# Trekkies: What the Hell is wrong with the Enterprise **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979 "2015-03-25T21:16:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**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 26, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/101 "2015-03-26T22:03:03Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > There’s one exception to that, which is also one of my favorite Trek moments. In “The Enemy Within” (TOS), the duplicate Kirk shoots a hole into something in the engine room when Spock neck-pinches him. Kirk and Spock apparently don’t bother to tell anyone about this grievous damage. > > In the next scene, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy and in sickbay having a lively debate about the nature of personality, when Engineer Scott calls on the intercom to say, _hey, I found a big fucking hole in the engine_, which he calmly describes in detail. Kirk silently absorbs this news with an _oh shit_ expression. Needless to say, he doesn’t go to the engine room to look at it. :smack: I brought this one up a few months ago. The general consensus was: K&S were following the time-honored practice of CYA. What went unexplained was: Why was Scotty so calm and unconcerned when he’d just uncovered clear evidence of sabotage? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![buckgully](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb9ed0/32.png) [@buckgully](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buckgully)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/102 "2015-03-26T23:01:05Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > And yet, baddies can’t stop taking it over. Hippies did it with song! I’m surprised someone hasn’t taken the Enterprise over by asking the ship’s computer how to do it. I’m surprised someone hasn’t done it by accident. Computer, is Leutenant Ake Oveur on the ship? \working\ Ship taken over. Please enter your next command. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/103 "2015-03-26T23:08:54Z")
> [@buckgully](#): > > Computer, is Leutenant Ake Oveur on the ship? > \working\ Ship taken over. Please enter your next command. Roger. Eh? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/104 "2015-03-27T01:08:33Z")
Now that I think of it, I heard once that the warp core was designed by Renault, so that might explain why they have so much trouble with it. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/105 "2015-03-27T01:38:20Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > . . . How the hell does the saucer manage to cleanly separate from the rest of the ship when it’s a warp speed? . . . It’s established on TV that objects in warp need power to stay in warp: otherwise, they just slow down to sublight speeds. A little like a jet aircraft going faster than the speed of sound…and losing its engines. It doesn’t disintegrate: it just slows down. The saucer, outside of the warp field, falls into normal space. The TV shows are a bit contradictory on how much turbulence (actors shaking back and forth) will be experienced. ---
**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 27, 2015, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/106 "2015-03-27T03:50:21Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > The TV shows are a bit contradictory on how much turbulence (actors shaking back and forth) will be experienced. **[VOICE OF ZERO MOSTEL]:** No kidding! :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/107 "2015-03-27T05:15:03Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Can you form some sort of rudimentary lathe? All I have to work with are stone knives and bearskins! ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/108 "2015-03-27T06:12:20Z")
> [@bup](#): > > 99% of the time the holodeck was used for something you don’t want to watch a crewman doing, but you hope to God he cleans up after himself when he’s done. > > They don’t show us that 99% because, as I said, no one wants to see that. The holodeck is self-cleaning. But what you don’t want to think about too much is that all organic matter must be recycled on the Enterprise. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/109 "2015-03-27T13:07:50Z")
Is it just me or does this “replicator” coffee cream taste a bit like asparagus? ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/110 "2015-03-27T13:29:09Z")
> [@Valteron](#): > > Listen buddy, you may think Caitians would be nice to hook up with, and that they are sex kittens, but wait until you are making love and they suddenly cough up a fur ball. Real turnoff! That can happen, but it’s guaranteed that they will _ **scratch** _ you when they come. Yeeeowwwwch! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/111 "2015-03-27T17:36:32Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > What went unexplained was: Why was Scotty so calm and unconcerned when he’d just uncovered clear evidence of sabotage? :dubious: Because he could tell from their expressions what had happened and knew to shut up about it? ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/112 "2015-03-27T17:45:02Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Now that I think of it, I heard once that the warp core was designed by Renault, so that might explain why they have so much trouble with it. My god! That explains everything! And why, in space, no one can hear your city/country horns. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/113 "2015-03-27T18:08:21Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Is it just me or does this “replicator” coffee cream taste a bit like asparagus? That’s better than what it could taste like, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/114 "2015-03-27T18:16:38Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Is it just me or does this “replicator” coffee cream taste a bit like asparagus? Since we are mixing up the metaphors real good, \*He had found a Nutri-Matic machine which had provided him with a plastic cup filled with a liquid that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea. \* ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/115 "2015-03-27T18:17:04Z")
> [@bump](#): > > That’s better than what it could taste like, I suppose. I was trying to avoid the direct reference to the people that man a naval wessel. ---
**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 27, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/116 "2015-03-27T18:37:49Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Because he could tell from their expressions what had happened and knew to shut up about it? Couldn’t be. He was reporting from the Engineering Deck with his communicator. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/117 "2015-03-27T18:40:09Z")
> [@AncientHumanoid](#): > > TNG pilot ep: > > When the saucer section and the star drive section separated at warp, how did the saucer section dewarp at Farpoint? That’s always bugged me. > . Turned off the [warp sustainer](https://books.google.com/books?id=po7406HGXQYC&pg=SA10-PA19&lpg=SA10-PA19&dq=warp+sustainer&source=bl&ots=73bWA-65AV&sig=rqmlhCO1IKIq4haCuZ3S6NIzGHk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mKMVVa2zG8mcgwSt5IHACg&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=warp%20sustainer) engine in the sauce drive section. Yeah, that book link is about why photon torpedoes can travel at warp speed without ANY APPARENT ENGINE… so it’s not much of a fanwank. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/118 "2015-03-27T18:56:20Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Couldn’t be. He was reporting from the Engineering Deck with his communicator. And since selfies were the proximate cause of almost every war or atrocity in the terrestrial Solar System after World War II, forward-facing cameras were banned on communication or computing devices. This ban is enforced with the only OTHER death penalty in the Federation (after the [Talosian interdict](http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/General_Order_7)). ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/119 "2015-03-27T20:24:32Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > > [@eschereal](#): > > > > Now that I think of it, I heard once that the warp core was designed by Renault, so that might explain why they have so much trouble with it. > > My god! That explains everything! And why, in space, no one can hear your city/country horns. Reminds me of a cartoon in _Punch_ mumble-mumble years ago. Bunch of white coats running around a British rocket base trying to figure out why they can’t get the damn thing off the ground. And plastered across the side of the rocket is a big sign declaring Ignition by Lucas ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979/120 "2015-03-27T22:31:47Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > Reminds me of a cartoon in _Punch_ mumble-mumble years ago. Bunch of white coats running around a British rocket base trying to figure out why they can’t get the damn thing off the ground. And plastered across the side of the rocket is a big sign declaring > > Ignition by Lucas Ah, yes. The Prince of Darkness. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trekkies-what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-enterprise/715979.md?page=7)