Talk:The Dauphin (episode)

Removed Note
Jörg removed the following note:
 * The title may also allude to South American folklore pertaining the "Amazon River Dolphin". The dolphin, also known as the "boto", is a shapeshifting being who takes human form to seduce young women for his pleasure, then goes back into the river never to return again.

Yeah, the title is a straight reference to the French title. This seems pretty self-evident, but can be cited to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion.– Cleanse 10:54, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

The Star Trek Encyclopedia has in episode's entry: "The term dauphin comes from the title given in the 14th-19th centuries to the heir apparent to the French throne.".

So to emphasise: there are several citations for the statement that the title was a reference to the French title. There are currently no citations that it was also a reference to river dolphins. Without a citation, this is just idle speculation. – Cleanse 09:00, 16 August 2008 (UTC)


 * I'm the second person who put it back. I just read it here before, and when I was going to show it to a friend the next day it was gone.  I thought it was interesting and didn't see the problem with keeping it.


 * The story of a girl who is given the title of "Dolphin" surprising the character, who was falling in love with her, by actually being a shapeshifting being. And the well known story in South America of the Amazon River Dolphin that shows up, woos a girl, and then surprises her by showing her he is a shapeshifter and leaving. When watching this episode way back when with friends, a lot of us guessed the ending just because of the "dolphin" reference.  I thought it was the same as many other factoids in many other episodes that go something like "The plot closely resembles a book/show/etc..."  that are on many other episodes.  What was the big deal with this one?  Although I admit my writing skills aren't the best since english isn't my first language.


 * I have only watched voyager, and am in the third season of TNG, and here are some pages that either do the same thing or show similarities with no intent, with my reasoning in s. (Only did a couple just to demonstrate).


 * If this Dauphine factoid is to be erased, it means most if not all of these also should be deleted. I won't even consider the hundreds of random "The writers thought..."  with no citation, and just hope the person had some inside scoop.


 * TNG


 * The events of the Dixon Hill program as depicted on the holodeck are reminiscent of the 1941 film The Maltese Falcon, featuring famed American private eye Sam Spade in his search for a titular statue. The episode uses a similar low-camera angle to that used in the film, and Mr. Cyrus Redblock bears a striking resemblence to the character of the "Fatman," while Mr. Felix Leech resembles the character of "Joel Cairo." The film was ranked as the no. 31 greatest film ever by the American Film Insitute.
 * (uses the word reminiscent to mean "resembles". Basically no link to actual intent.  Same thing as Dolphin factoid)
 * (uses the word reminiscent to mean "resembles". Basically no link to actual intent.  Same thing as Dolphin factoid)


 * This episode shares some similarities with the TOS episode "A Taste of Armageddon".
 * (Random "This resembles...")
 * (Random "This resembles...")


 * The Minosians are very similar to the Magratheans from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (uses similar as "resembles". Same as Dolphin trivia.)
 * The Minosians are very similar to the Magratheans from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (uses similar as "resembles". Same as Dolphin trivia.)


 * The sudden decloaking of Aldea is very similar to how the second planet in the Taurean system suddenly appeared out of nowhere, when it was encountered by the crew of the USS Enterprise in 2269. (TAS: "The Lorelei Signal") (Random "This resembles..."
 * The sudden decloaking of Aldea is very similar to how the second planet in the Taurean system suddenly appeared out of nowhere, when it was encountered by the crew of the USS Enterprise in 2269. (TAS: "The Lorelei Signal") (Random "This resembles..."


 * The title of this episode is very similar to that of a play for television written by Gene Roddenberry. "So Short A Season," starring Albert Salmi and Rip Torn, which aired as a segment of NBC's "The Kaiser Aluminum Hour" on Tuesday February 12, 1957. (Random "This resembles")
 * The title of this episode is very similar to that of a play for television written by Gene Roddenberry. "So Short A Season," starring Albert Salmi and Rip Torn, which aired as a segment of NBC's "The Kaiser Aluminum Hour" on Tuesday February 12, 1957. (Random "This resembles")


 * Perhaps as an homage to TOS: "The City on the Edge of Forever", after beaming Riker and the away team off the Borg cube, Picard orders "Let's get the hell out of here!", just as Kirk did in the previously mentioned episode after their encounter with the Guardian of Forever and restoring the timeline. (uses perhaps as to mean "maybe". Meaning "not sure".  Just like the Dauphine factoid is just a random factoid)
 * Perhaps as an homage to TOS: "The City on the Edge of Forever", after beaming Riker and the away team off the Borg cube, Picard orders "Let's get the hell out of here!", just as Kirk did in the previously mentioned episode after their encounter with the Guardian of Forever and restoring the timeline. (uses perhaps as to mean "maybe". Meaning "not sure".  Just like the Dauphine factoid is just a random factoid)


 * The relationship Data forms with the little girl resembles that of Odo and Taya in DS9: "Shadowplay". (Random "This resembles")
 * The relationship Data forms with the little girl resembles that of Odo and Taya in DS9: "Shadowplay". (Random "This resembles")


 * The idea of an advanced alien race recreating a suitable environment from a wayward astronaut's cultural artifacts in which to live out his final days was first detailed by notable science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey. A somewhat similar concept is also explored in the Voyager episode "Displaced". (Different words for the same as this Dauphine factoid. Mentioning a similar story)
 * The idea of an advanced alien race recreating a suitable environment from a wayward astronaut's cultural artifacts in which to live out his final days was first detailed by notable science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey. A somewhat similar concept is also explored in the Voyager episode "Displaced". (Different words for the same as this Dauphine factoid. Mentioning a similar story)


 * It is possible this episode may have been inspired by Isaac Asimov's novella "The Bicentennial Man". In it, a self-conscious android with positronic brain also has to face a trial to determine whether he can be considered an individual or a disposable machine.
 * ("It is possible" basically means "it may have been". The same as the Dauphine factoid)
 * ("It is possible" basically means "it may have been". The same as the Dauphine factoid)


 * One of the earliest computer viruses, SCA, outputted the text, "Something wonderful has happened. Your Amiga is alive!" In this episode, Graves/Data says, "Something wonderful has happened", as Data has come "alive" due to the "virus" of Graves within him. As the SCA virus, which debuted in 1987, was well known within the computer subculture in 1989, this may be an intentional allusion by the writer to that early virus. (No link to official source saying this was the intent. Random "This resembles...")
 * One of the earliest computer viruses, SCA, outputted the text, "Something wonderful has happened. Your Amiga is alive!" In this episode, Graves/Data says, "Something wonderful has happened", as Data has come "alive" due to the "virus" of Graves within him. As the SCA virus, which debuted in 1987, was well known within the computer subculture in 1989, this may be an intentional allusion by the writer to that early virus. (No link to official source saying this was the intent. Random "This resembles...")


 * Wesley Crusher's line regarding the Husnock vessel, "Look at the size of it!", is a reference to Star Wars, when Luke Skywalker first lays eyes on the Death Star.
 * (Random "This resembles..." No source.)
 * (Random "This resembles..." No source.)


 * Voyager


 * Just did a bit of voyager, didn't want to look at many seasons.


 * This episode features a large cloud-like creature that bears a striking resemblance to the planet-eating cloud from TAS: "One of Our Planets Is Missing". (Random "This resembles...")
 * This episode features a large cloud-like creature that bears a striking resemblance to the planet-eating cloud from TAS: "One of Our Planets Is Missing". (Random "This resembles...")


 * This episode has similarities with the TNG episode "A Matter of Perspective", where Commander Riker is wrongly accused of murder. It is also similar to the DS9 episode "Hard Time", where Miles O'Brien is tried, convicted and punished before anyone on the station could intervene. It is also similar to the TOS episode "The Trouble with Tribbles" in that Arne Darvin is also a spy who is revealed as such by a small furry animal.
 * (Random "This resembles...")
 * (Random "This resembles...")


 * The concept of showing a murder three times, once each from the perspectives of the victim, the victim's wife, and the accused may have been taken from Kurosawa's film 'Rashomon'. (Same as Dauphine factoid. "May have" shows that person has no clue as to the intent)


 * This episode is similar to the classic episode TOS: "Spock's Brain", in that in both episodes, a crewmember's consciousness is displaced from their bodies.
 * (Random "This resembles...")
 * (Random "This resembles...")


 * When two of the Vidiian guards attempt to take the Human Torres to an organ extraction room, they claim they are taking her away for a 'shower and a hot meal'. This may be a reference to Nazi death camps from World War II, where those who were to be murdered were told they were going to have a shower and/or a meal. (Random "This resembles..." "May have" is just another way of saying "I have no idea if it is true".)
 * When two of the Vidiian guards attempt to take the Human Torres to an organ extraction room, they claim they are taking her away for a 'shower and a hot meal'. This may be a reference to Nazi death camps from World War II, where those who were to be murdered were told they were going to have a shower and/or a meal. (Random "This resembles..." "May have" is just another way of saying "I have no idea if it is true".)


 * This episode plot probably inspired the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Daedalus", where the inventor of the transporter deceived the crew of the ship so he can use their transporter to undo the mistake he made. ("Probably" means the person thinks it "may be". No intent, random thought)
 * This episode plot probably inspired the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Daedalus", where the inventor of the transporter deceived the crew of the ship so he can use their transporter to undo the mistake he made. ("Probably" means the person thinks it "may be". No intent, random thought)


 * The TNG episode "Remember Me" features a similar plot device, with Beverly Crusher finding herself alone aboard the Enterprise and having to figure out her situation through conversation with the computer. (Random "This resembles...")
 * The TNG episode "Remember Me" features a similar plot device, with Beverly Crusher finding herself alone aboard the Enterprise and having to figure out her situation through conversation with the computer. (Random "This resembles...")


 * Harry Kim referring to the "Stay out of harm's way" as a Chinese expression could be considered homage to Chekov's constant misinformation regarding "Russian inwentions," similar to "I'm a [blank], not a [blank]" statments that hark back to McCoy's original I'm-a-doctorisms. ("could be", again just another way of a person putting something on that isn't official)
 * Harry Kim referring to the "Stay out of harm's way" as a Chinese expression could be considered homage to Chekov's constant misinformation regarding "Russian inwentions," similar to "I'm a [blank], not a [blank]" statments that hark back to McCoy's original I'm-a-doctorisms. ("could be", again just another way of a person putting something on that isn't official)


 * Although this episode aired well before the TV series Lost, they share many of the same elements: flashbacks centered around one of the characters; a near-mystical jungle in which one of the characters must face an aspect of his past; the characters running through the jungle in a storm, only to be separated; the characters being separated by the sight of someone in the jungle; unseen "Others" (in this episode, the Sky People) in the distance; visions; use of the phrases "one of us" and "one of them;" the planet being protected, even as the island on Lost is protected; and, of course, there is the fact that Voyager itself is "lost" in the Delta Quadrant. (Even more vague than Dauphine factoid.)
 * Although this episode aired well before the TV series Lost, they share many of the same elements: flashbacks centered around one of the characters; a near-mystical jungle in which one of the characters must face an aspect of his past; the characters running through the jungle in a storm, only to be separated; the characters being separated by the sight of someone in the jungle; unseen "Others" (in this episode, the Sky People) in the distance; visions; use of the phrases "one of us" and "one of them;" the planet being protected, even as the island on Lost is protected; and, of course, there is the fact that Voyager itself is "lost" in the Delta Quadrant. (Even more vague than Dauphine factoid.)


 * This episode shares some common bonds with the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Visionary". Both show the destruction of the space station/starship and both Miles O'Brien and Harry Kim die and are replaced by alternative versions of themselves. "Visionary" was written by Ethan H. Calk
 * (Random "This resembles...").
 * (Random "This resembles...").


 * The premise of aging backwards, was likely inspired by the 1922 short story "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
 * The plot development of the Drayans being born as adults and degenerating into babies as they age was previously used in TAS: "The Counter-Clock Incident".
 * (just like this Dauphine factoid. "Likely" is way of saying "I don't know if" except it makes it sound a little better)
 * (just like this Dauphine factoid. "Likely" is way of saying "I don't know if" except it makes it sound a little better)


 * Since the recreation of Starfleet HQ is so perfect that it contains a duplicate of an actual person, Boothby, it is theorized that Archer, Gentry, and Bullock are also representations of real people in Starfleet at the time. However, the simulation isn't 100% perfect or up to date, as there are Ferengi Starfleet members in pre-2373 uniforms, even though the first Ferengi to enter Starfleet was Nog and he didn't do so until 2373, when the new uniforms were in use with Starfleet.
 * (Random theory, no intent, and uses tone "it is theorized" to pass it off as generally accepted with no citation or source)
 * (Random theory, no intent, and uses tone "it is theorized" to pass it off as generally accepted with no citation or source)


 * Talk


 * Please excuse gramatical errors. And let me make it clear that I'm not mad, as noone should be when something of theirs is edited in a wiki site.  I'm just confused as to why this is shot down so quick when there's hundreds like it in many other pages, and they're not even being challenged.  So many "Director didn't like this" with no sources or citations...


 * So should at least all the ones like it be deleted for being "idle speculation"?


 * Saphsaph 04:40, 23 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Indeed you have a point, so with that said, all of those references should be removed as well, unless they can be cited. --Alan 04:53, 23 August 2008 (UTC)


 * I agree with that. It is just another type of "Some fans think it is similar to XXX". If a writer said, somewhere in an episode companion or in an interview: We wanted to create something similar to episode XXX, just with another twist this time" it's okay. Or if they wrote "This was going to be our own version of 2001" or "we were inspired by that scene in this movie and went from there" it is okay. If we don't have anything and just some people think that there are similarities, it has to go. --Jörg 10:26, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

Quick thinking
I think Wesley's character was given quite a clever reply to say in a moment that could have put the young man in a panic. Data was starting to suggest that Salia and Wesley might make a nice married couple but not be able to have kids... and Wesley interrupts with a deflecting comment. Gcapp1959 06:13, 19 August 2008 (UTC)

DVD Video Glitch
I was watching The Dauphin today, and noticed something purely by chance. At 42:39, the camera cuts back to Wesley as he drinks and speaks with Guinan. I noticed a black circle located in the lower right corner, just above Wesley's combadge (which is just offscreen). The black spot is not on Wesley, as it remains static in reference to the frame, but it only exists for that one shot. After a few seconds, it cuts to Guinan, then back to Wes and it is gone. Does this exist on the broadcast or VHS versions? I have a first-run Season Two box set.

Secondly, if this is confirmed on more versions (or not), is it worth noting on the episode page? -- Kooky 20:27, 20 February 2009 (UTC)
 * That is interesting. However, even if it's present in other versions that would probably qualify as a nit pick, and therefore shouldn't be put in the BG info. Good catch though, that Ep aired 20 years ago to the day. :) &mdash; Vince47 20:34, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

clothes
I always had a problem with the fact that the clothes can shapechange with them, it makes no sense.
 * It worked for Odo and Martia too... --Alan 04:51, 10 March 2009 (UTC)


 * It makes sense if clothes are part of their "bodies".-Jackoverfull 12:22, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

Quotes
If there is anyone out there with this episode handy, I think a good addition to the quotes from this episode would be the conversation between Riker and Guinan after Wesley asks Riker for his advice on how to approach Salia. It is a bit of excellent dialogue between the two characters and not the usual run of the mill 'quirky' quote. --173.30.16.172 02:12, May 26, 2010 (UTC)
 * It's a little lengthly for the memorable quotes section, although I do agree it is a memorable sceneMajorTom1 11:18, August 31, 2010 (UTC)


 * "You don't know how long I've waited to tell you that."


 * "But you were afraid."


 * "Yes."


 * "Of me?"


 * "Of us. Of what we might become."


 * "Or that you might think that was a line."


 * "Maybe I do think it's a line."


 * "And you think I'm not sincere."


 * "I didn't say that. There's nothing wrong with a line, it's like a knock at the door."


 * "And you're inviting me in?"


 * "I'm not sending you away."


 * "That's more than I expected."


 * "Is it as much as you hoped?"


 * "To hope is to recognize the possibility, I had only dreams."


 * "Dreams can be dangerous."


 * "Not these dreams. I dream of a galaxy where your eyes are the stars and the universe worships the night."


 * "Careful. Putting me on a pedestal so high, you may not be able to reach me."


 * "Then I'll learn how to fly. You are heart in my day, and the soul in my night."


 * - Riker and Guinan get carried away while demonstrating seduction to Wesley


 * Way to lengthy for the quotes section. Still hilarious though. - 08:51, January 17, 2011 (UTC)

Nitpick
The following was removed by an anon today, I presume as a nitpick:


 * When the transmission comes in from Daled IV giving Salia's beamdown coordinates, Data reports it as coming from a "terawatt source" on the planet, to which Riker comments that it is more power than the entire ship can generate. However, in when Amanda Rogers remarks about the large amount of energy harnessed in the reactor core in engineering, Data begins to quantify it as 12.75 billion gigawatts, an amount far greater than one terawatt.--31dot 21:57, February 20, 2011 (UTC)

Removed
I removed the following note. It may be pure coincidence otherwise needs a citation. Tom (talk) 00:52, November 25, 2012 (UTC)
 * Daled IV appears to be a reference to the Hebrew letter of the same name, the fourth letter in the Hebrew alphabet.