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--- BotP - One of our Adjectives is Missing (http://www.gatchamania.net/threadid.php?threadid=5370)
Posted by GrumpyGhostOwl on 10-02-2017 at 23:11:
BotP - One of our Adjectives is Missing
I am yet to trawl through all the episodes (and at least one of the discs needs to be retrieved from the Broken Desk Drawer of Obscurity) but I've noticed a funny thing about the BotP dialogue.
The Ee-ville Planet Spectra is called "Spectra." That's cool. Noun. Proper noun, even.
For native speakers of English, it is natural then, for the brain to add an 'n' on the end to denote the adjective when referring to things that are from, of or relating to "Spectra," to wit, "Spectran."
It's generally-accepted fanon that this is the case.
In canon, however, most of the characters use the proper noun in place of the adjective. Instead of "Spectran base," or "Spectran ship," or "Ee-ville Spectran plot," we have "Spectra base," "Spectra ship," and so on.
As said, I'm yet to trawl through all the epidoses in my search for the missing adjective, but has anyone else noticed this little quirk? And has anyone found the MacGuffin - sorry - adjective?
Can anyone point me at instances where the characters (even Zark will do) use the word, "Spectran"?
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Posted by ElectricWhite on 11-02-2017 at 03:00:
I believe you're right, GGO -- the word "Spectran" was never actually used in BotP. However, since there were several instances where the planet Spectra was said to be located in the Crab Nebulae*, I've never made an issue of it. 
* Gotta love that Zark!
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Posted by ChrisW on 11-02-2017 at 04:18:
Huh, that's an interesting one. Curious to see the answer!
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Posted by GrumpyGhostOwl on 11-02-2017 at 05:10:
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I've ranted about the incorrect use of 'nebulae' in my episode reviews. As I've said before, I wouldn't mind except that BotP was advertised as being 'educational.' I get that the educational component was some very basic sciencey-wiency stuff, but plurals are pretty basic too.
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Posted by The Other Jason on 11-02-2017 at 08:33:
RE: BotP - One of our Adjectives is Missing
Hi, uhh.... Grumpy? :-)
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For the most part, it seemed they did stay away from "Spectran" and derivatives. So much so, I wonder if it wasn't one of Jameson Brewer's writer's bible instructions. Or at least a preference of his.
I *thought* I remembered an instance of it happening in "Vacation on Venus ," so I pulled it out to have a listen. But no, Zoltar yelled "...Spectra soldier..." in the line I was wondering about.
However, since it was bothering me I grabbed the broadcast script, and what do you know?
This was what I remembered, darn it. Considering this was an episode written by Sid Morse and not Jameson Brewer, that may explain why the word "Spectran" appeared.
It must have been changed when Brewer got around to the touch-up for the final recording script.
My suggestion would be to check the episodes Brewer didn't write initially. He had a hand in every one but didn't write the first drafts of many. A "Spectran" or two may have slipped through to the final recording in some of them. I have a handy list of those episodes right here. Happy hunting!
The Other Jason
www.battleoftheplanets.info
Posted by GrumpyGhostOwl on 11-02-2017 at 10:42:
Thanks, Jason.
That'll give me something to do when the weather remembers it's supposed to be sweltering summer here and I'm hiding indoors with the air conditioner going!
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Posted by ElectricWhite on 11-02-2017 at 15:04:
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I've had to exert some serious effort to keep from gnawing off a limb or two when it comes to the "educational" part, especially when BotP's educational value is compared to other US-produced shows of the time! Sesame Street proved that children's programming could educate as well as entertain, so the FCC started enacting regulations requiring the producers of children's programming explain how each show was educational. Thanks to the tiniest bit of BS, The Flintstones and The Jetsons were classified as educational programming! The Flintstones, it was claimed, encouraged interest in archeology and The Jetsons "encouraged interest in science in order to produce the wonders of the future." (And, yes, those were the actual words used to explain the educational value of The Jetsons !)
At least BotP used some actual scientific theory! (True, it didn't all hold up over time, but at least there weren't any pterodactyls doubling as record players!)
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Posted by Ebonyswanne on 12-02-2017 at 00:40:
Gatchaman was even more ahead of its time. Watching a series focused on the environment before it became popular to be focused on it was a good basis for being educational as well as a plotline and characters worth watching.
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Posted by tatsunokofan on 09-03-2017 at 02:39:
Hi all!
The word "Spectran" is used in "Victims of the Hawk." In the first scene with Diane and Orin, Diane says, "Why? Why do the Spectrans hate us so? Orin, what if we'd fallen into their hands?"
Of course, in this instance, "Spectran" is used as a noun, not an adjective, but the word is used in the series.
James
Posted by GrumpyGhostOwl on 09-03-2017 at 06:20:
Ah ha! So it is used. That episode is one I've only ever seen the one time (back in 1979) so it must have slipped my mind. I'll have to dig those discs out when I get some time.
Thanks for trawling through it all to find that one, James. Did you have to listen to Zark or did you skip him and just go through the scripts?
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Posted by tatsunokofan on 09-03-2017 at 18:46:
Hi all!
No trawling involved. My wife has been rewatching the series recently, so I just asked her to keep an ear out for it, and she caught that one yesterday. If she hears another, she'll let me know, and I'll let you know.
And, yes, she's watching the Zark scenes as well. They're part and parcel of the series, and that's part of the fun.
James
Posted by Daniella T on 10-03-2017 at 08:20:
It's an ee-ville Spectra plot -- the final "n" of the adjective is kept hostage somewhere, to be traded with Zark, as the Spectra(ns) are envious of the Earth and the other federation planets having all the fun with the little tin pot.
Jokes aside, BoTP was indeed educational for me: it led to a life-long passion for space (coupled with the fact that April 1981, when BoTP was on, saw also the first flight of the Columbia space shuttle). For a long, long time I wanted to become an astronaut (don't we all) and read everything I could get my hands on about space -- I was even invited to give a couple of lectures on space exploration at school!
So... hats off, once again, to BoTP!
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