Lack of shuttles in "The Enemy Within"

[Noname Given]

^ There is. The equipment that they beamed down arrived unable to function.

But, what would have been the issue with cold weather clothing (parka's etc.); or insulated material tents? (Yes, I realize it was a TV show, and it was just another Star Trek lot complication; but you would have thought the writer, or someone would have at least have Sulu wear a thcker jacket at least or something).

 

[Lieut. Arex]

Tents, cold weather gear would have all been helpful. Thinking about this, it would have made more sense to use the phasers to dig out a small shelter some five or ten feet deep to take advantage of the stable below ground temperature rather than wasting their energy heating rocks in the open air. The entrance tunnel could have been blocked with blankets, an inflatable barrier, or something similar to provide insulation from the outside. It'd still be damn cold, but not -120 below.

Of course, as with the shuttle, the show didn't have the budget for another set, the effects, props, etc.

 

[Maurice]

Insulation of some sort is generally better than baring yourself to the elements. That's why people build snow-caves to get out of blizzards. That cold wind blasting across their faces and hands was far far worse than being bundled up in three feet of blankets.

Furthermore if the planet is shirt-sleeve during the day, its unlikely that it's subterranean temperature is anywhere near what the night atmosphere was.

Basically, it's a dumb plot point that could have easily been rectified by blowing out the transporter the moment the 2nd Kirk materialized, and paying lip service to a shuttlecraft attempt that couldn't get through.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Basically, it's a dumb plot point that could have easily been rectified by blowing out the transporter the moment the 2nd Kirk materialized, and paying lip service to a shuttlecraft attempt that couldn't get through.

Yeah, it's basically the "ticking bomb" of the episode.

 

[Elder Knight]

I dunno, evil coffee might give you the runs and then you are in a much worse spot

Well, not really. The steam from their runs could help keep them warm for a few minutes before it freezes up.

Evil coffee! Maybe analagous to that synthetic alcohol.

I remember that one of the waitresses on that other 1970s TV show Alice saying, "How about that. Not only does Mel's coffee not taste good, it doesn't keep you awake. I guess that all it does is stain your teeth."

 

[FormerLurker]

Basically, it's a dumb plot point that could have easily been rectified by blowing out the transporter the moment the 2nd Kirk materialized, and paying lip service to a shuttlecraft attempt that couldn't get through.

Why pay lip service to something they hadn't introduced yet? They waited until they had a story that would show the shuttle in action before they showed it at all. That's they way it was done.

 

[Maurice]

^^^For the very reasons this is a topic of discussion.

 

[Timo]

it's a dumb plot point that could have easily been rectified by blowing out the transporter the moment the 2nd Kirk materialized

IMHO, that would have ruined the whole point of the episode. Our heroes had a wide range of options available early on, but the situation grew dire by the minute - and the split Kirk was unable to reach decisions in time. It was the escalation of the threat that was important, and the non-commeasurate response from the wussy Kirk, not the simplistic idea of a "bomb" that would have been set at the beginning and would steadily tick towards the end.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Timewalker]

Arriving cold isn't the worst thing that could have happened to the coffee - its molecular structure would probably have changed to something fatally poisonous. Besides, unless the ship was standing still in geosynchronous orbit above Sulu's position, they would have needed ONE HELLUVA long rope to lower anything.

Surprising that Starfleet Academy hadn't prepared them for surviving such cold-weather conditions. Don't they teach outdoor survival techniques?

 

[Maurice]

it's a dumb plot point that could have easily been rectified by blowing out the transporter the moment the 2nd Kirk materialized

IMHO, that would have ruined the whole point of the episode. Our heroes had a wide range of options available early on, but the situation grew dire by the minute - and the split Kirk was unable to reach decisions in time. It was the escalation of the threat that was important, and the non-commeasurate response from the wussy Kirk, not the simplistic idea of a "bomb" that would have been set at the beginning and would steadily tick towards the end.

Timo Saloniemi

The crew that can't be saved puts the ticking clock on the problem. The only complications are that its getting colder and colder and Kirk is getting weaker and weaker. The transporter's just the door that's keeping them out. It's just a plot device, and a poorly handled one.

If the story had totally blown out the transporter right when evil Kirk shows up, it would have explained (shuttlecraft aside) why they couldn't send down any help at all, even blankets. Instead, we're left with a silly plot hole when they can beam stuff, and and it doesn't work, but you get two of whatever you beam. So beam them a pile of down comforters. It might not save 'em, but it might give them more time.

 

[FalTorPan]

Every Trek geek knows the real-world explanation is that the full-size Galileo mockup, the filming model, and the miniature hangar deck hadn't been built yet.

At that early stage of development, I wonder if the showmakers even had plans for the Enterprise to have shuttlecraft at all. Perhaps the clamshell structure on the "butt" of the engineering hull had some different purpose early on.

 

[Timo]

I seriously doubt that, as there's little evidence that Matt Jeffries would have done any further work on the ship once the series began shooting. All those drawings showing the shuttlebay would have been in existence well in advance, even if the shuttlecraft design itself would remain in flux.

If anything, the shuttles would be an early established feature of the ship, with the transporters added as an afterthought that more or less removed the dramatic need for the shuttles.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[David cgc]

I remember reading an article about the designing of the shuttles that said they weren't thought up until production of the series, and it was more or less dumb luck that Jeffries had put a hangar on the ship without any clear intentions for it's purpose.

 

[twilitezoner]

Well the ship was basically an air craft carrier in space so therefore it would need recon ships. It was probably more assumed than actually planned.

Even the Jupiter 2 had a shuttle craft of sorts.

 

[Wingsley]

I agree with the earlier comment that the howling winds of Alfa 177 could explain why a shuttlecraft was never used or mentioned. Consider this:

There are at least three means that the Enterprise could have employed to get help or retrieve the landing party even without the Transporter mechanism:

1: Shuttlecraft launched from the Enterprise could attempt a landing on the surface of Alfa 177.

2: The Enterprise could open its lower cargo bay doors (shown in the re-mastered "Operation -- Annihilate!") to jettison a parachute-equipped "survival pack" of goods, maybe even a shelter, to the landing party site.

3: The Enterprise could even go to the extreme of saucer separation to land the ship's primary hull on the planet's surface to rescue the stranded crewmembers, re-launching into orbit when convenient to reunite with the rest of the ship.


Since the Kirk and Spock never even considered any of these as options, it should be clear that they weren't practical. The only explanation is that Alfa 177's atmospherics were so violent that none of these rescue efforts could be attempted.

The real problem with the episode isn't the lack of shuttlecraft. It's the notion that here we have a starship capable of exceeding the speed of light and even nuking the entire planet from orbit, but the crew can't keep a landing party from freezing to death from an overnight stay. That makes Starfleet and the whole Federation look supremely incompetent!

 

[Timo]

But that is the whole point: the mighty starship was not so mighty when an incompetent skipper was in charge of her!

When the issue of the deadly cold night arose, wussy Kirk just panicked and told Scotty to keep working on the transporter. He was equally indecisive and unable to think things through on the issue of hunting down aggressive Kirk; Spock had to suggest courses of action to him. And as the direct consequence, Kirk ordered Spock to concentrate on keeping up appearances and protecting the Captain's image, thereby more or less stopping his XO from innovating on the rescue operations.

The possible alternate ways of rescuing or protecting the landing party would have required both a bit of thinking and a bit of authority. And the Enterprise had a serious shortfall of people with either of those...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[scotpens]

. . . If anything, the shuttles would be an early established feature of the ship, with the transporters added as an afterthought that more or less removed the dramatic need for the shuttles.

In fact, the transporter was part of Gene Roddenberry's concept from the beginning. An early outline said the ship "stays in orbit (and) rarely lands upon a planet." "Rarely" was quickly changed to "never," mainly for budgetary considerations. The transporter was conceived as a story device to get the characters into the action quickly, dodgy physics notwithstanding.

I remember reading an article about the designing of the shuttles that said they weren't thought up until production of the series, and it was more or less dumb luck that Jeffries had put a hangar on the ship without any clear intentions for it's purpose.

The miniature originally had a smooth, quarter-spherical shape at the aft end of the secondary hull. The segmented hangar doors were created when the model was modified for the second pilot or for the first season of production, I can't remember which.

 

[gastrof]

Changes made for the second pilot or first season would still have been before "The Enemy Within".

You know, there IS an answer, if we want to take a TNG episode as source material.

In the similar episode where it turned out Riker had been split into two people (in this case, identical, unlike what happened with Kirk), the planet had an energy aura of sorts that would go thru cycles of intensity. At times, neither a shuttle nor a transporter beam could get thru.

It also seems the transporter beaming would still have been doable even when use of a shuttle had become impossible.

Might there have been something similar on the planet shown on 'Enemy'? I know there's NOTHING said in the episode about it, but that's the problem, isn't it? NO explanation on why the shuttle wasn't used.

Fill in the blanks, my friends. There must have been SOME reason to not use the shuttle, and an energy field surrounding the planet that would make it impossiible for a shuttle to get thru is at least one possibility.

Trekkers fixit syndrome strikes again.

 

[Maurice]

But that is the whole point: the mighty starship was not so mighty when an incompetent skipper was in charge of her!

When the issue of the deadly cold night arose, wussy Kirk just panicked and told Scotty to keep working on the transporter. He was equally indecisive and unable to think things through on the issue of hunting down aggressive Kirk; Spock had to suggest courses of action to him. And as the direct consequence, Kirk ordered Spock to concentrate on keeping up appearances and protecting the Captain's image, thereby more or less stopping his XO from innovating on the rescue operations.

Which doesn't fit the events portrayed in the episode, as Kirk never orders Spock to cover for him. It's Spock stops Kirk from revealing what's happened to the crew. Spock or anyone else could easily suggest something that might help save the crewmen, but he and they offer nothing. Kirk never ordered anyone to not give him options. Sure, he may be ineffectual, but his being decisive wouldn't have helped a busted gizmo.

Or maybe the unified Kirk is the only one who can think of beaming down blankets instead of heaters?

The problem remains that the transporter is busted and there's either no shuttlecraft or they forgot they had it.

Ergo, it's a set of plot holes that no rationalization can plug.

 

[Timo]

Kirk never orders Spock to cover for him

What I'm referring to is this bit:

Spock: "Captain, no disrespect intended, but you must surely realise you can't announce the full truth to the crew. You're the captain of this ship. You haven't the right to be vulnerable in the eyes of the crew. You can't afford the luxury of being anything less than perfect. If you do, they lose faith, and you lose command."
Kirk: "Yes, I do know that, Mister Spock. What I don't know is why I forgot that just now. Mr. Spock, if you see me slipping again, your orders, your orders are to tell me.

So basically Spock tells Kirk to hide the truth, and Kirk outsources that work back to Spock.

Or maybe the unified Kirk is the only one who can think of beaming down blankets instead of heaters?

Why do people keep talking about blankets? The landing party had blankets. Blankets won't keep you alive at minus 120. Bonfires don't help you at minus 120. Log cabins only serve as comfy tombs for you at minus 120. You need complex life support gear to survive minus 120, and that the transporter apparently couldn't provide.

Ergo, it's a set of plot holes that no rationalization can plug.

Plugging is trivial: Trek has plenty of examples of situations where shuttlecraft cannot be used.

The only argument is whether the heroes (or anti-heroes) of the episode ought to explicitly discuss the circumstances that stop shuttles from being an option. Oh, and we might argue about why Kirk doesn't crash the ship on the planet to save the three men (as suggested a few posts ago!) - but those lives aren't that valuable.

Timo Saloniemi