Persistent, Niggling Questions

[Nate the Great]

Inspired by Facebook...


PNQ: If the captain and first officer died at the same time and you had to promote the next most senior officer to be captain, which one would do the best job in the long term?


The Facebook post automatically jumped to Tuvok as the obvious choice, but I'd like to discuss the others: Scotty, Data (or would it be Crusher?), Dax, and Trip.


Personally I would go Beverly. Scotty has proven himself in a pinch but would never be happy in the big chair long term. Data as he was in TNG just wasn't ready yet (and they really should've expanded his role in Redemption Part Two-why was that just a two-parter again?). Jadzia proved herself in the Dominion War on a temporary basis, but would she be able to handle it long term? And Trip...was he ever in command? I don't remember (then again, I don't think I watched any of Season Four except for that stupid finale).

[Nate the Great]

So Paramount is putting the pilots of the shows up for free on their YouTube channel, no doubt to drum up interest for Paramount Plus...



PNQ: Is "The Cage" the best choice to entice people who have never seen TOS to their service?


Not that it's a bad episode, but let's face it, this episode couldn't sell Star Trek to the networks, only the potential of a show. "Where No Man Has Gone Before" did a much better job, and if we're allowed to go beyond the pilots into any early episode, "Balance of Terror" is exciting and still shows the heart of the Trek ideal.



I won't even get into the differences between TOS Pike and SNW Pike, mainly because I don't know what they are. I know that I'll have to watch SNW one of these days, but I won't have the chance for a long time.

[Nate the Great]

James Earl Jones died today, so it's time to ask the usual favorite role question. And just for variety's sake, Darth Vader is off the table.


Probably Mufasa for me. But if we want to get more obscure there's always The Sandlot and Field of Dreams. I haven't seen either since my childhood but you can't say he didn't give memorable performances.

[Nate the Great]

PNQ: How often has there been a justifiable reason for the holodeck safeties to be turned off?


From an in-universe standpoint, of course. All I can think of is Data's Borg program in Descent. It's a foolhardy and dubious reason, but there was a reason.

[Nate the Great]

An article asking whether or not Seven saved the show.

My biggest problem is the rather harsh Kes bashing...

PNQ: Was Kes really "a terrible character, saddled with an actress who didn't have the charisma needed to curry an audience and a fairly one-note character who was more trouble than she was worth"?

This surprised me. I liked Kes. The writing around Neelix and the love triangle with Tom was subpar, but that doesn't reflect on Lien's performance.

[Nate the Great]

Inspired by a YouTube video...


PNQ: Why was the Enterprise-A decommissioned after only seven years?


That's right, STIV was 2286, and STVII was 2293.


The simplest explanation of course is that the E-A was merely one of the older Constitution-II ships that was renamed to give to Kirk. The book Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise says that this happened to the Ti-Ho. Roddenberry suggested that it was the Yorktown which we saw damaged during the whale probe crisis. If this is true it could mean that the E-A had simply gotten too old to be considered for active duty anymore. Presumably all of the gremlins in the Excelsior had been rooted out by Sulu and Starfleet felt the design was ready for the flagship spotlight.



The Shatnerverse novels are a completely different timeline, of course, but there the E-A is decommissioned by one of Kirk's old rivals out of spite and scheduled to be destroyed in a weapons test. The E-A is later destroyed defending a planet.


The comics reveal that the E-A ended up in the fleet museum and Scotty visited it.



But what do you think?

[Nate the Great]

Courtesy of a Facebook post...


Someone had a theory that Nick Locarno was Tom Paris, he just went to the Academy under a pseudonym so he doesn't get preferential treatment for being Admiral Paris' son...


PNQ: Opinions?


Personally I hate it. Even in Tom's introduction we are given sufficient details to know that they're different. Furthermore I just can't reconcile the idea that Nick did what he did in an effort to impress his father, it was simple arrogance and wanting to go out in a blaze of glory. Tom would never deliberately pilot in a dangerous manner if it could put other people at risk.