Star Trek by the Minute 116: Sitreps to the Absent Captain

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"I am relieved," smiles Pike.  

"Thank you, Sir" says Kirk.  

"Congratulations, your father would be proud of you..."  and for some unknown reason, the entire crowd goes wild with applause at this point.  Is it because they think the ceremony is about to be over?  Is it because they can get out of their cadet uniforms? By the way, why is the new Captain and everyone but the Admiralty wearing cadet uniforms?  What the MC should have said prior to the applause was something like: "We would like express our gratitude for saving our lives with a round of applause."

The camera pulls up and back from the ceremony to show Spock Prime observing the whistles, clapping, and fist-pumping from an upper balcony, before he inexplicably says "Thrusters on full."  One can only surmise this was an attempt to imitate, but not directly rip off "The word is given: warp speed" from TWOK.

We next cut to the Enterprise Bridge with a whip pan, where Helm (Sulu) reports "Maneuvering thrusters and impulse engines at your command, Sir."  To which "Sir" is he reporting?  Perhaps we will see when Nav reports...

Hm, look at this - there's no one in the Captain's chair...  nevertheless, status reports around the board are being delivered in yet another display of how deliberately ignorant the writers were of ship and/or cockpit operations and the challenge/response format for checklists.  The situational reports are being given without any direction or challenge. Why?  Chekov, violating protocol by omitting "Sir" or "Captain" reports: "Weapons systems and shields on standby."  The other obvious question regarding this line is: Why is Chekov reporting combat system status when there's a perfectly good tactical officer right behind Sulu, as we saw in the previous screencap?   Perhaps only those with a real prejudice and looking for racism could think his skin color played any role...

Next, Uhura turns to face Chekov with a strategically placed arm (to keep the entire Bridge from becoming her gynecologist) before announcing "Dock control reports ready."  Then she turns to the Bridge double doors, and as Kirk walks in, she adds "...Captain."  I can only think that it was considered more dramatic to have Kirk heroically stride onto the Bridge with all the sycophantic peasants lined up in advance and ready to serve him, yet as one of my favorite miniseries, "From the Earth to the Moon" proved, detailed accuracy and doing one's homework can support, rather than detract from the dramatic impact of a scene, or a production.

Of the six speaking roles in this segment, one female has one line.

Spock volunteers for duty as first officer in our next Star Trek by the Minute episode 117: My Honor, Commander

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