Mistakes You Thought Were Made In OS, But Weren't

[Samuel]

This is a thread about mistakes you felt were made from a logical standpoint in an ST:OS episode but upon further reflection you realize were not mistakes at all. Though its possible the writers. directors, and producers did not actually recognize or correct the error themselves.

Specter of the Gun

Mistake I thought was in the episode
Kirk and company, knowing they have no hope of outdrawing the Earps and Doc Holliday in a gunfight, create a grenade which spews out tranquilizing gas. IIRC in the episode it is mentioned that the gas will take "2 or 3 seconds" to take effect. I always thought that "in 2 or 3 seconds" the Earps and Holliday would've gunned Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty down with time to spare.

Why its not a mistake
During the gunfight, the Earps and Holliday halt at what appears to be about 20 yards away from the Enterprise landing party and call for the draw. This distance is about right for 19th century gunfights with single action revolvers.

But, assuming Spock is the one who they were planning to have throw the grenade (seems logical given his greater upper body strength) then in all likelihood Spock could've hurled the small grenade at least 70-75 yards. In other words well before the Earps and Holliday walked to within accurate revolver range. Thus the strategy of the Enterprise crew was indeed sound and would've worked if the Melkotians had allowed it to play out.

 

[Spock's Barber]

Mistake I thought was in an episode
Casting Melvin Belli as the Gorgan in And The Children Shall Lead.

Why it was not a mistake
Because Melvin Belli was a friend of Fred Freiberger.

 

[MAGolding]

This is a thread about mistakes you felt were made from a logical standpoint in an ST:OS episode but upon further reflection you realize were not mistakes at all. Though its possible the writers. directors, and producers did not actually recognize or correct the error themselves.

Specter of the Gun

Mistake I thought was in the episode
Kirk and company, knowing they have no hope of outdrawing the Earps and Doc Holliday in a gunfight, create a grenade which spews out tranquilizing gas. IIRC in the episode it is mentioned that the gas will take "2 or 3 seconds" to take effect. I always thought that "in 2 or 3 seconds" the Earps and Holliday would've gunned Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty down with time to spare.

Why its not a mistake
During the gunfight, the Earps and Holliday halt at what appears to be about 20 yards away from the Enterprise landing party and call for the draw. This distance is about right for 19th century gunfights with single action revolvers.

But, assuming Spock is the one who they were planning to have throw the grenade (seems logical given his greater upper body strength) then in all likelihood Spock could've hurled the small grenade at least 70-75 yards. In other words well before the Earps and Holliday walked to within accurate revolver range. Thus the strategy of the Enterprise crew was indeed sound and would've worked if the Melkotians had allowed it to play out.

Of course the real gunfight at the OK Corral was different from in "Specter of the Gun" and other movies and TV shows. The parties were standing much closer and yet most of the bullets missed.

 

[Samuel]

Of course the real gunfight at the OK Corral was different from in "Specter of the Gun" and other movies and TV shows. The parties were standing much closer and yet most of the bullets missed.

True. Though everyone except for Ike Clanton IIRC and Wyatt Earp were either killed or wounded. Virgil Earp, Morgan Earp, and Doc Holliday were all injured. Ike Clanton was unarmed and Wyatt Earp yelled at him to fight or run, he ran.

But as the episode (wisely) makes clear, this scenario is based on Kirk's imperfect knowledge of the gunfight. Though one has to wonder, if as Spock notes that Tombstone is a flawed recreation of Kirk's knowledge then why would they think (later in the episode) that the events were a "replay of history and history could not be changed". ?

 

[johnnybear]

I wonder if Spock had not come up with the answer (as he usually did) would the Melkotians really have allowed the crew of the Enterprise to die?
JB

 

[Methuselah Flint]

I still get confused by the abrupt return to the Enterprise. The trio remember the events of the episode. Does Chekhov or Scotty? The Melkot says "approach our planet". Did all of it occur in just a few brief seconds on board the Enterprise, just in the crew's minds? The ending implies they never beamed down earlier. Did the Melkots somehow wind time back to pre-beaming down after returning the landing party to the ship?

 

[Samuel]

I still get confused by the abrupt return to the Enterprise. The trio remember the events of the episode. Does Chekhov or Scotty? The Melkot says "approach our planet". Did all of it occur in just a few brief seconds on board the Enterprise, just in the crew's minds? The ending implies they never beamed down earlier. Did the Melkots somehow wind time back to pre-beaming down after returning the landing party to the ship?

Good questions. I was under the impression that it all took place in their minds from the point they bypassed the warning buoy.

 

[Samuel]

That Which Survives

Mistake I thought was in the episode

Within seconds of the earthquake on the planet, Sulu glances at the tricorder and announces that the Enterprise is gone. The scene seems to imply that the tricorder can scan for the Enterprise in orbit. I found this to be ridiculous given the size of the tricorder and it does not seem to have the ability to detect orbiting starships in other episodes

Why it is not a mistake.

Episodes like "City On the Edge of Forever" and others indicate that the tricorder computing power is greatly augmented by being able to link to the Enterprise main computer. In "That Which Survives" Enterprise has been transported away so of course the continuous signal linking it to Sulu's tricorder is gone, instantly indicating to him that the ship has disappeared.

 

[Phaser Two]

Sure. Could also have been a signal locator or lock-on built into the tricorder.

 

[gottacook]

It's illogical that Colonel Green and his team of bad guys in "The Savage Curtain" would have scenes only among themselves, or with only Surak or Lincoln. All six of them were brought into existence for the sole purpose of interacting with Kirk and Spock, so why would they have scenes of their own?

Likewise, the scene where the Earp bothers and Doc Holliday are approaching the OK Corral, joining one by one, in "Spectre of the Gun": If they're illusions, why wouldn't they simply show up at the corral all at once? (At least they don't have dialogue only among themselves; they just march.)

Of course, each of these episodes would be too short if not for these scenes. Both episodes are already padded: In "Curtain," as in "Arena," the crew gets to observe and comment but not intervene, which advances the story not at all; likewise, there's no story reason for the Melkotian buoy to emit "M-rays of a highly unstable nature" and then explode just before the Melkotians welcome the Feds to their planet.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

In "This Side of Paradise," Kirk talks to the ship on his communicator. When he finishes, he just says "Kirk to Spock," and somehow that causes Spock's communicator to beep. Throughout the 1970s, I didn't even have doubletalk to explain how that could work. You can't just talk to the communicator itself, have it understand you, and act on what you say. It's too small a device. You'd need a computer for that, not just a little radio.

Everybody knows Star Trek inspired the '90s flip phone. But the show also somehow envisioned voice dialing in 1966. It was a time when researchers, far from the public eye, were working with primitive integrated circuits and had yet to create the first simple microprocessor. Voice dialing in a handheld device was so far out, I thought it was impossible.

 

[Commishsleer]

In "This Side of Paradise," Kirk talks to the ship on his communicator. When he finishes, he just says "Kirk to Spock," and somehow that causes Spock's communicator to beep. Throughout the 1970s, I didn't even have doubletalk to explain how that could work. You can't just talk to the communicator itself, have it understand you, and act on what you say. It's too small a device. You'd need a computer for that, not just a little radio.

Everybody knows Star Trek inspired the '90s flip phone. But the show also somehow envisioned voice dialing in 1966. It was a time when researchers, far from the public eye, were working with primitive integrated circuits and had yet to create the first simple microprocessor. Voice dialing in a handheld device was so far out, I thought it was impossible.

This is slightly off-topic but is there a explanation of how on ship when someone was trying to contact anyone on board through the comms system that they were directed to the correct place. Like when Spock was on the bridge and said into the comms "Spock to Kirk" and the sickbay comms beeped. Kirk was sitting there with McCoy. How did the comms system know that Kirk was there and say not in his quarters.

 

[Maurice]

It's illogical that Colonel Green and his team of bad guys in "The Savage Curtain" would have scenes only among themselves, or with only Surak or Lincoln. All six of them were brought into existence for the sole purpose of interacting with Kirk and Spock, so why would they have scenes of their own?

Likewise, the scene where the Earp bothers and Doc Holliday are approaching the OK Corral, joining one by one, in "Spectre of the Gun": If they're illusions, why wouldn't they simply show up at the corral all at once? (At least they don't have dialogue only among themselves; they just march.)

Of course, each of these episodes would be too short if not for these scenes. Both episodes are already padded: In "Curtain," as in "Arena," the crew gets to observe and comment but not intervene, which advances the story not at all; likewise, there's no story reason for the Melkotian buoy to emit "M-rays of a highly unstable nature" and then explode just before the Melkotians welcome the Feds to their planet.

In "This Side of Paradise," Kirk talks to the ship on his communicator. When he finishes, he just says "Kirk to Spock," and somehow that causes Spock's communicator to beep. Throughout the 1970s, I didn't even have doubletalk to explain how that could work. You can't just talk to the communicator itself, have it understand you, and act on what you say. It's too small a device. You'd need a computer for that, not just a little radio.

Everybody knows Star Trek inspired the '90s flip phone. But the show also somehow envisioned voice dialing in 1966. It was a time when researchers, far from the public eye, were working with primitive integrated circuits and had yet to create the first simple microprocessor. Voice dialing in a handheld device was so far out, I thought it was impossible.

This is slightly off-topic but is there a explanation of how on ship when someone was trying to contact anyone on board through the comms system that they were directed to the correct place. Like when Spock was on the bridge and said into the comms "Spock to Kirk" and the sickbay comms beeped. Kirk was sitting there with McCoy. How did the comms system know that Kirk was there and say not in his quarters.

You guys are all deviating already, you're listing things which ARE errors or lapses in logic instead of things you THOUGHT were mistakes but aren't, which the subject of the thread.

My "mistake" that wasn't: In "The Apple" I scoffed at the Vaal having the power it displayed given it was "fed" by the natives. Then years later I realized they are feeding it not food but the high-energy explosive rocks of the sort that blew ye olde redshirt sky-high.

 

[Forbin]

My "mistake" that wasn't: In "The Apple" I scoffed at the Vaal having the power it displayed given it was "fed" by the natives. Then years later I realized they are feeding it not food but the high-energy explosive rocks of the sort that blew ye olde redshirt sky-high.

Poor Mallory.

 

[johnnybear]

I always wondered when I was a kid if Vaal was a Gorn expedition to Akuta's planet and they never returned but the natives still thought of the head and computer as a God!
JB

 

[Phaser Two]

This is slightly off-topic but is there a explanation of how on ship when someone was trying to contact anyone on board through the comms system that they were directed to the correct place. Like when Spock was on the bridge and said into the comms "Spock to Kirk" and the sickbay comms beeped. Kirk was sitting there with McCoy. How did the comms system know that Kirk was there and say not in his quarters.

There was a really good attempt to explain this years ago by a talented writer (Vonda McIntyre?) in Best of Trek. I think it revolved around filaments contained in the uniforms that routed communications to the proper person. If so, then that writer either anticipated the comm badges or they stole her idea.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

You guys are all deviating already, you listing things which ARE errors or lapses in logic instead of things you THOUGHT were mistakes but aren't, which the subject of the thread.

No, I was exactly on your topic. I thought that "voice dialing" (giving a spoken command to a handheld device) was impossible. But Star Trek was right; smart phones can do voice dialing today. It's just that Star Trek was so far ahead of its time as to seem wrong for years.

 

[Forbin]

No, I was exactly on your topic. I thought that "voice dialing" (giving a spoken command to a handheld device) was impossible. But Star Trek was right; smart phones can do voice dialing today. It's just that Star Trek was so far ahead of its time as to seem wrong for years.

I think he's talking about something you thought was a mistake in the plot, which later plot developments showed to be NOT a mistake with the plot.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

This is slightly off-topic but is there a explanation of how on ship when someone was trying to contact anyone on board through the comms system that they were directed to the correct place. Like when Spock was on the bridge and said into the comms "Spock to Kirk" and the sickbay comms beeped. Kirk was sitting there with McCoy. How did the comms system know that Kirk was there and say not in his quarters.

I just thought the computer always knows the location of every member of the crew.

 

[Maurice]

No, I was exactly on your topic. I thought that "voice dialing" (giving a spoken command to a handheld device) was impossible. But Star Trek was right; smart phones can do voice dialing today. It's just that Star Trek was so far ahead of its time as to seem wrong for years.

Oh I see. Mea culpa.

The "voice dialing" on Star Trek is actually completely backwards. "Kirk to Sickbay" means the computer can't know how to route the call till the end of the message, which makes those instant replies basically impossible. On a navy ship you actually do it the other way around, saying who you are calling first, so to grab the person's attention, and then identifying yourself, as in "Flight Deck / Bridge."