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Got a big day today. Rushing to finish up several items for the first service in our new sanctuary so I'l going to get through this as quickly as possible! Expect typos! Things whould be back to normal (only "moderately hurried") next week! First, some comments from previous columns . . .
Scott McClenney: I just thought I might add another mention of the X-Files it comes in the first season episode of Sabrina,The Teenage Witch where Sabrina gets even with Libby by turning her into a nerd. It occurs in the science club when one of the club members blurts out:"Mulder and Scully are right The Truth Is Out There!" Mr.Poole the science teacher then admonishes him by saying:"How many times do I have to tell you The X-Files is just a tv show." Later on in a scene in the cafteria there is a mention of Xena when Libby decides to take control of the nerds she says:"Let's talk about Power,how to acquire it and how to keep it." Gordy,one of the nerds then asks:"Did you see Xena last night?" I thought I'd mention this occurence as so far as I know no-one else has.
John Latchem: First, on the subject of The Guardian's voice. James Doohan DID provide the voice, in the Animated "Yesteryear."
Murray Leeder: "Captain Shelby" was referred to with a male pronoun. Father, maybe?
Phil: Ah! Good memory! Thanks to John Latchem, John Myers and Erik Irtenkauf for sending this information along as well.
John Latchem: The reference to the Sutherland, Data's ship in Redemption, Part II, is a TNG throwaway, as is the earlier reference to the Potemkin.
John Myers: Peter David has said that he is going to deal with who the mysterious Captain Shelby is in a upcoming New-Frontier book. Him and John Ordover know us fans to well to fool themselves that the reference would slip by (and Peter David sounded rather fed up in his newsgroup that the DS9 people had put him through the extra bother).
Nat Hefferman: Regarding Christopher Querry's question on Kirk's rank in "Generations": Kirk never really wanted to be an admiral (witness his taking command of the Enterprise from Will Decker in ST:TMP because he felt useless behind a desk instead of having a field command), and was therefore pleased with the decision to bust him down to captain at then end of STIV:TVH. However, the creators' concepts of rank in the various series are a bit confusing. Most of the species encountered seem to use the naval system of rank, with some minor variations (e.g. Starfleet and Klingon "Captain" equals Romulan "Commander" equals Ferengi "DaiMon" equals Cardassian "Gul"). But the higher ranks are inconsistent. Why is Martok "General", instead of "Admiral"? And did Starfleet abolish the rank of "Commodore"? Kirk was always clashing with various Commodores (Decker in "The Doomsday Machine", Stocker in "The Deadly Years", Mendez in "The Menagerie"), but Picard and Sisko only seem to have run-ins with Admirals. And did anyone else ever attain the rank of "Fleet Captain" besides Christopher Pike and Garth?
Phil: The rank of Commodore does seem to have disappeared! And, I cannot recall any other "Fleet Captains."
Marian Perera: A lot of people agree that the next Trek series should be set in the past so the technotalk is kept to a minimum. Well, I don't really care about the timeline, but I would like to see a Romulan main character. The Klingons, the Ferengi, the Cardassians, the Borg and the Maquis have all had their turns. I'm sure Starfleet has learned a lesson from Admiral Satie's drumhead trial and is now ready to show more tolerance - and to give all those Romulan defectors something to do...
Murray Leeder: Actually, Major Kira first saw Dukat again after her promise in "Ties of Blood and Water" (and she didn't kill him there either).
Jennifer Patterson: Okay, there was this scene in "By Inferno's Light" where Dukat makes his quadrant-wide announcement (Just how far did that travel, anyway.) He makes a vow to kill all Klingons and eradicate all Maquis colonies within their borders. Kira says she has a vow to make, too. She says the next time she sees Dukat, she will kill him. Now, In "Call to Arms," we see her greeting him semi-cordially, but you could seee that that was rather forced. In the episode where they retake the station (sorry, forgot the name) I'm a bit fuzzy on what happens after the Prophets get rid of the Dominion fleet, but it seems to me that after D'Mor (spelling?) kills Ziyal, Dukat sort of goes to pieces. I don't know if we'll see him again or not, but I was thinking that maybe if Bashir had given him an exam, Kira managed to slip a little something extra in his medical kit. Or maybe she waited until Odo regenerated, overpowered the security guards around Dukat, and managed to get to im. (That, of course, is assuming that they still have him in a cell or at least a special partition in the infirmary with guards and a forcefield.)
John Latchem: Having looked at the latest Chronology, I've concluded that the creators have no idea when the episodes should take place, although they are the creators. They completely disregard the stardates and assume an airdate chronology. This creates some obvious problems. One has to do with the activation of the Holodoc. In "Projections" Doc states his date of first activation. The writers of the Chronology have interpreted this to be way before "Caretaker," listing several DS9 episodes before this event and the first Voyager episode. This is just plain wrong. The events in "Projections" show that the Holodoc's first activation was IN "CARETAKER" and that the earlier stardate is for the first half of that episode, which did not have a stardate. Another problem is with "Generations." As we all know, the Enterprise is destroyed in this movie. But because of the air date rule, the Chronology lists it before the epsiode "Defiant." In that episode, Tom Riker poses as Will and says he is on leave from the Enterprise. See the problem? How can Riker be on leave from a ship that doesn't exist. Using Stardates as a guide works in this case. However, this creates a problem with "First Contact." The Stardate is ignored and the Borg attack mentioned in the DS9 two-parter mid 5th season.
And one more note. The creators also continue to push the notion that Star Trek is OUR universe. Evidence for this is the mention of the early 1960's Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which was never mentioned in Star Trek. I would argue that in the Trek universe this Treaty was never signed. Case in point, the treaty bans orbital nuclear weapons. In "Assignment: Earth" the U.S. is trying to launch an orbital platform, in 1968, 5 years after a treaty which banned this act. If the creators would put some insight into the Chronology, the Trek universe might make some more sense.
On to the questions . . .
Bob Canada: A while back there was some discussion in Nitland about whether Captain Janeway was carelessly endangering the Delta Quadrant by zipping thru it at speeds above Warp 5, ingnoring the Warp Speed Limit that was started in the NextGen episode "Force of Nature." Most Guild members seemed to agree that travelling above Warp 5 AT ALL would damage the space-time contiuum and cause a subspace rift. I was the lone voice, however, that said I thought that it was the REPEATED use of Warp 5+, in the SAME area, over a period of TIME, that would cause the damage--in other words, I thought Janeway could high-tail it for home as fast as she wanted without damaging space, as long as she didn't backtrack or do any doughnuts in the same area. Anyway, if you look under "Warp Field Effect," on page 555 of the revised Star Trek Encyclopedia that just came out (which is published by Pocket Books and written by several of the creators, so I must assume its canon), it says:
"Cumulative damage to the structure of the subspace continuum caused by repeated exposure of an area to warp travel. Areas with already preexisting subspace instabililty were particularly sensitive to the effect. As the exposure to warp field energy incresed, so did the chances of a subspace rupture. The warp field effect was particularly severe when Warp Factor 5 was exceeded."
That would seem to indicate my cumulative exposure interpretation was right. Regardless of whether or not Voyager has the new "environmentally friendly warp engines (which the Encyclopedia also suggests)," Janeway & Co. can fly as fast as they want thru the Delta Quadrant without destroying it. Understand that this is not offered in the spirit of "I told you so," but rather to set the record straight, and keep the Guild members informed. :-)
Phil: But, but, but, but . . . why did Starfleet ban all travel over warp five except in cases of emergency? It is true that warp drive supposedly damages space when it is used in the same area over and over. But if using warp drive in more pristine areas has no effect then why didn't the directive at the end of "Force Of Nature" say something like "speeds in excess of warp five area not allowed in these areas blah, blah, blah"
Murray Leeder: Say, what's that font used in the X-Philes Guide for the episode summaries? I've never seen it before.
Phil: I believe it's an old Optical Character Recognition font. This was from the dark ages when computers needed a specific type of font in order to read it. ;-) (And yes, I remember those ages!)
Rebecca Bare: Have you been watching Gene Roddenberry's Earth: The Final Conflict? What do you think of it? I think the episodes are getting better.
Phil: I have been taping it and following it along. The show has a really good look for its first season and the stories haven't been too bad either!
Omer Belsky, Haifa, Israel: I don`t know if that`s a question or a comment, but did TPTB thought about the Jemhaddar before they interduce them? I mean, I think I heard something about planning a race with 3 classes - warriors (Jemhaddar) leaders (changlings) and spokespersons(the Herka, or whatever their name is), but this hardly makes sence, since the woman in `The Jemhaddar` was refered to as one of the founders (I think... it was a long time ago),and she clearly wasn`t a founder. Plus, does anyone else thinkm that the Jemhaddar are changing? I mean, they were like the borg in the first few episodes, and had an episode which was just like `I,Borg`, and then seemed to be like the Klingons or Romulans (in the third season 2-parter where Garak`s shop was distryed), like the aliens from TNG`s `conspiracy` in the last episode of the third season, like the Chigs from `space:above and beyond` in `The Ship` andfinally , they had an episode where Gol Dokat tried to kill the man from the episode `Second Skin` in which the Herka guy was just like Mr.Morden (form B5). So were the Changlings a planned plot Element or an attempt to make the show more like TNG?
Phil: No idea! Although, I have gotten the impression over the years that very little is actually planned in Trek. The creators are just making it up as they go along! ;-)
Joshua Truax: Chief... Other Guild members have given you ideas for your next Nitpicker's Guide. I have an idea as well, one that I'm surprised no one else has suggested. How about a James Bond 007 Guide? After all, this is the longest-running movie series of all time, and a new Bond movie (number 18!) is coming out this Christmas. If the Star Trek franchise warrants four Nitpicker's Guides, the 007 series should get at least one. (Then again, I am a little biased. Even though I'm now a Trekker first and foremost, I grew up a 007 fan. Needless to say, I was delighted when United Artists brought in Pierce Brosnan to revive the franchise, and now I can't wait for Brosnan's second outing as 007 in "Tomorrow Never Dies"...)
A 007 Guide would also have the advantage of being much less time-consuming to "research" and write than another TV series Guide, because you'll only have about 36 hours' worth of footage (18 movies x about 2 hours each) to nitpick as opposed to eighty-plus for a TV series longer than three seasons. That has to be at least somewhat appealing to you. Not to mention that I've already sent you some nits from a few of the movies (although none of them have made it onto this Website). So... what do you think of this idea, Chief?
Phil: We have discussed a movie guide that only include movies that had one of more sequels and certainly the Bond movies could be included in that. We are, unfortunately, once again in the situation where it tough to make that sale unless there is a persistant marketing campaign that convinces Dell of an established fan base for the product!
Shinichi Evans: I wonder of Suter (or Seuter or Sooter) from Voyager will ever show up in DS9 as Alt-Suter? It was a real shame for the Voyager writers to kill him off in the beginning of the third season. I hope the writers find some way to "resurrect" Suter like they did with Bareil (who's not as interesting as the Betazoid psychopath is).
Phil: This one would surprise me if it happened! Suder didn't appear in that many shows and he was on Voyager and I doubt the creators would think that he would be remembered enough to make it worth their while to feature him on DS9. Besides, if he was an Alt-Suder, he would have to be a good guy! ;-)
Clay: Has it been established how old Tuvok is, or at least a clue to an approximation?
Phil: Don't have time to dig out this info this morning but didn't "Flashback" say that he had left Starfleet for fifty years something like eighty years ago. Depending on his age when he left Starfleet as an ensign, he might possibly be 100.
Dan Wiese, El Cajon: I just bought the Enterprise-D blueprints and it shows that Data's, Worf's and Gerodi's quarters are on deck two and have windows in the roof. Have we ever seen window in the roofs of there quarters? I don't remember ever seeing them, of course they don't show us the roof often.
Are the blueprints Canon? If so then I know they answer at least one nit but create a lot more.
Phil: I've wanted to buy the blueprints for some time but I just haven't done it! As far as windows in roofs go, I can't recall ever seeing them! And in the matter of canonicity of the blueprints, I believe that Rick Sternbach hedges a bit in the introduction. At least . . . that's what I've been told!
Mike Deeds: What did you think of the Jose Chung episode of Millienium? I liked it overall even though I feel it didn't equal "Jose Chung's From Outer Space". Then again, it would probably be almost impossible to equal it under the Millenium format. Based on this episode and the other one I watched this season (the one with the demon dogs), it seems Millenium has improved somewhat. It still doesn't come close to The X-Files (of course). I am sure that if anyone (besides Chris Carter) produced Millenium it would have been cancelled after its first year.
Phil: I thought the parts with Jose Chung were a scream--especially the moment when he was sitting at the book signing and no one came! As for the rest of it, whenever Frank Black was on the screen and Jose Chung wasn't, I felt like saying, "Yeah, yeah, get back to the funny stuff!" Of course, then they killed off Jose Chung in the end. Arrgh! (Ya know, Darrin Morgan really seems to have a death wish.)
Chris Pope: Well, with "Resurrection," we had another episode that dealt with the subject of faith (another that comes to mind is "Rapture"). With this and the Klingon mythology from the previous week's episode, does it seem to you that DS9 is friendlier toward "faith" than other Star Trek series?
Phil: Any creative effort reflects the views of the creators!
Travis McCord: With the rerelease of the Star Wars films, not to mention the distrust everyone has for the central government in RL (which X-Files should be thankful for on thursday, BTW :), a version of Star Trek with a central theme of rebellion could do fairly well. Trouble is, you couldn't really have a convincing rebellion in the ST universe, because supposedly we have all those Fed races joining hands and singing together in harmony as they shower money and goods on the adoring public... (OK, that's exaggerated. But not by much.) So, where would the central conflict come from, i.e., who would they be rebelling against?
My solution: set it in the Mirror universe! Follow an intrepid band of humans and other outcasts trying to overthrow the Card/Klingon/whoever empire that controls & enslaves the mirror-Alpha quadrant. Hopefully this show would be like Blake's 7, with its good characterizations, compelling central conflict and relatively low technobabble (granted, with better graphics...).
Think about it: Vulcans might be generally distrusted or even hated because of mirror-Spock's role as catalyst of the takeover--yet still be a vital part of the rebel movement. Races friendly or ambivalent to humans in our Alpha might be enemies or wild cards in the mirror-Alpha. (Or even extinct if the Empire is ruthless enough!) And Our Heroes would have to watch for enemies everywhere--even among some of their fellow humans willing to do anything to improve their meager status in the empire! Not to mention the possibility of internal dissension (followed through this time, rather than abandoned as in DS9 & Voyager).
Phil: I like it! Of course, the mere fact that it's been mentioned publically is probably enough to mean that it will never happen! (Ah the politics of television)
Gerry Canavan of Randolph, NJ: I'm not sure if I'm the first one to notice this, but check it out: 7 of 9 is a (yet another) hidden 47. (7 * 9 = 63 - 7- 9 = 47) I'm not sure if this was intentional, but it's certainly interesting--personally, I feel the Creators are running a little amuck with the 47s (it can sometimes be a little too much), but if this WAS a conscious decision, then it's pretty neat.
Phil: Couldn't tell ya!
Les Kennedy: Why, when a ship meets another ship, is it always the same way up ? Surely there is no 'Correct Way Up' in space.
I would have expected ships to meet at a multitude of different angles, but no, they always seem to be on the same plane. Do they have some kind of mechanism built in that automatically rolls the Ship to meet the others at the same angle ? And if they do have this, why is it necessary ? All ships have their own gravity systems, so it just seems to be a waste of energy to make things appear similar to the experiences we have on earth.
I suppose I would be alarmed to be passed by a car on its side going down the motorway.
Phil: This question comes up from time to time and the short answer is that unless all ships correspond to some kind of galactic standard or normalize their orientation when they approach each other, they shouldn't all be faced the same way! (And, correctly, this is what we see in Babylon 5)
Joseph Lin: I know this dosen't have much to do with nitpicking, but I was just wondering if you knew the approxamate market price of the Star Trek Fotonovels. They are very old books published in the 70's. There are twelve different episodes with over 300 pictures in each of them.
Phil: No idea! Anybody?
Alex Otis: Does anybody know if they are coming out with Enterprise-E blueprints, or at least a Tech manual? All I've seen is the cutaway poster.
Phil: That's all I've seen as well.
Murray Leeder: The X-Files has its share of bizarre titles, but usually consulting a dictionary helps. But what does "War of the Coprohagues" refer to? I know the prefix copro- means "dung"...
Phil: Well, first it helps to start with the correct spelling which I believe is "War of the Coprophages"! ;-) And second, it helpd to have Webster's Third Unabridged Dictionary laying around. "Coprophagy" is the feeding on or eating of dung--a normal practice of many insects, birds and animal. The official terms for a creature who engages in this behavior is "coprophagist" but I'm sure the creators of the X-Files wanted to be a bit different so they coined the term "coprophages" to denote the alien beetles since the beetles apparently ran on menthane--making them partial to dung. I would imagine as well that the title was a play on "War of the Worlds," the famous Orson Wells radio-play invasion.
Jason Barnes: Who plays the character X? Is that the old guy played by John Nevell? I ask because he plays one of my favorite characters, Baron Munchasen in "The Adventures of Baron Munchasen." If you happen to come across it, you really should give it a watch. Good movie.
Phil: The character "X" in the X-files is played by Steven Williams. John Neville does play The Well-Manicured Man.
Corey Hines, Hamilton, ON: We all know that Earth is in the Alpha Quadrant. The Dominion is in the Gamma Quadrant and Voyager and the Borg are in the Delta Quadrant. How come we never hear any news from the Beta Quadrant. I think in all the history of Star Trek it has only been mentioned once (ST VI). As I recall, Klingon and Romulan space is in the Beta Quadrant, there can be potential for stories here. Also, why has Star Trek abandoned the Romulans as an enemy. We've only seen them about a half a dozen times on DS9. It would save some money on make-up as well.
Phil: Only the creators know what's going on with the Romulans! As far as the Beta Quadrant goes, however, there is an interesting story there. In the original maps of the Galaxy, the Federation straddles the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. In fact, if I recall correctly, the Klingon and Cardassian empires are in the Beta Quadrant! As is Bajor! Wouldn't know it by the dialogue would you? Larry Nemecek once told me that the Art Department at Tek had commented to him that since the writers kept putting everything in the Alpha Quadrant, it was probably going to just be easier to redraw the maps!
Michael Cessna: I was watching the ST:TNG episode 'Neutral Zone' last night, when a thought struck me. I don't know if anyone else has caught this, but, is NextGen anti-military? Look at Picrds first confrontation with Q in 'Encounter', where he uses the term 'costume' to describe Q's Marine Corps uniform(no,it has nothing to do with the fact that I am a frmr Marine). In 'Neutral Zone', Offenhouse is quite pointed about his opinion of a military career, while Picard makes no argument. This vein continues, in the maxim 'Violence Never Solved Anything', all the way up to 'Pegasus', with it's 'military-industrial complex' conspiracy.
None of the other series are this blatant about it. 'Classic Trek' is almost patriotic in comparison. DS9 has its moments, but, after the last couple of season's, it is approaching the flag-waving style, too. 'Voyager' is another discussion, entirely. Don't get me wrong, I still love the show, it's just that this is rather disturbing. Or, am I just seeing things?
Phil: I don't think you're seeing things! Every creative effort reflects the current philosophical belief set of its creator(s). Think about the prevailing attitude in Hollywood toward the military and . . .
Have a great weekend, everybody!
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.