does anyone know if this plot hole was ever explained in books..

[srombomb]

Does anyone know from reading any books, if any explanation was given as to why in the TMP, that Starfleet was waiting until the last moments to confront a threat to Earth, with a barely ready new Enterprise?

And not a whole bunch of other ships?

I loved that one aspect of the new Trek movie, when Abrams and co. showed not just the Enterprise warping off to Vulcan, but with other ships.

I realize lack of budget would have hurt TMP, and lack of CGI. Maybe there was a fleet that rendezvoused with Epsilon 9? Almost like a Wolf 359 standoff?

Anyway, just wondering if it's ever been addressed in Star Trek novels. It is indeed a glaring plot hole for TMP!!!

 

[JarodRussell]

Does anyone know from reading any books, if any explanation was given as to why in the TMP, that Starfleet was waiting until the last moments to confront a threat to Earth, with a barely ready new Enterprise?

And not a whole bunch of other ships?

I loved that one aspect of the new Trek movie, when Abrams and co. showed not just the Enterprise warping off to Vulcan, but with other ships.

I realize lack of budget would have hurt TMP, and lack of CGI. Maybe there was a fleet that rendezvoused with Epsilon 9? Almost like a Wolf 359 standoff?

Anyway, just wondering if it's ever been addressed in Star Trek novels. It is indeed a glaring plot hole for TMP!!!

It isn't, because by the time of TMP, Starfleet didn't have many ships. Deep Space Nine started the idea that they had an infinite amount of starships. In TNG the Battle of Wolf 359 with 30 or 40 ships lost was a MAJOR disaster. And that was 100 years after Kirk.

The new movie loses about as many ships, but nobody in that universe cares.

 

[Christopher]

I touched on this in my novel Ex Machina, on p. 13:

This was supposed to be a working shakedown, after all. The Fleet was stretched dangerously thin these days, still recovering from the losses sustained in the past several years -- Constellation, Intrepid, Excalibur, Defiant, Zheng He, the entire crews of Exeter and Sphinx and Ashoka, too many others. This had led to the preposterous situation of Earth being left defenseless save for one unready heavy cruiser and a smattering of light cruisers too weak to make a difference. (Well, that and a state-of-the-art planetary defense grid, which V’ger had switched off like a light panel after extracting its highly encrypted specs from Enterprise’s computer in a matter of seconds.) Now, in the wake of their close call, the Federation Council was finally heeding Admiral Nogura’s calls for more resources. Enterprise was certain to be put to real use before long, testing out her untried systems in action, in what would no doubt be a long and interesting (in the Chinese sense) process of discovery.

(The Sphinx is from the novel Section 31: Cloak, and Zheng He and Ashoka were ships I made up, since surely there must be some things happening in the Federation that don't involve the Enterprise. The reference to light cruisers was based on an early draft of the "In Thy Image" script that became TMP. They weren't mentioned in the final film, but I can't believe the Enterprise was literally the only spaceship anywhere near Earth -- just the only one theoretically capable of doing anything.)

And who knows -- maybe the rest of the surviving fleet was on maneuvers in the Laurentian system.

 

[srombomb]

Thanks man, that makes a lot of sense actually. Chalk up all of Starfleet's losses to the ships we know were lost during the original 5 year mission. Just good to consider that in my head, versus that nagging thought every time I watch TMP.

 

[Search4]

I prefer to think of it the opposite way. Starfleet saw the Klingon encounter, wanted them get creamed, watched the Epsilon station get creamed, and deliberately withdrew to earth (evacuation/defense...) Only Kirk believed it should be met in deep space and he nearly got destroyed in the process (thanks Spock). Starfleet would only give Kirk a ship that wasn't on active duty, if he could get it running in time.

 

[KottenFutz]

I often just assumed that once the Enterprise was inside the machine, the other ships of the line just held off waiting to hear from Kirk trying to find a diplomatic solution, or destruction from the inside, or the destruction of the Enterprise by V'ger, before responding. Maybe the remaining fleet served as chaser planes or an escort on stand-by, cruising at a non-threatening distance with the cloud as it headed towards Earth. That's the Starfleet way, shoot last, ask questions first to understand the problem and try to resolve it with intellegent discourse, hoping to communicate with it (which they did). Especially knowing what V'ger was capable of, it could destroy the whole fleet in one fell swoop. So, trusting Kirk to find some peaceful answer to the crisis before letting loose an onslaught of space warfare was the way to go.

 

[BriGuy]

Does anyone know from reading any books, if any explanation was given as to why in the TMP, that Starfleet was waiting until the last moments to confront a threat to Earth, with a barely ready new Enterprise?

And not a whole bunch of other ships?

I loved that one aspect of the new Trek movie, when Abrams and co. showed not just the Enterprise warping off to Vulcan, but with other ships.

I realize lack of budget would have hurt TMP, and lack of CGI. Maybe there was a fleet that rendezvoused with Epsilon 9? Almost like a Wolf 359 standoff?

Anyway, just wondering if it's ever been addressed in Star Trek novels. It is indeed a glaring plot hole for TMP!!!

Because the movie is about Enteprise and our heroes, not the crews of other ships. Hence the standard lines such as "only ship in the quadrant," "only ship within intercept range," etc.

I'm sure the lack of CGI is an issue, or a blessing. Maybe when it's too easy to do something - such as put a dozen ships on screen - you lose something vs the care and attention put into one ship, being the awe inspiring new Enterprise.

But I wouldn't call it a plot hole. Kirk told the troops Enterprise was the only ship standing in the way.

Sure, the new movie featured (rather, more like simply showed) other ships. But they were quickly and rather unceremoniously dispatched, again leaving Enterprise the only ship to face the threat.

 

[Shazam!]

The new movie loses about as many ships, but nobody in that universe cares.

Nobody in this universe cares either.

 

[BriGuy]

The new movie loses about as many ships, but nobody in that universe cares.

Nobody in this universe cares either.

I would expect the people in that universe to care, at least.

Like when the Ent-D came upon the scene of Wolf 359.

In that situation, that they cared - they were obviously shocked - resulting in me/the audience caring, which helps invest the audience in the feeling of what they're watching.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Does anyone know from reading any books, if any explanation was given as to why in the TMP, that Starfleet was waiting until the last moments to confront a threat to Earth, with a barely ready new Enterprise?

And not a whole bunch of other ships?

I loved that one aspect of the new Trek movie, when Abrams and co. showed not just the Enterprise warping off to Vulcan, but with other ships.

I realize lack of budget would have hurt TMP, and lack of CGI. Maybe there was a fleet that rendezvoused with Epsilon 9? Almost like a Wolf 359 standoff?

Anyway, just wondering if it's ever been addressed in Star Trek novels. It is indeed a glaring plot hole for TMP!!!

It isn't, because by the time of TMP, Starfleet didn't have many ships. Deep Space Nine started the idea that they had an infinite amount of starships. In TNG the Battle of Wolf 359 with 30 or 40 ships lost was a MAJOR disaster. And that was 100 years after Kirk.

The new movie loses about as many ships, but nobody in that universe cares.

I think it was seven. (according to Ayel)

I'm sure the crew of the Enterprise ( and the rest of the universe) had a good cry later. At the time they were busy doing their jobs and keeping alive.

 

[Tomalak]

I prefer to think of it the opposite way. Starfleet saw the Klingon encounter, wanted them get creamed, watched the Epsilon station get creamed, and deliberately withdrew to earth (evacuation/defense...) Only Kirk believed it should be met in deep space and he nearly got destroyed in the process (thanks Spock). Starfleet would only give Kirk a ship that wasn't on active duty, if he could get it running in time.

Yeah, I like this explanation. It makes sense that they decided throwing ships at it was pointless, given what happened to the Klingons, but Kirk successfully argued for the chance to investigate the entity and gather information.

The one that is stupid is Generations. The Enterprise-B the only ship anywhere near earth that can help some refugee ships?

 

[Christopher]

Yeah, I like this explanation. It makes sense that they decided throwing ships at it was pointless, given what happened to the Klingons, but Kirk successfully argued for the chance to investigate the entity and gather information.

But that contradicts the explicit onscreen statement that the Enterprise was the only ship capable of intercepting the cloud before it reached Earth.

 

[Search4]

Christopher - and its fun to converse with a writer, BTW... yes, they said something like that, so i'm rethinking it. Sorry about that, but the "only ship" plotline gets a bit thin at times especially when we're talking about earth, and especially when the "only ship" is currently under repair.

But not capable could be a shorthard for "committed elsewhere". Example: If i can't meet someone because i'm out of town, might say "i'm not capable of that" in verbal shorthand, meaning committed elsewhere. So that's my take.

 

[Christopher]

But not capable could be a shorthard for "committed elsewhere". Example: If i can't meet someone because i'm out of town, might say "i'm not capable of that" in verbal shorthand, meaning committed elsewhere. So that's my take.

Well, yeah, that's not just your take, it's the explicitly stated reality of the situation. Kirk's actual line in the film was, "The only starship in interception range is the Enterprise." The E was the only starship physically close enough to reach the cloud before it reached Earth. All the others were indeed elsewhere.

So the theory that Starfleet chose not to send its available ships, and that Kirk convinced them to send at least one, is a nice one in principle, but it doesn't fit the facts. We were told outright that there were no other starships close enough to Earth or to the intruder's path to intercept it.

 

[Alrik]

What if Kirk was exagerating about being the only ship to make sure everyone was on board with the plan? Not trying to stir things up here, but the fine Captain has been known to bluff a time or two.

 

[BriGuy]

I think a lot of fans seem to expect Starfleet to keep an armada parked in Earth orbit just to protect the planet.

And given how often we see Earth attacked or threatened, it could be said that would make sense.

But that wouldn't help the stories that are being told. The reason Earth is attacked or threatened is so our heroes can save it.

 

[Christopher]

What if Kirk was exagerating about being the only ship to make sure everyone was on board with the plan? Not trying to stir things up here, but the fine Captain has been known to bluff a time or two.

He wasn't talking to everyone on board, he was in the travel pod talking to Scotty.

Besides, it's not a democracy. The captain gives an order, the crew follows it. He doesn't have to explain himself or convince them. They've sworn an oath to do what he tells them to do whether they agree with it or not. Even so, Kirk's command style has always been to trust his crew and give them reason to trust him. He wouldn't lie to motivate them. He bluffs to the bad guys, not his own people.

 

[Tomalak]

I think a lot of fans seem to expect Starfleet to keep an armada parked in Earth orbit just to protect the planet.

And given how often we see Earth attacked or threatened, it could be said that would make sense.

But that wouldn't help the stories that are being told. The reason Earth is attacked or threatened is so our heroes can save it.

A fair point. To defend Earth, you might as well post ships along the frontiers to head off an attack before it gets anywhere near the core worlds. If the rest of Starfleets big starships were out of town, it's not totally inconceivable that the Enterprise was the only suitable ship in range. When Kirk says the "only ship", he doesn't necessarily include every shuttle, freighter and scout ship.

 

[Therin of Andor]

What if Kirk was exagerating about being the only ship to make sure everyone was on board with the plan? Not trying to stir things up here, but the fine Captain has been known to bluff a time or two.

Roddenberry's take on starships of the Enterprise's ilk was that they were exploration vessels. Although they could be battleships if necessary, they were supposed to be for exploration and for keeping contact with outlying colonies. And they were all off exploring. Enterprise is in Earth orbit being overhauled, so it's the only starship in interception range.

If Constitution class starships were expected to also defend each Federation world against possible attack, how many do you devote to that permanent task? At least two per system, in case one gets damaged? It's like a security guard at the door of a bank. Most of the time he just stands there in boring tediousness, hoping that he won't ever be needed. A huge waste of resources. And if someone's determined to rob his bank, they'll have found a way to get past him, or simply go to the bank down the road and rob that one instead.

In TOS we are told there are "twelve like her". That's not very many, and several didn't make it back. Constitution class starships are supposed to be off exploring, not defending the homeworld. (12 or 13 starships are only going to be useful defending 12 or 13 worlds at a time, and then nobody is exploring at all.)

Presumably there are other ways to defend an important planet, but TMP, ST IV, "Generations", "First Contact", "Nemesis" and ST XI have all shown an Earth or Vulcan easily made vulnerable.

 

[Christopher]

If the rest of Starfleets big starships were out of town, it's not totally inconceivable that the Enterprise was the only suitable ship in range. When Kirk says the "only ship", he doesn't necessarily include every shuttle, freighter and scout ship.

Kirk said "the only starship in intercept range." There's precedent in Trek ("Bread and Circuses," for one) for "starship" being used to refer to a specific category of vessel, analogous to the term "capital ship," perhaps -- something larger, more powerful, more exceptional than mere spaceships.