Star Trek Questions and Answers Thread

[P-90_177]

So recently I’ve become very aware that there are more and more people that are only just being introduced to the Star Trek Universe and mythos.

This then is a place where new (and old) fans can come to ask questions about the franchise both within lore and also from a production standpoint as necessary. Please note that this is not about relating news about the new shows but about helping people expand their general Trek knowledge to help them better understand the universe and the history behind the show.
Discussion of how books and games may also fit into that universe is also welcome but please remember that they are not considered canon (with the possible exception of Star Trek Online but generally we’ll consider that more of a “possible future”)

The one rule here is that this is not a place for any kind of toxic fandom. All shows and movies carrying the Star Trek brand are accept and fans of all backgrounds are welcome. If a particular show or movie isn’t to your liking that is fine. We all have different tastes, but that never makes you any more or any less of a fan.

Please discuss.

[DigiFluid]

Good thread, P90!

[Chaka-Z0]

Could've entitled it ''Chaka's thread'' instead

One question about the psychic egg-heads on the Talos (4?) planet, so Pike's GF was an illusion? If she's from that planet, why doesn't she have an egghead also? And if I recall, they mentioned this planet went through a nuclear war or something, is that why they all have eggs for heads now?

Secondly, the clip shown at the beginning to give context to that episode from a previous ST series, I assume that happened before in the timeline? Also how long ago?

And lastly, is Discovery set in between previous series, before or after?

[DigiFluid]

Could've entitled it ''Chaka's thread'' instead

Hey man, P90 is just being open and welcoming! Which I think is terrific -- there's far too much toxic fandom out there, a good friendly open space is just what's needed these days IMO!

One question about the psychic egg-heads on the Talos (4?) planet,

Correct, the planet is Talos IV and its inhabitants are called the Talosians.

so Pike's GF was an illusion? If she's from that planet, why doesn't she have an egghead also?

No, she's not an illusion, she's real. And she's not from Talos--she's human. The intro to the TOS pilot episode "The Cage" has the Enterprise responding to a distress signal from a crashed starship (the SS Columbia, for curiosity's sake). They went to Talos IV and believed they had found survivors.

In the end, it turns out that all the survivors except one -- Vina -- are illusions, created for her benefit. She was the sole survivor of that crash, and was terribly disfigured. Having no point of reference with which to 'rebuild' humans, the Talosians did the best they could (which wasn't good enough, she's still disfigured for real) and use their mental powers to allow Vina to see herself as she was before the crash.

So, she's human. Not Talosian.

And if I recall, they mentioned this planet went through a nuclear war or something, is that why they all have eggs for heads now?

Ehh, just a makeup choice I think. They filmed the pilot for TOS in 1964/65, and needed something that looked suitably alien. I guess "let's give them big heads" was probably the cheapest, most straightforward way of emphasizing 'alien-ness' and mental power.

Secondly, the clip shown at the beginning to give context to that episode from a previous ST series, I assume that happened before in the timeline? Also how long ago?

The clips at the beginning are taken from the original series pilot episode "The Cage," which was filmed in 1964/65. NBC actually rejected that pilot, so Pike and Number One (etc) were largely forgotten about for a long time, but NBC did something fairly unprecedented in ordering a second pilot episode--which is how we ended up with the original Trek we now know--Kirk, Spock, McCoy, etc.

"The Cage" is set in 2254. The first season of Discovery is in 2256-57, and since Season 2 picks up immediately after the Season 1 finale, it's presumed that Season 2 is still in 2257.

And lastly, is Discovery set in between previous series, before or after?

Quick and dirty timeline:

2151-55 - Star Trek: Enterprise
2254 - The Original Series pilot episode "The Cage"
2256-57 - Discovery + presumably the upcoming Section 31 series will be set in this timeframe
2265-69 - The Original Series
2269-70 - The Animated Series
2270s - The Motion Picture
2285-93 - Films II-VI
2363-2379 - The Next Generation/Deep Space Nine/Voyager era
2389 - the upcoming Picard series

[P-90_177]

Could've entitled it ''Chaka's thread'' instead

One question about the psychic egg-heads on the Talos (4?) planet, so Pike's GF was an illusion? If she's from that planet, why doesn't she have an egghead also? And if I recall, they mentioned this planet went through a nuclear war or something, is that why they all have eggs for heads now?

Secondly, the clip shown at the beginning to give context to that episode from a previous ST series, I assume that happened before in the timeline? Also how long ago?

And lastly, is Discovery set in between previous series, before or after?

Well I’m hoping we’ll get a few more non-Trek fans joining us in time, Chaka but yes, you basically prompted the idea. But I love answering stuff like this and it’s important to make you feel welcome to the fandom when there are still so many vocal Disco haters out there.

So to start with, Vina’s body was an illusion, but she was human, not Talosian. Her ship crash landed more than 20 years before the episode and she was the only survivor. If you recall the scene where she reveals to Burnham that her face was scared and her body kinda crooked, that was her true form and due to her injuries from the crash. The Talosians helped heal her, but couldn’t do so properly as they’d never seen a human before, so instead they allowed her to appear as young and as beautiful as she was before the crash occured. As Vina says the illusions they create feel real so as far as she is concerned it helps her carry on living without suffering.

Previously Talos IV had undergone a period of war which forced their inhabitants underground and over time they evolved into their current form. I’m not sure if it’s ever stated exactly how long it had been since that war though.

So the recap at the beginning of the episode is from the original unaired Pilot episode of Star Trek called “The Cage”. Effectively when Gene Rodenberry created Star Trek he wrote it as you see it in The Cage with Pike as Captain, a woman only known as Number One who was first officer and you met in a previous episode and Spock as his alien science officer. The network however didn’t pick up this episode as they thought it was “too cerebral” but they also told Rodenberry he could have a go at creating another Pilot, which was unheard of at the time and led to them casting William Shatner as Kirk, and really the only things retained in the show were The Enterprise itself and Spock.

The events of the Cage are set approximately 2-3 years before the Discovery episode and essentially revolve around the Enterprise crew finding a distress signal from the human ship that crashed, finding Vina, Pike getting kidnapped by the Talosians and the Enterprise crew figuring out how to rescue him as Pike is put through a series of ordeals where the talosians create illusions to a) see how humans react and b)try to convince him to stay as they want to find a mate for Vina and have them breed. In the end they escape by figuring out that while the illusions seem real, the actions that the Enterprise crew take are still doing something. So for example they project the illusion that the crews lasers (Rodenberry hadn’t come up with phasers at this point) aren’t functioning, when in reality they had melted a hole in the cage they were trapped in. Pike therefore threatens to shoot one of the Talosians if they don’t let them leave and asks Vina to escape with him. At which point her true nature is revealed and the Talosians admit that they have her best interests at least somewhat in mind. Pike obviously chooses to continue on with the Enterprise.

The footage of the Cage was later used in TOS to make up a story called The Menagerie that served to draw Pike’s story to a close... However if you don’t want to be spoiled I would just recommend looking up and watching The Cage because it is a good piece of television on its own merits. Otherwise The Cage is really the only classic episode to ever feature Pike (not counting re-used footage in The Menagerie).

In terms of when Discovery is set.

Star Trek Enterprise is set 100 Years BEFORE Discovery.
The Cage Pilot as mentioned is set 2-3 years BEFORE it.
The Original Series is set 9-10 years AFTER it.

And if you bring in The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager into the mix then they are set 110 - 125 years AFTER it by all aproximation.

[P-90_177]

Digi you managed to put all that far more succinctly than I did.

[Chaka-Z0]

Thanks! I kind of assumed I wouldn't understand most references in STIS but now I just go ''Hey I'll ask the eggheads on Gateworld ''

No, she's not an illusion, she's real. And she's not from Talos--she's human. The intro to the TOS pilot episode "The Cage" has the Enterprise responding to a distress signal from a crashed starship (the SS Columbia, for curiosity's sake). They went to Talos IV and believed they had found survivors.

In the end, it turns out that all the survivors except one -- Vina -- are illusions, created for her benefit. She was the sole survivor of that crash, and was terribly disfigured. Having no point of reference with which to 'rebuild' humans, the Talosians did the best they could (which wasn't good enough, she's still disfigured for real) and use their mental powers to allow Vina to see herself as she was before the crash.

Okay I understand why I'm confused, so her face is an illusion since she is supposed to be disfigured, explains when Pike brushes her face and seems surprised.

Ehh, just a makeup choice I think. They filmed the pilot for TOS in 1964/65, and needed something that looked suitably alien. I guess "let's give them big heads" was probably the cheapest, most straightforward way of emphasizing 'alien-ness' and mental power.

Well not sure how reliable this wiki is, but I found this:

After thousands of years had passed since war had devastated the planet, Talos IV was beginning to support life again in the mid-23rd century. By then, the planet's deep underground had been inhabited by the Talosians, who had evolved as an old and weakened species with enormous mental powers.

So they went underground after a war, assuming nuclear since the surface was deemed uninhabitable. So I guess that's where they got their eggheads.

"The Cage" is set in 2254. The first season of Discovery is in 2256-57, and since Season 2 picks up immediately after the Season 1 finale, it's presumed that Season 2 is still in 2257.

Quick and dirty timeline:

2151-55 - Star Trek: Enterprise
2254 - The Original Series pilot episode "The Cage"
2256-57 - Discovery + presumably the upcoming Section 31 series will be set in this timeframe
2265-69 - The Original Series
2269-70 - The Animated Series
2270s - The Motion Picture
2285-93 - Films II-VI
2363-2379 - The Next Generation/Deep Space Nine/Voyager era
2389 - the upcoming Picard series

Nice, that helps me a lot!

[DigiFluid]

Digi you managed to put all that far more succinctly than I did.

Well not sure how reliable this wiki is, but I found this:

After thousands of years had passed since war had devastated the planet, Talos IV was beginning to support life again in the mid-23rd century. By then, the planet's deep underground had been inhabited by the Talosians, who had evolved as an old and weakened species with enormous mental powers.

I'm guessing that came from Memory Alpha? If so -- sure, trust it. There are a lot of trustworthy wikis out there, but Memory Alpha is on my shortlist of ones that is pretty much beyond reproach. Unless you came upon an article that is literally in the process of being vandalized by someone (a fairly rare event, but it happens), you can count on Memory Alpha being accurate.

[P-90_177]

2389 - the upcoming Picard series

2389 if you go from the end of TNG. 2399 if you go from Nemesis. I think there’s been a bit of press confusion about that.

[P-90_177]

I'm guessing that came from Memory Alpha? If so -- sure, trust it. There are a lot of trustworthy wikis out there, but Memory Alpha is on my shortlist of ones that is pretty much beyond reproach. Unless you came upon an article that is literally in the process of being vandalized by someone (a fairly rare event, but it happens), you can count on Memory Alpha being accurate.

Indeed. Always go to Memory Alpha for canon information. It’s also really useful for behind the scenes knowledge if you’re looking up indivdual episodes or characters.

[DigiFluid]

2389 if you go from the end of TNG. 2399 if you go from Nemesis. I think there’s been a bit of press confusion about that.

^ Accurate, and I believe it's because of contradictory statements from Patrick Stewart himself IIRC.

Chaka I wrote it this way because the first time they talked about the upcoming Picard series publicly, he said it was going to be set 20 years since he last wore the uniform (ie in the final TNG film, set in 2379 so +20 = 2399), and then there was a more recent news item where it was said the show would be 20 years since the end of TNG the TV series (2369 + 20 = 2389).

I picked the more recent because I figured it was correcting the original statement, but P90 is correct to point out that it could still go either way.

[P-90_177]

^ Accurate, and I believe it's because of contradictory statements from Patrick Stewart himself IIRC.

Chaka I wrote it this way because the first time they talked about the upcoming Picard publicly, he said it was going to be set 20 years since he last wore the uniform (ie in the final TNG film, set in 2379 so +20 = 2399), and then there was a more recent news item where it was said the show would be 20 years since the end of TNG (2369 + 20 = 2389).

I picked the more recent because I figured it was correcting the original statement, but P90 is correct to point out that it could still go either way.

Yeah I think it comes from interview questions like “So it’s supposed to be set 20 years after the show, right?” and Stewart just not bothering to correct them and complicating things by mentioning the movies. For casual viewers I think most people could say that Stewart was in a Star Trek show. But far viewer would recall that TNG had four movies set after it (even I just had to double check in my head whether there were 3 or 4 of them.)

[DigiFluid]

For ease of clickability for anyone else that might be popping into or otherwise lurking this thread...

Vina, as played by Susan Oliver in 1965's "The Cage":
In her illusory, "pretty" form, and in her true, disfigured form.


Vina, as played by Melissa George in 2019's "If Memory Serves":
In her illusory, "pretty" form, and in her true, disfigured form.

[mad_gater]

Hey man, P90 is just being open and welcoming! Which I think is terrific -- there's far too much toxic fandom out there, a good friendly open space is just what's needed these days IMO!



Correct, the planet is Talos IV and its inhabitants are called the Talosians.



No, she's not an illusion, she's real. And she's not from Talos--she's human. The intro to the TOS pilot episode "The Cage" has the Enterprise responding to a distress signal from a crashed starship (the SS Columbia, for curiosity's sake). They went to Talos IV and believed they had found survivors.

In the end, it turns out that all the survivors except one -- Vina -- are illusions, created for her benefit. She was the sole survivor of that crash, and was terribly disfigured. Having no point of reference with which to 'rebuild' humans, the Talosians did the best they could (which wasn't good enough, she's still disfigured for real) and use their mental powers to allow Vina to see herself as she was before the crash.

So, she's human. Not Talosian.



Ehh, just a makeup choice I think. They filmed the pilot for TOS in 1964/65, and needed something that looked suitably alien. I guess "let's give them big heads" was probably the cheapest, most straightforward way of emphasizing 'alien-ness' and mental power.



The clips at the beginning are taken from the original series pilot episode "The Cage," which was filmed in 1964/65. NBC actually rejected that pilot, so Pike and Number One (etc) were largely forgotten about for a long time, but NBC did something fairly unprecedented in ordering a second pilot episode--which is how we ended up with the original Trek we now know--Kirk, Spock, McCoy, etc.

"The Cage" is set in 2254. The first season of Discovery is in 2256-57, and since Season 2 picks up immediately after the Season 1 finale, it's presumed that Season 2 is still in 2257.



Quick and dirty timeline:

2151-55 - Star Trek: Enterprise
2254 - The Original Series pilot episode "The Cage"
2256-57 - Discovery + presumably the upcoming Section 31 series will be set in this timeframe
2265-69 - The Original Series
2269-70 - The Animated Series
2270s - The Motion Picture
2285-93 - Films II-VI
2363-2379 - The Next Generation/Deep Space Nine/Voyager era
2389 - the upcoming Picard series

if I recall correctly, the second pilot with Kirk in command still had Piper as the CMO and was later replaced with DeForest Kelly as Dr. McCoy on Gene Roddenberry's recommendation

[P-90_177]

if I recall correctly, the second pilot with Kirk in command still had Piper as the CMO and was later replaced with DeForest Kelly as Dr. McCoy on Gene Roddenberry's recommendation

Piper was the CMO in Where No Man has gone before but he wasn’t in The Cage. The Chief Medical Officer there was Doctor Boyce. In all three cases though Rodenberry wanted a Doctor that epitomised the “Old Country Doctor” type. But after Piper he decided the two former actors were really too old for what he wanted so he found the much younger DeForest Kelly.