# Nitpicking Star Trek for fun \[edited title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 21, 2009, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397 "2009-11-21T11:46:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/61 "2009-12-01T17:06:23Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > They could make them out of that fast drying concrete stuff McCoy used for a bandage in _The Devil in the Dark._ McCoy needs that for the next time he’s called upon to cure a rainy day. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/62 "2009-12-01T18:20:42Z")
> [@Gaudere](#): > > Do you want to stay in a shelter with evil bricks? With their little moustaches, plotting your death? No, no, no. Evil bricks in the Roddenverse have _beards_, not moustaches. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/63 "2009-12-01T19:39:28Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > No, no, no. Evil bricks in the Roddenverse have _beards_, not moustaches. If the evil transporter bricks were like evil transporter duplicate Kirk, wouldn’t they be all sweaty and wild eyed? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/64 "2009-12-01T19:46:08Z")
Evil or not, there is a lot of material other than bricks that could have been beamed down to Sulu and company. Sheilding, blankets, phasers, spare uniforms, etc. Any of that would have helped, but nobody bothered to even try it. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/65 "2009-12-01T20:26:39Z")
> [@Jolly\_Roger](#): > > In the Episode [**“Balance of Terror”**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_of_Terror) Stiles accuses Spock of being a romulan spy (for no other reason than that romulans look like vulcans…keep in mind this is the irst time in ST canon that humans have seen a romulan). Kirk reprimands him on the bridge for it. Later in the show when Stiles is helping man the phaser control room Spock asks if he needs assistance. Stiles replies with something that basically says “We don’t need YOUR help, vulcan!”. Uh…but wait…isn’t Spock this guy’s superior officer? Why doesn’t Spock react? If my superior officer asked me that question the only answers would be “Yes Sir” or “No Sir”. > > Geez, grow a pair, Spock! In the most recent film, it seems that rank is more… flexible… than in TOS. NeuKirk (a stowaway) is made XO by Pike, despite being a mere cadet (fresh from a hearing probing into his cheating at the academy) the day before. He makes Spock the C.O. Wasn’t there already a chain of command established when Pike got ready to warp out with the adhoc fleet from Earth? It seems portrayed almost as if Starfleet was run more like a government funded University research commitee. Pike was appointed as head Director and Project Manager, and he can pull talent from a given pool as he see’s fit, and brevet them to whatever “Rank/Title” he likes. No permanent hierachal miltary structure at all. So, applying that retcon back to Spock’s situation, Spock (even though he gets the title “Commander”) is just a shift manager. A Science Department head (and no authority over the Security/Weapons Team). Stiles calls Spock a pointy eared traitor, and there’s not much he can do (until he contacts the EEO Union Rep…). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/66 "2009-12-01T20:30:23Z")
So now the episode “Courtmartial” has to be renamed “Disciplinary Hearing?” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/67 "2009-12-01T20:35:22Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > So now the episode “Courtmartial” has to be renamed “Disciplinary Hearing?” 😉 The newest film has upended the entire timeline of the careers of our legendary officers. ---
**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:** [December 1, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/68 "2009-12-01T20:58:36Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > The newest film has upended the entire timeline of the careers of our legendary officers. Kill…kill…kill…eat dead, burnt bodies…kill…veins in my teeth… Ahem. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/69 "2009-12-01T21:05:28Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > In The Turnabout Intruder, Janice Lester claimed that Starfleet had a “glass ceiling” where in practice women never became Captains (although that might have been just her rationalization). Yeah, I’ve always felt that the statement about her rejection from command was subject to interpretation. Maaaybeee the script writer intended to say that no woman could command a starship according to star Fleet judgment. But ISTR that it was vague enough in the episode (if not in earlier script versions) that we need not conclude anything so sexist in the canon. The point could have been that Janice was not and could never be qualified for command. And considering that she ended up guilty of :eek: body-snatching, one can only thank whatever qualifying board looked past her (doubtless) high aptitude and achievements to see what else she might be – _gulp!_ – “capable” of. (Not that they had “tea leaves” to see exactly what was ahead for her, but you know… Something just didn’t smell right.) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/70 "2009-12-01T21:07:45Z")
> [@Lethal\_Babydoll](#): > > In TNG they often refer to the Enterprise as the fleet’s flagship. > > Isn’t a flag ship any ship that the commanding admiral of a fleet is on at any given moment? > > What say you navy dopers? Can you rest my mind on this? IIRC this happened when the Borg had wiped out most of the rest of the fleet, so I took it as an honor they gave the Enterprise, and had nothing to do with the real meaning of flagship. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/71 "2009-12-01T21:22:48Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > In the most recent film, it seems that rank is more… flexible… than in TOS. Note that in the scene shown in the promos, the crew is milling around wondering who is in command. On a real ship, they’d know immediately (i.e., the highest ranking officer still physically able to do the job. If two people have the same rank, then the one with the earliest date of service.) Re: Janice Lester. I think the episode made it clear by her actions that she wasn’t promoted because she was a woman; she wasn’t promoted because she was a loony. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/72 "2009-12-01T21:23:37Z")
Since I’ve been DVR’ing TNG recently, and I’ve noticed a bunch of general logical things that haven’t aged well. [ul] [li] Flashlights. Palm-sized models that they hold in the palm of their hands, then wander around dimly lit spaces working with one free hand. Wow - I’ve got a $20 one that I wear on my head when I go camping, giving me both hands free for other duties.[/li][li] The ergonomical function of all keyboards is crap. No tactile measures to speak of, no real difference between button sizes, no toggling…just beeping sounds and colors. My damn car stereo has buttons I can detect without looking down by feeling the little bumps.[/li][li] Communicators - how do those work exactly? The receiver hears the caller before clicking on theirs to answer, so it must be an open channel; so how come we never hear in the background a constant littany of “Third Botany Officer Jones to Dental Assistant Johnson,” or a nonstop overlap of “Go ahead”[/li][li] Phasers - ugh. Let’s just say if I had a weapon with no recoil, that I could just hold the button down on, (like they do to heat rocks and stuff), the enemy’s position would be toast in short order. It would be like killing people with just the laser scope of your sniper rifle.[/li][/ul] ---
**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:** [December 1, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/73 "2009-12-01T21:35:19Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > The receiver hears the caller before clicking on theirs to answer, so it must be an open channel; so how come we never hear in the background a constant littany of “Third Botany Officer Jones to Dental Assistant Johnson,” or a nonstop overlap of “Go ahead” You reckon it works like saying “Call Morbo” to my cell phone? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/74 "2009-12-01T22:00:37Z")
I seem to recall reading the TNG technical manual which explained that the ship’s computer kept in contact with all the comm badges, then connected the parties when they called each other. That seems logical enough for me. Why is a photon torpedo called a photon torpedo when it’s warhead contains antimatter? Short answer is that it sounds cool. The speed of the energy emitted from the phaser weapons seem awfully slow, too. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/75 "2009-12-01T22:40:17Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Note that in the scene shown in the promos, the crew is milling around wondering who is in command. On a real ship, they’d know immediately (i.e., the highest ranking officer still physically able to do the job. If two people have the same rank, then the one with the earliest date of service.) I agree. That’s why I thought that it more closely represented the confusion you might see in some civilian sector type job. > [@](#): > > Re: Janice Lester. I think the episode made it clear by her actions that she wasn’t promoted because she was a woman; she wasn’t promoted because she was a loony. She may have perceived the situation incorrectly, though. Instead of admitting, even to herself, that some character failing (poor evaluations, lack of training, unable to work well or inspire others, inability to delegate, or that massive chip on her shoulder) prevented her from being recommended for her own command, she throws down the sexism card. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/76 "2009-12-01T22:44:04Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Since I’ve been DVR’ing TNG recently, and I’ve noticed a bunch of general logical things that haven’t aged well. > [list] > \ > [li] Communicators - how do those work exactly? The receiver hears the caller before clicking on theirs to answer, so it must be an open channel; so how come we never hear in the background a constant littany of “Third Botany Officer Jones to Dental Assistant Johnson,” or a nonstop overlap of “Go ahead”[/li] Different channels. The computer routes department heads automatically to their own channel. If crewman Rogers wants to chat with the Barber, they do it on a “low” priority channel. Data gets to use the “Bridge Staff” channel. If crewman Rogers needs to tell Worf about the alien that materialised in the jeffries tube, the computer will route his call to the Security (or Bridge Staff) channel when Rogers says “Lt. Worf”. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/77 "2009-12-01T22:49:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > So now the episode “Courtmartial” has to be renamed “Disciplinary Hearing?” 😉 I admit I didnt get this the first time. :smack: Yeah, if Starfleet is no longer a Space Navy, than “Court Martial” gets called something else. I thought at first you were referring to, specifically, Kirk’s circumstances for the trial. (He doesn’t get to serve on the _Farragut_, doesn’t ruin some other Lieutenants career, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![emarkp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@emarkp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emarkp)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/78 "2009-12-01T23:09:54Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > _The Changeling._ > It’s metre tall, maybe a quarter that across at its widest point. So, estimating a volume of 2250cm[sup]3[/sup]. > > Giving, assuming that it’s solid, a density 222g/cm[sup]3[/sup]. > > It’s clearly not solid. > > What the\* hell \*is the thing made of? I think you may have dropped a dimension in your math. ---
**Author:** ![emarkp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@emarkp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emarkp)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/79 "2009-12-01T23:14:33Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Why is a photon torpedo called a photon torpedo when it’s warhead contains antimatter? Short answer is that it sounds cool. Well, there is the point of what **happens** when all that antimatter contacts normal matter. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397/80 "2009-12-01T23:26:50Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Different channels. The computer routes department heads automatically to their own channel. If crewman Rogers wants to chat with the Barber, they do it on a “low” priority channel. Data gets to use the “Bridge Staff” channel. > > If crewman Rogers needs to tell Worf about the alien that materialised in the jeffries tube, the computer will route his call to the Security (or Bridge Staff) channel when Rogers says “Lt. Worf”. Eh, OK I guess. I bet headcount changes are a pain in the ass - every time someone transfers, gets promoted, or dies, there’d be an upgrade to the communications computer. Also problematic if there are more than one crewman Rogers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicking-star-trek-for-fun-edited-title/518397.md?page=5)