Recently, there was a brief discussion on the S.S. Conestoga and the origin or meaning of the word "Conestoga". I did some web surfing and happen to find this page.
As you can read, or chose not to read, Conestoga is the name of an old city in Pennsylvania. This city, founded by Mennonites, lend its name to a type of wagon. A wagon that would become famous and synmous with the western expansion of a century later.
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
And people say Brannon and Braga hate TOS.
Gene said he thought of 'Star Trek' as Wagon Train to the Stars ... and now they've named one of the first starships in homage to that.
Kinda cool, really.
Posted by OnToMars (Member # 621) on :
Please, Jeff.
I hardly think that what they named a hundred year old ship seen only on a computer screen can be unqualifiedly assumed as any sort of tribute to Gene Roddenberry or TOS.
That's a hell of an assumption.
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
Well if it is unimportant, why did Target Employee dedicate a thread to it, hmmm? Answer me that.
Posted by OnToMars (Member # 621) on :
*snickers*
You make an undeniable argument, Jeff.
*laughs*
(really, I never said it was unimporant, I said that there was no way to find the causal relationship you seem to find so obvious)
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
Well, you're obviously not looking in the right place then, are you?
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
I'd point out, Jeff, that there isn't a shred of actual logic in your arguement.
Roddenberry called Trek "'Wagon Train' to the stars". Someone on ENT's staff came up w/ the name "SS Conestoga", a well-known type of covered wagon. Therefore, Berman and Braga were doing homage to TOS.
By the same "logic", we could, if we wanted to, say:
Brannon Braga is arrogant. An arrogant person can be called a "bragger". Therefore, Brannon Braga got his name because "Braga" almost sounds like "bragger".
It just doesn't work.
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
SARCASM!
I know OnToMars probably wouldn't understand, but I thought everyone who knows that T.E. (no offense) has a habit of posting the most minutae info.
Get a grip, people.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Well, I wasn't denying that. I was supporting the argument against your assertion that the Conestoga was named after Roddenberry's "Wagon Train" reference.
Posted by Bernd (Member # 6) on :
The name Conestoga only shows that someone made the effort to dig up some rather obscure historical reference.
Posted by Phelps (Member # 713) on :
Jeff's argument is a perfectly valid example of inductive logic, seeking out the most likely reason for this name. And somehow I doubt that the writer was a wagon train fan who just happened to be working on a show named after a bunch of covered wagons...
Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :
?
Star Trek: Donner Party?
"This rack of lamb is delicious, Captain Archer! Where did your chef manage to find lamb this far out?"
Posted by Austin Powers (Member # 250) on :
Now what is that supposed to mean when it's at home?
Perhaps I just don't get the joke. Might be due to the fact that I am German - aren't we well known for our lack of a sense of humor? Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
conestoga isn't a particuraly obscure reference in the US. almost every school child in the US learns (or used to learn, school children here don't know anything anymore, unfortunately) of the great conestoga wagons that crossed the US.
--jacob
Posted by Malnurtured Snay (Member # 411) on :
The Donner party got caught in the Rockies ... in winter. They ate themselves. Yummy.
Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :
Indeed. Asa young Boy Scout I went to Camp Conestoga.
For our local Pioneer Days, they have Conestoga wagons for people to ride in.
Conestoga is hardly obscure to the people the show was made for.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
I think the members of the Donner Party ate each other. Eating themselves would probably be a futile effort...
Posted by EdipisReks (Member # 510) on :
heh. i watched The Shining last night for the first time in a while, and they talk about the donner party. lil' danny learned about cannibalism on tv, so it was ok to talk about it around him (though who knows about tony, he might have been traumatized).
