Ship visitors getting a uniform and free run of the ship. Why?

[Shaw]

Well, that must be the way it was done in the U.S. Navy in the '60s, since TOS mirrored real-world military practice so closely.

True... and I think it is pretty standard even today for people to be given enlisted clothing if rescued with no other items (and will be staying aboard for an extended period). As I recall, in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961) the Seaview finds someone on the ice and gives him enlisted personnel clothing.

In the case of Charlie, this was a boy found stranded on a planet after many years, so almost everything he was wearing was most likely given to him by the crew of the Antares (who were still all wearing the old style uniforms).

In the case of Captain Christopher, I would guess that they were attempting to honor his actual rank more than anything else (which is why he was given a uniform with lieutenant's stripes). They thought they were going to have to bring him back with them and were already considering how to integrate him into the future.

The biggest problem in TOS is that the closest thing to enlisted clothing was the coveralls, which most likely seems odd to have guest stars wearing.

There were a lot of places where TOS got things wrong, but I think this is an example of just trying too hard to look for errors. Most of the OP examples are easily explained and don't seem to point to a systemic problem with the series.

 

[J.T.B.]

His title is Federation High Commissioner Ferris. A high commissioner is a high-ranked special executive which can be anything from a senior diplomat to a territorial administrator. So he probably had more authority within the UFP government than any other civilian we saw in ST until the Federation President showed up in TVH.

Or at least equal to Ambassador Fox. In today's protocol a high commissioner is equivalent to an ambassador, and just under a head of government. They rate 19 guns in salute, compared to 17 for a four-star general or admiral. Whatever his official powers aboard ship, no doubt an officer would ignore his wishes only at great career peril.

Well, that must be the way it was done in the U.S. Navy in the '60s, since TOS mirrored real-world military practice so closely.

It was common then and later (and I assume still today) for big ships like carriers to go to sea with a number of civilian engineers and technicians aboard as manufacturers' reps and technical support for various systems and equipment. The often dressed in wash khakis just like navy officers and chiefs, but completely without insignia and usually without covers, and with civvie variations in shoes and belts.

Here are a couple of pictures from WW2 where, if you didn't look closely, civilian officials might be mistaken for naval officers:

I can see Capt. Christopher being offered a change out of his flight suit and the rank stripe being a military courtesy, but the breast badge is odd because it would seem to indicate Starfleet affiliation. Likewise with Khan, he is dressed the same as any number of Starfleet ensigns and enlisted personnel. Using the uniforms but omitting the arrowhead insignia would be a lot more satisfactory to me.

Also, if Enterprise's supply department can easily create historically accurate German uniforms from the 1940's, why don't they whip Capt. Christopher up some 1960's USAF kit?

--Justin

 

[Ssosmcin]

So there was no "run of the ship." As a rule, guests were limited to non-critical areas of the ship and only entered critical areas such as the bridge and engineering under escort by authorized personnel or by force. The only non-crewmembers with free run of the critical areas were high-ranking officials.

Well, let's not forget Bele and Lokai in Let That Be Your Last Battlefield. Even after all of their BS, Kirk lets them wander off the bridge to get to know the crew. You never see a guard on them, and Lokai even gets to have a rousing meeting with members of the bridge crew (Sulu and the voice of Chekov anyway). Both men enter the bridge at certain points all on their own. Granted, they have personal force shields, but they could still have an escort to try and stop them if they step out of line.

After their final battle on the bridge, Kirk just lets them run all over the ship, and we see something like one crew member during that sequence who gets knocked on his ass. Then they both get to run into the transporter room and are happily allowed to beam down. Damn ship had a real Seaview vibe to it: a crew of hundreds, but nobody in the halls when someone goes batshit crazy.

Actually, the whole episode was pretty weird...

 

[plynch]

This is the same Dr. McCoy who ignored the Red Alert and made Kirk finish his physical in "The Corbomite Maneuver", IIRC

I watched CM fairly recently and could not beLIEVE McCoy was ignoring a red alert. Quirky guy, that.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Given the number of times the Enterprise has been hijacked, I think handing out uniforms to everry Tom, Dick and Harry they pick up is the least of it's security issues.

 

[Captain Al]

There were a lot of places where TOS got things wrong, but I think this is an example of just trying too hard to look for errors. Most of the OP examples are easily explained and don't seem to point to a systemic problem with the series.

I wouldn't say I'm trying too hard to find errors. I've watched these episodes of TOS so many times that issues like these stick out in my head. And I like to nitpick my favorite show, and I think that's what these boards are all about.

 

[Timo]

The biggest problem in TOS is that the closest thing to enlisted clothing was the coveralls, which most likely seems odd to have guest stars wearing.

Those coveralls always looked a bit funny anyway, in the general "shirtsleeves astronaut" work environment of TOS where style and ceremony could be afforded and utility wear didn't really seem necessary. But they worked out all right for Daystrom, and they looked good on his daughter-rewritten-into-an-unrelated-character in TNG, too.

OTOH, the coveralls were also the costume of choice for convalescent guests. Khan and Christopher were probably supposed to be more active than that, visually and dramatically speaking. The coveralls might have been associated with them being on the run from McCoy's ward - something appropriate for Daystrom, perhaps, but not for these other two.

Using the uniforms but omitting the arrowhead insignia would be a lot more satisfactory to me.

...Mr. Kosinski?

Giving a full uniform to somebody who isn't supposed to get the associated authority is a nit worth picking, I guess. But TOS Starfleet employees might be surprisingly qualified for dealing with that, seeing how they can tell apart Ensigns and enlisteds. Perhaps there are further identifying factors there that the 1960s photography isn't picking up properly? Factors that would also set Khan safely apart from, say, Rand, in the eyes of a random crewman who wouldn't quite have memorized all the faces yet and would need ID help beyond the long hair and big chest thing.

I watched CM fairly recently and could not beLIEVE McCoy was ignoring a red alert. Quirky guy, that.

Elsewhere in Trek, it's a weird little story point that the CMO is well on top of the events even if he or she is at Sickbay and all the action takes place on the Bridge. We might well speculate that all the relevant command talk gets piped down to McCoy's tabletop viewer, and that he's perfectly aware of the cause and severity of each alert in a way few other people on the ship are...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Hober Mallow]

This is the same Dr. McCoy who ignored the Red Alert and made Kirk finish his physical in "The Corbomite Maneuver", IIRC

I watched CM fairly recently and could not beLIEVE McCoy was ignoring a red alert. Quirky guy, that.

If I were Kirk I would have had McCoy quickly transferred after that incident. Of course, later in the same episode he threatens to destroy Kirk's career. Not a great McCoy episode.

 

[kkozoriz1]

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea[/I] (1961) the Seaview finds someone on the ice and gives him enlisted personnel clothing.

That wasn't just someone, that was Michael Ansara. They found Kang!

 

[ToddQuevedo]

My favorite is when the crazy dude from "The Alternative Factor" leaves sickbay and goes running around the ship. When Kirk asks McCoy where his crazy patient went -- you know, the guy who is supposed to be watched by his doctor -- McCoy says, astoundly unconcered, "duhhh, I dunno Jim, I'm just an ol' country doctor."

This is the same Dr. McCoy who ignored the Red Alert and made Kirk finish his physical in "The Corbomite Maneuver", IIRC

This is the best part of the story lol...its damn funny,I would just like to watch the next episode

 

[Doug Otte]

Actually, the whole episode was pretty weird...

Battlefield has not aged well in my mind (and apparently in most fans' minds as well, based upon what I've read on this forum). When I was younger, I thought it was a stirring statement about racism and war, with spicy dialogue and sharp acting.

However, I can now see its numerous faults, one of which is that fact that Kirk et al are mostly just observers. Other than the self-destruct sequence (which was very well-directed, BTW), they just let Bele and Lokai be the main characters, and curiously stand aside. However, what could they really do?

I still think the acting is fine, and many of Bele and Lokai's lines were poetic, but the overall script is just sloppy.

Doug

 

[Ssosmcin]

I could have done without the "Laugh-In" style zooming in and out of alert light. That was plain awful.

 

[Timo]

...But an appropriate in-joke considering who the guest star was. (Aren't we happy they didn't do product placement as well? Beyond the IDIC pins, that is.)

There's some Picardian maturity about how Kirk deals with these idiots. He knows he can't go to fisticuffs with a pair of gods, so he doesn't try. He has an ace in the sleeve, the self-destruct one, but it's of limited use to him as he's not suicidal in the slightest. He nevertheless uses it to get the important stuff (spraying of Ariannus) out of the way, after which there's little point in stopping the two clowns from getting where they want to go. The clowns have the stage, and anybody trying to share it with them would just get his pants full of white paint and a pie in his face. Why interfere?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[scotpens]

Battlefield has not aged well in my mind (and apparently in most fans' minds as well, based upon what I've read on this forum). When I was younger, I thought it was a stirring statement about racism and war, with spicy dialogue and sharp acting.

When that episode originally aired, I thought it was a talky, preachy, messagey, heavy-handed piece of tripe. My opinion of it is the same 40 years later.

. . . The clowns have the stage, and anybody trying to share it with them would just get his pants full of white paint and a pie in his face. Why interfere?

Indeed. Unfortunately, letting two characters shout platitudes at each other about race, bigotry and hatred does not a story make.

 

[T'Girl]

Bele and Lokai ... Both men enter the bridge at certain points all on their own.

Given that Bele can control the entire Enterprise using only the power of his mind, controlling a turbo-lift car and getting the doors to open would have been easier.

When that episode originally aired, I thought it was a talky, preachy, messagey, heavy-handed piece of tripe.

So much better to have placed it during the first season of TNG then?

 

[Timo]

Given that Bele can control the entire Enterprise using only the power of his mind, controlling a turbo-lift car and getting the doors to open would have been easier.

...Which also explains the running chase rather nicely. Lokai wouldn't get far on turbolift when Bele could control that lift at will. So the two would run around decks 3, 4 and 5, looking for a staircase, ladder or ship's ladder to take them down to the transporters.

It's too bad they only got their set logic so well together in Season Three.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Hober Mallow]

I could have done without the "Laugh-In" style zooming in and out of alert light. That was plain awful.

It just needs a goofy sound effect, like a loud "DING! DING!" or a clown horn.

I like "Battlefield." It definitely has its faults, and it's certainly not subtle (the "southern" part of the galaxy, hehe), but it's got heart. Trek talks a good talk about being cutting edge and pushing the envelope on social issues, but it's rare that that's actually the case. (Wow, look, a female captain! What a novelty in... 1995!) This is one time it really did have something to say. Overall it isn't a great episode, but that one scene in the briefing room where Kirk and Spock finally get how the two are different from each other and how ridiculous it seems to them is indelibly emblazoned in my memory as the one scene most representative of the overall message of Star Trek, that what seem like big differences between us now really aren't and aren't going to matter in the future.

 

[Wingsley]

^ Yeah, I like it too. The burning buildings at the end gave me a good scare when I watched them in the '70's.

As for the LAUGH IN-style zoom lens abuse, well, it just isn't the same without Goldie Hawn, is it?

 

[iluthradanar]

I wonder how so many people seemed to know the layout of the Enterprise in the first place. Put me on an aircraft carrier and I will be lost for most of the time. Yet these people can find the transporter room too easily.

 

[Wingsley]

They all get unfettered access to those PDF technical manuals. Kirk let Khan do it and it was all downhill from there!