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Was the Enterprise the "ford Tempo" of the 23rd century?

C

Cr031k

Lieutenant
Red Shirt
Anyone else notice the common theme of the big E always being broken?

In TMP - Not enough shakedown time and the ship had to be repaired en route

TWOK - Broken ship half the movie due to obvious reasons

TSFS - Still broken

TVH - Well not really

TFF - Broken!

TUC - Only time E wasnt really broken.

I understand getting pulverized by other ships and "it dont work because its new" issues.

It always seemed off to me the poor E was always broken.
Was this just a funny plot device?
 
^^^The Enterprise wasn't broken for all of TMP. It worked fine once they figured out the intermix.
 
I think it was, in part, a way to tone down what the tech could do, so the story could focus on the characters and character-driven solutions, rather than on Voyageresque particle-of-the-movie and inverting the main deflector dish.

Plus, it was in keeping with TOS: something failed almost every episode. If I recall correctly (and this may not be canon, but something said in one of the novels), the Enterprise was the only one of the original 13 Connies to survive at the end of Kirk's first five year command. A Connie is a complicated piece of equipment, and space is filled with dangers - the survival of the Enterprise is a testament to Scotty's abilities, really.

I wouldn't think of the Enterprise as being like the Ford Tempo, so much as maybe like one of those car/plane combinations: no matter how good the engineering work was in design and construction, there just aren't that many of them to work all the kinks out of so you can get real reliability, especially with them doing something kind of experimental in the first place.
 
I had no problems with my Tempo, but that '95 Windstar was a pure nightmare. But it unbelievably lasted 13 years and 144k miles.
 
Even when the Enterprise wasn't at her best, she still held together and brought her crew safely home or to wherever they needed to be.

I can't say the same for a Ford Tempo...the "Fix Or Repair Daily" line stopped being a joke and became a reality during the last few months I owned one. Made me swear off Ford forever and almost American cars in general...
 
I vaguely recall an episode when a very friendly and outgoing Klingon tried to be helpful by starting a discussion of the Enterprise's design flaws with some of TOS crew, but Scotty abruptly ended the conversation before any specific suggestions or solutions could be offered.....
 
I would suggest that the Enterprise (especially the original 1701) was not so much like a faulty Ford Tempo or a fussy car/plane combination, but more like a Land Rover (built to take rough road/trail conditions) that was driven off a cliff every other week! I think she did pretty well when you consider:

"Where No Man has Gone Before" - Pressed to the limit traversing the galactic rim's Energy Barrier....
"Naked Time" - Time Travel. What the hell does that do to a ship? And starting the engines "cold"?.....
"Balance of Terror" - Hit by a nuclear explosion, thanks to the Romulans....
"Tomorrow is Yesterday" - More time travel, plus a low pass through Earth's atmosphere....
"Doomsday Machine" - Attacked repeatedly with an antiproton beam used to carve up planets!....
"That Which Survives" - Ship transported/thrown 990.7 light years, & assembled slightly(!) out of phase....
"Is There in Truth No Beauty?" - Larry Marvick revs the ship up to warp 9.5, steering the ship into the Energy Barrier once again....

... And there are more examples, but I have to go eat supper!....
 
Last edited:
Robert D. Robot said:
I vaguely recall an episode when a very friendly and outgoing Klingon tried to be helpful by starting a discussion of the Enterprise's design flaws with some of TOS crew, but Scotty abruptly ended the conversation before any specific suggestions or solutions could be offered.....
Click to expand...
:guffaw:
 
I drive a Ford, never gave me any problems, neither did the Tempo I previously owned. Maybe we can liken the Enterprise to a Chevy model? ;)
 
Cr031k said:
Anyone else notice the common theme of the big E always being broken?

In TMP - Not enough shakedown time and the ship had to be repaired en route

TWOK - Broken ship half the movie due to obvious reasons

TSFS - Still broken

TVH - Well not really

TFF - Broken!

TUC - Only time E wasnt really broken.

I understand getting pulverized by other ships and "it dont work because its new" issues.

It always seemed off to me the poor E was always broken.
Was this just a funny plot device?
Click to expand...

Maybe a better analogy would be the Lancia Beta.
 
Robert D. Robot said:
"Where No Man has Gone Before" - Pressed to the limit traversing the galactic rim's Energy Barrier....
"Naked Time" - Time Travel. What the hell does that do to a ship? And starting the engines "cold"?.....
"Balance of Terror" - Hit by a nuclear explosion, thanks to the Romulans....
"Tomorrow is Yesterday" - More time travel, plus a low pass through Earth's atmosphere....
"Doomsday Machine" - Attacked repeatedly with an antiproton beam used to carve up planets!....
"That Which Survives" - Ship transported/thrown 990.7 light years, & assembled slightly(!) out of phase....
"Is There in Truth No Beauty?" - Larry Marvick revs the ship up to warp 9.5, steering the ship into the Energy Barrier once again....
Click to expand...
That much abuse must surely have voided the warranty.

Oh, and talking of Ford products, my little 2007 Focus just needs an oil change every 6000 miles and runs like a charm.
 
scotpens said:
Robert D. Robot said:
"Where No Man has Gone Before" - Pressed to the limit traversing the galactic rim's Energy Barrier....
"Naked Time" - Time Travel. What the hell does that do to a ship? And starting the engines "cold"?.....
"Balance of Terror" - Hit by a nuclear explosion, thanks to the Romulans....
"Tomorrow is Yesterday" - More time travel, plus a low pass through Earth's atmosphere....
"Doomsday Machine" - Attacked repeatedly with an antiproton beam used to carve up planets!....
"That Which Survives" - Ship transported/thrown 990.7 light years, & assembled slightly(!) out of phase....
"Is There in Truth No Beauty?" - Larry Marvick revs the ship up to warp 9.5, steering the ship into the Energy Barrier once again....
Click to expand...
That much abuse must surely have voided the warranty.

Oh, and talking of Ford products, my little 2007 Focus just needs an oil change every 6000 miles and runs like a charm.
Click to expand...

My wife and I loved our 2002 Focus until a F150 rammed it.
 
My 2000 Ford Focus has given me no major issues other than a handful of recalls it had at first, most likely due to it being the first year of a new model. But other than expected mechanical problems for a now 120,000-mile 11-year-old car it has given me no problems whatsoever and the only thing I've had to really do for it is the general maintenance every car should have.
 
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