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Errors and Inconsistencies - Stretching Credulity [SPOILERS]

npsf3000

Lieutenant Commander
Red Shirt
IF you have any questions or think you have a problem with the story line post here (unless this thread is a duplicate and closed).

I've always liked answering plot hole questions and figure i'll try out big time now.
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

Oh good. The Kelvin is in service twenty five years before the events of TOS, yet it has flat panel displays and labeled controls. In TOS there are just photographs of nebulae, blinking lights, and switches. Since the Kelvin is in the same universe as the original E, what explains this difference in continuity?
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

If I understand this question properly there are 2 main factors.

40 years of technological development between the making of TOS and the movie star trek...

and

Budget.

:)

 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

Oh good. The Kelvin is in service twenty five years before the events of TOS, yet it has flat panel displays and labeled controls. In TOS there are just photographs of nebulae, blinking lights, and switches. Since the Kelvin is in the same universe as the original E, what explains this difference in continuity?

In the original time line there was a massive cut in starfleet's budget, which resulted in a lower tech 1701. The cut didn't happen this time due to the Kelvin attack.
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

Oh good. The Kelvin is in service twenty five years before the events of TOS, yet it has flat panel displays and labeled controls. In TOS there are just photographs of nebulae, blinking lights, and switches. Since the Kelvin is in the same universe as the original E, what explains this difference in continuity?

Who cares? The Kelvin sequence was wonderfully done, does what kind of buttons they have make the slightest difference to the film whatsoever? Enterprise had advanced controls too, and that was all in the same universe as TOS.

One thing I wasn't too keen on in the plot of the movie: the mission to save Romulus was carried out entirely by a 130+ year old man? Not even a backup crew? I know he's Spock and all, but still...
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

Biggest quibble in story logic (mentioned in another thread) is how it is that Kirk just happens to be jettisoned to the planet where old Spock has been sent to. Seems like a really really big coincidence. Not just that they're on the same planet, but that they run into each other there. Planets are *big*.

It also seems rather strange that Nero would simply exile old Spock to that planet rather than hold him in captivity on his ship. Spock says that Nero wanted him to witness Nero destroy everything Spock holds dear while he's powerless to stop it. But what can Spock witness if he's living in a cave? (Unless he's got satellite TV in there.)

Finally, a nitpicky scientific quibble: When you collapse something into a black hole, it doesn't mean that its mass increases....it just gets compressed into a really tiny space....so that means that there's no reason why the Enterprise would be sucked into the black hole created by the collapse of Nero's ship at the end.
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

When Nero's ship arrived at Earth and sent its drill down into San Francisco (pretty handy, now that I think about it, unless Nero specifically chose the spot right next to the Golden Gate Bridge), and started drilling, I expected some sort of security planes to immediately fly up and attack the drill and sever it. Wouldn't Earth have some sort of advance-warning system to let them know there is an enemy attacker-ship that has just arrived?

The only "savior" was Spock, able to pilot the future ship out of Nero's ship and sever the drill. If Spock hadn't done this, would the drill have been able to finish its task?
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

Oh, here's another one: Nero set up really crappy security on that drill. A few Starfleet officers parachute in and take it out. There are only two guards, and they're armed with, what? Knives?
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

Biggest quibble in story logic (mentioned in another thread) is how it is that Kirk just happens to be jettisoned to the planet where old Spock has been sent to. Seems like a really really big coincidence. Not just that they're on the same planet, but that they run into each other there. Planets are *big*.

Well the latter part of that is explainable - Spock intended Kirk to land near the Starfleet outpost, and that's where Spock was heading too.

It also seems rather strange that Nero would simply exile old Spock to that planet rather than hold him in captivity on his ship. Spock says that Nero wanted him to witness Nero destroy everything Spock holds dear while he's powerless to stop it. But what can Spock witness if he's living in a cave? (Unless he's got satellite TV in there.)

He could... walk outside? As he did, in the mind-meld-flashback.

Finally, a nitpicky scientific quibble: When you collapse something into a black hole, it doesn't mean that its mass increases....it just gets compressed into a really tiny space....so that means that there's no reason why the Enterprise would be sucked into the black hole created by the collapse of Nero's ship at the end.

Actually, there is - gravity of a black hole is created by the singularity having enormous density, not enormous mass. A singularity compresses mass into zero dimensions. Any mass compressed to zero dimensions has infinite density - hence an enormous gravitational effect. It's not the amount of matter that's sucked into a black hole that causes the gravitational pull, it's how small that matter is compressed.


Oh, here's another one: Nero set up really crappy security on that drill. A few Starfleet officers parachute in and take it out. There are only two guards, and they're armed with, what? Knives?

They were guns with some kind of blade on them, not knives - Sulu and Kirk use them to blast the crap out of it after the guards drop them. And it's a mining drill - it wouldn't really be designed for heavy armoury.
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

One thing I wasn't too keen on in the plot of the movie: the mission to save Romulus was carried out entirely by a 130+ year old man? Not even a backup crew? I know he's Spock and all, but still...

From what they said they outfitted their fastest ship, and sent a single pilot... And he still didn't make it in time.


They sent their best (both from a star fleet perspective and political one), and he failed miserably.

It seems unlikely that much back-up support could be sent or even if it was that it could do much help.


On the side, they could have sent a couple dozen ships to help - evacuate the planet it is, the story does not preclude that possibility.
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

He could... walk outside? As he did, in the mind-meld-flashback.

And see what? My point is that if he's stranded on that planet, he'd be oblivious to everything that's going on around the galaxy, so how is he witnessing Nero's revenge on him?

Finally, a nitpicky scientific quibble: When you collapse something into a black hole, it doesn't mean that its mass increases....it just gets compressed into a really tiny space....so that means that there's no reason why the Enterprise would be sucked into the black hole created by the collapse of Nero's ship at the end.

Actually, there is - gravity of a black hole is created by the singularity having enormous density, not enormous mass. A singularity compresses mass into zero dimensions. Any mass compressed to zero dimensions has infinite density - hence an enormous gravitational effect. It's not the amount of matter that's sucked into a black hole that causes the gravitational pull, it's how small that matter is compressed.

No, that's wrong. You collapse the Earth into a black hole, and it'll have the same gravitational attraction on nearby objects as it does now. It's the mass that it contains, not how dense it is.
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

Oh good. The Kelvin is in service twenty five years before the events of TOS, yet it has flat panel displays and labeled controls. In TOS there are just photographs of nebulae, blinking lights, and switches. Since the Kelvin is in the same universe as the original E, what explains this difference in continuity?

In the original time line there was a massive cut in starfleet's budget, which resulted in a lower tech 1701. The cut didn't happen this time due to the Kelvin attack.

But where is the Avocado Tunic? Did that get cut too? ;)

When Kirk fights in the new film, I didn't see any drop kicks or karate chops. Did his late father teach him all those moves?
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

When Nero's ship arrived at Earth and sent its drill down into San Francisco (pretty handy, now that I think about it, unless Nero specifically chose the spot right next to the Golden Gate Bridge), and started drilling, I expected some sort of security planes to immediately fly up and attack the drill and sever it. Wouldn't Earth have some sort of advance-warning system to let them know there is an enemy attacker-ship that has just arrived?

The only "savior" was Spock, able to pilot the future ship out of Nero's ship and sever the drill. If Spock hadn't done this, would the drill have been able to finish its task?


1) Nero is not a military man, in fact he is basically a mad facist. When you have unlimited force, it is very easy to destroy large numbers of enemies (Klingon ships, star fleet fleet). However faced with small intelligent attacks on a large ship that has a small, poorly trained crew nero has significantly more trouble.

2) This explains his attack on Earth - he had warning (via torture) of earth's defences.

3) As long as Spock managed to remove the orange matter from nero earth could not be destroyed as had Vulcan- that said nero would still have tremendous power at his fingertips.
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

He could... walk outside? As he did, in the mind-meld-flashback.

And see what? My point is that if he's stranded on that planet, he'd be oblivious to everything that's going on around the galaxy, so how is he witnessing Nero's revenge on him?

Finally, a nitpicky scientific quibble: When you collapse something into a black hole, it doesn't mean that its mass increases....it just gets compressed into a really tiny space....so that means that there's no reason why the Enterprise would be sucked into the black hole created by the collapse of Nero's ship at the end.

Actually, there is - gravity of a black hole is created by the singularity having enormous density, not enormous mass. A singularity compresses mass into zero dimensions. Any mass compressed to zero dimensions has infinite density - hence an enormous gravitational effect. It's not the amount of matter that's sucked into a black hole that causes the gravitational pull, it's how small that matter is compressed.

No, that's wrong. You collapse the Earth into a black hole, and it'll have the same gravitational attraction on nearby objects as it does now. It's the mass that it contains, not how dense it is.

1) Old Spock was dropped off just before Vulcan gets destroyed - so he spend 45mins outside before bang, Vulcan down. He also dropped close to a star fleet colony - hence the ability to watch (without being able to help) the future destruction).

2) Lets assume that a black hole created with orange matter that has just engulfed a huge ship within 5s of its life expectancy may be a little unpredictable - we do not know how an orange matter singularity matures. (other than it can consume planets/supernova's).
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

Can someone run the Ent warping to Saturn stuff by me again...I can't remember why they did what they did other then to have the cool out of the clouds shot.

Why does Nero need April? The Naranda was pretty powerful and Earth had no defences other then that space station...what happened to that station anyway?

Didn't the Vulcans have numerous colonies, wouldn't there be more then 10,000 of the pointy-eared hobgoblins around?

Chekov can lock on Kirk falling at terminal velocity but can't keep a lock on Spock's mum? Plus was that the slowest transport in history? Someone should send Chekov to Delta Vega.
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

Someone remind me what happened with Nero putting that slug into Pike. He does that to get Pike to give him the info he needs to get through Earth's defenses. Once he puts the slug in him, I'm supposing that Pike is forced to talk, but we don't see that onscreen?

Is there any reference to that later on? When they rescue Pike, at any point do they say, "Hey, you've got this thing inside you that's controlling your mind?" I can't remember any exchange like that.
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

^ Wait, was it a Ceti Alpha IV/V eel?
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

Can someone run the Ent warping to Saturn stuff by me again...I can't remember why they did what they did other then to have the cool out of the clouds shot.

Why does Nero need April? The Naranda was pretty powerful and Earth had no defences other then that space station...what happened to that station anyway?

Didn't the Vulcans have numerous colonies, wouldn't there be more then 10,000 of the pointy-eared hobgoblins around?

Chekov can lock on Kirk falling at terminal velocity but can't keep a lock on Spock's mum? Plus was that the slowest transport in history? Someone should send Chekov to Delta Vega.

1) To keep from alerting nero that they are hot on his trail (nero thinks they are in another sector - see above about nero's poor quick thinking).

2) April? Nero needed pike to gain intelligence about earth's defences(presumably to destroy enough to attack).

3) So far as we know the space station was not touched (little fighting power, and no need to waste time damaging it if your destroying a planet.

4) Apparently there wasn't that many Vulcan colonists...

5) He had a com link and considerable time in which to beam aboard kirk. Also the amount of interferance was small being in atmosphere.

Amanda however, died (presumably) within 2-3 seconds of her fall, closer to the worsening gravitational fluxes, with no comm badge, while transporting others, in a situation in which a transport was taking longer than than the time available. Try that on your first day.

Someone remind me what happened with Nero putting that slug into Pike. He does that to get Pike to give him the info he needs to get through Earth's defenses. Once he puts the slug in him, I'm supposing that Pike is forced to talk, but we don't see that onscreen?

Is there any reference to that later on? When they rescue Pike, at any point do they say, "Hey, you've got this thing inside you that's controlling your mind?" I can't remember any exchange like that.

No but it is inferred(there is a bit of inferring in this film...eg the court martial thing was never finished... either Spock dropped charges, the thing was dropped, or they finished it - doesn't matter).
 
Re: Errors and Inconsistencies... [SPOILERS]

Oh good. The Kelvin is in service twenty five years before the events of TOS, yet it has flat panel displays and labeled controls. In TOS there are just photographs of nebulae, blinking lights, and switches. Since the Kelvin is in the same universe as the original E, what explains this difference in continuity?

JJ had to use more CGI and shiney bits when he ran out of cardboard.
 
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