Truth OR Myth? Error Error Mistakes TOS (part 5)

Hello and Welcome to truth or Myth, In today’s episode we’ll take a fun and fast look at the mistakes in production done in episodes 21-25 in season 1 of Star Trek The Original Series. So, let’s begin

(CBS) “The Return Of The Archons”

THE RETURN OF THE ARCHONS

In this episode, Kirk seems to forget ALL about the Prime Directive. At the beginning of the episode Kirk and the landing Party, all decked out in planetary dress, beam right down in the middle of a main street. Why didn’t they beam down to an alley to avoid people watching them materialize?

The windows in Reger’s home are an interesting oddity, in the long shots they appear to be blacked out, yet in the close-ups, they’re well lit waiting for the landing party to look down on to the street.

Landru makes an interesting statement, he says that his society is without conflict or disease, well what does he call the festival then? Sure looks like a conflict to me…

And on that point, if there’s no disease, how does Reger know what a shot is? Shouldn’t he have asked?

When the crew are escaping the mob 2 odd things happen. First A Crewman is hit with a rock directly on his head. Interestingly enough, he isn’t even bruised. You try getting hit by a rock and see what happens…

Second, Kirk orders Phasers to be fired stun and wide beam. Everyone looks to fire, but why doesn’t anything come out of McCoys Phaser?

When Kirk and company reach the safe house, Reger pulls out a light panel, and it shines a light in all directions, 360 degrees. Why then when he sets it on a shelf does it cast a shadow behind itself?

Watch the guard by the door to the safe house. he puts his hand to his ear way before Landru uses the sonic weapon.

At the beginning of the episode, Sulu becomes “of the body,” when one of the lawgivers flash a staff at him. So why didn’t the lawgivers simply do the same thing to Kirk and company? Instead, they have to take them to an absorption centre, why?

Shortly after McCoy returns to the dungeon that’s holding the landing party, a close-up shot of Kirk shows his hair parted on the wrong side…

If Landru could neutralize the phasers, why didn’t he do that BEFORE Kirk put a huge hole in the wall?

Watch the shots of the hall audience through the hole. Notice the bluish wall beyond its door. Shouldn’t it be a corridor and NOT a wall?

While Landru’s computer is being fried noticed the burned line under the yellow panel. When Kirk enters the computer room, suddenly it’s gone…

(CBS) “Space Seed”

SPACE SEED

Of course, history and math are way off in this episode. First, if Khan and his crew escaped in 1999 that would mean he was born in the late 50’s or early 1960’s. This is based of course on the fact he looks to be in his 30’s. Were scientists of those eras really able to genetically engineer a person like that?

Second, I must have slept through 1993 when over 40 countries were taken over by these genetic supermen.

Third, As far as I know, there aren’t any interplanetary space crafts with cryotubes in existence now, let alone in 1999.

And finally, given all these inconsistencies, that we all can forgive since this is a common problem when sci-fi shows speak of events that are only decades away, one thing that doesn’t make sense is why these events aren’t classified as World War 3. 40 countries taken over, that the world banded together to defeat sounds like world war 3 to me. But instead, we find out in future Trek series, a completely different set of events which occurs in 2026, becomes classified as world war 3…

When the landing party is preparing to beam over to the Botany Bay, watch the transporter officer. In the first shot, he’s wearing a blue uniform. But then in the close up suddenly he’s in a red uniform…

The Statue of a head in McGiver’s quarters must be popular indeed, it’s the same one that Dr Adams has in the episode Dagger of the mind.

After breaking the glass on Khan’s sleeper pod, watch Kirks phaser, it unceremoniously falls to the floor… So much for those Velcro belts…

Why does Kirk give Khan access to the ships Tech manuals? After all, he knows the name of Khan’s ship is Botany Bay, and that that was a penal colony back in the Era Khan comes from. Wouldn’t it make more sense to wait to find out more about Khan before giving him that kind of information?

Why is McCoy so surprised by the food on the table during the dinner scene? Does this mean that when Rand brought Sulu the same meal in “The Man Trap,” that Sulu was eating like and visiting dignitary? Or is just that Celery And Colored cubes are a huge delicacy in 2265?

When Khan cuts off the life support to the bridge when he first takes over the Enterprise Kirk makes a log entry. Why does he only give commendations for 5 out of the 7 bridge crew members? Did the other 2 do something wrong?

Watch the gage in the Decompression of Kirk scene. First, it shows the gage is at 10hg, but then in the next shot suddenly it’s back up to 20hg…

(CBS) “A Taste Of Armageddon”

A TASTE OF ARMAGEDDON

This episode starts off on the wrong foot. Right away, the federations most important law, the Prime Directive, is ignored. And continues to be ignored throughout the entire episode.

When Eminiar is attacked we’re told that fusion bombs are materialized over the planets. And as a result, Mira is put on the casualty list. But look at where Mira is when these supposed bombs go off, at that position shouldn’t Kirk ALSO be on that list?

Starbase 11 MUST have had a yard sale after the events of “The Menagerie, Part 1,” The Eminian computers are the exact same as the ones from that episode. How impossible is it for another planet’s culture to develop the exact same computers, with the exact same dimensions and looks?

When Eminiar attacks the Enterprise, Mr Depaul exclaims that they are very powerful sound waves and measures them in decibels. How are they a danger to the Enterprise then? Sound waves cant travel in the vacuum of space…

When Anan is attacking the Enterprise, Ambassador Fox convinces the Eminains to open a dialogue stating he’ll beam down to talk. Anan then gives orders to his officers to wait until the Enterprise lowers it’s shields and then to open fire. We see Fox beam down, so why isn’t the Enterprise destroyed or at least damaged? We know from the Episode, “Arena,” that the Enterprise can’t transport anyone without lower it’s shields after all…

When Spock destroys the disintegration chamber, the first shot shows it’s door is open, but then in the next shot, it’s door is closed…

(CBS) “this Side Of Paradise” 

THIS SIDE OF PARADISE

This episode brings up an interesting question. If the spores give protection from the Berthold Rays and also cures old scars and leaves the body free from disease, why doesn’t everyone from the Federation with an illness or disease simply travel to this planet, beam down, get infected by the spores, get cured, beam back up, and have someone get them angry? It’s the quadrant’s miracle cure to anything that ails you…

Why is Starfleet interfering with these colonists? Even after McCoy certifies them all as healthy, Starfleet decides to have them evacuated. Maybe they want the miracle cure-all planet for themselves…

When Spock is infected by the spores, he goes through a plethora of emotions. Shouldn’t that have killed off the spores as they were trying to infect him?

Someone is repainting the doors of the enterprise. In this episode the doors down the corridor from the transporter room are red, but in Tomorrow is yesterday they’re blue. And in case you think there are multiple transporter rooms, in that same episode tomorrow is yesterday Kirk says Captain Christopher is heading to THE transporter room, The transporter room meaning only one.

Just before Kirk is Sprayed on the bridge a shot clearly shows the floor is empty, so where did the plant come from? And in that case, How does this plant move?

Here’s tip for everyone out there, buy stock in Samsonite! When Kirk packs to leave the ship, his suitcase is clearly by that company, meaning they’re still in business in 2265!

 

Thank you for watching today’s episode of Truth OR Myth. If you see something I’ve missed or you have a comment, please leave it in the section below. And don’t forget to like and subscribe to the channel.

Thanks again, live long and prosper!

 

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