Never to be seen/heard from/used again

[Shawnster]

What people, technology, methods, etc... would have made sense to make a return appearance in Trek? I'm not meaning some character or creature that was underused or a "one shot wonder," that we would like to have seen again. No, I mean that something that would have made sense to be seen or used again. Something that "should have" made a return appearance. Something that made us viewers think "why didn't they just..."

Example: In TNG's Allegiance, Picard is kidnapped by aliens to be studied. When they return him to the bridge of the Enterprise, Picard turns the table on them. Without verbal communication, Picard signals his bridge crew to implement a procedure that traps the aliens in a forcefield (similar idea to the Bridge defense system in TAS Beyond the Farthest Star).

If the Enterprise has such a defense system that can quickly secure the Bridge from intruders, why was it never used again?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The holo-communicator from DS9

The viewscreen on the Enterprise-E which, in ST:FC, was only activated while in use

 

[uniderth]

only activated while in use

I think that was fairly consistently used throughout all the shows. Most things are in a state of activation when in use.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ No, in every other Starfleet vessel we have ever seen, the viewscreen is always on. If they're not actively talking to somebody, the screens just show a plain starfield.

Hell, even the Ent-E's subsequent appearances (Insurrection and Nemesis) removed the ability to turn off the screen. Why the hell did they do that?

 

[shapeshifter]

If the Enterprise has such a defense system that can quickly secure the Bridge from intruders, why was it never used again?

It would tie writers hands for telling that kind of story again. Trek has continuity but isn't about continuity, it is about stories so technology used to resolve one story can easily be overlooked in order to tell another.

 

[Vandervecken]

I thought the soliton wave from TNG's New Ground was begging to be weaponized. Like, maybe launch one at the Great Link. Didn't show up in the Dominion War.

 

[1001001]

I want to know what happened to Janeway and Paris' salamander babies.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

They grew up and started an all-lizard boy band called No Direction.

 

[matthunter]

The holo-communicator from DS9

Showed up on more than one occasion (used in the ep where Sisko hunts Eddington, and again in the ep where we find out Bashir is genetically enhanced, so the Admiral can explain his deal with Bashir's dad) so doesn't really fit the model.

 

[B.J.]

^ No, in every other Starfleet vessel we have ever seen, the viewscreen is always on. If they're not actively talking to somebody, the screens just show a plain starfield.

Hell, even the Ent-E's subsequent appearances (Insurrection and Nemesis) removed the ability to turn off the screen. Why the hell did they do that?

Well, it was a holographic projection in FC, but was changed into a standard viewscreen in the subsequent movies.

 

[uniderth]

^ No, in every other Starfleet vessel we have ever seen, the viewscreen is always on. If they're not actively talking to somebody, the screens just show a plain starfield.

That's what I was saying, every time we see a viewscreen that is on, it is in use; even if its current use is just to display a star field.

 

[Robert D. Robot]

^ At times when the view screen is NOT being used by the crew to observe something of actual, particular interest, maybe there is a 'viewscreensaver' that we (the audience) have never seen? Like Flying Toasters? An aquarium? Or that ball that keeps bouncing off the edges of the screen?....

 

[BillJ]

The spores from "This Side of Paradise". I can't believe they wouldn't have medical uses if they can regrow organs.

Transporters used to heal aging from "Unnatural Selection".

 

[The Old Mixer]

The last scene in "Conspiracy" was kind of begging for a sequel that never happened. For a while my pet theory was that the Founders were the alien parasites.

The spores from "This Side of Paradise". I can't believe they wouldn't have medical uses if they can regrow organs.

Maybe research into those is where McCoy got his kidney-growing pill in TVH from.

 

[BillJ]

Maybe research into those is where McCoy got his kidney-growing pill in TVH from.

Maybe. I can buy that.

 

[Tracy Trek]

I know this one has probably been talked about many times. But why couldn't the nanoprobes used to help one character in Mortal Coil, not have been used to help another in Friendship One.

 

[The Wormhole]

The holo-communicator from DS9

The viewscreen on the Enterprise-E which, in ST:FC, was only activated while in use

In both cases, Paramount came down hard on them for these ideas, stating that you just don't mess with the viewscreen. Which seems really strange these days, given they've let Abrams replace it with a windshield.

Also, Ron Moore claims he'd been trying to introduce the holo-communicator since he first joined DS9, but it was always met with high resistance. It was only grudgingly allowed in For the Uniform for the convenience of having Kenneth Marshall (Eddington) on set with Avery Brooks and having the two of them play off each other (you don't get that with the way viewscreen conversations are filmed).

 

[2takesfrakes]

How many times would Spock's Flying Boots from TFF have come in handy on certain episodes, throughout the franchise? Yes, when you think about the reality of it, his legs would've gone every which way, with so much power, under heel. Likely ending in catastrophe. And when he grabbed Kirk's leg in free fall, it's extremely likely that he would've - at the very least - pulled it out of its socket and who knows what else. But we'll forget all that ... consider the TNG episode "Disaster," where Picard's stuck with some ankle biters in a broken turbolift. Shouldn't every lift have a pair of Spock Boots handy, for emergencies? On the other hand, they may have been supplied, but with Picard's broken ankle, or whatever, he couldn't use them? In any event, we never did see the Flying Footwear again ...

 

[uniderth]

I can buy that.

No. No you can't.

How many times would Spock's Flying Boots from TFF have come in handy on certain episodes, throughout the franchise? Yes, when you think about the reality of it, his legs would've gone every which way, with so much power, under heel. Likely ending in catastrophe. And when he grabbed Kirk's leg in free fall, it's extremely likely that he would've - at the very least - pulled it out of its socket and who knows what else. But we'll forget all that ... consider the TNG episode "Disaster," where Picard's stuck with some ankle biters in a broken turbolift. Shouldn't every lift have a pair of Spock Boots handy, for emergencies? On the other hand, they may have been supplied, but with Picard's broken ankle, or whatever, he couldn't use them? In any event, we never did see the Flying Footwear again ...

Just watched that movie a few days ago. When he catches Kirk, Spock is parallel to the ground. So I don't think it was thrust front the boots supporting Spock's weight. They must have generated an anti-gravity field and then the jets on the boots were for positioning. But I'm sure this topic has been rehashed by fandom over and over again.

 

[JesterFace]

TNG and 'Interface' from season 7, I don't remember seeing that interfacey tech later...

 

[TwoJakes]

I want to know what happened to Janeway and Paris' salamander babies.

They eventually migrate to the planet's desert regions, where they salvaged valuble components from crashed imperial star destroyers to exchange for food and supplies.

And they waited for the return of the family that abandoned them.