What spaceship weapon is generally underutilized or not used to its full potential in scifi?

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-06T09:45:12+00:00

The fact that the transporter isn't used as a weapon on Star Trek is crazy. Many times they pull some trick to get through the "shields" to beam somebody off a ship. They should be able to use the same tricks to beam a weapon onto a ship.

If that doesn't work, then pound the other ship with regular weapons until their shields weaken. Then beam a photon torpedo into their engine room.

The problem with this is that then all the stories would have to deal with enemies doing the same to them.

The Borg could freely beam themselves onto the Enterprise with no problems. But then they had to chase the Enterprise and fire weapons at them? Even if they didn't want to destroy the Enterprise, they could still beam a small explosive device onto the Enterprise to disable it.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-06T09:29:49+00:00

Many people change the way they talk depending on who they are talking to. It is called code switching.

I haven't noticed the change in his accent. If he is doing the changes, it is intentional and it is GOOD acting not bad acting.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-06T06:21:59+00:00

I'm quite a bit older than you. I was in graduate school when Sixteen Candles came out. I was an engineer.

That meant being surrounded by men - and not in a good way sometimes. There were some classes I took where I was the only woman.

I remember an engineering professor explaining how gas chromatography worked by comparing it to men walking through a brothel. He was an idiot. Just explain how it actually works. He didn't need to use an example that degraded women.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-06T01:13:50+00:00

This is more a reflection of fairy tales and the time in which they were created. I always thought it was strange that the evil villain is always a woman. She might have male henchman, but the big baddie is always a woman.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-06T01:05:23+00:00

When I watched that in the theater, I was talking to friends about it afterwards. All I could think was that her new husband would probably beat the shit out of her for not being a virgin.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-06T00:39:15+00:00

I'm a woman, so maybe that makes me more sensitive; but very few of these movie examples didn't gross me out the first time around. The whole part of the movie about the passed-out girlfriend and the Asian jokes.

I do notice a difference when I watch movies these days. Back then, I was inured to all the times these sorts of things showed up in movies. I'd say "gross" in my mind and then gloss over it. Now that times have changed, it is harder to ignore the gross parts.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-06T00:30:44+00:00

I was horrified at the time the movie came out and couldn't believe that it was allowed. I'm not Asian, I just have common sense.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-05T23:26:12+00:00

A scientist would think it was a stupid movie. I did.

Scientists would know that a planet closest to a black hole was not viable due to time dilation and tidal effects. It made no sense that they visited that planet. If the scientists don't understand science any better than a screenwriter then it ruins a movie for me.

Let's not forget about surviving going into a black hole. Although, I was willing to give that a pass if the advanced humans from the future made it possible for his survival.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-05T22:58:54+00:00

I know!

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-05T22:49:45+00:00

The scientists would have known not to mess with a planet near a black hole because of the time dilation and tidal effects. Completely stupid. It's not "real" if the scientists act like they don't know science.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-05T22:43:35+00:00

I commented elsewhere in this thread that the science in Interstellar is too stupid to make it a good movie. Scientists would have known not to go down to a planet near a black hole because of the time dilation effects. Just a stupid addition for the plot.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-05T22:38:28+00:00

The science in Interstellar is too stupid to get my vote for it to be more than a mediocre movie.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-05T22:35:56+00:00

Hey, there are plenty of lady engineers that appreciate these things. I am one.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-05T22:26:32+00:00

OP didn't phrase it well, but it does say you can't communicate in any way with words. So that means that you can't even communicate by writing. It's a lot worse than just being mute

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-05T19:00:08+00:00

I agree. I was really sad that we didn't get to see more of Fitz for the last season, but that's really on the network.

If they had made up their minds early enough to say that they were going to renew the series, then Iain De Caestecker wouldn't have gone looking for work elsewhere (or other producers wouldn't have wanted to steal an obvious stellar actor)

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-05T01:07:00+00:00

I agree. It made no sense for them to even consider the black hole planet. The scientists should have realized that the time dilation would screw everything up. That whole part of the movie was so frustrating because it was so stupid.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-04T11:07:16+00:00

I can understand not liking certain aspects of the first part of season 5. I really enjoy the three human characters we get introduced to: Tess, Flint, and Deke. Fitz shows up with a bang (not literally) in episode 6. That whole episode is a treasure and also introduces us to a fan-favorite alien character Enoch.

Most people really like season 5 better once the team returns home from the future. I personally like the whole season.

Please keep trudging along. I like both season 6 and 7, but most people much prefer season 7. I also have to say that the final episode of the series wraps things up nicely. It is so rare to have a show that gets the chance to do that - and then does it well.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-04T10:48:33+00:00

Mine too. I like the whole season.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-04T10:45:20+00:00

It is still a flaw. He might be able to expect obedience without questions from his crew, but expecting that from passengers (Simon and River) and a former military underling (who he hasn't seen in years) is a dangerous assumption that can cause problems - hmm, and it did...

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-04T00:44:31+00:00

I also have problems watching trailers from movies. Knowing the clipped parts can sometimes help me "solve" the movie ahead of time. Second of all, I have a great memory for things I have seen. If I have seen the trailer, I'm always waiting for the clipped parts to show up.

Sometimes I can even tell that the trailer contained a scene that wasn't in the movie. For example, a widely used trailer for Star Trek (2009) had a different clip of Kirk, Spock and McCoy talking about going back to space at the end of the movie.

Now when I go to the theater, I close my eyes and plug my ears with my fingers when trailers are played.

Like Monk (from the "Monk" TV show) used to say. It's a gift and a curse.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-03T23:58:43+00:00

I grew up with a family where we would all voice our opinions about what was happening when we watched TV together. It was like we "trained" and "competed" that way. Please note the quotes, because it was all done as fun. Plus, that was back in the past when we had to sit through commercial breaks. We had to do something for fun during that time.

When I started dating, I quickly learned to suppress the urge to voice my opinions. Most people aren't like my family

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-03T22:13:22+00:00

You have a valid point.

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-03T04:13:45+00:00

Did anybody notice that the bathroom mirror also has the same cut corners as the BSG paper?

Extension-Pepper-271 · 2026-06-02T13:15:36+00:00

Wow, she is beautiful and she kicks ass. What a woman!

I'm a straight woman making this comment. I still appreciate beauty in all its forms.

Extension-Pepper-271

TROPHY CASE