Most irreconcilable plot errors in Trek

[2takesfrakes]

Uhura's infamous Fan Dance on Nimbus III, on a sand dune, somewhere in the outskirts of Paradise City. Doesn't Kirk's even making this request of her to strip naked and perform this chore violate some kind of STARFLEET Sexual Harassment regulation, or another? THE FINAL FRONTIER smartly avoids showing us that conversation. It's not even in the deleted scenes, so I'm sure it was never even in the script, much less shot.

OH!!! Oh ... and the fact that Sybok's minions weren't singing Guns N' Roses' "Paradise City," as they charged the city gates and took it over. Huge error!!!

 

[F. King Daniel]

Really it depends how seriously you take the episodes and movies. Are they historical documents where everything happened exactly as seen, or are they just stories where only the broad strokes are important? Those in charge definitely see it as the latter.

Not really, as the various productions have gone to great lengths to link to details and references--even minor--to other movies or episodes. Moreover, official publications (timelines, etc.) have tried to write detailed account of the ST universe, trying to make a cohesive world, rather than broad tales that could take place anywhere, or involve anyone.

The productions and timeline books go to great lengths to make Trek appear as a cohesive universe, but under scrutiny it crumbles. The classic Enterprise warped to the rim of the galaxy and the centre without breaking a sweat - yet Voyager would take 75 years to cross the galaxy. TPTB decided that for the purposes of their show, they're going to ignore those episodes and make warp speed a lot slower. TNG ignores a couple of TOS episodes when they portray Data as the only android known to exist. ST: Enterprise ignores the implication that "Balance of Terror" was the first time a cloaking device had been encountered.

There are countless other examples. If that's not taking a broad strokes approach, I don't know what is.

 

[Pondwater]

How did Tuvok and the Doctor get to Arizona so quickly in "Future's End"?

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

1. Chekov's inability to recognize Ceti Alpha V upon traveling to the planet's system in The Wrath of Khan.

1. 
   
   Didn't Khan provide an explanation for that when talking to Terrell and Chekov?
   
   

   The Enterprise (whether Kirk or Picard's ship) always being the only ship in the vicinity of trouble.

   
   They are the heroes of the story. One way or another, the Enterprise will be involved.
   
   
   

   The decision to undertake a project as controversial as Genesis in the relative vicinity of Klingon space. Why not have it developed somewhere besides Regula I?

   
   If noting its proximity to the Klingons is a nod to spies gaining access to Genesis files, then it would not matter where the project was located, as enemy governments send spies anywhere, no matter the distance.

 

[Kemaiku]

The Ceti Alpha system should have had 6 large planetary readings for the ships gravimetric sensors, there were 5, with a large number of smaller ones (debris cloud) or maybe even just 5.

Any cadet graduating the academy should be able to tell the difference from the sensors saying "6" or "5 and a shit load of tiny ones" or "5".

Plus the distortions system wide would have still been readable, objects still settling into more stable orbits after the explosion, given it takes quite a long while for orbital dynamics to settle.

Given Reliant was probably outfitted with far higher resolution sensors and brand new equipment for the Genesis Project, her failing to tell the difference between "5" and "6" is stupid.

* Assuming the system only has 6 planets.
* Reliant was the 3rd Federation starship into the system.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

How did Tuvok and the Doctor get to Arizona so quickly in "Future's End"?

Weren't they in the shuttle?

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Didn't Khan provide an explanation for that when talking to Terrell and Chekov?

See Chemahkuu's post.

They are the heroes of the story. One way or another, the Enterprise will be involved.

Even so, it doesn't make sense in-universe that they'd always be there. That's one of the things I like about First Contact. The Enterprise is away from the battle until Picard decides to disobey orders and travel to Earth to stop the Borg cube.

--Sran

 

[Gov Kodos]

The Ceti Alpha system should have had 6 large planetary readings for the ships gravimetric sensors, there were 5, with a large number of smaller ones (debris cloud) or maybe even just 5.

Any cadet graduating the academy should be able to tell the difference from the sensors saying "6" or "5 and a shit load of tiny ones" or "5".

Plus the distortions system wide would have still been readable, objects still settling into more stable orbits after the explosion, given it takes quite a long while for orbital dynamics to settle.

Given Reliant was probably outfitted with far higher resolution sensors and brand new equipment for the Genesis Project, her failing to tell the difference between "5" and "6" is stupid.

* Assuming the system only has 6 planets.
* Reliant was the 3rd Federation starship into the system.

Dammit, Captain! I'm a navigator, not an astronomer!

 

[Pondwater]

How did Tuvok and the Doctor get to Arizona so quickly in "Future's End"?

Weren't they in the shuttle?

I thought the only shuttle that landed was the one Chakotay and BE'Lanna crashed.

 

[Gov Kodos]

How did Tuvok and the Doctor get to Arizona so quickly in "Future's End"?

Weren't they in the shuttle?

I thought the only shuttle that landed was the one Chakotay and BE'Lanna crashed.

Given Cmdr 'Crash' Chakotay's record with shuttles, it's hard to tell one from the other.

 

[The Wormhole]

Well, I think we can safely assume that Admiral Brock and his fellow conspirators in Starfleet pulled some strings to get Valeris assigned to the Enterprise for this mission. And she probably wouldn't want to call attention to that fact. Easier just to say she "volunteered."

James Swallow makes such an assertion in Cast No Shadow, saying that Cartwright arranged for her posting. It still seems odd that Kirk would not have known of her being there until he stepped onto the bridge. I understand why it happened that way in terms of the film's production, but it makes no sense in-universe. The commanding officer of any vessel should be kept apprised of any personnel transfers on or off his ship- unless of course Spock had been commanding the Enterprise on missions without Kirk (possible given his own captaincy) and okayed the move himself.

--Sran

Actually, that makes sense. Kirk is nearly retired and the ship is likely due for decommissioning. He can't really be bothered to screen a new bridge officer who he'll only serve with on one mission. An Academy graduate with a promising career and Spock's approval is enough to give him peace of mind and that takes care of the matter.

 

[ALF]

Voyager's Flashback. I can handle all the inconsistency from all other Trek except this one... I just can't. It's not even a plot error per se, it's just so fucking bad as a concept that thinking about it gives me a headache.

Other than that, I find the inconsistencies across Trek very amusing!

 

[BigJake]

Heh, funny, I should have thought "Flashback" was the least of Voyager's sins by far.

For an episode that piled up the inconsistencies to the point of absolute breakdown, my vote would be "The Alternative Factor." Voyager's "Threshold" and its ultimately inconsequential Warp-10 nonsense is a close runner-up.

 

[Nerys Myk]

The Ceti Alpha system should have had 6 large planetary readings for the ships gravimetric sensors, there were 5, with a large number of smaller ones (debris cloud) or maybe even just 5.

Any cadet graduating the academy should be able to tell the difference from the sensors saying "6" or "5 and a shit load of tiny ones" or "5".

Plus the distortions system wide would have still been readable, objects still settling into more stable orbits after the explosion, given it takes quite a long while for orbital dynamics to settle.

Given Reliant was probably outfitted with far higher resolution sensors and brand new equipment for the Genesis Project, her failing to tell the difference between "5" and "6" is stupid.

* Assuming the system only has 6 planets.
* Reliant was the 3rd Federation starship into the system.

Dammit, Captain! I'm a navigator, not an astronomer!

I think that makes it worse.

 

[Harvey]

For an episode that piled up the inconsistencies to the point of absolute breakdown, my vote would be "The Alternative Factor." Voyager's "Threshold" and its ultimately inconsequential Warp-10 nonsense is a close runner-up.

"The Alternative Factor" doesn't even make internal sense, let alone sense with the rest of the series and/or franchise.

Call me crazy, but I have a soft spot for "Threshold." It totally falls apart in the end, of course, but up until then, I think it's a fun romp which captures the Tom Paris character well.

Unfortunately, the Star Trek: Voyager need to hit the reset button utterly destroys any sense of coherence the episode might have. Logically, the episode must have one of three outcomes:

(1) Warp 10 cannot be reached
(2) Warp 10 can be reached, but has negative consequences
(3) Warp 10 can be reached, and the crew goes home

The episode can't have our heroes fail (option 1), but it also can't have our heroes get home (option 3). Logically, the only outcome has to be the second one. Except, of course, the show would also never take the risk of losing a main character, so the negative consequences end up being totally reversible.

Logically, then, the episode should end with the crew hitting Warp 10 and going home, except of course it doesn't, because...uh...

Crap, how many minutes did I just spend writing about "Threshold?"

 

[BigJake]

Crap, how many minutes did I just spend writing about "Threshold?"

Your post sums up the problem pretty well though.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Did the Doctor say how lucky Tom and Janeway were to have been desalamanderized? I forget...

This really is the same problem that TNG: "Unnatural Selection" had, and TOS: "The Enemy Within". Why not just stick them into the transporter and be done with it, and have the drama simply come from Tom escaping (instead of implausibly compounding the drama with the supposed experimentality of a treatment that we already know is going to work)?

You know, I could buy it, if Janeway wasn't willing to return to the Alpha Quadrant by that method, if she (and we) knew that roughly one-third of the crew wouldn't survive the desalamanderization process.

 

[Forbin]

Every moment of "These Are the Voyages."

Romulans cloaking during Enterprise.

Romulan BoPs in Enterprise looking more modern than in TOS.

Wasn't all that explained adequately in the ENT Relaunch novels?

Beats me, I don't read those.
Novels aren't canon.

 

[The Wormhole]

^^Besides, if we want to go there, the novels have explanations for 90% of Trek's continuity problems, leaving nothing to discuss here.

 

[F. King Daniel]

The novels DID explain the Romulan cloaking, but in the most awful way imaginable. Basically, the cloak was unsafe and unstable and both Romulan ships exploded immediately after Enterprise left the area.

The continuity issue between ENT and BoT was that in BoT cloaking was a theoretical technology only. They'd have said "oh, the Romulans must have fixed their cloaks" if the above were how it played out. Plus, at the time of BoT, Starfleet would know about Xyrillian and Suliban cloaking devices which worked (Enterprise even had a cloak-equipped Suliban pod on board!) so it's anything but theory.

Along with the ridiculous explanation for why TOS looks less advanced than ENT (it IS less advanced, to counter Romulan remote control technology, which completely ignores "In a Mirror, Darkly" where the TOS Defiant was seen as technology-meets-art, so advanced they didn't even know what some of it's systems were for), makes Kobayashi Maru one of the worst novels ever for botched attempts to fix continuity errors.