Improbable Technology

POSTED BY: bluekieran
UPDATED: Monday, July 5, 2004 14:29
VIEWED: 12248
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BLUEKIERAN

Sunday, July 4, 2004 11:57 AM

What problems do you have with the balance of tech shown in Firefly? i.e., what do you see as being too high- or low-tech for the setting?

Personally I'm iffy about the guns, many of which seem to be more complicated and less effective than present-day weaponry, but one thing that I thought was probably WAY out was the holo-pool table. What does it have to offer over a regular pool table?

AURAPTOR

Sunday, July 4, 2004 12:10 PM

Quote:
... but one thing that I thought was probably WAY out was the holo-pool table. What does it have to offer over a regular pool table?

Are you kidding ? The demand for REAL billiard balls will be far beyond anyones ability to keep up. They'll be more rare than ..... ummm..stuff that is really hard to find!

Seriously, that too is a bit of a stretch. We have holographic pool tables,(and windows) but still have horse drawn wagons - on the same planet! Lets just hope Joss et al iron out those tiny imperfections for the movie.

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

PURPLEBELLY

Sunday, July 4, 2004 1:01 PM

They're there because they're funny or stylish.
If you don't like it, don't watch Whedon, who is both.

WREN

Sunday, July 4, 2004 1:47 PM

I don't think it was an imperfection.

The windows may be sponsered by the companies that advertise on them. The bar owner may have seen the pool table as a good investment. The whole bar looks as though it is on it's last legs, including the pool table, so the bar owner probably installed it all when he first set up the business. He probably thought he was onto a gold mine.

On the other hand your average joe can't afford the technology and probably wouldn't want it if he could. It wouldn't be a lot of use if the power supply failed for some reason.

Look at third world countries of today and you see the same situation.

STARPILOTGRAINGER

Sunday, July 4, 2004 1:59 PM

Plus, if holo-technology is fairly cheap, a holo-pool table might not be anything more unusual than... well, an arcade game in a bar. And those are pretty common. Plus, a holo-pool table had one advantage... you don't have to keep track of your balls. And, as the management isn't responsible for ball failure, a faulty machine can screw up people's games and make them have to pay again.

Remember it all depends on where you are. If you're a lonely little bar on a dunghill of a moon, what happens if you break a window? You may not have facilities to make a replacement nearby. Which means you'd need to get a replacement shipped. Probably at high cost.
But if you've got a holo-window, well, chances are if something goes wrong it'll be something really tiny, and you can have a replacement come along with the repairman's carry on luggage (not to mention having your own general purpose engineer in town with all sorts of little replacements for the small things that go wrong).

Sure, if the whole thing gets damaged, you're still in financial trouble, but if you build it right, it's a lot easier to carelessly wreck a whole window beyond repair than it is to wreck a whole big electronic device.

Star Pilot Grainger
"Remember, the enemy's gate is down."
LJ: http://www.livejournal.com/users/newnumber6

BIKISDAD

Sunday, July 4, 2004 2:29 PM

Holo-technology is probably cheaper than an actual window or a real pool table NOW. When I was a physics major 25 years ago, I remember setting up simple holograms in the college lab with fairly inexpensive equipment - nothing as complicated as a pool table, of course. But 500 years from now, something like that should be both simple AND cheap.

Apathy on the Rise. No One Cares.

FEMALEJAYNE

Sunday, July 4, 2004 2:47 PM

how likey is it that you can bring glass through thousands and thousands of miles in a jittery spaceship every couple weeks because people keep getting thrown through the window? It'd be really expenive. As for the pool table, who would be able to pocket a ball? or cheat for that matter?
The horses and wagons are a good idea because A. it's somewhat of a western and B. with limited resouces who would be able to get gas? The planets have only been taraformed for life not convience.

BIKISDAD

Sunday, July 4, 2004 3:46 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by FemaleJayne:
how likey is it that you can bring glass through thousands and thousands of miles in a jittery spaceship every couple weeks because people keep getting thrown through the window? It'd be really expenive. As for the pool table, who would be able to pocket a ball? or cheat for that matter?
The horses and wagons are a good idea because A. it's somewhat of a western and B. with limited resouces who would be able to get gas? The planets have only been taraformed for life not convience.

Exactly, on all counts. Especially the comment about being able to get gasoline. Of course, horses would be used. Gasoline is a FOSSIL FUEL. There would have had to have been life on all these planets millions of years ago for petroleum to have developed. Since all the outer planets have just been terraformed, we know that isn't the case. Therefore, the only sources of energy would be current plant growth, to "run" the horses, solar (as seen used in "Heart of Gold") or nuclear energy from uranium, which would be found on most planets comprised of the heavier elements - and is apparently what powers Serenity.

Apathy on the Rise. No One Cares.

EMBERS

Sunday, July 4, 2004 3:59 PM

this is actually a really interesting topic...
I really agree about being out on the edge of the universe (populated part I mean) would make it hard to get a lot of materials...

but I'd been thinking that here you have a very poor planet, where the locals for the most part can't afford much (if any) technology...
but the one place that DOES make some money (so has some techology) is the bar!

Seems to me that the rich (in the 'Firefly'verse) can afford just about anything their hearts desire (I don't see the point in having your own stupid floating island, where your view is of other floating islands and you can't even go swimming...but what do I know?) and the poor (pretty consistantly) can't afford much of anything at all...

STATIC

Sunday, July 4, 2004 3:59 PM

One thing that we must remind ourselves of now and again is that Joss will toss certain principles out the window (intended pun) for the sake of good storytelling.

Maybe a holo-window and holo-pool table doesn't QUITE 'jive' with the rest of the backdrop. . .but those two elements fit well with the tapestry he's weaving at the moment. . .so he puts it in.

In previous threads we've often discussed how Firefly fans tend to be less like the stereotypical 'geeks' that fans of other sci-fi are. . .mostly because the show is more character and story-driven, and less about the neat new toys. I think it's great to see Kaylee working on the engines and fiddling around with components that look like you could buy at your local "Advance Auto Parts" store. . .on a space ship.

Joss uses low tech usually b/c it's easy for the audience to wrap their heads around it and focus on the story. . .and HIGH tech when it's really neat and will suit the story artistically or comedically.

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