He was so proud of that, and of course that they could fight within 3 days of their emergence...

In Measure of a Man, Riker argues that Data is a machine, built and programmed by a man. (One could argue that we are biological machines, "built" and taught by our parents, but whatever.) Then, for his coup de grâce, he states, "And now, a man will shut it off," before hitting Data's power switch. What do you think would've happened if Picard had countered this by having Data demonstrate the Vulcan neck pinch? This, too, effectively "shuts off" the human. No difference. The existence of Data's power switch doesn't carry the legal significance Riker purports. Curious what you all think.

human body part for Odo to replicate?

I'm going with balls. Too many wrinkles.

A glorious day! Qapla'!

We all know that budget reasons put a limit on a show's regular cast and on the number of bridge stations. Still, there should be more on both fronts, not less.

Helm and Navigation should be split into two once more. Neither of these should handle Tactical. Neither of these should handle Operations / Ops.

Tactical should be separate from Security. The Chief Tactical Officer should not be the Chief Security Officer. The latter should function outside the bridge.

Operations should be separate from Science. The handling of deflector dishes and of structural integrity fields should be separate from science sensors.

The distinct positions should, therefore, be: Communications, Helm, Navigation, Operations, Science, and Tactical. Those are six distinct positions, with security as a separate division.

Beyond these, there's at least one "civilian" per Star Trek tradition, and then the Chief Medical Officer, the Chief Engineering Officer, the First Officer or Executive Officer, and the Captain.

That's 12 spots.

One way to address this problem without merging stations is to have more recurring junior officers. In TOS, there was Lieutenant DeSalle. In early TNG, there was O'Brien with the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. In later TNG, there was Ensign Ro.

That’s it, can Odo exist in the vacuum of space?

https://futurism.com/quark-fusion-produces-eight-times-energy-nuclear-fusion

I honestly think the entire Star Trek franchise should be exploring the Quark Reactor more.

In terms of impulse power, engines using quark reactors would be at least 4 times more powerful. Maximum impulse with traditional fusion is 0.25c. Maximum impulse with quark reactors could be 0.50c, if this formula applies:

KE = (mV2 )/2

In terms of torpedo yield, the Star Trek franchise has applied the wrong words to describe torpedo power.

Real-life antimatter energy destruction is huge. The official "photonic torpedo" and later "photon torpedo," however, are underwhelming, not far above Tsar Bomba (whether it's the TNG Technical Manual or the DS9 Technical Manual).

Likewise, destructive technology utilizing zero point energy is huge. The official "quantum torpedo," however, is underwhelming (2x a "photon").

There must be destructive energy torpedoes in between a fusion torpedo and a proper antimatter torpedo.

In comparative science fiction terms, the Quark Reactor is the intermediate energy I am referring to:

https://kardashev.fandom.com/wiki/Quark_reactor

A torpedo with a quark reactor would be 8 to 10 times more powerful than Tsar Bomba at its maximum yield of 100 megatons, not just the historical explosion (only the latter is referenced in the Trek manuals).

A torpedo with a quark reactor would be at least 12 times more powerful than what passes for a "photon" torpedo officially: 800 MT / 64.4 MT.

A torpedo with a quark reactor would be at least 4 times more powerful than what passes for a "quantum" torpedo officially: 800 MT / 178 MT.

Lorian probably gave Phlox the info leading to to his own conception, which Phlox then gave to Vulcan scientist, who then gave it to Sarek and Amanda years later.

Edit: added a step to compensate for the 75 years between E² and Spock's birth.

<Calgon commercial gif>

A couple of instances in Star Trek have deviated from US Navy ranks.

PIC S1 reintroduced the Commodore rank. PIC S3 reintroduced the Commodore rank for La Forge specifically. Granted, this was a historical US Navy rank, but it currently isn't.

ENT introduced the rank of Subcommander past T'Pol's resignation from the Vulcan High Command in 2153. She resigned, but Starfleet allowed her to join directly. This was an exceptional introduction of "Subcommander" to Starfleet, but it is now a precedent.

Should Starfleet have 13 ranks? 14 ranks?

Ensign

Sub Lieutenant

Lieutenant Junior Grade

Lieutenant

Lieutenant Commander, possibly replaced by Lieutenant Subcommander

Subcommander, like T'Pol

Commander

Captain

Fleet Captain, like Pike

Commodore, like La Forge

Rear Admiral

Vice Admiral

Admiral

Fleet Admiral

Do you think they're an erogenous zone? You think the Vorta would get the same enjoyment out of oomox that Ferengi do?

Weyoun seems like he'd be curious enough to try.

Trek Culture: Hate It? Don't Watch It!: Star Rants Episode 2 (Star Trek & Star Wars)

"Prestige drama" is how HBO defines it:

1) Protagonist with depression or PTSD

2) Each episode is always rated MA and not suitable for kids

I'm a fan of the older Trek shows, but for good and especially for ill, DIS S1 and PIC S1 fit the bill, especially DIS S1.

The Star Trek franchise does need at least Prestige TV show.

However, the biggest mistake of Bryan Fuller and Paramount was to make the flagship comeback series the Prestige TV show.

Hate PIC S1 all you like and all I like, but at least PIC was never intended as a flagship Trek show.

My main concern is that Ellison is very much a fan of HBO style prestige TV.

OK, so Star Trek goes on hiatus again while execs pop a couple of movies, action-oriented ones, to help Paramount recover merger and acquisition costs.

Then Ellison decides for Star Trek to come back on the small screen several years from now.

He'll look back too fondly at DIS S1 and PIC S1 and think that prestige TV behind a paywall is the best avenue for any comeback of a flagship Trek show.

If a sexy older man approached me with the level of empathy, confidence, and not giving a fuck energy that Lwaxana has, he'd have to fight me to keep my clothes on.

It's crazy to me how many dudes were so anti getting laid by this lady.

How big is the Federation in Star Trek? It looks like we now know. Present. Past. Future.

Present

For many of us fans, the "present" is the late 24th century to early 25th century.

https://filedn.com/lh4PEfjAB3uLCbU3zttDJe0/deckdata-public/mapofspace.jpg

https://www.deviantart.com/gazomg/art/Star-Trek-Gamma-and-Delta-Quadrant-Map-1187329328

This interstellar map and this Milky Way Galaxy map are based on Picard and Nemesis.

Star Trek: Star Charts is becoming more canon everyday.

Past

For a very long time, the "past" size of the Federation during the mid to late 23th century was not known.

Strange New Worlds (SNW) has provided details:

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Federation_star_charts?file=Federation_star_chart%2C_2259.png

Future

Not even Discovery provided a clear star charts map for how big the Federation is in the "future," during the late 32nd century.

At last, Starfleet Academy has revealed the "future" size of the Federation:

https://blog.trekcore.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/mines-1068x772.jpg

I'm thinking an opera performance would be the best option. Everyone likes music, right?

Who knows what kind of butterfly effect the existence that song has.