Truth OR Myth – Error, Error, Mistakes! – TOS Season 2 (Part 3)

Hello and welcome to Truth or Myth?  In today’s episode, we’re taking a fun and fast look at the mistakes made in episodes 11-15 of Season 2 of Star Trek: The Original Series. 

Just a reminder, if you want to explain away any of the mistakes then it has to be with in-universe canon explanations only.  So Novels, Video games, tech Manuals and your childhood friend Herman’s first cockatoo are NOT valid sources to explain away the mistakes.  And so, with all that out of the way, let’s begin!

(CBS)

Friday’s Child

I’ve never been a fan of this episode personally, however, there is a huge problem that I think needs to be brought about about this one in particular.  During Kirk’s log entry, we find out that the Enterprise is there in order to negotiate for the mining rights of a rare element needed for various colonies within the Federation.  So what is it with the Federation creating all these colonies that are so dependent on these rare elements?  The same type of plot point is brought up in episode Devil in the Dark, where Federation Colonies need Pergium for their reactors.  It certainly seems a little short-sighted of the federation Colony planning comity, doesn’t it?

Watch the McCoys Capellian weapons briefing at the beginning of the episode.  We’re lead to believe that these weapons are so deadly that they can chop down a tree…  But if you look closely at the footage McCoy shows, the weapon doesn’t even come close to hitting the tree and yet miraculously the tree is still sliced…  Amazing weapon indeed.

I actually have a problem with ALL the weapons in this episode.  Without any Phasers, Kirk and Spock make bows and arrows to defeat their foes, however, I find it really hard to believe that these bows and arrows would actually work at all.

Ok, this is a really weird one…  Watch the Old Capellian Leader fight after the coup d’etat starts…  Up runs a Capellian male wearing a blue outfit with a purple boa, the Capellian leader stabs him but suddenly his outfit changes to a wine-coloured outfit with a red boa…

Kirk shoots his Klingon enemy with an arrow into his leg…  Suddenly in the wide shot however, The Klingon is holding his leg with no sign of the arrow at all…

(CBS)

The Deadly Years

Another episode that switches a lot between the Imperial and Metric Systems of Measurement…

Something funny I’ve always wondered is in regards to the viewscreens aboard the ship.  In one scene Kirk calls the bridge to talk to Spock.  On Kirk’s viewer, we see Spock, all fine and dandy.  But looks at Kirk’s position, does this mean that on the bridge Spock is talking to Kirk’s Belly Button?  Just something to think about…

So st the beginning of Kirk’s Competency Hearing Spock says that Kirk has the right to cross-examine any the witnesses that are brought forward.  Why then after the blond yeoman gives her testimony is Kirk not asked if he wishes to cross-examine her?

Commodore Stocker himself bears scrutiny…  This episode suggests that he is a stickler for rules and regulations, it’s his character boiled down to its basics…  Why then would this stickler violate the treaty with the Romulan Star Empire and fly the Enterprise through the Neutral Zone, which in itself is an act of war?  It simply doesn’t make sense with his established character traits, but it makes for great episode drama doesn’t it?

I guess Starfleet has adapted the shielding for their starships to better withstand Romulan Plasma Weapons nowadays, back in “The Balance of Terror“, the crew were extremely concerned about even 1 plasma Torpedo hitting their ship, yet in this episode, the Enterprise absorbs a number of hits with very little damage…

Again Commodore Stocker bears scrutiny here…  I mean are we to believe that a commodore within the Federation has NO command experience?  I mean he just sits on the bridge in an awkward pose staring at the viewscreen.  Why doesn’t he order anyone to return fire…  Isn’t that something a basic level Starfleet Officer should know?  It’s obvious the Romulans aren’t going to stop for a little chat after all…  And we know there is an officer training test that people have to take before they can even become a Commander in Starfleet… See Star Trek: The Next Generation Thine Own Self.

(CBS)

Obsession

Yet Another episode that uses both the Imperial and Metric Systems of Measurement.

Isn’t the Enterprise airtight?  I mean it’s in the vacuum of Space right?  So there can’t be any direct path to the interior of the ship from the outside.  So how did the creature get into the ship again?  I suppose the only explanation would be that it has the ability to phase itself through bulkheads, but then if that was true why did it need the Impulse vent it entered in the first place.  it just all seems a little too contrived.

Watch Kirk during the beam up scene at the end of this episode.  When he begins transport, Kirk is holding his communicator, but when he arrives on the transporter platform onboard the ship suddenly his arms are at his side and there’s no sign of the communicator at all…

With Kirk aboard, Spock opens the communications channel to bridge.  I think they need to send a repairman to the transporter as the little light on the comm panel seems to be burned out.

(CBS)

Wolf in the Fold

Watch the dancer at the beginning of this episode, never once does she strike her finger cymbals together.  Are they just for show then?  If so what’s the point of having them in the first place?

When Kirk meets Jarvis, he is handed a drink from the planetary leader and grabs said drink by the bottom of the glass, but suddenly, in the next shot, Kirk is holding the drink by the glasses top…

The Psycho-Tricorder is an interesting piece of technology that would have been an asset in many other episodes both before this one and after…  how come we never see or hear about it again then?

When taking testimony aboard the Enterprise, each witness inserts a card into the library computer terminal, and it is clearly visible in all the wide shots…  However, during the close-up shots suddenly the cards are nowhere to be seen…

So when Mr Hengist is declared dead by McCoy, McCoy gets Scotty’s help to put the dead body in a chair…  Does this make any sense at all?  Chances are he’d end up falling out of the chair at some point, so why not just leave him on the floor, to begin with?

(CBS)

The Trouble With Tribbles

When the Klingons demand shore leave on Space Station K7, Kirk Responds to it with how he’ll allow 12 Klingons at a time and have an equal number of Security guards watching them.  Why then in the Bar Fight Scene are there no Security Guards to be found?  Wasn’t the whole point of beaming the guards over to watch the Klingons in the first place to prevent something like this?

After the fight, Kirk lines up everyone involved and chastises them all.  The interesting thing here is in the line up we see 2 officers with blue shirts, yet in the fight, there wasn’t a single blue-shirted officer…

When Kirk goes to inspect the grain, he fiddles with the door directly overhead.  Does this seem like a good idea?  thankfully the compartment is filled with oft fuzzy Tribbles…  had it not been though we would have seen Kirk pummeled with tons of quadrotriticale.

Thank you for watching today’s episode of Truth OR Myth.  Have an explanation for any of the mistakes I’ve listed here?  Or did you see one I’ve missed?  Leave a comment in the section below. 

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Thanks again for watching…  Live Long and Prosper…

Watch episode 108

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