Okay gang, what do we think about the Commander? Where did he come from? What is his back story? How old is he really? How did he become the youngest full bird in US military history? (Assuming he was 32 in 1970.)

Well, the accelerated promotion could be explained by his being a member of the Astronaut Corps. Generally, military officers are promoted after every flight

Commander Straker:
My Thoughts:

Even though the Commander had more on screen presence and clues to his past than any other character, he still generates quite a bit of speculation in the fandom.

In order to understand where he came from, we need to look at the way he was portrayed in the series. Straker was a duty driven individual; his dedication to SHADO was his life. I also saw him as a man who had a deep caring for each and every person under his command. He was a hard ass because he needed to be. I also believe that he had combat experience, either in Vietnam, Korea, or both.

We know from canon that Straker was an astronaut and he had a degree in astrophysics from MIT. The astronaut corps was comprised of all test pilots until group 6 where the first of the scientist astronauts were brought on board. The very latest year he could have been born would have been 1938 has we know that he was a full colonel (O6) in 1970. That would have made him the youngest full bird in US military history by almost ten years.

Now it is possible that he was older, in fact in Identified one of his service ribbons indicates service in Korea. If that is taken as canon then he would have to have been at least ten years older. So that gives us a possible birth date between 1928 and 1938. Speaking of his ribbons, I take those with a very large grain of salt, as they were not consistent between Confetti Check A-OK and Identified. I think the wardrobe department grabbed what they thought would look good, not giving much thought to what they meant.

Bishop was 37 when the series was shot and it has been argued that Straker was the same age in 1980. Quite frankly that would have been impossible, for several reasons, the most prominent being time in grade.

Quite often an actor is cast to play a person several years older (or younger) than their own age and I think that is what happened here. It is often difficult to ascertain a person’s true age and I speak from personal experience as I am often mistaken to be ten years younger than I am. (So is my wife.)

My stories go with the younger version of Ed and I based my work on Deb’s bio for the Commander. The only aspect that draws any question is the issue of rank and that can be explained in several ways. (I have a story idea for that.)

The older version of Ed has some merit as well. It puts a new spin on the Straker/Foster dynamic. In some ways it works better. But the older Straker complicates my Ed/Ginny pairing. Eighteen years vs. eight is a bit of a stretch. There is also the possibility that he was somewhere in between, say 1932. But he would have missed Korea had that been the case.

I don’t think Straker’s astronaut training came until he and Collins trained to commission SID which would have been in the 1976 to 1978 timeframe. That would have happened after Skylab and Apollo/Soyuz and before the first shuttle launch in 1981. All of the astronaut groups were married men until group 5 (The Original Nineteen). This was a NASA mandate so it’s highly unlikely that he was involved in the program prior to 1975 although his ambitions were heading in that direction by virtue of his schooling. His scientific and combat background made him unique and I assume that he caught Henderson’s eye early in his career.

Since SHADO was Henderson’s project it makes sense that he saw Straker as a viable second in command and was moving his career in that direction.

I consider Straker to have been cut from the same cloth as the first groups of astronauts. These men were all patriotic, and dedicated to their duty. Most of them were eagle scouts. When Ed took over as C in C of SHADO his patriotism morphed into something larger. He was no longer concerned with just his own country but humanity as a whole and he pursued it with the very same vigor that he did as a USAF officer.

I guess I don't worry so much about rank and age/unwritten requirements when I write about my favorite UFO character.  Because to me red tape is merely there to get around.  Besides, my dad was Air Force, and he always said that Straker could easily have been promoted beyond what was the norm for courage above and beyond duty (which sounds just like him!)  So I'm taking my dad's word over what the 'normal requirements' say.  I've written Straker anywhere from 45 (since my stories usually take place after the 1st season) to 52.  It's an age range that is very difficult to pin down to an exact year if a man has kept himself fit and well-groomed, which Straker obviously has.

For me, the things I focus on when writing about Straker are his personality, mannerisms, and treatment of others.  These are the things that tell me what manner of man he was.  The rest is all trappings. 

I usually write him as someone who has an adversarial relationship with his father (for whatever reason seems good for the storyline) and a mother who died when he was still young enough to be at home.  I write him that way with his dad, since most men do have a difficult relationship with their fathers.  And I write him that way with his mom, because it explains a few of the layers of his loneliness.

I love it that he's a hard-ass!  As Deb said once, would you want any other kind of man in charge of our planet's protection?  I love his sarcasm.  He plays the straight man to Alec's charm so well.

Men as rigidly disciplined as he comes across in the series tend to also be rigidly moral.  It just goes with the territory.  So I always portray him that way, even though on occasion I've taken him outside that barrier when given a strong enough reason.  (After all, he ditched his moral code with Jo Fraser without any reason whatsoever!)  I at least give him solid reasons for doing so when I have him deviate from his normal code in my stories.

He's also portrayed in the series as a man on the edge.  Through different episodes, we see why he is on the edge, which engenders a great deal of sympathy for him.  But nonetheless, he is there.  And I can't stand it!  Which is why in all my stories, he meets someone (a special woman, of course!) who helps him deal with the enormous load he carries.  This in turn allows him to begin to heal from the wounds that his job has inflicted, and he is able to finally relax and show that side of him that has been shut down for so long.  I love being able to do this for him!  And I won't apologize for it!  I have a deep-seated need to see him happy. 

His treatment of women in the series was exemplary.  He was always polite, always chivalrous, but also always respectful of their intelligence and insight.  He treated them as equals, except in those instances when it conflicted with his chivalry.  In fact, he was the perfect boss for any woman to have!  Never lecherous, never condescending!  Who cares if he was occasionally rude?  I'll take rude any day over lecherous! 

With men he was tougher, setting himself up as the authority figure and brooking no interference.  Notable exceptions were Alec (who could and did question his decisions from time to time without inciting his anger) and Foster (who he treated rather like a younger brother or even a son, allowing him liberties that he would instantly squash in anyone else.)  He occasionally treated Henderson with deference (probably due to the general's position as his superior officer then and now), but this was not universal, and there were several times in the series where he openly fought him.  Because of this inconsistency, I've interpreted his relationship with the general as that of a student/mentor who has outgrown his teacher, but whom his teacher has not yet trusted to be on his own.  It seems to work well with the dynamics portrayed in the show and allows for a great deal of storytelling opportunities.

Because the show rarely said anything, but left so much open for interpretation, every writer portrays the commander differently, according to their own view of him from the show.  He's probably the most controversial character to discuss, and it's easy to tell what writers think of him by the way they treat him in their stories.  I like to think that Ed Bishop would have been pleased with the way I have treated his character in my stories. 

Naw, say it ain't so!

Well, there's no actual evidence that the original question was from anyone we are familiar with - but the question and responses are interesting, to say the least.

Librarian wrote on Aug 10^th, 2011 at 7:42pm:


I have a bridge for sale in Brooklyn. :

From LJ
Quote:


Oh, man .....   

(There is no headache smiley.)

Wow, this, uh, person needs a serious attitude adjustment.