[William T. Riker]]'s line in "Where No One Has Gone Before" that engineering matters were overseen by "one of our chief engineers, Lt. Commander Argyle in this case." seems to imply that the ship had more than one chief engineering officer at the time (possibly relating to the prolonged teething problems of the {{ShipClass|Galaxy}}). Therefore, it is possible that MacDougal and Argyle both served as chief engineer simultaneously. This practice of having more than one chief engineer seems to have come to an end by [[2365]], when [[Geordi La Forge]] became the sole chief engineer of the ''Enterprise''.
 In a review of "Where No One Has Gone Before" for TV Squad, [[Wil Wheaton]] suggested that the character of Argyle was under consideration by producers to become a permanent chief engineer for the ''Enterprise'' until letters starting coming in campaigning for Argyle in the position before the episode featuring him was aired, and that Trekkies complained that they had been spammed via mail asking them to write in on behalf of Yeager. However, Wheaton acknowledged that his memories on the subject may have been faulty since it was over 20 years ago and he was only 14 years old at the time. [http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/10/27/star-trek-the-next-generation-where-no-one-has-gone-before/]
-Argyle's appearance and vocal pattern resembled that of [[Montgomery Scott]]'s in {{film|2}}, {{film|3}}, and {{film|4}} which fueled the fire of critics who claimed that ''The Next Generation'' was (again, as there were many such accusations made in the early days of the series) ripping off the [[Star Trek: The Original Series|classic ''Star Trek'']] series.
+Argyle's appearance, vocal pattern, and personality resembled that of [[Montgomery Scott]]'s in {{film|2}}, {{film|3}}, and {{film|4}} which fueled the fire of critics who claimed that ''The Next Generation'' was (again, as there were many such accusations made in the early days of the series) ripping off the [[Star Trek: The Original Series|classic ''Star Trek'']] series. The fact that when The Next Generation primeried the Enterprise-D is "short-staffed" is similar to The Original Series under Kirk's command not having the full staff at the very beginning (Dr. McCoy and Checkov were added later) Like Argyle is similar to Scotty, Miles O'brien, a transporter officer, bears similarity to Mr./Commander Kyle. Mr. O'brien on the other hand remained in both Star Trek and later Deep Space Nine.
+In the episode Datalore, you can see Jonathan Frakes patting Yeager on the shoulder in the final scene featuring Argyle. It is possible that this is to thank Yeager for returning for this episode who likely did not want to return. (This is similar to Denise Crosby's wave in the episode Symbiosis)
+Argyle (and his location) has never been mentioned in any following episodes of any Star Trek series or movies, nor has Biff Yeager returned as a guest star for ''any'' character.
 === Apocrypha ===