Weird Thing in "The Naked Time"

[Michael]

I've been watching "The Naked Time" yesterday and have been noticing something strange: In the teaser, doesn't it seem weird for Lt. Tormolen to put down his EV suit glove on the head of the dead body sitting on the desk? I mean, of all places, why would he put it there? Seems kind of morbid, doesn't it? One moment they wonder about what killed all those people, the next he's using one of them as a table? What do you think?

 

[Melakon]

Joe was already two cans short of a six-pack. Isn't that the same scene where you can see the underside of the iced over table when he bends down, and you can see bare wood as the liquid "jumps" onto his hand?

 

[Metryq]

Joe was already two cans short of a six-pack.

Indeed. Seppuku with a butter knife. Yuck.

And then McCoy says, "That kind of man doesn't give up." The episode didn't give us much time to know the character, but he didn't strike me as a fighter. I'd say Joe's six-pack was missing the plastic rings, too. I mean, he compromises his isolation suit, notices the stink on his hand, then doesn't say anything about the contamination? Is there a "no pinhead left behind" mandate at the academy?

 

[scotpens]

I mean, he compromises his isolation suit, notices the stink on his hand, then doesn't say anything about the contamination?

I figured the shower-curtain suits were just to provide heat, not protection against environmental hazards. For one thing, the hoods are completely open at the bottom.

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

I'd say Joe's six-pack was missing the plastic rings, too. I mean, he compromises his isolation suit, notices the stink on his hand, then doesn't say anything about the contamination? Is there a "no pinhead left behind" mandate at the academy?

He must've been in the same graduating class as Compton from Wink of an Eye, who tasted the Scalosian water while taking samples!

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I've been watching "The Naked Time" yesterday and have been noticing something strange: In the teaser, doesn't it seem weird for Lt. Tormolen to put down his EV suit glove on the head of the dead body sitting on the desk? I mean, of all places, why would he put it there?

When their loved ones are not around, the deceased often get treated with flippancy and disrespect in hospitals and morgues. It's just a fact of human behavior.

 

[Nebusj]

I mean, he compromises his isolation suit, notices the stink on his hand, then doesn't say anything about the contamination?

I figured the shower-curtain suits were just to provide heat, not protection against environmental hazards. For one thing, the hoods are completely open at the bottom.

It's always struck me as most likely that the suits were meant for heat and comfort rather than environmental hazard protection. Besides the hoods being really obviously open, and how easily one can take pieces off and put them back on again, note that Spock says to make certain they haven't exposed themselves to anything --- pointless if they are environmental hazard suits because that would be guaranteed by not unsealing the suits --- and calls for a round of decontamination after they get back to the ship, which again, if the suits are meant to be proof against would be a redundant measure.

It's also not clear they had reason before beaming down to be looking for any specific peril; besides the cold, what would they have to be filtering out? (Granted that it would make a lot of sense to suppose a possible contaminant is at any outpost that's stopped responding, but the rest of the Treks indicate that they don't don environmental suits often.)

 

[Avro Arrow]

and calls for a round of decontamination after they get back to the ship, which again, if the suits are meant to be proof against would be a redundant measure.

Well, even if they were supposed to be some kind of environmental hazard suit, you'd probably still want to decontaminate to get rid of any contaminant that had attached itself to the exterior of the suit, rather than spread it to the ship at large.

(Granted that it would make a lot of sense to suppose a possible contaminant is at any outpost that's stopped responding, but the rest of the Treks indicate that they don't don environmental suits often.)

Not only that, but they never did that decontamination procedure again in all of TOS. Although maybe that's because it didn't, you know, work.

 

[Metryq]

you'd probably still want to decontaminate to get rid of any contaminant that had attached itself to the exterior of the suit

Bingo. I interpreted the cheap costumes as a budgetary constraint of the show. If you want to be literal about it, then the wire mesh helmets of the spacesuits seen in "The Tholian Web" would not stand up well in a vacuum, even if they do keep the mosquitoes out.

The transporter chamber decon would only effect the suits anyway. If Joe had whipped off his laundry and taken decontamination naked, it would not have eliminated the bug.

(I believe some of the novels made decontamination—even of infections—a function of the transporter's buffer circuits. Being able to "filter out" undesirable patterns would turn the transporter into a real miracle machine. No Brundle-Flies in STAR TREK.)

 

[Push The Button]

Yeah, Joe seemed like a bit of a knucklehead, even before being contaminated. "You don't rank me and you don't have pointed ears, so just back off."

(Actually, Sulu and Riley both did outrank him, just barely)

 

[Mario de Monti]

If you want to be literal about it, then the wire mesh helmets of the spacesuits seen in "The Tholian Web" would not stand up well in a vacuum, even if they do keep the mosquitoes out.

 

[Commishsleer]

TOS always had really ugly spacesuits IMO. But you got the idea of what they were supposed to do.

I don't know what the purpose of the environmental suit in The Naked Time though. Obviously it wasn't secure. But why would they suddenly put a 'protective suit' on in this one episode? Other times they beamed into potentially hazardous situations and didn't wear a suit - "Omega Glory", "Miri","Doomsday Machine", "Wink of an Eye", "Operation Anihilate"

 

[Melakon]

But why would they suddenly put a 'protective suit' on in this one episode? Other times they beamed into potentially hazardous situations and didn't wear a suit - "Omega Glory", "Miri","Doomsday Machine", "Wink of an Eye", "Operation Anihilate"

"The Naked Time" was only the 7th episode produced. They probably realized the suits looked like crap, so they stopped with two suits and never used them again.

 

[scotpens]

TOS always had really ugly spacesuits IMO. But you got the idea of what they were supposed to do.

I don't quite know what you mean by "always." Four spacesuits were made for "The Tholian Web." Two of them reappeared in "Whom Gods Destroy." They weren't used in any other episodes.

 

[Redfern]

Realistically, every "unknown" environment they visited should have been done in fully sealed EVA gear until the place was scanned from here to eternity (probably taking months if not years), even the so-called "garden spots". Actually, the various "paradises" even moreso as they demonstrate active eco-systems that would more likely affect the crew on a microbial level.

But then, that would have negated several plots concerning "alien illness" and dressed in full environment suits would have made "blending in" with the native population a tad difficult.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Metryq]

But then, that would have negated several plots concerning "alien illness"

At the time of TOS, the Latex Spacesuit trope had yet to be realized. If those same episodes were remade today, the crew would wear environment suits as part of their everyday uniform. (Think Lt. Ellis in Gerry Anderson's UFO.)

The live-action movie SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO realized the costumes seen in the original anime as everyday environment suits. With the addition of a few extra pieces, they'd be ready to board their Black Tigers or Cosmo Zeroes for a little vacuum party with Desla/Gamilas.

 

[Corylea]

In "These Are the Voyages," Cushman reports that the actor playing Joe told him, "I questioned Marc Daniels [the director] about whether a Star Fleet officer who probably had at least a PhD in engineering would be stupid enough to take his glove off in that situation. He said, 'Of course not. But if you don't do it, we don't have a show.'"

The bit-part actors have to look stupid so that the leads will have their chance to look smart, later.

 

[BillJ]

In "These Are the Voyages," Cushman reports that the actor playing Joe told him, "I questioned Marc Daniels [the director] about whether a Star Fleet officer who probably had at least a PhD in engineering would be stupid enough to take his glove off in that situation. He said, 'Of course not. But if you don't do it, we don't have a show.'"

The bit-part actors have to look stupid so that the leads will have their chance to look smart, later.

 

[Metryq]

The bit-part actors have to look stupid so that the leads will have their chance to look smart, later.

While watching TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY in the cinema, my brother leaned over and commented on flipping the gun one-handed to cock it, "Schwarzenegger's contract had a line that read, 'Arnold will be cool.'"

 

[Commishsleer]

TOS always had really ugly spacesuits IMO. But you got the idea of what they were supposed to do.

I don't quite know what you mean by "always." Four spacesuits were made for "The Tholian Web." Two of them reappeared in "Whom Gods Destroy." They weren't used in any other episodes.

Sorry I was thinking of the movies as well which had different budgets etc.
I suppose I'm one of the few who liked the glow suits in TAS?