Star Trek questions

Bariman

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I've got a few questions about Star Trek relates matters that I hope someone could answer for me:


1. If they can cure all sorts of diseases and fix all sorts of injuries by the 24th Century, how come they can't cure baldness?

2. Why are they called "photon torpedoes" if they use a matter-antimatter explosive?

3. Why did Starfleet go through so many uniform changes?

4. (extension of #3) Why did Starfleet get rid of the micro-mini skirts?

5. Why did mirror-Spock have a goatee? (the only time a Vulcan or Romulan ever had facial hair)

6. What the heck was the "To'med Incident?"

7. Why, in the Treaty of Algeron, did the Federation agree to ban cloak devices for themselves, but not the Romulans?

8. Why are most of the superbeings (Q, Trelane, etc.) really big jerks?

9. Why are there so many planet-controlling supercomputers that need to be convinced to turn themselves off?

10. (extension of #9) Why don't they just order a torpedo barrage, or shoot it with a phaser when they're in the room?


If you can answer any of these questions, you get a one-night stay on Risa.
 
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See my responses in bold.

1. If they can cure all sorts of diseases and fix all sorts of injuries by the 24th Century, how come they can't cure baldness?

Because they are enlightened and don't want or need to.

2. Why are they called "photon torpedoes" if they use a matter-antimatter explosive?

Because they emit light and because it sounds cool.

3. Why did Starfleet go through so many uniform changes?

They have incredibly tortuous procurement contracts drawn up by the Ferengi - the small print states thatr Starfleet must update its uniforms every three years or face a heavy fine which is only marginally more than the cost of the uniforms themselves.

4. (extension of #3) Why did Starfleet get rid of the micro-mini skirts?

They had a massive surplus of uniform material that they had to get rid of.

5. Why did mirror-Spock have a goatee? (the only time a Vulcan or Romulan ever had facial hair)

It wasn't a goatee, someone drew it on with a marker pen overnight and he hadn't noticed.

6. What the heck was the "To'med Incident?"

Twice as bad as the "One'med Incident".

7. Why, in the Treaty of Algeron, did the Federation agree to ban cloak devices for themselves, but not the Romulans?

Because their Chief Negotiator was a Romulan spy and because no-one could bother to read the small print (Ferengis - again).

8. Why are most of the superbeings (Q, Trelane, etc.) really big jerks?

Because they are all powerful and know that no-one would dare to call them so.

9. Why are there so many planet-controlling supercomputers that need to be convinced to turn themselves off?

They were designed by bored superbeings.

10. (extension of #9) Why don't they just order a torpedo barrage, or shoot it with a phaser when they're in the room?

Because they need to pad their Captain's Logs out to 50 minutes.

If you can answer any of these questions, you get a one-night stay on Risa.

Woo-hoo, I get ten days!

Dr. S.
 

scuud

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Here's a real question, why didn't the producers of the more recent series hire "star trek nerds" as "supervisers" and the nerds can just make sure that the producer doesn't get anything wrong?
 

mr_clark

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scuud said:
Here's a real question, why didn't the producers of the more recent series hire "star trek nerds" as "supervisers" and the nerds can just make sure that the producer doesn't get anything wrong?
Well, the only thing to say:

Worst Episode Ever!!!
 

The Doctor

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Bariman said:
I've got a few questions about Star Trek relates matters that I hope someone could answer for me:


1. If they can cure all sorts of diseases and fix all sorts of injuries by the 24th Century, how come they can't cure baldness?

A- Bald is cool!

2. Why are they called "photon torpedoes" if they use a matter-antimatter explosive?

A- Serious answer- I believe the matter and anti-matter were somehow separated by a "photon barrier". The matter and anti-matter would mix when the "photon barrier" was disrupted on impact, by proximity fuse, etc. Don't blame me, I didn't make this up!

3. Why did Starfleet go through so many uniform changes?

A- The various Star Trek series took place over many decades. As far as uniform changes in TNG, in the first season the bridge looked like a talk show set, the phasers looked like hair dryers and the uniforms were not "military" enough. Gene Roddenberry tended to veer away from a military look when he had too much hands on involvement. This tended to cause ratings to go down; TNG was nearly cancelled early in its run.

4. (extension of #3) Why did Starfleet get rid of the micro-mini skirts?

A- Marina Sirtis actually wore a micro-mini in the 1st season of TNG. She was a Betazoid and could read minds...

5. Why did mirror-Spock have a goatee? (the only time a Vulcan or Romulan ever had facial hair)

A- Dr. Sinister's answer sounds good to me.

6. What the heck was the "To'med Incident?"

A- No Trekker knows; we just act like we do!

7. Why, in the Treaty of Algeron, did the Federation agree to ban cloak devices for themselves, but not the Romulans?

A- I think Jimmy Carter's clone was president of the Federation then.

8. Why are most of the superbeings (Q, Trelane, etc.) really big jerks?

A- Would a polite superbeing be entertaining?

9. Why are there so many planet-controlling supercomputers that need to be convinced to turn themselves off?

A- Logical extension of modern computer technology!

10. (extension of #9) Why don't they just order a torpedo barrage, or shoot it with a phaser when they're in the room?

A- Rule #1 of Space Operas - the human's weapons are always: useless, broken, lost or confiscated!


If you can answer any of these questions, you get a one-night stay on Risa.
Are weekends and holidays included?
 

Patrocles

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scuud said:
Here's a real question, why didn't the producers of the more recent series hire "star trek nerds" as "supervisers" and the nerds can just make sure that the producer doesn't get anything wrong?
Interesting idea...I wonder if all the nerds in the same room would spend too much time arguing about the ST minutia (sp) to accomplish the production! :D


...and tell me this about ST:TNG
11. Why do the Holodecks always cause problems for the ship? One would think StarFleet would have them removed as a hazard to the crew! :laugh:
(and don't give me the standard "plot-device" answer! ha ha)
 

The Doctor

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On the subject of Star Trek minutia:

One day I did a Yahoo search on USS Saratoga, the Forrestal Class Carrier. The search returned hundreds of pages on the Star Ship Saratoga, destroyed by the Borg in the Battle of Wolf 359.

I'm a Trekker, but it was a little disturbing to wade through all of the homespun Trek pages to find info. on a real ship!
 

The Doctor

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On the subject of Holo-decks:

The ship's lounge served syntho-hol (no booze!), they were too smart to use drugs, men outnumbered women by a large margin and they were out in space for years on end with only occaisional stops at Riza.

I think they would have a mutiny if they scrapped the Holo-deck. Besides, it would have been difficult to incorporate Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Moriarty as semi-regular cast members without the holo-deck!
 

airBiscuit

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I'll bite, though in Star Trek, there are few very good answers and way too many unanswered questions:

1. If they can cure all sorts of diseases and fix all sorts of injuries by the 24th Century, how come they can't cure baldness?
The cure may simply be elective. Did they establish that baldness absolutely couldn't be cured? Even plastic surgery seems like it would be an option in the 24th century.

2. Why are they called "photon torpedoes" if they use a matter-antimatter explosive?
Supposedly because the antimatter is held within a magneto-photonic bottle. That's not an official answer, though. Also, photorps clearly radiate photonic energy when fired. This has been speculated as being anything from the thruster drives, to some sort of shielding, to radiative emissions from the warhead being primed for detonation. In any case, it does radiate photons in excess during flight.

3. Why did Starfleet go through so many uniform changes?
Fashion and history both repeat themselves. They went through the 60's, 70's, and 80's all over again.

4. (extension of #3) Why did Starfleet get rid of the micro-mini skirts?
Feminism went through a revival? It seems that at other times they replaced it with body-hugging catsuits, so who am I to complain?

5. Why did mirror-Spock have a goatee? (the only time a Vulcan or Romulan ever had facial hair)
Spock got a sense of style in the parallel universe. Survival depended a lot on appearances. Spock needed to project the don't mess with me look to keep from getting bumped off by an up and coming junior officer.

6. What the heck was the "To'med Incident?"
You got me there.

7. Why, in the Treaty of Algeron, did the Federation agree to ban cloak devices for themselves, but not the Romulans?
The Federation and the Romulans already had one nasty war. It threatened to pick up again when it was discovered that the Romulans had cloaking technology. The Romulans were badly beat up after the first war, and saw the Federation as a supreme threat to their homeworld, and the remnants of their Navy would have been unable to stop a preemptive strike from the Federation. They brought some balance of power to the table with the cloaking device. If the Federation decided to construct their own cloaking devices, the Romulans would probably have been coerced into a preemtive strike of their own at the core of Federation space with invisible ships. A nasty Invisible War would have ensued that would have resulted in the destruction of both Federation and Romulan worlds, and neither side would have wanted that. The Federation was wise not to provoke an enemy that they new so little about.

8. Why are most of the superbeings (Q, Trelane, etc.) really big jerks?
Just like kids pulling the legs off of grasshoppers, they hold little regard for inferior beings. Many times, they are merely curious and want to play a little.

9. Why are there so many planet-controlling supercomputers that need to be convinced to turn themselves off?
Absolute power corrupts absolutely? Such a supercomputer would probably attain a megalomaniacal phase and try to control everything. Only one that managed to be led to reason the moral implications of such activities would show a greater state of ascendancy. Perhaps computers are flawed to the point that they find their actions to be self-contradictory to their programming or are simply unable to continue in a state of non-control over other things, and that's why they simply shut down.

10. (extension of #9) Why don't they just order a torpedo barrage, or shoot it with a phaser when they're in the room?
Sometimes there are dire consequences to shutting off the control circuits to a system (planet or otherwise) that is dependent on it. Think of modern cars. How well would they function if you ripped the control chips out of them? The other reason could be the Prime Directive. Simply going in and blowing up a functional part of a planet or society would be potentially destructive tampering with the natural order of things. Reasoning with the computer seems less intrusive and merely an offering of enlightenment from the stars. Even that can be shaky ground to tread on.
 
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airBiscuit said:
I'll bite, though in Star Trek, there are few very good answers and way too many unanswered questions:
Oooooohhhhhhh, those answers were far too sensible and informed. Mine were much better. :D

Dr. S.
 

Patrocles

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The Doctor said:
On the subject of Holo-decks:

The ship's lounge served syntho-hol (no booze!), they were too smart to use drugs, men outnumbered women by a large margin and they were out in space for years on end with only occaisional stops at Riza.

I think they would have a mutiny if they scrapped the Holo-deck. Besides, it would have been difficult to incorporate Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Moriarty as semi-regular cast members without the holo-deck!
Sherlock Holmes escaped teh Holodeck, too? wow! I've never seen that episode!

It seems as if every episode of STTNG that I caught (not many in total) the Holodeck always seems to go haywire and threaten the ship or folks stuck inside the program! ha ha and in one of the STTNG movies i recall Picard turning off the Holodeck "safety" features so his machine gun would fire real bullets! Sounds like an OSHA hazard to me! ha ha
 

The Doctor

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Fortunately for Picard the Borg had no idea that a .45 cal round from a Thompson SMG didn't care which frequency their EM shielding was set to! I'll never figure out why they didn't just use the replicator to outfit the whole of Star Fleet with SMGs! :rifle:
 

The Doctor

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Data was Holmes, Geordi LaForge was Watson...only their arch-nemesis, Moriarty, was an actual holographic being.
 

Patrocles

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The Doctor said:
Fortunately for Picard the Borg had no idea that a .45 cal round from a Thompson SMG didn't care which frequency their EM shielding was set to! I'll never figure out why they didn't just use the replicator to outfit the whole of Star Fleet with SMGs! :rifle:
ha ha! good point!
 

Bariman

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The Doctor said:
Fortunately for Picard the Borg had no idea that a .45 cal round from a Thompson SMG didn't care which frequency their EM shielding was set to! I'll never figure out why they didn't just use the replicator to outfit the whole of Star Fleet with SMGs! :rifle:

My thoughts exactly! You'd have thought Picard would have suggested that to Starfleet Command. He should have also felt a little more compassion to killing the former Ensign Lynch, though according to Picard he was doing Lynch a favor. Maybe they should actually try to de-assimilate those guys. Didn't they do that all the time on Voyager? Honestly...

Hey, they could make an all-purpose rifle, with a phaser ability, solid projectile ability, and energy sword ability. Wouldn't that be really cool?
 

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I'm telling you...the Borg and the Romulans are a puppet of some sort of Communist conspiracy aimed at undermining the Federation.

[Grrr...Muumbl] Friggen Commies. :mad:
 

The Doctor

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Bariman said:
Hey, they could make an all-purpose rifle, with a phaser ability, solid projectile ability, and energy sword ability. Wouldn't that be really cool?
You can buy one on eBay; it's called "The Johnny 7 - OMA"!
 
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