Probing beyond Robert Sabaroff's 'The Immunity Syndrome'

:::groans:::

 

There are different kinds of alerts on naval vessels, of course, and which one you signal indicates what sort of measures are to be taken. Condition X-Ray, Yoke, and Zebra, for instance.

 

I'm not that hard to follow. Or am I? I am hitting my mid-50's and I tend to wander.

Ooo look a tribble!

Anyway.

My point is that it wasn't a red alert because it wasn't declared one, it was a general alert to get everyone at their action stations. The light only had one color, so its being red is irrelevant, it had no specific meaning other than to be noticed. Real world: it was a series in its infancy so the later "red alert, yellow alert" stuff didn't apply yet.

 

No! There is no "real world!!1!" Everything must have an in-universe explanation! :P

Star Trek is unusual in another way. Television itself was still in its infancy, too. And a series with such a radically new "world" was also a novelty. So Star Trek's mistakes were a lesson for productions to come. "Standing on the shoulders of giants."

 

In the US Navy, there are five:
Condition I - General Quarters, all hands at battle stations

Condition II - Modified General Quarters, used in large ships to permit some relaxation among personnel

Condition III - Wartime Cruising, generally one third of the crew is on watch, and strategic stations are manned or partly manned. (e.g. weapons)

Condition IV - Optimum Peacetime Cruising, provides adequate watch manning, provides personnel economy. It is normal peacetime cruising condition.

Condition V - Not normally a condition, IN-PORT ROUTINE.

Not alerts but material conditions of readiness, i.e, increased level of water-tightness, with X-RAY being the least and ZEBRA the most. Each watertight door and hatch is labeled X, Y or Z and are required to be dogged closed if that level of readiness is set.

X-RAY allows YOKE and ZEBRA to be open, YOKE allows only ZEBRA to be open and ZEBRA requires all to be closed. Regardless of material condition, a log is kept in the Damage Control Office on whether a hatch or door is dogged open or close.

ETA: Material conditions of readiness are tied to the 'alerts' above but can also be set in other circumstances, such as UNREP ops, high-traffic areas or bad weather.

 

There were given, 5 unique cited on-screen examples of bright flashing alert lights - colored red.

Television tells it's stories with pictures, words, music, and other sounds. The expectation is that the viewer - that's you - will take-in all the audio and visual information being presented from the story being told.

Perhaps you are enjoying these stories via the radio?

According to your assertion, unless a character definitely stated verbally the alert was a red alert, then it is not a red alert.

And yet, by your own 'rubber rules of reasoning', you then claim it was a general alert, when no character definitively stated verbally the alert was a general alert.

To Quote: "Fascinating..."

Stated solely as your opinion...no doubt, from: 'A Handbook on All Manner of Alert Lights: The form, function, and specific meaning of signal lighting; according to Cap'n Claus. - a spurious reference work, of dubious serviceability.

The "relevancy" is: The alert was called verbally, the klaxon sounded audibly, the red lights flashed visually "for the specific meaning" of invoking a sense of danger, to be noticed by the viewer - again, that's you - in order to heighten tension and interest in the story, with which to hopefully retain the viewing audience through the commercial-break.

What 'Real World'?

Hello... these are stories of fiction; based on fictional characters, in a fictional world, as seen on TV... or, in some cases - where the visual story information is lost, missing, or ignored - listened to over the radio; it would seem.

In your commenting on my post regarding the calling of the alert in question for this story:

This is a writer's tool, which ideally closes the teaser in a state of sudden emergency - the only point of that post was that no established, nor justified, emergency existed in the story when the alert was called; and, when we return from the commercial-break to open Act I - there still is no emergency.

The character's actions - what we see - and, the character dialog - what we hear - all testify that there is no emergency... other than leaving the viewer wondering if Kirk has suddenly developed a case of Tourrettes Syndrome, which manifests as calling-out uncontrollably and without justification: "Flash the Bridge! All decks, Alert!" - due solely to the impending commercial-break.

That's what's happening here - regardless if the alert is red, yellow, or purple - and, it is bad; it is forced; and, it is dishonest story-telling.

And, that's all that's going on in that scene; and, it shouldn't be - the Star Trek writers' were too good for these type of defective scenes.

 

Actually, probably based on the fact that light flashed when it wasn't a red alert, like when Spock went to 'alert baker two' in The Naked Time.

SPOCK: Go to Alert Baker two. Seal off main sections.
UHURA: All decks, alert system B two. Repeat, go to alert condition Baker two. Seal off all main sections. Stand by.

https://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x04hd/thenakedtimehd0742.jpg

 

Yes, as a justified response to an established danger/emergency in that story;

Whereas,

No such established danger/emergency exists in the story in question, nor, justification for calling the alert; and no danger/emergency is occurring in the story when we return - instead, we get joking in the turbo-lift.

 

But a flute is not a reed instrument. Took me right out of the story.

 

TL DR

Most of the world watched the show in black and white in 1966. Those lights could have been grey for all most people knew. If you don't order red, then it ain't red.

Now I'm bored, so this is pretty much it for me.

 

I don't think I've seen that picture before.

 

Which misses the point that the red flashing signal is not exclusively for red alerts.

In universe, the evidence that something that lies ahead can destroy ships would be justification enough to raise the ship's alert condition.

KIRK: Bring it aboard. Old-style ship recorder that could be ejected when something threatened the ship.
SPOCK: More like destroyed the ship in this case. Look at it. Burnt, pitted.

KIRK: This is the Captain speaking. The object we encountered is a ship's disaster recorder, apparently ejected from the S.S. Valiant two hundred years ago.
SPOCK: The tapes are burnt out. Trying the memory banks.
KIRK: We hope to learn from the recorder what the Valiant was doing here and what destroyed the vessel. We'll move out into our probe as soon as we have those answers. All decks, stand by.​

Out of universe:
WNMHGB is the second pilot and one of the reasons that the first pilot was rejected was that it had not delivered on the action and adventure. So, yep, there is a bit of heavy-handed emphasis on action and adventure.

 

"Attention All Passengers: Thread-Derailing Contrarian Troll is now departing, Gate 6... Attention All Passengers: Thread-Derailing Contrarian Troll is now departing, Gate 6"

This is not an airport; so there's no need for you to announce your departure; it's enough that you quietly pack up your bags of non-nonsensical noise and make your flight out of the thread - "BUH-bye!"

 

Jesus Christ, what is your problem?

 

"Jesus Christ"?!?

You've got the wrong guy.

 

Here's the thing: written communication is tricky. It's a lot easier than you might realize to come across as an absolute jerk. Like when you have an opinion about an issue that does not matter, and yet you try to batter people into submission over it. What are you trying to achieve, that could possibly happen here?

Just something for you to think about.

 

My only point was there was no emergency before nor after the commercial; therefore, the whole business of calling an alert and showing all the red flashing lights was not supported nor justified - solely for the commercial-break.

All that bandwidth-sucking minutia regarding "when is red, red; and when is it not", pivoted off of the topic of the post I made regarding the illegitimacy of WNMHGB teaser-close; and that point - as stated above - was then de-railed into non-sense.

I care not one iota what color someone else wants to believe the alert is; the teaser-close is forced and jarring.

I agree; and, already knowing there was danger at hand, the alert would normally be called before ordering beaming the thing aboard ship - and not, when order the data signal feed to Mr. Spock station on the Bridge - which, unfortunately, is how it is played-out.

If they did the other way, then Kirk would not be able to call the falsely dramatic alert, right on cue for the commercial-break. So, they instead, did it the way we saw it; and it is clumsy, unjustified, and forced - but sometimes, that's TV for you.

​

Exactly. And, in cases like Star Trek - where the writing is for the most part very tight - when the realities of the heavy-hand of advertiser dollars needs trumps story-needs, it really shows; but without those advertiser dollars, there wouldn't have been a show - so, it's usually can't-win scenario for the writers.

Just ask Harlan Ellison.