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TOS episode #15 - Court Martial
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Pow
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2021 3:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nitpicker's Stuff

When the court-martial moves to the Enterprise, Kirk, Spock,, and McCoy change out of their dress uniforms into their duty uniforms. Shouldn't Kirk at least remain in his dress uniform out of respect for the court?

When Kirk finds the deranged Finney hiding in the ship's engine room, Finney tells Kirk that he's shut down the engines and that the Enterprise will burn up as its orbit decays.

Kirk & Finney then proceed to wrestle around in Engineering for some time.

Kirk had told everyone to remain on the bridge. But this was before Kirk knew of the danger to the ship. Wouldn't it make more sense for Mr. Spock to head down to Engineering and assist the captain in restoring the engines?

Obviously this wasn't gonna happen because Captain Kirk had to be the big damn hero.

My 2 cents: Wouldn't Kirk or Spock be able to transmit an emergency priority to the numerous star ships in orbit of Starbase 11 and request them to tractor beam the Enterprise into outer space and prevent their decaying orbit?

The dialogue in the episode "Wolf in the Fold" seems to indicate that the computer's ability to tell when a person is lying is admissible in court as evidence, yet this episode never addresses the issue.

My 2 cents: This is obviously one of those areas regarding the Star Trek Universe where not every aspect for the series has been thought of beforehand. An oversight that can trip up many sci~fi TV shows with their continuity.

During the experiment to find Ben Finney, McCoy uses a device that masks each person's heartbeat with white noise.

When the doctor comes to Mr. Spock he holds the device over the center of the Vulcan's chest in order to mask his heartbeat, just as he has done with everyone else.

Except that everyone else was human. Vulcan's hearts are located on the left side of their chest according to "Mudd's Women."

Finney picks up a large wrench to swing at Kirk during the fight in the finale. Does the Enterprise really have nuts that big in this futuristic age? Let the jokes begin.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 29, 2021 4:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
Finney picks up a large wrench to swing at Kirk during the fight in the finale. Does the Enterprise really have nuts that big in this futuristic age? Let the jokes begin.

Let's get something straight, Fan Boy! The biggest nuts on the Enterprise belong a certain captain who needs no introduction!

A funny phrase I invented in my first novel to describe a particularly brazen character is, "He had more more balls than a pool table!" Laughing

As for all your other fine observations, I can't decide if the writers and producers of shows like this are just careless or they're completely convinced that the viewing public won't notice their screw ups because their drooling morons. Rolling Eyes

What bothers me the most is the fact that dealing with all those legitimate concerns you mentioned would be easy to fix — and doing so would enhance the story!

In fact, I LOVE solving problems like that, both in the literature I've written and the posts I've made on All Sci-Fi! Cool

I could be wrong, but I think part of the problem is that Roddenberry and his fellow producers were shortsighted cheapskates who wanted one writer to crank out a script for each episode — instead of hiring a talented writing staff who worked together to fix mistakes like you've described.

Here's a trivia item from IMDB that illustrates my point.
______________________________________________

Harlan Ellison visited the set during the filming of [Mudd's Women]. Ellison was writing his first draft teleplay for Star Trek: The Original Series: The City on the Edge of Forever (1967) at the time in an office at the Desilu lot. Associate producer John D.F. Black couldn't find Ellison in his office and was angered when he finally found him on Stage 10, posing for photographs and eating lunch with the cast and crew.
______________________________________________

The point is that associate producer John D.F. Black was pissed at Ellison for not remaining cooped up in his office, all alone, working on the script like a good little drone! Shocked

Ellison's script — done with very little collaboration — is highly regarded because of his exceptional talent. But other scripts, like the one for Court Martial, are flawed because the author needed help in correcting the flaws which you mentioned, Mike! Very Happy

A truly exceptional sci-fi series needs a staff of experienced science fiction writers who can inspire each other and receive assistance from "science advisors" whenever necessary.

In short — You get what you pay for.

Producers who invest the money needed to produce a truly fine TV science fiction series end up with something that continues to be enjoyed for decades.

Star Trek: TOS neglected to do this on many occasions . . . but they did it often enough to inspire several spinoffs series and a movie franchise that still continues into the 21st Century! Very Happy

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2021 1:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
Another alteration in the script explains Jame's emotions.

When she first sees Kirk in the Commodore's office, she is enraged at Kirk for (allegedly) killing her father. The next time we encounter her, she is polite and friendly towards Kirk — with no explanation offered.

It turns out that a scene from the script had Jame reading her father's letters. The bitterness he expresses in them towards Kirk makes her think that her father just might attempt to avenge himself against Kirk.

I'll bet it galled both the screenwriter and the director to have such an important scene omitted from the episode. Sad
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