NITPICKER'S GUILD NEWSLETTER
April 1994
Volume 1, Number 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
NOTES FROM THE CHIEF
March 26, 1994
Greetings Fellow Nitpickers!
First of all, let me thank you once again for your letters
and your kind words about the Guide. It's a wonderful thing to
bring a project to life, finally get it out the door and then
see that there really are others "out there"
who love to engage in playful nitpicking as much as I do.
Things go well for the NextGen Guide. (The Classic Guide will
be along soon enough. Might as well get used to the terminology.)
I understand that Dell has gone back for another printing. That
printing will put the total number of NextGen Guides over 100,000.
Not bad for 6 months after release! There is also an edition published
in England by Titan Books. They happen to be the official publisher
of Star Trek: The Next Generation novels in England. (Of
course, we are still unofficial and defintely not authorized.)
There will also be a German version of the NextGen Guide in about
18 months. Fun stuff!
I'm chugging along on the Classic Guide. There is actually
a left/right problem in Classic Trek as well! At one point in
"Devil in the Dark," Kirk says to Spock, "You go
right. I'll go left," except that he points right when he
says "left" and points left when he says "right."
Happens to the best of them.
Things also go well for the Guild. We are in every state except
Idaho and Nevada. (I'll let you come up with your own explanation
for that.) We are also in many of the provinces in Canada and
I have received letters from England, Spain, Germany, Denmark,
Australia, Israel and Brazil. We are dangerously close to having
over 1000 members and may have that many already. (I've fallen
somewhat behind in entering letters due to compiling this newsletter.)
Concerning submissions, let me apprise you of procedures.
Several months ago, I built a relational database that allows
me to enter your names and addresses in one file and an index
of your nits in another. The database take cares of categorizing
everything by show, episode, date (taken from the postmark), contents,
etc. This allows me to pull reports in a variety of different
formats. I also have another file to track who has received subscription
cards and who has actually subscribed. So, unless my computer
has a meltdown, I should be able to keep everything straight.
(Yes, I do back up my files.)
In the NextGen Guide, I said I would try to give authorship
credit to the first person sending in a nit. I have decided to
make an exception to this. Some have sent me very excellent and
mighty tomes containing vast amounts of nitpicking. This "blanket"
approach virtually insures that at least some of the nitpicking
will be original. Unfortunately, it can also cut out many others
who've only sent in one or two nits that arrive here at Nitpicker
Central a few days late. At my discretion, and my discretion alone,
I have opted to provide the latter nitpickers with credit for
their submissions since the "mighty tome" nitpickers
will get multiple credits anyway. I think that's fair.
On the matter of this newsletter, I thought it was important
to get all the "error correction" stuff out of the way
first. Unfortunately, it chewed up a lot of space. Next time,
I hope to tell you about some of the interesting information that
your fellow nitpickers have sent in.
I also want to address a few of the larger issues in the next
newsletter. Topics like, "Why are all the star dates in the
first season of Next Gen out of order?" and "Just how
does this Universal Translator work anyway?" Not that I'll
have any answers but at least I can share the comments you've
sent in and maybe add a few of my own. Plus, I'll have more nits
from the first season and possibly some from the second.
A word about format. I realize that 9 point Helvetica is a
bit small for reading and it would have been better typographically
to use 10 or 11 point type. However, I wanted to cram as much
information into these eight pages as I could. Hopefully you won't
need a magnifying glass to read this! Of course, even if you did,
that would be appropriate. It is, after all, our emblem!
Finally, thanks to all of you who've sent pictures, articles
and other items. In his letter, Ken Bailey sent an innovative
English/Klingon Christmas card he created for the holidays. Valerie
K. Narehood of Center Valley, PA actually enclosed $3000.00 in
play money to pay for her therapy. Others have done so as well
but she was the first. Clarke Ingram of Easton, PA sent me a copy
of The Questor Tapes (see page 109 of the NextGen Guide).
David Shelton of Birmingham, AL was kind enough to do so as well.
Lo and behold the scene was as I remembered!
Alas, so much to say, so little space. Until next time, Happy
Nitpicking! (Oh, by the way, don't bother nitpicking this newsletter.
My schedule is absolutely nuts at this juncture in my life!)
Oh . . . one other thing. Some have asked why I claim that
Data is "suddenly semi-immortal." In the seventh season
episode, "Inheritance," La Forge claims that Data will
age. (Brent Spiner is afterall starting to show the years!)
But, as Susan C. Nolan of Mansfield, OH noted, Data says he cannot
grow old in "Data's Day."
ALTERNATE VIEWPOINTS
On the matter of opinions, I've never felt that mine was the
best or most important. Many of you have raised valid alternate
viewpoints on some of the nits I picked in the NextGen Guide.
I present them for your perusal. At times, I have included a few
comments of my own.
Turbolift Door Signage
Many of you have written to advise me that the numbers on
turbolift doors aren't deck numbers. Instead, you believe they
are turbolift shaft numbers. A writer, who will remain unnamed,
stated the argument succinctly. "In Star Trek: The Motion
Picture, Kirk asks a crewman for directions to Turboshaft 8. The
Technical Manual also shows this in the diagram on page 155. So
stop complaining that the numbers don't match, because they're
not suppose to."
First of all, using the setups of previous Enterprises to
prove this point is a bit treacherous. In the movies, sometimes
the decks number from top to bottom, sometimes the decks use letters
instead of numbers, sometimes the decks number from bottom to
top. If the deck numbers change that much, the door signage and
turboshaft numbering will likely do so as well. As far as the
Technical Manual goes, I can't find anything on that page to indicate
that the door signage on turbolift doors refers to shaft numbers.
If it does, why does the turbolift door in Main Engineering still
say, "36 Turbolift"? The Tech Manual says there are
only 15 turboshafts! On the other hand, Main Engineering is on
Deck 36. One last thing, in "The Dauphin," Wesley walks
out of a turbolift with doors that say, "22 Turbolift 3."
What is that supposed to mean?
O'Brien's Pips
Many of you have also written to suggest that the discrepancy
with O'Brien's pips can be explained by the fact that he has always
been an enlisted man and received a promotion to ensign, junior
grade, when he moved to Deep Space Nine. In fact, Michael Johnson
of Long Beach, CA accurately notes that Riker calls O'Brien "Lieutenant"
in "Where Silence Has Lease." Also, O'Brien served as
Tactical Officer for Captain Ben Maxwell. In addition, O'Brien's
action figure for Deep Space Nine lists him as a lieutenant. And
finally, I had an opportunity to speak with Richard Anderson.
(A man who used to work on ST:TNG with Roddenberry and now does
lots of conventions among other things.) He told me that even
Colm Meaney doesn't know why he's an ensign now! He always thought
he was a lieutenant.
Starfleet and the Military
Concerning my comments about lack of military discipline aboard
the USS Enterprise, Matthew D. Classen of Smartville, CA,
writes, "Phil, what is it with you and military discipline?
Starfleet is a descendent from the military, but it is not military
like/war like."
I could do an entire newsletter on this issue! This argument
will go on forever because Gene Roddenberry would never own up
to that fact that Starfleet was military. I've heard the Enterprise
compared to everything from cruise ships to something akin to
Jacques Cousteau's vessel. I have many comments on this issue
but will limit myself to two. When an enemy attacks the Federation,
who do they call? If someone attacked North America, we wouldn't
call Caribbean Cruise Lines and we certainly wouldn't call Jacques.
When an officer disobeys a direct order from a superior on a cruise
ship, he gets fired. When an officer disobeys a direct order from
a superior on the USS Enterprise, he gets court-martialed and
thrown in the brig. At the very least, Starfleet is a paramilitary
organization.
Matter and the Holodeck
On the matter of matter and the holodeck, David Shelton of
Birmingham, AL, writes, "I don't fully understand the problem
you have with the two different sorts of matter necessary for
Holodeck operations. One sort is simply replicated matter. The
other sort is not independent matter at all, but matter held together
and manipulated by intricately attenuated force fields under constant
computer control.
"Nowhere does the [Tech] manual claim that 'humanoid
forms are created out of this replicated matter and can leave
the holodeck but will no longer be under computer control' as
you state on page 83 [of the NextGen Guide]. The paragraph you
are referring to attempts to explain the essential difference
between the two types of matter encountered in a holodeck simulation.
'Objects created on the Holodeck that are pure holographic images
cannot be removed from the Holodeck . . . .' This what the animated
simulations are made of. The confusing phrase here is 'pure holographic
images' because it makes it sound as though those images have
no substance at all. In fact, they do. They are composed of raw
molecular material arranged and manipulated solely by computer
control."
First of all, I quote David Shelton because he sent the most
reasoned argument concerning matter and the holodeck. I have edited
his statements for brevity but I have tried to retain their essence.
I am assuming that the Guide has stirred up many arguments concerning
the holodeck and I designed this forum specifically to discuss
these issues. Having said all that, let's begin.
Concerning the holodeck, the Tech manual says, "The Holodeck
utilizes two main subsystem, the holographic imagery subsystem
and the matter conversion subsystem." I have read the relevant
paragraphs several times and nowhere do I find the Tech manual
ever connecting any type of matter to the "holographic imagery
subsystem." In fact, the Tech manual says that the basic
mechanism behind the Holodeck is the "omnidirectional holo
diode" (OHD). The OHD is described as producing both a display
and a forcefield but never is it described as shaping or creating
any type of non-coherent matter. Because of this, I find it tenuous
to attempt to connect the "temporary matter" concept
thrown about in the episodes with the "holographic imagery"
spoken of in the Tech manual. To me, the words "pure holographic
imagery" unambiguously speak of light and illusion.
As to the composition and disposition of the animated figures,
the Tech manual says, "Such animated characters are composed
of solid matter arranged by transporter-based replicators and
manipulated by highly articulated computer-driven tractor beams."
One paragraph later, the Tech manual says, "Objects created
by replicator matter conversion do have physical reality and can
indeed be removed from the Holodeck, even though they will no
longer be under computer control." From these statements,
I constructed the summary statement that David disputes in his
letter.
Season One
The Naked Now
Carol G. Olsen of Richardson, TX, writes concerning Data's
great line, "You have Data saying, 'Do I not bleak?' Didn't
he say, 'Do I not leak?'"
I've gotten plenty of mail on this one! I realize that the
real quote is, "If you prick me, do I not bleed." I
also realize the creators wanted to change the quote to, "If
you prick me, do I not leak?" (A very cute alteration since
Data is the one who changes it.) If you watch the scene, Data
begins to say "bleed" and then changes to "leak."
It's up to you to decide if he puts enough of the "b"
sound on it to qualify for "bleak." And speaking of
this, why didn't Data leak when Troi shot him with the arrow in
"Qpid"?
Angel One
On the matter of transporters and people changing positions,
Diana Brown of San Ysidro, CA, writes, "The reason why Yar's
hands could start behind her back and then end up at her side
after beaming down to the surface is because in the episode 'Realm
of Fear' Barclay was able to move while the transporter was in
progress so why can't Yar do it?"
Diana has a point. There are many episodes where people move
in transit or start out with parts of their bodies outside the
transporter beam. My problem here is that the transporter supposedly
turns matter into energy and back and I can't figure out how a
person composed only of energy could move an arm or leg.
The Neutral Zone
About the security guards on the bridge, Sharla Smith of Minneapolis,
MN, writes, "So maybe it was Amateur Night in the Security
Office. Probably those security officers got reprimanded later.
Anyway, I don't really blame them. If a Romulan Ship suddenly
appeared under those circumstances, I'd be staring too."
Season Two
The Measure of a Man
Keith A. Garrett of Menphis, TN, writes, "I've got a
Bogus Explanation for you for one of the plot oversights. As you
mentioned, it is odd that the JAG officer calls Data a 'toaster,'
such an old fashioned device. How about this: the word 'toaster'
was given new life in the late 20th Century by the development
of the innovative video editing device known as the 'Video Toaster.'
This device saw continued use into the early 21st Century, and
when it was finally surpassed by the popular voice editing video
systems, the term 'toaster' still stuck, being used to refer to
any piece of high technology that could be used to perform complex
tasks with ease. Thus, even into the 24th Century, the term 'toaster'
lives on (albeit in a modified form). Data is a Positronic Toaster!"
The Icarus Factor
Thinking about the acquisition of multiple languages in light
of the Universal Translator, Mary M. Kleinsmith of West Falls,
NY, writes, "With the Universal Translator at their disposal,
it is logical to presume that the need to learn alien languages
no longer exists. Because of this, the knowledge of many languages
would probably be condsidered a 'lost art' and indeed be admired
by Picard and Riker."
The Emissary
On the subject of the Klingon's nerdy-looking ships, Phillip
Martin of Anniston, AL, writes, "During our century, we have
seen governments spend such excessive chunks of their economy
on weapons during a time of hostility that, when peace comes,
their economy is a disaster. Thus with no immediate military threat,
the government can no longer afford to replace its aging arsenal
and is forced to use those weapons long past their true effectiveness."
Season Three
The Ensigns of Command
Concerning my assessment of guy things and gal things, Doris
Lamb of Lake Worth, FL, writes, "I think you're all wrong
about the gal thing/guy thing. Getting an android to do a shoot
'em up (completely out of character), to manipulate 'male thinking',
is a gal thing, baby, GAL 101. On the other hand, using a woman's
talents and leaving the planet without the slightest pang, definite
guy thing. In this case, it is even acceptable since the user
is not human but is, himself, a user friendly. And you can't blame
her if Data looks good to her. The male colonists don't appreciate
her talents and leave a lot to be desired. Thinking of Data as
an emotional vibrator, maybe that's a gal thing, or maybe that's
a guy thing. Perhaps it is all just point of view?"
I chuckled the whole time I was reading this. Great stuff.
And, in case you're wondering, "No, I don't mind being called,
'baby'!"
Yesterday's Enterprise
Concerning Worf and his conversation with Guinan, Susan J.
Brown of Salem, MA, writes, "It's pretty obvious that Worf's
just trying to change the subject, while hinting that he's already
involved. Worf would consider his bonding with K'Ehleyr a private
matter, not to be discussed with others. So rather than try to
tell Guinan that he has no interest in a relationship with a female,
he simply tells her there's no appropriate person handy, and deflects
the topic. Deftly handled, I'd say."
Christopher A. Weuve of Alexandria, VA, writes, "I disagree
with your assessment of 'The Best of Both Worlds' as the best
TNG episode. I much prefer 'Yesterday's Enterprise,' which I think
is better that any of the movies as well."
The Best of Both Worlds
As to the Borg, Darrick B. Hom of Oakland, CA, writes, "Admiral
Hansen thinks the Borg ship in 'Q Who' is the same ship attacking
them now. However, if that's true, then what ship did the damage
in 'The Neutral Zone'? It could be possible that the Borg ship
in 'Q Who' relayed the information they gathered to the other
ship near Federation space and that ship carried out the attack."
Season Four
Legacy
On the subject of Ishara Yar's bodysuit, David Tarbox of Huntertown,
IN, writes, "I think there is a better explanation for Ishara's
bodysuit than a sexist crew. She was trying (and succeeding) to
ingratiate herself with the Enterprise personnel. She's also smart
enough to know that the easiest and most effective way to stop
the mostly-male command crew from thinking is to make them think
about sex. She's the one who ordered this outfit from the Enterprise
lingerie shop, not Riker."
Reunion
Considering Alexander's maturity, Ruth B. Hazelton of Portland,
ME, writes, "I have to nitpick your nitpicking of 'The Emissary,'
Worf, Alexander and K'Ehleyr's relationship. Leave it to a man
to miss the obvious. Alexander is at least 7 years of age. I always
worked on the idea that he was a product of the relationship Worf
and K'Ehleyr had six years before 'The Emissary.'"
Just to make sure I had my facts straight, I pulled out my
tape of "The Emissary" and had my wife watch the scene
with me. It is true that men have a different perspective than
women. During the discussion after the fateful scene, K'Ehleyr
says, "Why didn't we do this six years ago." When Worf
responds that they weren't ready, K'Ehleyr shoots back, "I
was!" My wife is of the opinion that K'Ehleyr is referring
to mating when she wonders why they didn't do "this"
six years ago. In addition, Worf indicates in this discussion
that mating equals a marriage relationship within Klingon traditions.
These items lead me to conclude that the scene in "The Emissary"
is the first mating between Worf and K'Ehleyr. On the other hand,
some have suggested that Alexander is not Worf's son...
First Contact
About the name of our own planet, David M. Gansz of West Orange,
NJ, writes, "You also mention in the book that the people
of Earth would never call our planet Sun III, I hate to nitpick
(!) but, it would be correct to call out planet Sol III (I prefer
this term myself.)"
Identity Crisis
On the matter of aliens fleeing into the night, Michael J.
Hollick of Brampton, Ontario, writes, "You're right that
the aliens wouldn't have seen the ultraviolet light, but they
would have seen the glow from the veins or whatever on their skin.
I don't know about you, but I'd be freaked if part of me started
glowing."
Qpid
Several of you wrote about my wonderment that Worf doesn't
just stab Q's horse. James HG Redekop's letter (from London, Ontario)
arrived first. "Think about it from Q's point of view: Worf
charges him and hacks at his horse. That means Worf's sword is
not between Worf and Q, but occupied elsewhere, so it can't be
used to parry a blow. So Q takes Worf's head off with a backhand
slice."
In Theory
Rebuffing my suggestion that Data has only uniforms in his
closet, Stella Sorensen of Helsinge, Denmark writes, "How
could you! You of all people! Of course, Data has a wardrobe of
clothes other than his uniform. How else could he and Geordi appear
fully clothed at the entrance to the holodeck in the episode 'Elementary,
Dear Data'? Or for that matter why would Data ask Captain Picard
for five minutes - in the episode 'Manhunt' - if it wasn't to
go and change into something more appropriate for their visit
to the holodeck?"
How true, too true. However . . . let me make a feeble attempt
to defend myself. I've always thought the holodeck costumes were
manufactured as needed for the holodeck adventures. Don't ask
me where I got this idea. I don't know. I never really considered
them clothing, more like theatrical outfits that were disposed
of after use. We've seen other characters "dress down"
but never Data. He even wore a uniform on his dinner date with
Jenna D'Sora!
Season Five
Disaster
Jeff Jacques of Nepean, Ontario, writes, "Trivia question
#1 is misleading. It seems to refer to the characters' last names,
but your answers are actually the actors' last names."
Actually, it does refer to the characters' last names! During
the final scene, the children present Picard with a plaque. In
the bottom right hand corner all three names are displayed. This
does bring up an interesting point, however. The characters' last
names were supposed to be identical to the actors' last names.
Unfortunately, the prop department misspelled one of them! One
of the actor's last name is "Supera" but the plaque
lists "Supra." The ST:TNG Companion by Larry Nemecek
opts to use the actor's real last name. Me? I believe what I see
in the episode. It is definitely "Patterson Supra."
(wink, wink.)
Concerning turbolift control panels, Leslie Tymko of London,
Ontario, writes, "On the back of the book you say that there
isn't a control panel in the turbolift except for 'Brothers.'
Well, in the episode 'Disaster,' Picard tells the girl to remove
the panel and pull out as much optical cable as she can."
I agree. There are visible control panels in the turbo lift
in "Disaster." However, if you look closely, you'll
see they are inside a rectangle that looks about the same size
as the motion indicator. Also, the panels are located in about
the same position as the motion indicator and there's no motion
indicator in sight. I think Picard had the girl remove the front
of the motion indicator before the episode joined them for that
scene.
The Next Phase
Walter Wakefield III of Portland, OR, writes, "Concerning
the fact that Ro and La Forge can go through walls and other things
but the floors were solid to them, I attended a convention and
one of the speakers was the writer of this episode. He explained
that in the original script there was an explanation why the floors
were solid. With rewrites, he took it out intending to put it
back in but forgot."
And so, another entry is made in the NextGen Guide!
Season Six
True Q
Phyllis Carter of Laguna Hills, CA, writes, "Personally,
I do not see any inconsistency in the presence of Amanda's parents
on Earth a decade or more prior to 'Farpoint.' They had taken
human form, were living as humans, incognito, so to speak, and
no one on Earth would have suspected that they were anything but
what they seemed. Therefore, as far as humanity is concerned,
'Farpoint' was their first contact with the Q. Granted, this point
could be argued. In fact, I would expect your book to spark a
great deal of argument. That's one of the fun things about it."
Rascals
As to Ro's current disposition, Roland R. Thompson of Los
Angeles, CA, writes, "Now I have you on a point. In your
summary you state that "...Picard, Guinan, Ro and Keiko [return]
to normal." Wrong. The final scene leaves a young Ro rediscovering
childhood with an adult Guinan. Unless I am mistaken, I can't
remember Ensign Ro appearing in any further episodes. I suspect
that Ro Laren remained a child and quietly left the show."
Chain of Command, Part 2
Doing the homework that I should have done, Graham Buckingham
of Thompson, Manitoba, writes, "Yes, I too picked up the
similarities between Picard's torture and that of Winston Smith
in 1984. The similarities are even more glaring when reported
properly. O'Brien, Smith's only inquisitor, holds up four
fingers and asks Smith how many he can see. Under torture Smith
maintains there are four. Then, to stop the pain, agrees to five.
Then, as the pain increase, he can't tell how many there are.
Nowhere is Smith told to recite 2+2=5. He writes in his diary
that 'Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four.'
The Party wishes him to believe that two plus two can be four,
five, three, or all of these at the same time, if the Party says
so."
Alas, the memory fails. I confess that it's been almost 20
years since I read the book.
Tapestry
On the subject of the discrepancies between Picard's version
of the events at Starbase Erhart, Jay P. Graves of Albany, GA
writes, "You say on page 392 that Picard tells Wesley that
he and, several young officers were on leave at Starbase Erhart
but he tells Q in Tapestry that they came to the starbase to await
their first deep space assignments. This isn't inconsistent. I
graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1984 and went on leave
prior to my first assignment. I chose to go home and visit my
family. I guess Jean- Luc decided to spend his leave on the starbase
prior to taking his assignment. Maybe he didn't want to go home
(he and his brother didn't see eye to eye) or he was afraid of
running into Jenise (from 'We'll Always Have Paris')."
The Chase
Proposing an answer to "What in the galaxy happened to
that Y'Ridian ship?" Lee Everett Patterson of University,
MS, writes, "My guess is that proper script treatment or
editing would have shown that the Romulans destroyed the Y'Ridian
ship since they had been monitoring their competitors in the Great
Quest for the Holy Secret of the DNA."
He said that last bit sarcastically, believe me.
RECOGNIZED CORRIGENDA
Ah, the joys of writing a book. There are always those pesky
little mistakes that slip in. Unfortunately, they are accompanied
by the groaning, "slap your hand to your forehead,"
blatant blunders that you can't believe you let get past you.
Here's the current list. Some of you have sent in others that
I haven't had a chance to verify. I've listed individual credits
for the first person to spot each error and then a group credit
for misspelled words. The page numbers precede each entry.
By the way, let me take a moment to talk about the tote boards.
My editor, Jeanne Cavelos, and I didn't decide to include them
in the book until I had finished most of my reviewing. So, once
I settled on the categories, I sat down with a list of episode
titles and filled in the tote boards from memory. Not a good way
to do this. Then, there's the matter of the production schedule.
The tote boards were submitted to the Production Department sometime
in February of 1993. I knew we had several more episodes to go
before the end of the sixth season but Jeanne and I talked about
it and we decided to risk being incorrect. As many of you know,
the episodes at the end of the sixth season did include items
that should have been tallied in the tote board. As Will Riker
says, "Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear
gets you."
Cover I didn't have anything to do with the colors
of the Enterprise on the cover!
5 Another scene is cut from the two hour premiere to
create two one hour episodes. While in the star drive section
Yar impulsively tries to convince Picard to fire on Q. Kurt C.
Bellhorn of East Hartford, CT.
7 La Forge should be referred to as a lieutenant not
a lieutenant commander - Carol G. Olsen of Richardson, TX.
16 The correct correction for Data's weeks/days problem
should be "52 years, 3 weeks and 2 days." John H. Maiz
of Dover, NH. Like Data, I was using the metric system.
42 The field trip went to the holodeck not a planet
- Ann McNeil of Ontario, Canada. In retrospect I'm not sure where
I got the idea that the young people went to a planet. I guess
my brain couldn't correlate how they could pick up an unknown
virus from the holodeck! Evidently, we need to add this to the
list of dangerous attributes for the machine.
32 The title of the episode is "The Big Goodbye"
not "The Big Good-bye" - Ron Hubbard, Jr. of Murray,
KY. This one wasn't my fault! It's correct on the manuscript.
Somebody changed it in production, probably because it's correct.
36 In fact Lore's hair is not over his ears. Those
are ear slots - Adam Cohen of Fort Washington, PA. The tape I
was working from on this particular episode was poor quality.
Once I re-taped the show, I saw Lore's head much more clearly.
61 Tasha Yar was a lieutenant not a lieutenant commander
- Dale Barkley of Suisun City, CA.
68 Thawed humans come from the late twentieth century
not twenty-first - Kristen Bloom of Ithaca, NY.
70 Riker (admittedly an alternate Riker) was also knocked
down in "Second Chances" - Mark Lee of Livermore, CA.
Number of times Riker is knocked down should include "Starship
Mine" and "Timescape" - Beth Lawn of Waterford,
MI.
Number of times Riker is knocked down should include "The
Survivors" - Thomas Mount of Allentown, PA.
Number of times La Forge's visor is knocked off should include
the Ten Forward incident in "Sarek" - Andy Tilley of
Leeds, England.
Number of times Data is electrocuted should include the two
times in "Birthright, Part 1" - Mark Lee of Livermore,
CA.
70 Number of men who make a pass at Troi should include
Lieutenant Riker in "Second Chances" - Thomas Mount
of Allentown, PA.
Number of times La Forge's visor is knocked off should include
falling in the pit in "The Enemy" - Mitch Utterback
of San Deigo, CA.
Number of times La Forge's visor is knocked off should include
Danar's attack in "The Hunted" - Dom Klyve and Clay
Otto of Morris, MN.
Number of times Worf is shot should include the incident in
"The High Ground" - Jane Allock of West Midlands, England.
Specifically, Jane wrote, "Worf cops it from a rather
butch terrorist." I like that.
Number of times Worf is shot should include the incident in
"Rascals" - Katherine Keirns of Northborough, MA.
Number of times Yar is killed could possibly include Q freezing
her in "Encounter At Farpoint" - Doris Lamb of Lakeworth,
FL.
Number of times the ship blows up should include the explosion
in "Timescape" - Katherine M. Keirns of Northborough,
MA.
Number of times the ship blows up should include the explosion
in "Time Squared" - Matthew Davis of Pakersburg, WV.
Number of times the ship gets knocked for a loop should be
four. It happens twice in "Q Who" - Eric Zay of Lansing,
MI.
76 Worf's shirt is gold not green - Geoffrey Cook of
Hammond, IN. One nitpicker asked if I was color-blind. Well .
. . yes, in certain shades of red and green. Because of this,
I tend to latch on to other people's descriptions. Some one I
knew had called the shirts green and even though they looked more
yellow to me . . .
81 The title of the episode is "Elementary, Dear
Data" not "Elementary, My Dear Data" - Johnson
Lai of Ontario, Canada.
81 Dr. Moriarty is more properly referred to as "Professor"
- Bradley H. Sinor of Broken Arrow, OK.
88 " . . . a few episodes ago . . . " should
read, " . . . last episode . . . " - Ron Hubbard, Jr.
of Murray, KY.
90 The episode referred to as "Destruction"
should be "Disaster" - Diana Brown of San Ysidro, CA.
97 "Judge Adjutant General" should read "Judge
Advocate General" - Mitch Utterback of San Deigo, CA.
99 Second trivia question should read, "How many
times did Salia taste chocolate?" Mary M. Kleinsmith of West
Falls, NY.
106 The sentence under the title should read, ".
. . no one should be able to do this."- Steven Whittle of
Monterey, CA.
110 The title of the episode is "Time Squared"
not "Times Squared" - Ron Hubbard, Jr. of Murray, KY.
135 The solar flare clip comes from The Genesis Project
proposal in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Paul Ammann of Santa
Rosa, CA.
137 "Brother" should be "Brothers"
- Amy J. Schwarts of Peoria, IL.
171 Number of romantic interludes for Riker should
include Lanel, "First Contact," and Dr. Crusher, "The
Host" - Geoffrey Cook of Hammond, IN.
Number of men who make a pass at Troi should include the scientist
Troi speaks of at the beginning of "Timescape" - Katherine
M. Keirns of Northborough, MA.
Number of fantasy women in the series should include the two
created by Q in "Deja Q" - Jol Silversmith of Cambridge
MA.
Number of fantasy women should include the Baroness in "Ship
in a Bottle" - Carleton R. Johnson of Alice Springs, Autralia.
Number of fantasy men in the series should include Rex the
bartender from "Manhunt" - Phillip Martin of Anniston,
AL. Originally, I meant the fantasy woman and man entries to refer
specifically to beefcake and cheesecake. I thought it a bit inequitable
that the creators has shown us plenty of seductively dressed women
but no men. Then I started expanding the definition of "fantasy"
to include any woman who wasn't "real." Unfortunately,
I didn't remember to expand the definition for men as well.
171 Number of fantasy men in the series should include
Moriarty, "Elementary, Dear Data," and Jack Crusher,
"Family" - Katherine M. Keirns of Northborough, MA
183 One is not a prime number - Tim Norman of No. Smithfield,
RI.
187 The answer to the first trivia question should
be 47 not 40 - Susan Stallings of Oklahoma City, OK.
188 First star date should read "43807.4"
- Ron Hubbard, Jr. of Murray, KY.
201 Earth did have a founding role in the Federation
- Dale Barkley of Suisun City, CA. Surprisingly enough, in
152 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation the creators
couldn't find a few line of dialog to say this.
224 "Imperial Klingon Information Net" should
read "Klingon Imperial Information Net" - Mitch Utterback
of San Deigo, CA.
236 USS Phoenix is a Nebula not Nebular class star
ship - Dan Carleton of Seattle, WA.
284 Mirror images are flipped front to back - Tom Napier
of North Wales, PA. This is the one that I feel the most stupid
about. I spent a long time standing in front of a mirror trying
to figure this out and I still got it wrong! Ah, well. I still
think the reflection in Darmok is wrong. I think the majority
of the stars should be on the opposite side of the glass. The
only way we'll know for sure is to build a Galaxy-class starship.
336 Troi did have a child in "The Child"
- Phillip Martin of Anniston, AL. I should have said "has
never raised children." Some have questioned why raising
a child should be a prerequisite for giving child rearing advice.
Perhaps I'm a bit too practical in this area but as far as I'm
concerned "there ain't no substitute for doin' it."
"Head" knowledge works fine until the kiddo spills juice
on your dress clothes for the third time in the same morning.
344 The star date for "The Next Phase" should
be 45892.4 - Ron Hubbard, Jr. of Murray, KY.
368 Data bartends in "Conundrum" not "Disaster"
- Nick Zielinski of Hales Corners, WI.
394 In reference to the answer to the first trivia
question, Dr. Selar was also mentioned in "Yesterday's Enterprise"
- Donna Bryant of Houston, TX.
402 Music is by Chopin not Mozart - Margaret A. Basta
of Oak Park, MI.
414 List of doppelganger shows should include "Time
Squared" - Gregory Lea of Houston, TX.
417 Second star date should read 46945.3 - Oso Murillo-Shaw
of Ontario, Canada.
Spelling Errors
Page Error Correction
vii Samaritan Share Samaritan Snare
7 repulser repulsor
13 Gamma Taouri VI Gamma Tauri VI
24 Zendi Sabu Xendi Sabu
26 Maxia Zeda Maxia Zeta
42 Oden Odin
76 Hesterdel Hester Delt
76 Odet IX 'audet IX
81 Holmsian Holmesian
87 Solari V Solais V
89 Kareem Kareen
99 Clavdia III Klavdia III
119 Doesn't if seem Doesn't it seem
120 Buzzard Bussard
121 Norsicans Nausicaans
126 Antedi III Antede III
136 could believe you couldn't believe you
153 Iralius IX Orelious IX
153 outpost output
189 Lieutenant. Lieutenant
225 Lighten Leitjen
227 Oriental woman Oriental women
233 T'Pei T'Pel
243 court-marshall court-martial
245 Malcoria III Malcor III
294 Brattain Brittain
275 additive addictive
288 zenologist xenologist
308 expense-to-produce expensive-to-produce
336 Erco Erko
367 Jenolan Jenolen
368 synthahol synthehol
369 Aunt Adelle Aunt Adele
373 sited cited
374 Rascal Rascals
379 Tyrus VII Tyris VII
381 Seltrice III Celtrice III
387 Sakarov Sakharov
392 Norsicans Nausicaans
391 Bacar VI Bokara VI
394 Lieutenant. Lieutenant
422 fogotten forgotten
Credits: Todd Felton of British Colombia Canada,
Doug Griffin of Milwaukee WI, Ron Hubbard Jr. of
Murray KY, Jeff Jacques of Ontario Canada, Steven Lavoie
of Ontario Canada, Wells P. Martin of Stamford CT, Tim
McKenny of Lawrenceville GA, Colin Miller of Tucson
AZ, Paul T. Mulik of Joplin MO, Gary Nevills of
Chula Vista CA, Diem-Quyhn Nguyen of Centreville VA, Jinetta
Oakes of Ontario Canada, Hilary Ryan of Saskatchawan
Canada, David Shelton of Birmingham AL, Christopher
Steeves of New Brunswick Canada, Tom J. Walz of Moorhead
MN.
NEW SEASON ONE NITS
Here's some of the material that you've sent on the first
season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. To save myself some
time and space, I've clumped them all together under each episode.
You may not agree that all of them are nits but look them over.
Encounter at Farpoint
"Riker and Data have beamed into the tunnels under Farpoint
Station to join La Forge, Yar and Troi when the attack on the
old Bandi city begins. Riker and Data are going to observe the
attack, having ordered the others to beam back to the ship. At
this point, Troi has already been addressed several times as 'Commander'
and she clearly wears the rank pips of a Lt. Commander on her
collar. When she expresses fear for Riker's safety, he turns to
her and snaps that she has her orders, calling her 'Lieutenant'."
Phyllis Carter of Laguna Hills, CA.
Johnson Lai of Ontario, Canada, sent the following,
not necessarily as nits but points of interest. "Data is
apparently scratching his arm-pits as he walks onto the transporter
pad when the away team prepares to beam over to the alien ship.
When the Enterprise feeds energy to the life form on the surface
of Deneb IV, the port nacelle is white instead of blue. [And finally,]
Yar wears a miniskirt at the close of part II."
"In the scene where Picard and the others are transported
into the courtroom, Q appears and Data says, 'At least we're acquainted
with the judge.' I jumped three feet above my sofa. 'We're?' Well,
well, well. Seems that Data unlearned how to do contractions after
the pilot." Ysabelle Pelletier of Quebec, Canada.
" . . . (minor error) When Data is speaking with Admiral
McCoy, he says, 'I'm an android.' (major error) When Riker is
first viewing the record of Q's visit, when he turns from it the
special effects guys forgot to fill in where his shoulder was
and the actual screen can be seen." Jim McMahon of Southampton,
MA.
"Data graduated from the Academy in 2345. In 'Conundrum,'
Data's bio screen listed that he entered the Academy in 2341.
'The First Duty' established the Academy as a four year institution.
The remark [that Data makes on the holodeck stating that he graduated
with the class of '78] is wrong." Ronn Hubbard of Muray,
KY.
"Captain Picard tells Yar to rig main phasers into an
energy beam and lock it onto Farpoint station. But when the beam
is engaged, it is coming from the captain's yacht on the bottom
of the [saucer section] not the phaser banks" Leonard
M. Tare, Jr. of Atwater, CA.
"As a friend pointed out, during the saucer separation
sequences in Encounter at Farpoint and Arsenal of Freedom, the
stars indicate that the ship was going at warp. But the saucer
has no warp drive. After the separation it should have immediately
[dropped] to impulse." Murray J.D. Leeder of Alberta,
Canada.
"[While visiting Farpoint Station], Dr. Crusher says,
'send it to the starship, charged to Dr. Crusher,' when referring
to a bolt of cloth she finds at a merchant shop. Huh? I've never
seen any Starfleet officer paid, nothing seems to cost anything
on the Enterprise, and how could you have money in a society in
which virtually anything can be created via replicators?"
Will Hooper of Tuscaloosa, AL.
"The Enterprise is being pursued by Q. Prior to the saucer
separation, Picard orders a salvo of torpedoes to be fired (from
the rearward Photon tubes). Eight torpedoes are fired, but when
you count the detonations there are only five." Mark A.
Shore of Straffordshire, England.
"Another example of Data using contactions is where Data
says to Riker, 'I can't see as well as Geordi . . . .'" Garner
MacDonald of Nova Scotia, Canada.
"Q takes Picard, Troi, Data and Yar to stand trial for
the crimes of humanity. Why then, is Data, an android, included
in the group? It makes some sense that Troi be included, being
half human, but Data has no human DNA. He has no DNA, period!"
Elizabeth Cameron of Bedford, MA.
"Riker beams aboard the Enterprise and is greeted by
Yar in the transporter room. From here, Yar turns to lead him
out of the transporter room and into the hall. When the door opens,
we see a blue uniformed crewmember standing in the hallway. Yar
enters the hall and a red uniformed crewmember passes by the door.
As Riker enters the hall, the blue uniformed crewmember start
walking behind him. Make you think that she missed her cue and
started walking a bit late. Anyhow, Riker exits the scene behind
a wall and the camera position changes to just down the hall from
them. We see Yar and Riker, but the two crewmembers have vanished!"
James R. Stilipec of North Pole, Alaska.
"Look very closely at the circular stained-glass window
in Groppler Zorn's office (The best time to look is during Part
II, just before the window is blown out during the alien assault.)
The colored pattern on the window spells out Zorn's name, in English,
no less!" Joshua Truax of Platteville, WI.
"At one point, Picard orders that all communication be
stopped and use only hard copy printouts. But when he records
a log, he taps his combadge and starts talking. The worst part
of this is not that he is using a radio but he is summarizing
everything that's going on. Not exactly a great time for him to
go against his own orders." Ed Howard of Sloatsburg, NY.
"[In the holodeck], Data throws a rock at the wall. It
hits the wall and the image of green plants temporarily blurs
into squares. Shouldn't the holodeck dissolve the rock and show
a picture of the rock landing on the ground?" Tom J. Walz
of Moorhead, MN.
"When the viewscreen replays what had happened on the
way to Farside for Riker, why didn't he see Troi? She and Tasha,
Picard and Data should have figured prominently in the logs. But
Riker is shocked to see her on the Enterprise at the beginning
of part 2." Cheryl Warkentin of Hutchinson, KS.
"When Troi, Yar and La Forge are under Farpoint, Riker
is contacted by Yar. La Forge and Troi join the conversation.
La Forge and Troi both tap their communicators to talk to Riker
when Yar had already opened a channel to him. Yet, on the alien
ship after Riker opens a channel to Picard, Troi can be heard
on the Enterprise without tapping her badge." R. Clayton
Strang of Lynnwood, WA.
The Naked Now
"During the scan of records, we see a parrot wearing
a Starfleet shirt, complete with insignia. This is obviously a
reference to the late Gene Roddenberry (The Great Bird of the
Galaxy)." Johnson Lai of Ontario, Canada.
"Just before the star collapses, the Enterprise is seen,
in orbit, hovering over the Tsiolkovsky. But in the next scene,
the star collapses and the Enterprise is 15 minutes away."
Ryan Fisher of Saugus, MA.
"Data calls up the record for the original instance of
the water problem on the first Enterprise. The graphic on the
computer screen illustrates the refitted movie version of the
Enterprise, rather than the original you might expect." Al
Johnston of Newcastle upon Tyne, Great Britain.
"When Data searches for an instance of a man taking a
shower in his clothes, there is a distinct green tint on his face.
Does that always happen?" Nathan Vanderkooy of Ontario,
Canada.
"Shouldn't the assistant chief engineer have known that
the captain would not leave Main Engineering without a head?"
Jeremy Dabbs of Hueytown, AL.
"As very amateur students of biochemistry, we can sort
of grasp the main concept that water molecules could, through
some gravitational force, alter so that they 'act on the brain
like alcohol.' What we fail to fully understand is how this phenomenon
could be transferred by touch. (Note from Phil: Sticking your
hand in vodka won't make you drunk.)" Hilary Evans Cameron
and Mairi Cowan of Ontario, Canada.
"When Dr. Crusher injects herself and Picard with the
antidote, they should start to recover as quickly as Geordi, but
they don't." Ann McNeil of Ontario, Canada.
"For glaring starters, the use of current computer terms
demonstrates the writers' eagerness to use current technical buzz
words, but also reveals the fact that they failed to check to
see if they were being used properly. As a programmer you should
instantly recognize the error in the scene when Picard orders
Riker and Data to 'download this information to Doctor Crusher.
. . .' Perhaps this gaff is why these terms are rarely used ever
again." David K. Smith of West Trenton, NJ. (Note
from Phil: If I have my terminology straight, I download
files to myself but I upload files to others.)
Code of Honor
"Lutan spoke of the Ligonian's general reluctance to
accept visitors, and yet somehow the Federation had compiled an
exceptionally detailed description of the planet's culture and
resources. The alien culture was, by it own admission, not as
technologically advanced as the Federation; yet they had a very
sophisticated transporter system that could even elude the tracking
of the Enterprise sensors. Then there's the hapless extra who
caught the 'fist-o-spikes' glove in the stomach. In the close-up,
his abdomen was clearly seen bleeding, but when they carried him
off, there wasn't a mark on him. Also, in the final scene Riker
orders La Forge to set course for Styris Five, and La Forge
acknowledges setting course for Styris Four." David K.
Smith of West Trenton, NJ.
"While on the planet, watch Deanna's arms. In the group
shots, Deanna's arms are at her sides, while in the close-ups,
her arms are behind her back." Johnson Lai of Ontario,
Canada.
"[When Yar and Yareena beam back to the ship], Dr. Crusher
runs over to the transporter pad where Crusher gives Yareena two
doses of the antidote that will help Yareena to live. But, when
Crusher gives her the second spray of medicine in Yareena's right
shoulder, I noticed that Doctor Crusher was wearing a small white
faced watch with a small leather band." Sheri Kirschner
of Olympia, WA.
". . . all during the show they keep getting reports
on how bad the plague on Styris IV is. But . . . the last scene
of the show when they leave Ligon II with the vaccine they set
course for Styris IV at warp 3." Missie Fleck of Cary,
NC.
"Lutan and Yareena had a mating agreement. When Yareena
died and was resuscitated, that bond was broken. However, Lutan
wanted Yareena to die so he could inherit her wealth. Why, when
Yareena died, did they conveniently enforce one law and break
the other?" Carin Budka of Parma, OH.
"When LtCmdr. Data tells the joke during Lt. La Forge's
'shaving scene' he says, 'A man goes to the store to buy some
kidneys. He says to the shopkeeper, "I'd like a pound of
kitilies please..."' Data uses the contraction 'I'd'. Then
he says, 'The shop keeper says, "You mean kidneys don't you?"'
Another contraction, 'don't'. One could [also] argue that he uses
a contraction when he says the punch line, 'Diddle I?' because
he means 'didn't'. Finally Data says, 'including the kitilies,
I've told 662 jokes . . . ' Another contraction, 'I've'. Four
in one scene!" Cpl David Ferrier of The Pentagon, Washington,
DC.
More season one nits next time!