Scott Atwell Star Trek Discussion thread (Series and Films) (3 Viewers)

[Nelson Au]

Hey guys, I am not promoting this eBay ad. But I am pointing it out because its very interesting to see so many Star Trek props surfacing recently. No doubt to help finance retirement accounts as one friend joked!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/I-Mudd-118-Necklace-Authentic-Prop-Worn-Star-Trek-Original-Series-/171018918101?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27d18598d5

 

[FanCollector]

Poor Lt. Masters! First gassed by Lazarus and then she moved in next to Archie Bunker...(plus I recently saw her as a victim on a Murder She Wrote.)That auction is sorely tempting me!

 

[Ockeghem]

Lee,Nicely done! Feel free to ask the next question. I'm working on one as well, but it won't be ready until tomorrow. It may be another numerical 'Gem.'

 

[FanCollector]

I guess "The Empath"!I will be traveling this week, so I will work on what may be a last question for me tonight.

 

[Nelson Au]

Lee, I've not seen Janet MacLachlan in other projects! At least I don't think I have.I was amused by your reaction to the necklace! I'll look forward to your question. Have a safe trip! Scott, your Gem question should be fascinating!

 

[FanCollector]

Let's try a movie question--Which Enterprise regular is the last to make a first appearance in Star Trek: The Motion Picture? And when and where does that appearance occur? (The latter is to make it harder just to guess!)

 

[Nelson Au]

This is a tricky question. At first I was thinking it could Dr. Chapel when she goes to the bridge to greet Spock for the first time. Or it could be Chief Rand when she is having trouble with the transporter and Scott and Kirk join her in the transporter room as its malfunctioning while beaming up Sonak and a woman. ( I haven't read the novel in ages, but I recall that woman was Kirk's girlfriend)Let me try to recall each as they appear based on The Director Cut which I don't think changes from the theatrical cut:Spock on Vulcan, Kirk at Starfleet headquarters in San Francisco exiting the tram, Scott in the orbital office of Space Dock, then all at once on the Enterprise bridge: Sulu, Uhura and Chekov, then Rand in transporter room, next McCoy beams up, and Chapel on the bridge to greet Spock.

 

[FanCollector]

What's great is that you got it right away and then worked it out so carefully and arrived at the same answer. (I could never seem to do that on math tests...)Chapel is correct.

 

[Ockeghem]

My first answer was Rand. Nicely done, Nelson!

 

[Nelson Au]

Thanks guys!

But you know what, through the magic of "i devices", I happen to have Star Trek The Motion Picture in one of them and I played a few scenes after I posted my answer. And I was surprised to see Chapel earlier! She was with the main bridge crew on the rec deck. That scene looking at it now feels awkward. The main bridge crew are on that slightly raised platform. Then Kirk enters to address the crew about the intruder. And the main bridge crew are there standing behind Kirk. Looked kind of staged. Of course that was a huge day on the set and it was a milestone for the Fan extras on the deck to see the entire cast there, except Nimoy and Kelley.

So to get back to my point, Chapel was there, standing unnaturally at the edge of the platform. But I think the answer is still right, she's the last first appearance in the film. (Or is it McCoy?)

Okay, here's a question I've been pondering since a new very accurate plastic model kit of the TOS Enterprise recently came out. It's a big model, 3 feet long when completed. Should be a stunner! Same size as the one Shatner and Nimoy are holding in the publicity stills.

There's been three different crew compliments mentioned for the Enterprise. Two are said on screen.

What did Pike say is the crew compliment? And what does Kirk say is the crew compliment of the Enterprise?

The third crew compliment is where I have a bigger issue we can discuss later. I don't think its mentioned on screen and I won't ask you guys. I believe I have read that the crew compliment of the Enterprise in Star Trek 2009 is about 1000! But more on that later as well as the size of Shatner/Kirk's ship.

 

[FanCollector]

I'll start at the very beginning. Pike says there are 203 people.

 

[FanCollector]

(Incidentally, I remember two other stated answers.)

 

[Nelson Au]

Right! Pike says he's tired of being responsible for 203 lives.

 

[FanCollector]

And you have to promise pictures of the model when you finish it!

 

[Nelson Au]

Certainly Lee, when she leaves drydock, I'll be sure to take a few pics!

It may take a while.

 

[Ockeghem]

Nelson,I believe Kirk says that there are "428, to be exact" in Charlie X. I believe "432" is also mentioned in an episode. Is this what you had in mind for a couple of the answers?

 

[FanCollector]

He also says 430 in The Mark of Gideon, among others.

 

[Nelson Au]

It's another tie!

I was looking for 428 or 430. Didn't Daystrom also mention 430?

So what made me think of this was Journey to Babel. With a crew of 430, and the added load of 114 delegates, are there enough rooms to house everyone? Certainly there will be those who share a suite.

Also, if the ship only had a crew of 203 in The Cage, they probably changed the scale of the ship for the series, so its bigger.

Then I looked up the USS Enterprise CVN-65 Aircraft carrier, famously used in The Making of Star Trek to give scale. The carrier has a crew of 4,600, maxing out at 5,828. I had no idea that ship could have that many crew aboard!

I've never been the rivet counter type. At least not too extreme. It just made me wonder given the number of people on board on the journey to Babel.

Also, just to babble on. In looking at the shear scale of the secondary hull on The Motion Picture, when Kirk first steps on board, the secondary hull is mostly cargo bays and the shuttle bay with Engineering at the upper end at the dorsal connection. There's also the botanical garden in the secondary hull too.

So all the crew really lived in the saucer section. Thinking about it, the saucer probably is pretty efficient in housing most of the crew. And also why it's designed to detach. Might be fun to look at the blueprints from Franz Josephs from the early 1970's and the official plans drawn for the refit Enterprise in 1979 to see how many cabins are in the saucer.

Then there's JJ Abrams Enterprise. The TOS ship is 947 feet long, the Refit is 1000 or so long. The JJ Abrams ship is 2379,75 feet long. Twice the size, close to Picard's ship. And as I said, I think it houses 1000 crew members. It bugged me they made the ship that big. Seemed unnecessary, the original size of the ship might be large enough for that many crew if the aircraft carrier can hold that many. But then I'm probably getting into rivet counting.

Well Scott, your Gem of a question is ready to go? It's either you or Lee whose next.

 

[Ockeghem]

Nelson,
I think I was wrong about the number 432 being said. However, I do remember Bones saying something like "now that's 430 chances of changing history" (or words to that effect) in Tomorrow Is Yesterday.

Okay, here are the exact words just for the record:

Bones: "There are 430 of us. Now, that means 430 chances of altering the future."

http://www.voyager.cz/tos/epizody/22tomorrowisyesterdaytrans.htm

 

[Nelson Au]

"It's like a whole city in space Charlie. "Yes, 428 or 430 are the numbers I remember. Since you both got the answers, and Lee said he's traveling, you're up Scott.