Hmm...maybe the cook wasn't held up to the same standards as the rest of the guys? After all, he's just the chef...they never really have to be as physically fit as the "real" soldiers, or whatever. 
"Forbidden Planet" as TOS prequel?
- Thread starter TOS Purist
- Start date
I was hoping they would show Earl Holliman as Chef in the last ENT episode.
Yes, Nerys?
Indeed. See the PBS series Carrier for anecdotal data on the subject. OTOH, the USN seems to have gotten by all right with all-male sub crews being underway for six months plus at a crack.
Abortions and more effective contraception are, of course, the other possibility. Although never mentioned on screen, Whitfield indicated that Roddenberry posited this as the solution to preventing unplanned pregnancies aboard the Enterprise.
U.S. policy objections to mixed-gender crews are entirely cultural; while such do introduce problems to be addressed that may not exist in single-sex crews the fact is that military service in all sorts of circumstances is successfully practiced by many other nations - so what's the suggestion here, that Americans are less capable of handling this stuff than other people? There are downsides to single-sex arrangements as well, the most basic and oft-overlooked simply being that you're arbitrarily limiting your pool of capable and skilled people in any given situation.
That said, given the parameters of the situation as described by CDR Adams the 378-day return voyage to Earth with Mrs. Adams aboard is probably going to be a bit fraught - especially as there seems, based on the set design, to be very limited privacy accomodations even for officers.
U.S. policy objections to mixed-gender crews are entirely cultural; while such do introduce problems to be addressed that may not exist in single-sex crews the fact is that military service in all sorts of circumstances is successfully practiced by many other nations - so what's the suggestion here, that Americans are less capable of handling this stuff than other people? There are downsides to single-sex arrangements as well, the most basic and oft-overlooked simply being that you're arbitrarily limiting your pool of capable and skilled people in any given situation.
That said, given the parameters of the situation as described by CDR Adams the 378-day return voyage to Earth with Mrs. Adams aboard is probably going to be a bit fraught - especially as there seems, based on the set design, to be very limited privacy accomodations even for officers.
Yeah, their sleeping area looks like my dorm room...
I suspect Cmdr Adams has his own cabin somewhere.
I don't remember seeing it on the blueprints...
Well, the blueprints done by Shane Johnson are conjectural - he allows not only for the ship's commander to have private quarters, but also the first officer and the doctor - and the commander and doctor both have offices as well! That strikes me as overkill - Johnson brings a certain amount of unjustified "Star Trek thinking" to filling in some of the blanks.
But okay, let's give Adams and Altaira a private chamber - certainly not a suite - Adams's expressed anxiety about Altaira's effect on his crew suggests that she'd be at least confined to quarters a good deal of the time. Quite an adjustment for a young woman accustomed to a whole planet to herself.
But okay, let's give Adams and Altaira a private chamber - certainly not a suite - Adams's expressed anxiety about Altaira's effect on his crew suggests that she'd be at least confined to quarters a good deal of the time. Quite an adjustment for a young woman accustomed to a whole planet to herself.
Judging from the size of the ship, her crew and the fact that there appear to be few commissioned officers aboard her--maybe four?--I'd say that the captain probably had a very small cabin to himself, smaller than the single dorm room I had the last two years I was an undergrad, and the other officers probably doubled up. Enlisted men apparently bunked in areas of the ship used for other purposes: when Morbius's Id Monster sabotages the klystron whatever-it-was, he does so right next to two sleeping crewmen.
The best way to read FP is not so much as prequel to Trek but rather as an alternate way of extrapolating the Hornblower in Space theme common to so much quality space opera. As such, the novels of Forrester and O'Brian are better analogues.
I'd like to think, however, that Altaira could pretty much have the run of the ship. Certainly, women were occasionally ferried on warships during the Napoleonic period w/o incident, and their crews were of considerably lesser caliber than the crew of the C-57D. Hell, the most obviously loutish among them is the cook, and he seems ultimately to be a sweet-natured goof.
(I recently screened this film for some friends who were unforgivably ignorant of it. needless to say, they were blown away.)
The best way to read FP is not so much as prequel to Trek but rather as an alternate way of extrapolating the Hornblower in Space theme common to so much quality space opera. As such, the novels of Forrester and O'Brian are better analogues.
I'd like to think, however, that Altaira could pretty much have the run of the ship. Certainly, women were occasionally ferried on warships during the Napoleonic period w/o incident, and their crews were of considerably lesser caliber than the crew of the C-57D. Hell, the most obviously loutish among them is the cook, and he seems ultimately to be a sweet-natured goof.
(I recently screened this film for some friends who were unforgivably ignorant of it. needless to say, they were blown away.)
It's probably true that Adams was over-reacting to Altaira's flirting because he was more emotionally involved than he knew.
The stage set does include the bunks which served most of the crew. It's reasonable to assume that the captain has a cabin; that the limited space aboard ship would be used to provide private cabins and offices for all of the officers is what seemed unlikely to me.
The stage set does include the bunks which served most of the crew. It's reasonable to assume that the captain has a cabin; that the limited space aboard ship would be used to provide private cabins and offices for all of the officers is what seemed unlikely to me.
That's what I always assumed when watching the film, and I think that's what they did want to convey.
Agreed, especially now that I know those blueprints are conjectural and not official.Dennis said:
There aren't any official drawings of the ship that I know of - only the construction blueprints for the sets. They're pretty fascinating, as they even specify materials, like chinese silk for the "ceiling" above the upper deck.
Johnson added retractable hull weapons emplacements that in my opinion are another example of "Star Trek logic" - there's neither evidence of them in the movie nor any suggestion that the ship is designed for or expects to encounter space combat. I'm also not sure that he was able to work out a sensible explanation for the position of the "crane" and associated hatch on the main floor (the hatch the Id monster entered through). I'll have to study them some more.
Johnson added retractable hull weapons emplacements that in my opinion are another example of "Star Trek logic" - there's neither evidence of them in the movie nor any suggestion that the ship is designed for or expects to encounter space combat. I'm also not sure that he was able to work out a sensible explanation for the position of the "crane" and associated hatch on the main floor (the hatch the Id monster entered through). I'll have to study them some more.
Did he also remember to put a location for the engine core and the tractor truck? I lost the link to the prints so I can't check.
If the set blueprints have measurements on them, I could try whipping up a 3D "set" in Google Sketch-Up and see where things can be fitted.
If the set blueprints have measurements on them, I could try whipping up a 3D "set" in Google Sketch-Up and see where things can be fitted.
Totally agree--especially since, when we see Adams in an administrative capacity, at a desk, it's in a space that seems to be part of the general command deck.
Well, if the first officer and chief engineer shared a cabin, guess what? That room is now unoccupied, so Altaira could have that one all to herself.
So even Adams would have reason to behave himself.
So even Adams would have reason to behave himself.
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