ottoh@CFSMO.Honeywell.COM (Otto Heuer) (01/04/91)
MONTHLY LIST OF "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS"
in REC.ARTS.STARTREK (last updated 12/25/90)
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 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
--------------------------------- ---------- ---------------------------
Hackman's list of Actors' Other Dan Styer
Roles 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)
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; 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
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.
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").
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
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."
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 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 "[episode?]": 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
merlin.cs.purdue.edu 128.10.2.3 Xinu, mac, GIFs
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 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.
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
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 he 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 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 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) 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"?)
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 read end instead of his back.
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 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.
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/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. 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").
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 10-11 pages. Total scripts should be at least 53 pages, but
no more than 58 pages. 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 srories 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 Loss": (First week of January) This episode will be dealing with
Troi losing her telepathic ability. Being Betazoid, losing one's
telepathic ability is like one of us going blind. She can no longer
sense someone coming. Of course, everyone comforts her... including
Riker.
"Data's Day": (Second week of January) Heavily features Vulcans,
including a female Vulcan ambassador (T'Pal) sneaking to the other side
of the RNZ, and we will see parts of the ship and people not seen
before... from Data's point of view. Data is keeping a diary for
cyberneticist Bruce Maddox ("Measure of a Man"). O'Brien will get
married, Data gives the bride (Keiko Oshigawa, a civilian botanist)
away, and Bev teaches Data how to dance. Mrs. O'Brien will be a new
recurring character, and Miles O'Brien will become a more permanent
character, replacing Wes. Denise Crosby *might* be back in the holodeck
as Yar. [ sounds like a lot to stuff into *one* episode --ed ]
Two repeats ("Legacy" and "Reunion") for weeks three and four.
"The Wounded": (Fifth Week of January) 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": (February) 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)
"First Contact": (February) 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.
"Clues": (?) Features Data. Written by fan/mailman.
"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 1. 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" begins 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 "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: 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).
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: 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": Yes, Troi's bra can be seen. It wouldn't be
*quite* so obvious, but it's bright 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 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 "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
"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
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It would have worked too, if it weren't for those meddling kids...and that dog
--Otto "HACK-MAN" Heuer
"There's something defintely weird about people who don't understand why
professional yuppies would fight not to be..."
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Edited by Jim "The Big Dweeb" Griffith - the official scapegoat for r.a.s.i.
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