Fireball xl5 reference?

[diankra]

Good point. I'd say there are three possibilities:

• It could be a deliberate nod to the Anderson show that had just been on NBC.

• It could be a total coincidence.

• It could fall between the two: "XL5" could come out of someone's head if he saw the show listed in TV Guide, forgot all about it, and then produced what he thought were random characters through a process called cryptomnesia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptomnesia

Anderson says he took the XL5 from a Castrol oil of the time, so if Trek was referencing anything it could equally be that.

 

[publiusr]

Are we next to suggest the V'ger cloud comes from Fireball XL5 as well?

Nah...that came from Mongo and Ming...

Now, that episode might have been on in the background while Ken and others were working.

The Hustler was a very futuristic plane and probably was part of the zeitgeist. Ray Cusick may have been subconsciously influenced by Sputnik III with his Daleks...