"Why is any object we don't understand always called a thing?"

Discussion in 'Star Trek Movies I-X' started by xvicente, May 3, 2013.

  1. xvicente

    xvicente Captain Captain

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    Well, what else should we call it then, Bones?:confused:
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2013
  2. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    An object. A cloud. A force. Etc.

    Next question.
     
  3. Angry Fanboy

    Angry Fanboy Captain Captain

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    Angry Fanboy

    Just can't beat a friendly reply can you? :confused:
     
  4. OneBuckFilms

    OneBuckFilms Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Data: Ah, an Object, Cloud, Item, UFO, Unkown, Projectile, Anoma..

    Picard: data ...

    Data: ...ly.
     
  5. sbk1234

    sbk1234 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    McCoy sure sounds extra cantankerous in that scene. But given the fact that he was in a really bad mood when he beamed aboard, essentially being impressed into service by Kirk and Starfleet, I figure he was just looking for ANYTHING to complain about.
     
  6. MikeS

    MikeS Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Impressed? I think he was far from impressed if I read that scene correctly.
     
  7. sbk1234

    sbk1234 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    He THOUGHT he was impressed, although that was a bit of intended exaggeration of the word.
    "Your revered Admiral Nogura invoked a little-known, seldom-used reserve activation clause. In simple language, they drafted me!"
     
  8. R. Star

    R. Star Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    "Why is it you don't ever do anything useful on the bridge but bitch about the situation we're in?"
     
  9. inflatabledalek

    inflatabledalek Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I'd guess McCoy was just a bit sick of people going "What is that thing on your face?"
     
  10. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Using the word thing could suggest a belief that the referred-to object might cause problems. I always thought that that prejudice was what McCoy was objecting to.

    Also, cf The Thing from Another World.
     
  11. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    He's a doctor, not a thesaurus, damnit!
     
  12. Grant

    Grant Commodore Commodore

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    Agree
     
  13. Melakon

    Melakon Admiral In Memoriam

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    "Bones, there's a cosmic muffin out there."

    "Why is anything we don't understand always called an edible foodstuff?"
     
  14. T'Girl

    T'Girl Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Ben Grimm from the fantastic four was really a sweet guy.


    :)
     
  15. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

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    One sense of "thing" is to express disapproval or contempt for something: "it's some Vulcan thing", the tone of which is what I suspect Bones was referring to.
     
  16. sbk1234

    sbk1234 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I love how Kirk (in my view) knows that McCoy is in one of his moods, and doesn't even acknowledge the question.
     
  17. throwback

    throwback Captain Captain

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    Reading the script, I see the conversation as the banter between two friends. I see McCoy venting his frustration at someone he trusts and respects. I see Kirk knowing when to respond and when to let his friend vent. I wish that there been more revealed on what McCoy was doing before he was reactivated to explain his frustration.
     
  18. sbk1234

    sbk1234 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    In an earlier draft of the script, it's revealed that McCoy went into veterinary medicine. He said his patients didn't complain so much. I don't know how long that lasted in subsequent drafts.

    Also, in Roddenberry's novelization of the TMP, I think he mentions that Bones has been studying Fabrini medicine.