[rec.arts.startrek] STIV

c50p-af@dorothy.Berkeley.EDU (Zig) (12/01/86)

Here's a few thoughts/questions/bitchings about the GREAT Star Trek IV--

Someone on the net asked about Kirk's new rank.  Although he is now a
captain like everyone else on his new bridge, he is also the captain of
his ship, and thus superior in rank to ANYONE on the Enterprise.  Even when
*Admiral* Kirk boards the big E in ST0:T(bad)MP, he requests permission from
*Captain* Spock.

I'd like to see the tech arguments avoided over things like the starships
slowing down in the starbase when the power goes out, radiation burning
out the communicators and phasers, sound is space, etc.  We're all smart
folk and all know about such stuff.  Just mark it up to creative cinematics
or pleasing the less-educated members of the audience.  This newsgroup is
already *quite* busy.

It'll be fun to see the *enormous* rash of .signatures affected by the
numerous great lines in the movie.  Sorry mine's not better, but "One
damn minute, Admiral" got taken already.  Damn.  :)

About time-contamination.  Even though the Klingon phaser and communicator
were kaputzski due to the radiation (weak cause, in my book--I'd mark it
up to crummy Klingon crastmanship :), maybe a good techie could open one
up and learn a thing or two.  I doubt a transporter would be built from it,
as someone mentioned earlier on the net, but SDI could learn a thing or two
from a hand-held version.  Kirk never had time to worry about time-
contamination.  He was busy with saving the world.  Besides, going back to
save Chekov was a very cool Star Trek thing to do.  The same thing to save
a Klingon Phasor just doesn't deserve the playing time.  This is a movie :)
(btw--I thought the backwards time-travel scene was a bit long and corny)

Now, enough scattered stuff.  The big question in the back of my mind is...

Where in the hell did Enterprise-2 come from?  If the Constellation class
was discontinued, (the big E *is* a Constellation Class, right?  I assume
the Constellation is NCC-1700 since classes are usually named after the
first ship off the production line), then the Federation was not set up
to grind out a starship in the short time it did.  Is E-2 a refitted 
Constellation of different birth?  Did the Federation intend to replace
the big E when told of it's destruction?  That would give them another
three weeks on top of the two weeks max I'd give them between the saving
of Earth and the demotion of Kirk.

My friend noticed that the Enterprise enters warp the same way that
"bucket of bolts" Excelsior does in STIII.  But it has the same engine
pods as in ST0 and STII.  Is this observation false?  Or does the E now
have bigger and better capabilities.  After all, shouldn't Kirk have the
best ship in the fleet, just for popularity reasons?  (Although he'd
have it anyway, due to his crack crew, and Scotty's miracle working).

He also mentioned that two parent whales and their baby is not
exactly a fantastic genetic pool for breeding a healthy species of
humpback, but that's getting kinda picky.  After all, now that the
Earth's saved, who cares about them? :)   

Okay, I'm surprised you've read this far.  *PLEASE* delete all
unneeded lines from this is you're gonna include it in a posting--
Keep quotes small (or better yet, paraphrase--I'm too long-winded).

"Set phasers on flame..."
--------------------
UUCP:  c50p-af@dorothy.berkeley.edu.UUCP

"Scotty, now would be a good time..."