30th Anniversary TNG Episode Discussion Marathon

[Flying Gremlin]

Originally Posted by Nate the Great

That doesn't fly. On numerous occasions the computer has given the option of dozens of variations for a given food. Like I've said before, the problem is the writer's inability to grasp that it would be child's play to program the computer such that when Picard asks for soup, the replicator makes soup according to Picard's presets, etc.

Whenever someone complains about replicated food, it's not just the taste, but the whole experience. The smell is off, the texture is off, the "mouthfeel" is off, etc.

Dozens of variations... if the user of the replicator cares to figure them out. Some might just like to whine and not actually care to figure out how to use it. See also: Janeway's burned meatloaf from the replicator.

It also might be a little bit of atmospheric difference. To use a real world example, the reason why there's so many jokes about airplane food is that pressurized cabins make food taste blander and less textured. Considering space travel is the same, the writers could be interpreting replicator food as the 24th century equivalent of airplane food. There could be some logic to it, but it may be horse hockey.