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sshbpodcast · 1 year

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Shuttle, Shuttle, Boil and Buttle: Shuttlecraft in Star Trek

By Ames

Diagrams emphatically not to scale here.

A Star to Steer Her By is hitting the open road today. Or open space, I suppose. Pack a lunch for a nice day trip because you can’t get too far in a shuttlecraft in Star Trek, but you still need some flexibility outside your massive hero ship. We’ve covered all those Federation starships before (check out parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 here!). Like they say, “warp’s fine if you like going fast in a straight line,” but what if we wanna do some offroading? Now it’s the little guys’ time to shine!

We’re only going to be looking at classic Trek shuttles from The Original Series through Enterprise because newer series just have too many types of shuttles to count and also because Ex Astris Scientia has a great selection of these shuttles chronicled for easier reference. So strap in and scroll on to see all the screengrabs we could find and listen to this week’s podcast episode (discussion at 1:01:56) for a couple games of “I Spy.” It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

[Images © CBS/Paramount, Ex Astris Scientia, Eaglemoss Ltd., probably others]

TOS: Class F

This simple boxy affair is probably the most recognizable shuttlecraft, especially after the Galileo-7’s starring turn in the eponymous “The Galileo Seven,” among many other episodes throughout TOS. It’s definitely function over form with this basic brick of a vehicle, but that just makes it more endearing.

TAS: Aquashuttle

The Animated Series had a little more flexibility to showcase some new designs, though just how much was getting designed is still really minimal on that cheapskate show. It was nice to see a craft that could transition from space to atmosphere to water when we saw this eraser stub of an aquashuttle in “The Ambergris Element,” so that’s something at least.

TAS: Copernicus-type

We meet the Copernicus in “The Slaver Weapon” and it’s a cute little mosquito of a ship. Everything about her is just so pointy and sharp, and she looks fast to boot. We know very little else about this type of craft, but we appreciate her typical nacelles and her speedboat shape.

TAS: Heavy shuttle

Comparatively more bulbous than the Copernicus we just looked at is this much heavier-looking shuttle from “Mudd’s Passion.” Again, we don’t see much of this thing, but it looks like it’s more durable and able to take a bit of a beating, and it even has a little bit of curve to its windshield!

TOS Films: Travel pod

There’s much more budget by the time we get to The Motion Picture, so the model for this small travel pod that ferries crewmen around spacedock is pretty logical even if some of the compositing is… less so. The purpose of the pod is so simple that its design really reflects that. It even returns for a hot second in the final scene of The Voyage Home.

TOS Films: Executive shuttle

We catch a couple of glimpses of the SD-103 Executive Shuttle from The Undiscovered Country, and again, it’s a pretty simple shape that does its job and then goes home for the day without needing to do much more. This one has a polite little wedge shape, clearly allowing the most room it can to move people back and forth and that’s that.

TOS Films: Type 4 Shuttle

In The Final Frontier, we have a new Galileo and it’s looking like a pretty obvious progression from the original television show. This is what the Type F would look like if they’d had the money and time in the 60s, and we’re digging it. It has the same kind of pointy front, a window that could still stand to be bigger, and empty cavernous space inside that we expect from a shuttle.

TNG Films: Hawking

I’m putting this one back to back with the Type 4 so you can appreciate the very slight differences between the Galileo and the Hawking that we see in Generations. Is it just the added side windows that’s particularly different? And why did it take them so long to add side windows in the first place?

TNG: Type 15 Shuttlepod

Let’s step back to the rest of TNG, now that we’ve already gotten things out of order. We see these things throughout Next Gen and they’re like tiny little remote-controlled toy cars. You can barely fit one person in these things, let alone anything more than that. We hope you’re not flying too far because these flying mousedroids look cramped!

TNG: Type 6 Shuttle

We see these things throughout TNG and Voyager. You’ll notice they are very very similar to the shuttle from Generations above, but a little more squished. One could surmise that the model designers whipped out the Type 4 from The Final Frontier since it was already of the necessary quality for film, and decided to take a cue from this shuttle for the extra windows!

TNG: Type 7 Shuttle

A new design for yet another new Galileo. These things run concurrently with the Type 6 as we also see them consistently throughout TNG, but their design is much more distinct. Their edges are more rounded and their rumps more spankable. Their nacelles also look more like the Enterprise-D’s nacelles. They even come with two options for their much more curved window unit: long and extra long!

TNG Films: Type 11 Shuttle

Picard and Worf chase Data around in Insurrection in one of these cute little doorstops. Everything about these shuttles looks pointy, from the face to the windows to the nacelles! It pretty much clicks that this is the kind of craft you’d find on the Enterprise-E, a ship that’s much longer and more streamlined than the rounder and more bloated D.

TNG Films: Captain’s yacht

In Insurrection, we also steal a glimpse of the Cousteau, also known as the captain’s yacht. What the hell a more weaponized ship like the Enterprise-E needs with a yacht is debatable, but it’s got some of the more movie-era design elements on it, like the pointier nacelles and tapered face. We also like that it looks like those nacelles tuck in for easy storage!

TNG Films: Argo

One last instance from the TNG films and it’s not a favorite (both the film and this vessel). In Nemesis, Picard and friends go down to a primitive planet in the Argo (great name; I’ll admit that), whose purpose seems mostly to be carrying a dune buggy for no damn reason. That aside, this shuttle also just looks unfriendly. More like a fighter jet than a diplomatic craft and that’s not our thing.

DS9: Type 10 Shuttle

Apparently this thing, the Chaffee, lives on the Defiant, though we’re damned if we can figure out where because the Defiant doesn’t even seem big enough to house a full-sized shuttle of any kind, much less a shuttle bay. But in “The Sound of Her Voice” we do get a quick shot or several of this weird little dustbuster of a ship that shares the same tucked-in nacelle look as its mommy ship. Weird.

DS9: Type 18 Shuttle

Oh boy, I’m glad Deep Space Nine mostly used Runabouts instead of these things because they’re goofy as all get out. They do get used in season 3 episodes “The Search” and “Destiny” before we settled into the Defiant, and it’s a good thing because the Type 18 just looks like an old school UFO or something, with a protruding undercarriage like a submarine ride in an amusement park. This design is just trying too hard.

VOY: Type 8 Shuttle

We see these things mostly in early Voyager before the Delta Flyer is introduced, and they look so similar to the Type 6 in TNG that they may as well have not bothered with the update. When in doubt, always check if the nacelles look like they belong on your hero ship or not. That’s my rule of thumb, anyway.

VOY: Type 9 Shuttle (AKA Class 2)

That rule also works on the other shuttle we see pretty frequently in Voyager, especially notably in “Threshold” when the Cochrane breaks the warp 10 barrier. It’s a nifty little ship, closer to the shuttles that we saw in Insurrection than the other series ships in that it looks streamlined and zippy and a little bit like a phaser without a handle.

VOY: Delta Flyer

Once Voyager introduces the Delta Flyer in “Extreme Risk” early in season 5, we use this thing all over the place, even replacing it almost perfectly after it shatters to confetti in “Unimatrix Zero.” And it’s a solid design! It’s clear Tom put a lot of effort into the ship because it looks incredibly sturdy with its triangular shape, embedded nacelles like the Defiant has, and nifty front window that almost reminds me of a stained-glass window.

VOY: SC-4 Shuttle

This special, slightly futuristic shuttle visits us in the series finale “Endgame.” It’s a lot like the Class 2 shuttle in its shape and resemblance to a phaser, but this one’s also got nifty shields like a suit of armor that it fits within! So that’s something to look forward to later in our watch.

ENT: Inspection pod

Moving on to Enterprise, the last leg of our day trip. We’ve mentioned before how much we appreciate the design elements in Enterprise looked like the stepping stones between today’s space technology and the future aesthetics we see in Star Trek, and this little pod with its docking side and its conical shape flat out looks like the module on a modern rocket ship! Cool!

ENT: Shuttlepod

We see an absolute ton of these things in Enterprise (in a majority of episodes, as a matter of fact!) because the transporter didn’t quite work consistently yet. So it’s shuttles or nothing for our prequel friends and this one is actually incredibly cute, with its sorta submarine feel and its cyclops-eye window like a porthole looking out into space.

— Get that barricade ready as we come into the shuttlebay. It’s so good to be back because we’ve got so much to do around the ship! We’re still traveling through the Delta Quadrant with Voyager over on SoundCloud or your favorite podcast application, we’re still sending out a distress signal on Facebook and Twitter, and we’re shuttling off to buttle-oh!

#star trek #star trek podcast #podcast #shuttlecraft #the original series #the animated series #the next generation #deep space nine #voyager #enterprise #the motion picture #the voyage home #the final frontier #generations #insurrection #nemesis #galileo #delta flyer

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jonfucius · 9 months

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Great Star Trek Rewatch - The Animated Series S1

Originally posted on Twitter 8 January 2021 - 11 January 2021

Star Trek: The Animated Series Season 1 is up next in my Great Star Trek Rewatch. As with ENT, DSC, STX, and TOS, mini-reviews will document my progress.

Beyond the Farthest Star: Immediately establishing the creative possibilities the animation format affords, this is a solid re-introduction to our live-action heroes. The alien's pleas at the end are truly pitiful and sad. 7/10

Yesteryear: The single best episode of TAS, bar none. Tightly scripted and well acted, it shows how TAS could be more mature and complex than its other cartoon contemporaries. 10/10

One of Our Planets is Missing: A nice callback to TOS with Bob Wesley, this episode is otherwise reminiscent of “The Immunity Syndrome.” Again, the animated format allows for expanded vistas and areas of the Enterprise we never got to see on TOS. 7/10

The Lorelei Signal: Uhura and Chapel get their moment in the proverbial center seat, but this episode is let down by the sexist reinterpretation of the Sirens from Homer’s epic. 5/10

More Tribbles, More Trouble: A direct sequel to a TOS classic, featuring the original Cyrano Jones himself, and the return of Koloth (sadly, not voiced by William Campbell), written by David Gerrold, this is a solid TAS entry with classic TOS energy. 8/10

The Survivor: A poignant love story crossed with Romulan intrigue outweighs the abrupt tonal shift of the tag, and the cliché of having Carter Winston’s fiancée coincidentally aboard the Enterprise. A great vocal performance by Ted Knight adds to the score. 7/10

The Infinite Vulcan: Walter Koenig’s script really takes advantage of the animated format: giant clones, plant-based life forms, etc. I’ve always had a soft spot for this one, from childhood. 7/10

The Magicks of Megas-tu: Besides providing Swear Trek with nigh-limitless material, this episode has a fairly provocative denouement. No other mid-70s animated show would tackle God, the Devil, and Salem in 25 minutes. Magic being real is inconsistent with TOS, however. 6/10

Once Upon a Planet: A sequel to TOS “Shore Leave,” we learn more about the mysterious planet, and Uhura gets some things to do besides operating the communication console. Kirk talks down yet another computer. I’m not a fan of “Shore Leave,” so I’m not high on this outing. 5/10

Mudd’s Passion: Harry Mudd on TOS is a mixed bag: expertly performed (here, once again by the late Roger C. Carmel), but gross and misogynistic. While I applaud bringing Carmel and writer Stephen Kandel back, I don’t like this one, except for its camp value. 5/10

The Terratin Incident: Only in animated format could our heroes be convincingly shrunk. This episode establishes that the transporter can reverse or cure most maladies, something seen again in TAS, and then several more times in the Berman era. 6/10

The Time Trap: Shades of “Day of the Dove,” wherein our heroes must work with the Klingons to get back to our reality. Wisely, the Bonaventure is more or less retconned out in First Contact. The starship graveyard and Elysian Council are great concepts. 7/10

The Ambergris Element: Another planetary disaster story so soon on the heels of “The Terratin Incident” feels repetitive. While it’s fun to see the aquashuttle and the scouter gig, I’m not sure what the point of this one was. At least it embraces the animation format. 4/10

The Slaver Weapon: The only official crossover with another franchise (Larry Niven’s Known Space) in Trek’s long history. A solid script and interesting backstory is only held back by the half-hour runtime. 8/10

The Eye of the Beholder: Shades of “The Cage,” though the unaired pilot did more with the criticism of incarceration than this TAS installment. It’s ultimately forgettable, which is an even worse fate than being memorably awful. 3/10

The Jihad: A problematic title for an episode that most closely resembles the excellent late TNG two-parter “Gambit.” Again, excellent use of the animated format, but constrained by the brief runtime. 5/10

And with that, Season 1 of TAS comes to an end in my Great Star Trek Rewatch. Final score: 6.25/10. Highest score(s): “Yesteryear.” Lowest score(s): “The Eye of the Beholder.”

#great star trek rewatch #star trek #star trek tas

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trekfm · 7 years

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27: Spock, Sub-Mariner

Spock, Sub-Mariner

Aaron & Adam and special guest Joe Slepski host of the "Joe on Joe, a G.I. Joe Podcast" grab a bowl of Boo-Berry cereal and review "The Ambergris Element".

What happens when Kirk and Spock are made into waterbreathers by an undersea race, and the venom of a deadly sea snake is the only antidote to return them to their normal selves? Underwater adventure of course!

We talk about the newest shuttle to grace the overfilled shuttle bay, the Aquashuttle and it's companion the scouter-gig, the Enterprise's equivalent to a bass fishing boat, we wrestle with ethical dilemmas like cultural preservation and transporter ethics and along the way discuss The Man from Atlantis, the Heavy Metal the Movie, and Irwin Allen's "Earthquake."

So grab a snorkel and some fins and swim on in for "The Ambergris Element."

Chapters Intro (00:01:40) Synopsis (00:05:37) Air date, writer and voices (00:07:11) Heavy Metal Movie commercial (00:19:53) Story (00:20:19) How many eyelids? (00:25:15) G.I. Joe 70s Toy Commercial (00:40:46) Trek Tech (00:41:18) Meta Treks (00:47:23) Closing (01:06:32)

Hosts Aaron Harvey Adam Drosin

Guest Joe Slepski of Joe on Joe, a G.I. Joe podcast @joeonjoepod

Production Aaron Harvey (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Eric Extreme (Associate Producer) Joo Kim (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager).

New Podcast!

#Star Trek #The Animated Series #Podcast #TrekFM

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sciencetynan · 9 years

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Hey! I also live in Minnesota and my town is covered in what looks like fog, but is actually from the wildfires in Canada. I'm thinking about you guys and hope the situation improves soon!!

Thanks for the support.

I hope things improve down there too. This whole situation is a mess. :(

#aquashuttle #Messages

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nostalgic-narcissist · 10 years

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holla some dumb but was all like questions and that person was sharkcopterjunior

rules:

posts the rules

answer the questions the person who tagged you asked,

write 11 new questions

tag 11 people and link them to the post, actually holla at them that you tagged them.

Questions to answer:

1. Favorite band(s)

probs like noisettes. they got some good material honestly it works out well or rod stewart he got some mad lyrics down

2. What would you do if you met your idol

well it's david bowie and justin timberlake so like i dunno i would really like to go up to them and just tell them that they made my life better for just wanting to go into the musical arts.

3. Did you go through a scene phase dont lie if I tagged you in this I probably already know if you’re lying

bruh scene phase was never my thing but like weeaboo phase was something defs it was awful

4. What is the meaning of life

to give it your own meaning and be all what you want to be in the mass cosmos

5. Have you ever broken the rules

like i dunno. probably my sense of morality isn't that high for like petty stuff. like stealing and junk that's bad so i wouldn't do it because id be an asshole

6. Did you read that article about the dude who stuffed a metric ton of weed in a statue of a donkey

nah bhre

7. Favorite TV show/movie

tv show would probably be the office or steven universe they're both hilarious and both really make me feel all bubbly and junk. movie would be like wayne's world or scott pilgrim vs the world both great movies that i can easily remember references to

8. Dogs or Cats

dude i've have two chihuahuas my entire life of course dogs i'd be a dog if that wasn't weird

9. Favorite song

it honestly varies but right now i really like reason to believe by rod stewart but also all about that bass by meghan trainor. might as well add in i got you under my skin by the noisettes ( well cover song but whatever)

10. Do you like steven universe

that shit makes me cry and also really happy. a lot of peeps can back me up on how much i fuckin love that creative piece of art

11. Opinions on beyonce

queen and honestly has a lot of lil cool drum parts in her song ive noticed which is nice (the snare part for run the world was actually simple to play but fit in well)

new questions or whatever 1. Ever killed a guy?

2. Want to kill a guy?

3. Am I annoying you with me tagging you to answer questions?

4. Am I cute be honest now.

5. Would you ever watch the three amigos with me because that shit is hilarious.

6. Striped shirts or plaid?

7. Favorite musical.

8. Who's booty is best booty?

9. Favorite instrument.

10. Favorite joke that isn't me don't say me you goddamn meme loving fuck i know which one is gonna say it 11. would you ever kill two guys.

and i tag sharkcopterjunior, aquashuttle, billcosbyandfrands and no one else since i have no friends

#me #yeah #questions #sharkcopterjunior #aquashuttle #billcosbyandfran #billcosbyandfrands

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