"The Apple" - The TOS Mythbuster Episode!

[JonnyQuest037]

I'm rewatching "The Apple" on H&I, and it struck me that this episode debunks several Star Trek myths.

STAR TREK MYTH #1: The Enterprise has multiple transporter rooms.

BUSTED: The teaser of this episode shows the landing party beaming down in two groups. Group One is Kirk, Spock, Chekov, Yeoman Martha Landon, and two security guards. Group Two, beaming down a moment later, is McCoy and two more redshirts. Thus, we have conclusive proof that the Enterprise has just one transporter room, and it is not able to beam down more than six officers at a time. Otherwise, we would've seen all nine crewmen beaming down at once.

STAR TREK MYTH #2: The 23rd Century UFP runs on a moneyless economy.

BUSTED: When Kirk says to Spock, "Do you know how much Starfleet has invested in you?", Spock begins to reply with a precise figure, "One hundred twenty-two thousand, two hundred--". Kirk cuts Spock off before he completes giving the full amount. Since it's in Spock's nature to take questions literally and answer with complete honesty, we know that Starfleet has invested some form of currency into his training, and presumably pays him a salary. Together with Kirk telling Chekov in "Who Mourns For Adonias?" and Scotty in "The Doomsday Machine" that they've "earned their pay for the week," this conclusively proves that Starfleet officers draw a salary, even if it's not the same monetary system in use on present day-Earth.

STAR TREK MYTH #3: Starfleet ships weren't able to separate until the 24th Century.

BUSTED: When Scotty states that he is unable to correct the Enterprise's decaying orbit, Kirk replies, "Then use your imagination. Tie every ounce of power the ship has into the impulse engines. Discard the warp drive nacelles if you have to, and crack out of there with the main section, but get that ship out of there!" This would seem to indicate that Kirk's Enterprise was able to separate under emergency conditions, at the very least.

STAR TREK MYTH #4: Captain Kirk always gets the girl.

BUSTED: Chekov and Yeoman Landon provide the romance in this episode, and Kirk pointedly finds it annoying when it starts to distract them from the mission.

STAR TREK MYTH #5: Redshirts always die the most.

CONFIRMED. As Memory Alpha puts it, "This is the episode in which the redshirt phenomenon comes to the fore. Every red-shirted male in the landing party dies horribly. Hendorff is killed by the plant's poisoned darts, Kaplan by the lightning, Mallory is blown up by an exploding rock, and Marple is killed by a blow to the head."

Well... Four outta five isn't bad.

 

[BK613]

Myth #1: Having served on a ship that had three boilers but only operated two at a time* and three generators but only two operated at a time*, I think the best you can say that the E had no more than two. (I could also mention the two desalination plants but only one at a time, the two refrigeration plants but only one at a time, etc, but I think the point is made.)

*(the thirds was offline for maintenance.)

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Myth #1: Having served on a ship that had three boilers but only operated two at a time* and three generators but only two operated at a time*, I think the best you can say that the E had no more than two. (I could also mention the two desalination plants but only one at a time, the two refrigeration plants but only one at a time, etc, but I think the point is made.)

*(the thirds was offline for maintenance.)

Hey, I agree that it's perfectly logical that the Enterprise would have more than one transporter room. I'm just saying that it's not borne out by anything in the show itself.

 

[Poltargyst]

STAR TREK MYTH #1: The Enterprise has multiple transporter rooms.

I have maintained all along that the Enterprise only has one transporter room, so I agree this myth is busted.

STAR TREK MYTH #3: Starfleet ships weren't able to separate until the 24th Century.

Kirk tells Scotty to jettison the nacelles, not separate the saucer from the secondary Engineering section, so I agree with the so-called myth.

 

[Albertese]

My solution to the TOS transporter room number is that there were more than one in existence, but the technology was still new enough that it had to go though thorough maintenance and degaussing. Therefore, only one was operating at any given time. And the external emitters were built into the planetary sensor (which is why the transporters were focused on the Guardian of Forever for no other good reason.) But the various redresses of the transporter room set are better explained (to me anyhow) as different rooms.

--Alex

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

I'm rewatching "The Apple" on H&I, and it struck me that this episode debunks several Star Trek myths.

STAR TREK MYTH #1: The Enterprise has multiple transporter rooms.

BUSTED: The teaser of this episode shows the landing party beaming down in two groups. Group One is Kirk, Spock, Chekov, Yeoman Martha Landon, and two security guards. Group Two, beaming down a moment later, is McCoy and two more redshirts. Thus, we have conclusive proof that the Enterprise has just one transporter room, and it is not able to beam down more than six officers at a time. Otherwise, we would've seen all nine crewmen beaming down at once.

I do not see how that is a busted myth, when the entire landing party could have assembled in one transporter room (as they always do) and the McCoy half simply waited for their turn.

STAR TREK MYTH #2: The 23rd Century UFP runs on a moneyless economy.

BUSTED: When Kirk says to Spock, "Do you know how much Starfleet has invested in you?", Spock begins to reply with a precise figure, "One hundred twenty-two thousand, two hundred--". Kirk cuts Spock off before he completes giving the full amount. Since it's in Spock's nature to take questions literally and answer with complete honesty, we know that Starfleet has invested some form of currency into his training, and presumably pays him a salary. Together with Kirk telling Chekov in "Who Mourns For Adonias?" and Scotty in "The Doomsday Machine" that they've "earned their pay for the week," this conclusively proves that Starfleet officers draw a salary, even if it's not the same monetary system in use on present day-Earth.

Agreed, and it tosses the fantasy of a currency-free society out of the window, but you should be warned that Spock's line from "The Apple" will be skipped over in order to tell you the "earned your pay for the week" line is--by that time--just an expression, or way of complimenting someone for performing a job beyond the normal expectations, and not an acknowledgement that money or salaries still exist.

STAR TREK MYTH #3: Starfleet ships weren't able to separate until the 24th Century.

BUSTED: When Scotty states that he is unable to correct the Enterprise's decaying orbit, Kirk replies, "Then use your imagination. Tie every ounce of power the ship has into the impulse engines. Discard the warp drive nacelles if you have to, and crack out of there with the main section, but get that ship out of there!" This would seem to indicate that Kirk's Enterprise was able to separate under emergency conditions, at the very least.

Back in the era when TNG was first-run, I would often hear fans make that claim, leading me to ask if they ever watched and listened to TOS before.

 

[Henoch]

I think two Transporter Rooms: One with food dispensers; one without.

 

[scotpens]

There were plenty of references to money throughout the original series. The whole "moneyless economy" thing didn't even get started until The Next Generation.

 

[Timo]

STAR TREK MYTH #1: The Enterprise has multiple transporter rooms.

BUSTED: The teaser of this episode shows the landing party beaming down in two groups. Group One is Kirk, Spock, Chekov, Yeoman Martha Landon, and two security guards. Group Two, beaming down a moment later, is McCoy and two more redshirts. Thus, we have conclusive proof that the Enterprise has just one transporter room, and it is not able to beam down more than six officers at a time. Otherwise, we would've seen all nine crewmen beaming down at once.

OR it took an extra three minutes (and two armed guards) to convince McCoy to enter the damned machine one more time.

STAR TREK MYTH #5: Redshirts always die the most.

CONFIRMED. As Memory Alpha puts it, "This is the episode in which the redshirt phenomenon comes to the fore. Every red-shirted male in the landing party dies horribly. Hendorff is killed by the plant's poisoned darts, Kaplan by the lightning, Mallory is blown up by an exploding rock, and Marple is killed by a blow to the head."

Makes sense for Vaal to eliminate all the armed henchmen first. And for those to scout out ahead and do their best to secure the environs for the top officers, no matter what it takes... I wonder which factor is the decisive one this time around?

(Overall, many TOS statistics analyses have gold as the most dangerous color to wear, on the not unfounded assumption that the ten such deaths would make a far bigger dent in the goldshirt pool than the 25 redshirt deaths in that other, Olympics-sized pool.)

Timo Saloniemi

 

[BK613]

There were plenty of references to money throughout the original series. The whole "moneyless economy" thing didn't even get started until The Next Generation.

Well, The Voyage Home, anyway.

KIRK: They're still using money. We've got to find some.

and​

WAITER: Sure! Who gets the bad news?
GILLIAN: Don't' tell me they don't use money in the twenty-third century.
KIRK: Well, they don't.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I do not see how that is a busted myth, when the entire landing party could have assembled in one transporter room (as they always do) and the McCoy half simply waited for their turn.

Exactly. This plus the other ideas upthread give plenty of possibilities for alternatives. But this idea in particular shows that you don't need to assume much at all to explain what you see without resorting to there being only one transporter room. "Conclusive proof" would mean that no wiggle room is possible. There's still plenty of wiggle room.

Thus, we have conclusive proof that the Enterprise has just one transporter room, and it is not able to beam down more than six officers at a time.

[...]

Well... Four outta five isn't bad.

Make that three outta five.

Well, The Voyage Home, anyway.

Yep.

 

[Methuselah Flint]

Whether there is more than one transporter room isn't actually a factor here.

As someone above said, they would have assembled and been given the mission briefing in one group before beaming down. It makes no sense to use two transporters if they can all convene beforehand.

If there are there are two or more, I suspect the additional transporters would be used for mass transportation. Indeed, maybe two were used in This Side of Paradise.

I don't think The Apple establishes anything concrete.

 

[Timo]

It's also possible to read the opening as telling us that McCoy was not briefed on anything much, just summoned to take part in this "routine exploration", and he joined the team when he had the time - so Kirk had to give him the crucial information about curious readings from the scoutship down there, in front of us the audience.

Or the second batch could be reinforcements, joining the advance team only when it was deemed safe. But while McCoy could for a rare once be part of the second wave, why would the two security goons be, while Langdon wasn't? Conversely, the second wave wasn't reinforcing the first one in face of a recognized threat.

But beaming up or down in a single batch, while common in most Trek shows, is just for reasons of VFX costs; operationally, in-universe, people might come and go during a survey mission like this so that their precious time, rather than transporter credits, was the cost being optimized.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I have maintained all along that the Enterprise only has one transporter room, so I agree this myth is busted.

Thanks.

I do not see how that is a busted myth, when the entire landing party could have assembled in one transporter room (as they always do) and the McCoy half simply waited for their turn.

They assemble in one transporter room because that's the only one they have. They never say "Transporter Room Three" on TOS the way they did on TNG, they always said "THE [definitive article] transporter room." Occam's Razor.

As someone above said, they would have assembled and been given the mission briefing in one group before beaming down. It makes no sense to use two transporters if they can all convene beforehand.

Personally, I think it makes even less sense to beam down in two groups when you can beam everybody down all at once. YMMV.

Agreed, and it tosses the fantasy of a currency-free society out of the window, but you should be warned that Spock's line from "The Apple" will be skipped over in order to tell you the "earned your pay for the week" line is--by that time--just an expression, or way of complimenting someone for performing a job beyond the normal expectations, and not an acknowledgement that money or salaries still exist.

Which is why I made a point of referring to all three lines. When you take them altogether, I don't see how you can say anything except they do have some sort of monetary system in place.

KIRK: They're still using money. We've got to find some.
andWAITER: Sure! Who gets the bad news?
GILLIAN: Don't' tell me they don't use money in the twenty-third century.
KIRK: Well, they don't.

I'm fine with this, as all it means is that Kirk & company don't use physical money anymore. It's all a credit-based system. Heck, we're practically at that point now. I don't use cash very much anymore, especially after 15 months of quarantining.

And it's not like any credit accounts Kirk and his crew had would be in existence yet in 1986, anyway.

Kirk tells Scotty to jettison the nacelles, not separate the saucer from the secondary Engineering section, so I agree with the so-called myth.

Kirk saying "crack out of there with the main section" says he's talking about the saucer to me, as they traditionally referred to engineering as the lower levels on TOS. YMMV.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Thanks.

They assemble in one transporter room because that's the only one they have. They never say "Transporter Room Three" on TOS the way they did on TNG, they always said "THE [definitive article] transporter room." Occam's Razor.

Personally, I think it makes even less sense to beam down in two groups when you can bean everybody down all at once. YMMV.

I agree here. One transporter room on the original series. They get briefed in the briefing room and then go to the transporter room to beam down, one group at a time.

Once they started getting all loosey goosey with transporters - multiple rooms and meaning directly to sickbay and so on - I started rolling my eyes. Why have pads at all then if you can beam from one padless site to another?

 

[Timo]

FWIW, we know that beaming in batches of six or less isn't due to it being impossible to beam in batches of seven or more - there were nine going up in "Day of the Dove", without comment. So the 6+3 thing is at the very most consistent with the idea of a single transporter room - it offers no support for this theory over any other.

The hero ship has "the shuttlecraft" and "the briefing room" and "the turbolift" among others. Of those, we more or less know that the "among others" thing is confirmed. On "the transporter room", there's no real telling one way or the other. Except, of course, when we get two different-looking rooms in one episode, such as "Dagger of the Mind"...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Hofner]

andWAITER: Sure! Who gets the bad news?
GILLIAN: Don't' tell me they don't use money in the twenty-third century.
KIRK: Well, they don't.


Whenever I think of this scene, I always imagine Kirk saying "Excuse me" while he reaches down to whip out his 23rd century Federation Express credit card to pay for a meal at a 20th century restaurant.

As for the expression "you've earned your pay for the week", it's just a way of saying "attaboy" or "good Job"; it's not supposed to be taken literally. If you want definitive proof they used a monetary system on TOS look no further than the fact that in "Trouble With Tribbles", Uhura was definitely, literally going to buy a tribble before Jones gave her one for free. Nothing figurative about that.

Robert

 

[Noname Given]

WAITER: Sure! Who gets the bad news?
GILLIAN: Don't' tell me they don't use money in the twenty-third century.
KIRK: Well, they don't.

^^^^
That's a ploy Kirk's been using on date since he was a midshipman in the 23rd century dating alien woman who don't know Earth customs...

On a more serious note it could be that there is no more printed / minted money in the 23rd century. IE Federation credits could be a completely digital currency and all transactions are effectively electronic in nature.

 

[BK613]

@JonnyQuest037 @hofner @Noname Given
My comment about The Voyage Home was referring to when the "no money" stuff got started in Trek. People lay its origin at TNG's feet but TNG only extended what TVH started.
It wasn't intended as proof of no money in the time of TOS.

 

[Hofner]

@JonnyQuest037 @hofner @Noname Given
My comment about The Voyage Home was referring to when the "no money" stuff got started in Trek. People lay its origin at TNG's feet but TNG only extended what TVH started.
It wasn't intended as proof of no money in the time of TOS.

That's what I thought you were saying, not arguing the no money thing. Sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.

Robert