JC's Trek Talk

Throwback Thursday Star Trek Technical Manuals Star Trek technical manuals.  The favorite reads of the geekier fans and generally hard core trekkies who want to learn more about their favorite ships and technologies from an in universe perspective.  From schematics and cutaways, to diagrams of shuttlecrafts, bridge layouts, and even the inner workings of warp drives, phasers and transporters, Star Treks various technical manuals, both official and unofficial, licensed and unlicensed are a gold mine of starship design and treknology information.  Here, in chronological order, are four classic fan favorite Star Trek technical manuals. Star Trek Starfleet Technical Manual by Franz Joseph The original, the classic.  Despite its status as unlicensed and non canon Franz Josephs 1975 Technical Manual covers the original series Starfleet, the ships, the equipment, the uniforms and much more.  In additional to giving blueprints and specs for the classic TOS Constitution ...

The Worst of Star Trek The Next Generation Code of Honor The poster child for the issues in TNG season 1.  Poor casting decisions and a bad story resulted in this racist and sexist episode.  The aliens of the week being Hollywood stereotypical, tribal African caricatures all played by African American actors and the sexism throughout the episode ("a woman? Your chief of security?") make this episode nearly unwatchable.  When asked about TNGs worst episode at a convention, Jonathan Frakes famously once said "One of our worst, and the one even Gene [Roddenberry] was ashamed of, was that horrible, racist piece of shit from the first season "Code of Honor". Oh my god in heaven!" Shades of Grey The clip show.  A boring, skippable episode.  I'll give this one a slight break, seeing that the 88-89 season was shortened by a writers strike, and the writers on TNG were exhausted by end of the season despite only producing 22 episodes down from 26.  That does not...

What is Star Trek About? A Reflective Essay What is Star Trek about?  This is an interesting and loaded question.  From it's beginning with the original series in the 1960's Star Trek is and always has been about deep, thoughtful, intellectual stories about an optimistic future for humanity.   The concept as conceived by Gene Roddenberry was a future in which humanity (a united humanity) works together with other races and species in common cause.  The cause being exploration, learning and personal betterment.  A future where humanity has overcome its internal struggles and provincial attitudes and prejudices and moved beyond national squabbles, beyond poverty, disease, war, into a more enlightened future.  In the original series this was often shown in the form of episodes that were in truth morality plays, set in a sci-fi concept and a future several hundred years hence. Episodes like "Let That be Your Last Battlefield" that took a very blunt look ...

Trek Throwback Thursday Star Trek in the 1990s The 1990s.  Arguably Star Trek's golden age.  Many would call it the peak of the franchise.  The Next Generation hit it's stride, Deep Space Nine ran it's entire seven seasons, Voyager ran it's first five, Kirk and company made their final motion picture appearances, and The Next Generation cast starred in three motion pictures of their own.  Whether you watched reruns or new episodes of TNG or DS9 on whichever channel had the first run syndication rights in your area or caught Voyager on UPN (remember UPN?), you saw some of Trek's finest hours: TNGs "The Best of Both Worlds", "The Inner Light" and "Chain of Command", DS9s "Duet", "The Visitor", "In the Pale Moonlight and "Far Beyond the Stars" and Voyagers "Scorpion", not to mention some of the franchises greatest movies, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Star Trek First Contact.  The h...

Episode Spotlight TNG's Yesterday's Enterprise A great episode and definitely a highlight of TNG season 3 (really one of the best episodes of the entire series).  The Enterprise-C gets established in canon, and we learn its fate and its important place in history.  The idea of the ship coming forward in time and creating a whole new timeline in which the Federation and Klingons have been at war for two decades, and the knowledge that even with the certainty of defeat in battle the Enterprise-C has to go back in time into the battle to ensure peace with the Klingons (at the cost of the ship and crews lives) is a powerful bit of storytelling.  Great time travel story.   The transition effect when the timeline changed was great, and the framing of the scene with Picard completely blocking Worf from view (before the change) and then addressing "Lieutenant" and turning to reveal Tasha Yar!!  Sooo great to see Tasha back, and to give her some good meaty scenes wi...

The Prime Directive Case Studies The following is pulled from the Starfleet Academy command school curriculum for Command 101: The Prime Directive General Order 1.  The Prime Directive.  The Federations most sacred regulation.  It prohibits Federation citizens from knowingly or willfully interfering in the natural evolution, development and internal affairs of other cultures, especially those less advanced than the Federation (for planets or cultures who have not yet developed warp travel, all contact is prohibited).  The consequences short term and long term of interference to a civilizations cultural development and evolution are unimaginable, and often irreversible.   Consider these two incidents: Omega IV On stardate 4732.4 Captain Ronald Tracey of the USS Exeter NCC-1672 beamed down to the surface of Omega IV after his crew contracted and succumbed to a viral infection brought aboard by an away team.  Captain Tracey exposed himself and his advance...

From the Federation historical database The following speech "The Path to Peace" was delivered by Admiral Nyota Uhura, director, Starfleet Intelligence at the second Khitomer Conference in 2344.   Stardate 21789.4 Earth date 22 July 2344   Madam president, Chancellor, Ambassadors, honored guests. 90 years ago the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire fought a bitter, bloody war that resulted in unimaginable death and destruction, a loss of life on both sides totaling perhaps as much as 100 million souls.   From that conflict the Federation emerged battered, bloody, embittered, but resolute.   From that conflict the Empire emerged battered, bloody, but unified.   From two dozen great houses splintered, infought and in conflict came a single strong unified force under one leader.   80 years ago the Federation and the Empire found themselves on the brink of a second war, fueled by mutual distrust as weapons fire lit the sky over O...

Star Trek Most Memorable Movie Quotes The Next Generation Movies Star Trek: Generations Soran: "Time is the fire in which we burn" Data: "Lifeforms doo da doo doo doo.  You tiny little lifeforms doo da doo doo doo.  You precious little lifeforms.  Where are you? doo da doo doo doo doo doo. Doo doo doo." Data: "Ohhhhh shit!" Star Trek: First Contact Data: "I believe I speak for everyone here sir when I say: to hell with our orders." Troi: "Timeline!?  This is no time to argue about time!  We don't have the time!  What was I saying?" Borg Queen: "I am the beginning, the end, the one who is many.  I am The Borg." Zephram Cochrane: "And you people, you're all...astronauts...on some kind of star trek? Lily Sloane: "Borg? Sounds Swedish." Zephram Cochrane: "I gotta take a leak." Geordi: "Leak? I'm not detecting any leak." Zephram Cochrane: "Don't you people from the 24th centur...

A Hypothetical Scene Alex Kurtzman: May I help you sir? Scotty: Aye lad. Trek, neat. Kurtzman: (hands Scotty Section 31 movie)  There you go, sir. Scotty: Thank you.  (watches movie for two minutes, shuts it off) Scotty: What in blazes is this? Kurtzman: Didn't you order Trek? Scotty: "Laddie, I was watching Trek many years before you were born, and I can tell you that whatever this is, it is definitely NOT Trek." Data: I believe I may be of some assistance.  Captain Scott is unaware of the existence of NuTrek. Scotty: NuTrek? Data: It is a shallow, poor quality writing, low effort Trek substitute now being served to the fandom. Scotty: You're not quite human, are you? Data: No, sir. I am an android.  Lieutenant Commander Data. Scotty: Synthetic Trek, synthetic commanders.

Star Trek Timeline Bonus: The Temporal Cold War 12th Century AD The Tuterians build the first spheres and begin creating the Delphic Expanse 1944 General Vosk and the Na’Kuhl from 2862 travel to Earth and create an alternate timeline, in which they use Nazi technology to attempt to return to the 29th century, before their defeat.  Jamran Harnath sends Silik to 1944 to defeat Vosk and steal his time travel technology. 2004 Xindi from 2153 visit earth, attempt to alter earth history 2022 Romulan Temporal agent Sera from 2904 travels to earth at this time to kill Khan Noonien Singh, this creates an alternate timeline 2106 The Tuterians (sphere builders) begin manipulating the Xindi into altering human history 2150 Kal Dano travels to this year from the 27th century and hides the Tox Uthat in a cavern on Risa, intending to recover it in the 25th century.  During his next jump the timeships temporal core overloads, sending the ship to the mid 21st century, irradiating the...

Star Trek Gripe Star Trek can't cast child actors (especially recurring characters) age appropriately.  Especially if the character is nonhuman or half human, TPTB always cast the role waaay too old. Example 1: Alexander Rozhenko.  We know he was born during TNGs 3rd season.  When the characters is introduced (season 4, played by Jon Paul Steuer then 5 years old) he looks about 2-3 years old.  When next we see the character (mid-season 5), he's played by Brian Bonsall (then 10 years old), and looks to be at least 6-7.  By the end of the series Alexander looks maybe 8 or 9 years old.  When we see the character some years later on DS9 season 6, he's played by Marc Worden, and looks to be mid-late teens.  TNG season 3 was 2366, DS9 season 6 is 2374 (8 years).  At 8 years old he's already serving on a Klingon ship during a time of war.  Yeah, right. Example 2: Naomi Wildman.  We see Naomi's birth in the Voyager season 2 episode Deadlock (mid...

Star Trek Timeline The TNG/DS9/VOY Era (2364-2379) 2364 • Enterprise-D’s maiden voyage, Jean-Luc Picard assumes command • First contact with Q • First contact with the Ferengi • Bluegill Parasite conspiracy within Starfleet, in the aftermath Admiral Savar is forced to resign.   • Admiral Norah Satie retires • First official contact with the Romulans in over 50 years 2365 • Beverly Crusher becomes head of Starfleet Medical • Katharine Pulaski transfers to USS Enterprise-D • Data is ruled a person not Starfleet property, setting a precedent for the rights of artificial lifeforms • First official contact with the Borg at system J-25 2366 • Beverly Crusher returns to USS Enterprise-D • Alexander Rozhenko, Son of Work and K’Ehleyr is born • USS Protostar arrives on Tars Lamora from 2382 • Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan is diagnosed with Bendii Syndrome • The Borg invade Federation space, Jean-Luc Picard is assimilated and becomes Locutus of Borg • ...

Star Trek: Nemesis Star Trek Nemesis.  Not my favorite Star Trek movie.  In fact, my least favorite TNG movie and my least favorite of the first 10 trek movies.  Some of my biggest grievances with the movie:  Shinzon.  Not the strongest trek movie villian.  The basic concept is not a bad one, a corrupt/ "evil" clone of Picard, a mirror for Picard (paralleling B4 being a "mirror" of sorts for Data), but I feel like the message would have been stronger if Shinzon had just been a straight mirror, not a clone that looks different because he was never "aged up" to Picard's age (to explain away the visual differences between the actors.  Nothing against Tom Hardy, but I firmly believe that it would have been better and simpler to have had Patrick Stewart play Shinzon.  And Patrick Stewart is a high enough caliber actor to play both Picard and Shinzon. The "truck chase" scene.  Not my favorite scene.  Not a bad scene necessarily, but - and othe...

Star Trek Timeline The Lost Era (2294-2363) 2294 • USS Jenolan carrying retired captain Montgomery Scott disappears en route to Norpin V • The Federation-Klingon Neutral Zone ceases to exist • Rachel Garrett is born 2295 • Qagh the Albino uses a retrovirus to infect the firstborn children of Klingon warriors Kang, Kor and Koloth. The three warriors swear a blood oath to avenge their sons deaths • Outbreak of plasma plague on Obi VI 2296 • Ra-Ghoratreii of Efros is re-elected to a third term as UFP president • The Kobayashi Maru no-win scenario at Starfleet Academy is re-written to feature the Romulan Neutral Zone as the setting and Romulans as the enemies • The Ansata separatist group on Rutia IV are denied a bid for independence and begin a long terrorist campaign against the Rutian government 2297 • Turkana IV colony is established • The 40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards become operational 2298 • Klingon Ambassador Kamarag, facing discommendati...