Tdarcos wrote:If you can get a chance to see the 1971 film Andromeda Strain, while the scientists are working, there is background announcements on the PA system giving the "feel" as if the movie is taking place in a regularly operated scientific facility.
I loved that movie. There was a TV station in Western Canada that used to play
Andromeda Strain every second or third Sunday afternoon!
The ubiquitous availability of trunked radio and cellular-type radio where you essentially have a private channel has made this sort of thing occur a lot less, but for a strike team landing on a planet where radio does not exist, a public radio service to all stations is probably more likely.
Perhaps, but less likely in a futuristic setting, with the trends towards trunking, digital media, and heavy encryption. One thing that impressed me about original Star Trek (1966) was the mention of a "scramble" setting on the communicators, implying some sort of encryption.
So it might be appropriate to have "background" comm chatter of a military nature. Or the equivalent of text messages to all stations.
Some other good SF examples are the
BattleStar Galactica and
Buck Rogers series of the late 70s. In BR, there was constant PA system chatter in the background, in spaceports and military bases. If you listened closely, you could hear DC comics and Star Trek references, such as "Paging Adam Strange."
[quote="Tdarcos"]If you can get a chance to see the 1971 film [i]Andromeda Strain[/i], while the scientists are working, there is background announcements on the PA system giving the "feel" as if the movie is taking place in a regularly operated scientific facility.[/quote]
I loved that movie. There was a TV station in Western Canada that used to play [i]Andromeda Strain[/i] every second or third Sunday afternoon!
[quote]The ubiquitous availability of trunked radio and cellular-type radio where you essentially have a private channel has made this sort of thing occur a lot less, but for a strike team landing on a planet where radio does not exist, a public radio service to all stations is probably more likely.[/quote]
Perhaps, but less likely in a futuristic setting, with the trends towards trunking, digital media, and heavy encryption. One thing that impressed me about original Star Trek (1966) was the mention of a "scramble" setting on the communicators, implying some sort of encryption.
[quote]So it might be appropriate to have "background" comm chatter of a military nature. Or the equivalent of text messages to all stations.[/quote]
Some other good SF examples are the [i]BattleStar Galactica[/i] and [i]Buck Rogers[/i] series of the late 70s. In BR, there was constant PA system chatter in the background, in spaceports and military bases. If you listened closely, you could hear DC comics and Star Trek references, such as "Paging Adam Strange."