TMP Epsilon 9 radio chatter

[Wingsley]

Does anyone have access to the subspace radio chatter heard in the establishment shots scene when we first saw the Epsilon 9 space station/listening post in TMP?

I wanted to know if there is a written canon record of all that chatter, particularly the names and assignments of all the ships mentioned.

 

[Scott1768]

Does anyone have access to the subspace radio chatter heard in the establishment shots scene when we first saw the Epsilon 9 space station/listening post in TMP?

I wanted to know if there is a written canon record of all that chatter, particularly the names and assignments of all the ships mentioned.

I thought was quite clear in the movie - I understood pretty much everything they said.

 

[Wingsley]

But is there any trasncription of it anywhere?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

particularly the names and assignments of all the ships mentioned.

IIRC, those are:

USS Entente, NCC-2120 (dreadnought)

USS Columbia, NCC-621 (scout)

USS Revere, NCC-595 (scout)

The ship types are also mentioned in dialogue. The Columbia was assigned to rendezvous with the Revere, but otherwise their missions weren't given. Neither was the Entente's.

 

[Ian Keldon]

I don't know if there are. Various edits of the movie had different levels of sound mixing. The "Director's Cut" version, for example, has the sound remixed so that the background is hard to make out, unlike some earlier versions.

It IS known, from various sources, that the chatter included references to the scouts Columbia (NCC-621) and Revere (NCC-595) as well as the dreadnought Entente (NCC-2120). All three came from the Franz Joseph Technical Manual, as did some of the display diagrams seen on various monitors.

Supposedly there is also reference to the Merrimac by it's FJ listed hull number (NCC-1715), and a long-range shuttle, (some people with very good home theaters say is the Laika or Lakia), but those references on versions I've heard if they're there at all are in the illegible background.

 

[Wingsley]

Is the Entente expressly mentioned to be a "dreadnought"?

I do not have a copy of TMP on-hand. Can anyone else transcribe the chatter from that scene?

 

[Basill]

Is the Entente expressly mentioned to be a "dreadnought"?

Yes. It is a call made from the "Dreadnought Entente" to Epsilon IX. Twice in fact, since the same call is made twice, once by a male and then immediately after by a female voice.

I have the main call to the Columbia (mostly) and some other things printed out somewhere. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[QuinnTV]

Twice in fact, since the same call is made twice, once by a male and then immediately after by a female voice.

I never noticed that, but it makes sense. I believe some of the TMP engineering background chatter dialog was recycled into TWOK with a gender switch for the same script. (Stuff like: "Pre-stage flux chillers..... On.") Perhaps they recorded most of this kind of stuff twice.

 

[Ian Keldon]

Is the Entente expressly mentioned to be a "dreadnought"?

Yes. It is a call made from the "Dreadnought Entente" to Epsilon IX. Twice in fact, since the same call is made twice, once by a male and then immediately after by a female voice.

I have the main call to the Columbia (mostly) and some other things printed out somewhere. I'll see if I can find it.

The female voice is one of Epsilon 9's communications officers, because the same voice is the one doing the transmission to the Columbia.

Twice in fact, since the same call is made twice, once by a male and then immediately after by a female voice.

I never noticed that, but it makes sense. I believe some of the TMP engineering background chatter dialog was recycled into TWOK with a gender switch for the same script. (Stuff like: "Pre-stage flux chillers..... On.") Perhaps they recorded most of this kind of stuff twice.

In TMP, it was a female Engineer running the checklist with the computer (which had a male voice in the theatrical release). In TWOK it was the computer (voiced by Marcy Vosburgh) running the list with Sulu.

 

[Basill]

This was apparently all I was ever able to make out.


The Columbia Conversation:

“This is Comm Station Epsilon IX, calling USS Columbia. Come in Columbia. Respond please.”

“This is Scout Columbia, Epsilon IX. Could you boost your transmission please? You’re reading… (unintelligible*)”

“This is Epsilon IX, Columbia. Am boosting output. How read you this?”

“Fine, Fine, Epsilon IX. Proceed with your transmission.”

“Scout Columbia NCC-621, to rendezvous with Scout Revere NCC-595 on stardate 7411.4. Further orders to be relayed at that time. Signed Commodore Probert, Starfleet. End of transmission.”

“Received and understood Epsilon IX. Thank you. Give my best to your commander.”

*The rest of this sentence is mostly unintelligible. It sounds something like, “You're reading four points below… blah blah blah.” or, "You're reading four points into the… blah blah blah.”


Dreadnought Entente transmissions:

The first male voice:
"This is Dreadnought Entente Calling. NCC-2120. Callling Comm Station, Epsilon IX. Come in."

Female voice immediately after his ends:
"Epsilon IX. This is Dreadnought Entente Calling. NCC-2120. Comm Station Epsilon IX. Come in."

(They are nearly identical, although I've never heard him say "Epsilon IX" at the beginning, and she doesn't appear to say "calling" the second time. Both pronounce the zero in 2120 as “oh.” Both tend to pause unusually long between "Comm Station" and "Episilon IX.")


The only other thing easily heard is "Long range shuttle Lakia" (or Lincoln, or something entirely different) Though is is part of a bigger message, and the Merrimac is apparently listed in this message (either by name or registry, or both). Those with good systems claim it is a message to the Merrimac from the shuttle about an intent to begin some sort of landing procedure or mission and to inform them of a delay in their scheduled meeting. The delay is to be explained upon their arrival. There appears to be a "Received your transmission" or, "Proceed with your mission" at the end as well.


That's all I have from that scene it seems.

 

[Data Holmes]

I always loved that comm chatter. Same with the engineering background chatter checklist.

 

[SchwEnt]

Commodore Probert.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I well remember the day in 1980, new to the ST phenomenon, riffling my still-fresh copy of the "Starfleet Technical Manual", when I noticed the names and numbers of background ships mentioned in TMP had come from that volume. Geek freak out.

 

[SchwEnt]

I guess it's fairly obscure. But I wonder what the story is of using FJ TM technical terminology and illus. and vessel nomenclature in TMP (and then later movies)?

I don't recall any behind-the-scenes stories or interviews about how the TM came to be used like this in the films.

Was someone in the production really a fan and wanted to showcase FJ work? Was is simply a matter of digging up some material to use license-free? Was someone trying to stick to canon or establish it?

The radio chatter could have been written with any random names and numbers and so on. Why use the exact words from the TM? Was it intentional? Or just handy? Who chose to use it? Who on the production team knew about the TM and went to that source? Who needed to approve it?

Just a lot of wondering. I don't recall reading anything about how the TM came to be used in the films.

 

[Wingsley]

I wouldn't be surprised if this was Paramount's way of boosting FJ's Tech Manual sales; the book was only five years old at that point.

 

[Christopher]

I guess it's fairly obscure. But I wonder what the story is of using FJ TM technical terminology and illus. and vessel nomenclature in TMP (and then later movies)?

I don't recall any behind-the-scenes stories or interviews about how the TM came to be used like this in the films.

Was someone in the production really a fan and wanted to showcase FJ work? Was is simply a matter of digging up some material to use license-free? Was someone trying to stick to canon or establish it?

It was filler, meant to be background noise in a scene that was about something else. Nobody who made the film in 1979 knew that there would be a time when home video was commonplace and obsessive Trekkies spent their lives overanalyzing every last detail. So they just grabbed whatever was at hand that sounded appropriate and tossed it into the background walla. It was the audio equivalent of lorem ipsum.

It's no different from a movie set in Ancient Rome raiding the studio vault for props and costumes from earlier Roman epics. Or Lost in Space and Batman '66 recycling leftover props from Fantastic Voyage. They're not trying to incorporate those earlier movies into their "canon" or express their fandom for them, they're just latching onto whatever suitable pre-existing material they can put into their movie or show so they don't have to spend more time and money creating new stuff.

 

[Albertese]

The tech manual was a best seller for a surprisingly long time and it wasn't til later, around the mid-80's/pre-production of TNG that Gene Roddenberry declared his starship design rules fiat to gank the FJ work. So as of 1979, it was still official Star Trek. So why wouldn't it have been consulted? Especially since they were going for a more grounded and believable feel to the Starfleet stuff, to nicely contrast the more fantastical elements of the V'Ger business. Hence, the authenticity of radio chatter and the pre-flight warp systems check list (straight off of TO:03:11:20 from the TM). The references to the FJ TM in the first couple Trek films should not surprise anyone.

--Alex

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I recognized the names first run in the theater, as I just assumed other fans about my age or older did. My Tech Manual is first edition, from 1975.

The names and registries were audible loud and clear.

 

[Wingsley]

The black, hard-bound ones! We, the few, the proud, the original geeks!

 

[Data Holmes]

The tech manual was a best seller for a surprisingly long time and it wasn't til later, around the mid-80's/pre-production of TNG that Gene Roddenberry declared his starship design rules fiat to gank the FJ work. So as of 1979, it was still official Star Trek. So why wouldn't it have been consulted? Especially since they were going for a more grounded and believable feel to the Starfleet stuff, to nicely contrast the more fantastical elements of the V'Ger business. Hence, the authenticity of radio chatter and the pre-flight warp systems check list (straight off of TO:03:11:20 from the TM). The references to the FJ TM in the first couple Trek films should not surprise anyone.

--Alex

I do believe that the "introduction to navigation" manual was also used for the navigation data shown on screen in TWOK as well.

Fandom wasn't a dirty word to the studio in those early days. Roddenberry turned sour against the fans a little when they "liked" trek without him more than TMP. So, when he came back to trek "power" with TNG, he was ruled by a hurt ego and the whispers of the forked tongue of his lawyer to lock down control as much as possible. Thus the birthing of "canon" and the disavowment of the fandom tech works, novels, and animated series. It was his trek, or no trek.