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Nitpick Description


Submitted by Nitpicker : TheDude
Series : Star Trek
Episode: The Squire of Gothos
Nitpick Category : Historical Fact
Approximate time of nitpick : 1/3 of the way through
Summary : Error in time
Details : \n Trelane had prepared an environment for them which was old-fashioned because he had "been looking in on the doings of Earth 900 years past" according to Kirk. He had made an error in time because that's how long it takes light to get to the planet from earth. Later, Trelane made references to Napolean and Alexander Hamilton. They lived later than 900 years past from that time (700 years past from our time) so he wouldn't have known about them.


Comment By :

Husnock

Summary :

Kirk wasn't thinking

Details :

This is a classic nitpick which has been discussed since the episode itself aired 30 years ago. The simple answer to this is that Trelane's planet is 900 light years from Earth. Kirk and his officers are discussing how Trelane could know about Earth and then assume he has a viewing device which can see 900 light years away. When Kirk next speaks to Trelane, he automatically associates the distance of Trelane's scope with the time difference of the period. To be blunt, Kirk says the images are 900 years ago without thinking about it. With Trelane talking about Napoleon, and with Star Trek set in the 23rd century, it is clear that the Trelane's "looking in" were on the images of 400 years ago. It simply meant his viewing scope could recieve images faster than the speed of light.