Shortly before the crewman Joe Tormolen tries to stab himself, he angrily tells Sulu to leave him alone because "you don't rank me and you don't have pointed ears." Look closely at the sleeve braids (indicating rank) of each character during this scene. Sulu has an unbroken line, while Joe has a broken one. Doesn't this mean that Sulu does indeed outrank Joe?

After Kirk and Scotty break into the engine room, Kirk moves to Riley's chair and spins it around. Kirk's hand is resting on Riley's shoulder. When the shot changes to give us Kirk's POV of a close-up of Riley, no sign of Kirk's hand is visible on his shoulder.

By Todd M. Pence on Tuesday, October 13, 1998 - 08:52 pm:

This is a really bad one, but typical of many time travel movies: as the Enterprise starts going back in time, the crew notes this fact because the clocks are running backwards! Come on! The clocks are operating on the same timeline! If they run backwards, the crew should move and talk backwards also!

By Donnysan on Saturday, October 17, 1998 - 10:23 pm:

I thought the "chronometer in reverse" was
pretty cheesy (spinning digit dials, yuk),
but there is a reasonable explanation, although
not mentioned in the episode.

If you recall a TNG episode, Star Fleet uses
a series of bouys interspersed in space to
give time references to starships, presumably
so when a ship drops out of warp it can
determine the correct standard time (and
I don't know if it's GMT on Earth or some
other set point). It's possible that in
the period of this classic episode, the
ship's computers calculated relative time
from some other method (say star positions
of some reference stars) or perhaps a similar
but less sophisticated time bouy setup.

In that case, the computer would be
constantly calculating ships time and
updating it... in reverse, making the
chronometer run backwards.

By Johnny Veitch on Thursday, February 18, 1999 - 02:14 pm:

Kirk doesn`t give a stardate in his log entry. He doesn`t say "supplemental" either.

After McCoy ahs taken his reading on Spock and listed the differences between him and a terran, Spock then says "The readings are quite ordinary for me..." he should have said "for a Vulcan" or "for my species"

Why exactly did Tormolen enter the academy if he is so agains t space travel? (I can here him now, "My parents forced me into joining the academy. I shake at the sight of a starfleet insignia. I never wanted to be an officer. I wanted to be..... a lumberjack!" [This is a reference to a Monty Python sketch I included because I not Phil is a Python fan])

When Sulu leaps out at the crewmembers, they don`t even seem to be surprised! Starfleet officers or not, some reaction would seem normal.

By Hans Thielman on Friday, February 26, 1999 - 12:55 am:

When Scott says that Riley has shut the engines off, does he mean just the warp drive or does he include impulse as well? Shouldn't the impulse engines or even thrusters be powerful enough to propel the Enterprise out of orbit?

Just how long were the engines off anyway?

What does it mean to mix matter and antimatter cold? Do matter and antimatter require a certain temperature setting before they can be mixed?

By Liam Kavanagh on Monday, January 25, 1999 - 04:25 pm:

Couldn't they use some of their weaponary to puch them back? Or, if thats impossible, how about using the shuttles to tow them out? Get a big piece of chewing gum, and attactch it to the Galileo, and give it a quick kick in the side.

What would a single broken braid mean anyway? Lieutenant Juniour Grade?

By Todd M. Pence on Monday, January 25, 1999 - 06:44 pm:

According to sources outside the series (like The TOS Technical Manual and the Star Trek Concordance) the sleeve braid ranking goes like this: Single broken braid, Ensign; one whole braid, Lieutenant; whole braid plus broken braid; Lieutenant Commander; two whole braids, Commander; two whole braids plus broken braid, Captain; three whole braids, Admiral. Although technically non-canonical, this information is supported by the braids the various characters wear during the series, and leads me to believe that Tormolen was wrong when he said Sulu outranked him.

By Todd M. Pence on Monday, January 25, 1999 - 06:45 pm:

Whoops! Or rather, when he said Sulu DID'NT outrank him.

By ScottN on Monday, January 25, 1999 - 07:10 pm:

Todd,

It was three whole braids, Commodore; Four whole braids, Admiral.

By Johnny Veitch on Saturday, January 30, 1999 - 10:46 am:

The Technical Manual gives the insignias as: Ensign - none, Lieutenant - one band, Lt Commander - One band and a broken band, Commander - Two bands, Captain - Two bands and a broken band in between, Commodore - Three bands, Admiral - Four bands. There are some problems, as Commodores have been seen in Classic Trek as having two bands with a black stripe between them, and the admiral`s insignia is slightly different in Star Trek: The (Slow) Motion Picture. Tormolen is the only instance we`ve ever seen of one broken band, so I presume he`s an Ltjg or something.

By Todd M. Pence on Sunday, January 31, 1999 - 03:44 pm:

While Sulu and Riley are struggling with Tormolen trying to get the knife away from him, there is a quick reaction shot of the other crew members in the lounge. They look barely interested in what's going on!

By MikeC on Tuesday, April 06, 1999 - 02:57 pm:

Johnny--"Yes! A lumberjack, leaping from tree to tree along the mighty rivers of the former British Columbia! The larch that no longer exists!"

By Johnny Veitch on Thursday, April 08, 1999 - 12:47 pm:

Mike-- "Number One- The Larch. And now... Number one- The larch. And now..." (Another Python reference)

By ScottN on Thursday, April 08, 1999 - 01:30 pm:

Mike and Johnny -- "To your left, a Larch. To your right, a Larch. Ahead of us is still more road for the tram to travel on..."

By Mark Stanley on Friday, April 09, 1999 - 05:53 am:

Johnny wrote: >>After McCoy ahs taken his reading on Spock and listed the differences between
him and a terran, Spock then says "The readings are quite ordinary for me..." he
should have said "for a Vulcan" or "for my species" >>

Well, considering Spock is half-Vulcan, half-human, perhaps ordinary for a Vulcan is *not* ordinary for him. I've always presumed that his physiology is unique; closer to Vulcan-normal than human, perhaps, but abnormal enough for either that he'd have to make the distiction.

This theory also makes McCoy seem less racist. If he's dealing with a unique physiology, he's more justified in calling it mixed up than he would be if it were common to a major Federation species.

Mark

By Jason on Monday, April 12, 1999 - 02:36 pm:

And now for something completely different...

By Keith Alan Morgan on Tuesday, April 13, 1999 - 07:31 am:

Monty Python's Flying Starsh... Oooops, so sorry. I got carried away with all the Python references. On with the nits.

Both Spock and Tormolen wear tricorders, but neither of them seem to use them. Instead, Spock uses something that looks like a radar gun and Tormolen has some kind of cylinder device.

On page 106 of the NextGen Guide II, Phil commented that the official reference books refer to the entity in both this episode and The Naked Now as a virus or disease. However, while watching the tape of this show, I noticed that the 'water' seemed to seek out and apparently jump to Tormolen's hand. That seemingly conscious behavior could be why the reference book authors think it is something alive like a virus or disease. Of course, someone could probably come up with some pseudoscientific gobbledygook that says this unalive compound is attracted to heat sources?

Yeoman Rand identifies the item she hands Spock as the "spectroanalysis tape," but the image on the viewer looks like it was filmed in normal light.

Over the speaker, Uhura tells the Captain of several changes in the planet, including mass. Later, Sulu reports that the planet is shrinking in mass. Where is this planetary mass going? Are Orion pirates stealing it? Spock just said that the planet was condensing, he said nothing of it throwing out chunks of itself. And it can't mean that the planet is losing it's atmosphere, because later it is said that they are entering the outer atmosphere.

Riley wants to hold the dance in the bowling alley. Where exactly would the bowling alley be? In those long nacelle tubes perhaps?

Earlier Spock nerve pinched Sulu, but Spock's not affected until Nurse Chapel grabs his hand. Also Kirk grabbed hold of Sulu, but it's not until he encounters the affected Spock that he starts whining about his Yeoman. (Hmm, sounds like a country song, "I'm just whining about my yeoman")

My tape of this episode shows what looks like a bumped camera just prior to Kirk and Scotty getting into Engineering. Just as Kirk walks behind Scott the picture shakes.

They're about to crash into the planet, but everyone on the bridge just stares at Kirk.

It seemed like Kirk took longer to recover than Sulu.

Earlier Spock told Scotty that he would call in the formula from the bridge, but then he and Scotty are shown in Engineering.

They are flying away from the planet, going backwards in time, but the viewscreen shows the planet. Shouldn't they see the Enterprise flying in reverse towards the planet?

According to the credits the "Laughing Crewman" was played by John Bellah. Does this mean that what we heard was a Bellah Laugh?

By Mike Konczewski on Tuesday, April 13, 1999 - 07:40 am:

Keith--According to the Technical Manual, the bowling alleys are in the lower decks of the cylindrical part of the ship, below Engineering.

By MattS on Thursday, May 13, 1999 - 11:39 am:

The 3 other crew persons do nothing as Sulu and Riley fight for the knife with Tormolen. Jump into the fray, call for help - anything.

Chapel says, "He's dead, Doctor." Duh! I don't think McCoy coulda figured that out.

The Enterprise should hide for three days to avoid running into themselves.

By elovrich on Friday, May 21, 1999 - 08:10 pm:

12-28-98- Johnny posted-
After McCoy ahs taken his reading on Spock and listed the differences between him and a terran, Spock then says "The readings are quite ordinary for me..." he should have said "for a Vulcan" or "for my species"

Actually, this could be correct if Spock's readings were affected by his parentage. This wasy his readings would be neither Human nor vulcan and would be stictly "his own"

By Johnny Veitch on Saturday, May 22, 1999 - 05:26 am:

Good point. But still, Where No Man has Gone Before has Dehner reffering to Vulcans as "Those from your species". I don`t think "The Corbomite Manuever" and "Mudd`s Women" use the term Vulcan or Vulcanian. "The Enemy Within" has Spock calling himself "half-human, half alien". "The Man Trap" has no mention of Spock`s race.

By John A. Lang on Saturday, January 29, 2000 - 08:58 pm:

RUMINATIONS:

This episode gives Lieutenant Uhura another
crack at the Navagator's position!
She did the same in "Balance of Terror"

Not only that, Janice Rand gets a crack at the
helm in this episode!

By John A. Lang on Tuesday, February 01, 2000 - 01:37 pm:

New aliens were working at PSI 2000....

Mannequins!

They can be identified by the blank stare on their
face, even when dead. Plastic-like skin.
Homeworld: Mannequia IV

Sorry.

But WHY couldn't they get one of the "extras"
to portray the dead female scientist
at PSI 2000?

By Padawan Nitpicker on Saturday, February 05, 2000 - 03:35 am:

Uhura also takes the nav in "The Man Trap" and "Court-Martial". The first was possibly her decision, remember the scene we have later with her and Spock?

By John A. Lang on Tuesday, February 08, 2000 - 02:15 pm:

GREAT MOMENTS....

This episode contains one of the great
Kirk / Spock fighting scenes....

Kirk slaps the Vulcan silly but don't budge.

Spock takes one swat at Kirk and he goes flying
over the table!!!!

Another example of Spock's strength

By Steve Oostrom on Wednesday, February 09, 2000 - 11:02 pm:

The great thing about watching old TOS episodes on DVD is that you can see so much detail you never saw before... like the fact they should have swept the briefing room set before shooting the scene where Spock is alone and emotionally breaks down. The floor is dirty.

By B.F. on Thursday, February 10, 2000 - 11:09 am:

I hadn't noticed that watching my DVD copy. I'll have to look tonight. Steve? Do you have Vol. 6,7, and 8 yet? I'm curious because I know they're supposed to be out this month. Vol. 6 was due out last year but was delayed. I keep wondering what's up with that.

By B.F. on Thursday, February 10, 2000 - 11:09 am:

I hadn't noticed that watching my DVD copy. I'll have to look tonight. Steve, do you have Vol. 6,7, and 8 yet? I'm curious because I know they're supposed to be out this month. Vol. 6 was due out last year but was delayed. I keep wondering what's up with that.

By B.F. on Thursday, February 10, 2000 - 11:10 am:

Whoops!

By Anonymous on Sunday, February 13, 2000 - 01:32 am:

TOS DVD 6 ,7, 8 due out Feb. 22, 2000

By John A. Lang on Tuesday, February 15, 2000 - 12:31 pm:

GREAT LINE...

"Now I know why it's called 'SHE' ."

Delivered by Kirk in the briefing room
after he gets the virus. It shows Kirk's
passion for the Enterprise.
The line is followed greatly by...

"I'll never lose you."

By Anonymous on Saturday, February 19, 2000 - 06:18 pm:

Too bad Kirk was vaccinated before he got to Rand.

That'd make this episode REALLY interesting

By John A. Lang on Sunday, February 20, 2000 - 12:19 am:

I think the disease is transmitted when the person effected touches a portion of the victim's
bare flesh.

Here's proof....

Sulu & Riley didn't get the virus until they
touched Tormolen's hands.

Chapel got it when Riley touched her face.

Spock got it when Chapel touched his hands.

Kirk got it when Spock touched him.

By Keith Alan Morgan on Sunday, February 20, 2000 - 06:50 am:

So are you saying the disease is only transmitted by the hands of the afflicted person?

By John A. Lang on Sunday, February 20, 2000 - 12:27 pm:

Absolutely. And then it spreads to the victim.

McCoy even says it in his report to the lab.

He said that it's from the perspiration
and once in the blood stream it acts like alcohol.

By John A. Lang on Sunday, February 20, 2000 - 12:29 pm:

Here's one...how come PSI 2000
has 20th century hinged doors?

Didn't this research station belong to the Federation?
If so, why didn't they give these people
automatic doors?

By Keith Alan Morgan on Sunday, February 20, 2000 - 05:08 pm:

But if it's from perspiration, then why didn't Spock get it when he nerve pinched Sulu? Sweat comes from all parts of the body, not just the hands. So what's so special about the hands?

By John A. Lang on Monday, February 21, 2000 - 12:54 am:

I guess it has to do something with today's
medicinal practices....

Medical researchers at the University of Virginia
found that the cold virus exists in such low
concentrations in saliva that sneezes or coughs
would transmit it only 10% of the time.
The virus was found on THE HANDS of 65% of cold
sufferers, though, and handshakes passed along the virus in 70% of the cases.
After shaking hands, the uninfected parties
then touched their eyes and noses, the location
of the mucus membranes, which picked up the disease.

I beleive the PSI 2000 virus works on the same
principal.

You can touch the carrier anywhere (like Spock
did) but not the carrier's hands.
And for goodness sake, don't let the carrier
touch you..or you got the virus.

[The facts on the cold virus can be found in Rhino's book: "Everything You Know is Wrong"
by Paul Kirchner.]

I hope that clears things up.

By John A. Lang on Friday, February 25, 2000 - 02:43 am:

When Sulu gets the hypo injection, he screams.

When Kirk gets the hypo injection, he don't.

What's the difference?

By John A. Lang on Friday, February 25, 2000 - 02:47 am:

When Spock says, "We have 3 days to live over again" does that mean that PSI 2000 has yet to
shrink in mass? (Is Psi 2000 still there?)

By XNZ on Friday, February 25, 2000 - 11:01 am:

Sulu is a sissy. ;-)

Yes, they are 3 days back in time.

By Will Spencer on Friday, February 25, 2000 - 11:02 am:

Added to that, Kirk says with trepidation, "Not THOSE 3 days!", implying that the episode took place over that span of time. To me, it seems as if it all happened in one day.
As for Sulu screaming, I think either McCoy refined the serum, or Sulu was fighting off McCoy before he was injected and came to his senses. We don't see McCoy actually inject him, after all.

By David JODO Knottnerus on Monday, March 20, 2000 - 07:43 pm:

I noticed on the Dvd version of the Naked Time, that the viewscreen blinks off a couple times. I've watched my VHS copy a billion times and never saw it, It thought that might be worth posting.

By Derf on Monday, August 14, 2000 - 02:09 pm:

Kirk muses that the "3 day backwards in time" maneuver (at the end of the episode) may come in handy someday. Was it ever "handy" again? Did Kirk, or Picard, or Sisko, or even Janeway find a use for this manuever?

By Rene on Wednesday, September 06, 2000 - 01:24 pm:

One assumes they used this method to go back in time in "Assignement Earth".

By ScottN on Wednesday, September 06, 2000 - 01:48 pm:

I figured they used that black-hole thingy from "Tomorrow is Yesterday".


NANJAO. They had a lot of "Tomorrows" and "Yesterdays", didn't they?

Tomorrow is Yesterday
Return to Tomorrow
All our Yesterdays

By Derf on Thursday, September 07, 2000 - 09:48 pm:

If any other TOS episode used the maneuver, they never said it was "handy" (for continuity's sake). They also never said what was done in the three days that were to be re-lived.

By Pedantic Pearl on Wednesday, September 13, 2000 - 10:56 pm:

One must assume that they re-lived the days exactly as they did previously, or it would not be "backwards in time". In essence, if they did this rubber-band manuever, they would spend the rest of their lives living in their own past.

By John A. Lang on Saturday, September 16, 2000 - 01:14 pm:

Once again the creators would like us to believe there is a wall mounted comm panel mounted on the wall on the Bridge. They're ain't!

By Derf on Tuesday, October 03, 2000 - 06:00 pm:

Would Starfleet allow ANYONE who is going into the unknown of space for the first time with a weapon that is definitely NOT Starfleet issue? The foil Sulu wields could have easily remained on his wall at home in San Francisco, yet he menaces crewmembers with it during the episode.

By ScottN on Wednesday, October 04, 2000 - 10:21 am:

Who says Sulu is on his first mission?

By Chris Todaro on Wednesday, October 04, 2000 - 03:26 pm:

I got an explaination for that com panel on the bridge. It's not wall-mounted. It's ceiling mounted. (Well, have we ever seen the ceiling of the bridge in classic Trek?)

By John A. Lang on Friday, October 06, 2000 - 01:04 am:

There's no ceiling mounted com panel on the Bridge either.

Let's face it...the creators didn't want to show a close-up of Uhura's com speaker on her panel because the little oval light was burned out and were too lazy (and cheap) to replace it.
(It was burned out in "What are Little Girls Made of?")

I'd hate to think they chose not to show a close-up of Uhura's panel because the writer(s) was a racist and didn't want to give Uhura too much "camera time" but then again anything is possible...seeing TOS was done in the 60's

By Derf on Friday, October 06, 2000 - 12:20 pm:

The "first time" reference implies that Sulu is on his first 5 year mission into space. Why would Starfleet charge Kirk with a 5 year mission and not expect him to take his crew with him?

By Derf on Friday, October 06, 2000 - 12:25 pm:

Upon introspective thought, maybe it really isn't Sulu's first foray into space. There is absolutely nothing that says this isn't his first mission, only the first that 20th/21st century beings have been allowed to nitpick.

By Derf on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 12:17 pm:

After viewing this episode a few more times, I still find it a "non-thinking act" for Starfleet to allow Sulu (or anyone else - namely Worf) to bring weapons onto a starship that may have a potential for violence to crew or others. The so-called "unknown of space" should have been a large enough spectre to keep Sulu from menacing his fellow shipmates with a "keepsake" fencing foil.

By Derf on Tuesday, January 23, 2001 - 12:37 pm:

I suppose I'm just paranoid in thinking letting Sulu bring a weapon onboard is a bad idea. (Yet I couldn't help but think, what if he brought a light-saber aboard? [or other high-tech enhanced fencing weapon])

By KAM on Wednesday, January 24, 2001 - 01:41 am:

Now that would be something. Instead of thinking he's D'Artagnon, Sulu thinks he's Luke Skywalker. ;-)

By Adam Bomb on Thursday, January 25, 2001 - 07:26 pm:

I think I remember when WPIX in NYC used to run this ep, the viewscreen blinked out twice. Some of the VHS copies ARE edited, despite assurances on the packaging that they are "complete and unedited."
Stewart Moss (Tormolen) also was Hanar in "By Any Other Name." (Does this imply that Rojan's people were grave robbers?)
According to "Inside Star Trek," Bob Justman stated they tried to avoid repeat casting. However, the results indicate otherwise. (Moss, Diana Muldaur, Gene Dynarski, William Campbell, Barbara Babcock et al.)

By Todd Pence on Saturday, January 27, 2001 - 08:11 pm:

Phil pointed out "The Lights of Zetar" and "All Our Yesterdays" in his classic guide as noticable instances when the VHS had cuts that were not present in some syndicated versions. Perhaps DVD will correct this problem.

By John A. Lang on Tuesday, January 30, 2001 - 02:01 pm:

Psi 2000 blinks out a couple of times on the screen after Spcok reports to the Bridge.

When Scott fires the phasor at the bulkhead, it emits no beam.

When the Enterprise goes into the time-warp, you can see some kind of reddish blur on the screen along with the stars.

By KAM on Wednesday, January 31, 2001 - 01:56 am:

Well, Uhura & Sulu do say the planet's mass is changing. Maybe the planet is winking out of existance?

(removes tongue from cheek)

By Derf on Wednesday, January 31, 2001 - 06:55 am:

Psi 2000? ... Oh, you mean the upgrade from Psi 98!

By John A. Lang on Wednesday, January 31, 2001 - 01:50 pm:

Derf---Yeah! And before that, it was Psi 95 then before that, it was Psi 3.5!

I apologize also for misspelling "Spock".....
however, I can always blame the "Scpipt supervisor" from "Return of the Archons"

By John A. Lang on Wednesday, January 31, 2001 - 01:57 pm:

OOPS! I meant...It went from Psi 95 to Psi 3.1!

I had the # 5 stuck on the brain I guess.

By Derf on Thursday, February 01, 2001 - 12:25 pm:

After the crisis passed, Kirk should have went to Psi 2000 and gotten a bottle of this "alcoholic water" stuff. You know, keep it around for those long, boring missions.

By oregano spice on Sunday, February 04, 2001 - 06:15 pm:

They should use the alcoholic water stuff as a way of testing Starfleet recruits, and others, whenever they need to check on what a person is really like and they don't have a Betazoid handy.
The environmental suit should be sealed so he couldn't take the gloves off, and he shouldn't have done that in the first place. It looks like the drop of water comes out, sniffs his hand and comes crawling over like a living thing.

By Derf on Monday, February 05, 2001 - 12:32 pm:

You know, I don't think anyone in the episode called them an "isolation suit". (only Phil in his Nitpicker's Guide) Maybe it was just a 23rd century version of a "wind-breaker". (time to view this episode again)

By Derf on Tuesday, February 06, 2001 - 04:53 pm:

Ok, I've viewed it again. The first line spoken after the opening Captain's log is:
Spock: (to Tarmolen) Check out the life-suport systems.

This would pre-suppose that whoever beamed down to Psi 2000 would have to be "hermetically sealed" so-to-speak, in order to protect them from whatever Spock and Tarmolen may encounter there. In that regard, Phil's coments in his Nitpicker's Guide are well founded.

By Derf on Wednesday, February 07, 2001 - 10:45 pm:

No wonder McCoy said Tarmolen�s wounds weren�t severe enough to warrant his death � the knife he turns towards himself in the mess hall appears to be a butter knife! And � if they really went backward in time three days � Tarmolen would be alive!! (and would pose the same threat to the crew � except for the fact that they have a three-day memory that hasn�t happened yet, and � uh � um �)

Also, Spock should have been infected by the alcoholic-water virus long before he was � he rendered Sulu unconscious on the bridge with a neck-pinch to his sweat-laden, shirtless body long before Chapel grabbed his hand in sick-bay.

Also-also � Riley announces over the loudspeaker �There�ll be a party at the bowling alley later (or something like that) A bowling alley on the Enterprise?! (time to pull out the blueprints)

By John A. Lang on Thursday, February 08, 2001 - 02:37 am:

Derf----

Read my Feb. 21, 2000 statement on how the disease (or any disease / sickness) is transferred from one person to another.

It's hand-y to know!

By SLUGBUG on Thursday, February 08, 2001 - 03:42 am:

Derf...... The bowling alley is just above the swimming pool. :~}

By Derf on Thursday, February 08, 2001 - 06:00 am:

Didn't McCoy say the virus was transmitted through perspiration (when the insane laughing lab-tech was on the comm)? That's where I got the idea all Spock had to do was touch Sulu where he was sweaty. (no romantic pun intended ... tee-hee)

By John Lang on Friday, February 09, 2001 - 12:55 am:

Derf-

You heard right, but that's after the victim touches the carrier's hand.

By John A. Lang on Monday, February 12, 2001 - 02:22 am:

When security reports Sulu's actions to the Bridge, Uhura says, "Sulu is chasing personell with a SWORD."......Sorry, it ain't a sword...a sword has a long, wide blade.....it's a FOIL...that has a long, thin blade....Sulu's statement in the rec room proves it.

By Derf on Monday, February 12, 2001 - 06:47 am:

Sulu also called it a rapier (in the rec room), but I suppose that wouldn't sound polite coming from Uhura ...

By Derf on Monday, February 12, 2001 - 09:18 pm:

>>You heard right, but that's after the victim touches the carrier's hand.

All scenes proves this is correct, but it means the virus is limited to transmission by only hand-to-hand communication. This makes the alcohol-water virus much more sophisticated than it appears in the episode. (seeing how it already can flow against Psi-2000 gravity)

By Derf on Tuesday, February 13, 2001 - 02:13 pm:

After thinking it over, wouldn't Tarmolen have had to touch a dead person's hand in order to get the virus? (assuming sweat was still on their hands) It seems he was infected WITHOUT hand-to-hand transmission. (the water just found its way onto his hand) It follows that an original infection comes from some other source, and that everyone on the Enterprise is victim to a secondary infection that is passed hand-to-hand.

By John A. Lang on Friday, April 20, 2001 - 02:43 am:

DUMB LINE: "Someone strangled this woman" (Spock)
I think it's a dumb line because how can you strangle MANNEQUIN to death? I still have a hard time believing that TPTB refused to cover the mannequin with soap detergent or fire extinguisher foam so no one can tell it's a mannequin. So what happened? They went ahead anyway and filmed the scene "as is". DUMB DUMB DUMB! That scene ruins the entire episode for me.

When Tormolen pulls out the knife, the first close-up shows the blade facing up, however when the cameraman goes to the full shot, the knife blade is down.

By Anita on Friday, April 20, 2001 - 12:37 pm:

I just watched this episode again yesterday with my trusty Nitpickers Guide by my side. I don't have it on tape, so I can't go back and check, so those of you who do, feel free to correct me if I am in error.

I think I found two anti-nits. Well actually 1 and a nit with Phil's tidbit of info.
1. Phil cites that Scotty shouldn't be able to touch the panel with his bare hands after cutting it open. But the cutting took a long time (10-15 mins.) and the place he gripped was the first to be cut and would of cooled by then.
2. The thing about the insane laughing graffiti artist reporting to the lab as ordered by Spock. I don't think he did. McCoy didn't actually page the lab when we heard the laughing guy again. McCoy pages Bio-somthing or other and asks them there to get result of tests or the cure or something to the lab. It's all the somethings I have trouble recalling but you guys with tapes and DVD's can confirm.

By Adam Bomb on Saturday, April 21, 2001 - 08:00 pm:

John: Are you sure it is a mannequin, not some female extra painted to look frozen? A similar effect is in the Voyager ep "Timeless". In promoes for that ep, I saw them spray painting the actors to appear frozen.

By John A. Lang on Saturday, April 21, 2001 - 10:14 pm:

I'm 100% certain it's a mannequin.

I'm no dummy! ;)

By juli k on Sunday, April 22, 2001 - 07:35 am:

I agree, it's definitely a mannequin.

If they are so pressed for time, why don't they have two or more people cutting the door panel, instead of just Scotty? Or, there should be some device in engineering capable of doing the job much more quickly.

By J. Robinson Mead on Tuesday, April 24, 2001 - 12:32 am:

From John A. Lang:
When Tormolen pulls out the knife, the first close-up shows the blade facing up, however when the cameraman goes to the full shot, the knife blade is down.

Yes, I noticed this too, but moreover, NANJAO, on the closeups of the knife, you can see some logo of sorts pressed into it. On the DVD version, it seems that the logo is the Paramount logo, in other words, someone from properties went to the cafeteria and absconded with the knife.

By John A. Lang on Tuesday, April 24, 2001 - 12:52 am:

OOOH! I'll have to look for that next time!

By ScottN on Tuesday, April 24, 2001 - 11:48 am:

J. Robinson Mead,

Back then, it would have been Desilu, not Paramount.

By John A. Lang on Saturday, May 26, 2001 - 05:02 pm:

SO...why doesn't Uhura like being called "Fair Maiden" (She says, "Sorry, neither")

By LUIGI NOVI on Saturday, May 26, 2001 - 07:06 pm:

It�s the script! I just can�t stand the pain! Please make it stop!
Why are the crew in pain when the engines implode? Why would they be affected by the implosion of the engines? Are they empathically bonded with the warp nacelles? Scotty, maybe, but Kirk or Uhura? Also, Bones holds one of his ears, as if its the sound of the engines that�s hurting him, but if that�s the case, why aren�t the others covering their ears? Instead, they just c0ck their heads back and grimace. Besides, the sound began long before they started reacting in pain. Their "pain" only began when the lights went out on the bridge.
Does this mean it�s only half naked?
This episode was originally written to be a two-parter. The second part would�ve been what later became Tomorrow is Yesterday. Watch �em back to back, and they appear seamless.
I knew butter was high in cholesterol, but is it really that deadly?
When Sulu and Riley enter the mess hall debating fencing, Joe Tormolen becomes unstable, grabs a knife, and eventually ends up falling on it, stabbing himself. How does he do this? It�s a butter knife, for crying out loud!
Maybe he�s of royal descent?
Also, it wasn�t at all clear to me what happened in this scene when I first saw it. Only in seeing Riley call for medics, and the subsequent surgery scenes in sickbay did I realize Tormolen was stabbed. The reason for this is that the stain on Tormolen�s shirt after he falls to floor struggling with Sulu and Riley is a purple color. Is Tormolen part Bolian?
Maybe if he just hits people really hard with it�
The foil that Sulu uses is bent in the front. It is visible when he confronts the two crewmen in the corridor.
The S-word. But what kind?
When Uhura reports to Kirk and Spock that Sulu is chasing people in corridors with a sword, Spock comments that Sulu is acting like an 18th century Earth swashbuckler. Spock probably saw the Sulu scenes on his little viewer, because there�s no other way he could know this, since Uhura didn�t mention "18th century," or the type of sword. For all Spock knew, Sulu could�ve been carrying a samurai sword and acting like a 12th century ninja, or a medieval English sword, and acting like a 15th century knight, or a Scandinavian broad sword, and acting like an ancient Viking, etc.

By Derf on Saturday, May 26, 2001 - 09:18 pm:

>>The S-word. But what kind?<<

The only way Spock could know is if Chekov or Tarmolen told him. When they were in the "Mess Hall", Sulu was describing fencing to Chekov, using the words "foil" and "rapier". He DID NOT use the word "sword".

By Derf on Saturday, May 26, 2001 - 09:20 pm:

Sorry, I REALLY meant "Riley or Tarmolen" ... (duh)

By LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, May 27, 2001 - 02:38 am:

It's actually Tormolen, just so you know.

By Derf on Sunday, May 27, 2001 - 05:03 am:

As General Patton once said ... "Tanks".

By LUIGI NOVI on Sunday, May 27, 2001 - 09:06 pm:

Your welcome. Of course, my favorite quote attributed to Patton (this is from the movie with George C. Scott as Patton, so I don't know if it was accurate or aritistic liscence) is

"I've heard people talking about giving their lives for their country during war. No one ever won a war by dying for their country. You win a war by making the OTHER POOR BASTARD die for HIS country!"

By RevdKathy on Wednesday, June 27, 2001 - 04:43 pm:

Here's a real nitpick.... At the begining of this ep, we see Spock (and Tormolen) in Sickbay, being checked over for anything contagious. Spock is wearing a black Tee shirt. When McCoy gives him the all-clear, he pulls his uniform on over the top. Interesting. Does Spock feel the cold more than the human crew? Is that why he wears a vest?

Then, just a few hours later, we see Spock in the Rec room having his little crisis. He puts his head on his arm. Take a good loooong look at how the uniform is stretched over his shoulder. There's a "VPL" - an underwear line. But is it the line of the Tee shirt he was wearing earlier?? NO! It's the line of a sleeveless vest or tank top. So just when in this sequence of events did Spock nip back to his quarters to change his underwear??? We Need To Know!

By margie on Thursday, July 05, 2001 - 01:16 pm:

I think the temperature on the Enterprise is set to Earth normal, since the majority of people on it are from Earth. Spock, being from a planet with a higher average temperature, would probably feel a little chilly, so he might wear a shirt under his uniform, where it wouldn't be seen. Of course, I don't know why he changed it in the middle of the episode!

By RevdKathy on Thursday, July 05, 2001 - 03:38 pm:

Maybe he got a little too warm after his encounter with Christine, and took a shower, Margie???

Your theory on the vest was the one I came up with, too.

By glennofnas on Monday, September 24, 2001 - 06:35 pm:

When Spock is sitting in the briefing room after being effected he starts counting...2....4.....6....6...6, could this be a reference to the satanic theme that they were trying to achieve? (666)
Also how does Kirk know that Spock is in that room. Then again how does Scotty know that Kirk and Spock are in there? How does the door know to open when Kirk get there. Kirk is not in front of the door but it opens.

and during the surgery, Chapel keeps handing the good doctor instruments but he never hands them back.

By Bill on Monday, February 11, 2002 - 02:06 am:

Why didn't they just use a shuttlecraft to pick up Sulu and company? I know the episode "The Galieo Seven" is the first episode that we are introduced to the shuttlecraft, but we see the hangar externally before that. I can't believe that the concept of the shuttlecraft did not exist before "TG7".

By kerriem. on Monday, February 11, 2002 - 08:20 am:

The concept may have existed, Bill, but the shuttlecraft set itself didn't. For whatever reason the creators didn't get around to building it until 'Galileo Seven', resulting in one of the most famous (and incidentally creator-acknowledged nits in all of Trek.

By ScottN on Monday, February 11, 2002 - 10:20 am:

Oh, and Bill, wrong ep. You're looking for "The Enemy Within".

By Bill on Tuesday, February 12, 2002 - 01:48 am:

Yer Right! Sorry!

By John A. Lang on Saturday, March 09, 2002 - 08:49 pm:

LESLIE ALERT: Eddie Paskey (Leslie) shows up in red as the first man who takes over for Sulu

By ScottN on Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - 09:14 pm:

Kirk makes a log entry about the disease that has entered the ship "unknown to us". If it's unknown to them, then how can he make the log entry?

By Lolar on Wednesday, May 22, 2002 - 09:44 am:

Its his dear diary entry for the day before going to bed and what we are watching is the flashback/video recordings of the days events.

By John Pesterfield on Friday, August 16, 2002 - 07:49 pm:

>SO...why doesn't Uhura like being called "Fair >Maiden" (She says, "Sorry, neither")


fair=light in coloring, it can also mean pleasing in appearance.

maiden=unmarried or virgin

By kerriem on Friday, August 16, 2002 - 09:31 pm:

Uh, John, that last one should be self-explanatory.

Seriously, it was a gag...and a bloody clever one at that. Sulu's implying that Uhura needs rescuing, and she (rightly) doesn't care for it.

By Will on Monday, August 26, 2002 - 11:23 am:

I could never relate to why the crew, when first infected by the nasty sweats, makes such a big deal out of it, until last week.
I had to wash my hands at McDonald's, and thought I'd gotten all of the soap off, when I noticed some was still sticking to the side of my hand. I tried to wipe it off, but it was slimey, and sticky, and bloody-well spread over my hands! The first thing I thought about was this episode, I was so creeped out.

By Influx on Monday, August 26, 2002 - 01:20 pm:

I imagine it like getting pine sap or spray glue on your hands. That stuff never comes off!

By Adam Bomb on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 09:32 am:

If you guys get the urge to sing "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen," then you know you're in trouble.
Kirk was actually piloting the ship here, for about three seconds, until Rand comes along and he orders her to "Take the helm." Only time in the series he is at the helm.

By ScottN on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 11:27 am:

Wow, I missed that one. Rand is qualified at helm?????

John A. Lang must be in heaven...

By Adam Bomb on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 01:45 pm:

That scene was frequently cut for syndication. I think the setup was that Leslie (Eddie Paskey) was at the helm, but laughing hysterically. Kirk relieves him, taking the helm himself until Rand shows.

By John A. Lang on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 09:58 pm:

ScottN...Rand is at the helm of "my starship", the USS Amazon...(when she's not in my lap, that is!)

(Counselor Troi is in my quarters...in bed...keeping it warm)