Persistent, Niggling Questions

[Nate the Great]

I like to watch "first time watching" reaction videos. A woman was watching The Princess Bride, and she recognized Wallace Shawn from his role on Young Sheldon. That offended me.


PNQ: What role do you know Wallace Shawn for (besides Princess Bride and Grand Nagus Zek, of course)?


Looking through his IMDB I'd probably have to say Incredibles.


And The Amazing Thing I Learned Today is that he played Professor Silverfish in a made-for-TV version of Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days! (I didn't even know there WAS a made-for-TV version of BAPPIJTD!)

[Nate the Great]

So with the hype around the release of Wicked: For Good, I have to wonder...


PNQ: Does it annoy you that the first movie was just called Wicked, implying that it was the whole story? Would Wicked: The Beginning or Wicked: Volume One have turned you away?


I'm reminded of when the Final Fantasy VII remake was just called Final Fantasy VII Remake without any additional subtitle.


I didn't watch the first Wicked just like I won't watch the second. I read the book a long time ago and have no interest in reading or watching any more. I want my villains to be VILLAINS, no redemption arc or justification of their actions needed.

[Nate the Great]

Postmodern Jukebox does a Andrews Sisters-style cover of "All I Want For Christmas is You"...


PNQ: Why is this song so polarizing?


To me it's...fine. Serviceable. A little overproduced but hardly garbage. But a big fraction of the populace seem to despise it and I don't understand why.

[Nate the Great]

I'm sure you guys have seen the promo poster for the new Starfleet Academy series by now...


(Insert homo sapiens only club joke here)


PNQ: Given six main characters, what would be a ratio of aliens that you would find appropriate?


Because one alien and five humans sounds like a terrible idea. Surely they could've tossed a Trill or Bajoran in there with minimal additional cost.

[Nate the Great]

A Facebook meme pointed out that in "All Good Things" warp factors bigger than ten were mentioned. A writer said that speeds were getting so big that they had to modify the scale to avoid 9.999 problems...


New Warp 10-old Warp 9.9
New Warp 11-old Warp 9.99
New Warp 12-old Warp 9.999
etc.


PNQ: Do you like this idea?


I'm reminded of the old novel Federation where the Enterprise of thousands of years in the future uses "sidewarp" factors, implying a totally new form of propulsion (no doubt tapping into something even better than subspace) that can take you to other galaxies in a reasonable amount of time.

[Nate the Great]

So one of the many Trek YouTube reviewers that I follow just posted a review of one of the DS9 Mirror Universe episodes. You all know how much I hate ANY Mirror Universe episode other than "Mirror, Mirror"...


PNQ: What's a recurring Trek episode premise that you just can't stand?


Holodeck malfunctions? Obscure family member cameos? One episode romances? Meddling with prewarp societies? Characters turning into Captain Ahab chasing their personal white whale? Crazy admirals of the week?

[Nate the Great]

On Facebook someone asked for people's choice as their own personal doctor from a selection of Trek and related shows. I don't care about that question, and I'm not inviting Pulaski bashing. I just want to point out the inclusion of Doctor Westphalen from Seaquest DSV...


PNQ: What's the pseudo-Trek series from the past that you think is the most overlooked today?


Because Seaquest DSV has to be up there. Babylon 5 still gets love, Andromeda still gets love, Stargate still gets love, but not Seaquest. Why?


PNQ: What could be argued to be the earliest pseudo-Trek series?


I hope you understand what I mean by "pseudo-Trek", because I'm not sure I can define it without a separate screed. I don't think Planet of the Apes or Battlestar Galactica or Lost in Space count.


I'm also going to exclude all of Roddenberry's failed pilots and Andromeda because they seem too easy.

[NAHTMMM]

I really didn't know the premise beyond "drama in a submarine? And then they wind up in space maybe?" so I looked seaQuest up on Wikipedia.

I just assumed it aired before the '90s. I never saw anything about it on TV.

Undersea maybe doesn't have the same broad appeal of X-Files finding weird stuff among us on land or Trek and Trek-likes going to distant planets.

[Nate the Great]

TNG character tier list


PNQ: Whose that basketball player in S tier and why is it a joke that he's there?

[Nate the Great]

I've often encountered variants of the thought experiment "which superhero would you be if you could?" But today I thought of one further...


PNQ: What superhero would you be if you also got their additional baggage?
1. You have to have their day job, socioeconomic status, etc.
2. You have to have the same supporting cast and enemies.


That is, if you want to have Spider-Man's powers you also have to deal with being perpetually broke, sick Aunt May, knowing that Venom etc. are out there and want you dead, etc.


I'll let you pick an era of comics as well, but remember that you also have to live in that world. Maybe villains aren't so bloodthirsty in the Golden Age, but you also have to deal with Nazis looking for mystical artifacts, the Spear of Destiny, etc. Plus you have to deal with the normal technology of the age, you can't prompt Reed Richards to create cell phone infrastructure or anything.


I'm not sure I'd want to be ANY hero with these additional constraints.

[Nate the Great]

From Facebook...


PNQ: If you had to choose, would you want Superman or Captain America to be president?


Let's ignore the "Superman wasn't born here so he's ineligible" question.


Frankly I think it comes down to the simple fact that Captain America would uphold the law and Superman wouldn't. He'd be all cowboy diplomacy sticking his nose where it isn't wanted, making people want to kill him.

[Nate the Great]

Inspired by a Reddit thread...


PNQ: How old were you when you got used to being called Mr. or Mrs. LastName instead of wanting to say "Mr. or Mrs. LastName is my mom/dad."?


I'm reminded of when Dave Barry said that whenever someone calls him "sir" he whirls around thinking that they're talking to someone behind him that is actually dignified enough to be called "sir", like the Pope or Walter Cronkite.


I'm still not used to being called "Mr. LastName." I doubt I ever will be. I've accepted that I can't stop it, but it's still disturbing.

[NAHTMMM]

I'd take Captain America. Superman would be caught between presidential duties and his superpowers, like you say.


I really don't know how old I was when that happened. Probably late twenties or thirties. I don't get called Mr. __ much.

[Nate the Great]

A Reddit meme claims that Kirk only loved two women, and they both died in front of him, obviously referencing Edith Keeler and Miramanee...


PNQ: How accurate do you think this is? How many women do you think he really loved?


The first name that occurred to me was Carol Marcus. Arguing that Kirk didn't really love her is highly troublesome.


I don't count Elaan of Troyius. Unique circumstances.

[Nate the Great]

On another SF Debris binge...


In "Riddles" Neelix asks Tuvok the date riddle even though the pun doesn't work in either Vulcan or Talaxian (and odds are neither planet has a fruit similar to the date anyway....).


PNQ: While I'll buy that Tuvok (and most Vulcans in Starfleet for that matter) has learned English in order to communicate with other Starfleet officers, what about Neelix? Does he depend on the Universal Translator? How many Delta Quadrant languages has he learned?


Not to be a jerk, but I can't see any Delta Quadrant race besides the Borg inventing the Universal Translator (well, maybe Arturis's race only known as Species 116).


PNQ2: Come to think of it, how did Neelix and Kes communicate? Do the Ocampa learn the Kazon language just in case and she used that to talk with Neelix?

[NAHTMMM]

Originally Posted by Nate the Great

A Reddit meme claims that Kirk only loved two women, and they both died in front of him, obviously referencing Edith Keeler and Miramanee...


PNQ: How accurate do you think this is? How many women do you think he really loved?


The first name that occurred to me was Carol Marcus. Arguing that Kirk didn't really love her is highly troublesome.


I don't count Elaan of Troyius. Unique circumstances.

There was also Methuselah's android and the woman he was about to propose to in the Nexus. And Lori Ciana, who tried to beam up in TMP. You can declare Novels Don't Count all you like, but TPTB evidently saw her and the other officer as real enough that they had to get rid of them somehow.

That's maybe six we've seen. I agree Carol Marcus was pretty serious. Add Edith, Miramanee, and Lori. Put me down for four at minimum.

Originally Posted by Nate the Great

PNQ2: Come to think of it, how did Neelix and Kes communicate? Do the Ocampa learn the Kazon language just in case and she used that to talk with Neelix?

That would certainly lend some pathos or depth to the nature of their relationship, that (at least at first) they can only communicate in the language of her captors.

[Nate the Great]

I would never say the novels don't count (except for obvious parallel universes like Rihannsu and the Shatnerverse, of course. And anything from NuTrek, of course. I count the Strange New Worlds fanfic compilations above anything from NuTrek!).


Rayna Kapec is a unique situation. Even if she was able to fall in love with Kirk in less than a day I doubt it went the other direction. Frankly I'll buy him loving Ruth or Janice Lester or Areel Shaw above Rayna!

[Nate the Great]

Ignore the Facebook game, focus on the pairs of Trek characters...


PNQ: Who do you think would have the most interesting conversation?


The inspiring pair was Kamala and Leah Brahms. I'd love to be a fly on THAT wall (or a spider under the table if you're Bajoran)!


Pulaski and Barclay...oh, boy. Would Pulaski be as compassionate as Crusher?


Morn and Phlox...One wonders how Phlox would react to finding the latinum in Morn's stomach!

[Nate the Great]

Inspired by a Reddit post...


PNQ: Suppose on Voyager they worked up to Seven assuming a Starfleet rank (see Tuvok's remedial Starfleet coursework for the Maquis), what would it be?


She may have the knowledge of Starfleet captains but that doesn't mean that she could be one. I'm thinking Lieutenant Commander at the highest.


PNQ2: Should the "Neelix takes security training" plot have led to an official Starfleet commission at some point?


I mean, he would never be an officer full-time, but would it be nice to see him wear a regular security uniform on certain away missions, right?


PNQ3: If we're saying "Ensign=Bachelor's Degree", what would you think of as the equivalent for a Master's or Doctorate?


Lieutenant j.g. and Lieutenant or Lieutenant and Lieutenant Commander? I thought instantly of Mortimer Harren and he was just a crewman!

[Nate the Great]

Inspired by an Ashens marathon...


PNQ: What 2015 tech from Back to the Future II would you most like?


In the name of variety you can't choose Mr. Fusion or flying cars.


Even when I was a kid I wanted that rehydrator. That pizza looked delicious!