[Zeke]

Good idea for a thread, Nate.

Originally Posted by Infinite Improbability

1. What do you think really happened to the Xindi in the hundred years before Kirk? Are they still there and we just never saw one, or were they assimilated by the Borg when no one was looking, or what?

IJD's point is excellent; I'll just add that if you prefer them to be gone by TOS's time, it's easy to come up with a reason. I've done it twice on this site (though jokingly).

2. Do you prefer Mark One Assimilation (beam you away and insert implants manually and probably surgically) or Mark Two Assimilation (inject you with nanoprobes and manufacture implants using metal from hammerspace)? As a plot device, I mean, not as the way you'd prefer to be assimilated.

Tim Lynch argued that the Borg are almost too powerful now. I agree, but what I love about the assimilation tubules is that they leave two punctures in the neck, making the parallel with vampires even more obvious than it already was.

It bugged me that the Borg's new look was retconned into the past, but then, I think it was silly to explain the change in Klingon foreheads, so I can't really complain.

3. Can you think of a reason why Andorians' antennae never moved in TOS? Was it bred out of the genepool, or is it a trick that only certain Andorians can do, akin to wiggling ears?

Motors. Andorian antennae don't move naturally; special motors have to be installed. Sometime between ENT and TOS, they ran out.

4. Regardless of the way the dictionary says it, do you prefer "few-tile" or "few-till?"

Use-less.

5. Do you think Voyager really had an aero-shuttle? Why didn't they use it? Was it in the plans but never made, or were some crucial parts going to arrive "next Tuesday" and Janeway had to leave with an incomplete ship because of the Maquis threat?

Given that it was never mentioned and the Delta Flyer ended up taking its role, I think it's needlessly complicated to treat it as canon at all. I think of it more like "Ryker" and "Leslie Crusher."

6. Is it really reasonable that there are only X torpedoes on Voyager? Surely they can replicate casings and trade for antimatter with other spacefaring races, right?

That's what I've always said, but nooooo, people had to count them.

7. Would you have prefered Ro Laren to have starred on DS9 instead of Kira, as was in the original plans?

In retrospect, definitely not. At the time, probably. Hindsight is 20/20.

8. Are you a Wesley/Lefler shipper?

No. I found the thing with her and Si Cwan in New Frontier more interesting, but that's relative: Lefler does not remotely interest me.

9. You think Captain Bateson was still in command of the Bozeman in First Contact?

If it blew up, no. If it didn't, yes.

10. Do you disregard all mention of lasers and lithium crystals and Vulcanians and time-warp factors in the early episodes of TOS, or do you think that they really were in a transition period in the mid-2260s?

Disregard. Every show has pilot anomalies.

11. Those STTMP uniforms really did stink, didn't they?

I'm with Derek on this one. I'm all for Starfleet trying new things, but that doesn't extend to long underwear. (By the way, the reason for the bland colours was that someone, Wise maybe, felt they would be less distracting to the audience than the gaudy TOS uniforms.)

12. You think that Commodore is still a valid rank in the 24th century?

Little-known fact: I made a bunch of suggestions between VVS8 and VVS9, one of which was promoting Janeway to Commodore since she would be leading a fleet, and having Chakotay step up to the command of Voyager. Another suggestion was having Barclay join the crew. For some reason, even though I'd discussed these ideas with SaRa beforehand, I nearly got my face bitten off for daring to post them in the Yahoo group. Yeah, VVS was a barrel of laughs.

13. Should Picard have retired to serve as Commandant of Starfleet Academy and given the Enterprise to Riker a long time ago?

Booooring. Riker has his moments, but Picard is the heart and soul of TNG.

14. You think Riker's ticked off that Janeway made Admiral before he did? They are in the same class, you know.

I think it could work to his favour. The bane of captains is admirals. Having Janeway in his corner should help.

15. You really think it would've been an "unheroic dead" if Soran had just shoot Kirk in the back, like it was originally shot?

Yes. Of course, a lot of people were dissatisfied with the revised version too. There's no way to kill an iconic character without upsetting a lot of people.

16. If there was one Trek game that Paramount decided to market in real life, which game? Taking out Fizzbin as insanely complicated, would you prefer Parrises Squares, Kalto, Anbo-jytsu, Tongo, Dabo, what?

Kal-toh. I don't know how in the world you would play it, but I want to.