Star Treck

Elsewhere, Roddenberry had written that the home planet of the featured alien race, the telepathic Talosians, had a gravity that was “1.3 of Earth.”

“A stereotypical letter,” co-producer Robert H. Justman mused in a later memoir, “might say: ‘In act three of last week’s show Capt. Kirk’s narration indicated a star date of 4891.4, but he’d already mentioned star date 4323.7 in act one.

Sloman, who majored in linguistics at Georgetown University, had a particular prejudice against the “universal translator,” a handheld device that, in the episode "Metamorphosis," turned extraterrestrial thoughts (not even language) into English.

Sloman, who majored in linguistics at Georgetown University, had a particular prejudice against the “universal translator,” a handheld device that, in the episode "Metamorphosis," turned extraterrestrial thoughts (not even language) into English.

“Asexual means reproducing by fission,” they wrote.

For example, he picked up on one particular line of dialogue from the pilot script: “Any oxygen planets?” the commander asks.

Even quality shows like The Twilight Zone made gaffes, as in the 1962 episode “The Little People,” which postulated humanoids hundreds of feet high.

Then, in 1966, came Star Trek, setting the new gold standard of scientific plausibility in TV entertainment.

Ultimately, the Star Trek crew skirted the issue with a synthesized, artificially created, human-friendly, underground environment.

Even quality shows like The Twilight Zone made gaffes, as in the 1962 episode “The Little People,” which postulated humanoids hundreds of feet high.