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[[File:Sehlat.jpg|thumb|A wild sehlat in the Forge]]
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[[File:Sehlat.jpg|thumb|A wild ''sehlat'' in the Forge]]
 
[[File:I-Chaya.jpg|thumb|I-Chaya, a domesticated Vulcan ''sehlat'']]
 
[[File:I-Chaya.jpg|thumb|I-Chaya, a domesticated Vulcan ''sehlat'']]
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{{aquote|Vulcan children are ''never'' late with their ''sehlat''{{'}}s [[dinner]].|[[T'Pol]]|2154|The Forge}}
The '''''sehlat''''' is a giant "teddy bear"-like beast native to [[Vulcan (planet)|Vulcan]]. ''Sehlat''s have six-[[inch]] fangs and do not like to climb, preferring to remain on low ground. In [[2154]], Captain [[Jonathan Archer]] and Commander [[T'Pol]] were stalked by a wild ''sehlat'' in [[Vulcan's Forge]].
+
The '''''sehlat''''' was a giant "[[teddy bear]]"-like beast, native to {{dis|Vulcan|planet}}. ''Sehlat''s had six-[[inch]] fangs and did not like to climb, preferring to remain on low ground.
   
Domesticated ''sehlat''s, which are only slightly smaller than wild ''sehlat''s, are a popular pet with [[Vulcan]] children. ''Sehlat''s, however, are very aggressive so Vulcan children learn early never to be late with their dinner. [[T'Pol]] had a pet ''sehlat'' in her youth. ({{ENT|The Forge}})
+
Domesticated ''sehlat''s, which were only slightly smaller than wild ''sehlat''s, were a popular pet with [[Vulcan]] children. ''Sehlat''s, however, were very aggressive, so Vulcan children learned early never to be late with their dinner.
   
  +
== History ==
[[Syrran]] and [[T'Pau]] were able to imitate the screams of a ''sehlat'', and the latter mislead [[Talok]] and two [[Unnamed Vulcans (22nd century)#Vulcan commando 1|Vulcan commandos]] into the electric discharges of [[gallicite]] deposits. ({{ENT|Kir'Shara}})
 
 
[[T'Pol]] had a pet ''sehlat'' in her youth. In [[2154]], a wild ''sehlat'' stalked [[Captain]] [[Jonathan Archer]] and T'Pol, who was by then a [[Starfleet]] [[commander]], in [[Vulcan's Forge]]. Archer compared the squeals of a ''sehlat'' to a [[Klingon opera]] that [[Hoshi Sato]] once made him listen to. ({{ENT|The Forge}})
   
 
[[Syrran]] and [[T'Pau]] were able to imitate the screams of a ''sehlat'', and the latter used imitations of those noises to mislead [[Talok]] and two [[Vulcan 22nd century commando 2|Vulcan commandos]] into the electric discharges of [[gallicite]] deposits. ({{ENT|Kir'Shara}})
Jonathan Archer compared the squeals of a sehlat to a [[Klingon opera]] that [[Hoshi Sato]] once made him listen to. ({{ENT|The Forge}})
 
   
[[Spock]] had a [[pet]] ''sehlat'' named [[I-Chaya]] during his youth that originally belonged to his father, [[Sarek]]. I-Chaya died in [[2237]], as a result of injuries inflicted from an attack by a ''[[le-matya]]''. Spock chose to have his pet euthanized to end its suffering. ({{TOS|Journey to Babel}}; {{TAS|Yesteryear}})
+
[[Spock]] had a [[pet]] ''sehlat'' named [[I-Chaya]] during his youth that originally belonged to his father, [[Sarek]]. I-Chaya died in [[2237]], as a result of injuries inflicted from an attack by a ''[[le-matya]]''. Because the venom of the ''le-matya'' was incurable by that point, Spock chose to have I-Chaya euthanized to end his suffering. ({{TOS|Journey to Babel}}; {{TAS|Yesteryear}})
   
== Background information ==
+
== Appendices ==
  +
=== Background information ===
* The ''sehlat'' seen in "The Forge" was a CGI character. It was never seen clearly because furry CGI characters are somewhat difficult to animate on a TV budget.
 
  +
==== Animated appearance ====
* The [[text commentary]] for {{e|Yesteryear}} on the [[Star Trek: The Animated Series (DVD)|''Star Trek: The Animated Series'' DVDs]], which was written by [[Michael Okuda|Michael]] and [[Denise Okuda]], claims that [[Tuvok]] also had a pet ''sehlat''. Any canonical evidence confirming this from ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' has not yet been found by Memory Alpha.
 
  +
Although a ''sehlat'' could only be referred to in {{e|Journey to Babel}}, it could be seen on-screen in {{e|Yesteryear}} because the episode was animated. (''[[Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before]]'', p. 57)
   
  +
Although the ''sehlat'' featured in "Yesteryear" was domesticated, the potentially harmful nature of ''sehlat''s in general was referenced in the episode's script. (''Babel'' #5; ''Enterprise Incidents'', number 11, pp. 27 & 29) That teleplay specifically described the species thus; "''A ''sehlat'' looks something like a giant teddy bear... with six inch fangs. It is not cute... a ''sehlat'' can be dangerous as hell. If you make a wrong move, a ''sehlat'' will probably rip your arm off... but Vulcans never make wrong moves. That would be illogical.''"
== Apocrypha ==
 
The [[Star Trek Log 1|novelization for "Yesteryear"]] by Alan Dean Foster stated that ''sehlat''s originated in the rain forests of Vulcan's southern hemisphere.
 
   
  +
[[File:Sehlat I-Chaya sketch.jpg|thumb|Storyboard art of the ''sehlat'' I-Chaya]]
Tuvok's pet ''sehlat'' was named Wari in ''The Lost Era'' novel, ''[[The Sundered]]''. He also encountered a wild ''sehlat'' in ''[[Pathways]]'', with whom he developed a mutual appreciation.
 
  +
According to the unauthorized reference book ''Boldly Writing'' (p. 5), the animated design of the ''sehlat'' was inspired by a speculative article that was published in the {{y|1970}} fanzine "Spockanalia 5". ''Boldly Writing'' states, "''In this piece, the author looks at precedents in nature to see what sort of animal would have six-inch fangs. The author concludes, 'And so our portrait of the ''sehlat'': a carnivore or just possibly tusked omnivore, general shape that of a {{w|giant panda}}, size on the order of an {{w|Kodiak bear|Alaskan brown bear}}, highly intelligent, and despite the six-inch fangs, of a patient and gentle disposition.... Question: did the ''sehlat'' belong to Spock, or was Spock in the care of the ''sehlat''?' The ''Star Trek'' production staff read this article, and animators incorporated many of the suggestions into the drawing of the ''sehlat'' I-Chaya.''" [http://fanlore.org/wiki/Spockanalia]
   
  +
Another basis for the animated appearance of the ''sehlat'' was an illustration that fantasy and science fiction artist [[Alicia Austin]] drew for D.C. Fontana, who remembered, "''Alicia Austin came up with several variations on what a ''sehlat'' looks like. I chose one of the early ones as a model – with modifications [....] I-Chaya has a different kind of tail, different shape of face, the broken fang.''" (''Babel'' #5; ''Enterprise Incidents'', number 11, p. 27) Fontana purposefully instructed the [[Filmation]] artists to break off I-Chaya's tooth, in order to give the ''sehlat'' a more aged appearance. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lfmUO3Pm_U&feature=relmfu]
In ''[[Star Trek Online]]'', players can have a pet Sehlat cub.
 
  +
  +
==== Prequel developments ====
  +
The idea of including a ''sehlat'' in {{e|The Forge}} was thought up by [[Judith Reeves-Stevens|Judith]] and [[Garfield Reeves-Stevens]] and was written into the episode by them. ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning ''Enterprise'', Part Two: Memorable Voyages", [[ENT Season 4 Blu-ray]] special features) Even before the pair had a story for "The Forge", though, a ''sehlat'' was one of two elements (the other being [[T'Pau]]) that the couple knew they wanted to include in the outing. (''[[Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection]]'', issue 55, p. 15) The particular ''sehlat'' in "The Forge" was a [[CGI]] character. With indirect references to the ''sehlat'' species, [[Dan Curry]] recalled how he and a visual effects team at [[Eden FX]] revamped this type of creature for ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]''; "''We looked at the animated series and it just looked nice and pleasant, so I did a couple of sketches to do a reinterpretation of it to make it look scary, but not be too radical a departure from the original [....] [[John Teska]] at Eden FX modeled it and visual effects supervisor [[Art Codron]] supervised the compositing. We used special software to create the fur and we did it so should the need arise we could look at it fairly closely.''" (''[[Cinefantastique]]'', Vol. 37, No. 2, p. 37) Remembering a production meeting concerning "The Forge", Judith Reeves-Stevens commented, "''They'd gone to town on it and it suddenly consumed many, many more dollars than, of course, we could have. At the end, we were just hoping we could perhaps have a claw on a stick, and have it in off-camera.''" Garfield Reeves-Stevens added, "''For the ''sehlat'', I think it was [[André Bormanis|André [Bormanis]]] who said, 'If you're gonna be on Vulcan, we have to see a ''sehlat''.{{'}}''" It was as a result of this that the writers were permitted to include a ''sehlat'' in "The Forge". Everyone who was working on the installment was made aware that one of the animals would be in the show. ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning ''Enterprise'', Part Two: Memorable Voyages", [[ENT Season 4 Blu-ray]] special features)
  +
  +
As the Reeves-Stevenses were well aware that CGI was extremely expensive, they felt it was best for the ''sehlat'' in "The Forge" to appear in a minimum of shots and suggested to show-runner [[Manny Coto]] that the animal be portrayed in a total of three shots, to which Coto agreed. The prospect of depicting a ''sehlat'' in the episode excited the ENT art department so much, however, that they broke down a storyboard of the ''sehlat'' scene in such a way that the creature was to be present in twenty-seven shots. When the Reeves-Stevenses themselves were reprimanded for having too many shots of the ''sehlat'', the couple again recommended showing the beast in only three shots, which was finally approved. Additionally, off-camera noises made by the ''sehlat'' in "The Forge" can be heard in the episode. ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning ''Enterprise'', Part Two: Memorable Voyages", [[ENT Season 4 Blu-ray]] special features)
  +
  +
In one scene of the ''Enterprise'' episode {{e|Terra Prime}}, T'Pol was originally to have sung to her daughter, [[Elizabeth]], a Vulcan [[lullaby]] about why children are never late with their ''sehlat''{{'}}s dinner, though this idea was scrapped. ("Terra Prime" [[audio commentary]], [[ENT Season 4 DVD]] special features)
  +
  +
==== Trivia ====
 
The [[text commentary]] for "Yesteryear" on the [[Star Trek: The Animated Series (DVD)|''Star Trek: The Animated Series'' DVDs]], which was written by [[Michael Okuda|Michael]] and [[Denise Okuda]], claims that [[Tuvok]] also had a pet ''sehlat''. However, no [[canon]]ical evidence confirming this from ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' is immediately evident.
  +
  +
The Okudas' text commentary for ''Star Trek: Enterprise''{{'}}s pilot episode, {{e|Broken Bow}}, on the [[ENT Season 1 DVD]] supposes that ''sehlat''s typically smell less foul than [[dog]]s, since several Vulcans (naturally hypersensitive) are known to have had a pet ''sehlat'' whereas T'Pol found Captain Archer's pet [[beagle]], [[Porthos]], to have a particularly bad odor.
  +
 
=== Apocrypha ===
  +
In the [[Star Trek: Enterprise (Pocket)|Pocket ''Star Trek: Enterprise'']] relaunch [[novels|novel]] ''{{dis|Kobayashi Maru|novel}}'', the corpse of a ''sehlat'' was found on the floor of a darkened cave on the Vulcan [[outpost]] planet Trilan by T'Pol in [[2135]] (Vulcan Year 8737), the species having been taken to the outpost planet by its Vulcan settlers. T'Pol took bones from the ''seh'lat''{{'}}s skeleton and later used them to defend herself against a group of Fri'slen, brutal and primitive humanoids who were actually mutated Vulcans. ''Sehlats'' are described in the book as an "urso-feline species" and sharp tusks are said to be characteristic of "adolescent-to-fully-grown members" of the species.
  +
  +
The [[novels|novelization]] of {{e|Yesteryear}} (in ''[[Star Trek Log 1]]'') states that ''sehlat''s originated in the rain forests of Vulcan's southern hemisphere. The same adaptation also refers to I-Chaya's brown coat as looking "faded in spots to patches of pale beige," and his fangs as being "yellowed" and ten centimeters long, although these physical characteristics are not in keeping with the ''sehlat''{{'}}s appearance in the episode.
  +
 
Tuvok's pet ''sehlat'' is named Wari in ''[[Star Trek: The Lost Era|The Lost Era]]'' novel ''[[The Sundered]]''. He also encounters a wild ''sehlat'' in ''[[Pathways]]'', with whom he develops a mutual appreciation.
  +
  +
In ''[[Star Trek Online]]'', players can have a pet ''sehlat'' cub. They are also more feline than depicted in main canon, resembling sabertoothed lions.
  +
  +
In ''[[Star Trek: Ongoing]]'' [[comics|comic]] "[[Deity, Part 1]]", it is mentioned that "a fully grown rabid ''sehlat''" is rumored to have been subdued by a security officer in the [[alternate reality]], Lieutenant {{mb|Cordry}}, using her bare hands, while she had been visiting Vulcan.
  +
 
===External link===
 
* {{mbeta}}
   
==External links==
 
* {{NCwiki}}
 
* {{NCwiki-title|The Sundered|The Sundered}}
 
* {{NCwiki-title|Pathways|Pathways}}
 
* {{NCwiki|Star Trek Log One|The novelization of "Yesteryear"}}
 
   
 
[[de:Sehlat]]
 
[[de:Sehlat]]

Revision as of 19:24, 21 February 2016

File:Sehlat.jpg

A wild sehlat in the Forge

I-Chaya

I-Chaya, a domesticated Vulcan sehlat

"Vulcan children are never late with their sehlat's dinner."
– T'Pol, 2154 ("The Forge")

The sehlat was a giant "teddy bear"-like beast, native to Vulcan. Sehlats had six-inch fangs and did not like to climb, preferring to remain on low ground.

Domesticated sehlats, which were only slightly smaller than wild sehlats, were a popular pet with Vulcan children. Sehlats, however, were very aggressive, so Vulcan children learned early never to be late with their dinner.

History

T'Pol had a pet sehlat in her youth. In 2154, a wild sehlat stalked Captain Jonathan Archer and T'Pol, who was by then a Starfleet commander, in Vulcan's Forge. Archer compared the squeals of a sehlat to a Klingon opera that Hoshi Sato once made him listen to. (ENT: "The Forge")

Syrran and T'Pau were able to imitate the screams of a sehlat, and the latter used imitations of those noises to mislead Talok and two Vulcan commandos into the electric discharges of gallicite deposits. (ENT: "Kir'Shara")

Spock had a pet sehlat named I-Chaya during his youth that originally belonged to his father, Sarek. I-Chaya died in 2237, as a result of injuries inflicted from an attack by a le-matya. Because the venom of the le-matya was incurable by that point, Spock chose to have I-Chaya euthanized to end his suffering. (TOS: "Journey to Babel"; TAS: "Yesteryear")

Appendices

Background information

Animated appearance

Although a sehlat could only be referred to in "Journey to Babel", it could be seen on-screen in "Yesteryear" because the episode was animated. (Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before, p. 57)

Although the sehlat featured in "Yesteryear" was domesticated, the potentially harmful nature of sehlats in general was referenced in the episode's script. (Babel #5; Enterprise Incidents, number 11, pp. 27 & 29) That teleplay specifically described the species thus; "A sehlat looks something like a giant teddy bear... with six inch fangs. It is not cute... a sehlat can be dangerous as hell. If you make a wrong move, a sehlat will probably rip your arm off... but Vulcans never make wrong moves. That would be illogical."

Sehlat I-Chaya sketch

Storyboard art of the sehlat I-Chaya

According to the unauthorized reference book Boldly Writing (p. 5), the animated design of the sehlat was inspired by a speculative article that was published in the 1970 fanzine "Spockanalia 5". Boldly Writing states, "In this piece, the author looks at precedents in nature to see what sort of animal would have six-inch fangs. The author concludes, 'And so our portrait of the sehlat: a carnivore or just possibly tusked omnivore, general shape that of a giant panda, size on the order of an Alaskan brown bear, highly intelligent, and despite the six-inch fangs, of a patient and gentle disposition.... Question: did the sehlat belong to Spock, or was Spock in the care of the sehlat?' The Star Trek production staff read this article, and animators incorporated many of the suggestions into the drawing of the sehlat I-Chaya." [1]

Another basis for the animated appearance of the sehlat was an illustration that fantasy and science fiction artist Alicia Austin drew for D.C. Fontana, who remembered, "Alicia Austin came up with several variations on what a sehlat looks like. I chose one of the early ones as a model – with modifications [....] I-Chaya has a different kind of tail, different shape of face, the broken fang." (Babel #5; Enterprise Incidents, number 11, p. 27) Fontana purposefully instructed the Filmation artists to break off I-Chaya's tooth, in order to give the sehlat a more aged appearance. [2]

Prequel developments

The idea of including a sehlat in "The Forge" was thought up by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens and was written into the episode by them. ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise, Part Two: Memorable Voyages", ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features) Even before the pair had a story for "The Forge", though, a sehlat was one of two elements (the other being T'Pau) that the couple knew they wanted to include in the outing. (Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection, issue 55, p. 15) The particular sehlat in "The Forge" was a CGI character. With indirect references to the sehlat species, Dan Curry recalled how he and a visual effects team at Eden FX revamped this type of creature for Star Trek: Enterprise; "We looked at the animated series and it just looked nice and pleasant, so I did a couple of sketches to do a reinterpretation of it to make it look scary, but not be too radical a departure from the original [....] John Teska at Eden FX modeled it and visual effects supervisor Art Codron supervised the compositing. We used special software to create the fur and we did it so should the need arise we could look at it fairly closely." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 37, No. 2, p. 37) Remembering a production meeting concerning "The Forge", Judith Reeves-Stevens commented, "They'd gone to town on it and it suddenly consumed many, many more dollars than, of course, we could have. At the end, we were just hoping we could perhaps have a claw on a stick, and have it in off-camera." Garfield Reeves-Stevens added, "For the sehlat, I think it was André [Bormanis] who said, 'If you're gonna be on Vulcan, we have to see a sehlat.'" It was as a result of this that the writers were permitted to include a sehlat in "The Forge". Everyone who was working on the installment was made aware that one of the animals would be in the show. ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise, Part Two: Memorable Voyages", ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features)

As the Reeves-Stevenses were well aware that CGI was extremely expensive, they felt it was best for the sehlat in "The Forge" to appear in a minimum of shots and suggested to show-runner Manny Coto that the animal be portrayed in a total of three shots, to which Coto agreed. The prospect of depicting a sehlat in the episode excited the ENT art department so much, however, that they broke down a storyboard of the sehlat scene in such a way that the creature was to be present in twenty-seven shots. When the Reeves-Stevenses themselves were reprimanded for having too many shots of the sehlat, the couple again recommended showing the beast in only three shots, which was finally approved. Additionally, off-camera noises made by the sehlat in "The Forge" can be heard in the episode. ("Before Her Time: Decommissioning Enterprise, Part Two: Memorable Voyages", ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features)

In one scene of the Enterprise episode "Terra Prime", T'Pol was originally to have sung to her daughter, Elizabeth, a Vulcan lullaby about why children are never late with their sehlat's dinner, though this idea was scrapped. ("Terra Prime" audio commentary, ENT Season 4 DVD special features)

Trivia

The text commentary for "Yesteryear" on the Star Trek: The Animated Series DVDs, which was written by Michael and Denise Okuda, claims that Tuvok also had a pet sehlat. However, no canonical evidence confirming this from Star Trek: Voyager is immediately evident.

The Okudas' text commentary for Star Trek: Enterprise's pilot episode, "Broken Bow", on the ENT Season 1 DVD supposes that sehlats typically smell less foul than dogs, since several Vulcans (naturally hypersensitive) are known to have had a pet sehlat whereas T'Pol found Captain Archer's pet beagle, Porthos, to have a particularly bad odor.

Apocrypha

In the Pocket Star Trek: Enterprise relaunch novel Kobayashi Maru, the corpse of a sehlat was found on the floor of a darkened cave on the Vulcan outpost planet Trilan by T'Pol in 2135 (Vulcan Year 8737), the species having been taken to the outpost planet by its Vulcan settlers. T'Pol took bones from the seh'lat's skeleton and later used them to defend herself against a group of Fri'slen, brutal and primitive humanoids who were actually mutated Vulcans. Sehlats are described in the book as an "urso-feline species" and sharp tusks are said to be characteristic of "adolescent-to-fully-grown members" of the species.

The novelization of "Yesteryear" (in Star Trek Log 1) states that sehlats originated in the rain forests of Vulcan's southern hemisphere. The same adaptation also refers to I-Chaya's brown coat as looking "faded in spots to patches of pale beige," and his fangs as being "yellowed" and ten centimeters long, although these physical characteristics are not in keeping with the sehlat's appearance in the episode.

Tuvok's pet sehlat is named Wari in The Lost Era novel The Sundered. He also encounters a wild sehlat in Pathways, with whom he develops a mutual appreciation.

In Star Trek Online, players can have a pet sehlat cub. They are also more feline than depicted in main canon, resembling sabertoothed lions.

In Star Trek: Ongoing comic "Deity, Part 1", it is mentioned that "a fully grown rabid sehlat" is rumored to have been subdued by a security officer in the alternate reality, Lieutenant Cordry (β), using her bare hands, while she had been visiting Vulcan.

External link