Re: Things presented in-story as Good Ideas that seem like really Bad Ideas

In article <vbnesl$r81$1@panix2.panix.com>,
Scott Dorsey <kludge@panix.com> wrote:

In article <lk79hhFp0bkU1@mid.individual.net>,
Ted Nolan <tednolan> <tednolan> wrote:

Lucky Starr's "Council Of Science", the Venus Belt, the Federation's
"Prime Directive".  Things like that.
>
Examples?

>
When I watched SF as a kid, everybody had some sort of pocket communicating
device.  Kirk had a communicator, Napoleon Solo had a fountain pen, and
even Maxwell Smart had a shoephone.
>
But not ONCE did any of them ever get a call about their car warranty.

>
I read a review of NBC's Search (1972 to 1973) in which the reviewer
was greatly distracted by the agents' scanners. These were communication
and information gathering devices compact enough to fit into a tie-
clip or a ring jewel. They seemed to have infinite range and nothing
appeared to block the signal. The reviewer speculated that perhaps
they used phased neutrinos.
>
Huh. Only 23 episodes. It felt like it ran longer than a year.