Memory Alpha identifies "Jerry Freeman" with the "Freeman" played by Paul Baxley who appears in TOS episodes: "The Trouble With Tribbles", "Assignment: Earth", "And the Children Shall Lead". However, it seems to me that Diane Duane may have intended her version of Freeman to be the crewman played by David Gerrold in his cameo in TOS movie: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, given that Gerrold originally hoped to play Freeman in "The Trouble With Tribbles" himself. The characters named "Freeman" in the unproduced TNG script "Blood and Fire" and the Star Trek: New Voyages version of the same story complicate the issue further. (In the TNG version of "Blood and Fire", Paul Freeman was a descendant of a member of Kirk's crew.) Gildir 19:29, 28 October 2008 (UTC)

I don't see how a TNG character with the same name as a TOS character "complicates" the issue... especially one from a script and fan film that isn't part of our site's theme as the wiki for licensed Star Trek content. -- Captain MKB 02:04, 29 October 2008 (UTC)

Mea culpa... I knew that argument would be made, and should just have left off the last two sentences of my previous comment. The only real relevance of the other two Freemans to the issue is that they demonstrate the continuing importance of "Freeman" as a trademark or "signature" of David Gerrold in the Star Trek universe, and therefore perhaps bolster the argument that Jerry Freeman may be the character Gerrold played in TMP, a separate character from the one Paul Baxley played on TOS (whose first name was not established). Gildir 18:56, 29 October 2008 (UTC)

Understandable -- however the issue is further complicated by the fact that Gerrold's character was Gerry Auberson in Christopher Bennett's Ex Machina. -- Captain MKB 20:43, 29 October 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, I saw a reference to that character in an Amazon review of Ex Machina after making my posts. The simplest solution, then, is to identify Jerry Freeman with the Paul Baxley character, as Memory Alpha does. Gildir 17:59, 30 October 2008 (UTC)

Specs Edit

If I recall correctly, Gerrold's own novel, The Galactic Whirlpool features "Specs", a nerdy/techie character based upon himself. The nickname refers to the character's need to wear spectacles. So the character Gerrold plays in The Motion Picture is probably Specs, now treated with Retinax 5. Diane Duane's Jerry Freeman also appears in her husband's novel, Rules of Engagement - Therin of Andor 23:36, January 24, 2011 (UTC)

Pure speculation, unfortunately. The character in TMP was identified as Gerry Auberson and there is no reference to him ever wearing glasses, being treated, or going by a nickname, so this isn't at all relevant to this wiki, unfortunately, unless such a reference could be found. -- Captain MKB 02:39, January 25, 2011 (UTC)