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Old 07-08-2006, 05:50 AM
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Default Ludicrous Speed

Here's a question I should know the answer to. Does the expression "Ludicrous Speed" go back any further than Spaceballs?
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Old 07-08-2006, 06:18 AM
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To the best of my knowledge, no.

Perhaps, though, this might be a candidate for the "Jokes and References" page.
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Old 07-08-2006, 07:36 AM
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It might at that. However, for me, it doesn't even go back that far. One of my best friends from Grade 4 all the way through high school (the latter also being where I met Owen and SimonBob) was Roman, who had a number of quotes he would repeat at any excuse. "Prepare for Ludicrous Speed" was one of them. Through him, I knew that line long before I knew where it came from. I didn't even remember its use in Spaceballs till about a year into 5MV's life.

It's ripped off to a degree, but almost everything is. I think I've done enough with Ludicrous Speed to earn my own claim on it -- till the next guy comes along.
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Old 07-08-2006, 08:55 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeke
I think I've done enough with Ludicrous Speed to earn my own claim on it -- till the next guy comes along.
Fascinating origin story. I like Ludicrous Speed because it's a reminder of the fact that we take for granted some truly amazing things in Star Trek, like warp drive. Plus the motif reflects the fact that every episode of Star Trek has the same damn ending...

We've come up with some great elaborations in the fivers though -- not only endings like arguing at Ludicrous Speed, nothing happens at Ludicrous Speed, etc., but my second favorite, Cliffhanger Speed, in which something bad is about to happen -- and stays about to happen long enough for the music to swell dramatically.

The new Dr Who is most egregious about this. On the other hand, TNG did cliffhangers pretty well -- I'll never forget Riker ordering Worf to fire and then getting that black screen with "To Be Continued..." Actually come to think of it TOS did well with its cliffhanger -- Kirk, weighed down with trying to understand his friend's actions, and walking out of the room at the end of "The Menagerie" -- that was the most touching moment in the episode.
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Old 07-09-2006, 11:28 PM
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Not every episode ends with Ludicrous Speed. Putting all of the pre-Defiant DS9 episodes off to one side (they have an excuse) and all of TOS (ditto) you've got at least The Thaw. So there!
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Old 07-10-2006, 02:40 AM
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There's also traditionally no Ludicrous Speed before a "TO BE CONTINUED," but I never set that down as a rule, so other writers don't necessarily follow it. (Another of my unwritten rules is that score jokes in VOY fivers, e.g. "Chakotay 1, Cardassians 0," always have Chakotay on one of the sides.)
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[03:17] FiveMinZeke: Galactica clearly needs the advanced technology of scissors, which get around the whole "yanking on your follicles" problem.
[03:17] IJD: cylons can hack any blades working in conjunction
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