TSFS -- Why Red Alert?

[CoveTom]

In Star Trek III, when Kirk and Sulu surmise that there is a cloaked Bird of Prey in the area, Kirk immediately orders red alert. My question is... why?

Sure, it would be normal in that circumstance. But in this case, the only people on board the ship are on the bridge. Isn't the normal purpose of red alert to notify all the crew of an emergency situation and bring them to emergency readiness? Or is there some other function that would still be needed in this circumstance?

Or did Kirk just think it helped him to have the bridge bathed in red light?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

How about: the red alert put the automation system into the proper mode.

 

[Shawnster]

Old habits die hard. Decades of training. He was on the bridge of the Enterprise and encountered an enemy vessel.

 

[Trimm]

1: Force of habit/Reflex action. Kirk instinctively ordered Red Alert as a reaction to imminent danger.

2: From a real world perspective, it's something to to signal danger to the audience/satisfy an audience expectation based on what they had seen before.

3: It's entirely possible that Red Alert does more than just change the color of the lights and turn the sirens on. It could also involve turning various combat systems on, turning unneeded systems off to save power, and other sundry things. Note that the ship's automation system was running fine until they went to Red Alert, and Scotty's comment about not expecting to take them into combat.

 

[EnriqueH]

Yeah, I'm thinking it's a combination of the 3 points that Trimm made.

Still, I'd be less than honest if I didn't wonder the same thing in the past.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

There may also have been things that the crew would need to do or make sure of under a red alert, and Kirk's order was a command to make sure it happened right then.

Yeah, I wondered at first too why the order would be given with no one on board. But there were people on board, them, and the automation system is doing the job that the crew normally does, which provided the answer that satisfied me. It's an order to the automation system, but also to them.

 

[Captrek]

On a related note, how about the Red Alert when the Enterprise receives orders in TFF? How does that make any sense?

 

[Lance]

How about: the red alert put the automation system into the proper mode.

I tend to lean towards an off-shoot of this explanation. Perhaps even under 'normal' ship operation scenarios, there might still be functions that the computer doesn't allow access to unless a red alert is sounded. But because the Enterprise was being running by a skeleton crew of six, it was even more crucial that, should a battle commence, they have full access to those functions. So Kirk played safe, and "unlocked" everything they had, just in case they'd need it.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

How about: the red alert put the automation system into the proper mode.

I tend to lean towards an off-shoot of this explanation. Perhaps even under 'normal' ship operation scenarios, there might still be functions that the computer doesn't allow access to unless a red alert is sounded. But because the Enterprise was being running by a skeleton crew of six, it was even more crucial that, should a battle commence, they have full access to those functions. So Kirk played safe, and "unlocked" everything they had, just in case they'd need it.

That's a neat idea!

 

[CorporalClegg]

How about: the red alert put the automation system into the proper mode.

It also put the ambiance system into the proper mood.

 

[Captain Mike]

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Red_alert

This.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Red_alert

This.

Care to elaborate? There's nothing there in the article intrinsically about The Search for Spock other than a red alert being equivalent to Klingon defense condition one.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I've viewed red alert as a call of bringing the entire ship to an emergency or crisis condition, with key systems brought to a higher level of usage than they would be normally.

 

[Vger23]

I think that various alert levels, besides being "general quarters" alarms to the crew to come to readiness, are also Designed to set certain actions in motion on the bridge. If you note in TWOK, for example, when Kirk orders the yellow alert, the bridge becomes abuzz with activity. Saavik orders for the energizing of defense fields, etc.

This was probably the purpose of calling Redalert in TSFS.

 

[Timo]

Yea, never mind the systems as such - saying "Red Alert" sends the crew into a flurry of completing the multiple tasks required to bring the ship to battle readiness. It would take a week to actually spell out those tasks, and the heroes know them by heart anyway; "Red Alert" is the vitally necessary verbal shorthand for that.

That Chekov also out of habit pushes the button that changes the color of the interior lighting is unnecessary but not detrimental...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Captain Mike]

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Red_alert

This.

Care to elaborate? There's nothing there in the article intrinsically about The Search for Spock other than a red alert being equivalent to Klingon defense condition one.

Did you not read the entire section?...It elaborately states what happens to certain systems on board the starship when Red Alert is activated. It doesn't matter if it had a full compliment or a crew of 5. Pretty well self explanatory to me.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Red_alert

This.

Care to elaborate? There's nothing there in the article intrinsically about The Search for Spock other than a red alert being equivalent to Klingon defense condition one.

Did you not read the entire section?...It elaborately states what happens to certain systems on board the starship when Red Alert is activated. It doesn't matter if it had a full compliment or a crew of 5.

Yes, I did. But when you say "This." to an entire article without further comment, it's not at all clear what you're saying "This." to, and especially how it relates to the conversation.

Pretty well self explanatory to me.

Not at all, but thanks for specifying.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Red Dwarf-Legion
Rimmer "Go to red alert!"
Kryten "Are you sure sir? It does mean changing the bulb."

 

[Lance]

Red Dwarf-Legion
Rimmer "Go to red alert!"
Kryten "Are you sure sir? It does mean changing the bulb."

Yeah, this is what I thought of when I first read the thread title.

I've viewed red alert as a call of bringing the entire ship to an emergency or crisis condition, with key systems brought to a higher level of usage than they would be normally.

Pretty much my belief as well. I reckon there are ship's systems that are 'locked' (or simply at a lower readiness status), that are only given full priority for battle readiness at Red Alert status. This functionality is true regardless of whether the crew compliment is 400 or 4, but is possibly even more crucial given that the Enterprise is being run on a certain degree of self-automation.

 

[Vger23]

Yea, never mind the systems as such - saying "Red Alert" sends the crew into a flurry of completing the multiple tasks required to bring the ship to battle readiness. It would take a week to actually spell out those tasks, and the heroes know them by heart anyway; "Red Alert" is the vitally necessary verbal shorthand for that.

That Chekov also out of habit pushes the button that changes the color of the interior lighting is unnecessary but not detrimental...

Timo Saloniemi

Precisely.