Starships are Deathtraps

[Tdarcos]

Has anyone noticed in Star Trek (any version, TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, every critical system always fails, right at the exact moment it is critically needed?

And the secondary systems often fail at the same time, so while orbiting a planet. the warp drive fails, then the impulse drive fails, meaning the ship is going to careen into the planet's atmosphere, meaning if they can't fix it, either they'll have to crash land, or the ship will burn up in the atmosphere.

And the warp core. If you want to point to something less reliable than Windows, I've got the prime candidate. Problems with the warp core necessitate shutting it down, but, of course, at the same time that happens, neither the automatic nor manual shutdown works. If there is a warp core breech, unless you can eject the core, the warp core will go critical and explode, taking the ship with it. And guess what? Whenever there is a warp core breech, all the ejection systems lock up or become inoperative.

And Transporters. The failure consequences are such that only government or military can have them, as (the Star Trek equivalent of) OSHA would have shut them down in a commercial workplace in seconds.

The Holodeck. Ignoring Holodeck addiction, these things routinely fail when in use. The computer interface stops accepting commands, controls inside become inaccessible or inoperative, safety protocols do uncommanded disconnect, and the Holodeck becomes unable to be externally shut off.

That's why the original Star Trek had a five year mission: because it was doubtful anyone serving on the ship would live that long!

Tht's why I say: Starships are deathtraps.

[AArdvark]

Do you understand why those things happen to starships?

[Casual Observer]

Do you understand why those things happen to starships?

plot. devices.

[Flack]

Clearly the Commander has never watched the spin-off series, in which every episode shows all the days that everything went right. There are 4,938,201 episodes where nothing breaks down. It was riveting television.

[Tdarcos]

I know it's a plot device, it just seems like every single episode in some form, has a systemic failure of some critical component, and once that fails, the safeties and the overrides also fail.

Someone want to explain why starship engineering seems to be based on the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant reliability model? Once he holodeck failed once, twice, five times, or the warp core, that someone would think to install a failsafe shutdown system.

In My book Instrument of God, I mention how critical systems must not fail, or must fail safe. If a traffic light has a problem, it shows flashing red to all directions or goes dark (every state's vehicle code requires drivers to treat a dark or flash red signal as equivalent to a stop sign.) That is failing safe. By Star Trek's model, when a traffic signal fails it shows green to all directions!

When you have a potential for fire in a computer room, they'll have Halon dispensers. But Halon is poisonous to people so there is a delay and an alarm. The exit doors to the computer room do not become incapable of being opened if there is a fire. And if all else fails, there is a big red SCRAM button on the wall to disable the Halon dispenser. Computer rooms do not operate like the "delousing stations" at Auchwicz and Dacau.

I mean, there comes a point where the emergency systems and safety systems have gone into disastrous cascade failure once too often and it is long since past the point where something needs to be done. If your emergency Shutdown can fail, then you change the design so that system has all power cabling running through one conduit, and above it is a sign "In case of shutdown failure only" next to an axe or chainsaw.

Cascade failures are like heroin to a series. Keep using them and you become addicted.

[AArdvark]

I know it's a plot device

There ya go. The crew must be in danger or there's no reason to root for the protagonists, just like Flack said above.

THE
REMEDIAL
AARDVARK

[Billy Mays]

That's why the original Star Trek had a five year mission: because it was doubtful anyone serving on the ship would live that long!

The reason it was a 5 year mission is because they only had enough food to feed a crew of 430 people for 5 years. So it was a logistical concern.

[Casual Observer]

That's why the original Star Trek had a five year mission: because it was doubtful anyone serving on the ship would live that long!

The reason it was a 5 year mission is because they only had enough food to feed a crew of 430 people for 5 years. So it was a logistical concern.

Replicators. Don't bother commenting on nerd shows you never watched. It's bad enough we do.

[Billy Mays]

That's why the original Star Trek had a five year mission: because it was doubtful anyone serving on the ship would live that long!

The reason it was a 5 year mission is because they only had enough food to feed a crew of 430 people for 5 years. So it was a logistical concern.

Replicators. Don't bother commenting on nerd shows you never watched. It's bad enough we do.

Kirk says it in The Mark of Gideon, season 3 episode 16, which makes the response I gave canon.

Replicators for food synthesis first appeared in Star Trek The Next Generation.

Eat shit.

[Casual Observer]

Hmm, what the fuck are those things dispensing replicated food??

Don't know why you're trying to win a nerd-off, it's not really a badge of honor. You clearly don't watch star trek, just probably went to wikipedia or something.

[Billy Mays]

It's literally the explanation Kirk gives for why they were on a five year mission:

"They only had enough food to feed a crew of 430 people for 5 years" -Kirk

You're just desperately grasping at straws here hoping to be right at something.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Hmm, what the fuck are those things dispensing replicated food??

Don't know why you're trying to win a nerd-off, it's not really a badge of honor. You clearly don't watch star trek, just probably went to wikipedia or something.

What episode is that from? Kirk didn't specifically mention or not mention replicators when he thought he was alone on that ship with the broad:

ODONA: And we're alone. Can you make it last a long, long time?
KIRK: How long would you like it to last?
ODONA: Forever.
KIRK: Well, let's see. Power, that's no problem, it regenerates. And food. We have enough to feed a crew of four hundred and thirty for five years. So that should last us
ODONA: Forever. All my life I've dreamed of being alone.

[Casual Observer]

If I cared to i could re-watch the series and list out dozens of episodes showing people going to the little boxes to get their replicated food. In "Trouble with Tribbles", Scottie calls them "food processors", In Star Trek Enterprise they call them "matter recombinatores". You're quibbling, the name doesn't matter but the concept is the same. You realize that each TOS episode was written by a different writer with no mind towards consistency?

Also, they hit up numerous space stations in the 5 years. Why not re-supply?

Nerd Fight!! Go!!

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

If I cared to i could re-watch the series and list out dozens of episodes showing people going to the little boxes to get their replicated food. In "Trouble with Tribbles", Scottie calls them "food processors", In Star Trek Enterprise they call them "matter recombinatores". You're quibbling, the name doesn't matter but the concept is the same. You realize that each TOS episode was written by a different writer with no mind towards consistency?

Also, they hit up numerous space stations in the 5 years. Why not re-supply?

Nerd Fight!! Go!!

I do have a memory of them getting things from little boxes like food on the original series. It was not my intent to quibble, but rather to quote Star Trek lines which I feel is a "value add" to this community.

[Casual Observer]

If I cared to i could re-watch the series and list out dozens of episodes showing people going to the little boxes to get their replicated food. In "Trouble with Tribbles", Scottie calls them "food processors", In Star Trek Enterprise they call them "matter recombinatores". You're quibbling, the name doesn't matter but the concept is the same. You realize that each TOS episode was written by a different writer with no mind towards consistency?

Also, they hit up numerous space stations in the 5 years. Why not re-supply?

Nerd Fight!! Go!!

I do have a memory of them getting things from little boxes like food on the original series. It was not my intent to quibble, but rather to quote Star Trek lines which I feel is a "value add" to this community.

no, the "quibble" comment was meant for hilbillie mays.

[pinback]

Sometimes when tempers flare, there can be misunderstandings. I guess that's the....
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...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................TROUBLE WITH QUIBBLES!!!!!

[Tdarcos]

You realize that each TOS episode was written by a different writer with no mind towards consistency?

Not quite. When a show is being developed the executive producer (now called the showrunner) would write up the general rules for the series and a continuity person would check and flag - or correct - shows for consistency with the show's rules. These general rules were called the show's "bible" and as new episodes added new details, to make things cconsistent the details become part of the rules in the show's bible.

A major character has one brother and two sisters in an episode? Okay, all episodes now can only mention there being one brother and two sisters, unless there is a compelling reason that does explain satisfactorily why there is an inconsistency. If his mother had a miscarriage or obtained an abortion, or gave up a child for adoption when she was an unwed teenager. Then, if approved, the new facts in this episode become part of the show's bible.

People writing for a show are expected to have read prior scripts and seen previous episodes as well as follow the rules set down in the show's bible.

And Star Trek:TOS did have a bible.

Where shows fail to have a bible or fact check scripts against it, is where you get continuity errors. When episode 8 says Greg was born in Cincinnati and episode 20 says he was born in Toledo, you've got a problem with inadequate quality control.

This is why The Bible should have had a bible so those who wrote it wouldn't have contradicted each other so much. Just read the first chapter of Genesis. It completely contradicts the second chapter. That's really bad writing.

[RealNC]

You know what? I'm with Tdarcos on this one. This plot device got very old in Star Trek, especially Voyager. At some point, they didn't even try to set it up. The dude at the helm was just announcing "warp offline, impulse offline, shields down, auxiliary down, secondaries failed." They weren't even trying. They just got it over with in 5 seconds.

[Casual Observer]

Yeah. Tdarcos brought us together about this. Good post.