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| The Original 1980 VHS Rental Store Cassette Cover |
My personal take on
Stardates used during
Star Trek: The Original Series
Now, according to both Phil Farrand,
author of "The Nitpicker's Guides"
and my very own deductive reasoning skills, I have come to accept that every 1000 Stardate Units is = One "Star Year".
Each Stardate is an 8-hour work shift and three shifts are equal to a 24-hour "day". Despite all the crap ever written about this subject -
I promise If you will stick with me on this - THIS Works.
Yes, I know there are certain episodes where the
Stardate given during Kirk's voiced over Log entry does NOT allow for enough passage of time for those events during some of the episodes to occur.
However, I think this is due to a post-production problems that occurred in the timing of the ADR, ( and IF you allow for that - it all works)
Point of Interest:
Stardates had yet to be introduced when
Captain Pike had command.
After further research and study,
I believe that one must not look at the episodes in production order, and or by broadcast order, but rather by the "Stardate order" in order to get the correct intended order of the episodes.
This is how it Should work.
Season One -
Point of Interest:
Stardates had yet to be introduced when
Captain Pike had command.
After further research and study,
I believe that one must not look at the episodes in production order, and or by broadcast order, but rather by the "Stardate order" in order to get the correct intended order of the episodes.
This is how it Should work.
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| The CBS / C.H. Video Library" |
Episodes 1-6, 10, and 14, take place
during the 1st year of the 5-year mission.
Episode 17, "The Squire of Gothos" ,
Stardate 2124.5 "happens" at the beginning of the second year of the mission, while episodes 7-9, 13, and 16, ( by air date order) take place during end of year two, based on the Star Date's given of 2712 - 2947. The rest of "Season One" takes place at the start of Year Three of the mission and covers through Star Date: 3417.
I'll give you one example:
I'd like to point out that the Stardate given for the Season One Episode "The Menagerie Parts One & Two" is 3012.4, which would put those events at the very start of the crew just beginning their 3rd Year together, which means this episode takes place after the events seen in ""The Galileo Seven" and "Court Martial"
That would be about right based on the fact that Kirk stated he took over Command of the Enterprise from Capt. Pike & Spock states he served with Pike for "Eleven years, four months, and five days". Later during his hearing Spock states that the events from "The Cage" took place "thirteen years ago."
So, that begs the question-
Did Pike command not One,
but rather Two - Five-year missions with a year in between them in order for the ship to get a refit?
Could Spock have been under Pike's command before the Enterprise 1st launched for it's 1st 5-year mission under Pike? Sure, why not?
We know that Pike took over the Enterprise from Capt. Robert April ( the 1st to Captain the Enterprise) after April's Original Shakedown cruise and the ship's very 1st 5 year mission under him that followed.
This all works. Thirteen years - less eleven equals Two full years that Kirk has been in Command!
This is the reason why Kirk and McCoy both know and trust Spock so well at this point in the show. Even though the Menagerie Parts One and Two are only the 11th & 12th episodes to air, (the 16th produced) what is more important here is the Stardates.
Gene knew that there would be production delays & that episodes would be aired out of production order.
When there were problems, like with say,
"Assignment: Earth", "they" would simply not assign a Stardate to that episode. That way the episode could "fit in" anywhere, since all of the episodes are "stand-alone" episodes that don't really depend on one another.
If "Where No Man" takes place in 2265, ( Stardate: 1312) then Menagerie takes place at the beginning of 2267. Subtracting thirteen years would place "The Cage" near the very end of 2254. By then the Enterprise herself was almost ten years old, since she was built in 2245.
Season 2 actually begins during Year Three, and contains some nine episodes from Year Four of the 5-Year Mission, starting with "Bread and Circuses" (Star Date 4040.7) and should end with "Return to Tomorrow" ( Stardate 4768 - the highest Stardate number in Season Two.)
Finally, that brings us to Season Three,
which really takes place through the end of the last Year of the mission, ending with Stardate of 5943.7
w/ "All our Yesterdays", the "Zarabeth" episode. (as the events seen in "Turnabout" "happened" before this episode.)
It's my Personal Belief that it was THOSE EVENTS that happened to Spock in THAT Episode that served as the Main reason as to WHY he went to Vulcan to purge all of those emotions when Enterprise was being refitted through Stardate 7411 at the beginning of "The Motion Picture".
Note: Trek's last Episode to be produce and that aired, "Turnabout" had a Star Date of 5928.5.
This helps to explain how we can have an episode like "Elaan of Troyius" (Stardate 4372.5) between two episodes like "Wink of an Eye" (Stardate 5710) and "Whom Gods Destroy" (Stardate 5718.3) It means those events in "Elann" took place during the 4th Year of the Mission, while the events in the other two episodes "happened" during the 5th Year of the ship's mission.
And that is my take.
The 4th and 5th year are not really "missing". The stories that were NOT told really would have taken place during a large chunk of Year Two (Stardates 2130-2700) and some during Year Three ( Stardates 3800-4400).
What do you think?
during the 1st year of the 5-year mission.
Episode 17, "The Squire of Gothos" ,
Stardate 2124.5 "happens" at the beginning of the second year of the mission, while episodes 7-9, 13, and 16, ( by air date order) take place during end of year two, based on the Star Date's given of 2712 - 2947. The rest of "Season One" takes place at the start of Year Three of the mission and covers through Star Date: 3417.
I'll give you one example:
I'd like to point out that the Stardate given for the Season One Episode "The Menagerie Parts One & Two" is 3012.4, which would put those events at the very start of the crew just beginning their 3rd Year together, which means this episode takes place after the events seen in ""The Galileo Seven" and "Court Martial"
That would be about right based on the fact that Kirk stated he took over Command of the Enterprise from Capt. Pike & Spock states he served with Pike for "Eleven years, four months, and five days". Later during his hearing Spock states that the events from "The Cage" took place "thirteen years ago."
So, that begs the question-
Did Pike command not One,
but rather Two - Five-year missions with a year in between them in order for the ship to get a refit?
Could Spock have been under Pike's command before the Enterprise 1st launched for it's 1st 5-year mission under Pike? Sure, why not?
We know that Pike took over the Enterprise from Capt. Robert April ( the 1st to Captain the Enterprise) after April's Original Shakedown cruise and the ship's very 1st 5 year mission under him that followed.
This all works. Thirteen years - less eleven equals Two full years that Kirk has been in Command!
This is the reason why Kirk and McCoy both know and trust Spock so well at this point in the show. Even though the Menagerie Parts One and Two are only the 11th & 12th episodes to air, (the 16th produced) what is more important here is the Stardates.
Gene knew that there would be production delays & that episodes would be aired out of production order.
When there were problems, like with say,
"Assignment: Earth", "they" would simply not assign a Stardate to that episode. That way the episode could "fit in" anywhere, since all of the episodes are "stand-alone" episodes that don't really depend on one another.
If "Where No Man" takes place in 2265, ( Stardate: 1312) then Menagerie takes place at the beginning of 2267. Subtracting thirteen years would place "The Cage" near the very end of 2254. By then the Enterprise herself was almost ten years old, since she was built in 2245.
Season 2 actually begins during Year Three, and contains some nine episodes from Year Four of the 5-Year Mission, starting with "Bread and Circuses" (Star Date 4040.7) and should end with "Return to Tomorrow" ( Stardate 4768 - the highest Stardate number in Season Two.)
Finally, that brings us to Season Three,
which really takes place through the end of the last Year of the mission, ending with Stardate of 5943.7
w/ "All our Yesterdays", the "Zarabeth" episode. (as the events seen in "Turnabout" "happened" before this episode.)
It's my Personal Belief that it was THOSE EVENTS that happened to Spock in THAT Episode that served as the Main reason as to WHY he went to Vulcan to purge all of those emotions when Enterprise was being refitted through Stardate 7411 at the beginning of "The Motion Picture".
Note: Trek's last Episode to be produce and that aired, "Turnabout" had a Star Date of 5928.5.
This helps to explain how we can have an episode like "Elaan of Troyius" (Stardate 4372.5) between two episodes like "Wink of an Eye" (Stardate 5710) and "Whom Gods Destroy" (Stardate 5718.3) It means those events in "Elann" took place during the 4th Year of the Mission, while the events in the other two episodes "happened" during the 5th Year of the ship's mission.
And that is my take.
The 4th and 5th year are not really "missing". The stories that were NOT told really would have taken place during a large chunk of Year Two (Stardates 2130-2700) and some during Year Three ( Stardates 3800-4400).
What do you think?
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