TOS Turbolift
- Thread starter Koloth TOS
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Riding a capsule in the pneumatic tube would require lots and lots of padding. It wasn't real loud but anytime you were near a tube station you can't miss the thump whenever a capsule arrived.
It went without saying that you didn't send breakable objects through the tube or at least you had to wrap it with lots of padding and hope it didn't break anyway. Whenever I used it, it was always just to send paperwork to people.
Working at the Amoco Research Center was awesome, I got to play with- err, I mean work with lots of fascinating machinery and got paid good money to do it. I was even in charge of running a robot arm for a couple of years, this was in the late 80s/early 90s.
The robot was used to grab a bar from a stack of plastic test bars and put it into a testing machine and when the test was finished, grab the bar again and drop it into a trash bucket.
You wouldn't believe how much people were fascinated by that robot. It was near a window so that anyone passing by in the hallway could seeit and they would always stop and watch it operating for a couple of minutes.
Everytime a bigwig would give a visitor a tour of the facility, I was always given the word to have the robot running when they came through the lab.
The robot arm had these grips to manipulate the plastic test bars and one time when there were no samples for it to test, I stuck an unlit cigarette in its grips and waited for people to notice.
It was just so damned funny, people would glance casually at the robot as they passed by in the hall, stop short and start cracking up when they see the cigarette in its grips.
Robert
Weeeeeeeeeeeellllll I don't think that's what he did . . . but you get a "A" for effort for attempting to redeem a particularly glaring fault in what I believe to be Star Trek's most overrated episode.
Okay, NOW we're talking in terms of filmable drama!!!!
"I shall be in my quarters. Lieutenant Uhura, have Dr. McCoy and Mr. Scott join me there."
"Captain. You've placed yourself in a most grave position. This conduct must be reported."
"You're at liberty to do so, Mr. Spock."
[JUMP] [WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!!!!]
No, I meant in real life. It'd be a much faster way to get between buildings than those underground tunnels.
That's a good idea. DS9 made that joke in "Trials and Tribblations" with O'Brien and Bashir not knowing to turn the handles in the turbolift. Spock however never touches the turbolift handle in the scene so maybe the lift will default to a low priority and slow travel mode? Spock knew it would take it's time and even let other turbocars get ahead of them so he could have a longer conversation with her.
"Turbolift elevators inoperative. Bobsled capsules jammed, Captain . . . fascinating. Every pneumatic contingency anticipated."
"Mister Spock, Mister Chekov, come with me. Doctor McCoy, report to the transporter room immediately. Scotty, you have the conn." [JUMP] [WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!]
I knew to a near-metaphysical certainty that Spock never touched the handle - he rarely ever did with the exception of Wolf in the Fold - but I was really hoping someone else would watch the episode and confirm so I wouldn't have to. I will assume without deciding that you in fact did so.
I did (with a caveat). In all the wide shots Spock doesn't hold any turbolift handle and does not appear near one. But there are several close-ups where we cannot see his hands and cannot see the move indicator. Still I'm fairly confident he didn't touch any of the turbolift handles.
Works for me. Since I treat that episode as a fever dream (by either Kirk or Spock, as preferred), assuming that Spock telepathically ordered the computer to slooooooooooooooooooow that one-deck trip down for seven or eight lines of UST-laden dialogue works well. So does the idea that the computer knew (without being asked) that this was the right time for a trip measured in inches/centimeters per minute in order to accommodate a sexually-charged conversation with an enemy combatant.
I only told half the story.
Aside from going to the cafeteria for lunch, the work I did in that 7th building required me to go over to the same 4th building three or four times a week.
It was a temporary job that lasted from around Thanksgiving to the middle of spring so I was having to do all this shuttling back and forth all through a Chicago area winter.
So yes, it would've been nice to be able to use the pneumatic tube to go back and forth between buildings, those tunnels got to be kind of tiresome.
Robert
Remember the wild turbolift ride that LaForge had in TNG's "Contagion"?
That's what riding the pneumatic tube would be like.
Robert
I must confess that I do not. But I bet it wouldn't be very practical.
You are correct; Spock enters the turbolift with his hands behind his back, turns around and orders "Deck 2" with the handles behind him untouched, in full view
Spock doesn't to use his mind powers to activate or control the speed of the turbolift, one of the other passengers could have done it for him. Who, you say? Glad you asked
In all the scenes with the Romulan Commander on the Bridge there are 2 guards standing behind her. They remain present throughout the battle and shortly after:
After this point we see a H&S shot of Kirk, then Spock, then back to the Commander. The guards are gone!
Spock then escorts the Commander into the turbolift. It is my assertion that the 2 guards moved out of shot briefly, then followed them in. There's just enough time before the doors close and one of the guards could easily have grabbed a control handle (knowing that Spock rarely does that for himself)
In fact, it could be one of the guards whom the Commander is addressing when she turns away from Spock and says this line:
Finally they arrive and the doors open. There's just enough time for the 2 guards to disembark and wait in the corridor before Spock begins to move. Of course, the Commander stops him to have one final word.
And that's it! Simple
The apparent slow movement from Deck 1 to 2 can be ascribed to the turbolift having to take in indirect route to the destination (Deck 2 might be below the Bridge but that doesn't mean there's a parking spot immediately beneath it).
The fan theory that the Bridge structure was moved down into the saucer teardrop after WNMHGB ties into this: After all, a certain amount of Deck 2 would have been lost, requiring a more circuitous route for the turboshaft when travelling from the Bridge to the guest quarters on the perimeter of Deck 2
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I like the arrangement on The Orville, both a lift system and staircases
You are correct; Spock enters the turbolift with his hands behind his back, turns around and orders "Deck 2" with the handles behind him untouched, in full view
Spock doesn't to use his mind powers to activate or control the speed of the turbolift, one of the other passengers could have done it for him. Who, you say? Glad you asked
In all the scenes with the Romulan Commander on the Bridge there are 2 guards standing behind her. They remain present throughout the battle and shortly after:"...If I may be taken to your brig, I will take my place as your prisoner."
After this point we see a H&S shot of Kirk, then Spock, then back to the Commander. The guards are gone!The commander's reaction upon hearing that she will be escorted to some living quarters, not the brig.
Spock then escorts the Commander into the turbolift. It is my assertion that the 2 guards moved out of shot briefly, then followed them in. There's just enough time before the doors close and one of the guards could easily have grabbed a control handle (knowing that Spock rarely does that for himself)
In fact, it could be one of the guards whom the Commander is addressing when she turns away from Spock and says this line:"You realise that very soon we will learn to penetrate the cloaking device?"
Finally they arrive and the doors open. There's just enough time for the 2 guards to disembark and wait in the corridor before Spock begins to move. Of course, the Commander stops him to have one final word.
And that's it! Simple
The apparent slow movement from Deck 1 to 2 can be ascribed to the turbolift having to take in indirect route to the destination (Deck 2 might be below the Bridge but that doesn't mean there's a parking spot immediately beneath it).
The fan theory that the Bridge structure was moved down into the saucer teardrop after WNMHGB ties into this: After all, a certain amount of Deck 2 would have been lost, requiring a more circuitous route for the turboshaft when travelling from the Bridge to the guest quarters on the perimeter of Deck 2
I haven't seen TEI in ages, but if it's even possible that the guards rode that elevator, it's a fantastic discovery! And it would also represent an enormous failure of the director or the film editor to give them some coverage. If the guards were in that scene, then my money would be on the editor omitting all their shots for some reason.
Yeah, I forgot that the guards just disappeared. I remember that I was pleased that she was being guarded. Then they vanished. Sigh. What a mess!
Thanks for those photos of a very touching scene between Spock and the Romulan Commander. I do not share the opinion of the 2 guards acompanying them on their trip in the lift, the conversation being to intimate to be heard by others.You are correct; Spock enters the turbolift with his hands behind his back, turns around and orders "Deck 2" with the handles behind him untouched, in full view
Spock doesn't to use his mind powers to activate or control the speed of the turbolift, one of the other passengers could have done it for him. Who, you say? Glad you asked
In all the scenes with the Romulan Commander on the Bridge there are 2 guards standing behind her. They remain present throughout the battle and shortly after:"...If I may be taken to your brig, I will take my place as your prisoner."
After this point we see a H&S shot of Kirk, then Spock, then back to the Commander. The guards are gone!The commander's reaction upon hearing that she will be escorted to some living quarters, not the brig.
Spock then escorts the Commander into the turbolift. It is my assertion that the 2 guards moved out of shot briefly, then followed them in. There's just enough time before the doors close and one of the guards could easily have grabbed a control handle (knowing that Spock rarely does that for himself)
In fact, it could be one of the guards whom the Commander is addressing when she turns away from Spock and says this line:"You realise that very soon we will learn to penetrate the cloaking device?"
Finally they arrive and the doors open. There's just enough time for the 2 guards to disembark and wait in the corridor before Spock begins to move. Of course, the Commander stops him to have one final word.
And that's it! Simple
The apparent slow movement from Deck 1 to 2 can be ascribed to the turbolift having to take in indirect route to the destination (Deck 2 might be below the Bridge but that doesn't mean there's a parking spot immediately beneath it).
The fan theory that the Bridge structure was moved down into the saucer teardrop after WNMHGB ties into this: After all, a certain amount of Deck 2 would have been lost, requiring a more circuitous route for the turboshaft when travelling from the Bridge to the guest quarters on the perimeter of Deck 2
Spock actually did touch the turbolift handles quite some times, in "A Piece Of The Action", "Elaan Of Troyius" to name but a few.
Spock actually did touch the turbolift handles quite some times, in "A Piece Of The Action", "Elaan Of Troyius" to name but a few.
Cool - thanks for the references to the other episodes where Spock held the lift handles. For Phaser2's question, Spock didn't appear to be holding a lift handle in the wide shots for the ride with the Romulan Commander.
[QUOTE=" For Phaser2's question, Spock didn't appear to be holding a lift handle in the wide shots for the ride with the Romulan Commander.[/QUOTE]
Maybe he was ready to grab the lovely commander instead of the turbolift handle...
Maybe he was ready to grab the lovely commander instead of the turbolift handle...
During the cutaways to Kirk and Spock there is enough time for them to wander off to the right of the screen...but why would they?
It would be nice to think that the guards were intended to be in that scene and it's not inconsistent from an in-universe POV. But honestly, I just think the director forgot about that particular mechanic of the turbolift operation - the light by the side of the Commander doesn't even switch on when the lift begins to move
(in-universe explanation - the bulb was broken and Scotty was busy!)
That's fair. I am under no illusions on the persuasive power of my explanation - it's just something which happens to fit the (limited) available visual information.
All in all: I know this presentation was a little OTT but sometime I like to indulge myself in Trek nerdery
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