TOS Science/tech changes

[Forbin]

I don't think the new lifeforms actually spoke English, I think we were supposed to just consider that the Universal Translator was working and not think further about it.

I think that was a TNG-era retcon. They never mentioned a UT in TOS until they needed one in Metamorphosis, and then it was clearly a separate device. We were just never supposed to think about why everyone spoke English in TOS - simpler times. Even the Klingon rules in Errand of Mercy were written in English!

 

[Ronald Held]

I assumed the UT was built into the communicators, but only worked for humanoids. Hihh ranking Klingons might learn Standard

 

[Marsden]

I just thought of another one that shouldn't have died/stayed dead, Grant in Friday's Child.

So he got hit with a knife in the heart, so what? McCoy should have been able to fix that. People can come back from their heart stopping now! The don't have a way to fix things like that in the future? They should have cloned replacement hearts in storage for just such an occasion just like a blood bank has blood now. No wonder Spock talked about McCoy's beads and rattles, medical science isn't too advanced in the 23rd century, it's worse than the 21st!

 

[Ronald Held]

I just thought of another one that shouldn't have died/stayed dead, Grant in Friday's Child.

So he got hit with a knife in the heart, so what? McCoy should have been able to fix that. People can come back from their heart stopping now! The don't have a way to fix things like that in the future? They should have cloned replacement hearts in storage for just such an occasion just like a blood bank has blood now. No wonder Spock talked about McCoy's beads and rattles, medical science isn't too advanced in the 23rd century, it's worse than the 21st!

McCoy had no access to the ship's resources. Maybe a klugat rips a heart enough to make it impossible to repair.

 

[Mytran]

McCoy had no access to the ship's resources. Maybe a klugat rips a heart enough to make it impossible to repair.

True, but couldn't they have beamed Grant back to the Enterprise for Doctor M'Benga to have a crack at him?

 

[Timo]

Not easily, no. Kirk trying to reach for his communicator almost triggered a war there and then...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mytran]

Not easily, no. Kirk trying to reach for his communicator almost triggered a war there and then...

Timo Saloniemi

Fair point - tough luck, Grant
I still feel more could have done for Miramanee

 

[FormerLurker]

I like the idea that the Enterprise was simply without any shuttles at the time of the The Enemy Within. Shit happens

I prefer the idea that planetary conditions prevented the use of the shuttles, and it wasn't mentioned because those conditions weren't dependent on the weather or time of day. Can't use them anyway, why bother saying why?

 

[Maurice]

[...]I, for one, would like to have seen the other side of the 11 footer Enterprise finished along with a few more beauty shots from different angles.

Well, if they wanted to shoot the other side all they had to do was put the reversed decals on the model and flop the shots, so it wasn't necessary to finish the other side unless you wanted to show the ship doing a U-turn.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Well, if they wanted to shoot the other side all they had to do was put the reversed decals on the model and flop the shots, so it wasn't necessary to finish the other side unless you wanted to show the ship doing a U-turn.

That's right. This was the only time the incomplete structure was visible on TV:
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/2x09hd/metamorphosishd1193.jpg

Pre-VCR, pre-everything, it was a brief shot I would always wait for intently. And I don't think I ever noticed the missing nub until the screencap was online.

 

[johnnybear]

Kras did say he was unaware of any hostilities between his people and the Federation!!! Whilst smiling of course at Fred Grant's untimely death!
JB

 

[MAGolding]

That's right. This was the only time the incomplete structure was visible on TV:
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/2x09hd/metamorphosishd1193.jpg

Pre-VCR, pre-everything, it was a brief shot I would always wait for intently. And I don't think I ever noticed the missing nub until the screencap was online.

What is missing in that shot?

 

[Henoch]

What is missing in that shot?

 

[Maurice]

Leaving that off always perplexed me. It have been trivial to include it.

 

[Henoch]

Leaving that off always perplexed me. It have been trivial to include it.

It probably save lots of money at the time, like $50! Wow.

 

[Warped9]

The series was under a lot of pressure to save money where possible. At the time not finishing one side could save time and thus money.

 

[Maurice]

Oh c'mon. It's a little rectangle. One little rectangular bit of plywood filed into shape and bingo. Just no one thought about what would be visible from the front.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Well, if they wanted to shoot the other side all they had to do was put the reversed decals on the model and flop the shots, so it wasn't necessary to finish the other side unless you wanted to show the ship doing a U-turn.

According to William P. "@Tallguy" Thomas, reversing the decal is exactly what was done for the shot used in "Mirror, Mirror."

From http://www.trekplace.com/tosfxcatalog.html:

WNM Side RL (Mirror, Mirror) [1]

Eleven Foot Second Pilot

[...]

This shot was obviously filmed to be used as stock footage during the making of Where No Man Has Gone Before. Since only the starboard side of the eleven foot model had detail, the decals had to be reversed in order to show the “port” side. It was never used except here to show the crew falling into the Mirror Universe. Ironically it is a much cleaner shot of the ship. You can clearly see the spikes on the nacelles.​

---

The other instance off the top of my head when the ship was shown "orbiting to the left" is in "Shore Leave." In that case, it was obviously accomplished by use of the mirror-image of usual stock footage of the ship orbiting a planet "to the right." In these cases, the letter/number decals couldn't be made out (at least, not clearly).

I can't swear that there weren't other instances of reversed footage.

 

[MAGolding]

Thank y0u.

 

[Mytran]

According to William P. "@Tallguy" Thomas, reversing the decal is exactly what was done for the shot used in "Mirror, Mirror."

From http://www.trekplace.com/tosfxcatalog.html:

WNM Side RL (Mirror, Mirror) [1]

Eleven Foot Second Pilot

[...]

This shot was obviously filmed to be used as stock footage during the making of Where No Man Has Gone Before. Since only the starboard side of the eleven foot model had detail, the decals had to be reversed in order to show the “port” side. It was never used except here to show the crew falling into the Mirror Universe. Ironically it is a much cleaner shot of the ship. You can clearly see the spikes on the nacelles.​

---

The other instance off the top of my head when the ship was shown "orbiting to the left" is in "Shore Leave." In that case, it was obviously accomplished by use of the mirror-image of usual stock footage of the ship orbiting a planet "to the right." In these cases, the letter/number decals couldn't be made out (at least, not clearly).

I can't swear that there weren't other instances of reversed footage.

The other most obvious example is in The Alternative Factor when the Enterprise phasered Lazarus' ship near the end of the episode
http://tos.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/1x27/The_Alternative_Factor_376.JPG

Hard to say if that is simply a mirrored shot or a full decal swap though...