Scott Atwell Star Trek Discussion thread (Series and Films) (2 Viewers)

[Ockeghem]

Bryan,Many thanks for the information.

 

[FanCollector]

Here's one that may cause some headaches, but let's be brave: How many members of the Federation can you name?

 

[Nelson Au]

Lee, are you asking for people who work for the Federation, as in the government? People such as the officials who enforce policy or are ambassadors and such? So in contrast, not people in Starfleet.So recent people mentioned such as Nilz Barris, the Undersecretary for Agricultural Affairs? Mr. Lurry owned K-7, so that seemed like a private organization and not a Starbase, so I am not counting him.And of course, the Federation will find someone to replace Commissioner Nancy Hedford after the Cochrane incident.One of our favorites is Mr. Robert Fox, the Ambassador and his hapless associate, bent on securing a treaty with Eminiar.And the highest of them all, High Commisioner Farris, overseeing a shipment of medicines to Marcus.What about Donald Cory, who ran an insane asylum on Elba 2 for the Federation?

 

[FanCollector]

I have been grossly imprecise. I meant how many member planets can you name?

 

[Ockeghem]

Lee,Are we restricting members of the Federation to the TOS-only era (i.e., not assuming the existence of the ENT series) for this question? If so, then I can think of a few off the top of my head:

Earth
Vulcan
Catulla (Catullans)
Gideon
Ardana

I know that we see about a half dozen or so species in Journey To Babel, but I don't think the planets inhabiting those species are named. I'm wondering if any (other than earth) are named in And the Children Shall Lead, in which we see the UFP flag/symbol.

 

[Nelson Au]

This makes the question tougher! Some guesses:AndoriaRigelTellar; home world of the Tellarites.Iotia; while not actually seen as members in the episode, it's implied they joined 'me up.Capella?

 

[Ockeghem]

"Tellar; home world of the Tellarites."Nelson,

Intriguing. You may be right about this one. Gav seems disturbed (for whatever reason) upon learning of the possible admission of Coridan, which to me implies that Tellar is in the UFP rather than the inverse.

 

[Nelson Au]

I guess Lee will decide.

 

[FanCollector]

Hi, guys--Was at a wedding tonight, so I have been an absent judge. Scott, I would be very interested in seeing the results of not restricting the question to the series; the only concern would be that it would have to be self-judged because I don't know enough to render final decisions in that larger realm. But by all means, go as far past 1969 as you can! (Maybe just cite an episode if you can, so as to help educate me.)It's an interesting idea to consider which worlds and systems may have ultimately joined the Federation. I think it might reflect our individual senses of how some stories ended. I'm ready to have those discussions, but I can't think of a fair way to make them answers to the question. (For example, my private interpretation would be that Capella eventually would join the Federation and Gideon would not, but I can't defend those views to the certainty of trivia answers.) Thus, I would say Gideon, Capella IV, and Sigma Iotia II are future possibilities rather than current answers.The rest all look good to me. My understanding of Journey to Babel is that all of the ambassadors were representing Federation planets because the conference was for the purpose of a vote on Coridan's admission and only members would be entitled to vote. Any Babel attendees would count, but as Scott says, the Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites seem to be the only members identified. I count 4 to 3 in Scott's favor at the moment.

 

[Ockeghem]

Lee,

Here you go.

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Federation_members

and

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/United_Federation_of_Planets

 

[Nelson Au]

Some more guesses:Troyius ElaanElba 2Marcus, I forget if it was3, 4 or 5Altair 6

 

[FanCollector]

Like Alex Trebek with bad news, I must announce that we have checked with the judges and removed a point. The log entry at the beginning of The Way to Eden makes clear that Catulla is not a member of the Federation. So it was 3 to 3.Elas, Troyius, and Altair VI all require diplomatic coddling for fear of the Klingons swooping in, so they seem unaligned. Marcus XII and Elba II would count though. (Elba is obviously a colony rather than a planet with an independent government, but I think it is OK to count colonies.)Five to three, Nelson.Thanks for the cheat sheets, Scott. I will put them to good use!

 

[Nelson Au]

I kinda figured I was treading on worlds that were in negotiations. But I thought Troyius was already in.

Deneva I thought was an Earth colony, so I didn't suggest it earlier.

Wow, I accidentally came across a series on MeTV today I don't think I ever saw before called The Mother's in Law. It starred Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard. Their husbands are played by Herbert Rudley and Roger C Carmel. He was what caught my eye. I was surprised to see this partly because he was in it and to find it was produced during the 1967 season for two seasons. Carmel must have had a few free days to film I, Mudd. Though he did quit the second season. And surprised to see That Girl come on right after. I definitely remember watching that!

 

[Ockeghem]

Lee,You're welcome.

Nelson,

For Father's Day today, my family and I watched a couple of episodes from the first season of The Patty Duke Show. I saw Paul Lynde in an early episode, and I recall that Roger C. Carmel also makes an appearance in the show.By the way, we also watched Help! (entire film) and all of the musical selections from A Hard Day's Night, as all of my daughters have different favorite songs from both of those films. A splendid time was guaranteed for all.

 

[FanCollector]

Very, very happy Father's Day to you, Scott! That sounds like a fun way to spend it. One of my favorite actors, Leo McKern is in Help! and my wife and I will occasionally try to get the other's attention by saying, "Hey! Be-atle!"Nelson, Carmel had plenty to say about executive producer Desi Arnaz after doing The Mothers-in-Law. I saw a couple of them for the first time recently. I thought it was fun.I looked at the beginning of Elaan of Troyius and it actually confused me more. They talk about the system being under "Federation control" but being "disputed" in a "border area." I interpreted it as falling geographically within Federation space, but given their unfamiliarity with the cultures there, that the system was politically outside the Federation. But I see other possibilities. If you explain how you saw it, those points might be available again. Deneva is as good as Elba II, so another point for that one.

 

[Ockeghem]

Lee,

It's so funny / serendipitous that you bring up "Hey! Be-atle!" because my eleven-year old daughter and I often mispronounce words for fun with one another, and we both noticed that example today watching Help!

Incidentally, we also began the "Dollars Trilogy" by watching the 1964 classic, A Fistful Of Dollars this evening. We're going to watch the two other films in the trilogy (For A Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly) soon. When checking the times of the three films, I see that the first is 101 minutes, the second is 131 minutes, and the third is 161 minutes! I never realized how long some of the films in this trilogy were before today. The last film is longer than some (if not all?) of the six "Star Wars" films.

 

[Nelson Au]

Glad you had a nice Father's Day Scott! I happen to be messing around with the Mono 2009 A Hard Days Night the other night! I'm finally getting around to making digital copies. I've recently discovered the fun of playing music files to a DAC to my sound system. I really hope ADN and Help! finds its way to blu ray!

And of course we cannot forget McKern as Number 2. And as Qwent in Space: 1999.

Lee, I dig a little and found a write up on Carmel on a site called Findadeath. Rather gruesome name for a site. Its described the Arnez incident a bit.

I watched most of Elaan of Troyius tonight. As you said, its in a border area under Federation control, but didn't sound like an actual Federation member.

Omicron Ceti 3?

 

[FanCollector]

The most important and impressive Number Two of all!A point for Omicron Ceti III.

 

[FanCollector]

Scott, is it just my imagination or are sequels usually longer than their predecessors? Perhaps knowing that there is a pre existing fan base makes the editing process less ruthless.

 

[Ockeghem]

Scott, is it just my imagination or are sequels usually longer than their predecessors? Perhaps knowing that there is a pre existing fan base makes the editing process less ruthless.

Lee,That's an interesting observation, and one which I don't think I've ever considered before. When I saw the length of the third film, I was actually very pleased because I was thinking that this gave the director more footage with which to tell his story.