Nits for Star Trek: Voyager episode
Timeless
1. Conflicting stardates.
Kathryn's log is heard just as they are about to enter the slipstream. The time on her log reads "52143.6". The stardate Doc gives Harry for Seven's death is "52164.3" Harry backdates the message he sends by four minutes.
The first two numbers represent the season (41153 being the stardate for "Encounter at Farpoint"), this being the 12th season since that episode.
The next three numbers represent increments of 1/1000 of a year (roughly a third of a day) since they run from "000" to "999" over the course of a season. The decimal represents a tenth of a 24 hour period (2 hours, 24 minutes).
Confused? Oh yeah. Roughly calculated, the time between Kathryn's log entry and Seven's death is about 6 days. Far too much time. A stardate of "52143.7" would have been more appropriate.
Nit Value: 0.25
2. Shields.
In "Once Upon a Time" and "In the Flesh" we have shields raised before transport occurs. Yet in "Timeless" Geordi must ask them to drop shields so he can beam them off the doomed Delta Flyer. To add to this inconsistency we must also assume that the Delta Flyer's shields are impenetrable to whatever advances in transporter technology have occurred in the fifteen years since it was created, despite the fact the DF has been sitting in a ship yard and most likely analyzed thoroughly by Star Fleet engineers.
Nit Value: 0.25
3. Conflicting temporal signals.
Seven is sent two conflicting temporal signals by the older Harry, both received at the same time. How did she sort through these two signals to figure out which one to listen to?
Nit Value: 0.25
4. Geordi's appearance.
It's unfortunate that Geordi's discussion with the DF wasn't filmed all at the same time. When he talks to Chakotay his chair is in front of the lamp that sits behind him. But when he talks to Tessa his chair is to our right of the lamp and somewhat closer to the camera. Either he's using two cameras and switching between them depending upon whom he talks to, or these two dialogues weren't taped at the same time and someone goofed when trying to position Levar and the camera for the two shots.
Nit Value: 0.25
5. Motives.
Harry's was quite obviously guilt over killing the crew. But Chakotay has a lover whom he wants to keep and the Doctor is theoretically programmed to prevent him from working against Star Fleet. And Tessa very obviously wants to keep Chakotay. Why didn't the Doctor diagnose Harry's obvious problem and refuse to cooperate? Why are Chakotay and Tessa obviously ignoring their love for each other? Why are these three willing to destroy the timeline for countless sentients throughout the universe just to correct Harry's mistake ?
Nit Value: 0.50
6. Disabling the Delta Flyer.
I can understand Geordi's reluctance to destroy the Delta Flyer's crew. But his mission calls for the retrieval of the temporal transmitter to prevent them from changing the timeline. So why are there so few shots, and no shots as soon as the DF freed itself from tractor beam? Why, when it was apparent they were not going to retrieve the transmitter, didn't Geordi just blow up the DF to prevent any misuse of the transmitter thus ending the timeline?
Nit Value: 0.25
7. Land the ship to avoid structural collapse?
I'm no engineer, but it seems to me trying to land a crippled Voyager on a planet to avoid structural collapse is about the stupidest idea I can think of. Aside from the stresses the landing itself adds to the structure there is also the question of gravity and atmospheric drag. In space, without gravity and without atmosphere and without trying to collide with a solid object (like a planet) there is little if any stress placed on the hull. It's unfortunate this recommendation had to come from Tuvok, because this is what killed the crew. This crash could have been accomplished without this nit had the story simply tossed them out of the slipstream within the gravitational pull of the planet or while on a parabolic trajectory that led to a collision course. With engines down and helm not responding the crash would have been inevitable.
Nit Value: 1.00
Summary:
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Nit Value for "Timeless": 2.75
Wulf's Nitpicker Rating: 7.25
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10 - Nit Value = Wulf's Nitpicker Rating
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