October 19, 2005
By PropMaster - Staff Writer
There has been a heated debate among "proppers" over whether or not the ST:TOS tricorder had a moving moire. Some say yes while others say no. And, of course, you have those who immediately resort to name calling and personal attacks when they start having a hard time proving their point. Somehow, they feel the attacks seem to support their arguments. The recent release of the Master Replicas TOS Tricorder didn't help clear up any of the confusion. The MR tricorder has a moving moire. The pro moving moire crowd points to the MR tricorder to prove that high tech electronics could have been used in the original, 1966-1969 tricorder to produce the moving moire. They infer that there were miniature electric motors in 1966 that moved at the rate of 2 rpm and would fit in a very small space inside the tricorder. The anti-moving moire crowd points out that is just ignorant and stupid. Miniature, inexpensive, 2 rpm electric motors didn't exist in 1966. They also point out that several people who worked on the production team of Star Trek in 1966 say that the moires on the tricorder didn't move. But, that isn't enough for the pro-moving moire crowd. Facts don't matter when there is a possibility that you can get credit for discovering something prop related that no one else could find. After all, it is the recognition that counts - not the truth.
But, we at PropBuzz have discovered the shocking truth behind the moving moire mystery. The truth is stranger than fiction. The moving moire in the tricorder is actually a projected clip from the Patterson Bigfoot film! We talked to the discoverer of this new information and he says, "I was watching my TOS DVD set for the 104th time when I spotted it on my 57 inch HDTV. I paused the episode and couldn't believe what I saw. It was a large, hairy unidentified creature. It had too much hair to be William Shatner and it didn't have pointy ears like Spock. At first, since it didn't have any dialog, I thought it may have been Chekov. But, after a closer look I could tell- It was Bigfoot! Sure, it looked cheezy, but what 1960's Sci-Fi TV show didn't? Anyway, it makes you think, doesn't it?"
So, that settles it. There was no moving moire in the TOS tricorder. How do we know? Because, unlike the moving tricorder moire, people have actually seen Bigfoot. Or, have they? We contacted a Psychologist about this and we were told, "Based upon the best evidence we have we know that anyone who claims to see a moving tricorder moire while watching any episode of Star Trek the original series is also likely to be the kind of person who would be convinced they saw a real Bigfoot."
So, the chances of a moving tricorder moire are about the same as the chances that Bigfoot exists in a suburb of Brooklyn.
