Star Trek's transporter is one of the best examples I can think of for "idea whose creator didn't think through the consequences". Gene Roddenberry invented the thing because Trek was supposed to be a fast-paced, action-adventure series; he wanted to keep things moving, and not get bogged down in "then we have to show them taking a shuttlecraft down to the surface... and then, crap, we've wasted how many minutes of airtime?"
But it famously opened up huge numbers of complications, none of which were ever adequately explored. You can cure any disease, including aging. You can cure any injury... up to and including total disintegration; just reconstitute the person from their last transporter record. Scarcity goes out the window; you can duplicate anything. (Sure, Trek did occasionally make noises about having done away with money... but it showed people buying things, with any medium ranging from "credits" to "gold-pressed latinum" far more often. The more we saw of commerce in Federation-controlled space, the more it looked like commerce has always looked in our scarcity-driven economies.)
The thing is, the "problem" Roddenberry was trying to solve didn't even exist. His example was that with the transporter, you'd simply have Kirk say, "Spock, Chekov, come with me. We're beaming down to the planet." Then HARD CUT to the transporter room where we show the three stepping onto the transporter platform, Kirk says, "Energize, Scotty", they disappear in a bunch of sparkles, and then we HARD CUT again to the surface of the planet to see them appear.
But if you have shuttlecraft, you just do the same sequence with slightly different details. You start with a HARD CUT to the hangar bay, where Kirk and the others are stepping into the shuttlecraft. If Kirk needs to say anything to Scotty, this is the time for it: "If you don't hear from us in three hours, call Starfleet Command," or whatever. Then cut to a standard shot of the shuttle flying away from the Enterprise; that takes about the same time as the transporter sparkle shot. Then show us the three heroes stepping out of the shuttle on the planet's surface.
If the audience can adjust to understanding that the crewmembers have teleported down to the planet's surface with only 15 seconds' worth of visual exposition (because after all, they do this every week), they can just as easily accept that the crewmembers have flown a shuttlecraft down to the surface with only 15 seconds' worth of visual exposition. (After all, they do do this every week.)
I think Roddenberry screwed up in even thinking that there was a problem that required the transporter to solve it in the first place. But Roddenberry had more experience producing TV shows than I do. Maybe he knew something I don't?
no subject
But it famously opened up huge numbers of complications, none of which were ever adequately explored. You can cure any disease, including aging. You can cure any injury... up to and including total disintegration; just reconstitute the person from their last transporter record. Scarcity goes out the window; you can duplicate anything. (Sure, Trek did occasionally make noises about having done away with money... but it showed people buying things, with any medium ranging from "credits" to "gold-pressed latinum" far more often. The more we saw of commerce in Federation-controlled space, the more it looked like commerce has always looked in our scarcity-driven economies.)
The thing is, the "problem" Roddenberry was trying to solve didn't even exist. His example was that with the transporter, you'd simply have Kirk say, "Spock, Chekov, come with me. We're beaming down to the planet." Then HARD CUT to the transporter room where we show the three stepping onto the transporter platform, Kirk says, "Energize, Scotty", they disappear in a bunch of sparkles, and then we HARD CUT again to the surface of the planet to see them appear.
But if you have shuttlecraft, you just do the same sequence with slightly different details. You start with a HARD CUT to the hangar bay, where Kirk and the others are stepping into the shuttlecraft. If Kirk needs to say anything to Scotty, this is the time for it: "If you don't hear from us in three hours, call Starfleet Command," or whatever. Then cut to a standard shot of the shuttle flying away from the Enterprise; that takes about the same time as the transporter sparkle shot. Then show us the three heroes stepping out of the shuttle on the planet's surface.
If the audience can adjust to understanding that the crewmembers have teleported down to the planet's surface with only 15 seconds' worth of visual exposition (because after all, they do this every week), they can just as easily accept that the crewmembers have flown a shuttlecraft down to the surface with only 15 seconds' worth of visual exposition. (After all, they do do this every week.)
I think Roddenberry screwed up in even thinking that there was a problem that required the transporter to solve it in the first place. But Roddenberry had more experience producing TV shows than I do. Maybe he knew something I don't?