Khan’s followers — Why loyalty & no initiative?

[DonIago]

Like I said, it makes someone at Starfleet look very inept. If not Terrell, then Chekov (who was supposedly there), and if not them then Starfleet Command for not eliminating the system as a possibility.

Given it was at least 15 years earlier and Chekov apparently wasn't even bridge crew at the time, I can forgive him not immediately remembering what the big deal about Ceti Alpha was supposed to be. Why Starfleet didn't apprently take any precautions is a bit more confusing, unless we want to assume that Kirk placed warning buoys that were destroyed by the explosion as well.

The weirdest thing to me is that you've got a whole big group of people down on the planet, plus their ship and all their belongings, and apparently some indigenous life as well (the Ceti eel), and yet all Reliant's sensors are able to detect is "a minor energy flux reading on one dynoscanner" that they think may be nothing.

The film is good, but the entire setup defies any and all logic.

Given the weather system, I just assumed there was too much atmospheric interference or what-have-you.

 

[fireproof78]

Given it was at least 15 years earlier and Chekov apparently wasn't even bridge crew at the time, I can forgive him not immediately remembering what the big deal about Ceti Alpha was supposed to be. Why Starfleet didn't apprently take any precautions is a bit more confusing, unless we want to assume that Kirk placed warning buoys that were destroyed by the explosion as well.

Chekov's memory seemed to come back with Botany Bay and not because of a previous encounter in Australia.

Again, I get the dramatic convenience but it lands poorly in terms of operational effectiveness. It's Outbreak level incompetence.

 

[CoveTom]

Given it was at least 15 years earlier and Chekov apparently wasn't even bridge crew at the time, I can forgive him not immediately remembering what the big deal about Ceti Alpha was supposed to be. Why Starfleet didn't apprently take any precautions is a bit more confusing, unless we want to assume that Kirk placed warning buoys that were destroyed by the explosion as well.

Chekov, I can forgive. Let's assume he was on the Enterprise at the time, but not yet a bridge officer. It is quote logical that Kirk did not make public the details of Khan's exile. But the name of Khan's ship would be known and I can see why Chekov recognized it.

However, there is absolutely no excuse for Starfleet to have sent a vessel on a planet scouting mission into the Ceti Alpha star system and not inform them of the risk. Also, despite all the attempts to headcanon it away, I just don't buy that no one noticed a planet was missing.

Given the weather system, I just assumed there was too much atmospheric interference or what-have-you.

A sandstorm? Preventing all the Reliant's sensors from telling that there was anything at all on the planet? I find that difficult to believe. And then when Terrell and Chekov get to the planet, their stock rent-a-prop tricorders couldn't clue them in before they got captured?

Look, dramatically the movie works well. But Nick Meyer and Harve Bennett clearly did not give a rip about either the real life science or the Trek science and it shows.