# Enterprise Civilization Spoiler **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 14, 2001, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306 "2001-11-14T14:06:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bedrosian\_Bixby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecae2f/32.png) [@Bedrosian\_Bixby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bedrosian_Bixby)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/21 "2001-11-16T03:58:52Z")
Trip gives me the shits! His insubordination steps over the line. We understand that he doesn’t like her, but he always second guesses her when she assumes command of the ship. She should have thrown the hillbilly in the brig. What kind of order can you have if the chain of command is compromised by one man’s dislike for his superior? It just burns my ass! ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/22 "2001-11-16T04:05:41Z")
> [@](#): > > If they’re gonna take the time and effort explaining how they intend to look like the planet’s inhabitants, they better explain the lip synch problem. Point taken, but c’mon, is this really any worse than aliens speaking perfect English in all the other series? Hey, the bit about the other ship going undetected because it was “in a geosynchrous orbit” was a bit off the mark too. And furthermore, if the Melurians (sp?) have transporter technology, what was the need of hauling that mineral out to the woods in a handcart for pickup? Just about every ST series episode ever made has dubious science. What makes a given ep for me tends to be the plausibility of the overall story and the performances. I thought in this case the pluses far outweighed the minuses. Gotta admit I’m a sucker for stories like this one, where swashes are well and truly buckled. ---
**Author:** ![RichLather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@RichLather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RichLather)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/23 "2001-11-16T04:05:42Z")
Trip’s subordination could’ve crossed the line into mutiny, in my opinion. Ordering Engineering to take the warp drive offline, or something similar? In the face of a larger, more powerful opponent? Guy’s got _juevos_, I’ll grant him that. That scene, plus the whole bit where T’pol “confided” in him (something I thought was deliciously logical–she wants to keep it under wraps, so she talks about it with the one person who read the letter) leads me to think, somewhat smarmily, that they’ll be sharing a bunk and making zug-zug within two seasons. Anyone else? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/24 "2001-11-16T06:59:18Z")
They can get away with the Universal Translator fooling the natives for the same reason that they can get away with warp drive: the show wouldn’t be any fun without it. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/25 "2001-11-16T10:50:56Z")
Zug-zug! Daboo! Loktar!! _ahem_ Sorry, had a Warcraft moment there. Seems to me that T’Pol does bitchy quite well. Maybe that’s why the Vulcan ambassador sent her off with Enterprise. Last episode when she tried to weasel out of sharing a blanket with Archer was especially illogical. As for technical errors, I gave up serious griping when Voyager came around, as there was far too much to handle. I’ve become assimilated into the Technobabble Collective. The geosynchronous orbit thing actually did make sense (except for not being over the equator) since Enterprise seemed to stay in one place. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/26 "2001-11-16T13:26:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by El\_Kabong \* > \*\* > if the Melurians (sp?) have transporter technology, what was the need of hauling that mineral out to the woods in a handcart for pickup? > > \*\* The Malurians didn’t use a transporter for the crates, they used a tractor beam thing to drag them into an open hatch of their “launch vehicle”. But by gad, you’re right; at the end they transported out. Dammit. ^:)^ ---
**Author:** ![Bedrosian\_Bixby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecae2f/32.png) [@Bedrosian\_Bixby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bedrosian_Bixby)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/27 "2001-11-16T13:34:00Z")
Maybe it had something to do with the force sheild over the antiques shop. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/28 "2001-11-16T13:53:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RichLather \* > \*\*Oh, one other thing–Trip’s statement that arranged marriages “went out with slavery” is just dead wrong–so sez my wife the anthropologist. 🙂 They’re still going on today. \*\* In a sense, so is slavery. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by carnivorousplant \* > \*\*The Malurians didn’t use a transporter for the crates, they used a tractor beam thing to drag them into an open hatch of their “launch vehicle”. > But by gad, you’re right; at the end they transported out. > Dammit. > ^:)^ \*\* Remember, Archer had to drop the magnetic shielding for Enterprise to beam out the reactor. Malurians probably can’t beam anything through shields either so they’d have drop the shields surrounding the secret mine. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2001, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/29 "2001-11-16T19:42:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RichLather \* > **[T’Pol and Trip will] be sharing a bunk and making zug-zug within two seasons.** According to an episode of _Futurama_, the correct term is “snoo-snoo.” ---
**Author:** ![TheeGrumpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheeGrumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheeGrumpy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/30 "2001-11-17T00:00:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jab1 \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by RichLather \* > > **[T’Pol and Trip will] be sharing a bunk and making zug-zug within two seasons.** > > According to an episode of _Futurama_, the correct term is “snoo-snoo.” \*\* Warcraft aside, I believe the term “zug zug” as a euphemism for coitus is etymologically derived from the 1981 Ringo Starr film [Caveman](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0082146). ---
**Author:** ![PlanMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2bfe46/32.png) [@PlanMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlanMan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/31 "2001-11-17T01:41:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by El\_Kabong \* > And furthermore, if the Melurians (sp?) have transporter technology, what was the need of hauling that mineral out to the woods in a handcart for pickup? > \*\* Besides the forcefield explanations, maybe they went out in the woods to reduce the chance of being seen. A flying thing sucking boxes up into it in the middle of town would be a bit obvious, and hard to explain. However, altho’ only the pharamacist _knows_ about Archer and the Enterprise, didn’t a whole lot of townsfolk see a raging fire fight between “us” and “them”? How will their society handle this? Relegate it to their equivalent of The Enquirer or Weekly World News? And, by mocking it, curtail intelligent discussion (we wouldn’t do that, would we?). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/32 "2001-11-17T01:45:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PlanMan \* > \*\* A flying thing sucking boxes up into it in the middle of town \*\* Is not a transporter; it’s a tractor beam thingie. ---
**Author:** ![PlanMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/2bfe46/32.png) [@PlanMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlanMan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/33 "2001-11-17T01:57:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by carnivorousplant \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by PlanMan \* > > \*\* A flying thing sucking boxes up into it in the middle of town \*\* > > Is not a transporter; it’s a tractor beam thingie. \*\* Whatever, it sucks. And it would still be hard to explain in the middle of town. I guess the townfolk never go out for a walk in the woods at night. Do you think Archer and company, especially the Brit weapons officer, will start pestering the Vulcans for real shield technology, now that they’ve run up against it? And I have forgotten now, why were the Malurians’ shields down when T’Pol transported their reactor from the surface and blew it up? Or was the blast so powerful it went thru the shields? ---
**Author:** ![RichLather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@RichLather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RichLather)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/34 "2001-11-17T02:17:46Z")
The antimatter reactor’s explosion was enough to knock out the Malurian ship’s shields. And it _should’ve_ been enough to wreck the _Enterprise_ as well. Antimatter, folks. Powerful stuff. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/35 "2001-11-17T02:21:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PlanMan \* > \*\*start pestering the Vulcans for real shield technology, > \*\* I would imagine that just as American technology watched Star Trek in the 60’s and invented cell phones, Earth technology will see force fields, phaser banks, shields and develop them. ^:)^ > [@](#): > > \*\* > why were the Malurians’ shields down when T’Pol transported their reactor from the surface and blew it up? Or was the blast so powerful it went thru the shields? \*\* The explosion went throught their shields. Did Nomad take these guys out? I’ll have to dig out a copy of The Changeling. Maybe Archer emailed Nomad that the Malurians said something about his Mother. BTW, my closed captioning spelled Archers name as “Jonathan”. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/36 "2001-11-17T02:27:47Z")
Yow, I never thought I’d get so caught up in the finer points of Trekism. I understand that it would be, er, bad, to have made the pickuup in the middle of town. The point I was trying to make was, why not just transport the minerals from within the mine directly to a ship in orbit? That way there would be no chance that the locals might accidently see anything unusual. The answer, apparently, was that there was shielding around the mine that prevented any transporter from working. Fair enough. > [@](#): > > And I have forgotten now, why were the Malurians’ shields down when T’Pol transported their reactor from the surface and blew it up? Or was the blast so powerful it went thru the shields? The explosion of the reactor brought down the shields, and apparently caused sufficient collateral damage that the Malurian ship broke off the engagement. Oh, and I agree that Trip should have been rebuked for his insubordination. Oh, look, what’s that going by? Is it my life? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/37 "2001-11-17T02:31:51Z")
Maybe you can’t transport this stuff, like latinum cannot be replicated. I need a life. Maybe I’ll buy a goldfish. ---
**Author:** ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/38 "2001-11-17T02:56:36Z")
One thing that irked me is the notion that Enterprise could listen to sounds from orbit. Space is a vacuum. There’s nothing that can carry the sound. Even if there was enough atmosphere, the sound waves would have been badly distorted by atmospheric currents, as well as becoming extremely weak. I would guess that any sound vibrations would have been completely absorbed by the atmosphere. One other thing. Hoshi’s disguise was _very_ becoming. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/39 "2001-11-17T03:12:54Z")
Sounds from space-Didn’t she say something about a “sonic probe”? ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2001, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306/40 "2001-11-17T04:21:08Z")
I heard that they have technology even today that lets them listen in on conversation by shining a laser on someone’s window and analyzing the vibrations. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enterprise-civilization-spoiler/93306.md?page=3)