Posted on by Shannon Shark @metspolice

The M-Files Issue 6: The Naked Now, Spock’s back-pay, Star Wars Comics and TV series and The Office-Hobbit mashup

The M-Files is a weekly divergence from talking about the Mets.  Even The Mets Police have a life outside of The Mets.  These are the sort of things we talk about.

I really don’t intend to write about Star Trek: The Next Generation every week but Amazon Instant Prime has suckered me in. This week it’s The Naked Now, the second episode of the series.

Much like last week’s Encounter At Farpoint most of the acting sucks (looking at you Denise Crosby and this week at you LeVar Burton.) I do enjoy that Riker kind of thinks Data is a douche and blatantly speaks to him that way, and that Picard kinda hates everyone.

Then there is our old pal, the completely useless Counselor Troi.  This week she looks like this – I wish I could find a picture of the entire pantsuit but here’s the top half below.  The quartermasters at Starfleet are quite casual with the uniforms in the 24th Century.

counselor troi

What’s semi-interesting about this episode is that there was a writers strike in 1987, so they were forced to rework the TOS script for The Naked Time. I forget the particulars but during the strike there was some rule where you could rework old properties but couldn’t start anything new. There was a 1987 Mission Impossible semi-reboot that used the same loophole if loophole is even the right term.

Weirdness: Troi calls Riker “Bill.”

Tasha Yar will apparently bang anyone, even Data.

They used TOS-like music a lot more in these first two episodes than I recall there being.

Anyway, something something molecules everyone loses their inhibitions, Troi senses something….another bad episode. 0 for 2 so far TNG.  Patrick Stewart I feel pretty bad for you.

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Speaking of Star Trek, I was riffing with a friend and said if he didn’t give my DVD back  and this were Star Trek then I could just replicate another one.  He said that’s piracy.

So we realized that although it seems everything on the Enterprise is free there’s actually a voice based debit card system in use, and each Earl Grey Tea (hot) actually costs Picard $1, although it’s buy 10 get the 11th free.  You can’t just go nuts with the replicators.
You may remember in TOS the replicators weren’t voice based, you had to put a card in a slot.  We always assumed those were some sort of cards with recipes on them.  They were actually debit cards.  By the 24th Century the computer would just identify you by voice.

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QABjG-Fakgc]

Then my friend and I really got obsessed with money in the 23rd and 24th century.

In the DC Comics story “The Final Voyage“, Spock’s back pay was stated to be around 611,700 credits when the five-year mission ended.  (I cribbed that sentence from a wiki).  That’s a lot of coin.

Spock is a commander.  Based upon Navy payscales, a commander is an 0-5 if you look it up on the payscale.

We know Spock has been in Starfleet at least 13 years (The Cage) so it’s safe to assume by the end of the mission he is at the 15 year payscale.  As an O-5 Spock makes $7425.35 a month or $89,000 per earth year.  So it seems Spock hasn’t cashed any payroll in about 7 or 8 years.

Kirk as an 0-6 and having risen to Captain by age 34 can’t have be in Starfleet for much longer – if we say “over 12 years service” for Kirk he makes $7473/month or $89,676 per earth year.
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From Star Trek to Star Wars.  The internet says that ABC will take a look at the live action series that supposedly has 100 scripts but George couldn’t figure out how to produce.  Now let’s remember that George has now sold Lucasfilm to Disney and Disney owns ABC so this is half-way possible.  I’m sure we’d all rather Star Wars be a cable series (HBO? AMC?) but I’d love it if this series existed.  I’m less excited about the ABC part.  Young Indiana Jones anyone?  (We have to get into that one of these weeks).

Even better, the rumors have Ronald D. Moore attached.  That’s a one way ticket to Awesome-town! (yes I just linked to MySpace!)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lEQ_yNJTZ0]

Also in Star Wars News this week, Dark Horse has a new comic book called…get this…Star Wars.  It takes place after the first movie (you know “Star Wars” not Phantom Menace) and follows the characters in that period before Empire.  Looks cool, reads cool, check it out.
And now the This Wins The Internet video of the week..

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ5lHwVVcv0]

Comments are open…it’s Saturday morning, let’s talk pop-culture!