As far as I remember, it was never stated that some conscious alien entity took control of Gary's body and displaced his own consciousness. The energies of the barrier altered his own person.
Kor
What is THE Worst continuity error in Trek history..?!
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As far as I remember, it was never stated that some conscious alien entity took control of Gary's body and displaced his own consciousness. The energies of the barrier altered his own person.
Kor
^ Granted, it was never stated that Gary was controlled by the entity, but that was probably how Kirk interpreted it when dictating the log about Dehner and Gary's deaths. It was easier on everyone if he got to rationalize things that way.
I was never for a second under the impression that there was an "entity" involved. The whole premise is that the more godlike power that you give to a human, the less human he becomes.
For what it's worth, the novels say it was an entity, a corrupted Q trying to get back to the Prime Universe. Yeah, they suggest WNMHGB is in fact an alternate timeline, thus explaining James R Kirk. Q-Squared by Peter David, if you're wondering.
Ugh...well he totally missed the point.
Fun book and the idea served the story. But it isn't something that I count in the overall tapestry of Trek, because the whole idea is "absolute power corrupts absolutely", not poor Gary got taken over by an entity so his actions weren't his own.
The one thing I've learned on this BBS is that there's no shortage of ST fans who are ready to interpret an episode in the exact opposite way it was intended.
So do you believe that Kirk was in error when he dictated that entry in his log? Should Gary's service record reflect the evil acts he committed in that episode? Was Gary actually responsible for what he'd done?
Think of the DS9 episode "Empok Nor", for example. Garak was exposed to a mind-altering chemical, went crazy, and killed a Starfleet security officer. Yet it seemed to be in agreement that Garak was not responsible for what he did, because of that very chemical he was exposed to. So why does Garak get off scot-free, but Gary does not? Just because Garak was eventually cured?
Think of the DS9 episode "Empok Nor", for example. Garak was exposed to a mind-altering chemical, went crazy, and killed a Starfleet security officer. Yet it seemed to be in agreement that Garak was not responsible for what he did, because of that very chemical he was exposed to. So why does Garak get off scot-free, but Gary does not? Just because Garak was eventually cured?
I don't know how "responsible" Mitchell can be considered given the circumstances, no more or less so than anyone of similar psychology might have been in the same position I'd think, but one way or another Kirk is deliberately protecting his friend's memory for the record. It wasn't Mitchell's or Dehner's fault what happened to them; they suffered a freak occurrence in the course of performing their duties as Starfleet officers under Kirk's command, and it led to their deaths. His log reflects the general truth of the situation without going into unnecessary details that could only serve to sully them. I think basically Kirk is taking the responsibility himself, as Captain.
(But this idea that it was a Q or some specific intelligence, I personally think is silly and unsupported by the episode.)
(But this idea that it was a Q or some specific intelligence, I personally think is silly and unsupported by the episode.)
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They were definitely "under the influence" of an outside force...but that force wasn't a sentient entity that took them over. More like a disease or state of extreme inebriation.
At some point, Kirk had to report on what happened to Lt. Kelso. Whether or not Mitchell "asked" for what happened to him, he killed a fellow officer.
The energy burst that "killed" him actually just sent him back in time to the 20th century, where he became a doctor at Sacred Heart Hospital.
I think that's it exactly. If the condition is permanent, it's the new normal and he has to be held responsible, since it could happen again. If it's cured the danger of a reoccurrence is removed and there is no need for outside intervention to prevent him from doing it again.
53 pages in, probably already been mentioned before, but I still think the biggest is Khan knowing Chekov.
Don't get me wrong, it makes sense for Chekov to know the face of that crazy guy who took over the ship and tried to kill everyone that one time. But from what we can see, Khan and Chekov were never in the same room together (Chekov's not in that episode AT ALL). So unless Khan memorized the names and faces of the ship's entire crew, there's no REASON he would remember Chekov.
It would be amusing, though, if the same thing ended up happening in one of the reboot movies; Khan telling Chekov "I never forget a face" and someone pointing out "He was in engineering the entire time, there's NO WAY you could have seen him!!"
Don't get me wrong, it makes sense for Chekov to know the face of that crazy guy who took over the ship and tried to kill everyone that one time. But from what we can see, Khan and Chekov were never in the same room together (Chekov's not in that episode AT ALL). So unless Khan memorized the names and faces of the ship's entire crew, there's no REASON he would remember Chekov.
It would be amusing, though, if the same thing ended up happening in one of the reboot movies; Khan telling Chekov "I never forget a face" and someone pointing out "He was in engineering the entire time, there's NO WAY you could have seen him!!"
It's easy explainable, therefore hardly THE Worst.
Even if there are more Abrams movies after Beyond and they do bring Khan back, I'd say unfortunate events in the real world have seen to it Khan and Chekov won't be meeting each other.
You can explain ANY continuity error with enough handwavium. The reason I cite this as "the worst" is because it isn't derived from a single mention or a single discrete incident; it's very obvious that ALL of the occasions in which Chekov would have an opportunity to actually make impression enough to be remembered, he's nowhere to be seen. Not at the dinner, not at the trial, not at Kirk's "execution". It's possible that Chekov brought him a cup of coffee or some skittles off camera, but TWOK's "I never thought I'd see your face again" implies ALOT more familiarity than that.
Or it implies that Khan REALLY likes skittles. YMMV.
Or they replace the actor and Khan STILL somehow recognizes him.
The thing with Chekov? So he was somewhere else on the ship, just not onscreen. Doesn't seem that big of a deal. If his first episode (Amok Time?) had established that he had just joined the crew, then that'd be one thing, but we have no idea HOW long Chekov has been on the ship when that episode took place.
Indeed, don't most novels assume he was a redshirt security guard at the time of Space Seed? He was security CHIEF in TMP, so he must have been a redshirt at some point.
Indeed, don't most novels assume he was a redshirt security guard at the time of Space Seed? He was security CHIEF in TMP, so he must have been a redshirt at some point.
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