Assignment Earth Blunders

[Timewalker]

Their mission isn't to make sure 'not one scrap' of history went unrecorded. It's literally to listen to communications to see how Earth survived desperate (and completely undefined) problems in 1968.

[Saavik] Sarcasm. It is a difficult concept. [/Saavik]

I'm coming from this from the pov of someone who majored in anthropology/archaeology in college. There's a lot we still don't know.

 

[Phaser Two]

I mostly enjoy this one from the start for the awesome fight in the transporter room.

 

[johnnybear]

Actually, Gary is rather vague in that regard, simply saying that his planet is "unknown" in Kirk's century; he doesn't specify Starfleet. However, just because the planet is hidden it doesn't mean that his organisation has not made discrete diplomatic overtures to specific members of Starfleet


Exactly my point. If the Federation populace in general don't know about this super secret organisation, why should a mere ship's Ensign? (it was Chekov who consulted the star maps, not Scotty). Again, it does not preclude the possibility that certain individuals in Starfleet had been made aware of the Aegis - which in fact is exactly what has happened by the end of the episode! So clearly what Gary tells them at the start of the episode is a generalisation at best.

The other thing in this episode which is often overlooked is that the events are are a clearly stated example of a causality loop - giving the Aegis even more reason to ensure that it occurs.

Obviously the name Aegis comes from a novel or something because they were definitely not identified as such in the television episode!
JB

 

[Timo]

And of course absolutely everything that happened made it into the history books. Not one scrap was left out.

The thing here is, Kirk can't help out there. If there are "scraps" missing, his mission won't recover those. He isn't even allowed to beam down!

If "scraps" are to be added, this takes historical research. Our space-happy heroes are constitutionally incapable of that. Or what part of Chinese history do you think would be "better" recorded today if a bunch of USN personnel clandestinely disembarked their vessel at Shanghai and conducted "research" for a day or a week?

It's obvious that Gary Seven's presence in the late 1960s never made it into the history books, or Kirk and Spock would have already known about him.

Which means their mission was for naught, because it still isn't in the history books. Or, you know, it would be.

Or maybe it's just a coincidence that nobody's had a reason to do it except around the Sun. It's a difficult and dangerous procedure, and not something to be done casually.

And that, again, is the point: our heroes are doing it casually. And if their idea of safe procedure is to meddle with Earth, rather than initially study the history of the X'Pndbl species on planet Wrthlss, then their options probably are limited by external factors. Possibilities do not exactly abound:

- Klingons might see them time-hop if they did it outside Sol
- They can't physically do it outside Sol
- ?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tosk]

I'm coming from this from the pov of someone who majored in anthropology/archaeology in college. There's a lot we still don't know.

I don't doubt it. I'm talking about the scope of their mission vs available information.

 

[Commishsleer]

Probably my least favourite episode of TOS. Obviously not the worst episode,
I just don't like it how our heroes are made out to be fools and outwitted by everyone.
Blah blah blah Terri Garr's speech.
OK the cat is cool. Thats about all.

I'm happy for this episode to be erased from history.

 

[Spock's Barber]

I'm happy for this episode to be erased from history.

....but then Kirk and Spock will use the light speed breakaway factor to go back in time and replace the erased episode. Those two guys are always causing trouble.

 

[johnnybear]

What about the two cops (Ted Gehring and Bruce Mars) who got transported to The Enterprise and back down again? Wonder how they explained it to their bosses and then themselves?
JB

 

[Mytran]

Obviously the name Aegis comes from a novel or something because they were definitely not identified as such in the television episode!
JB

Yes, I picked up the name from one of Christopher's Temporal Investigations books. I just use the term for simplicity's sake, but Memory Beta has a lot more info on them:
http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Aegis

 

[Timewalker]

The thing here is, Kirk can't help out there. If there are "scraps" missing, his mission won't recover those. He isn't even allowed to beam down!

If "scraps" are to be added, this takes historical research. Our space-happy heroes are constitutionally incapable of that. Or what part of Chinese history do you think would be "better" recorded today if a bunch of USN personnel clandestinely disembarked their vessel at Shanghai and conducted "research" for a day or a week?

I was unaware that Kirk is a different ethnicity from 20th century white American rocket scientists.

Which means their mission was for naught, because it still isn't in the history books. Or, you know, it would be.

There's a line in the episode that indicates that what they did that day was supposed to happen anyway. Not all details get into the history books.

 

[Poltargyst]

At the end of the episode, Kirk and Spock talk like they know all about Gary and Roberta's adventures. They just can't tell them.

 

[Timewalker]

At the end of the episode, Kirk and Spock talk like they know all about Gary and Roberta's adventures. They just can't tell them.

Or at least the major events that Gary and Roberta would likely encounter. Telling them about such things could result in history being changed.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

If Trek had been cancelled at the end of season two, as Gene was obviously thinking, then he would have had a series to carry on with wouldn't he! Funny thing was Trek was returned for a third season and Assignment:Earth was ditched leaving Gene out in the cold anyway!

If ST had been cancelled after season two, who knows if Star Trek would have become the scifi pop culture sensation that it eventually became. Granted season three wasn't spectacular.

Considering that Trek being cancelled after season two would've left them with only 56 episodes to air, I wonder if it would've even gone into syndication in the first place. I suppose it's possible (The Monkees went into syndication with only two seasons and 58 episodes), but it would perhaps be a little less likely with an hour-long series.

It's also interesting to imagine which parts of the Trek mythos we wouldn't have if TOS hadn't gotten a third season. We wouldn't have Matt Jefferies' classic design for the Klingon D-7 cruiser, no Klingon/Romulan alliance, no UFP flag, no Tholians, no Surak or Kahless the Unforgettable, no female Romulan commander or Zarabeth...

 

[Timo]

I was unaware that Kirk is a different ethnicity from 20th century white American rocket scientists.

Umm, what?

Oh, you mean he would blend in better than the postulated USN folks at Shanghai. Somehow I doubt that. Especially in view of "Assignment: Earth"...

There's a line in the episode that indicates that what they did that day was supposed to happen anyway. Not all details get into the history books.

Which again tells us the mission achieved nothing, as even this "detail" wasn't added into the history books.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Timewalker]

Umm, what?

Oh, you mean he would blend in better than the postulated USN folks at Shanghai. Somehow I doubt that. Especially in view of "Assignment: Earth"...

So William Shatner is really not a white Jewish Canadian, but is instead Chinese. Wow. Either you watch the show in another universe, or I've been hallucinating for the past 42 years.

Which again tells us the mission achieved nothing, as even this "detail" wasn't added into the history books.

Timo Saloniemi

It would surprise me greatly if it wasn't added after the Enterprise returned to the 23rd century so 23rd century people would know about it.

 

[Spock's Barber]

It's also interesting to imagine which parts of the Trek mythos we wouldn't have if TOS hadn't gotten a third season. We wouldn't have Matt Jefferies' classic design for the Klingon D-7 cruiser, no Klingon/Romulan alliance, no UFP flag, no Tholians, no Surak or Kahless the Unforgettable, no female Romulan commander or Zarabeth...

.....and no bad acting, dress wearing, friends of Fred Freiberger either.

 

[johnnybear]

Considering that Trek being cancelled after season two would've left them with only 56 episodes to air, I wonder if it would've even gone into syndication in the first place. I suppose it's possible (The Monkees went into syndication with only two seasons and 58 episodes), but it would perhaps be a little less likely with an hour-long series.

It's also interesting to imagine which parts of the Trek mythos we wouldn't have if TOS hadn't gotten a third season. We wouldn't have Matt Jefferies' classic design for the Klingon D-7 cruiser, no Klingon/Romulan alliance, no UFP flag, no Tholians, no Surak or Kahless the Unforgettable, no female Romulan commander or Zarabeth...

No Bele or Lokai, no third encounter with the barrier, no look at female Klingons, no USS Defiant, no Platonians (but that would have been a good thing) no Deela on Scalos, no Garth of Izar or Odonna of Gideon or Losira or Zetarians, the list goes on! Glad we got the third series myself but surely it's 55 episodes,Jonny? Unless you're counting The Cage?
JB

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Glad we got the third series myself but surely it's 55 episodes,Jonny? Unless you're counting The Cage?

I looked it up quickly so I could use an exact number instead of saying "50-odd episodes." Wikipedia was saying 56 episodes by the end of the second season so I just went with that.

 

[Samuel]

What about the two cops (Ted Gehring and Bruce Mars) who got transported to The Enterprise and back down again? Wonder how they explained it to their bosses and then themselves?
JB

Their donuts were spiked with LSD?

I have a fairly minor complaint. Why call it "McKinley Rocket Base" when its very obviously Kennedy Space Center? What would be wrong with simply calling it by the name everyone in the viewing audience would know?

By the way, though the U.S. launching an orbital nuclear weapons platform never happened (as far as we know) the Soviets did tests on a partial orbiting nuclear weapons platform in about that time period. The FOBS (Fractional Orbital Bombardment System) which was considered (by them) not to violate existing treaties because it did not make a complete orbit before launching its warheads. IIRC the (in)famous giant SS-18 Satan ICBM (largest ever built) had at one time some FOBS payloads on them.

Further it's more than possible that the "historical research" explanation was merely the "official reason" for the Enterprise making the trip back through time. More than likely, Starfleet wanted to see if the Enterprise's earlier trip back through time (Tomorrow is Yesterday) could be replicated or if that was a simple fluke. That would explain why the Enterprise was chosen and they had apparently aimed for basically the same time period (late 1960s).

It's quite possible that the mission in "Assignment: Earth" where the ship and crew almost had a role in touching off a nuclear war (by beaming Gary Seven out before he could sabotage the nuclear platform) scared the crap out of Starfleet into not using it regularly.

 

[Timo]

So William Shatner is really not a white Jewish Canadian, but is instead Chinese. Wow. Either you watch the show in another universe, or I've been hallucinating for the past 42 years.

1) Kirk is from outer space (even if he was born in Iowa, or perhaps in a starship near Klingons and timeholes). He can't help but not fit; every single one of his sorties into Earth's past has involved corrupting the timeline, and it's very lucky for him that the timeline is so robust...

2) White Jewish Canadians in Shanghai would hardly be unexpected nowadays...

3) Most importantly, though, Kirk wasn't even going to beam down, so those USN sailors would be infinitely better off trying to "record" something that "history" would otherwise miss. And considering the sailors would achieve nothing, Kirk's mission to 1968 sounds like a colossal waste of time (travel).

It would surprise me greatly if it wasn't added after the Enterprise returned to the 23rd century so 23rd century people would know about it.

But it wasn't, as these 23rd century people we so intimately know do not know about it.

Ihave a fairly minor complaint. Why call it "McKinley Rocket Base" when its very obviously Kennedy Space Center? What would be wrong with simply calling it by the name everyone in the viewing audience would know?

In-universe, it's significant to learn that it's a thorougly military installation without any peaceful secondary role, and that moonshot hardware is now dedicated to warfare... Our heroes can't expect civilian leniency from "NASA" guards, either, but will be shot at sight, then tortured, then shot again, then jailed, and then accused of loitering with intent.

By the way, though the U.S. launching an orbital nuclear weapons platform never happened (as far as we know) the Soviets did tests on a partial orbiting nuclear weapons platform in about that time period. The FOBS (Fractional Orbital Bombardment System) which was considered (by them) not to violate existing treaties because it did not make a complete orbit before launching its warheads. IIRC the (in)famous giant SS-18 Satan ICBM (largest ever built) had at one time some FOBS payloads on them.

...Essentially, FOBS was simply a long range ICBM, going around the long route to no practical gain; if such a launch were observed, the US would immediately have to rain death on the USSR. An orbital platform would be a true sword of Damocles, hanging there forever and then some, while leaders sweated and negotiated.

Further it's more than possible that the "historical research" explanation was merely the "official reason" for the Enterprise making the trip back through time.

Quite possible, for this dedicated deniability platform that would go on to defy the RNZ and breach other alien national borders. Blame it all on the "unstable" Kirk - the more often, the more plausible it gets...

More than likely, Starfleet wanted to see if the Enterprise's earlier trip back through time (Tomorrow is Yesterday) could be replicated or if that was a simple fluke. That would explain why the Enterprise was chosen and they had apparently aimed for basically the same time period (late 1960s).

...For all we know, they again used the black star on the SB 9 route for this mission, too.

It's quite possible that the mission in "Assignment: Earth" where the ship and crew almost had a role in touching off a nuclear war (by beaming Gary Seven out before he could sabotage the nuclear platform) scared the crap out of Starfleet into not using it regularly.

Dunno about that. The time period chosen was deliberately one of great instability; since nothing bad happened there, Starfleet could now safely scale back and go to less risky times and places.

And for all we know, it did. And perhaps Kirk did, too, but he isn't the only man at the organization's disposal.

Timo Saloniemi