Court Martial - Did the Doctored Video Show Kirk Giving Finney the Finger?
- Thread starter cgervasi
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That you're Old McDonald?
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TOS tended to use the word 'pod' interchangeably with what we now call nacelles (although Kirk does use the term 'warp nacelle' in TOS at least once.) But dialogue in other episodes also states 'ion pods,' 'warp pods,' etc. The writer might have intended the 'ion pod' to actually be one of the ship's nacelles (which would make more sense for Finney to be inside), but the visuals obviously don't back this up, as we see (stock) footage of the Enterprise completely intact. Someone like Maurice or Harvey would know better the intent of the scriptwriter, though.
With regard to Scotty's "We're losing potency in the anti-matter pods" (The Apple), I was surprised to see the idea on this board that pods means nacelles. And later Kirk calls the nacelles by their proper, unmistakable name.
For anti-matter pods in The Apple, I always pictured a little row of containment tanks in the ship's interior. Pod doesn't say nacelle to me, never did. But that might very well be what they meant by it. Pods could be nacelles in that episode.
The TOS-R digital FX show that the "ion pod" was attached to the engineering hull -- there are even scorch marks where (presumably) explosive bolts were used to jettison the pod.
However, according to Geoffrey Mandel and Doug Drexler's U.S.S. Enterprise Officer's Manual (1980), the pod is the little "nipple" in the middle of the dome on the bottom of the saucer.
However, according to Geoffrey Mandel and Doug Drexler's U.S.S. Enterprise Officer's Manual (1980), the pod is the little "nipple" in the middle of the dome on the bottom of the saucer.
However, according to Geoffrey Mandel and Doug Drexler's U.S.S. Enterprise Officer's Manual (1980), the pod is the little "nipple" in the middle of the dome on the bottom of the saucer.
It doesn't seem like that would be big enough.
IIRC, there are early-Enterprise sketches by Jefferies where he label the nacelles as 'power pod(s)' so the term for the nacelles was around during the making of the show.
ETA: And for what it's worth:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podded_engine
That jet engine stuff is the kind of thing Matt Jefferies would know. Now I think Scotty's pods are a sure bet for the big engines.
Is that the middle finger above 1837?The TOS-R digital FX show that the "ion pod" was attached to the engineering hull -- there are even scorch marks where (presumably) explosive bolts were used to jettison the pod.
The outlines for the episode make clear it was intended to be a surface feature, like a blister on the hull, that could be ripped off by the disturbance, and so ejected as a precaution.
Just watched 'The Doomsday Machine' and the term 'matter/antimatter pods' was used. It's not 100% certain that they were referring to the nacelles, but it's another possible example of the terms being used interchangeably.
Thanks for the clarification.
Per Wiki, the term "engine pod" or just "pod" is not used to define the nacelle, rather "podded engine", repetitively.
The ion pod per the episode:
The description of "plates" has always perked my curiosity. I have concluded these plates are an array of thin plates used to detect and measure the ions flying by the ship. The ion pod is lowered from the bottom of the ship and "solar panel" like arrays extended out from it. The data systems still required manual interface (as does everything on a first season, 23rd century starship
). The physical forces from the ion storm, if high enough, can rip the structure from the ship causing great damage to the ship. While under stress, the panels cannot be retracted, so, jettison of the ion pod is the planned safety measure to protect the ship. 
Since Kirk's chair was set up specially for this mission with the jettison button, it seems like the plan was always to jettison the ion pod if the structural stresses reached the critical level. The chair was also set up with the yellow and red alerts to inform the crew as to the magnitude of the storm level; "yellow" to get ready for ion pod jettison and "red" for ion pod jettison is imminent.
This carried through to the shooting draft, more or less, but was cut during editing. Here's some dialogue removed from Act I, along with the framing dialogue so that you can place it, that fleshes it out a little:
And we were discussing the "nacelles," not the ion pod. And if we were to be accurate, in aviation, "nacelle" refers to the housing sans the innards that are contained with in it.
Never seen that photo before. Where did you find it?The term "pod" being used to refer the nacelles was clearly in common usage around the production set in TOS, as we see from the control box which activated the lights, motors etc on the large ship model
POD LIGHTS and POD MOTOR are clear to see.
Probably on the board here somewhere, quite likely during a conversation about the TOS name for nacelles!
My file is dated April 2020 if that helps
From Metamorphosis:
SPOCK: Helm does not answer, Captain.
KIRK: Neither do the pods.
I immediately and always assumed that meant the nacelles.
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