Had human science taken us to a place where everyday creature comforts, like not having to turn your neck to look all over the bridge when trying to command whatever it is that might need commanding on the damn ship, no longer held importance? Did people not suffer from neck strains and sprains, or whip-lash in the future?
It seems to me that they get into some pretty heavy shit in the future and I would think that a swiveling captain’s chair would be a minor, but important, detail for the always in peril Federation captain.
As it turns out I found evidence that the chairs do indeed swivel, but only on the Enterprise NCC-1701. Now, I had no idea what the hell that actually meant at first but according to Russell it was the ship that Captain Kirk was commanding way back in the 1960s.
So apparently this does not count because, according to Russell, we were quietly discoursing on the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, which didn’t have a swiveling chair for the captain. I hate to be redundant because as I am sure everyone knows this, but this is actually the ship that Captain Jean-Luc Picard commanded on the 1980s series Star Trek: The Next Generation, which we were watching at the time.
There are two important facts that I think are worth mentioning here:
A) A)I was not aware that we were intelligently and quietly discussing that specific ship.
B) B)I do not know the difference in terms of technology or whatever. I assumed that all the ships were roughly the same because once we get to the point where we are going past the speed of light and beaming people up out of thin air while traveling at said speed how much further do we need to advance?
Is it too much to ask that the most elite and advanced ship in the Federation’s arsenal did not come with a swiveling chair for the captain?
It makes no sense. The damn thing can go well beyond the speed of light; shouldn’t the captain of such a vessel be free from the inherent risks of neck trauma when constantly having to turn one’s head from side to side while traveling at such speeds?
To make matters worse, and frustratingly more perplexing, only a certain class of the Enterprise had swiveling chairs?
Why?
I mean, was 1980s TV prop technology not on pace with that of 1960s TV prop technology. Why would an earlier version of the Enterprise come with swiveling captain’s chairs but a later, assumedly more advanced version, not?
Did the Federation’s scientist learn that swiveling chairs in deep space lead to trouble for the captain and, thus, the ship as a whole? Is there some canonical Star Trek scientific space reasoning behind this or did the 1980s TV prop guys really just drop the ball?
Perhaps it was the Federation that dropped the ball. If I put my life at risk day in and day out while traveling through the vast emptiness of space, the least I would want is a comfortable chair that gives me some freedom of movement so that I may properly command my ship.
I understand the possible need to make sure that the captain isn’t taking cat naps while on the bridge, but I am not asking for a Laz-E-Boy with a built-in fridge here.
I just think that the guys down at Federation R&D might want to consider swiveling chairs in future incarnations of the Enterprise. You know, for the captains' sakes.
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As a Star Trek nerd myself (attendee at one Star Trek convention and owner of one Lt. Uhura costume made lovingly by my mother's own hands), I maintain the chairs totally swiveled. Just because we never SAW them swivel doesn't mean they didn't. Likewise, we never SAW anybody Do It on the deck, but that doesn't mean it never happened.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's all those slingshot around the sun maneuvers or the worm hole encounters. I mean, how secure can the most important person on the ship be with a chair that moves all over the place?
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