Hmmm, interesting reading on this subject. In regards to the question of how important is canon to me, I don't think it's important at all because there's too many inconsistent things, too many fill in the blanks with how to interpret things open to a wide variety of interpretation, too many unanswered questions, etc. Anyway, it's the stuff of what's going on behind the scenes that really interests me personally, and Thank God that fanfic writers can use their own imaginations and creativity to do a much better job with that than what TPTB did with the screen version. I hate TPTB, they killed Trip and they didn't let Trip and T'Pol get married and live happily ever after, so why should I care about B & B? (that is, Beavis and Butthead in my own opinion there).
Oh, but speaking of canon though, maybe Trip really isn't dead after all - in that Valentine's issue of Star Trek magazine (No. 32 - March 2011) it said on page 89 (under Now Read On):
The impressive narrative contortions of Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin in the Star Trek Enterprise re-launch novels (starting with The Good That Men Do) reunite Trip and T'Pol. Their complex re-interpretation of the events depicted in "These Are The Voyages...." sees Commander Tucker faking his own death in order to go behind enemy lines into the Romulan Star Empire. In the books that follow he and T'Pol continue their relationship both in person (where possible) and through the telepathic bond they still share. What the future holds for them as a couple is yet to be seen but as it stands currently their relationship is stronger than ever. So, is the show canon, or has canon been updated now to let Trip live on in these books, or what's the deal there now? I often don't have a clue as to what to believe is actually the truth about canon (for the reasons I stated to begin with in this post) so I'm not sure what to think. I really only care though about what they didn't show on screen and what fanfic writers can do with our beloved characters. As fans, we care a helluva more about them and I think fanfic writers can do better stories about the really important stuff (that is, the type of stories that fanfic writers create for them any way) but thats just my opinion.
Edited - Oh, and for anyone who didn't see that article, I've zipped it up and posted it here:
http://home.comcast.net/~shadyladyfakes/TNTArticle.zip
