Star Trek Solutions To Other Sci-Fi Problems

[Sir Stewart Wallace]

For example:

In "The Cold Equations," a space pilot has to boot a stowaway off the ship or it will crash...and a colony won't get some much-needed medical supplies (or something). How would an episode of any Star Trek show solve the problem without the stowaway dying?

The pilot could utilize his warp drive to create a warp bubble around the ship that would change its mass. Failing that, the stowaway could be an engineering genius who converts the ship's lavatory into a transporter, which allows the pilot to beam her down to the planet and land the ship safely.

Any other examples?

 

[Commishsleer]

The entire point of the story was the tragedy of the situation, the loss of innocence, the tough decision the pilot and the stowaway had to make.
An actual solution would ruin the effect of the story.

I suppose one solution would be for the pilot to give up his life for the girl but it wasn't fair on him as he hadn't done anything wrong and she had but not maliciously.

A TOS solution would be a last minute beam out with either Kirk or Spock or both endangering their lives in the process.
TNG - Wouldn't bother saving her - not unless they'd received orders from admiralty
DS9 - Worf would fly in with the Defiant and snatch her from the jaws of death
VOY- Nanobots.
ENT - No rescue - either not able to or better things to do.
DSC - Spore drive solves everything.

 

[Sir Stewart Wallace]

The points of the stories aren't necessarily relevant. It's more just reimagining them in a Trek context.

 

[SG-17]

What would Trek do with Stargate SG-1 Season 1 episode Emancipation?

 

[marlboro]

The Cold Equations


- Janeway would angrily declare it's some of Prime Directive issue. Then she would angrily declare that it isn't. Then she would beam the stowaway into space and then get a little teary eyed about it for a second and then go get a cup of coffee.

- Archer would probably get pummeled by the stowaway and have to wait to be rescued by T'Pol.

- Sisko would get mad, get all breath-y, hyperventilate, and accidentally use up both of their oxygen supplies.

- Kirk would make love to the stowaway so passionately that she would eject herself from the ship out of sheer gratitude.

- Picard would quote from King Lear:

Upon such sacrifices, my Cordelia,
The gods themselves throw incense.

And while the stowaway is wondering why he's calling her "Cordelia" he'd beam her into space.

 

[Tenacity]

Stargate SG1

Infect the Goa'uld with a deadly disease and then dangle the cure in exchange for the Goa'uld's surrender.

Worked on DS9.

 

[Doom Shepherd]

In Star Trek the "Cold Equations" ship would have been unmanned and there would be no room for a stowaway. The computer controlling the ship would be perfectly smart enough to fly it.

 

[marlboro]

How would the kid from the Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life" be dealt with in a Trek episode? Bill Mumy is a lot scarier than Trelane, Q, or the Clown from The Thaw, imo.

P.S. THEe short story the episode is based on is also very good. It's by Jerome Bixby.

 

[Doom Shepherd]

How would the kid from the Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life" be dealt with in a Trek episode? Bill Mumy is a lot scarier than Trelane, Q, or the Clown from The Thaw, imo..

Well, his telepathy doesn't seem to be perfect (people could sneak up behind him), so a Vulcan or a Betazoid could probably defeat it (Or a Ferengi, given that Betazoids can't read them?), or at least confuse it temporarily.

Given the time delay between when somebody started ranting at him and the time said person got wished into the cornfield, a determined person (and certainly anyone with greater speed than a human, like Data) would probably have the reflexes to act. especially if the kid was distracted by someone else.

Then it's just a phaser shot to the face. Or a hypospray if you're feeling generous. Drop him on the nearest empty M-Class world

Or whatever works on Gary Mitchell.

 

[The Old Mixer]

How would the kid from the Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life" be dealt with in a Trek episode?

***coughCharlieXcough***

 

[CorporalCaptain]

***coughCharlieXcough***

Yep.

"True Q" is also a twist on "Charlie X." She's benign, at least when we meet her, but she has to get taken away too.

 

[at Quark's]

Star trek solutions to other sci-fi problems…. hmmmm

Interstellar. They warp to the prospective planets, find out which are suitable for life and which aren't (and send out some drones to the time-dilated planets first to find out what happened), beam any survivors up, and if they absolutely need to land they whip up a 'temporal compensator' before going down first as to not experience any significant time dilation in their own time frame. Consequently they are are home in time, well, not for lunch, but in a few weeks time so they don't miss their families growing up. Or even better, why not take their families with them? Might spoil the movie a bit, but it's certainly nicer for the heroes.

 

[Timo]

Alien. The civilian miners vectored to the planet by S31 bring their tricorders with them to the alien shipwreck. Doesn't help, one of them gets grabbed by the facehugger. The others transport the victim to sickbay and phaser the beast off, failing to even notice that it would have bled acid had it had the chance to bleed. Damn, it laid an egg nevertheless; all the medical tech aboard reveals this easily enough. The part-time surgeon consults his holographic manual and takes it out, closing the wound with the dermal regenerator so that there's no undue scarring. The brave sailors decide issue a general warning. The onboard android, working together with the ship's computer on S31 orders, intervenes and tries to kill the crew. The second officer kills the android with a mining phaser, while the skipper yanks out the isolinear chips of the computer one by one. The now-dead mining ship has to be abandoned, so the heroes board their warpshuttle and fly to the nearest port, reporting in fifteen hours later and warning everybody about the nasty aliens. The UFP turns the place into a wildlife preserve and arranges for guided tours (free entry, of course).

Timo Saloniemi

 

[marlboro]

Alien. The civilian miners vectored to the planet by S31 bring their tricorders with them to the alien shipwreck. Doesn't help, one of them gets grabbed by the facehugger. The others transport the victim to sickbay and phaser the beast off, failing to even notice that it would have bled acid had it had the chance to bleed. Damn, it laid an egg nevertheless; all the medical tech aboard reveals this easily enough. The part-time surgeon consults his holographic manual and takes it out, closing the wound with the dermal regenerator so that there's no undue scarring. The brave sailors decide issue a general warning. The onboard android, working together with the ship's computer on S31 orders, intervenes and tries to kill the crew. The second officer kills the android with a mining phaser, while the skipper yanks out the isolinear chips of the computer one by one. The now-dead mining ship has to be abandoned, so the heroes board their warpshuttle and fly to the nearest port, reporting in fifteen hours later and warning everybody about the nasty aliens. The UFP turns the place into a wildlife preserve and arranges for guided tours (free entry, of course).

Timo Saloniemi

You could make one hell of a twisted version of Devil in the Dark if you replaced the Horta with a xenomorph. The dark tunnels, the mysterious eggs, Spock trying to meld with the critter, Bones trying to remove a facehugger from a redshirt etc.

 

[marlboro]

***coughCharlieXcough***

True, but Charlie was still sort of reasonable. He was willing to be guided by adults to a point.

The kid from It's a Good life, Anthony, is a different story because he's a kid: solipsistic, mercurial, cruel, and demanding. But this little angel just so happens to have the power of a god.

Anthony Freemont: Why does that guy have those dumb pointy ears?

Bones (chuckling): That's because he's a Vulcan. He also has green blood.

Anthony: Neat! I wonder what he looks like turned inside out?

Spock: (says nothing because he's just been turned inside out)




Ok, here's another one. How would Trek deal with the Harlan Ellison classic "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream"?

 

[MAGolding]

True, but Charlie was still sort of reasonable. He was willing to be guided by adults to a point.

The kid from It's a Good life, Anthony, is a different story because he's a kid: solipsistic, mercurial, cruel, and demanding. But this little angel just so happens to have the power of a god.

Anthony Freemont: Why does that guy have those dumb pointy ears?

Bones (chuckling): That's because he's a Vulcan. He also has green blood.

Anthony: Neat! I wonder what he looks like turned inside out?

Spock: (says nothing because he's just been turned inside out)




Ok, here's another one. How would Trek deal with the Harlan Ellison classic "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream"?

I am not familiar with the the story "I Have no Mouth and I Must Scream" but as for the title, the Enterprise actually had one case of that when "Charlie X" defaced a woman. We never hear about the medical response.

 

[The Wormhole]

What would Trek do with Stargate SG-1 Season 1 episode Emancipation?

I know what Trek wouldn't do, and that's trade a modern sidearm for the release of the team member held captive.

Emancipation really is a terrible episode, but that scene is one of my favourite in all Stargate.

 

[SG-17]

I know what Trek wouldn't do, and that's trade a modern sidearm for the release of the team member held captive.

Emancipation really is a terrible episode, but that scene is one of my favourite in all Stargate.

The joke is that Emancipation and Code of Honor (TNG) are essentially the same episode, both written by the same person.

 

[at Quark's]

Independence day.

Dozens of huge saucer-shaped craft hover over earth. The Federation finds that they can't make contact using subspace communications. After trying old fashioned radio waves they have success and ask the invaders how they can be of service. The reply consists of one word only:

"Die."

After Starfleet HQ stops laughing their a**es off that those aliens actually think they pose any threat with such primitive technology, they are 'friendly' escorted to a place where they can do no more harm. Also they are offered Betazoid therapists to get rid of their aggressive impulses. Deanna volunteers and tries to learn them "plexing".

 

[Roundabout]

For example:
In "The Cold Equations," a space pilot has to boot a stowaway off the ship or it will crash...and a colony won't get some much-needed medical supplies (or something). How would an episode of any Star Trek show solve the problem without the stowaway dying?

"The Cold Equations", reimagined in the TOS style.
After the pilot reaches his destination, I imagine he would still be despondent. Naturally, Kirk would show up and offer the dispirited pilot the following brutal yet sympathetic advice:

KIRK: A no-win situation is a possibility every commander may face. Has that never occurred to you?
KIRK: How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life, wouldn't you say?
KIRK: Well, now you have something new to think about. Carry on.