Why didnt they just beam up Reeds communicator?

ArcherNX01 · January 28 2013, 11:15 AM

In the episode "communicator" - why didn't they just beam it back up to the ship? We know they can beam the equipment. Plus they can track the exact location of comms but in this episode they could only track it to "three city blocks" (we saw them do it in the episode the caves).

Would have made a lot more sense if he lost a tricorder or phase pistol.

Melakon · January 28 2013, 11:49 AM

What episode is this again?

Oh, "The Communicator".

Don't think I saw it, can't comment.

we saw them do it in the episode the caves

Not sure what this is referring to either. No such title is listed.

Dawn?
Strange New World?
Terra Nova?
The Breach?

Something else entirely?

ArcherNX01 · January 28 2013, 12:45 PM

Melakon wrote:

What episode is this again?

Oh, "The Communicator".

Don't think I saw it, can't comment.

we saw them do it in the episode the caves

Not sure what this is referring to either. No such title is listed.

Dawn?
Strange New World?
Terra Nova?
The Breach?

Something else entirely?

Sorry was supposed to say "episode WITH the caves". I'm referring to "strange new worlds"

Mr. Laser Beam · January 28 2013, 01:07 PM

They couldn't take the risk that somebody might SEE the communicator disappear in a flash of a transporter effect.

ArcherNX01 · January 28 2013, 01:21 PM

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

They couldn't take the risk that somebody might SEE the communicator disappear in a flash of a transporter effect.

Good point, but the chances that it was found when they first realised it was missing were slim surely?

Plus even if they did who would believe them? It would become urban myth.

Gaith · January 28 2013, 04:19 PM

Yeah, I wondered that too. A phase pistol probably would have been a better choice; while one would think they'd place trackers on those also, it'd be a bit more believable anyway.

Didn't much care for this one. Like much of ENT, it seemed to go out of its way to skip past interesting and obvious conversations to get to fighting and laser shootouts.

ArcherNX01 · January 28 2013, 05:24 PM

It's a shame though because it was a decent episode apart from that and made an interesting point about the dangers of cultural contamination and how easy it can happen.

Timo · January 28 2013, 05:37 PM

Well, beaming up communicators was never really an option in TOS. The villains always removed those from the heroes, after which Scotty was powerless to remove them from the villains by transporting - unless somebody flipped open the device and activated it. Basically, locating or beaming up a non-activated communicator in Trek is not easier or more difficult than doing the same to a similarly sized object of some other sort, say, a pack of cigarettes. One might assume that pinpointing small things like that is much harder than pinpointing bigger things such as Vulcans or shuttlecraft.

Communicators in TOS were already said to contain advanced future technology. Perhaps a transtator would show up brightly in scanners amidst more primitive components? Then again, a transtator might be built out of perfectly ordinary materials and its sensor trace would not differ much from the transistors in a primitive radio set.

As for the episode, it's one of those "escalating plot" things where things start out innocently enough, and everything our heroes do is slightly too little, slightly too late. The audience can exclaim afterwards that everything could have been solved by doing a bit more a bit earlier, but that's not really fair, because the heroes were in no position to know that things would escalate. Suggesting overkill as the preferred approach from everything from the very start is not only detrimental to drama, it is also unrealistic...

Timo Saloniemi

Melakon · January 28 2013, 06:47 PM

In line with what Timo says, we have to remember that at this point in the series, Earth is still pretty much the babe in the woods regarding space exploration. There are possibly dozens of standard operating procedures they haven't yet considered, even with the Vulcans' "fatherly" advice, which they might just as likely ignore.

JiNX-01 · January 28 2013, 07:18 PM

Mr. Laser Beam wrote:

They couldn't take the risk that somebody might SEE the communicator disappear in a flash of a transporter effect.

Right.

Because sending people armed with phase pistols was a much better plan. Not to mention claiming to be enemy super soldiers and using an invisible spaceship to rescue Archer and Reed.

R. Star · January 29 2013, 01:30 AM

Because beaming up a communicator would make the episode ten minutes long. That's why.

Really, give a guy from the 19th century an iphone. He's not going to be able to do much with it, especially given it has a limited battery life. Beaming it up wouldn't be a big deal either considering he'd just be written off as crazy. Sending down away teams for a single item and risking... basically what happened, getting caught, is just dumb.

Gaith · January 29 2013, 02:07 AM

R. Star wrote:

Because beaming up a communicator would make the episode ten minutes long. That's why.

... Thus making time for my "Archer's little sis is getting married, and he can't stand the groom!" episode!

NeedsOfTheMany · January 29 2013, 06:29 AM

Almost all episodes of a show can be solved in a matter of minutes if they just do that one thing they did in another episode in the nick to time to fix that other problem. Good episode though.

King Daniel · January 29 2013, 11:52 AM

Perhaps that doofus Malcolm turned off his communicator's location beacon - kinda like how we can turn on/off our exact locations on phones. I imagine they would have such an option, in case they were on a stealth mission against opponents of a similar level of technology.

ArcherNX01 · January 29 2013, 02:58 PM

I suspect one of the producers didn't REED the script before approving it.

January 28 2013, 11:15 AM	#1
ArcherNX01 Lieutenant Junior Grade	Why didnt they just beam up Reeds communicator? In the episode "communicator" - why didn't they just beam it back up to the ship? We know they can beam the equipment. Plus they can track the exact location of comms but in this episode they could only track it to "three city blocks" (we saw them do it in the episode the caves). Would have made a lot more sense if he lost a tricorder or phase pistol.

January 28 2013, 01:07 PM	#4
Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Location: The visitor's bullpen	Re: Why didnt they just beam up Reeds communicator? They couldn't take the risk that somebody might SEE the communicator disappear in a flash of a transporter effect. __________________ It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shakes, the shakes become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

January 28 2013, 04:19 PM	#6
Gaith Rear Admiral Location: Starfleet Command, The City that Knows How	Re: Why didnt they just beam up Reeds communicator? Yeah, I wondered that too. A phase pistol probably would have been a better choice; while one would think they'd place trackers on those also, it'd be a bit more believable anyway. Didn't much care for this one. Like much of ENT, it seemed to go out of its way to skip past interesting and obvious conversations to get to fighting and laser shootouts.

January 28 2013, 05:24 PM	#7
ArcherNX01 Lieutenant Junior Grade	Re: Why didnt they just beam up Reeds communicator? It's a shame though because it was a decent episode apart from that and made an interesting point about the dangers of cultural contamination and how easy it can happen.

January 28 2013, 05:37 PM	#8
Timo Admiral	Re: Why didnt they just beam up Reeds communicator? Well, beaming up communicators was never really an option in TOS. The villains always removed those from the heroes, after which Scotty was powerless to remove them from the villains by transporting - unless somebody flipped open the device and activated it. Basically, locating or beaming up a non-activated communicator in Trek is not easier or more difficult than doing the same to a similarly sized object of some other sort, say, a pack of cigarettes. One might assume that pinpointing small things like that is much harder than pinpointing bigger things such as Vulcans or shuttlecraft. Communicators in TOS were already said to contain advanced future technology. Perhaps a transtator would show up brightly in scanners amidst more primitive components? Then again, a transtator might be built out of perfectly ordinary materials and its sensor trace would not differ much from the transistors in a primitive radio set. As for the episode, it's one of those "escalating plot" things where things start out innocently enough, and everything our heroes do is slightly too little, slightly too late. The audience can exclaim afterwards that everything could have been solved by doing a bit more a bit earlier, but that's not really fair, because the heroes were in no position to know that things would escalate. Suggesting overkill as the preferred approach from everything from the very start is not only detrimental to drama, it is also unrealistic... Timo Saloniemi

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January 28 2013, 06:47 PM	#9
Melakon Commodore Location: Unmarked grave, Ekos	Re: Why didnt they just beam up Reeds communicator? In line with what Timo says, we have to remember that at this point in the series, Earth is still pretty much the babe in the woods regarding space exploration. There are possibly dozens of standard operating procedures they haven't yet considered, even with the Vulcans' "fatherly" advice, which they might just as likely ignore. __________________ "Every time you think, you weaken the nation." --Moe Howard

January 29 2013, 01:30 AM	#11
R. Star Commodore Location: Terra 3	Re: Why didnt they just beam up Reeds communicator? Because beaming up a communicator would make the episode ten minutes long. That's why. Really, give a guy from the 19th century an iphone. He's not going to be able to do much with it, especially given it has a limited battery life. Beaming it up wouldn't be a big deal either considering he'd just be written off as crazy. Sending down away teams for a single item and risking... basically what happened, getting caught, is just dumb. __________________ "I was never a Star Trek fan." J.J. Abrams

January 29 2013, 06:29 AM	#13
NeedsOfTheMany Lieutenant Junior Grade Location: Texas	Re: Why didnt they just beam up Reeds communicator? Almost all episodes of a show can be solved in a matter of minutes if they just do that one thing they did in another episode in the nick to time to fix that other problem. Good episode though.

January 29 2013, 11:52 AM	#14
King Daniel Admiral Location: KingDaniel has fallen Into Darkness (in England)	Re: Why didnt they just beam up Reeds communicator? Perhaps that doofus Malcolm turned off his communicator's location beacon - kinda like how we can turn on/off our exact locations on phones. I imagine they would have such an option, in case they were on a stealth mission against opponents of a similar level of technology. __________________ Star Trek Imponderables, fun video mashups of Trek's biggest continuity errors. Episode One Episode Two

January 29 2013, 02:58 PM	#15
ArcherNX01 Lieutenant Junior Grade	Re: Why didnt they just beam up Reeds communicator? I suspect one of the producers didn't REED the script before approving it.