Translator microbes inconsistency

[LT Garrix]

Okay, I'm not talking about the big I,ET one. I'm trying to Scape my sister who's here for a visit and we were watching the Premiere when I noticed it.

Remember in Revenging Angel when Pilot had to program the microbes for Ancient Luxan? I did, too. Well, if they only know languages they've been programmed for and John is the first human that has ever been in the UTs, how did the others understand him? I can see how he could understand them since the microbes are programmed to understand those languages.

Just an interesting thought. Apologies if it's been discussed before, but I missed it. I'm gonna think on this. Anyone else have thoughts.

[zen98034]

Maybe English is so simple that they are able to figure it out without special programming. I kinda thought of the programming as an advanced college course for the TM's.

Mitch

[Jeff O'Connor]

Good point, but if English is that simple then why is it stressed so much in Season 4 as being so difficult?

[JrMissToughChick]

Good point, but if English is that simple then why is it stressed so much in Season 4 as being so difficult?
it was stressed as dificult to Aeryn, which Claudia Black even said she didn't herself looking like an idiot.

[Athlantis]

the same thing has been bothering me, not to mention (in ISTFIA) D'argo, Aeryn and Rygel started speaking 'alien', didn't the tm translated them, what about scarrans???? they also speak funny sometimes, why is that???? were they all speaking their ancients languages????
mmm strange

[Moks]

ISTFIA?

What always gets me is how even though John is hearing everyone speak English, how come their lips move as if they're speaking English? The translator microbes is an elegant and original solution to the alien-language problem, but it's full of holes. You just gotta accept 'em.

[Athlantis]

ISTFIA?


woops! ISTIA (I shrink, therefor I am)

[LT Garrix]

On that note, how come thay can't translate Spanish? I mean, it can't be any harder than English.

I just felt a need to pick on a hole.

I've always loved the lip thing, but I think it is a better solution than ST's little Universal Translator. That works good on transmissions, but does everyone speak the same language when they meet in person? I'll admit they are a much better idea.

[Jeff O'Connor]

Yeah, the lip thing has gotten at me for years on everything that has a translator of sorts. But it's unavoidable. I mean, what are the creators going to say? Make your lips move in odd ways for every scene on this show, and then you can voice-over later? :rollin:

[labingi]

I love translator microbes! Just a couple of thoughts. I think the microbes do translate Spanish. No one seems confused by what John says in Spanish, and he'd hear it as Spanish because he knows Spanish (or at least as much of it as he's speaking!).

As for the Ancient Luxan: this is just my assumption, but I always figured that translator microbes had a telepathic component (like Babel fish) so that as long as any person in the conversation knows the language, the language will translate (at least as much as the ideas can). John knows English, so his brain translates English (via the microbes) to the other folks. Since no one on Moya knew Ancient Luxan, no one's brain could translate it; therefore, it had to be programmed in from dictionaries.

[Anubis]

I think you guys/gals are reading way too much into the subject, I think it's just a way to justify how the crew can understand each other/s on the show.

[LT Garrix]

labingi, I like that idea about the microbes communicating telepathically. They translate what you are saying into something they can send out to the other microbes which translate it into something the other host understands.

Anubis, just trying to have a little fun here. ;)

[MySideYourSide]

I assume TMs can translate English because it's easy enough for them to deal with. Other topics have explored the translation of overly-complex languages like Scarren, Anceint Luxan, and Pilot (of course, Scarrens and Pilots can both be understood via TMs if they speak a certain way).

I, E.T. is notoriously bad because really, the "aliens" shouldn't have been able to understand John and the others, because they don't have TMs. Jerimiah Crichton has the exact same problem. After season one the writers got a lot better about TM-continuity, though.

I've never thought about the lips before, but that's an interesting point. Still, TMs are the best solution to the alien languages situation any sci fi story has ever come up with (along with the Babel Fish, of course).

Anubis: Of course we are! :D

[LT Garrix]

I found more food for the telepathing translator microbe theory. I'm watching AHR and they brought in 12 different people speaking different langauges and John could understand them all. I think I'm going to go with that one. :D Makes as much sense as anything else.

I'm also going with it turning out that most languages are simple enough for the microbes to handle, but ones like Pilot's have too many nuances, as Velorek would say.

[Darth Buddha]

My guess is this: they needed to be programmed for Ancient Luxan because there wasn't anybody who could speak Ancient Luxan for them to learn it from.

Colonize John's brain, boom, microbes know English.

But I'm assuming that microbes can communicate telepathically.

Did they ever mention anything like that, or am I getting confused with another work of fiction?

[LT Garrix]

Well, in the season 1 eps I've watched (BTW, I have thoroughly Scaped my sister) they didn't mention how they work, just that they colonize the base of the brain. The telepathy seems to be the best way of explaining how it works. That would also explain the ancient Luxan, as you pointed out, no one speaks it.

I'll keep everyone updated if I learn any more in my continued Scaping. We're finishing up Season 1 right now, up to Hidden Memory, though I only picked out the ones that explain the story arc. Trying to get as far as we can over the next few days, especially since today is an indoor day after getting a little too much sun at Sea World yesterday (more her than me, I was wearing sunscreen)

[Scaper-Wannabe]

I love Farscape and those minor inconsistancies do not bother me. You can't honestly expect every little thing to be taken care of. It's not about how or what makes it work, it's the way the story is told that makes it great. I don't care what you try to point out to me, it's the single greatest show I've ever seen and I wouldn't change it for nothin!

[LT Garrix]

Don't get me wrong, I still thoroughly enjoy Farscape and think that it is way better than anything else out there. The fact that it takes me many viewings to find some of these inconsistencies says something about the show.

[snofall39]

maybe a SPOILER, I'm not really sure though
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hallo,
Nothing about the TM inconsistencies concerns me at all as I just tend to overlook stuff like that 'cause the stories are so great. But I did watch Constellation of Doubt for the first time yesterday and was wondering if it was ever explained how all of the aliens were understood on Bobby's videotape footage? In one of the previous eps (sorry, I'm not very good at remebering everything) where Aeryn, Rygel, and D'Argo were held captive on earth, you sometimes heard their own species language (like when they played Claudia Black's speech backwards-am I getting this right?). So was it explained why in Constellation how come everyone understood them? Not that I really care about that small detail but was just curious.
Thanks
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Spoiler ended...if there even was one :dunno:

[LT Garrix]

In AHR you could hear all their native languages.

I know that in Terra Firma they injected some scientists and political muckety-mucks, and presumably John's family with microbes. Good point on the ACOD interviews. I guess we should assume that other the Sikozu it was voiced over since there were no subtitles. Just another catch by a Scaper paying attention to detail. ;) I've only seen those eps once so someone else can correct the details.

I'm still working up to watching 4.2. Haven't gotten up the motivation yet.

Oh, they didn't play her speach backwards, she can really speak that way from what I've been told. She didn't do it at Burbank last year. :(

[CeRell]

My theory is that the translator microbes existed in the UT way before most of the current species evolved. Thus as species evolved, the TM learned the various developing languages...Humans, of course, were a part of the early species due to time changes.