and 20th century red led ones. With so many interesting, spacey, high-tech-looking displays at disposal of the designers and they stick big clocks all around the bridge like future spacemen have nothin else to pilot the ship to. Meyer must've dialed back a bit his Sherlock Holmes writer vocation -- the bridge of the Enterprise shouldn't look so much like a Victorian room. I think I even heard a bell somewhere in the movie too.
The clocks always looked out of place to me too. Why on earth do Starfleet officers suddenly need to know the exact time ALL the time? Never seemed to be a problem before! On the positive side, the clocks kept (more or less) accurate time with screen time, so kudos there.
That's likely it. Plus, the clocks symbolize (duh) the passage of time, which is a strong theme in both of Meyer's Trek films. The clocks never bugged me. Now, the "EXIT" sign in TWOK? That bugs me. Not sure why.
The clocks seemed sensible enough to me --- anything worth reporting or logging is going to need a timestamp, and heck, I can see eight timepieces without leaving my dining room right now (and could get the time from several more if I pushed some buttons) --- but having so many and arranged so seemed like they were begging to have minor continuity glitches. One or two clocks would seem adequate for film needs.
The sign looked like it was stolen right out of the theater I was watching the movie in. The clocks in TUC were okay. Went with the color scheme and didn't seem screamingly anachronistic.
I never even noticed them till I had multiple viewings of the film. By then, it was a little late to start griping.
One would think that in the 23rd century, any timestamp is automatically recorded by some computer... preferably one that shouts "WORK-ING!" at the user.
My brother in law and his wife seem to hate clocks, none can be found in their house, freaking hate it. Loved the clocks in ST 6, time is important for spacemen
You can hear a bell ringing at least once in TWOK, too, during the scene where Kirk goes to visit Spock in his quarters after receiving Carol's garbled message. As he's walking down the hallway, a nautical chime goes off in the background (likely a time-marker).
See, in order to be an effective statement, the "No Smoking" sign really needed to be accompanied by a scene showing Starfleet Academy's designated smoking area. You know, maybe during that scene where Spock and Kirk walk past the janitor, there should've also been a little alcove somewhere along the corridor showing various Starfleet personel huddled together, puffing away. It's Nick Meyer's gritty, realistic vision of the 23rd century!
They're afraid if they have clocks, they'll put one in front of a mirror. Then, if they accidentally fall through the looking glass, they'll see the clock's real face on the other side.
^That just wrinkled my brain. The "No Smoking" signs aren't as noticeable, but yeah, they do seem a tad anachronistic given that we never (if memory serves) see anyone in Trek smoking. As someone upthread said, the "EXIT" sign is particularly distracting because it's the exact same one they use in movie theatres.
What's-her-face in TUC smoked. Huh, I was using that expression because I couldn't remember her actual name, but it works doubly well in context!