# Things that bug you about Star Trek **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2017, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109 "2017-03-13T19:08:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/21 "2017-03-13T21:10:37Z")
So many of those interacting species in all the different series look similar because of ME! (Look up my user name) The explaining eps kind of leave me cold. I enjoy the passing thought, but why make whole eps (or arcs) about it? For instance, why Klingons/Ruffles have ridges now, or whose great great grandfather invented something that the character is using now, or why does everyone\* evolve into humanoid forms? \*exceptions exist, yes, I know. (whales, Horta, fluidic space species…) . ---
**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:** [March 13, 2017, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/22 "2017-03-13T21:13:51Z")
Oddly, about the only thing listed so far that really bugs me is in the OP: Kirk’s line about dipping little girl’s curls in inkwells. Technobabble, inconsistencies in tech or storytelling, Prime Directive violations I can handwave. But Kirk’s comment not only doesn’t make sense in the 23rd century, it isn’t even “period correct” in 1966 (more like 1926), it makes Kirk look like a bully and a jerk. Tying cans on a dog’s tail is cruel, not cute. It’s not “boys being boys”. Sounds more like Chris Pine’s Kirk. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/23 "2017-03-13T21:14:41Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > …where Kirk says ‘Mankind has no need of gods…we find the one quite adequate.’ And, y’know, that clause has a “Standards and Practices says we have to” feel to it. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/24 "2017-03-13T21:24:10Z")
Janice Rand serving coffee on the bridge, then the yeoman-of-the-week serving coffee on the bridge. GAG. ETA: Janice Rand getting dumped because there was already a blonde on the show, Nurse Chapel/Roddenberry’s girlfriend. Chappel was boring, Rand was interesting! Except for the coffee bit. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2017, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/25 "2017-03-13T21:26:29Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Other than the “Son worshipers” in “Bread and Circuses,” what references to the Christian God were there? There’s a line in “Who Mourns for Adonais” along the lines of “We don’t need gods. We find the one sufficient.” I can’t imagine White American 1960’s Kirk was talking about anything other than White American 1960’s God. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/26 "2017-03-13T21:32:05Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > ETA: Janice Rand getting dumped because there was already a blonde on the show, Nurse Chapel/Roddenberry’s girlfriend. Chappel was boring, Rand was interesting! Except for the coffee bit. Basic rules. Barrett was apparently better in the sack and Whitney had a few screws loose. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/27 "2017-03-13T21:33:47Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > The first few seasons of DS9 were pretty pathetic. I would love to know just who exactly thought it would be a good idea to take a show dedicated to exploration and turn it into a static, garrison-based show. Babylon 5 took place on a space station and they’d already done the exploration planet of the week stuff. A space station makes sense, and gives you more story telling opportunities than just what’s going on, on a ship. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2017, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/28 "2017-03-13T21:41:08Z")
> [@bobtimusprime](#): > > I think that would be because the beam of the weapon has an effectively infinite range. If you were swinging it around like a sword, you’re as apt to take out your own ship that is flying around overhead, or possibly your ally who is on the catwalk above and to the left of your foe. Well, you wouldn’t want it on all the time. More like a light saber (nerd head just exploded at the thought). Aim a bit above your target, then chop down with the beam. I doubt the range and power of a hand phaser would endanger a ship in orbit. If it could, then the reverse would be true and any small ship with a couple of ports and a couple of hand phasers becomes a Planetary Assault vehicle. If what you meant was close air support…well, that’s a problem no matter what you do. If you miss with a beam shot, it still clutters up the overhead space. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2017, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/29 "2017-03-13T21:58:34Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > Janice Rand serving coffee on the bridge, then the yeoman-of-the-week serving coffee on the bridge. GAG. > > ETA: Janice Rand getting dumped because there was already a blonde on the show, Nurse Chapel/Roddenberry’s girlfriend. Chappel was boring, Rand was interesting! Except for the coffee bit. Do you object because \*\*yeomen \*\*were bringing coffee to the bridge or because \*\*female \*\*yeomen were bringing coffee to the bridge? It’s my understanding that **yeomen in general** do pretty much anything that’s needed on board a ship. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/30 "2017-03-13T22:01:19Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Babylon 5 took place on a space station… And, of course, B5 and DS9 are not exactly separate entities. As an old B5 fan, I can clearly see the JMS/B5 DNA in DS9. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2017, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/31 "2017-03-13T22:06:41Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > There’s a line in “Who Mourns for Adonais” along the lines of “We don’t need gods. We find the one sufficient.” I can’t imagine White American 1960’s Kirk was talking about anything other than White American 1960’s God. In “Balance of Terror,” Kirk is about to perform a marriage “in accordance with our many beliefs.” In “Bread and Circuses,” McCoy says they “represent many beliefs.” In “Metamorphosis,” The Companion refers to “The Maker of All Things.” They couldn’t avoid religion altogether, but they at least \*\*tried \*\*to be ecumenical. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/32 "2017-03-13T22:06:54Z")
> [@](#): > > Inkwells? Really? People stopped using inkwells decades before I was born. Being from the Left Coast, Iowa seems a little behind the times to me. But 300 years behind the times? Stealing apples? Surely, children were occupied by other endeavours besides stealing apples. And tormenting animals seems so 1930s. I’ve often imagined an alternate version of the original show in which Kirk’s background was that before he attended Starfleet Academy he was originally from a 23rd century analog of the Amish who preserved a mid-20th century (“pre-computer”) lifestyle. This would have been a useful exposition device. > [@](#): > > How so many of the AQ species that are encountered are at rough technological parity with the Federation. Realistically, you’d expect that any aliens encountered would be far ahead or far behind. Actually the original show did have numerous aliens more advanced than us, many so advanced we couldn’t even recognize their technology as such. Most of them were beyond being in conflict with us; the aliens from Andromeda were a notable exception. This was Trek’s way of dealing with the Fermi Paradox- why hasn’t the galaxy been overrun already? And the primitives were also there, in several episodes. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2017, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/33 "2017-03-13T22:09:40Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Do you object because \*\*yeomen \*\*were bringing coffee to the bridge or because \*\*female \*\*yeomen were bringing coffee to the bridge? > > It’s my understanding that **yeomen in general** do pretty much anything that’s needed on board a ship. I personally object because in 1966 Star Trek, women seemed to be presented as being barely good enough to bring coffee. Female helms…persons were rare. Female engineers non-existent (except for that woman who nearly killed Scotty and caused him to start butchering women. 🙂 ) Having Rand bring coffee (even if classic Navy (male) yeomans did exactly that) comes across as a putdown. And then there was Rand’s first appearance, where Kirk made a sexist crack about “that pencil pusher that assigned me a female yeoman”, like she’s incompetent or something by virtue of her female-ness (or just Too Darn Sexy. I was never sure what the point of that line was.). Even the most complex female crewmember, Uhura, was forced to say lines like “I’m scared, Captain.” That was demeaning. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/34 "2017-03-13T22:17:24Z")
All from TOS: 1. The women’s uniforms. Those aren’t even dresses–they’re slightly long shirts. If your dress is so short that you can’t sit down properly without it riding up, it shouldn’t be a military uniform. This is especially true for crew members, like Uhura, who are expected to crawl around under their consoles when things need fixing. And don’t give me any \ about how it was sexy. How “sexy” it is is not an attribute of a proper military uniform, either. 2. How everybody sat sideways at their console. (This was mostly Uhura, but Spock did it too). I realize they don’t want you having your back to the camera, but some of those contorted positions looked positively painful. 3. The way they had to relay messages from one crew member to another, even in situations where time was of the essence. KIRK: Quick, beam them up before the monster eats them! SCOTTY: (also on bridge, calls down on comm): Transporter room, beam them up! TRANSPORTER ROOM: Beaming them up, sir! Why couldn’t Kirk have just called down there himself? ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/35 "2017-03-13T22:18:24Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Even the most complex female crewmember, Uhura, was forced to say lines like “I’m scared, Captain.” That was demeaning. Or even worse: “I’m frightened, Captain.” Which is not only demeaning, it’s stilted and sounds stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/36 "2017-03-13T22:28:35Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > 1. The way they had to relay messages from one crew member to another, even in situations where time was of the essence. > KIRK: Quick, beam them up before the monster eats them! > SCOTTY: (also on bridge, calls down on comm): Transporter room, beam them up! > TRANSPORTER ROOM: Beaming them up, sir! > Why couldn’t Kirk have just called down there himself? Yeah, passing-of-orders thing was really 1950s. In one of the first episodes, Spock is literally shouting orders. ‘Damage control reports, _all_ sta_TIONS!_’ ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/37 "2017-03-13T23:14:36Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > 1. The way they had to relay messages from one crew member to another, even in situations where time was of the essence. > KIRK: Quick, beam them up before the monster eats them! > SCOTTY: (also on bridge, calls down on comm): Transporter room, beam them up! > TRANSPORTER ROOM: Beaming them up, sir! > Why couldn’t Kirk have just called down there himself? Because that’s how you did things in the WWII era Navy. The captain gives an order to a guy on the bridge, and it’s his job to make it happen, either by pushing the button or sending a signal down to the engine room that they need to push the button. On most navy ships there was literally no way to control the ship from the bridge. It was all done by messages. There was an engine order telegraph on the bridge, but it wasn’t hooked to the engines. When you set it to “full speed”, it sent that message to the guys in the engine room, and they fiddled the knobs and opened the valves and whatever to make it happen. None of this modern fly by wire folderol. Complaining that Star Trek ships operate like the misbegotten offspring of a World War II era cruiser and a Napoleonic era frigate is missing the point. Of course they operate that way, because that’s what is familiar to the audience. Note in “Wrath of Khan” Kirk and Spock figure out that Khan is used to operating in two dimensions. And so they cleverly use three dimension to sneak up on him by going below him…then SURFACING behind him, so they can shoot him. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2017, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/38 "2017-03-13T23:37:10Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Complaining that Star Trek ships operate like the misbegotten offspring of a World War II era cruiser and a Napoleonic era frigate is missing the point. Of course they operate that way, because that’s what is familiar to the audience. [Modern audiences are familiar with far more sophisticated control systems.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4x1K97JZG0) ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/39 "2017-03-13T23:41:07Z")
Well, Star Trek. 😃 ---
**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:** [March 13, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109/40 "2017-03-13T23:58:07Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > And then there was Rand’s first appearance, where Kirk made a sexist crack about “that pencil pusher that assigned me a female yeoman”, like she’s incompetent or something by virtue of her female-ness (or just Too Darn Sexy. I was never sure what the point of that line was.). I’m pretty sure he was complaining about her mothering him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bug-you-about-star-trek/782109.md?page=3)