From Newsgroup: alt.tv.star-trek.tos   
   From Address: graemecree@aol.com   
   Subject: The alt.tv.star-trek.tos FAQ   
      
   It's been a while since we've re-posted the FAQ, so...   
   http://graeme.50webs.com/trek/tosfaq/index.htm   
   THE ALT.TV.STAR-TREK.TOS FAQ    
   Reposted for those who are new here.    
   Sections I-IV originally written by ConnMoore (connmoore @aol.com), used with   
   his permission, and revised by Graeme Cree. Sections V-VI by Graeme Cree.    
   Does anyone have any suggestions? Something you'd like to add or modify,   
   respond in the newsgroup please!     
   FAQ   
    Welcome to alt.tv.star-trek.tos. This document is here to answer some of the   
   most basic questions about this newsgroup.    
       
   --------------------------------------------------------------------------    
   I. INTRODUCTION   
       
    1. WHAT IS STAR TREK?   
    For those among us living in a cave the last 40+ years, Star Trek was a   
   television science fiction show that aired on NBC television for three   
   seasons, from 1966, until 1969, and which chronicled the adventures of the   
   Starship Enterprise, a paramilitary exploration vessel sent out by an   
   organization known as Starfleet Command to explore strange new worlds on   
   behalf of the United Federation of Planets. It has become, in the interceding   
   years, a global phenomenon, with sequels and prequels made of the original   
   show. There are now Star Trek books, movies, comics, cartoons, games, etc. and   
   they all spawned from the original television series.    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    2. WHAT DOES THIS NEWSGROUP DISCUSS?   
    This newsgroup is devoted to discussion of all things regarding the   
   *original* Star Trek NBC series (known by the abbreviation "TOS"). Because   
   Star Trek has ingrained itself in so many areas of entertainment and culture,   
   those discussions can be far afield, so almost everything is on topic here,   
   since almost everything can be connected to Star Trek. A reference to the   
   relevance to Star Trek is usually appreciated in all subjects discussed here.   
   This group is not a moderated one.    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    3. CAN I BE INVOLVED IN THE DISCUSSION?   
    Of course! Star Trek is nothing if not inclusive. You might want to read a   
   few posts, and learn the nuances of this group, but you are more than welcome   
   to jump right in. Be aware that many of the people that post here are very   
   broad in their knowledge of all things Trek. If you are going to disagree with   
   someone, be prepared to back it up with facts and references to the show. If   
   you have a specific question, you may be able to see if it has been answered   
   before, by going to http://www.google.com, and searching for previous posts   
   containing key words of your question.    
       
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------    
       
   II. TREK SLANGUAGE   
       
    4. THAT'S ALL WELL AND GOOD, BUT I SEE ALL THESE STAR TREK RELATED WORDS AND   
   ACRONYMS BEING THROWN ABOUT. WHAT DO THEY MEAN?   
    As with any culture, Star Trek has created a bit of its own language. Here   
   are some of the phrases that are part of the world of Star Trek.    
   B&B: B&B: Everywhere else, this stands for "Bed & Breakfast". Here, it refers   
   to the last initials of the two men, Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, that were   
   in charge of the Star Trek franchise from Gene Roddenberry's death, through   
   the end of Enterprises' run. Sometimes not held in high esteem by fans of TOS,   
   because of perceived lack of respect for that show, but they take heat from   
   fans of all the shows.    
   CANON: Short dictionary definition of Canon: "A body of works or writings   
   recognized as approved or official." In Star Trek "Canon" is a word thrown   
   about to indicate absolute truths about what happened on the show. Thus, what   
   constitutes canon is the actual content of the episodes of the various Star   
   Trek television shows and theatrical features. For obvious reasons, this   
   excludes fanfic. It also excludes the novels, technical manuals, and other   
   products such as the comic books from Gold Key, Marvel, and DC, despite the   
   fact that these are "officially licensed" products. In addition, the half-hour   
   animated television series featuring the voices of most of the cast of Star   
   Trek (TAS) is generally excluded from canon as well, possibly because it was   
   produced by Filmation, rather than Paramount, though no official reason has   
   been given. Interpretations of Canon create a lot of the discussions in   
   alt.tv.star-trek.tos.    
   CLASSIC TREK: Another name for The Original Series, which was used in the late   
   80's, after the premier of The Next Generation, when the "New Coke" fiasco was   
   fresh in everyone's mind, the idea being that The Next Generation was to New   
   Coke what The Original Series was to Coca-Cola Classic. A few wits went so far   
   as to apply the nickname "Diet Trek" to the Animated Series. With the advent   
   of the internet, the name "Classic Trek" gradually gave way to the   
   easier-to-type "TOS". Nowadays, the term "Classic Trek" can be taken to   
   loosely refer to the entire onscreen adventures of the original crew, namely   
   the original Series, the Animated Series, and the first 6 Star Trek movies.    
   DS9: Abbreviation for the fourth Star Trek series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,   
   which appeared as a syndicated show from 1993 to 1999. This was the first show   
   to not feature the starship Enterprise, as it was set aboard a stationary   
   space station. Its only connection to The Original Series is an occasional   
   reference to that show. This show takes place at roughly the same time period   
   as TNG, roughly 80 years after TOS.    
   ENTERPRISE (Ship): Name of the ship (Registry Number NCC-1701) that is used   
   throughout the run of The Original Series. This ship was finally destroyed in   
   the motion picture, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.    
   ENTERPRISE A: (Ship) Ship introduced at the very end of Star Trek IV and used   
   during the next two TOS movies.    
   ENTERPRISE (Show): The sixth and most recent show in the Star Trek franchise.   
   Enterprise was the first 'Star Trek' franchise series to be set prior to the   
   events of TOS (approximiately 100 years earlier). Show debuted on The   
   Paramount Network in 2001, and ran for four seasons, ending in 2005. The only   
   connection to the Original Series was the use of the name Enterprise and some   
   of the alien species and planets first mentioned in The Original Series,   
   though such references frequently contradicted previously established facts.    
   FANFIC: Short for Fan Fiction. Unlicensed writings about TOS characters by   
   fans of the show.    
   REDSHIRTS: Security Guards that appear on the show, usually only long enough   
   to die a grisly death. They are named this because of the color of their   
   shirts. (Duh)    
   RETCON: "Retroactive Continuity". A process where things that were considered   
   true in an early episode are changed in later episodes, sometimes   
   deliberately, sometimes accidentally. In many cases, the last word is   
   considered, the authoritative one, though this is sometimes highly debatable.   
   Also, not all changed concepts are necessarily mutually exclusive. For   
   example, if Captain Kirk has one middle initial in the pilot, but a different   
   middle initial is used every other time such is referenced, this could be   
   considered a change, or it could just be that he's got two middle initials.    
   SLASH: A term used by writers of fanfic to indicate a pairing of two or more   
   Star Trek characters. The term comes from the "slash" used between the   
   characters in the writing. Such as, Spock/Chapel, which would be fan fiction   
   that would have a Spock and Christine Chapel relation in it. Slash fiction can   
   take many forms, homosexual; heterosexual and multi species pairings are not   
   uncommon. There are four other newsgroups, alt.tv.star-trek.tos.slash,   
   alt.sex.fetish.startrek, alt.startrek.creative.erotica, and alt.   
   tartrek.creative.erotica.moderated, specially devoted to discussions of this   
   nature.    
   K/S: A particular type of slash fan fiction devoted to theorizing a homosexual   
   relation Kirk and Spock. This particular genre of fanfic has been the subject   
   of a long-term trolling attack on this newsgroup that has stretched over   
   several years. The topic is, strictly speaking, off topic here, and belongs   
   rather in one of the four newsgroups mentioned above.    
   TAS: Abbreviation for The Animated Series, which ran for two seasons in 1973   
   and 1974. This was the first sequel to TOS. No longer considered Canon by the   
   powers at Paramount, but it did have Gene Roddenberry's approval, and direct   
   participation, and had many of the Original Series actors and writers working   
   on it.    
   TMP: Abbreviation for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the first Star Trek   
   movie.    
   TNG: Abbreviation for Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 3rd Star Trek   
   series, and the second sequel to the original. This show appeared in   
   syndication for 1987 until 1994. This show takes place approximately 80 years   
   after The Original Series, and had an all-new cast, with only very rare   
   appearances by cast members from TOS    
   TOS: Acronym for "Star Trek", the original series, that ran from 1966 until   
   1969 on NBC television. This show (along with TAS) is the primary focus of   
   this group, and is by far the best of any Star Trek series. :) All other Star   
   Trek shows are pale imitations of this, the original and the most   
   entertaining.    
   TPTB: Abbreviation for "The Powers That Be". Usually used in a derisive tone   
   when you are PO'ed about something that the creators of the show have done.    
   TIIC: Acronym for "The Idiots In Charge". A more derisive term for TPTB.    
   VOYAGER (Show): Name of the ship and series featured in the fifth Star Trek   
   series, Star Trek: Voyager, which appeared on The Paramount Network, from 1995   
   until 2001. Set in the same time frame as The Next Generation, about 80-90   
   years after the events of TOS, this show has only passing references to The   
   Original Series.    
       
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------    
       
   III. GENERAL USENET ABBREVIATIONS   
       
    5. WHAT DO SOME OF THESE OTHER NON-TREK RELATED ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS   
   MEAN?   
    Here are some basic Newsgroup words and acronyms you might see bandied   
   about...    
   AFAIK: As Far As I Know    
   alt (or) alt.: Usually seen with a dot after it, as "alt." (pronounced:   
   alt-dot) this refers to a large variety of newsgroups that discuss   
   "alternative" topics.    
   CROSSPOST: To post a message to several newsgroups simultaneously - an action   
   usually frowned on in Internet culture.    
   FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions: (pronounced: fak (or) F-A-Q)A list of   
   recurring questions and answers related to a newsgroup, software, Web site, or   
   whatever. FAQ lists prevent newsgroup discussions from being overrun by common   
   user questions.    
   FLAME: To send nasty or insulting messages, usually in response to someone's   
   having broken the rules of netiquette.    
   FLAME WAR: When an online discussion degenerates into a series of personal   
   attacks against the debaters, rather than discussion of their positions. A   
   heated exchange.    
   FWIW: For What It's Worth    
   FYI: For Your Information    
   GOOGLE: A search engine for searching internet sites, including Usenet. It can   
   be found at http://www.google.com    
   HTH: Hope This (or That) Helps.    
   IMHO: In My Humble Opinion.    
   IIRC: If I Remember Correctly    
   IMNSHO: In My Not So Humble Opinion    
   IMO: In My Opinion    
   J/K: Just Kidding!    
   KILLFILE: Another word for message filtering. There are settings in your   
   usenet software that let you filter out USENET postings to some extent, by   
   excluding messages on certain topics or from certain people.    
   LOL: Laughing Out Loud -or- Lots of Luck (or Love)    
   LURK: To read messages in a newsgroup or chat area without ever posting.    
   LURKER: A visitor to a newsgroup or online service who only reads other people   
   posts but never posts his or her own messages, thus remaining anonymous.    
   NETIQUETTE: The informal rules of etiquette that govern online interaction on   
   the Internet.    
   NEWBIE: Somebody new to the Internet or to computers in general.    
   NEWSGROUPS: A part of the Internet which allows users to "post" and "reply to"   
   messages from other users.    
   OT: Off Topic. When starting a thread that is off the topic of TOS, it is   
   generally considered good Netiquette to begin the thread's title with "OT: ",   
   to identify it as such.    
   PLONK: A shorthand way of saying "I am placing you in my killfile, so don't   
   bother talking to me any more because I won't hear it." Legend has it that the   
   word Plonk is an acronym for "Please Leave Our Newsgroup: Killfiled". Yeah,   
   whatever. As a word of warning, don't tell someone you're plonking them unless   
   you really intend to follow through. It frequently happens that someone says   
   they're plonking someone, but can't resist continuing to read their messages   
   to see their reaction. If this person gets caught responding to the plonked   
   person's messages a week later, they may never hear the end of it.    
   POV: Point of View.    
   ROTFL: Rolling On The Floor Laughing.    
   ROTFLMAO: Rolling on the Floor laughing my a$$ off.    
   SHOUTING: Chatters and Usenet posters will often tell others to "stop   
   shouting." It's another way of saying, "TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK!" Generally   
   speaking, chatting, posting, and sending e-mail in all uppercase is considered   
   rude.    
   TROLL: The act of posting a message in a newsgroup that is obviously   
   exaggerating something on a particular topic, hoping to trick a newbie into   
   posting a follow-up article that points out the mistake. A "Troll" is a person   
   that spends all their time trying to disrupt the normal discussion of a   
   particular newsgroup to bring attention onto themselves. As with all   
   newsgroups, alt.tv.star-trek.tos has its share of Trolls, and you will quickly   
   learn who they are. Watch and see who seems to be causing most of the problems   
   in the newsgroup, and be prepared to use your killfile. Do not let Trolls   
   disrupt your enjoyment of the Star Trek newsgroup experience.    
   USENET: Often referred to as just the "newsgroups", USENET is a distributed   
   bulletin board system.    
       
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------    
       
   IV. THE MAIN PEOPLE BEHIND STAR TREK   
       
    6. WHO ARE SOME OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN THE SHOW?   
       
   CAPTAIN KIRK, (James T. R. Kirk): Captain of The Enterprise during the entire   
   run of The Original Series. Played by William Shatner.    
   COMMANDER SPOCK: Half Vulcan, Half Human First officer and Science officer of   
   the Enterprise throughout the run of The Original Series, played by Leonard   
   Nimoy. Has a father, Sarek (Played by Mark Lenard), and a mother, Amanda   
   (Played by Jane Wyatt). Referred to as "Lt. Commander Spock" in a couple of   
   First Season episodes, though his braid never reflected this.    
   LT. COMMANDER MCCOY, (Leonard H. McCoy): Chief Medical Officer of the   
   Enterprise throughout most of The Original Series. Played by Deforest Kelly.   
   Nicknamed "Bones" by Captain Kirk.    
   LT. COMMANDER SCOTT, (Montgomery Scott, aka Scotty): Chief Engineer of the   
   Enterprise throughout the Original Series run. Played by James Doohan.    
   LT. UHURA: Chief communication officer aboard the Enterprise throughout most   
   of the Original Series run. Played by Nichelle Nichols.    
   LT. SULU, (Hikaru Sulu): Helmsman aboard the Enterprise during most of the   
   Original Series run. Played by George Takei.    
   ENSIGN CHEKOV, (Pavel Andreivich Chekov): Helmsman and weapons officer during   
   the second and third seasons of The Original Series run. Played by Walter   
   Koenig.    
   YEOMAN RAND, (Janice Rand): Blonde yeoman that appeared in 8 episodes, all in   
   the first half of the First Season, and in four of the six TOS movies. Played   
   by Grace Lee Whitney.    
   NURSE CHAPEL, (Christine Chapel): Nurse on the Enterprise, played by Majel   
   Barrett, who married Gene Roddenberry after the series.    
   LT. RILEY, (Kevin Riley): Crewman who played an important part in two first   
   season TOS episodes. Played by Bruce Hyde.    
   CAPTAIN PIKE, (Christopher Pike): Captain on the Enterprise before Kirk, in   
   the original series pilot episode. This pilot was never broadcast during the   
   series run, but most of it was integrated into a 2-part series episode, and   
   slightly modified versions of the original pilot were later released on VHS   
   and DVD. Pike was played by Jeffery Hunter.    
   LT. AREX: Tripedal (3 arms, 3 legs) navigator who appeared in the Animated   
   Series as a replacement for Mr. Chekov. Lt. Arex was played by James Doohan.    
   LT. M'RESS: Felinoid communications officer, used in a few Animated episodes   
   as a backup to Lt. Uhura. Lt. M'Ress was played by Majel Barrett.    
   LT. LESLIE: The best all-around utility man in Starfleet, Mr. Leslie (named   
   after one of William Shatner's daughters) can be seen in more than half the   
   episodes of the series, performing virtually every ship function imaginable   
   (including command!). His top specialties seemed to be engineering, security,   
   and showing concern at the action going on in the foreground of the screen.   
   Though he rarely spoke, he has a small but devoted cadre of admirers, and his   
   own dedicated webpage at http://hometown.aol.com/led4acs/LeslieArchives.html   
   (NOTE: This page currently offline, and not yet re-located).. Mr. Leslie was   
   played by Eddie Paskey, who has a personal webpage at http://www   
   eddiepaskey.com.    
   LT. GALLOWAY: Another utility redshirt, played by David L. Ross, who served   
   mostly as security guard and transporter officer. Less well known than Leslie,   
   he appeared in only a half dozen or so episodes, and does not have his own   
   dedicated webpage, but he did manage to pull off the trick of coming back from   
   the dead; the least important character on the show to ever do so.    
   ENTERPRISE COMPUTER (Majel Barrett and others): Several actors and actresses   
   have played the voice of the Enterprise computer, but the most frequently   
   heard voice was that of Majel Barrett, who played the "role" at least once in   
   all six Star Trek series. She was the most frequently heard voice of the   
   computer in TOS.    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    7. WHO ARE SOME OF THE MAIN ACTORS AND CREATIVE PEOPLE BEHIND THE SHOW?     
   GENE RODDENBERRY: Creator, Producer and Executive Producer of Star Trek, and   
   the guiding force behind it for the first two seasons. Nicknamed "The Great   
   Bird of the Galaxy", after a line from the show's premier episode.    
   GENE L. COON: Writer and Line Producer on TOS, and one of the most important   
   creative voices in the show's run. Creator of the Klingons.    
   DOROTHY "D.C." FONTANA: Influential writer, and script consultant on TOS. Many   
   of the best and most creative episodes come from her.    
   FRED FREIBERGER: Line Producer of TOS during its third and final season. Many   
   fans of the show blame the decline in the show's quality on him, though there   
   were other factors at work also.    
   BOB JUSTMAN: Associate Producer and later Co-Producer of TOS, who knew more   
   about the nuts and bolts of putting an episode together than anyone.    
   HERB SOLOW: Desilu Executive who sold Star Trek to NBC. Along with Justman,   
   wrote a book called Inside Star Trek in the mid 1990's, that detailed the   
   making of the series. The name "Sulu" was derived from Solow's name.    
   ALEXANDER COURAGE: Musician who composed the series title theme, and did the   
   music for a couple of first season episodes. Probably gets a bundle of money   
   every time a Trek sequel plays those Dah-da-daaaaa, da-da-da-da-dahhh,   
   Da-Daaaaaah opening notes.    
       
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------    
       
   V. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS   
       
    8. ARE THERE ANY OTHER STAR TREK NEWSGROUPS?   
    Quite a few. Just to name some of the ones in the .alt and .rec hierarchies:    
             NEWSGROUPS DEVOTED TO THE SHOWS   
    alt.tv.star-trek   
    alt.tv.star-trek.tos   
    alt.startrek.the-old-gen   
    alt.startrek.animated   
    alt.tv.star-trek.next-gen   
    alt.tv.star-trek.tng   
    alt.startrek.the-next-gen   
    alt.tv.star-trek.ds9   
    alt.startrek.deep-space-9   
    alt.startrek.enterprise   
    alt.tv.star-trek.enterprise   
    alt.tv.star-trek.voyager   
    alt.startrek.voyager   
             NEWSGROUPS DEVOTED TO BOOKS AND FAN FICTION   
    alt.startrek.book   
    alt.startrek.books   
    alt.startrek.creative   
    alt.startrek.creative.all-ages   
    alt.startrek.writing-staff   
             NEWSGROUPS DEVOTED TO EROTICA   
    alt.sex.fetish.startrek   
    alt.startrek.creative.erotica   
    alt.startrek.creative.erotica.moderated   
    alt.tv.star-trek.tos.slash   
             NEWSGROUPS DEVOTED TO GAMES   
    alt.games.mtrek   
    alt.games.netrek.paradise   
    alt.games.rpg.startrek.quadrant   
    alt.games.xtrek   
    alt.holoworld.rpg.startrek   
    alt.startrek.role-playing   
    rec.games.netrek   
    rec.games.trading-cards.startrek   
    alt.startrek.rpg.gsc   
    alt.startrek.sould.rpg   
             STAR TREK VS. SOMETHING NEWSGROUPS   
    alt.startrek.vs.babylon5   
    alt.startrek.vs.battlestar-galactica   
    alt.startrek.vs.dr-who   
    alt.startrek.vs.starwars   
             NEWSGROUPS DEVOTED TO STAR TREK PEOPLE   
    alt.startrek.people.deforest.kelley   
    alt.startrek.people.gene.roddenberry   
    alt.tv.star-trek.jeffery-hunt   
             NEWSGROUPS DEVOTED TO SPECIAL TOPICS   
    alt.flame.star-trek.voyager   
    alt.startrek.imperial   
    alt.shared-reality.startrek.cardassian   
    alt.shared-reality.startrek.klingon   
    alt.startrek.lcars   
    alt.startrek.tos.trekmuse   
    alt.startrek.sus-amagosa   
    rec.arts.startrek.current   
    rec.arts.startrek.fandom   
    rec.arts.startrek.info   
    rec.arts.startrek.misc   
    rec.arts.startrek.reviews   
    rec.arts.startrek.tech   
    alt.startrek.steg   
    alt.startrek.teroknor   
             NEWSGROUPS DEVOTED TO BINARY FILES   
    alt.binaries.startrek   
    alt.binaries.startrek.adult   
             NEWSGROUPS RELATED TO ALIEN RACES SEEN ON THE SHOWS   
    alt.startrek.bajoran   
    alt.startrek.borg   
    alt.startrek.cardassian   
    alt.startrek.klingon   
    alt.startrek.romulan   
    alt.startrek.vulcan   
    alt.startrek.trill   
   No guarantees about how active any of these groups are. With this many of   
   them, it's a good guess that some of them are dead, Jim.    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    9. HOW MANY STAR TREK SERIES HAVE THERE BEEN?   
    A question frequently gotten wrong, even in the press. There have, in fact   
   been a total of six Star Trek television series:   
   1. Star Trek (1966-1969)   
    2. Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)   
    3. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)   
    4. Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (1993-1999)   
    5. Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)   
    6. Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)   
   In addition, there was one other unproduced series, entitled Star Trek: Phase   
   II, that would have premiered in the mid-to-late 1970's, featuring most of the   
   original cast, but which was cancelled, when the new network that it was   
   intended to flagship failed to materialize.    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    10. WHAT IS THE OFFICIAL NAME OF THE 2nd STAR TREK SERIES?   
    This series was broadcast under the title "Star Trek" (same as the original).   
   This has never been officially changed, but the series is usually referred to   
   as "Star Trek: The Animated Series" (or TAS, for short), to differentiate it   
   from the original.    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    11. WHAT IS THE OFFICIAL NAME OF THE 6th STAR TREK SERIES?   
    This series has had two official titles. At its premiere, it was called   
   simply Enterprise. After two seasons, of increasingly bad ratings, the name   
   was changed to Star Trek: Enterprise, apparently hoping that people would   
   watch any show, so long as it had Star Trek in the title. Rumors about   
   Paramount releasing new series' entitled Star Trek: The 6 o'clock News, Star   
   Trek's Wide, Wide World of Sports, and Star Trek: Babylon Five, are, so far,   
   unfounded.    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    12. WASN'T THERE ANOTHER TELEVISION SERIES CALLED "ENTERPRISE"?   
    Yes, in fact there was. Running from 1952-1958, the series Enterprise   
   consisted of a series of documentary films about American industry. In the   
   opinion of many, Trek's Enterprise was about as interesting as that other one   
   sounds.    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    13. ARE THERE ANY OTHER TITLE CHANGES I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?   
    Well, it's barely worth mentioning, but the second Trek movie, Star Trek II:   
   The Wrath of Khan, was originally released in theaters under the title Star   
   Trek: The Wrath of Khan (with no Roman numeral). The Roman numeral was added   
   before the movie was released on videotape.    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    14. HOW MANY TOS EPISODES ARE THERE?   
    Anywhere from 78-80, depending on how you count. If you count the show's lone   
   2-parter as 2 episodes, and also count the unaired 90-minute pilot as an   
   episode, then there are 80 episodes.    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    15. HOW MANY STAR TREK MOVIES ARE THERE AND HOW MANY ARE BASED ON THE   
   ORIGINAL STAR TREK?   
    At this date, there are a total of 11 movies. The first six are based on the   
   original Star Trek:    
   1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)   
    2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)   
    3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)   
    4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)   
    5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)   
    6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)   
   In addition, there have been four movies based on the 3rd Trek series, Star   
   Trek: The Next Generation:    
   7. Star Trek: Generations (1994)   
    8. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)   
    9. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)   
    10. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)   
   And also a "reboot" of the original series, directed by J.J. Abrams, and   
   featuring all new actors in the roles of the original characters (although the   
   movie does feature two Spocks, one of which is played by Leonard Nimoy).    
   11. Star Trek (2009)   
   Only the second through the sixth movies have roman numerals in their titles,   
   although fans are wont to unofficially refer to them all as if they had them.    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    16. WHEN DID STAR TREK TAKE PLACE?   
    No precise year was ever given for the series. Indications given in the   
   episodes Tomorrow is Yesterday, Space Seed, and The Savage Curtain point to   
   the late 22nd or early 23rd century. The (non-canon) book The Making of Star   
   Trek, and the (canon) film Star Trek II (which takes place 10 years after the   
   5 year mission ended) say 23rd century. The episode Where No Man Has Gone   
   Before implies a later date than that, but says nothing specific. Later   
   incarnations of Star Trek have retconned the date to the 2260's, for reasons   
   unknown. The episode The Squire of Gothos points to a date in the 28th century   
   (!!), which is usually totally ignored by all concerned.    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    17. HOW MANY POST-TOS TREK EPISODES OR MOVIES FEATURE TOS CHARACTERS?   
    Precious few.    
   1. Encounter at Farpoint (Next Generation)   
    2. Sarek (Next Generation)   
    3. Unification (Next Generation)   
    4. Relics (Next Generation)   
    5. Blood Oath (Deep Space 9)   
    6. Star Trek: Generations (Movie)   
    7. The Sword of Kahless (Deep Space 9)   
    8. Flashback (Voyager)   
    9. Trials and Tribble-ations (Deep Space 9)   
    10. Once More Unto the Breach (Deep Space 9)   
    11. Star Trek (Movie)   
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    18. ARE STAR TREK FANS CALLED TREKKIES OR TREKKERS?   
    Both terms are correct, though Trekkers is safer, as some people actually   
   take great offense at the word Trekkies.    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    19. WHY "U.S.S." ENTERPRISE? IS THE ENTERPRISE AN AMERICAN SHIP?   
    No. Though intended to resemble the modern American navy in the minds of the   
   viewers, the U.S.S. Enterprise (called the U.S.S. Yorktown in the first draft   
   of the original series proposal) is not an American ship. Though the show is   
   pretty darn vague about Earth's political and economic future, the Earth   
   appears to have, if not a single world government, then at least a unified   
   coalition, similar to the European Common Market, and to be but one planet   
   (though apparently the most important one), in a galactic federation. U.S.S.,   
   though intended to vaguely suggest America, actually stands for "United   
   StarShip." Since "Starship" is only one word, it doesn't quite work, but what   
   the heck?    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    20. WHAT DOES "NCC" MEAN?   
    The registration number on the hull of the Enterprise is NCC-1701. As for   
   what it means, this question is an excellent illustration of the way the term   
   "canon" works in the Star Trek universe. As you'll recall, "canon" means   
   "official Star Trek facts", those which Paramount and the show's producers   
   theoretically feel obligated to remain true to in future productions (they   
   frequently don't, but that's another point entirely). With a few exceptions,   
   "canon" is defined as that which actually appears or is stated onscreen. Other   
   facts, even if deriving from officially licensed products, or from the mouth   
   of a producer or writer himself, are not canon.    
   How does this relate to NCC? Well, according to Roddenberry himself, the term   
   NCC stands for "Naval Construction Contract", and was derived from the "NC"   
   and "NX" designations found on private planes. *However*, this definition has   
   never been stated onscreen, nor any other definition either. So, officially   
   (i.e. "canonically"), the term NCC has no fixed meaning. Though unofficially,   
   it does, and we all know it. Cute, huh?    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    21. WHAT DO THE UNIFORM COLORS DENOTE?   
    *Generally*, Gold shirts indicate command and ship operations, such as helm   
   and navigation. Blue indicates science and medical. Red indicates engineering,   
   security, communications, general ship's services, and early deaths. There are   
   apparent exceptions, however, so if you see a blue bloused technician working   
   in Engineering in The Alternative Factor, or something like that, don't expect   
   anybody to be able to explain it.    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    22. HOW DO STARDATES WORK?   
    They don't. The Stardate was a non-specific system of time measurement,   
   designed to allow the show to be vague about specific dates. It usually   
   consisted of 4 digits, a decimal point, and a 5th digit. At least one person   
   working on the show described the process of assigning a stardate to an   
   episode as involving shouting out the window for a passerby to rattle off 5   
   random digits.    
   It probably wasn't quite that haphazard though, as the stardates more or less   
   gradually increased as the show progressed, starting at around 1312, and   
   ending up at around 5925 in the final episode. Some tru-fans, unable to leave   
   well enough alone, have attempted to come up with precise methods for   
   determining stardates, some of them quite ingenious, but none of them having   
   anything to do with what the people making the show were thinking. Some fans   
   have even attempted to convert Gregorian dates to Stardates by taking the last   
   two digits of the year, then two digits for the month, and putting the day of   
   the month after the decimal point. Hence, October 16, 1997 would be Stardate   
   9710.16. Isn't that precious?    
   ----------------------------------------------------------------   
   ---------------   
    23. WHY DO THE KLINGONS LOOK DIFFERENT IN THE MOVIES THAN IN THE TV SHOW?   
    At the time Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released, Roddenberry said that   
   this is the way the Klingons were always supposed to look, they just never had   
   the budget to show them that way before. Though there are no sketches extant   
   from the 1960's showing the Klingons looking this way, it's probably true that   
   larger budgets are the real reason for the change. Several fans came up with   
   several elaborate explanations for the change in Klingon appearance (the most   
   entertaining being the idea that they now had their spines up over their heads   
   from being kicked in the butt so often by the Federation), but the prevailing   
   view seemed to be that we were supposed to shut up and pretend that the   
   Klingons had always looked that way. This continued until the Deep Space Nine   
   episode Trials and Tribble-ations, in which a member of the New Look Klingons   
   encountered several of    
   --- D'Bridge 3.99   
    * Origin: FIDONet - The Positronium Repository (1:393/68)