Some questions about Charlie X

[Timewalker]

So I'm assuming sensible things. What's your excuse for assuming senseless things?

You're assuming your personal head-canon. I'm looking at it from the pov of what we saw on-screen and general knowledge of the series.

Every one of us here at TrekBBS would be inclined to create the hole that was obviously needed, directly or indirectly. Skill doesn't enter that picture, although training in taking action of some sort (say, first aid training or hand-to-hand combat training) might speed up things.

Those of us here trained in some medical capacity, sure. What part of "untrained to even know where the breathing hole needs to be" and "I don't want to accidentally slit the person's jugular" is so difficult to understand?

I took basic first aid many years ago - decades, and don't remember most of it. I do recall, however, that tracheotomies weren't part of it.

No doubt about that - people doing CPR as seen in the movies, or fighting wars that way, or enforcing the law, would be doing it wrong. But they would be doing it anyway. In a ship with 430 crew, hollering for help would quickly produce the guy or gal with the will (and never mind the skill) of punching the hole, so even your actions would save the faceless woman.

It's a little hard to holler for help when you can barely whimper with what little oxygen you have left. We are NOT shown that anyone noticed the woman (and therefore hollered for help), and it's not mentioned that McCoy treated any of Charlie's victims. You'd think that he'd have been summoned to help when people started noticing crewmates changing and vanishing, but no mention at all.

Then I recommend watching Star Trek.

It was an exploration ship, not a hospital.

And? He reanimated the brainless corpse with little effort aboard the ship, as I said. Miracles happen within minutes; impossibilities may take an entire act.

Yes, I remember how the brainless Spock was able to not only perform basic tasks, but went right back to work as though nothing happened. Yep.

Here's my take on Spock's Brain: It was one of the dumbest episodes of any Star Trek show. Waaay back I started writing a parody of it - should dig that out and finish it some day.

Ideally, yes. In reality, there's always one Hitchens in every situation. (Not singling you out, TW.) I'd wager at least ten of us at BBS would freak out and turn tail.
And by the time we were unfreaked out, it'd probably be too late. Who wants lunch?

I'm not sure about your Hitchens reference - do you mean Christopher Hitchens? I've seen a couple of videos he was in.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

That's the one.

 

[1001001]

So the question before us is:

Did a crewman, off-screen, save Faceless' life, or did she die only to be restored by the Thasians at the end?

The answer is: who knows?

Next.

 

[Timo]

Those of us here trained in some medical capacity, sure. What part of "untrained to even know where the breathing hole needs to be" and "I don't want to accidentally slit the person's jugular" is so difficult to understand?

Every part. Real people just plain don't behave like that. Or is it different in the United States out of fear of lawsuits or something?

People who are "untrained to even know" don't exist - the missing mouth is missing from where mouths tend to be. People who "don't want" prevaricate for a while and then save a life, or try to. In this case, they are friends with the victim, after all, and trained to act even if not trained on how to act.

It's a little hard to holler for help when you can barely whimper with what little oxygen you have left.

Who took your oxygen away? Or your humanity, so that you would feel disinclined to holler when you see a woman without a face?

We are NOT shown that anyone noticed the woman (and therefore hollered for help)

...But we aren't shown that the corridor would be empty of people by some exceptional happenstance - empty corridors only happen in adventures like "Journey to Babel" where certain parts of the ship supposedly are off limits for good and solid reasons. (And anywhere near the shuttlebay, of course.) Otherwise, the ship is packed with people, as commented on by Dax in "Trials and Tribble-ations". Case in point here, the shadows on the wall.

If we assume that Charlie took steps to actually empty the corridors of potential helpers, perhaps turning all of them into statues, then we are back to the Saw XXIII scenario where there are layers of hidden sadism to Charlie's actions. In other words, baseless speculation.

and it's not mentioned that McCoy treated any of Charlie's victims.

Why should there be "mention"? Special mention is needed for something unexpected happening. McCoy treating the victims is expected - that's what he's being paid for!

It was an exploration ship, not a hospital.

The ship is the size of an average hospital, configured so that every person aboard immediately knows the shortest distance to an operating room, and equipped with internal connectors vastly better than the elevators and corridors of today's hospitals. The operating rooms can outdo the best hospitals of today and the projected tomorrow. Getting your airways blocked inside the ship is actually better than having it happen inside a central hospital today, in terms of survival.

Yes, I remember how the brainless Spock was able to not only perform basic tasks, but went right back to work as though nothing happened. Yep.

What unholy nonsense is that? We learned that McCoy can do miracles. Saving a faceless person should be a breeze in comparison. That alien supermachines later perform even greater miracles isn't part of the argument.

Here's my take on Spock's Brain: It was one of the dumbest episodes of any Star Trek show. Waaay back I started writing a parody of it - should dig that out and finish it some day.

Don't bother, you're doing a pretty good parody right now...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Timewalker]

I'm done here. I am disinclined to respond when the conversation gets personal.

 

[Kuyee]

So people who can't breathe are in no real danger because they have oxygen in their bloodstream? Really?

This woman had no nose and no mouth. How the hell was she supposed to get oxygen? How could she even see anyone to ask for help? She would have had minutes, at most, and nobody seemed too concerned about her. Apparently she was zapped back to normal by the Thasians, as there was no mention of anyone but the Antares crew being permanently dead. So evidently the Thasians can revive some dead people, just not all.

The biggest most evident difference between the Antares and the Enterprise is that the people of the Antares didn't die from what Charlie did to them but rather what he did to the ship. On the Enterprise the damage seemed to be more direct. Perhaps the Thasians could only reverse Charlie's tricks. Replacing the cover that Charlie removed on the Antares would do no good whatsoever.

 

[1001001]

Every part. Real people just plain don't behave like that. Or is it different in the United States out of fear of lawsuits or something?

People who are "untrained to even know" don't exist - the missing mouth is missing from where mouths tend to be. People who "don't want" prevaricate for a while and then save a life, or try to. In this case, they are friends with the victim, after all, and trained to act even if not trained on how to act.



Who took your oxygen away? Or your humanity, so that you would feel disinclined to holler when you see a woman without a face?



...But we aren't shown that the corridor would be empty of people by some exceptional happenstance - empty corridors only happen in adventures like "Journey to Babel" where certain parts of the ship supposedly are off limits for good and solid reasons. (And anywhere near the shuttlebay, of course.) Otherwise, the ship is packed with people, as commented on by Dax in "Trials and Tribble-ations". Case in point here, the shadows on the wall.

If we assume that Charlie took steps to actually empty the corridors of potential helpers, perhaps turning all of them into statues, then we are back to the Saw XXIII scenario where there are layers of hidden sadism to Charlie's actions. In other words, baseless speculation.



Why should there be "mention"? Special mention is needed for something unexpected happening. McCoy treating the victims is expected - that's what he's being paid for!



The ship is the size of an average hospital, configured so that every person aboard immediately knows the shortest distance to an operating room, and equipped with internal connectors vastly better than the elevators and corridors of today's hospitals. The operating rooms can outdo the best hospitals of today and the projected tomorrow. Getting your airways blocked inside the ship is actually better than having it happen inside a central hospital today, in terms of survival.



What unholy nonsense is that? We learned that McCoy can do miracles. Saving a faceless person should be a breeze in comparison. That alien supermachines later perform even greater miracles isn't part of the argument.



Don't bother, you're doing a pretty good parody right now...

Timo Saloniemi

Okay, seriously. There's no reason to keep going with this, and there's definitely no reason to get personal.

Please just let it go.

Thanks.

 

[johnnybear]

I believe the premiere issue of Dr.Strange had a similar scene where Baron Mordo caught Strange eavesdropping on him praying to The Dread Dormammu and removed his mouth with a spell but only Strange could see and feel it as everyone else could still see his features as normal!
JB

 

[FormerLurker]

That was his fifth appearance and origin story. Mordo clamped a mystic barrier over Strange's mouth to where Strange couldn't talk about what he had seen, but could talk about anything else. Strange therefore went to the Ancient One and requested to be taught the mystic arts.

 

[T'Bonz]

I don't know what is wrong with some of you guys. It's a TV show, made to sell soap or other crap to viewers. It's. Not. Real.

If you cannot discuss a simple TV show without getting pissy, you have two choices. Log off and do something until you can, or take a warning for getting into a fight over NOTHING.

Not a great fan of Charlie X anyhow. Little power-mad twit.