Jack_Bauer

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Posts posted by Jack_Bauer

  1. Posted

    Something always bugged me about all the rapid rises in rank. The whole young-people-in-space thing seemed too familiar as a plot. I couldn't articulate it at the time, but I figured it out.

     

    It was the line when that flying motorcycle cop called boy Kirk "citizen" that gave me a clue. Where else have we seen a militaristic-type space movie with young people getting rapid promotions?

     

    Then it hit me. Starship Troopers! This is really just a rehashing of the basic Starship Troopers plot points set in the Star Trek universe!

     

    I suppose there are some similarities. But overall this movie is just better than Starship Troopers on every conceivable level.

  3. Posted

    Q1) What the heck is Chekov's role on the ship now? He seems to be some kind of internal coomunications, mathematician, transporter guru - but these are all roles that could be covered by other people.

    Chekov is still the navigator, but he is also a math whiz, which fits pretty well with the fact that he was basically back-up science officer on the Enterprise.

     

    Q2) That alien that hangs around Scotty sure looked a lot like the natives of Kolarus III who chased after the Argo in Nemesis. It even had the same eyeshades. Are they the same species?

    Nope.

     

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    KolarusIIIHumanoid.jpg

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    Keenser.jpg

     

     

    Q3) Where is Lt. Leslie (the red / blue / yellow / even civilian shirt in one episode who was brought back to llife due to an editing mistake) and who playes him now?

    He's not there. He could always show up later.

     

    Q5) Getting back to Chekov, do we know anything about either set of parents? I'm thinking that maybe only one of his parents from TOS iis also one of his parents in XI. That would explain the younger age and different hair.

    We know his dad's name is Andrei (as evidence by Chekov's middle name: Andreievich). That's it. Oh, and I guess that they're Russian.

  4. Posted

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    Some one help me here--- Captain James T. Kirk was born in Iowa? per Star Trek Canon? Not on a medical transport escaping the destruction of Star Ship X?

    Didn't James T. Kirk have an Older brother named-- Sam? Where was he? in this Movie?

    Wasn't Kirk's Dad suppose to be an Iowa Farmer? not a Star Fleet officer?( This point might be open- I don't recall any Canon reference as to What Kirk's Dad was or not. This is the main(IMO-- Flaw in the "Alternate Time line" plot-- the timeline isn't altered until (1) the destruction of Kirk's Father & that Ship( It's crew & future history)

    I accept the Altered Time line plot ideal afterward. But since "time" was unaffected prior to this-- certain things must still be respective of TOS like the existence of an "older brother".

     

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    We've discussed it elsewhere but there was no canon proof that Kirk was born in Iowa. He merely says he was from Iowa, which allows for the possibility that we was born on the Kelvin/Medical Shuttle 37 (he wouldn't have been born on the shuttle if the Narada hadn't come back in time). Since the Kelvin was in deep space, it's unlikely Kirk was born in Iowa in the prime timeline anyway. So, in all likelihood, Kirk was born on the U.S.S. Kelvin in the prime timeline.

     

    As for George Kirk, we never had any canon that suggested what his job was...'til now. George Kirk was first officer of the U.S.S. Kelvin.

     

    As for George Samuel Kirk, they did cast an actor in the role and he does appear in the film (but not as George Samuel Kirk). The majority of his scenes were cut, so they decided to redub the corvette scene so that young Kirk said "Johnny". The actor is older than the young Kirk actor, so they had planned to make him the older brother. As for where he was, I think it can be assumed he was not on the Kelvin, and was likely staying with family elsewhere.

     

     

     

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    I don't know if this new formula is in the best interest of our children. It does a nice job of making STAR TREK appeal to the 18-25 age audience. But what message does it send to our children when they( the producers/writers) re-invent Star Fleet Acadamy into a type of "French Foreign Legion" where all the "rejects, rebels, convicts( "the judge said hard time in prision or join Star Fleet" More importantly, the message sent by this new Kirk Character-- attending Star Fleet Acadamy for just 3 years- then suddenly becomes Captain of Star Ship Enterprise! Without the hard-work of raising through the ranks to command a starship. Big have big problems with all that that.

     

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    Uh, don't know where you're getting this whole "French Foreign Legion" thing. Kirk is the only character who could possibly be considered a reject or rebel (and there's nothing in the movie about convicts) and Pike only wants him because he's seen his aptitude test (so they won't just take anyone) and because he knew Kirk's father and saw the same instincts in Kirk.

     

    As for his rapid rise, there are some extenuating circumstances. I mean, Starfleet just lost seven ships, full of both cadets and qualified officers (also, a number of Enterprise crew members including the Chief Engineer and the Chief Medical Officer), so a lot of people are going to have their careers accelerated. Let's also not forget that Kirk did just save Earth, and the entire Federation.

  5. Posted

    Well hate to say this, but Kirk's father WAS killed in space in TOS as well. When James Kirk was 13 his father was killed in the massacre on Tarsus IV. And another thing, what the hell happened to Finnegan? That would have been cool to see him in Kirk's academy days.

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    There is no canon proof that George Kirk died on (or was ever on) Tarsus IV. In fact, based on Spock Prime statement that he lived to see Kirk take command of the Enterprise, we now have canon proof that he didn't.

     

    As for Finnegan, LVR is correct, Kirk attended the Academy later than he did in the Prime timeline, and therefore did not attend at the same time as Finnegan.In fact, it was a full four years later, so he likely never met Finnegan as their times would not have overlapped.

  7. Posted

    Anyway, the characters were good, especially Checkov and Scotty, but Kirk they made into too much of a scoundrel, instead of a clean cut Star Fleet member. I just don't think that TOS Kirk acted like that and it sort of bothered me.

     

    Actually, there is a reason for that. We got a clue in the preview when young Kirk outran that cop in that vintage stick-shift even though he didn't know what a clutch was in A Piece of the Action.

     

    TOS Kirk was raised by a Starfleet officer to be a Starfleet officer. That's why he was described as a stack of books with legs and why he made Captain at a relatively young age. However, since the new movie Kirk was raised by foster parents (and apparently vintage car enthusiasts as well) he would naturally behave differently as a young adult.

    Kirk wasn't raised by foster parents. His mother was still alive. According to deleted scenes, they were living with George's brother (and Jim's Uncle) Frank. It's not really clear if Kirk's mom's married him or not.

  8. Posted

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    Didn't it look like Nero's wife, in the image he shows to Pike, has the facial tattoos too? I don't want to authoritatively assert this in case I was seeing things, but I sure thought so, all 3 times I've seen it so far...

     

    Diana

     

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    It does kind of look that way, but you never really get a clear look at her. If she does, it would be something of a goof, or perhaps she was mourning a loss.

  9. Posted

    I don't mind the apparent canon inconsistencies too much (most likely caused by the alternate timeline)...

     

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    but I'd like to know how they got the Enterprise off the ground & into space. Did they just fired up the engines and take off?

     

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    I'm guessing a combination of the RCS thrusters and a tractor beam.

     

     

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    Spock/Uhura. Where did that come from? The different timeline? I was hoping for some Kirk/Uhura, because I thought Uhura had a crush on Kirk (at least in the original timeline). The second Spock/Uhura "kissy-face" was just so many kinds of "ick" that I can't count them. I wonder if Nurse Chapel will be in the next one? Could be interesting!

     

     

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    Well, Nurse Chapel is aboard the Enterprise. McCoy addresses her immediately after Kirk's hands swell up. You don't see her though.

  11. Posted

    Eratosthenes, here's a link to Box Office Mojo which has daily updates, totals-to-date and other information on a movie's box office.

     

    One thing to keep in mind, the $86.7 million number does not include the international box office. That number just reflects the US and Canadian box office numbers. International numbers of rather slow to come in.

    According to what I've read, Star Trek pulled in $35.5 million from its international opening weekend (or there abouts) in 54 countries.

  12. Posted

    Romulan Ale was illegal in Nemesis but in the latter seasons of DS9 it was not.

    I'm pretty sure that was a case of the restriction being dropped during the Federation-Romulan alliance during the Dominion War. Once the war ended, the alliance ended (since it wouldn't last long) the restriction was put back into place.

     

    Actually, most of the stuff on your list can we worked around, same as the stuff in Star Trek XI.

     

    Really that reinforces your point, if we are willing to work around what we perceive to be errors in canon in the rest of the franchise, we should be willing to work around them here. Especially given that the makers of Star Trek XI has given themselves the ability to break with canon in places.

  14. Posted

    Probably. Thank you.

     

    So it made about 4 million on Monday. At that rate, its take will be around 90 million by Friday morning, when it faces Hanks in A&D.

     

    Hmm. Hopefully, of course, Star Trek will clean A&D's clocks but I don't think I can say I think it will stay at number one against A&D... however, the recession could have people wanting to see something fun over something with dark themes...

     

    I'll call the match-up this way, it'll be close. The margin between the two films weekend take will be nearly tied.

    Actually, according to what I've seen, Star Trek pulled in nearly twice that much on Monday ($7.64 mil), putting it at nearly 90 million already ($86.8 mil)

     

    As for Star Trek vs. Angels and Demons, tough call. It will be a close 1-2 finish, with either ahead. I think Star Trek is destined for third the next weekend behind Terminator Salvation and Night at the Museum 2 but will hold better than Angels and Demons.

  15. Posted

    Who says the ENTIRE planet of Delta Vega is a barren wasteland? We certainly have room for every type of terrain on our own planet.

     

     

    Check out the ep "Where no man has gone before". It is even mentioned as such. Its uninhabited too. So much for your 'excuses'. :P

     

    http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Delta_Vega

    I believe you failed to notice the link on that page to this page:

     

    http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Delta_Vega_(Vulcan_system)

     

    Not my first choice, but it works.

     

    As for the "Cardassian sunrise", we have no canonical date for the first contact between the Cardassians and the Federation. So this is not an error.

  16. Posted

    I don't think ridge implants is the answer.

     

    A far more likely explanation is the prominence of Romulan ridges is based on genetics, with certain families having stronger ridges. This combined with a caste system, could explain why most members of the Romulan military have strong ridges and civilians such as Nero have lesser ridges.

     

    Again, this is all just idle speculation.

     

    The point is, Nero has ridges just not prominent ones and they are slightly different than the ones we've seen before.

     

    I really don't think we want to get into a Star Trek make-up changes debate. We'd be here for a while.

  18. Posted


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    Yeah, even though this is called a reboot, it is really more of a reboot/prequel/sequel (i.e. alternate timeline, set before series with characters largely similar/villain (and another character) from the future.

    It is definitely not a reboot in the vein of Casino Royale or Batman Begins.

    Or Straczynski's terrible idea. Shudder.

  20. Posted


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    That they were all bald and that they were all tattooed. (Thouhg they also wore very atypical clothes for Romulans).


    That's not how they naturally look. They shaved their heads and gave themselves tattoos (both as symbols of mourning for Romulus and their lost loved ones). Aside from that, they are really just the same Romulans. Their forehead ridge isn't as prominent, but the actors did wear a forehead appliance. As for the clothes, these are non-military Romulans, so they're obviously wearing non-military clothes. Also keep in mind they've been stuck in the past for 25 years, part of which was spent in prison (according to deleted scenes). Their clothes are probably in rough shape.

  21. Posted


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    I read this article months ago and it does work.

    In fact, I have seen the argument made that what we view as the prime timeline of Stat Trek could really be a patchwork of several different timelines. We generally don't notice as most time travel incidents do not result is such irreversible changes that go unprevented.

    For instance, the argument has been made that the last four TNG movies take place in four distinct timelines. We begin in the timeline where Generations starts. A new timeline is created when Kirk and Picard exit the Nexus. So we now have a timeline where Soran succeeded and one where he is stopped. We then follow the new timeline, even though he did succeed in the original timeline.

    First Contact then follows in this timeline until the Borg travel back. The TNG crew follow them and prevent their assimilation of Earth. However, events are not identical to what they had been previously occurred (due to the involvement of the TNG crew and the Borg in these events). When the TNG crew return to the future they are now in another different timeline as while the events of first contact have still occurred, they just occurred slightly differently.

    There's no time travel in Insurrection, so Insurrection takes place in the same timeline as the end of First Contact (However, there are a few episodes in the interim that deal with time travel, may not be identical).

    Nemesis takes place in an entirely different timeline than Insurrection, because of Admiral Janeway's alternation of the timeline to get Voyager home sooner.

    See that's just the previous four movies. According to Memory Alpha, there have been 40 instances of time travel of some form in Star Trek. That's up to 40 distinct timelines that our characters have moved into without us even knowing for the simple reason that no one else have ever "achieved" as much as Nero did in changing the past.

  23. Posted

    I disagree. Shakespeare might essentially be the same person in both universes, but so what? He might also be Klingon. If anything, this would indicate that the timeline split occurred after Shakespeare's life.

     

    Remember, Mirror Kirk and Mirror Spock were also essentially the same people (especially Spock). They simply worked within a different structure with different incentives. That's what made Mirror, Mirror so interesting to analyse.

     

    The "In A Mirror Darkly" producers have said that they used the Enterprise-era EVA suites on the moon landing not to imply that the Terran Empire existed in 1969 but simply because it was a futuristic-looking icon to use. For all we know that particular astronaut might have been sent there to take the US flag down after the Empire was founded. I could very well see the Terran Empire doing that.

     

    We also might be taking Archer's "This empire has existed for centuries" speech too literally. He was probably embellishing to make a dramatic point.

     

    Phlox (mirror) compares a series of historical authors and notes that Shakespeare is the only one who is the same in both. However, based on the fact that he compared several historical authors and that they are different we can infer the mirror universe can be traced further back than 2063. It would just be more helpful if he had mentioned names.

     

    Also, if we are going to discuss the opening credits, it should be noted that the Terran Empire emblem is seen well in advance of Zefram Cochrane's warp flight. Granted that again could be to the producers discretion.

     

    Overall, I think there is evidence to support either conclusion but no where near enough to make a definitive claim as to where the mirror universe branches off, if indeed the mirror universe does branch off.

     

    I think we should probably let this rest and get back to the topic at hand.

  24. Posted

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    I don't accept the notion that somehow the same person can be born 4 years earlier simply because of Nero's arrival. If the same person can be born 4 years earlier than why wasn't I born in 1964 as my brother rather than 5 years later as me?

     

    What happens if 4 years earlier Chekov's mother is only 14 or 15 herself? We don't know that (as far as I know) but just suppose she was 19 or 20 in 2045. Where's the explanation there? That's the problem with all the "alternate timeline" stuff and messing with what's already been done.

     

    I know we're dealing with scifi and "anything" can happen but I simply don't believe that because Nero was thrown back into the past that Andrei Chekov and Larisa Chekov were somehow able to have the same exact baby that would grow up to follow the same exact life path into Starfleet and be the same person but only have it all happen 4 years earlier than originally. I could see how the events could cause someone to NOT be born but to somehow make someone come into existence 4 years early? It would be a whole different person.

     

    I suppose if we just want to "look the other way then we can just call it what it is, Abrams wanted to use all of the TOS characters but either didn't take into account the dates and history that came before (either through ignorance or laziness in research). Or maybe at worst he just simply didn't care that the dates didn't fit, he was doing it his way and that was that.

     

    Ever since the dawn of Star Trek in the 1960's Star Trek fans have been sticklers for accuracy. I don't believe that to be a bad thing. This movie has thrown a lot of things out the window and it almost amazes me that so many people are happy to just say "Well it's just a new timeline".

     

    Star Trek fans almost revolted when the Ferengi and Borg were on Enterprise yet it's ok to change Kirk's birthplace and Chekov's date of birth.... and who knows what else.

     

    I am curious to wait a couple weeks then I'll scan various Trek sites and see what everyone's saying in regard to the alterations. Maybe I'm the only one that those little things annoy.

     

     

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    The fact is, we don't know anything about Chekov's parents beyond Chekov's father's name being Andrei. So there is the possibility that some change in the timeline could alter the date of Chekov's birth. With the change in birth year, it may not be the exact same Chekov. The prime timeline Chekov was never a math whiz or any kind of prodigy. Or maybe they just goofed up. Orci and Kurtzman (who wrote the movie, not Abrams) would hardly be the first Star Trek writers to make an error. But I don't think it was poor research or ignorance. It would be difficult to get Chekov's middle name right without seeing his birthdate, which leads me to believe it was supposed to have been changed by temporal interference. I will be interested to see how they address this, because I'm sure it will come up in interviews.

     

     

     

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    Just to be a pedant a typical nova usual goes something like this; As the sun/star runs out of its usual sources for fusion it expands as it draws upon the heavier elements (A la whatever star that killed romulus) then as those resources are used up it collapses upon itself (now here is the fun part) If it continues to fall upon itself and is of a sufficient enough size, it can become super dense and has the theoretical possibility of either becoming a black hole itself (extremely like or becoming a brown dwarf (a stellar object with a mass between that of a gas giant and a star, some debate is whether they have achieved fusion but for sake of argument here, it has) between collapsing on itself and brown dwarf it blows of a huge amount of debris (gas etc)

     

    So essentially Jack when you say some reason it expanded and absorbed energy (beg to differ it is collating elements for fusion ergo transforming into energy, but neither her nor there) it is actually fulfilling its actual death throes of being supernova. [here endeth the science nerdism]

     

    Big bug bear with the film is the death of the romulan ship.

     

    Under relativity

     

    to an outside observer action near to a large gravity object become slower as the gravity of the large gravity object acts on time, however to those actually near to the large gravity object time behaves in an apparently normal manner (basic rule is everything is relative to the observer) time speeds up the more gravity there is, but to those experiencing the speeded up time, they won't notice it. (which would indicate Bajor with 26 hours may possibly be in an area with less gravity than earth)

     

    Given this, the enterprise would have seen the Romulan ship in a state of suspension and not destroyed immediately (Time being slower for the observer than the observed in this equation) it could have taken centuries if not millennia for the destruction of the Romulan ship. Where as for the Romulans themselves it would have been a momentary thing.

     

    Feel free to illuminate me.

     

     

    The entire Star Trek franchise is loaded with errors in physics. Most movie are. Just one of those things.

  25. Posted


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    Actually the evidence is in the movie itself, we've even spoken of it. In the movie Chekov is 17 years old in 2258 but in the Prime Timeline Chekov is born in 2245 making him 13 in 2258, not 17.

    Now when you say "Prime timeline" I'm taking that to mean the history of Star Trek as it stood until this movie was made. If we take that history and set it in stone, as real history would be then I don't know how else it could be explained that Chekov is 17 and an officer in Starfleet in a year in which he should be 13 in the "real" Star Trek timeline.




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    I suppose theoretically, one could make the argument that Spock and Nero are from a timeline where Chekov was born in 2241 instead of 2245. However, since Chekov's birth occurs after the 2233 incursion by Nero, anything after that incursion could be changed. The attack on the Kelvin could have any number of impacts, including altering the year of Chekov's birth.


    I edited this post after thinking about it a little more, which explains the discrepancy with what VBG quoted.