# Star Trek Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 29, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337 "2009-11-29T15:59:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/21 "2009-11-30T05:46:58Z")
Peak Performance, maybe? > [@eleanorigby](#): > > **Jolly Roger** –I have to agree. There wasn’t anything else ON, back in the day. I doubt that younger people can understand this fully. If the show wasn’t syndicated, you never saw it again. I may be under 30, but I didn’t grow up with 24/7 cable with dozens of niche channels, and I quite remember the days of nothing but syndicated reruns of Star Trek, I Love Lucy, The Brady Bunch, Laverne & Shirley, and Charles in Charge. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/22 "2009-11-30T05:55:58Z")
I wonder if anyone has gone and counted the number of times that someone resigns their commission in the various Star Trek series. It seems like every other episode, someone was resigning from Starfleet in order to protest something or do something that was against regulations, but they always ended up back in the fleet by the time the episode ended. I would love to see if someone counted how many times this happened (in TNG especially), or if someone would make a Youtube video of everyone resigning over and over. ---
**Author:** ![JimOfAllTrades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@JimOfAllTrades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimOfAllTrades)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/23 "2009-11-30T06:02:09Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > It’s been a long time, but wasn’t there an episode of TNG that involved the Enterprise being on a combat training exercise and unarmed, and then somehow ends up being in actual combat with the other training ships as some crazy captain or admiral takes control? And wasn’t there a similar plot in TOS? Or am I totally imagining things? If I’m not making it up, this episode had an attempted ramming in it. [The Ultimate Computer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ultimate_Computer), where the M5 computer runs amok and starts actually attacking the other ships during a test run to see if the computer can control a starship. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/24 "2009-11-30T06:05:53Z")
> [@thirdname](#): > > I wonder if anyone has gone and counted the number of times that someone resigns their commission in the various Star Trek series. It seems like every other episode, someone was resigning from Starfleet in order to protest something or do something that was against regulations, but they always ended up back in the fleet by the time the episode ended. I would love to see if someone counted how many times this happened (in TNG especially), or if someone would make a Youtube video of everyone resigning over and over. I’m sure it’s exceeded by the number of times a captain orders a self-destruct just to prove a point. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/25 "2009-11-30T12:48:13Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I’m sure it’s exceeded by the number of times a captain orders a self-destruct just to prove a point. I only recall Kirk doing that once, and Picard only once, also. I could be wrong. > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by \*\*thirdname \*\* > I wonder if anyone has gone and counted the number of times that someone resigns their commission in the various Star Trek series. It seems like every other episode, someone was resigning from Starfleet in order to protest something or do something that was against regulations, but they always ended up back in the fleet by the time the episode ended. I would love to see if someone counted how many times this happened (in TNG especially), or if someone would make a Youtube video of everyone resigning over and over. I never understood that. In the episode “Sub Rosa” (TNG) Dr. Crusher just basically quits. How the hell does that work? So a Starfleet officer can decide “I’d like to live here on this planet. I think I’ll just go pack my stuff, tell Picard I quit and beam back down.” It makes no sense. Theres no paperwork, or requests to retire etc? Hell, I can put in for retirement today if I wanted to and the request has to be approved higher up. (they can insist that I finish out my term, though that doesn’t occur too much) Even if its approved it would be months before I was officially outprocessed. In Starfleet all I’d need to do is just say “I’m done. seeya Jean-Luc.”. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/26 "2009-11-30T13:02:14Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > It’s been a long time, but wasn’t there an episode of TNG that involved the Enterprise being on a combat training exercise and unarmed, and then somehow ends up being in actual combat with the other training ships as some crazy captain or admiral takes control? And wasn’t there a similar plot in TOS? Or am I totally imagining things? If I’m not making it up, this episode had an attempted ramming in it. There’s an episode in which Riker takes over an older vessel and engages in mock combat with the Enterprise as a strategic exercise, only to have a Ferengi vessel arrive and attack. Eventually the Enterprise fires a photon torpedo at the other Federation starship “to keep it from being captured” (actually, it went into warp). No ramming though. Is that the one? Sterling Holloway guests as an advisor on strategy, and plays Data in some bizarre computer game. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/27 "2009-11-30T13:04:53Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > I may be under 30, but I didn’t grow up with 24/7 cable with dozens of niche channels, and I quite remember the days of nothing but syndicated reruns of Star Trek, I Love Lucy, The Brady Bunch, Laverne & Shirley, and Charles in Charge. God, I hated Laverne and Shirley. And now back to the thread. 🙂 I tried to locate TNG at my local public library, but no go. I do want to watch the series again (I only saw it in bits when it was on). Perhaps it is that training mission that I am recalling. Dunno about TNG, but in Amok Time, Spock mentions that he must have enough shore leave (must be something like PTO) to get leave stat etc. And Kirk has to in turn ask permission from an admiral or commodore to delay their arrival somewhere (which is turned down) in order to accommodate Spock’s sudden request. Maybe by TNG they had gotten rid of pesky red tape? (or they needed something to fulfill a plot requirement–not that any show would EVER do something like that!). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/28 "2009-11-30T16:22:55Z")
> [@Jolly\_Roger](#): > > I only recall Kirk doing that once, and Picard only once, also. I could be wrong. It was one of Janeway’s favourites. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/29 "2009-11-30T16:56:46Z")
> [@Jolly\_Roger](#): > > I never understood that. In the episode “Sub Rosa” (TNG) Dr. Crusher just basically quits. How the hell does that work? That ghost-humping ripoff of the only Anne Rice novel I’ve been able to get through? That was the least WTF-y element in it. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/30 "2009-11-30T17:14:12Z")
> [@Annie](#): > > That ghost-humping ripoff of the only Anne Rice novel I’ve been able to get through? That was the least WTF-y element in it. Oh, I know that episode is hated by the fans, but the WTF for me was Crusher just leavinng her post and telling Picard how shes allowed to do that. You simply can’t run a military organization like that. The fact that Picards acts all powerless to stop her makes my WTF meter go into the red. > [@](#): > > Dunno about TNG, but in Amok Time, Spock mentions that he must have enough shore leave (must be something like PTO) to get leave stat etc. And Kirk has to in turn ask permission from an admiral or commodore to delay their arrival somewhere (which is turned down) in order to accommodate Spock’s sudden request. Maybe by TNG they had gotten rid of pesky red tape? (or they needed something to fulfill a plot requirement–not that any show would EVER do something like that!). Its not that Spock didn’t have the leave time, its that Kirk couldn’t get him to Vulcan in the timeframe needed. In TNG the shuttles seem to have greater range and speed. I guess in Kirk’s era a shuttle wouldn’t have been able to make it to Vulcan fast enough or maybe at all. DS9 of course ruined that for me when they’d have crewmembers taking runabouts to go on vacation! Way to use your equipment, Starfleet. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/31 "2009-11-30T17:50:00Z")
TNG shuttles had warp capability, TOS’ did not. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/32 "2009-11-30T18:30:50Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > This is driving me crazy. Somewhere (not in TOS, I don’t think) is a scene where the _Enterprise_ is surrounded by 3 other vessels (I believe they are other Federation starships), without a weapons system (for some reason), and the captain (Picard? I doubt Kirk) orders the _Enterprise_ to RAM one of the vessels. It’s a classic Hornblower move. > > Which movie is this? Or is it a TNG episode? Are you totally sure it was Star Trek? Could it have been a different show? Blake’s Seven, maybe? [Is this the scene you remember](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgrUawccoNQ)? Season 1 episode 8, _Duel_ ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/33 "2009-12-01T19:43:01Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Are you totally sure it was Star Trek? Could it have been a different show? Blake’s Seven, maybe? > > [Is this the scene you remember](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgrUawccoNQ)? > > Season 1 episode 8, _Duel_ No. (And I hope to never see that again!). But thanks… 🙂 I have another question: the music in Requiem for Methuselah–the “Johannes Brahms waltz”. Anyone know where I can get a recording of it? It is a lovely piece of music. ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/34 "2009-12-01T22:06:53Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > No. (And I hope to never see that again!). But thanks… 🙂 > > I have another question: the music in Requiem for Methuselah–the “Johannes Brahms waltz”. Anyone know where I can get a recording of it? It is a lovely piece of music. Blakes Seven may have had cheap sets and effects but it was actually a pretty good show once you get past the first few episodes. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/35 "2009-12-01T22:40:08Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > It’s _Nemesis_. Picard rams the E-E into the _Scimitar_, which is the ultimate fanboy ship, and is captained by Picard’s angsty young adult clone, Shinzon. > > I fucking hate that movie. I don’t. But crunching the Enterprise and the big sobby ending did nothing for me. Nemesis made me realize how little I cared about the TNG crew and ship. I’m glad Worf came into his own on DS9, though. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/36 "2009-12-03T08:11:09Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > There’s an episode in which Riker takes over an older vessel and engages in mock combat with the Enterprise as a strategic exercise, only to have a Ferengi vessel arrive and attack. Eventually the Enterprise fires a photon torpedo at the other Federation starship “to keep it from being captured” (actually, it went into warp). No ramming though. Is that the one? \*\*Sterling \*\*\*\*Holloway \*\*guests as an advisor on strategy, and plays Data in some bizarre computer game. Actually, that was [David L. Lander](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708753/). That Squiggy guy. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/37 "2009-12-03T08:38:35Z")
Actually, it was Roy Brocksmith, in in his makeup as [Sirna Kolrami](http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Sirna_Kolrami), looked rather like a rather pudgier version of Mr Holloway. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/38 "2009-12-03T10:07:29Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Actually, it was Roy Brocksmith, in in his makeup as [Sirna Kolrami](http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Sirna_Kolrami), looked rather like a rather pudgier version of Mr Holloway. I stand corrected. He sounded a lot like Holloway as well, hence the confusion. ---
**Author:** ![kombatminipig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5ac83/32.png) [@kombatminipig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kombatminipig)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/39 "2009-12-03T12:55:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I fail to see what your promiscuity has to do with the question. Silence, let the slutty trek fangirl speak! No, seriously, **eleanorrigby** …was that a reference that I missed? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2009, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337/40 "2009-12-03T13:14:31Z")
> [@kombatminipig](#): > > Silence, let the slutty trek fangirl speak! > > No, seriously, **eleanorrigby** …was that a reference that I missed? It is a Saturday Night Live classic reference in her original post. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-question/519337.md?page=1)