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Bob Orci Answers Questions From Posters at TrekMovie.com

Re: Boborci seemingly settles Vulcan debate

It had to be assumed Vulcan had more people off world anyway. They're a modern, space faring species. I figure the 10,000 number referred simply to those that made it off planet before it was destroyed.

yeah, definitely a fair nit-pick this one, Spock's 'i'm an endangered species line was a bit silly'

Not necessarily. If humans went from 6.5 billion to a handful of millions, you'd think you were endangered too.

J.

yeah, fair point. ok, I'm happy now.
 
Re: Boborci seemingly settles Vulcan debate

Major Spoilers Below















From over at Trekmovie:


True. Let’s just say then that the 10,000 does not count off worlders!


Over at Memory Alpha, they had written the same thing. the 10,000 was on the world, and that did not include off-worlders (that is why I suggested possible other colonies?).

How Memory Alpha knew that before today I am not sure.
 
Re: Boborci seemingly settles Vulcan debate

There is evidence in the human genome that our species once sprang back from a demographic collapse that knocked the population down to 10,000... but if there's sufficient pressure on a population and the population is dispersed enough, then yes, it does make sense to say the species is endangered.
 
Re: Boborci seemingly settles Vulcan debate

Yeah guys, this should have been explained in the movie. This is really sloppy :(
 
Re: Boborci seemingly settles Vulcan debate

Major Spoilers Below















From over at Trekmovie:

359. boborci - May 18, 2009 21. That Nutty Fanboy - May 18, 2009
QUESTION:
While probably somewhat of a nitpicky question/observation by the Nutty Fanboy here: What happened to off-world Vulcans? The lines in the movie indicate 10.000 survivors overall, which seems rather low for a space-faring species - especially that very likely have off-world colonies.. or was the 10.000-line pointed towards survivors escaping Vulcan itself?
————–
True. Let’s just say then that the 10,000 does not count off worlders!
Since this and other questions answered by Bob Orci during the Q&A sesion are being discussed already in the other thread, why don't I merge this with that? Hang onto your pointy ears...
 
Re: Boborci seemingly settles Vulcan debate

Good. That number was crazy low.

Why? We didn´t see any ships get away and the attack was unexpected so it would certainly have been plausible that fewer than 10k survived.

I was saying if that was the sum total of all Vulcans living, period. And I really don't buy that they had no colonies, anywhere, and no expats. Hell, there are probably more than 10,000 Brits living abroad in the U.S. alone.

Spock's endangered species comment is still valid, even if there are more Vulcans offworld than he could count. With the population scattered all over, and given their seven year mating cycle, they would have a hard time avoiding gradual population loss through lack of breeding. They really should touch on this at some point, how all the Vulcans had to basically drop what they were doing and go settle on Spock's "Planet O' Procreation."

Anyway, Star Trek is always throwing around wildly high or low numbers for melodramatic purposes (I still cringe at the ridiculously high battle losses in the Dominion War eps of DS9.)
 
It's also possible that the Vulcans have some different conceptions of citizenship than is the norm in the "West", which I'll vague define as USA-UK-Canada. When I lived in Europe, I was still Canadian, and my friend from Portland living in TO is still American...

...but Japan (for example) does not consider those born out of country to be Japanese. They have a different term for them. Race-relatives is how a friend of mine translated it for me, but that was a while ago, and my memory isn't up to the task of speaking as an authority on this. Just throwing it out there as a possibility - "Vulcan" might mean something to them other than the DNA.
 
He could have included that in the movie, you know.

I imagine there are some significant difficulties in writing any movie, nevermind a big budget one in which the studio is very likely breathing down your neck for results. But to miss these rather important details, or rather the opportunities to give these details in the movie strikes me as lazy writing. This seems more damage control to me, as he appears to be plugging all these flaws (minor and significant alike) while everything is already said and done. These questions should have been answered in the movie!

Yeah guys, this should have been explained in the movie. This is really sloppy :(
Somehow, I do not think the movie going public wants to see the 6 HOUR movie it would take to have every fanboy question answered onscreen.
Personally, I am thankful we got a great 2 HOUR ride which is making enough money for more Trek from Paramount. :techman:

I nominate the canonization of Bob Orci to sainthood for putting up with all the fanboys' questions.
 
I was wondering... Besides Ronald D. Moore with his podcasts, the scifi forums, his wife participating in the scifi forums etc etc

Has any other writer or director ever done what Orci is doing over at Trekmovie ? Not just in Trek but in general.

I posted about this on the first page of this thread. DS9's Robert Hewitt Wolfe did this in usenet back during DS9. He was pretty cool and very patient with us -- a bad lot we were generally... the usenet Trekkies :p. I got to chat with him as well. he was a lot of fun, as well. gave as good as he got (once jokingly offered to bitchslap a guy after a particularly trying session). of course, the said poster made the most of it. :lol::rolleyes:
 
He could have included that in the movie, you know.

I imagine there are some significant difficulties in writing any movie, nevermind a big budget one in which the studio is very likely breathing down your neck for results. But to miss these rather important details, or rather the opportunities to give these details in the movie strikes me as lazy writing. This seems more damage control to me, as he appears to be plugging all these flaws (minor and significant alike) while everything is already said and done. These questions should have been answered in the movie!

Yeah guys, this should have been explained in the movie. This is really sloppy :(
Somehow, I do not think the movie going public wants to see the 6 HOUR movie it would take to have every fanboy question answered onscreen.
Personally, I am thankful we got a great 2 HOUR ride which is making enough money for more Trek from Paramount. :techman:

I nominate the canonization of Bob Orci to sainthood for putting up with all the fanboys' questions.

Strawman argument, I never said the movie should be six hours nor should every little nitpick being addressed. The fate of the entire Vulcan species is not a minor nitpick or a fanboy grief, it's a serious part of the plot and should be addressed in as complete a manner as time allows. It's sloppy writing, plain and simple.
 
Re: Boborci seemingly settles Vulcan debate

Good. That number was crazy low.

Why? We didn´t see any ships get away and the attack was unexpected so it would have been plausible that fewer than 10k survived.

And there is certainly not a lot of proof that Vulcans like exploring or colonizing new worlds like humans do.

they came to earth, didn't they?

or is that no longer true in this timeline?

ouch, head hurts!
 
He could have included that in the movie, you know.

I imagine there are some significant difficulties in writing any movie, nevermind a big budget one in which the studio is very likely breathing down your neck for results. But to miss these rather important details, or rather the opportunities to give these details in the movie strikes me as lazy writing. This seems more damage control to me, as he appears to be plugging all these flaws (minor and significant alike) while everything is already said and done. These questions should have been answered in the movie!

Oh for heaven's sake, Feofilakt, it's not a documentary, and this isn't an important fact; it's a minor detail. The important thing is that Spock and the Vulcan people have suffered a terrible loss. Isn't the past ten years of Trek tv enough to prove that extended expository detail is deadly dull?

Somebody says, "10,000 seems low," and he says "Sure. Let's make it X then," and some people act like he's a witness caught giving false testimony. But all he's doing is what Trek fans have done since the beginning, filling in the blanks with explanations that fit what we have seen on screen. Nobody made him do this, he didn't have to explain himself to the small minority of nitpickers, he's just being a good - and incredible patient - guy.
 
He could have included that in the movie, you know.

I imagine there are some significant difficulties in writing any movie, nevermind a big budget one in which the studio is very likely breathing down your neck for results. But to miss these rather important details, or rather the opportunities to give these details in the movie strikes me as lazy writing. This seems more damage control to me, as he appears to be plugging all these flaws (minor and significant alike) while everything is already said and done. These questions should have been answered in the movie!

Oh for heaven's sake, Feofilakt, it's not a documentary, and this isn't an important fact; it's a minor detail. The important thing is that Spock and the Vulcan people have suffered a terrible loss. Isn't the past ten years of Trek tv enough to prove that extended expository detail is deadly dull?

Somebody says, "10,000 seems low," and he says "Sure. Let's make it X then," and some people act like he's a witness caught giving false testimony. But all he's doing is what Trek fans have done since the beginning, filling in the blanks with explanations that fit what we have seen on screen. Nobody made him do this, he didn't have to explain himself to the small minority of nitpickers, he's just being a good - and incredible patient - guy.

There are ways of rendering visual images that show more than just ten thousand vulcans escaping the planet. How about a scattered exodus shot? I am sure a rag-tag fleet of ships attempting to escape from system and the resulting fleet of colony based vessels trying to aid the rest of the Vulcans with some Federation aid would show that more than ten thousand survived and would not simply be verbal fluff, but a powerful scene that shows the importance of the planet being destroyed and treats the death of the Vulcans in a manner that would appease fans.

Instead we have useless action shots (well, not all of them were useless) and the destruction of Vulcan rendered in a manner approaching cavalier. I'm not sure if it was just his writing or the pressure from execs, but the job is sloppy. Star Trek or not I will call a bad writing job when I see it, and this was pretty bad.
 
Know what a pet peeve of mine is? When people abuse quantum mechanics to justify nonsense and bullshit. Spiritual nonsense, contrived BS, OTHERKIN. Shit, every single one.

Just say you want to work that way because it's easier (and you are not that talented), do NOT wrap yourself up in a branch of science still in its infancy and confuse people.

So then you've never liked Star Trek?
 
ety3: My only real concern with the film comes near the end when Kirk offers an olive branch, and Spock — almost jokingly — questions it. Not to get all high-minded and what-not, but isn’t Spock’s reaction antithetical to the peaceful exploration mindset that Starfleet is supposed to imbue in its members? If Spock had been flat-out angry about the olive branch, that would, at least, have made some sense, character wise. But to play it off as a joke?

BobOrci: I can understand that. Entertainment value weighs heavily there!

I actually find that quite disturbing. Entertainment value takes precedence over character consistency, emotion and a reasonable reaction?


Great service to answer those questions, though.
 
He could have included that in the movie, you know.

I imagine there are some significant difficulties in writing any movie, nevermind a big budget one in which the studio is very likely breathing down your neck for results. But to miss these rather important details, or rather the opportunities to give these details in the movie strikes me as lazy writing. This seems more damage control to me, as he appears to be plugging all these flaws (minor and significant alike) while everything is already said and done. These questions should have been answered in the movie!

Yeah guys, this should have been explained in the movie. This is really sloppy :(
Somehow, I do not think the movie going public wants to see the 6 HOUR movie it would take to have every fanboy question answered onscreen.
Personally, I am thankful we got a great 2 HOUR ride which is making enough money for more Trek from Paramount. :techman:

I nominate the canonization of Bob Orci to sainthood for putting up with all the fanboys' questions.

Strawman argument, I never said the movie should be six hours nor should every little nitpick being addressed. The fate of the entire Vulcan species is not a minor nitpick or a fanboy grief, it's a serious part of the plot and should be addressed in as complete a manner as time allows. It's sloppy writing, plain and simple.
It is YOUR OPINION that "It's sloppy writing, plain and simple."
It is MY OPINION that it is a fanboy complaint, plain and simple.
 
I actually find that quite disturbing. Entertainment value takes precedence over character consistency, emotion and a reasonable reaction?

Yeah, but only for the last five thousand years or so.

He was willing to go through with this AFTER having endured the MattJC era? Wow.

It gives you a sense of how completely 'round-the-bend someone would have to be to tick Orci off.
 
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