Consequently the order "Polarize the hull plating" sounds wankier with each episode. I guess it's time for a little snack.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
"Polarize the hull plating!"
Okay I understand that they don't have shields at this point but that is no excuse for taking seven syllables to give an order that may save your ship from having very large holes blown into it. In all other Trek we hear "Raise shields" or in the real scary moments when you see the actual firepower heading into the viewscreen "Shields!!" And yet in four seasons of ENT Archer never shortened the command to, at least, "Polarize!"
Consequently the order "Polarize the hull plating" sounds wankier with each episode. I guess it's time for a little snack.
Consequently the order "Polarize the hull plating" sounds wankier with each episode. I guess it's time for a little snack.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I never really understood what they meant by "Polarize"...did they mean create a magnetic field that would act as a force field of sorts? I don't get it. If you're gonna make up Trek jargon, don't make it easily misunderstood for REAL jargon.
They probably made Bakula say that line to make the fights seem more dramatic than they relaly were.
Plus, that 2 second longer phrase saved the SFX guys 2 seconds worth of CGI shots :)
Actually, polarizing the hull plating doesn't create any kind of force field. The hull is, apparently, made of an alloy that becomes several times harder than its component metals when electromagnetically polarized. I hear that this idea was born out of a recent discovery in modern day ceramics that some ceramic materials become harder when subjected to an electric charge.
They did ultimately come up with the command "Tactical Alert" for these situations, a command which not only encompasses polarizing the hull plating but also bringing the weapons on-line. Good idea for dangerous situations.
Personally, I've always thought "polarize the hull plating" sounds cool, so much so that it became a bit of a catch phrase with me at work; if I ever sensed there was going to be an argument or the workload was going to get really heavy, I'd just say "polarize the hull plating." Eventually, everyone learned to brace themselves when they'd hear me say that.
I still say it to this day. ;)
Post a Comment