the "science" of star trek countdown (spoilers)

[SalvorHardin]

oh no...oh no no no

That Romulan wife of Nero's is not only blond but has long hair too ? And seems to be wearing....lipstick ? WTF

They surely fucked up the Romulans

 

[Jessop]

I'm sure someone already said.

It's a comic, not a science journal.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

Depends on the type of supernova. It might produce one hell of a gamma ray burst that could cook life in nearby star systems real good.

Absolutely Right™.

Even if the supernova was 100 light years away from us, a gamma ray burst caused by a large supernova could incinerate the Earth -- and there are a lot of stars within a 100 LY radius of Earth (albeit not the kind that would likely produce a gamma ray burst)

(by the way, Dennis -- where do I send the royalty check for using your slogan?)

Good God, that's some bad dialogue. Well, bad monologue.

"Friends, Romulans, countryman, we share the same ears."

Come on, it's a great gag. Nice to see that Spock and the Romulans have a sense of humor.

After all, Nicholas Meyer and others have been asking us for decades to buy the conceit that the whole bloody galaxy knows Shakespeare.

Well, if he had actually quoted Shakespeare instead of making an ear pun it would've been better.

I mean, it's like me going to Washington to address the congress and starting off:

Friends, Republicans, Countrymen, We share the same haircut.
....
...cricket...

Or when Spock said:

"On Vulcan, we have a proverb: ‘Only Nixon could go to China.’”

...(actually I liked that line -- it shows the Vulcans have some respect for Earth history).

 

[shapeshifter]

"...we share the same ears."

That could explain, if it was self mutilation, why Nero snips his tips.

 

[Eric Cheung]

My point was, to Vulcan/Romulans the pointed ears are normal, and not really worth mentioning. Like a haircut. Or a bowl cut.

Yeah, but Spock's joke had a double-meaning as the Shakespeare quote included the phrase "Lend me your ears" and your joke only has the one meaning. Therefore yours doesn't work as an analogy.

 

[punkydrewster]

I'm sure someone already said.

It's a comic, not a science journal.

Yeah but being a comic doesn't mean it should lack believability or suck. I'm still pretty optimistic because the story is by Orci and Kurtzman which is interesting while the dialog - which sucks - is by a comic book writer. Trek is already full of junk science but I don't think that gives writers license to pile on more junk science whenever they feel like it. I think if a trek story can't stand up to critical thought, like most VOY and ENT then it sucks. I still haven't read the thing it just struck me as odd that a star going supernova is the dilema since we're talking about astronomical distances. The gamma radiation thing sort of justifies it, but don't they have radiation shielding in trek already? I mean they must since they spend so much time in solar systems where there is a constant onslaught of radiation from whatever star they are by and its solar flares.
I do like the idea that Nero isn't just an out and out villain though. It will be cool to see what makes him so crazy. One dimensional villians are always lame.

 

[cultcross]

. I still haven't read the thing it just struck me as odd that a star going supernova is the dilema since we're talking about astronomical distances. The gamma radiation thing sort of justifies it, but don't they have radiation shielding in trek already? I mean they must since they spend so much time in solar systems where there is a constant onslaught of radiation from whatever star they are by and its solar flares.

As has been said in the thread, a supernova in a 'nearby' system (even on interstellar scales) would be potentially devastating to an inhabited system. Upwards of 100lyrs away, potentially. And having 'radiation shields' that allow a ship and crew to survive cosmic rays and other normal stellar radiation is a far cry from being able to save an entire planet from the radiation of a supernova. If you want junk science, there it is.

 

[ancient]

My point was, to Vulcan/Romulans the pointed ears are normal, and not really worth mentioning. Like a haircut. Or a bowl cut.

Yeah, but Spock's joke had a double-meaning as the Shakespeare quote included the phrase "Lend me your ears" and your joke only has the one meaning. Therefore yours doesn't work as an analogy.

It's not a direct analogy.

The example I gave was unfunny, the 'joke' in the comic book was so camp I expected to see some boyscouts.

 

[dillon3001]

I read a mention in the article about 'red matter', perhaps that plays into things. It also mentions the star converted a planet's mass into energy. If such a thing is possible (im not sure it is, with our current 21st century level of understanding of science), that could account for some things.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Therin of Andor]

The gamma radiation thing sort of justifies it

Eric Bana's Nero ain't scared of no gamma radiation. Him Hulk!

 

[Franklin]

The only thing I find bogus about it is the speed at which the scenario seems to be unfolding. That, and the star apparently gets a noticeable energy burst from the mass of a planet it destroys. I may be wrong, but I find that hard to believe.

Also, such an event could possibly affect 100s of inhabited planets (in the Trek world, where life is common) within a few hundred light years around it. Some, or many, warp-technology civilizations. Some in Federation space. So, the odd thing is the rather parochial focus on saving Romulus (and Remus). In other words, as a dramatic device, this may have been overkill. Unless, of course, the story expands into a more concerted effort to do something on a larger scale. Something involving the cooperation of many potentially affected civilizations. I mean, the stakes are higher than the fate of the Romulans.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

The example I gave was unfunny, the 'joke' in the comic book was so camp I expected to see some boyscouts.

It was an inspired pun.

That said, we should all remember that the universally-recognized appropriate response to a pun is not to laugh at it but to roll one's eyes and snarl at the punster. "The lowest form of humor."

 

[M'Sharak]

The example I gave was unfunny, the 'joke' in the comic book was so camp I expected to see some boyscouts.

It was an inspired pun.

That said, we should all remember that the universally-recognized appropriate response to a pun is not to laugh at it but to roll one's eyes and snarl at the punster. "The lowest form of humor."

"A pun is the lowest form of humor... if you didn't think of it first."
-- Oscar Levant

Not all puns are groaners -- some of them are quite clever -- but you're hardly ever going to find one which everyone thinks is funny. This one was kind of a throwaway which I think works best if not dwelt on for more than a beat before moving on.

 

[THE CHEBB]

oh no...oh no no no

That Romulan wife of Nero's is not only blond but has long hair too ? And seems to be wearing....lipstick ? WTF

They surely fucked up the Romulans

Long haired Romulan from TOS can be seen here:
http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/changing-faces1.htm

 

[SalvorHardin]

oh no...oh no no no

That Romulan wife of Nero's is not only blond but has long hair too ? And seems to be wearing....lipstick ? WTF

They surely fucked up the Romulans

Long haired Romulan from TOS can be seen here:
http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/changing-faces1.htm

Just in case it was not already obvious by the at the end...I was just fooling around.Joking.

I don't care at all about Romulan hair and cosmetics canon or whatever this may be called

 

[punkydrewster]

The only thing I find bogus about it is the speed at which the scenario seems to be unfolding.

That's precisely what I was getting at. It it's one hundred light years away then the soonest its effects would be felt would be a hundred years later, which is still a clear danger, and one I think the Romulans and Vulcans in particular would be concerned about given their long life spans. The only way it would get there faster is by generating some kind of FTL that works around relativity the way warp drive supposedly does. On the other hand, one hundred years is a while to prepare for something.

 

[SalvorHardin]

The only thing I find bogus about it is the speed at which the scenario seems to be unfolding.

That's precisely what I was getting at. It it's one hundred light years away then the soonest its effects would be felt would be a hundred years later, which is still a clear danger, and one I think the Romulans and Vulcans in particular would be concerned about given their long life spans. The only way it would get there faster is by generating some kind of FTL that works around relativity the way warp drive supposedly does. On the other hand, one hundred years is a while to prepare for something.

It is not just Romulus that is in danger... The Romulans have an entire empire to run and care for.

I would think it is safe to assume that there are Empire planets much closer to the supernova for which the danger is much more imminent and should be addressed as soon as possible.

As Spock says " I believe that once the star goes supernova, it will threaten to devour not only nearby systems...but the entire Romulan Empire"

 

[soot]

The only thing I find bogus about it is the speed at which the scenario seems to be unfolding.

That's precisely what I was getting at. It it's one hundred light years away then the soonest its effects would be felt would be a hundred years later

Unless I'm missing something, we don't know how far away the supernova is. I didn't see any mention of it in the review. Suppose it's only five or ten LY distant?

As far as believability goes, I'm much more concerned about the proposed solution than the problem. There's a rare element that exists only on Romulus that could somehow save them, but only if it's moved to Vulcan?

I guess we'll have to wait until the issue is out to actually judge that aspect, though. Reviews can sometimes give the wrong impression.

 

[SalvorHardin]

As far as believability goes, I'm much more concerned about the proposed solution than the problem. There's a rare element that exists only on Romulus that could somehow save them, but only if it's moved to Vulcan?

No, you have heard wrong.

There is a rare element, called decalithium but noone says it is only on Romulus.
It is just a rare, valuable element.
And one of the places they know to get it is the Kimben system which is where Nero and Spock go.

And as for the "moved to Vulcan" part, it's Vulcans that have developed the way to process it, produce Red Matter from it and use that Red Matter to create an artificial wormhole.


As for where the supernova is, i believe all we get is "Deep in Romulan territory" and that it can be seen from the roof of Spock's house on Romulus using some kind of telescope

 

[soot]

No, you have heard wrong.

There is a rare element, called decalithium but noone says it is only on Romulus.
It is just a rare, valuable element.
And one of the places they know to get it is the Kimben system which is where Nero and Spock go.

And as for the "moved to Vulcan" part, it's Vulcans that have developed the way to process it, produce Red Matter from it and use that Red Matter to create an artificial wormhole.


As for where the supernova is, i believe all we get is "Deep in Romulan territory" and that it can be seen from the roof of Spock's house on Romulus using some kind of telescope

Thanks, I'd really not read anything on this plot point except for what was in the review. I'd misunderstood the bit that called it a "Romulan mineral".

Sounds reasonable enough, for Star Trek. I assume, then, that the plan is/was to wormhole away the star before it explodes? May be bad news for the Feds if the Romulans would have a chance to set the final coordinates.