# "Star Trek" fans: Loose threads/unanswered questions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268 "2010-03-21T21:09:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/41 "2010-03-24T01:52:39Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > I just saw this one yesterday, so allow me Gnng, beaten to the punch. > [@Morbo](#): > > My main question from TNG is why they never use any of the damn technology they encounter The only time it seemed to make sense was when they encountered the Borg in Best of Both Worlds. Not having the Borg network to make the bits taken out of Picard work, I guess they were pretty useless. Unless someone wants to go back and write a story based around the Voyager Borg and have some nanites dormant in Picard pop up and cause trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/42 "2010-03-24T02:21:35Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I want to know what Scotty’s doing after they rescued him from the Dyson Sphere I always wanted to know what happened to the Dyson sphere itself. Although I vaguely recall seeing a ST book on the topic. Not that I would read ST books. _hides John M Ford books_ > [@Morbo](#): > > My main question from TNG is why they never use any of the damn technology they encounter. Worst example, when Barclay turns into a super-human and sends them light years away to encounter those beings, they had a “sharing of technology” between their people. No Treaty violations or anything. OK, so why can’t all starships travel as fast as Barclay was able to make them travel? He even invented some technology in the Holodeck - what happened to it? The answer to any dangling plot-thread related to the holodeck is always the same: the holodeck safeties went offline, and it went berserk, killing several crewmembers you’ve never seen before but who were very, very important to people whom you _have_ seen before (but nevertheless, not so much that they’d ever fix the damn holodeck safeties). Given it’s Reg, and knowing his predilections, he’s lucky that thing didn’t go berserk on _him_ next time he tried to pitch woo on the holodeck. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/43 "2010-03-24T02:22:51Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > My main question from TNG is why they never use any of the damn technology they encounter. Worst example, when Barclay turns into a super-human and sends them light years away to encounter those beings, they had a “sharing of technology” between their people. No Treaty violations or anything. OK, so why can’t all starships travel as fast as Barclay was able to make them travel? He even invented some technology in the Holodeck - what happened to it? Enterprise was a federation star ship. It was engineered and built according to specifications. 😉 Geordi can’t tinker with it. There was one episode in Season 3 (Booby Trap) where he modifies the warp coil. Then in season 4 (Galaxy’s Child) Dr. Leah Brahms beams aboard upset about the modifications (she was the original designer). That’s one reason I liked Voyager. Janeway jury rigged all kinds of alien crap onto her star ship. The federation was a hundred light years away and couldn’t complain. 😃 ---
**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:** [March 24, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/44 "2010-03-24T02:28:15Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > Unless someone wants to go back and write a story based around the Voyager Borg and have some nanites dormant in Picard pop up and cause trouble. Voyager used some Borg warp tunneling technology. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/45 "2010-03-24T02:47:56Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > That’s one reason I liked Voyager. We are the only two 'Dopers who liked Voyager. We should form a protective club. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/46 "2010-03-24T04:02:48Z")
Speaking of Voyager, what ever happened to Pharis & Janeway’s lizard children? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/47 "2010-03-24T04:35:03Z")
Do female and male Vulcans have humanoid style sexual plumbing? This was intimated but never confirmed. Never got a handle on the hierarchies and power rankings of the “entity” level races and intelligences. Unsatisfactory explanation of how Kirk was able to shrug off the effect of the alien princesses’ tears that normally enslaved lesser men. Were Vulcans physically better at everything or did humans have any edge in anything? ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/48 "2010-03-24T04:44:56Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Did Starfleet ever figure out the connection of why Sisko looks exactly like Gabriel Bell? I don’t know if Starfleet ever did, but Nog once discovered the resemblance. (In “Little Green Men”, I think.) While we’re speaking of Star Trek novels, which I also don’t read _hides copy of Imzadi II: Elecrtric Boogaloo_ [these](http://mightygodking.com/index.php/2009/02/23/and-the-circle-is-complete/) are some of my favourite titles. Who can forget the classics _Worf Vs The Pretty Flowers_ or _Collectable Plate_. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/49 "2010-03-24T06:34:22Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Do female and male Vulcans have humanoid style sexual plumbing? This was intimated but never confirmed. After T’Pol’s (Jolene Blalock) outfits in Enterprise, what more confirmation do you need? I mean, the outfit was literally skin tight. I’m pretty sure you could see the moles on her ass through that thing. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/50 "2010-03-24T06:52:12Z")
Raise the shields for Voyager. 😃 > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > We are the only two 'Dopers who liked Voyager. We should form a protective club. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/51 "2010-03-24T09:58:34Z")
Speaking of using technology - they really drop the ball with this one several times. The one that stuck with me was the episode mentioned already when Barclay became “altered” and ended up transporting the ship to the centre of the galaxy to meet with an advanced race. One of the things he did in the episode was strenghten the ship’s shields by 300% by channeling warp power through it. From what we saw it didn’t require any drastic change the the ship or anything being added to it, just a recalibration of what was there. Why the hell didn’t this become a standard practice in the Federation??? You’re telling me that Starfleet isn’t interested in having its ships’ shields being four times stronger when they’re not at warp (i.e. when in battle)? ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/52 "2010-03-24T11:28:21Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > If I recall correctly, they addressed this in the animated series. They returned to the planet to find it completely done over on the model of Star Fleet. Nope, TAS never returned to Iotia. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/53 "2010-03-24T11:34:22Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Were Vulcans physically better at everything or did humans have any edge in anything? The disease choriocytosis, which is about as serious as mild pneumonia in human, is deadly to Vulcans _because of_their copper-based hemoglobin. [TAS ep. “The Pirates of Orion”](http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/The_Pirates_of_Orion) ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/54 "2010-03-24T11:55:10Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Did they ever figure out where the Organians went? They went to their home world. It’s full of trees and drizzly rain, the temperature is mild. They sit out in the drizzle, (no umbrella), smoking their hallucinogenic plant matter and drinking their fermented grain beverages and dark rich caffeinated bean drinks in peace. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/55 "2010-03-24T12:00:54Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > They went to their home world. It’s full of trees and drizzly rain, the temperature is mild. They sit out in the drizzle, (no umbrella), smoking their hallucinogenic plant matter and drinking their fermented grain beverages and dark rich caffeinated bean drinks in peace. 🙂 I liked Voyager, too. ---
**Author:** ![TJVM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@TJVM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJVM)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/56 "2010-03-24T13:29:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Yes that, the spores, the water on Scalos, why not the extra organ that Apollo used to control his temple’s power? Humans might have become a pretty tough race by the time they met the Borg in TNG, but instead they became philosophers who had rejected genetic engineering to the degree that they didn’t even allow a cure for baldness. The one that bugged me the most in this regard was the TNG episode where there’s a transporter malfunction, and several crew members reappear as childhood versions of themselves. They’re the same mentally; they just find themselves in younger bodies. Eventually, the problem is fixed, of course. But no one ever seems to notice that they’ve just discovered the secret to immortality. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/57 "2010-03-24T13:47:03Z")
> [@Todderbob](#): > > After T’Pol’s (Jolene Blalock) outfits in Enterprise, what more confirmation do you need? > > I mean, the outfit was literally skin tight. I’m pretty sure you could see the moles on her ass through that thing. Insectivorous body jewelry? Man, those Vulcans have some weird fashions… ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/58 "2010-03-24T14:13:55Z")
> [@TJVM](#): > > The one that bugged me the most in this regard was the TNG episode where there’s a transporter malfunction, and several crew members reappear as childhood versions of themselves. They’re the same mentally; they just find themselves in younger bodies. Eventually, the problem is fixed, of course. But no one ever seems to notice that they’ve just discovered the secret to immortality. That’s the thing. It’s a SuperScience Universe, where pretty much anything is possible, but is somehow blatantly ignored by 99.999% of the population. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/59 "2010-03-24T14:49:43Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Were Vulcans physically better at everything or did humans have any edge in anything? Rejecting reality, and substituting their own. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268/60 "2010-03-24T14:54:13Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Were Vulcans physically better at everything or did humans have any edge in anything? Note the pointed ears. Vulcans are the Elves of the ST Universe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-fans-loose-threads-unanswered-questions/533268.md?page=4)