ciaraldi@rochester.UUCP (Mike Ciaraldi) (06/04/84)
From: Mike Ciaraldi <ciaraldi> Someone asked "why did the Excelsior come to a stop when the warp drive didn't work, instead of coasting on momentum?" How about this explanation: Just before the warp drive goes on, the impulse engines get shut off (let's suppose). When the warp drive did not engage in this case, The Excelsior did indeed keep coasting on momentum. However, it was not going very fast and was very close to the space Dock (at most a few kilometers, since it was only 4000 meters behind the Enterprise as it rounded the corner. The Space Dock is so large that it has the mass of a small asteroid, and its gravity was enough to strt the Excelsior slowing down. Maybe not real fast, but the effect might have been exaggerated by the camera angle. What do you think? Considering that in ST:TMP there was a prob;lem with going into warp drive while still close to a planet (otherwise you fall down a woormhole, a problem which never seemed to arise in the series), why was it now OK to go into warp or trans-warp drive right next to the sSpace Dock, which presumably is in orbit around Earth? Why did microbes on the photon torpedo case evolve into worm-like creatures? Why not?? Other questions about the plot: How much time elapsed between STTMP and ST2-TWOK? If the Enterprise was not considered so old that it was worth beibg completely rebuilt just before the first movie, why is it now too old to be refurnbished after relativley minor battle damage? On the way back to Earth, Scotty tells Kirk that the automation is almost complete. did Kirk expect to need to be able to fly the ship with a skeleton crew, even befor e he asked if he could go back? Why do Vulcans give their Katra to someone else before dying? Assuming that physical death of the body is usually irreversible, what purpose does it serve? On Vulcan, we hear that the technique used on Spock was last used so long ago that it has assumed the status of legend. So, did Spock anticipate that the Genesis effcet would preserve his body, (or regenerate it, maybe into Peter Davidson (nahhhhhh!)), and therefore gave his katra to McCoy? If his body had not regenerated, hwat would have happened to his katra? Re: photon torpedoes: In ST2-TWOK, this was the firast time we actually saw a photon torpedo. Halfway through, we see a crew taking up the deck plates and exposing the tracack the torpedo will ride on. That'a all we see until the very end when Spock gets buried in space. Is this the usual way of launching torpedoes? Isn't it a little inefficient that when the captian wants to fire torpedoes someone has to move the floor out of the way by hand? Sure, you could do it before starting the battle, but what iwf you have to fire on short notice? "Fire photon torpedoes, Mr. Chevok". "But Keptin, we an can't destroy the enemy wessel, the floor boards are still in the way." Or maybe this is a special launching port just for burials in space. Does Star Fleet expect that so many cfrewmen will die during voyages that it needs a special room in each starship just for burying them? Anf finally, if we didn't know that Pon Farr is the mating ritual and thAt vulcans kiss with their finfgers, would we deduce this from what Saavik says in the movie? Mike Ciaraldi ciaraldi@rochester seismo!rochester!ciaraldi
alb@alice.UUCP (Adam L. Buchsbaum) (06/05/84)
A few comments on Mike Ciaraldi's article. Again, the spoiler should have been in the title, so I added it. The warp drive did not work in ST:TMP because the intermix formula was wrong, NOT because they were too close to a planet. If the movie cannot assume the viewer has some knowledge of ST history/lore (from TV and movies), then there's no reason to make it ST, is there? They may as well rename it Starfleet Battles or Days of Our Federation or something. Be serious. This is a sequel of a sequel (to Space Seed).
bsafw@ncoast.UUCP (06/06/84)
[yum, yum]
The time between STTMP and ST-TWOK is supposed to be about 15 years,
implying that the "out-of-date" Enterprise is the REFITTED one, not the one
from the TV series. This seems "logical" to me.
Of COURSE there's a special torpedo room for space burials. It prob-
ably is right next to or in the chapel. Humans (and presumably other races)
insist on keeping funeral customs, so it may be cheaper to build a special
torpedo room for space burials to help keep life in space just that much
more liveable (see the novelization of STTMP for a discussion about that
issue -- TMP was trash but the novel is interesting).
--
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Independence, Ohio 44131rcook@uiucuxc.UUCP (06/09/84)
#R:rochester:-725100:uiucuxc:19800017:000:489
uiucuxc!rcook Jun 9 08:42:00 1984
About Spock leaving McCoy all his marbles, if you would have been paying
attention, you would have realized what Sarek and Kirk were talking about
in there little conversation at Kirk's bachelor pad. Sarek said something
to the effect that all Vulcans do this so they can go through some strange
ritual of reuniting mind and body. He assumed that Spock had said
something to Kirk about, so it must be a tradition among Vulcans.
"Then again maybe I'm wrong"
Rob Cooklmaher@uokvax.UUCP (06/19/84)
#R:rochester:-725100:uokvax:5800023:000:1182
uokvax!lmaher Jun 19 00:52:00 1984
PLEASE Get It Straight! ST1 occurred a few years after the 5-
year voyage ended. ST2 occurred 15 years after Khan was stranded
on Ceti Alpha *, which is about 10 years after ST1. If the
Enterprise had not been so badly damaged in ST2, it would have
been kept in service; but the Federation saw no reason to spend a
great deal overhauling a seriously damaged 20-year old starship.
Keep in mind that maintaining an out-of-date ship costs a great
deal, especially if its parts are different from modern ones (as
you would expect.) It just wasn't cost-effective to repair an
old ship, especially since it didn't have the newest drives,
etc. such as Trans-warp and would have had to be refitted
extensively anyway.
Now a TRIVIA question. Given this timing, and by the time a
new Enterprise is built, what other loose end from the series
should we expect (hope?) to see? Mail answers to me and I'll
post the results. I'll only post the answer if someone gets it.
Carl (formerly uok!crigney)
allegra!{nbires convex ut-ngp}\
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OR {allegra ihnp4}!duke!uok!uokvax!lmaher