This newletter is published quarterly (April, July, October, December)
1997 SUBSCRIPTION RATES (for postal delivery only)
United States - $10.00
Canada - US$12.50
All Other Countries - US$15.00
This newletter is also available free of charge to Guild members via email
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COPYRIGHT 1997 by Phil Farrand. All rights reserved.
Books by Phil Farrand:
The Nitpicker's Guide for Next Generation Trekkers, Volume I
(ISBN 0-440-50571-2)
The Nitpicker's Guide for Classic Trekkers
(ISBN 0-440-50683-2)
The Nitpicker's Guide for Next Generation Trekkers, Volume II
(ISBN 0-440-50716-2)
The Nitpicker's Guide for Deep Space Trekkers
(ISBN 0-440-50762-6)
The Nitpicker's Guide for X-philes
(Release Date: December 1, 1997)
June 26, 1997
Greetings Fellow Nitpickers and Proud Members of the Nitpickers Guild!
It's all over but the shouting with respect to The Nitpicker's Guide for X-philes (X-phile Guide)! We are officially in production. The X-phile guide will cover the first four seasons of The X-Files and carries an official release date of December 1, 1997. That means it should start showing up on book store shelves sometime during the second or third week of November. It will be a larger format than the Trek guides. It will also have a different look and feel--single column with wide edge margins that will contain the great lines, great moments and trivia questions and other doo-dads. I think you'll enjoy it! We already have first proofs. Second proofs should come in next week. Final proofs sometime after that. Then, the book will be completely out of my hands! It's been a fun project.
As always, the Nitpickers Guild marches on. As of today, the Guild has 6164 members from 26 countries (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Republic of China, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom and USA). Over 8400 postal letters have arrived here at Nitpicker Central (not counting the thousands of email messages). Thanks again to everyone for your interest.
The Nitpicker Central Internet Extension Office (NCIEO)--located at: www.nitcentral.com--continues to grows. If you have the ability, drop by!
For those of you who are interested, my first novel The Son, The Wind and The Reign is being reviewed by an agent who works with the William Morris Agency in New York. It's an alien invasion novel . . . sort of. One day, out-of-the-blue, a race of titans appear and turn Earth into a utopia. They have only two rules for humanity: "Treat others as you wish to be treated" and "Submit or die." Surprisingly enough, they are quite serious about the latter rule. In fact, their kindness and compassion is matched only by their ferocity and relentlessness. Add to that the minor detail that they also claim to be Jesus Christ and His followers, having returned to rule the Earth with a rod of iron for 1000 years. The background and setting of the novel allow me to explore systems of belief. (i.e. why people choose to believe what they believe.) My current agent, Steve Ettlinger, took a look at the novel but since he works almost exclusively with non-fiction, he felt I needed someone who really knew the field. Kathleen Jayes--my editor at Dell--gave it a read as well and had some very nice things to say about it, but Dell doesn't publish science fiction. She passed it up to a science fiction editor at Bantam, who also had nice things to say but felt it wasn't right for their list. Apparently the book is "in the cracks" when it comes to a genre, so I'll have to find just the right editor. Leave it to me to do something different! (Grin.) Anyway, Kathleen introduced me to the agent who works with the William Morris Agency in New York. I hope to have some good word on it by the next newsletter, but don't hold your breath. The publishing business is notorious for its plodding and ponderous introspection--especially when it comes to properties that fall a bit outside the norm! (It took me three months to convince Steve that the Nitpicker's Guide was a good idea. After that, it took Steve six months to actually sell the first one!)
In the meantime, I'm working on my second novel. It's called That Fated Shore. It's a time travel novel . . . sort of. I'm using the whole time travel thing as a way to explore human behavior and the fact that--for the most part--people keep making the same mistakes over and over until they come to destruction. Cheery topic, eh? This one has a much different feel to it. In fact, it's turning out to be a black comedy. But I'm really just getting started with it so who knows the direction it will eventually take.
Steve has made a proposal to Dell for the next Nitpicker's Guide. If Dell approves, I'll let you know what it is in the next issue of the newsletter!
For those of you who haven't heard, Jennifer Lien (Kes) is leaving Star Trek: Voyager. According to a recent press release, she will be replaced by "a striking, young female Borg, 'Seven of Nine,' who is brought aboard the Federation starship when her ties to the Collective are severed." The character will be played by Actress Jeri Ryan, who most recently starred as Juliette on Dark Skies--NBC's failed UFO conspiracy/alternate history series (which I personally thought was initially an interesting concept but seemed to run out of steam fairly quickly). Several nitpickers have already predicted that "Seven of Nine" is going to be Voyager's new babe and the press release seems to confirm this. I quote, "Now detached from the Collective, [Seven of Nine] begins to take on a more human appearance, revealing a sensual creature neither fully Borg nor fully human. This unpredictable, alluring new series regular will prove a daily challenge to Captain Janeway and her crew as they try to help her rediscover humanity." Lee Whiteside reports that Entertainment Tonight did a piece on her a few nights ago. Evidently, she'll be dressed in a black catsuit with a few head attachments. Hmmm.
Of interest to me, Seven of Nine is supposedly a human who was assimilated when she was a "young girl." I'm not sure how old Jeri Ryan is in real life but if the character is in her mid-twenties and she was assimilated as a teeny-bopper, wouldn't that mean she was taken before Star Trek: The Next Generation began? Have the Borg been after us longer than we've known? Aaaaaah!
Happy Nitpicking!
Phil Farrand
MUSINGS ON THE LOST WORLD
So far, the big sci-fi hit this summer seems to be The Lost World: Jurassic Park. (Although I'm personally rooting for Men In Black. From the previews, it looks great. But, then again, we all know . . . "Previews Always Lie!") I thought you might enjoying seeing a small sampling of the input that has come into the Nitpicker Central Internet Extension Office from members of the Guild. First a few comments from yours truly.
Net and I and Lizzie all went to see the movie with Charles and Jenetta Gragg. These are our collective reactions.
Obviously, the whole point of this movie was to have dinosaurs stomping around and eating people. And--as usual with Hollywood--the visual effects in this movie are amazing. (The only problem I saw was whenever the dinosaurs hopped onto something or hopped off something, they seemed to float a bit. It just didn't look quite right to me.) And--as usual with visual effects movies in Hollywood--the plot was not exactly engaging . . . just one dino incident strung together with another until the movie quits.
Consider the whole trailer off the cliff scene. The entire time I watched this scene I was thinking WHIRL, WHIRL, DIETS, WHIRL, DIETS, DIETS, DIETS. (For those of you who are new to the Guild, WHIRL stands for "Wouldn't Happen In Real Life" and DIETS stands for "Dead In Exactly Two Seconds.") Just a few of the minor points: Why park next to a cliff? Why does the trailer have real glass instead of safety glass? Better yet, why doesn't the trailer have two-inch thick Lucite? Also, how could Harding slide down the rope like she did and not sustain incredibly painful rope burns? Why didn't anyone tell her to lie down when the glass was breaking underneath her?! (Think about it: Harding falls onto the non-safety glass at the "bottom" of the trailer. The glass cracks. She gets up on her hands and knees. In other words, she concentrates the pressure of her weight into four small points. This is not a good idea. Not surprisingly, the glass begins to crack. Malcolm--chaos theorist and all around genius that he is--can't figure out that the reason that the glass is cracking is because she has concentrated her weight?! If she had eased herself back down and "swam" for the edge, everything would have been fine. There's lots of problems with this scene but I'll only mention one.
Imagine this scene: You have an RV with a long RV-like trailer. The trailer is hung off a cliff. A four wheel drive vehicle is winched to the front bumper of the RV attempting to keep it from going over the cliff. A rope that is not in line with the four-wheeler, the RV or the trailer is tied to a tree stump, travels through the broken out windshield of the RV, through the RV, through the trailer and finally reaches a trio of heroes who are dangling off the cliff underneath the trailer.
Now imagine that the entire conglomeration of vehicles goes down the cliff: trailer first, then RV, then four wheeler. In this scene, we see our trio of heroes suspended in the center of the trailer and RV as they drop away. No way. No how. WOULDN'T HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE! In order for our heroes to be suspend in the center of the trailer, the rope would have to be attached to a boom that was swung out over the cliff so the rope would hang parallel to the face of the cliff, approximately four feet away. Otherwise, the edge is the rope will be constrained against the edge of the cliff as the vehicles go over and the vehicles would strip our hero right off the rope! (Which would be a bad thing!).
In addition . . . the vehicles are not going to go over that cliff in a nice straight line. They are going to twist and gyrate. In short, the heroes wouldn't stay in the center of the vehicles even with the rope attached to a boom and our heroes would be stripped off the rope.
And why did the Rexs take a break from their attack during this scene? Why didn't they finish the job in the first place? Throughout this movie, dinos seemed to disappear at the most convenient times.
And why didn't anybody think that maybe carrying around a jacket soaked in baby T-Rex blood was A Bad Thing?!? (I call this suspense-essential-stupidity.)
And how about the upper body strength of that Harding? She hanging off a roof with one arm, shuffling tiles with the other hand, and she's not even breaking a sweat. Adrenaline is a wonderful thing but, to me at least, it just got a bit ridiculous.
Brian Phan, San Jose, CA: In the beginning, Malcolm speaks with Hammond in his bedroom. Hammond has trouble getting up so he needs his cane. Yet just a few minutes later, he's walking OK without the cane!
Michael Harrel: At one point in the movie, a boat carrying a T-rex in the cargo hold crashes onto a San Diego harbor. Everyone on board the boat has been killed and eaten, and the creators expect us to believe that the rex did it. Unfortunately, some of the corpses are in a room the would be WAY too small for Rex to get in, and there is no evidence that the Tyrannosaur wrecked a wall or something to get in. I suspect that there are now velociraptors in San Diego! (Whoa, talk about setup for another sequel, huh?)
Bob Canada: When the T-Rex was sticking its nose through the tent, its head was touching the dirt. How did it get its giant head that close to the ground? Could a T-Rex really lay down on its belly (and then get back up with its useless forearms)?
So now that the captured T-Rex story is on CNN, EVERYONE knows the locations of Jurassic Park and Site B. How long will it be before some other corporation (Microsoft, perhaps?) mounts an expedition to capture some dinos, despite Hammond's inspiring fireside chat that these animals don't need us, and need us to step aside and leave them in peace.
Aaron Nadler of New Cumberland, PA: There is a scene where 2 T-Rexes push a trailer over a cliff. In the process, one of the characters (Eddie Carr) jumps in through the smashed back window, and throws a rope down to Jeff Goldblum and Co. If you look when he first jumps in, there is a bookshelf with all of the books still on it, standing straight up, (LIKE THEY'VE BEEN GLUED DOWN) after two LARGE dinosaurs slammed this trailer at least 25 feet. Go figure.
Second, a T-Rex stomps through a suburban backyard, only to find that the pool doesn't ripple from his shaking steps. Also in the next scene, a kid looks out his window to see the dino, but the aquarium next to him doesn't ripple, either. (Note from Phil: Must be that super-firm San Diego soil!)
Ben Puntch: When the trailer first gets knocked over by the T-rex, a pane of glass falls out of the rear window of the trailer. However, when the trailer gets knocked over the cliff, the glass is back in the window so that Sarah can fall onto it!
Rob Orton: When Malcom is looking at the InGen helicopters through the binoculars, he seems to be holding them backwards.
Rob Levandowski of Rochester, NY: In one scene, the two trailers are hanging over a cliff, and the photographer is trying to save the others trapped in the trailer. He tries to connect the trailer to the winch of his Mercedes-Benz Jeep-wannabe, but the Benz starts to slide in the mud, so he hops in and guns it into reverse.
Now, the Benz is a stick shift -- we see him shift into reverse. Keep this in mind.
Since the car, when first slipping, is skidding--the tires don't rotate--we can presume that he put the parking brake on. Now, think about the procedure you'd have to do in order to pull this off: put your foot on the brake and clutch; start the car (if necessary), shift into reverse, unset the parking brake, take your foot off the brake, gun the gas, and let the clutch out.
Think carefully about those last three steps, and about the amount of weight pulling the car forward. At some point, the brakes are going to be off and the clutch is going to be disengaged. At that time, the wheels will spin freely, having neither brakes nor engine friction to stop them. It seems to me that the Benz would thus go flying off the cliff.
We then see him spin his tires. (Of course, this Benz has absolutely astounding tires to gain any purchase in this mud, rather than merely dig a rut.) He's weaving from side to side, -because the tires have lost friction with the ground- as they spin, making it possible for the vehicle to move sideways. Of course, if you lost friction with the ground, and you were tethered to an immovable object like a tree, you'd go side to side as shown. If you were tied to two trailers hanging precariously off a cliff and you lost friction with the ground... you'd go over the cliff.
A more realistic strategy would have been to attach the jeep to a sturdy tree or rock with chains, and then use the winch to pull up the trailer. I've seen off-road jeeps equipped with twin front-and-rear winches for this purpose. In a pinch, you could wrap the cable around a tree once before hooking it to the trailer, so that the tree takes the brunt of the weight.
Which reminds me: before doing all this, the photographer ties a rope (loosely) to a dead stump, so that he can throw it down to the others. The stump looks old and rotten. It wouldn't have been a good choice--it looked as if it might crumble under the strain of the rope.
The hunters have a jeep with a passenger seat that extends on an out-rigger. Jeeps are very tippy to begin with -- having an adult male in a car seat that far outside the wheelbase ought to make it prone to tipping with the slightest upset. Unless, of course, there's a large counterweight on the other side, which would make the vehicle that much slower. It seems like an unnecessarily complex design. (Note from Phil: But, of course, it looks cool!)
Brian Bogovich, Pittsburgh PA: [Aside from what killed the sailors on the ship,] the cargo bay doors are found partway open, because a hand from a dead body is pressing the button. There are problems with this. What killed the man obviously not the tyrannosaur, because it would have had to be in the cargo area before the crew could close the doors? If he was dead, why was his hand still pushing the buttons? Unless he was electrocuted, the crew member's muscles should have relaxed when he died, not contracted and held the button in place (I may be wrong about that, I'm not an anatomy student)
Not a nit, an observation - didn't you expect to hear the crowd of frightened Japanese start shouting "Godzilla!"
Brian O'Marra, Little Rock, AR: I thought the scene with the Velociraptors and Malcolm and Sarah was a little too contrived. Sarah is hanging from the tiled roof, the one Velociraptor falls from the roof on to the other Velociraptor down below. Sarah then falls right in front of them, and guess what? Both Velociraptors don't notice her! These dinosaurs, who, supposedly work together (as the first movie brought out) now are fighting one another, just in time for Sarah to get away!
Alexander Shearer: Though the establishing shots of downtown San Diego were nice, none of the T-Rex's subsequent rampage is in San Diego (my friend tells me it's Burbank). If it was San Diego, that would probably be the neighborhood where I grew up, given the T-Rex's location.
If you were sending people to an island full of potentially dangerous critters like that, wouldn't you pack at least one weapon which would absolutely, for sure, take one out? Maybe a LAW, or at least a grenade launcher.
In the boat-into-dock scene: Why didn't at least one of the dock operations people show some self-preservation? They all know that the ship is racing towards the dock at full flank speed, not responding to calls . . . why did they all just stand there?
Scott Padulsky: I know its cold to think about it, but corporations are in business for one purpose: to make profit. So here you have a bioengineering company that has successfully produced some of the greatest feats of genetic engineering--feats that would make their stock go through the roof--and they keep it a secret! I don't think so. The (fictional) engineering techniques would have many uses besides just producing dinos, plus the prestige alone would make them a fortune. I doubt they would keep it secret let alone dismiss Ian Malcolm when he tried to bring attention to it.
Kevin Loughlin: Not only was the window not safety glass, but there were no bars! All the side windows had 2-inch iron bars, but this back one is just plate glass.
Lisa Shock of Phoenix, AZ: How did the ship make it in to port in San Diego so accurately? Sure, it came in too fast, but it landed precisely where it was supposed to dock without any course corrections for hundreds of miles. I grew up around boats, and this was a truly amazing feat.
Bob Sabatini: At the beginning of the movie, Malcom says that three people died at "Site A" four years before. Let's see here, I remember at least four, possibly five (my brain is fried because of the hot weather.)
Eric Brasure: I'll make this quick. One word: tanks. There is no way a dinosaur is going to knock over a tank. If the team really wanted to stay alive, they would not have jeeps. Which is better: maneuverability or protection?
Lisa Shock of Phoenix AZ: One more observation: Did you see Arnold Schwartzenager's picture in the movie poster (at the video store) for "King Lear"?
Charles Sylvia: Malcolm's daughter, is basically . . . "useless" to the development of this movie. She doesn't do anything except be an extra character there. The kids in the first Jurassic Park actually had a purpose and made the movie fun. And then . . . just to attempt to give this girl some sort of reason for existing, they throw in this gymnastics thing. Which of course is totally ridiculous. This girl has been scared to death for the whole movie. She must be physically exhausted, yet somehow she musters up the strength to pull off her fancy gymnastics move (on a bunch of metal bars which are CONVENIENTLY there and CONVENIENTLY stable) and manages to kick the dinosaur which must weigh much more than her through the wall. Somehow this seems too far fetched.
And THEN . . . Sarah Harding, after managing to survive more than one close encounter with a velociraptor, falls through the roof, hits a glass light and rolls through some glass and then gets up outside and she's fine. She'd at least have broken some bones.
Jim Cadwell: This has to do with one of the dinosaurs--the mimentiosaurus. This is a large sauropod-like dinosaur whose neck is longer than the rest of it's body and tail. It is indeed a strange animal. My nit, however, has to do with it's neck.
The mimentiosaur's vertebrae have long bony projections going backward and attaching to the other vertebrae. This makes the mimentiosaur's neck almost rigid. Real mimentiosaurs would stand in a grove, holding their necks straight out and occasionally swinging them from side to side and eating the tops of tree ferns. I saw mimentiosaurs in this film bending their necks freely and running around with the parasauroliphi when the bad guys were chasing them.
Kekoa Kaluhiokalani of Columbus, OH: First, you can see the cameraman (camera person?) in the scene between Ian Malcolm and John Hammond. Towards the end of their conversation, John is walking back to his bed and Ian's leaned up against a desk. The camera zeroes in on a ring on Hammond's left hand. Right as that happens, if you look on the nightstand by Hammond's hand, there's a small mirror and in that mirror--oops!--you can see the StediCam operator's legs reflected.
In the scene where Dieter is being chased by the compys: You can clearly see the strings attached the other greenery to give the illusion of real creatures jumping over the ferns. Millions of bucks to film and they couldn't take time to erase those strings in postproduction?!
Finally, actually this one is a fun nit, because I think this
one was deliberate. In the final scene, when Ian, his daughter,
and Sarah are dozing on the couch--look very carefully at the
television screen. But don't watch the CNN broadcast, look at
the hazy reflection of the people on the couch on the screen's
surface. You see Ian, Sarah, Ian's daughter, and Steven Spielberg
himself sitting between them all. He's is very clearly defined
by the hair, the beard, and the dark glasses. Kinda cute.
THE EDITORIALLY LIBERATED
More nits that were cut from the NextGen II Guide!
The Enemy Star Date: 43349.2
La Forge meets a Romulan on the surface of Galorndon Core.
Picard worries that Galorndon Core will be remembered as the stage for a "bloody preamble to war" like Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor wasn't a bloody preamble to war. World War II had raged in Europe for two years before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The bloody preamble to World War II was Hitler's invasion of Poland.
Dr. Crusher's hair really grows fast. In the last episode her hair hung at her shoulders. This episode it sits on her communicator--a difference of at least five inches. Comparing the star dates we find that only about five weeks has elapsed. Next episode, it's back to shoulder length.
Thanks to: Guillaume Bergeron of Gatineau, Quebec and Joshua Miller of Gouverneur, NY
The Price Star Date: 43385.6
"Hired-gun" Devinoni Ral sweeps Troi off her feet as he negotiates for the Barzan wormhole.
Interestingly enough, the great line I sited in the NextGen Guide contains a nit! According to Lwaxana Troi in "Manhunt," four deities inhabit Betazoid mythology yet Troi states at the beginning of this episode, "God forbid that I should miss my first look at the wormhole." God. Singular. Has Deanna adopted another religion? Or, has she just spent too much time around humans and some of their speech mannerisms have rubbed off on her?
The Vengeance Factor Star Date: 43421.9
Yuta--an Acamarian female--boards the Enterprise to complete her ancient rite of vengeance.
Noting my observation on pages 160 and 161 of the NextGen Guide that Worf states he has an aversion to bathing in "Conspiracy" but advises the Gatherers in this episode that their ambushes would be "more effective if they bathed more often," John Hobson of Bolingbrook, IL wondered if Klingons have no body odor or their noses are more sensitive to other's body odors that to their own.
As Yuta sits with Riker in Ten-Forward, Marouk calls for her. Yuta gets up from the table and walks over to Marouk. Once she arrives at her sovereign's table, Marouk stares at Yuta but says nothing. Why did she call her over in the first place? Obviously, it's not because she thought Yuta was getting too chummy with Riker. Marouk dispatches Yuta to spend more time with the first officer later in the show.
This episode raises an interesting point. Chorgan, the leader of the Gatherers, has a ship that looks just like the one that the Pakleds used. So, did the Pakleds steal it from the Gatherers or the other way around? Or, did the Gatherers and the Pakleds both prey on some very intelligent but hopelessly naive race of space craft builders?
This is admitted a minor point. (Then again, aren't they all? Wink, wink.) After Picard turns control of the bridge over to Riker and leaves for Chorgan's ship, the first officer sits down in his chair, not Picard's. Many, many episodes establish that the person who controls the bridge sits in the captain's chair. So, why does Riker get a burst of humility all of a sudden?
The computer seems to have selective memory whenever it suits the plot. Riker, Crusher and Data establish a link between the Gatherers who died of the microvirus by uncovering their clan affiliation from the Acamarian database. The database even tells the senior officers that Chorgan is a member of the Lornak clan. Yet when Crusher asks the computer if any members of Acamarian leader's delegation are from the Tralesta clan, the computer states that clan affiliation is not within the provided records. What? Didn't the computer just give clan affiliation on three other individuals?
When the Enterprise arrives at Gamma Hromi II, Data gives Picard the results of a surface scan. As the android describes campfires a reaction shot shows Picard and Riker seated in their chairs. A medium sized black dot rests on the center support of the curved wooden railing that disappears when Riker heads for the transporter room.
On Gamma Hromi II, Marouk meets with a Gatherer named Brull. An aide pours a clear liquid into a glass. Yuta tastes it. Marouk drinks some and--as Yuta brings the glass to his side of the meeting--Brull comments that Marouk may have poisoned it. His comment is well founded because when Brull pours the liquid down his compatriot's throat, it has changed to a milky white substance.
At one point, Data sits at Science Station I at the back of the bridge investigating the deaths for the Gatherers. Crusher comes in and starts working at Science Station II. Riker walks over to her first and then walks over to the other side of Data and leans against the sidewall of Science Station I with his left shoulder. From this position, Data is below and just to the right of him. Crusher is still hunched over Science Station II so she is directly in front of him--at the most, just a tad to the right. In the next few close-ups, whenever Riker addresses Crusher he looks away to the right and up! It's like he's gazing at the ceiling over Picard's ready room door and doesn't want to meet her beautiful blue eyes. Did something happen between them? An embarrassing interlude perhaps that Riker is loathed to admit actually occurred?
Thanks to: Robert DeVoe of St. Ann, MO; Tim Holder of Holiday, FL; Geoffrey H. Petts of Hants, England; Eva Schultz of Joliet, IL
The Defector Star Date: 43462.5-43465.2
Romulan defector Admiral Jarok defects and alerts Picard to what he believes is a secret base on Nelvana III.
This is a wonderful episode. It has suspense. It has intrigue. It has Shakespeare. It has a great turn on the end. It even has good foreshadowing and that's one of the things I like the most about it. The creators actually drop several hints along the way that the Klingon may provide an assist. This gives me, as the viewer, the opportunity to make some intelligent guess about how Picard will rescue the ship at the last moment.
On page 163 of the NextGen Guide, I found it unbelievable that the food replicators could not respond to Jarok's request for water at a temperature of 12 ahgians given the existence of the universal translator. I received quite a few comments on this ranging from "the Federation doesn't expect Romulans on their starships" to "little is known of the Romulans" to "look at all the different standards for measuring things on planet Earth alone, you can't expect the poor food replicator to know everything." There's a larger issue here for me. The creators have identified this thing called the Universal Translator that is nothing short of magical in its capabilities. It works like air. It's a if everyone speaks English because it doesn't act like a personal translator would. It doesn't drone on in one language as a person speaks in another. It actually makes the person look like they are talking English by translating the words and then constructing some sort of holographic image around the speaker so that he or she looks "normal" when he or she talks. For instance, in "Face of the Enemy," Troi is kidnapped and altered to look like a Romulan. For almost the entire show, Troi serves aboard a Romulan vessel. Everyone understands her. She understands everyone else and no one suspects she isn't Romulan. The only explanation: the Universal Translator! (The same thing holds for the episodes, "Unification I" and "Unification II.") If I have to accept that the Universal Translator is this amazing and ubiquitous, why must I be forced to believe that a food replicator can't identify a Romulan temperature just because the creators are trying to show how isolated Jarok feels?
Scott Davidson of East Lothian, Scotland wrote to wonder if Picard delivered Jarok's final message to his relatives on Romulus when he visited the planet during "Unification I."
When Jarok asks if the food replicators can make a good Romulan ale, Data replies that little is known of Romulans and the food replicator would need a sample of the ale to duplicate it. Didn't they have Romulan ale on the Enterprise during Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country? (Actually this nit really needs to go to the creators of the movie since the movie came out almost a year after this episode.)
This same Data who says that little is known of Romulus also manages to program an exact replica of the Valley of Chula on the holodeck. (The holodeck can be explained. After all, Federation long range scanners manage to capture a picture of Spock on the surface of Romulus at the beginning of "Unification I." If the scanners can do this, they probably can map the planet. But, if they can map the planet why does Data say that little is known? Is he purposefully hiding the sophistication of the long range sensors from Jarok?)
Thanks to: Zoran Kovacich of Richmond, CA and Jonathan Upton of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
The Hunted Star Date: 43489.2
A mentally and physically enhanced Angosian soldier named Roga Danar takes on the Enterprise.
There seems to be a bit of disagreement as to how many people died when Danar escaped from Lunar V. While talking with Picard at the beginning of the episode, the Prime Minister says Danar killed two guards but later Danar tells Troi that he killed three individuals to escape from the prison. (I suppose we could say that Danar killed a fellow soldier who tried to thwart his escape and the Prime Minister does not believe that death worth mentioning.)
The High Ground Star Date: 43510.7
Dr. Crusher is captured by a terrorist group on Rutia IV.
In my ruminations about this episode on pages 167 and 168, I--in my own maniacally egotistical way--offered a definition for terrorism, that terrorism is the systematic targeting of non-military entities for the sole purpose of evoking a negative emotional response in the populace. I went on to say that the purpose of terrorism is not military conquest but to devalue the commitment of a people toward their government's position. Michael A. D. Reid of Atlanta, GA offered the following comments in response. "A thought for you to consider: By this definition, Gen. William Sherman's fiery March to the Sea across Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina was a terrorist act, since his stated goal was to destroy both logistic and moral support for the Confederate armies in the field by attacking nonmilitary targets. Yankee historians have generally euphemized this by referring to Sherman's dedication to 'total war' and his realization of the importance of civilians to an army in the field. Being a Southerner and a Georgian, I have no problem calling Sherman a terrorist; do you?" (If the definition fits . . . )
During the opening, Picard makes a log entry stating that he has directed the away teams to beam down armed. Yet, on the surface Crusher carries no phaser. Why?
Daniel J. Wigdor of Uxbridge, Ontario
Deja Q Star Date: 43539.1
Stripped of his powers, Q seeks sanctuary on the Enterprise.
I must admit that I was extraordinarily remiss in the NextGen Guide when I did not note that the final moments of this episode contain some of the funniest in the entire series--starting with Q's reappearance on the bridge playing lead trumpet for a band and running all the way through Q's gift of laughter to Data. Great stuff! (Thanks to Annie Percik of Lancashire, England for reminding me.)
I shall do this as gently as possible but it is worth noting. Shortly after Q appears, stripped of his powers, Worf hustles him onto a turbolift. In the turbolift, Q recites a litany of problems associated with being human. In the process, he mentions losing his hair and getting a pimple. Not to be unkind, but I do not believe that Q has ever had what would be described as a full head of hair and even as he delivers this soliloquy, a bump rests on the left side of his face looking very much like . . . a pimple covered over with make-up.
And speaking of Q and his intelligence, why doesn't he know the capabilities of the Enterprise? Wasn't that part of his knowledge as a member of the Continuum and didn't he retain that knowledge when the Continuum made him human?
Is Calamarain singular or plural? For most of the show, the characters refer to the cloud of gas creatures as "Calamarain" but at the very end, in the shuttle with the second Q, Q refers to them as "Calamarains."
After shoving Q into a cell, Worf activates the forcefield by simply saying, "Computer, activate force field." A little later Picard deactivates the forcefield in the same manner. Presumably, the computer analyzes the voice print of the speaker and determines if they have the authority to raise or lower the forcefield. On the other hand, you may recall that Data imitated Picard's voice in "Encounter at Farpoint," Wesley digitally edited together Picard's commands in "The Naked Now" and DaiMon Bok synthesized Picard's voice in "The Battle." Obviously, the technology exists to fake a voice print (as Data does in "Brothers"). Doesn't it seem likely then that raising or lower the forcefield on a detention cell would require something more secure than a simple voice command? How about an access code, or retinal scan? Or--here's a novel idea--how about involving that guy in the background who seemingly does nothing but sit there and stare at the monitors?
Picard's desktop terminal seems to be missing when he and Q have their "father confessor" chat.
To test Q's humanity, Guinan stabs his right hand with a fork, quite hard from the looks of it. Yet, there's no blood and evidently no damage.
Thanks to: Michael Hasemi of Littleton, CO; Barbara Lay of Irving, TX; Robyn Perlin of Randolph, MA; Chris Segall of Scarborough, Ontario; Ian Senior of Surrey, England, Yar Woo of New Haven, CT
A Matter of Perspective Star Date: 43610.4-43611.6
When a scientist named Apgar dies, Riker is accused of murder.
After Krag's initial visit, Picard tells Riker that any further private conversations between them would be inappropriate. This makes perfect sense. Picard must maintain the appearance of impartiality, especially in light of Krag's stated suspicion of the same. An odd moment during Riker's testimony brings this impartiality into question. Riker's testimony shows Apgar's wife attempting to seduce the first officer in the guest quarters on the science station. Apgar finds them and a brief scuffle ensues. Apgar leaves. Picard suddenly suspends the simulation by saying, "freeze program." Then, he looks at Riker who explains that nothing happened until the next day. Riker tells the computer to continue and the scene changes back to the main research area. It appears that Picard knew Riker's testimony had reached an important transition, a point at which the first officer needed to offer a moment of explanation. How does Picard know this? Did he review the evidence before the hearing? Did he neglect his own wisdom in the last 18 hours and meet with Riker covertly? Or, did Riker completely describe his experiences on the station to Picard between the time that Krag initially beamed onto the Enterprise and Worf escorted him onto the bridge? (I supposed Worf could have taken Krag on the scenic route to give Riker more time. "Deck 36? I wonder why the turbolift brought us here. Well, that's okay. We'll get to the main bridge sooner or later. How would you like to see Ten-Forward? The scenery is just gorgeous out those big, beautiful windows and you'll just love our bartender.")
In the episode's opener, Data offers his perspective on a painting by Picard. As the critique begins, Picard's palette lays flat on his work area. A series of close-ups follow ending with Picard hurumphing Data into silence. The captain reaches for his palette and it now rests at an angle. There is time during the close-ups for Picard to move it but it seems unlikely that he does. (Personally, if I had an android blasting my work as Data does Picard's, I'd do more than just fidget with the palette.)
Thanks to: David Foster of Charleston, WV; Danny McEvoy of Brighton, England and Robert J. Wooley of St. Paul, MN
Yesterday's Enterprise Star Date: 43625.2
Tasha Yar returns as the Enterprise experiences a war timeline.
The very end of the episode features La Forge and Guinan enjoying a drink in Ten-Forward. This begs the question. Wasn't there a temporal anomaly hovering in front of the Enterprise just moments earlier? Wouldn't this be a good time for the Chief Engineer to be in Main Engineering doing engineering-type things?
"The Neutral Zone" features the Federation's first look at a Romulan spacecraft identified as a "warbird." This massive vessel decloaks in front of the Enterprise inspiring awe in the crew. From all indications, this is a fairly new design for the Romulans. Yet, in "Yesterday's Enterprise," Garrett tells Picard that four Romulan warbirds attacked them at Narendra III implying that the warbird design is at least 22 years old.
As Garrett argues with Crusher in Sickbay over resuming her duties, look at the shoulder strap on uniform. Her rank pin appears to have come loose and leans at a considerable angle.
Thanks to: Frank T. Bitterhof of Berlin, Germany; Richard Kilby of N. Yorkshire, England and Stephen M. Scott, Jr. of Birdseye, IN
The Offspring Star Date: 43657.0
Data constructs a daughter named Lal.
I must admit that there are times when I get just a wee bit fed up with the male of the species always being painted as the aggressor. Take this episode for example. Lal is in Ten-Forward with Guinan. They watch a young couple exchange looks, a few touches and finally a kiss. When the kiss commences, Lal shouts, "He's biting that female!" Excuse me? Excuse me?! I believe that careful analysis of the aforementioned biting sequence will show that--in fact--the female lurched at the male, not the other way around! (Of course, "She's biting that male" doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?)
Thanks to: Nigel Strafford of Surrey, England
Sins Of The Father Star Date: 43685.2-43689
Worf must defend his honor before the Klingon High Council.
During a meal to welcome Kurn--a Klingon commander who volunteers to serve aboard the Enterprise as part of an officer exchange program because he wished to observe Worf before revealing himself as the Security Chief's long lost brother--Picard cuts a piece of meat from a turkey. On page 180 of the NextGen Guide, I expressed my intrigue that this replicated food item would have bones in it. I wondered why the food stations would waste the energy need to create something that would be thrown away. Phillip Martin of Anniston, AL believes the bones exist for the same reason the crew isn't eating vitamin tablets and nothing else--to appeal to the whole experience of eating. Ronn Hubbard, Jr. of Murray, KY added that he suspected the turkey was a real bird. (Kurn does refer to it as "burned replicated bird meat," but then again, what does he know? He's a Klingon.) Personally, I think Ronn may be right but I don't think it's a turkey, I think it's a buzzard! Proof! Proof, I say, that the Enterprise really does have Buzzard collectors! (See Alternate Viewpoints and Corrections under "Samaritan Snare" in "The Editorially Liberated" section of the December 1996 issue of the newsletter for more information.)
Does anyone else find it strange that Kahlest's apartment--an apartment that is obviously not in the best part of town--would have automatic doors?
Shortly after boarding the Enterprise, Kerns orders Wesley to set course and engage at one third impulse. The next outside shot shows the ship rapidly accelerating away from the camera as if it prepares to jump to warp. Normally, the Enterprise barely crawls along at impulse (as least from our perspective).
The creators have a little difficulty with the opening credits in this episode. Beginning with David Livingstons and going through Ira Steven Behr, the credits had to lay over a shot with Wesley in the lower left hand corner. To avoid blotting out the acting ensigns face, the creators opted to center the credits between Wesley and the edge of the screen while the opening credits in all the other episodes are perfectly centered on the screen. I understand why they did. It just looks funny! (I know. Picky, picky, picky.)
Thanks to: Ronn Hubbard, Jr. of Murray, KY; Wells P. Martin of Stamford, CT and Joshua Truax of Fridley, WI
Allegiance Star Date: 43714.1
No nits were liberated during the reviewing of this episode.
Captain's Holiday Star Date: 43745.2
Picard takes a vacation on the pleasure planet Risa.
So what happened with Vash's upbringing? She's devious, greedy, consumed with acquiring stolen artifacts and not above stealing them herself. Supposedly by the 24th century, all humans everywhere are going to be sweetness and light, only interesting in improving themselves and always kind and considerate to each other. (Okay so maybe I'm overdoing it a little. But you get the idea.)
Thanks to: Dana Gold of Great Neck, NY and Anne Marie Stodola of Saskatoon, Sasketchewan
Tin Man Star Date: 43779.3
Telepath Tam Elbrun joins the Enterprise for a first encounter with an organic, living spacecraft.
Ian Senior of Surrey England had an interesting observation about this episode. Tin Man has sulked around the galaxy for thousands of years because it's lonely. At the end of the episode, it's happy because it found a Betazoid who would be its friend. Question: Just how long will Elbrun live? Another 50 years? Another 100? Does Tin Man have some way to extend Elbrun's life. If not, in a comparatively short period of time, Tin Man will be down in the glums once again. But . . . I suppose Elbrun will provide a nice change of pace at least for a short while.
After the first Romulan passes overhead and disables the Enteprise with a few well placed disruptor blasts, Elburn becomes very agitated, wanting Picard to take some action. The captain responds angrily, "If you will be still, Mr. Elbrun, you may learn something . . . ." At this point, Elbrun cuts off Picard by asking, "What?" Wait a minute: Elbrun is supposed to be a telepath of extraordinary abilities. All during the show he has completed the sentences of those around him. Why does he need to ask what the captain is thinking?
Thanks to: Bobbie Williams of Lower Burrell, PA
CONTINUING COMMUNICATIONS
Nitpicking. The Final Expression of Fandom. These are the Continuing Communications of Nitpicker Central
I always enjoy hearing from you. Here are a few excerpts from recent communications. Obviously, there isn't space to include something from every letter I've received over the last few months but I trust you'll find these interesting! Some items of old business and then on to the new stuff!
Picard's Secret Identity (Part 3)
Since I don't speak French I'll just stand over here in the corner until this is through!
Responding to Alan Brown's comments in the April 1997 issue of the newsletter, Johanna Sundberg wrote, "Since my honor is at stake here (well . . . almost), I feel obliged to reply. You can clearly hear the 'n'-sound in Picard's 'parisienne.' If he had been a good boy and used the masculine as he should, you would not have heard an 'n,' but an 'eh'-sound ('Parisi-EH,' with the last syllable 'through the nose.' I believe I took note of this in my original letter), since the masculine and the feminine are not pronounced identically. It is possible that it said 'parisiens' in the script (I certainly hope so!)-- after all, Stewart does have a heavy accent on his French--but that's definitely not what Picard says!"
Crusher's Bet (Part 2)
David E. Foster of West Lafayette, IN, corrected, "Just one comment about the last section of the newsletter, regarding Dr. Crusher's hair color. In the ST:TNG episode (I think it was 'The Quality of Life'), the bet was that she would become a brunette, not blonde! Well, rats! It was brunette! Sorry, sorry. Should have remembered that!
The Dalai Lama (Part 2)
Ryan Smith of Porter, IN, commented, "The Dalai Lama and his entourage visited the set of TNG as they were filming 'The Ensigns of Command' and Brent Spiner had his picture taken with them. Why it's on the video cover, I have no idea."
"Puddling" (Part 2)
Josh Miller of Gouverneur, NY, observed, "I'd like to be the first to congratulate you. You were right! In [the April 1997 newsletter,] a nitpicker chastised you for using the term 'puddling' to describe a changeling sexual experience. [(See 'Musings on the DS9 Guide' in the April 1997 issue of the newsletter under the discussion of pages 62-63.)] As I watched 'A Simple Investigation,'] I was thinking of this and just before the commercial when Aryssa and Odo were kissing, I determined that 'puddling' was more like a kiss- more passionate than a hug, but an expression of affection. After the commercial break, Odo comes out and tells us that 'puddling' is a sexual experience! However this raises the question just how promiscuous these changelings can be? Odo returns home after 300 or so years and the first female changeling he meets he has sex with?!" In my very limited experience with Hollywood, I have a adopted a simple rule: Never underestimate the ability of Hollywood executives to sexualize every possible experience! That's why I assumed that 'puddling' was erotic in nature.
On The Sensibility Of Being Politically Correct
Mari Lynn Ross of Nashville, TN, wondered, "[Does the NextGen Guide] have my favorite nitpick? 'To boldly go where no one has gone before'--yet there is life where ever the Enterprise goes! So, the aliens who live there are a bunch of 'nobodies'?! How about a less arrogant, 'where no one we know of has gone before'? (Grin.)" This nit isn't in the NextGen Guide but others have wondered the same thing, including me!
The Borgification Of The Nitpicker's Guides
Frank Schmelzer, Willich, Germany, observed, "I have read all three Nitpicker's Guides with pleasure. However, I am a bit privileged as I am a student of English at the University of Duesseldorf, Germany. Following my recommendation some friends bought the German translation of your books. To put it short: the German-language edition is what the Borgs would do to the Federation! It is made up to look like a very boring encyclopedia, there are no pictures except some very ugly cover 'art' and it is a direct (yet sloppy) translation of your English. I just wanted to point your attention to this. If you have any rights on the German version of the Nitpicker's Guide, try to fire some photon torpedoes at the publisher!" Unfortunately, I have absolutely no control over this and even to have a book translated into another language is a great honor, so I really can't complain too much!
Historical Revisionism According To Trek
Paul Cunneen, a Social Studies teacher at Aquinas Institute in Rochester, NY, informed, "I want to report a plot oversight in 'City on the Edge of Forever--a really big one. The key to the episode is that history is changed by the acts of Edith Keeler, who led a pacifist movement in the USA that delayed US entry into WWII, thereby giving Germany enough time to develop atomic weapons & win the war. This is historically impossible! In reality, it was Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor that led the US to declare war on Japan, which resulted in Germany declaring war on us! How could Edith Keeler have affected this chain of events? By preventing the US embargo on Japan which provoked Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor? Highly unlikely. By preventing the US response after Pearl Harbor? Ridiculous! By keeping Germany from declaring war on us? Get real! What seems odd is that WWII veterans Gene Roddenberry and Gene Coon accepted this premise, forgetting the fact that we were virtually dragged into the war despite strong pacifist sentiments in US politics of the time.
"Amusingly, in his recently published original screen treatment of 'City on the Edge of Forever,' Harlan Ellison compounded his historical blunders in one of the allegedly priceless details that were subsequently removed from the aired TV version, and which he's been whining about for 30 years. Ellison makes much of a supporting character named Trooper, a legless veteran of WWI, who Kirk immediately trusts because he fought in the famous battle of Verdun. The problem is that Verdun ended before the US army entered the war! No American soldiers took part in it, and Trooper don't sound French to me!
"Score: History 2, Ellison 0."
The DS9 Guide Cover As It Plays In England
Allie Brightwell of Dorset England offered, "Having got my [April 1997] newsletter, I got out my copy of the [DS9 Guide] to check up on things. And straight away came up with problem number one. Cover. I know we had different covers over here but not that different! I looked at mine and there was DS9 as large as life and twice as natural. So what's going on?" The original cover for the DS9 Guide had DS9 and the Defiant on the cover. In fact, I still have the preliminary cover slips. Late in production a decision was made to drop the station and keep only the Defiant on the cover of the book. (Note to Allie: Thanks for the tape. I enjoyed it!)
To Sleep, Per Chance To Fake
Laurie Davis from Duluth, MN, wrote concerning "Our Man Bashir," "In the opening scene when Bashir has beat up Falcon and is opening the champagne and then sees Falcon get up in the reflection in the bottle--it's not a reflection! It's the same orientation as the scene itself (or some interesting new spy equipment). Also, you made a big deal out of the fact that Kitty-Kira was obviously not asleep back there, but kicked the wall and then faked sleep as if that were a nitpick. Let me tell you -- women may be famous for faking ['other things,'] but we've gotten far more mileage out of faking sleep. (Grin.)"
Who Was That Gray-Haired Man?
Katrina Pipinis of Brahma Lodge, South Australia passed along this tidbit, "In 'Trials & Tribble-ations,' after the line up scene, Bashir and O'Brien head down a corridor, and catch sight of a tribble. After much baby language at the tribble, O'Brien says that he's got friends. They then have an over the shoulder look down the corridor. Look closely. The grey-haired guy in the red shirt is none other than David Gerrold, who wrote 'The Trouble With Tribbles' (I know this because I read the book version by Diane Carey. [The information comes] from Gerrold's introduction to the novel version of the episode, and apparently, the tribble that Gerrold is playing with is a very special one. According to him, that tribble is also one of those from The Trouble with Tribbles. It is now the only tribble to have appeared in two TV tribble episodes)."
A Glass Half-Full
Mike Lehman of Indianola, IA, commented, "In response to the clone issue: Since it's possible that your clone would be a sociopath, isn't it also possible that your clone could be a genius who cures a disease? I, for one, wouldn't mind being cloned at all, since besides that, I have a chronic illness and I might help science and medicine by being cloned." Sounds like a good, positive attitude to me!
On Matters Of Canon
Hans Thielman of Seattle, WA, asked, "Do you or Paramount consider CD Rom interactive adventure such a 'Star Trek Klingon' (A.K.A 'Immersion Studies') to be canonical or authoritative? After all, such dramas are presented on video, albeit via a computer rather than a television set. The Klingons in 'Immersion Studies' bleed pepto bismol type blood, which, although consistent with Undiscovered Country, is inconsistent Trek's television incarnations." Well, it's not really up to me to decide what is or is not canonical with respect to Trek. The last I heard only the television series and the movies (and books based on those properties) were canonical.
Better Call Orkin Next Time!
This came in too late for inclusion in the X-Phile Guide but I thought it was fun!
Ronan Mitchell of Dublin, Ireland, noted, "At the start of 'War of the Coprophages,' we learn that Mulder's apartment is currently being fumigated. Soooo . . . why was there a bug eyeing his plate of food at the end of the episode?!"
A Sign Of The Time
Jon Jerome of Buffalo Grove, IL, observed, "In 'The City on the Edge of Forever,' Edith Keeler predicts atomic energy in a speech to the crowd at the soup kitchen. Apparently she's really serious about that, because her apartment building has a 1950s-vintage fallout shelter sign on it. (You can see it in the establishing shot of the building, just after the bum zaps himself with McCoy's phaser.) I have heard about this nit for years but no one could tell me exactly where it was! Look for it beside the door on the right of the screen.
Just One Of The Many Multifaceted Uses For Mucus
Jeff Muscato of Columbia, MO, offered a unique solution to Sisko's predicament in "Paradise Lost" after "failing" the Changeling blood test, "This like stuck out in my mind so loudly that I just couldn't stop wondering why Sisko didn't do it! When he was in the cell and the guards wouldn't give him another blood test, why didn't he spit on the floor? Just hawk up a big loogie and ka-phoo--kinda proves that you're human if the phlegm stays phlegm, right? (I understand that this may be inappropriate for such a polite and respectable Starfleet captain, but sometimes ya just gotta clear your throat, right?)
But What About The Smell After Vaporization?!
Steve Baldwin wrote to say that James Doohan--who, of course, played "Scotty" on Classic Trek--was once asked at a convention if shuttles had bathrooms. His response? "That's why we have phasers."
Starfleet Awards Entertainment Contract to Ferenginar
Brian Lombard of Gaithersburg, MD, "In Star Trek: First Contact, take a close look at the doors when Picard and Lilly spot the holodeck, while they're fleeing the Borg. The signage reads 'holosuite,' not 'holodeck!'"
A Tale Of A Tail
Richard W. Vorder Bruegge and Susan T. Keddie (both having a Ph.D in Planetary Geology according to their letter) chided, "Regarding your nits about comets in DS9: You really should have checked with Mitzi or someone before spouting off about comet tails so emphatically (page 325). Comets form two tails--one does always point away from the nearest star, the other one is always pointed along the comet's path. The first tail described consists mostly of ionized gas--it point away from the star due to its interaction with the solar wind. The second tail consists of dust and ice left in the wake of the comet after they spall off (or are ejected from) the comet due to the heating/melting associated with the close approach to the star. Such dust and ice trails form all along the comet's path. When the Earth intersects one of these dust/ice trails we get meteor showers. They follow orbits just like any other solar system object. They should follow directly behind the comet and they do. The tail shown in the opening credits appears to be a dust/ice tail, therefore, its orientation is correct."
I was ready to just say, "Oops, sorry, oops," on this one but I thought I remembered talking with Mitzi about it and confirming this information for the DS9 Guide so I mentioned it to a buddy here in town. Greg Ojakangas teaches physics at a local college here in town. He confirmed that comets do have two tails but both are generally oriented away from the sun. I left a message for Mitzi on her answering machine and Doctor David Brown, a magnetospheric physicist and associate of Mitzi's was kind enough to respond.
"Mitzi is out of town (in France actually, caving, hiking, conferencing and all that fun stuff). On your questions: A comet has two tails. One of ionized (charged) particles which is blown directly away from the star by the stellar wind. The other tends to be curved and broad. It is made up of non-charged particles which are being pushed away by the light from the star (photons carry energy and momentum, when they hit something the momentum is transferred to the something. That momentum causes a change in the velocity of the particle equal to the momentum of the photon divided by the mass of the particle that was hit, so the smaller the particle the larger the change in its velocity). The piece of the curved tail closest to the ionized tail is due to small particles, the farthest is the path followed by larger small particles. Neither tail lies along the path of the comet's orbit."
So I guess the question is: Who's right? Well, since I know Greg, David and Mitzi, I would tend to trust there knowledge on the matter. Of course, science is always advancing and sometimes reversing itself on issues previously taken for granted. An interesting lesson in life, yes?
To Tape Or Not To Tape, That Is The Question (And We're Not Talking Video Tape Here!)
Mark Swinton of Cheshire, England commented, "In the 'Ruminations' for 'Who Mourns For Adonais?' [in the Classic Guide,] you quoted from reference source that Lt. Palama's dress (the anti-gravity dress, not the uniform) was attached to Leslie Parrish at one anchor point. According to the British video tape of the episode (which features a special introduction by a Star Trek cast member--in this case Walter Koenig), the actress was in fact given 'generous amounts of double-sided tape,' which suggest more than one anchor point. Which source do you consider more authoritative?" Beats me! I've heard about the 'sticky tape' version of the dress as well (after the Classic Guide) came out. Realistically, with as much trashing as the wind does to Palamas's gown, I'd be inclined to believe that the dress was physically stuck to her body somehow.
The Eyes Of The Nitpickers Are Upon You
Margaret Ross of Springfield, MO, wrote, "I recently read this in Star Trek Communicator magazine, Number 112. On page 21, first column Alfre Woodard, a.k.a. Lily Sloane in Star Trek: First Contact said, 'Once, we were doing a scene where I was holding the phaser, threatening Picard and it's very intense, we've been doing it over and over, trying to get it right, trying to get all of the technical aspects working with the acting and we were finally clicking--and they cut it. I said, "Why's you do that?" and they said, "Your phaser's not all the way up to vaporize." And I just went, "You can't tell that from here." and they said, "There are people who know when that phaser is at vaporize and when that phaser is on stun."' I wonder who they might have been referring to!?! (Wink, wink.)"
Kirk Must Have A Thing For Antiques
Todd Metz of Anderson, IN, "In STII:TWOK, when Kirk is getting of the lift after the 'reopening old wounds' statement, William Shatner is wearing his gold Rolex and it's in plain view of the camera." This comes just after the Enterprise receives a message for Kirk from Dr. Carol Marcus.
Must Be Another One Of Those Holodeck Programming Glitches
Sarah L. Morgan of Cheshire, England observed, "At the beginning of the scene on the galleon with the Next Generation crew [in Star Trek Generations], there is a very anachronistic looking orange plastic buoy behind the ship. Anachronistic for the nineteenth century anyway! This nit has been submitted before but I thought it was finally time to get it into print!
A Long, Proud Tradition of Nitpicking
My good buddy Larry Nemecek, author of The Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion sent this along. "I seem to recall somewhere in the Guild you keeping track of the use of the word 'nitpicker.' Recently I finally got ahold of original copies of Bjo [Trimble]'s concordance and 3rd season supplement. In the supplement (1973), there is this note re: an annotation abbreviation:
"'NOTE: T.S.I: Stands for "Third-season inconsistency!" There were many ways we could explain away careless handling of the third season scripts, but few of the more blatant blunders were just too much for even our fertile imaginations to make up excuses for! When we could offer a reasonable rationale for a mistake (such as fatigue, excitement of reason for getting a Star Date mixed up, or other blunder) we did so; the nitpickers can have fun finding those. But a few we just gave up on, and labeled as T.S.I.'"
Or It Could Just Be A Bad Circuit in American Televisions!
Susi Edgar wrote, "An interesting point: Did you know not only do UT's auto-magically translate whatever an alien says (when we're supposed to be able to understand it, that is) into the language of the country you're in, it also corrects them saying it? The same goes for when it translates the Computer. Take, for instance, in 'Encounter at Farpoint.' The Computer tells Riker to go in the first door to his right. When he goes in the first door on his left, however, lots of viewer were perplexed. The answer is simple: either the computer made a mistake, or the UT made a mistake in translating it into 20th century English. I say [the UT is at fault] because when the UT translates it into 20th century German, the Computer says to go in the first door to his left."
Groaners (Definitely Not For The Faint Of Heart)
Thanks of Wells P. Martin and Alfredo Ruanova for sending these along.
What is Hugh's favorite salad ingredient? Iceborg Lettuce.
What kind of fuel does a Klingon car use? gagh-soline!