Things that make Star Trek episodes unbelievable

[mcbethcg]

The thing that made ST the most unbelievable to me was the behavior of the core group of the people on board.<br /><br />None of the crew seemed realistically self-centered or narcissistic or cruel or greedy. None of the officers were career climbers or empire builders. Everyone had compassion and always understood and valued the others points of view and was corageous.<br /><br />The only exceptions to this were charactures that were just there for comic relief, like Barkley, Wesley, the Ferengie buddy, etc.<br /><br />It was too weird.<br /><br /><br />

 

[lsbd]

<font color="yellow">I would have thought that your #1 unbelievable aspect to Star Trek was that there were no "poor" people in the future....... <br /></font><br /><br />Oh but there were...they just called them Klingons <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br /><font color="yellow">Having ethnic minorities in high-level leadership positions turned out to be the most believable aspect of the show.....but it was pretty radical in 1960's television. </font><br /><br />as was "the kiss"<br /><br />Roddenberry did an excellent job of "sticking it to the man" He was truely a visionary.<br /><br />Did you ever notice that every single red shirt that bit the dust was a white boy? <br /><br /><i>editted to add</i><br /><br />Oh, nice cheap shot BTW.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Nobody was self centered or narcissistic.<br /><br />How about James Tiberius Kirk?? <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[5stone10]

How about James Tiberius Kirk??!!!<br /><br /><br />The main thing that made TOS non-believable was William Shatner's over-the-top, ham-boned acting, but it is also mainly what made TOS unforgettable.

 

[MeteorWayne]

I agree with that. <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> Not all fiction has to be believable <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[pmn1]

The device was delivered by an unmanned craft and the Organians didn't realise what it was until it was too late and they were effectively shut into their own planet. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[PistolPete]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>None of the officers were career climbers or empire builders.<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br />You're absolutely right. If Starfleet is a military or military like organization, then where are the narcissistic idiots in command? I thought the military promotion policy was screw up, move up.<br /><br />Another thing that i never thought of until I got in the military was where are all the enlisted personnel? Is everyone in Starfleet an officer? If so, how does anything get done? This is a semi-serious question. Most people that aren't familiar with the military may not realise that while officers may call the shots, someone has to carry out those orders. That's what enlisted people are for. By and large, enlisted personnel make up the bulk of the Armed Forces, so where the hell are they in the show?<br /><br />On the show Enterprise, however, I did actually see some lower enlisted personnel, but where were the NCOs? Once again, officers may give orders, but someone has to carry them out. Actual troop leading is done by a group of enlisted personnel (and probably the most critical part of any branch of the military) called Non-Commissioned Officers, aka Sergeants in the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps, and Petty Officers in the Navy and Coast Guard. Where are they?<br /><br />Another thing that bugs me from a military standpoint is why do the officers have Navy ranks? Any space force like Starfleet would be a natural offshoot of the Air Force and thus would use the same ranking system as the Air Force and the Army from which it originates. In other words, the appropriate rank for Kirk and Picard would have been Colonel.<br /><br />From a Hollywood aspect, though, I guess it sound better to have a Captain as the commanding officer of a Star<b>ship</b>. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><em>So, again we are defeated. This victory belongs to the farmers, not us.</em></p><p><strong>-Kambei Shimada from the movie Seven Samurai</strong></p> </div>

 

[yevaud]

IIRC, Miles O'Brien is a Master Chief.<br /><br />I know Enlisted were there in TOS, for example. Engineering technicians, Security Personnel (Red shirts), and so on.<br /><br />But not remarked on or really mentioned. Just background noise. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[PistolPete]

I googled it, and as it turns out Starfleet did, depending on the year, actually have several NCO and lower enlisted ranks. I still think it's funny how such a vital portion of the crew is overlooked in the show.<br /><br />Concerning Transporter Chief O'Brian, until now I never though of his rank as being Chief (as in Chief Petty Officer), I just thought that Chief was his job title (as in Chief of transporter operations). <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><em>So, again we are defeated. This victory belongs to the farmers, not us.</em></p><p><strong>-Kambei Shimada from the movie Seven Samurai</strong></p> </div>

 

[yevaud]

Way back when, I did exactly the same thing. I was also wondering where the hell the workin' folk were.<br /><br />Turns out they were there all along. But as I said (with a few exceptions), all background noise. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[PistolPete]

A little more research on Memory Alpha indicates that on most of the shows neither the lower enlisted or NCOs wore any distinctive rank insignia. This may be why they're hard to see. All this time I was looking for stripes that were never there.<br /><br />Maybe someone needs to go down to Paramount and give them the brief on how things really work. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><em>So, again we are defeated. This victory belongs to the farmers, not us.</em></p><p><strong>-Kambei Shimada from the movie Seven Samurai</strong></p> </div>

 

[yevaud]

Agreed.<br /><br />While we're at it, we can explain why Enlisted swear a lot, drink beer, and fart. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[willpittenger]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>2. reliable artificial gravity<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br />Actually, that might be closer than you think. It sounds like people are starting to get a handle on what gravity is thanks to String Theory and M-Theory.<br /><br /><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>4. you never saw anyone enter a lavatory<br />5. there was never any mention of said lavatory<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br />Actually, the sink portion of heads (as they are called on ships) were visible in TNG's quarters. I don't know if any heads were included in TOS or the movies, but the NCC-1701D had two on Deck 1 that were never shown (along with the Battle Bridge turbolift). I assume the E has them in the same places. One head was in the Captain's Ready Room next to the food replicator. The other was on the Bridge next to the door to the Conference Room. There might have been a food replicator there too. (However, I would recommend that only drinks be on the bridge -- not entire meals. Go elsewhere for that.) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

 

[willpittenger]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>Another thing that i never thought of until I got in the military was where are all the enlisted personnel?<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br />As noted in later posts, they are there. Most enlisted personnel were addressed as "Crewman" in all the series and wore no rank markings at all -- even in the TNG and ENT eras. Chief O'Brien was the major exception. When TNG first started, he was given a Lieutenant's uniform by mistake. It took some time for that to be corrected. However, even later, when Barclay is having fits about being transported, he gives orders to someone that appears to be a fellow Lieutenant: O'Brien. When O'Brien was added to the DS9 crew, he was finally given a rank (along with that promotion his wife was complaining about).<br /><br /><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>Another thing that bugs me from a military standpoint is why do the officers have Navy ranks? Any space force like Starfleet would be a natural offshoot of the Air Force and thus would use the same ranking system as the Air Force and the Army from which it originates. In other words, the appropriate rank for Kirk and Picard would have been Colonel.<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br />Actually, in Star <i>Wars</i>, they have both rank systems on ships. It gets mighty confusing. Personally, I would prefer to have the Navy (or its descendants) in charge of the largest ships (those with more than 5-6 crewman). Such large ships won't handle the same as tiny craft. As such, I might support a split in the system. Navy in charge of the bigger ships as mentioned. Air Force in charge of the smaller ones. Trouble is, as the British found out before and during WWII, it gets rather troublesome. The RAF were issuing their own design requirements for Naval aircraft. They really did not want to design new ones. At the time, Bomber Command was getting its own way and believed it could bomb the hell out of enemy ships.<br /><br />I <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

 

[mcbethcg]

"Nobody was self centered or narcissistic.<br /><br />How about James Tiberius Kirk?? "<br /><br />Not really either.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Well if you were a workin' folk, you really didn't want to be in an episode, for it meant you surely were about to die.<br /><br />They made quite a joke out of that in "Galaxy Quest" <img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[lsbd]

Galaxy Quest cracked me up. <br /><br />one of my favorite lines was from Sigourney Weaver, "I have one job aboard this lousy ship, it's stupid, but I'm gonna do it." (referring to repeating what the computer says)

 

[datalor]

i LOVED "Galaxt Quest" What an excellent parady of all us geek folks and the devotion we have to our Si Fi of choice.<br /> <br />[Gwen and Jason encounter the chompers]<br />Gwen DeMarco: What is this thing? I mean, it serves no useful purpose for there to be a bunch of chompy, crushy things in the middle of a hallway. No, I mean we shouldn't have to do this, it makes no logical sense, why is it here?<br />Jason Nesmith: 'Cause it's on the television show.<br />Gwen DeMarco: Well forget it! I'm not doing it! This episode was badly written! <br />She did not say forget this, she said F this, but they edited it. Would have been funnier with the swear, its approproatie at times, like when the Enterprise is about to crash into Earth and Data says "Oh $hit" <br />Wow I need to get a life. <br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[yevaud]

<img src="/images/icons/laugh.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[a_lost_packet_]

"Galaxy Quest" is pure /win all the way. I loved that movie. Great stuff. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="1">I put on my robe and wizard hat...</font> </div>

 

[lsbd]

Tech Sgt Chen waas great. Tony Shaloub did an excellent job with that role. <br /><br />""Yeah, they're, uh, telling me the generators can't take it, the ship's breaking up, you know, all that stuff. Just FYI."

 

[MeteorWayne]

Very Monkish...<br /><br />And That GWen DeMarco was a great visual effect herself <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[datalor]

Im 100% heterosexual female, and even I said, damn, she looks hot! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>