Star Trek TV Series DVDs, pt. 1
Here are some recommended edits for TOS DVDs so that errors and inconsistencies could be corrected.
- Gary Mitchell creates a tombstone for Kirk which reads "James R. Kirk" when the correct name should be "James T. Kirk". The wrong name was one of many tentative names considered for the TOS captain, and had been carved on the tombstone before the captain's name was finalised. I suggest that the name be digitally changed to the correct form in a future DVD.
- In this episode, Spock mentions that the two homeworlds of the Romulan Star Empire were Romulus and Remus, although Spock's star chart apparently presents the homeworlds' names as Romulus and Romii. In Star Trek Nemesis, it was established that Romulus and Remus are planets in the same star system. And Star Trek Star Charts finally clears the issue by presenting Romii as a separate star system in the empire. Therefore, Spock's star chart was correct and does not require any additional edits.
"Metamorphosis" (TOS) (set in 2267): - No edits necessary
- Zefram Cochrane does not appear the way he looks in Star Trek First Contact (the historical events set in 2063) because Cochrane was protrayed by a different actor. The Star Trek Encyclopedia theorizes that the Companion had restored Cochrane's youth and reversed the effects of radiation poisoning, accounting for the differences in appearance. Or the Companion had simply restored Cochrane to an idealized self-image. So, there is no need to digitally alter Cochrane's appearance in the episode to match his appearance in the movie, or vice versa.
- In the episode, Cochrane was said to have disappeared 150 years ago at the age of 87. Therefore, Star Trek Chronology dates the year of his disappearance to 2117 (150 years before 2267), and his birth to 2030 (87 years before 2117). However, "Broken Bow" (ENT) (set in 2151) established that Cochrane was present at the dedication ceremony of the Warp 5 Complex 32 years before that episode (in 2119, ie. 2151 - 32 = 2119). This would contradict the Chronology's information that Cochrane disappeared in 2117, unless we consider that the disappearance "150 years ago" was an approximate figure. In fact, Star Trek Star Charts suggests that Cochrane disappeared in 2120, which would place his disappearance 147 years before "Metamorphosis" (TOS). This may also mean that Cochrane was born in 2033 since he was 87 years old when he disappeared (ie. 2120 - 87 = 2033). I therefore believe that an approximate figure of 150 years ago was given in this episode and thus no edits are necessary.
- During a conversation, Spock says that 37 million people died in World War III. However, in Star Trek First Contact, Riker states that 600 million were killed during the war. The Star Trek Encyclopedia suggests that the Federation's records was "fragmentary", and it is not clear which figure is correct. Personally, I believe that Riker's figure of a death toll of 600 million was correct, and therefore I recommend that Spock's dialog be changed such that he actually said that 600 million people died in World War III.
"Turnabout Intruder" (TOS) (set in 2269):
- Dr. Lester, who had exchanged bodies with Capt. Kirk, attempts to court-martial Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty for mutiny and sentences them to death. Sulu and Chekov protest, with Sulu saying that Starfleet forbids the death penalty with only one exception, and Chekov says that it was General Order 4, which has not been violated in this case. It should have been General Order 7, as mentioned in "The Menagerie" (TOS), which forbids contact with the planet Talos IV and carries with it the death penalty. I suggest that Chekov's line be corrected such that he actually said it was General Order 7.
In order to create a consistent timeline within the Star Trek universe, it was established that the first season of TNG occurred in 2364 (curiously in the last episode of that season). It became a general practice to regard one season's worth of episodes as having taken place during a single calender year. Therefore, TNG is said to have occurred from 2364 to 2370 in the Star Trek universe. TNG consisted of 178 episodes and was immensely popular with Star Trek fans because of its quality storytelling and special effects. Basically, TNG set the standards for science fiction television series as there was nothing quite like it before.
"Encounter at Farpoint" (TNG) (season 1, set in 2364):
- At one point in the pilot episode of TNG, Data tells Riker that he had graduated with the "class of '78", supposedly a reference to the year Data graduated from Starfleet Academy. At the beginning of TNG, the year in which TNG was set had not been determined. But in many fan-created Star Trek chronologies, TOS was supposed to have occurred in early 23rd century, and therefore, with TNG set years after TOS, TNG was assumed to be happening around late 23rd century. Therefore, I assume that the script had used this fan-created chronology and suggested a date of 2278 as Data's graduation year. However, the establishment of TNG season 1 as having taken place in 2364 in "The Neutral Zone" (TNG) results in the disavowment of Data's statement. While it might still be possible for Data to have graduated in 2278 (nearly 86 years before TNG season 1!), another season 1 episode "Datalore" (TNG) had already established that Data was activated 26 years ago (in 2338). So, a date of 2278 is inconsistent for Data's graduation. In fact, "Conundrum" (TNG) established that Data entered Starfleet Academy in 2341, which would indicate a graduation date of 2345. Therefore, I suggest that Data's line could be changed to "class of '45" instead.
- The producers of TNG had set certain speed limits for starships so that starships will not move too fast to make the galaxy too small a place to be interesting. An unattainable speed limit of warp 10 was created, unattainable because infinite power was required to reach such a speed, and a starship at warp 10 was said to occupy all points in the universe. During the warp engine tests in the episode, La Forge says that were passing warp 10. This was a common inconsistency nitpicked by fans, but I believe that the Enterprise-D passing warp 10 is now no longer an issue. In "Threshold" (VOY), it was established that speeds faster than warp 10 could be achieved through transwarp drives. Perhaps the Traveler had simply used his powers to allow the Enterprise-D to travel at transwarp velocities, faster than warp 10. Also, The Star Trek Encyclopedia suggests that in "All Good Things..." (TNG), both the USS Pasteur and USS Enterprise-D in an alternate timeline could have travelled at warp 13 by using transwarp technology. So, I believe that no edits are required for this scene.
- The Federation makes first contact with the Ferengi in this episode, when the Enterprise-D encounters a Ferengi vessel. The Federation previously had little information about the Ferengi, most of which were rumours. However, in "Acquisition" (ENT) (set in 2151), the Ferengi attempted to steal technology from the Enterprise NX-01, but were repelled. Rightfully, the first contact with the Ferengi should have occurred in "Acquisition" (ENT), but in that episode, Archer doesn't ask for the name of the alien race which attempted to steal from his ship. In fact, He even warns the Ferengi not to approach another Starfleet vessel. Archer probably didn't file any reports on the incident since no one in Starfleet was ever warned to be wary of a humanoid race with large ears and a small figure. Therefore, absolutely nothing is known about the Ferengi until Picard makes contact with them in 2364. Hence, no edits are necessary since there is no inconsistency, even by a hair's breadth.
"Datalore" (TNG) (season 1, set in 2364):
- Riker gave a stardate of 4124.5 in his log entry. This is wrong since TNG starts to use five-digit stardates, while four-digit stardates belong to TOS. This was probably a blooper made by the actor, and therefore I recommend that the stardate be changed to the correct stardate of 41124.5 in the DVD.
"The Royale" (TNG) (season 2, set in 2365):
- The Enterprise-D arrives at the eighth planet of the Theta 116 system, where the surface temperature was said to be -291 degree Celsius. This is ridiculous since the temperature is below absolute zero (-273.15 degree Celsius), and it is impossible to be colder than absolute zero. In fact, even absolute zero cannot be reached. This was an oversight on the part of the show's technical consultants. As a correction, I recommend that in the DVD, the temperature be changed to anywhere above -273.15 degree Celsius, but not at that temperature or below it.
- The Federation makes first contact with the Borg when Q sends the Enterprise-D 7,000 light years across the galaxy, where it encountered a Borg cube. The Enterprise-D crew were surprised at seeing these cybernatic organisms and learning of their dangerous potential. However, in "Regeneration" (ENT) (set in 2153), the Enterprise NX-01 pursued a vessel that had been taken over by Borg survivors from the Borg sphere that had crashed on Earth during the events of ST:FC in 2063. Although the Borg never identified themselves by name in "Regeneration" (ENT), Starfleet should have already become aware of this dangerous species of cybernatic beings and be on the alert for them. Instead, we can see that Starfleet had pretty much forgottened about them by the 24th century. This is probably the only reason for continuity between the two episodes, as the producers of ENT had intended. No edits would be required. Anyway, many people believe that "Regeneration" (ENT) was produced only as a publicity stunt for ENT, an attempt to improve the ratings by showcasing Star Trek's most famous adversaries, which only goes to show that the producers held little regard for continuity in the Star Trek universe.
"Night Terrors" (TNG) (season 4, set in 2367):
- USS Brattain was mislabeled "Brittain" on the starship model. I recommend that the wrong name be digitally corrected.
- The motto of Starfleet Academy as seen on a computer screen in the episode reads "Ex Astra, Scientia" when the correct words should be "Ex Astris, Scientia". I recommend that the motto be digitally changed to the correct words in a future DVD.
- In a scene cut from the episode due to time, Scotty sulks in his quarters after being told off by La Forge for getting in his way. Deanna Troi pays Scotty a visit in the hopes of providing some counselling, but Scotty soon gets angry when he thinks that the crew thought that he was crazy. Scotty then storms out of the room and heads for Ten-Forward. This scene would explain why when the crew bid farewell to Scotty at the end of the episode, Scotty was more-than-friendly towards Troi when he gave her a kiss in what now seems to be her first and only appearance in the episode (!). Since the production of the episode for DVD would not be constrained by any time duration, I recommend the restoration of the scene between Scotty and Troi.
- Nothing could explain how the Enterprise-D was able to beam Scotty and La Forge out of the Jenolen when the Jenolen's shields were up and being used to keep the doors of the Dyson Sphere open. Chief O'Brien once used a shield cycling technique to beam onboard another vessel with her shields up in "The Wounded" (TNG), and this might have been used for the Jenolen's shields too, but no such explanation was given in the episode.
- When Q recreates the scene where young Picard fought with the three Nausicaans, after Picard knocks down the first Nausicaan, the Nausicaan's wig falls off and remains on the floor as he rolls off! I suggest that the wig could be digitally removed from the floor and inserted onto the head of the Nausicaan.
- Picard told Q that he was stabbed through the heart while waiting for his first assignment after graduating from Starfleet Academy "30 years ago", which would place Picard's graduation at around 2339. However, an earlier episode "The First Duty" (TNG) had already established that Picard graduated in 2327, which should rightfully place his graduation date 42 years before "Tapestry" (TNG). I recommend that Picard's line could be changed to "40 years ago", which would be a more accurate approximation.
- During the last of Data's dream sequence, Data flies down a corridor and then passes his father before exiting the ship. Just as Data leaves the ship, a person could be seen sitting on the floor in the corridor! Strictly speaking, that person could be there because it's was only a dream. But, I recommend that this inconsistency be corrected by having that figure digitally removed.
- As Data and Dr. Bashir walk down a series of corridor near the end of Part 1 of the episode, Bashir was first seen wearing black shoes. After Bashir thanks Data for allowing him to write up on Data's dream experiences, Bashir leaves, but his shoes have changed to white colour! I suggest that Bashir's shoes be digitally changed back to black colour in a future DVD.
"All Good Things..." (TNG) (season 7, set in 2370):
- In the flashback sequences of Enterprise-D at the beginning of TNG created by Q for Picard, Data is seen wearing the rank of Lieutenant (Junior Grade), when Data rightfully held the rank of Lieutenant Commander during that time and throughout the entire run of TNG. Although it is possible to regard this blooper as a result of Q creating an inaccurate version of that time period, this oversight can now be corrected by digitally inserting in the correct rank on Data.