Court Martial - Ion Pod revisited

[CorporalCaptain]

I'll buy the TOS-R Blu-rays when the whole set drops below $30US. Are we there yet?

[Metryq]

Warped9 wrote:

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And don't get me started about the crapfest that is JJ Trek. Not a single frame or idea worth a damn as he shit all over TOS.

If a work is altered that much, why even pretend that it is the "same" thing? (Because it's an alternate universe! ) Why not give the characters all new names and the work a title of its own? This goes for many of the spin-off TV series.

The answer? Franchise. Stamp "STAR TREK" on it, and there's a built-in audience that will gobble it up, no matter how bad it is.

[King Daniel]

Why resurrect Star Trek, Superman, Sherlock Holmes or anything? Because there's some intangible awesomeness in seeing something you loved being given new life. Each to their own, but I loved Abrams' Trek reboot and thought he captured the sprit of fun and adventure from TOS and the classic movies. I actually vastly prefer the modern versions Sherlock Holmes' to the classics. As a kid I loved the old Superman movies starring Christopher Reeve, and I recently very much enjoyed watching through Smallville from beginning to end. Recognizable characters in new situations. Love it.

[Warped9]

Metryq wrote:

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If a work is altered that much, why even pretend that it is the "same" thing? (Because it's an alternate universe! ) Why not give the characters all new names and the work a title of its own? This goes for many of the spin-off TV series.

The answer? Franchise. Stamp "STAR TREK" on it, and there's a built-in audience that will gobble it up, no matter how bad it is.

Pretty much.

[MarsWeeps]

Metryq wrote:

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If a work is altered that much, why even pretend that it is the "same" thing?

The answer? Franchise. Stamp "STAR TREK" on it, and there's a built-in audience that will gobble it up, no matter how bad it is.

Hardly. There wasn't a whole lot of gobbling going on with Star Trek: Nemesis. In fact, that abortion pretty much ended the prime timeline movies.

Like it or not, JJ's reboot made the most money out of all the Trek movies and JJ himself stated that he did not set out to make a movie for the fans, he wanted to bring in a whole new audience, which he did.

There were a lot of things that I didn't like about the movie but if it keeps Trek alive, then there's nothing wrong with that.

[CaptainMurdock]

I for one loved TOS-R's effects.

[BK613]

I like to think of the ion pods as being stored one after another along the impulse spine and the "ion plates" being read as either the six rectangles at the front of the nacelles or the eight on the struts.

[Captain Rob]

If the point for the ion pod is to measure interstellar storms outside of the influence of the shields. Then the best location for it would be on the bottom or aft end of the engineering section. That way when it's ejected, it doesn't pose a risk of hitting the ship. Most importantly the engines. If it's at the bottom of the saucer section then it could possibly hit the navigation deflector.

[Robert Comsol]

Captain Rob wrote:

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If the point for the ion pod is to measure interstellar storms outside of the influence of the shields. Then the best location for it would be on the bottom or aft end of the engineering section. That way when it's ejected, it doesn't pose a risk of hitting the ship. Most importantly the engines. If it's at the bottom of the saucer section then it could possibly hit the navigation deflector.

Unless someone prefers to give that thingy at the bottom of the engineering hull a different treknological identification, I'd say we are looking straight at the ion pod or a structure of which it is a part of.

Bob

[Robert Comsol]

Sorry, double post (shall we rather have a port and starboard ion pod near the shuttlebay or will one be sufficient?)

[ZapBrannigan]

Regarding the Ion Pod, I never saw those Mandel and Newitt drawings before. Definitely snagged them for my own files. Thanks, guys.

Incidentally, in the Mandel lower sensor dome concept, the pod looks too small for a man to occupy except as a contortionist.

[ssosmcin]

He could squeeze into the Tallywhacker.

[Metryq]

ssosmcin wrote:

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He could squeeze into the Tallywhacker.

No, the officer on duty must insert his Langmuir probe into the tallywhacker. That's why the ion pods are jettisoned after use. Safe parsecs.

[ssosmcin]

MarsWeeps wrote:

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Oh that's nonsense. If people are so pissed off, they don't have to watch it, the originals still exist. I'm surprised those same people haven't committed mass suicide after JJ rebooted the series.

Let's not get snippy over why people don't like the new FX. You asked, people responded. Some love them, some hate them, some are on the fence. Everyone's different. Agree or not, let's respect opinions. Nobody is forcing anyone to conform.

Regarding the new FX, I like a lot of them, some of them I'm not crazy about. I respect why it was done: to make Trek a viable property in HD for syndication, make more scratch, and to try to increase its shelf life. If they had more time and money, some of the problems may have never occurred, but where I have an issue is where the FX guys didn't actually pay strict attention to the dialog or intent of the scenes. Other threads are full of these discussions, but episodes like The Doomsday Machine and The Paradise Syndrome have effects that were "kwel" rather than faithful to the original intent. The original energy of some scenes is now missing as well.

The vast majority of Trek episodes don't rely on effects - they couldn't. Most episodes use the shots to establish something: a location (deep space, a planet, a space station), or just an Enterprise fly-by. The strengths of the series were always the stories and the characters, so most episodes really aren't effected at all. However, those episodes which did need the effects to sell a point were greatly impacted for better or worse. It's up to the individual to decide for themselves. We still have the originals to fall back on, it's not like George Lucas supervised the effects. For one or two episodes, I stick with the new FX, but for the most part, I go back to the originals I've watched my whole life. I prefer them. Actually, I go back to the laserdiscs for the sound mix, but that's another - and worn out - discussion.

Some people also don't think the went far enough with them and missed an opportunity to do something really imaginative. Others wanted the original effects recreated as closely as possible, without embellishment. There will never be a consensus and never will all of us be happy. That's the way it goes.

As for the Ion Pod, even as a kid in the 70's, it didn't confuse or bother me that I learned nothing about it. It was a Maguffin, nothing more. Kirk's plight was the real issue, the pod was just 60's "technobabble" to put the proper sci-fi feel on Finney's death. As a kid, I just thought "ion pod" sounded cool and it was enough that the file room guy had to go in it and Kirk was allegedly forced to jettison the thing. I filled in the blanks with my imagination.

[feek61]

Having it in the engineering section certainly would have made it easier for Finny to hide without being seen. That may have been more difficult if it was located at the bottom of the sensor dome on the saucer section. In any case I will second the thought that it never really bothered me they didn't go into more detail in the show about where it was or what it did. Actually the fact that they didn't tell you really made me think a lot about it. Part of the fun I guess.