• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

TOS questions...

Same thing that selects for Earth cats having pointed ears, I figure. I doubt there's any great difference in hearing quality for pointed versus rounded ears, and I doubt there's any great difference in metabolic costs. So it'd be a pretty arbitrary selection.
 
jayrath said:
My dumb question:

What in evolution could possibly select for really pointed ears? (Yes, I know Roddenberry said that such would help cup sound in Vulcan's thin atmosphere, but that explains Ferengi more than Vulcans. Wicked sharp points help how?)

Some Vulcans were born with these pointed ears. It may have been a random variation, a genetic mutation, whatever... The point is, all the Vulcans decided that it was a desirable trait, and Vulcans with pointed ears had a higher chance to reproduce, meaning that their pointy ears were passed on to more children than those with non-pointy ears. Eventually, the pointy ears became universal because everyone had ancestors with pointy ears that reproduced to make kids with pointy ears, etc.

That might explain it. t might have been artifical selection, the will of the people, not nature, that did it.
 
Jamee999 said:
It's like asking why we have eyebrows, really.
Well, I'm sorry to be a smart ass but there actually is a reason for that. :p From Wikipedia:
The main function of the eyebrow is to prevent moisture, mostly salty sweat and rain, from flowing into the eye, an organ critical to sight. The typical curved shape of the eyebrow (with a slant on the side) and the direction in which eyebrow hairs are pointed, make sure that moisture has a tendency to flow sideways around the eyes, along the side of the head and along the nose. The slightly protruding brow ridges of modern humans could also still play a supporting role in this process. Together with the eyebrows, the brow ridges also shade the eyes from sunlight.

Eyebrows also prevent debris such as dandruff and other small objects from falling into the eyes, as well as providing a more sensitive sense for detecting objects being near the eye, like small insects.

Eyebrows also have an important facilitative function in communication, strengthening expressions like surprise or anger.
 
Here's another one....

What was the deal with Number One from "The Cage"? Was she supposed to be an alien? Was she really the Executive Officer? Was she a Navigator?
 
She wasn't an alien, she just didn't have much of a personality. She was the first officer, just as Riker was Picard's "Number One." As to whether she was also a navigator, it's possible, but it may also be coincidental that the navigator sat in that spot later in the series.
 
Seems that she was human enough - no indications to the contrary, at least.

The term "Number One" seems unambiguous enough - it's standard if old-fashioned naval parlance for the executive officer. I doubt the character would have remained nameless if the show went to production with that cast. She'd have eventually gained a name and a backstory, certainly.

And yeah, seems like she also was the navigator of the vessel. Or helmswoman. Or possibly her duties were unrelated to either of those, and the console in Pike's time was configured for a single combined helm/navigation officer (in this case Joe Tyler) and for whatever functionalities the XO would need.

Also, it seems to me that Number One wears the standard command colors, rather than the brown that Gary Mitchell would wear in the second pilot. Consistent with XO, I'd think.

Timo Saloniemi
 
Harry said:
Here's another one....

What was the deal with Number One from "The Cage"? Was she supposed to be an alien? Was she really the Executive Officer? Was she a Navigator?
That was never quite clear. The initial writer's bible didn't say she was an alien, IIRC. Dorothy Fontana's "Vulcan's Glory" though suggests that she's from a race called Ilyrians. Peter David's New Frontier series suggests that she's an immortal like Flint.
 
Harry said:
Here's another one....

What was the deal with Number One from "The Cage"? Was she supposed to be an alien? Was she really the Executive Officer? Was she a Navigator?

The make up test done with Majel Barrett on THIS page would seem to indicate that making Number One an alien was at least considered.
 
aridas sofia said:
Harry said:
Here's another one....

What was the deal with Number One from "The Cage"? Was she supposed to be an alien? Was she really the Executive Officer? Was she a Navigator?

The make up test done with Majel Barrett on THIS page would seem to indicate that making Number One an alien was at least considered.
As the caption indicates, didn't they just test the Orion make-up on her?
 
It says she is testing the green make up that was later used on Susan Oliver when she took the form of the Orion. It's clear this isn't exactly that same make up -- it also has the Vulcan slanted eye brows.
 
jayrath said:
My dumb question:

What in evolution could possibly select for really pointed ears? (Yes, I know Roddenberry said that such would help cup sound in Vulcan's thin atmosphere, but that explains Ferengi more than Vulcans. Wicked sharp points help how?)

Reaching those high notes.

Joe, noted Evolutionary Biologist
 
For plot purposes, Number One had to be a human, otherwise, the Talosians really screwed up by selecting her to beam down along with Yeoman Colt. Remember, Pike was resisting Vina, so the Keeper and the others granted Pike a choice of two other females so as the propogate the species. If Number One were a humanoid alien, no kids. (And if the Talosians could not even repair their own machines, I doubt they were up to "gene tweaking", allowing the birth of fertile "hybrids".)

Sincerely,

Bill
 
Given what the novels have done, I would very much like to hear the true, full story of Number One:

She is essentially immortal. She has had a number of different names over the years. For example, one such name was Morgan Lefler - she was Robin's mother. Lately she's been Morgan Primus.
 
aridas sofia said:
Harry said:
Here's another one....

What was the deal with Number One from "The Cage"? Was she supposed to be an alien? Was she really the Executive Officer? Was she a Navigator?

The make up test done with Majel Barrett on THIS page would seem to indicate that making Number One an alien was at least considered.

That test had nothing to do with the character of Number One and a lot to do with Majel being willing and available to participate in some makeup tests.
 
I'm curious... how do you know? I seem to recall something about GR considering making her character an alien, and some of the stoic traits that persisted being a part of that (and eventually carrying over to the Vulcan character). I've assumed that photo came from the time when that was being considered... (if it ever was -- I truly don't know).
 
I wouldn't know, but my gut feeling says it may be just a convenient "hey, let's cover Majel in silly makeup" situation, especially if Gene and Majel already had a relationship back then (but I don't know that).

Also, looking at that page you posted.. what uniform is the girl wearing on the "Spock Make-Up Test" to the left of Majel?

Can we do production-related questions here?

- When was the Romulan Bird of Prey model last seen, and what happened to it?

- What was the deal with someone finding the 'hull' of the Shuttle Galileo in some sort of dump?

- What, specifically, did Pato Guzman and Frank Bachelin contribute to very early Star Trek, before Jefferies became the chief designer? And why wasn't Wah Chang credited for his work?
 
Babaganoosh said:
Given what the novels have done, I would very much like to hear the true, full story of Number One:

She is essentially immortal. She has had a number of different names over the years. For example, one such name was Morgan Lefler - she was Robin's mother. Lately she's been Morgan Primus.

Am I the only one who thinks this is a silly backstory for her?
 
I like the theory where Number One's real name is Leigh Chapel, Older sister of Christine Chapel.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top