Best sci-fi TV questions of 2017

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Question: Why are the computers in the office on "our" side so outdated? Phones aren't, and we see computers elsewhere that are modern. People get visas to come through into the world as a whole, so they'll see technological differences there - why keep the office so behind the times?

Jon Sandys

Answer: Great question, this bothered me too. Throughout the series, both sides take extraordinary measures to protect their technologies, but several times allow people to enter on official visas with unsupervised access. This is a plot mistake.

Answer: I believe this is multifaceted for the answer. For one, it could help with security on one end, or tech theft in a breach. Speculation here, but since in order to take tech from one side to the other smuggling through from the outside, they still have to go through the customs in the facility and be searched. But if there was a breach or invasion that took place, or a thief tried to burst through one side, grab a computer from the office and dash off with it, it would be outdated tech. That, and using outdated tech can have security benefits if one side is using software for hacking that doesn't understand antiquated software or hardware. Another point is the logistics of upgrading everything every few years is also a security risk. Too much opportunity for the old computers to be smuggled out with sensitive data and intel while updating and upgrading everything. Only doing updates rarely would keep leaks to a minimum.

Quantom X

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Question: Now that season 3 is out, has there been any updates about why Alara was written off, or why Halston Sage left the show, near the beginning of season 2? In 2019, she seemed to indicated her leaving wasn't her choice and it was what was best for the show. But, the fact that they replaced her character with another female Xelayan makes it seem like they weren't really making any changes. And with a 4th season unlikely, are there any rumors Sage will return in season 3?

Bishop73

Answer: No official reason has been given. Halston Sage has only stated in an interview that leaving the show was not her choice. It is considered that her possible return is "open ended", and while there has been no official announcement, she did make a reappearance at the end of Season 2.

raywest

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The War Without, the War Within - S1-E14

Question: In dialogue, Starbase 1 is described as "100 AU from Earth," which is over three times the orbital distance of Neptune. But the onscreen graphic shows the starbase next to a planet that can be visually recognized as Earth; portions of North America, including the Florida peninsula and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, are visible. The distance given in dialogue makes sense, given the episode's plot; it's a distant location still within the Solar System, and the Klingon attack is said to be "practically in Earth's backyard." The location shown in the graphic does not make sense, because Earth would already be under attack yet everyone is concerned only about the starbase, not the planet (which is never mentioned at all, let alone said to be Earth).

DavidK93

Answer: The planet shown could well be a terraformed moon on the outskirts of the Solar System. The planet is not shown in great detail behind the damaged station.

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