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First, some comments from previous columns . . .
Phil: Okay! This topic is officially closed. Thanks to everyone who sent responses. I have forwarded them on to Harold Schiffman!
Shane Tourtellotte: Charles Sylvia asked whether anybody on Star Trek ever said "Beam me up, Scotty." The writers finally had Captain Kirk say it in STIV, right before Dr. Taylor hitches a transporter ride with him. (That or a transposed version: "Scotty, beam me up.") It was definitely the first time, although they might have snuck one into STV. Please don't make me research that one. ;-)
Phil: I pulled the tape, it is there!
Christopher Pope: The Numiri are the hostile race that threatened Voyager for hanging around with the feather-headed Baneans, who had convicted Paris of killing Dr. Tolen Ren. For more info. on the Numiri, see Neelix's comments in "Ex Post Facto."
Phil: See, that's the thing I like about this Guild. Somebody always has an answer! ;-) (Actually, more than just somebody. Thanks as well to Murray Leeder and Gareth Wilson for responding.)
Jason Liu: Regarding Rolf Berger's question about Merrit Butrick. Did he die of AIDS? I thought I read somewhere that he died of cancer (of course, it could've been one of those rare forms of cancer associated with AIDS).
Phil: All I know is that he is listed in the Internet Movie Database as having died of AIDS but information is a tricky thing. As nitpickers, we know that information can be incorrect! (Grin)
Stefan Osterburg: According to the German book "Die Star Trek Biographien" by Ralph Sander Butrick was born September 3rd 1959 in Gainesville, Florida he died March 17th 1989 in Los Angelos. Unfortunately that is all the book has to offer.
On to the questions . . . .
Charles Sylvia: This has probably come up before...*BUT*.... At the end of all four of your guides we are treated to a photo of you and a small paragraph giving us some background information on you. I just recently noticed that at the end of the NextGen 2 Guide it says you live in Fairgrove, Missouri. But at the end of the other three you live in Springfield Missouri. Sounds like a Changed Premise to me! =) So...is Fairgrove part of Springfield? If so, why did you choose to say Fairgrove in the NextGen 2 Guide and Springfield in all the rest? Just curious.
Phil: The entry in the NextGen II Guide was a mistake. I actually live in the county. I have a Springfield phone and a Fair Grove address so I get to choose. (If I moved my mailbox 1/2 mile south, I could have a Springfield address! And if I moved my house about a mile north, my daughter would attend school in Pleasant Hope.) Since I rarely ever go to Fair Grove and am continually making trips into Springfield--and my daughter attends high school in the Springfield School System--I choose Springfield as my home town!
Mike Leinoff of Glens Falls, NY: For a short time after First Contact came out, the crew on DS9 wore the FC uniforms (black, gray bar across the top, colored vest underneath). Now, they're back to wearing the old uniforms from their first season. Did they decide they didn't like the new ones?
And while we're on the subject of uniforms: Can anyone tell me who gets to wear red? Most books, references, and people I've spoken to say that the red uniform is worn by command personnel. So the little ensign at the Enterprise-D's conn station qualifies as "command personnel?" Who exactly does he/she command, the computer? Bet that makes 'em feel high and mighty!
Phil: Your guess is as good as mine on the uniform changes although the April newsletter--which will go out in less than two weeks--has a few words of wisdom about that. As far as red for ensigns, I think that it might indicate a person on the command track as opposed to operations or science. (It's like a major in college.)
Ronan Mitchell: After watching "Space: above and beyond" (thank god for repeats) I'm curious: where did the term "Chig" come from? Is it really some marine thing? And what is that war cry they sometimes use (the one that sounds like HOO-RAH!!)? I'd love to know, it's been driving me mad for ages now.
Phil: Yikes! You're out of my area. No idea on "Chig" but I believe that "Hoo-rah" is a marine thing. We do have people who know out there, do we not, Proud Members of the Guild? By the way, let me go on record as saying that I thought Space: Above and Beyond was a GREAT show and I was very disappointed when it was cancelled. My wife and I both really enjoyed it and would look forward to watching it Sunday nights after getting home from church. I just wish Fox had put it in a better time slot!
Sam Waite, Pensacola, FL: I've often wondered about "Com Badge Signals" emitting from the badges worn by Star Fleet personnel. It seems that a starship can always track these little things, but the crew is always able to hide from the bad guys while wearing them. Now, one could argue that the bad guys in question didn't know the frequency to monitor, but aliens always seem able to hear a starship's hail signal, which means that they monitor a wide band of frequencies. Does this strike you as a little odd?
Phil: Yup! You have to wonder if they are on all the time or if the ship uses some kind of activation pulse when it's trying to lock on to their signal. On the other hand, if the response signal was a short burst, there might not be time to triangulate. Or, if the communicator's transmissions were unidirectional, that might work as well. (Up for ship, but what would it do for ground-to-ground communications?) Have a great weekend!
If you would like to submit a question or comment, send it to: chief@nitcentral.com with "Question" in the Subject line. (Remember the legalese: Everything you submit becomes mine and you grant me the right to use your name in any future publication by me.)
Copyright 1997 by Phil Farrand. All rights reserved.