From: rawdon@colby.cs.wisc.edu (Michael Rawdon)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.misc,rec.arts.startrek
Subject: Re: Stardates--from the horse's mouth
Date: 31 Aug 92 19:56:21 GMT
Reply-To: rawdon@colby.cs.wisc.edu
Organization: University of Wisconsin Computer Sciences Dept., Madison, WI

In <1992Aug31.054628.2917@nntp.uoregon.edu> eisimps@cie.uoregon.edu (Eileen Simpson) writes:
>In article <1992Aug30.211200.19664@cs.wisc.edu> rawdon@colby.cs.wisc.edu writes:
>>In <1992Aug30.202944.17703@nntp.uoregon.edu> eisimps@cie.uoregon.edu (Eileen Simpson) writes:
>>>I've seen a number of  questions about the meaning of stardates.  The Next
>>>Generation Writers'/Directors' Guide, a Paramount publication for those
>>>producing the show, contains the following explanation:

>>Well, this doesn't clear things up since 1) It doesn't do a thing for Trek
>>Classic stardates, 2) Hasn't been mentioned on-screen to my knowledge (and
>>so could be wrong), and 3) doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

>I don't know how to make this any clearer, but the writers'/directors'
>guide is THE official word on what these things mean.  It may not "make
>sense."  It _is_ what the dang things mean!  Anyone writing for the show
>must follow these rules of usage. You are debating Paramount, and since it
>is their pretend-reality, that doesn't seem to make sense to me...

No, it's only official until those rules change.  Stuff that goes on behind-
the-scenes only has the impact on the series THAT ACTUALLY SHOWS UP IN THE
EPISODES.  Everything else must, I feel, be considered as strict conjecture,
which could change at any time.

(Some people respond to this that it's unlikely that the people who decide
these things will be fired or replaced any time in the near future.  My
response to them is:  Look at Gene Roddenberry.)

>This is not the kind of information that would ever be mentioned on a 
>show because no character is ever going to spout dialogue that says, 
>"Stardate XXXXXXX. Well, as we cruise through season 5, it appears time to 
>note that the little number after the decimal point means tenths of days..."
>If TNG ever _does_ get so desperate for dialogue that the characters make
>speeches about the meaning of Stardates, I will _probably_ stop watching!

But, until they DO say such a thing (or they slip something on a computer
screen in one episode and someone freezes the frame to read what it says),
any meaning which we see in the stardates beyond what actually appears in the
show is conjecture.

>As for Classic Trek, in The Making of Star Trek a producer noted that stardates
>jumped around wildly until fans complained.  They concocted an
>explanation that the dates were different in different parts of the galaxy
>and tried to pay a bit more attention, but several sources have noted that
>there was little rhyme or reason in TOS' use of stardates.

True, with one exception:  All Trek Classc stardates occur between 1000 and
6000, and, well, the Enterprise *was* on a "five year mission"...

>>What is a "day" in this context?  If it's a standard Earth day, then a TNG
>>season has 1000 days (3 years!!) in it, so our heroes have aged FIFTEEN
>>EARTH YEARS during the course of the show.  This seems patently impossible,
>>since it is hard to believe that Wesley is now about 30 years old.  (It
>>would also mean that he's been at the academy for 5 Earth years now, having
>>entered at about age 25, and having spent TEN YEARS on the Enterprise as an
>>acting ensign.)

>Seems like pretty politically incorrect "Earthism" to insist that they have
>to use a 24 hour day, 365 day year out in space...   ;->

True, but... what does a "day" mean then?

>>The "complex mathematical formula" stuff is obviously just handwaving... 

>Well, I think the point is the whole dang thing is not intended to be
>"real".  It's an internal guide for the show's continuity that tells you
>about what point in what season the episode was filmed.  It has nothing to
>do with real science, it just sounds neat.
			  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Well, that's debatable... it sounds like B-grade science fiction to me.

>Sorry if folks are disappointed about the Stardate thing, but that is what 
>the darn things mean.

No, it's what the people at Paramount _claim_ they mean, and they'll mean
that only so long as the people at Paramount don't change their minds (or
actually break down and put it in an episode)...

-- 
Michael Rawdon	    rawdon@colby.cs.wisc.edu  [Note new address!]
University of Wisconsin Computer Sciences Department, Madison, WI

"It is a fool's prerogative to utter truths that no one else will speak."
				- Dream, "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
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