Just this guy, you know?

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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 11th, 2023

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  • No, Spock guided him through the back half of the surgery when the effects of the teacher wore off. He literally told him which instruments to use (oh that tri-laser connector!) and how to proceed. Here’s the dialog:

    SPOCK: If you will finish reconnecting my speech centre, I might be able to help.

    MCCOY: Speech centre.

    SPOCK: Yes. That’s correct. One thing at a time. Ah, ah, mmm. (normal voice) That’s better. Now, Doctor. Try the sonic separator.

    MCCOY: Sonic separator.

    SPOCK: Yes, I believe I already have some sensation of feeling. Please stimulate the nerve endings and observe the physical reactions, one by one. In each case, I shall tell you when the probe is correct. You will then seal using the tri-laser connector.

    MCCOY: Tri-laser connector. Ready?

    SPOCK: Ready.

    Of course, what the text fails to convey is McCoy’s hesitation and confusion, or Spock’s confidence as he instructs him on how to complete the surgery.

    I… watch far too much TOS…

    Edit:

    By the way, there is one bit of headcanon, here, that could explain this specific example, so yes, I’m gonna undermine my own point, but hey, what’s a pedantic conversation about Trek without circling back and contradicting oneself??

    So, the one bit of headcanon is: Spock seems to have had access to the knowledge of the people of Sigma Draconis, given that at the end he starts lecturing the group about the history of those people, with knowledge he presumably acquired by being wired up as the Controller. So maybe he also had full access to the knowledge of the teacher, including the knowledge needed to reattach a brain.

    Have I mentioned I watch far too much TOS?




  • I assume you hated Spock, then. Buddy was literally an expert in everything! McCoy needs help reinstalling Spock’s own brain? Spock is on it! Computer seems to show Kirk killed a guy by accident? Nbd, Spock is a computer expert, he’ll figure it out with chess (did I mention he’s a chess master?). Need to implode the engines to escape from a collapsing planet? Also warp engine specialist! Oh and he can play the piano, that Vulcan guitar thing, and also happens to be deeply knowledgeable in earth history and culture as the needs require (including being able to recognize Brahms handwriting by sight).





  • And yet we know in Measure of a Man that Pulaski was far from unique in her views, and was in fact a) quite tame about it and b) ended up changing her mind, showing on-screen how a person can change in a positive way. That’s a far more compelling (and realistic) message than everyone just unquestioningly accepting the one and only android in all of Starfleet holding a senior role on the Starfleet flagship.

    Think of it like “The Devil in the Dark”. It would’ve been incredibly boring if everyone just immediately accepted the Horta right off the bat instead of seeing it as an unthinking monster. The journey is in the message that you can come to understand something different from you and accept it not just in spite of those differences but for them.

    Everyone simply accepting Data on the Enterprise right off the bat without question was, frankly, lazy writing. And they figured that out eventually, hence episodes like Measure of a Man.



  • I’m with some of the other folks around here: Pulaski was a better character. Conflict between the ship doctor and the captain makes for more interesting narrative opportunities, and Pulaski was great specifically because she was willing to stand up to Picard and be a pain in the ass.

    Fans just didn’t like her because she didn’t immediately see Data as a person, but even that was interesting because not everyone would, and giving voice to that again created interesting ways to explore the implications of Data’s existence.