"The question is..."

[klwilbur]

Has anyone noticed the phrase "The question is..." is in practically every episode?

Whenever they needed a character to reframe the central conflict of the story, they would have someone (usually Janeway) say "the question is..." followed by what the central conflict was.

My wife and I are watching every episode starting from the pilot and we've noticed this all the way up through season 4.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Oh thank, now I will notice this forever.

 

[Shatnertage]

I'll be on the lookout for that now.

 

[Tosk]

It's the "Ironic, isn't it?" of Voyager! (That's DS9's go-to phrase.)

I looked at the transcripts, and it looks like it might be the fault of someone who came on board (the show, not the ship) part way in...season 1 never uses it, but season 2 and 3 use it quite a bit.

 

[Lynx]

The question is........who came up with this comment in each and every script?

 

[Guy Gardener]

It's a secret drinking game for the producers.

 

[Captain Kathryn]

Did you notice the signature Chakotay pipe music too whenever there was a tribal scene?

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I didn't even think about the pipe music after being weaned on Spock's Vulcan angst music for so many years.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Jeri Ryan has the most full lips I've ever seen.

--Sran

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Other parts of her are also full.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Other parts of her are also full.

Which causes me to...

I won't go there.

--Sran

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Oh DO!

I have.

 

[lurok]

Other parts of her are also full.

The question is...oh look, a koala!...

I shall have to look out for that phrase now. Might be a fun drinking game.

 

[Tiberius]

I don't ever recall hearing that phrase. What line was it in for the pilot episode, for example?

 

[Tosk]

^It isn't. It doesn't show up 'til season 2.

 

[klwilbur]

^It isn't. It doesn't show up 'til season 2.

Where are the transcripts available? I'd love to take a look.

I thought I had remembered this back into season one, but if you have checked the transcripts, I must be mistaken. Either that, or they used some variation of the phrase.

The reason why I might notice it more than others is because it is somewhat of a pet peeve of mine. It is like a writer's crutch...the story can't tell itself so you have to have some character reframe the central conflict verbally so the audience knows what is going on. What makes it worse is that usually, it was CLEAR what was going on and it wasn't necessary to spoon feed the audience.

The question is, whether a variation of this phrase was in Season 1.

 

[Tosk]

Here you go...

http://www.chakoteya.net/Voyager/episode_listing.htm

And I have found errors here and there in the past, so apologies if you were right and they were wrong in regards to season 1.

EDIT: Mea culpa! It is in season 1! ...Faces.

 

[Kevman7987]

My God. Now I will not not be able to hear it. Now I have this stuck with me along with Riker's weird-ass way of sitting down too.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

My God. Now I will not not be able to hear it. Now I have this stuck with me along with Riker's weird-ass way of sitting down too.

What way is that? I remember him always putting his foot on Data's console while leaning forward over the latter's chair. It made me really uncomfortable.

--Sran

 

[Lance]

I think the directors sometimes had troubles framing shots with Riker in them. Jonathan Frakes is actually a pretty big guy, and especially with Patrick Stewart being (comparitively) small, they sometimes had to get creative just to fit him into a shot with another actor.

Riker's characteristic "I thrust my pelvis into Data's face" leaning pose on the Ops console is one by-product of this.