First misimpressions

[alpha_leonis]

I remember watching "Encounter at Farpoint" for the first time when it aired in 1987. At the beginning of the show, when Q throws the space-fence in front of the Enterprise to stop its progress, I distinctly remember my first impression about who it was that had created the barrier:

24th Century Tholians (who had developed "instant web" technology over the intervening century since their TOS appearance.)

Of course I was very quickly "corrected" when Q himself flashed onto the bridge and started his series of costume changes. But I wonder if anybody else had any similar misunderstandings about the nature of a Trek story in the middle of its telling?

 

[F. King Daniel]

Watching as a kid, all the Klingon/Human hostility in STVI didn't make much sense. After all, if the Federation president was a Klingon, how much bad blood could there really be?

 

[Redfern]

As kids, my friend and I argued whether or not the displays encircling the TOS bridge were in fact the windows we saw on the egg-shaped "bulge" upon the Enterprise primary saucer.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

I saw "Crossover" when it first aired more than twenty years ago and mistakenly thought that our James Kirk was actually native to that universe rather than this one.

--Sran

 

[Finn]

I used to think Spock didn't talk. Joys of watching TOS before captions with Nimoy being stiff lipped talker.

Plus on early 80s tv

 

[Hober Mallow]

I thought "Mister Spock" was a name like "Mr. T."

I thought "Uhura" was "O'hura," an Irish name like O'Brien.

 

[BigJake]

Watching as a kid, all the Klingon/Human hostility in STVI didn't make much sense. After all, if the Federation president was a Klingon, how much bad blood could there really be?

I never noticed that before, but I can totally see it.

 

[Stevil2001]

I have three I distinctly remember from watching the movies first, and completely out of order:
- The bird-of-prey from ST IV was called a "cling-on ship" because it clinged on to the top of the secondary hull of the Enterprise; the curved wings seemed to match perfectly. I immediately went and built a Lego spaceship with three cling-on ships.
- TMP happened before TOS-- thus, Kirk was an admiral throughout the whole TV series.
- All the Enterprises from the original to the D were one ship, gradually refit over a century.

 

[WisTrekFan]

When I first started watching TOS, I thought Spock was a robot. That impression was the result of a remark McCoy made in "A Private Little War" where he says something to the effect that he always knew you couldn't kill a machine.

 

[Captain Rob]

As kids, my friend and I argued whether or not the displays encircling the TOS bridge were in fact the windows we saw on the egg-shaped "bulge" upon the Enterprise primary saucer.

Sincerely,

Bill

I also thought that briefly when I was a kid watching for the first time in the 70's. Boy, that would have made for a tiny ship.

 

[Smellincoffee]

When I was getting into Star Trek, I mixed up Kira and the Resistance with Ro Laren and the Maquis, so that both were part of the same "Bajoran thing" that was apparently aimed against the Federation.

The first time I watched TNG, I thought Geordi wore weird glasses just to be cool.

For some reason as a child watching DS9, I decided that the wormhole had been created by that asteroid wandering by in the opening title shots deciding to spontaneously implode it on itself. I think I was taking something I'd heard about stars and black holes and trying together the visuals in the credits.

 

[Richard Baker]

I thought the trigger on the Phaser One was the big silver plate on top instead of a tiny stud underneath.

 

[The Badger]

There's a bit in 'The Deadly Years' when Kirk speculates that there may be something in Chekov's genes that protected him. When I first saw it as a child, I, knowing nothing of genetics, thought Kirk was asking if it was his jeans.

 

[Alrik]

I remember watching "Encounter at Farpoint" for the first time when it aired in 1987. At the beginning of the show, when Q throws the space-fence in front of the Enterprise to stop its progress, I distinctly remember my first impression about who it was that had created the barrier:

24th Century Tholians (who had developed "instant web" technology over the intervening century since their TOS appearance.)

Of course I was very quickly "corrected" when Q himself flashed onto the bridge and started his series of costume changes. But I wonder if anybody else had any similar misunderstandings about the nature of a Trek story in the middle of its telling?

This was kind of my first impression as well. Quickly dispelled of course.

 

[drt]

As kids, my friend and I argued whether or not the displays encircling the TOS bridge were in fact the windows we saw on the egg-shaped "bulge" upon the Enterprise primary saucer.

When I was a kid, I thought the bridge was at the bottom of the saucer. I have no recollection for my reasoning, maybe because it was closer to the phaser banks?

 

[The Old Mixer]

When I was a kid I caught part of McCoy confronting Spock in "All Our Yesterdays" and assumed that McCoy must be a villain.

When I first watched TMP, I was under the impression that Vulcan was supposed to be a moon of Jupiter or Saturn.

 

[scotpens]

At first I thought George Takei's last name sounded something like "tacky," and that "phaser" was spelled "fazer" (as in "it didn't even faze him") because of the weapon's stun capability.

When I first started watching TOS, I thought Spock was a robot. That impression was the result of a remark McCoy made in "A Private Little War" where he says something to the effect that he always knew you couldn't kill a machine.

In an early concept, Spock didn't have to eat -- instead, he "recharged" himself from the ship's power supply through a plate in his stomach. Apparently G.R. didn't know the difference between an alien and a robot either.

I thought "Uhura" was "O'hura," an Irish name like O'Brien.

Black Irish, obviously. (runs and ducks behind heavy furniture)

 

[SchwEnt]

After two seasons of kinda lackluster DS9, I thought VOY was gonna be the cat's ass, getting back onboard a starship again and having swell adventures again.

Instead, DS9 quickly became excellent while VOY quickly sank.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

One time when I was a kid and first discovering TNG I was interrogating my parents about what the chain of command was beyond Picard and Riker, and after they got past Data and Worf they had no idea so they started just naming the other main characters. So when I was a kid I was convinced the chain of command was:

Picard, Riker, Data, Worf, Troi, Geordi, Beverly, O'Brien

 

[Redfern]

I thought "Uhura" was "O'hura," an Irish name like O'Brien.

Black Irish, obviously. (runs and ducks behind heavy furniture)

I was waiting for someone to post that classic "one liner"!

Sincerely,

Bill