# Things That Bother Me in Science Fiction Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [October 24, 2023, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001 "2023-10-24T08:55:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 21
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/401 "2023-11-19T00:52:49Z")
Angus McKee sends this up brilliantly in _So Beautiful and So Dangerous_: Earthman Willie: “I can’t get over how all these aliens speak English!” Rigelian Barpo: “I know. Two hundred years ago, we all spoke French.” ---
**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 19, 2023, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/402 "2023-11-19T01:30:20Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > The blasters, phasers, disrupters, in the future have no sights on them, it is just point and shoot. And everyone is a lousy shot. See Star Wars, but it is every other movie too > > I would think that in the far future the guns would be smart guns that hit whatever you point them at. Even today jet fighter pilots don’t have to aim accuratly enough to hit their target, just close enough and weapons guidance does the rest. And even though you have a very high energy weapon, and you miss, they don’t seem to even put a mark on the wall or harm anything. Blaster marks on the wall? It’s much worse than that. Tech combined with AI would make future battles pretty much incomprehensible to us 20th-21st century folk. Smart anti-grav projectiles that can zip around corners and obstacles in an instant then go boom, forcefield armor (The Borg have that, why not the Feds? The Animated series had life support forcefields, defense ones would just be up-powered versions of same), massive area effect weapons, holographic camouflage up to and including invisibility cloaks (scaled down from ship size)–the list goes on with a lot of stuff that we primitives could never even conceive of. Yet personal combat 2-3 centuries hence often boils down to Wild West style shootouts with pathetic beam weapons with zero enhancements? Yeah, right. [Kirk had that photon mortar of course, never seen again, nor was his phaser rifle-my guess is that the latter prop got lost or destroyed since they reused pretty much everything else] If they simply kept the beam on and walked it to the target that would be an massive improvement. The reason of course is to not lose the audience, make battles comprehensible to us hidebound viewers. But it just looks silly in retrospect. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/403 "2023-11-19T13:08:50Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I always mention to my mom what my old Spideys would be worth “if you hadn’t thrown them out… wait, you must’ve just hidden them somewhere, right?”. If everyone who said “If only I’d held onto those old comics, I’d be rich today,” had in fact held onto those old comics, they wouldn’t be rich today. Old comics are valuable largely because they’re rare. Their current astronomical value depends on most of them having been thrown away. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/404 "2023-11-19T13:42:50Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > It’s much worse than that. Tech combined with AI would make future battles pretty much incomprehensible to us 20th-21st century folk. Smart anti-grav projectiles that can zip around corners and obstacles in an instant then go boom, forcefield armor (The Borg have that, why not the Feds? I’ll bet they still can’t hit a guy hiding behind a couch. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/405 "2023-11-19T14:00:08Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Old comics are valuable largely because they’re rare. Their current astronomical value depends on most of them having been thrown away. Glad I could do my part for the collectors. I should thank mum. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/406 "2023-11-19T15:38:26Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > If everyone who said “If only I’d held onto those old comics, I’d be rich today,” had in fact held onto those old comics, they wouldn’t be rich today. Old comics are valuable largely because they’re rare. Their current astronomical value depends on most of them having been thrown away. That reminds me of a time travel story where the protagonist traveled back in time and bought rare art and collectibles from the past to the future to in order to make money. Except people got suspicious they were fakes because the items were in too good condition and looked brand new. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2023, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/407 "2023-11-19T16:07:10Z")
And that reminds me of the Spider Robinson tale where the time traveler wanted everybody’s pennies. He was going to bury them, then dig them up in the future with impeccable provenance. It took me quite a while to read that story when it first came out, because I kept hurling the magazine across the room. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/408 "2023-11-19T17:34:12Z")
Easy way to check: analyze their content of radioisotopes. Anything created after 1945 is a dead giveaway. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/409 "2023-11-20T12:55:13Z")
After having read them beforehand and then telling the recipient what was in the message. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/410 "2023-11-20T17:36:06Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > …Department heads are of various ranks from Lieutenant Junior Grade to Commander, and almost nobody gets promoted and moved to other assignments over a ~7 year period, which means that other junior officers aren’t getting opportunities to develop and more experienced officers aren’t being best utilized for their development. Scotty somehow ends up being the “Captain of Engineering” which is not a thing in any navy… The Chief Engineering Officer (CHENG) on an aircraft carrier is typically a Commander (O-5) or newly promoted Captain (O-6). Of course, even if the CHENG is the same rank as the Commanding Officer (CO) of the ship (who is also typically an O-6), the CHENG of course reports to the CO because of their relative billets in the chain of command. For comparison, the CHENG on a smaller vessel would typically be a Lieutenant Commander (O-4). The bottom line is that of all the implausible things in _Star Trek_, Scotty being promoted to Captain (O-6) on Starfleet’s flagship vessel is not one of them, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/411 "2023-11-20T17:46:54Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > > [@TriPolar](#): > > > > I’m completely serious about my time machine. I’m sure I’m only 20 years away from a working version which will correspond with the development of practical fusion energy required to power it. - > > It wouldn’t matter how many years away you are from a working model, you’d know about. Nice try, though. One of the funniest scenes in _ **Big Bang Theory** _ came when Sheldon and Leonard were negotiating their roommate agreement: “If either of us invents a time machine, we will come back to this place and moment.” Pause as they both look around the room to see if it’s happened. As an aside, I remember the first comic I bought after the price rose from 10 to 12 cents. It was a _ **Felix the Cat** _, and it must have been the autumn of 1961. (It was cold and wet outside.) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/412 "2023-11-20T17:52:30Z")
> [@robby](#): > > The bottom line is that of all the implausible things in _Star Trek_, Scotty being promoted to Captain (O-6) on Starfleet’s flagship vessel is not one of them, IMHO. It’s not that Scotty is promoted to the rank of Captain but that he is specifically referred to as “Captain of Engineering”. There is only one “Captain” by title on a ship (which is somewhat confusing when there are Marine captains or O-3 personnel from other branches serving TDY on board a Naval ship). Regardless of rank, Scotty should properly be referred to as “Chief Engineer” or “Chief Engineering Officer” by title. I think Uhura is still a Lieutenant, and poor Chekov gets demoted back to being helmsman after serving as an exec on _Reliant_ (although since he got his brain eaten by a mind slug, I guess he should just be happy about retaining his commission). At least Sulu finally gets his own command, so that’s something, I guess. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/413 "2023-11-20T18:04:23Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > It’s not that Scotty is promoted to the rank of Captain but that he is specifically referred to as “Captain of Engineering”. Agreed, that doesn’t make much sense. > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > There is only one “Captain” by title on a ship (which is somewhat confusing when there are Marine captains or O-3 personnel from other branches serving TDY on board a Naval ship). There was a rumor/urban legend that I heard somewhere that USMC O-3 personnel on board Navy vessels would be addressed as “Major” (thereby giving them an unofficial promotion), all to avoid calling them “Captain”. I never ran across this in real life, though. I do know for a fact that when I got my first dependent ID card at age 10, the issuing office (which was on a U.S. Navy base), took pains to list my Army stepfather’s rank as “O-3 [Firstname] [Lastname]” instead of using the abbreviation for “Captain.” All to avoid confusion, I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/414 "2023-11-20T18:35:25Z")
> [@robby](#): > > There was a rumor/urban legend that I heard somewhere that USMC O-3 personnel on board Navy vessels would be addressed as “Major” (thereby giving them an unofficial promotion), all to avoid calling them “Captain”. I never ran across this in real life, though. Yeah, I’ve heard that, too, and Heinlein specifically explained it in _Starship Troopers_, but I’ve never been on a Naval vessel underway where that ever came up in my presence. It is not a formal rule in US Naval parlance, nor is it mentioned in the _Bluejacket’s Manual_ (which does note that the commanding officer of a vessel is referred to as “Captain” regardless of rank) so if it was a tradition it has probably fallen into disuse. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/415 "2023-11-20T18:55:43Z")
> [@digs](#): > > _The Mandalorian_ There was at least one other solid call-out to this trope when the team recruited Bill Burr’s character to be the designated marksman for their heist. > [@](#): > > Ran: Well, Mayfeld — he’s one of the best triggermen I’ve seen. Former Imperial sharpshooter. > The Mandalorian: That’s not saying much. > Mayfeld: I wasn’t a Stormtrooper, wiseass! ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/416 "2023-11-20T20:43:58Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > One of the funniest scenes in _ **Big Bang Theory** _ came when Sheldon and Leonard were negotiating their roommate agreement: “If either of us invents a time machine, we will come back to this place and moment.” > > Pause as they both look around the room to see if it’s happened. Sheldon: Well, that’s disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/417 "2023-11-20T22:18:18Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Yes; as I mentioned in an earlier post, Stephen Baxter’s novel Timelike Infinity has a craft with artificial gravity created by a mesh of very small but very heavy black holes beneath the floor. One big problem with this sort of arrangement is that it increases the mass of your vessel significantly- so much so that the mass of the gravity generators far exceeds the mass of the rest of the ship. This reduces your acceleration and causes problems with inertia too. not if you use one of those modern “mass-less” ™ black holes ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2023, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/418 "2023-11-20T22:28:41Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > not if you use one of those modern “mass-less” ™ black holes “How does a massless black hole generate gravity?” “Very well, thank you!” New, low mass black holes! Half the weight, and one third less infinity! ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2023, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/419 "2023-11-21T00:27:46Z")
I’m piloting the starship tonight, I’d better not try to handle a whole infinity. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2023, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001/420 "2023-11-23T13:44:28Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > It’s much worse than that. Tech combined with AI would make future battles pretty much incomprehensible to us 20th-21st century folk. Alan Dean Foster wrote a humorous book once, _Glory Lane_. In it, the “Battle Bridge” was actually a nice little lounge with bar service and snacks, since the crew were essentially irrelevant in a battle in which combat was decided in milliseconds as ships maneuvered to kill each other. Every few minutes the captain would get a report on which ships just got blown up. The idea was, they might as well be relaxed, since they might all end up dead in an instant, due to events entirely out of their control. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-in-science-fiction-movies/992001.md?page=22)