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Old 12-20-2018, 11:13 AM
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December 20th, 1968, "Elaan of Troyius"


Fiver (by IJD GAF)

Transcript
Memory Alpha


The Episode

I give you fair warning up front, there's good character work here, but there are plot holes all over the place that are entirely in the dialogue and wouldn't cost A SINGLE DOLLAR TO FIX! And those are the most annoying ones. I understand that the costumes and props have to be cheap, I understand that special effects shots must be recycled whenever possible, I get that sometimes a plot demands modifying what the technology can and can't do. I really get it. But this time the problems are pure dialogue and plot details that could've been fixed by a proofreader before the actors even set foot on the set. Therefore this week I'm going to start off with a quick rundown of these problems along with the quick fixes.


PROBLEM: Kirk doesn't see why they're here, as the planet is "not worth fighting about". One, just being near the Klingon border means it's worth it to secure this system as Federation allies. Two, you know firsthand what Klingons do to their conquered worlds, as you saw it in action on Organia. Don't you want to protect this planet from that? Third, your personal feelings are irrelevant, you've been ordered to come here, so learn to keep your trap shut!


SOLUTION: Cut the line, it serves no purpose.


PROBLEM: Kirk doesn't know what a "Dohlman" is.
SOLUTION: Cut the line. That should be in the report sent to you and just makes you look like an idiot.


PROBLEM: Uhura gives her quarters to Elaan.
SOLUTION: Uhura decorated the VIP suite to give it a feminine touch for Elaan. Elaan still gets angry in the same way, and these are still the best quarters on the ship (ignore the fact that it's the same set as always, just let the audience imagine that there's another set of rooms past a door that we never see).


PROBLEM: Elaan stabs Petri and isn't punished in any way. Does diplomatic immunity extend to attempted murder?

SOLUTION: This didn't require an assault this extreme. A black eye and maybe a missing tooth would've been adequate for the purpose.


PROBLEM: Elaan throws a knife at Kirk that's sharp enough to be embedded in the wall.

SOLUTION: Another attempted murder, this time of a Starfleet officer. Not necessary. Throwing a glass or pulling up a tablecloth and knocking everything at Kirk would've served just as well.


PROBLEM:


* Elaan's behavior here makes me wonder if this is a situation where Troi would've been useful. At the very least shouldn't there be an expert in alien customs on board to act as a buffer between Kirk and the more exotic aliens?
* "Sublight factor point zero three seven." Since he's not using the term "impulse", let's assume that this is 3.7% of the speed of light (i.e. 24827000 mph. Let's be generous and say that Troyius and Elaas are equivalent to Earth and Mars, and they're currently on opposite sides of the solar system (234600000 mi). This is about nine and a half hours. It's more likely that they meant 3.7% of full impulse (25% of the speed of light), so multiply by four to get 38 hours. In reality I'd think they should be going slower to give more time to get Elaan trained. As a final note, one wonders where Kirk got the "point zero three seven" figure. I doubt he knows the dimensions of this solar system or can do division with large numbers in his head. Wouldn't it be easier to just ask Spock to set a speed that'll require a journey of a few days?

* So these planets are aware of each other and have the weapons to destroy each other. But are they warp-capable?
* "Mister Spock, the women on your planet are logical. That's the only planet in this galaxy that can make that claim." Great line.
* Scotty invokes the images of a garbage scow. Between this and "The Trouble With Tribbles", I guess they really do exist, but I have to ask why. Just phaser or transporter disperse this stuff. Unless you're going to tell me that some planets have the infrastructure to convert garbage into something useful and others don't.

* Scotty brings up the fact that the crude crystals make things harder, but he still gets things working faster than LaForge did in "Peak Performance" who had chips to work with, but refined chips.


Nitpickers Guide

* The biggest nit is the fact that at the start of the episode the necklace is valuable and from Troyius and at the end it's worthless and from Elas. Let's pretend for a moment that making two props was impossible. The simplest solution is to say that Elaan was tricked into wearing this thing, possibly by Kirk, and that the two planets view the same stone in different ways.







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