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The Enterprise Has A Three-D View Screen

 Mistakes, Star Trek TNG  No Responses »
Jan 242012
 
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It never has been mentioned, to my knowledge, anywhere in Star Trek, but after re-watching the TNG episode “Data’s Day”, I am convinced that the Enterprise-D has a three-dimensional viewscreen on the bridge.

In the last few minutes of the episode, Captain Picard is talking to the Commander of a Romulan ship. When the camera is positioned directly in front of the viewscreen, we see the Romulan Commander straight on, as expected.

Straight-on view of the main viewer.

A few seconds later, however, the camera cuts to a shot where we see the main viewer at an angle. What we should see on the screen is like what you would see if you displayed the above picture on your monitor, then viewed your monitor from a 45-degree angle; no extra detail and some distortion of the details that are there. Instead, we see this image:

angled view of the screenInstead of the flat, distorted picture we should see at that angle, we see detail that doesn’t show up in the straight-on view: the curve of the back of the Commander’s head, the doorway that’s to his right, the way the necktie-looking thingumy on the front of his uniform is above the uniform, not just a flat pattern on his shirt …

Personally, I can’t wait for television to develop this technology. Three-D without having to wear goofy glasses or cross your eyes would be too awesome!

Technorati Tags: science+fiction, television, star+trek, the+next+generation, tng, datas+day, three+dimensional, view+screen, blooper

15 Things I Learned From Star Trek

 Star Trek DS9, Star Trek ENT, Star Trek Movies, Star Trek TAS, Star Trek TNG, Star Trek TOS, Star Trek VOY  No Responses »
Jan 062012
 

One of the reasons that Star Trek has been so popular over the last 45 years is Gene Roddenberry’s vision of a future in which humans put their differences aside and unite to explore the universe. Roddenberry’s future says, “Hey, we made it. Life is good. Let’s see what’s out there.” There are lots of valuable lessons to be learned from the Star Trek universe. None of those lessons are included in this list. These are things that the writers probably didn’t intend to teach.

  1. No matter where you go in the universe, every species you encounter will speak perfect English. In TNG and DS9 they alluded to the fact that Starfleet officers had a “universal translator” implant that handled the translation, but in TOS this translator was the size of a good flashlight – way too big to be implanted in your ear.
  2. Almost all aliens look like humans with variations only in either the shape of their ears or ridges on their brows or nose.
  3. You can tell whether an alien is good or bad by how ugly or frightening it is. The more the creature makes your skin crawl, the more likely it is that the alien is going to try to destroy you and all your shipmates.
  4. In spite of the fact that the universe expands forever in every direction, every starship, probe, or meteor you encounter will be traveling on the same plane as your ship. You will never see a ship traveling from the bottom of your viewscreen to the top or encounter a ship that appears to be traveling upside down from your perspective.
  5. When the evil alien fires his energy weapon at your ship, it will be necessary to reverse the engines and back away from the weapon because, for some reason, the idea of going over or under the blast just won’t occur to you.
  6. Even though sound waves cannot travel in the vacuum of space, when you’re “playing dead” trying to lure the enemy closer you will have to speak in hushed tones and whispers and the enemy will hear it when your first officer accidentally presses a button that starts his computer console beeping.
  7. By the 23rd century computers will respond to voice commands with a simulated voice because the only “computer display” developed by that time will be a group of multi-colored, unlabeled lights. Voice command will be necessary because the only alternate input method will be a group of different colored buttons and toggle switches which aren’t labeled.
  8. When you present a computer or android with a paradox such as “The Liar’s Riddle” the machine will continue to repeat the contradictory parts of the riddle until it begins smoking and eventually just quits working.
  9. When your navigation console bursts into flames or showers you with sparks, no actual damage will be done. Once the fire is out, everything will function perfectly.
  10. By the 23rd century the human body will evolve to eliminate the need to eliminate. Bathrooms will be a thing of the past. When you transport to a planet where the natives imprison you for days upon days, the fact that your cell contains no bathroom facilities won’t bother you in the least. Starships will use the space that would have been allotted for bathrooms for extra corridors that are always empty.
  11. Phaser beams or other energy beams will travel exactly the distance you need them to and no farther. If you’re blasting Apollo’s temple from orbit there’s no problem, but if you’re standing on the bridge next to the command chair and fire a phaser at the Scalosion woman who has “accelerated” you, the beam will not reach as far as Lt. Uhura’s station when the alien dodges it.
  12. If you’re a woman and the Captain or Chief Medical Officer falls in love with you, don’t get too excited. It will be a very short-term fling that will more than likely end with your death.
  13. If a particular system or device has never malfunctioned in all of history and someone points out that it would be disastrous if it did, you can be guaranteed that within 24 hours the system or device in question will malfunction.
  14. If Starfleet Command issues you a uniform with a red shirt, go buy a bunch of life insurance because your family is going to need it.
  15. Your superior officer doesn’t know what’s going on, so feel free to disregard his direct orders. In the end he will either congratulate your quick thinking or punish you by taking back that promotion you regretted accepting and giving you back your old job that you miss so much.

Technorati Tags: science+fiction, television, star+trek, lists

47 47s in Star Trek: The Next Generation

 Star Trek TNG, Trivia  No Responses »
Dec 302011
 
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In 1964 some students at Pamona College put forth the theory that 47 was the most common random number there is. It became something of an inside joke at the campus until one day when Pomona College alumnus Joe Menosky began writing for Star Trek: The Next Generation in the show’s fourth season. Joe started including the number 47 in his stories and before long other writers were doing the same thing, ensuring that 47 is, in fact, the most common random number in the Star Trek universe.

The number 47 (and its reciprocal, 74) occurs randomly in Star Trek before TNG‘s fourth season, however, if you see the number 47 after the TNG episode, “Family”, it was probably put there as a reference to the Pamona College in-joke. Here are 47 47s from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Family

  1. When drinking wine at dinner with his brother’s family, Picard thinks he’s drinking the ’46, but it’s really the ‘47.
  2.  At the end of the episode, Picard’s brother gives him a bottle of the ‘47.

Brothers

  1. Data’s made-up access code contains a few 47s. “1-7-3-4-6-7-3-2-1-4-7-6-Charlie-3-2-7-8-9-7-7-7-6-4-3-Tango-7-3-2-Victor- 7-3-1-1-7-8-8-8-7-3-2-4-7-6-7-8-9-7-6-4-3-7-6-lock.”

Legacy

  1. The escape pod is located on level 3C, section 547.

The Loss

  1. Data says a velocity of warp six will bring them to T’lli Beta in 6 days, 13 hours, 47 minutes.

Data’s Day

  1. Data orders feline supplement 74.

Devil’s Due

  1. Stardate: 44474.5.

Clues

  1. Ensign McKnight said at one time: “…direction 285 point 147.”

Identity Crisis

  1. The recording of the log played in this episode commenced on stardate 40164.7, as stated by the officer recording it and as shown on the screen.
  2. Geordi asks for a replay of time index 1447-1458.

The Nth Degree

  1. The probe will overload the shields in 47 seconds.
  2. Midway through the episode, the stardate is 44705.3, and at the end it is 44721.9.

Qpid

  1. During his talk on Tagan archaeology, Picard states that to date, there had been 947 expeditions to Tagus, and 74 of them revealed findings of importance.

The Drumhead

  1. Picard convenes the hearing on Simon Tarses on stardate 44780.

The Mind’s Eye

  1. LaForge, under the influence of brainwashing techniques, orders the power flow of a transporter rerouted. The computer replies, “Acknowledged. Power has been rerouted through auxiliary power distribution system code number 44762.”

In Theory

  1. The ship at one point is 4.7 million kilometers from the perimeter of the nebula.

SEASON FIVE

Darmok

  1. This episode takes place on Stardate 45047.2.
  2. Worf reports a particle gradient of 4 over 7 from the shuttle.
  3. There are 47 entries for the word “Darmok” in the ship’s computer.

Disaster

  1. Look closely at the small panel Riker taps in Engineering for a tiny 47.

The Game

  1. When Wesley encounters her in the turbolift, Ogawa says she is on level 47 of the game.

New Ground

  1. Riker says they will have to evacuate sections 24 through 47 on decks 35 and 38.
  2. At one point, Geordi talks about how Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier on October 27, 1947.

Conundrum

  1. The Cliffs of Heaven are holodeck program 47C.
  2. There are 47 sentry pods guarding the Lysian central command.
  3. When Data and Geordi are working in engineering, the second button from the top on the screen Data is typing on is a 47.

The Outcast

  1. Riker views the J’Naii building with a pair of binoculars; the viewing field has a small number ending in 47 in the upper-right-hand corner.

Cause and Effect

  1. When Worf folds in the poker game he is showing an ace, a seven and a four.
  2. There is a button labeled “947” on a console in Engineering seen when Data is keying in a string of 3s on the monitor.
  3. At the end of the episode, Worf states that they have been caught in the time loop for 17.4 days.

The First Duty

  1. Captain Satelk explains that the NAVCON satellite shot of the Nova Squadron’s ships in the Kolvoord formation was taken 7 seconds after they finished the Yeager loop. The accident occurred 4 seconds later.

Imaginary Friend

  1. The nebula is labeled FGC-47.
  2. Data says an irregular lattice composed of approximately 47 million strands of energy is within the nebula.

I, Borg

  1. The invasive program image is labeled “topological anomaly 4747“.

SEASON SIX

Time’s Arrow, Part II

  1. Twain tells Picard to to use quantum setting .047 on the phaser to activate the portal.

Relics

  1. Dr. Crusher deadpans, “Not bad for a man of 147,” about Scotty’s health. (This is a coincidence; he really was 147, according to the birth date speculated in the Star Trek Chronology before the episode was produced.)

Schisms

  1. Lieutenant Hagler’s quarters are Deck 9, Section 19–the numbers on the door are “09 1947.”
  2. When the group is on the holodeck trying to recreate their memories of the alien lab, the computer states there are 5,047 designs of tables on record.

True Q

  1. Amanda already knows she is on “deck 7, section 4.”
  2. Data says “the temperature in the reaction chamber has increased by 47 percent.”

Rascals

  1. This episode features a computer animated fish known as a humuhumunukunukuapua’a on a monitor in Classroom 7. To the right of this monitor, there is a row of numbered blue buttons. The second button from the top is, of course, 47.

A Fistful of Datas

  1. The computer system affected by Data’s malfunction is subroutine C-47.

Chain of Command, Part II

  1. LaForge uses quantum resonance scan 047 on the Cardassian ship.

Aquiel

  1. Aquiel is stationed at Relay Station 47.

Birthright, Part I

  1. Data is unconscious for 47 seconds.
  2. 73 Klingons live in the compound. Worf’s arrival makes it 74.

Frame of Mind

  1. Riker is being held in ward 47.

This is by no means a complete list. There are not-necessarily random 47s in every Star Trek series and movie made after The Next Generation, as well as a few genuinely random 47s in The Original Series. There is a more complete list of 47s at schlock.net.

Technorati Tags: science+fiction, television, star+trek, pamona+college, 47

A couple of questions

 Star Trek TNG  No Responses »
Dec 232011
 

There’s a picture circulating the internet that I’m curious about. The picture is of Captain Picard, apparently very angry about something, yelling and holding up his right fist with his middle finger extended.

My question is simple: What Star Trek: The Next Generation episode is this from? I’ve seen them all at least three times each, and I can not place this picture. I’m guessing it’s from a fairly early episode based on the fact that he appears to be wearing the pajama-like jumpsuit from the first two seasons and not the two-piece uniform that required “The Picard Maneuver” every time he stood up or the uniform from the last few seasons which had one of those cool looking jackets that only Captain Picard got to wear.

That brings up another question, by the way. Why didn’t any of the other crew members have uniforms with fleece jackets?

A computer cart of one kind or another

 Star Trek TNG  No Responses »
Dec 192011
 

Star Trek Engineering CartAt first glance, I thought this was one of Dr. Crusher’s hospital computer carts but, according to the website where I found it it’s an engineering cart. I don’t honestly recall seeing it anywhere on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Next time we’re going through that series I’m going to have to keep an eye out for this prop.

To me, it looks like something that would be more useful in sickbay than in engineering.

Whatever it is, I think it would look interesting in a game room or den, especially if the room in question had a Borg regeneration chamber off in the corner.

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