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@7 STAR TREK "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS" ======================================= @1 1) Uniforms 2) McCoy's "I'm a doctor, not a ___" lines 3) Stardates, years, ages, etc. 4) Star Trek Obituaries 5) The Prime Directive 6) Picard's surrenders 7) Self destructs 8) Leaving the galaxy 9) Addresses for Trek memorabilia 10) Crew reading USENET? 11) Where can I see my favorite Trek stars in the nude? 12) Games 13) Klingons (name of the Klingon Home Planet, foreheads, rituals, etc) 14) Ferengi Headgear and Laws of Acquisition 15) Music & Sound 16) Is Paramount making money on TNG? 17) How much does it cost to produce an episode of TOS, TNG, DS9? 18) Money in the future 19) Religion in the future 20) Smoking in the future 21) History of the Star Trek newsgroups 22) Starfleet Military? @4=========================================================================== @11) UNIFORMS: The uniforms were changed from the spandex one-piece suits (that made the cast look muscular) to the wool two-piece suits (that make them look flabby but are more comfortable). The new uniforms cost $3000 apiece to manufacture. Most of the extras are still wearing the old uniforms. Another reason for the switch is that Brent Spiner suffers from some back injury. Because spandex is skin-tight, he couldn't wear his brace underneath. The wool is loose enough and you can occasionally see the top of the brace under the costume if you look at his chest. In just about every episode you can see Picard (and others) tugging at their uniforms as they ride up. This has been known on and off the set as "the Picard maneuver". If you want a Star Trek uniform: Look for Simplicity or McCalls pattern book in your favorite fabric shop. In the back there are Star Trek uniforms for adults and children, both sexes. You can also get the patterns from Paramount's "Star Trek: The Official Fan Club" (both TOS and TNG uniforms). There are about 14 unique patterns to choose from. If you're not "sew" talented and want one pre-made, Intergalactic Trading Post of Tampa Florida is one of many companies that make them in several sizes. They generally show up at Star Trek/SF conventions. 1b) UNIFORM COLORS TOS: Yellow/Gold Command Blue Science Red Engineering/Fodder :-) TNG: Red Command Yellow/Gold Support (Security/Technical) Blue Medical Cleavage Psychiatric :-) ---------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- 2) Is McCoy a doctor? QUOTE EPISODE I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer Devil in the Dark I'm a doctor, not a escalator Friday's Child I'm a doctor, not a engineer Mirror, Mirror I'm a doctor, not a mechanic The Doomsday Machine I'm a surgeon, not a psychiatrist The City on the Edge of Forever I'm a doctor, not a coal miner The Empath Some more variations on the theme occur in "The Deadly Years" where he says "I'm not a Magician, I'm just an old country doctor", and in "The Corbomite Maneuver" where he asks "What am I, a doctor or a Moon shuttle conductor?" Also, in "Amok Time", Kirk asks "Well, are you a doctor or aren't you?" and in ST5 says something like "Dammit Bones, you're a doctor", and in TOS says "I'm a soldier, not a diplomat." ST2 has a more vague reference when Kirk says "Physician, heal thyself", McCoy says "Is that all you've got to say? What about my performance?", and Kirk replies "I'm not a drama critic". The line may have been inspired by Heinlein's 1952 novel "The Rolling Stones." In that book, Dr. Edith Stone says, "How can I be sure? I'm a doctor, not a fortune-teller." The earliest sighting of the quote is in the 1933 movie "The Kennel Club Murder Case", where Dr. Finnigan says "I'm a doctor, not a magician" as well as "I'm a doctor, not a detective". --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) STARDATES, YEARS, AGES, ETC.: In TOS the stardates ranged from 1513 (Man Trap) to 5928 (Turnabout Intruder). At this time Gene had intended for stardates to be based on Julian dates modulo 10000, with one stardate being 24 hours in length. There are numerous examples where this is false. Some of the most blatant are The Immunity Syndrome (where a quick calculation shows that one stardate is less than 2.5 hours) and Requiem for Methuselah (where one stardate figures out to be about 960 hours). There are a few episodes where the stardates actually decrease during the show. In TNG, the stardate is also supposed to be 24 hours, and is in the form 4xyyy.y where "x" is the season number and yyy.y is a random number thatincr e ases (usually) throughout the season. There are a few timelines (quite detailed) that get posted to r.a.s occasionally (version 4 of The Chronology File is among the most detailed and complete). They take all the info from canonical sources and use as much as they can without conflicting too much (usually only having to throw out two or three references). The following is a list of the mentions that get asked the most in RAS: 1992-1997 Eugenics Wars (ref Off Manual/TMP novel) 1993-1996 TOS "Space Seed": Eugenics War 1996 ST2: SS Botany Bay leaves Earth, carrying Khan and followers 2018 TOS "Space Seed": Last use of sleeper ships 2030s Clone Wars (ref Officers Manual (80)/TMP novel) 2035 TNG "The Royale": US gets 52nd state 2036 TNG "Encounter at Farpoint" (and the Officers Manual): the New United Nations was formed (the Officers Manual says this happened during the Clone Wars) 2047 Mind Control Revolt (ref Officers Manual/TMP novel) 2049 First Kzinti Invasion of Earth (ref Officers Manual)2061 Cochran e acheives Warp 1 (TNG Tech Manual, pg 54) 2064 Kzinti Invasions Halt (ref Officers Manual) 2078 TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": The Post-Atomic Age started 2079 TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": All United Earth "nonsense" abolished 2161 TNG "The Outcast": The year the Federation was formed 2228/2229 Kirk was born in Riverside, Iowa, where a statue of him has been erected 2245 1701 commissioned, Capt April commanding 2252 TOS "The Cage": Pike captured by Talosians 2264 TOS "Where No Man Has Gone Before": Kirk commands Enterprise 2283(?) ST2: The year on a bottle of Romulan Ale 2285 ST3: Enterprise destroyed 2286 ST3: 1701-A commissioned 2305 TNG "Conundrum": Picard is born 2334 TNG "Conundrum": Bev Crusher is born 2336 TNG "Conundrum": Deanna Troi is born 2336 TNG "Conundrum": Data is "born" 2340 TNG "Conundrum": Ensign Ro is born 2344 TNG Tech Manual (pg 4): 1701-C destroyed 2363 TNG Tech Manual (pg 4): 1701-D commissioned 2364 TNG "The Neutral Zone": Data gives the year The year in TOS is somewhere between 2260 and 2286. The Officer's Manual says TMP took place in 2265 or 2267. Khan was marooned for 15 years at the time of ST2. TNG is 93-100 years after TOS, and 78-79 years after TMP. TOS "Ballentine Concordance (1976)": Gives McCoy's age as 45 TOS "Who Mourns for Adonais": Chekov gives his age as 22 TOS "The Deadly Years": Kirk's age is given as 34 TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": McCoy's age is given as 137 TOS "Journey to Babel": Sarek's age is given as 102.437 TNG "Sarek": Sarek's age is given as 202 TNG "The First Duty": Picard says he's class of '27, supporting the birthdate given in "Conundrum", and making him 64 years old in season 5. Guess he'll be retiring next year. :-) The season 1 Writer's Guide gives Picard's age as 55, which is off by five years from the other data (which is on film--therefore "canon"). TNG "The Schizoid Man": Wes said "Data, chronologically, you're not much older than I am." TNG "DataLore": Data says he was found 26 years ago. TNG "Redemption II": Data says he has 26 years of StarFleet training. TNG "Datalore": Data details exactly how many years he spent at the Academy, how many as an ensign, etc. Counting backwards from stardate 41xxx.x would give his grad date. TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": Data graduated SFA in the class of '78 with Honors in Dextral Biology (Exobiology?) and Probability Mechanics. TNG "Data's Day": Data states that it is the 1,5__th day of the Enterprise's commission. According to Beverly's birthday given in "Conundrum" and the year given by Data in "The Neutral Zone" (and guessing Wesley's age to be around 15 at that time), Beverly gave birth to Wes when she was about 15 years old. The book "The Final Reflection" (non-canon, but who really cares) puts the lifespan of a Klingon at about 40 years (terran). Worf would be about 15, by this reckoning. According to the "Star Trek Chronology", when Enterprise was commissioned in 2364: Picard 59 yr old; Beverly Crusher 40; Riker 29; La Forge 29; Troi 28; Yar 27; Worf 24. Gene Roddenberry was born on August 19, 1921. William Shatner was born on March 22, 1931. Leonard Nimoy was born on March 26, 1931. DeForest Kelley was born on January 20, 1920. James Doohan was born on March 3, 1920. Jonathan Frakes was born on August 19, 1952. Patrick Stewart was born on July 13, 1940. Brent Spiner was born on February 2, 1955. LeVar Burton was born on February 16, 1957. Marina Sirtis was born on March 29, 1959. Gates McFadden was born on August 28, 1949. Michael Dorn was born on December 9, 1952. Denise Crosby was born on November 24, 1957. Wil Wheaton was born on July 29, 1972. Whoopi Goldberg was born on November 13, 1949. Majel Barrett was born on February 23, 19__. John de Lancie was born on March 20, 19__. Avery Brooks was born on October 2, 1949. Rene Auberjonois was born on June 1, 1940. Siddig El Fadil was born on November 21, 1965. 1966/09/08 "Star Trek" premiered on NBC ("The Man Trap") 1969/06/03 Last network first-run of "Star Trek" ("Turnabout Intruder") 1979/12/07 "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" opened 1982/06/04 "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" opened 1984/06/01 "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" opened 1986/11/26 "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" opened 1987/09/30 "Star Trek: The Next Generation" premiered (in Chicago) 1989/06/09 "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" opened 1991/10/24 Gene Roddenberry died 1991/12/06 "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" opened 1993/01/xx "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" premiered --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) STAR TREK OBITUARIES: Yes, Merritt butrick is dead. He played Kirk's son David in the movies as well as T'Jon an Ornaran in TNG's "Symbiosis", along-side of Judson Scott (who played Sobi, a Brekkian and also a person that served with Khan). The actor died in March 1989 due to complications related to the AIDS virus. Other recent deaths include: Stanley Adams (Cyrano Jones) Dame Judith Anderson (T'Lar, "ST3") 91-92 Barry Atwater (Surak) Lucille Ball (owner Desilu Productions) 88-91 James Blish Roger C Carmel (Harcourt Fenton Mudd) 89/90 due to medication or lack thereof. Ted Cassidy (Ruk, "What Are Little Girls Made of?") Gene L Coon (writer/producer) James Daly (Mr. Flint) Michael Dunn (Alexander, "Plato's Stepchildren") Robert A Heinlein (writer) 87-91 Kay Elliott (Stella Mudd) Sam Gilman (Doc Holiday, "Spectre of the Gun") John Hancock (Admiral Haden, "The Defector" and "The Wounded"") 10/92John Hoyt ( Dr. Phillip "Bones" Boyce, "The Cage") 9/15/91 Jeffrey Hunter (Capt Christopher Pike, "The Cage") 70s Jill Ireland (Leila Kalomi) 87-91 Celia Lovsky (T'Pau, "Amok Time") Susan Oliver (Vina, "The Cage") early 1990 Vic Perrin (Tharn, aka the voice of Outer Limits) 87-91 Angelique Pettyjohn (Shauna, "The Gamesters of Triskelion") 1992 of cancer Gene Roddenberry (Created Trek) 10/24/91 Michael Strong (Dr. Roger Corby, "What Are Little Girls Made of?") Vic Tayback (Jojo Kracko, "A Piece of the Action") Torin Thacther (Marplan) Ian Wolfe (Mr AtoZ, "All Our Yesterdays"; Septimus "Bread and Circuses") 1/23/9 2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) THE PRIME DIRECTIVE The prime directive basically says that Federation members shouldn't interfere with a thriving culture that doesn't know about space travel. It is only used when convenient, and forgotten when it would detract from the plot. According to FASA the prime directive states: "As the right of each sentient species to live in accordance with its normal cultural evolution is considered sacred, no Star Fleet personnel may interfere with the healty development of alien life and culture. Such interference includes the introduction of superior knowledge, strength, or technology to a world whose soceity is incapable of handling such advantages wisely. Star Fleet personnel may not violate this Prime Directive, even to save their lives and/or their ship, unless they are acting to right an earlier violation or an accidental contamination of said culture. This directive takes precedence over any and all other considerations, and carries with it the highest moral obligation." According to Geoffery Mandel's book the prime directive states: "When contacting a planet making normal progress toward a free and united society, a Starfleet officer shall make no identification of self or mission; no interference with the social development of said planet; no references to space, or to the fact that there are other worlds or more advanced civilizations. The Prime Directive of Non-Interference - revised 2278" --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) PICARD'S SURRENDERS: * "Encounter at Farpoint": Picard says "Transmit the following in all languages and in all frequencies: 'We surrender'." * "The Outrageous Okono": Picard drops shields "In case we decide to surrender to them." * "A Matter of Honor": Picard surrenders to Riker on the Pagh. * "The Defector": The Romulans ask Picard to surrender, but he doesn't. * "Peak Performance": Riker asks Picard "Would you care to surrender now?" even before the wargames begin. * "Peak Performance": Picard surrenders to the Ferengi, but they don't accept. * "The Last Outpost": Picard tries to surrender to the Ferengi, but they beat him to it. * "Yesterday's Enterprise": Alternate-Picard refuses to surrender to the Klingons. * "The Best of Both Worlds": The Borg as for Picard's surrender . ---------------------------------------------------------------------------7) S E LF-DESTRUCTS: * "11001001": Picard tries to self destruct. * "Where Silence Has Lease": Picard tries to self destruct for Nagilum. * "Contagion": Virus-induced sort-of-self-destruct-like-thing. * Kirk tried to self destruct in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield", "By Any Other Name", threatens to self-destruct in "The Corbomite Maneuver", and finally succeeds in ST3:TSFS. See the "Lists" postings for self-destruct sequences. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) LEAVING THE GALAXY The Enterprise has attempted to cross the barrier at the galaxy in "TOS: Where No Man Has Gone Before", "TOS: By Any Other Name", "TOS: Is There in Truth No Beauty?", and "TNG: Where No One Has Gone B efore". In "ST5:TFF" they crossed the barrier at the center of the galaxy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------9) A n y correspondence with Paramount, the actors, etc. should be sent in care of Paramount at the following address: Paramount Studios Star Trek Offices 5555 Melrose Ave. Hollywood, CA 90038-3197 Another way to reach them is through the Star Trek The Official Fan Club (STTOFC). They have an ad in almost every Star Trek Pocket Book. Note that scripts have a better chance of getting accepted if you have an agent. Paramount gets about 800 fan-written scripts a year and uses about four of them. See the separate section in this posting on submitting scripts. Lincoln Enterprises is run by Majel Barrett (Mrs. Roddenberry, formerly Majel Leigh Hudec), and is said to be the best source for fan paraphanalia, scripts, etc. This is the best place to get a Writer's Guide from if you're not an established writer. The address is: Lincoln Enterprises 14710 Arminta St. Van Nuys, CA 91402 (818) 989-4978 ($15 minimum by credit card) Star Tech has some good stuff too, like the blooper reels on tape (four tapes for TOS and one for TNG season one), movie soundtrack CDs, etc. However, some of their recorded tapes seem to be "gray market", so beware: Star Tech PO Box 456 Dunlap, TN 37327 Starlog (or Starlog Press) 475 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10016 Starland PO Box 24590 Denver, CO 80224 phone: 1 303 671 8735 fax: 1 303 671 0302 Intergalactic Trading Co. PO Box 1516 Longwood, FL 32750 phone: 1 407 831 8344 fax: 1 407 332 0142 New Eye Studio PO Box 632 Willimantic, CT 06226 phone: 1 203 450 1943 War Games West 3422 Central Av SE Albuquerque, NM 87106 phone: 1 505 265 6100 orders: 1 800 729 4263 Fax: 1 505 260 0752 hotline: 1 505 299 3368 Franklin Mint came out with a Pewter Enterprise ($198.00), a pewter Klingonship , a pewter Romulan Bird of Prey, and a Star Trek Chess Set Kirk and Khan as opposing kings (redshirts as pawns?)) a few years back (1000), and I think CitiCorp or someone has a Star Trek VISA (with some outrageous annual fee). Franklin Mint is now issuing a 25th-anniversary commemorative coins. Timex has a line of Star Trek watches. ERTL have model kits for all three Enterprise versions, a Klingon Cruiser, a Romulan BoP, and a Ferengi ship. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) None of the crew read Usenet (though we have a writer or two on here). Wheaton and some of the "behind-the-scenes" people are on Compu$erve/GEnie though. With Wil Wheaton at UCLA, it should be easy for him to obtain a Usenet account, so he may be lurking. :-) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) NAKED TREK: Marina Sirtis: Full frontal nudity in "The Wicked Lady" (1983), topless in Death Wish III, and topless in "Blind Date" (1984, starring Kirstie Alley). Be aware that this "Blind Date" is *not* the 1987 Blake Edwards' bomb ofthe sam e title, which starred Bruce Willis and Kim Basinger. Both "Wicked Lady" and the 1984 "Blind Date" are available on videotape. Any GIFs you might find of Sirtis are probably snarfed from these movies. Denise Crosby: Several nude or semi-nude photos in the March 1979 issue of Playboy, pages 99-103 ("A Different Kind of Crosby"). She also appeared in th February 1980 issue of Playboy, page 160 ("The Year in Sex"). The original pictures were re-displayed in the May 1988 issue, pages 74-79 ("Star Treat") (along with some (non-nude) TNG photos (Yar, Enterprise, and cast)). She had a brief topless scene in "48 HRS," the 1982 Eddie Murphy/Nick Nolte film as well as "Arizona Heat (1988). In the 1992 Showtime series "Red Show Diaries" (episode "You Have the Right to Remain Silent") she is topless making love with Nick. Gates McFadden was in some 1970s movie in a skimpy top and bikini briefs (but then who *wasn't* back in the 70s?). Terry Farrel: Topless in 1986 teen sex flick "Off the Mark" about kids growing up and turning into triatheletes (in pink lip gloss being chased by eight guys, in a cut-off t-shirt, naked in the showers, stripping on a table with a bunch of guys around her) that shows up on the USA cable network from time to time. Jennifer Hetrick ("Vash" in "Captain's Holiday" and "Qpid"): Had a couple of topless scenes in a 1979 movie called "Squeeze Play." She was credited as "Jenni Hetrick." "Squeeze Play" is available on videotape. Lycia Neff ("Ensign Gomez" in a couple of episodes): Gets honorable mention for playing a topless three-breasted hooker in "Total Recall" (1990), even though all three of them were latex prosthetics rather than her actual breasts. (Sure looked real, though.) "Total Recall" is available on videotape. Angelique Pettyjohn (Shauna from "The Gamesters of Triskelion") used to attend Star Trek conventions, selling posters of her in her drill-thrall outfit as well as racier posters of her more nekkid. She died in 1992, so no more live strip acts from her. And that, alas, is about as far as it goes, at least to my knowledge. I've never even heard any good rumors about Whoopi Goldberg, Diana Muldaur, Rosiland Chao ("Keiko O'Brien"), Suzie Plakson ("Dr. Selar" and "K'Eylar") or April Grace ("Transporter Technician" in a bunch of 4th-season episodes) which I think is the entire list of regular or recurring TNG actresses, or any of the Star Trek men. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) GAMES: The FASA Star Trek game is pretty much ignored by the r.a.s community, though many seem to like the variety of TOS and TNG drinking games that show up occasionally (see the monthly FTP posting). There are a few computer games based on Star Trek as well (I even wrote a few). The rules and board layout of the 3-D chess game Kirk kept beating Spock at are posted every once in a while (see monthly FTP list). Star Fleet Battles (SFB) is a tactical "shoot'em up" board game. It is very realistic. It has a basic game, but there are all sorts of highly complex and technical rules available to the ship's commander. It boggles the human mind. None-the-less it is a very fun game. It takes total and complete devotion to learning the game. Some like it others don't. Those that don't shouldn't knock it! It would be best suited as a computer simulation. Federation & Empire (Federation Space) is the strategic and economical version of SFB (bigger picture). West End Games has three ST games out: Enterprise IV Encount er, ST- The Adventure Game, & ST-Three Solitare Games. All came out in 1985. They are simple and fun box games. Star Fleet Battle Manual (Lou Zocchi/Gamescience) & Alien Space were developed about the same time as SFB, but was much simpler. Gam escience is noteable for producing the ever popular 3" plastic models of the Enterprise and dreadnoughts, destroyers/scouts & tugs. Zocchi and Steven Cole (SFB) are friends and have collaborated together in checking that they don't replicate the same material. SFB uses GS's plastic ships. Fasa has also put out 4 microadventure games with short play times and simple rules. They are: STIII-The Search for Spock, Starship D uel 1 & 2, & Struggle for the Throne. 25th Anniversary by Interplay ST:TNG the game by Spectrum Holobyte (not yet released). In June of 1993, Sirtis was at the Chicago Consumer Electronics Show promotingthe new ST:TNG game coming out for Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo, 3DO and IBM-compatible computers. How to Host a TNG Murder Week-end. Computer Programs (commercial/PC): - ST-TMP (arcade); Sega - ST-TMP; Sega/Atari - Rules of Engagement ($40) - Star Flite, Lance Micklus/Adventure International (aka Star Trek 3.5) 1981 - Kobiashi Maru - fractally-generated planets, interplay - there are many others Computer Programs (public domain): - Trek/DRS (full simulation; FSD) - Trek80/DRS (enhanced version of Trek/DRS; FSD) - TREK_DRS (same scenario each time; IBM and compat; FSD) - xtrek (UNIX) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) KLINGONS 13a) The name of the Klingon home planet: Kling is the homeworld of the Klingon Empire according to the trade paperback book "The Aliens of Star Trek" which was released back in the late 1980s. Klinzhai (sp) was the name John Ford came up with. In the Star Fleet Battles universe, the capital is named "Klinshai.@ ST6 "The Undiscovered Country": Referred to as "Kronos". TNG has been trying to use the generic "Klingon Home World" to avoid all this confusion. TNG "Heart of Glory": Referred to as "Kling". TNG "Yesterday's Enterprise": Captain Garrett's crew took the E-C to glory at Narendra III, which was NOT Khitomer (the planet where Worf's father and mother died). 13b) Foreheads: There's no real explanation as to why the Klingons have spiny fo reheads in TFS and TNG but not in TOS. Gene has said "they always looked like this" and we're supposed to ignore the lack of the pizza bats on the foreheads in TOS. Theories outside of Gene run from genetic engineering to "several races of Klingons". FASA explains in their role-playing game (and possibly also mentioned by John M Ford) that the TOS Klingons are actually Klingon-Human fusions bio-engineered by Imperial Klingons (ridge-heads) to deal withhumans/Federation . Sometime before TNG they were exiled or something. Shane Johnson's "The Worlds of the Federation" explains it on page 114: "It is interesting to note that for many years the true appearance of the Klingon race was unkown. The 'Klingons' encountered along the Federation border with the Empire were a Klingon-human fusion, genetically created to make infiltration into Federation areas easier. The interception of the Amar transmission during the V'Ger incident revealed the true nature of the Imperial Klingon race and stunned Federation science. Before that time, no one had suspected that the Klingons were capable of such advanced genetic engineering, and a great deal of rethinking was done concerning the level of Klingon technology." 13c) Klingon rituals mentioned or performed by Worf: - The bonding of Worf and Jeremy Aster ("The Bonding"). - Worf's rite of asscention with Klingon pain sticks (season two episode). - Worf and K'Ehlar almost go through the Klingon equivalent of a marriage ceremony. - When a Klingon dies, other Klingons warn the dead that a warrior is coming b y howling and staring into the stiff's eyes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) FERENGI HEADGEAR and LAWS OF ACQUISITION The original reason for the headgear was to hide a SNAFU in the costumes that left a gap between the head prosthesis and the uniform. It was later decided that they could explain it as a "military thing". Here are 6 of the 9 Laws of Acquisition that have have been used so far: 1 Once you have their money, you never give it back. 2 His money is only your's when he can't get it back. 3 Never allow one's culture's law to get in the way of a universal goal: profit. 6 Never allow family to stand in the way of opportunity. 7 Keep your ears open. 9 Opportunity plus instinct equals profit. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) MUSIC & SOUND: The first three seasons of TNG are in stereo, the fourth and fifth are in Dolby Surround stereo. TNG was not broadcast in Dolby for the first three seasons, but there was out-of-phase-but-equal-amplitude stuff in the ST:TNG soundtrack, which your Dolby Stereo decoder recognizes as "rear channel information". They mostly put the ship's noise (a low thundering sound of the engines) on the rear and some times when ships pass by or shoot. Picard describes a program as "all Mozart" which RA says was supposed to be "mostly Mozart" since it had Allegro from string quartet #19 in C, K 465, by Mozart ("Dissonant") and Andante, ma moderato from Sextet #1 in Bb, by Brahms. For lyrics to any of the various Star Trek songs, as well as a ton of other music-related stuff, see accompanying posting "FAQL: Star Trek Music" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------16) I S PARAMOUNT MAKING MONEY ON TNG? Yes. Tons. The following is stolen from industry trade magazines VARIETY and BROADCASTING, as well as Roger Tang: FIRST: License fees (the fees studios charge individual stations to run their programs): Let's say Paramount charges each station $2,000 to run the first run package. That's ball park; other stations can get $10-20K per episode in top 20 markets. Also, Turner can expect $800,000 to $1 million per episode show of THE WONDER YEARS when it goes into backend syndication. $2,000 per episode times 238 stations yields $476,000 per episode shown in first run syndication (which does NOT count the later syndication or backend syndication). SECOND: Commercial fees: According to Vidiot, Paramount has seven minutes of national advertising in each show. BROADCASTING has published figures of $60-80,000 per 30 second spot. They have also mentioned that rates for the third and fourth seasons are around $135,000 per 30 second spot. Adweek's Marketing Week mentioned that a 30-second ad for fifth season TNG runs $200,000 (higher than some network shows). Paramount isgarn e ring $2,800,000 per showing of an episode. THIRD: But wait! Shows are shown more than once even in first run syndication. Let's assume a cut rate of $100,000 per spot in reruns (doubt it, since people are STILL watching during reruns). Even a rerun episode will garner $1,400,000 in commercial revenue. THE BOTTOM LINE: $476,000 + $2,800,000 + $1,400,000 = well over $4.5 million in revenue per episode in first run syndication. And we all know studios base their financing on just breaking even in backend syndication. So the claim that Paramount is losing $8 million is just creative financing. Then again, we can throw away our calculations and take Richard Arnold's word that (at least in Season One) TNG was grossing $10 million per episode. The 1/13/93 issue of Broadcasting Magazine reported that Paramount is making $100 million-plus annually in front-end ad revenues alone (not including cash revenues from the back-end repeats). 16b) Star Trek merchandising up 572% sales increase. Total 1990 sales were in excess of $66.6 BILLION (yeah, that's *BILLION* folks). Novels sold an estimated $26 million. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17a) HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO PRODUCE AN EPISODE OF TOS? DeForest Kelley mentioned at a con once that TOS cost $200,000 for an average episode, though records seem to show it as $100,000 to $120,000). 17b) HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO PRODUCE AN EPISODE OF TNG? The average TNG episode COSTS Paramount between $1,500,000 and $2,000,000 (depending on the cost of guest stars, sets, and special effects). This is up from $1,400,000 that it cost for each episode in the first season. These figures include the weekly paycheck of Stewart ($100,000) and Burton ($100,000). 17c) HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO PRODUCE AN EPISODE OF DS9? Deep Space Nine is rumored to have around $2,000,000/episode budget. The 1/11/93 issue of Broadcasting Magazine reported that Paramount has budgeted $1.5 million per episode on production of DS9. The two-hour premiere cost them either $12 million or $20 million, depending on which reports you listen to (but they will no doubt re-use a lot of the footage in later episodes). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18) MONEY IN THE FUTURE TOS "Catspaw": Lt.(Cmdr?) DeFalco says "I'll bet credits to navy beans we can punch a hole in it." TOS "Errand of Mercy": Kirk says that the Federation spent a lot of money on their training and it's timr they got a return on their investment. TOS "Mirror, Mirror": Mirror-Kirk says "You want credits, Spock? I'll make you a rich man." TOS "Mudd's Women": H.F. Mudd mentions that the miners are rich. Thisseem s to imply some type of economic structure. TOS "Operation--Annihilate": Kirk says "I don't care what it takes or costs, just help him." TOS "The Doomsday Machine" (possibly also "Balance of Terror"): Kirk says "Scotty, you've earned your pay for the week." He says the same to Sulu in "The Apple" (?) TOS "Amok Time": Kirk says "Do you know how much Starfleet has invested in you?", to which Spock begins to reply "twenty-two thousand, two hun...". Might be hours, exercises, food quantity but seems to be money. NOVEL "Crisis on Centaurus": Kirk uses back salary to purchase a great deal of wilderness land on Alpha Centauri. There are offers to buy it should he fall behind on his taxes, but he refuses to sell or allow it to be developed. NOVEL "Enterprise": Kirk orders the computer to "close out his [bank] account". NOVEL "Vendetta": Riker makes the comment "That's why I get paid the big money." Data responds with, "I thought a higher salary was due to higher rank, seniority,..." so there are apparently salaries. NOVEL "The Wounded Sky": The reward money for passing through a singularity, to be awarded to the E's crew, is enough to "buy starfleet". Also, at one point, Kirk mentions to himself something along the lines of "Starfleet personnell are tax-exempt." ST4: Kirk tells the female lead that there is no money in the future (but he might just mean that they don't have U.S. dollars, or any "hard" cash, which is what she was enquiring about). TNG "Encounter at Farpoint": Bev Crusher buys a roll of cloth and has her account on the ship billed. TNG "The Neutral Zone": Picard mentions that they don't have money. TNG "The Price": There is a bidding war going on for the use of aworm h ole, and Picard mentions how much toll the Ferengi might charge if they get the rights to use that wormhole. TNG "Peak Performance": Riker is playing strategema against Kolrami. Worf whispers to Riker that he has bet a "sizeable amount" on Riker in the ship's pool. He may have made a similar comment about Tasha Yar in "Skin of Evil". TNG "Conspiracy": the planet the starship captains meet on (Ditalix B) is said to be owned by the Ditalix Mining Corporation, which may imply something of the Federations's economic structure. TNG "Unification II": Riker is trying to get info out of the piano player. She said to "drop a few coins in the jar" for info; Riker says he doesn't carry money. TNG: In the first Fenengi episode, they called the comm badges a shamefull use of a precious metal, yet they said they have their own "matter-energy device". TNG: People are always offering to buy each other coffee, etc. in Ten Forward, but this may just be a gesture, since we never see anyone pay for anything. Also, they must be playing poker for *some* stakes, just playing for chips would be meaningless. DS9: On the promenade, people can be seen gambling, buying time in the holosuite, buying food, buying drinks, etc. Also, for large cash purchases, the monitary unit seems to be gold-pressed latinum (sp?) DS9 "Past Prologue": The Cardassian merchant wants Bashir to buy a new suit. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19) RELIGION IN THE FUTURE TOS "Balance of Terror": Kirk says something about nondenominationalism during the wedding ceremony he's performing. TOS "Bread and Circuses": McCoy says "If you speak of worship, we serve many beliefs". Uhura figures out that they aren't worshipping the sun, butthe " Son of God". TOS "Errand of Mercy": Spock says "Even the gods did not spring into being overnight". TOS "Metamorphosis": Spock asks The Companion if it has the power to create life. The Companion says, "No, that is for the maker of all things." TOS "Obsession": Scotty says "Thank heavens", to which Spock replies "Mr. Scott, there was no deity involved; it was my cross-circuiting to B that recovered them." McCoy then says "Wee, then thank pitchforks and pointed ears!" TOS "The Paradise Syndrome": Kirk is thought (by the Indian populace) to be a god when he emerges from the temple. TOS "The Trouble with Tribbles": Someone said "Kirk may be a swaggering, overbearing, tin-plated dictator with delusions of godhood, but he's not soft." TOS "The Ultimate Computer": M5 says "Murder is contrary to the laws of man and God." Kirk says "Daystrom felt that such an act was an offense against the laws of God and man, and the computer that carried his engrams also believed it." TOS "The Way to Eden": Space-hippies search for the mythical planet Eden. TOS "Where No Man Has Gone Before": Gary Mitchell gets god-like powers and creates a "Garden of Eden" on a desolate planet TOS "Who Mourns for Adonais": Apollo journeyed to earth 5000 years ago from Pullox 4 and was worshipped along with the other gods by the populace. Chekov says "Sorry, I've never met a god before." McCoy says "Scotty doesn't believe in gods." ST5: Sybok takes the Enterprise in search of God. NOV "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan": Chekov is looking at the books on board the Botany Bay, and when he comes across the Bible he thinks "...twentieth century mythology, if he remembered rightly" or words to thateffe c t. TNG "The Chase": The progenitor race created Romulans, Klingons, Ferengi, Cardassians, Humans, etc. around the time the Milky Way was forming. TNG "Data's Day": Data mentions that it's a Hindu holiday. Keiko and Miles O'Brien are married. TNG "Devil's Due": The crew meet "the Devil". TNG "Justice": The crew talk to a planet's "God". TNG "Who Watches the Watchers": Picard is thought to be a god by the populace. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20) SMOKING IN THE FUTURE TOS: I don't recall anyone ever smoking. Maybe in "A Piece of the Action" or one of the "Earth's past" episodes. TNG: Holodeck characters are often smoking. TNG: Data smokes a pipe when he acts out Sherlock Holmes scenes. TNG: Beverly (?) was smoking a cigarette on the holodeck and just about gagged (she also ATE her gum). Marina Sirtis just quit smoking by going to a hypnotist (March 1993). Brent tried it, but started smoking again after a year. Whoopi smokes cigars. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21) HISTORY OF THE STAR TREK NEWSGROUPS Roger Noe was the force behind creating a group just for discussing Star Trek, and thus was created net.startrek (1982?), which later was renamed rec.arts.startrek during "The Great Renaming" (1986?). In the spring of 1991, people got tired of seeing large parodies, scripts,artwo r k, etc in r.a.s, and there was a proposal to create a new group called rec.arts.startrek.creative. There was some controversy over copyrights (that apparently didn't matter if the same postings showed up in r.a.s) so the vote was abandoned. During the proposal and vote, someone created alt.startrek.creative, which serves the purpose, except that it is unmoderated, and only about half the sites actually carry the group. Then rec.arts.startrek.info was voted on and created, moderated by Jim Griffith. At the end of 1991 a vote was taken to split the main group into four components (tech, fandom, current, and misc) which passed by a landslide. The groups were created early in January 1992. In early 1993, with the high volume of posts that came with the coming of "Deep Space Nine", came two CFVs, one for r.a.s.reviews (a moderated group for the subset of misc and current that are objective reviews), and r.a.s.characters for discussion of the characters. The reviews group passed in early March 1993 with Mike Shappe as moderator. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22) STARFLEET MILITARY? According to ST:TNG Writer's/Director's guide (1987): "Starfleet is NOT a military organization....No saluting. We may hear the word 'Sir,' but it is intended as the same kind of courtesy used by junior and senior officers on commercial airliners....No stories about warfare with Klingons or Romulans and no stories with Vulcans." Granted the Romulan/Klingon/Vulcan rule has laxed, Starfleet is still basically non-military (except when they are cornered, like the Borg situation). The fourth season ST:TNG Writer's Technical Manual says to mentally merge NASA, the Coast Guard and research ships like Calypso to gain a concept of the Enterprise's mission. I guess we're supposed to believe that court-martials are non-military, huh?