In "The Enemy Within" one of the key plot points was that Sulu's landing party were unable to risk being beamed aboard due to the transporter malfunction. Why didn't they simply fly a shuttle down to retrieve them?
The Enemy Within Question
- Thread starter SignGuyHPW
- Start date
The writers hadn't created the shuttle yet.
Well, that's not quite accurate. The idea of the Enterprise carrying one or more shuttlecraft (and the hangar deck to launch and retrieve them) was there right from the beginning, in Matt Jefferies' early concept sketches. However, at the time "The Enemy Within" was filmed, the full-size shuttlecraft mockup, interior set and effects miniature hadn't been built yet.
As for an in-universe explanation, it's pretty much whatever you want it to be. Here's just one thread tackling the eternal Riddle of the Absent Shuttlecraft.
I'm not new to Star Trek itself, just to the message boards. The shuttle question has been one I could never figure out and it always bothered me.
Welcome to The Trek BBS! As you can see, I revised my response slightly.
The lack of a shuttlecraft in that episode is just one of many inconsistencies in Trek TOS, especially early in the first season. An entire fictional universe was being created from scratch, and the writers, producers and technical people were making most of it up as they went along.
True; I knew better than to say "the writers hadn't thought of it", but it was still bad phrasing. Perhaps it would be better to say the show hadn't introduced the shuttle as a concept yet (to the audience).
1. The shuttles could have been in for upgrade.
2. The shuttles could have been loaned out for some emergency
3. At that stage Starships didn't have shuttles - only Starbases.
4. Some technobabble in the atmosphere stopped them from using the shuttle.
What I want to know is why they just didn't beam down heaps of blankets, tents, sleeping bags. It doesn't matter if they are duplicated. Sulu et. al could have been sheltering under a mountain of blankets. Still cold of course.
In the end if they had not found a solution, rather than them die, would they have attempted to beam them up as duplicates?
2. The shuttles could have been loaned out for some emergency
3. At that stage Starships didn't have shuttles - only Starbases.
4. Some technobabble in the atmosphere stopped them from using the shuttle.
What I want to know is why they just didn't beam down heaps of blankets, tents, sleeping bags. It doesn't matter if they are duplicated. Sulu et. al could have been sheltering under a mountain of blankets. Still cold of course.
In the end if they had not found a solution, rather than them die, would they have attempted to beam them up as duplicates?
5. The shuttles were due to be installed on Tuesday.
That wouldn't work because the "good" blankets would warm them up, but the "evil" blankets would just make them colder. No net gain.
That wouldn't work because the "good" blankets would warm them up, but the "evil" blankets would just make them colder. No net gain.
Of course I should have thought of that. Blasted evil blankets.
6. We're supposed to be enjoying Shatner's hammy tour de force too much to notice.
And so they would have gotten McDonald's or Subway's coffee?I don't wanna' even consider the "evil" coffee!
Sincerely,
Bill
The transporter wasn't working. The Evil Kirk phase red a big hole in it in Engineering.
As I recall, the whole B-plot about the landing party trapped on planet was kinda a last-minute addition to the script and wasn't originally part of the story. And, yeah, the show hadn't introduced the shuttle yet.
I've always just rationalized that there was some sort of atmospheric turbulence that precluded using the shuttle.
I've always just rationalized that there was some sort of atmospheric turbulence that precluded using the shuttle.
You'd think that they would just heat up a patch of ground with the ship's phasers and have the landing party scoot over onto it.
I thought before that they had beamed down heaters that didn't work. But I thought blankets would still be blankets. Still who knows what that sort o transporter glinch would have on any object.
