I was just glad that they didn’t do a WHITE stripe down the pants.
Spoilers Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 1x10 - "A Quality of Mercy"
- Thread starter Commander Richard
- Start date
I was just glad that they didn’t do a WHITE stripe down the pants.
One thing that many are failing to mention in the evaluation of Pike's actions: he is hesitating because he doesn't know which of his actions or inactions will be the "bad" one. And he doesn't find out the full implications of how bad his decisions were until he sees what's left of Spock on that biobed.
I hear the pants with the white stripes have the hardest button to button, and it makes an icky thump sound when you snap it together. But still, they're so rockin' that a seven-nation army couldn't hold them back.
I can tell that we are gonna be friends.
Good thing you addressed the elephant in the room.I hear the pants with the white stripes have the hardest button to button, and it makes an icky thump sound when you snap it together. But still, they're so rockin' that a seven-nation army couldn't hold them back.
After a rewatch, I have come to conclude that it isn't Pike being too cautious or delaying to try to figure out what the bad moves are, it is that Pike suspects that Kirk will, through brash action, lead them into a war, and he is trying to avoid that. But he doesn't know everything; he doesn't know that it was Kirk alone in charge of the Enterprise the first time. He is trying to do a better job reining in Kirk than his older self did.
Comparing the scenes, it seems to me the critical difference was that there were two ships, which is what screwed up the comet ambush (by not screwing up the comet ambush).
In TOS, Kirk's plan was to swing around when the Bird of Prey's sensors were blinded by the comet and catch them coming out the other side, which screwed up the Romulan Commander's plan to Crazy Ivan when his "reflection's" sensors were blinded in the comet and slip back behind the Enterprise. When they were both about to attack, neither ship was where the other expected it to be, so neither was able to strike a killing blow.
In SNW, Kirk just suggested they start shooting at the Bird of Prey when it passed into the comet, without maneuvering into a better position first, letting the Bird of Prey catch the Farragut right were they expected it to be. Maybe Kirk thought with two ships covering each other he wouldn't need to intercept the Bird of Prey, maybe he was deferring to Pike as the senior captain to not make the more aggressive move to block the other ship's way, maybe he just got up on the wrong side of the bed and didn't think of it.
It is an odd choice for the episode to make so much of the change and to not make the decisive difference clear; it almost seems to be a disaster independent of Pike being the wrong man for the moment, which is the apparent theme they were trying to communicate.
So Spock used an engineering tool in this episode that first appeared in Discovery
https://twitter.com/gaghyogi49/status/1547980557597847553
Which in turn may have been inspired by a similar tool seen in Voyager (and Men in Black)
https://twitter.com/gaghyogi49/status/1547980569044144131
https://twitter.com/gaghyogi49/status/1547980557597847553
Which in turn may have been inspired by a similar tool seen in Voyager (and Men in Black)
https://twitter.com/gaghyogi49/status/1547980569044144131
That is such a random TOS-style tool, though. No visible purpose, just random greeblies on the thing and somehow it gets the job done.
SNW-Kirk's plan assumed that the Romulan wouldn't change course and that the Enterprise and Farragut would converge on the Romulan's expected position in the comet from both sides. This would put both Starfleet ships in weapons range and allow them to team-fire on the Romulan's detectable position.
It's a little different from TOS-Kirk's plan to warp to the other side of the comet and wait for the Romulan to come out of the comet trailing comet particles to fire at.
edit: But I do agree that the presence of both ships messed up the ambush. If it was just Pike's ship it might've played out more closer to how TOS-Kirk handled it.
From "A Quality of Mercy":
KIRK: Hold a moment. Captain Pike, that comet we're approaching might just be the alternative that you've been looking for. Mr. Spock, can you put up the trajectory on screen, please? Currently, the Romulan ship is headed for the comet's tail. Now I know that they're invisible and we can't lock on to their exact position. But the second they go through that, particle distortion will reveal their location.
PIKE: And we'll be flanking them on either side.
KIRK: They'll be penned in and we'll be able to get weapons locked.
PIKE: Good plan, Captain.
PIKE: Captain's personal log, stardate 1709.2. Per Captain Kirk's plan, we are mounting a pincer move. Our two ships will slowly drift closer as the Romulans remain unaware. When they pass through the comet's tail giving us their exact location, we will be in weapons range. Kirk, however, has agreed to my plan to neutralize, not destroy, the Bird-of-Prey, leaving open the possibility of dialogue.
PIKE: And we'll be flanking them on either side.
KIRK: They'll be penned in and we'll be able to get weapons locked.
PIKE: Good plan, Captain.
PIKE: Captain's personal log, stardate 1709.2. Per Captain Kirk's plan, we are mounting a pincer move. Our two ships will slowly drift closer as the Romulans remain unaware. When they pass through the comet's tail giving us their exact location, we will be in weapons range. Kirk, however, has agreed to my plan to neutralize, not destroy, the Bird-of-Prey, leaving open the possibility of dialogue.
Last edited:
Ah, I'd interpreted the BoT line about "an invisible object leaving a visible trail" as talking about the Romulans' "shadow" while they were within the comet, not shedding particles after they left it, but your way makes more sense, especially since Kirk swinging around to overtake them is treated as part of the plan and not a last-second flourish.
Ok, what would have been more interesting to see the Monster Maroon or the TMP getup?
I was more than happy to see the Monster Maroon.
Waiting for ST: TMP No Decker Unit Edition. 
The TMP uniform looks good on two occasions: Admiral Kirk's variant. And not being worn. 
Yeah they look like very comfortable pajamas.They're a couple of TMP uniforms I wouldn't mind revisiting.
For all the flourish, the message of the season was "It's important to history that Pike be horribly injured because he is a bad captain, and Kirk is a way better one, and Pike would have totally messed up everything Kirk accomplished in TOS."
Looks like Decker, Kirk and Spock mugged the Sensorites for their uniforms. All that's missing are the black sashes indicating who the hell they are!
I have to admit I like these uniforms. I love that McCoy is finally wearing medical whites. And I love how the dress code indicates relaxed exploration of space with only a hint to naval tradition
The less said about Ilia's robe, the better. What there is of it.
I love Ilia's space karate robe and Kirk's space dentist shirt.
Similar threads
- Poll
- Poll
- Poll
- Poll