Star Trek

[canuck31003]

Wow, I can't believe there wasn't already a thread on this. Does that make me old? :P

My favorite series was by far Star Trek: TNG. I've recorded on VHS all the eps (I'm too cheap to buy the DVDs :)). My favorite characters were Picard and Data. I even have the entire opening monologue memorized . :laugh: I watched the beginnings of DS9 and Voyager, but they couldn't maintain my interest.

Off the top of my head, what I liked about TNG was how it showed humanity's potential if everyone could just work together, it explored issues like racism, the limits of love, torture, free-will, the rationale for the Prime Directive and lots, lots more.

I also liked Enterprise and was disappointed when they cancelled it. I've been a fan of Scott Bakula ever since Quantum Leap (another great show). I wish they hadn't gone in the direction of T'pol-Tucker 'ship though - irritating. I thought the series finale was stupid. They didn't need to bring in TNG characters - ugh.

[jeriddian]

Wow, I can't believe there wasn't already a thread on this. Does that make me old? :P

My favorite series was by far Star Trek: TNG. I've recorded on VHS all the eps (I'm too cheap to buy the DVDs :)). My favorite characters were Picard and Data. I even have the entire opening monologue memorized . :laugh: I watched the beginnings of DS9 and Voyager, but they couldn't maintain my interest.

Off the top of my head, what I liked about TNG was how it showed humanity's potential if everyone could just work together, it explored issues like racism, the limits of love, torture, free-will, the rationale for the Prime Directive and lots, lots more.

I also liked Enterprise and was disappointed when they cancelled it. I've been a fan of Scott Bakula ever since Quantum Leap (another great show). I wish they hadn't gone in the direction of T'pol-Tucker 'ship though - irritating. I thought the series finale was stupid. They didn't need to bring in TNG characters - ugh.

I agree with you completely on this with a few exceptions. The original series remains my favorite, perhaps because I am old enough to have seen it a young and impressionable age:rolleyes:.... I remember gluing myself in front of the TV set each week for the next episode. However, I was also there for TNG, and it is a very very close second place in my heart. I also watched Voyager and DS9 in their entirety and found them worthy successors to the franchise, able to appreciate their complete storylines. Their finales were very well done. As to Enterprise, that was the series that simply could not hold my interest. I watched two or three episodes, but some reason, I could not get into it at all. After it was over, I did go back and saw a few more episode in reruns that I thought were really weel done, but n ot more than that. I agree with you that the ending of that series was contrived and totally stupid.

[Fireand'chutes77]

I've been watching Voyager off-and-on for the past view weeks while channel flipping, and it's been pretty cool. Seven of Nine reminds me a bit of Dr. Director. :P ;)

We watched a few of the "time travel" episodes in science class on the day before spring break. The ones with Picard weren't too bad, anything older than that were, well, pretty bad. The special effects were really, really crappy!

[canuck31003]

I remember one TNG episode that made me feel icky. I think it was called Tapestry or something similar. Q sent Picard back in time to his academy years, leading up to the time Picard was stabbed in the heart. Anywhoo, what made me feel icky was seeing senior citizen Picard sleeping with a young (early twenties?) woman. I hope that doesn't make me an ageist. :) Other than that, I thought this was one of the better episodes.

Out of many favorite TNG episodes, another one is where Picard is hit by an alien probe, resulting in Picard living an entire lifetime believing he is someone else, living on an alien planet with a family, and that his previous life was the imaginings of a fevered dream.

Turns out it was all in Picard's mind, and only 20 minutes had passed in reality. The probe was a dying civilization's way to not be forgotten.

[TransWarpDrive]

I've been watching Voyager off-and-on for the past view weeks while channel flipping, and it's been pretty cool. Seven of Nine reminds me a bit of Dr. Director. :P ;)

We watched a few of the "time travel" episodes in science class on the day before spring break. The ones with Picard weren't too bad, anything older than that were, well, pretty bad. The special effects were really, really crappy!
I assume you're referring to the Original Series episodes here.
Let me point out something, though. Back in 1965 when those episodes were first filmed, those visual effects were considered "state of the art." They didn't have CG animation; or even motion-controlled cameras for shooting dynamic fly-by scenes like the first "Star Wars" film had in 1977. Static models filmed in front of a blue screen, then superimposed onto a manually-animated starry background, were the best that were available in those days. And even those effects were expensive to produce. To save money, the producers compiled a library of "stock" footage, reusing scenes of the Enterprise flying through space, or orbiting a planet, whenever possible during the series. Crude though they may seem by today's standards (and even back then some looked a bit shoddy), those visual effects served their purpose by giving the viewer the impression of a large vessel sailing majestically through space.
Of course, visual effects alone do not make a good SF TV show. You also need good writing and solid acting to sell it to the audience. Fortunately, "Star Trek" had plenty of both during its first two seasons on NBC. Gene Roddenberry was determined to produce a quality product; and it shows in the episodes he produced. (The third season, produced by Fred Freiberger, suffered in quality by comparison. Freiberger just didn't have the "feel" for "Star Trek" the way Roddenberry did.)
So even when the visual effects fell short, the writing and acting helped fill the gaps in order to successfully tell the story.

[kyojikasshu]

Out of many favorite TNG episodes, another one is where Picard is hit by an alien probe, resulting in Picard living an entire lifetime believing he is someone else, living on an alien planet with a family, and that his previous life was the imaginings of a fevered dream.

Turns out it was all in Picard's mind, and only 20 minutes had passed in reality. The probe was a dying civilization's way to not be forgotten.

"The Inner Light" is often hailed as a fan favorite, and it's one of mine as well.

I've got a soft spot for TOS, because it was where I began watching Star Trek (in reruns, back in the late '70s/early '80s), and the movies were first coming out at the time. I can even remember going to see The Search For Spock at the Mai Kai theater back in the day. Seeing the Enterprise blow up on the big screen was quite the stunner for me at 9 years old...

I greatly enjoyed TNG, and strongly followed the complex storylines of DS9, but while I did find some great individual episodes of Voyager, I had a difficult time staying with the series.

I was a bit of a late bloomer with Enterprise, but yeah, they really ended the series on a rather cheap note. It didn't help that the series was canceled when it was....

I assume you're referring to the Original Series episodes here.
Let me point out something, though. Back in 1965 when those episodes were first filmed, those visual effects were considered "state of the art." They didn't have CG animation; or even motion-controlled cameras for shooting dynamic fly-by scenes like the first "Star Wars" film had in 1977. Static models filmed in front of a blue screen, then superimposed onto a manually-animated starry background, were the best that were available in those days. And even those effects were expensive to produce. To save money, the producers compiled a library of "stock" footage, reusing scenes of the Enterprise flying through space, or orbiting a planet, whenever possible during the series. Crude though they may seem by today's standards (and even back then some looked a bit shoddy), those visual effects served their purpose by giving the viewer the impression of a large vessel sailing majestically through space.
Of course, visual effects alone do not make a good SF TV show. You also need good writing and solid acting to sell it to the audience. Fortunately, "Star Trek" had plenty of both during its first two seasons on NBC. Gene Roddenberry was determined to produce a quality product; and it shows in the episodes he produced. (The third season, produced by Fred Freiberger, suffered in quality by comparison. Freiberger just didn't have the "feel" for "Star Trek" the way Roddenberry did.)
So even when the visual effects fell short, the writing and acting helped fill the gaps in order to successfully tell the story.

It didn't help that much of the stock footage was from the original pilot model, and that the 11-foot shooting model built after the pilots had some major modifications done, leading to significant inconsistencies (not to mention, how many times did they reuse the same opening shot of the Enterprise from "The Cage"?).

[TransWarpDrive]

Out of many favorite TNG episodes, another one is where Picard is hit by an alien probe, resulting in Picard living an entire lifetime believing he is someone else, living on an alien planet with a family, and that his previous life was the imaginings of a fevered dream.

Turns out it was all in Picard's mind, and only 20 minutes had passed in reality. The probe was a dying civilization's way to not be forgotten.

"The Inner Light" is often hailed as a fan favorite, and it's one of mine as well.

I've got a soft spot for TOS, because it was where I began watching Star Trek (in reruns, back in the late '70s/early '80s), and the movies were first coming out at the time. I can even remember going to see The Search For Spock at the Mai Kai theater back in the day. Seeing the Enterprise blow up on the big screen was quite the stunner for me at 9 years old...

I greatly enjoyed TNG, and strongly followed the complex storylines of DS9, but while I did find some great individual episodes of Voyager, I had a difficult time staying with the series.

I was a bit of a late bloomer with Enterprise, but yeah, they really ended the series on a rather cheap note. It didn't help that the series was canceled when it was....

I assume you're referring to the Original Series episodes here.
Let me point out something, though. Back in 1965 when those episodes were first filmed, those visual effects were considered "state of the art." They didn't have CG animation; or even motion-controlled cameras for shooting dynamic fly-by scenes like the first "Star Wars" film had in 1977. Static models filmed in front of a blue screen, then superimposed onto a manually-animated starry background, were the best that were available in those days. And even those effects were expensive to produce. To save money, the producers compiled a library of "stock" footage, reusing scenes of the Enterprise flying through space, or orbiting a planet, whenever possible during the series. Crude though they may seem by today's standards (and even back then some looked a bit shoddy), those visual effects served their purpose by giving the viewer the impression of a large vessel sailing majestically through space.
Of course, visual effects alone do not make a good SF TV show. You also need good writing and solid acting to sell it to the audience. Fortunately, "Star Trek" had plenty of both during its first two seasons on NBC. Gene Roddenberry was determined to produce a quality product; and it shows in the episodes he produced. (The third season, produced by Fred Freiberger, suffered in quality by comparison. Freiberger just didn't have the "feel" for "Star Trek" the way Roddenberry did.)
So even when the visual effects fell short, the writing and acting helped fill the gaps in order to successfully tell the story.

It didn't help that much of the stock footage was from the original pilot model, and that the 11-foot shooting model built after the pilots had some major modifications done, leading to significant inconsistencies (not to mention, how many times did they reuse the same opening shot of the Enterprise from "The Cage"?).

Understood, but you must remember that Roddenberry & Co. were working under a tight budget. They couldn't afford new visuals week after week; hence the constant re-use of the same footage over and over again.

[kyojikasshu]

What's funny about watching the remastered episodes is when there's a scene that, in the original version, re-used that "Cage" pan from below the ship to over the saucer, they've mirrored that same shot with the upgraded CGI model.

I'm particularly irritated that I missed the premier of the remastered version of "The Ultimate Computer" - I was so looking forward to seeing that one in particular, and now I have to wait again.

[TransWarpDrive]

What's funny about watching the remastered episodes is when there's a scene that, in the original version, re-used that "Cage" pan from below the ship to over the saucer, they've mirrored that same shot with the upgraded CGI model.

I'm particularly irritated that I missed the premier of the remastered version of "The Ultimate Computer" - I was so looking forward to seeing that one in particular, and now I have to wait again.
Well, they have the remastered first season out on DVD now, so it's just a matter of time before the second season follows (I'm waiting for the price to drop before I buy a set - $100+ is just a bit too expensive for me right now).
Speaking of "Trek" Trivia:
Here's something I'll bet you didn't know - "Star Trek" owes its existence to the fact that Lucille Ball, the famous actress/comedienne, was a big fan of the show in its early days. Gene Roddenberry pitched the show to a number of studios before selling it to Desilu, the studio Lucy owned and operated with her first husband, Desi Arnaz. "Star Trek" became property of Paramount when that studio bought out Desilu in the mid-60's. When William Shatner was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame on December 14, 2006, Lucy's daughter, Lucie Arnaz, related the following story of how her mother saved "Star Trek" from an early grave:
...Afterwards Arnaz took the podium again and remarked, "Mr. Shatner, I am proud to say that my mother had a large part to play in the fact that Star Trek became the hit that it was." She related a story about her mother, Lucille Ball — while she was running Desilu Productions by herself — being approached by other studio bosses urging her to trim expenses. They said, "And the two most expensive shows are Mission: Impossible and Star Trek, [so] they have to go," Arnaz recalled. "She used to always listen to everything the dyed-print suits said. But she said, 'No, I like 'em!' And they said, 'They cost too much!' And she said, 'But I like 'em!' So they left them!"

Arnaz is particularly grateful for that decision to let Star Trek live, because years later her husband, Laurence Luckinbill, would get to play Spock's brother "Sybok" in the Shatner-directed "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier." "You know, the guy who said, 'Let me take your pain.' I wish he could've said that while I was having his three kids!"
(Quoted from the "Star Trek" website) :alumnus:

Interesting, no? It's amazing who the "Star Trek" fans turn out to be... :cool:
Now "Trek" fandom at large can say "I Love Lucy" too! :thumbup::laugh:

[canuck31003]

That's a nice story - it connects two shows I like. :) I can still remember a scene in I Love Lucy where they're making chocolate candy - they conveyor belt goes too fast and they stuff their faces. Just thinking about it makes me smile. :laugh:

Let's see, another TNG episode I liked was when Data was put on trial to determine whether he could be ordered to go back to Starfleet for experimental testing, or if he had the right to free will and/or sentience. I thought the issues raised were interesting.

[TransWarpDrive]

That's a nice story - it connects two shows I like. :) I can still remember a scene in I Love Lucy where they're making chocolate candy - they conveyor belt goes too fast and they stuff their faces. Just thinking about it makes me smile. :laugh:

Let's see, another TNG episode I liked was when Data was put on trial to determine whether he could be ordered to go back to Starfleet for experimental testing, or if he had the right to free will and/or sentience. I thought the issues raised were interesting.
Ah, yes - classic scenes from two classic (and classy! :)) shows. "Lucy in the Candy Factory" and the TNG second-season episode " The Measure of a Man."
You're right, canuck. Those are both good episodes. :thumbup:

[TheGreenMagic]

That's a nice story - it connects two shows I like. :) I can still remember a scene in I Love Lucy where they're making chocolate candy - they conveyor belt goes too fast and they stuff their faces. Just thinking about it makes me smile. :laugh:
What I wouldn't give for Nick at Nite to show some of their older shows. Fresh Prince, George Lopez, Home Improvement and the occasional Roseanne can only go so far...

As for Trek, well... my first introduction to the series was thanks to Next Generation, which led me to finding what I could of the original series, as well as the movies. All around good stuff, though I could never decide which cast I preferred more.

I did try watching Deep Space Nine, but I've never been able to really get into that show. Eventually I started watching Voyager on a fairly regular basis, even if I had missed the first season or two. The Doctor was easily one of my favorite characters on the show.

And then there's Enterprise. I did give the show a shot when it first aired, but, much like DS9, I didn't really get hooked on it. However, thanks to all the reruns on the Sci-Fi Channel... now I'm hooked on the show. The first season was a little rough, but it looks like it improved quite quickly. Its a shame I didn't stick with it back when it was new. Though I don't think I'll ever get used to the song that always plays at the beginning of each episode.

[canuck31003]

And then there's Enterprise. I did give the show a shot when it first aired, but, much like DS9, I didn't really get hooked on it. However, thanks to all the reruns on the Sci-Fi Channel... now I'm hooked on the show. The first season was a little rough, but it looks like it improved quite quickly. Its a shame I didn't stick with it back when it was new. Though I don't think I'll ever get used to the song that always plays at the beginning of each episode.
I think a lot of the major plots were really good in Enterprise, but then there are also a lot that I could have done without.

I thought the opening song was okay, though I'm disappointed they didn't go with an original composition, or fit in the "These are the voyages..." voiceover. I did really like the opening montage sequence, though.

[kyojikasshu]

Anyone ever play any Star Trek video games?

These are the games I've played:

Star Trek: 25th Anniversary - NES
It's not too bad, given the system limitations. It's pretty funny, though, seeing the profile of Kirk yelling when your landing party's split up, and it's also amusing that they used Zoso symbols for a puzzle in the game.

Star Trek: The Next Generation - SNES/Genesis
I remember there being a few differences between the games, but being similar in the basic plot; I recall the SNES version being harder.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy - SNES
Featuring a Movie-era Academy, and music based on James Horner's score from The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock, made for a nice little entry, even though the 3-D graphics were extremely limited. It was always fun to unlock the Excelsior and pound away at foes... not to mention that if you unlock Kirk's name in the game, you too can cheat at the Kobayashi Maru scenario!

Star Trek: Starship Creator - Win9x
This was a cute little game for when I was first starting out on a Win98 machine, before I had Internet access at home. I still have this game, but haven't used it in several years.

Star Trek: Shattered Universe - PS2
The most "modern" Trek game I've played, which I happened to find for cheap. The gameplay doesn't seem as much like a Trek game, as you're in a fighter craft, but it's not completely without merit. George Takei and Walter Koenig provide the voices of Sulu and Chekov, respectively, giving the cutscenes added value. That, and revisiting the Mirror Universe in the Movie era, with the Empire still intact...

[jeriddian]

Though I don't think I'll ever get used to the song that always plays at the beginning of each episode.

I agree. I liked all of the Star Trek themes except that one. It just did not fit, I think.

[TransWarpDrive]

Star Trek: Starship Creator - Win9x
This was a cute little game for when I was first starting out on a Win98 machine, before I had Internet access at home. I still have this game, but haven't used it in several years.


After I finally got my own computer, I tried to obtain a copy of that game; I wanted so badly to be able to design my own starships. Unfortunately, they don't make it any more; besides, I'm not sure if it would even work on any of the current PCs now available. I wish they'd re-release it...

[Mr Birthday]

Personally, I liked that opening song. I thought it was a nine change of pace.

Shifting subjects, what do you guys think of the Trek reboot that J. Michael Straczynski and Bryce Zabel proposed to Paramount a few years ago? (http://bztv.typepad.com/newsviews/files/ST2004Reboot.pdf)

[Mr Birthday]

Personally, I liked that opening song. I thought it was a nine change of pace.


A nice change of pace.:ohwell: Getting a little closer, getting a little closer...

[TransWarpDrive]

Personally, I liked that opening song. I thought it was a nine change of pace.

Shifting subjects, what do you guys think of the Trek reboot that J. Michael Straczynski and Bryce Zabel proposed to Paramount a few years ago? (http://bztv.typepad.com/newsviews/files/ST2004Reboot.pdf)
Sounds like what JJ Abrams and Co. are doing now...

[Mr Birthday]

Sounds like what JJ Abrams and Co. are doing now...

Yes, so I have heard, but could you show me something where either him, one of his crew, or Paramount specifically calls it a reboot or a reimagining or something similar? I've seen it called such in a lot of places, but never straight from the horse's mouth. It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that I'd like to be sure that isn't just an assumption on the part of the fandom. I've checked what Abrams and his bunch have said, and they refuse to come straight out and call it that.

[canuck31003]

Let's see, what's another great TNG episode.... I actually I'll have to go with a sequence of episodes.

First is the introduction of the Borg - they have to one of the greatest sci-fi villains. Picard tells Q that the Federation is ready to face whatever is out there. Oops. Q sends the Enterprise to the far cosmos where they meet the Borg - a biological/machine hybrid-hive mind that "assimilate" everything they come in contact with. Anywhoo, Picard admits to Q that he was wrong, and Q sends them back home. But the Borg now know of the existence of the Federation....

And in what has to be some of the all-time top TNG episodes, The Best of Both Worlds, Part I and II, the 3rd season finale and 4th season premiere, respectively. The Borg finally arrive in Federation space.

"Resistance is futile" -- Locutus of Borg.

Edit. Oh yeah, the ep Family, following Best of Both Worlds II, was pretty darned good, too. Picard deals with trauma of being assimilated by the Borg.

Edit2. Aaaargh. Once I start going down memory lane a lot more wonderful episodes come to mind. One of them, Drumhead, is about an explosion, a spy, and the witch hunt that follows. At the end, Picard talks to Worf about the subtle, continual danger of people who spread fear and suspicion in the name of righteousness, and that we have to be continually vigilant against that threat. The path of limited freedom, I think he said. A particularly apt lesson in the current times, I think.

[TransWarpDrive]

Sounds like what JJ Abrams and Co. are doing now...

Yes, so I have heard, but could you show me something where either him, one of his crew, or Paramount specifically calls it a reboot or a reimagining or something similar? I've seen it called such in a lot of places, but never straight from the horse's mouth. It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that I'd like to be sure that isn't just an assumption on the part of the fandom. I've checked what Abrams and his bunch have said, and they refuse to come straight out and call it that.
Well, perhaps they didn't call it a "reboot," per se. What I meant was that Abrams & Co. are trying to revitalize the franchise by going back to the period of the Original Series, and doing a story that hopefully recaptures its spirit. Of course, they had to cast all new actors to play Kirk, Spock, and the rest due to old age and death taking their toll on the original performers. From what I've seen of the production stills, the new players each bear a close resemblance to their OS predecessors - especially the young man playing Spock, as well as the lady cast as Uhura. Leonard Nimoy's wife even commented on how the resemblance between her husband and Zachary Quinto was "uncanny."
It remains to be seen how well these actors can portray the "Classic Trek" characters - they've got some mighty big shoes to fill...

[Mr Birthday]

Well, perhaps they didn't call it a "reboot," per se. What I meant was that Abrams & Co. are trying to revitalize the franchise by going back to the period of the Original Series, and doing a story that hopefully recaptures its spirit. Of course, they had to cast all new actors to play Kirk, Spock, and the rest due to old age and death taking their toll on the original performers. From what I've seen of the production stills, the new players each bear a close resemblance to their OS predecessors - especially the young man playing Spock, as well as the lady cast as Uhura. Leonard Nimoy's wife even commented on how the resemblance between her husband and Zachary Quinto was "uncanny."
It remains to be seen how well these actors can portray the "Classic Trek" characters - they've got some mighty big shoes to fill...

TWD, I hope I don't sound condescending or anything like that, but given what Abrams has actually said about the project, it doesn't sound like it's a reboot at all. Just a new OS-era story with new actors, through it might retcon some things. That is very different from what JMS and Zabel proposed.

[kyojikasshu]

Well, SciFi's going to be airing "Fan Favorites" of TNG on Mondays. Enterprise is being pushed to Tuesdays in the interim...

Here's the TNG schedule through June (Mondays, 7-11 PM)
6/2:
The Naked Now
The Big Goodbye
The Arsenal of Freedom
Skin of Evil

6/9:
Elementary, Dear Data
The Measure of a Man
Time Squared
Q Who?

6/16:
Deja Q
A Matter of Perspective
Yesterday's Enterprise
Sarek

6/23:
The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1
The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2
Family
Brothers

6/30:
First Contact
Galaxy's Child
Qpid
The Drumhead

[TransWarpDrive]

Well, perhaps they didn't call it a "reboot," per se. What I meant was that Abrams & Co. are trying to revitalize the franchise by going back to the period of the Original Series, and doing a story that hopefully recaptures its spirit. Of course, they had to cast all new actors to play Kirk, Spock, and the rest due to old age and death taking their toll on the original performers. From what I've seen of the production stills, the new players each bear a close resemblance to their OS predecessors - especially the young man playing Spock, as well as the lady cast as Uhura. Leonard Nimoy's wife even commented on how the resemblance between her husband and Zachary Quinto was "uncanny."
It remains to be seen how well these actors can portray the "Classic Trek" characters - they've got some mighty big shoes to fill...

TWD, I hope I don't sound condescending or anything like that, but given what Abrams has actually said about the project, it doesn't sound like it's a reboot at all. Just a new OS-era story with new actors, through it might retcon some things. That is very different from what JMS and Zabel proposed.

Since I really don't know what JMS and Zabel proposed, I can't compare them with Abrams and his project. But you're right; it's not a reboot. Thus I cheerfully admit my error. And don't worry - you don't sound condescending.

[Mr Birthday]

Since I really don't know what JMS and Zabel proposed

You don't know what they proposed? TWD, I included a link to the PDF of their proposal in my first post in this thread. So read up, man.:) Now, since I've never really watched Dark Skies, I can't comment on Zabel's involvement, but as for JMS... what can I say? The creator of Babylon Five wanting to do a Trek reboot?:dribble: Too bad Paramount didn't act on the idea.:(

And don't worry - you don't sound condescending.

Well, that's good to know.:)

[canuck31003]

Another great TNG episode is Chain of Command (two episodes, if I remember correctly). Picard is captured and tortured by Cardassians.

A few key scenes stick out for me. The first, I liked Captain Jellico. He did things differently, but he was competent and knew what he was doing. He got no respect. For shame, Riker!

The second needs a little background. Picard's torturer tries to break Picard by making Picard say there are five lights, when in reality there are only four. This goes on for days/weeks(?) and finally Picard is at his limit. Mr. Torture asks Picard again how many lights there are and this time Picard is silent... will he or won't he? Just when I think Picard is going to speak, another Cardassian barges in the room, demanding Picard's release (as part of a peace/cease-fire agreement with the Federation). Picard turns to Mr. Torturer and hoarsly shouts, "There are... FOUR lights!". Powerful.

The third and last scene made me sit up and think. Picard is back in command of Enterprise, talking privately to Counselor Troi about his ordeal. He relates to Troi the whole "how many lights" thing, and she responds, to paraphrase, "But, you didn't break, you said there were four lights."

Picard: "Yes, but standing there... I actually saw... five lights." Fade-to-black. Wow.

[kyojikasshu]

One thing I haven't done in a long, long time, that I used to do a lot, is come up with my own starship designs.

A lot of them would be based on existing canon and non-canon designs, but a couple were fairly original (or, at least, I thought so).

One I did in high school was a slightly larger variation of a movie-era Constitution-class, which I named the U.S.S. Vindicator (after Heather Hudson of Alpha Flight). I imagined myself as captain, but never actually wrote down any such Mary-Sue fic, just the designs of the ship itself. (Can't remember the registry number I gave it, but it would've been somewhere in the 2000s...)

About ten years ago, I began working on an expanded version of the Danube-class runabout, which I dubbed the St. Lawrence Project. The concept was a larger runabout, designed for extended missions, which could also be converted for VIP transport (useful in a situation such as the Dominion War, where starships aren't readily available to serve as transports). I came up with a four-person crew for the prototype, consisting of two humans, a Betazoid, and an Andorian.

Two stories that I came very close to committing to paper, though, did involve a lot of design work. One was a scenario in which the U.S.S. Defiant NCC-1764 was found in the 24th century (this was years before "In A Mirror, Darkly"), and survivors were actually found aboard, having utilized an experimental cryogenic escape pod system (freeze 'em until they're rescued, conserving life-support energy, at least in theory). The designs here were in the cryo-pod systems, which went through several revisions.

The second one dealt with a "what-if" scenario, in which a Starfleet officer thought to have been killed off years ago, was not actually the real officer, but an alien who'd taken her place, and due to the alien's abilities, had even managed to duplicate her memories as well as her physical being (right down to the cellular structure), thus being able to fool everybody until "her" untimely death. The real officer had been left behind on a civilian vessel that was sabotaged; she was knocked out, and the alien had decided to take her place to try to help save some of the crew and passengers. The rest, along with the officer, crash-landed on a distant planet, and they ended up having to make new lives for themselves. The challenge was in creating the ship, and I went through so many different designs, I ended up giving up because I just couldn't be satisfied with any of them for the story needs.

I *might* still have a few of my sketches somewhere, but I have so much stuff in storage boxes, and some of it I believe actually ended up in my sister's storage unit.

[canuck31003]

Wow, too bad you don't have those sketches on hand to post. My Star Trek fandomness was limited to reading fan fiction. I've always wanted to go to a convention but the location/timing was always off. :(

[kyojikasshu]

I went to a number of conventions in the late 80s and early 90s. Most of them were held in Dearborn back in the day, but there was one event featuring Shatner and Nimoy together (the 25th anniversary tour) that was held out at the Palace of Auburn Hills. I do actually have an autographed photo of Jimmy Doohan - that's put away as well, but I'm tempted to go dig that out...

I haven't been to a Star Trek con in a long time, though, and I don't think they even come around here anymore... but then, I've got Youmacon (the anime convention) each year now, so I can still get my fix of crazy, and without Klingons! :laugh: (I just have to watch out for tackle-glompers, though.)

[TransWarpDrive]

Speaking of all things "Star Trek," we're getting Walter Koenig (Mr. Chekov) as our Media Guest of Honor at Windycon 35 this November (that's the convention I'm working at - I help run the Dealers' Room). If anyone's interested in attending, here's a link to our website: http://www.windycon.org/windy35/
:thumbup:

[jeriddian]

Speaking of all things "Star Trek," we're getting Walter Koenig (Mr. Chekov) as our Media Guest of Honor at Windycon 35 this November (that's the convention I'm working at - I help run the Dealers' Room). If anyone's interested in attending, here's a link to our website: http://www.windycon.org/windy35/
:thumbup:

Cool!:D Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it...:(

[TransWarpDrive]

Speaking of all things "Star Trek," we're getting Walter Koenig (Mr. Chekov) as our Media Guest of Honor at Windycon 35 this November (that's the convention I'm working at - I help run the Dealers' Room). If anyone's interested in attending, here's a link to our website: http://www.windycon.org/windy35/
:thumbup:

Cool!:D Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it...:(

The funny thing is, his coming to the con was totally unexpected. Apparently, Mr. Koenig contacted one of our people (the Windycon committee) and asked if he could come. We don't know how, or where, he heard of us.
Same thing happened last year when Richard Hatch (from both versions of "Battlestar Galactica") was our media GOH. He, also, called us up and asked if he could come. He had a ball, too. He had an autograph table set up in the front of the Dealers' Room and was having the time of his life as he met with fans - posing for pictures, signing autographs; the usual celebrity stuff. Mr. Hatch was as happy as a pig in clover. :biggergrin:

[canuck31003]

It's nice to hear about actors that genuinely enjoy interacting with fans.

For promotions and conventions, sometimes I wonder how much of it is their job, and how much is because they enjoy it.

[jeriddian]

Well, for them, of course, it's part of the job. I think some of them enjoy it. Most probably get tired of it after awhile.

[TransWarpDrive]

It all depends on the individual actor/actress, I think. I suspect that most of them enjoy it because they appreciate the fans' support. They realize that without an audience, their TV shows or movies wouldn't succeed and they'd be unemployed (and still unknown).

[lunchmeat]

I've got a prior engagement, the Terlingua Chili Festival, which also involves working on my place.

[TransWarpDrive]

Getting back to the next "Star Trek" movie, scheduled for release in early May, 2009:
I, for one, am looking forward to this film. It'll be interesting to see the OS characters portrayed by actors other than the Original Cast members. I know the director tried to get folks who resembled the originals as much as possible (and they succeeded when they cast Zachary Quinto as Spock - even Leonard Nimoy's wife commented on Quinto's uncanny resemblance to her husband's younger self*); it just remains to be seen as to whether they can make us believe they're Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, etc. I'm also curious to see how Nimoy, as the older Spock, fits in the film's storyline - will he appear at the beginning, and tell the story "flashback" style? Is time travel involved, with older Spock meeting his younger self? Or will older Spock appear at the movie's end in an "epilogue" scene, taking place years later?
I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

(*I know I mentioned this factoid in an earlier post on this thread; my apologies for being redundant. I just felt it worth repeating, especially in light of the fact that physical similarity to the Original Cast was a key factor in the director's casting decisions.)

[lunchmeat]

Maybe he'll be the narrator ala Sam Elliot in The Big Labowski.......

[TransWarpDrive]

Maybe he'll be the narrator ala Sam Elliot in The Big Labowski.......
Or like Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man?
Now there's a possibility....

[jeriddian]

I've got a prior engagement, the Terlingua Chili Festival, which also involves working on my place.

One of these days, Lunchmeat, I may just go on a road trip down your way. I ain't that far from ya......never been to the Terlingua Chili Festival, but always kinda thought about going.;)

EDIT: A little off topic, sorry...

[lunchmeat]

First weekend in November, ever year
http://www.chili.org/

http://www.visitbigbend.com/chili.html


Or like Dustin Hoffman in Little Big Man?
Now there's a possibility....

I had a great mental image of Sam Elliot finishing the movie out with "Kirk abides..."

[TransWarpDrive]

I just looked at the Pez website, and they mentioned they'll be marketing a series of "Star Trek" Pez dispensers as a tie-in with the new movie. Unfortunately, they're a little slow on the updates, because they still list the film's premiere date as December 25, 2008. Evidently, no one's told them yet that it's been moved back to early next May....

[campy]

My daughter got to meet Leonard Nimoy in Go City the other day. Here's a picture he posed for with her BF and her.

[TransWarpDrive]

My daughter got to meet Leonard Nimoy in Go City the other day. Here's a picture he posed for with her BF and her.
That's cool! Mr. Nimoy's a very nice man. I got to meet him back in March of 1979 when he came out to College of DuPage to talk about his one-man play, "Vincent," about the artist Vincent van Gogh (he was doing that play at the Paramount Arts Center in Aurora at the time). I got his autograph on a poster of Mr. Spock I had, as well as a copy of his first book, "I Am Not Spock."
BTW, what was Mr. Nimoy here for? I wish I'd known sooner; I'd have gone to meet him again if possible.

[campy]

BTW, what was Mr. Nimoy here for? I wish I'd known sooner; I'd have gone to meet him again if possible.He was taping a guest appearance on the NPR news quiz show, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! (http://www.npr.org/programs/waitwait/)

Mrs. c & I got a chance to meet Nimoy around 1975 when he appeared at a Boston College function in NYC. He's a 1953 graduate.

[TransWarpDrive]

BTW, what was Mr. Nimoy here for? I wish I'd known sooner; I'd have gone to meet him again if possible.He was taping a guest appearance on the NPR news quiz show, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! (http://www.npr.org/programs/waitwait/)

Mrs. c & I got a chance to meet Nimoy around 1975 when he appeared at a Boston College function in NYC. He's a 1953 graduate.

Thanks for the info, campy. It's great to be able to meet our favorite performers from time to time, isn't it? :thumbup::biggergrin:

[jeriddian]

My daughter got to meet Leonard Nimoy in Go City the other day. Here's a picture he posed for with her BF and her.

Nice pic, Campy!:biggergrin: You have a pretty daughter, too.:thumbup:

[campy]

My daughter got to meet Leonard Nimoy in Go City the other day. Here's a picture he posed for with her BF and her.

Nice pic, Campy!:biggergrin: You have a pretty daughter, too.:thumbup:Thank goodness she got her looks and brains from Mom's side of the family ...

:innocent:

[kyojikasshu]

That's pretty cool, campy! I got to meet him back in 1992, at a convention at the Palace of Auburn Hills (he was doing the con tour with Shatner at the time).

[Cody MacArthur Fett]

Have I posted here yet? No, no I haven't apparently.

Oh, Star Trek, what's there to say? I considered it a "geek only" show for some time and only got into it when G4 started showing episodes. My favorite series was Enterprise (it's what got me into the whole shipping thing), which I started watching on Sci-Fi. And I still think Starfleet (and all the rest) is an absolute joke of a military, but then again that's not surprising (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RuleOfCool). :rolleyes:

[canuck31003]

And I still think Starfleet (and all the rest) is an absolute joke of a military[/URL]. :rolleyes:
I don't think Starfleet's primary mission was militaristic. My impression is that it was mainly exploration with a bunch of other duties thrown in as needed.

[Cody MacArthur Fett]

And I still think Starfleet (and all the rest) is an absolute joke of a military[/url]. :rolleyes:
I don't think Starfleet's primary mission was militaristic. My impression is that it was mainly exploration with a bunch of other duties thrown in as needed.
I know, but I do find it more then a little obtuse and naive. Especially since they seem to be constantly at war with someone. :rolleyes: The MAKOs were a step in the right direction for the show, but we sadly didn't get to see more of them. http://www.thescifiworld.net/img/smilies/galactica/adama/adama025.gif

[canuck31003]

And I still think Starfleet (and all the rest) is an absolute joke of a military[/url]. :rolleyes:
I don't think Starfleet's primary mission was militaristic. My impression is that it was mainly exploration with a bunch of other duties thrown in as needed.
I know, but I do find it more then a little obtuse and naive. Especially since they seem to be constantly at war with someone. :rolleyes: The MAKOs were a step in the right direction for the show, but we sadly didn't get to see more of them. http://www.thescifiworld.net/img/smilies/galactica/adama/adama025.gif
What I found slightly irritating was by the end of TNG the Enterprise was top-heavy with high ranking officers. It seemed like almost everyone of the main cast was at least a Commander.

[Cody MacArthur Fett]

And I still think Starfleet (and all the rest) is an absolute joke of a military[/url]. :rolleyes:
I don't think Starfleet's primary mission was militaristic. My impression is that it was mainly exploration with a bunch of other duties thrown in as needed.
I know, but I do find it more then a little obtuse and naive. Especially since they seem to be constantly at war with someone. :rolleyes: The MAKOs were a step in the right direction for the show, but we sadly didn't get to see more of them. http://www.thescifiworld.net/img/smilies/galactica/adama/adama025.gif
What I found slightly irritating was by the end of TNG the Enterprise was top-heavy with high ranking officers. It seemed like almost everyone of the main cast was at least a Commander.
Yeah, that was another major gripe. I mean, until "Equinox" I didn't even know Starfleet had ranks lower then Lt.! http://www.thescifiworld.net/img/smilies/galactica/adama/adama045.gif

[campy]

What I found slightly irritating was by the end of TNG the Enterprise was top-heavy with high ranking officers. It seemed like almost everyone of the main cast was at least a Commander.And yet poor Harry Kim had to spend – what? Seven years? – as a lowly ensign. I always wondered why Janeway didn't give him a field promotion like Picard did for Wesley.

[canuck31003]

Another puzzling thing about ranks, in one episode (I can't remember the name) there was an accident on the Enterprise. The saucer and main section weren't able to communicate with one another. Anywhoo, in the saucer section Counselor Troi assumed command because she was also a commander and was the highest ranking officer present. Now the puzzling thing to me was that Troi was even in the chain of command.

I've always thought that even if you have the highest rank, if you're not in the chain then you don't command: A lieutenant in the chain of command would take command of a ship instead of a commander who wasn't.

It's like having a ship's priest assume command of a battleship (actually, now that I think about it, for all I know a priest/chaplain is in the chain of command. I have no idea but assume not).

Although, there was that one episode where Troi was trying to qualify as a watch officer. If you're a watch officer does that necessarily mean you're in the chain of command?

[campy]

Another puzzling thing about ranks, in one episode (I can't remember the name) there was an accident on the Enterprise. The saucer and main section weren't able to communicate with one another. Anywhoo, in the saucer section Counselor Troi assumed command because she was also a commander and was the highest ranking officer present. Now the puzzling thing to me was that Troi was even in the chain of command.

I've always thought that even if you have the highest rank, if you're not in the chain then you don't command: A lieutenant in the chain of command would take command of a ship instead of a commander who wasn't.

It's like having a ship's priest assume command of a battleship (actually, now that I think about it, for all I know a priest/chaplain is in the chain of command. I have no idea but assume not).

Although, there was that one episode where Troi was trying to qualify as a watch officer. If you're a watch officer does that necessarily mean you're in the chain of command?If I remember correctly, Troi went for the bridge officer qualification because of the events of the first episode you mention.

Maybe we should ask lunchmeat to comment on the chain of command matter.

[jeriddian]

And I still think Starfleet (and all the rest) is an absolute joke of a military[/url]. :rolleyes:
I don't think Starfleet's primary mission was militaristic. My impression is that it was mainly exploration with a bunch of other duties thrown in as needed.
I know, but I do find it more then a little obtuse and naive. Especially since they seem to be constantly at war with someone. :rolleyes: The MAKOs were a step in the right direction for the show, but we sadly didn't get to see more of them. http://www.thescifiworld.net/img/smilies/galactica/adama/adama025.gif
What I found slightly irritating was by the end of TNG the Enterprise was top-heavy with high ranking officers. It seemed like almost everyone of the main cast was at least a Commander.

You are correct. Cody is mistaken in thinking that Star Fleet is only a military organization per se. It is not. While it is able to act as a military organization, it has more responsibilities than that, therefore it is rather short sighted to view it in such a limited role as just being a space navy, and contrary to Cody's claim, they were not constantly at war with someone. The entire concept of Star Fleet is more than just a military organization, which is why it conducts its affairs as it does.

You also have a point, canuck, in that the officers in the main roles were somewhat of higher rank, but I would like to point out that some of those commanders were probably lieutenant commanders. Of course, this follows the naval format of rank:

Grade: Navy:.......................................Other Services:
O-1 Ensign.........................................Sec ond Lieutenant
O-2 Lieutenant junior grade (j.g.).........First Lieutenant
O-3 Lieutenant..................................Captai n
O-4 Lieutenant Commander................Major
O-5 Commander.................................Lieutena nt Colonel
O-6 Captain.......................................Colo nel
O-7 Rear Admiral (lower half)..............Brigadier General
O-8 Rear Admiral (upper half)..............Major General
O-9 Vice Admiral................................Lieutenant General
O-10 Admiral.....................................Genera l
(O-11) Fleet Admiral .........................General of the (army, air force)

So an O-4 designation for them is not so out of the ordinary I would think in that situation, especially by the end of the series IMO.

Yeah, that was another major gripe. I mean, until "Equinox" I didn't even know Starfleet had ranks lower then Lt.! http://www.thescifiworld.net/img/smilies/galactica/adama/adama045.gif

FYI, see above..............

What I found slightly irritating was by the end of TNG the Enterprise was top-heavy with high ranking officers. It seemed like almost everyone of the main cast was at least a Commander.And yet poor Harry Kim had to spend – what? Seven years? – as a lowly ensign. I always wondered why Janeway didn't give him a field promotion like Picard did for Wesley.

Good point on Harry. However, as much as I liked Harry, he never came across to me as having good command potential, which could have figured into a decision on Janeway's part not to promote him.

Another puzzling thing about ranks, in one episode (I can't remember the name) there was an accident on the Enterprise. The saucer and main section weren't able to communicate with one another. Anywhoo, in the saucer section Counselor Troi assumed command because she was also a commander and was the highest ranking officer present. Now the puzzling thing to me was that Troi was even in the chain of command.

I've always thought that even if you have the highest rank, if you're not in the chain then you don't command: A lieutenant in the chain of command would take command of a ship instead of a commander who wasn't.

It's like having a ship's priest assume command of a battleship (actually, now that I think about it, for all I know a priest/chaplain is in the chain of command. I have no idea but assume not).

Although, there was that one episode where Troi was trying to qualify as a watch officer. If you're a watch officer does that necessarily mean you're in the chain of command?

Chain of command is usually well established for such purposes, but it does not entirely remove the power of a higher rank. It does depend on the situation.

In the Officer Corps, all officers must go through basic training for command. If it is a military unit of any kind or has military responsibilities, the officers must be qualified to fulfill the duties of military command, otherwise they wouldn't be made into officers with such rank. Now to qualify that, there are very speicialized situations, as you indicated, where it would not be appropriate for a person of military rank to assume a command in a dire situation such as this. These will involve the specialized services such as clergy, medical officers, and such, where the reason for their rank is restricted to their particular duties (i.e. a military hospital for medical personnel dealing only with medical matters, etc.). These specialized service officers do usually receive basic military leadership training. All officers get at least that much.

If I were a medical officer in the field, for example, and were isolated with a platoon behind enemy lines who lost their lieutenant, I certainly am not going to take command from an experienced platoon sergeant. In deference to my rank, he will probably ask for permission to act, to which I would tell him to act he thought best, because he is trained to act in that particular situation, and I am not. Technically or officially, as the ranking officer, I would be in command, but the sergeant definitely would run the show. He would probably inform me of his actions as he went along, though.

So in a dire situation as the one in which Counselor Troi was placed, even though she may outrank another officer who has superior training in handling that situation, it is obvious that she would ask advice on how to handle problem, as per the expertise of his training to that officer, and pretty muhc let him dictate what shoold be done, albeit she was in command. In her case, in that episode, I believe there was nobody else, and she had to rely as best she could on the rudimentary training she already had, thus spurring her later decision to get more training, I think.

If I remember correctly, Troi went for the bridge officer qualification because of the events of the first episode you mention.

Maybe we should ask lunchmeat to comment on the chain of command matter.

As I noted above. What I said above is from my own limited experience, and may not be completely accurate, though I think I'm pretty close. Lunchmeat would definitely know better.

[campy]

What I found slightly irritating was by the end of TNG the Enterprise was top-heavy with high ranking officers. It seemed like almost everyone of the main cast was at least a Commander.And yet poor Harry Kim had to spend – what? Seven years? – as a lowly ensign. I always wondered why Janeway didn't give him a field promotion like Picard did for Wesley.

Good point on Harry. However, as much as I liked Harry, he never came across to me as having good command potential, which could have figured into a decision on Janeway's part not to promote him.Possibly. But Harry was apparently forced to take on a good deal of responsibility right away, and seemed to do okay. He was always included whenever Janeway called a meeting of her senior officers. And it's not like Janeway didn't hand out commissions to plenty of others, like Paris and all the maquis who joined the crew. I'd say a field promotion to lieutenant after a year or two was in order.

[jeriddian]

What I found slightly irritating was by the end of TNG the Enterprise was top-heavy with high ranking officers. It seemed like almost everyone of the main cast was at least a Commander.And yet poor Harry Kim had to spend – what? Seven years? – as a lowly ensign. I always wondered why Janeway didn't give him a field promotion like Picard did for Wesley.

Good point on Harry. However, as much as I liked Harry, he never came across to me as having good command potential, which could have figured into a decision on Janeway's part not to promote him.Possibly. But Harry was apparently forced to take on a good deal of responsibility right away, and seemed to do okay. He was always included whenever Janeway called a meeting of her senior officers. And it's not like Janeway didn't hand out commissions to plenty of others, like Paris and all the maquis who joined the crew. I'd say a field promotion to lieutenant after a year or two was in order.

Yeah...........I think you're right, on further thought.

[lunchmeat]

Could be worse, he could've ended up rooming with Wesley Crusher for seven years....

[canuck31003]

Grade: Navy:.......................................Other Services:
O-1 Ensign.........................................Sec ond Lieutenant
O-2 Lieutenant junior grade (j.g.).........First Lieutenant
O-3 Lieutenant..................................Captai n
O-4 Lieutenant..................................Comman der Major
O-5 Commander.................................Lieutena nt Colonel
O-6 Captain.......................................Colo nel
O-7 Rear Admiral (lower half)..............Brigadier General
O-8 Rear Admiral (upper half)..............Major General
O-9 Vice Admiral................................Lieutenant General
O-10 Admiral.....................................Genera l
(O-11) Fleet Admiral .........................General of the (army, air force)
I wonder how many of those grades are used in Starfleet. I've always thought it went: ensign --> lieutenant (j.g.) --> lieutenant --> lieutenant commander --> commander --> captain --> etc....

I seem to remember Worf starting at Lt (j.g.) and moving all the way up to Lt. Commander by the end of TNG.

Speaking of officers not getting promoted, but I don't remember Data ever being promoted. Did he ever make it to full Commander?

[jeriddian]

Grade: Navy:.......................................Other Services:
O-1 Ensign.........................................Sec ond Lieutenant
O-2 Lieutenant junior grade (j.g.).........First Lieutenant
O-3 Lieutenant..................................Captai n
O-4 Lieutenant..................................Comman der Major
O-5 Commander.................................Lieutena nt Colonel
O-6 Captain.......................................Colo nel
O-7 Rear Admiral (lower half)..............Brigadier General
O-8 Rear Admiral (upper half)..............Major General
O-9 Vice Admiral................................Lieutenant General
O-10 Admiral.....................................Genera l
(O-11) Fleet Admiral .........................General of the (army, air force)
I wonder how many of those grades are used in Starfleet. I've always thought it went: ensign --> lieutenant (j.g.) --> lieutenant --> lieutenant commander --> commander --> captain --> etc....

I seem to remember Worf starting at Lt (j.g.) and moving all the way up to Lt. Commander by the end of TNG.

Speaking of officers not getting promoted, but I don't remember Data ever being promoted. Did he ever make it to full Commander?

I do believe they used all of those ranks in Star Trek, in addition to the somewhat nebulous rank of Commodore (sort of like Field Marshal in 19th Century Europe).

And come to think of it, I think you're right in that Data was never promoted. I think that the Admiralty probably still reservations about him even though Picard did not, as was evidenced by Data being given command of a ship during the episode where the Klingon Chancellorship of Gowron was being challenged by the Duras family and backed by Comamnder Sela of the Romulans, and the Federation Fleet had to defend against the Romulans crossing the Klingon border. I forget the name of that episode.

[lunchmeat]

Grade: Navy:.......................................Other Services:
O-1 Ensign.........................................Sec ond Lieutenant
O-2 Lieutenant junior grade (j.g.).........First Lieutenant
O-3 Lieutenant..................................Captai n
O-4 Lieutenant..................................Comman der Major
O-5 Commander.................................Lieutena nt Colonel
O-6 Captain.......................................Colo nel
O-7 Rear Admiral (lower half)..............Brigadier General
O-8 Rear Admiral (upper half)..............Major General
O-9 Vice Admiral................................Lieutenant General
O-10 Admiral.....................................Genera l
(O-11) Fleet Admiral .........................General of the (army, air force)
I wonder how many of those grades are used in Starfleet. I've always thought it went: ensign --> lieutenant (j.g.) --> lieutenant --> lieutenant commander --> commander --> captain --> etc....

I seem to remember Worf starting at Lt (j.g.) and moving all the way up to Lt. Commander by the end of TNG.

Speaking of officers not getting promoted, but I don't remember Data ever being promoted. Did he ever make it to full Commander?

Tough promotion boards in Starfleet.....competition's probably worse for the apparent dozen or so enlisted folks in the service.

[campy]

Speaking of officers not getting promoted, but I don't remember Data ever being promoted. Did he ever make it to full Commander?I don't think so.

I was always amazed he was even promoted to Lt. Cmdr. Sometimes they seemed to take the whole 'Data misunderstands humans' thing so far, I wondered how he ever made it as far as he had. He acted like he'd just been booted up the week before.

[kyojikasshu]

In the TNG episode in question ("Disaster"), the officer that Captain Picard had left in charge of the bridge was killed when the quantum filament hit (although, perhaps actually shortly after the initial impact; either way, as the result of an overloading console). Chief O'Brien (who was a noncom, although he did wear lieutenant's pips at the time - one of the many uniform inconsistencies over the years), Counselor Troi, and (once she made it out of the turbolift) Ensign Ro were the only ones left on the bridge. And Ro, in only her second episode, was still viewed with wary eyes by most of the crew (although Troi, by her very nature, wouldn't be as put off as others were).

Poor, poor Harry... at least the Maquis ranks were only "provisional". I'm sure once they got back to the Alpha Quadrant and Janeway got promoted to Admrial, she made sure Harry got promoted. (At least, in the novels, he did, after Chakotay was promoted to Captain...)

What was pretty impressive was that Geordi got promoted from Lieutenant J.G. to Lt. Commander in the span of two years! Then again, how many times did Riker turn down command? First, before he took the position on the Enterprise-D ("The Arsenal of Freedom"), then in his second year ("The Icarus Factor"), then after the first Borg incursion ("The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"). Aside from his temporary command of the Excalibur ("Redemption II"), it was over a decade before he finally took a command (the Titan, Star Trek: Nemesis).

Then again, offers may have become more sparse after the incidents of "The Pegasus" came to light... not to mention having a "twin" of himself ("Second Chances") joining the Maquis (DS9 - "Defiant").

[lunchmeat]

Starfleet clearly operates on a different premise than does the Navy, an officer who declined command wouldn't advance further.

I suppose Data might be rather like an Engineering Duty Officer (EDO) or other limited duty type, they generally hit LCDR and stop there, though they usually stick around til retirement. Of course Gene Rodenberry was in the Air Force, so he may not have had a very good grasp of the functioning of the Navy.

Don't put on the red shirt.........

[campy]

I suppose Data might be rather like an Engineering Duty Officer (EDO) or other limited duty type, they generally hit LCDR and stop there, though they usually stick around til retirement. Of course Gene Rodenberry was in the Air Force, so he may not have had a very good grasp of the functioning of the Navy.I was under the impression that Data was Second Officer, right behind Riker in the chain of command. Am I wrong?

[lunchmeat]

Good question, second officer is a Merchant Marine rank, the only other use of the title, that I've encountered, is for RN WRNS, where it is the rough equivalent of Lt. I've just noted that WRNS was dissolved in 1993 and those assigned transferred into the RN, where they assumed RN ranks.

In the Navy accession below executive officer would be in order of seniority among line officers (staff officers aren't generally elgible for command, for example an ensign could assume command where a doctor, tough a commander, could not) rather than by job title. I've been on ships and in squadrons where just about every combination of department head seniority existed, irrespective of billet.

I'm trying to recall the ranks of the other officers, it's been awhile since I've seen the show, though. Of course one of the nice things about fiction is that you can pretty much make up any structure or job title that you want (many of the Starfleet billets would be collateral duties in the real fleet, rather than primary assignments e.g. security officer on a vessel, unless one had Marines board).

In the real fleet one would also not be sending the department heads and other senior folks on landing parties (the equivalent of an away team), they would remain aboard to administer the vessel's operation while jumior officers would lead teams of enlisted folks ashore.

[TransWarpDrive]

And I still think Starfleet (and all the rest) is an absolute joke of a military[/URL]. :rolleyes:
I don't think Starfleet's primary mission was militaristic. My impression is that it was mainly exploration with a bunch of other duties thrown in as needed.

In one of the books I have about "Star Trek," (I forget which one right now) it was pointed out that Starfleet was considered a spacefaring version of the U.S. Coast Guard.
As for Data's final rank, campy and canuck31003 are both correct. He only got as far as Lt. Commander before being killed in the explosion of the Reman ship Scimitar in Star Trek: Nemesis. He had been promoted to First Officer due to Riker's leaving for the Titan, but his death prevented him from assuming those duties.
According to his character profile on the Star Trek.com website, Data was indeed the ship's Second Officer prior to the events in Nemesis. He was also the Operations Officer. :alumnus:

[kyojikasshu]

In the real fleet one would also not be sending the department heads and other senior folks on landing parties (the equivalent of an away team), they would remain aboard to administer the vessel's operation while jumior officers would lead teams of enlisted folks ashore.

Well, that's one good point about the original series that they addressed to an extent in TNG: how stupid was it to put the captain at risk with nearly every freakin' landing party? The M-5 Computer had it right - Captain Kirk was nonessential personnel for a landing party! But, then, that's TV logic for you...

[lunchmeat]

And I still think Starfleet (and all the rest) is an absolute joke of a military[/URL]. :rolleyes:
I don't think Starfleet's primary mission was militaristic. My impression is that it was mainly exploration with a bunch of other duties thrown in as needed.

In one of the books I have about "Star Trek," (I forget which one right now) it was pointed out that Starfleet was considered a spacefaring version of the U.S. Coast Guard.
As for Data's final rank, campy and canuck31003 are both correct. He only got as far as Lt. Commander before being killed in the explosion of the Reman ship Scimitar in Star Trek: Nemesis. He had been promoted to First Officer due to Riker's leaving for the Titan, but his death prevented him from assuming those duties.
According to his character profile on the Star Trek.com website, Data was indeed the ship's Second Officer prior to the events in Nemesis. He was also the Operations Officer. :alumnus:

Being dead would make it pretty hard to accept an assignment (though it doesn't seem to be an impediment to issuing "new" music albums....), there have been posthumous promotions before.

I'll defer to Greenmanz on the details of the Coast Guard, but the times I've worked with them, their rank and organisational structure worked the same way ours did.

I can see Captain Kirk being considered non-essential personnel, though not for the reasons that the writers probably did (and now this from Priceline....).

[canuck31003]

As for Data's final rank, campy and canuck31003 are both correct. He only got as far as Lt. Commander before being killed in the explosion of the Reman ship Scimitar in Star Trek: Nemesis. He had been promoted to First Officer due to Riker's leaving for the Titan, but his death prevented him from assuming those duties.
Ugh. I had forgot that Data died. :angry: Not that there are any TNG films on the horizon, but having to go through the whole growth-arc of Data's development all over again with B-4 annoys me to heck. Data, I miss you! :P

Oh yeah, another reason I never bought the Nemesis DVD: it felt to me that Picard treated Troi's mind-rape pretty lightly. :thumbdown: Actually, I wish the whole mind-rape thing had been left on the writing room floor. I wish it had never been conceived. This is Star Trek, for the love of all that's sci-fi. Not 8mm.

[campy]

According to his character profile on the Star Trek.com website, Data was indeed the ship's Second Officer prior to the events in Nemesis. He was also the Operations Officer. :alumnus:But who was Laundry Officer? And who threw the captain's palm tree overboard?

(Cookie to whoever gets the reference. :P)

[TransWarpDrive]

According to his character profile on the Star Trek.com website, Data was indeed the ship's Second Officer prior to the events in Nemesis. He was also the Operations Officer. :alumnus:But who was Laundry Officer? And who threw the captain's palm tree overboard?

(Cookie to whoever gets the reference. :P)

Ensign Pulver, I believe, threw the captain's palm tree overboard in "Mister Roberts." And wasn't Mr. Roberts the laundry officer? :P

[campy]

According to his character profile on the Star Trek.com website, Data was indeed the ship's Second Officer prior to the events in Nemesis. He was also the Operations Officer. :alumnus:But who was Laundry Officer? And who threw the captain's palm tree overboard?

(Cookie to whoever gets the reference. :P)

Ensign Pulver, I believe, threw the captain's palm tree overboard in "Mister Roberts." And wasn't Mr. Roberts the laundry officer? :PEnsign Pulver was Laundry (& Morale) Officer, and he threw the 2nd tree overboard. Roberts threw the first tree, IIRC. :D

Half a cookie for you. :biggergrin:

But who ate the strawberries? :hmm:

[lunchmeat]

Lt. Roberts (executive and cargo officer), initially, I believe it was in celebration of VE Day. Pulver threw it over in response to learning of Robert's death off Okinawa.

[TransWarpDrive]

Campy, lunchmeat, thanks for refreshing my memory on "Mister Roberts." That's another classic movie I'll have to find on DVD. It'll make a fine addition to my collection.

[TransWarpDrive]

Getting back on-topic:
I saw a boxed set of DVDs for the second season of ST:TOS - those were the ones with the digitally-remastered visual effects - on the shelf at my local Best Buy store last weekend. They wanted $117.00 for it. :eek:
I'll wait until the price comes down a bit before I buy it...

[TransWarpDrive]

This past Saturday night, I replayed my DVD of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." I noticed something while watching the movie; in a couple of scenes on board the Enterprise, and one on board the Excelsior (Capt. Sulu's ship), you can hear the ship's bell chiming the hours in the old naval tradition. Just out of curiosity, I dug out my copy of "The Illustrated Companion to Nelson's Navy" by Nicholas Blake & Richard Lawrence, and looked up the table they included which gives the schedule of ship's bells rung according to the time of day, and what watch it was in the ship's schedule. I was surprised to learn that the filmmakers had done their homework; we hear eight bells ring as the Enterprise officers and Klingons sit down to their state dinner shortly after the rendezvous with Kronos One. Since Capt. Kirk arranged to have the Klingons beamed aboard at 19:30 hours - which is 7:30 PM - then the next time eight bells would ring would be at 20:00 hours, or 8:00 PM. The next time after that, that we hear eight bells ring, the Klingons are beaming back to their ship, but not before Gen. Chang sarcastically quotes Shakespeare to Capt. Kirk: "Have we not heard the chimes at midnight?" Sure enough, by the naval schedule, it is indeed midnight, ship's time (which means they spent four hours arguing in the officers' lounge - Yikes....:blink:).
The next scene in which we hear the ship's bell chime the hour is aboard the Excelsior. Capt. Sulu is awakened by a crewmember relaying a message from Starfleet about Enterprise's whereabouts. As Sulu tells him what to reply, we hear five bells ring in the background. This means it's about 5:15 in the morning on board that ship, and one would expect to find the captain in bed around then.
Talk about having an eye for detail! :thumbup:

[kyojikasshu]

That is pretty impressive.

I saw an article about the new Star Trek movie in Entertainment Weekly (it's their cover feature). Some pretty slick pictures up there... I do like the new take on the classic uniforms for the most part. It's a bit curious that they're going with short sleeves on the women's "skant" uniforms (although the TNG 1st season version of the skant had short sleeves as well). I'm not so surprised that the skirts are a little longer, and the collars are more like the men's uniforms.

It's also curious that, in the two pictures they have of the U.S.S. Kelvin, an older ship that's attacked years before Kirk sets foot on the Enterprise, they show the registry as NCC-0514 - a leading zero?

Zachary Quinto looks pretty awesome as Spock, but in at least one picture, Karl Urban looks (to me, at least) more like Gary Mitchell than a young Leonard McCoy - he just seems to look a heck of a lot like actor Gary Lockwood.

Of course, that leads me to one concern about the movie - I would particularly like it if there was some mention of Mitchell. I know it's a reboot and all, but while they're updating things (the bridge, for example, looks leaps and bounds ahead of the NX-01, compared to the original series bridge, which smacks of Zeerust), a nod to original continuity would be great. After all, besides Spock, Mitchell was Kirk's other best friend... right up until that thing with the eyes happened.

Link to the online version of the article: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20233502,00.html
Link to the photo gallery: http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20233788,00.html

[Fireand'chutes77]

It's also curious that, in the two pictures they have of the U.S.S. Kelvin, an older ship that's attacked years before Kirk sets foot on the Enterprise, they show the registry as NCC-0514 - a leading zero?
What's the problem with a leading zero?

Looking at movie screengrabs -

Wow, they look young (http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20233788_5,00.html). :blink:

Kirk practically looks like a teenager (http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20233788_6,00.html). I guess I haven't seen much of the original series; I was expecting something like Picard. And what's with the black shirt? The look seems too casual for a ship's commander; it almost looks like he's some college student kicking around his flat in blue jeans.

[kyojikasshu]

It's also curious that, in the two pictures they have of the U.S.S. Kelvin, an older ship that's attacked years before Kirk sets foot on the Enterprise, they show the registry as NCC-0514 - a leading zero?
What's the problem with a leading zero?

It's just that it hasn't been seen before. There's nothing wrong with it per se, but it just seems odd.

In the past, three-digit registry numbers were only three digits - the Grissom in Star Trek III, NCC-638, is the only one that's actually been shown on-screen. (In ST:TMP, the subspace chatter at Epsilon IX included orders for the scout ship Columbia, NCC-621, to rendezvous with the scout Revere, NCC-595, per orders of Commodore Probert. These two ships came straight from the listings in the Star Trek Technical Manual by Franz Joseph Designs.)

[Fireand'chutes77]

Maybe they did it simply because Everything Looks Cooler With Zeroes?

(What, no TVTropes article!? :ohmy: :P :laugh:)

[kyojikasshu]

Maybe they did it simply because Everything Looks Cooler With Zeroes?

(What, no TVTropes article!? :ohmy: :P :laugh:)

I dunno.

Of course, I remembered while on my way home that the NX-01 uses a leading zero, but then I dismissed that as a unique situation, and that the tenth ship to follow that numbering convention (assuming it remained an NX- designation) would be NX-10.

[TransWarpDrive]

Looking at movie screengrabs -

Wow, they look young (http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20233788_5,00.html). :blink:

Kirk practically looks like a teenager (http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20233788_6,00.html). I guess I haven't seen much of the original series; I was expecting something like Picard. And what's with the black shirt? The look seems too casual for a ship's commander; it almost looks like he's some college student kicking around his flat in blue jeans.
According to the article, it's part of his cadet uniform.
I took a look at the pics, and I agree with Rob - that one picture of Karl Urban as McCoy does look more like Kirk's old pal Gary Mitchell.
And yes, Zachary Quinto is indeed the spitting image of Spock from the Original Series. However, in that side-profile photo, his skin is so shiny it almost makes him look like a plastic Spock doll instead of the real thing.
I'll be upfront about one thing, though: I don't like the new bridge set - not at all!! I realize they're trying to revitalize the franchise by repackaging it for a new generation, but I think they've gone too far with that design. Surely they could have come up with something that looks like the original bridge, but with more detailing on the consoles?

And then there's the overall tone of the Entertainment Weekly article itself. Just as I remember from past issues: Smug, condescending; an air of superiority over the topic of the article. And some of the comments:
...But since the box office peak of the original film series in 1986 (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home), the Trek brand has devolved into a near-irrelevant cultural joke, likely to inspire giggles and unprintable curses from even its most ardent supporters. After a succession of contrived TV spin-offs (the last, UPN's Star Trek: Enterprise, mustered only a feeble 2 million viewers in its final season) and mediocre features based on the best of the bunch (Star Trek: The Next Generation), even people who'd built their entire careers around Trek could see the writing on the wall. ''Star Trek,'' says Leonard Nimoy, ''had run its course.''
(They also referred to all Star Trek fans in general by using the phrase "geekdom.")

:blink: - What a bunch of snobs!!
Snotty, scathing put-downs like these are the main reason why I don't read Entertainment Weekly; and why I wouldn't take a subscription to that rag even if it were offered to me for free. Their editors and writing staff are just a bunch of twenty- and thirtysomething celebrity wannabes, whose only chance of getting publicity is by trashing the creative works of others. If they were to try their hand at producing a TV show, movie, or record album of their own, chances are they'd fail miserably. Hence, IMHO, their superior attitude towards and snide little remarks about the entertainers and creative people their alleged "magazine" covers.
Sorry about the rant; it's just that I've had people look down their noses at me for being a Star Trek fan for decades now. The last thing I want is to read a magazine by people with a similarly snobbish attitude.
:thumbdown:

[canuck31003]

I read that Shatner is upset that he wasn't invited to George Takei's wedding a week or so ago. Shatner apparently posted an unflattering description of Takei on his blog in response.

On the other hand Takei says he sent an invitation but Shatner never RSVP'd.

I never paid much attention to the original cast, though I did hear that Shatner and Nimoi didn't get along. I never heard anything about Shatner-Takei, though.

bbc.co.uk (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7686019.stm)

[kyojikasshu]

I happened to be watching CNN on my lunch break today, and they had a segment about California's Proposition 8; leading into it, the captioned picture they had next to the anchor was of George Takei and his partner, although the actual story didn't involve them (it actually involved a teacher and her partner, and a pro-8 ad that highlighted the fact that some of her 1st grade students were in attendance).


Back on topic... the bridge does just seem a little too... busy. Then again, I suppose I tend to be a little retro-tech myself... at least, with my input devices. I like a keyboard that "feels" real, substantial, with click-clack action, not like a laptop keyboard - or worse, Apple's latest keyboards, which feel like nothing at all, in a bad way. And there's something to be said for having a mouse that feels like a mouse, not a bar of soap.

[jeriddian]

I never paid much attention to the original cast, though I did hear that Shatner and Nimoi didn't get along. I never heard anything about Shatner-Takei, though.

bbc.co.uk (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7686019.stm)

Actually, Shatner didn't really get along with anybody from the original cast at all, including Takei. He was way too stuck up and a ham and a half. The rest of the cast did well with each other and Shatner pretty much stayed apart from them.

[TransWarpDrive]

I never paid much attention to the original cast, though I did hear that Shatner and Nimoy didn't get along. I never heard anything about Shatner-Takei, though.

bbc.co.uk (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7686019.stm)

Actually, Shatner didn't really get along with anybody from the original cast at all, including Takei. He was way too stuck up and a ham and a half. The rest of the cast did well with each other and Shatner pretty much stayed apart from them.

What really happened, according to Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), was that Shatner started out as an OK guy, but as the series progressed and grew in popularity, so did his ego. He went from being a team player at the beginning of the first season's filming schedule to a real prima donna by the time the show was cancelled in March of 1969.
However, Shatner did become close pals with Leonard Nimoy (yes, that's the correct spelling of his name) during the the original series' production, and they've been friends ever since. He was rather standoffish toward the rest of the cast, though.

[canuck31003]

Regarding the TNG cast, I think in TV Guide they said the actors would often talk to Brent Spiner for acting advice.

The first time I saw Spiner was in the t.v. show Night Court. He was a recurring character, if I remember correctly.

[campy]

This past Saturday night, I replayed my DVD of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." I noticed something while watching the movie; in a couple of scenes on board the Enterprise, and one on board the Excelsior (Capt. Sulu's ship), you can hear the ship's bell chiming the hours in the old naval tradition. Just out of curiosity, I dug out my copy of "The Illustrated Companion to Nelson's Navy" by Nicholas Blake & Richard Lawrence, and looked up the table they included which gives the schedule of ship's bells rung according to the time of day, and what watch it was in the ship's schedule. I was surprised to learn that the filmmakers had done their homework; we hear eight bells ring as the Enterprise officers and Klingons sit down to their state dinner shortly after the rendezvous with Kronos One. Since Capt. Kirk arranged to have the Klingons beamed aboard at 19:30 hours - which is 7:30 PM - then the next time eight bells would ring would be at 20:00 hours, or 8:00 PM. The next time after that, that we hear eight bells ring, the Klingons are beaming back to their ship, but not before Gen. Chang sarcastically quotes Shakespeare to Capt. Kirk: "Have we not heard the chimes at midnight?" Sure enough, by the naval schedule, it is indeed midnight, ship's time (which means they spent four hours arguing in the officers' lounge - Yikes....:blink:).
The next scene in which we hear the ship's bell chime the hour is aboard the Excelsior. Capt. Sulu is awakened by a crewmember relaying a message from Starfleet about Enterprise's whereabouts. As Sulu tells him what to reply, we hear five bells ring in the background. This means it's about 5:15 in the morning on board that ship, and one would expect to find the captain in bed around then.
Talk about having an eye for detail! :thumbup:Bells are sounded at at the hour and half hour. Five bells could be either 2:30 or 6:30 (or 10:30, but Sulu wouldn't be asleep then.)

I've got an applet that sounds ship's bells on my computer.

[TransWarpDrive]

This past Saturday night, I replayed my DVD of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." I noticed something while watching the movie; in a couple of scenes on board the Enterprise, and one on board the Excelsior (Capt. Sulu's ship), you can hear the ship's bell chiming the hours in the old naval tradition. Just out of curiosity, I dug out my copy of "The Illustrated Companion to Nelson's Navy" by Nicholas Blake & Richard Lawrence, and looked up the table they included which gives the schedule of ship's bells rung according to the time of day, and what watch it was in the ship's schedule. I was surprised to learn that the filmmakers had done their homework; we hear eight bells ring as the Enterprise officers and Klingons sit down to their state dinner shortly after the rendezvous with Kronos One. Since Capt. Kirk arranged to have the Klingons beamed aboard at 19:30 hours - which is 7:30 PM - then the next time eight bells would ring would be at 20:00 hours, or 8:00 PM. The next time after that, that we hear eight bells ring, the Klingons are beaming back to their ship, but not before Gen. Chang sarcastically quotes Shakespeare to Capt. Kirk: "Have we not heard the chimes at midnight?" Sure enough, by the naval schedule, it is indeed midnight, ship's time (which means they spent four hours arguing in the officers' lounge - Yikes....:blink:).
The next scene in which we hear the ship's bell chime the hour is aboard the Excelsior. Capt. Sulu is awakened by a crewmember relaying a message from Starfleet about Enterprise's whereabouts. As Sulu tells him what to reply, we hear five bells ring in the background. This means it's about 5:15 in the morning on board that ship, and one would expect to find the captain in bed around then.
Talk about having an eye for detail! :thumbup:Bells are sounded at at the hour and half hour. Five bells could be either 2:30 or 6:30 (or 10:30, but Sulu wouldn't be asleep then.)

I've got an applet that sounds ship's bells on my computer.

I went back and looked in my book, and you're absolutely right - I goofed in figuring what time it was on board the Excelsior. The table in my book lists the number of bells rung at its top; and the hours between noon and midnight at its bottom. I must have confused the number of bells rung with the hour of the ship's day. Thus, I cheerfully stand corrected. Thanks for pointing that out, campy. (I would now be inclined to think that the crewman awakened Captain Sulu at 2:30 in the morning to discuss the Enterprise's whereabouts.)

Where'd you get that applet that sounds ship's bells on your computer? Is it something that can be downloaded? Now I'm curious....

[lunchmeat]

There are eight bells per watch (four hours) so a bell is rung every half hour, 1 at the first 1/2, 2 at the 1st hour, 3 at the 1 1/2 hour point and so on. Eight are rung at the conclusion of a watch and the assumption by the relieving watch. Part of the reason for this is the rotation of stations during a watch, lookouts, and others, can't concentrate fully for a complete 4 hour period, othey are rotated to keep them fresh. Additionally the bells help time and sequence routine evolutions such as meals.

The exception is during the dog watches, which span the dinner hour, these are two hour watches that start at 1600 (4 O'clock PM) and 1800 (6 O'clock) and end at 1800 and 2000 (8 O'clock PM), respectively. This allows both sections to eat dinner as well as breaking up the watch cycle so that one section isn't perpetually stuck with the midwatch (midnight to four AM). While having the same watch all the time sounds like it would be easier on sleep patterns, one must bear in mind that sailors (and presumably spacemen) have the daily routine of maintenance and administration to perform as well as standing watch. One normally gets about 6 hours of sleep at sea, anyway, so this approach permits one night in three of a full 8 hours asleep (aka "in the bag"), rather than one section being shorted all the time. We used to derive considerable hilarity from complaints by the Air Force of two week field exercises under this sort of schedule when we routinely did this for weeks or even months (my longest uninterupted underway period was for 90 days, folks were acting a bit strangely at the end of that one).

[campy]

I've got an applet that sounds ship's bells on my computer.[...]

Where'd you get that applet that sounds ship's bells on your computer? Is it something that can be downloaded? Now I'm curious....I remember trying out a couple with slightly different features. One is available at this page (http://www.fredsplace.org/html/bell.shtml).

I prefer this one (http://www.simtel.net/product.php%5Burl_fb_product_page%5D92124), though. Both are free.

[TransWarpDrive]

I've got an applet that sounds ship's bells on my computer.[...]

Where'd you get that applet that sounds ship's bells on your computer? Is it something that can be downloaded? Now I'm curious....I remember trying out a couple with slightly different features. One is available at this page (http://www.fredsplace.org/html/bell.shtml).

I prefer this one (http://www.simtel.net/product.php%5Burl_fb_product_page%5D92124), though. Both are free.
What OS are you using on your computer? My PC, with Windows XP, wouldn't let the second one download - something about it being blocked by my security software. Do you have any others you can recommend? That first one you suggested doesn't appeal to me either.

[jeriddian]

I've got an applet that sounds ship's bells on my computer.[...]

Where'd you get that applet that sounds ship's bells on your computer? Is it something that can be downloaded? Now I'm curious....I remember trying out a couple with slightly different features. One is available at this page (http://www.fredsplace.org/html/bell.shtml).

I prefer this one (http://www.simtel.net/product.php%5Burl_fb_product_page%5D92124), though. Both are free.
What OS are you using on your computer? My PC, with Windows XP, wouldn't let the second one download - something about it being blocked by my security software. Do you have any others you can recommend? That first one you suggested doesn't appeal to me either.

Hmmm, I had no problem downloading the second one, TWD. I'm using XP Pro SP3 with Zonealarm Antivirus. It didn't give me any problem.

[TransWarpDrive]

I got it to download from the link in your last post, but now I can't get the bells to chime on the hour and half-hour like they're supposed to. The only time I can get them to ring is when I right-click on the icon in my toolbar, then click the "Test Bells" button in the box that opens. What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions? (PATY)
EDIT: Never mind. I fixed it. Didn't click all the hour boxes. (Oops.....:o )

[campy]

I got it to download from the link in your last post, but now I can't get the bells to chime on the hour and half-hour like they're supposed to. The only time I can get them to ring is when I right-click on the icon in my toolbar, then click the "Test Bells" button in the box that opens. What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions? (PATY)
EDIT: Never mind. I fixed it. Didn't click all the hour boxes. (Oops.....:o )Now you need to go read some Hornblower or Aubrey/Maturin stories as your computer chimes the bells in the background. :D You'll swear you can smell the salt air ...

[TransWarpDrive]

I got it to download from the link in your last post, but now I can't get the bells to chime on the hour and half-hour like they're supposed to. The only time I can get them to ring is when I right-click on the icon in my toolbar, then click the "Test Bells" button in the box that opens. What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions? (PATY)
EDIT: Never mind. I fixed it. Didn't click all the hour boxes. (Oops.....:o )Now you need to go read some Hornblower or Aubrey/Maturin stories as your computer chimes the bells in the background. :D You'll swear you can smell the salt air ...
The program works great, except I have to manually start it every time I start my computer back up. And then, I have to reset the time in the "Clocks" window back to Standard time - it always seems to revert to Daylight Savings time otherwise.
But I was inspired by having this software to go on-line and search for actual clocks that ring the time using the ship's bell system - Lord, are they expensive!! The cheapest ones start at around $450.00, and they go all they way up in price to $2500.00+ for the really fancy ones...:surprised: And it doesn't matter whether they're key-wound clockwork, or battery-operated quartz movement - they all cost a pretty penny.
I guess I'll just have to save my money if I want to buy one of those...:errr:

[campy]

I got it to download from the link in your last post, but now I can't get the bells to chime on the hour and half-hour like they're supposed to. The only time I can get them to ring is when I right-click on the icon in my toolbar, then click the "Test Bells" button in the box that opens. What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions? (PATY)
EDIT: Never mind. I fixed it. Didn't click all the hour boxes. (Oops.....:o )Now you need to go read some Hornblower or Aubrey/Maturin stories as your computer chimes the bells in the background. :D You'll swear you can smell the salt air ...
The program works great, except I have to manually start it every time I start my computer back up. And then, I have to reset the time in the "Clocks" window back to Standard time - it always seems to revert to Daylight Savings time otherwise.
But I was inspired by having this software to go on-line and search for actual clocks that ring the time using the ship's bell system - Lord, are they expensive!! The cheapest ones start at around $450.00, and they go all they way up in price to $2500.00+ for the really fancy ones...:surprised: And it doesn't matter whether they're key-wound clockwork, or battery-operated quartz movement - they all cost a pretty penny.
I guess I'll just have to save my money if I want to buy one of those...:errr:You should put a shortcut to the program in your startup folder. I don't know why you have to set the time yourself, unless your time zone isn't set correctly in Windows. :hmm:

[TransWarpDrive]

I got it to download from the link in your last post, but now I can't get the bells to chime on the hour and half-hour like they're supposed to. The only time I can get them to ring is when I right-click on the icon in my toolbar, then click the "Test Bells" button in the box that opens. What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions? (PATY)
EDIT: Never mind. I fixed it. Didn't click all the hour boxes. (Oops.....:o )Now you need to go read some Hornblower or Aubrey/Maturin stories as your computer chimes the bells in the background. :D You'll swear you can smell the salt air ...
The program works great, except I have to manually start it every time I start my computer back up. And then, I have to reset the time in the "Clocks" window back to Standard time - it always seems to revert to Daylight Savings time otherwise.
But I was inspired by having this software to go on-line and search for actual clocks that ring the time using the ship's bell system - Lord, are they expensive!! The cheapest ones start at around $450.00, and they go all they way up in price to $2500.00+ for the really fancy ones...:surprised: And it doesn't matter whether they're key-wound clockwork, or battery-operated quartz movement - they all cost a pretty penny.
I guess I'll just have to save my money if I want to buy one of those...:errr:You should put a shortcut to the program in your startup folder. I don't know why you have to set the time yourself, unless your time zone isn't set correctly in Windows. :hmm:

Well, my time in Windows is set correctly; it even reset itself when we recently switched back to Standard Time. And the icon on my desktop for this program is a "shortcut" icon - it has the little white box with the black arrow in it designating it as such. Tell you what - I'll double-check and see if this program has a shortcut in my startup folder. If not, I'll put one there.
Anyway, thanks for all the advice, campy. :thumbup:

[campy]

You should put a shortcut to the program in your startup folder. I don't know why you have to set the time yourself, unless your time zone isn't set correctly in Windows. :hmm:

Well, my time in Windows is set correctly; it even reset itself when we recently switched back to Standard Time. And the icon on my desktop for this program is a "shortcut" icon - it has the little white box with the black arrow in it designating it as such. Tell you what - I'll double-check and see if this program has a shortcut in my startup folder. If not, I'll put one there.
Anyway, thanks for all the advice, campy. :thumbup:Well, I'd still double-check that you're set to the Central time zone ... I know my pocket PC and iPod have done weird things when they were connected while set to different zones. :hmm:

[TransWarpDrive]

You should put a shortcut to the program in your startup folder. I don't know why you have to set the time yourself, unless your time zone isn't set correctly in Windows. :hmm:

Well, my time in Windows is set correctly; it even reset itself when we recently switched back to Standard Time. And the icon on my desktop for this program is a "shortcut" icon - it has the little white box with the black arrow in it designating it as such. Tell you what - I'll double-check and see if this program has a shortcut in my startup folder. If not, I'll put one there.
Anyway, thanks for all the advice, campy. :thumbup:Well, I'd still double-check that you're set to the Central time zone ... I know my pocket PC and iPod have done weird things when they were connected while set to different zones. :hmm:

I double-checked and yes, I am set to the Central time zone. I even manually updated my clock by synchronizing it to an Internet time server. It only confirmed that my computer's clock had been right all along. All I can do now is recheck my startup folder to see if "Ship's Bell" has a shortcut there. Other than that, I think we've covered everything else.

[campy]

The Enterprise computer is silent today. Majel Barrett-Roddenberry has crossed the final frontier.

RIP

[jeriddian]

The Enterprise computer is silent today. Majel Barrett-Roddenberry has crossed the final frontier.

RIP

The news report mentioned she had leukemia. God bless her. She has joined her Captain Kirk.

[TransWarpDrive]

The Enterprise computer is silent today. Majel Barrett-Roddenberry has crossed the final frontier.

RIP

The news report mentioned she had leukemia. God bless her. She has joined her Captain Kirk.

Yes, I was saddened to learn of Majel's passing myself. I met her son, Gene Roddenberry, Jr., a few years ago. He was a Media Guest of Honor at Windycon; and he also showed up as a guest at Chambanacon one year when that convention was held in Springfield, IL (the hotel we'd been using for years in Champaign decided they wanted more money, and priced us out). He's a very nice young man. My sympathies go out to him - he lost his father back in 1991; now his mother's gone as well.
May she rest in peace...

[Mr Birthday]

Well, I've been reading information about the new movie for the last few weeks, and it is a reboot of sorts, via time travel. I say "of sorts" because when I hear "reboot", I think of something like Marvel's Ultimates Universe, or the new Battlestar Galactica, or Batman Begins versus the '89-to-'97 film series. You know, a completely new continuity. The universe in the new film seems to instead be "merely" the result of Romulans messing around with the timeline.

Anyway, who here has seen it? I haven't yet (I plan on renting it when it comes out on DVD), but I'd like to know what the people here thought of it.

[jeriddian]

I'll be too busy this weekend to see it, but Rob has seen it. I'm sure someone will stop by and give us a review. I certainly will when I get around to seeing it.

[kyojikasshu]

I saw it, I enjoyed it, and I will be seeing it again in the near future. (I did have to fly out of the theater at warp 9 at one point to hit the bathroom, as I just couldn't hold it... same thing happened last year the first time I went to see Iron Man.)

Yep, the future Romulans really mess with the timeline in this one. Some major changes are made as a result...

[canuck31003]

I'm not a big fan of the original cast, so I hadn't planned on seeing it in the theaters. Reviews have been great, though, so maybe I'll change my mind.

I still want to see X-men Origins one of these days, despite the mixed reviews.

[TransWarpDrive]

I saw it last night and surprisingly, I liked it. I found myself liking the characters, especially Scotty and Chekov. Both actors managed to infuse their characters with a zest, an enthusiasm I haven't seen since the days of the original series on NBC. The actor playing Dr. McCoy also succeeded in giving "Bones" just the right combination of compassion and grouchiness - it's as if he were channeling the spirit of the late DeForest Kelley in several scenes. Zachary Quinto's Spock was masterfully done, even if his version was slightly "lower-key" than Nimoy's was. I also liked Ben Cross's portrayal of Spock's father, Ambassador Sarek. He gave the character the right balance of compassion and dignity; IMHO, he did a great job of filling the late Mark Lenard's shoes.
I also thought Chris Pines' portrayal of Kirk was good; he definitely came across as the brash, young starship commander we all know and love from the original series - ready to go out and practice what Jean-Luc Picard once referred to as "cowboy diplomacy!":laugh:
And yes, this "Trek" universe is an altered reality as a result of time travel - that's an important element of the film's plot. That being established, it's easy now for me to understand why they changed the way everything looks in Starfleet and the Federation.
Although to be honest, the new look for the starship Enterprise is going to take some getting used to. The bridge is larger than the old one, with more crewmembers on it; it seems rather cluttered and crowded to me. Other areas of the ship, such as the shuttlecraft bay and main engineering, don't look as futuristic or science fiction-like. They have a more mid-20th Century industrial look to me - almost as if they shot those scenes in a factory or power station.
But those are really minor quibbles. I suspect that when they shoot a sequel, they'll do a redesign on those areas in order to satisfy a plot requirement, or just on the assumption that the audience won't notice (or care) that they looked different in the previous film.
All I know is, if they keep writing stories like this film, with good strong characterizations, then I'll go and see the films, redesigned universe be damned.
In other words, guys, I was wrong about this film, and I cheerfully admit it. J.J. Abrams and his writers managed to infuse fresh blood into the franchise while still respecting the characters, as well as all the previous "Star Trek" TV shows and movies. :thumbup:

[kyojikasshu]

One of my favorite lines, from one Spock to another:

"As my customary farewell would seem oddly self serving, I will simply say... good luck."

:biggergrin:

[lunchmeat]

Is there giant can opener fu (as Joe Bob Briggs might style it)?

[TransWarpDrive]

Is there giant can opener fu (as Joe Bob Briggs might style it)?
(Scratches head in confusion)
I beg your pardon?? :confused:
I'm not sure I understand the question....:unsure:

[lunchmeat]

I was thinking of the giant can opener dingus that they fought with in the original series episode Amok Time.

[TransWarpDrive]

I was thinking of the giant can opener dingus that they fought with in the original series episode Amok Time.

No, they didn't use that in this movie. They made references to other incidents in the TV series and previous movies, though.

[Fireand'chutes77]

My first indication that this new movie might not be complete crap was this first, short, simple, powerful trailer.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/startrek/startrek_trailer1_large.html

Much like the opening video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3_bQLDhqDw&feature=channel_page) for the 2009 FIRST robotics competition, it tied the past of space exploration and embrace of tough challenges to the future, making (at least according to this trailer) the saga of "Star Trek" the natural extension of the process begun with the Space Race and the moon shot.

It's also cool, and kinda weird, to see something as timeless as the Enterprise actually under construction. Usually it's presented to us in its fully-built form; it's odd to think it was once designed, built, and launched by human hand.

(BTW, how did they get that sucker out of the Earth's gravity well in the first place? ;))

[lunchmeat]

I heard they didn't use the "fight scene music" from the original series, either, pity that.

The big question is: does anybody lose.....command? (use your best Shatner impersonation).

[kyojikasshu]

I heard they didn't use the "fight scene music" from the original series, either, pity that.

The big question is: does anybody lose.....command? (use your best Shatner impersonation).

Nah... Chris Pine doesn't do Shatner's staccato delivery.


(BTW, how did they get that sucker out of the Earth's gravity well in the first place? ;))

Well, considering that in the original series, the Enterprise was actually in Earth's atmosphere - in the 1960s (thanks to accidental time travel) - and was able to fly back up to orbit...

[Fireand'chutes77]

(BTW, how did they get that sucker out of the Earth's gravity well in the first place? ;))

Well, considering that in the original series, the Enterprise was actually in Earth's atmosphere - in the 1960s (thanks to accidental time travel) - and was able to fly back up to orbit...
I guess they had some kind of shunt to direct thrust downward as well as laterally? It's a good thing they built it out in the middle of nowhere, because the inital thrust to get it off the ground would have been enormous... And the drag of that giant top disk must've been a real nailbiter for the launch engineers once The Big E hit Max-Q on her way out....


It's just a TV show, I really should just relax... (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MST3KMantra)

[campy]

(BTW, how did they get that sucker out of the Earth's gravity well in the first place? ;))

Well, considering that in the original series, the Enterprise was actually in Earth's atmosphere - in the 1960s (thanks to accidental time travel) - and was able to fly back up to orbit...
I guess they had some kind of shunt to direct thrust downward as well as laterally? It's a good thing they built it out in the middle of nowhere, because the inital thrust to get it off the ground would have been enormous... And the drag of that giant top disk must've been a real nailbiter for the launch engineers once The Big E hit Max-Q on her way out....IIRC, starships are built in space. In the ST: Voyager series, they did give the ship the capability to land and take off.

[Fireand'chutes77]

(BTW, how did they get that sucker out of the Earth's gravity well in the first place? ;))

Well, considering that in the original series, the Enterprise was actually in Earth's atmosphere - in the 1960s (thanks to accidental time travel) - and was able to fly back up to orbit...
I guess they had some kind of shunt to direct thrust downward as well as laterally? It's a good thing they built it out in the middle of nowhere, because the inital thrust to get it off the ground would have been enormous... And the drag of that giant top disk must've been a real nailbiter for the launch engineers once The Big E hit Max-Q on her way out....IIRC, starships are built in space.
Yep, like the Apollo join-up and the ISS and the planned Orion Ares I-Ares V link. I guess building it on Earth makes for prettier pictures....

And, of course, building it on Earth means they'd be using waaaaay too much material for a spaceship. Because of the moon's lower gravity, the equipment going there only had to be 1/6th as sturdy as here on earth, and would've broken if used here... But that inconvenience made for a massive weight savings. IIRC, these Trek ships had some sort of "gravity handwave," so maybe building the parts to Earth spec made sense, but....

[TransWarpDrive]

It's also cool, and kinda weird, to see something as timeless as the Enterprise actually under construction. Usually it's presented to us in its fully-built form; it's odd to think it was once designed, built, and launched by human hand.

(BTW, how did they get that sucker out of the Earth's gravity well in the first place? ;)) [/SIZE]

In the original series, it was mentioned (but not actually shown) that the ship was built in sections on Earth; then each section was boosted into orbit where final assembly took place. Considering the fact that the original Enterprise was 947 feet long, bow to stern, it made more sense to send it up in pieces than try and launch the whole thing, fully built, from the Earth's surface.
In fact, that's one of my complaints with this new movie - that scene 'chutes refers to where young Jim Kirk pulls up on his motorcycle at the field in Iowa where the Enterprise is being built. I think they only put that scene in there for dramatic effect (you know, the "Rule of Cool"), without really caring how plausible or technically feasible such a construction project would really be. Because 'chutes nailed it exactly when he said:
It's a good thing they built it out in the middle of nowhere, because the inital thrust to get it off the ground would have been enormous... And the drag of that giant top disk must've been a real nailbiter for the launch engineers once The Big E hit Max-Q on her way out....

Those are the exact reasons starships are built in space, like campy pointed out. In fact, the real reason the writers came up with the transporter to beam folks down to the surface and then back up to the ship was to save money. The visual effects showing the ship landing on a new planet every week would have made a serious dent in the show's weekly budget. It also livened up the pace of each story. They didn't have to show said landings or liftoffs, which would have been time-consuming.

Oh, 'chutes, regarding this:
Yep, like the Apollo join-up and the ISS and the planned Orion Ares I-Ares V link. I guess building it on Earth makes for prettier pictures....
Are you referring to the Apollo-Soyuz test flight in July, 1975?

[Greenmandmz]

I went to see Star Trek on opening night last week, and let me say, I'm glad I did! I really didn't set any expectations for myself for this latest Trek installment, choosing instead to just see what J.J. Abrams had to offer us without any preconceptions at to what it would be. I'm glad to say I rather enjoyed the movie and will be eagerly awaiting the inevitable sequels that will follow.

Though I have to say I was a bit confused at first as to where they were taking the storyline at first, as the events in this installment (I won't spoil it for those haven't seen it yet) present major continuity issues for the current trek timeline. Eventually I realized that this movie was a reboot of sorts, then the movie made much more sense. I had read about proposals to give Star Trek a reboot in the past, but I didn't know that was the plan with this film.

Anyways, I enjoyed this film and would recommend any fan of Star Trek to go and see it.

[Fireand'chutes77]

Oh, 'chutes, regarding this:
Yep, like the Apollo join-up and the ISS and the planned Orion Ares I-Ares V link. I guess building it on Earth makes for prettier pictures....Are you referring to the Apollo-Soyuz test flight in July, 1975?
I wasn't thinking of that, but I guess it would count. I was picturing the process of pulling the Lander out of its container, spinning it around, and plugging it into the Command Module, or else the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_orbit_rendezvous) procedure.

EDIT: Good to see you back, GMZ! :D

[Greenmandmz]

I wasn't thinking of that, but I guess it would count. I was picturing the process of pulling the Lander out of its container, spinning it around, and plugging it into the Command Module, or else the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_orbit_rendezvous) procedure.

EDIT: Good to see you back, GMZ! :D
Thanks! I'm glad I have the time to come visit GJA again.

Things were a bit hectic with the end of school approaching and finding a new place to live for the first two months after graduation, but I'm starting to settle down again in my new place working into a new routine that should stay fairly stable for the next 3 or 4 years.

That will be nice.

[TransWarpDrive]

Oh, 'chutes, regarding this:
Yep, like the Apollo join-up and the ISS and the planned Orion Ares I-Ares V link. I guess building it on Earth makes for prettier pictures....Are you referring to the Apollo-Soyuz test flight in July, 1975?
I wasn't thinking of that, but I guess it would count. I was picturing the process of pulling the Lander out of its container, spinning it around, and plugging it into the Command Module, or else the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_orbit_rendezvous) procedure.



Well, actually, that's a bit different from building the ISS or the planned Orion Ares I-Ares V link, in that in either of those examples, you're bringing together components from two or more spacecraft launched separately from Earth for assembly in orbit.
That is what's known as Earth-Orbit Rendezvous.
However, all three components of the Apollo spacecraft - command and service modules, and lunar module, are launched into space on one booster - the Saturn V. The process you've described above, known to NASA as the "Transposition, Docking and Ejection Maneuver," takes place after the Saturn's third stage has boosted the spacecraft out of Earth orbit, towards the moon. "Lunar Orbit Rendezvous" describes the process of the lunar module launching from the moon to meet up with the command ship before returning home to Earth, after achieving a lunar landing. :alumnus:

[jeriddian]

Well, I finally got to see the movie, and I have to admit I am thoroughly, thoroughly impressed. I really enjoyed this new take on the realignment of the series amd the new view of the characters and their relationships. The most impressive of them all to me is still the Zachary Quinto interpretation of Spock. Wonderful! And that final scene between him and.....himself........Marvelous storytelling. Karl Urban as Bones was very well done and Scotty was just an incredble hoot! Loved it! If there was any reservations that I would have with the film it's the somewhat implausible elevation of Kirk's rank from Cadet to Captain in one fell swoop. Yeah, he saved the universe like he always does, but it still seemed a little too unrealistic for the scenario. But it really doesn't take away from the magnificence of the film. I hope we will see more of this. And since it is an alternate universe, would there be a possibility of getting ST:TNG involved in that in some way?.........................:blink:..... :rolleyes:...............Interesting............

[jeriddian]

At the risk of gravedigging...........:rolleyes:.............I found this little article about Gene Roddenberry's original Mac computer form the early 80's going on the auction block. Maybe some truly interested fan might want to try and get it...............

http://gizmodo.com/5361983/gene-roddenberrys-1984-original-macintosh-for-sale

[kyojikasshu]

It'd be nice... but if I wanted a Mac associated with Star Trek, I'd want the one from Dr. Nichols' office in Star Trek IV. (For all I know, they could have used Gene's Mac for that scene, but probably didn't.)

[TransWarpDrive]

It'd be nice... but if I wanted a Mac associated with Star Trek, I'd want the one from Dr. Nichols' office in Star Trek IV. (For all I know, they could have used Gene's Mac for that scene, but probably didn't.)

They probably didn't. As for the Mac they did use, it was specially programmed to pop up those images we saw on its screen no matter what keys Jimmy Doohan hit during filming. I saw a movie-making special on cable once where they showed how they rigged computers in movies to make the actors operating them seem like thousand-word-a-minute master touch-typists. The computers are programmed to print out text on their screens in response to the actors' randomly striking any keys they can in order to give the illusion they're actually typing it. The text is already loaded into the computer; it comes on-screen, letter by letter, even if the actor hits the wrong keys. That way, the director doesn't have to worry about reshooting a scene just because the actors misspelled what they're typing; and (most importantly) the actors don't have to rush out and take keyboarding classes after being cast in a movie involving scenes with home computers.

As for the description of "Star Trek" on that page jeriddian linked us to, well, whoever wrote it got his or her facts wrong in describing "Trek's" characters:
Would you like to write a saga about a spaceship with a womanizing captain, an awkward scientist/philosopher, a maniacal doctor, a drunk engineer, a voluptuous communications officer, a communist pilot, and a gay helmsman? Well, this Macintosh 128 won't help.

First of all, Dr. McCoy wasn't maniacal. He was simply an irascible, middle-aged Southerner who hid his compassion and wisdom behind a gruff exterior.
And Scotty wasn't a drunk; he simply stated throughout the series that his favorite alcoholic beverage was scotch (as in Scotch whiskey). Describing one's drinking habits is not the same as abusing alcohol.
And nowhere in the series did they ever identify Mr. Chekov as a Communist; he was a Russian, and that's all they said. Sure, Gene Roddenberry added him to the cast after the Soviet newspaper "Pravda" complained about the lack of any Russians in the "Trek" cast, given Russia's contributions to space exploration. But Gene, having the sly sense of humor that he did, decided to use Chekov to deliver what came to be known as the "Russian Joke" - in other words, whenever another Enterprise crew member mentioned some important historical achievement, Chekov would top that with some story on how the Russians did it first or did it better - in other words, it was a not-so-subtle spoof of Soviet propaganda claims that were coming out of Moscow on a regular basis back then.
As for Mr. Sulu being a gay helmsman, well, George Takei didn't come out about his homosexuality until early in the twenty-first century, decades after he finished making "Star Trek." All the time he worked on the original series, the animated show, and the first six movies, he kept his sexual orientation a closely-guarded secret.

IMHO, that inaccurate description was written by some twenty- or thirtysomething kid with no respect for history or any desire to get the facts straight. They just jumped to a conclusion, however wrong, and stuck to it in order to post their story.
I just hate folks who don't do their homework like this....:angry:

[campy]

I don't know how consummate Frenchman Jean-Luc Picard feels about this news, but Patrick Stewart has just been knighted (http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/30/patrick.stewart.knighthood/index.html) by Queen Elizabeth II! Congratulation, Sir Patrick! :D

[TransWarpDrive]

I don't know how consummate Frenchman Jean-Luc Picard feels about this news, but Patrick Stewart has just been knighted (http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/30/patrick.stewart.knighthood/index.html) by Queen Elizabeth II! Congratulations, Sir Patrick! :D

Yes, I just learned about it myself! Three cheers for Sir Patrick Stewart!:thumbs:

[jeriddian]

I don't know how consummate Frenchman Jean-Luc Picard feels about this news, but Patrick Stewart has just been knighted (http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/12/30/patrick.stewart.knighthood/index.html) by Queen Elizabeth II! Congratulations, Sir Patrick! :D

Yes, I just learned about it myself! Three cheers for Sir Patrick Stewart!:thumbs:

Here! here! Ditto. I'm sure Professor Xavier would be equally pleased.:biggergrin: