The One Thing You Could Change, TOS Edition...
- Thread starter Farscape One
- Start date
When GR developed Star Trek his initial concept for the communicator was that it also served as a portable translation device. They never referenced that in the series, but they never really contradicted either. Problem is if you lose your communicator unless you've quickly become proficient in the alien language then you're screwed.
Kirk lost his communicator in the following episodes where language should have been a problem (not counting the maybe's):
- The Return of The Archons
- A Taste of Armageddon
- Errand of Mercy
- Friday's Child
- The Gamesters of Triskelion
- Patterns Of Force
- The Omega Glory
- Bread and Circuses
- Spock's Brain
- The Enterprise Incident
- The Paradise Syndrome
- For The World Is Hollow...
- The Empath
- All Our Yesterdays
If I could change one thing...
Light up the inward facing sides of the Enterprise engine nacelles, such as fans have done in 1/350 scale fan builds. It doesn't even have to be blue light, white, purple or even green would work. Below is a link to a gallery of one such 1/350 scale model lit the way I wish the TOS ship had been lit.
http://cinemaworksmodels.com/gallery-1701-2.htm
Light up the inward facing sides of the Enterprise engine nacelles, such as fans have done in 1/350 scale fan builds. It doesn't even have to be blue light, white, purple or even green would work. Below is a link to a gallery of one such 1/350 scale model lit the way I wish the TOS ship had been lit.
http://cinemaworksmodels.com/gallery-1701-2.htm
...You think that Scotty wasn't portrayed as a competent engineer on the series?
I think they could have done a better job but he was a competent engineer in the series. I just think he was better in the movies.
If I remember correctly, there should be only 13 examples in TOS of Kirk remaining able to communicate with the natives after loosing his communicator which might possibly have a universal translator built into it. As I remember, in "Bread and Circues" the strange Alternate-universe-on-another-planet Roman Empire spoke English, at least in the region Kirk visited. Presumable this Roman Empire conquered the equivalents of north Germany and Scandinavia where the equivalents of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes lived and modern English developed in that province as the local language under Latin.
and:
http://www.chakoteya.net/StarTrek/43.htm
And we know that Kirk Spoke English from "Space Seed".
To say nothing of the times Kirk talked to people in the USA in the past without having a visible communicator on him.
The Melkots were able to converse with Kirk and Spock in their own languages though...
Proving the point of communication needed mentioning every now and then!
JB
Proving the point of communication needed mentioning every now and then!JB
The Melkots were telepathic which most assume will bypass language, or, with their big brains, they instantly learned English using their telepathic powers.The Melkots were able to converse with Kirk and Spock in their own languages though...
JB
Either way, language was not a problem in this episode.Similarly, episodes with advanced aliens bypass the language barrier (or possibly used their own version of an universal translator tech) like Balok, the Shore Leave guy, the Metron, Apollo, Korob and Sylvia, the Kelvans, Gorgan, the Melkot, the Platonians, the Scalosians, and the Excalbians.
On the point of technology, I would make it so that it is not possible to beam up without a localised quantum scanning device, whether that is a communicator, a Perscan, or a high tech implant, much that same way as Blake's 7 used to do it.
I've never liked the notion that you can quantum scan somebody (or lots of random somebodies from orbit) because of the implications for e.g. beaming people off a ship and into space, beaming chunks of a ship, or just murdering individuals from orbit or in NuKhan's case, from another planet). Cloaked assassins with transporter ships could be lethal.
Also, I would formalise that transporting within a ship with an operational warp core only functions safely when using specially shielded transporter rooms, which cannot be used at warp.
Spell it out so that writers can't get lazy. The Enterprise Incident could have been a great Mission Impossible style episode if only it hadn't ignored a lot of established technological barriers to their plan.
I've never liked the notion that you can quantum scan somebody (or lots of random somebodies from orbit) because of the implications for e.g. beaming people off a ship and into space, beaming chunks of a ship, or just murdering individuals from orbit or in NuKhan's case, from another planet). Cloaked assassins with transporter ships could be lethal.
Also, I would formalise that transporting within a ship with an operational warp core only functions safely when using specially shielded transporter rooms, which cannot be used at warp.
Spell it out so that writers can't get lazy. The Enterprise Incident could have been a great Mission Impossible style episode if only it hadn't ignored a lot of established technological barriers to their plan.
That would mean as much technobabble as the TNG era shows
i also thought of something else. Have at least some of the characters be into movies and other filmed productions. TOS implied all they have are books, magazines and manuals. No way Humanity abandoned the film industry prior from the 23rd century and waited for over a century to be addicted with holodecks...
I don't consider this one a parallel Earth episode, it's about Indians who were transplanted by the Preservers and placed on an M Class planet. They did not develop into "Space Cleveland" or something. They retained their own culture from the time they left.
As for them speaking English, who's to say they didn't learn the language before they were taken? They came from Earth, they weren't aliens and tney weren't particularly shocked at seeing a paleface.
Having said that, I sdon't know what's worse, just accepting it's the 60's and that aliens spoke English, or having someone say "how do you know our language?" every week.
I certainly don't recall Blake's 7 becoming bogged down with technobabble. Scotty's excuse for not beaming inside a ship (you need pinpoint accuracy) applies to any transport, and beaming to a planet that is moving could potentially be even more difficult.That would mean as much technobabble as the TNG era shows
i also thought of something else. Have at least some of the characters be into movies and other filmed productions. TOS implied all they have are books, magazines and manuals. No way Humanity abandoned the film industry prior from the 23rd century and waited for over a century to be addicted with holodecks...
Television was in its infancy in the sixties. Maybe they thought it would not last. Plus Starfleet officers are so elitist, reading books and going to Shakespeare performances. Not sure I can see Lt Kyle watching Love island.
True tho the movies had been around since the cast were kids...
That shouldn't be inflicted upon anyone!
I don't see it. The OS Scotty was shown to be a lot more competent officer all-round, as good as or better than Spock while in command as well as handling the engineering miracles as needed. Or both at the same time, as in "The Apple." The movie character was more a one-dimensional workshop tinkerer than anyone who had regularly commanded a starship in action. And the less said about him in TWOK the better.
The ship is also moving most of the time.
Scotty was a great all round officer in TOS. One of my biggest criticisms of Trek is that top many officers often have no leadership qualities at all. Troi was portrayed as as someone who didn't even know how the engines worked.
They should have had civilians or non-commissioned crew as experts if they want to feature people as plot points.
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