Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 15, 1994 TAG: 9403150032
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: IAN SPELLING
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Since Inside Trek was launched a year ago, thousands of Trekkers have writtenwith questions ranging from the truly trivial to the vastly complex.
Here are the three that are asked the most often: Q.: What are stardates and how do they work?
A: Stardates were created as a subtle reminder that every "Trek" episode unfolds in the future, says Mike Okuda, senior art supervisor and technical consultant for "Next Gen" and "DS9."
"There are general systems to generate stardates, but they were never intended to be examined in close detail.
"In `Star Trek' [classic] they started with a particular number and increasedit by a small number of units each episode. The problem with that was the episodes weren't necessarily shown in the order in which they were produced." On "Next Gen," the first number (4) refers to the 24th
century, the second to the current season.
"An interesting point," Okuda adds, "is that had `Next Gen' continued past 10 seasons, they would have been forced to go to a 5 as the first number."
Rick Berman, executive producer of "Next Gen" and "DS9," explains that stardates are sequential, dealing with years, months, days and, finally, portions of days.
"We've had debates over them," he says. "[Mike and Denise] Okuda, ["DS9" senior illustrator] Rick Sternbach, [series creator Gene] Roddenberry and othershave been involved in analyzing them and figuring out what they are.
"They're taken very seriously by the writers and us, and they even change during the course of developing a script. We do the best we can and try not to obsess about them, but I wouldn't start a calendar with them."
Denise Okuda, an art-department staffer on "Next Gen" and "DS9," points fans seeking more information to "Star Trek Chronology" (Pocket Books, 1993), which she wrote with her husband.
"Appendix-D of `The Chronology' goes into even greater detail," she says. "It should answer a lot of questions."
Q.: What do the colors of Starfleet uniforms represent?
A.: According to staffers in the "Next Gen" and "DS9" wardrobe departments, burgundy signifies command; mustard is for personnel in ship services (includingengineering, security and transporter); and teal is for those in the medical, science and teaching field.
This is the "Next Gen" standard, to which "DS9" adheres for the most part.
Longtime "Star Trek" research consultant Richard Arnold says the uniforms on "Trek"-classic were coded as follows: Red was for ship services, blue was for the sciences and avocado signified command.
(The costumers for the "Trek" feature films did not stick to this color scheme, however.)
Q.: Where did the name Enterprise come from?
A.: No one really knows, Mike Okuda says.
What is known is that the first outline of "Star Trek" referred to the ship as the Yorktown. In a later pre-production phase it was called the Independence. "So I don't think `Enterprise' was necessarily Gene's first
choice," Okuda says. "I also don't know for sure that Gene came up with the name `Enterprise,' but I'd bet money on it."
David Alexander, Roddenberry's official biographer, says, "The Enterprise was named after the Navy aircraft carrier Enterprise, which served with distinction during World War II."
Trek specs
Rumor has it that "Next Gen" will end as it began, with an appearance by that pest Q (John De Lancie). Speaking of De Lancie, look for him in an encore airing of the science-fiction thriller "Deep Red," March 19 on the Sci-Fi Channel . . . Jake and Nog are the focus of Brad Strickland's "The Star Ghost" (Minstrel Books), a "DS9" novel for young adults.
Conncon in Danbury, Conn. Write: P.O. Box 444, Sherman, Conn. 06784.
Vulkon at the Orlando North Hilton in Altamonte Springs, Fla., featuring Walter Koenig and Mark Alaimo. (Call 305-434-6060.)
If you have Trek news or trivia to share - or if you have questions relating to "Star Trek" - write to Ian Spelling, care of Features Department, Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491.
by CNB