news@fxgrp.fx.com (News) (10/04/90)
MONTHLY LIST OF "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS"
in REC.ARTS.STARTREK (last updated 9/18/90)
This posting is intended to cut down on the "often asked questions"
that seem to pop up every few months in this newsgroup. It is a
supplement to the monthly list of actors' other roles posted by Otto
"HACK-MAN" Heuer, the monthly reality reminder posted by Greg Paris, the
monthly list of lists by Mark Holtz, and the monthly episode guide
posted by Mark A. Lindsay.
This is basically a list of questions that have been brought up and
discussed to death in rec.arts.startrek, and a lot of people would be
happy if they never resurfaced. It also contains pointers to other
information.
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1) Acronyms
2) Names (Kirk, Spock, Data)
3) TNG Ranks
4) Top speed/TNG warp
5) McCoy's "I'm a doctor, not a ___" lines
6) Stardates, years, ages, etc.
7) ftp sites: (parodies, GIFs, PostScript drawings, scripts, Guide)
8) Episode guide, fortune files, quotes files, tech manuals
9) Addresses for Trek memorabilia
10) Crew reading USENET?
11) TOS Enterprise separation
12) Games
13) Merritt Butrick
14) Starfleet Military?
15) TOS theme song lyrics
16) Shatner and Nimoy singing
17) Assignment Earth == series pilot
18) Saavik's heritage
19) Uniforms
20) Leaving the galaxy
21) Untelevized TOS episodes
22) Kirk Thatcher
23) Submitting a script
24) Submitting a story for Pocket Books
25) Picard's surrenders; self destructs; time travel
26) Is Paramount making money on TNG?
27) TNG season 4 tidbits
28) The future of Star Trek
99) Misc Trivia
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Acronyms:
TOS = The Original Series (or The Old Series)
TAS = The Animated Series
TCS = The Cartoon Series/The Comics Series
TNG = The Next Generation
TFS = The Film Series
TMP = The Motion Picture (ST1)
TWoK = The Wrath of Khan (ST2)
TSfS = The Search for Spock (ST3)
TVH = The Voyage Home (ST4)
TFF = The Final Frontier (ST5)
NCC = Naval Construction Contract
USS = United Space Ship
FTL = Faster than Light (warp speeds)
BoP = The Romulan (and Klingon) Bird of Prey vessel
UFP = United Federation of Planets
SFC = Star Fleet Command
SFA = Star Fleet Academy
SF = Star Fleet or Science Fiction (depending on context)
GR = Gene Roddenberry
IDIC = Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations (Vulcan Credo)
LLaP = Live Long and Prosper
The Great Bird = Gene Roddenberry (An in-joke from early TOS episode)
The Big E = The Enterprise
FX, SFX = (special) Effects
K/S = Generally refers to the "liberal" writing style of some of the
less-accepted Trek books and fanzines dealing with Kirk and
Spock being "more than close friends".
ILM = Industrial Light and Magic
IMHO = In My Humble Opinion
FYI = For Your Information
If you see other acronyms (and are relatively new to UseNet), refer to
the "often asked questions for new users" file. Episode names are
commonly referred to by acronym; most are fairly easy to figure out.
2) NAMES: Kirk's middle initial/middle name. It is generally agreed
that Kirk's full name is "James Tiberius Kirk". It was only given as
"James T. Kirk" in TOS, the "Tiberius" didn't come around until TAS
("Bem") and the novels. In "Where No Man Has Gone Before", Gary
Mitchell makes a gravestone for Kirk that says "James R. Kirk",
apparently before Gene had settled on a middle name. Spock's other name
(you couldn't pronounce it) isn't given in TOS or TFS. It is given in
one or more of the books if you care to believe them. Data's name was
shown on a computer screen once as "Lt. Cmdr NFN NMI Data" ("No First
Name, No Middle Initial").
3) TNG RANKS: Deanna Troi's rank was given as "Lt. Cmdr" in "Encounter
at Farpoint" (the pilot episode) and occasionally on computer displays
(e.g. "The Child"). The "pips" (the circles on the uniform collars)
signify rank. A hollow circle counts as a half circle:
0.5: Ensign, Junior Grade
1.0: Ensign
1.5: Lt., Junior Grade
2.0: Lt.
2.5: Lt. Commander
3.0: Commander
4.0: Captain
5.0: Commodore/Fleet Captain
4) The fastest the original Enterprise has gone (not counting "off the
scale") was 14.1 in "By Any Other Name". The Enterprise-D seems to have
a top speed slightly less than 10, not counting the time Q flung it a
great distance. Riker mentioned that warp 10 instigates time travel.
In "Where No One Has Gone Before" it is mentioned that the Enterprise
has reached or passed warp 10.
The ST:TNG Writer's Technical Manual, 3rd season edition contains the
following table:
warp c comment
---- ---- -------
1 1
2 10
3 39
4 102
5 214
6 392 normal cruising speed.
7 656
8 1024
9 1516
9.6 1909 maximum attainable speed for E
9.9 3053 maximum speed for E under any circumstances
9.99 7912
10 infinite
Notes not from the guide:
For warp speeds 1 through 9, the formula w ^ (10/3) provides the
numbers shown, rounded to the integer.
5) McCoy's "I'm a doctor not a _____" EPISODE
Bricklayer Devil in the Dark
Escalator Friday's Child
Engineer Mirror, Mirror
Mechanic The Doomsday Machine
Magician The Deadly Years
Psychiatrist The City on the Edge of Forever
Moon shuttle conductor The Corbomite Maneuver
The last is paraphrased, since he said "What am I, I doctor or a moon
shuttle conductor", but it fits the mold. Also, in Amok Time, Kirk says
"Well, are you a doctor or aren't you?" and in ST5 says something like
"Dammit Bones, you're a doctor."
6) Stardates, years, ages, etc.:
In TOS the stardates ranged from 1513 (Man Trap) to 5928 (Turnabout
Intruder). At this time Gene had intended for stardates to be based on
Julian dates modulo 10000, with one stardate being 24 hours in length.
There are numberous examples where this is false. Some of the most
blatent are The Immunity Syndrome (where a quick calculation shows that
one stardate is less than 2.5 hours) and Requiem for Methuselah (where
one stardate figures out to be about 960 hours). There are a few
episodes where the stardates actually decrease during the show.
In TNG, the stardate is also supposed to be 24 hours, and is in the
form 4xyyy.y where "x" is the season number and yyy.y is a random number
that increases (usually) throughout the season.
The year in TOS is somewhere between 2260 and 2286.
The year on a bottle of Romulan Ale is given in The Wrath of Khan
as 2283(?)
TNG is ~93 years after TOS, and 78-79 years after TMP.
TOS: 1976 Ballentine Concordance: Gives McCoy's age as 45.
TOS "The Deadly Years": Kirk's age is given as 34.
TNG "The Neutral Zone": Data gives the year as 2364.
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": McCoy's age is given as 137.
TOS "Journey to Babel": Sarek's age is given as 102.437.
TNG "Sarek": Sarek's age is given as 202.
TNG: Wes said that Data is appoximately the same age as he is,
chronologically.
TNG "DataLore": Data says he was found 26 years ago.
Kirk was born in the year 2228 in Riverside, Iowa, where a statue
of him has been erected.
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": Data graduated SFA in the class of '78
with Honors in Dextral Biology and Probability Mechanics.
7) Anonymous ftp sites with Star Trek related creative stuff:
a.cs.uiuc.edu 128.174.252.1 TeX, dvi2ps, gif, texx2.7, amiga,
abcfd20.larc.nasa.gov 128.155.23.64 lots of Star Trek goodies
bison.cs.uwa.oz.au phonology), gif, looking for
curie.cs.unc.edu 128.109.136.151 GIF, graphics programs
dsl.cis.upenn.edu 130.91.6.12 GIF, IBM
lut.fi 128.214.25.8 GIF, PD sources modified for
mcs213k.cs.umr.edu 131.151.6.11 xgif
merlin.cs.purdue.edu 128.10.2.3 ConcurrenC, Xinu, mac, GIF
mibsrv.mib.eng.ua.edu 130.160.20.80 bitmaps, GIF, games
milton.u.washington.edu lots of star trek parodies
network.ucsd.edu 128.54.16.3 anime gifs
squid.cs.ucla.edu 131.179.96.44 gifs
surya.waterloo.edu 129.97.129.72 tiff format, gif2ras
uxc.cso.uiuc.edu 136.144.1.2 to the Internet, GIF
wuarchive.wustl.edu 128.252.135.4 X.11R3, GIF, IEN, RFCs, TeX,
Check out abcfd20.larc.nasa.gov [128.155.23.64] (formerly the xanth
archive) which has the following contents in the directory
pub/star-trek:
BGvs1701D-I.Z BGvs1701D-IIa.Z BGvs1701D-IIb.Z
README-STTNG STTNGfortune.tar.Z ncc1701c.Z
ncc1701d.tar.Z parody-shootdown.Z stick-ships.Z
trek.vt.Z unix_trek.Z warbird.Z
The STTNGfortune.tar.Z is the Next Generation fortune, the
ncc17101d.tar.Z is the Postscript pictures of the new Enterprise and the
trek.vt.Z is a ansi vt100 animation.
Or you can telnet (not ftp) to mbbs.cc.columbia.edu (IP 128.59.41.3),
and follow the information given to you from there. Essentially you'd
be able to connect to a file server which you can download files (kermit
or xmodem protocols only) located in several places. Go to the
"pictures" location and then try to get any of the "Startrek" gif files.
These are the pictures available in the Startrek directory:
beverly.gif laforge.gif strbas.gif
bonekirk.gif picard+yar.gif trekview.gif
crew.gif picard.gif troi.gif
data.gif picard2.gif wesley.gif
enterprise.gif riker.gif worf.gif
enterprise2.gif spock.gif worf2.gif
enterprise3.gif spock1.gif yar.gif
kirk.gif spock2.gif
kirk2.gif spockirk.gif
Chuan Chee's collection of Star Trek parodies is available via anonymous
ftp from math.princeton.edu in the directory pub/rjc/st (at least until
milton's replacement archive is set up). Consult the file "p.files" for
an index of the contents. (Note that all files in that directory have
been compressed.) For example, the VAX Trek parody is available as
files p.034 through p.048. People who can't ftp can obtain the files
via email. Type this to your unix-like machine:
echo send filename | mail -s Command rjc@math.princeton.edu
replacing "filename" with the actual name of the file you want.
Since mail servers are frowned upon by most system administrators,
I ask that you use ftp if at all possible, and that if you have
to use the mail server, to limit yourself to three requests total.
[ Anyone know of more sites for Postscript drawings, GIFs, ASCII
pictures, serious scipts/novels, etc.? ]
[ Any ftp site have the "Sam Donaldson as a Vulcan" picture? ]
8) If you want a list of TNG episodes (for all seasons), the schedule
information is presented by Vidiot (Mr. Video (Mike Brown)) who also
puts out a very nice guide (which contains all kinds of useful info like
names of actors/actresses) which is available by anonymous ftp at
[machine still being decided]@montana.edu in the [directory still being
decided] directory. All the information needed (which files to get and
what to do with them (unpacking, printing, etc.)) is in the README file
at the same site. The guide is also available by anonymous UUCP from
Mike at
Phone: 608-274-9275
Baud: 19200/2400/1200
Login: anonuucp
Password: none (it will not be asked)
Updates are posted to rec.arts.startrek.info occasionally.
There's also a "fortune" file floating around for both TOS and TNG with
humorous and/or memorable quotes from the episodes. The ftp site is
listed above.
Other good sources for information (on both series) are:
"The Klingon Dictionary" by Marc Okrand (Pocket Books 85)
"The Making of Star Trek" by Gene Roddenberry (Ballantine/Del Ray 68)
"Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise" by Shane Johnson (Pocket Books 87)
"Star Fleet Technical Manual" by Franz Joseph (Ballantine/Del Ray 75)
"Star Trek Blueprints" by Franz Joseph (Ballantine/Del Ray 75)
"Star Trek Compendium" by Allan Asherman (Pocket Books 81, 87, 89)
"Star Trek Concordance" by Bjo Trimble (Ballantine/Del Ray 76)
"The Worlds of the Federation" by Shane Johnson (Pocket Books 89)
"The Writer's/Director's Guide" (new editions put out for each season)
FASA has the "Officers Manual", but it has been pulled or denounced by
Gene since it contradicts a lot of what has been said on TNG or in the
Writer's/Director's Guide (Betazoids are NOT from Haven, Star Fleet did
NOT think of creating the post of counselor when they discovered
telepaths, etc.) Roddenberry told them to stop publishing the manual
until they corrected the inaccuracies, but instead FASA made 2-3 more
printings. They will be releasing a new edition that has been worked
out with Paramount, and Richard Arnold has said somewhat
enthusiastically that it is going to be quite nice and meets with Gene's
approval.
And of course you can get lots of Trek stuff from Trek cons and
magazines (Starlog seems to be the most popular).
Lincoln Enterprises themselves are at most conventions, and they sell
writer's guides from every season along with final scripts from
episodes. In fact, these scripts even have scenes that are cut out due
to the episode running long.
9) Any correspondance with Paramount, Gene, the actors, etc. should be
sent to:
Paramount Studios
Star Trek Offices
5555 Melrose Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90038
Note that scripts have a better chance of getting accepted if you have
an agent. Paramount gets about 800 fan-written scripts a year and uses
about four of them. See the separate section in this posting on
submitting scripts.
Lincoln Enterprises is run by Majel Barrett (Mrs. Roddenberry), and is
said to be the best source for fan paraphanalia. This is the best place
to get a Writer's Guide from if you're not an established writer. The
address is:
Lincoln Enterprises
Box 691370
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(213) 462-3850 (orders only, $15 minimum by credit card)
Star Tech has some good stuff too, like the blooper reels on tape (four
tapes for TOS and one for TNG season one), movie soundtrack CDs, etc.
However, some of their recorded tapes seem to be "gray market", so
beware:
Star Tech
PO Box 456
Dunlap, TN 37327
Starlog (or Starlog Press)
475 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
10) None of the crew read Usenet (though we have a writer or two on
here). Wheaton and some of the "behind-the-scenes" people are on
Compu$erve/GEnie though.
11) Yes, the TOS Enterprise could separate; just that it would take a
lot more work (and a bigger effects budget) to put it back together.
Kirk orders Scotty to "disengage nacelles, jettison if possible" in "The
Savage Curtain". He might also mention it in "The Apple".
12) GAMES: The FASA Star Trek game is pretty much ignored by the r.a.s
community, though many seem to like the variety of TOS and TNG drinking
games that show up occasionally. [Anyone know if these are ftp-able
from anywhere?]
13) Yes, Merritt Butrick is dead. He played Kirk's son David in the
movies as well as an alien in TNG's "Symbiosis", along-side of one of
the actors that served with Khan. The actor died in March 1989 due to
complications related to the AIDS virus. The actress who played Vina in
"The Cage" also recently died (early 1990).
14) According to ST:TNG Writer's/Director's guide (1987): "Starfleet is
NOT a military organization....No saluting. We may hear the word 'Sir,'
but it is intended as the same kind of curtousy used by junior and
senior officers on commercial airliners....No stories about warfare with
Klingons or Romulans and no stories with Vulcans." Granted the
Romulan/Klingon/Vulcan rule has laxed, but I still believe Starfleet is
non-military (except when they are cornered, like the Borg situation).
15) Yes, there are words to the TOS theme song. Roddenberry wrote the
lyrics himself. Not very good. Maybe these should be posted (along
with the lyrics to other TOS songs, mostly from "The Way to Eden") in
the monthly posting of "lists".
16) Both Shatner and Nimoy have attempted to sing and have a few albums
out (from the early 70s, I believe). They are *extremely* bad and only
good for comic relief.
17) Yes, Assignment Earth was indead a pilot that never got off the
ground. One of a few. Gene wanted to create some more shows. The
reference for this is in the book The Making of Star Trek, (the white
cover, not the silver one).
18) Saavik was half Vulcan and half Romulan. This wasn't mentioned in
the movie (probably cut to save time), but it was in the novelization,
the trailer shown on Siskel & Ebert, and was mentioned by Stewart in the
special showing of "The Cage".
19) The uniforms were changed from the spandex one-piece suits (that
made the cast look muscular) to the wool two-piece suits (that make them
look flabby but are more comfortable). The new uniforms cost $3000
apiece to manufacture. Most of the extras are still wearing the old
uniforms. Another reason for the switch is that Brent Spiner suffers
from some back injury. Because spandex is skin-tight, he couldn't wear
his brace underneath. The wool is loose enough and you can occasionally
you can see the top of the brace under the costume if you look at his
chest.
If you want a Star Trek uniform: Look for Simplicity or McCalls pattern
book in your favorite fabric shop. In the back there are Star Trek
uniforms for adults and children, both sexes. You can also get the
patterns from Paramount's "Star Trek: The Official Fan Club" (both TOS
and TNG uniforms).
If you're not "sew" talented and want one pre-made, Intergalactic
Trading Post of Tampa Florida is one of many companies that make them in
several sizes. They generally show up at Star Trek/SF conventions.
20) The Enterprise has left the galaxy in "TOS: Where No Man Has Gone
Before", "TOS: By Any Other Name", "TOS: Is There in Truth No Beauty?",
"TNG: Where No One Has Gone Before" and in "ST5:TFF" they crossed the
barrier at the center of the galaxy.
21) Untelevized TOS episodes:
The Cage
He Has Walked Among Us (unfilmed)
Paleface
(other titles I can't remember)
A black and white original of "The Cage" was pieced back together with
the color clips stolen for "The Menagerie" which has since been
televized. Just before the premier of TNG, Paramount "found" a copy of
"The Cage" which was all in color (which they then televized). It is
marred by drastic changes in the Talosians' voices in mid-sentence,
otherwise it is fun to watch (along with a grinning, shouting Spock).
The color version they show now has been cut down to an hour and has
Spock's famous "grinning at the singing plants" scene removed. Sigh.
22) Kirk Thatcher:
* Was associate producer of ST4.
* Was the actor who played the Punk on the Bus in ST4.
* Wrote the song "I hate You" which the punk was listening to.
* Is a member of the band "Edge of Etiquette" which performed the song.
* Is Margaret Thatcher's son. ("son"?)
23) SUBMITTING SCRIPTS:
Paramount has finally received permission from its legal department
to read and purchase fan-submitted scripts. You do NOT need an agent
(though it helps), and the scripts do NOT have to be solicited.
You do have to send for a Paramount Release Form, which has to be
legally executed. Address a stamped, self-addressed, legal-size envelope
and send it with the request for a Release Form to the address given for
Paramount elsewhere in this posting.
Also, it may be a good idea to ask for the one-page ST:TNG Script
Submissions suggestions as well. Paramount STRONGLY suggests that you
obtain a ST:TNG Writer's Guide from Lincoln Enterprises, since they do
NOT send out sample scripts.
Besides the Writer's Guide, here's some other useful information
you can get from Lincoln Enterprises:
8001 - ST:TNG Writer's Guide $9.95
1106 - How to sell a script by D.C. Fontana $3.95
1101 - Original (TOS) Writer's Guide $4.95
1109 - ST:TNG Character Biographies $7.95
Include $2.00 shipping for up to $10.00 worth of merchandise, $0.50 for
each additional $5.00 worth of merchandise. Prices accurate as of 7/90.
24) SUBMITTING A STORY TO POCKET BOOKS:
This comes through Peter David from Kevin Ryan at Pocket Books: the
official Pocket Books Star Trek Novel Submission guidelines.
** Due to the overwhelming number of submissions that we receive, Pocket
Books can only accept solicited, agented manuscripts. A comprehensive
list of agents can be found in THE LITERARY MARKETPLACE **
FORMAT: All manuscripts must be submitted typed, double-spaced, on one
side of non-corrasable typing paper. The page number and your name
should be at the top of each page. Your full name and address should
appear on the first and last page of the manuscript (yes, include your
phone number).
PROCEDURE: Submit the first three chapters with a detailed synopsis
(four to six pages) of the entire plot. Due to the large volume of
submissions we receive, our reply can take anywhere from one to six
months...so please be patient. If we're interested in publishing your
novel, we'll contact your agent with an offer. We may ask for
revisions, and may also ask to see the completed novel before reaching a
decision.
CONTENTS: We're only interested in full-length adventure novels of
roughly 70,000 words (about 250-300 pages). We cannot use short
stories, poetry, biographies, romances, blueprints, or trivia books.
In a one-sentence description, we're looking for exciting science
fiction stories featuring the Star Trek characters we all know and love.
All material is subject to the approvl of Paramount Pictures, who are
very concerned about maintaining the integrity of the characters and the
Star Trek universe. Absolute consistency is a practical impossibility,
but some major themes to avoid include:
* Traveling intime to change history or learn something, rescue someone,
etc.
* Having a tear in the fabric of reaity which could destroy the
universe.
* Pon farr in Spock.
* Death of a major, established character.
* Any plot which hines on or describes in detail sexual relaions
(normal, abnormal, and so on). We are not interested in books that
suggest anything other than friendship between Kirk and Spock or any
other crewmembers.
* Any plot that mixes the Next Generation and the original crew.
* Data becoming human.
Plot elements to avoid with respect to specific characters:
Kirk: no offspring or close relations not already established. Also,
no childhood or current sweethearts; though, you can create temporary
love interests.
Spock: no sisters, brothers, half siblings (beyond Sybok), offspring,
sudden reversions to emotion, sex. The Vulcan mind-meld has already
been seriously overused of late. No explanations of the "Vulcan Way"
beyond what has already been done in the TV series or movies.
McCoy: no offspring or close relations not already establihed.
We can no loner use castmembers who have left the show (no Tasha Yar or
Dr. Pulaski).
For any regular castmembers--same rules as per Kirk.
Also, other crewmembers: in general, avoid trying to definitively map
out a character's history much beyond what has already been done in the
movies or television episodes.
Of course there are guidelines. Disobey them at your own peril if
necessary to your story--but remember, you were warned.
Thank you for your interest in STAR TREK and good luck with your
writing.
Best,
The Star Trek Editors.
The address for Pocket is Simon & Schuster Building, 1230 Avenue of the
Americas, NY, NY 10020. The editors are Dave Stern and Kevin Ryan.
25) PICARD'S SURRENDERS; SELF DESTRUCTS; TIME TRAVEL:
* "Encounter at Farpoint": Picard says "Transmit the following in all
languages and in all frequencies; 'We surrender'."
* "Outrageous Okono": Picard drops shields "In case we decide to
surrender to them."
* "A Matter of Honor": Picard surrenders to Riker on the Pagh.
* "The Defector": The Romulans ask Picard to surrender, but he doesn't.
* "Peak Performance": The Ferengi ask Picard to surrender, but he
doesn't get the chance.
* "The Last Outpost": Picard surrenders to the Ferengi, but they don't
accept.
* "Yesterday's Enterprise": Alternate-Picard refuses to surrender to
the Klingons.
* Picard tries to surrender to the Ferengi, but they beat him to it.
* Picard tries to surrender to the [Romulans|Klingons]. (?)
* "11001001": Picard tries to self destruct.
* "Where Silence Has Lease": Picard tries to self destruct for Nagilum.
* Kirk tried to self destruct in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield",
"[one other episode ???]", and finally succeeds in the film series.
TOS time travel:
1. The Guardian of Forever ("City on the Edge of Forever")
2. The slingshot effect ("Tomorrow Is Yesterday")
3. Cold-starting the warp engines ("The Naked Time")
4. Mr. Atoz's time travel system ("All Our Yesterdays")
5. Isis' time-space transporter ("Assignment: Earth")
TNG time travel:
1. Picard from the future ("Time Squared")
2. Enterprise from the past ("Yesterday's Enterprise")
26) IS PARAMOUNT MAKING MONEY ON TNG?
Yes. Tons. The following is stolen from industry trade magazines
VARIETY and BROADCASTING, as well as Roger Tang:
FIRST: License fees (the fees studios charge individual stations
to run their programs): Let's say Paramount charges each station $2,000
to run the first run package. That's ball park; other stations can get
$10-20K per episode in top 20 markets. Also, Turner can expect $800,000
to $1 million per episode show of THE WONDER YEARS when it goes into
backend syndication. $2,000 per episode times 238 stations yields
$476,000 per episode shown in first run sydication (which does NOT count
the later syndication or backend syndication).
SECOND: Commercial fees: According to Vidiot, Paramount has seven
minutes of national advertising in each show. BROADCASTING has
published figures of $60-80,000 per 30 second spot. (They have also
mentioned that rates for the third and fourth seasons are around
$135,000 per 30 second spot). Paramount is garnering $1,890,000 per
showing of an episode.
THIRD: But wait! Shows are shown more than once even in first run
syndication. Let's assume a cut rate of $50,000 per spot in reruns
(doubt it, since people are STILL watching during reruns). Even a rerun
episode will garner $700,000 in commercial revenue.
THE BOTTOM LINE: $476,000 + $1,890,000 + $700,000 = well over $3
million in revenue per episode in first run syndication. And we all
know studios base their financing on just breaking even in backend
syndication. So the claim that Paramount is losing $8 million is just
creative financing.
27) TNG SEASON 4 TIDBITS:
1: 9/24 175 Best of Best Worlds Pt. II (by Michael Piller)
2: 10/01 178 Family (by Ron Moore; Best of Both Worlds part 3;
Picard returns to France; including a
possible appearance by Jack Crusher as well
as two very wonderful guest starring roles)
3: 10/08 177 Brother(s) (by Rick Berman; Spiner plays three
characters: Data, Lore, and their creator,
Dr. Noonian Soong (sp). According to Mr.
Frakes, the voice Brent Spiner does for Dr.
Soong sounds like a cross between Jimmy
Stewart and Groucho Marx.) ["Amok Time"
clone? --ed]
4: 10/15 176 Suddenly Human (by Jeri Taylor; NOT a Data story; A missing
human child is found thriving in an alien
culture... is it in his best interests to
return him to "humanity"?) ["Charlie X"
clone? --ed]
5: 10/22 1xx The Reunion (Directed by Jonathan Frakes--lots of
Klingons, including K'Empk (sp?) from "Sins
of the Father", K'Elyhr (Worf's girlfriend),
and her and Worf's child (Klingon civil
war))
x: 1xx Remember Me (by Lee Sheldon; features the return of Eric
Menyuk as the Traveler (major Wes role).
Beverly notices people disappearing until no
one is left but her and Picard on the bridge
- then he disappears (major Bev role))
x: 1xx (Picard's brother back on earth) [sounds
like it may be "Family" --ed]
x: 1xx Legacy (the Enterprise visit the world that Tasha
Yar grew up on. Besides encountering rape
gangs, they also run into Tasha's sister, a
gang member) [her Evil twin sister Skippy?
-ed]
x: 1xx (The Transporter Chief might get married
(and will hopfully have a first name by
then.))
x: 1xx Future Imperfect (*tentative*) (Riker has an accident
during an away mission and recovers
consciousness aboard the Enterprise ...
fifteen years later) ["Wizard of Oz" clone
with Riker waking up in the end? --ed]
Wil Wheaton is negotiating his own contract now and will be leaving
ST:TNG after filming of the sixth episode (possibly to matriculate).
His character Wes will leave for Star Fleet Academy.
So we have the return of Eric Menyuk as The Traveler from "Where No One
Has Gone Before", Denise Crosby (possibly as Yar's sister), John
DeLancie (as Q of course), Lwaxana Troi, and possibly Barkley, Wheaton
cameos as Wes, and the bugs from "Conspiracy" (as the cliffhanger at the
end of season 4).
28) FUTURE OF STAR TREK: Current plans are for a sixth TOS movie and a
huge convention in California next year around the 25th anniversary date
(Sept 8, 1991). The movie will probably (hopefully) be later in teh
season. The cast of TNG have signed 6-year contracts and have the
option of another year. After this, plans are to create TNG movies.
Rumors are floating of a third series, either another generation *after*
TNG or the years between TOS and TNG.
99) MISC TRIVIA
James Doohan is missing the middle finger of his left hand. It can be
seen in brief shots (especially in the early episodes). Whenever they
needed to show Scotty's hands (like when he operated the transporter)
they had a stand-in and showed a close-up. ("Cut! All right, bring in
the stunt hands.")
TOS "The Devil in the Dark": Every 5000 years the race of Horta all die
save the one mother Horta.
TOS "Balance of Terror": Neutral zone outposts 2, 2, 4, and 8 were
trashed by the Romulan ship before the Enterprise was able to engage (#4
was the one they saw get destroyed on the viewer)
TOS "Operation: Annihilate!": In a well-known ST blooper, the
amoeba-creature accidently hits Spocks read end instead of his back.
TOS "The Tholian Web": The name of the Tholian commander who first
attacks the Enterprise after Kirk is lost is Commander Loskene.
TOS "Wolf in the Fold": The names that the entity was referred to by
were Jack the Ripper, Baratis, Redjac, Kesla, Mr. Hengist (and yes, that
was the wimpy guy from hte Bob Newhart Show).
TOS "Amok Time": T'Pau was the only person to ever turn down a seat on
the Federation council.
TOS "Amok Time": The episode where Ensign Chekov makes his debut (1st
episode, 2nd season). (Catspaw was the one he was first filmed in,
although this aired after Amok Time).
TOS: Where was the ONLY doorknob seen in a FEDERATION setting (ship or
starbase etc.) and why is it ironic that it should be placed there?
TOS "The Paradise Syndrome": "He Has Walked Among Us" and "Paleface"
were combined into "The Paradise Syndrome", according to speculation by
Allen Asherman and David Gerrold. Reportedly, only Gene Coon knew for
sure, and of course he's been dead for about 15 years...
TOS "City on the Edge of Forever": If you want H. Ellison's original
script for "City on the Edge of Forever", look for a book called "Six
Science Fiction Plays", edited by Roger Elwood. It's a paperback,
published in 1976 by Pocket Books under the Washington Square Press
imprint. It was distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Simon & Schuster.
I have no idea if it's still in print. If it isn't, check your local
library, used book stores, and the dealer's room at your next
convention. There must be copies out there somewhere. According to
Elwood's foreword, this was the first time Ellision's original uncut
script was published. It's preceded by a ten-page introduction that
Ellison wrote especially for this book, telling his version of the
transformation of his script into what was eventually telecast. The
book also contains these scripts:
"Sting!" by Tom Reamy
"Contact Point" by Theodore R. Cogswell and George Rae Cogswell
"Stranger with Roses" by John Jakes
"The Mechanical Bride" by Fritz Leiber
"Let Me Hear You Whisper" by Paul Zindel
("Sting!" is a movie screenplay; "The Mechanical Bride" is a teleplay;
the others are stage plays)
According to the Star Trek Compendium:
Kirk: was in 79 TOS episodes
Spock: was in 79 TOS episodes + "The Cage"
McCoy: was in 74 TOS episodes
Uhura: was in 65 TOS episodes
Scotty: was in 61 TOS episodes
Sulu: was in 47 TOS episodes
Chekov: was in 33 TOS episodes
ST: TMP: The oval things on the belts were originally supposed to be
biorhythm devices. In the novelization of ST:TMP, the little oval things
are described in a footnote. They are called "perscan" devices and are
used to monitor crew members life signs from sick bay. Only the CMO
gets to see the captain's perscan output. According to the footnote,
the lower abdomen is supposed to be an ideal location for a medical
scanner. Making it into a belt buckle seemed the obvious way to
integrate it into the Fleet uniforms.
TNG season 1: Dr. Crusher's orderly (ensign Freeman) was supposed to be
gay (according to the script writer).
TNG "The High Ground": "He Has Walked Among Us" was reportedly a minor
inspiration for "The High Ground", abeit uncredited (this coming from a
Creation con). "THG" was one of those supposedly conceived during the
strike as a possible filler (a la "The Child"), and the use of the older
TOS script ("The Paradise Syndrome") would have made it acceptable under
the union crap edicts.
TNG: Data is NOT Asmovian and does NOT obey Asimov's Laws of Robotics.
The only connection is that Data has a positronic brain.
TNG: In a War of the Worlds episode ("Thy Kingdom Come"), there is a
kid playing with action figures. One of them is in the likeness of Yar,
Data, Picard, or Riker and he mentions something about Ferengi.
TNG: Captain Garrett's crew took the E-C to glory at N'rendra III,
which was NOT K'timar (the planet where Worf's father and mother died).
TNG: In the opening credits (and occasionally in the same shot during
the show) you can see a man walking by the large vertical windows of the
ready room. It is the slow flyby of the Enterprise (from lower left to
upper right) after all the quick flybys. There are large windows just
beyond the bump in the saucer section, and if you look closely (and it
helps to have a giant screen TV) you can see a man walking from left to
right past the windows, then someone walking from right to left behind
him. NOTE: It's harder to catch it with freeze-frame since pausing a
VCR loses half the resolution, so just watch it at normal speed a few
times until you figure out where on the ship you're supposed to be
looking.
TNG: Paramount has confirmed that the bar on the bridge (with its
"whoopi cushion") is non-alcoholic.
TNG "Ensigns of Command": The original script called for Data to have
sex with the leading lady in order to get her cooperation later. This
idea never made it through the first draft. Gene's reason for dropping
it: "Only a human male would use a woman like that"...
TNG is not broadcast in Dolby. There is out-of-phase-but-equal-amplitude
stuff in the ST:TNG soundtrack, which your Dolby Stereo decoder
recognizes as "rear channel information". They mostly put the ship's
noise (a low thundering sound of the engines) on the rear and some times
when ships pass by or shoot. Since Paramount clearly *is* using
"official" Dolby Stereo for _Arsenio Hall_, they might be planning to
use it for ST:TNG's 4th season as well.
TNG satellite uplink times:
Sat 1800 EDT T301-9
Sun 1400 EDT T301-9
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Again, if you know of any other topics that should be included in
this list, feel free to email me at the address below.
--HACK-MAN
"Transmit the following in all languages and on all frequencies:
'We surrender'." --Jean-Luc Picard/Encounter at Farpoint
--
_____ _________ _ Ignor missng charctrs, as pnet's edtr tends to eat thm
| ___|| _______|| | INET: hackman@pnet51.orb.mn.org"
| |__ | |___ ___| | amdahl!bungia chinet
| __| |___ || _ | UUCP: >-------->!orbit!pnet51!hackman
| | _______| || |_| | uunet!rosevax killer Otto E. Heuer, CEO
|_||_________||_____| "The innovator for software solutions." FSD, Inc.
It would have worked too, if it weren't for those meddling kids...and that dog
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edited by Jim "The Big Dweeb" Griffith - the official scapegoat for r.a.s.i.
Email submissions to trek-info@dweeb.fx.com, and questions to
trek-info-request@dweeb.fx.comottoh@CFSMO.Honeywell.COM (Otto Heuer) (11/03/90)
MONTHLY LIST OF "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS"
in REC.ARTS.STARTREK (last updated 10/30/90)
This posting is intended to cut down on the "often asked questions"
that seem to pop up every few months in this newsgroup. It is a
supplement to the monthly list of actors' other roles posted by Otto
"HACK-MAN" Heuer, the monthly reality reminder posted by Greg Paris, the
monthly list of lists by Mark Holtz, and the monthly episode guide
posted by Mark A. Lindsay.
This is basically a list of questions that have been brought up and
discussed to death in rec.arts.startrek, and a lot of people would be
happy if they never resurfaced. It also contains pointers to other
information.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Acronyms
2) Names (Kirk, Spock, Data)
3) TNG Ranks
4) Top speed/TNG warp
5) McCoy's "I'm a doctor, not a ___" lines
6) Stardates, years, ages, etc.
7) ftp sites: (parodies, GIFs, PostScript drawings, scripts, Guide)
8) Episode guide, fortune files, quotes files, tech manuals
9) Addresses for Trek memorabilia
10) Crew reading USENET?
11) TOS Enterprise separation
12) Games
13) Merritt Butrick
14) Starfleet Military?
15) TOS theme song lyrics, Shatner and Nimoy singing, and other music
16) SNAFUs
17) Definitions: "Trekkie" vs. "Trekker"
18) Crew backgrounds
19) Uniforms
20) Leaving the galaxy
21) Untelevized TOS episodes and series pilots
22) Kirk Thatcher
23) Submitting a script
24) Submitting a story for Pocket Books
25) Picard's surrenders; self destructs; time travel
26) Is Paramount making money on TNG?
27) TNG season 4 tidbits
28) The future of Star Trek
99) Misc Trivia
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Acronyms:
TOS = The Original Series (or The Old Series)
TAS = The Animated Series
TCS = The Cartoon Series/The Comics Series
TNG = The Next Generation
TFS = The Film Series
TMP = The Motion Picture (ST1)
TWoK = The Wrath of Khan (ST2)
TSfS = The Search for Spock (ST3)
TVH = The Voyage Home (ST4)
TFF = The Final Frontier (ST5)
NCC = Naval Construction Contract
USS = United Space Ship
FTL = Faster than Light (warp speeds)
BoP = The Romulan (and Klingon) Bird of Prey vessel
UFP = United Federation of Planets
SFC = Star Fleet Command
SFA = Star Fleet Academy
SF = Star Fleet or Science Fiction (depending on context)
GR = Gene Roddenberry
IDIC = Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations (Vulcan Credo)
LLaP = Live Long and Prosper
The Great Bird = Gene Roddenberry (An in-joke from early TOS episode)
The Big E = The Enterprise
FX, SFX = (special) Effects
K/S = Generally refers to the "liberal" writing style of some of the
less-accepted Trek books and fanzines dealing with Kirk and
Spock being "more than close friends".
ILM = Industrial Light and Magic
IMHO = In My Humble Opinion
FYI = For Your Information
teaser = the short scene that comes before the opening credits.
trailer = previews (commercials) for the next EXCITING episode.
If you see other acronyms (and are relatively new to UseNet), refer to
the "often asked questions for new users" file in one of the "news/*"
groups. Episode names are commonly referred to by acronym; most are
fairly easy to figure out (EaF for Encounter at Farpoint, etc.).
2) NAMES: Kirk's middle initial/middle name. It is generally agreed
that Kirk's full name is "James Tiberius Kirk". It was only given as
"James T. Kirk" in TOS, the "Tiberius" didn't come around until TAS
("Bem") and the novels. In "Where No Man Has Gone Before", Gary
Mitchell makes a gravestone for Kirk that says "James R. Kirk",
apparently before Gene had settled on a middle name. Spock's other name
(you couldn't pronounce it) isn't given in TOS or TFS. It is given in
one or more of the books if you care to believe them. Data's name was
shown on a computer screen once as "Lt. Cmdr NFN NMI Data" ("No First
Name, No Middle Initial").
3) TNG RANKS: Deanna Troi's rank was given as "Lt. Cmdr" in "Encounter
at Farpoint" (the pilot episode) and occasionally on computer displays
(e.g. "The Child"). Wes was made an acting ensign by Picard in "Where
No One Has Gone Before", then made full ensign and given a uniform.
Riker was given a field promotion to Captain in "The Best of Both Worlds
Part 2", but was back to being a commander in the next episode. The
"pips" (the circles on the uniform collars) signify rank. A hollow
circle counts as a half circle:
0.5: Ensign, Junior Grade
1.0: Ensign
1.5: Lt., Junior Grade
2.0: Lt.
2.5: Lt. Commander
3.0: Commander
4.0: Captain
5.0: Commodore/Fleet Captain
4) The fastest the original Enterprise has gone (not counting "off the
scale") was 14.1 in "That Which Survives". The Enterprise-D seems to
have a top speed slightly less than 10, not counting the time Q flung it
a great distance. Riker mentioned that warp 10 instigates time travel.
In "Where No One Has Gone Before" it is mentioned that the Enterprise
has reached or passed warp 10.
The ST:TNG Writer's Technical Manual, third season edition contains the
following table:
warp c comment
---- ---- -------
1 1
2 10
3 39
4 102
5 214
6 392 normal cruising speed.
7 656
8 1024
9 1516
9.6 1909 maximum attainable speed for E
9.9 3053 maximum speed for E under any circumstances
9.99 7912
10 infinite
Notes not from the guide:
For warp speeds 1 through 9, the formula w ^ (10/3) provides the
numbers shown, rounded to the integer.
5) McCoy's "I'm a doctor not a _____" EPISODE
Bricklayer Devil in the Dark
Escalator Friday's Child
Engineer Mirror, Mirror
Mechanic The Doomsday Machine
Magician The Deadly Years
Psychiatrist The City on the Edge of Forever
Moon shuttle conductor The Corbomite Maneuver
The last is paraphrased, since he said "What am I, I doctor or a moon
shuttle conductor", but it fits the mold. Also, in Amok Time, Kirk says
"Well, are you a doctor or aren't you?" and in ST5 says something like
"Dammit Bones, you're a doctor."
6) Stardates, years, ages, etc.:
In TOS the stardates ranged from 1513 (Man Trap) to 5928 (Turnabout
Intruder). At this time Gene had intended for stardates to be based on
Julian dates modulo 10000, with one stardate being 24 hours in length.
There are numerous examples where this is false. Some of the most
blatant are The Immunity Syndrome (where a quick calculation shows that
one stardate is less than 2.5 hours) and Requiem for Methuselah (where
one stardate figures out to be about 960 hours). There are a few
episodes where the stardates actually decrease during the show.
In TNG, the stardate is also supposed to be 24 hours, and is in the
form 4xyyy.y where "x" is the season number and yyy.y is a random number
that increases (usually) throughout the season.
The year in TOS is somewhere between 2260 and 2286.
The year on a bottle of Romulan Ale is given in The Wrath of Khan
as 2283(?)
TNG is ~93 years after TOS, and 78-79 years after TMP.
TOS: 1976 Ballentine Concordance: Gives McCoy's age as 45.
TOS "The Deadly Years": Kirk's age is given as 34.
TNG "The Neutral Zone": Data gives the year as 2364.
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": McCoy's age is given as 137.
TOS "Journey to Babel": Sarek's age is given as 102.437.
TNG "Sarek": Sarek's age is given as 202.
TNG "The Schizoid Man": Wes said "Data, chronologically, you're not
much older than I am."
TNG "DataLore": Data says he was found 26 years ago.
TNG "Datalore": Data details exactly how many years he spent at
the Academy, how many as an ensign, etc. Counting backwards from SD
41xxx.xx would give his grad date.
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": Data graduated SFA in the class of '78
with Honors in Dextral Biology and Probability Mechanics.
Kirk was born in the year 2228 in Riverside, Iowa, where a statue
of him has been erected.
7) Anonymous ftp sites with Star Trek related creative stuff:
a.cs.uiuc.edu 128.174.252.1 TeX, dvi2ps, gif, texx2.7, amiga,
abcfd20.larc.nasa.gov 128.155.23.64 lots of Star Trek goodies
bison.cs.uwa.oz.au phonology), gif, looking for
curie.cs.unc.edu 128.109.136.151 GIF, graphics programs
dsl.cis.upenn.edu 130.91.6.12 GIF, IBM
lut.fi 128.214.25.8 GIF, PD sources modified for
mcs213k.cs.umr.edu 131.151.6.11 xgif
merlin.cs.purdue.edu 128.10.2.3 ConcurrenC, Xinu, mac, GIF
mibsrv.mib.eng.ua.edu 130.160.20.80 bitmaps, GIF, games
milton.u.washington.edu lots of star trek parodies
network.ucsd.edu 128.54.16.3 anime gifs
squid.cs.ucla.edu 131.179.96.44 gifs
surya.waterloo.edu 129.97.129.72 tiff format, gif2ras
uxc.cso.uiuc.edu 136.144.1.2 to the Internet, GIF
wuarchive.wustl.edu 128.252.135.4 X.11R3, GIF, IEN, RFCs, TeX,
Check out abcfd20.larc.nasa.gov [128.155.23.64] (formerly the xanth
archive) which has the following contents in the directory
pub/star-trek:
BGvs1701D-I.Z BGvs1701D-IIa.Z BGvs1701D-IIb.Z
README-STTNG STTNGfortune.tar.Z ncc1701c.Z
ncc1701d.tar.Z parody-shootdown.Z stick-ships.Z
trek.vt.Z unix_trek.Z warbird.Z
The STTNGfortune.tar.Z is the Next Generation fortune, the
ncc17101d.tar.Z is the Postscript pictures of the new Enterprise and the
trek.vt.Z is a ansi vt100 animation.
Or you can telnet (not ftp) to mbbs.cc.columbia.edu (IP 128.59.41.3),
and follow the information given to you from there. Essentially you'd
be able to connect to a file server which you can download files (kermit
or xmodem protocols only) located in several places. Go to the
"pictures" location and then try to get any of the "Startrek" gif files.
These are the pictures available in the Startrek directory:
beverly.gif laforge.gif strbas.gif
bonekirk.gif picard+yar.gif trekview.gif
crew.gif picard.gif troi.gif
data.gif picard2.gif wesley.gif
enterprise.gif riker.gif worf.gif
enterprise2.gif spock.gif worf2.gif
enterprise3.gif spock1.gif yar.gif
kirk.gif spock2.gif
kirk2.gif spockirk.gif
Chuan Chee's collection of Star Trek parodies is available via anonymous
ftp from math.princeton.edu in the directory pub/rjc/st (at least until
milton's replacement archive is set up). Consult the file "p.files" for
an index of the contents. (Note that all files in that directory have
been compressed.) For example, the VAX Trek parody is available as
files p.034 through p.048. People who can't ftp can obtain the files
via email. Type this to your unix-like machine:
echo send filename | mail -s Command rjc@math.princeton.edu
replacing "filename" with the actual name of the file you want.
Since mail servers are frowned upon by most system administrators,
I ask that you use ftp if at all possible, and that if you have
to use the mail server, to limit yourself to three requests total.
[ Anyone know of more sites for Postscript drawings, GIFs, ASCII
pictures, serious scripts/novels, etc.? ]
[ Any ftp site have the "Sam Donaldson as a Vulcan" picture? ]
8) If you want a list of TNG episodes (for all seasons), the schedule
information is presented by Vidiot (Mr. Video (Mike Brown)) who also
puts out a very nice guide (which contains all kinds of useful info like
names of actors/actresses) which is available by anonymous ftp at
[machine still being decided]@montana.edu in the [directory still being
decided] directory. All the information needed (which files to get and
what to do with them (unpacking, printing, etc.)) is in the README file
at the same site. The guide is also available by anonymous UUCP from
Mike at
Phone: 608-274-9275
Baud: 19200/2400/1200
Login: anonuucp
Password: none (it will not be asked)
Updates are posted to rec.arts.startrek.info occasionally.
There's also a "fortune" file floating around for both TOS and TNG with
humorous and/or memorable quotes from the episodes. The ftp site is
listed above.
Other good sources for information (on both series) are:
"The Klingon Dictionary" by Marc Okrand (Pocket Books 85)
"The Making of Star Trek" by Gene Roddenberry (Ballantine/Del Ray 68)
"Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise" by Shane Johnson (Pocket Books 87)
"Star Fleet Technical Manual" by Franz Joseph (Ballantine/Del Ray 75)
"Star Trek Blueprints" by Franz Joseph (Ballantine/Del Ray 75)
"Star Trek Compendium" by Allan Asherman (Pocket Books 81, 87, 89)
"Star Trek Concordance" by Bjo Trimble (Ballantine/Del Ray 76)
"The Worlds of the Federation" by Shane Johnson (Pocket Books 89)
"The Writer's/Director's Guide" (new editions put out for each season)
FASA has the "Officers Manual", but it has been pulled or denounced by
Gene since it contradicts a lot of what has been said on TNG or in the
Writer's/Director's Guide (Betazoids are NOT from Haven, Star Fleet did
NOT think of creating the post of counselor when they discovered
telepaths, etc.) Roddenberry told them to stop publishing the manual
until they corrected the inaccuracies, but instead FASA made 2-3 more
printings. They will be releasing a new edition that has been worked
out with Paramount, and Richard Arnold has said somewhat
enthusiastically that it is going to be quite nice and meets with Gene's
approval.
And of course you can get lots of Trek stuff from Trek cons and
magazines (Starlog seems to be the most popular).
Lincoln Enterprises themselves are at most conventions, and they sell
writer's guides from every season along with final scripts from
episodes. In fact, these scripts even have scenes that are cut out due
to the episode running long.
9) Any correspondence with Paramount, Gene, the actors, etc. should be
sent to:
Paramount Studios
Star Trek Offices
5555 Melrose Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90038
Note that scripts have a better chance of getting accepted if you have
an agent. Paramount gets about 800 fan-written scripts a year and uses
about four of them. See the separate section in this posting on
submitting scripts.
Lincoln Enterprises is run by Majel Barrett (Mrs. Roddenberry), and is
said to be the best source for fan paraphanalia, scripts, etc.. This is
the best place to get a Writer's Guide from if you're not an established
writer. The address is:
Lincoln Enterprises
Box 691370
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(213) 462-3850 (orders only, $15 minimum by credit card)
Star Tech has some good stuff too, like the blooper reels on tape (four
tapes for TOS and one for TNG season one), movie soundtrack CDs, etc.
However, some of their recorded tapes seem to be "gray market", so
beware:
Star Tech
PO Box 456
Dunlap, TN 37327
Starlog (or Starlog Press)
475 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
Starland
PO Box 24590
Denver, CO 80224
phone: 1 303 671 8735 fax: 1 303 671 0302
Paramount Pictures Special Effects
475 Oberlin Avenue South; PO Box 823
Lakewood, NJ 08701
orders: 1 800 245 1007 customer service: 1 201 905 7610
Intergalactic Trading Co.
PO Box 1516
Longwood, FL 32750
phone: 1 407 831 8344 fax: 1 407 332 0142
New Eye Studio
PO Box 632
Willimantic, CT 06226
phone: 1 203 450 1943
War Games West
3422 Central Av SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
phone: 1 505 265 6100 orders: 1 800 729 4263
Fax: 1 505 260 0752 hotline: 1 505 299 3368
Franklin Mint came out with a Pewter Enterprise and a Star Trek Chess
Set a few years back (Kirk and Khan as opposing kings (redshirts as
pawns?)), and I think CitiCorp or someone has a Star Trek VISA (with
some outrageous annual fee).
10) None of the crew read Usenet (though we have a writer or two on
here). Wheaton and some of the "behind-the-scenes" people are on
Compu$erve/GEnie though.
11) Yes, the TOS Enterprise could separate; just that it would take a
lot more work (and a bigger effects budget) to put it back together.
Kirk orders Scotty to "disengage nacelles, jettison if possible" in "The
Savage Curtain". He might also mention it in "The Apple".
12) GAMES: The FASA Star Trek game is pretty much ignored by the r.a.s
community, though many seem to like the variety of TOS and TNG drinking
games that show up occasionally. [Anyone know if these are ftp-able
from anywhere?]
13) Yes, Merritt Butrick is dead. He played Kirk's son David in the
movies as well as an alien in TNG's "Symbiosis", along-side of one of
the actors that served with Khan. The actor died in March 1989 due to
complications related to the AIDS virus. The actress who played Vina in
"The Cage" also recently died (early 1990).
14) According to ST:TNG Writer's/Director's guide (1987): "Starfleet is
NOT a military organization....No saluting. We may hear the word 'Sir,'
but it is intended as the same kind of courtesy used by junior and
senior officers on commercial airliners....No stories about warfare with
Klingons or Romulans and no stories with Vulcans." Granted the
Romulan/Klingon/Vulcan rule has laxed, but I still believe Starfleet is
non-military (except when they are cornered, like the Borg situation).
15) Yes, there are words to the TOS theme song. Not very good. Maybe
these should be posted (along with the lyrics to other TOS songs, mostly
from "The Way to Eden") in the monthly posting of "lists".
There's also the comedy song "Star Trekkin'" by The Firm (not the
popular band, another one). It has lines line "It's life, Jim, but not
as we know it", etc. Another good candidate for the "lists" posting.
Both Shatner and Nimoy have attempted to sing and have a few albums
out (from the early 70s, I believe). They are *extremely* bad and only
good for comic relief.
The first three seasons of TNG are in stereo, the fourth is in
Dolby Surround stereo.
16) SNAFUs:
TOS "Space Seed": As Kirk is bashing in Khan's glass coffin, his
phaser falls off his belt. McCoy keeps looking down at it, like he's
wondering when they're going to yell 'cut' so they can re-shoot the
scene. They never did re-shoot because they didn't want to invest in
more glass.
TOS: Kirk mentions "One to the fourth power" (which the writers,
or Shatner seemed to think sounded more impressive than "one") :-)
TNG "The Royale": The surface temperature of the planet is less
than absolute zero. Also, after they beam the piece of the ship out of
orbit, O'Brien and Riker pick it up (coming from space, it should have
been close to zero Kelvin itself).
TNG "Sins of the Father": The sound effects people must have
fallen asleep every time someone got slapped.
17) What are we?
Trekkie: A groupie fan. Someone who wears Spock ears and thinks that
makes them important. Asks questions like "what did you have for
breakfast on the tuesday when you shot scene 46a of episode 5?" The
most die-hard fan, who lives, eats, and breathes Star Trek.
Trekker: A fan who is interested in the show and the idea of Star Trek,
but doesn't let it interfere with his/her life. This is apparently
being added to an upcoming edition of "Webster's".
trekker: (with a small "t") A person who travels vast distances.
Trekologist/Treknician: A fan who enjoys collecting data (and debating
with others) on the technical aspect of Star Trek (warp technology,
transporter technology, etc.). Enjoys collecting ST technical
literature and trying to logically and rationally explain continuity
errors in the show.
18) CREW BACKGROUNDS:
James Tiberius Kirk is from Riverside, Iowa.
Saavik was half Vulcan and half Romulan. This wasn't mentioned in
the movie (probably cut to save time), but it was in the novelization,
the trailer shown on Siskel & Ebert, and was mentioned by Stewart in the
special showing of "The Cage".
Data has an ultimate storage capacity of eight hundred quadrillion
bits. His total linear computational speed has been rated at sixty
trillion operations per second (from "Measure of a Man"). He was built
by Dr. Noonian Soong.
Guinan has only been on the Enterprise for a few years [episode?],
and didn't know Picard before coming on board [episode?] but somehow has
known Picard for a long, long time [episode?]. Her relationship with
Picard is more than family; more than friends (from "Best of Both Worlds
II").
William T. Riker is from Alaska. His mother died while he was
young. His father was shown in [episode?]. Wil has turned down three
captaincies ([ship?] in "Encounter at Farpoint", [ship?] in [episode?],
and the Drake in "Best of Both Worlds"). He enjoys Jazz music (his
middle name is supposedly the name of a jazz musician), plays the
trombone, is a master of poker, and enjoys cooking.
Worf's parents were killed at K'timar in a Romulan attack. His
adopted parents [planet?] were shown in "Family".
Beverly Crusher is a widower and mother of Wes Crusher, whose
father (Jack) was killed while serving under Picard. She was head of
Starfleet MEdical for one year.
Deanna Troi has a Batazed mother and a human father, enjoys
chocolate, and was imzade (sp?) to Riker.
Miles Edward O'Brien enjoys standing.
19) The uniforms were changed from the spandex one-piece suits (that
made the cast look muscular) to the wool two-piece suits (that make them
look flabby but are more comfortable). The new uniforms cost $3000
apiece to manufacture. Most of the extras are still wearing the old
uniforms. Another reason for the switch is that Brent Spiner suffers
from some back injury. Because spandex is skin-tight, he couldn't wear
his brace underneath. The wool is loose enough and you can occasionally
you can see the top of the brace under the costume if you look at his
chest.
If you want a Star Trek uniform: Look for Simplicity or McCalls pattern
book in your favorite fabric shop. In the back there are Star Trek
uniforms for adults and children, both sexes. You can also get the
patterns from Paramount's "Star Trek: The Official Fan Club" (both TOS
and TNG uniforms).
If you're not "sew" talented and want one pre-made, Intergalactic
Trading Post of Tampa Florida is one of many companies that make them in
several sizes. They generally show up at Star Trek/SF conventions.
20) The Enterprise has left the galaxy in "TOS: Where No Man Has Gone
Before", "TOS: By Any Other Name", "TOS: Is There in Truth No Beauty?",
"TNG: Where No One Has Gone Before" and in "ST5:TFF" they crossed the
barrier at the center of the galaxy.
21) Untelevized TOS episodes:
The Cage
He Has Walked Among Us (unfilmed)
Paleface
(other titles I can't remember)
A black and white original of "The Cage" was pieced back together
with the color clips stolen for "The Menagerie" which has since been
televised. Just before the premier of TNG, Paramount "found" a copy of
"The Cage" which was all in color (which they then televised). It is
marred by drastic changes in the Talosians' voices in mid-sentence,
otherwise it is fun to watch (along with a grinning, shouting Spock).
The color version they show now has been cut down to an hour and has
Spock's famous "grinning at the singing plants" scene removed. Sigh.
Yes, "Assignment Earth" was indeed a pilot that never got off the
ground. One of a few. Gene wanted to create some more shows. The
reference for this is in the book The Making of Star Trek, (the white
cover, not the silver one).
The Great Bird was involved with pilots for three different new TV
series in the early seventies.
Three different pilots were apparently shot for one of the series,
not unlike the series of pilots that had to be shot to get "STAR TREK"
into production. The first of these was "GENESIS II," starting Alex
Cord and Mariette Hartley. In it, Dylan Hunt, a NASA scientist doing
research on suspended animation in an underground lab, gets accidentally
buried for a half millennium or so, and emerges into a
post-nuclear-holocaust world. The story concerns the interaction of two
societies, one devoted to Good Works and the progression of all
humankind, and the other to being Nazi-style lords and masters. "PLANET
EARTH" was the second pilot. Set in the same future, with minor
alterations in background and format, it starred John Saxon as Dylan
Hunt, with folks like Diana Muldaur and Janet Margolin in major parts.
It was just an extended TV episode with some good stuff in it; a mutant
warrior race called the Kriegs (sp? never saw a script in print) look a
*great* deal like retconned Klingons. The third movie, apparently a
sort of a last-ditch attempt to produce a network-acceptable pilot, was
called "STRANGE NEW WORLD," and completely gutted the earlier forms of
the series format. It starred John Saxon in the lead, but no one else I
ever heard of, and was such a lox I can understand why G.R.'s name
wasn't on it. It seemed to be three scripts pasted together,
end-to-end.
Roddenberry made two other pilots during this era; "SPECTRE" and
"QUESTOR." "SPECTRE" was a lovely idea that could have made a great
series, since its format allowed the inclusion of most major horror
fiction, even including H.P. Lovecraft's "elder gods." It starred
Robert Culp and Gig Young, and is a *FUN* movie, if you ever get a
chance to see it. I believe it would have gone series, if made in the
last few years, but at the end of the Nixon era, horror, even humorous
horror, was unacceptable fare to the majority of TV watchers.
("SPECTRE" deals with an occult investigator and his M.D. sidekick, who
keep getting involved with nasty superbeings from other times and
dimensions; the hero's housekeeper is a witch, and puts a no-drinking
geas on the alcoholic M.D. sidekick in the opening scenes.)
"QUESTOR" starred Robert Foxworth and Mike Farrell, providing some
of the best acting ever seen in a a TV SF movie. (Foxworth does a
scene as the robot learning how to use vocal inflection while carrying
on a conversation with the first human it's ever spoken with.) The
movie suffers a bit from the obviousness of the series format it sets
up; noble alien with sideck, on the run from various governmental
authorities, while trying to learn human emotions and fulfill its
mission to help the human race. A bit of a yawn in print, but it could
have been a *good* series, with decent writing.
Dorothy C. Fontana wrote a novelization of "QUESTOR" in paperback,
and you might be able to find it in a used book store. I believe
scripts for at least the best four are available from "Lincoln
Enterprises," or folks like that.
22) Kirk Thatcher:
* Was associate producer of ST4.
* Was the actor who played the Punk on the Bus in ST4.
* Wrote the song "I hate You" which the punk was listening to.
* Is a member of the band "Edge of Etiquette" which performed the song.
* Is Margaret Thatcher's son. ("son"?)
23) SUBMITTING SCRIPTS:
Paramount has finally received permission from its legal department
to read and purchase fan-submitted scripts. You do NOT need an agent
(though it helps), and the scripts do NOT have to be solicited.
You do have to send for a Paramount Release Form, which has to be
legally executed. Address a stamped, self-addressed, legal-size envelope
and send it with the request for a Release Form to the address given for
Paramount elsewhere in this posting.
Also, it may be a good idea to ask for the one-page ST:TNG Script
Submissions suggestions as well. Paramount STRONGLY suggests that you
obtain a ST:TNG Writer's Guide from Lincoln Enterprises, since they do
NOT send out sample scripts.
Besides the Writer's Guide, here's some other useful information
you can get from Lincoln Enterprises:
8001 - ST:TNG Writer's Guide $9.95
1106 - How to sell a script by D.C. Fontana $3.95
1101 - Original (TOS) Writer's Guide $4.95
1109 - ST:TNG Character Biographies $7.95
Include $2.00 shipping for up to $10.00 worth of merchandise, $0.50 for
each additional $5.00 worth of merchandise. Prices accurate as of 7/90.
24) SUBMITTING A STORY TO POCKET BOOKS:
This comes through Peter David from Kevin Ryan at Pocket Books: the
official Pocket Books Star Trek Novel Submission guidelines.
** Due to the overwhelming number of submissions that we receive, Pocket
Books can only accept solicited, agented manuscripts. A comprehensive
list of agents can be found in THE LITERARY MARKETPLACE **
FORMAT: All manuscripts must be submitted typed, double-spaced, on one
side of non-corrasable typing paper. The page number and your name
should be at the top of each page. Your full name and address should
appear on the first and last page of the manuscript (yes, include your
phone number).
PROCEDURE: Submit the first three chapters with a detailed synopsis
(four to six pages) of the entire plot. Due to the large volume of
submissions we receive, our reply can take anywhere from one to six
months...so please be patient. If we're interested in publishing your
novel, we'll contact your agent with an offer. We may ask for
revisions, and may also ask to see the completed novel before reaching a
decision.
CONTENTS: We're only interested in full-length adventure novels of
roughly 70,000 words (about 250-300 pages). We cannot use short
stories, poetry, biographies, romances, blueprints, or trivia books.
In a one-sentence description, we're looking for exciting science
fiction stories featuring the Star Trek characters we all know and love.
All material is subject to the approval of Paramount Pictures, who are
very concerned about maintaining the integrity of the characters and the
Star Trek universe. Absolute consistency is a practical impossibility,
but some major themes to avoid include:
* Traveling in time to change history or learn something, rescue
someone, etc.
* Having a tear in the fabric of reality which could destroy the
universe.
* Pon farr in Spock.
* Death of a major, established character.
* Any plot which hines on or describes in detail sexual relations
(normal, abnormal, and so on). We are not interested in books that
suggest anything other than friendship between Kirk and Spock or any
other crewmembers.
* Any plot that mixes the Next Generation and the original crew.
* Data becoming human.
Plot elements to avoid with respect to specific characters:
Kirk: no offspring or close relations not already established. Also,
no childhood or current sweethearts; though, you can create temporary
love interests.
Spock: no sisters, brothers, half siblings (beyond Sybok), offspring,
sudden reversions to emotion, sex. The Vulcan mind-meld has already
been seriously overused of late. No explanations of the "Vulcan Way"
beyond what has already been done in the TV series or movies.
McCoy: no offspring or close relations not already established.
We can no loner use castmembers who have left the show (no Tasha Yar or
Dr. Pulaski).
For any regular castmembers--same rules as per Kirk.
Also, other crewmembers: in general, avoid trying to definitively map
out a character's history much beyond what has already been done in the
movies or television episodes.
Of course there are guidelines. Disobey them at your own peril if
necessary to your story--but remember, you were warned.
Thank you for your interest in STAR TREK and good luck with your
writing.
Best,
The Star Trek Editors.
The address for Pocket is Simon & Schuster Building, 1230 Avenue of the
Americas, NY, NY 10020. The editors are Dave Stern and Kevin Ryan.
25) PICARD'S SURRENDERS; SELF DESTRUCTS; TIME TRAVEL:
* "Encounter at Farpoint": Picard says "Transmit the following in all
languages and in all frequencies; 'We surrender'."
* "Outrageous Okono": Picard drops shields "In case we decide to
surrender to them."
* "A Matter of Honor": Picard surrenders to Riker on the Pagh.
* "The Defector": The Romulans ask Picard to surrender, but he doesn't.
* "Peak Performance": The Ferengi ask Picard to surrender, but he
doesn't get the chance.
* "The Last Outpost": Picard surrenders to the Ferengi, but they don't
accept.
* "Yesterday's Enterprise": Alternate-Picard refuses to surrender to
the Klingons.
* Picard tries to surrender to the Ferengi, but they beat him to it.
* Picard tries to surrender to the [Romulans|Klingons]. (?)
* "11001001": Picard tries to self destruct.
* "Where Silence Has Lease": Picard tries to self destruct for Nagilum.
* "Contagion": Virus-induced sort-of-self-destruct-like-thing.
* Kirk tried to self destruct in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield",
"[one other episode ???]", and finally succeeds in the film series.
TOS time travel:
1. The Guardian of Forever ("City on the Edge of Forever")
2. The slingshot effect ("Tomorrow Is Yesterday")
3. Cold-starting the warp engines ("The Naked Time")
4. Mr. Atoz's time travel system ("All Our Yesterdays")
5. Isis' time-space transporter ("Assignment: Earth")
TNG time travel:
1. Picard from the future ("Time Squared")
2. Enterprise from the past ("Yesterday's Enterprise")
26) IS PARAMOUNT MAKING MONEY ON TNG?
Yes. Tons. The following is stolen from industry trade magazines
VARIETY and BROADCASTING, as well as Roger Tang:
FIRST: License fees (the fees studios charge individual stations
to run their programs): Let's say Paramount charges each station $2,000
to run the first run package. That's ball park; other stations can get
$10-20K per episode in top 20 markets. Also, Turner can expect $800,000
to $1 million per episode show of THE WONDER YEARS when it goes into
backend syndication. $2,000 per episode times 238 stations yields
$476,000 per episode shown in first run syndication (which does NOT
count the later syndication or backend syndication).
SECOND: Commercial fees: According to Vidiot, Paramount has seven
minutes of national advertising in each show. BROADCASTING has
published figures of $60-80,000 per 30 second spot. (They have also
mentioned that rates for the third and fourth seasons are around
$135,000 per 30 second spot). Paramount is garnering $1,890,000 per
showing of an episode.
THIRD: But wait! Shows are shown more than once even in first run
syndication. Let's assume a cut rate of $50,000 per spot in reruns
(doubt it, since people are STILL watching during reruns). Even a rerun
episode will garner $700,000 in commercial revenue.
THE BOTTOM LINE: $476,000 + $1,890,000 + $700,000 = well over $3
million in revenue per episode in first run syndication. And we all
know studios base their financing on just breaking even in backend
syndication. So the claim that Paramount is losing $8 million is just
creative financing.
Then again, we can throw away our calculations and take Richard
Arnold's word that (at least in Season One) TNG was grossing $10 million
per episode.
The average episode COSTS Paramount $1.6 million (was $1.4
million), including the weekly paycheck of Stewart ($100,000) and Burton
($100,000). (TOS cost $200,000 for an average episode).
27) TNG SEASON 4 TIDBITS:
The Reunion (Directed by Jonathan Frakes--lots of Klingons,
including K'Empk (sp?) from "Sins of the Father",
K'Elyhr (Worf's girlfriend), and her and Worf's child
(Klingon civil war))
Legacy (the Enterprise visit the world that Tasha Yar grew up
on. Besides encountering rape gangs, they also run
into Tasha's sister, a gang member) [her Evil twin
sister Skippy? -ed]
Future Imperfect (Riker has an accident during an away mission and
recovers consciousness aboard the Enterprise ...
fifteen years later) ["Wizard of Oz" clone with Riker
waking up in the end? --ed]
(The Transporter Chief might get married.)
Final Mission (Picard & Wesley crash-land their shuttle while away
from Enterprise. Wil Wheaton's final appearance as a
regular.)
End of first block of season; reruns begin.
Wil Wheaton is negotiating his own contract now and will be leaving
ST:TNG after filming of the sixth episode (possibly to matriculate).
His character Wes will leave for Star Fleet Academy.
So we have the return of Eric Menyuk as The Traveler from "Where No One
Has Gone Before", Denise Crosby (NOT as Yar's sister), John DeLancie (as
Q of course), Lwaxana Troi, and possibly Barkley, Wheaton cameos as Wes,
and the bugs from "Conspiracy" (as the cliffhanger at the end of season
4).
28) FUTURE OF STAR TREK: Current plans are for a sixth TOS movie and a
huge convention in California next year around the 25th anniversary date
(Sept 8, 1991). The movie will probably (hopefully) be later in the
season. The cast of TNG have signed 6-year contracts and have the
option of another year. After this, plans are to create TNG movies.
Rumors are floating of a third series, either another generation *after*
TNG or the years between TOS and TNG.
(The following from Richard Arnold): Leonard Nimoy was presented with
an idea for a ST:TNG two-part episode which was given a working title
of, "Return to Forever". The "official" word is that midway through
negotiations Nimoy's agent suddenly started asking for $1 million.
Since, at the time, the budget for an average week's episode was $1.4
million (it's now $1.6 million), this was a clearly unreasonable demand.
The script with Spock is still supposedly floating around somewhere.
But the "official" word is that Leonard is simply more interested in
working on movies (mainly directing) than he is in making guest
appearances on TV. So we probably won't be seeing him in the near
future.
** NEWS FLASH ** Someone mentioned to me last week that the upcoming TV
Guide would have a story on Nimoy, and that he *is* going to be in TNG.
Peter David's upcoming novel "Q-In-Law" (in which "Q goes toe-to-toe
with the one opponent he can't handle--Deanna Troi's mother" as he put
it) sounds like it should be really good. The quotes I've heard from it
sound excellent!
99) MISC TRIVIA
James Doohan is missing the middle finger of his left hand. It can be
seen in brief shots (especially in the early episodes). Whenever they
needed to show Scotty's hands (like when he operated the transporter)
they had a stand-in and showed a close-up. ("Cut! All right, bring in
the stunt hands.")
TOS "The Devil in the Dark": Every 5000 years the race of Horta all die
save the one mother Horta.
TOS "Balance of Terror": Neutral zone outposts 2, 2, 4, and 8 were
trashed by the Romulan ship before the Enterprise was able to engage (#4
was the one they saw get destroyed on the viewer)
TOS "Operation: Annihilate!": In a well-known ST blooper, the
amoeba-creature accidentally hits Spock's read end instead of his back.
TOS "The Tholian Web": The name of the Tholian commander who first
attacks the Enterprise after Kirk is lost is Commander Loskene.
TOS "Wolf in the Fold": The names that the entity was referred to by
were Jack the Ripper, Baratis, Redjac, Kesla, Mr. Hengist (and yes, that
was the wimpy guy from the Bob Newhart Show).
TOS "Amok Time": T'Pau was the only person to ever turn down a seat on
the Federation council.
TOS "Amok Time": The episode where Ensign Chekov makes his debut (1st
episode, 2nd season). (Catspaw was the one he was first filmed in,
although this aired after Amok Time).
TOS: Where was the ONLY doorknob seen in a FEDERATION setting (ship or
starbase etc.) and why is it ironic that it should be placed there?
TOS "The Paradise Syndrome": "He Has Walked Among Us" and "Paleface"
were combined into "The Paradise Syndrome", according to speculation by
Allen Asherman and David Gerrold. Reportedly, only Gene Coon knew for
sure, and of course he's been dead for about 15 years...
TOS "City on the Edge of Forever": If you want H. Ellison's original
script for "City on the Edge of Forever", look for a book called "Six
Science Fiction Plays", edited by Roger Elwood. It's a paperback,
published in 1976 by Pocket Books under the Washington Square Press
imprint. It was distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Simon & Schuster.
I have no idea if it's still in print. If it isn't, check your local
library, used book stores, and the dealer's room at your next
convention. There must be copies out there somewhere. According to
Elwood's foreword, this was the first time Ellison's original uncut
script was published. It's preceded by a ten-page introduction that
Ellison wrote especially for this book, telling his version of the
transformation of his script into what was eventually telecast. The
book also contains these scripts:
"Sting!" by Tom Reamy
"Contact Point" by Theodore R. Cogswell and George Rae Cogswell
"Stranger with Roses" by John Jakes
"The Mechanical Bride" by Fritz Leiber
"Let Me Hear You Whisper" by Paul Zindel
("Sting!" is a movie screenplay; "The Mechanical Bride" is a teleplay;
the others are stage plays)
According to the Star Trek Compendium:
Kirk: was in 79 TOS episodes
Spock: was in 79 TOS episodes + "The Cage"
McCoy: was in 74 TOS episodes
Uhura: was in 65 TOS episodes
Scotty: was in 61 TOS episodes
Sulu: was in 47 TOS episodes
Chekov: was in 33 TOS episodes
ST: TMP: The oval things on the belts were originally supposed to be
biorhythm devices. In the novelization of ST:TMP, the little oval things
are described in a footnote. They are called "perscan" devices and are
used to monitor crew members life signs from sick bay. Only the CMO
gets to see the captain's perscan output. According to the footnote,
the lower abdomen is supposed to be an ideal location for a medical
scanner. Making it into a belt buckle seemed the obvious way to
integrate it into the Fleet uniforms.
There's no real explanation as to why the Klingons have spiny foreheads
in TFS and TNG but not in TOS. Gene says "they always looked like this"
and we're supposed to ignore the lack of the pizza bats on the foreheads
in TOS. Theories outside of Gene run from genetic engineering to
"several races of Klingons".
TNG: ILM did the "Encounter At Farpoint" FX and a bunch of stock
footage. They NEVER did the bulk of the effects work. They are
credited at the end of the show because their stock footage (which means
shots of the Enterprise flying by, etc.) is still used. I noticed in
TBOBW2 that the Enterprise fly-by looked a lot better, so maybe the TNG
folks have ordered new stock footage from their special effects people
(The Post Group, I *think*.)
TNG season 1: Dr. Crusher's orderly (ensign Freeman) was supposed to be
gay (according to the script writer).
TNG "11001001": Binary 11001001 is decimal 201, and 2:01 kept showing
up on displays...
TNG "Home Soil": You can hear in the background "Three[?] are trapped
in a turbolift and two[?] are trapped in the programmers' bathroom."
So, I guess we have proof that there are restrooms on the Enterprise-D.
TNG "Skin of Evil": Yes, Troi's bra can be seen. It wouldn't be
*quite* so obvious, but it's bright red.
TNG "The Defector": Yes that was Stewart as one of the King's men with
Data on the holodeck. The other man was NOT Frakes, however.
TNG "Q Who": The general consensus is that it *was* Spiner playing the
part of Borg#1. There is no screen credit, however.
TNG "The High Ground": "He Has Walked Among Us" was reportedly a minor
inspiration for "The High Ground", albeit uncredited (this coming from a
Creation con). "THG" was one of those supposedly conceived during the
strike as a possible filler (a la "The Child"), and the use of the older
TOS script ("The Paradise Syndrome") would have made it acceptable under
the union crap edicts.
TNG: Data is NOT Asmovian and does NOT obey Asimov's Laws of Robotics.
The only connection is that Data has a positronic brain.
TNG: In a War of the Worlds episode ("Thy Kingdom Come"), there is a
kid playing with action figures. One of them is in the likeness of Yar,
Data, Picard, or Riker and he mentions something about Ferengi.
TNG: Captain Garrett's crew took the E-C to glory at N'rendra III,
which was NOT K'timar (the planet where Worf's father and mother died).
TNG: In the opening credits (and occasionally in the same shot during
the show) you can see a man walking by the large vertical windows of the
ready room. It is the slow flyby of the Enterprise (from lower left to
upper right) after all the quick flybys. There are large windows just
beyond the bump in the saucer section, and if you look closely (and it
helps to have a giant screen TV) you can see a man walking from left to
right past the windows, then someone walking from right to left behind
him. NOTE: It's harder to catch it with freeze-frame since pausing a
VCR loses half the resolution, so just watch it at normal speed a few
times until you figure out where on the ship you're supposed to be
looking.
TNG: Paramount has confirmed that the bar on the bridge (with its
"whoopi cushion") is non-alcoholic.
TNG "Ensigns of Command": The original script called for Data to have
sex with the leading lady in order to get her cooperation later. This
idea never made it through the first draft. Gene's reason for dropping
it: "Only a human male would use a woman like that"...
TNG is not broadcast in Dolby. There is out-of-phase-but-equal-amplitude
stuff in the ST:TNG soundtrack, which your Dolby Stereo decoder
recognizes as "rear channel information". They mostly put the ship's
noise (a low thundering sound of the engines) on the rear and some times
when ships pass by or shoot. Since Paramount clearly *is* using
"official" Dolby Stereo for _Arsenio Hall_, they might be planning to
use it for ST:TNG's 4th season as well.
TNG satellite uplink times:
Sat 1800 EDT T301-9
Sun 1400 EDT T301-9
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Again, if you know of any other topics that should be included in
this list, feel free to email me at the address below.
--HACK-MAN
"Transmit the following in all languages and on all frequencies:
'We surrender'." --Jean-Luc Picard/Encounter at Farpoint
--
_____ _________ _ Ignor missng charctrs, as pnet's edtr tends to eat thm
| ___|| _______|| | INET: hackman@pnet51.orb.mn.org"
| |__ | |___ ___| | crash
| __| |___ || _ | UUCP: >-------->!orbit!pnet51!hackman
| | _______| || |_| | tcbet Otto E. Heuer, CEO
|_||_________||_____| "The innovator for software solutions." FSD, Inc.
It would have worked too, if it weren't for those meddling kids...and that dog
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edited by Jim "The Big Dweeb" Griffith - the official scapegoat for r.a.s.i.
Email submissions to trek-info@dweeb.fx.com, and questions to
trek-info-request@dweeb.fx.comhackman@pnet51.orb.mn.org (-8 Otto "Hack-Man" Heuer 8-) (02/02/91)
MONTHLY LIST OF "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS"
in REC.ARTS.STARTREK (last updated 1/26/91)
This posting is intended to cut down on the "often asked questions"
that seem to pop up every few months in this newsgroup. It is one of a
number of periodic postings posted to the startrek newsgroups:
posting frequency poster/address
--------------------------------- ---------- ---------------------------
Frequently Asked Questions List monthly Otto Heuer
hackman@pnet51.orb.mn.org
--------------------------------- ---------- ---------------------------
Star Trek Music monthly hackman@pnet51.orb.mn.org
--------------------------------- ---------- ---------------------------
List of Actors' Other Dan Styer
monthly djstyer@symmetry.cs.mtu.edu
--------------------------------- ---------- ---------------------------
Listing of all TOS, TAS, TNG Mark Holtz
Episodes bi-monthly mholtz@sactoh0.SAC.CA.US
--------------------------------- ---------- ---------------------------
List of Lists monthly mholtz@sactoh0.SAC.CA.US
--------------------------------- ---------- ---------------------------
This FAQL is basically a list of questions that have been brought up
and discussed to death in rec.arts.startrek, and a lot of people would
be happy if they never resurfaced. It also contains pointers to other
information.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Acronyms
2) Names (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Data, Vulcans)
3) TNG Ranks
4) Top speed/TNG warp
5) McCoy's "I'm a doctor, not a ___" lines
6) Stardates, years, ages, etc.
7) Creative stuff/ftp sites: (parodies, pictures, scripts,
quotes files, episode guide, tech manuals)
8) Picard's surrenders; self destructs; time travel; leaving the galaxy
9) Addresses for Trek memorabilia
10) Crew reading USENET?
11) TOS Enterprise separation
12) Games
13) Merritt Butrick; Susan Oliver; Roger Carmel; Kirk Thatcher
14) Starfleet Military?
15) Shatner and Nimoy singing, and other music info
16) SNAFUs
17) Definitions: "Trekkie" vs. "Trekker"
18) Crew backgrounds
19) Uniforms
20) Untelevized TOS episodes and series pilots
21) Submitting a script for TNG and Submitting a story for Pocket Books
22) Awards
23) Is Paramount making money on TNG? and salaries
24) TNG season 4 tidbits
25) The future of Star Trek
99) Misc Trivia
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Acronyms:
TOS = The Original Series (or The Old Series)
TAS = The Animated Series
TCS = The Cartoon Series/The Comics Series
TNG = The Next Generation
TFS = The Film Series
TMP = The Motion Picture (ST1)
TWoK = The Wrath of Khan (ST2)
TSfS = The Search for Spock (ST3)
TVH = The Voyage Home (ST4)
TFF = The Final Frontier (ST5)
NCC = Naval Construction Contract
USS = United Space Ship
FTL = Faster than Light (warp speeds)
BoP = The Romulan (and Klingon) Bird of Prey vessel
UFP = United Federation of Planets
SFC = Star Fleet Command
SFA = Star Fleet Academy
SF = Star Fleet or Science Fiction (depending on context)
GR = Gene Roddenberry
TPTB = The Powers That Be (usually referring to GR or Paramount)
RNZ = Romulan Neutral Zone
KHP = Klingon Home Planet (since TPTB refuse to give it a name)
IDIC = Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations (Vulcan Credo)
LLaP = Live Long and Prosper
FASA = Fredonianian Aviation and Space Administration
or Fantasimulations Associates
(both of these come from the people at FASA)
The Great Bird = Gene Roddenberry (An in-joke from early TOS episode)
The Big E = The Enterprise
FX, SFX = (special) Effects
K/S = Generally refers to the "liberal" writing style of some of
the less-accepted Trek books and fanzines dealing with Kirk
and Spock being "more than close friends".
ILM = Industrial Light and Magic
IMHO = In My Humble Opinion
FYI = For Your Information
teaser = the short scene that comes before the opening credits.
trailer = previews (commercials) for the next EXCITING episode.
retcon = to declare that something never happened (like Kirk's
middle initial being "R")
canon = what Roddenberry/Paramount decides is "real" Trek.
If you see other acronyms (and are relatively new to UseNet), refer to
the "often asked questions for new users" file in news.newusers group
(where you'll also find articles on nettiquette that will save you lots
of grief (like keeping signature lines to a minimum)). Episode names
are commonly referred to by acronym; most are fairly easy to figure out
(EaF for "Encounter at Farpoint", etc.).
2) NAMES:
2a) Kirk's middle initial/middle name. It is generally agreed that
Kirk's full name is "James Tiberius Kirk". It was only given as "James
T. Kirk" in TOS, the "Tiberius" didn't come around until TAS ("Bem") and
the novels. In "Where No Man Has Gone Before", Gary Mitchell makes a
gravestone for Kirk that says "James R. Kirk", apparently before Gene
had settled on a middle name.
2b) Spock's other name (you couldn't pronounce it) isn't given in TOS or
TFS. It is given in one or more of the books if you care to believe
them. According to the Officer's Manual, it is Xtmprszntwlfd
(pronounced with six syllables).
2c) McCoy's middle initial is given in TFS as "H" and some novels as
"T".
2d) Data's name was shown on a computer screen once as "Lt. Cmdr NFN NMI
Data" ("No First Name, No Middle Initial").
2e) As a general rule, Vulcan males have five-letter names starting with
"S" and ending with "K" (Spock, Sybok, Sarek, etc.) in honor of Surak,
and Vulcan females have names starting with "T'" (T'Pau, T'Pring, etc.).
The explanations for Saavik are either "she;s part Romulan, so the
naming convention didn't hold" or "Her name is T'Saavik, but the "T'S"
is too hard to pronounce.
3) TNG RANKS: Deanna Troi's rank was given as "Lt. Cmdr" in "Encounter
at Farpoint" (the pilot episode) and occasionally on computer displays
(e.g. "The Child"). Wes was made an acting ensign by Picard in "Where
No One Has Gone Before", then made full ensign in "Menage a Troi" and
given a uniform. Riker was given a field promotion to Captain in "The
Best of Both Worlds Part 2", but was back to being a commander in the
next episode. The "pips" (the circles on the uniform collars) signify
rank. A hollow circle counts as a half circle:
0.5: Ensign, Junior Grade
1.0: Ensign
1.5: Lt., Junior Grade
2.0: Lt.
2.5: Lt. Commander
3.0: Commander
4.0: Captain
5.0: Commodore/Fleet Captain
4) WARP:
4a) The fastest the original Enterprise has gone (not counting "off the
scale") was 14.1 in "That Which Survives". The Enterprise-D seems to
have a top speed slightly less than 10, not counting the time Q flung it
a great distance. Riker mentioned that warp 10 instigates time travel.
In "Where No One Has Gone Before" it is mentioned that the Enterprise
has reached or passed warp 10.
4b) The ST:TNG Writer's Technical Manual, third season edition contains
the following table:
warp c comment
---- ---- -------
1 1
2 10
3 39
4 102
5 214
6 392 normal cruising speed.
7 656
8 1024
9 1516
9.6 1909 maximum attainable speed for E
9.9 3053 maximum speed for E under any circumstances
9.99 7912
10 infinite
Notes not from the guide:
For warp speeds 1 through 9, the formula w ^ (10/3) provides the
numbers shown, rounded to the integer.
4c) From Richard Arnold: The story on transwarp drive: it doesn't work.
The warp drive that we see on TNG is not transwarp or ultrawarp or
whatever you want to call it. It is an improved version of the same
warp drive that we saw on TOS. The Excelsior proved that Transwarp
wouldn't work by being destroyed by it during a test flight...
5) McCoy's "I'm a doctor not a _____" EPISODE
Bricklayer Devil in the Dark
Escalator Friday's Child
Engineer Mirror, Mirror
Mechanic The Doomsday Machine
Psychiatrist The City on the Edge of Forever
Some variations on the theme occur in "The Deadly Years" where he says
"I'm not a Magician, I'm just an old country doctor", and in "The
Corbomite Maneuver" where he asks "What am I, a doctor or a Moon shuttle
conductor?" Also, in "Amok Time", Kirk asks "Well, are you a doctor or
aren't you?" and in ST5 says something like "Dammit Bones, you're a
doctor." ST2 has a more vague reference when Kirk says "Physician, heal
thyself", McCoy says "Is that all you've got to say? What about my
performance?", and Kirk replies "I'm not a drama critic". The line may
have originated with Heinlein's 1952 novel "The Rolling Stones." In
that book, Dr. Edith Stone says, "How can I be sure? I'm a doctor, not
a fortune-teller."
6) STARDATES, YEARS, AGES, ETC.:
In TOS the stardates ranged from 1513 (Man Trap) to 5928 (Turnabout
Intruder). At this time Gene had intended for stardates to be based on
Julian dates modulo 10000, with one stardate being 24 hours in length.
There are numerous examples where this is false. Some of the most
blatant are The Immunity Syndrome (where a quick calculation shows that
one stardate is less than 2.5 hours) and Requiem for Methuselah (where
one stardate figures out to be about 960 hours). There are a few
episodes where the stardates actually decrease during the show.
In TNG, the stardate is also supposed to be 24 hours, and is in the
form 4xyyy.y where "x" is the season number and yyy.y is a random number
that increases (usually) throughout the season.
1992-1997 Eugenics Wars (according to Off Manual/TMP novel)
2031-2039 Clone Wars (according to Off Manual/TMP novel)
2047 Mind Control Revolt (according to Off Manual/TMP novel)
2049 First Kzinti Invasion of Earth (according to Off Manual)
2064 Kzinti Invasions Halt (according to Off Manual)
The year in TOS is somewhere between 2260 and 2286.
The Officer's Manual says TMP took place in 2265.
The year on a bottle of Romulan Ale is given in The Wrath of Khan
as 2283(?)
TNG is ~93 years after TOS, and 78-79 years after TMP.
TOS "Ballentine Concordance (1976)": Gives McCoy's age as 45.
TOS "Who Mourns for Adonais": Chekov's age is given. (Kirk asks
him)
TOS "The Deadly Years": Kirk's age is given as 34.
TNG "The Neutral Zone": Data gives the year as 2364.
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": McCoy's age is given as 137.
TOS "Journey to Babel": Sarek's age is given as 102.437.
TNG "Sarek": Sarek's age is given as 202.
TNG "The Schizoid Man": Wes said "Data, chronologically, you're not
much older than I am."
TNG "DataLore": Data says he was found 26 years ago.
TNG "Datalore": Data details exactly how many years he spent at
the Academy, how many as an ensign, etc. Counting backwards from
stardate 41xxx.x would give his grad date.
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": Data graduated SFA in the class of '78
with Honors in Dextral Biology and Probability Mechanics.
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": The Post-Atomic Age started in 2078.
TNG "Encoutner at Farpoint" (and the Officers Manual): the New
United Nations was formed in 2036 (the Officers Manual says this
happened during the Clone Wars).
Kirk was born in the year 2228 in Riverside, Iowa, where a statue
of him has been erected.
The book "The Final Reflection" (non-canon, but who really cares)
puts the lifespan of a Klingon at about 40 years (terran). Worf would
be about 15, by this reckoning.
William Shatner was born on March 22, 1931
Leonard Nimoy was born on March 26, 1931.
DeForest Kelley was born on Jan 20, 1920
7) HOW TO OBTAIN CREATIVE MATERIAL:
This section contains locations where you can find Star Trek parodies,
pictures (GIFs, PostScript drawings, ASCII artwork, etc.), scripts,
fortune/quotes files, the episode guide, and tech manuals)
7a) Anonymous ftp sites with Star Trek related creative stuff:
a.cs.uiuc.edu 128.174.252.1 dvi2ps, GIFs, texx2.7, amiga
bison.cs.uwa.oz.au GIFs
curie.cs.unc.edu 128.109.136.151 GIF, graphics programs
dsl.cis.upenn.edu 130.91.6.12 GIF, IBM
jumbo.hartford.edu 192.52.156.99 150 TNG GIFs; TNG Targas; GIF
viewers (19:00 EST to 08:00 EST
daily; 4 connections)
lut.fi 128.214.25.8 GIF
mcs213k.cs.umr.edu 131.151.6.11 XGIFs
mibsrv.mib.eng.ua.edu 130.160.20.80 bitmaps, GIFs, games
milton.u.washington.edu lots of star trek parodies
network.ucsd.edu 128.54.16.3 anime GIFs
squid.cs.ucla.edu 131.179.96.44 GIFs
surya.waterloo.edu 129.97.129.72 tiff format, gif2ras
uxc.cso.uiuc.edu 136.144.1.2 GIFs
wuarchive.wustl.edu 128.252.135.4 GIFs of the entire TNG bridge crew
xanth.cs.odu.edu (in pub/star-trek/stsounds.arc) sound files
7b) Or you can telnet (not ftp) to mbbs.cc.columbia.edu (128.59.41.3),
and follow the information given to you from there. Essentially you'd
be able to connect to a file server which you can download files (kermit
or xmodem protocols only) located in several places. Go to the
"pictures" location and then try to get any of the "Startrek" gif files.
These are the pictures available in the Startrek directory:
beverly.gif laforge.gif strbas.gif
bonekirk.gif picard+yar.gif trekview.gif
crew.gif picard.gif troi.gif
data.gif picard2.gif wesley.gif
enterprise.gif riker.gif worf.gif
enterprise2.gif spock.gif worf2.gif
enterprise3.gif spock1.gif yar.gif
kirk.gif spock2.gif
kirk2.gif spockirk.gif
7c) Chuan Chee (ckchee@dgp.toronto.edu) has collected a huge number of
the Star Trek parodies from rec.arts.startrek and alt.startrek.creative.
They are available from Princeton via anonymous ftp or via email, at
least until the disk space is needed for something else.
anonymous ftp: math.princeton.edu (128.112.128.157) in directory
pub/rjc/st. The file p.files contains an index to the parodies. The
parodies themselves are packed into groups; the archive p.01.tar.Z
contains parodies 010 through 019. If you don't know what ".tar.Z"
means, ask your system administrator.
email: Send the message "send p.files" to rjc@math.princeton.edu. For
each parody you wish, send the message "send p.parody-number" to the
same address. For example, "send p.014" to get parody number 14. Limit
one request per person per day.
Note: Please use ftp if you possibly can. Sending large amounts of
email is considered bad manners by system administrators.
There's also a "fortune" file for both TOS and TNG with humorous and/or
memorable quotes from the episodes. These fortune files, as well as
this FAQL and the monthly posting of Star Trek Actors' Other Roles are
also available on math.princeton.edu (for ftp only).
7d) People without ftp access can find lots of trek-related stuff
(including this FAQL) on the Memory Alpha BBS (607) 257-5822.
[ Anyone know of more sites for Postscript drawings, GIFs, ASCII
pictures, serious scripts/novels, etc.? --ed ]
[ Any ftp site have the "Sam Donaldson as a Vulcan" picture? --ed ]
[ If someone has the deanna.gif file, it would likely save a lot of from
asking --ed ]
7e) If you want a list of TNG episodes (for all seasons), the schedule
information is presented by Vidiot (Mr. Video (Mike Brown)) who also
puts out a very nice guide (which contains all kinds of useful info like
names of actors/actresses) which is available by anonymous ftp at
mammoth.unr.edu (134.197.40.241) in the /pub/guides/startrek directory
as well as caesar.cs.montana.edu (192.31.215.202) in the
/pub/guides/st-tng directory. All the information needed (which files
to get and what to do with them (unpacking, printing, etc.)) is in the
README file at the same sites. The guide is also available by anonymous
UUCP from Mike at
Phone: 608-274-9275
Baud: 19200/2400/1200
Login: anonuucp
Password: none (it will not be asked)
The main directory is ~nuucp/guides. In there you will find a file
called dir.list. Get it, as it will list all of the latest files that
are in the guides' directory. After you get it, study it and then
request the files that you need. This area contains more than ST:TNG
guides and lists. The area will be under constant changes, as new lists
and updates will be added.
Updates are posted to rec.arts.startrek.info occasionally.
7f) Other good sources for information (on both series) are:
"The Klingon Dictionary" by Marc Okrand (Pocket Books 85)
"The Making of Star Trek" by Stephen Whitfield (Ballantine/Del Ray 68)
"Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise" by Shane Johnson (Pocket Books 87)
"Star Fleet Technical Manual" by Franz Joseph (Ballantine/Del Ray 75)
"Star Trek Blueprints" by Franz Joseph (Ballantine/Del Ray 75)
"Star Trek Compendium" by Allan Asherman (Pocket Books 81, 87, 89)
"Star Trek Concordance" by Bjo Trimble (Ballantine/Del Ray 76)
"The Worlds of the Federation" by Shane Johnson (Pocket Books 89)
"The Writer's/Director's Guide" (new editions put out for each season)
FASA has the "Officers Manual", but it has been pulled or denounced by
Gene since it contradicts a lot of what has been said on TNG or in the
Writer's/Director's Guide (Betazoids are NOT from Haven, Star Fleet did
NOT think of creating the post of counselor when they discovered
telepaths, etc.) Roddenberry told them to stop publishing the manual
until they corrected the inaccuracies, but instead FASA made 2-3 more
printings. They will be releasing a new edition that has been worked
out with Paramount, and Richard Arnold has said somewhat
enthusiastically that it is going to be quite nice and meets with Gene's
approval.
FASA recently published the long-awaited canon manual, the First Season
Sourcebook Update. Unfortunately, some of the information is already
outdated, such as the Betazoid homeworld is STILL not Haven, although
that was stated in the first season episode "Haven".
And of course you can get lots of Trek stuff from Trek cons and
magazines (Starlog seems to be the most popular).
Lincoln Enterprises themselves are at most conventions, and they sell
writer's guides from every season along with final scripts from
episodes. In fact, these scripts even have scenes that are cut out due
to the episode running long.
8a) LEAVING THE GALAXY: The Enterprise has left the galaxy in "TOS:
Where No Man Has Gone Before", "TOS: By Any Other Name", "TOS: Is There
in Truth No Beauty?", "TNG: Where No One Has Gone Before" and in
"ST5:TFF" they crossed the barrier at the center of the galaxy.
8b) PICARD'S SURRENDERS:
* "Encounter at Farpoint": Picard says "Transmit the following in all
languages and in all frequencies; 'We surrender'."
* "The Outrageous Okono": Picard drops shields "In case we decide to
surrender to them."
* "A Matter of Honor": Picard surrenders to Riker on the Pagh.
* "The Defector": The Romulans ask Picard to surrender, but he doesn't.
* "Peak Performance": Riker asks Picard "Would you care to surrender
now?" even before the wargames begin.
* "Peak Performance": Picard tries to surrender to the Ferengi, but
they beat him to it.
* "The Last Outpost": Picard surrenders to the Ferengi, but they don't
accept.
* "Yesterday's Enterprise": Alternate-Picard refuses to surrender to
the Klingons.
8c) SELF-DESTRUCTS:
* "11001001": Picard tries to self destruct.
* "Where Silence Has Lease": Picard tries to self destruct for Nagilum.
* "Contagion": Virus-induced sort-of-self-destruct-like-thing.
* Kirk tried to self destruct in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield",
"By Any Other Name", and finally succeeds in the film series.
8d) TOS time travel:
1. The Guardian of Forever ("City on the Edge of Forever")
2. The slingshot effect ("Tomorrow Is Yesterday")
3. Cold-starting the warp engines ("The Naked Time")
4. Mr. Atoz's time travel system ("All Our Yesterdays")
5. Isis' time-space transporter ("Assignment: Earth")
8e) TNG time travel:
1. Picard from the future ("Time Squared")
2. Enterprise from the past ("Yesterday's Enterprise")
3. Riker thinks he's in the future ("Future Imperfect")
9) Any correspondence with Paramount, Gene, the actors, etc. should be
sent to:
Paramount Studios
Star Trek Offices
5555 Melrose Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90038-3197
Note that scripts have a better chance of getting accepted if you have
an agent. Paramount gets about 800 fan-written scripts a year and uses
about four of them. See the separate section in this posting on
submitting scripts.
Lincoln Enterprises is run by Majel Barrett (Mrs. Roddenberry, formerly
Majel Leigh Hudec), and is said to be the best source for fan
paraphanalia, scripts, etc. This is the best place to get a Writer's
Guide from if you're not an established writer. The address is:
Lincoln Enterprises
Box 691370
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(213) 462-3850 (orders only, $15 minimum by credit card)
Star Tech has some good stuff too, like the blooper reels on tape (four
tapes for TOS and one for TNG season one), movie soundtrack CDs, etc.
However, some of their recorded tapes seem to be "gray market", so
beware:
Star Tech
PO Box 456
Dunlap, TN 37327
Starlog (or Starlog Press)
475 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
Starland
PO Box 24590
Denver, CO 80224
phone: 1 303 671 8735 fax: 1 303 671 0302
Paramount Pictures Special Effects
475 Oberlin Avenue South; PO Box 823
Lakewood, NJ 08701
orders: 1 800 245 1007 customer service: 1 201 905 7610
Intergalactic Trading Co.
PO Box 1516
Longwood, FL 32750
phone: 1 407 831 8344 fax: 1 407 332 0142
New Eye Studio
PO Box 632
Willimantic, CT 06226
phone: 1 203 450 1943
War Games West
3422 Central Av SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
phone: 1 505 265 6100 orders: 1 800 729 4263
Fax: 1 505 260 0752 hotline: 1 505 299 3368
Franklin Mint came out with a Pewter Enterprise ($198.00) and a Star
Trek Chess Set (Kirk and Khan as opposing kings (redshirts as pawns?)) a
few years back, and I think CitiCorp or someone has a Star Trek VISA
(with some outrageous annual fee).
10) None of the crew read Usenet (though we have a writer or two on
here). Wheaton and some of the "behind-the-scenes" people are on
Compu$erve/GEnie though. When Wil starts at UCLA, it would be easy for
him to obtain a Usenet account, so he may be lurking. :-)
11) Yes, the TOS Enterprise could separate; just that it would take a
lot more work (and a bigger effects budget) to put it back together.
Kirk orders Scotty to "disengage nacelles, jettison if possible" in "The
Savage Curtain". He might also have said something like "..jettison the
stardrive section and use escape in the saucer if you have to..." in
"The Apple".
12) GAMES: The FASA Star Trek game is pretty much ignored by the r.a.s
community, though many seem to like the variety of TOS and TNG drinking
games that show up occasionally. [ Anyone know if these are FTPable from
anywhere? --ed ] There are a few computer games based on Star Trek as
well (I even wrote a few). The rules and board layout of the 3-D chess
game Kirk kept beating Spock at are posted every once in a while.
[ Anyone know if this are FTPable from anywhere? --ed ]
13a) Yes, Merritt Butrick is dead. He played Kirk's son David in the
movies as well as an alien in TNG's "Symbiosis", along-side of one of
the actors that served with Khan. The actor died in March 1989 due to
complications related to the AIDS virus.
13b) Susan Oliver (who played Vina in "The Cage") also recently died
(early 1990).
13c) Roger Carmel (Harcourt Fenton Mudd) died around 1989/1990 due to
some sort of medication or lack thereof.
13d) Kirk Thatcher:
* Was associate producer of ST4.
* Was the actor who played the Punk on the Bus in ST4.
* Wrote the song "I Hate You" which the punk was listening to.
* Is a member of the band "Edge of Etiquette" which performed the song.
* Is Margaret Thatcher's son. ("THE Margaret Thatcher?")
14) According to ST:TNG Writer's/Director's guide (1987): "Starfleet is
NOT a military organization....No saluting. We may hear the word 'Sir,'
but it is intended as the same kind of courtesy used by junior and
senior officers on commercial airliners....No stories about warfare with
Klingons or Romulans and no stories with Vulcans." Granted the
Romulan/Klingon/Vulcan rule has laxed, Starfleet is still basically
non-military (except when they are cornered, like the Borg situation).
The fourth season ST:TNG Writer's Technical Manual says to mentally
merge NASA, the Coast Guard and research ships like Calypso to gain a
concept of the Enterprise's mission.
15) Both Shatner and Nimoy have attempted to sing and have a few albums
out (from the early 70s, I believe). They are *extremely* bad and only
good for comic relief.
Nichelle Nichols originally sang the tune Uhura was singing in ST5,
but TPTB decided a few days before the film was released to dub in
Hiroshima singing the song.
The band T'Pau (named after the Vulcan priestess from TOS "Amok
Time") claim they are not Star Trek fans; they just liked the name. DJs
enjoy putting a few lines from "Amok Time" during the opening of the
song "Heart and Soul" (McCoy: "Do you know who that is? That's T'Pau!"
T'Pau: "Thees ees da Voolcan heart; thees ees da Voolcan soul...")
The Minneapolis band (now based in New York) "Information Socirty"
likes putting Star Trek quotes in their songs. "Pure Energy" had
Spock's line "pure energy" (from the Organian episode) in it (and later
releases of the song have McCoy saying something like "we're not out of
this yet"), "Think" has Kirk saying "Think about it" (any takers on
which episode?), "Something in the Air" has a long scream (apparently
taken from TOS), and there's another song (the name escapes me) that has
a line from Spock, Scott, or both. Someone mentioned that Adam Nimoy
(Leonard's son) is a fan and friend of the group.
The first three seasons of TNG are in stereo, the fourth is in
Dolby Surround stereo.
For lyrics to any of the various Star Trek songs, see accompanying
posting "Star Trek Music"
16) SNAFUs:
TOS "Space Seed": As Kirk is bashing in Khan's glass coffin, his
phaser falls off his belt. McCoy keeps looking down at it, like he's
wondering when they're going to yell 'cut' so they can re-shoot the
scene. They never did re-shoot because they didn't want to invest in
more glass.
TOS "Operation: Annihilate!": In a well-known ST blooper, the
amoeba-creature accidentally hits Spock's rear end instead of his back.
TOS "Court-Martial": Kirk mentions sound being "amplified by one
to the fourth power" (which the writers, or Shatner, seemed to think
sounded more impressive than "one") :-) (and we just have to assume
that the voices and other ship noises were masked out like the
heartbeats were)
TNG "The Royale": The surface temperature of the planet is less
than absolute zero. Also, after they beam the piece of the ship out of
orbit, O'Brien and Riker pick it up with their bare hands (coming from
space, it should have been close to zero Kelvin itself).
TNG "Conspiracy": Picard says "Mr. LaForge, ahead warp six."
Geordi responds with "Aye, sir, full impulse."
TNG "Sins of the Father": The sound effects people must have
fallen asleep every time someone got slapped.
TNG "Brothers": Data's password doesn't match what was displayed
on the screen.
17) What are we?
Trekkie: A groupie fan. Someone who wears Spock ears and thinks that
makes them important. Asks questions like "what did you have for
breakfast on the tuesday when you shot scene 46a of episode 5?" The
most die-hard fan, who lives, eats, and breathes Star Trek.
Trekker: A fan who is interested in the show and the idea of Star Trek,
but doesn't let it interfere with his/her life. This is apparently
being added to an upcoming edition of Webster's Dictionary.
trekker: (with a small "t") A person who travels vast distances.
Trekologist: A fan who is a good source for information about Star
Trek. Ususally can answer the most obscure Trek trivia.
Treknician: A fan who enjoys collecting data (and debating with others)
on the technical aspect of Star Trek (warp technology, transporter
technology, etc.). Enjoys collecting ST technical literature and trying
to logically and rationally explain continuity errors in the show.
18) CREW BACKGROUNDS:
James Tiberius Kirk is from Riverside, Iowa; he was married in the
episodes with the American Indians, and is now a widower. He was also
in love (if he knows the meaning of the word) with someone named "Ruth"
(the episode with Alice in Wonderland), and mentioned that he almost
married that cute little blonde [or was it redhead] that Gary Mitchel
steared Kirk's way ("Where No Man Has Gone Before").
Leonard McCoy was in love with someone named "Nancy", whom the
salt-sucker takes the form of in "The Man Trap".
Chekov's ex-girlfriend is seen in "The Way to Eden".
Saavik was half Vulcan and half Romulan. This wasn't mentioned in
the movie (probably cut to save time), but it was in the novelization,
the trailer shown on Siskel & Ebert, and was mentioned by Stewart in the
special showing of "The Cage".
William T. Riker is from Alaska. His mother died while he was
young. His father was shown in "The Icarus Factor". Wil has turned
down three captaincies ("Encounter at Farpoint" (mentioned Drake?), the
Drake mentioned in "Arsenal of Freedom", the Aries in "The Icarus
Factor", and the Melbourne in "Best of Both Worlds"). He enjoys Jazz
music (his middle name is supposedly the name of a jazz musician), plays
the trombone, is a master of poker, and enjoys cooking. The character
was based on Decker.
Jean-Luc Picard is from France. He never married, has an
artificial heart (from his wild younger days), enjoys Shakespeare,
horseback riding, Dixon Hill novels, and Earl Grey tea. He is
responsible for the death of Jack Crusher. (aside: Patrick Stewart left
school at the age of 15 because he was "not interested".)
Data has an ultimate storage capacity of eight hundred quadrillion
bits. His total linear computational speed has been rated at sixty
trillion operations per second (from "Measure of a Man"). He was built
by Dr. Noonian Soong, who was taught by the guy in "The Schizoid Man".
The character was based on Questor, from "The Questor Tapes".
Worf's parents were killed at K'timar in a Romulan attack. His
adopted parents, Mr. and Mrs. Rojenko, (from the planet Galt) were shown
in "Family".
Geordi LaForge is named after a Star Trek fan that was handicapped,
and passed away. His name was Jordi or something like that and he had
one of those horrible diseases that destroy your body's "electrical
system".
Deanna Troi has a Betazed mother and a human father, enjoys
chocolate, and was imzade (sp?) to Riker. She used to have a betazoid
cat (from the episode where Picard was with the holo-horse). Her
character was based on Ilia.
Beverly Crusher is a widower and mother of Wes Crusher, whose
father (Jack) was killed while serving under Picard. She was head of
Starfleet Medical for one year.
Miles Edward O'Brien enjoys kayaking and poker.
Guinan has only been on the Enterprise for a few years [episode?],
and didn't know Picard before coming on board [episode?] but somehow has
known Picard for a long, long time [episode?]. Her relationship with
Picard is more than family; more than friends (from "Best of Both Worlds
II"). She is left-handed (not surprising, since Whoopi is).
19) The uniforms were changed from the spandex one-piece suits (that
made the cast look muscular) to the wool two-piece suits (that make them
look flabby but are more comfortable). The new uniforms cost $3000
apiece to manufacture. Most of the extras are still wearing the old
uniforms. Another reason for the switch is that Brent Spiner suffers
from some back injury. Because spandex is skin-tight, he couldn't wear
his brace underneath. The wool is loose enough and you can occasionally
you can see the top of the brace under the costume if you look at his
chest.
If you want a Star Trek uniform: Look for Simplicity or McCalls pattern
book in your favorite fabric shop. In the back there are Star Trek
uniforms for adults and children, both sexes. You can also get the
patterns from Paramount's "Star Trek: The Official Fan Club" (both TOS
and TNG uniforms).
If you're not "sew" talented and want one pre-made, Intergalactic
Trading Post of Tampa Florida is one of many companies that make them in
several sizes. They generally show up at Star Trek/SF conventions.
20a) Untelevized TOS episodes:
The Cage
He Has Walked Among Us (unfilmed)
Paleface
(other titles I can't remember)
A black and white original of "The Cage" was pieced back together
with the color clips stolen for "The Menagerie" which has since been
televised. Just before the premier of TNG, Paramount "found" a copy of
"The Cage" which was all in color (which they then televised). It is
marred by drastic changes in the Talosians' voices in mid-sentence,
otherwise it is fun to watch (along with a grinning, shouting Spock).
The color version they show now has been cut down to an hour and has
Spock's famous "grinning at the singing plants" scene removed. Sigh.
20b) Yes, "Assignment Earth" was indeed a pilot that never got off the
ground. One of a few. Gene wanted to create some more shows. The
reference for this is in the book The Making of Star Trek, (the white
cover, not the silver one).
20c) The Great Bird was involved with pilots for three different new TV
series in the early seventies.
Three different pilots were apparently shot for one of the series,
not unlike the series of pilots that had to be shot to get "Star Trek"
into production. The first of these was "Genesis II," starring Alex
Cord and Mariette Hartley. In it, Dylan Hunt, a NASA scientist doing
research on suspended animation in an underground lab, gets accidentally
buried for a half millennium or so, and emerges into a
post-nuclear-holocaust world. The story concerns the interaction of two
societies, one devoted to Good Works and the progression of all
humankind, and the other to being Nazi-style lords and masters. "Planet
Earth" was the second pilot. Set in the same future, with minor
alterations in background and format, it starred John Saxon as Dylan
Hunt, with folks like Diana Muldaur and Janet Margolin in major parts.
It was just an extended TV episode with some good stuff in it; a mutant
warrior race called the Kriegs (sp? never saw a script in print) look a
*great* deal like retconned Klingons. The third movie, apparently a
sort of a last-ditch attempt to produce a network-acceptable pilot, was
called "Strange New World," and completely gutted the earlier forms of
the series format. It starred John Saxon in the lead, but no one else I
ever heard of, and was such a lox I can understand why G.R.'s name
wasn't on it. It seemed to be three scripts pasted together,
end-to-end.
Roddenberry made two other pilots during this era; "Spectre" and
"The Questor Tapes." "SPECTRE" was a lovely idea that could have made a
great series, since its format allowed the inclusion of most major
horror fiction, even including H.P. Lovecraft's "elder gods." It
starred Robert Culp and Gig Young, and is a *FUN* movie, if you ever get
a chance to see it. I believe it would have gone series, if made in the
last few years, but at the end of the Nixon era, horror, even humorous
horror, was unacceptable fare to the majority of TV watchers.
("Spectre" deals with an occult investigator and his M.D. sidekick, who
keep getting involved with nasty superbeings from other times and
dimensions; the hero's housekeeper is a witch, and puts a no-drinking
geas on the alcoholic M.D. sidekick in the opening scenes.)
"The Questor Tapes" starred Robert Foxworth and Mike Farrell,
providing some of the best acting ever seen in a a TV SF movie.
(Foxworth does a scene as the robot learning how to use vocal inflection
while carrying on a conversation with the first human it's ever spoken
with.) The movie suffers a bit from the obviousness of the series
format it sets up; noble alien with sideck, on the run from various
governmental authorities, while trying to learn human emotions and
fulfill its mission to help the human race. A bit of a yawn in print,
but it could have been a *good* series, with decent writing.
Dorothy C. Fontana wrote a novelization of "The Questor Tapes" in
paperback, and you might be able to find it in a used book store. I
believe scripts for at least the best four are available from "Lincoln
Enterprises," or folks like that.
21a) SUBMITTING SCRIPTS FOR TNG:
Paramount has finally received permission from its legal department
to read and purchase fan-submitted scripts. You do NOT need an agent
(though it helps), and the scripts do NOT have to be solicited. It's
now gotten so bad that there is a room filled to the rafters with boxes
which are labeled by month (the month the script came in). There are 3
or 4 people on staff who do NOTHING but read the scripts, and submit the
more interesting ones up for further consideration. These people are
not, and CANNOT be, Star Trek fans...they are there to judge a story on
its merits.
You do have to send for a Paramount Release Form, which has to be
legally executed. Address a stamped, self-addressed, legal-size envelope
and send it with the request for a Release Form to Michael Piller or
Eric A. Stillwell (Star Trek Script Coordinator) at the address given
for Paramount under "Addresses" in this posting.
Also, it may be a good idea to ask for the one-page ST:TNG Script
Submissions suggestions as well. Paramount STRONGLY suggests that you
obtain a ST:TNG Writer's Guide from Lincoln Enterprises, since they do
NOT send out sample scripts. They want a teaser of 3-5 pages and five
Scenes of 9-11 pages. Total scripts should be 53 to 58 pages. After
the Powers That Be make enough cuts, it'll end up as about 43 minutes of
airtime. For an agent, contact the Writer's Guild of America (one in
NYC and one in LA) and ask them to send you an Agent list, then start
writing query letters to those agents that have indicated they are
willing to consider new authors.
Besides the Writer's Guide, here's some other useful information
you can get from Lincoln Enterprises:
8001 - ST:TNG Writer's Guide $9.95
1106 - How to sell a script by D.C. Fontana $3.95
1101 - Original (TOS) Writer's Guide $4.95
1109 - ST:TNG Character Biographies $7.95
Include $2.00 shipping for up to $10.00 worth of merchandise, $0.50 for
each additional $5.00 worth of merchandise. Prices accurate as of 7/90.
21b) SUBMITTING A STORY TO POCKET BOOKS:
This comes through Peter David from Kevin Ryan at Pocket Books: the
official Pocket Books Star Trek Novel Submission guidelines.
** Due to the overwhelming number of submissions that we receive, Pocket
Books can only accept solicited, agented manuscripts. A comprehensive
list of agents can be found in THE LITERARY MARKETPLACE **
FORMAT: All manuscripts must be submitted typed, double-spaced, on one
side of non-corrasable typing paper. The page number and your name
should be at the top of each page. Your full name and address should
appear on the first and last page of the manuscript (yes, include your
phone number).
PROCEDURE: Submit the first three chapters with a detailed synopsis
(four to six pages) of the entire plot. Due to the large volume of
submissions we receive, our reply can take anywhere from one to six
months...so please be patient. If we're interested in publishing your
novel, we'll contact your agent with an offer. We may ask for
revisions, and may also ask to see the completed novel before reaching a
decision.
CONTENTS: We're only interested in full-length adventure novels of
roughly 70,000 words (about 250-300 pages). We cannot use short
stories, poetry, biographies, romances, blueprints, or trivia books.
In a one-sentence description, we're looking for exciting science
fiction stories featuring the Star Trek characters we all know and love.
All material is subject to the approval of Paramount Pictures, who are
very concerned about maintaining the integrity of the characters and the
Star Trek universe. Absolute consistency is a practical impossibility,
but some major themes to avoid include:
* Traveling in time to change history or learn something, rescue
someone, etc.
* Having a tear in the fabric of reality which could destroy the
universe.
* Pon farr in Spock.
* Death of a major, established character.
* Any plot which hines on or describes in detail sexual relations
(normal, abnormal, and so on). We are not interested in books that
suggest anything other than friendship between Kirk and Spock or any
other crewmembers.
* Any plot that mixes the Next Generation and the original crew.
* Data becoming human.
Plot elements to avoid with respect to specific characters:
Kirk: no offspring or close relations not already established. Also,
no childhood or current sweethearts; though, you can create temporary
love interests.
Spock: no sisters, brothers, half siblings (beyond Sybok), offspring,
sudden reversions to emotion, sex. The Vulcan mind-meld has already
been seriously overused of late. No explanations of the "Vulcan Way"
beyond what has already been done in the TV series or movies.
McCoy: no offspring or close relations not already established.
We can no loner use castmembers who have left the show (no Tasha Yar or
Dr. Pulaski).
For any regular castmembers--same rules as per Kirk.
Also, other crewmembers: in general, avoid trying to definitively map
out a character's history much beyond what has already been done in the
movies or television episodes.
Of course there are guidelines. Disobey them at your own peril if
necessary to your story--but remember, you were warned.
Thank you for your interest in STAR TREK and good luck with your
writing.
Best,
The Star Trek Editors.
The address for Pocket is Simon & Schuster Building, 1230 Avenue of the
Americas, NY, NY 10020. The editors are Dave Stern and Kevin Ryan.
22) AWARDS:
TOS "The Tholian Web": won an Emmy for "best special effects".
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Drama Series" Emmy in 66-67
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting
Role in a Drama" Emmy in 66-67 (Leonard Nimoy)
TOS: nominated for "Mechanical Special Effects" Emmy in 66-67 (Jim Rugg)
TOS: nominated for "Photographic Special Effects" Emmy in 66-67 (Darrell
Anderson, Linwood G. Dunn, and Joseph Westheimer)
TOS: nominated for "Individual Achievements in Film and Sound Editing"
Emmy in 66-67 (Douglas H. Grindstaff, for Sound Editing)
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Drama Series" Emmy in 67-68
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting
Role in a Drama" Emmy in 67-68 (Leonard Nimoy)
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Achievements in Film Editing" Emmy in
67-68 (Donald R. Rode, for "The Doomsday Machine")
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a
Supporting Role in a Series" Emmy in 68-69 (Leonard Nimoy)
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction and Scenic
Design" Emmy in 68-69 (Walter M. Jeffries, Jr., Art Director, and
John Dwyer, Set Decorator, for "All Our Yesterdays")
TOS: nominated for "Special Classification of Outstanding Individual
Achievement" Emmy in 68-69 (Special Photographic Effects) (Van Der
Veer Photo Effects, Howard A. Anderson Company, The Westheimer
Company, and Cinema Research, for "The Tholian Web")
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing" Emmy in
68-69 (Donald R. Rode, for "Assignment: Earth" (weird, since it was
a 67-68 episode))
TNG: See Vidiot's Guide for TNG Emmy nominations and other TNG awards.
23a) IS PARAMOUNT MAKING MONEY ON TNG?
Yes. Tons. The following is stolen from industry trade magazines
VARIETY and BROADCASTING, as well as Roger Tang:
FIRST: License fees (the fees studios charge individual stations
to run their programs): Let's say Paramount charges each station $2,000
to run the first run package. That's ball park; other stations can get
$10-20K per episode in top 20 markets. Also, Turner can expect $800,000
to $1 million per episode show of THE WONDER YEARS when it goes into
backend syndication. $2,000 per episode times 238 stations yields
$476,000 per episode shown in first run syndication (which does NOT
count the later syndication or backend syndication).
SECOND: Commercial fees: According to Vidiot, Paramount has seven
minutes of national advertising in each show. BROADCASTING has
published figures of $60-80,000 per 30 second spot. (They have also
mentioned that rates for the third and fourth seasons are around
$135,000 per 30 second spot). Paramount is garnering $1,890,000 per
showing of an episode.
THIRD: But wait! Shows are shown more than once even in first run
syndication. Let's assume a cut rate of $50,000 per spot in reruns
(doubt it, since people are STILL watching during reruns). Even a rerun
episode will garner $700,000 in commercial revenue.
THE BOTTOM LINE: $476,000 + $1,890,000 + $700,000 = well over $3
million in revenue per episode in first run syndication. And we all
know studios base their financing on just breaking even in backend
syndication. So the claim that Paramount is losing $8 million is just
creative financing.
Then again, we can throw away our calculations and take Richard
Arnold's word that (at least in Season One) TNG was grossing $10 million
per episode.
23b) The average episode COSTS Paramount $1.6 million (was $1.4
million), including the weekly paycheck of Stewart ($100,000) and Burton
($100,000). (TOS cost $200,000 for an average episode).
24) TNG SEASON 4 TIDBITS:
Some might consider the next two sections as
***** S P O L E R S *****
so if you don't want to know *anything* about the upcoming episodes,
skip to section 99. This is you only warning!
We still have John DeLancie ("Q and Order" and a sixth Q episode),
Lwaxana Troi, the Romulans coming back "in a big way", and *possibly*
Barclay, Nichelle Nichols (as either Guinan's mother or daughter),
another in the series of Worf stories on the Klingon Home Planet, and
the bugs from "Conspiracy" (as the cliffhanger at the end of season 4).
The Borg will also be back, but they have changed a little.
[speculation: my guess is that we get to see some other species that the
Borg have stolen bodies from (Klingon, Romulan, and/or Ferrengi; I
*hope* the change is not that they have gained compassion --ed]
Frakes will direct a third episode (later this season).
Wil Wheaton has left to pursue an education (UCLA). His character Wes
has left for Star Fleet Academy.
They are looking for scripts (GOOD ones) to bring back Barclay, Lwaxana,
Q, and Selar. Also, Denise Crosby wants back (permanently) but they
can't find a way to do it believably.
"The Wounded": (1/28 through 2/3) The Federation is carrying on
negotiations with a new (to us) race, the Cardacians (sp?). An insane
captain [oh great] tries to re-ignite a war with the aliens (the Fed
used to be at war with them). While this is the first time we've seen
this race, it won't be the last.
"Devil's Due": (2/4 through 2/10) A creature comes on the Enterprise
(in female form) claiming to be the devil. She brought prosperity to a
planet 1000 years earlier, and now wants the souls of the inhabitants.
They apparently have Data set up as sort of a judge to determine whether
she really is the devil or not, with Picard arguing for the defense. To
prove that the woman is the devil, she transforms into a Klingon
creature that was said to eat the souls of cowards. (Klingons have no
"devil," as stated in TOS "Day of the Dove.") Worf's reaction is said
to be "hair-raising!" (This is another rehashed script (re-written a
bit by Michael Piller) from the "Star Trek II" series that never got
aired in the 70's; "The Child" was another such plot)
"Clues": (2/11 through 2/17) Features Data. Written by fan/mailman.
"First Contact": (2/18 through 2/24) Bebe Neuwirth (Lilith from
"Cheers") plays an alien sexpot nurse, Lanel, who demands sex from Riker
in exchange for helping him escape from his captors.
Repeat of "Future Imperfect" (2/25 through 3/3)
Repeat of "Final Mission" (3/4 through 3/10)
"Galaxy's Child": (3/11 through 3/17)
"Night Terrors": (3/18 through 3/24)
"Q and Order": (March?) Not sure if they're using the "Q brings the
crew into the continuum" plot or not, but it *does* feature Q.
25) FUTURE OF STAR TREK:
25a) Current plans are for a sixth TOS movie to celebrate the 25th
anniversary of Star Trek. It's working title is "The Infinite Voyage"
and it is based on a story idea by Leonard Nimoy, with a lot of the
polishing done by Nicholas Meyer. They are trying to get it out by the
end of 1991, but it might end up being released in 1992. Filming will
begin around April. Neither Nimoy nor Shatner will be directing;
Nicholas Meyer will handle this one. Music by James Horner (who dis 2
and 3). Ralph Winter might be the producer. ILM might be doing the FX,
but there are rumors that Lucas wants ILM to *not* accept any offers
because he'll need them if Star Wars I takes off. The three ideas that
have been brought up (and shot down) for ST6 are Shatner's script, Harve
Bennet's (sp) "Academy Days" script, and Walter Koenig's script. The
tabloids are spreading wild rumors about Spock getting married, Kirk
becoming a monk, and the rest of the regulars dying. More reliable
information says it will definitely be the last movie, and it will be
written as such, although probably none of the regulars will die. It
will be the last because if it flops, Paramount DEFINITELY won't put up
the money for STVII, and if it's good, they want to go out with a bang.
The budget for ST6 is $45 million. The action will take place
mainly on the Enterprise, and Klingons will be heavily featured. It's
written pretty much as a self-contained story.
25b) Creation is also planning a huge convention in California next year
around the 25th anniversary date (Sept 8, 1991). The cost is $163 if
you want to sit within the first 10 rows all three days. Beyond the
first 10 rows, the price is $140.00. They have been taking orders for
tickets for the last few months. The address is:
Creation
145 Jericho Turnpike
Mineola, NY 11501
25c) The cast of TNG have signed 6-year contracts and have the option of
another year. After this, plans are to create TNG movies. Rumors are
floating of a third series, either another generation *after* TNG or the
years between TOS and TNG.
25d) SEAON FIVE:
(The following from Richard Arnold): Leonard Nimoy was presented
with an idea for a ST:TNG two-part episode which was given a working
title of "Return to Forever". The "official" word is that midway
through negotiations Nimoy's agent suddenly started asking for $1
million. Since, at the time, the budget for an average week's episode
was $1.4 million (it's now $1.6 million), this was a clearly
unreasonable demand. The script with Spock is still supposedly floating
around somewhere. But the "official" word is that Leonard is simply
more interested in working on movies (mainly directing) than he is in
making guest appearances on TV. This was the news until late 1990. But
now the latest rumors say that Nimoy will be in the first two episodes
of season Five.
Wil Wheaton will be back for a few cameos as Wes in season 5.
Geordi MIGHT get married in season 5 (91-92).
25e) Peter David's upcoming novel "Q-In-Law" (in which "Q goes
toe-to-toe with the one opponent he can't handle--Deanna Troi's mother"
as he put it) sounds like it should be really good. The quotes I've
heard from it sound excellent! It also sounds like it might be his last
Star Trek novel.
25f) "Moontrap II: The Pyramids of Mars" began filming in December.
Walter said contract negotiations are still going on, but he's pretty
sure he'll be in it. "Moontrap" was a science-fiction thriller starring
Koenig released ONLY ON VIDEOTAPE in 1988. It did pretty well for a
video-only movie. "Moontrap II", however, will be released in the
theaters.
25g) After ST VI, there would be the POSSIBILITY of TOS characters
appearing, since the film series would be once and for all over.
99) MISC TRIVIA
James Doohan is missing the middle finger of his left hand. It can be
seen in brief shots (especially in the early episodes). Whenever they
needed to show Scotty's hands (like when he operated the transporter)
they had a stand-in and showed a close-up. ("Cut! All right, bring in
the stunt hands.")
TOS: Spock says that Vulcan has no moon (when Uhura mentions romance).
Some of the books say it has one or two moons/sister planets.
TOS: Majel Leigh Hudec is Majel Barrett's real name. She took the name
Barrett to fool NBC so they would hire her for Christine Chapel (they
never knew that the blond Majel Barrett was the same person as the
brunette whom they fired as Number One).
TOS: The Klingons and the Romulans had a trade agreement of sorts, for
technology. The Klingons got cloaking devices (according to non-canon
sources), the Romulans got Klingon warships (ref "The Enterprise
Incident") and warp technology (from non-canon sources). Also, there is
some speculation (again, non-canon) that the BoP as seen in TSFS and
TVH, plus several times in TNG, was originally a Romulan design.
TOS "The Devil in the Dark": Every 5000 years the race of Horta all die
save the one mother Horta.
TOS "Balance of Terror": Neutral zone outposts 2, 2, 4, and 8 were
trashed by the Romulan ship before the Enterprise was able to engage (#4
was the one they saw get destroyed on the viewer)
TOS "The Tholian Web": The name of the Tholian commander who first
attacks the Enterprise after Kirk is lost is Commander Loskene.
TOS "Wolf in the Fold": The names that the entity was referred to by
were Jack the Ripper, Baratis, Redjac, Kesla, Mr. Hengist (and yes, that
was the wimpy guy from the Bob Newhart Show).
TOS "Amok Time": T'Pau was the only person to ever turn down a seat on
the Federation council.
TOS "Amok Time": The episode where Ensign Chekov makes his debut (1st
episode, 2nd season). (Catspaw was the one he was first filmed in,
although this aired after Amok Time).
TOS "The Menagerie": The ONLY doorknob seen in a Federation setting
(ship or starbase etc.) was on the door to Christopher Pike's quarters,
which was kind of ironic, since he's about the only person who COULDN'T
use a doorknob! :-)
TOS "Plato's Stepchildren": The first inter-racial kiss on television
took place between Kirk and Uhura,
TOS "The Paradise Syndrome": "He Has Walked Among Us" and "Paleface"
were combined into "The Paradise Syndrome", according to speculation by
Allen Asherman and David Gerrold. Reportedly, only Gene Coon knew for
sure, and of course he's been dead for about 15 years...
TOS "City on the Edge of Forever": If you want H. Ellison's original
script for "City on the Edge of Forever", look for a book called "Six
Science Fiction Plays", edited by Roger Elwood. It's a paperback,
published in 1976 by Pocket Books under the Washington Square Press
imprint. It was distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Simon & Schuster.
I have no idea if it's still in print. If it isn't, check your local
library, used book stores, and the dealer's room at your next
convention. There must be copies out there somewhere. According to
Elwood's foreword, this was the first time Ellison's original uncut
script was published. It's preceded by a ten-page introduction that
Ellison wrote especially for this book, telling his version of the
transformation of his script into what was eventually telecast. The
book also contains these scripts:
"Sting!" by Tom Reamy
"Contact Point" by Theodore R. Cogswell and George Rae Cogswell
"Stranger with Roses" by John Jakes
"The Mechanical Bride" by Fritz Leiber
"Let Me Hear You Whisper" by Paul Zindel
("Sting!" is a movie screenplay; "The Mechanical Bride" is a teleplay;
the others are stage plays)
According to the Star Trek Compendium:
Kirk: was in 79 TOS episodes
Spock: was in 79 TOS episodes + "The Cage"
McCoy: was in 74 TOS episodes
Uhura: was in 65 TOS episodes
Scotty: was in 61 TOS episodes
Sulu: was in 47 TOS episodes
Chekov: was in 33 TOS episodes
ST: TMP: The oval things on the belts were originally supposed to be
biorhythm devices. In the novelization of ST:TMP, the little oval things
are described in a footnote. They are called "perscan" devices and are
used to monitor crew members life signs from sick bay. Only the CMO
gets to see the captain's perscan output. According to the footnote,
the lower abdomen is supposed to be an ideal location for a medical
scanner. Making it into a belt buckle seemed the obvious way to
integrate it into the Fleet uniforms.
>From "ST4: The Voyage Home", a storyline cut was a bunch of lines which
indicated that Saavik was pregnant. When they started running out of
screen time, these scenes were cut, since they were not essential to the
main story in the movie. Of course, this means that, officially, IT
NEVER HAPPENED. :-)
ST5: Yes, the marshmallow (or rather "marshmellon" (read the book))
dispenser used by Spock in the campfire scenes was available from Kraft
for a number of proofs-of-purchase when the movie came out. It would
hold several marshmallows and dispense them one at a time. I think the
end credits for the movie even said "Kraft--the official marshmallow of
ST5" or some such thing.
There's no real explanation as to why the Klingons have spiny foreheads
in TFS and TNG but not in TOS. Gene says "they always looked like this"
and we're supposed to ignore the lack of the pizza bats on the foreheads
in TOS. Theories outside of Gene run from genetic engineering to
"several races of Klingons".
TNG is shot on film in the studio. Final editing is done via video.
The film shooting is done for quality purposes...you get better pictures
and sound by using film. The video editing is done for practical
purposes...it's fast and (relatively) cheap.
TNG: The main viewscreen in supposed to be 3-D. When you see a side
view of the bridge crew looking at the screen, the view on the screen in
a side view (like the sides of faces when talking with people).
TNG: People keep asking about the weird production schedule. Why do we
keep getting breaks of repeats when it isn't summer yet? A lot of shows
(especially the hour-long ones) go to repeats around December and March.
The average episode of TNG takes about ten days to film. They start
well before the season begins, but they wouldn't be able to keep ahead
for the entire season. So while we're watching the December repeats,
they're trying to get a few episodes ahead of the viewers again!
TNG: ILM did the "Encounter At Farpoint" FX and a bunch of stock
footage. They NEVER did the bulk of the effects work. They are
credited at the end of the show because their stock footage (which means
shots of the Enterprise flying by, etc.) is still used. I noticed in
TBOBW2 that the Enterprise fly-by looked a lot better, so maybe the TNG
folks have ordered new stock footage from their special effects people
(The Post Group, I *think*.)
According to the fourth season ST:TNG Writer's Technical Manual, when
the Enterprise separates, only the battle section has warp capabilities
(earlier we were told that the saucer could only go as fast as warp
four).
TNG: Data isn't supposed to be able to utter any contractions, though
he seems to be speaking something awfully close. Perhaps his "I have"s
and "I am"s are just being spoken rapidly enough so they sound like
"I've" and "I'm".
TNG: In "The Battle" Deanna Troi says of the Ferengi ship captain
Daimon Bok, "Captain, I sense considerable deception from Bok and
danger"; in "The Price", Deanna's powers help against the Ferengi; in
"Menage a Troi" the Betazoid Ambassador says "We betazoids are
uncomfortable around the Ferengi, whose minds we cannot read"; which was
collaborated in "The Loss". Data also started to explain once why he
suspects that Betazoids can't read Ferengis: "Perhaps it is because the
Ferengi brain is separated into four..." So two episodes claim
Betazoids *can* read Ferengi minds and another two claim they *can't*...
The only explanation that could really account for this is that *Deanna*
is able to (at least partially) read Ferengi minds because she is only
part Betazoid.
There are *tons* of anime references (far too many to list here) in TNG,
from the names of ships and alien races to the scribblings on the wall.
Rick Sternbach and others are big fans of "Dirty Pair" and other
japanimation. There are also reference to other SF shows; "4077" shows
up in sickbay a lot (Mike Okuda is a MASH fan).
TNG season 1: According to Marina Sirtis, during the first season the
very small dressing rooms were marked with "funny" identification. Hers
was "Token Betazoid", Wheaton's was "Token Teen", Burton's was "Negro in
Space", and Stewart's was "Unknown Shakespearean Actor" (after an early
ST:TNG review).
TNG season 1: Dr. Crusher's orderly (ensign Freeman) was supposed to be
gay (according to the script writer).
TNG seasons three and four: When Gates McFadden came back after her year
leave, her hair was a bit longer than The Powers That Be thought looked
acceptable for a medical person. Gates didn't really want to get it
cut, so she wears a wig. She has mentioned that her real hair can
occasionally be "completely unmanageable" with just how curly it gets
when wet (or sweaty).
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": Lets get this straight, once and for all.
What we have is a "Special Appearance by DeForrest Kelley" in which he
plays an UNNAMED officer who just happens to have the following
traits/qualities: (1) He is a retired Admiral from Starfleet Medical
division (2) He has a definite affection for starships named
'Enterprise' (3) He is 137 years old, which is (in the eyes of the
Federation) an exceedingly long Terran life span, which could be
explained, possibly, by carrying the spirit of a Vulcan around inside
him for an extended period of time (4) He has a pronounced aversion to
the use of transporters (5) He has an unusual reaction to Vulcan-style
logic (6) He just happens to look, walk, talk, act, and in every other
conceivable way behave exactly like Leonard 'Bones' McCoy (OK, so I'm
stretching it on this one). Given these criteria, we can only logically
conclude that this was, in fact, not Leonard McCoy, but rather some
little known Admiral who would have no special meaning to anyone
watching Star Trek, but deserved 4 minutes of an episode devoted to him.
TNG "11001001": Binary 11001001 is decimal 201, and 2:01 kept showing
up on displays...
TNG "Home Soil": You can hear in the background "Three[?] are trapped
in a turbolift and two[?] are trapped in the programmers' bathroom."
So, I guess we have proof that there are restrooms on the Enterprise-D
(as well as the two references in the movies (on the Excelsior, and Kirk
in the Brig in ST5 ("do not use in spacedock")) as well as the one you
can't really see in "Q-Who" when the Borg slice up the Enterprise).
TNG "Skin of Evil": No, contrary to the rumors, you can't see Troi's
bra in this episode. What people were seeing was a shadow (and with the
flasing red light, it appeared red).
TNG "The Royale": The scene where Data was shooting craps seemed to be
lifted right out of "The Questor Tapes". In both cases, the andriod and
his companion(s) needed some quick cash, and so they play at the craps
table. In both cases, the android placed the dice in his hand and
applied the correct pressure to rebalance the dice, thus altering the
odds. In Data's case, it was because the dice were "fixed" to begin
with, and he altered them to be evenly balanced. In Questor's case, he
took evenly balanced dice and "fixed" them so he could win.
TNG "The Defector": Yes that was Stewart as one of the King's men with
Data on the holodeck. The other man was NOT Frakes, however.
TNG "Q Who": The general consensus is that it *was* Spiner playing the
part of Borg#1. There is no screen credit, however.
TNG "The High Ground": "He Has Walked Among Us" was reportedly a minor
inspiration for "The High Ground", albeit uncredited (this coming from a
Creation con). "THG" was one of those supposedly conceived during the
strike as a possible filler (a la "The Child"), and the use of the older
TOS script ("The Paradise Syndrome") would have made it acceptable under
the union crap edicts.
TNG "Up the Long Ladder": No, that is *not* Eddie Murphy as one of the
clones, though it does look a bit like him.
TNG "Yesterday's Enterprise": A lot of people seem to be having trouble
understanding the time travel involved in this episode (and cluttering
up the net every few months because of this). I'm not the best at
explaining these sorts of things, and if anyone else can in less space,
feel free to email me. Anyway... in "YE" they start out in the
"peaceful" timeline (PT) indicated by the top line in the diagram below.
When the Enterprise-C broke through the barrier, it changed history as
we know it (from the time of the battle onward) to a more hostile one
(in which the Klingons are at war with the Fed and Tasha never died).
When they sent the Ent-C back through the rift. it fixed whatever went
wrong with the Klingons/Federation, and restored the timeline to the one
we know (including Yar being dead at the hands of the slime beast in a
Glad Bag). So no, Yar isn't still alive these days. And also no, Yar
didn't "never exist and thus couldn't have died due to slimey".
*Everything* we know about the time before "YE" happened exactly as we
saw because sending the alternate-Yar back repaired all the damage to
time.
Tasha dies
---------> (B) ---------> (C)
/
Ent-C (A) <-------------------------
battle \ \
---------> (D) ---------> (E)
Tasha doesn't die
TNG: Dr. Selar appeared in "The Schizoid Man" and has been mentioned in
"Yesterday's Enterprise" (paged in background) and "Remember Me" (Bev
can't find Dr. Selar or Dr. Hill).
TNG: The storage capacity of the Galaxy Class Exploration Cruiser is
125,575,500 terrabytes, 1 terrabyte being 1 quadrillion bytes, according
to FASA's (non-canon) Star Trek TNG Officer's Manual.
TNG: Data is NOT Asmovian and does NOT obey Asimov's Laws of Robotics.
The only connection is that Data has a positronic brain.
TNG: In a War of the Worlds episode ("Thy Kingdom Come"), there is a
kid playing with action figures. One of them is in the likeness of Yar,
Data, Picard, or Riker and he mentions something about Ferengi.
TNG: Captain Garrett's crew took the E-C to glory at Narendra III,
which was NOT Khitomar (the planet where Worf's father and mother died).
TNG: In the opening credits (and occasionally in the same shot during
the show) you can see a man walking by the large vertical windows of the
ready room. It is the slow flyby of the Enterprise (from lower left to
upper right) after all the quick flybys. There are large windows just
beyond the bump in the saucer section, and if you look closely (and it
helps to have a giant screen TV) you can see a man walking from left to
right past the windows, then someone walking from right to left behind
him. NOTE: It's harder to catch it with freeze-frame since pausing a
VCR loses half the resolution, so just watch it at normal speed a few
times until you figure out where on the ship you're supposed to be
looking.
TNG: Paramount has confirmed that the bar on the enterprise (with its
"Whoopi cushion") is non-alcoholic.
TNG "Ensigns of Command": The original script called for Data to have
sex with the leading lady in order to get her cooperation later. This
idea never made it through the first draft. Gene's reason for dropping
it: "Only a human male would use a woman like that"...
TNG "The Schizoid Man": Shots of Genesis, Yar, "Encounter at Farpoint"
scenes, etc. in Data's psych test.
TNG "The Naked Now": When Data was looking through records, we see a
parrot with nacelles which was an in-joke ("The Great Bird" = Gene)
TNG: One episode had a family tree with the cast and other characters
(MASH, Giligan's Island, etc.) (I think Riker was married to Picard).
TNG: Mike Okuda and Rick Sternbach have said that they still use
models, not computer-generated ships. Richard Arnold has said they
haven't used the captains yacht because low bid for it is something like
$50,000. Though according to Mike Okuda they've stretched the envelope
on this so far that it's now pretty cost effective to throw in new ships
(witness the Klingon cruiser). Even the leap into warp space is
non-computer-generated. It is an incamera job using slit scanning.
TNG is now available on video tape. It is the first series *ever* to be
available while still in first-run. It is through the CBS Video Club
(Cutsomer Service number is (800) 457-0866). The only really bad thing
is that the copy of "Encounter at Farpoint" is the two one-hour version
(which has scenes missing and other scenes re-ordered from the original
single two-hour broadcast).
TNG was not broadcast in Dolby for the first three seasons. There was
out-of-phase-but-equal-amplitude stuff in the ST:TNG soundtrack, which
your Dolby Stereo decoder recognizes as "rear channel information".
They mostly put the ship's noise (a low thundering sound of the engines)
on the rear and some times when ships pass by or shoot. Starting with
the fourth season, TNG *is* in Dolby Stereo.
TNG satellite uplink times:
Sat 1800 EDT T301-9
Sun 1400 EDT T301-9
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Again, if you know of any other topics that should be included in
this list, feel free to email me at the address below.
--HACK-MAN
"Ric Flair... the James Brown of Pro Wrestling." --HACK-MAN
"Today Brooklyn Park... tomorrow THE WORLD!" --HACK-MAN
--
_____ _________ _ Ignor missng charctrs, as pnet's edtr tends to eat thm
| ___|| _______|| | INET: hackman@pnet51.orb.mn.org"
| |__ | |___ ___| | crash
| __| |___ || _ | UUCP: >-------->!orbit!pnet51!hackman
| | _______| || |_| | tcnet Otto E. Heuer, CEO
|_||_________||_____| "The innovator for software solutions." FSD, Inc.
It would have worked too, if it weren't for those meddling kids...and that dog
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edited by Jim "The Big Dweeb" Griffith - the official scapegoat for r.a.s.i.
Email submissions to trek-info@dweeb.fx.com, and questions to
trek-info-request@dweeb.fx.comhackman (04/09/91)
Mail isn't coming in to this site very well at the moment, so if you have
additions, corrections, or comments, please send them to me at
ottoh@cfsmo.honeywell.com for the next month.
Also, if you sent in comments that I haven't incorporated yet, fear not, they
should be in by next month; my "in" basket is down to about 200K.
MONTHLY LIST OF "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS"
in REC.ARTS.STARTREK (last updated 3/20/91)
This posting is intended to cut down on the "often asked questions"
that seem to pop up every few months in this newsgroup. It is one of a
number of periodic postings posted to the Star Trek newsgroup:
posting frequency poster/address
-------------------------------- ----------- ---------------------------
Frequently Asked Questions List monthly Otto Heuer
hackman@pnet51.orb.mn.org
-------------------------------- ----------- ---------------------------
Star Trek Music Otto Heuer
monthly ottoh@cfsmo.honeywell.com
-------------------------------- ----------- ---------------------------
List of Actors' Other Roles Dan Styer
monthly djstyer@symmetry.cs.mtu.edu
-------------------------------- ----------- ---------------------------
Listing of all TOS, TAS, TNG Mark Holtz
Episodes bi-monthly mholtz@sactoh0.SAC.CA.US
-------------------------------- ----------- ---------------------------
List of Lists monthly mholtz@sactoh0.SAC.CA.US
-------------------------------- ----------- ---------------------------
List of TV stations showing ST monthly Chris Wayne
cwayne%hydra.unm.edu@ariel.unm.edu
-------------------------------- ----------- ---------------------------
Program Guide updates occasionally Mike Brown
brown@vidiot.UUCP
-------------------------------- ----------- ---------------------------
ST:TOS Romance/Love List bi-monthly Richard Muirden
ram@lionet.wesley.oz.au
-------------------------------- ----------- ---------------------------
This FAQL is basically a list of questions that have been brought up
and discussed to death in rec.arts.startrek, and a lot of people would
be happy if they never resurfaced. It also contains pointers to other
information.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Acronyms
2) Names (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Data, Vulcans)
3) TNG Ranks
4) Top speed/TNG warp
5) McCoy's "I'm a doctor, not a ___" lines
6) Stardates, years, ages, etc.
7) Creative stuff/ftp sites: (parodies, pictures, scripts,
quotes files, episode guide, tech manuals)
8) Picard's surrenders; self destructs; time travel; leaving the galaxy
9) Addresses for Trek memorabilia
10) Crew reading USENET?
11) TOS Enterprise separation
12) Games
13) Merritt Butrick; Susan Oliver; Roger Carmel; Kirk Thatcher
14) Starfleet Military?
15) Shatner and Nimoy singing, and other music info
16) SNAFUs
17) Definitions: "Trekkie" vs. "Trekker"
18) Crew backgrounds
19) Uniforms
20) Untelevized TOS episodes and series pilots
21) Submitting a script for TNG and Submitting a story for Pocket Books
22) Awards
23) Is Paramount making money on TNG? and salaries
24) Future of Star Trek (TNG season 4, TNG season 5, Star Trek 6, etc)
99) Misc Trivia
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Acronyms:
TOS = The Original Series (or The Old Series)
TAS = The Animated Series
TCS = The Cartoon Series/The Comics Series
TNG = The Next Generation
TFS = The Film Series
TMP = The Motion Picture (ST1)
TWoK = The Wrath of Khan (ST2)
TSfS = The Search for Spock (ST3)
TVH = The Voyage Home (ST4)
TFF = The Final Frontier (ST5)
NCC = Naval Construction Contract
USS = United Space Ship
WF = Warp Factor
c = The speed of light (186,000 miles/sec (300,000 km/sec))
FTL = Faster than Light (warp speeds)
BoP = The Romulan (and Klingon) Bird of Prey vessel
UFP = United Federation of Planets
SFC = Star Fleet Command
SFA = Star Fleet Academy
SF = Star Fleet or Science Fiction (depending on context)
RNZ = Romulan Neutral Zone
KHP = Klingon Home Planet (since TPTB refuse to give it a name)
VISOR = [Anyone remember this? I keep forgetting the acronym. -ed]
IDIC = Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations (Vulcan Credo)
aka Philosophy of Nome
LLaP = Live Long and Prosper
SFB = Star Fleet Battles
SFU = Star Fleet Universe
FASA = Fredonianian Aviation and Space Administration
or Fantasimulations Associates
(both of these come from the people at FASA)
TFG = Task Force Games (company that puts out SFB)
ADB = Amarillo Design Bureau (company that created SFB)
ST-RPG = Star Trek Role Play Game (FASA)
UESPA = United Earth Space Probe Agency
GR = Gene Roddenberry
TPTB = The Powers That Be (usually referring to GR or Paramount)
RA = Richard Arnold
Bjo = Bjo "Bee-joe" Trimble, author of Concordance
The Great Bird = Gene Roddenberry (An in-joke from early TOS episode)
The Big E = The Enterprise
FX, SFX = (special) Effects
K/S = Generally refers to the "liberal" writing style of some of
the less-accepted Trek books and fanzines dealing with Kirk
and Spock being "more than close friends".
ILM = Industrial Light and Magic
IMHO = In My Humble Opinion
FYI = For Your Information
teaser = the short scene that comes before the opening credits.
trailer = previews (commercials) for the next EXCITING episode.
retcon = to declare that something never happened (like Kirk's
middle initial being "R")
canon = what Roddenberry/Paramount decides is "real" Trek. Gene has
already declared every novel (including the one(s) he
wrote) to be non-canon.
If you see other acronyms (and are relatively new to UseNet), refer to
the "often asked questions for new users" file in the news.newusers
group (where you'll also find articles on nettiquette that will save you
lots of grief (like keeping signature lines to a minimum)). Episode
names are commonly referred to by acronym; most are fairly easy to
figure out (EaF for "Encounter at Farpoint", etc.).
2) NAMES:
2a) Kirk's middle initial/middle name. It is generally agreed that
Kirk's full name is "James Tiberius Kirk". It was only given as "James
T. Kirk" in TOS, the "Tiberius" didn't come around until TAS ("Bem") and
the novels. In "Where No Man Has Gone Before", Gary Mitchell makes a
gravestone for Kirk that says "James R. Kirk", apparently before Gene
had settled on a middle name (or possibly proof that Gary was failing as
a god).
2b) Spock's other name (you couldn't pronounce it, as he told the blonde
in "This Side of Paradise") isn't given in TOS or TFS. It is given in
one or more of the books if you care to believe them. According to the
Officer's Manual, it is Xtmprszntwlfd (pronounced with six syllables).
In "Journy to Babel" there's this exchange:
Kirk: Mrs. Sarek...
Amanda: Amanda. I'm afraid you pronounce the Vulcan form.
Kirk: Can you?
Amanda: In a fashion, after many years of practice.
2c) McCoy's middle initial is given in "Friday's Child" and TFS as "H".
Some novels have it as "H"; others as "T". Geoffrey Mandel's Officer's
Manual lists his middle name as Horatio.
2d) Data's name was shown on a computer screen once as "Lt. Cmdr NFN NMI
Data" ("No First Name, No Middle Initial").
2e) As a general rule, Vulcan males have five-letter names starting with
"S" and ending with "K" (Spock, Sybok, Sarek, etc.) in honor of Surak,
and Vulcan females have names starting with "T'" (T'Pau, T'Pring, etc.).
The explanations for Saavik are either "she;s part Romulan, so the
naming convention didn't hold" or "Her name is T'Saavik, but the "T'S"
is too hard to pronounce.
2f) Other names from Geoffrey Mandel's Officer Manual: Montgomery Edward
Scott, Itaka Sulu (though George prefers Walter and Gene and some novels
call him Hikaru) , Upenda Uhura (some sources say Nyota), Pavel
Andreievich Chekov (also stated as such in "The Way to Eden"), and
Christopher Robin Pike.
3) TNG RANKS: Deanna Troi's rank was given as "Lt. Cmdr" in "Encounter
at Farpoint" (the pilot episode) and occasionally on computer displays
(e.g. "The Child"). Wes was made an acting ensign by Picard in "Where
No One Has Gone Before", then made full ensign in "Menage a Troi" and
given a uniform. Riker was given a field promotion to Captain in "The
Best of Both Worlds Part 2", but was back to being a commander in the
next episode. The "pips" (the circles on the uniform collars) signify
rank. A hollow circle counts as a half circle:
0.5: Ensign, Junior Grade
1.0: Ensign
1.5: Lt., Junior Grade
2.0: Lt.
2.5: Lt. Commander
3.0: Commander
4.0: Captain
5.0: Commodore/Fleet Captain
4) WARP:
4a) The fastest the original Enterprise has gone (not counting "off the
scale") was 14.1 in "That Which Survives". The Enterprise-D seems to
have a top speed slightly less than 10, not counting the time Q flung it
a great distance. Riker mentioned that warp 10 instigates time travel.
In "Where No One Has Gone Before" it is mentioned that the Enterprise
has reached or passed warp 10.
4b) For TOS, speed is (warp ^ 3) * c, which yeilds:
warp c
---- ----
1 1
2 8
3 27
4 64
5 125
6 216
7 343
8 512
9 729
10 1000
11 1331
12 1728
13 2197
14.1 2803.221
4c) The ST:TNG Writer's Technical Manual, third season edition contains
the following table:
warp c comment
---- ---- -------
1 1
2 10
3 39
4 102
5 214
6 392 normal cruising speed.
7 656
8 1024
9 1516
9.6 1909 maximum attainable speed for E
9.9 3053 maximum speed for E under any circumstances
9.99 7912
10 infinite
Notes not from the guide:
For warp speeds 1 through 9, the formula w ^ (10/3) provides the
numbers shown, rounded to the integer.
4d) From Richard Arnold: The story on transwarp drive: it doesn't work.
The warp drive that we see on TNG is not transwarp or ultrawarp or
whatever you want to call it. It is an improved version of the same
warp drive that we saw on TOS (at least the fifth generation warp drive
according to Goldstien's Spaceflight Chronology). The Excelsior proved
that Transwarp wouldn't work by being destroyed by it during a test
flight. FASA has another category system which TPTB don't acknowledge.
5) McCoy's "I'm a doctor not a _____" EPISODE
Bricklayer Devil in the Dark
Escalator Friday's Child
Engineer Mirror, Mirror
Mechanic The Doomsday Machine
Psychiatrist The City on the Edge of Forever
Some variations on the theme occur in "The Deadly Years" where he says
"I'm not a Magician, I'm just an old country doctor", and in "The
Corbomite Maneuver" where he asks "What am I, a doctor or a Moon shuttle
conductor?" Also, in "Amok Time", Kirk asks "Well, are you a doctor or
aren't you?" and in ST5 says something like "Dammit Bones, you're a
doctor." ST2 has a more vague reference when Kirk says "Physician, heal
thyself", McCoy says "Is that all you've got to say? What about my
performance?", and Kirk replies "I'm not a drama critic". The line may
have originated with Heinlein's 1952 novel "The Rolling Stones." In
that book, Dr. Edith Stone says, "How can I be sure? I'm a doctor, not
a fortune-teller."
6) STARDATES, YEARS, AGES, ETC.:
In TOS the stardates ranged from 1513 (Man Trap) to 5928 (Turnabout
Intruder). At this time Gene had intended for stardates to be based on
Julian dates modulo 10000, with one stardate being 24 hours in length.
There are numerous examples where this is false. Some of the most
blatant are The Immunity Syndrome (where a quick calculation shows that
one stardate is less than 2.5 hours) and Requiem for Methuselah (where
one stardate figures out to be about 960 hours). There are a few
episodes where the stardates actually decrease during the show.
In TNG, the stardate is also supposed to be 24 hours, and is in the
form 4xyyy.y where "x" is the season number and yyy.y is a random number
that increases (usually) throughout the season.
1992-1997 Eugenics Wars (according to Off Manual/TMP novel)
1993-1996 Eugenics War (according to Space Seed)
2018 Last use of sleeper ships (according to Space Seed)
2031-2039 Clone Wars (according to Off Manual/TMP novel)
2035 US gets 52nd state (according to The Royale)
2047 Mind Control Revolt (according to Off Manual/TMP novel)
2049 First Kzinti Invasion of Earth (according to Off Manual)
2064 Kzinti Invasions Halt (according to Off Manual)
2079 All United Earth "nonsense" abolished (according to
Encounter at Farpoint)
The year in TOS is somewhere between 2260 and 2286.
The Officer's Manual says TMP took place in 2265.
The year on a bottle of Romulan Ale is given in The Wrath of Khan
as 2283(?)
Khan was marooned for 15 years at the time of ST2.
TNG is 93-100 years after TOS, and 78-79 years after TMP.
TOS "Ballentine Concordance (1976)": Gives McCoy's age as 45.
TOS "Who Mourns for Adonais": Chekov gives his age as 22.
TOS "The Deadly Years": Kirk's age is given as 34.
TNG "The Neutral Zone": Data gives the year as 2364.
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": McCoy's age is given as 137.
TOS "Journey to Babel": Sarek's age is given as 102.437.
TNG "Sarek": Sarek's age is given as 202.
TNG "The Schizoid Man": Wes said "Data, chronologically, you're not
much older than I am."
TNG "DataLore": Data says he was found 26 years ago.
TNG "Datalore": Data details exactly how many years he spent at the
Academy, how many as an ensign, etc. Counting backwards from stardate
41xxx.x would give his grad date.
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": Data graduated SFA in the class of '78
with Honors in Dextral Biology and Probability Mechanics.
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": The Post-Atomic Age started in 2078.
TNG "Encoutner at Farpoint" (and the Officers Manual): the New
United Nations was formed in 2036 (the Officers Manual says this
happened during the Clone Wars).
Kirk was born in the year 2228 in Riverside, Iowa, where a statue
of him has been erected.
The book "The Final Reflection" (non-canon, but who really cares)
puts the lifespan of a Klingon at about 40 years (terran). Worf would
be about 15, by this reckoning.
William Shatner was born on March 22, 1931
Leonard Nimoy was born on March 26, 1931.
DeForest Kelley was born on Jan 20, 1920
7) HOW TO OBTAIN CREATIVE MATERIAL:
This section contains locations where you can find Star Trek parodies,
pictures (GIFs, PostScript drawings, ASCII artwork, etc.), scripts,
fortune/quotes files, the episode guide, and tech manuals)
7a) Anonymous ftp sites with Star Trek related creative stuff:
a.cs.uiuc.edu 128.174.252.1 dvi2ps, GIFs, texx2.7, amiga
bison.cs.uwa.oz.au GIFs
curie.cs.unc.edu 128.109.136.151 GIF, graphics programs
dsl.cis.upenn.edu 130.91.6.12 GIF, IBM
jumbo.hartford.edu 192.52.156.99 200 TNG GIFs; TNG Targas; GIF
viewers (19:00 EST to 08:00 EST
daily; 4 connections)
lut.fi 128.214.25.8 GIF
mcs213k.cs.umr.edu 131.151.6.11 XGIFs
mibsrv.mib.eng.ua.edu 130.160.20.80 bitmaps, GIFs, games
milton.u.washington.edu lots of star trek parodies
network.ucsd.edu 128.54.16.3 anime GIFs
squid.cs.ucla.edu 131.179.96.44 GIFs
surya.waterloo.edu 129.97.129.72 tiff format, gif2ras
uxc.cso.uiuc.edu 136.144.1.2 GIFs
wuarchive.wustl.edu 128.252.135.4 GIFs of the entire TNG bridge crew
xanth.cs.odu.edu (in pub/star-trek/stsounds.arc) sound files
7b) Or you can telnet (not ftp) to mbbs.cc.columbia.edu (128.59.41.3),
and follow the information given to you from there. Essentially you'd
be able to connect to a file server which you can download files (kermit
or xmodem protocols only) located in several places. Go to the
"pictures" location and then try to get any of the "Startrek" gif files.
These are the pictures available in the Startrek directory:
beverly.gif laforge.gif strbas.gif
bonekirk.gif picard+yar.gif trekview.gif
crew.gif picard.gif troi.gif
data.gif picard2.gif wesley.gif
enterprise.gif riker.gif worf.gif
enterprise2.gif spock.gif worf2.gif
enterprise3.gif spock1.gif yar.gif
kirk.gif spock2.gif
kirk2.gif spockirk.gif
7c) Chuan Chee (ckchee@dgp.toronto.edu) has collected a huge number of
the Star Trek parodies from rec.arts.startrek and alt.startrek.creative.
They are available from Princeton via anonymous ftp or via email, at
least until the disk space is needed for something else.
anonymous ftp: math.princeton.edu (128.112.128.157) in directory
pub/rjc/st. The file p.files contains an index to the parodies. The
parodies themselves are packed into groups; the archive p.01.tar.Z
contains parodies 010 through 019. If you don't know what ".tar.Z"
means, ask your system administrator.
email: Send the message "send p.files" to rjc@math.princeton.edu. For
each parody you wish, send the message "send p.parody-number" to the
same address. For example, "send p.014" to get parody number 14. Limit
one request per person per day.
Note: Please use ftp if you possibly can. Sending large amounts of
email is considered bad manners by system administrators.
There's also a "fortune" file for both TOS and TNG with humorous and/or
memorable quotes from the episodes. These fortune files, as well as
this FAQL and the monthly posting of Star Trek Actors' Other Roles are
also available on math.princeton.edu (for ftp only).
7d) People without ftp access can find lots of trek-related stuff
(including this FAQL) on the Memory Alpha BBS (607) 257-5822.
The deanna.gif file is available at jumbo.hartford.edu in
./pub/tng/gif/147.gif and ./pub/tng/tga/147.tga.Z, so stop asking :-)
[ Anyone know of more sites for Postscript drawings, GIFs, ASCII
pictures, serious scripts/novels, etc.? --ed ]
[ Any ftp site have the "Sam Donaldson as a Vulcan" picture? --ed ]
[ Anyone feel like maintaining a list of all sites with TNG GIFs,
parodies, scripts, sound files, and other creative material (and
possibly an index of what is at each site? I considered expanding this
FAQL, but it would double the size of it and it's already too big --ed ]
7e) If you want a list of TNG episodes (for all seasons), the schedule
information is presented by Vidiot (Mr. Video (Mike Brown)) who also
puts out a very nice guide (which contains all kinds of useful info like
names of actors/actresses) which is available by anonymous ftp at
mammoth.unr.edu (134.197.40.241) in the /pub/guides/startrek directory
as well as caesar.cs.montana.edu (192.31.215.202) in the
/pub/guides/st-tng directory. All the information needed (which files
to get and what to do with them (unpacking, printing, etc.)) is in the
README file at the same sites. The guide is also available by anonymous
UUCP from Mike at
Phone: 608-274-9275
Baud: 19200/2400/1200
Login: anonuucp
Password: none (it will not be asked)
The main directory is ~nuucp/guides. In there you will find a file
called dir.list. Get it, as it will list all of the latest files that
are in the guides' directory. After you get it, study it and then
request the files that you need. This area contains more than ST:TNG
guides and lists. The area will be under constant changes, as new lists
and updates will be added.
Updates are posted to rec.arts.startrek.info occasionally.
7f) Other good sources for information (on both series) are:
"The Making of Star Trek" by Stephen Whitfield (Ballantine/Del Ray 68)
"Star Fleet Technical Manual" by Franz Joseph (Ballantine/Del Ray 75)
"Star Trek Blueprints" by Franz Joseph (Ballantine/Del Ray 75)
"Star Trek Concordance" by Bjo Trimble (Ballantine/Del Ray 76)
"Star Trek Compendium" by Allan Asherman (Pocket Books 81, 87, 89)
"The Klingon Dictionary" by Marc Okrand (Pocket Books 85)
"Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise" by Shane Johnson (Pocket Books 87)
"The Worlds of the Federation" by Shane Johnson (Pocket Books 89)
"The Writer's/Director's Guide" (new editions put out for each season)
FASA has the "Officers Manual", but it has been pulled or denounced by
Gene since it contradicts a lot of what has been said on TNG or in the
Writer's/Director's Guide (Betazoids are NOT from Haven, Star Fleet did
NOT think of creating the post of counselor when they discovered
telepaths, etc.) Roddenberry told them to stop publishing the manual
until they corrected the inaccuracies, but instead FASA made 2-3 more
printings. They will be releasing a new edition that has been worked
out with Paramount, and Richard Arnold has said somewhat
enthusiastically that it is going to be quite nice and meets with Gene's
approval.
FASA recently published the long-awaited canon manual, the First Season
Sourcebook Update. Unfortunately, some of the information is already
outdated, such as the Betazoid homeworld is STILL not Haven, although
that was stated in the first season episode "Haven".
And of course you can get lots of Trek stuff from Trek cons and
magazines (Starlog seems to be the most popular).
Lincoln Enterprises themselves are at most conventions, and they sell
writer's guides from every season along with final scripts from
episodes. In fact, these scripts even have scenes that are cut out due
to the episode running long.
7g) rec.arts.startrek.creative's FTP site is scam.berkeley.edu
(128.32.138.1). The rasi articles are located in the directory
~ftp/misc/info (it's partitioned into subdirectories of months).
There's a README file there. Access times are unrestricted (scam has
excellent Internet access).
8a) LEAVING THE GALAXY: The Enterprise has left the galaxy in "TOS:
Where No Man Has Gone Before", "TOS: By Any Other Name", "TOS: Is There
in Truth No Beauty?", and "TNG: Where No One Has Gone Before". In
"ST5:TFF" they crossed the barrier at the center of the galaxy.
8b) PICARD'S SURRENDERS:
* "Encounter at Farpoint": Picard says "Transmit the following in all
languages and in all frequencies; 'We surrender'."
* "The Outrageous Okono": Picard drops shields "In case we decide to
surrender to them."
* "A Matter of Honor": Picard surrenders to Riker on the Pagh.
* "The Defector": The Romulans ask Picard to surrender, but he doesn't.
* "Peak Performance": Riker asks Picard "Would you care to surrender
now?" even before the wargames begin.
* "Peak Performance": Picard surrenders to the Ferengi, but they don't
accept.
* "The Last Outpost": Picard tries to surrender to the Ferengi, but
they beat him to it.
* "Yesterday's Enterprise": Alternate-Picard refuses to surrender to
the Klingons.
8c) SELF-DESTRUCTS:
* "11001001": Picard tries to self destruct.
* "Where Silence Has Lease": Picard tries to self destruct for Nagilum.
* "Contagion": Virus-induced sort-of-self-destruct-like-thing.
* Kirk tried to self destruct in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield",
"By Any Other Name", and finally succeeds in ST3:TSFS.
8d) TOS time travel:
1. The Guardian of Forever ("City on the Edge of Forever")
2. The slingshot effect ("Tomorrow Is Yesterday")
3. Cold-starting the warp engines ("The Naked Time")
4. Mr. Atoz's time travel system ("All Our Yesterdays")
5. Isis' time-space transporter ("Assignment: Earth")
8e) TNG time travel:
1. Picard from the future ("Time Squared")
2. Enterprise from the past ("Yesterday's Enterprise")
3. Riker thinks he's in the future ("Future Imperfect")
9) Any correspondence with Paramount, Gene, the actors, etc. should be
sent to:
Paramount Studios
Star Trek Offices
5555 Melrose Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90038-3197
Note that scripts have a better chance of getting accepted if you have
an agent. Paramount gets about 800 fan-written scripts a year and uses
about four of them. See the separate section in this posting on
submitting scripts.
Lincoln Enterprises is run by Majel Barrett (Mrs. Roddenberry, formerly
Majel Leigh Hudec), and is said to be the best source for fan
paraphanalia, scripts, etc. This is the best place to get a Writer's
Guide from if you're not an established writer. The address is:
Lincoln Enterprises
Box 691370
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(213) 462-3850 (orders only, $15 minimum by credit card)
Star Tech has some good stuff too, like the blooper reels on tape (four
tapes for TOS and one for TNG season one), movie soundtrack CDs, etc.
However, some of their recorded tapes seem to be "gray market", so
beware:
Star Tech
PO Box 456
Dunlap, TN 37327
Starlog (or Starlog Press)
475 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
Starland
PO Box 24590
Denver, CO 80224
phone: 1 303 671 8735 fax: 1 303 671 0302
Intergalactic Trading Co.
PO Box 1516
Longwood, FL 32750
phone: 1 407 831 8344 fax: 1 407 332 0142
New Eye Studio
PO Box 632
Willimantic, CT 06226
phone: 1 203 450 1943
War Games West
3422 Central Av SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
phone: 1 505 265 6100 orders: 1 800 729 4263
Fax: 1 505 260 0752 hotline: 1 505 299 3368
Franklin Mint came out with a Pewter Enterprise ($198.00), a pewter
Klingon ship, and a Star Trek Chess Set (Kirk and Khan as opposing kings
(redshirts as pawns?)) a few years back, and I think CitiCorp or someone
has a Star Trek VISA (with some outrageous annual fee).
10) None of the crew read Usenet (though we have a writer or two on
here). Wheaton and some of the "behind-the-scenes" people are on
Compu$erve/GEnie though. When Wil starts at UCLA, it would be easy for
him to obtain a Usenet account, so he may be lurking. :-)
11) Yes, the TOS Enterprise could separate; just that it would take a
lot more work (and a bigger effects budget) to put it back together.
Kirk orders Scotty to "disengage nacelles, jettison if possible" in "The
Savage Curtain" and "discard the warp drive nacelles if you have to and
crack out of there with the main section, but get that ship out of
there!" in "The Apple".
12) GAMES: The FASA Star Trek game is pretty much ignored by the r.a.s
community, though many seem to like the variety of TOS and TNG drinking
games that show up occasionally. [ Anyone know if these are FTPable from
anywhere? --ed ] There are a few computer games based on Star Trek as
well (I even wrote a few). The rules and board layout of the 3-D chess
game Kirk kept beating Spock at are posted every once in a while.
[ Anyone know if this are FTPable from anywhere? --ed ]
13a) Yes, Merritt Butrick is dead. He played Kirk's son David in the
movies as well as T'Jon an Ornaranan in TNG's "Symbiosis", along-side of
Judson Scott (who played Sobi, a Brekkianof and also a person that
served with Khan). The actor died in March 1989 due to complications
related to the AIDS virus.
13b) Susan Oliver (who played Vina in "The Cage") also recently died
(early 1990).
13c) Roger Carmel (Harcourt Fenton Mudd) died around 1989/1990 due to
some sort of medication or lack thereof.
13d) Also among the recent deceased are James Blish, Gene Coon, and
Ceilia Lovsky.
13e) Kirk Thatcher:
* Was associate producer of ST4.
* Was the actor who played the Punk on the Bus in ST4.
* Wrote the song "I Hate You" which the punk was listening to.
* Is a member of the band "Edge of Etiquette" which performed the song.
* Is Margaret Thatcher's son. ("THE Margaret Thatcher?")
14) According to ST:TNG Writer's/Director's guide (1987): "Starfleet is
NOT a military organization....No saluting. We may hear the word 'Sir,'
but it is intended as the same kind of courtesy used by junior and
senior officers on commercial airliners....No stories about warfare with
Klingons or Romulans and no stories with Vulcans." Granted the
Romulan/Klingon/Vulcan rule has laxed, Starfleet is still basically
non-military (except when they are cornered, like the Borg situation).
The fourth season ST:TNG Writer's Technical Manual says to mentally
merge NASA, the Coast Guard and research ships like Calypso to gain a
concept of the Enterprise's mission. I guess we're supposed to believe
that court-martials and brigs are non-military, huh?
15) Both Shatner and Nimoy have attempted to sing and have a few albums
out (from the early 70s, I believe). They are *extremely* bad and only
good for comic relief.
Nichelle Nichols originally sang the tune Uhura was singing in ST5,
but TPTB decided a few days before the film was released to dub in
Hiroshima singing the song.
The band T'Pau (named after the Vulcan priestess from TOS "Amok
Time") claim they are not Star Trek fans; they just liked the name. DJs
enjoy putting a few lines from "Amok Time" during the opening of the
song "Heart and Soul" (McCoy: "Do you know who that is? That's T'Pau!"
T'Pau: "Thees ees da Voolcan heart; thees ees da Voolcan soul...")
The Minneapolis band (now based in New York) "Information Society"
likes putting Star Trek quotes in their songs. "Pure Energy" had
Spock's line "pure energy" (from the Organian episode) in it (and later
releases of the song have McCoy saying something like "we're not out of
this yet"), "Think" has Kirk saying "Think about it" (any takers on
which episode?), "Something in the Air" has a long scream (apparently
taken from TOS), and there's another song (the name escapes me) that has
a line from Spock, Scott, or both. Someone mentioned that Adam Nimoy
(Leonard's son) is a fan and friend of the group.
Leonard Nimoy was on teh cover of the Bangles' first album.
Susan Vega has a reference to Star Trek in one of her songs.
The German band Nina mentions "Captain Kirk" in their songs "99
Luftballoons" and "99 Red Balloons".
The first three seasons of TNG are in stereo, the fourth is in
Dolby Surround stereo.
For lyrics to any of the various Star Trek songs, see accompanying
posting "Star Trek Music"
16) SNAFUs:
TOS "Space Seed": As Kirk is bashing in Khan's glass coffin, his
phaser falls off his belt. McCoy keeps looking down at it, like he's
wondering when they're going to yell 'cut' so they can re-shoot the
scene. They never did re-shoot because they didn't want to invest in
more glass.
TOS "Operation: Annihilate!": In a well-known ST blooper, the
amoeba-creature accidentally hits Spock's rear end instead of his back.
TOS "Court-Martial": Kirk says "Gentlemen, this computer has an
auditory sensor. It can, in effect, hear sounds. By installing a
booster we can increase that capability on the order of one to the
fourth power" (which the writers seemed to think sounded more impressive
than "one") :-) (and we just have to assume that the voices and other
ship noises were masked out like the heartbeats were)
ST4:TWoK: When Khan comforts his fallen comrade (the guy with the
blond hair) you can see that guy closed his eyes even though he is
"dead".
TNG "The Royale": The surface temperature of the planet is less
than absolute zero. Also, after they beam the piece of the ship out of
orbit, O'Brien and Riker pick it up with their bare hands (coming from
space, it should have been close to zero Kelvin itself).
TNG "Conspiracy": Riker says "Mr. LaForge, ahead warp six."
Geordi responds with "Aye, sir, full impulse."
TNG "Sins of the Father": The sound effects people must have
fallen asleep every time someone got slapped.
TNG "Brothers": Data's password doesn't match what was displayed
on the screen.
17) What are we?
Trekkie: A groupie fan. Someone who wears Spock ears and thinks that
makes them important. Asks questions like "what did you have for
breakfast on the tuesday when you shot scene 46a of episode 5?" The
most die-hard fan, who lives, eats, and breathes Star Trek. Term
originated in the late 1960s.
Trekker: A fan who is interested in the show and the idea of Star Trek,
but doesn't let it interfere with his/her life. This is apparently
being added to an upcoming edition of Webster's Dictionary. Term came
into popularity in the 1970s when the press gave "Trekkie" a bad name.
trekker: (with a small "t") A person who travels vast distances.
Trekologist: A fan who is a good source for information about Star
Trek. Ususally can answer the most obscure Trek trivia.
Treknician: A fan who enjoys collecting data (and debating with others)
on the technical aspect of Star Trek (warp technology, transporter
technology, etc.). Enjoys collecting ST technical literature and trying
to logically and rationally explain continuity errors in the show.
18) CREW BACKGROUNDS:
James Tiberius Kirk is from Riverside, Iowa; he was married in
"Paradise Syndrome", and is now a widower. He was also in love (if he
knows the meaning of the word) with someone named "Ruth" ("Shore
Leave"), and mentioned that he almost married that little blonde lab
tech that Gary Mitchel steared Kirk's way ("Where No Man Has Gone
Before") which some have guessed to be none other than Carol Marcus.
See also the "Love Interests" monthly posting for further details.
Leonard McCoy was in love with someone named "Nancy", whom the
salt-sucker takes the form of in "The Man Trap". They were going to
mention in one episode that he had been married with a daughter named
Joanna, but it never made it on film.
Chekov's ex-girlfriend (Irena [Irini?] Galliulin) is seen in "The
Way to Eden".
Saavik was half Vulcan and half Romulan. This wasn't mentioned in
the movie (probably cut to save time), but it was in the novelization,
the trailer shown on Siskel & Ebert, and was mentioned by Stewart in the
special showing of "The Cage".
William T. Riker is from Valdez Alaska. His mother died while he
was young (three?). His father was shown in "The Icarus Factor". Wil
has turned down three captaincies ("Encounter at Farpoint" (mentioned
Drake?), the Drake mentioned in "Arsenal of Freedom", the Aries in "The
Icarus Factor", and the Melbourne in "Best of Both Worlds"). He enjoys
Jazz music (his middle name is supposedly the name of a jazz musician),
plays the trombone, is a master of poker, and enjoys cooking. The
character was based on Decker.
Jean-Luc Picard is from France. He never married, has an
artificial heart (from his wild younger days), enjoys Shakespeare,
horseback riding, Dixon Hill novels, and Earl Grey tea. He is
responsible for the death of Jack Crusher. (aside: Patrick Stewart left
school at the age of 15 because he was "not interested".)
Data has an ultimate storage capacity of eight hundred quadrillion
bits. His total linear computational speed has been rated at sixty
trillion operations per second (from "Measure of a Man"). He was built
by Dr. Noonian Soong, who was taught by the guy in "The Schizoid Man".
He and Tasha Yar were "more than friends" ("The Naked Now"). The
character was based on Questor, from "The Questor Tapes".
Worf's parents were killed at K'timar in a Romulan attack. His
adopted parents, Mr. and Mrs. Rojenko, (from the planet Galt) were shown
in "Family". He has a brother (Commander Kurn), a dead girlfrined
K'Ehleyr, a bastard son Alexander ("Reunion"), and a bonded son Jeremy
("The Bonding").
Geordi LaForge is named after a Star Trek fan that was handicapped,
and passed away. His name was Jordi or something like that and he had
one of those horrible diseases that destroy your body's "electrical
system". He was born blind, given sight by Riker ("Hide and Q") which
he decided he didn't want, and decided against a sight operation by Dr.
Pulaski ([episode name? -ed])
Deanna Troi has a Betazed mother (Lwaxana) and a human father
(deceased), enjoys chocolate, and was imzade (sp?) to Riker. She used
to have a betazoid cat (from the episode where Picard was with the
holo-horse). Her character was based on Ilia.
Beverly Crusher is a widower and mother of Wes Crusher, whose
father (Jack) was killed while serving under Picard. She was head of
Starfleet Medical for one year.
Miles Edward O'Brien enjoys kayaking and poker, and was married in
season four.
Guinan has only been on the Enterprise for a few years [episode?],
and didn't know Picard before coming on board [episode?] but somehow has
known Picard for a long, long time [episode?]. Her relationship with
Picard is more than family; more than friends (from "Best of Both Worlds
II"). She is left-handed (not surprising, since Whoopi is).
19) The uniforms were changed from the spandex one-piece suits (that
made the cast look muscular) to the wool two-piece suits (that make them
look flabby but are more comfortable). The new uniforms cost $3000
apiece to manufacture. Most of the extras are still wearing the old
uniforms. Another reason for the switch is that Brent Spiner suffers
from some back injury. Because spandex is skin-tight, he couldn't wear
his brace underneath. The wool is loose enough and you can occasionally
see the top of the brace under the costume if you look at his chest. In
just about every episode you can see Picard (and others) tugging at
their uniforms as they ride up. This has been known on and off the set
as "the Picard manuver".
If you want a Star Trek uniform: Look for Simplicity or McCalls pattern
book in your favorite fabric shop. In the back there are Star Trek
uniforms for adults and children, both sexes. You can also get the
patterns from Paramount's "Star Trek: The Official Fan Club" (both TOS
and TNG uniforms).
If you're not "sew" talented and want one pre-made, Intergalactic
Trading Post of Tampa Florida is one of many companies that make them in
several sizes. They generally show up at Star Trek/SF conventions.
20a) Untelevized TOS episodes:
The Cage
He Has Walked Among Us (unfilmed)
Paleface
(other titles I can't remember)
A black and white original of "The Cage" was pieced back together
with the color clips stolen for "The Menagerie" which has since been
televised. Just before the premier of TNG, Paramount "found" a copy of
"The Cage" which was all in color (which they then televised). It is
marred by drastic changes in the Talosians' voices in mid-sentence,
otherwise it is fun to watch (along with a grinning, shouting Spock).
The color version they show now has been cut down to an hour and has
Spock's famous "grinning at the singing plants" scene removed. Sigh.
20b) Yes, "Assignment Earth" was indeed a pilot that never got off the
ground. One of a few. Gene wanted to create some more shows. The
reference for this is in the book The Making of Star Trek, (the white
cover, not the silver one).
20c) The Great Bird was involved with pilots for three different new TV
series in the early seventies.
Three different pilots were apparently shot for one of the series,
not unlike the series of pilots that had to be shot to get "Star Trek"
into production. The first of these was "Genesis II," starring Alex
Cord and Mariette Hartley. In it, Dylan Hunt, a NASA scientist doing
research on suspended animation in an underground lab, gets accidentally
buried for a half millennium or so, and emerges into a
post-nuclear-holocaust world. The story concerns the interaction of two
societies, one devoted to Good Works and the progression of all
humankind, and the other to being Nazi-style lords and masters. "Planet
Earth" was the second pilot. Set in the same future, with minor
alterations in background and format, it starred John Saxon as Dylan
Hunt, with folks like Diana Muldaur and Janet Margolin in major parts.
It was just an extended TV episode with some good stuff in it; a mutant
warrior race called the Kriegs (sp? never saw a script in print) look a
*great* deal like retconned Klingons. The third movie, apparently a
sort of a last-ditch attempt to produce a network-acceptable pilot, was
called "Strange New World," and completely gutted the earlier forms of
the series format. It starred John Saxon in the lead, but no one else I
ever heard of, and was such a lox I can understand why G.R.'s name
wasn't on it. It seemed to be three scripts pasted together,
end-to-end.
Roddenberry made two other pilots during this era; "Spectre" and
"The Questor Tapes." "SPECTRE" was a lovely idea that could have made a
great series, since its format allowed the inclusion of most major
horror fiction, even including H.P. Lovecraft's "elder gods." It
starred Robert Culp and Gig Young, and is a *FUN* movie, if you ever get
a chance to see it. I believe it would have gone series, if made in the
last few years, but at the end of the Nixon era, horror, even humorous
horror, was unacceptable fare to the majority of TV watchers.
("Spectre" deals with an occult investigator and his M.D. sidekick, who
keep getting involved with nasty superbeings from other times and
dimensions; the hero's housekeeper is a witch, and puts a no-drinking
geas on the alcoholic M.D. sidekick in the opening scenes.)
"The Questor Tapes" starred Robert Foxworth and Mike Farrell,
providing some of the best acting ever seen in a a TV SF movie.
(Foxworth does a scene as the robot learning how to use vocal inflection
while carrying on a conversation with the first human it's ever spoken
with.) The movie suffers a bit from the obviousness of the series
format it sets up; noble alien with sideck, on the run from various
governmental authorities, while trying to learn human emotions and
fulfill its mission to help the human race. A bit of a yawn in print,
but it could have been a *good* series, with decent writing.
Dorothy C. Fontana wrote a novelization of "The Questor Tapes" in
paperback, and you might be able to find it in a used book store. I
believe scripts for at least the best four are available from "Lincoln
Enterprises," or folks like that.
21a) SUBMITTING SCRIPTS FOR TNG:
Paramount has finally received permission from its legal department
to read and purchase fan-submitted scripts. You do NOT need an agent
(though it helps), and the scripts do NOT have to be solicited. It's
now gotten so bad that there is a room filled to the rafters with boxes
which are labeled by month (the month the script came in). There are 3
or 4 people on staff who do NOTHING but read the scripts, and submit the
more interesting ones up for further consideration. These people are
not, and CANNOT be, Star Trek fans...they are there to judge a story on
its merits.
You do have to send for a Paramount Release Form, which has to be
legally executed. Address a stamped, self-addressed, legal-size envelope
and send it with the request for a Release Form to Michael Piller or
Eric A. Stillwell (Star Trek Script Coordinator) at the address given
for Paramount under "Addresses" in this posting.
Also, it may be a good idea to ask for the one-page ST:TNG Script
Submissions suggestions as well. Paramount STRONGLY suggests that you
obtain a ST:TNG Writer's Guide from Lincoln Enterprises, since they do
NOT send out sample scripts. They want a teaser of 3-5 pages and five
Scenes of 9-11 pages. Total scripts should be 53 to 58 pages. After
the Powers That Be make enough cuts, it'll end up as about 43 minutes of
airtime. For an agent, contact the Writer's Guild of America (one in
NYC and one in LA) and ask them to send you an Agent list, then start
writing query letters to those agents that have indicated they are
willing to consider new authors.
Besides the Writer's Guide, here's some other useful information
you can get from Lincoln Enterprises:
8001 - ST:TNG Writer's Guide $9.95
1106 - How to sell a script by D.C. Fontana $3.95
1101 - Original (TOS) Writer's Guide $4.95
1109 - ST:TNG Character Biographies $7.95
Include $2.00 shipping for up to $10.00 worth of merchandise, $0.50 for
each additional $5.00 worth of merchandise. Prices accurate as of 7/90.
21b) SUBMITTING A STORY TO POCKET BOOKS:
This comes through Peter David from Kevin Ryan at Pocket Books: the
official Pocket Books Star Trek Novel Submission guidelines.
** Due to the overwhelming number of submissions that we receive, Pocket
Books can only accept solicited, agented manuscripts. A comprehensive
list of agents can be found in THE LITERARY MARKETPLACE **
FORMAT: All manuscripts must be submitted typed, double-spaced, on one
side of non-corrasable typing paper. The page number and your name
should be at the top of each page. Your full name and address should
appear on the first and last page of the manuscript (yes, include your
phone number).
PROCEDURE: Submit the first three chapters with a detailed synopsis
(four to six pages) of the entire plot. Due to the large volume of
submissions we receive, our reply can take anywhere from one to six
months...so please be patient. If we're interested in publishing your
novel, we'll contact your agent with an offer. We may ask for
revisions, and may also ask to see the completed novel before reaching a
decision.
CONTENTS: We're only interested in full-length adventure novels of
roughly 70,000 words (about 250-300 pages). We cannot use short
stories, poetry, biographies, romances, blueprints, or trivia books.
In a one-sentence description, we're looking for exciting science
fiction stories featuring the Star Trek characters we all know and love.
All material is subject to the approval of Paramount Pictures, who are
very concerned about maintaining the integrity of the characters and the
Star Trek universe. Absolute consistency is a practical impossibility,
but some major themes to avoid include:
* Traveling in time to change history or learn something, rescue
someone, etc.
* Having a tear in the fabric of reality which could destroy the
universe.
* Pon farr in Spock.
* Death of a major, established character.
* Any plot which hines on or describes in detail sexual relations
(normal, abnormal, and so on). We are not interested in books that
suggest anything other than friendship between Kirk and Spock or any
other crewmembers.
* Any plot that mixes the Next Generation and the original crew.
* Data becoming human.
Plot elements to avoid with respect to specific characters:
Kirk: no offspring or close relations not already established. Also,
no childhood or current sweethearts; though, you can create temporary
love interests.
Spock: no sisters, brothers, half siblings (beyond Sybok), offspring,
sudden reversions to emotion, sex. The Vulcan mind-meld has already
been seriously overused of late. No explanations of the "Vulcan Way"
beyond what has already been done in the TV series or movies.
McCoy: no offspring or close relations not already established.
We can no loner use castmembers who have left the show (no Tasha Yar or
Dr. Pulaski).
For any regular castmembers--same rules as per Kirk.
Also, other crewmembers: in general, avoid trying to definitively map
out a character's history much beyond what has already been done in the
movies or television episodes.
Of course there are guidelines. Disobey them at your own peril if
necessary to your story--but remember, you were warned.
Thank you for your interest in STAR TREK and good luck with your
writing.
Best,
The Star Trek Editors.
The address for Pocket is Simon & Schuster Building, 1230 Avenue of the
Americas, NY, NY 10020. The editors are Dave Stern and Kevin Ryan.
22) AWARDS:
TOS "The Tholian Web": won an Emmy for "best special effects".
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Drama Series" Emmy in 66-67
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting
Role in a Drama" Emmy in 66-67 (Leonard Nimoy)
TOS: nominated for "Mechanical Special Effects" Emmy in 66-67 (Jim Rugg)
TOS: nominated for "Photographic Special Effects" Emmy in 66-67 (Darrell
Anderson, Linwood G. Dunn, and Joseph Westheimer)
TOS: nominated for "Individual Achievements in Film and Sound Editing"
Emmy in 66-67 (Douglas H. Grindstaff, for Sound Editing)
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Drama Series" Emmy in 67-68
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting
Role in a Drama" Emmy in 67-68 (Leonard Nimoy)
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Achievements in Film Editing" Emmy in
67-68 (Donald R. Rode, for "The Doomsday Machine")
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a
Supporting Role in a Series" Emmy in 68-69 (Leonard Nimoy)
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction and Scenic
Design" Emmy in 68-69 (Walter M. Jeffries, Jr., Art Director, and
John Dwyer, Set Decorator, for "All Our Yesterdays")
TOS: nominated for "Special Classification of Outstanding Individual
Achievement" Emmy in 68-69 (Special Photographic Effects) (Van Der
Veer Photo Effects, Howard A. Anderson Company, The Westheimer
Company, and Cinema Research, for "The Tholian Web")
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing" Emmy in
68-69 (Donald R. Rode, for "Assignment: Earth" (weird, since it was
a 67-68 episode))
TNG: See Vidiot's Guide for TNG Emmy nominations and other TNG awards.
23a) IS PARAMOUNT MAKING MONEY ON TNG?
Yes. Tons. The following is stolen from industry trade magazines
VARIETY and BROADCASTING, as well as Roger Tang:
FIRST: License fees (the fees studios charge individual stations
to run their programs): Let's say Paramount charges each station $2,000
to run the first run package. That's ball park; other stations can get
$10-20K per episode in top 20 markets. Also, Turner can expect $800,000
to $1 million per episode show of THE WONDER YEARS when it goes into
backend syndication. $2,000 per episode times 238 stations yields
$476,000 per episode shown in first run syndication (which does NOT
count the later syndication or backend syndication).
SECOND: Commercial fees: According to Vidiot, Paramount has seven
minutes of national advertising in each show. BROADCASTING has
published figures of $60-80,000 per 30 second spot. (They have also
mentioned that rates for the third and fourth seasons are around
$135,000 per 30 second spot). Paramount is garnering $1,890,000 per
showing of an episode.
THIRD: But wait! Shows are shown more than once even in first run
syndication. Let's assume a cut rate of $50,000 per spot in reruns
(doubt it, since people are STILL watching during reruns). Even a rerun
episode will garner $700,000 in commercial revenue.
THE BOTTOM LINE: $476,000 + $1,890,000 + $700,000 = well over $3
million in revenue per episode in first run syndication. And we all
know studios base their financing on just breaking even in backend
syndication. So the claim that Paramount is losing $8 million is just
creative financing.
Then again, we can throw away our calculations and take Richard
Arnold's word that (at least in Season One) TNG was grossing $10 million
per episode.
23b) The average episode COSTS Paramount $1.6 million (was $1.4
million), including the weekly paycheck of Stewart ($100,000) and Burton
($100,000). (DeForest Kelley mentioned at a con once that TOS cost
$200,000 for an average episode, though records seem to show it as
$100,000 to $120,000).
24) THE FUTURE OF STAR TREK
24a) TNG SEASON 4 TIDBITS:
Some might consider the next two sections as
***** S P O I L E R S *****
so if you don't want to know *anything* about the upcoming episodes,
skip to section 99. This is your only warning!
We still have Q, Barclay, Lwaxana Troi, the Romulans coming back "in a
big way", and another in the series of Worf stories on the Klingon Home
Planet.
The Borg will also be back, but they have changed a little.
[speculation: my guess is that we get to see some other species that the
Borg have stolen bodies from (Klingon, Romulan, and/or Ferrengi; I
*hope* the change is not that they have gained compassion --ed]
Frakes will direct a third episode ("Drumhead"). So far he has done
"The Offspring" and "Reunion". Stewart has decided to follow in his
footsteps and will direct the last episode of season four (it sounds
like a good plot so he shouldn't really be able to make it a bad
episode).
Wil Wheaton has left to pursue an education (UCLA). His character Wes
has left for Star Fleet Academy.
They are looking for scripts (GOOD ones) to bring back Barclay, Lwaxana,
Q, and Selar. Also, Denise Crosby wants back (permanently) but they
can't find a way to do it believably.
"Night Terrors": (3/18 through 3/24) Jason Robards stars when a
disaster strikes a federation research station and somehow begins to
affect the dreams and nightmares of the crew.
"Identity Crisis": (3/25 through 3/31) We're used to Riker wondering
about his career, now its Geordi's turn. An old friend of his becomes
Captain of his own ship, and Geordi starts wondering if he's made some
wrong decisions.
"To The Nth Degree": (4/1 through 4/7) Dwight Schultz returns as Lt.
Barclay (the holodict), but this time his social problem is excessively
hyped-up intelligence.
"The Loss": (4/8 through 4/14) repeat
"Data's Day": (5/15 through 5/21) repeat
"Q-Pid" (formerly "Q Love"): (4/22 through 4/28) Q taunts and teases
Picard by bringing back Vash (the woman in "Captain's Holiday") played
by Jennifer Hetrick. Only, whilst I don't know what Picard's reactions
are, apparantly Q falls in love with Vash. Vash's thoughts on this may
well go undiscovered. This is the actress that Stewart has been seen
(by the National Enquirer) with a lot as of late, including coming out
of her house wearing a "purple woman's robe" to get the newspaper. Q
transports the crew to some planet, casting Picard as Robin Hood, Geordi
as a minstrel, Data as Friar Tuck (?), and the rest of the main crew as
Robin's Merry Men. Vash is Maid Marrione (sp?). Q, I think, was the
Sheriff of Notingham.
"The Drumhead": (4/29 through 5/5) Guest stars Jean Simmons (Elizabeth
Stoddard on the new Dark Shadows) as a Starfleet Admiral. Episode is a
satire on the McCarthy trials. Directed by Jonathon Frakes.
"Half a Life" (formerly "Civil Wars"): (5/6 through 5/12) Guest Stars
Majel Barrett as Lwaxana Troi.
"The Host" (formerly "Paradise"): (5/13 through 5/19) (instead of 4/29
through 5/5?) Bev Crusher tries to cure people of a deadly virus - when
they don't want her to. Bev and Riker hit the sheets.
"The Wounded": (5/20 through 5/26) repeat
"Devil's Due": (5/27 through 6/2) repeat
"In Theory" (formerly "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"): (6/3 through 6/9)
Data story.
"Past Perfect": (6/3 through 6/9) Bev Crusher is forced to recall her
life with Jack because of some external (alien) pressure. This might
just be another old title for "In Theory".
"Mind's Eye" / "Distant Relations": (6/10 through 6/16) The Enterprise
mediates for two supposedly warring worlds without knowing that in fact
they have joined forces against Star Fleet and the Federation. Features
Geordi heavily.
"Redemption": (6/17 through 6/23) Season finale. Worf's
discommendation will be somewhat resolved, though this is a cliffhanger.
It features Tony Todd (as Kurn), Jon Steuer (as Alexander), and Denise
Crosby (not as Yar!). Directed by Patrick Stewart.
24b) TNG SEASON FIVE:
(The following from Richard Arnold): Leonard Nimoy was presented
with an idea for a ST:TNG two-part episode which was given a working
title of "Return to Forever". The "official" word is that midway
through negotiations Nimoy's agent suddenly started asking for $1
million. Since, at the time, the budget for an average week's episode
was $1.4 million (it's now $1.6 million), this was a clearly
unreasonable demand. The script with Spock is still supposedly floating
around somewhere. But the "official" word is that Leonard is simply
more interested in working on movies (mainly directing) than he is in
making guest appearances on TV. This was the news until late 1990. But
now the latest rumors say that Nimoy will be in the first two episodes
of season five.
Wil Wheaton will be back for a few cameos as Wes in season 5.
Geordi MIGHT get married in season 5 (91-92).
Q MIGHT bring the Enterprise into the continuum if they use "Q and
Order".
Frakes is supposed to direct another two or three episodes.
Apparently, TPTB are impressed with his work.
There is the possibility of Nichelle Nichols showing up in season
five as either Guinan's mother or daughter.
It now sounds like if they use the script they had for following up
on the bugs from "Conspiracy" it'll have to be pushed back to season
five.
24c) STAR TREK 6: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY
Current plans are for a sixth TOS movie to celebrate the 25th
anniversary of Star Trek. It's working title is "The Undiscovered
Country" and it is based on a story idea by Leonard Nimoy, with a lot of
the polishing done by Nicholas Meyer. They are trying to get it out by
the end of 1991, but it might end up being released in 1992. Filming
will begin around the end of April. Neither Nimoy nor Shatner will be
directing; Nicholas Meyer will handle this one. Music by James Horner
(who dis 2 and 3). Ralph Winter will be the producer, with Nimoy as
executive producer. ILM might be doing the FX (they just finished the
storyboarding for it), but there are rumors that Lucas wants ILM to
*not* accept any offers because he'll need them if Star Wars I takes
off.
The three ideas that have been brought up (and shot down) for ST6
are Shatner's script, Harve Bennet's (sp) "Academy Days" script, and
Walter Koenig's script. The tabloids are spreading wild rumors about
Spock getting married, Kirk becoming a monk, and the rest of the
regulars dying. More reliable information says it features Klingons,
Romulans, Saavik (not Robin Curtis), and will definitely be the last
movie, and it will be written as such, although none of the regulars
will die. It will be the last because if it flops, Paramount DEFINITELY
won't put up the money for STVII, and if it's good, they want to go out
with a bang. But of course if it makes a lot of money they'll be
tempted to make ST7.
They were going to film in Alaska, but that got axed due to
budgetary constraints.
They want to get Michael Dorn to play one of Worf's relatives
(possibly as Maug, Worf's natural father (there go the rumors about the
lifespan of Klingons)), and they're also talking about getting Whoopi to
play Guinan. Other actors signed include Jack Palance and Christopher
Plummer. Sarek is in the film but Mark Lenard has not signed. Nor has
Bibi Besch, as Carol Marcus is also featured.
The budget for ST6 is $45 million. The action will take place
mainly on the Enterprise, and Klingons will be heavily featured. It's
written pretty much as a self-contained story.
Nimoy was more skeptical in February, saying "Paramount decided it
wanted to rethink the project. I think it, like a lot of studios, is
re-evaluating what the marketplace is all about, what it should make and
at what price. I'm waiting for a phone call from the Paramount people
about the film."
24d) Creation is also planning a huge convention in California next year
around the 25th anniversary date (Sept 8, 1991). The cost is $163 if
you want to sit within the first 10 rows all three days. Beyond the
first 10 rows, the price is $140.00. They have been taking orders for
tickets for the last few months. The address is:
Creation
145 Jericho Turnpike
Mineola, NY 11501
24e) The cast of TNG have signed 6-year contracts and have the option of
another year. After this, plans are to create TNG movies. Rumors are
floating of a third series, either another generation *after* TNG or the
years between TOS and TNG.
24f) Peter David's upcoming novel "Q-In-Law" (in which "Q goes
toe-to-toe with the one opponent he can't handle--Deanna Troi's mother"
as he put it) sounds like it should be really good. The quotes I've
heard from it sound excellent! It also sounds like it might be his last
Star Trek novel.
24g) "Moontrap II: The Pyramids of Mars" began filming in December.
Walter said contract negotiations are still going on, but he's pretty
sure he'll be in it. "Moontrap" was a science-fiction thriller starring
Koenig released ONLY ON VIDEOTAPE in 1988. It did pretty well for a
video-only movie. "Moontrap II", however, will be released in the
theaters.
24h) After ST VI, there would be the POSSIBILITY of TOS characters
appearing, since the film series would be once and for all over.
99) MISC TRIVIA
James Doohan is missing the middle finger of his right hand. It can be
seen in brief shots (especially in the early episodes). Whenever they
needed to show Scotty's hands (like when he operated the transporter)
they had a stand-in and showed a close-up. ("Cut! All right, bring in
the stunt hands.")
TOS: Spock says that Vulcan has no moon (when Uhura mentions romance in
"The Man Trap"). Some of the books say it has one or two moons/sister
planets.
TOS: Majel Leigh Hudec is Majel Barrett's real name. She took the name
Barrett to fool NBC so they would hire her for Christine Chapel (they
never knew that the blond Majel Barrett was the same person as the
brunette whom they fired as Number One).
TOS: The Klingons and the Romulans had a trade agreement of sorts, for
technology. The Klingons got cloaking devices (according to non-canon
sources), the Romulans got Klingon warships (ref "The Enterprise
Incident") and warp technology (from non-canon sources). Also, there is
some speculation (again, non-canon) that the BoP as seen in TSFS and
TVH, plus several times in TNG, was originally a Romulan design.
TOS "The Devil in the Dark": Every 50,000 years the race of Horta all
die except the one mother Horta.
TOS "Balance of Terror": Neutral zone outposts 1, 3, 4, and 8 were
trashed by the Romulan ship before the Enterprise was able to engage (#4
was the one they saw get destroyed on the viewer)
TOS "The Tholian Web": The name of the Tholian commander who first
attacks the Enterprise after Kirk is lost is Commander Loskene.
TOS "Wolf in the Fold": The names that the entity was referred to by
were Jack the Ripper, Baratis, Redjac, Kesla, Mr. Hengist (and yes, that
was John Fiedler, the wimpy guy from the Bob Newhart Show).
TOS "Amok Time": T'Pau was the only person to ever turn down a seat on
the Federation council.
TOS "Amok Time": The episode where Ensign Chekov makes his debut (1st
episode, 2nd season). (Catspaw was the one he was first filmed in,
although this aired after Amok Time).
TOS "The Menagerie": The ONLY doorknob seen in a Federation setting
(ship or starbase etc.) was on the door to Christopher Pike's quarters,
which was kind of ironic, since he's about the only person who COULDN'T
use a doorknob! :-) The door to Dr. Tom Lathom's house in "The
Conscience of the King" has a doorknob, but may not be aFederation
setting.
TOS "Plato's Stepchildren": The first inter-racial kiss on television
took place between Kirk and Uhura,
TOS "The Paradise Syndrome": "He Has Walked Among Us" and "Paleface"
were combined into "The Paradise Syndrome", according to speculation by
Allen Asherman and David Gerrold. Reportedly, only Gene Coon knew for
sure, and of course he's been dead for about 15 years...
TOS "City on the Edge of Forever": If you want H. Ellison's original
script for "City on the Edge of Forever", look for a book called "Six
Science Fiction Plays", edited by Roger Elwood. It's a paperback,
published in 1976 by Pocket Books under the Washington Square Press
imprint. It was distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Simon & Schuster.
I have no idea if it's still in print. If it isn't, check your local
library, used book stores, and the dealer's room at your next
convention. There must be copies out there somewhere. According to
Elwood's foreword, this was the first time Ellison's original uncut
script was published. It's preceded by a ten-page introduction that
Ellison wrote especially for this book, telling his version of the
transformation of his script into what was eventually telecast. The
book also contains these scripts:
"Sting!" by Tom Reamy
"Contact Point" by Theodore R. Cogswell and George Rae Cogswell
"Stranger with Roses" by John Jakes
"The Mechanical Bride" by Fritz Leiber
"Let Me Hear You Whisper" by Paul Zindel
("Sting!" is a movie screenplay; "The Mechanical Bride" is a teleplay;
the others are stage plays)
According to the Star Trek Compendium:
Kirk: was in 79 TOS episodes
Spock: was in 79 TOS episodes + "The Cage"
McCoy: was in 74 TOS episodes
Uhura: was in 65 TOS episodes
Scotty: was in 61 TOS episodes
Sulu: was in 47 TOS episodes
Chekov: was in 33 TOS episodes
ST: TMP: The oval things on the belts were originally supposed to be
biorhythm devices. In the novelization of ST:TMP, the little oval things
are described in a footnote. They are called "perscan" devices and are
used to monitor crew members life signs from sick bay. Only the CMO
gets to see the captain's perscan output. According to the footnote,
the lower abdomen is supposed to be an ideal location for a medical
scanner. Making it into a belt buckle seemed the obvious way to
integrate it into the Fleet uniforms.
>From "ST4: The Voyage Home", a storyline cut was a bunch of lines which
indicated that Saavik was pregnant. When they started running out of
screen time, these scenes were cut, since they were not essential to the
main story in the movie. Of course, this means that, officially, IT
NEVER HAPPENED. :-)
ST5: Yes, the marshmallow (or rather "marshmellon" (read the book))
dispenser used by Spock in the campfire scenes was available from Kraft
for a number of proofs-of-purchase when the movie came out. It would
hold several marshmallows and dispense them one at a time. I think the
end credits for the movie even said "Kraft--the official marshmallow of
ST5" or some such thing.
There's no real explanation as to why the Klingons have spiny foreheads
in TFS and TNG but not in TOS. Gene says "they always looked like this"
and we're supposed to ignore the lack of the pizza bats on the foreheads
in TOS. Theories outside of Gene run from genetic engineering to
"several races of Klingons".
TNG is shot on film in the studio. Final editing is done via video.
The film shooting is done for quality purposes...you get better pictures
and sound by using film. The video editing is done for practical
purposes...it's fast and (relatively) cheap.
TNG: The main viewscreen in supposed to be 3-D. When you see a side
view of the bridge crew looking at the screen, the view on the screen in
a side view (like the sides of faces when talking with people).
TNG: People keep asking about the weird production schedule. Why do we
keep getting breaks of repeats when it isn't summer yet? A lot of shows
(especially the hour-long ones) go to repeats around December and March.
The average episode of TNG takes about ten days to film. They start
well before the season begins, but they wouldn't be able to keep ahead
for the entire season. So while we're watching the December repeats,
they're trying to get a few episodes ahead of the viewers again!
TNG: ILM did the "Encounter At Farpoint" FX and a bunch of stock
footage. They NEVER did the bulk of the effects work. They are
credited at the end of the show because their stock footage (which means
shots of the Enterprise flying by, etc.) is still used. I noticed in
TBOBW2 that the Enterprise fly-by looked a lot better, so maybe the TNG
folks have ordered new stock footage from their special effects people
(The Post Group, I *think*.)
According to the fourth season ST:TNG Writer's Technical Manual, when
the Enterprise separates, only the battle section has warp capabilities
(earlier we were told that the saucer could only go as fast as warp
four).
TNG: Data isn't supposed to be able to utter any contractions, though
he seems to be speaking something awfully close. Perhaps his "I have"s
and "I am"s are just being spoken rapidly enough so they sound like
"I've" and "I'm".
TNG: In "The Battle" Deanna Troi says of the Ferengi ship captain
Daimon Bok, "Captain, I sense considerable deception from Bok and
danger"; in "The Price", Deanna's powers help against the Ferengi; in
"Menage a Troi" the Betazoid Ambassador says "We betazoids are
uncomfortable around the Ferengi, whose minds we cannot read"; which was
collaborated in "The Loss". Data also started to explain once why he
suspects that Betazoids can't read Ferengis: "Perhaps it is because the
Ferengi brain is separated into four..." So two episodes claim
Betazoids *can* read Ferengi minds and another two claim they *can't*...
The only explanation that could really account for this is that *Deanna*
is able to (at least partially) read Ferengi minds because she is only
part Betazoid.
There are *tons* of anime references (far too many to list here) in TNG,
from the names of ships and alien races to the scribblings on the wall.
Rick Sternbach and others are big fans of "Dirty Pair" and other
japanimation. There are also reference to other SF shows; "4077" shows
up in sickbay a lot (Mike Okuda is a MASH fan).
TNG season 1: According to Marina Sirtis, during the first season the
very small dressing rooms were marked with "funny" identification. Hers
was "Token Betazoid", Wheaton's was "Token Teen", Burton's was "Negro in
Space", and Stewart's was "Unknown Shakespearean Actor" (after an early
ST:TNG review).
TNG season 1: Dr. Crusher's orderly (ensign Freeman) was supposed to be
gay (according to the script writer).
TNG seasons three and four: When Gates McFadden came back after her year
leave, her hair was a bit longer than The Powers That Be thought looked
acceptable for a medical person. Gates didn't really want to get it
cut, so she wears a wig. She has mentioned that her real hair can
occasionally be "completely unmanageable" with just how curly it gets
when wet (or sweaty).
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": Lets get this straight, once and for all.
What we have is a "Special Appearance by DeForest Kelley" in which he
plays an unnamed officer who just happens to have the following
traits/qualities:
(1) He is a retired Admiral from Starfleet Medical division
(2) He has a definite affection for starships named 'Enterprise'
(3) He is 137 years old, which is (in the eyes of the Federation) an
exceedingly long Terran life span, which could be explained,
possibly, by carrying the spirit of a Vulcan around inside him for
an extended period of time
(4) He has a pronounced aversion to the use of transporters
(5) He has an unusual reaction to Vulcan-style logic
(6) He just happens to look, walk, talk, act, and in every other
conceivable way behave exactly like Leonard 'Bones' McCoy :-).
Given these criteria, we can only logically conclude that this was, in
fact, not Leonard McCoy, but rather some little known Admiral who would
have no special meaning to anyone watching Star Trek, but deserved four
minutes of an episode devoted to him. :-)
TNG "11001001": Binary 11001001 is decimal 201, and 2:01 kept showing
up on displays.
TNG "Home Soil": You can hear in the background "Three[?] are trapped
in a turbolift and two[?] are trapped in the programmers' bathroom."
So, I guess we have proof that there are restrooms on the Enterprise-D
(as well as the two references in the movies (on the Excelsior, and Kirk
in the Brig in ST5 ("do not use in spacedock")) as well as the one you
can't really see in "Q-Who" when the Borg slice up the Enterprise).
TNG "Skin of Evil": No, contrary to the rumors, you can't see Troi's
bra in this episode. What people were seeing was a shadow (and with the
flasing red light, it appeared red).
TNG "The Royale": The scene where Data was shooting craps seemed to be
lifted right out of "The Questor Tapes". In both cases, the andriod and
his companion(s) needed some quick cash, and so they play at the craps
table. In both cases, the android placed the dice in his hand and
applied the correct pressure to rebalance the dice, thus altering the
odds.
TNG "The Defector": Yes that was Stewart as one of the King's men with
Data on the holodeck. The other man was NOT Frakes, however.
TNG "Q Who": The general consensus is that it *was* Spiner playing the
part of Borg#1. There is no screen credit, however.
TNG "The High Ground": "He Has Walked Among Us" was reportedly a minor
inspiration for "The High Ground", albeit uncredited (this coming from a
Creation con). "THG" was one of those supposedly conceived during the
strike as a possible filler (a la "The Child"), and the use of the older
TOS script ("The Paradise Syndrome") would have made it acceptable under
the union crap edicts.
TNG "Up the Long Ladder": No, that is *not* Eddie Murphy as one of the
clones, though it does look a bit like him.
TNG "Yesterday's Enterprise": A lot of people seem to be having trouble
understanding the time travel involved in this episode (and cluttering
up the net every few months because of this). I'm not the best at
explaining these sorts of things, and if anyone else can in less space,
feel free to email me. Anyway... in "YE" they start out in the
"peaceful" timeline (PT) indicated by the top line in the diagram below.
When the Enterprise-C broke through the barrier, it changed history as
we know it (from the time of the battle onward) to a more hostile one
(in which the Klingons are at war with the Fed and Tasha never died).
When they sent the Ent-C back through the rift. it fixed whatever went
wrong with the Klingons/Federation, and restored the timeline to the one
we know (including Yar being dead at the hands of the slime beast in a
Glad Bag). So no, Yar isn't still alive these days. And also no, Yar
didn't "never exist and thus couldn't have died due to slimey".
*Everything* we know about the time before "YE" happened exactly as we
saw because sending the alternate-Yar back repaired all the damage to
time.
Tasha dies
---------> (B) ---------> (C)
/
Ent-C (A) <-------------------------
battle \ \
---------> (D) ---------> (E)
Tasha doesn't die
TNG: Dr. Selar appeared in "The Schizoid Man" and has been mentioned in
"Yesterday's Enterprise" (paged in background) and "Remember Me" (Bev
can't find Dr. Selar or Dr. Hill).
TNG: The storage capacity of the Galaxy Class Exploration Cruiser is
125,575,500 terabytes, 1 terabyte being 1 quadrillion bytes, according
to FASA's (non-canon) Star Trek TNG Officer's Manual. In the twentieth
century, a terabyte is still 10^12 bytes (one trillion).
TNG: Data is NOT Asmovian and does NOT obey Asimov's Laws of Robotics.
The only connection is that Data has a positronic brain.
TNG: In a War of the Worlds episode ("Thy Kingdom Come"), there is a
kid playing with action figures. One of them is in the likeness of Yar,
Data, Picard, or Riker and he mentions something about Ferengi.
TNG: Captain Garrett's crew took the E-C to glory at Narendra III,
which was NOT Khitomar (the planet where Worf's father and mother died).
TNG: In the opening credits (and occasionally in the same shot during
the show) you can see a man walking by the large vertical windows of the
ready room. It is the slow flyby of the Enterprise (from lower left to
upper right) after all the quick flybys. There are large windows just
beyond the bump in the saucer section, and if you look closely (and it
helps to have a giant screen TV) you can see a man walking from left to
right past the windows, then someone walking from right to left behind
him. NOTE: It's harder to catch it with freeze-frame since pausing a
VCR loses half the resolution, so just watch it at normal speed a few
times until you figure out where on the ship you're supposed to be
looking.
TNG: Paramount has confirmed that the bar on the enterprise (with its
"Whoopi cushion") is non-alcoholic.
TNG "Ensigns of Command": The original script called for Data to have
sex with the leading lady in order to get her cooperation later. This
idea never made it through the first draft. Gene's reason for dropping
it: "Only a human male would use a woman like that"...
TNG "The Schizoid Man": Shots of Genesis, Yar, "Encounter at Farpoint"
scenes, etc. in Data's psych test.
TNG "The Naked Now": When Data was looking through records, we see a
parrot with nacelles which was an in-joke ("The Great Bird" = Gene)
TNG "The Neutral Zone": There as a family tree for Clare Raymond (one
of the 20th century frozen people). When they created the tree, they
populated it with members of the cast and characters from other shows
(MASH, Giligan's Island, etc.) I think Riker was married to Picard.
TNG: Mike Okuda and Rick Sternbach have said that they still use
models, not computer-generated ships. Richard Arnold has said they
haven't used the captains yacht because low bid for it is something like
$50,000. Though according to Mike Okuda they've stretched the envelope
on this so far that it's now pretty cost effective to throw in new ships
(witness the Klingon cruiser). Even the leap into warp space is
non-computer-generated. It is an incamera job using slit scanning.
TNG is now available on video tape. It is the first series *ever* to be
available while still in first-run. It is through the CBS Video Club
(Cutsomer Service number is (800) 457-0866). The only really bad thing
is that the copy of "Encounter at Farpoint" is the two one-hour version
(which has scenes missing and other scenes re-ordered from the original
single two-hour broadcast).
TNG was not broadcast in Dolby for the first three seasons. There was
out-of-phase-but-equal-amplitude stuff in the ST:TNG soundtrack, which
your Dolby Stereo decoder recognizes as "rear channel information".
They mostly put the ship's noise (a low thundering sound of the engines)
on the rear and some times when ships pass by or shoot. Starting with
the fourth season, TNG *is* in Dolby Stereo.
TNG satellite uplink times:
Sat 1800 EDT T301-9
Sun 1400 EDT T301-9
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Again, if you know of any other topics that should be included in
this list, feel free to email me at the address below.
[ There was quite a bit of line noise as I was uploading this file
this month, so I'm not sure if there were any glitches in the text (and I'm
not in the mood to tie up my phone lines for another hour-plus to try again).
If there's anything that you can't read, email me and I'll reply ASAP --ed ]
NOTE: You might want to use ottoh@cfsmo.honeywell.com for email to me.
--HACK-MAN
"Indeed!" --Gordon Solie (every single week in the 70s)
"I don't normally goose large men." --Jim Ross
--
_____ _________ _ Ignor missng charctrs, as pnet's edtr tends to eat thm
| ___|| _______|| | INET: hackman@pnet51.orb.mn.org
| |__ | |___ ___| | crash
| __| |___ || _ | UUCP: >-------->!orbit!pnet51!hackman
| | _______| || |_| | tcnet Otto E. Heuer, CEO
|_||_________||_____| "The innovator for software solutions." FSD, Inc.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edited by Jim "The Big Dweeb" Griffith - the official scapegoat for r.a.s.i.
Email submissions to trek-info@dweeb.fx.com, and questions to
trek-info-request@dweeb.fx.comhackman@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Otto "Hack-Man" Heuer) (05/07/91)
MONTHLY LIST OF "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS"
in REC.ARTS.STARTREK (last updated 4/27/91)
This posting is intended to cut down on the "often asked questions"
that seem to pop up every few months in the rec.arts.startrek newsgroup.
It is one of a number of periodic postings posted to r.a.s:
posting frequency poster/address
---------------------------- ----------- -------------------------------
Frequently Asked Questions monthly Otto Heuer
List hackman@pnet51.orb.mn.org
---------------------------- ----------- -------------------------------
Star Trek Music monthly Otto Heuer
ottoh@cfsmo.honeywell.com
---------------------------- ----------- -------------------------------
Trek Rate monthly ottoh@cfsmo.honeywell.com
---------------------------- ----------- -------------------------------
List of Actors' Other Roles monthlu Dan Styer
djstyer@symmetry.cs.mtu.edu
---------------------------- ----------- -------------------------------
Listing of all TOS, TAS, bi-monthly Mark Holtz
TNG Episodes mholtz@sactoh0.SAC.CA.US
---------------------------- ----------- -------------------------------
List of Lists monthly mholtz@sactoh0.SAC.CA.US
---------------------------- ----------- -------------------------------
List of TV stations showing monthly Chris Wayne
ST cwayne%hydra.unm.edu@ariel.unm.edu
---------------------------- ----------- -------------------------------
Program Guide updates occasionally Mike Brown
brown@vidiot.UUCP
---------------------------- ----------- -------------------------------
ST:TOS Romance/Love List bi-monthly Richard Muirden
ram@lionet.wesley.oz.au
---------------------------- ----------- -------------------------------
This FAQL is basically a list of questions that have been brought up
and discussed to death in rec.arts.startrek, and a lot of people would
be happy if they never resurfaced. It also contains pointers to other
information.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Acronyms
2) Names (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Data, Vulcans)
3) TNG Ranks
4) Top speed/TNG warp
5) McCoy's "I'm a doctor, not a ___" lines
6) Stardates, years, ages, etc.
7) Creative stuff/ftp sites: (parodies, pictures, scripts,
quotes files, episode guide, tech manuals)
8) Picard's surrenders; self destructs; time travel; leaving the galaxy
9) Addresses for Trek memorabilia
10) Crew reading USENET?
11) TOS Enterprise separation
12) Games
13) Merritt Butrick; Susan Oliver; Roger Carmel; Kirk Thatcher
14) Starfleet Military?
15) Shatner and Nimoy singing, and other music info
16) SNAFUs
17) Definitions: "Trekkie" vs. "Trekker"
18) Crew backgrounds
19) Uniforms
20) Untelevized TOS episodes and series pilots
21) Submitting a script for TNG and Submitting a story for Pocket Books
22) Awards
23) Is Paramount making money on TNG? and salaries
24) Money in the future
25) Religion in the future
26) Future of Star Trek (TNG season 4, TNG season 5, Star Trek 6, etc)
99) Misc Trivia
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Acronyms:
TOS = The Original Series (or The Old Series)
TAS = The Animated Series
TCS = The Cartoon Series/The Comics Series
TNG = The Next Generation
TFS = The Film Series
TMP = The Motion Picture (ST1)
TWoK = The Wrath of Khan (ST2)
TSfS = The Search for Spock (ST3)
TVH = The Voyage Home (ST4)
TFF = The Final Frontier (ST5)
NCC = Naval Construction Contract
USS = United Space Ship
WF = Warp Factor
c = The speed of light (186,000 miles/sec (300,000 km/sec))
FTL = Faster than Light (warp speeds)
BoP = The Romulan (and Klingon) Bird of Prey vessel
UFP = United Federation of Planets
SFC = Star Fleet Command
SFA = Star Fleet Academy
SF = Star Fleet or Science Fiction (depending on context)
RNZ = Romulan Neutral Zone
KHP = Klingon Home Planet (since TPTB refuse to give it a name)
VISOR = [Anyone remember this? I keep forgetting the acronym. -ed]
IDIC = Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations (Vulcan Credo)
aka Philosophy of Nome
LLaP = Live Long and Prosper
SFB = Star Fleet Battles
SFU = Star Fleet Universe
FASA = Fredonianian Aviation and Space Administration
or Fantasimulations Associates
(both of these come from the people at FASA)
TFG = Task Force Games (company that puts out SFB)
ADB = Amarillo Design Bureau (company that created SFB)
ST-RPG = Star Trek Role Play Game (FASA)
UESPA = United Earth Space Probe Agency
GR = Gene Roddenberry
TPTB = The Powers That Be (usually referring to GR or Paramount)
RA = Richard Arnold
Bjo = Bjo "Bee-joe" Trimble, author of Concordance
The Great Bird = Gene Roddenberry (An in-joke from early TOS episode)
The Big E = The Enterprise
FX, SFX = (special) Effects
K/S = Generally refers to the "liberal" writing style of some of
the less-accepted Trek books and fanzines dealing with Kirk
and Spock being "more than close friends".
ILM = Industrial Light and Magic
IMHO = In My Humble Opinion
FYI = For Your Information
teaser = the short scene that comes before the opening credits.
trailer = previews (commercials) for the next EXCITING episode.
retcon = to declare that something never happened (like Kirk's
middle initial being "R")
canon = what Roddenberry/Paramount decides is "real" Trek. Gene has
already declared every novel (including the one(s) he
wrote) to be non-canon.
If you see other acronyms (and are relatively new to UseNet), refer to
the "often asked questions for new users" file in the news.newusers
group (where you'll also find articles on nettiquette that will save you
lots of grief (like keeping signature lines to a minimum)). Episode
names are commonly referred to by acronym; most are fairly easy to
figure out (EaF for "Encounter at Farpoint", etc.).
2) NAMES:
2a) Kirk's middle initial/middle name. It is generally agreed that
Kirk's full name is "James Tiberius Kirk". It was only given as "James
T. Kirk" in TOS, the "Tiberius" didn't come around until TAS ("Bem") and
the novels. In "Where No Man Has Gone Before", Gary Mitchell makes a
gravestone for Kirk that says "James R. Kirk", apparently before Gene
had settled on a middle name (or possibly proof that Gary was failing as
a god).
2b) Spock's other name (you couldn't pronounce it, as he told the blonde
in "This Side of Paradise") isn't given in TOS or TFS. It is given in
one or more of the books if you care to believe them. According to the
Officer's Manual, it is Xtmprszntwlfd (pronounced with six syllables).
In "Journy to Babel" there's this exchange:
Kirk: Mrs. Sarek...
Amanda: Amanda. I'm afraid you pronounce the Vulcan form.
Kirk: Can you?
Amanda: In a fashion, after many years of practice.
2c) McCoy's middle initial is given in "Friday's Child" and TFS as "H".
Some novels have it as "H"; others as "T". Geoffrey Mandel's Officer's
Manual lists his middle name as Horatio.
2d) Data's name was shown on a computer screen once as "Lt. Cmdr NFN NMI
Data" ("No First Name, No Middle Initial").
2e) As a general rule, Vulcan males have five-letter names starting with
"S" and ending with "K" (Spock, Sybok, Sarek, etc.) in honor of Surak,
and Vulcan females have names starting with "T'" (T'Pau, T'Pring, etc.).
The explanations for Saavik are either "she;s part Romulan, so the
naming convention didn't hold" or "Her name is T'Saavik, but the "T'S"
is too hard to pronounce.
2f) Other names from Geoffrey Mandel's Officer Manual: Montgomery Edward
Scott, Itaka Sulu (though George prefers Walter and Gene and some novels
call him Hikaru) , Upenda Uhura (some sources say Nyota), Pavel
Andreievich Chekov (also stated as such in "The Way to Eden"), and
Christopher Robin Pike.
3) TNG RANKS: Deanna Troi's rank was given as "Lt. Cmdr" in "Encounter
at Farpoint" (the pilot episode) and occasionally on computer displays
(e.g. "The Child"). Wes was made an acting ensign by Picard in "Where
No One Has Gone Before", then made full ensign in "Menage a Troi" and
given a uniform. Riker was given a field promotion to Captain in "The
Best of Both Worlds Part 2", but was back to being a commander in the
next episode. The "pips" (the circles on the uniform collars) signify
rank. A hollow circle counts as a half circle:
0.5: Ensign, Junior Grade
1.0: Ensign
1.5: Lt., Junior Grade
2.0: Lt.
2.5: Lt. Commander
3.0: Commander
4.0: Captain
5.0: Commodore/Fleet Captain
4) WARP:
4a) The fastest the original Enterprise has gone (not counting "off the
scale") was 14.1 in "That Which Survives". The Enterprise-D seems to
have a top speed slightly less than 10, not counting the time Q flung it
a great distance. Riker mentioned that warp 10 instigates time travel.
In "Where No One Has Gone Before" it is mentioned that the Enterprise
has reached or passed warp 10.
4b) For TOS, speed is (warp ^ 3) * c, which yeilds:
warp c
---- ----
1 1
2 8
3 27
4 64
5 125
6 216
7 343
8 512
9 729
10 1000
11 1331
12 1728
13 2197
14.1 2803.221
4c) The ST:TNG Writer's Technical Manual, third season edition contains
the following table:
warp c comment
---- ---- -------
1 1
2 10
3 39
4 102
5 214
6 392 normal cruising speed.
7 656
8 1024
9 1516
9.6 1909 maximum attainable speed for E
9.9 3053 maximum speed for E under any circumstances
9.99 7912
10 infinite
Notes not from the guide:
For warp speeds 1 through 9, the formula w ^ (10/3) provides the
numbers shown, rounded to the integer.
4d) From Richard Arnold: The story on transwarp drive: it doesn't work.
The warp drive that we see on TNG is not transwarp or ultrawarp or
whatever you want to call it. It is an improved version of the same
warp drive that we saw on TOS (at least the fifth generation warp drive
according to Goldstien's Spaceflight Chronology). The Excelsior proved
that Transwarp wouldn't work by being destroyed by it during a test
flight. FASA has another category system which TPTB don't acknowledge.
5) McCoy's "I'm a doctor not a _____" EPISODE
Bricklayer Devil in the Dark
Escalator Friday's Child
Engineer Mirror, Mirror
Mechanic The Doomsday Machine
Psychiatrist The City on the Edge of Forever
Some variations on the theme occur in "The Deadly Years" where he says
"I'm not a Magician, I'm just an old country doctor", and in "The
Corbomite Maneuver" where he asks "What am I, a doctor or a Moon shuttle
conductor?" Also, in "Amok Time", Kirk asks "Well, are you a doctor or
aren't you?" and in ST5 says something like "Dammit Bones, you're a
doctor." ST2 has a more vague reference when Kirk says "Physician, heal
thyself", McCoy says "Is that all you've got to say? What about my
performance?", and Kirk replies "I'm not a drama critic". The line may
have originated with Heinlein's 1952 novel "The Rolling Stones." In
that book, Dr. Edith Stone says, "How can I be sure? I'm a doctor, not
a fortune-teller."
6) STARDATES, YEARS, AGES, ETC.:
In TOS the stardates ranged from 1513 (Man Trap) to 5928 (Turnabout
Intruder). At this time Gene had intended for stardates to be based on
Julian dates modulo 10000, with one stardate being 24 hours in length.
There are numerous examples where this is false. Some of the most
blatant are The Immunity Syndrome (where a quick calculation shows that
one stardate is less than 2.5 hours) and Requiem for Methuselah (where
one stardate figures out to be about 960 hours). There are a few
episodes where the stardates actually decrease during the show.
In TNG, the stardate is also supposed to be 24 hours, and is in the
form 4xyyy.y where "x" is the season number and yyy.y is a random number
that increases (usually) throughout the season.
1992-1997 Eugenics Wars (according to Off Manual/TMP novel)
1993-1996 Eugenics War (according to Space Seed)
2018 Last use of sleeper ships (according to Space Seed)
2031-2039 Clone Wars (according to Off Manual (80)/TMP novel)
2035 US gets 52nd state (according to The Royale)
2047 Mind Control Revolt (according to Off Manual/TMP novel)
2049 First Kzinti Invasion of Earth (according to Off Manual)
2064 Kzinti Invasions Halt (according to Off Manual)
2079 All United Earth "nonsense" abolished (according to
Encounter at Farpoint)
The year in TOS is somewhere between 2260 and 2286.
The Officer's Manual says TMP took place in 2265.
The year on a bottle of Romulan Ale is given in The Wrath of Khan
as 2283(?)
Khan was marooned for 15 years at the time of ST2.
TNG is 93-100 years after TOS, and 78-79 years after TMP.
TOS "Ballentine Concordance (1976)": Gives McCoy's age as 45.
TOS "Who Mourns for Adonais": Chekov gives his age as 22.
TOS "The Deadly Years": Kirk's age is given as 34.
TNG "The Neutral Zone": Data gives the year as 2364.
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": McCoy's age is given as 137.
TOS "Journey to Babel": Sarek's age is given as 102.437.
TNG "Sarek": Sarek's age is given as 202.
TNG "The Schizoid Man": Wes said "Data, chronologically, you're not
much older than I am."
TNG "DataLore": Data says he was found 26 years ago.
TNG "Datalore": Data details exactly how many years he spent at the
Academy, how many as an ensign, etc. Counting backwards from stardate
41xxx.x would give his grad date.
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": Data graduated SFA in the class of '78
with Honors in Dextral Biology and Probability Mechanics.
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": The Post-Atomic Age started in 2078.
TNG "Encoutner at Farpoint" (and the Officers Manual): the New
United Nations was formed in 2036 (the Officers Manual says this
happened during the Clone Wars).
Kirk was born in the year 2228 in Riverside, Iowa, where a statue
of him has been erected.
The book "The Final Reflection" (non-canon, but who really cares)
puts the lifespan of a Klingon at about 40 years (terran). Worf would
be about 15, by this reckoning.
William Shatner was born on March 22, 1931
Leonard Nimoy was born on March 26, 1931.
DeForest Kelley was born on Jan 20, 1920
7) HOW TO OBTAIN CREATIVE MATERIAL:
This section contains locations where you can find Star Trek parodies,
pictures (GIFs, PostScript drawings, ASCII artwork, etc.), scripts,
fortune/quotes files, the episode guide, and tech manuals)
7a) Anonymous ftp sites with Star Trek related creative stuff:
a.cs.uiuc.edu 128.174.252.1 dvi2ps, GIFs, texx2.7, amiga
bison.cs.uwa.oz.au GIFs
curie.cs.unc.edu 128.109.136.151 GIF, graphics programs
dsl.cis.upenn.edu 130.91.6.12 GIF, IBM
jumbo.hartford.edu 192.52.156.99 200 TNG GIFs; TNG Targas; GIF
viewers (19:00 EST to 08:00 EST
daily; 4 connections)
lut.fi 128.214.25.8 GIF
mcs213k.cs.umr.edu 131.151.6.11 XGIFs
mibsrv.mib.eng.ua.edu 130.160.20.80 bitmaps, GIFs, games
milton.u.washington.edu lots of star trek parodies
network.ucsd.edu 128.54.16.3 anime GIFs
squid.cs.ucla.edu 131.179.96.44 GIFs
surya.waterloo.edu 129.97.129.72 tiff format, gif2ras
uxc.cso.uiuc.edu 136.144.1.2 GIFs
wuarchive.wustl.edu 128.252.135.4 GIFs of the entire TNG bridge crew
xanth.cs.odu.edu (in pub/star-trek/stsounds.arc) sound files
7b) Or you can telnet (not ftp) to mbbs.cc.columbia.edu (128.59.41.3),
and follow the information given to you from there. Essentially you'd
be able to connect to a file server which you can download files (kermit
or xmodem protocols only) located in several places. Go to the
"pictures" location and then try to get any of the "Startrek" gif files.
These are the pictures available in the Startrek directory:
beverly.gif laforge.gif strbas.gif
bonekirk.gif picard+yar.gif trekview.gif
crew.gif picard.gif troi.gif
data.gif picard2.gif wesley.gif
enterprise.gif riker.gif worf.gif
enterprise2.gif spock.gif worf2.gif
enterprise3.gif spock1.gif yar.gif
kirk.gif spock2.gif
kirk2.gif spockirk.gif
7c) Chuan Chee (ckchee@dgp.toronto.edu) has collected a huge number of
the Star Trek parodies from rec.arts.startrek and alt.startrek.creative.
They are available from Princeton via anonymous ftp or via email, at
least until the disk space is needed for something else.
anonymous ftp: math.princeton.edu (128.112.128.157) in directory
pub/rjc/st. The file p.files contains an index to the parodies. The
parodies themselves are packed into groups; the archive p.01.tar.Z
contains parodies 010 through 019. If you don't know what ".tar.Z"
means, ask your system administrator.
email: Send the message "send p.files" to rjc@math.princeton.edu. For
each parody you wish, send the message "send p.parody-number" to the
same address. For example, "send p.014" to get parody number 14. Limit
one request per person per day.
Note: Please use ftp if you possibly can. Sending large amounts of
email is considered bad manners by system administrators.
There's also a "fortune" file for both TOS and TNG with humorous and/or
memorable quotes from the episodes. These fortune files, as well as
this FAQL and the monthly posting of Star Trek Actors' Other Roles are
also available on math.princeton.edu (for ftp only).
7d) People without ftp access can find lots of trek-related stuff
(including this FAQL) on the Memory Alpha BBS (607) 257-5822.
The deanna.gif file is available at jumbo.hartford.edu in
./pub/tng/gif/147.gif and ./pub/tng/tga/147.tga.Z, so stop asking :-)
[ Anyone know of more sites for Postscript drawings, GIFs, ASCII
pictures, serious scripts/novels, etc.? --ed ]
[ Any ftp site have the "Sam Donaldson as a Vulcan" picture? --ed ]
[ Anyone feel like maintaining a list of all sites with TNG GIFs,
parodies, scripts, sound files, and other creative material (and
possibly an index of what is at each site? I considered expanding this
FAQL, but it would double the size of it and it's already too big --ed ]
7e) If you want a list of TNG episodes (for all seasons), the schedule
information is presented by Vidiot (Mr. Video (Mike Brown)) who also
puts out a very nice guide (which contains all kinds of useful info like
names of actors/actresses) which is available by anonymous ftp at
mammoth.unr.edu (134.197.40.241) in the /pub/guides/startrek directory
as well as caesar.cs.montana.edu (192.31.215.202) in the
/pub/guides/st-tng directory. All the information needed (which files
to get and what to do with them (unpacking, printing, etc.)) is in the
README file at the same sites. The guide is also available by anonymous
UUCP from Mike at
Phone: 608-274-9275
Baud: 19200/2400/1200
Login: anonuucp
Password: none (it will not be asked)
The main directory is ~nuucp/guides. In there you will find a file
called dir.list. Get it, as it will list all of the latest files that
are in the guides' directory. After you get it, study it and then
request the files that you need. This area contains more than ST:TNG
guides and lists. The area will be under constant changes, as new lists
and updates will be added.
Updates are posted to rec.arts.startrek.info occasionally.
7f) Other good sources for information (on both series) are:
"The Making of Star Trek" by Stephen Whitfield (Ballantine/Del Ray 68)
"Star Fleet Technical Manual" by Franz Joseph (Ballantine/Del Ray 75)
"Star Trek Blueprints" by Franz Joseph (Ballantine/Del Ray 75)
"Star Trek Concordance" by Bjo Trimble (Ballantine/Del Ray 76)
"Star Trek Compendium" by Allan Asherman (Pocket Books 81, 87, 89)
"The Klingon Dictionary" by Marc Okrand (Pocket Books 85)
"Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise" by Shane Johnson (Pocket Books 87)
"The Worlds of the Federation" by Shane Johnson (Pocket Books 89)
"The Writer's/Director's Guide" (new editions put out for each season)
FASA has the "Officers Manual", but it has been pulled or denounced by
Gene since it contradicts a lot of what has been said on TNG or in the
Writer's/Director's Guide (Betazoids are NOT from Haven, Star Fleet did
NOT think of creating the post of counselor when they discovered
telepaths, etc.) Roddenberry told them to stop publishing the manual
until they corrected the inaccuracies, but instead FASA made 2-3 more
printings. They will be releasing a new edition that has been worked
out with Paramount, and Richard Arnold has said somewhat
enthusiastically that it is going to be quite nice and meets with Gene's
approval.
FASA recently published the long-awaited canon manual, the First Season
Sourcebook Update. Unfortunately, some of the information is already
outdated, such as the Betazoid homeworld is STILL not Haven, although
that was stated in the first season episode "Haven".
And of course you can get lots of Trek stuff from Trek cons and
magazines (Starlog seems to be the most popular).
Lincoln Enterprises themselves are at most conventions, and they sell
writer's guides from every season along with final scripts from
episodes. In fact, these scripts even have scenes that are cut out due
to the episode running long.
7g) rec.arts.startrek.creative's FTP site is scam.berkeley.edu
(128.32.138.1). The rasi articles are located in the directory
~ftp/misc/info (it's partitioned into subdirectories of months).
There's a README file there. Access times are unrestricted (scam has
excellent Internet access).
8a) LEAVING THE GALAXY: The Enterprise has left the galaxy in "TOS:
Where No Man Has Gone Before", "TOS: By Any Other Name", "TOS: Is There
in Truth No Beauty?", and "TNG: Where No One Has Gone Before". In
"ST5:TFF" they crossed the barrier at the center of the galaxy.
8b) PICARD'S SURRENDERS:
* "Encounter at Farpoint": Picard says "Transmit the following in all
languages and in all frequencies; 'We surrender'."
* "The Outrageous Okono": Picard drops shields "In case we decide to
surrender to them."
* "A Matter of Honor": Picard surrenders to Riker on the Pagh.
* "The Defector": The Romulans ask Picard to surrender, but he doesn't.
* "Peak Performance": Riker asks Picard "Would you care to surrender
now?" even before the wargames begin.
* "Peak Performance": Picard surrenders to the Ferengi, but they don't
accept.
* "The Last Outpost": Picard tries to surrender to the Ferengi, but
they beat him to it.
* "Yesterday's Enterprise": Alternate-Picard refuses to surrender to
the Klingons.
8c) SELF-DESTRUCTS:
* "11001001": Picard tries to self destruct.
* "Where Silence Has Lease": Picard tries to self destruct for Nagilum.
* "Contagion": Virus-induced sort-of-self-destruct-like-thing.
* Kirk tried to self destruct in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield",
"By Any Other Name", and finally succeeds in ST3:TSFS.
8d) TOS time travel:
1. The Guardian of Forever ("City on the Edge of Forever")
2. The slingshot effect ("Tomorrow Is Yesterday")
3. Cold-starting the warp engines ("The Naked Time")
4. Mr. Atoz's time travel system ("All Our Yesterdays")
5. Isis' time-space transporter ("Assignment: Earth")
8e) TNG time travel:
1. Picard from the future ("Time Squared")
2. Enterprise from the past ("Yesterday's Enterprise")
3. Riker thinks he's in the future ("Future Imperfect")
9) Any correspondence with Paramount, Gene, the actors, etc. should be
sent to:
Paramount Studios
Star Trek Offices
5555 Melrose Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90038-3197
Note that scripts have a better chance of getting accepted if you have
an agent. Paramount gets about 800 fan-written scripts a year and uses
about four of them. See the separate section in this posting on
submitting scripts.
Lincoln Enterprises is run by Majel Barrett (Mrs. Roddenberry, formerly
Majel Leigh Hudec), and is said to be the best source for fan
paraphanalia, scripts, etc. This is the best place to get a Writer's
Guide from if you're not an established writer. The address is:
Lincoln Enterprises
Box 691370
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(213) 462-3850 (orders only, $15 minimum by credit card)
Star Tech has some good stuff too, like the blooper reels on tape (four
tapes for TOS and one for TNG season one), movie soundtrack CDs, etc.
However, some of their recorded tapes seem to be "gray market", so
beware:
Star Tech
PO Box 456
Dunlap, TN 37327
Starlog (or Starlog Press)
475 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
Starland
PO Box 24590
Denver, CO 80224
phone: 1 303 671 8735 fax: 1 303 671 0302
Intergalactic Trading Co.
PO Box 1516
Longwood, FL 32750
phone: 1 407 831 8344 fax: 1 407 332 0142
New Eye Studio
PO Box 632
Willimantic, CT 06226
phone: 1 203 450 1943
War Games West
3422 Central Av SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
phone: 1 505 265 6100 orders: 1 800 729 4263
Fax: 1 505 260 0752 hotline: 1 505 299 3368
Franklin Mint came out with a Pewter Enterprise ($198.00), a pewter
Klingon ship, and a Star Trek Chess Set (Kirk and Khan as opposing kings
(redshirts as pawns?)) a few years back, and I think CitiCorp or someone
has a Star Trek VISA (with some outrageous annual fee).
10) None of the crew read Usenet (though we have a writer or two on
here). Wheaton and some of the "behind-the-scenes" people are on
Compu$erve/GEnie though. When Wil starts at UCLA, it would be easy for
him to obtain a Usenet account, so he may be lurking. :-)
11) Yes, the TOS Enterprise could separate; just that it would take a
lot more work (and a bigger effects budget) to put it back together.
Kirk orders Scotty to "disengage nacelles, jettison if possible" in "The
Savage Curtain" and "discard the warp drive nacelles if you have to and
crack out of there with the main section, but get that ship out of
there!" in "The Apple".
12) GAMES: The FASA Star Trek game is pretty much ignored by the r.a.s
community, though many seem to like the variety of TOS and TNG drinking
games that show up occasionally. [ Anyone know if these are FTPable from
anywhere? --ed ] There are a few computer games based on Star Trek as
well (I even wrote a few). The rules and board layout of the 3-D chess
game Kirk kept beating Spock at are posted every once in a while.
[ Anyone know if this are FTPable from anywhere? --ed ]
13a) Yes, Merritt Butrick is dead. He played Kirk's son David in the
movies as well as T'Jon an Ornaranan in TNG's "Symbiosis", along-side of
Judson Scott (who played Sobi, a Brekkianof and also a person that
served with Khan). The actor died in March 1989 due to complications
related to the AIDS virus.
13b) Susan Oliver (who played Vina in "The Cage") also recently died
(early 1990).
13c) Roger Carmel (Harcourt Fenton Mudd) died around 1989/1990 due to
some sort of medication or lack thereof.
13d) Also among the recent deceased are James Blish, Gene Coon, and
Ceilia Lovsky.
13e) Kirk Thatcher:
* Was associate producer of ST4.
* Was the actor who played the Punk on the Bus in ST4.
* Wrote the song "I Hate You" which the punk was listening to.
* Is a member of the band "Edge of Etiquette" which performed the song.
* Is Margaret Thatcher's son. ("THE Margaret Thatcher?")
14) According to ST:TNG Writer's/Director's guide (1987): "Starfleet is
NOT a military organization....No saluting. We may hear the word 'Sir,'
but it is intended as the same kind of courtesy used by junior and
senior officers on commercial airliners....No stories about warfare with
Klingons or Romulans and no stories with Vulcans." Granted the
Romulan/Klingon/Vulcan rule has laxed, Starfleet is still basically
non-military (except when they are cornered, like the Borg situation).
The fourth season ST:TNG Writer's Technical Manual says to mentally
merge NASA, the Coast Guard and research ships like Calypso to gain a
concept of the Enterprise's mission. I guess we're supposed to believe
that court-martials and brigs are non-military, huh?
15) Both Shatner and Nimoy have attempted to sing and have a few albums
out (from the early 70s, I believe). They are *extremely* bad and only
good for comic relief.
Nichelle Nichols originally sang the tune Uhura was singing in ST5,
but TPTB decided a few days before the film was released to dub in
Hiroshima singing the song.
The band T'Pau (named after the Vulcan priestess from TOS "Amok
Time") claim they are not Star Trek fans; they just liked the name. DJs
enjoy putting a few lines from "Amok Time" during the opening of the
song "Heart and Soul" (McCoy: "Do you know who that is? That's T'Pau!"
T'Pau: "Thees ees da Voolcan heart; thees ees da Voolcan soul...")
The Minneapolis band (now based in New York) "Information Society"
likes putting Star Trek quotes in their songs. "Pure Energy" had
Spock's line "pure energy" (from the Organian episode) in it (and later
releases of the song have McCoy saying something like "we're not out of
this yet"), "Think" has Kirk saying "Think about it" (any takers on
which episode?), "Something in the Air" has a long scream (apparently
taken from TOS), and there's another song (the name escapes me) that has
a line from Spock, Scott, or both. Someone mentioned that Adam Nimoy
(Leonard's son) is a fan and friend of the group.
Leonard Nimoy was on the cover of the Bangles' first album.
Susan Vega has a reference to Star Trek in one of her songs.
The German band Nina mentions "Captain Kirk" in their songs "99
Luftballoons" and "99 Red Balloons".
The first three seasons of TNG are in stereo, the fourth is in
Dolby Surround stereo.
For lyrics to any of the various Star Trek songs, see accompanying
posting "Star Trek Music"
16) SNAFUs:
TOS "Space Seed": As Kirk is bashing in Khan's glass coffin, his
phaser falls off his belt. McCoy keeps looking down at it, like he's
wondering when they're going to yell 'cut' so they can re-shoot the
scene. They never did re-shoot because they didn't want to invest in
more glass.
TOS "Operation: Annihilate!": In a well-known ST blooper, the
amoeba-creature accidentally hits Spock's rear end instead of his back.
TOS "Court-Martial": Kirk says "Gentlemen, this computer has an
auditory sensor. It can, in effect, hear sounds. By installing a
booster we can increase that capability on the order of one to the
fourth power" (which the writers seemed to think sounded more impressive
than "one") :-) (and we just have to assume that the voices and other
ship noises were masked out like the heartbeats were)
ST4:TWoK: When Khan comforts his fallen comrade (the guy with the
blond hair) you can see that guy closed his eyes even though he is
"dead".
TNG "The Royale": The surface temperature of the planet is less
than absolute zero. Also, after they beam the piece of the ship out of
orbit, O'Brien and Riker pick it up with their bare hands (coming from
space, it should have been close to zero Kelvin itself).
TNG "Conspiracy": Riker says "Mr. LaForge, ahead warp six."
Geordi responds with "Aye, sir, full impulse."
TNG "Sins of the Father": The sound effects people must have
fallen asleep every time someone got slapped.
TNG "Brothers": Data's password doesn't match what was displayed
on the screen.
17) What are we?
Trekkie: A groupie fan. Someone who wears Spock ears and thinks that
makes them important. Asks questions like "what did you have for
breakfast on the tuesday when you shot scene 46a of episode 5?" The
most die-hard fan, who lives, eats, and breathes Star Trek. Term
originated in the late 1960s.
Trekker: A fan who is interested in the show and the idea of Star Trek,
but doesn't let it interfere with his/her life. This is apparently
being added to an upcoming edition of Webster's Dictionary. Term came
into popularity in the 1970s when the press gave "Trekkie" a bad name.
trekker: (with a small "t") A person who travels vast distances.
Trekologist: A fan who is a good source for information about Star
Trek. Ususally can answer the most obscure Trek trivia.
Treknician: A fan who enjoys collecting data (and debating with others)
on the technical aspect of Star Trek (warp technology, transporter
technology, etc.). Enjoys collecting ST technical literature and trying
to logically and rationally explain continuity errors in the show.
18) CREW BACKGROUNDS:
James Tiberius Kirk is from Riverside, Iowa; he was married in
"Paradise Syndrome", and is now a widower. He was also in love (if he
knows the meaning of the word) with someone named "Ruth" ("Shore
Leave"), and mentioned that he almost married that little blonde lab
tech that Gary Mitchel steared Kirk's way ("Where No Man Has Gone
Before") which some have guessed to be none other than Carol Marcus.
See also the "Love Interests" monthly posting for further details.
Leonard McCoy was in love with someone named "Nancy", whom the
salt-sucker takes the form of in "The Man Trap". They were going to
mention in one episode that he had been married with a daughter named
Joanna, but it never made it on film.
Chekov's ex-girlfriend (Irena [Irini?] Galliulin) is seen in "The
Way to Eden".
Saavik was half Vulcan and half Romulan. This wasn't mentioned in
the movie (probably cut to save time), but it was in the novelization,
the trailer shown on Siskel & Ebert, and was mentioned by Stewart in the
special showing of "The Cage".
William T. Riker is from Valdez Alaska. His mother died while he
was young (three?). His father was shown in "The Icarus Factor". Wil
has turned down three captaincies (the Drake mentioned in "Arsenal of
Freedom" (and "Encounter at Farpoint"?), the Aries in "The Icarus
Factor", and the Melbourne in "Best of Both Worlds"). He enjoys Jazz
music (his middle name is supposedly the name of a jazz musician), plays
the trombone, is a master of poker, and enjoys cooking. The character
was based on Decker.
Jean-Luc Picard is from France. He never married, has an
artificial heart (from his wild younger days), enjoys Shakespeare,
horseback riding, Dixon Hill novels, and Earl Grey tea. He is
responsible for the death of Jack Crusher. (aside: Patrick Stewart left
school at the age of 15 because he was "not interested".)
Data has an ultimate storage capacity of eight hundred quadrillion
bits. His total linear computational speed has been rated at sixty
trillion operations per second (from "Measure of a Man"). He was built
by Dr. Noonian Soong, who was taught by the guy in "The Schizoid Man".
He and Tasha Yar were "more than friends" ("The Naked Now"). The
character was based on Questor, from "The Questor Tapes".
Worf's parents were killed at K'timar in a Romulan attack. His
adopted parents, Mr. and Mrs. Rojenko, (from the planet Galt) were shown
in "Family". He has a brother (Commander Kurn), a dead girlfrined
K'Ehleyr, a bastard son Alexander ("Reunion"), and a bonded son Jeremy
("The Bonding").
Geordi LaForge is named after a Star Trek fan that was handicapped,
and passed away. His name was Jordi (sp?) and he had one of those
horrible diseases that destroy your body's "electrical system". LaForge
was born blind, given sight by Riker ("Hide and Q") which he decided he
didn't want, and decided against a sight operation by Dr. Pulaski
([episode name? -ed])
Deanna Troi has a Betazed mother (Lwaxana) and a human father
(deceased), enjoys chocolate, and was imzade (sp?) to Riker. She used
to have a betazoid cat (from the episode where Picard was with the
holo-horse). Her character was based on Ilia.
Beverly Crusher is a widower and mother of Wes Crusher, whose
father (Jack) was killed while serving under Picard. She was head of
Starfleet Medical for one year.
Miles Edward O'Brien enjoys kayaking and poker, and was married in
season four.
Guinan has only been on the Enterprise for a few years [episode?],
and didn't know Picard before coming on board [episode?] but somehow has
known Picard for a long, long time [episode?]. Her relationship with
Picard is more than family; more than friends (from "Best of Both Worlds
II"). She is left-handed (not surprising, since Whoopi is).
19) The uniforms were changed from the spandex one-piece suits (that
made the cast look muscular) to the wool two-piece suits (that make them
look flabby but are more comfortable). The new uniforms cost $3000
apiece to manufacture. Most of the extras are still wearing the old
uniforms. Another reason for the switch is that Brent Spiner suffers
from some back injury. Because spandex is skin-tight, he couldn't wear
his brace underneath. The wool is loose enough and you can occasionally
see the top of the brace under the costume if you look at his chest. In
just about every episode you can see Picard (and others) tugging at
their uniforms as they ride up. This has been known on and off the set
as "the Picard manuver".
If you want a Star Trek uniform: Look for Simplicity or McCalls pattern
book in your favorite fabric shop. In the back there are Star Trek
uniforms for adults and children, both sexes. You can also get the
patterns from Paramount's "Star Trek: The Official Fan Club" (both TOS
and TNG uniforms).
If you're not "sew" talented and want one pre-made, Intergalactic
Trading Post of Tampa Florida is one of many companies that make them in
several sizes. They generally show up at Star Trek/SF conventions.
20a) Untelevized TOS episodes:
The Cage
He Has Walked Among Us (unfilmed)
Paleface
(other titles I can't remember)
A black and white original of "The Cage" was pieced back together
with the color clips stolen for "The Menagerie" which has since been
televised. Just before the premier of TNG, Paramount "found" a copy of
"The Cage" which was all in color (which they then televised). It is
marred by drastic changes in the Talosians' voices in mid-sentence,
otherwise it is fun to watch (along with a grinning, shouting Spock).
The color version they show now has been cut down to an hour and has
Spock's famous "grinning at the singing plants" scene removed. Sigh.
20b) Yes, "Assignment Earth" was indeed a pilot that never got off the
ground. One of a few. Gene wanted to create some more shows. The
reference for this is in the book The Making of Star Trek, (the white
cover, not the silver one).
20c) The Great Bird was involved with pilots for three different new TV
series in the early seventies.
Three different pilots were apparently shot for one of the series,
not unlike the series of pilots that had to be shot to get "Star Trek"
into production. The first of these was "Genesis II," starring Alex
Cord and Mariette Hartley. In it, Dylan Hunt, a NASA scientist doing
research on suspended animation in an underground lab, gets accidentally
buried for a half millennium or so, and emerges into a
post-nuclear-holocaust world. The story concerns the interaction of two
societies, one devoted to Good Works and the progression of all
humankind, and the other to being Nazi-style lords and masters. "Planet
Earth" was the second pilot. Set in the same future, with minor
alterations in background and format, it starred John Saxon as Dylan
Hunt, with folks like Diana Muldaur and Janet Margolin in major parts.
It was just an extended TV episode with some good stuff in it; a mutant
warrior race called the Kriegs (sp? never saw a script in print) look a
*great* deal like retconned Klingons. The third movie, apparently a
sort of a last-ditch attempt to produce a network-acceptable pilot, was
called "Strange New World," and completely gutted the earlier forms of
the series format. It starred John Saxon in the lead, but no one else I
ever heard of, and was such a lox I can understand why G.R.'s name
wasn't on it. It seemed to be three scripts pasted together,
end-to-end.
Roddenberry made two other pilots during this era; "Spectre" and
"The Questor Tapes." "SPECTRE" was a lovely idea that could have made a
great series, since its format allowed the inclusion of most major
horror fiction, even including H.P. Lovecraft's "elder gods." It
starred Robert Culp and Gig Young, and is a *FUN* movie, if you ever get
a chance to see it. I believe it would have gone series, if made in the
last few years, but at the end of the Nixon era, horror, even humorous
horror, was unacceptable fare to the majority of TV watchers.
("Spectre" deals with an occult investigator and his M.D. sidekick, who
keep getting involved with nasty superbeings from other times and
dimensions; the hero's housekeeper is a witch, and puts a no-drinking
geas on the alcoholic M.D. sidekick in the opening scenes.)
"The Questor Tapes" starred Robert Foxworth and Mike Farrell,
providing some of the best acting ever seen in a a TV SF movie.
(Foxworth does a scene as the robot learning how to use vocal inflection
while carrying on a conversation with the first human it's ever spoken
with.) The movie suffers a bit from the obviousness of the series
format it sets up; noble alien with sideck, on the run from various
governmental authorities, while trying to learn human emotions and
fulfill its mission to help the human race. A bit of a yawn in print,
but it could have been a *good* series, with decent writing.
Dorothy C. Fontana wrote a novelization of "The Questor Tapes" in
paperback, and you might be able to find it in a used book store. I
believe scripts for at least the best four are available from "Lincoln
Enterprises," or folks like that.
21a) SUBMITTING SCRIPTS FOR TNG:
Paramount has finally received permission from its legal department
to read and purchase fan-submitted scripts. You do NOT need an agent
(though it helps), and the scripts do NOT have to be solicited. It's
now gotten so bad that there is a room filled to the rafters with boxes
which are labeled by month (the month the script came in). There are 3
or 4 people on staff who do NOTHING but read the scripts, and submit the
more interesting ones up for further consideration. These people are
not, and CANNOT be, Star Trek fans...they are there to judge a story on
its merits.
You do have to send for a Paramount Release Form, which has to be
legally executed. Address a stamped, self-addressed, legal-size envelope
and send it with the request for a Release Form to Michael Piller or
Eric A. Stillwell (Star Trek Script Coordinator) at the address given
for Paramount under "Addresses" in this posting.
Also, it may be a good idea to ask for the one-page ST:TNG Script
Submissions suggestions as well. Paramount STRONGLY suggests that you
obtain a ST:TNG Writer's Guide from Lincoln Enterprises, since they do
NOT send out sample scripts. They want a teaser of 3-5 pages and five
Scenes of 9-11 pages. Total scripts should be 53 to 58 pages. After
the Powers That Be make enough cuts, it'll end up as about 43 minutes of
airtime. For an agent, contact the Writer's Guild of America (one in
NYC and one in LA) and ask them to send you an Agent list, then start
writing query letters to those agents that have indicated they are
willing to consider new authors.
Besides the Writer's Guide, here's some other useful information
you can get from Lincoln Enterprises:
8001 - ST:TNG Writer's Guide $9.95
1106 - How to sell a script by D.C. Fontana $3.95
1101 - Original (TOS) Writer's Guide $4.95
1109 - ST:TNG Character Biographies $7.95
Include $2.00 shipping for up to $10.00 worth of merchandise, $0.50 for
each additional $5.00 worth of merchandise. Prices accurate as of 7/90.
21b) SUBMITTING A STORY TO POCKET BOOKS:
This comes through Peter David from Kevin Ryan at Pocket Books: the
official Pocket Books Star Trek Novel Submission guidelines.
** Due to the overwhelming number of submissions that we receive, Pocket
Books can only accept solicited, agented manuscripts. A comprehensive
list of agents can be found in THE LITERARY MARKETPLACE **
FORMAT: All manuscripts must be submitted typed, double-spaced, on one
side of non-corrasable typing paper. The page number and your name
should be at the top of each page. Your full name and address should
appear on the first and last page of the manuscript (yes, include your
phone number).
PROCEDURE: Submit the first three chapters with a detailed synopsis
(four to six pages) of the entire plot. Due to the large volume of
submissions we receive, our reply can take anywhere from one to six
months...so please be patient. If we're interested in publishing your
novel, we'll contact your agent with an offer. We may ask for
revisions, and may also ask to see the completed novel before reaching a
decision.
CONTENTS: We're only interested in full-length adventure novels of
roughly 70,000 words (about 250-300 pages). We cannot use short
stories, poetry, biographies, romances, blueprints, or trivia books.
In a one-sentence description, we're looking for exciting science
fiction stories featuring the Star Trek characters we all know and love.
All material is subject to the approval of Paramount Pictures, who are
very concerned about maintaining the integrity of the characters and the
Star Trek universe. Absolute consistency is a practical impossibility,
but some major themes to avoid include:
* Traveling in time to change history or learn something, rescue
someone, etc.
* Having a tear in the fabric of reality which could destroy the
universe.
* Pon farr in Spock.
* Death of a major, established character.
* Any plot which hines on or describes in detail sexual relations
(normal, abnormal, and so on). We are not interested in books that
suggest anything other than friendship between Kirk and Spock or any
other crewmembers.
* Any plot that mixes the Next Generation and the original crew.
* Data becoming human.
Plot elements to avoid with respect to specific characters:
Kirk: no offspring or close relations not already established. Also,
no childhood or current sweethearts; though, you can create temporary
love interests.
Spock: no sisters, brothers, half siblings (beyond Sybok), offspring,
sudden reversions to emotion, sex. The Vulcan mind-meld has already
been seriously overused of late. No explanations of the "Vulcan Way"
beyond what has already been done in the TV series or movies.
McCoy: no offspring or close relations not already established.
We can no loner use castmembers who have left the show (no Tasha Yar or
Dr. Pulaski).
For any regular castmembers--same rules as per Kirk.
Also, other crewmembers: in general, avoid trying to definitively map
out a character's history much beyond what has already been done in the
movies or television episodes.
Of course there are guidelines. Disobey them at your own peril if
necessary to your story--but remember, you were warned.
Thank you for your interest in STAR TREK and good luck with your
writing.
Best,
The Star Trek Editors.
The address for Pocket is Simon & Schuster Building, 1230 Avenue of the
Americas, NY, NY 10020. The editors are Dave Stern and Kevin Ryan.
22) AWARDS:
TOS "The Tholian Web": won an Emmy for "best special effects".
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Drama Series" Emmy in 66-67
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting
Role in a Drama" Emmy in 66-67 (Leonard Nimoy)
TOS: nominated for "Mechanical Special Effects" Emmy in 66-67 (Jim Rugg)
TOS: nominated for "Photographic Special Effects" Emmy in 66-67 (Darrell
Anderson, Linwood G. Dunn, and Joseph Westheimer)
TOS: nominated for "Individual Achievements in Film and Sound Editing"
Emmy in 66-67 (Douglas H. Grindstaff, for Sound Editing)
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Drama Series" Emmy in 67-68
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting
Role in a Drama" Emmy in 67-68 (Leonard Nimoy)
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Achievements in Film Editing" Emmy in
67-68 (Donald R. Rode, for "The Doomsday Machine")
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a
Supporting Role in a Series" Emmy in 68-69 (Leonard Nimoy)
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction and Scenic
Design" Emmy in 68-69 (Walter M. Jeffries, Jr., Art Director, and
John Dwyer, Set Decorator, for "All Our Yesterdays")
TOS: nominated for "Special Classification of Outstanding Individual
Achievement" Emmy in 68-69 (Special Photographic Effects) (Van Der
Veer Photo Effects, Howard A. Anderson Company, The Westheimer
Company, and Cinema Research, for "The Tholian Web")
TOS: nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing" Emmy in
68-69 (Donald R. Rode, for "Assignment: Earth" (weird, since it was
a 67-68 episode))
TNG: See Vidiot's Guide for TNG Emmy nominations and other TNG awards.
23a) IS PARAMOUNT MAKING MONEY ON TNG?
Yes. Tons. The following is stolen from industry trade magazines
VARIETY and BROADCASTING, as well as Roger Tang:
FIRST: License fees (the fees studios charge individual stations
to run their programs): Let's say Paramount charges each station $2,000
to run the first run package. That's ball park; other stations can get
$10-20K per episode in top 20 markets. Also, Turner can expect $800,000
to $1 million per episode show of THE WONDER YEARS when it goes into
backend syndication. $2,000 per episode times 238 stations yields
$476,000 per episode shown in first run syndication (which does NOT
count the later syndication or backend syndication).
SECOND: Commercial fees: According to Vidiot, Paramount has seven
minutes of national advertising in each show. BROADCASTING has
published figures of $60-80,000 per 30 second spot. (They have also
mentioned that rates for the third and fourth seasons are around
$135,000 per 30 second spot). Paramount is garnering $1,890,000 per
showing of an episode.
THIRD: But wait! Shows are shown more than once even in first run
syndication. Let's assume a cut rate of $50,000 per spot in reruns
(doubt it, since people are STILL watching during reruns). Even a rerun
episode will garner $700,000 in commercial revenue.
THE BOTTOM LINE: $476,000 + $1,890,000 + $700,000 = well over $3
million in revenue per episode in first run syndication. And we all
know studios base their financing on just breaking even in backend
syndication. So the claim that Paramount is losing $8 million is just
creative financing.
Then again, we can throw away our calculations and take Richard
Arnold's word that (at least in Season One) TNG was grossing $10 million
per episode.
23b) The average episode COSTS Paramount $1.6 million (was $1.4
million), including the weekly paycheck of Stewart ($100,000) and Burton
($100,000). (DeForest Kelley mentioned at a con once that TOS cost
$200,000 for an average episode, though records seem to show it as
$100,000 to $120,000).
24) MONEY IN THE FUTURE
TOS "Catspaw": Some extra says "I'll bet credits to navy beans we
can punch a hole in it."
TOS "Mirror, Mirror": Mirror-Kirk says "You want credits, Spock?
I'll make you a rich man."
TOS "Operation--Annihilate": Kirk says "I don't care what it takes
or costs, just help him."
TOS [episode? --ed]: Kirk says "Scotty, you've earned your pay for
the week."
NOVEL "Crisis on Centaurus": Kirk uses back salary to purchase a
great deal of wilderness land on Alpha Centauri. There are offers to
buy it should he fall behind on his taxes, but he refuses to sell or
allow it to be developed.
NOVEL "Enterprise": Kirk orders the computer to "close out his
[bank] account".
NOVEL "The Wounded Sky": The reward money for passing through a
singularity, to be awarded to the E's crew, is enough to "buy
starfleet". Also, at one point, Kirk mentions to himself something
along the lines of "Starfleet personnell are tax-exempt."
ST4: Kirk tells the female lead that there is no money in the
future (but he might just mean that they don't have U.S. dollars, which
is what she was enquiring about).
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": Bev Crusher buys a roll of cloth and
has her account on the ship billed.
TNG (The episode with the frozen 20th century people): Picard
mentions that they don't have money.
TNG: People are always offering to buy each other coffee, etc in
Ten Forward, but this may just be a gesture, since we never see anyone
pay for anything.
25) RELIGION IN THE FUTURE
TOS "Bread and Circuses": McCoy says "If you speak of worship, we
serve many beliefs". Uhura figures out that they aren't worshipping the
sun, but the "Son of God".
TOS "Errand of Mercy": Spock says "Even the gods did not spring
into being overnight".
TOS "Obsession": Scotty says "Thank heavens", to which Spock
replies "Mr. Scott, there was no deity involved; it was my
cross-circuiting to B that recovered them." McCoy then says "Wee, then
thank pitchforks and pointed ears!"
TOS "The Paradise Syndrome": Kirk is thought (by the Indian
populace) to be a god when he emerges from the temple.
TOS "The Trouble with Tribbles": Someone said "Kirk may be a
swaggering, overbearing, tin-plated dictator with delusions of godhood,
but he's not soft."
TOS "The Ultimate Computer": M5 says "Murder is contrary to the
laws of man and God." Kirk says "Daystrom felt that such an act was an
offense against the laws of God and man, and the computer that carried
his engrams also believed it."
TOS "The Way to Eden": Space-hippies search for the mythical
planet Eden.
TOS "Where No Man Has Gone Before": Gary Mitchell gets god-like
powers and creates a "Garden of Eden" on a desolate planet
TOS "Who Mourns for Adonais": Apollo journeyed to earth 5000 years
ago from Pullox 4 and was worshipped along with the other gods by the
populace. Chekov says "Sorry, I've never met a god before." McCoy says
"Scotty doesn't believe in gods."
TNG "Who Watches the Watchers": Picard is thought to be a god by
the populace.
26) THE FUTURE OF STAR TREK
26a) TNG SEASON 4 TIDBITS:
Some might consider the next two sections as
***** S P O I L E R S *****
so if you don't want to know *anything* about the upcoming episodes,
skip to section 99. This is your only warning!
We still have Lwaxana Troi, the Romulans coming back "in a big way", a
Data story involving a romance, and another in the series of Worf
stories on the Klingon Home Planet.
Frakes will direct a third episode ("Drumhead"). So far he has done
"The Offspring" and "Reunion". Stewart has decided to follow in his
footsteps and will direct the last episode of season four (it sounds
like a good plot so he shouldn't really be able to make it a bad
episode).
Wil Wheaton has left to pursue an education (UCLA). His character Wes
has left for Star Fleet Academy.
They are looking for scripts (GOOD ones) to bring back Barclay, Lwaxana,
Q, and Selar. Also, Denise Crosby wants back (permanently) but they
can't find a way to do it believably.
"The Drumhead": (4/29 through 5/5) Guest stars Jean Simmons (Elizabeth
Stoddard on the new Dark Shadows) as a Starfleet Admiral. Episode is a
satire on the McCarthy trials. Directed by Jonathon Frakes.
"Half a Life" (formerly "Civil Wars"): (5/6 through 5/12) Guest Stars
Majel Barrett as Lwaxana Troi.
"The Host" (formerly "Paradise"): (5/13 through 5/19) (instead of 4/29
through 5/5?) Bev Crusher tries to cure people of a deadly virus - when
they don't want her to. Bev and Riker hit the sheets.
"The Wounded": (5/20 through 5/26) repeat
"Devil's Due": (5/27 through 6/2) repeat
"In Theory" (formerly "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"): (6/3 through 6/9)
Data story.
"Past Perfect": (6/3 through 6/9) Bev Crusher is forced to recall her
life with Jack because of some external (alien) pressure. This might
just be another old title for "In Theory".
"Mind's Eye" / "Distant Relations": (6/10 through 6/16) The Enterprise
mediates for two supposedly warring worlds without knowing that in fact
they have joined forces against Star Fleet and the Federation. Features
Geordi heavily.
"Redemption": (6/17 through 6/23) Season finale. Worf's
discommendation will be somewhat resolved, though this is a cliffhanger.
It features Tony Todd (as Kurn), Jon Steuer (as Alexander), and Denise
Crosby (not as Yar!). Directed by Patrick Stewart.
26b) TNG SEASON FIVE:
(The following from Richard Arnold): Leonard Nimoy was presented
with an idea for a ST:TNG two-part episode which was given a working
title of "Return to Forever". The "official" word is that midway
through negotiations Nimoy's agent suddenly started asking for $1
million. Since, at the time, the budget for an average week's episode
was $1.4 million (it's now $1.6 million), this was a clearly
unreasonable demand. The script with Spock is still supposedly floating
around somewhere. But the "official" word is that Leonard is simply
more interested in working on movies (mainly directing) than he is in
making guest appearances on TV. This was the news until late 1990. But
now the latest rumors say that Nimoy will be in the first two episodes
of season five.
Wil Wheaton will be back for a few cameos as Wes in season 5.
Geordi MIGHT get married in season 5 (91-92).
Q MIGHT bring the Enterprise into the continuum if they use "Q and
Order".
Frakes is supposed to direct another two or three episodes.
Apparently, TPTB are impressed with his work.
Gates McFadden and Brent Spiner each want to try their hand at
directing.
There is the possibility of Nichelle Nichols showing up in season
five as either Guinan's mother or daughter.
The Borg will also be back, but they have changed a little.
[speculation: my guess is that we get to see some other species that the
Borg have stolen bodies from (Klingon, Romulan, and/or Ferrengi; I
*hope* the change is not that they have gained compassion --ed]
It now sounds like if they use the script they had for following up
on the bugs from "Conspiracy" it'll have to be pushed back to season
five.
26c) STAR TREK 6: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY
Current plans are for a sixth TOS movie to celebrate the 25th
anniversary of Star Trek. They are trying to get it out by the end of
1991, but it might end up being released in 1992. Filming will begin
around the end of April. It's working title is "The Undiscovered
Country" (previously "The Infinite Voyage") and it is based on a story
idea by Leonard Nimoy, with a lot of the polishing done by Nicholas
Meyer.
Director: Nicholas Meyer
Music by: James Horner (who did 2 and 3)
Producer: Ralph Winter
Executive Producer: Leonard Nimoy
ILM might be doing the FX (they just finished the storyboarding for
it), but there are rumors that Lucas wants ILM to *not* accept any
offers because he'll need them if "Star Wars I" takes off.
The three ideas that have been brought up (and shot down) for ST6
are Shatner's script, Harve Bennet's (sp) "Academy Days" script, and
Walter Koenig's script. The tabloids are spreading wild rumors about
Spock getting married, Kirk becoming a monk, and the rest of the
regulars dying. More reliable information says it features Klingons,
Romulans, Saavik (not Robin Curtis), Sulu with command of his own ship,
and will definitely be the last movie, and it will be written as such,
although none of the regulars will die. It will be the last because if
it flops, Paramount DEFINITELY won't put up the money for STVII, and if
it's good, they want to go out with a bang. But of course if it makes a
lot of money they'll be tempted to make ST7.
They were going to film in Alaska, but that got axed due to
budgetary constraints.
They want to get Michael Dorn to play one of Worf's relatives
(possibly as Maug, Worf's natural father (there go the rumors about the
lifespan of Klingons)), and they're also talking about getting Whoopi to
play Guinan. Other actors signed include Jack Palance, Christopher
Plummer, and Kim Cattrall (of "Mannequin" fame) with pointy ears. Sarek
is in the film but Mark Lenard has not signed. Nor has Bibi Besch, as
Carol Marcus is also featured.
The budget for ST6 is $45 million. The action will take place
mainly on the Enterprise, and Klingons will be heavily featured. It's
written pretty much as a self-contained story.
Nimoy was more skeptical in February, saying "Paramount decided it
wanted to rethink the project. I think it, like a lot of studios, is
re-evaluating what the marketplace is all about, what it should make and
at what price. I'm waiting for a phone call from the Paramount people
about the film."
26d) Creation is also planning a huge convention in California next year
around the 25th anniversary date (Sept 8, 1991). The cost is $163 if
you want to sit within the first 10 rows all three days. Beyond the
first 10 rows, the price is $140.00. They have been taking orders for
tickets for the last few months. The address is:
Creation
145 Jericho Turnpike
Mineola, NY 11501
26e) The cast of TNG have signed 6-year contracts and have the option of
another year. After this, plans are to create TNG movies. Rumors are
floating of a third series, either another generation *after* TNG or the
years between TOS and TNG.
26f) Peter David's upcoming novel "Q-In-Law" (in which "Q goes
toe-to-toe with the one opponent he can't handle--Deanna Troi's mother"
as he put it) sounds like it should be really good. The quotes I've
heard from it sound excellent! It also sounds like it might be his last
Star Trek novel.
26g) "Moontrap II: The Pyramids of Mars" began filming in December.
Walter said contract negotiations are still going on, but he's pretty
sure he'll be in it. "Moontrap" was a science-fiction thriller starring
Koenig released ONLY ON VIDEOTAPE in 1988. It did pretty well for a
video-only movie. "Moontrap II", however, will be released in the
theaters.
26h) After ST VI, there would be the POSSIBILITY of TOS characters
appearing, since the film series would be once and for all over.
99) MISC TRIVIA
TOS: James Doohan is missing the middle finger of his right hand. It
can be seen in brief shots (especially in the early episodes). Whenever
they needed to show Scotty's hands (like when he operated the
transporter) they had a stand-in and showed a close-up. ("Cut! All
right, bring in the stunt hands.")
TOS: Majel Leigh Hudec is Majel Barrett's real name. She took the name
Barrett to fool NBC so they would hire her for Christine Chapel (they
never knew that the blond Majel Barrett was the same person as the
brunette whom they fired as Number One).
TOS: The Klingons and the Romulans had a trade agreement of sorts, for
technology. The Klingons got cloaking devices (according to non-canon
sources), the Romulans got Klingon warships (ref "The Enterprise
Incident") and warp technology (from non-canon sources). Also, there is
some speculation (again, non-canon) that the BoP as seen in TSFS and
TVH, plus several times in TNG, was originally a Romulan design.
TOS "The Man Trap": Spock says that Vulcan has no moon (when Uhura
mentions romance). Some of the books say it has one or two moons/sister
planets.
TOS "The Devil in the Dark": Every 50,000 years the race of Horta all
die except the one mother Horta.
TOS "Balance of Terror": Neutral zone outposts 1, 3, 4, and 8 were
trashed by the Romulan ship before the Enterprise was able to engage (#4
was the one they saw get destroyed on the viewer)
TOS "The Tholian Web": The name of the Tholian commander who first
attacks the Enterprise after Kirk is lost is Commander Loskene.
TOS "Wolf in the Fold": The names that the entity was referred to by
were Jack the Ripper, Baratis, Redjac, Kesla, Mr. Hengist (and yes, that
was John Fiedler, the wimpy guy from the Bob Newhart Show).
TOS "Amok Time": T'Pau was the only person to ever turn down a seat on
the Federation council.
TOS "Amok Time": The episode where Ensign Chekov makes his debut (1st
episode, 2nd season). "Catspaw" was the one he was first filmed in,
although this aired after "Amok Time".
TOS "The Menagerie": The ONLY doorknob seen in a Federation setting
(ship or starbase etc.) was on the door to Christopher Pike's quarters,
which was kind of ironic, since he's about the only person who COULDN'T
use a doorknob! :-) The door to Dr. Tom Lathom's house in "The
Conscience of the King" has a doorknob, but may not be aFederation
setting.
TOS "Plato's Stepchildren": The first inter-racial kiss on television
took place between Kirk and Uhura,
TOS "The Paradise Syndrome": "He Has Walked Among Us" and "Paleface"
were combined into "The Paradise Syndrome", according to speculation by
Allen Asherman and David Gerrold. Reportedly, only Gene Coon knew for
sure, and of course he's been dead for about 15 years...
TOS "City on the Edge of Forever": If you want H. Ellison's original
script for "City on the Edge of Forever", look for a book called "Six
Science Fiction Plays", edited by Roger Elwood. It's a paperback,
published in 1976 by Pocket Books under the Washington Square Press
imprint. It was distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Simon & Schuster.
I have no idea if it's still in print. If it isn't, check your local
library, used book stores, and the dealer's room at your next
convention. There must be copies out there somewhere. According to
Elwood's foreword, this was the first time Ellison's original uncut
script was published. It's preceded by a ten-page introduction that
Ellison wrote especially for this book, telling his version of the
transformation of his script into what was eventually telecast. The
book also contains these scripts:
"Sting!" by Tom Reamy
"Contact Point" by Theodore R. Cogswell and George Rae Cogswell
"Stranger with Roses" by John Jakes
"The Mechanical Bride" by Fritz Leiber
"Let Me Hear You Whisper" by Paul Zindel
("Sting!" is a movie screenplay; "The Mechanical Bride" is a teleplay;
the others are stage plays)
According to the Star Trek Compendium:
Kirk: was in 79 TOS episodes
Spock: was in 79 TOS episodes + "The Cage"
McCoy: was in 74 TOS episodes
Uhura: was in 65 TOS episodes
Scotty: was in 61 TOS episodes
Sulu: was in 47 TOS episodes
Chekov: was in 33 TOS episodes
ST: TMP: The oval things on the belts were originally supposed to be
biorhythm devices. In the novelization of ST:TMP, the little oval things
are described in a footnote. They are called "perscan" devices and are
used to monitor crew members life signs from sick bay. Only the CMO
gets to see the captain's perscan output. According to the footnote,
the lower abdomen is supposed to be an ideal location for a medical
scanner. Making it into a belt buckle seemed the obvious way to
integrate it into the Fleet uniforms.
>From "ST4: The Voyage Home", a storyline cut was a bunch of lines which
indicated that Saavik was pregnant. When they started running out of
screen time, these scenes were cut, since they were not essential to the
main story in the movie. Of course, this means that, officially, IT
NEVER HAPPENED. :-)
ST5: Yes, the marshmallow (or rather "marshmellon" (read the book))
dispenser used by Spock in the campfire scenes was available from Kraft
for a number of proofs-of-purchase when the movie came out. It would
hold several marshmallows and dispense them one at a time. I think the
end credits for the movie even said "Kraft--the official marshmallow of
ST5" or some such thing.
There's no real explanation as to why the Klingons have spiny foreheads
in TFS and TNG but not in TOS. Gene says "they always looked like this"
and we're supposed to ignore the lack of the pizza bats on the foreheads
in TOS. Theories outside of Gene run from genetic engineering to
"several races of Klingons".
According to FASA the prime directive states: "As the right of each
sentient species to live in accordance with its normal cultural
evolution is considered sacred, no Star Fleet personnel may interfere
with the healty development of alien life and culture. Such
interference includes the introduction of superior knowledge, strength,
or technology to a world whose soceity is incapable of handling such
advantages wisely. Star Fleet personnel may not violate this Prime
Directive, even to save their lives and/or their ship, unless they are
acting to right an earlier violation or an accidental contamination of
said culture. This directive takes precedence over any and all other
considerations, and carries with it the highest moral obligation."
TNG is shot on film in the studio. Final editing is done via video.
The film shooting is done for quality purposes...you get better pictures
and sound by using film. The video editing is done for practical
purposes...it's fast and (relatively) cheap.
TNG: The main viewscreen in supposed to be 3-D. When you see a side
view of the bridge crew looking at the screen, the view on the screen is
a side view (like the sides of faces when talking with people).
TNG: People keep asking about the weird production schedule. Why do we
keep getting breaks of repeats when it isn't summer yet? A lot of shows
(especially the hour-long ones) go to repeats around December and March.
The average episode of TNG takes about ten days to film. They start
well before the season begins, but they wouldn't be able to keep ahead
for the entire season. So while we're watching the December repeats,
they're trying to get a few episodes ahead of the viewers again!
TNG: ILM did the "Encounter At Farpoint" FX and a bunch of stock
footage. They NEVER did the bulk of the effects work. They are
credited at the end of the show because their stock footage (which means
shots of the Enterprise flying by, etc.) is still used. I noticed in
TBOBW2 that the Enterprise fly-by looked a lot better, so maybe the TNG
folks have ordered new stock footage from their special effects people
(The Post Group, I *think*.)
According to the fourth season ST:TNG Writer's Technical Manual, when
the Enterprise separates, only the battle section has warp capabilities
(earlier we were told that the saucer could only go as fast as warp
four).
TNG: Data isn't supposed to be able to utter any contractions, though
he seems to be speaking something awfully close. Perhaps his "I have"s
and "I am"s are just being spoken rapidly enough so they sound like
"I've" and "I'm".
TNG: In "The Battle" Deanna Troi says of the Ferengi ship captain
Daimon Bok, "Captain, I sense considerable deception from Bok and
danger"; in "The Price", Deanna's powers help against the Ferengi; in
"Menage a Troi" the Betazoid Ambassador says "We betazoids are
uncomfortable around the Ferengi, whose minds we cannot read"; which was
collaborated in "The Loss". Data also started to explain once why he
suspects that Betazoids can't read Ferengis: "Perhaps it is because the
Ferengi brain is separated into four..." So two episodes claim
Betazoids *can* read Ferengi minds and another two claim they *can't*...
The only explanation that could really account for this is that *Deanna*
is able to (at least partially) read Ferengi minds because she is only
part Betazoid.
There are *tons* of anime references (far too many to list here) in TNG,
from the names of ships and alien races to the scribblings on the wall.
Rick Sternbach and others are big fans of "Dirty Pair" and other
japanimation. There are also reference to other SF shows; "4077" shows
up in sickbay a lot (Mike Okuda is a MASH fan).
TNG season 1: According to Marina Sirtis, during the first season the
very small dressing rooms were marked with "funny" identification. Hers
was "Token Betazoid", Wheaton's was "Token Teen", Burton's was "Negro in
Space", and Stewart's was "Unknown Shakespearean Actor" (after an early
ST:TNG review).
TNG season 1: Dr. Crusher's orderly (ensign Freeman) was supposed to be
gay (according to the script writer).
TNG seasons three and four: When Gates McFadden came back after her year
leave, her hair was a bit longer than The Powers That Be thought looked
acceptable for a medical person. Gates didn't really want to get it
cut, so she wears a wig. She has mentioned that her real hair can
occasionally be "completely unmanageable" with just how curly it gets
when wet (or sweaty).
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": Lets get this straight, once and for all.
What we have is a "Special Appearance by DeForest Kelley" in which he
plays an unnamed officer who just happens to have the following
traits/qualities:
(1) He is a retired Admiral from Starfleet Medical division
(2) He has a definite affection for starships named 'Enterprise'
(3) He is 137 years old, which is (in the eyes of the Federation) an
exceedingly long Terran life span, which could be explained,
possibly, by carrying the spirit of a Vulcan around inside him for
an extended period of time
(4) He has a pronounced aversion to the use of transporters
(5) He has an unusual reaction to Vulcan-style logic
(6) He just happens to look, walk, talk, act, and in every other
conceivable way behave exactly like Leonard 'Bones' McCoy :-).
Given these criteria, we can only logically conclude that this was, in
fact, not Leonard McCoy, but rather some little known Admiral who would
have no special meaning to anyone watching Star Trek, but deserved four
minutes of an episode devoted to him. :-)
TNG "Where No One Has Gone Before": The UFP has explored 11% of the
galaxy.
TNG "Where No One Has Gone Before": After the Enterprise jumps
2,700,000 light years it is mentioned that it will take 51 years for a
message to get back to SFC via subspace, and that it will take the
Enterprise 300 years to get back. There next jump takes them over a
billion light years away.
TNG "11001001": Binary 11001001 is decimal 201, and 2:01 kept showing
up on displays.
TNG "Home Soil": You can hear in the background "Three[?] are trapped
in a turbolift and two[?] are trapped in the programmers' bathroom."
So, I guess we have proof that there are restrooms on the Enterprise-D
(as well as the two references in the movies (on the Excelsior, and Kirk
in the Brig in ST5 ("do not use in spacedock")) as well as the one you
can't really see in "Q-Who" when the Borg slice up the Enterprise).
TNG "Skin of Evil": No, contrary to the rumors, you can't see Troi's
bra in this episode. What people were seeing was a shadow (and with the
flasing red light, it appeared red).
TNG "The Royale": The scene where Data was shooting craps seemed to be
lifted right out of "The Questor Tapes". In both cases, the andriod and
his companion(s) needed some quick cash, and so they play at the craps
table. In both cases, the android placed the dice in his hand and
applied the correct pressure to rebalance the dice, thus altering the
odds.
TNG "The Defector": Yes that was Stewart as one of the King's men with
Data on the holodeck. The other man was NOT Frakes, however.
TNG "Q Who": The general consensus is that it *was* Spiner playing the
part of Borg#1. There is no screen credit, however.
TNG "The High Ground": "He Has Walked Among Us" was reportedly a minor
inspiration for "The High Ground", albeit uncredited (this coming from a
Creation con). "THG" was one of those supposedly conceived during the
strike as a possible filler (a la "The Child"), and the use of the older
TOS script ("The Paradise Syndrome") would have made it acceptable under
the union crap edicts.
TNG "Up the Long Ladder": No, that is *not* Eddie Murphy as one of the
clones, though it does look a bit like him.
TNG "Deja Q": Q gives his IQ as 2005.
TNG "The Nth Degree": Barclay estimates his IQ to be between 1200 and
1450.
TNG "Yesterday's Enterprise": A lot of people seem to be having trouble
understanding the time travel involved in this episode (and cluttering
up the net every few months because of this). I'm not the best at
explaining these sorts of things, and if anyone else can in less space,
feel free to email me. Anyway... in "YE" they start out in the
"peaceful" timeline (PT) indicated by the top line in the diagram below.
When the Enterprise-C broke through the barrier, it changed history as
we know it (from the time of the battle onward) to a more hostile one
(in which the Klingons are at war with the Fed and Tasha never died).
When they sent the Ent-C back through the rift. it fixed whatever went
wrong with the Klingons/Federation, and restored the timeline to the one
we know (including Yar being dead at the hands of the slime beast in a
Glad Bag). So no, Yar isn't still alive these days. And also no, Yar
didn't "never exist and thus couldn't have died due to slimey".
*Everything* we know about the time before "YE" happened exactly as we
saw because sending the alternate-Yar back repaired all the damage to
time.
Tasha dies
---------> (B) ---------> (C)
/
Ent-C (A) <-------------------------
battle \ \
---------> (D) ---------> (E)
Tasha doesn't die
TNG: Dr. Selar appeared in "The Schizoid Man" and has been mentioned in
"Yesterday's Enterprise" (paged in background) and "Remember Me" (Bev
can't find Dr. Selar or Dr. Hill).
TNG: The storage capacity of the Galaxy Class Exploration Cruiser is
125,575,500 terabytes, 1 terabyte being 1 quadrillion bytes, according
to FASA's (non-canon) Star Trek TNG Officer's Manual. In the twentieth
century, a terabyte is still 10^12 bytes (one trillion).
TNG: Data is NOT Asmovian and does NOT obey Asimov's Laws of Robotics.
The only connection is that Data has a positronic brain.
TNG: In a War of the Worlds episode ("Thy Kingdom Come"), there is a
kid playing with action figures. One of them is in the likeness of Yar,
Data, Picard, or Riker and he mentions something about Ferengi.
TNG: Captain Garrett's crew took the E-C to glory at Narendra III,
which was NOT Khitomar (the planet where Worf's father and mother died).
TNG: In the opening credits (and occasionally in the same shot during
the show) you can see a man walking by the large vertical windows of the
ready room. It is the slow flyby of the Enterprise (from lower left to
upper right) after all the quick flybys. There are large windows just
beyond the bump in the saucer section, and if you look closely (and it
helps to have a giant screen TV) you can see a man walking from left to
right past the windows, then someone walking from right to left behind
him. NOTE: It's harder to catch it with freeze-frame since pausing a
VCR loses half the resolution, so just watch it at normal speed a few
times until you figure out where on the ship you're supposed to be
looking.
TNG: Paramount has confirmed that the bar on the enterprise (with its
"Whoopi cushion") is non-alcoholic.
TNG "Ensigns of Command": The original script called for Data to have
sex with the leading lady in order to get her cooperation later. This
idea never made it through the first draft. Gene's reason for dropping
it: "Only a human male would use a woman like that"...
TNG "The Schizoid Man": Shots of Genesis, Yar, "Encounter at Farpoint"
scenes, etc. in Data's psych test.
TNG "The Naked Now": When Data was looking through records, we see a
parrot with nacelles which was an in-joke ("The Great Bird" = Gene)
TNG "The Neutral Zone": There as a family tree for Clare Raymond (one
of the 20th century frozen people). When they created the tree, they
populated it with members of the cast and characters from other shows
(MASH, Giligan's Island, etc.) I think Riker was married to Picard.
TNG: Mike Okuda and Rick Sternbach have said that they still use
models, not computer-generated ships. Richard Arnold has said they
haven't used the captains yacht because low bid for it is something like
$50,000. Though according to Mike Okuda they've stretched the envelope
on this so far that it's now pretty cost effective to throw in new ships
(witness the Klingon cruiser). Even the leap into warp space is
non-computer-generated. It is an incamera job using slit scanning.
TNG is now available on video tape. It is the first series *ever* to be
available while still in first-run. It is through the CBS Video Club
(Cutsomer Service number is (800) 457-0866). The only really bad thing
is that the copy of "Encounter at Farpoint" is the two one-hour version
(which has scenes missing and other scenes re-ordered from the original
single two-hour broadcast).
TNG was not broadcast in Dolby for the first three seasons. There was
out-of-phase-but-equal-amplitude stuff in the ST:TNG soundtrack, which
your Dolby Stereo decoder recognizes as "rear channel information".
They mostly put the ship's noise (a low thundering sound of the engines)
on the rear and some times when ships pass by or shoot. Starting with
the fourth season, TNG *is* in Dolby Stereo.
TNG satellite uplink times:
Sat 1800 EDT T301-9
Sun 1400 EDT T301-9
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Again, if you know of any other topics that should be included in
this list, feel free to email me at the address below.
NOTE: You might want to use ottoh@cfsmo.honeywell.com for email to me.
--HACK-MAN
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| | _______| || |_| | tcnet Otto E. Heuer, CEO
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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edited by Jim "The Big Dweeb" Griffith - the official scapegoat for r.a.s.i.
Email submissions to trek-info@dweeb.fx.com, and questions to
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