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Date: 3 Oct 90 19:06:24 GMT
MONTHLY LIST OF "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS"
in REC.ARTS.STARTREK (last updated 9/18/90)
This posting is intended to cut down on the "often asked questions"
that seem to pop up every few months in this newsgroup. It is a
supplement to the monthly list of actors' other roles posted by Otto
"HACK-MAN" Heuer, the monthly reality reminder posted by Greg Paris, the
monthly list of lists by Mark Holtz, and the monthly episode guide
posted by Mark A. Lindsay.
This is basically a list of questions that have been brought up and
discussed to death in rec.arts.startrek, and a lot of people would be
happy if they never resurfaced. It also contains pointers to other
information.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Acronyms
2) Names (Kirk, Spock, Data)
3) TNG Ranks
4) Top speed/TNG warp
5) McCoy's "I'm a doctor, not a ___" lines
6) Stardates, years, ages, etc.
7) ftp sites: (parodies, GIFs, PostScript drawings, scripts, Guide)
8) Episode guide, fortune files, quotes files, tech manuals
9) Addresses for Trek memorabilia
10) Crew reading USENET?
11) TOS Enterprise separation
12) Games
13) Merritt Butrick
14) Starfleet Military?
15) TOS theme song lyrics
16) Shatner and Nimoy singing
17) Assignment Earth == series pilot
18) Saavik's heritage
19) Uniforms
20) Leaving the galaxy
21) Untelevized TOS episodes
22) Kirk Thatcher
23) Submitting a script
24) Submitting a story for Pocket Books
25) Picard's surrenders; self destructs; time travel
26) Is Paramount making money on TNG?
27) TNG season 4 tidbits
28) The future of Star Trek
99) Misc Trivia
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Acronyms:
TOS = The Original Series (or The Old Series)
TAS = The Animated Series
TCS = The Cartoon Series/The Comics Series
TNG = The Next Generation
TFS = The Film Series
TMP = The Motion Picture (ST1)
TWoK = The Wrath of Khan (ST2)
TSfS = The Search for Spock (ST3)
TVH = The Voyage Home (ST4)
TFF = The Final Frontier (ST5)
NCC = Naval Construction Contract
USS = United Space Ship
FTL = Faster than Light (warp speeds)
BoP = The Romulan (and Klingon) Bird of Prey vessel
UFP = United Federation of Planets
SFC = Star Fleet Command
SFA = Star Fleet Academy
SF = Star Fleet or Science Fiction (depending on context)
GR = Gene Roddenberry
IDIC = Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations (Vulcan Credo)
LLaP = Live Long and Prosper
The Great Bird = Gene Roddenberry (An in-joke from early TOS episode)
The Big E = The Enterprise
FX, SFX = (special) Effects
K/S = Generally refers to the "liberal" writing style of some of the
less-accepted Trek books and fanzines dealing with Kirk and
Spock being "more than close friends".
ILM = Industrial Light and Magic
IMHO = In My Humble Opinion
FYI = For Your Information
If you see other acronyms (and are relatively new to UseNet), refer to
the "often asked questions for new users" file. Episode names are
commonly referred to by acronym; most are fairly easy to figure out.
2) NAMES: Kirk's middle initial/middle name. It is generally agreed
that Kirk's full name is "James Tiberius Kirk". It was only given as
"James T. Kirk" in TOS, the "Tiberius" didn't come around until TAS
("Bem") and the novels. In "Where No Man Has Gone Before", Gary
Mitchell makes a gravestone for Kirk that says "James R. Kirk",
apparently before Gene had settled on a middle name. Spock's other name
(you couldn't pronounce it) isn't given in TOS or TFS. It is given in
one or more of the books if you care to believe them. Data's name was
shown on a computer screen once as "Lt. Cmdr NFN NMI Data" ("No First
Name, No Middle Initial").
3) TNG RANKS: Deanna Troi's rank was given as "Lt. Cmdr" in "Encounter
at Farpoint" (the pilot episode) and occasionally on computer displays
(e.g. "The Child"). The "pips" (the circles on the uniform collars)
signify rank. A hollow circle counts as a half circle:
0.5: Ensign, Junior Grade
1.0: Ensign
1.5: Lt., Junior Grade
2.0: Lt.
2.5: Lt. Commander
3.0: Commander
4.0: Captain
5.0: Commodore/Fleet Captain
4) The fastest the original Enterprise has gone (not counting "off the
scale") was 14.1 in "By Any Other Name". The Enterprise-D seems to have
a top speed slightly less than 10, not counting the time Q flung it a
great distance. Riker mentioned that warp 10 instigates time travel.
In "Where No One Has Gone Before" it is mentioned that the Enterprise
has reached or passed warp 10.
The ST:TNG Writer's Technical Manual, 3rd season edition contains the
following table:
warp c comment
---- ---- -------
1 1
2 10
3 39
4 102
5 214
6 392 normal cruising speed.
7 656
8 1024
9 1516
9.6 1909 maximum attainable speed for E
9.9 3053 maximum speed for E under any circumstances
9.99 7912
10 infinite
Notes not from the guide:
For warp speeds 1 through 9, the formula w ^ (10/3) provides the
numbers shown, rounded to the integer.
5) McCoy's "I'm a doctor not a _____" EPISODE
Bricklayer Devil in the Dark
Escalator Friday's Child
Engineer Mirror, Mirror
Mechanic The Doomsday Machine
Magician The Deadly Years
Psychiatrist The City on the Edge of Forever
Moon shuttle conductor The Corbomite Maneuver
The last is paraphrased, since he said "What am I, I doctor or a moon
shuttle conductor", but it fits the mold. Also, in Amok Time, Kirk says
"Well, are you a doctor or aren't you?" and in ST5 says something like
"Dammit Bones, you're a doctor."
6) Stardates, years, ages, etc.:
In TOS the stardates ranged from 1513 (Man Trap) to 5928 (Turnabout
Intruder). At this time Gene had intended for stardates to be based on
Julian dates modulo 10000, with one stardate being 24 hours in length.
There are numberous examples where this is false. Some of the most
blatent are The Immunity Syndrome (where a quick calculation shows that
one stardate is less than 2.5 hours) and Requiem for Methuselah (where
one stardate figures out to be about 960 hours). There are a few
episodes where the stardates actually decrease during the show.
In TNG, the stardate is also supposed to be 24 hours, and is in the
form 4xyyy.y where "x" is the season number and yyy.y is a random number
that increases (usually) throughout the season.
The year in TOS is somewhere between 2260 and 2286.
The year on a bottle of Romulan Ale is given in The Wrath of Khan
as 2283(?)
TNG is ~93 years after TOS, and 78-79 years after TMP.
TOS: 1976 Ballentine Concordance: Gives McCoy's age as 45.
TOS "The Deadly Years": Kirk's age is given as 34.
TNG "The Neutral Zone": Data gives the year as 2364.
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": McCoy's age is given as 137.
TOS "Journey to Babel": Sarek's age is given as 102.437.
TNG "Sarek": Sarek's age is given as 202.
TNG: Wes said that Data is appoximately the same age as he is,
chronologically.
TNG "DataLore": Data says he was found 26 years ago.
Kirk was born in the year 2228 in Riverside, Iowa, where a statue
of him has been erected.
TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": Data graduated SFA in the class of '78
with Honors in Dextral Biology and Probability Mechanics.
7) Anonymous ftp sites with Star Trek related creative stuff:
a.cs.uiuc.edu 128.174.252.1 TeX, dvi2ps, gif, texx2.7, amiga,
abcfd20.larc.nasa.gov 128.155.23.64 lots of Star Trek goodies
bison.cs.uwa.oz.au phonology), gif, looking for
curie.cs.unc.edu 128.109.136.151 GIF, graphics programs
dsl.cis.upenn.edu 130.91.6.12 GIF, IBM
lut.fi 128.214.25.8 GIF, PD sources modified for
mcs213k.cs.umr.edu 131.151.6.11 xgif
merlin.cs.purdue.edu 128.10.2.3 ConcurrenC, Xinu, mac, GIF
mibsrv.mib.eng.ua.edu 130.160.20.80 bitmaps, GIF, games
milton.u.washington.edu lots of star trek parodies
network.ucsd.edu 128.54.16.3 anime gifs
squid.cs.ucla.edu 131.179.96.44 gifs
surya.waterloo.edu 129.97.129.72 tiff format, gif2ras
uxc.cso.uiuc.edu 136.144.1.2 to the Internet, GIF
wuarchive.wustl.edu 128.252.135.4 X.11R3, GIF, IEN, RFCs, TeX,
Check out abcfd20.larc.nasa.gov [128.155.23.64] (formerly the xanth
archive) which has the following contents in the directory
pub/star-trek:
BGvs1701D-I.Z BGvs1701D-IIa.Z BGvs1701D-IIb.Z
README-STTNG STTNGfortune.tar.Z ncc1701c.Z
ncc1701d.tar.Z parody-shootdown.Z stick-ships.Z
trek.vt.Z unix_trek.Z warbird.Z
The STTNGfortune.tar.Z is the Next Generation fortune, the
ncc17101d.tar.Z is the Postscript pictures of the new Enterprise and the
trek.vt.Z is a ansi vt100 animation.
Or you can telnet (not ftp) to mbbs.cc.columbia.edu (IP 128.59.41.3),
and follow the information given to you from there. Essentially you'd
be able to connect to a file server which you can download files (kermit
or xmodem protocols only) located in several places. Go to the
"pictures" location and then try to get any of the "Startrek" gif files.
These are the pictures available in the Startrek directory:
beverly.gif laforge.gif strbas.gif
bonekirk.gif picard+yar.gif trekview.gif
crew.gif picard.gif troi.gif
data.gif picard2.gif wesley.gif
enterprise.gif riker.gif worf.gif
enterprise2.gif spock.gif worf2.gif
enterprise3.gif spock1.gif yar.gif
kirk.gif spock2.gif
kirk2.gif spockirk.gif
Chuan Chee's collection of Star Trek parodies is available via anonymous
ftp from math.princeton.edu in the directory pub/rjc/st (at least until
milton's replacement archive is set up). Consult the file "p.files" for
an index of the contents. (Note that all files in that directory have
been compressed.) For example, the VAX Trek parody is available as
files p.034 through p.048. People who can't ftp can obtain the files
via email. Type this to your unix-like machine:
echo send filename | mail -s Command rjc@math.princeton.edu
replacing "filename" with the actual name of the file you want.
Since mail servers are frowned upon by most system administrators,
I ask that you use ftp if at all possible, and that if you have
to use the mail server, to limit yourself to three requests total.
[ Anyone know of more sites for Postscript drawings, GIFs, ASCII
pictures, serious scipts/novels, etc.? ]
[ Any ftp site have the "Sam Donaldson as a Vulcan" picture? ]
8) If you want a list of TNG episodes (for all seasons), the schedule
information is presented by Vidiot (Mr. Video (Mike Brown)) who also
puts out a very nice guide (which contains all kinds of useful info like
names of actors/actresses) which is available by anonymous ftp at
[machine still being decided]@montana.edu in the [directory still being
decided] directory. All the information needed (which files to get and
what to do with them (unpacking, printing, etc.)) is in the README file
at the same site. The guide is also available by anonymous UUCP from
Mike at
Phone: 608-274-9275
Baud: 19200/2400/1200
Login: anonuucp
Password: none (it will not be asked)
Updates are posted to rec.arts.startrek.info occasionally.
There's also a "fortune" file floating around for both TOS and TNG with
humorous and/or memorable quotes from the episodes. The ftp site is
listed above.
Other good sources for information (on both series) are:
"The Klingon Dictionary" by Marc Okrand (Pocket Books 85)
"The Making of Star Trek" by Gene Roddenberry (Ballantine/Del Ray 68)
"Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise" by Shane Johnson (Pocket Books 87)
"Star Fleet Technical Manual" by Franz Joseph (Ballantine/Del Ray 75)
"Star Trek Blueprints" by Franz Joseph (Ballantine/Del Ray 75)
"Star Trek Compendium" by Allan Asherman (Pocket Books 81, 87, 89)
"Star Trek Concordance" by Bjo Trimble (Ballantine/Del Ray 76)
"The Worlds of the Federation" by Shane Johnson (Pocket Books 89)
"The Writer's/Director's Guide" (new editions put out for each season)
FASA has the "Officers Manual", but it has been pulled or denounced by
Gene since it contradicts a lot of what has been said on TNG or in the
Writer's/Director's Guide (Betazoids are NOT from Haven, Star Fleet did
NOT think of creating the post of counselor when they discovered
telepaths, etc.) Roddenberry told them to stop publishing the manual
until they corrected the inaccuracies, but instead FASA made 2-3 more
printings. They will be releasing a new edition that has been worked
out with Paramount, and Richard Arnold has said somewhat
enthusiastically that it is going to be quite nice and meets with Gene's
approval.
And of course you can get lots of Trek stuff from Trek cons and
magazines (Starlog seems to be the most popular).
Lincoln Enterprises themselves are at most conventions, and they sell
writer's guides from every season along with final scripts from
episodes. In fact, these scripts even have scenes that are cut out due
to the episode running long.
9) Any correspondance with Paramount, Gene, the actors, etc. should be
sent to:
Paramount Studios
Star Trek Offices
5555 Melrose Ave.
Hollywood, CA 90038
Note that scripts have a better chance of getting accepted if you have
an agent. Paramount gets about 800 fan-written scripts a year and uses
about four of them. See the separate section in this posting on
submitting scripts.
Lincoln Enterprises is run by Majel Barrett (Mrs. Roddenberry), and is
said to be the best source for fan paraphanalia. This is the best place
to get a Writer's Guide from if you're not an established writer. The
address is:
Lincoln Enterprises
Box 691370
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(213) 462-3850 (orders only, $15 minimum by credit card)
Star Tech has some good stuff too, like the blooper reels on tape (four
tapes for TOS and one for TNG season one), movie soundtrack CDs, etc.
However, some of their recorded tapes seem to be "gray market", so
beware:
Star Tech
PO Box 456
Dunlap, TN 37327
Starlog (or Starlog Press)
475 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
10) None of the crew read Usenet (though we have a writer or two on
here). Wheaton and some of the "behind-the-scenes" people are on
Compu$erve/GEnie though.
11) Yes, the TOS Enterprise could separate; just that it would take a
lot more work (and a bigger effects budget) to put it back together.
Kirk orders Scotty to "disengage nacelles, jettison if possible" in "The
Savage Curtain". He might also mention it in "The Apple".
12) GAMES: The FASA Star Trek game is pretty much ignored by the r.a.s
community, though many seem to like the variety of TOS and TNG drinking
games that show up occasionally. [Anyone know if these are ftp-able
from anywhere?]
13) Yes, Merritt Butrick is dead. He played Kirk's son David in the
movies as well as an alien in TNG's "Symbiosis", along-side of one of
the actors that served with Khan. The actor died in March 1989 due to
complications related to the AIDS virus. The actress who played Vina in
"The Cage" also recently died (early 1990).
14) According to ST:TNG Writer's/Director's guide (1987): "Starfleet is
NOT a military organization....No saluting. We may hear the word 'Sir,'
but it is intended as the same kind of curtousy used by junior and
senior officers on commercial airliners....No stories about warfare with
Klingons or Romulans and no stories with Vulcans." Granted the
Romulan/Klingon/Vulcan rule has laxed, but I still believe Starfleet is
non-military (except when they are cornered, like the Borg situation).
15) Yes, there are words to the TOS theme song. Roddenberry wrote the
lyrics himself. Not very good. Maybe these should be posted (along
with the lyrics to other TOS songs, mostly from "The Way to Eden") in
the monthly posting of "lists".
16) Both Shatner and Nimoy have attempted to sing and have a few albums
out (from the early 70s, I believe). They are *extremely* bad and only
good for comic relief.
17) Yes, Assignment Earth was indead a pilot that never got off the
ground. One of a few. Gene wanted to create some more shows. The
reference for this is in the book The Making of Star Trek, (the white
cover, not the silver one).
18) Saavik was half Vulcan and half Romulan. This wasn't mentioned in
the movie (probably cut to save time), but it was in the novelization,
the trailer shown on Siskel & Ebert, and was mentioned by Stewart in the
special showing of "The Cage".
19) The uniforms were changed from the spandex one-piece suits (that
made the cast look muscular) to the wool two-piece suits (that make them
look flabby but are more comfortable). The new uniforms cost $3000
apiece to manufacture. Most of the extras are still wearing the old
uniforms. Another reason for the switch is that Brent Spiner suffers
from some back injury. Because spandex is skin-tight, he couldn't wear
his brace underneath. The wool is loose enough and you can occasionally
you can see the top of the brace under the costume if you look at his
chest.
If you want a Star Trek uniform: Look for Simplicity or McCalls pattern
book in your favorite fabric shop. In the back there are Star Trek
uniforms for adults and children, both sexes. You can also get the
patterns from Paramount's "Star Trek: The Official Fan Club" (both TOS
and TNG uniforms).
If you're not "sew" talented and want one pre-made, Intergalactic
Trading Post of Tampa Florida is one of many companies that make them in
several sizes. They generally show up at Star Trek/SF conventions.
20) The Enterprise has left the galaxy in "TOS: Where No Man Has Gone
Before", "TOS: By Any Other Name", "TOS: Is There in Truth No Beauty?",
"TNG: Where No One Has Gone Before" and in "ST5:TFF" they crossed the
barrier at the center of the galaxy.
21) Untelevized TOS episodes:
The Cage
He Has Walked Among Us (unfilmed)
Paleface
(other titles I can't remember)
A black and white original of "The Cage" was pieced back together with
the color clips stolen for "The Menagerie" which has since been
televized. Just before the premier of TNG, Paramount "found" a copy of
"The Cage" which was all in color (which they then televized). It is
marred by drastic changes in the Talosians' voices in mid-sentence,
otherwise it is fun to watch (along with a grinning, shouting Spock).
The color version they show now has been cut down to an hour and has
Spock's famous "grinning at the singing plants" scene removed. Sigh.
22) Kirk Thatcher: