Star Trek Ruminations

This blog contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission on purchases made through these link. Now and then the Star Trek  universe gives us hints of truly alien "new life and new civilizations." Below are three exotic races from TNG mentioned only in dialogue.  The Grizella “Unfortunately, they are currently in their hibernation cycle, However, they will awaken in six months, at which time we can get this matter settled. ” — Captain Picard The Ensigns of Command: The episode that introduces us to the Sheliak (who we do see) also gave us the Grizella (who we only hear about). From Picard's dialogue we know that the Grizella have a hibernation cycle. It lasts at least 6 months, perhaps longer depending on how long they had already been in hibernation at the time of this episode.  Just as the pon far cycle followed the Vulcans into space, this hibernation cycle persisted even as the Grizella became a warp-capable, space-faring race. The fact that Picard requests t...

NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. I may be compensated for purchases made after clicking on links on this page. The crew of the NCC-1701-D and all their favorite accessories have arrived at LEGO. Here's a look at the crew, what they come with, and additional accessories we'd love to see in future sets. Captain Jean-Luc Picard with Tea, Earl Grey, Hot We would expect nothing less than for the good captain to have his cup of Earl Grey. Additional versions and accessories we'd love to see: A saddle and LEGO horse. "“It’s perfectly normal. You know, most, er, most serious riders do have their own saddles.” His flute from "The Inner Light" A Locutus variation with a Borg cube, or Borg alcove set. A Dixon Hill variation complete with trench coat and fedora. William T. Riker with A Trombone Number One with a beard and a trombone is pretty much perfect. Additional variations and accessories we'd love to see: A Horgahn because, Riker. A deck of car...

 The Visual Evidence When Geordi is transformed into one of the creatures from Tarchannen III he discards his VISOR in favor of his new, alien eyes. But what happened to the neural implants embedded in his temples? We don't see the characteristic red LED lights in any shot of him after his transformation. But as recovers in sickbay the neural implants are present again... Were the neural implants just enveloped by his alien physiology and then re-emerged as his human DNA reasserted itself? Did Doctor Crusher need to repair the neural implants to interface with his VISOR once again? The episode doesn't make that clear. The omission is strange, because the script gives special attention to the matter of Geordi's VISOR. It specifies that Geordi is "wearing a slightly different, earlier version of his VISOR" in the recordings from five years earlier. And eagle-eyed viewers can note distinct differences between the old and new VISOR. But nothing in the dialogue or visu...

Never-before-seen features of the Enterprise pop up in the TOS and TNG movies like the proverbial Vulcan third eyelid. Usually plot-driven, rarely seen or spoken of again, here are my ratings of surprising “new” features of the move-era ships called Enterprise . Manual Steering Column ( Star Trek: Insurrection ) "Computer, access manual steering column!" And with that, Riker summons...a joystick. Out of the floor. Somewhere between ops and the conn. That you have to use from a heroic standing position. Did I mention the Sovereign Class starship has a joystick? I get it, it fits the movie's theme of youth and playfulness, but it's one of the silliest plot-driven features of any ship called Enterprise .  Plausibility: 1/10 Story Telling Value: 4/10 Overall Rating: 2/10 Service Corridors ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier ) The service corridors on the Enterprise-A, with their colorful pipes and trip hazards, primarily serve as a set up for Scotty to say “I know this shi...

I finally saw the new Star Trek movie tonight. While I take time to collect my thoughts on the new film as a whole let me comment on one little aspect of it - matters of translation. Interestingly the credits mention a Romulan and Vulcan Language Supervisor (or Consultant or some such title). However after my first viewing of the film I have to say I didn't notice any Vulcan being spoken, and I only noticed what was presumably a little Romulan shouting when Kirk and Spock beam over to Nero's ship. Perhaps there were more such moments than I realized. That being said, the basic issues of translation among alien races is acknowledged from the very beginning. From the moment Uhura is introduced to Kirk, it is clear that she is more than just a subspace-ham-radio operator. She is a linguistic expert - move over Hoshi Sato! Unlike her counterpart in the original timeline, who couldn't seem to speak Klingon if her life depended on it, this Uhura is eavesdropping on and translat...

In the past I've commented at length on the plausibility of the Drayan , a species the ages in reverse in the episode "Innocence" ( VOY ). Recently Earthweek featured an article on an 'immortal' jellyfish called turritopsis nutricula . As explained below this little animal is not just biologically immortal, but is actually capable of reverse aging. Turritopsis nutricula - That is the scientific name for a jellyfish-like creature. After it matures and reproduces, this creature completely reverts to a younger state and starts its life over again. (Read more here and here .) So speculation and extrapolation aside, we do have here on earth proof that there is such a thing as reverse aging. If only we could get poor turritopsis nutricula a new name. Perhaps Drayan would be most appropriate. You can read these same comments in context here: 100 Years Young - Can an Organism 'Grow' Smaller and Younger?