You get a gash on your arm or face wakeboarding on the holodeck or having sex with a Klingon, go to sickbay and the doctor can wave a thing that makes a meedly noise over it that photoshops the gash away. But if someone has been plot hurt, like “spends the second act laying in sick bay” hurt, they don’t use the photoshop gash remover, they leave the gashes on the character’s face, so the audience remembers they’re hurt.
My dad made up probably the most believable bullshit reason as to why:
The gash photoshopper device stimulates the immune system to heal the wound with tremendous speed, which you can afford to do to a healthy person with one “that’ll need stitches” grade injury. Their entire immune system rushes over to heal this one thing. But that’s not safe to do to someone you just fished out from under a rock slide whose everything is broken or punctured.
But no, it’s because someone who is plot hurt needs to look hurt while they’re hurt, because it’s a TV show. The gash photoshopper device is another case of Roddenberry utopia-ing too close to the sun.
That’s a really plausible reason. It also goes a long way toward explaining why they’re always using a tricorder to scan their body when they have a scratch on their face: gotta make sure you’re not, like, fighting off Antarean Supermeasles or something before they use the magic flashlight.
Something that always bothered me:
You get a gash on your arm or face wakeboarding on the holodeck or having sex with a Klingon, go to sickbay and the doctor can wave a thing that makes a meedly noise over it that photoshops the gash away. But if someone has been plot hurt, like “spends the second act laying in sick bay” hurt, they don’t use the photoshop gash remover, they leave the gashes on the character’s face, so the audience remembers they’re hurt.
“Doctor, shouldn’t we heal the superficial wounds?”
“No! How would the audience know they’re grievously injured??”
My dad made up probably the most believable bullshit reason as to why:
The gash photoshopper device stimulates the immune system to heal the wound with tremendous speed, which you can afford to do to a healthy person with one “that’ll need stitches” grade injury. Their entire immune system rushes over to heal this one thing. But that’s not safe to do to someone you just fished out from under a rock slide whose everything is broken or punctured.
But no, it’s because someone who is plot hurt needs to look hurt while they’re hurt, because it’s a TV show. The gash photoshopper device is another case of Roddenberry utopia-ing too close to the sun.
Your dad gave a pretty good
excusereason! I would have bought it if they’d ever mentioned it.That’s a really plausible reason. It also goes a long way toward explaining why they’re always using a tricorder to scan their body when they have a scratch on their face: gotta make sure you’re not, like, fighting off Antarean Supermeasles or something before they use the magic flashlight.
Thanks, I’ve promoted it to headcanon.