Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country/Headscratchers: Difference between revisions

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** [[Fridge Brilliance|She had taken off her leg cuffs.]] Kirk still had his on.
** [[Fridge Brilliance|She had taken off her leg cuffs.]] Kirk still had his on.
* Couldn't they pinpoint the origin of the Bird of Prey's torpedoes and have a phaser bank or a torpedo standing by to fire at that location? Hell, tie the firing controls to the computer for faster reaction.
* Couldn't they pinpoint the origin of the Bird of Prey's torpedoes and have a phaser bank or a torpedo standing by to fire at that location? Hell, tie the firing controls to the computer for faster reaction.
** Except that would require the Bird of Prey to fire from the same position twice, something which they appeared to be avoiding. Phasers could theoretically be used to return fire, but they have been shown to be inaccurate without a solid lock in the past (recall ''[[Star Trek II the Wrath of Khan (Film)|The Wrath of Khan]]'', where the ''Enterprise'', getting the jump on the ''[[False-Flag Operation|Reliant]]'', failed to hit her with phasers from about a hundred meters away when they were in the nebula).
** Except that would require the Bird of Prey to fire from the same position twice, something which they appeared to be avoiding. Phasers could theoretically be used to return fire, but they have been shown to be inaccurate without a solid lock in the past (recall ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan|The Wrath of Khan]]'', where the ''Enterprise'', getting the jump on the ''[[False-Flag Operation|Reliant]]'', failed to hit her with phasers from about a hundred meters away when they were in the nebula).
*** Small problem with the inaccuracy explanation. As shown in TWoK (the very example above references), TOS, and in the EU, starship-grade phasers do not need to hit the target to do damage. In Wrath of Kahn, Reliant was shown reeling from near misses by Enterprise's phasers. TOS shows this in the episode Balance of Terror, where Enterprise's phasers act like today's depth charges against the cloaked/submerged Romulan Bird of Prey.
*** Small problem with the inaccuracy explanation. As shown in TWoK (the very example above references), TOS, and in the EU, starship-grade phasers do not need to hit the target to do damage. In Wrath of Kahn, Reliant was shown reeling from near misses by Enterprise's phasers. TOS shows this in the episode Balance of Terror, where Enterprise's phasers act like today's depth charges against the cloaked/submerged Romulan Bird of Prey.
*** The nebula is also outright said to screw up targeting sensors, making it damn hard to get a clean lock without a lot of prep time. Reliant, despite knowing exactly where Enterprise fired from, missed horribly when it shot back. In normal conditions, phasers are aimed by computer and are very precise.
*** The nebula is also outright said to screw up targeting sensors, making it damn hard to get a clean lock without a lot of prep time. Reliant, despite knowing exactly where Enterprise fired from, missed horribly when it shot back. In normal conditions, phasers are aimed by computer and are very precise.
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* In a scene deleted from the theatrical release but included on some home video releases, the Klingon Ambassador's conference with the Federation President is immediately followed by Colonel West and Admiral Cartwright presenting a plan to rescue Kirk and McCoy by force. Not only do they carry this classified material into the President's office just as the Klingon Ambassador is leaving, but the Romulan Ambassador is still there, listening to the whole presentation.
* In a scene deleted from the theatrical release but included on some home video releases, the Klingon Ambassador's conference with the Federation President is immediately followed by Colonel West and Admiral Cartwright presenting a plan to rescue Kirk and McCoy by force. Not only do they carry this classified material into the President's office just as the Klingon Ambassador is leaving, but the Romulan Ambassador is still there, listening to the whole presentation.
** [[Fridge Brilliance|Maybe that's why it's a deleted scene.]] Someone caught the discrepancy.
** [[Fridge Brilliance|Maybe that's why it's a deleted scene.]] Someone caught the discrepancy.
* Why doesn't McCoy know about Klingon anatomy? It seems like something you'd want to know if you're constantly bumping into them and vitally important if you're going to beam over to a Klingon ship to perform emergency surgery. If you don't know the anatomy of the species you're operating on, wouldn't it be dangerous to try treating them? I'm imagining a [[Futurama|Zoidberg-esque]] scene with McCoy in sickbay, "Chang, it's been years since medical school, so remind me. Disemboweling in your species, fatal or non-fatal?" And while the Klingons do seem very secretive about revealing information about their biology (as seen by Bashir being unaware of the smooth forehead Klingons of the 23rd century) wouldn't the Bird of Prey Kirk captured in ''[[Star Trek III the Search For Spock]]'' have had a medical library that the Federation would have downloaded?
* Why doesn't McCoy know about Klingon anatomy? It seems like something you'd want to know if you're constantly bumping into them and vitally important if you're going to beam over to a Klingon ship to perform emergency surgery. If you don't know the anatomy of the species you're operating on, wouldn't it be dangerous to try treating them? I'm imagining a [[Futurama|Zoidberg-esque]] scene with McCoy in sickbay, "Chang, it's been years since medical school, so remind me. Disemboweling in your species, fatal or non-fatal?" And while the Klingons do seem very secretive about revealing information about their biology (as seen by Bashir being unaware of the smooth forehead Klingons of the 23rd century) wouldn't the Bird of Prey Kirk captured in ''[[Star Trek III: The Search For Spock]]'' have had a medical library that the Federation would have downloaded?
** Yes, but they weren't on it for very long. And McCoy doesn't read Klingon.
** Yes, but they weren't on it for very long. And McCoy doesn't read Klingon.
*** They were on Vulcan with it for three months after they left Genesis. It's another 8 years from ST:III to ST:VI, more than enough time for the Federation's top minds to translate the contents of the computer.
*** They were on Vulcan with it for three months after they left Genesis. It's another 8 years from ST:III to ST:VI, more than enough time for the Federation's top minds to translate the contents of the computer.
** I find this weird, too, but for a slightly different reason. There's no on-screen evidence that [[Mc Coy]] examined the captured Klingon in [[Star Trek III the Search For Spock]], but he ''did'' examine one in ''The Trouble With Tribbles''. He uses a man's heart rate and body temperature to determine that the man was a Klingon spy; showing that he has at least some knowledge of Klingon physiology. He may not have an intimate understanding of Klingon anatomy, but he should know where Gorkon's heart is located.
** I find this weird, too, but for a slightly different reason. There's no on-screen evidence that [[Mc Coy]] examined the captured Klingon in [[Star Trek III: The Search For Spock]], but he ''did'' examine one in ''The Trouble With Tribbles''. He uses a man's heart rate and body temperature to determine that the man was a Klingon spy; showing that he has at least some knowledge of Klingon physiology. He may not have an intimate understanding of Klingon anatomy, but he should know where Gorkon's heart is located.
*** Wonderful stuff, Romulan Ale...
*** Wonderful stuff, Romulan Ale...
** They even failed basic diplomatic precautions. If you're rendezvousing with a ship carrying the most important foreign dignitaries ''ever'', and you're ''bringing them over for dinner and drinks'', it's just plain common sense that you would have someone IN YOUR OWN CREW<ref>because even if the other ship has its own medics, they'd still lose precious time communicating, gathering their med kits, beaming over, and getting to the patient</ref> with the medical training to deal with an emergency. Like, say, from one of them choking on a pretzel, to someone tripping and landing gut-first on a steak knife, to someone suffering food poisoning<ref>although it's clear enough that they know at least SOMETHING about Klingon physiology that they can serve food edible to them</ref>. Basically, if your function is to act as diplomatic hosts and military escorts, their well-being is ''entirely'' your responsibility, and whether or not they have their own doctors, you shouldn't trust ''them'' to account for medical emergencies. Otherwise you end up with scenarios like what happened in the movie.
** They even failed basic diplomatic precautions. If you're rendezvousing with a ship carrying the most important foreign dignitaries ''ever'', and you're ''bringing them over for dinner and drinks'', it's just plain common sense that you would have someone IN YOUR OWN CREW<ref>because even if the other ship has its own medics, they'd still lose precious time communicating, gathering their med kits, beaming over, and getting to the patient</ref> with the medical training to deal with an emergency. Like, say, from one of them choking on a pretzel, to someone tripping and landing gut-first on a steak knife, to someone suffering food poisoning<ref>although it's clear enough that they know at least SOMETHING about Klingon physiology that they can serve food edible to them</ref>. Basically, if your function is to act as diplomatic hosts and military escorts, their well-being is ''entirely'' your responsibility, and whether or not they have their own doctors, you shouldn't trust ''them'' to account for medical emergencies. Otherwise you end up with scenarios like what happened in the movie.
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