Zefram Cochrane
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| Gender: | Male |
| Species: | Human |
| Occupation: | Scientist |
| Status: | Alive (2267) |
| Born: | 2032 |
| Played by: | James Cromwell Glenn Corbett |
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- For the mirror universe counterpart, please see Zefram Cochrane (mirror).
Doctor Zefram Cochrane was a Human scientist in the 21st century. An eccentric genius, he was the inventor of warp drive on Earth, and was the first recorded Human to travel faster than light.
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Biography
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Cochrane was born in 2032. During the 2060s, he lived in Bozeman, Montana in North America, where he and his team of engineers began developing the warp drive and finally built Earth's first warp ship, the Phoenix.
On April 4, 2063, he encountered the crew of the Federation starship USS Enterprise-E who came from the year 2373, to stop a Borg sphere from the same year from preventing first contact. Doctor Cochrane was treated like a historical figure by the crew, as he was to them. On April 5th, the next day, at 11:00 AM, the Phoenix was launched with Commander William T. Riker and Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge accompanying him. He broke the warp barrier just after 11:00 AM, enough to draw the attention of the Vulcan ship T'Plana-Hath passing near Earth. The Vulcan ship landed in Montana that evening, thereby making first contact with humans, and opening a new era for the whole of mankind. (Star Trek: First Contact)
In 2064, Cochrane mentioned details about that first contact in Bozeman, in a commencement address at Princeton University. He claimed that it involved "a group of cybernetic creatures from the future" which were repelled by a group of humans who came from the same era. However, Cochrane's remarks were largely shrugged off by his audience as a result of his tendency toward imaginative stories and intoxication and Cochrane recanted his own statements several years later. (Star Trek: First Contact, ENT: "Regeneration")
In the early 22nd century, Cochrane worked closely with Henry Archer on the warp five engine and had met Henry's son, Jonathan Archer, the future captain of Enterprise NX-01. (ENT: "Daedalus") In 2119, he officially opened the Warp Five Complex on Earth. During this speech, Cochrane coined many phrases that would be used by Starfleet for generations to come, including "where no man has gone before." (ENT: "Broken Bow") Later that year, he left his new home on Alpha Centauri colony for an unknown destination, and was later presumed dead. (TOS: "Metamorphosis")
When Enterprise discovered a mysterious craft adrift in space in October 2152 with one dead occupant, Captain Archer wondered if it could be the long-lost Cochrane. In the interest of determining the deceased pilot's identity, Dr. Phlox submitted a request to the Cochrane family in order for them to release Cochrane's genetic profile. However, it was soon discovered that the pilot was a Human from the 31st century whose time travel pod had suffered a critical disaster, in which he was killed, while visiting the 22nd century. (ENT: "Future Tense")
In 2267, Captain James T. Kirk, Commander Spock, and Dr. Leonard McCoy of the USS Enterprise were ferrying the terminally-ill Federation commissioner Nancy Hedford aboard the shuttlecraft Galileo when they were mysteriously brought down on an asteroid in the Gamma Canaris region. There, they discovered Cochrane alive and living with a cloud-like entity called the Companion, which had kept him young and alive over the past 150 years. The Companion later entered the body of Hedford, and she and Cochrane began a new life on the asteroid, now with a typical Human life span. Cochrane had Kirk promise never to reveal the events surrounding their encounter. (TOS: "Metamorphosis")
Personal life and legacyEdit
One of Cochrane's good friends was Lily Sloane, whom he knew since the Third World War. She nicknamed him "Z". Cochrane was a fan of late 20th Century rock music. Among Cochrane's favorite songs included "Ooby Dooby" by Roy Orbison, and "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf. (Star Trek: First Contact) His favorite food was cheese pierogi. (VOY: "Homestead")
At the time of First Contact, Zefram Cochrane did not have a grand vision of ushering in a new era for mankind or of endowing Earth with the gift of warp technology. These qualities came to be commonly ascribed to him by later generations, but, as with many of history's icons, the man himself was more complex.
In fact, Cochrane had a cynical streak. He had an alcohol abuse problem, and his primary motivation for developing warp technology was financial gain in the devastated, poverty-stricken America that existed in the wake of the Third World War. When confronted with worshipful Enterprise crew members, Cochrane claimed that he was interested in nothing more than a simple life on an island filled with money, rock and roll, and naked women. He actually had an intense dislike for air and space travel and preferred taking trains.
When the crew of the Enterprise-E confronted him in 2063 with his future image as herald of a better world, Cochrane refused to accept this new role. After Geordi La Forge told him about the statue of Cochrane which would be built in Bozeman, Cochrane initially attempted to literally flee from his destiny. In time, Cochrane came to understand the magnitude of his accomplishment and the necessity that he become a better leader – and of the hope for a better future that First Contact with the Vulcans provided. In 2073, he is recorded as proclaiming, "Don't try to be a great man; just be a man, and let history make its own judgments." (Star Trek: First Contact)
In 2152, Cochrane still had surviving family. (ENT: "Future Tense")
The cochrane, a unit of measure of subspace distortion, was named after Zefram Cochrane. Planets, great universities, cities, and the USS Cochrane were also named in his honor, as was the shuttlecraft Cochrane on the USS Voyager. (TOS: "Metamorphosis"; DS9: "Emissary"; VOY: "Threshold", "Day of Honor")
AppendicesEdit
BackgroundEdit
Zefram Cochrane was first seen and mentioned in the original series episode "Metamorphosis", played by Glenn Corbett. Veteran Star Trek actor James Cromwell was cast in the role for First Contact – Cochrane was supposedly in his early 30s during the events of the film; by contrast, Cromwell was 56 years old during the filming of First Contact. This has often been explained in non-canon literature (most notable the Pocket Books novel Federation) as Cochrane suffering from radiation poisoning, hence his far weathered and older appearance from his natural age.
Cromwell went on to reprise the role of Cochrane in an uncredited cameo appearance in the pilot episode of Enterprise. Footage of Cromwell (as Zefram Cochrane greeting the Vulcans) was reused, with Cromwell's consent, at the beginning of "In a Mirror, Darkly".
The Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Broken Bow" chronologically establishes Cochrane as the first known person to utter the famous Star Trek catch phrase: "boldly go where no man has gone before."
In the credits of Star Trek: First Contact, the character's name is misspelled "Zefram Cochran".
The statue of Cochrane described in First Contact – which has Cochrane "reaching out to the stars" – was created as a statuette and seen in Jonathan Archer's quarters on Star Trek: Enterprise. This statuette was designed by illustrator Doug Drexler. ("Broken Bow" text commentary, ENT Season 1 DVD) In one scene from the episode "Twilight", Archer uses the statue to kill a Xindi-Reptilian who has boarded Enterprise. The statue and "stunt" statue props were sold in both the 40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection and It's A Wrap! sale and auction. [1] [2]
There are rumors that Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks was considered for the role of Cochrane in First Contact, but these have not been substantiated. (citation needed • edit) Given the limited budget of the film – around US$45 million – and Hank's typical US$20 million paycheck, this is somewhat unlikely, despite Hanks being an avowed fan of Star Trek.
An episode of South Park referenced Cochrane's line, "Don't try to be a great man, just be a man." (AOL chat, 1998)
Cochrane is the only character to utter the phrase "star trek" in the franchise, although Q did use the phrase "trek through the stars" in the series finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation. (Star Trek: First Contact; TNG: "All Good Things...")
ApocryphaEdit
In the novelization of First Contact, it was suggested that Cochrane's alcoholism was not his only issue. He also suffered from bipolar disorder, a condition that had been treated with a cerebral implant that delivered the necessary medications. After World War III, however, Cochrane was unable to find either a way to refill the implant, nor a suitable replacement, so he took to self-medicating with alcohol. The Enterprise crew was able to stabilize his condition enough for him to complete his work on the Phoenix, and Beverly Crusher cured the disorder permanently shortly before returning to the Enterprise-E.
In addition, this novelization states that Cochrane was born in the year 2013, as opposed to 2032, which would be more consistent with actor James Cromwell's real-life age (to say nothing of physical appearance) in the film.
The novel First Frontier states that Cochrane accidentally stumbled on the secrets of the warp drive and that he was originally looking for something else, though it is never mentioned what he was looking for exactly.
External linksEdit
- Zefram Cochrane at StarTrek.com, the official Star Trek website
- Zefram Cochrane at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- Zefram Cochrane at Wikipedia
