Wonder if it’s any good? I’ve read a few Star Trek novels (some good, some not so good), but not that one.
We should do a Star Trek book discussion thread.
More than any other incident, I think Kirk should have been court-martialed for beaming those guys into space (and served hard time!). It’s one thing to be sent down and get blood sucked by a cloud creature, but to have your ship just beam you into space without even checking?? You trust your transporter operator to not be an idiot (and mind control had nothing to do with it. It was just lazy operator.). And you’re right - wonder what those other guys are thinking.
Those deaths really piss me off, but since the episode is so bad, I never see 'em. 
I watched Balance of Terror. Observations:
I like that the remastered ship effects had the flashing position lights turned off. What use is being silent in space when you’ve got bright lights flashing in the dark? (and didn’t anyone really know sound can’t carry in space? I guess they really wanted that Enemy Below experience.)
I got Blish’s adaptation crossed up with the actual episode in my head I guess. I kept waiting for Kirk to go back and finish the wedding (as in the book) and the next thing, Tomlinson is dead, and no wedding. I guess they cut that from the script before filming. (“A wife for half a day, a widow for all the rest of her days.” Even as a kid, I wondered what was keeping her from remarrying.)
I also watched This Side of Paradise. Nothing to say about this one at all. Except, maybe Sandoval’s people could have maybe brought some better art for the walls and better curtains for the windows. 
I never liked her much as Dr. Pulaski. Not very many did, apparently, and I thought Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher was far superior. That said, I liked her in One More Train to Rob with George Peppard. I also liked her in McCloud, and she also appeared in a few episodes of Quincy, M.E. as Quince’s girlfriend.
It can’t of course, but I suspect the energy generated inside the starship could be detected by sophisticated sensors. They were trying to keep that to a minimum.
She was also in the original Hawaii Five-O as McGarrett’s lost love (and murder suspect).
If they’d have just left it at that, it would have been fine (like turning off the running lights), but both the Romulans and the Enterprise crew were whispering. Spock closed his tricorder sloooowwwly so as to not make a sound.
I forgot to mention Kirk’s antique Samsonite luggage in TSoP. Must have been in the family for 300 years! 
Then sensors evidently *can *pick up sound energy generated inside a ship.
I’ve always thought the “Wow!” signal (look it up if you don’t know what it is) originated from some alien cock-up just like Spock accidentally pushing a button at the worst possible time.
Hey, a suitcase is a suitcase. People will still need them in 300 years. How else are you going to make one? Kirk’s was infinitely more practical (and believable) than that plastic cylinder-thingie Picard used to sling over his shoulder whenever he went on leave. Hardly big enough for a toilet kit and spare underwear, let alone a two-suiter.
Why should that surprise you? In the 2009 movie Kirk drove (and wrecked) a 300-year old Corvette.:dubious:
They must be using Dr. Who technology – bigger on the inside.
Given replicator technology, why take clothes with you (or a shaving kit)? Pretty much all you need are any small items that cannot be easily replicated.
No, they cannot. It was an intentional attempt to create the same sense of hushed waiting that was the hallmark of Run Silent, Run Deep. I refuse to fanwank such stupidity when it happens. And, of course, it should be noted that it isn’t some sudden sound that the Romulans latch onto; it’s the sudden energy output of the instruments that Spock accidentally activates, which, of course, COULD be picked up by sensors. So the whole “keep quiet” bit was just for dramatic effect, and was stupid.
But then again, maybe in the Star Trek universe, sound DOES propagate in space, otherwise how do the ships go ‘whoosh’ as they go by. :dubious:
There are plenty of places that won’t have replicator service available, like an archaeological dig or a remote beach on a primitive planet.
On the other hand, why bother going on leave when you can get exactly the same experience on the Holodeck?
How the hell would you know? 
For enlightened peoples, there sure is a lot of racism in TOS. Stiles should have been slapped down hard for his bigotry (as should McCoy in practically every other episode). But alas, Vulcans aren’t a protected class, so everyone can call them names or attack their loyalty with impunity. By Stiles’ logic, everyone on board should be considered a possible Klingon spy, because they all look like Klingons.
How hard? Kirk called Stiles out for his crack in front of the bridge crew.
[QUOTE=James T. Kirk]
Well, here’s one thing you can be sure of, Mister. Leave any bigotry in your quarters. There’s no room for it on the Bridge. Do I make myself clear?
[/Quote]
Not an official writeup to be sure. But to be dressed down by your commanding officer in public is certainly humiliating.
Point taken.
But, Stiles was still mouthing off the rest of the episode. It took Spock being exceptional before he actually changed his opinion.
See how enlightened they are!! Transparency is big in their century. You said it you own it!
Because as I pointed out, unless the universe in question operates with different rules of physics, sound cannot propagate through empty space. If sound waves cannot propagate, what is being sensed?
One of the really, really important things that good science fiction does is to avoid the trap of turning science into magic. Obviously, as I noted, being able to travel faster than light requires coming up with something that breaks known laws of physics. But the proper way to do that is to come up with a specific law that has its own rules, and stick to that religiously. For the most part, TOS did that with warp drive (the later series were notoriously bad about this: do NOT get me started on the saucer section detaching and warping away without any warp engines attached!). But the physical properties of sound in space don’t need to be altered to have Star Trek, so they shouldn’t be changed, just to create dramatic tension in a script, nor should they simply be fanwanked in order to avoid admitting that the writers blew it.