Curse you, Hand of Fate!
Mark
BTW, I loved seeing, on my MPEG copy of "Broken Bow" as shown on A-Channel, scrolling ads for JAG, premiering that evening at 9. I was really looking forward to it after the 6th repetition. . .
MPEG, eh? Well, I may just have to find the equivalent for this week's episode - it's not like I can wait till Sunday for the SPACE Channel broadcast..
Mark
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Technology didn't seem to be as big a presence in this episode. What we did see appeared to be fairly consistent with what Enterprise has shown so far.
It looks like the transporters are really underpowered and limited. They couldn't use it to beam Reed out of the cavern, but it's looks like Tucker could tweak the sensor resolution enough to beam down some stun grenades. My impression, though, was that the caverns weren't too far underground. It's just that the strata was dense (anyone else have a differing impression?).
For handheld tech, I just realized that T'Pol is using a Vulcan hand scanner instead of the Earth scanners that Reed and Archer were carrying. Also, it looks like humans were still using projectile weapons by 2067 (Ryan arrived at this date for the launch of the Costenoga). Reed could easily identify the Novans' rifles as MK-33 or MK-34's, and he had the unfortunate pleasure of having a bullet in his leg. As for our regular phase pistols, it looks like the beam can be narrowed enough to create a cutting beam. Archer used his pistol to saw through a massive tree trunk.
We've also gotten to see the crew actually use the turbolifts. They don't have the twisting handle that TOS turbolifts had to control them, but they aren't operated on voice commands either. Archer just pushed a button near the door and the lift started moving. Also, it doesn't look like the greenish panel on the back wall of the cab lights up to show that the lift is moving.
How did the cave-dwelling colonists maintain their supply of bullets for their handheld machine guns for seventy-five years?
Dan, you are the man. 
quote:
Originally posted by MinutiaeMan:
How did the cave-dwelling colonists maintain their supply of bullets for their handheld machine guns for seventy-five years?
How do we know they had to? Maybe the guns have been in boxes for seventy years, they spied the away team and whipped them out, as they've been instructed by the elders to do when the evil humans return.
However, those were still machine guns. They were spewing out bullets at a pretty fast rate. Somehow I don't think that (1) the colonists coult maintain that rate of fire, and (2) that the guns could actually HOLD that big of an ammo clip (or whatever you call it).
Remember that the colonists were out there for seventy-five years. That's a long time to maintain an ammo supply under any conditions.
Of course, we didn't exactly see a lathe down there.
But, as others have mentioned, what else would they be shooting at? Hunting alien armadillo things probably doesn't require automatic weapons.
quote:
How do we know they had to? Maybe the guns have been in boxes for
seventy years, they spied the away team and whipped them out, as they've
been instructed by the elders to do when the evil humans return.
Interesting. So, when you're dying of radiation poisoning and so on, you're going to take time out to teach your 5 year old how to maintain and shoot a machine gun. Makes sense to me. 
Seriously, though, the machine guns do raise a problem, in that there didn't seem anything down in the caves that indicated the level of technology needed to maintain the guns in working order. The Novans were similar to the kids in Mad Max 3 in terms of technical sophistication.
Given the appearance of the colony, I had the impression that the final collapse of the society happened relatively quickly, and there simply wouldnt have been enough time to teach the kids how to do such a complicated task, to say nothing of manufacturing ammunition to the tolerances necessary for an automatic weapon.
quote:
How do we know they had to? Maybe the guns have been in boxes for
seventy years, they spied the away team and whipped them out, as they've
been instructed by the elders to do when the evil humans return.
Interesting. So, when you're dying of radiation poisoning and so on, you're going to take time out to teach your 5 year old how to maintain and shoot a machine gun. Makes sense to me.
Seriously, though, the machine guns do raise a problem, in that there didn't seem anything down in the caves that indicated the level of technology needed to maintain the guns in working order. The Novans were similar to the kids in Mad Max 3 in terms of technical sophistication.
Given the appearance of the colony, I had the impression that the final collapse of the society happened relatively quickly, and there simply wouldnt have been enough time to teach the kids how to do such a complicated task, to say nothing of manufacturing ammunition to the tolerances necessary for an automatic weapon.
and to teach someone to use a gun?
'this is the thing you pull and this is the end you point at the thing you want to die' -- Homer
Besides, ever try firing a machine gun on full automatic? Unless you've been trained, it's damned hard to keep your aim on target. I don't think the kids and grandkids of the survivors would be able to hit a bull in the ass with a barn door unless they'd been practicing, and then you're back with the maintenance question again.
It looks to me that the Novans weren't all that experienced with their weapons. They were just sorta aiming in the general direction they wanted to shoot in and pressed the trigger. Looking at the impact of the bullets against the cavern walls makes it seem to me that they were struggling with some kickback or that they weren't used to keeping the gun steady while running. And I agree with Jeff. It looks like Reed was only taken out by luck (or ricochet).
[ October 28, 2001: Message edited by: Siegfried ]
quote:
And I agree with Mark
Mark?!
Just a little starving for recognition, are you?
A bit rich coming from the man who spent several months insisting that I was gay.
Besides, it's not like there's a box that shows up "Gay/Straight" when someone posts. I mean, my fucking name shows up on every post I make. Much harder to mistake one person for someone else.
PsyLiam -- Gay
Malnurtured Snay -- Deer Killer Extraordinare
[ October 28, 2001: Message edited by: Malnurtured Snay ]
Mark
[ October 28, 2001: Message edited by: Mark Nguyen ]
Ducks, runs, and hides to avoid the onslaught of groans and thrown objects at the bad pun.