Not focusing too much on details helps?

[fireproof78]

"Not focusing too much on the details" works fine for many. It all works out in a "broad strokes" kind of way if you can suspend disbelief to a degree. But science fiction tends to attract viewers/readers who are really enthusiastic about these technical details, and might find it harder to overlook inconsistencies in fake tech.

Kor

Here's my thing-I have no issue with focusing on the technical details with the understanding that the primary focus is entertainment. Now, I know many Trek tech fans who want things to make this perfect amount of sense, similar to the real world, or perhaps more so. And, I will occasionally enjoy those discussions but the caveat for me is always that this is a work of fiction and so many not have a real firm answer. For me, that's OK; but it can get in the way of an entertaining story if all the details from every story don't line up.

I'm more of the mindset to work within the inconsistencies and line them up as I can. It works for me.

 

[shapeshifter]

The local story is more important than overall continuity.

 

[dupersuper]

A tachyon detection grid is magic. It works however they want it to. The scripts just said [TECH] and the Okudas or whoever would consult a chart of technobabble words and make something up.

The problem with the net is far more basic than the made up technobabble. It's the simple question of how so few ships could cast a net even remotely big enough that the ships in three dimensional space wouldn't just go around it.

 

[JesterFace]

The problem with the net is far more basic than the made up technobabble. It's the simple question of how so few ships could cast a net even remotely big enough that the ships in three dimensional space wouldn't just go around it.

I have a weirdo tech babbly thingy that makes the tachyon grid work. Hold your applause and laughter.
The interwebz tells us that tachyon is a hypothetical particle that cannot travel under the speed of light. The less energy it has the faster it moves. Here's the fanfic part: The tachyon detection grid is actually much larger than the area the ships cover. As the ships spread the tachyons the grid expands beyond the ships and Federation ships are able to track the tachyons they sent. The grid grows larger all the time, who knows how fast. Wasn't that weird unbelievable strange fanfic stuff?

 

[NCC-73515]

I also think it extended beyond that group of ships, and only had better resolution between them

 

[SJGardner]

I've always had a quite two-sided view of this thing... while I love consistent universes where everything works according to well-defined internal rules, is clearly defined, its connections to other things are plainly laid out etc, etc, etc... I eventually had to realize that this was just an added bonus. Ultimately, the story needs to work before everything else, and I have no problems with writers sacrificing, disregarding, or - Occam's razor at work - merely not keeping in mind things "established" in previous episodes if that's what makes the story work. As long as the fundamentals are the same, I don't care about what exact functions the technobabbleotron has or how large its energy output is.

And yes, "established" needs to be in quotes. It's a creative process, not a scientific field. Treating scripts, bits of dialogue or background VFX as new scientific data to be entered into the knowledge base that needs to be kept static and 100% accounted for in any later steps is just far too arduous when talking about such a giant franchise, especially when it's ultimately a creative undertaking, not scientific research. After 55 years of Trek, we're basically at a point where no matter what a writer wanted to introduce, there would be one random bit of dialogue in a random Voyager episode implying it's impossible within the Star Trek universe and one can't expect any writer to keep in mind every single word Tuvok, Seven or Random Alien Politician Of The Week has ever said.

 

[Oddish]

Sometimes it will mangle your body, sometimes split you into two individuals, sometimes fuse two individuals into one, turn you into a kid, or a holodeck character... other than that it's perfectly safe.

Don't forget just beam you out into empty space as energy, and never materialize you. I expect that groups like the Orions no longer have to bother with cement overshoes.

 

[MacLeod]

I've always had a quite two-sided view of this thing... while I love consistent universes where everything works according to well-defined internal rules, is clearly defined, its connections to other things are plainly laid out etc, etc, etc... I eventually had to realize that this was just an added bonus. Ultimately, the story needs to work before everything else, and I have no problems with writers sacrificing, disregarding, or - Occam's razor at work - merely not keeping in mind things "established" in previous episodes if that's what makes the story work. As long as the fundamentals are the same, I don't care about what exact functions the technobabbleotron has or how large its energy output is.

And yes, "established" needs to be in quotes. It's a creative process, not a scientific field. Treating scripts, bits of dialogue or background VFX as new scientific data to be entered into the knowledge base that needs to be kept static and 100% accounted for in any later steps is just far too arduous when talking about such a giant franchise, especially when it's ultimately a creative undertaking, not scientific research. After 55 years of Trek, we're basically at a point where no matter what a writer wanted to introduce, there would be one random bit of dialogue in a random Voyager episode implying it's impossible within the Star Trek universe and one can't expect any writer to keep in mind every single word Tuvok, Seven or Random Alien Politician Of The Week has ever said.

I'll agree with you partially as "Impossible" might only mean impossible at any given point in time, a hundred years later what was once considered impossible is no possible. It's one thing to overlook certain things but a lot harder whn the show itself calls attention to things. i.e We have no way of replacing X.

At the very minimium it isn't much to ask that a series be at least intnerally consistent within itself. If you say you can't do X but a few episodes later do X at least address it somehow doesn't have to be in any great detail i.e. Captain's log, During a recent cultural exchange we were able to obtain a module that allows us to create a back up of the EMH,