Skip to main content

star trek - In TOS: The Enemy Within, why didn't the Enterprise use shuttles after the transporter broke down?



I've heard the out-of-universe explanation is they simply didn't have the props and sets for shuttle scenes that early in the series. Indeed, we don't see any Federation shuttles until The Menagerie, and no shuttles launched from the Enterprise until The Galileo Seven, so I assume this is true.


But is there a known in-universe explanation? I don't recall any characters saying the shuttles were inoperable at the time or the planet had some dangerous atmospheric qualities they needed to bypass via transporter or it would take so long for the shuttles to get down there it wouldn't save Sulu's landing party anyway.



Answer



There has never been an official in-universe reason given by anyone associated with that episode in particular or with Star Trek in general.


It is, however, an issue that has been discussed for years and years by Star Trek fans. Here are two in-universe fan theories that have been tossed around for a few decades:



You've already alluded to this one in your question. Although not mentioned explicitly in the episode, the harsh weather developing around Sulu's landing party might have been part of wider atmospheric disturbances — piloting through the atmosphere may have been next to impossible.



Perhaps there were no shuttles and the Shuttle Bay was intended to be used mainly to bring visiting shuttles aboard rather than to deploy shuttles belonging to the Enterprise, partly because of how reliable the transporter had become by 2265. It could be that the incident in "The Enemy Within" actually led to a request for a set of Starfleet shuttles to be permanently placed on the Enterprise, leading to the use of one in "The Galileo Seven".


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Do the Kwikspell courses work?

In Harry Potter we are introduced to Kwikspell course in The Chamber of Secrets (and never hear about it again). We see Filch taking courses, presumably by mail. The descriptions of Kwikspell make me think it is for people who are weak in magic (kind of like how Neville was supposed to be when he was younger), but had magic in them nonetheless. However, Ron's comments later in the chapter make it sound like it is mainly for Squibs to learn magic. However, it is strongly implied through out all the books that Squibs are essentially Muggles, and will never be able to do magic. How then is a Kwikspell course supposed to work? Do we have any information to know if it works at all? Is it a scam? An answer from any level of canon is welcome. Answer Kwikspell courses are (probably) useful to some wizards, but not to squibs. The Kwikspell course literature comes with two testimonials. Madam Z. Nettles of Topsham writes: ‘I had no memory for incantations and my potions were a family joke...
Post a Comment
Read more

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more