Nits for Star Trek: Voyager episode
Gravity
1. Vulcan neck pinches can be habit-forming.
On an alien world, facing a completely unknown alien life-form, Tuvok uses the neck pinch and it works. What are the odds this technique would work; and given the odds why would Tuvok attempt it?
Nit Value: 0.25
2. "It's a small world after all..."
Of all the places for these two aliens to attack Noss they happened to pick a location where Tuvok could intervene in a matter of seconds.
Lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky Noss.
Nit Value: 0.25
3. Vulcan senses, Part I.
After introducing himself to Noss, Tuvok stoops to pick up one of her bags. Within the bag Tuvok notices a small hand-sized item which we saw Noss take from the shuttle. With this evidence in hand he claims she's already been to his shuttle. About a foot away from the bag and in plain view is the Star Fleet med-kit, which Tuvok carefully ignored to retrieve the bag. Nonetheless, in the next scene Tuvok leads the way into the shuttle and offers the woman his hand to steady her as she enters, a hand which she continues to cling to after she enters the shuttle. Since it's unlikely Tuvok is unaware of the fact Tom had the med-kit isn't it reasonable to assume Tuvok should be treating this woman with some suspicion when he finally sees the med-kit? And just how likely is it this woman allowed herself to be taken back to the shuttle where she threatened Tom and stole the material she had in her possession?
Nit Value: 0.25
4. Vulcan senses, Part II.
To make up for this oversight, Tuvok tells Tom that Noss "was attacked by two humanoid males". What method did Tuvok use to determine the genders of these unknown humanoid lifeforms? The fact they attacked Noss (who appears to be a woman)? Since Noss and Tuvok cannot communicate he didn't get this information from her. Nor is it obvious he's used a tricorder.
Does this seem like sexual stereo-typing to anyone else?
Nit Value: 0.50
5. Food and aliens.
No one seems concerned when offering Noss food. Can all humanoids eat Star Fleet rations or shouldn't they check to ensure the food won't poison her alien bio-chemistry?
Nit Value: 0.25
6. Assessing the damage.
The hull is fractured, the impulse engines are "beyond repair". Yet the transparent aluminum windows are not even cracked. So why isn't the whole shuttle built of this stuff?
Nit Value: 0.25
7. "The eye of a needle".
Tom suggests that an entire solar system was pulled through the distortion field we saw at the beginning of the episode. Given the size of the distortion field (600 metres as reported later in the episode) just how did this solar system make it through in one piece? Consider the sequence of events: first a planet goes through the distortion field, and in the absence of its star the planet goes hurtling off in a straight line. Whatever planets were still outside the distortion field would have done the same thing as soon as their star went through the distortion field (i.e. taken off in a straight-line). Stars move about the core of the galaxy at various rates, and the galaxy itself moves, so what would the trajectory of the star be in the absence of its usual gravitational influences (i.e. how big is this 'pocket' if the star and its planets haven't collided with the 'edge' of this 'pocket' yet)?
Nit Value: 0.50
8. Vulcan senses, Part III.
When Noss gives the alarm at the approaching aliens, Tuvok pulls out a tricorder to determine they are of the same species as the two who attacked Noss. Since he didn't tricorder the previous two aliens, how does he know these are of the same variety?
Nit Value: 0.25
9. Doc and Tom, together again.
This seems to be a recurring nit. Doc and Tom get assigned to a number of away missions together. Do the writers stop and think about the wisdom of having the only two crew members with any medical training being taken off-ship at the same time? Just what is Voyager supposed to do in a medical emergency while these two are in a shuttle (other examples are "Drone" and "Dark Frontier")?
Nit Value: 0.50
10. 50,000 light years away??
Tom tells Tuvok they're 50,000 light years from home.
According to Caretaker, Part I they started 70,000 light years from home.
According to "The Gift" Kes shaved off about 12,000 light years or more.
According to "Night" they shaved off about 3,000 light years.
According to "Timeless" they shaved off "20,000" light years.
This adds up to 35,000 light years for those three episodes alone.
At an average cruising speed of 1500 light years per year, for 4.5 years, we can also subtract 6,750 light years.
By these calculations Voyager is 28,250 light years from home, in the Beta Quadrant.
So is Voyager flying in circles?
Nit Value: 1.00
11. Tom's motives.
Tom tries encouraging Tuvok to make the best of things, to allow himself to hitch up with Noss. As Tom points out "This is home now".
Why is Tom pushing this idea on Tuvok? Doesn't it apply to Tom just as well? And since Tuvok isn't expressing any interest in Noss, why isn't Tom viewing this as an opportunity for Tom to make a "decent life" for himself by courting Noss himself? Or does Tom wish to become a monk? Or does Tom think there will be another nice alien female over the next rock outcropping waiting for him?
Tom's motives for pushing Tuvok are decidedly questionable.
Nit Value: 0.25
12. Vulcan looks.
Just how does a Vulcan look when they're wishing they weren't Vulcan, and how much experience has Tom had around such Vulcans?
Nit Value: 0.25
13. What direction?
When Voyager is hit by the distortion field, Janeway orders the ship "forward". The external shot shows the distortion field behind Voyager. So which direction was Voyager moving in before the distortion field hit them? If the ship was moving forward, as seems reasonable to assume, then it would have flown right over the distortion field. So why didn't they get sucked in as they approached the field?
Nit Value: 0.50
14. Navigational hazards.
How did Yost's people lose several starships to the Distortion field? Yost being on the scene shows they have the field marked on their star charts. Isn't that enough to steer a course around a 600 metre diameter field?
Nit Value: 0.50
15. Janeway and gravitation.
When Janeway realizes she has a day to rescue her crew, she assigns Harry to help Seven and B'Elanna adjust the sensors to find Tom and Tuvok. Then she announces that she will try to find a way around the gravimetric forces.
Does it seem strange that with 152 crew members on board Janeway has to do this alone? Since this is a propulsion issue doesn't it make sense to involve B'Elanna and Engineering? Especially when Janeway admits she needs to "brush up" on the science behind the phenomena?? Especially when Yost gave them 24 hours to effect a rescue???
And the sequence of events: Janeway orders Chakotay to launch the probe...then orders Harry to help Seven and B'Elanna adjust the sensors. Which sensors? The ones on the multi-spatial probe she just launched or the ship's sensors which will receive the probe's readings from within the sub-space pocket?
And just what help will B'Elanna and Harry be to Seven, whose duty station seems to be Astrometrics? Hasn't the Borg-enhanced Seven already shown herself superior to others in the field of sensors?
Nit Value: 0.75
16. 1 minute too many.
Seven reports the field will be closed in 29 minutes. Then Janeway sends a message to the away team announcing they'll be rescued in 30 minutes.
Not if the field is closed in accordance to the time given by Seven.
Whoops.
Nit Value: 0.50 (dumb dumb dumb...)
18. Where is Tom's phaser?
Noss told Tom to prepare for battle. Tuvok leaves to help Noss, despite Noss' logical explanation for why he should stay (too risky, she says).
So where is Tom's phaser in the last battle with the alien?
Nit Value: 0.25
17. Beacon...what beacon?
Initially the beacon is a small device with a blue light on top. This is what Tuvok initially "recalibrates". However, at the end of the show, the beacon is a large metallic object with no light. There is no resemblance between the two.
Furthermore, the original beacon is outside the ship. But the beacon at the end of the show is inside Noss' ship.
Whoops
Nit Value: 0.50
Summary:
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Nit Value for "Gravity": 7.25
Wulf's Nitpicker Rating: 2.75
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10 - Nit Value = Wulf's Nitpicker Rating
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