Elevator Musings

Nitcentral's Bulletin Brash Reflections: The Kitchen Sink: Trek Related: Trek Discussion: Elevator Musings
Hans Thielman: Have you noticed that getting trapped in an elevator seems to be common plot device for television shows? The Next Generation episode "Disaster" involved Capt. Picard being trapped in a turbolift with some children. I recall trapped elevator shows on such diverse programs as St. Elsewhere, WKRP in Cincinnatti, Dallas, and Melrose Place. On Babylon 5 there was an episode involving G'kar and Londo being stuck in a travel tube.

Phil: CEE! CEE! That's what I'm talking about! Elevators scenes are Cheap Easy and Effective!
By Lea Frost on Wednesday, January 13, 1999 - 10:28 pm:

I'm watching DS9 right this minute -- it's a rerun of "Starship Down," in which the Defiant is crippled by a Jem'Hadar attack, and one of the subplots features -- you guessed it -- Bashir and Dax getting stuck in a turbolift. And Lwaxana and Odo get stuck in a turbolift in "The Forsaken." Kira, Odo, and Shakaar get stuck in a turbolift in "Crossfire." I can't believe I'm spending this much time on this topic. (Who wants to think about being stuck in an elevator? I'm beginning to feel claustrophobic...)


By Murray Leeder on Thursday, January 14, 1999 - 7:45 am:

There are some sitcoms which seem to do elevator episodes every season!


By Vicki on Thursday, January 14, 1999 - 8:36 am:

This is a pretty common idea in the world of J/C fan fiction too. A fairly common scenario has some matchmaker (often Tuvok) having booby trapped the turbolift to fail.


By Matthias Roth on Thursday, January 14, 1999 - 4:47 pm:

Another example: B'Elanna and Tom in Year of Hell.


By Andrew Corcoran on Thursday, January 14, 1999 - 5:54 pm:

I've got one! How about when Bashir and O'Brien get stuck in the Turbolift in DS9's "Trial and Tribble-ations," simply because they don't know that you can't talk to the early Enterprise turbolifts! ;-)


By Chris Ashley on Thursday, January 14, 1999 - 8:34 pm:

And of course our beloved Pulaski has entered an elevator and never come out.....;-)


By Andrew Kibelbek on Thursday, January 14, 1999 - 10:51 pm:

Matthias, that was B'Elanna and Harry.

Sorry, I gotta nitpick...


By Corey Hines on Friday, January 15, 1999 - 1:39 pm:

Ross and Hathaway with a little girl as a patient in ER.


By Murray Leeder on Friday, January 15, 1999 - 2:12 pm:

Of course, extensions of this can be seen in many other places. On Voyager, for instance, Torres and Paris in the shuttle in "Day of Honour". On DS9, the entire plot of "Waltz". Get two characters somewhat at odds with each other, confine them in an enclosed place, and see what happens. An old dependable strategy torturously overused.


By Matthias Roth on Friday, January 15, 1999 - 3:58 pm:

Oups!


By Sharon Jordan on Friday, January 15, 1999 - 9:28 pm:

To further Murray leeder's reasonings, Odo and Quark on a whole inhabited planet, just so to deal with their relationship with each other.


By Chris Ashley on Saturday, January 16, 1999 - 9:18 pm:

Um, Sharon, do you mean "wholly uninhabited"? cause a "whole inhabited" planet would give Odo crime to deal with and Quark a whole new market...;-)


By Sharon Jordan on Tuesday, January 19, 1999 - 7:47 pm:

Wait a minute! I'm not sure. I did meant a no people on it planet. There was not people of the planet was there? No, I'm begginning to remember there wasn't. I quess I'm confused on what I wrote. BRAIN DEATH!!!!!!!


By Murray Leeder on Tuesday, January 19, 1999 - 8:21 pm:

I'm a tad confused here, but is this just a usage problem? I believe in colloquial English it is acceptable to say that they were stranded on an uninhabited planet, since it is understood that it is uninhabited OTHER than them./


By Adam Chmelka on Thursday, January 21, 1999 - 9:59 pm:

Well, "Waltz" might fit the general theme, but it is easily one of the best one-on-one character episodes ever. Brooks and Alaimo show why this became a cliche-- because when the actors 'click', the results are brilliant.


By Lea Frost on Thursday, January 21, 1999 - 10:27 pm:

Adam, I agree -- "Waltz" was a terrific episode! I love the way that as Dukat got more and more riled up, Sisko became cooler and more collected. (And Dukat's imaginary friends were great too. "I doubt he'd still have the same respect for you if he'd heard you screaming and screaming and screaming like a madman...")

Also, someone on another board (or in a review or something...it was on the Net somewhere) pointed out that "Waltz" inverts the "stranded enemies" cliche: at the start they're at least civil to each other, and by the end the animosity between them has skyrocketed...


By Johnny Veitch on Saturday, January 30, 1999 - 10:01 am:

How about Picard and Wesley in "Samaritan Snare" and possibly in "Final Mission"?


By Derf on Thursday, December 21, 2000 - 8:47 pm:

At least (so far) there are NO episodes with Starfleet/Any-other-fleet being stuck in a Wonka-vator.
(You remember the Great Glass Wonka-vator, don't you? That's the car Willy Wonka, Charlie Bucket and Grandpa Joe were in when Willy gave Charlie the factory.)


By ScottN on Thursday, December 21, 2000 - 9:25 pm:

Sorry, Derf, but you forgot "The Forsaken". Odo and Lwaxana trapped in an elevator.


By Sven of Nine on Sunday, June 24, 2001 - 2:43 pm:

I'm still waiting for the dreaded Elevator Killer from "The Man With Two Brains" to appear on Star Trek. Ah well, there's always "Enterprise" for that...


By ScottN on Sunday, June 24, 2001 - 4:18 pm:

I'm still waiting for the dreaded Elevator Killer from "The Man With Two Brains" to appear on Star Trek.

Dr. Phlox: Hey, isn't that Merv Griffin lurking over there?


By constanze on Wednesday, September 25, 2002 - 5:17 am:

The ep. where odo and lwaxana are trapped in an elevator and odo begins to fret because he will soon turn liquid was sth. I could relate to best. Did any of the other elevator eps. ever have the problem that sb. needs to go to the "loo" during the hours they are trapped? What about air? Then it would be more realistic :)


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