Tag Archives

Poll of the Week: Don’t leave me hanging

This week we are back with a poll suggested to us by Lieutenant Jorus Cogud of the USS Discovery. Quite often when it comes to television series, besides from the number of viewers that a show has, the way a show ends for the season is a good indication of whether or not the show will get a consecutive season or if it will just end? For instance a season finale that ends with a cliffhanger usually indicates that a season to follow it up is sure to be made. Well usually.

What you can be sure of though is that whether the finale is a multi-part episode or a stand alone story not completely tied into the overarching season’s story progression, a season finale is usually action/drama packed and great fun to watch. So what does this have to do with us and Trek, you might be asking. Well the answer to that is simple, as it usually is with me, this week’s poll asks you which of Voyager’s seven season finales did you like the best?

Now even though five of Voyager’s seven season finales are two part episodes this poll is specifically relating to the last episode in each season rather then judging those two part episodes as a whole. Whether you liked the simplicity or episodes like “Learning Curve” or “Hope and Fear” or prefer the explosive packed drama of stories like “Endgame”, I am sure that there is a ton to be said about this poll.

As always be sure to leave a comment after you vote on the forums because that is where the fun really starts. Also if you have something particularly you would like to see in POTW be sure to leave a comment on the suggestions thread and you will see it real soon.

Have fun everyone.

Poll of the Week: The need for speed

320px-Dauntless_quantum_slipstream_drive_coreWhile it may be true that there are times that the journey is more important then the destination, other time all we care about is getting to that destination as fast as possible. When we could no longer walk the distance in a suitable time humans rode horses and when horses proved inadequate we built trains and cars. This cycle has continued on until Zefram Cochrane built our first warp engine to take us between the stars.

As impressive a feat as warp travel is, as much as it has been refined to a fine art even at warp speeds, there are times that we just can’t travel the distance fast enough. Take Voyager‘s journey home, for instance, or the fact that it takes days and even weeks to traverse the distance between key Federation worlds. So where does that leave us? Are we happy with warp travel, or do you think that it is time to start developing or perhaps implementing a new mode of intergalactic transportation?

In engineering circles, warp propulsion — however reliable — is only one proven method for achieving timely voyages between the stars. Other solutions while still slightly illusive have been around since the days of Captain Kirk, such as trans-warp or, more recently, quantum slipstream technology. Both of these and other experimental technologies bring the hope that one day we will be able to travel even faster then the warp scale will allow, making for less travel time and just maybe more time to enjoy the scenery.

So with that in mind, what do you think is the next preferred method of faster then light propulsion? Remember to leave a comment on the forums after you vote because that is where the magic really starts. Also if you have any suggestions for future polls, don’t hesitate to mention it in the suggestion thread.

Voyager 1 Discovers a New Highway


Originally launched from Earth with its twin counterpart, Voyager 2, Voyager 1 has achieved a landmark status by being the most distant man-made spacecraft still in operation since leaving Earth in 1977 (at present, 11 billion miles from the Sun). It was from Voyager 1 that we received the first photographs of Jupiter, the ringed planet Saturn, and many of their respective moons.

On its way out of the Sol System, while heading for the heliopause (the border where solar wind from our sun ends and the interstellar region of space starts), Voyager 1 dropped its latest bombshell: an unexpected “magnetic highway” at the edge of our solar system.

Stamatios Krimigis and Edward Stone, a former Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Director, describe this highway district as a region which links the heliosphere (a bubble that surrounds the solar system) with the expanse of interstellar space beyond it, created by a magnetic field that originates with the southern hemisphere of the Sun that apparently allows particles from within the heliosphere to escape into interstellar space and allows particles from this region of space to pour into the Sol System.

The Voyager spacecraft (1 and 2) are expected to continue sending information back to Earth up through 2020 when their plutonium-based fuel will begin to power down, and are expected to cease operation all together in 2025.

Poll of the Week: Just turn it off 4



Poll of the Week: The Road not Taken Lightly

I am sure that a wise man once said, “a life without purpose isn’t worth living”, or something to that effect. So it comes as little surprise that the crew of the USS Voyager defiantly struggled all those years to get back to Earth. Well if they didn’t, we would have seen a whole different story, but that’s beside the point. The real point is that the Voyager crew passed hundreds if not thousands of suitable, desirable planets that they could settle on, if only they gave up their quest of returning back to Earth. Some of those planets would even have been close to their original start point (near the Caretaker Array).

This week’s poll is a question that Captain Janeway pondered many times during Voyager’s absence from the Alpha quadrant. That is, would you have your crew spend the next seventy years trying to get back to Earth? Of course the Voyager crew on many occasions was struck with bad luck which caused them to miss opportunities such as shortcuts home. In the same sense, they were also very lucky that most of the crew managed to survive countless conflicts with superior enemies such as the Borg. So it goes to show, that despite the perils the road home presents, it also has some sweet, if not elusive rewards along the way… If you’re willing to search for them.

I suppose it’s not a question of how far you would go this week, but rather, would you in all honesty stick to the journey to return to your home world? Would the idea of seeing loved ones, family, or just the planet itself be enough to drive you through the journey? Or does the idea of starting fresh despite everyone that you and your crew are leaving behind seem more reasonable when thinking about everyone’s long term survival.

Remember to visit the forums to leave a comment of two because that is where the fun really starts in a poll like this. Also if you have a poll suggestion for next week’s Halloween special please post it on the suggestion thread. Have fun, everyone!