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The Tricorder

 
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Pow
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Joined: 27 Sep 2014
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 25, 2021 6:01 pm    Post subject: The Tricorder Reply with quote

From Star Trek: A Celebration

When Gene Roddenberry first invented it, the tricorder was intended purely as a piece of kit that could be carried by the captain's yeoman. He wanted to expand the yeoman's duties and give her a useful role on landing parties.

So he suggested in a memo to producer Bob Justman that she might carry "some sort of neat, over-the-shoulder recorder-electronic camera, via which she can take log entries from the captain at any time, make electronic moving photos of things, places, etc."

Less than ten days later, Roddenberry wrote another memo, in which he describes the tricorder as "a device which acts sort of as a portable secretary-recording-photographic unit capable of taking down any information the Captain wishes at any time he is away from the bridge."

Wah Chang was then commissioned to design the tricorder.


The tricorder made its on-screen debut in 'The Naked Time,' where Sulu is seeing carrying it.

The medical tricorder made its debut in the next episode to be filmed, 'The Man Trap.'

In the episodes that followed, the tricorder gained more and more abilities as the script called for them.

The third season Writers'/Directors' Guide describes it as "a remarkable miniaturized device, it can be used to analyze and keep records of almost any type of data on planet's surfaces, plus sensing or identifying various objects. It can also give the age of an artifact, the composition of alien life, and so on."

The tricorder remains a marvelous design by Wah Chang to this day.

Nowadays, any similar science fiction TV show would automatically incorporate such a gizmo into its series.
But in 1966 this was truly revolutionary for a show to do.

Look at the four Irwin Allen science fiction TV shows, they had nothing like it. Which we accepted back then, now it makes his series ludicrous.

The Allen shows had ray guns but nothing as cool looking as the phaser on ST: TOS. They had comminication devices that were walkie-talkies, but again, nothing as nifty as the communicator. Doug & Tony went through the Time Tunnel with absolutely no fantastic electronic device at all!

I cannot name any awesome looking hand props from any of Allen's shows.

On Gene's Planet Earth science fiction TV-movie/pilot he would have his artistic team create a tricorder-like device to be used by the members of PAX. Its design was just different enough from the tricorder to make it interesting. It had a foldable screen for one thing.

It shows you how such a gadget that started out as humble tool on ST: TOS turned out to become a critical component for the series. Such machines are now a staple of many TV shows and you can't imagine how they could realistically be absent from such shows.
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Krel
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 25, 2021 10:32 pm    Post subject: Re: The Tricorder Reply with quote

Pow wrote:

On Gene's Planet Earth science fiction TV-movie/pilot he would have his artistic team create a tricorder-like device to be used by the members of PAX. Its design was just different enough from the tricorder to make it interesting. It had a foldable screen for one thing.


The design team for "Planet Earth" was one man: Franz Joseph, the creator of the Enterprise deck plans and Technical Manual.

Before Hurricane Ida, I had intended to go to the library and scan the interview with him from "Enterprise Incidents" magazine, and post the drawings in the PE thread. I would also like to post the entire interview if Bud will allow it.

I just have to wait until the library is repaired and open. I don't know how long that will take. Most power lines are repaired, but the roof damage on homes and businesses was extensive, and a lot of businesses are still closed.

The show "Earth II" had a hand scanner that was a wired remote with the wire removed*. Laughing The same prop was also used in "Space: Above and Beyond" as a hand scanner. "Stargate: SG-1" used a couple of different TV remotes as a hand scanner. "The Orville" has a ComScanner, but I find the prop design to be uninteresting.

This brings up something that has bothered me for decades. Most of these props do not look like commercially manufactured items. There are no brand names, product name, or model numbers shown, nothing like that. Even modern military equipment and gear have that. It's not necessary to he production, but it has always bothered me.

Pow, I can think of a few memorable rayguns from the Irwin Allen Shows. But a lot of the Fox props were off the shelf items that were lightly altered, if at all.

David.

*I found this out by accident, when I saw one for sale.
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Pow
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 26, 2021 2:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

David, I agree, some of the Irwin Allen TV shows did have ray guns on 'em, I pointed that out.

What they never developed for those series were unique communication gadgets or tricorder-like tools. It seems astounding that such necessary props were not created for the cast, or they simply used walkie-talkies like they did on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Land of the Giants.
Where was the imagination?

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PostPosted: Sun Sep 26, 2021 3:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
David, I agree, some of the Irwin Allen TV shows did have ray guns on 'em, I pointed that out.


You said the IA shows didn't have any "cool" weapons, that is what I'm disagreeing with. Granted, that what is cool is a personal viewpoint.

The first season LASER weapons had a wonderful space opera look to them, even if the first LASERs were made from toys. The second LASER rifle with the rings is a great design. The 2nd/3rd season LASERs were okay, but I get the feeling that they were designed that way for ease of toy manufacturing. Voyage used the 2nd LASER rifle more than LIS ever did. Voyage had a dazzling, variety of weapons, some very good looking, even if they made only one appearance, which is strange when you think about it, given Fox's penny pinching. "Time Tunnel" had one very nice looking weapon, but I don't remember seeing on the other shows, but it's been a while. One weapon on LIS started out as a rocket launcher in a couple of episodes, then morphed into a raygun, then became the LASER cutter in "Land of the Giants".


Pow wrote:
What they never developed for those series were unique communication gadgets or tricorder-like tools. It seems astounding that such necessary props were not created for the cast, or they simply used walkie-talkies like they did on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Land of the Giants.
Where was the imagination?


The 20th Century Fox accounting office didn't belive in imagination if it cost money. Irwin Allen had constant battles with the accounting department. When you battle with those that hold the purse strings, guess who wins. Laughing

I can think of only one original transceiver in LIS, and that was the one Doctor Smith had in the first few episodes.

David.
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