My sister used to be a huge Jonathan Brandis fan, so we watched this episode way, way too many times over the years. Hence, I think I've lost the ability to really give an unbiased review of it. From an engineering aspect, it's pretty good. I'm reminded of senior design class in college with the all-nighter building the final product and the long discussions of technical aspects of the project. And the Stinger itself is a pretty cool idea. From a plot standpoint, however, it's a little weaker. No real surprises or twists, minor players didn't get much more than stock scenes, not even very good action scenes to keep me amused. On the whole, it was a more or less solid, but uninspired hour. I do have a bone to pick about their 'flight testing,' shall we say, toward the beginning. There's a great phrase in flight test -- plan the flight, fly the plan. They should have a well laid out series of tests to go through with the prototype that is briefed beforehand and followed during the 'flight.' I can give you any number of programs over the years that proved that this is the most efficient and advantageous way to go about the testing process.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:
Stinger - A single seat, high-speed submersible -- quite a neat idea, IMHO. What immediately jumps to mind is the feasibility of such a craft. I don't see why it couldn't be, or at the very least be only a few years off. You do need to be a little more specific with the specs, however. What is high-speed in terms of subs? Modern SSBN's have speeds around 20-25+ knots. Lucas had the Stinger up around five times that fast (there were no units on the display, so I'm assuming it's in knots). The fastest surface boat I know of is around 70 knots, still well under the Stinger. So is this 110+ knots possible? Don't know. Be a pretty nice feat of engineering if it is.
Laminar Flow - My good aero book is at work right now, but I should know this definition pretty well without it after four years. When a fluid flows over a solid surface, a boundary layer always develops, no matter how thin; within this boundary layer, there are two types - laminar and turbulent. Flow within the laminar layers is smooth and free of any eddying (swirling) motion; i.e. it follows easy to identify streamlines and is possible to predict. Turbulent flow, which develops downstream from the laminar layer and is characterized by lots of eddies and swirling flow that creates a highly unpredictable flow; because of this chaos, performance of the surface bordered by the turbulent flow is degraded (though in some cases this can be advantageous, but that's a whole different topic). There is no such thing as 'perfect' laminar flow, as there will always be some measure of sideslip. I'm also not sure that fish use this so-called 'perfect laminar flow' either, though I may admittedly be wrong on this point.
Voltage Disc - I'm talking about the device Green uses on Tucker here. I know there are plenty of stun-type devices available on the market, I just don't know if any of them shoot out like that. I was under the impression that they were similar to a gun that you press against someone to impart the 'shock.' (After a little research, I did discover that 'tasers' like that do exist.)
Digital Comic Books - Well I'm pretty sure there are comics and probably comic books that are available online nowadays. Is this what Tucker is referring to? Or is something new developed in the next couple years? Either way, a quite comical line.
W.S.K.R.S. - Nice use of the W.S.K.R.S. here, both as a camera to monitor the trials and as the 'stoplight' to start the race.
CHARACTERS:
There is some nice character interaction going on in the 'scar/tattoo' scene. There are nice Bridger/Westphalen, Hitchcock/Lucas, and Bridger/Lucas moments, interspersed with a little humor and plot development at the same time.
I love the 'Crash Krieg' discussion, even if it continues to promulgate the stereotype of Krieg as only there for humor. And this is just a small thing, but I draw attention to the way Ortiz stays out of the discussion and just continues on with his work. A noncom would likely not join in to a discussion between two officers like that. Little and subtle, but well done.
There are some excellent Ford/Hitchcock scenes going on in here as well. And not just in the gym scene either (I seem to remember that room being bigger, btw). It's there on the bridge multiple times as well.
I'm glad Lucas lost the race at the end, no matter how cliché that might be. You learn far more from failure than from success. If only how to be a gracious loser, which Lucas needs lots of work at.
Katie Hitchcock, part II:
One of my biggest arguments about the second season of seaQuest is the lack of strong female characters. Not only did they get rid of Westphalen -- a character who overcame bad marriages and single motherhood to become a leader in both medicine and science -- but also Hitchcock, and replaced them with a pair of ladies who were pretty superficial. Hitchcock especially was a big loss as I see it. As a naval officer, she represents how far women have come in the military universe. The Navy Nurse Corps was established in 1908, and pretty much that was all women could do in the Navy for a number of years. It even took another 70 years until women were allowed to serve on ships, and even that was just on non-combative ships. Granted, a lot of ground has been made up in the past 25 years since then, but much of the Navy is still a boys club. Submarines especially. Not only is Hitchcock an officer, but she's also an engineer. Let me tell you that, as an engineer myself, the majority of the people I work with during the day are men. There are a few females around who aren't secretaries, but only a small percentage. Which is what makes the demise of Katie Hitchcock even more depressing. There are few enough role models out there who show school-aged girls that women can succeed in math and science based careers. I get a number of emails each month looking for volunteers to visit schools and get more girls interested in math and science. Every intelligent, successful female that TV can show on a regular basis should be lauded and kept alive if possible. Women bring a different point of view to situations than guys do. Part of that comes from our natural mothering and nurturing instincts. Which is what makes the discussion Ford, Krieg and Hitchcock have a couple weeks later in "Higher Power" so intriguing. I could definitely see having a woman at the helm of a ship being fairly natural; she becomes like a mother to the ship. All in all, Katie was a very strong, unique character and when the second season premiered and she wasn't there, I was greatly disappointed, even if her method of departure did further her career.
QUICK QUESTIONS, QUERIES, QUANDRIES AND COMMENTS:
If you'll recall, in "Treasure of the Mind," Bridger asked Ford to "Put all Stingers and speeders on 24-hour alert." The Stinger isn't even perfected until after this episode, so how is that possible?
"Lucas could use a lesson in the hierarchy of project management." I know project managers who could use the same thing. 'The hierarchy of project management,' as Hitchcock calls it, is pretty complex in the Navy, and differs in each program. It can be tough sometimes knowing who's above whom.
Hitchcock says she earns $9200 a month. Assuming an inflation rate of approximately 3% for each year over the next 15 years (which is probably reasonable), this equates to about $6200 a month in 2003 dollars, or just under $75,000 per annum. In the LA area, this equates to about a high GS-12 or low GS-13 (for those familiar with government pay scales). Based on military pay (assuming seven years of service, a rank of Lieutenant Commander, no dependent, sub duty), the total is pretty darn close to the $6200 I calculated earlier, which really surprised me. Now, is $75,000 a year as bad as Hitchcock makes it sound? In the rest of the world, no. But in LA, 15 years from now, with the way real estate prices are going lately, hell yeah. Better than what I'm making, and the military does get certain privileges that civilians don't, but not many.
Nice to see they still use good old electronics breadboards in the future.
"Nothing a man puts together with his own two hands is ever a waste of time." Great quote.
I love the scenes of them building the replacement Stinger. As I mentioned above, brings back memories of many a night spent in the design lab in college. And of course the Stinger has to have a great paint job -- it's a very important detail. Take it from someone who always built the snazziest looking planes in the class.
Oh how I dislike the UEO officials conducting the tests toward the end. They would be so much more professional in real life, and certainly would not make comments about the performance until they get behind closed doors.
Why is the cocktail party on the bridge? It's the most important, functional part of the ship, and one of the areas where Bridger probably doesn't want the distraction of a party to interfere with normal ship's functions. And speaking of that party...
Who snuck the champagne on board? Alcohol generally isn't allowed on Navy ships, except under special circumstances, and this doesn't count under that category. That's not a very tight ship Bridger is running there.
ALERTS FOR THE FUTURE:
When did Noyce suddenly become Secretary General? Check back in two weeks for the answer to that and many more pressing issues. Same bat time, same bat chan--oh, whoops, sorry, wrong show.
Remember Martin Tucker and his UEO contract. They have implications that become clear in "Higher Power" in a couple weeks.
BOB BALLARD MOMENT:
According to Bob (and he wouldn't lie to us loyal viewers, would he?), Tucker's sub is real and is called the V.A.S.H. (for Variable Attitude Submersible Hydrofoil) It'll be available in the near (sic.) future. Back to Bob. Research at both Woods Hole and MIT has discovered that wagging its tail helps a fish control the turbulence and use less energy to swim (thus answering one of my questions from before). Apparently, this means fish-like vehicles are only one step away from reality.
