Thread: Link Thread
View Single Post
  #1226  
Old 05-13-2020, 12:23 AM
Nate the Great's Avatar
Nate the Great Nate the Great is offline
You just activated his Trek card
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Posts: 4,859
Default

Thus far I am disappointed in Explaining Errors in Star Trek. Many "explanations" seem to be desperate rationalizations. Most of the rest are just stupid.



However, the one that really ticked me off is...


Error: The Universal translator not working on whale song

"Explanation:" "The capability may have lapsed following the encounters with the Xindi, due to the need to have a living member of the species to provide reference samples."


I grant Anti-Enterprise sentiment here, but at least in that show the device was still in its infancy. On TOS the Universal Translator worked on the Companion, an energy-based being with no comprehension of spoken language at all. No doubt it took her ages to establish telepathic communication with Cochrane, and anytime he "spoke" to her, she was interpreting his thoughts anyway.



Furthermore, the idea that you can listen to an alien language over and over again and decode not only the vocabulary, but the rules of grammar in a few hours or days is ludicrous. That's why the Universal Translator exists, to sweep this problem under the rug so we don't have to worry about it, just like Heisenberg Compensators and subspace fields and inertial dampeners.



Why can Data use contractions sometimes?



"This is likely due to a minor, intermittent fault in the voice control unit – possibly a corrupted subroutine in the operating program."


Even if Data's self-diagnostics wouldn't catch this, he plugs himself into the computer often enough for an external scan. You see what I meant about desperate rationalization?


How can Spock assume command if he "murdered" Kirk in "Amok Time"?


"Spock is the most qualified - or he would be if Kirk was actually dead! (If Kirk was actually dead, Spock would probably remain in command until a permanent replacement can be selected.)"


How did that answer the question?



Why did Tormolen remove his glove in "The Naked Time"?


"He did this in order to properly scratch his nose."


Well, duh! That wasn't the question! We're not asking "why did he want to take off his glove," we're asking "why was he allowed to take off his glove, and why didn't he remember that he's in an isolation suit for a reason!"


Why did Admiral Morrow call the Enterprise "over twenty years old" when it's actually closer to forty?


"It is irrelevant how old the Enterprise is. It could be 35 years old, or 100 years old, the fact remains that all of these dates are technically 'over 20 years old.'"


Sheesh, talk about desperate. The simple answer is THEY JUST DIDN'T CARE!



How did the Enterprise reach the center of the galaxy so fast in Star Trek V?


"There could have been a number of warp highways in the area, which temporarily allows faster than normal travel."


Warp highways? Transwarp conduits won't be discovered for a hundred years. I'd almost prefer it if the God of Sha Ka Ree told Sybok how to increase warp speeds a la the Kelvans.



Why doesn't the Enterprise keep spare dilithium crystals on board?


"There may be too much risk of them getting damaged in storage."


Dilithium crystals? I definitely get the impression that unless you run energy through them they're practically indestructible. As a meaningless aside in the novel "How Much For Just The Planet" there's so much dilithium on a planet that they make indestructible cooking pans out of them.



How did Kirk beam to the Romulan ship and back through the shields in "The Enterprise Incident"?


"Scotty probably used the transporter sensors to match the sensor windows of the Romulan ship with those on the Enterprise, thus allowing Kirk to beam to the Romulan vessel and back again."


This isn't the only reference on the site of the transporter working through a "sensor window". I'm not sure where this idea came from. I'm not even sure what a "sensor window" is. Do they mean that the sensors need a hole in the shields to scan other ships? That's dumb. Do they mean a particular sensor array, and with enough tweaking two sensor arrays can be linked with a carrier beam for the transporter, bypassing the shield issue? If so, I would imagine that would work if the two ships are cooperating on this (use of prefix codes, and so forth). Even if the Romulans allowed this for a prisoner exchange, the codes would be scrambled at all other times, right?


Why would Layla say that she's never seen a starship before in "This Side of Paradise."?


"She's using the term starship in reference to a Starfleet vessel, as opposed to the obviously commercial transport ship used to transport the colonists."


I've covered my speculations on "spaceship" versus "starship" and "starship=Constitution class" in other posts, so this one isn't that bad.



That's some TOS highlights. I'll probably return for DS9, TAS, and VOY.
__________________
mudshark: Nate's just being...Nate.
Zeke: It comes nateurally to him.

mudshark: I don't expect Nate to make sense, really -- it's just a bad idea.

Sa'ar Chasm on the 5M.net forum: Sit back, relax, and revel in the insanity.

Adam Savage: I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Crow T. Robot: Oh, stop pretending there's a plot. Don't cheapen yourself further.
Reply With Quote