Talk:The Alternative Factor

Poor Security

Shipboard security is absurdly lax in this episode. On several occasions, Lazarus is left alone to wander about the ship, giving him the opportunity to commit acts of sabotage, overpower the engineering staff and steal dilithium crystals. At one point, Dr. McCoy demands that Captain Kirk "get that muscleman out of my sickbay," and Kirk promptly dismisses the guard. McCoy promises that "this time, he's not going anywhere," then leaves Lazarus unattended and unrestrained (Dr. van Gelder didn't have it so easy). Why on earth is a bizarre, irrational alien whose presence cannot be accounted for permitted to roam the ship unattended? For that matter, why isn't he in the brig? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.132.233.128 (talk) 06:44, 19 December 2006 (UTC).

Security often seems rather patchy on Kirk's ship, to be honest. I'm currently watching season one in order, and I note that Khan was not confined until after he'd shown himself willing to attack McCoy for absolutely no reason, even though they really should have been suspicious based on the name of the ship and the period from which it supposedly originated. Once locked in guarded quarters (not a cell), he promptly manages to escape, and we learn that a few hours' study of the ship's technical manuals, which are freely available to all and sundry, gives him enough information to be able to disable the bridge (so they don't even have security by obscurity). This is supposed to emphasise to us just how magnificently intelligent the man is, but, really, the crew made it all far easier for him than it should have been. As much as I want to say "oh, they're too trusting, but that's a good flaw to have if you gotta have one", the ship at this time is part of a distinctly military outfit. With all the different general orders and levels of alert and rules about how you're not officially in an emergency until you have pressed the Red Alert button, it seems odd not to have a few simple security procedures for dealing with potentially psychotic passengers! Why, for instance, does a suspected mass-murderer (might-be-Kodos) and his party have access to, say, Engineering? Does that make any kind of military sense? I also note that on several occasions during season one they pick up a stranger who needs to be given new clothes--and give him a uniform. The airforce captain is even given a uniform with rank stripes! Is it reasonable to expect that on a ship with 400 crew everyone would know everyone well enough by sight that there's no risk of a stranger misusing that perceived authority? Two of the boringly predictable attacks on Yeoman Rand could have been prevented by doors that actually lock. But none of this is at all relevant unless we can find sources that discuss this kind of weak writing in Star Trek, and unless weakness in the writing is considered notable. The Gilly (talk) 12:21, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

Literary Meaning

For the love of God, can someone explain the literary meaning behind this (and other) episodes, without focusing entirely on the physics of the episode! Star Trek is absolutely absurd from a physics stand point. The episodes were making literary points. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.207.160.217 (talk • contribs)

Thats left for YOU to figure out. Cyberia23 00:54, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

This comment is baffling. Why isn't the plot left for me to figure out as well? Why don't I figure out the beard inconsistencies on my own? Or the physics blunders? What's the point of describing the plot to a TV episode in such elaborate detail, especially when you can just watch the episode, if there is no analysis to provide some insight into possible meanings? An encyclopedia article should offer more than merely recounting the plot, and pointing out obvious mistakes that nearly anyone can see. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.207.160.217 (talk • contribs)

This article, like the vast majority of Star Trek episode write-ups, does go into excessive detail, appended with unnecessary trivia with a twist of WP:OR and very little in terms of a discussion of the episode's real-world significance or impact. I'm sure it's somewhere on my to-edit list, and on Cyberia23's, and on a ton of others' as well -- maybe even yours. Yes, it needs work. So do lots of other elements on Wikipedia. --EEMeltonIV 21:58, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

Why is there no anti-matter Enterprise?

Just like in the mirror universe, the ship should have an almost identical counterpart.--2003:CE:BBC6:6C7C:9D39:EC3D:A58C:7AFA (talk) 15:44, 15 October 2018 (UTC)