Chris

[img]smilies/wave.gif[/img] Hi lightcousin.

Intersting post. I don't have a lot of time right now, I'll have to read it over later.

Chris

lol ... that is a possibility.

It seems that continuity has been an issue in Trek right from the start. I wonder why they'd be so sloppy?

lightcousin

From what I've read in the Star Trek Chronology by Michael and Denise Okuda, when they produced the original series episodes they didn't know what order they would be aired in (production order was different from broadcast order). Also some scripts were late in getting completed.

In first season TNG Tasha Yar is alive in some episodes with later stardates than the one where she was killed off in. This seems to have been a wake-up call, because beginning with TNG season two the stardate order pretty much matched both production and broadcast order.

The later series also had their share of continuity glitches, and all shows are prone to this, especially the longer they run. In the M*A*S*H episode where Henry Blake was killed off, the year was established as being 1952. Yet an episode that had Charles Winchester dealt with the events of an entire year, which was 1951.

Chris

I know that happened with Firefly too, the shows weren't aired in the originally intended order. I don't understand why they do stuff like that. Casual fans might not notice, but the dedicated fans would.

Although I guess it does make some sense to go ahead and shoot an episode with a finished script rather than hold up production.

lightcousin

In the case of Star Trek TOS it was the network that made the decision what order the episodes would be aired in, and I guess the writers and producers might not have had too much say in that. One thing I wonder about was why they produced Corbomite Manuever before Mudd's Women, since they already had the script for the latter.

With TNG and DS9 the episodes were syndicated out to the networks as soon as they were produced, and with Voyager and Enterprise the network was owned by the same company that owns the Star Trek franchise.

Interestingly enough, TNG's "Symbiosis" was produced after "Skin of Evil", though they were smart enough to air it first. In TOS though Lt. Leslie is alive in episodes later than the one he was killed off in--that's an interesting story in itself if you check out the links on my first post (I would love to see a fic that brings Leslie and Tasha Yar together!).

The Forever Knight episode "Ashes to Ashes" was produced before "Francesca", and in Canada it has led to the character Vachon being alive in the episode just after the episode he was killed off in. Fanfic writers have found plausible ways to bring him (and others) back--but that's a whole other story!

Chris

I suppose ultimately the order of broadcast is in the network's hands. Maybe they think that a certain episode will have broader appeal? I don't know.

Fanfic writers can be very talented. I used to read some, but got away from it. Never read anything Trek related though.

lightcousin

I've archived a couple of mirror universe fics at fanfiction.net. To judge by the reviews posted, A Debt of Honor is the better story. It's a very dark story, but that should probably be expected with an MU story.

Chris

I'll keep that in mind next time I'm bored and need something to read.

Hydroflaven

You people think too much. Lol. Stardates. Who has time too look at them and then examine them?

Chris

It's not something that I've ever paid much attention to, but there are lots of fans who enjoy noticing all the little details.

wickedrum

I've always wondered how it works.

Chris

It's something that's crossed my mind over the years, but I've never bothered to fully investigate. Just assumed the episodes aired in order.

wickedrum

figuring out how to work the stardate could be crucial for someone trying to write fanfic that is true to the verse

reduhura

From what I've read it's definitely because the episodes didn't air in order. In fact the first episode wasn't suppose to be the first episode. The first episode was actually originally suppose to be Where No Man Has Gone Before. As the series went on Spock also wasn't going to be a main character, but a lot of people actually liked him which was their ultimate decision in in pairing him with Kirk more. Okay, I kind of got off topic, but there was originally some thought to the stardates, however, they were winging it to begin with. The part of the stardate after in The Original Series did stand for the time of day and they did it by tenths. For example .5 was noon. Basically the writers were told to pick 4 series of numbers and stay near it. Then the whole thing with the episodes not airing in order happened and Roddenberry covered it up by saying it had to do with the location in the galaxy, velocity of travel, and other factors.

wickedrum

Thanks for the explanation!