I came home the other day and found my living room full of dogs, lounging on the furniture and eating popcorn. Not just my dogs, but about two dozen other assorted dogs of assorted sizes ranging from Labrador to Chihuahua.
No, this wasn't a meeting of the 12th Dog Association
Although this was (more or less) the same group of dogs (and Cat) that occasionally gather in my home to watch the Seahawk game, I knew this was not the reason for the gathering. For one, there was no Seahawk game scheduled that day, and instead of Seahawk jerseys they were all wearing "classic" Star Trek shirts.
All of them, except one dog who was dressed up as a Tardis from Dr. Who.
And a Pomeranian pretending to be a tribble. Or a tribble pretending to be a Pomeranian. I wasn't sure which.
As those of you who read this blog regularly know, Macky Rae is fond of Science Fiction (along with Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Zombie movies, and 1950s era black and white giant insect movies).
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| Macky Rae making more popcorn. |
- The Man Trap (first episode aired)
- Where No Man Has Gone Before (the actual pilot episode)
- Errand of Mercy
- Trouble with Tribbles
- Arena
- City on the Edge of Forever
- Amok Time
- The Enemy Within
As I said, popcorn was being consumed, more was being made, and several large Supreme Meat Lover's Deluxe pizzas were being ordered from Lorenzo's Ristorante Italiano, and would arrive in thirty minutes (or less). Dog's love the Supreme Meat Lover's Deluxe from Lorenzo's
Fifteen different animal products!
Actually only fourteen. The dogs don't like anchovies. But who does?
They also ordered Cheezy Bread.
Now as I mentioned they were all (except the tardis and the tribble) wearing original series star trek shirts, but only blue and gold - no red.
Curse of the Red Shirt
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Basil Poledouris (middle), red shirt.
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In Star Trek (and many other TV shows, sci-fi and other) have characters who's primary purpose is to die for dramatic purposes
I covered this, sort of in a previous blog entry (an episode of Alien Chronicles).
Basil Poledouris was an American music composer who concentrated on the scores for films and television shows. Poledouris won the Emmy Award for Best Musical Score for work on part four of the TV miniseries Lonesome Dove in 1989. He is best known for scores such as Conan the Barbarian (1982), RoboCop (1987), Spellbinder (1988), Red Dawn (1984), The Hunt for Red October (1990), RoboCop 3 (1993) and Starship Troopers (1997). Before his musical career warped into full speed, he appeared as a background extra in several episodes of the original series of Star Trek.
He wore a red shirt.
He died.
A "redshirt" is a stock character in fiction who dies soon after being introduced. The term originates from the original Star Trek in which the red-shirted security personnel frequently die during episodes. Redshirt deaths are often used to dramatize the potential peril that the main characters face. In the series, red-uniformed security officers who accompany the main characters on landing parties often suffer quick deaths. Of the 55 crew members killed in the series, 3/4 of them were wearing red shirts. But not all the red shirts die.
Ever heard of Jonathan Goldsmith?
He began his career on the New York stage, then started a career in film and television. Although he appeared in several TV shows from the 1960s to the 1990s, he is best known as The Most Interesting Man in the World in commercials for Dos Equis beer.
He was also a red shirt.
And he lived!
Despite popular belief, the redshirts are not the most likely to die.
According to Macky Rae out of 55 people who died in the original series, 24 were red shirts, compared to 9 in yellow/gold command and 7 in blue, with 15 crossing into the final frontier in unidentified colors.
However, it’s all a matter of perspective and percentages. There were 430 crewmen aboard the Enterprise, 239 of them in engineering, security or operations, and all wore red.
Although Enterprise crew members in redshirts suffer many more casualties than crew members in other uniforms, they suffer fewer casualties than crew members in gold uniforms when the entire population size is considered. Only 10% of the entire redshirt population was lost during the three year run of Star Trek. This is less than the 13.4% of goldshirts, but more than the 5.1% of blueshirts. What is truly hazardous is not wearing a redshirt, but being a member of the security department. The red-shirted members of security were only 20.9% of the entire crew, but there is a 61.9% chance that the next casualty is in a redshirt and 64.5% chance this red-shirted victim is a member of the security department. The remaining redshirts, operations and engineering make up the largest single population, but only have an 8.6% chance of being a casualty
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Freddie, wearing a blue shirt.
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So, as long as you weren't in the security force, you were fairly safe wearing a red shirt.
But I noticed none of the dogs (or Freddie) were wearing red shirts.
I asked them (the club) why nobody was wearing red.
MACKY: Just to be safe
BART: Yeah, let's not push our luck
FREDDIE: To risk death by wearing a red shirt is illogical
Dogs (and Cats) of Star Trek
Animals have appeared in Star Trek, not only in the original series but subsequent series as well. In the 5th episode of Season 1, a dog-like creature (refered to by the club as the Alfa 177 canine) is shown, a small mammalianoid creature native to the mysterious planet of Alfa 177. These creatures are small and have their bodies covered in golden-colored fur. They are remarkably similar to some domestic dog breeds of Earth, but have a horn on the head, a row of spines on their back, a scaly tail and a pair of extremely thin antennae. Their homeworld of Alfa 177 is known to be a fairly inhospitable planet, with night-time temperatures reaching 120º below zero, which could be an explanation for the canine's dense fur covering. Although it wasn't a red shirt, it died.
After the transporter became infected with a yellow magnetic dust from the planet, the crew unknowingly tried to beam the canine up and the animal rematerialized as two different dogs: one, very gentle and shy, and the other very angry and dangerous, who would try to bite anyone who came near it, so that it had to be put in a box in the transporter room. After the crew came to believe that they had repaired the transporter, they tried reintegrating the two. Although the procedure itself appeared to be a success, the animal was found dead, possibly due to the shock of reintegration.
Star Trek, the Next Generation
Spot is Data's pet cat and a recurring character in the Next Generation series. Spot appeared in several episodes during the last four seasons, as well as in the feature films Star Trek Generations and Star Trek: Nemesis.
Despite her name, Spot is not actually patterned with spots.
What is interesting is that Spot originally appeared as a male Somali cat, but later appeared as a female orange tabby cat, eventually giving birth to kittens. I asked dog trekkies if they could explain this seaming inconsistency. There were two theories:
- Spot was a shapshifter
- Spot was the victim of a transporter malfunction
Star Trek: Enterprise
In the Star Trek: Enterprise series, Captain Archer had a pet dog, a beagle named Porthos. On his first appearance, Porthos was portrayed by a male dog, but was subsequently portrayed by a female Beagle.
Perhaps another transporter malfunction.
In the Star Trek reboot movie, there is a briefly reference to Archer, as Montgomery Scott received punishment stemming from an incident involving a transporter and "Admiral Archer's prized Beagle." This was probably not Porthos (unless dogs live over a hundred year in the future), but even so what is it with animals and transporters?
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| Captain Archer and Porthos |
Leonard Nimoy, famous for his continual role a Mr Spock, was a lifeline dog lover
As was De Forest Kelly, and George Takei.
Here is an interesting thought:
Throughout the ages, there are stories that outlive not only their authors, but their time period as well. Stories and legends such as King Arthur, Robin Hood, Heroes of Greek and Roman mythology
Star Trek is 50, and has outlived its creator (Gene Roddenberry). Dr Who is older than that. Star Wars almost 40, the Terminator about 35. Middle Earth is rapidly approaching 100 years.
Will these be amonst the "legends" told in the 24½th Century?
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Live Long and Prosper my Friend
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