Year of Hell - Why was Tuvok Blind?

[tomalak301]

I was watching Year of Hell last night, and I noticed something quite peculiar, other than Voyager not remembering that Kes went through this same thing and all this could have been avoided. Why was Tuvok blind? If vulcans have the inner eyelid (And the planet is so hot and bright anyway) than wouldn't Tuvok have it as well? I know it was intense pressure but I found that kind of interesting.

 

[CaptainJon]

The explosion probably caused some kind of nerve damage that resulted in him being blind, regardless of the inner eyelid.

 

[startrekwatcher]

He was probably blinded because Braga and Menosky didn't know or didn't remember Vulcans had inner eyelids. I know I certainly forgot. It happens. It didn't hurt the episode.

 

[Anwar]

Oh please, is it so hard to imagine that the explosion of a powerful warhead would be enough to neutralize whatever advantage having an inner eyelid would have against blindness. Denouncing Braga and co as horrible writers based on that alone is just being anal.

 

[Plecostomus]

Agreed. An inner eyelid isn't a superpower that grants you +4 against all blindness attacks. It's not going to prevent internal burns, nerve damage, radiation trauma, shrapnel damage or things of that nature.

 

[Finn]

Agreed. I'd criticize the writers of that TOS episode in which it was stated that Vulcans can tolerate extreme brightness and that sort of thing instead. Totally bullshit. If Humans can walk around on Vulcan without going blind, why would Vulcans need protection?

 

[tomalak301]

Oh please, is it so hard to imagine that the explosion of a powerful warhead would be enough to neutralize whatever advantage having an inner eyelid would have against blindness. Denouncing Braga and co as horrible writers based on that alone is just being anal.

Whose denouncing who? I didn't even mention Braga's name when I wrote this thread. I wrote it in part because I do love this episode, and wanted to say something about it. Also, neutralizing the inner eyelid, wasn't that brightness that Spock endured brighter? Maybe not, but still. I wasn't being anal at all.

 

[Akiraprise]

Agreed. An inner eyelid isn't a superpower that grants you +4 against all blindness attacks. It's not going to prevent internal burns, nerve damage, radiation trauma, shrapnel damage or things of that nature.

I thought this was pretty good.
Vulcans are pretty much +4 over humans in general.

 

[Caprica_Six]

I completely forgot about the inner eyelid thing, oh well.

 

[RoJoHen]

Agreed. I'd criticize the writers of that TOS episode in which it was stated that Vulcans can tolerate extreme brightness and that sort of thing instead. Totally bullshit. If Humans can walk around on Vulcan without going blind, why would Vulcans need protection?

Maybe the Vulcan sun used to be, um, brighter? I dunno.

 

[Anwar]

Oh please, is it so hard to imagine that the explosion of a powerful warhead would be enough to neutralize whatever advantage having an inner eyelid would have against blindness. Denouncing Braga and co as horrible writers based on that alone is just being anal.

Whose denouncing who? I didn't even mention Braga's name when I wrote this thread. I wrote it in part because I do love this episode, and wanted to say something about it. Also, neutralizing the inner eyelid, wasn't that brightness that Spock endured brighter? Maybe not, but still. I wasn't being anal at all.

Sorry, I misread yours and startrekwatcher's comments as something else. I thought this was another "let's bash VOY's writers" threads...

 

[CaptainJon]

Agreed. I'd criticize the writers of that TOS episode in which it was stated that Vulcans can tolerate extreme brightness and that sort of thing instead. Totally bullshit. If Humans can walk around on Vulcan without going blind, why would Vulcans need protection?

Maybe the Vulcan sun used to be, um, brighter? I dunno.

If so, the Vulcans might want to start looking for another world to live on!

 

[tomalak301]

Oh please, is it so hard to imagine that the explosion of a powerful warhead would be enough to neutralize whatever advantage having an inner eyelid would have against blindness. Denouncing Braga and co as horrible writers based on that alone is just being anal.

Whose denouncing who? I didn't even mention Braga's name when I wrote this thread. I wrote it in part because I do love this episode, and wanted to say something about it. Also, neutralizing the inner eyelid, wasn't that brightness that Spock endured brighter? Maybe not, but still. I wasn't being anal at all.

Sorry, I misread yours and startrekwatcher's comments as something else. I thought this was another "let's bash VOY's writers" threads...

No problem. I've been pretty outspoken when it came to defending Berman and Braga. The Trek franchise kind of ended with Enterprise and they became the scapegoats. Seemed like everyone forgot the positives they brought to Trek, and there were many, like co-creating DS9 (Berman) or co-writing All Good Things... (Braga)

 

[Ro_Laren]

He was blind because Kes was rude enough not to warn Voyager to avoid the Krenim.

 

[TMara]

and let's not forget that even Spock was temporarily blinded in the TOS-episode that introduced the inner eyelid.... so it didn't completely protect him either.

 

[Candlelight]

Year of Hell - Why was Tuvok Blind?

Why are you asking me?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

The writers realized that it was a stupid thing to get hung up on?

 

[Deks]

I think that one is excusable because Tuvok was exposed to a detonation from a torpedo warhead (which should have incinerated both him and Seven if the yields of those warheads are even 25% intense than the regular torpedoes).

And the Doctor did not have access to sickbay, or his instruments (then again, he could have possibly replicated the instruments and then recycle them ... unless the replicators were damaged to a degree where they weren't up to the task of makling such materials).

 

[Nebusj]

If Humans can walk around on Vulcan without going blind, why would Vulcans need protection?

Where is it established that humans can walk around on Vulcan for their entire lives without suffering eye damage? A couple days is one thing; living there is another.

Anyway, what's the problem? Maybe an inner eyelid would be a good thing for humans to have and it so happens that when the evolutionary dice were rolled we never got whatever was needed to start it off. Doesn't mean the idea is absurd (considering how biology is treated in science fiction, a second eyelid is probably the most believable thing ever proposed) or that it'd be some magic wand curing all possible blindness ever.

 

[Odon]

Tuvok was blind because he went through pon farr and was tens of thousands of light years away from his wife. He had to relieve the tension somehow. Cut him some slack.