The Most Important Device in the Universe - Blinking Tubes Without Function New Compilation (Part 1)
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- Опубликовано: 5 фев 2025
- This device has been spotted in numerous science-fiction movies and tv shows. It is the ultimate re-used prop, and there is not a single of its numerous appearances where its purpose would be explained or hinted at. The prop is described as 'dual generators with rotating neon lights inside an acrylic tube, light-controlled panel with knobs and buttons, or simply as 'blinking tubes without function.
The first time we see it is in the Regula lab in Star Trek II Wrath of Khan. They are also visible in the Enterprise-A's shuttlebay in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.
They also appear in a number of Star Trek episodes: Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 'Datalore', Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 'Suddenly Human', Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 'The Quality of Life', Star Trek: Voyager episode 'Retrospect', and Star Trek: Voyager episode - 'Inside Man'. Finally the prop can be seen in Soong's hideout. as well as on the research station in Star Trek: Enterprise episode 'Cold Station 12.
It also appears in the background of various science labs in Star Trek: Lower Decks , in cartoon form. The tubes appear in other science fiction series and movies, as well, such as V (the 1983 miniseries), The Last Starfighter , The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988 TV movie), The Flash in episode 'Deadly Nightshade,' Star Crystal , Alien Nation , as well as Airplane II: The Sequel (with William Shatner, who would again encounter it in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier which he directed and starred in), in Lois & Clark season 2 episode 8 with Denis Crosby.
and Finally in season 2 of "Future Man"
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part 2 of the compilation : ruclips.net/video/hxiPuVt77W8/видео.html
part 3 of the compilation : ruclips.net/video/9p8xvYOKCsg/видео.html
Jesus Christ lol
Wait, there's more?
What was the first one? With Shatner? I don’t recognize the spoof.
goddamn I never knew my life would be complete if I just had those blinky lights how empty has my life been up till now. blinky lights will give my life meaning.
@@jackroyaltea5034 airplane 2
It was built at Modern Props - Modern Props owner John Zabrucky designed it. It dates to about 1977 or so, but was updated several times. I worked there around 1984-1986, so I worked directly with this piece on a regular basis.
Let it forever be known as the "Zabrucky-Turnbow Drive"
Are you able to share that switching circuit with a fellow EE?
You sir, are a hero. I second the nomination to call it the Zabrucky-Turnbow device.
Just putting this out there. I would love to watch a video of you talking about this thing with Adam Savage.
Now that Modern Props has shut down, I wonder where it lives? I can't imagine it being mothballed or, god help us, struck. It deserves to be in a museum.
This device keeps all the different sci-fi universes separate. Without it, every franchise would meld together into one big science fiction blur
Well put!
But by being in all the different universes it ties them all together.
Your talking Pataphysics MR Howard.
SCP Foundation would pay huge bucks for a device that prevents reality intersection anomalies.
@@denalozecon9074 Unfortunately, Starfleet doesn't just /give/ technology to less developed societies
@@opinionateddrone
Starfleet, at least the tv version is more advanced than SCP Foundation. More ethical could be said also. However there are many Star Trek books that would not be cannon with movies and shows, even the books have rules for authors such as mentioning specific characters and no nos that would contradict tv/movies or anger Star Trek fans. Otoh Treks Foundation arguably would be more ruthless in an ends justify the means sense if they had to deal with universe destroying doomsday scenerios the SCP Foundation attempts to mitigate. Morality is not tested when things are easy, but tested when you get a FUBAR.
*Those tubes have seen more use than the Wilhelm scream*
What blows me away, is that virtually all the clips appeared to use the exact same prop, sometimes set on a wheeled base and sometimes on a different base, but each time the rest was identical.
As common place as the transporter beam/ room. Every one has one.
I didnt realize it was clips from different movies untill I read your comment.
aaaaaAAAAAAH!
*Oh I should bold my text next time to get the likes.*
I love how Airplane II sums it up perfectly WHILE it's being used as the prop it was intended for, that scene was very self-aware :D
Ah, so that's the scene at the beginning with Shatner in it? So long since I've seen Airplane II, I loved the thing where Shatner appeared to be on a screen but was just on the other side of the door!
Is this the exact same prop reused over and over again?
Timestamp then! It's rude if you don't.
@@Some_One_One its rhe very first scene dude
@@JosephDickson It is!
Whoever created this prop must be so freaking proud. This must be one of the most widely re-used props that exist.
The only thing that would be more awesome is if they got royalty payments each time it was used!!!! LOL
The actual dude commented
I bet the man who actually created that is probably kicking himself saying I should have put up patent on this
If the producers had to pay royalties, they might not’ve reused it as much.
The prop probably belongs to a prop company that specializes in science fiction props. Which is why you see it everywhere
I love that Grig in the The Last Starfighter did something to adjust them. I hope everyone else adjusts them just as effectively. There is no telling what will happen if they are not adjusted.
Grieg knew if you dont keep those caps nice and tight, youll have an explosion that will annihilate everything in the known universe.
He was very wise.
Few people know that when he says THIS IS ALL HIGHLY IRREGULAR he's not talking about recruiting a Starfighter from Earth, he's talking about the way the red lights are currently flashing.
First movie I memorized!
I'm amazed that's not why the actor that played Grig won his Oscar
Synchronization adjustment is optimal
I know re-using props from shows is a common thing (especially in Star Trek), but this is crazy. Well done.
Most important device? Must make coffee.
Irwin Allen was the king of re used props. All of his 60's shows seemed to have one or two props from his other shows.😅
I forget where, but I saw a thing once on a whole warehouse of random sci-fi "gizmos," that they rent out whenever someone needs one. It's just full of random consoles and other widgets that you've seen in movies and TV shows that couldn't afford to hand build every single prop, covered in blinking lights.
@@timogul You talking about the Awesome Wall of Blinking lights from the Time TUnnel?
@@cynthiarowley719 How do you think the Lt gets his popcorn perfect everytime?
These were recently shown in Star Trek: Lower Decks. They were referred to as "Tucker Tubes", and one of the characters improved them by adding a third tube. The chief engineer then said: "I'm not even sure what we use these for."
Yeah but let's be fair... nobody gives a fuck about TLD.
@@Unethical.FandubsGames Yet it managed to get 5 seasons.
Just because you don't care for a show doesn't mean nobody does.
And then someone added a FOURTH tube! “Impossible! It can’t be done!” “Sir, the tubes don’t lie.”
i find this really fascinating because having a consistent reference object really shows how differently these shows were filmed, you can see how bright the ambient light actually is based of the red glow, whether the casing of the device appears just grey or greenish grey, the little red lines do an excellent job of showing the depth of field used
Whoever designed that prop, needs a lifetime achievement Oscar.
Well, apparently he's somewhere in these comments
Top comment I believe
The designer is John Zabrucky. The original laser bench design may predate the formation of his company Modern Props.
@gene turnbow
Gotta be the richest person in Hollywood.
Pool and Spa Parts Depot
WATERCO | DELUXE VINYL LINER IN GROUND SKIMMER
In TOS, the sets had a lot of pipes marked with the letters GNDN and a random number. GNDN meant "goes nowhere, does nothing".
Not to mention the ODN lines (Obviously Does Nothing)
@@Kahless02 :D
@@Kahless02 I thought it meant Optical Data Network, they mention ODN conduits all the time.
The blinking light machine needs some of those letters lolz
@@richardlevans Nope , inside joke , obviously does nothing conduits 😆
It’s not a reused prop.
It’s a very common piece of technology that many civilizations developed to perfection that’s why they look so similar.
Just like Swedish Meatballs.
Okay ... Am I the only one that is craving Swedish Meatballs now?
Everyone knows that's just the best design.
it is like convergent evolution...
But what do they do?!
The blinking tubes cinematic universe keeps expanding.
"Mom! Mom! I'm gonna make flashy tubes and they'll be in movies!"
"Of course you will Sweety."
Prop Master: I need an ambiguous machine to use in Sci Fi shows for decades
Engineer: No problem, fam
Tuvok: I assure you that everything in this room has a specific function. However, it would take several hours to explain it all.
*cadets rolling their eyes: "he's bored with us again...just trying to get us to leave without going through the effort of having to put us all on report due to all the tedious paperwork involved*
ROFL!!!! From the caretaker episode
The Wilhelm Scream of sci-fi props! Looking forward to noticing this prop in upcoming productions.
I doubt that any of the current Star Trek shows have that sense of humour. The only exception is Lower Decks, but that would not be the real thing. Maybe on The Orville?
@@ricksimon9867 The Orville, that’s not the real thing either.
Looks like they got an upgrade for voyager....
Right!? I can’t unsee it now. The most important and ubiquitous device in the universe.
Perhaps we should call them Willhelm Resonators?
Wow, this is really impressive. Not only the longevity of the prop but the time it must have taken to compile this video.
There's also several versions of it. Looks like the design goes around.
The video probably took more time.
....so many bad movies.
@@alexxx4434 just painted with different additions.
Some are different scenes from the same use. Too bad.
The ultimate Sci-Fi Easter egg. your show isn't legit Sci-Fi unless this prop appears at least once.
sir these light keep blinking out of sequence sir
The ultimate Easter egg was the commander in that scene
This is the beginning of a new “Flashy Tube Verse” theory where all of these sci-fi movies and shows are part of a shared universe. I KNEW it! Deep inside, I always knew it.
Well clearly it is a technobable concentrator. So in a sense your theory is perfectly logical
Yeah they're all part of the same universe, they're all stories that were written in our universe.
It's everywhere. All we know is that any laboratory that has one is extremely well equipped.
Now you know where your tax dollars go and why we are so in debt.
I read that at the exact moment that clip played.
@@armastat The US military buys them by the thousand. They were extensively deployed in Afghanistan, apparently. It's what makes the USA so exceptional and, err, 'successful'.
@@musicandfilms9956 I wonder how many were in Wuhan?
The successor to the Jacob's Ladder that was seen in every mad scientist's laboratory in several early-to-mid 20th century movies.
I loved those Jacob's Ladders. I made one for a Science Project. Warning Do Not Touch, they hurt like never before.
And my workshop....
The technological advancement is astounding
@@rancidpitts8243 "do not touch arcing electricity" sounds like solid advice
Is that the electrical shooty uppy thing?
I love that you made this so much. I've been staring at this thing for years. We did a commercial at work and I was giddy as hell because they'd rented this thing as part of the set dressing.
I just did one revision of the electronics. Over the years, lots of pairs of hands worked on this thing.
So what does it do?
@@hapmaplapflapgap
science 🧐
@@hapmaplapflapgap What doesn’t it do!
If I ever run a Starfinder home game, I'm putting these in it.
"How well-equipped is this lab?"
"Gimme perception (DC 5)"
(pass) "It has the clear tube with the red lights that blink in a circle. That means it's _very_ well equipped."
"Do these have any function?"
"Gimme engineering (DC 35)"
(fail) "They seem to have no function."
(pass) "They definitely do not have _any_ function whatsoever."
That's impossible! They're so pretty!
@@jamesrowles9249 but that it: they're pretty. Just because something is pretty doesn't mean it's useful...
@@notmuch_23 omg, these props are an aligory of everything's that's happened in my life!
You should have another check that you just don't suggest on your own- if they pass a test for something like sociology, they realize that the tubes (and some other conspicuous objects nearby) are actually just there to distract the uninformed from the boring-looking but important equipment that's placed elsewhere (maybe in a closet, partly covered by mops & the like).
Should be, pass/fail same as you have, but then:
(Critical success): "The lights are blinking out of sequence"
________________________
(Expected result): If players can make them blink in sequence they get reward
(probable result): Game gets derailed as players spend hours trying to decode the "message" that the lights are saying
I remember seeing that "device" being reused in Star Trek Wrath of Khan, Next Generation and Voyager, but I had no idea it was reused that extensively! It should have its own fan club.
2:02 that's probably not the real blinking tubes, but a stunt double. The production team would never let the real blinking tubes play in this risky scene.
No, it was probably the real blinky tubes. We never made a stunt prop, so they took a chance.
I was legitimately concerned for their safety in that scene.
@@Scifi4Wifi Dont be silly - the false wig it was wearing was pretty obvious
It's a veritable technologically advanced village bicycle.
The real question is who the body double was in the infamous nude tube scene.
They're there to test if the speed of light is still the speed of light. You never know when Physics 2 might come out and require you to update your faster than light spaceships.
unironically some laser setups are like that, to detect minute differences in angles, pressure, etc
So you can go to ludicrous speed
The only prop re-used more is the light blue 90's dodge minivan with the wood panel sides from Studio Vehicles in Burbank. It has been in hundreds of films and shows, and once you've noticed it, you won't stop noticing it.
I personally drove it three times in separate productions as transpo, and know of dozens more screen appearances, in films big and small.
Finally the device has a name! "Tucker Tubes"! Thanks, Lower Decks. Mabe one day we'll find out what it actually does.
Could we please take a moment to give appreciation for how many hours went into compiling and finding all these movie snips.
It’s a beautiful thing when he parodies himself.
That’s one of the funniest things, Takei is also bashing him, saying he’s a stuck up humorless ass, but everything I’ve seen of him, when he’s not playing a character, is that he seems very easy going and very funny. Sure he loves being the center of attention, but that basically describes all of Hollywood, and in private maybe Shatner is a total ass, but I’ve never seen anything to suggest that, but I’ve seen a lot to make me discount George Takei’s opinion of Shatner.
Ironically, following both Shatner and Takei on Twitter for awhile showed which was truly was the arrogant pompous and self righteous asshole. And that’s a shame as I used to like George Takei, as he used to seem like a decent human being, but I’m not sure if Twitter turned him into the raving lunatic he’s become, or if it simply exposed what he truly was.
John Patz I think it’s telling that the entire TOS cast feuded with Will Shatner.
@@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive maybe because Takei never got up Shatner's ass in a literal sense.
@@johnpatz8395 I knew Takei was the petty one since jump, I don't doubt that Shatner might have been a pompous a*s at times, that's a distinct possibility. But so what, when you're still going on about it decades later, you're the person with the issues. Dude even people with abusive parents move on, or get therapy to help them deal with it. Takei was still whining about a work colleague from his 20's and 30's as a man in his 70's
@@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive Not really, him and Nimoy had a spat way after Trek and reconciled, who else feuded with him?
This must certainly be the Science Fiction prop with the most screen time ever!!
Who wants to bet on this prop showing up in the new "DUNE" movie in November 2021?
10 minutes ago I had no idea this prop existed, now I will be disappointed if it ISN'T in the next scifi film...
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME 😂😂😂
*it's a Harkonnen Meta-Phase-Trans-Luminary Inhibitor/Actuator ...for manipulating the spacing guilds ships and disrupting/scrambling the focus of guild navigators whilst traversing between destinations ...a most devious and deadly form of larceny...no doubt devised by the Baron himself...whose motives are never inclined towards the greater good or well being of other houses*
It'll be an sci-fi "Easter egg" that everyone will look for.
@@scottmantooth8785 that I understood every word of that while not understanding why the Harkonens would wanna mess with The Spacing Guild must mean I've either reached a higher form of brain functionality, or the extreme opposite.
It only I had some Juice of Sapho, then I'd truly understand!
@@WallKenshiro *by channeling the natural abilities that mentat eyebrows bequeath the mind they share relative space and proximity with higher brain functionality such abilities are possible...
if not inevitable...deconstructing the machinations of the Harkonnens can be a difficult process as there are always feints within feints and plans within plans... knowing the direction their cruelty often leads is the first step in the understanding the equation that leads to their demise*
*although having a few liters of Sapho on hand is a good choice for the augmentation of otherwise lethargic synapse...twisty straw optional but recommended*
I got to see this prop at a Star Trek convention in the before time. I’m always tickled when I see it pop up in some random B movie flick or TV show.
I just noticed it in an episode of Star Trek Voyager the other day lol.
This video is awesome!
It's one of those "Someone should make a video of all the reused fx props that have ever been in movies and point them out, like a guest staring role" videos but someone actually did it.
I like how the Star Trek prop departament just changed the blinking pattern to make it look like three or four different machines. Quallity TV
They should sell a desktop version of this. I’d buy several as gag gifts
That’s a pretty good idea for a 3d printing project right there.
You just need to buy one, and keep passing it around
I'm not working on ones that big, but I am developing a desktop version that will be offered as a perk to patrons of SCIFI.radio's Patreon campaign at patreon.com/scifiradio
@@GeneTurnbow looking forward to this! What level will you offer it at
@@dathurleyfella5225 Don't know yet. It depends on how hard it turns out to be to construct one. One thing is certain, it will be a limited run. I don't have the resources to make more than perhaps a dozen of them.
Holy crap these lights have more credits then most actors
Some one needs to make this into a scale version for action figures
I'm definitely working on this very thing. It will likely be offered as a perk for patrons of the SCIFI.radio Patreon campaign at patreon.com/scifiradio
One day this will confuse alien archeologists.
It must have been ceremonial.
@@logicplague At this point, it is :)
@@TheMsLourdes touché
This device is known throughout the galaxy.
One day alien archeologists will unearth the device... and then promptly say "They had those too?!"
This speaks to me of cafes, restaurants and other small businesses that have "repurposed" old factories in many Western cities, in recent years, with remnants of the old manufacturing days left as some type of art.
The young, and not so young, left wondering what our ancestors actually did with these things.
That's pretty poetic. Something becomes more a cultural artifact than a practical tool.
I love how sometimes it's just sitting off to the side, all alone, flashing away.
Yep, sometimes it's a feature, sometimes just a little set dressing. That's a versatile prop.
I've always found it hilarious that some rooms have the crappiest lighting even though the room serves a purpose like engineering.
I've never thought about it like that, but dark and gloomy labs make no sense.
It's kinda like how nobody in horror movies will ever just turn on the lights before searching the house for a killer.
Like the poor lighting in discovery?😆 or the blinding reflective surfaces and Lazer beam lights in the last few star trek movies?
Sci-fi has only two kinds of lighting
Too dark
Too bright
I'm glad I'm not the only one who has noticed this, but this really has gotten around. This should be in a museum when it retires. Where's the Austin powers clip?
09/09/2024 Update: It is now in a museum in Ohio.
It'll probably end up in a dumpster once it no longer has that gee wiz facotor.
It was auctioned off to a Chinese billionaire's son. It was destroyed on a Canadian highway during an illegal street race nanoseconds after he used it to make his Skyline achieve Warp 6.
It can't be retired. Science fiction movies can't be made without it.
the owner closed his prop company but did mention donating the items like that.
@@radioflyer68911 no. props sell for good money. when he closed the company there was a two day auction, but none of the sci fi items were in the catalogue, which means they were donated or someone else brought them. its so far not determined.
Blinking lights that serve no function, that no one can explain, that are nevertheless omnipresent throughout the work environment? Yep, bureaucratic politicians still exist in the future.
Wait, are you telling me the flickering fluorescent tube light in my office is a politician?
And "you" thought 'idiot lights' were only found in American cars from the Sixties...
@@SOLOcan That explains why they're so useless.
It's one of the few that are IEC 2360447 5-2 certified, that's why
I love how in Airplane 2 they made fun of the fact that the thing had no apparent function whatsoever.
But honestly, I've seen this thing so many, many times since the eighties, and it's so recognizable, that it tends to yank me right back to the XXth/XXIst century every time I spot it again. "Yep. There's that prop again."
I'm a bit of tech head, and have a lot of entertainment and A/V equipment, etc. And my living room is a huge collection of various different coloured status LEDs in equipment that flash seemingly at random when looked at as a mass.
They got the future right there!
Now, if only we had a need for long tubes of red glowing plasma...
"And what does this thing do?"
"That? That's the mood lighting"
Is it wrong that I want one of these as a conversation piece? Put them in a corner at work (doesn't matter where you work, just have it in the corner) and you'll either get knowing smirks or very confused people.
I'm thinking I may model a scale replica of one and 3D print it. Same idea as yours, just with a smaller amount of floorspace eaten up.
honestly someone should start making a small desk size one and sell it on etsy or something.
I'd buy a tabletop sized version of this prop just for a conversation piece!
The 4 end parts are pool skimmers if you wanted to build one lol
How about a micro version to hang on your keychain?
It's like seeing Robbie The Robot show up in various movies and TV shows.
Not to mention just how many times the uniforms from the crew of Forbidden planet were used in other programs...and of course the Krell control room monitor lights...
Robbie: Look Jeff, I don't care if I am a has-been, the damn flashing light prop gets more gigs than me! Who's his agent?
I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed how often they reused this machine. It’s impossible to overlook.
As of "Star Trek: Lower Decks" Season 4 Episode 2, "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee," this device now has a canonical name: The Tucker Tubes. Presumably named for the chief engineer in "Star Trek: Enterprise" Charles 'Trip' Tucker.
Ahh! Good ole Modern Props #195-290-1...worked with it twice. Hope it goes to the Smithsonian.
I like that it's named like an SCP. That's how it slips between universes.
I had to scroll way to far to find Modern Props mentioned. Well done. And I just found out they closed!
Never forget those backdrop meshes with the middle square as seen in the first 10 seconds on this clip. From the Romulan bridge in Tin Man to the transporter room to Qs trial and various prison cells. It's like it is something that was attached is now missing. They also appeared on stargate.
That odd back lit grill. That's way over used for set construction. They must have had a lot of it laying around in the mill.
@@radioflyer68911 but is it a waste product, designed or like a wood pallette, where it just exists and has many uses?
Babylon 5 also used something very similar. But I think it was a slightly different design.
@@thenextmrsbrownful hard to tell I've seen interview with the prop builders they would get in trouble for dumpster diving anytime they saw something with an interesting pattern or shape they could paint and glue to a wall lol
ORBIS Freezer Spacer, 1.5"
Whoever created that thing deserves a bonus, IF he's still alive, because this thing has been around forever.
Check up near the top of the comments for Gene Turnbow's.
The original creator was John Zabrucky. It was one of the earliest pieces he made during the operation of his company Modern Props.
And yes, he is absolutely still alive.
There's a control console which I've seen in Firefly, many episodes of Stargate, and on the bridge of the UMP in "Other Space". Eventually I found it on a prop rental website. Now that I've seen so many times, whenever it shows up it's immediately noticeable 😅
This is an amazing compilation. I can't believe how observant people are and that you found so many instances of this device being used over the decades.
It's what many called a Watcher. It's a sentient being that transverses time, space and other dimensions. Taking the form of a inanimate object with one purpose to observe and record all data through the entire multiverse.
Kirk: " What do you think of it, Mr. Spock?,"
Spock:" Captain., it seems to function without a real purpose except a decoration."
Primary function: not to interfere, only observe.
This is the most important video in existence. Proof that the multiverse is connected through this one device. 🧐
Hey.... You're right! It should be part of a transdimensional portal and have versions of itself at each nexus.
What If….
It's a plot hole generator. Why do you think it's so ubiquitous.
*well Duh!!!*
@@brodriguez11000 I thought it was a plot armor generator for the main cast.
It's truly the Stan Lee of machine cameos
Fantastic compilation! I would love some annoyations for it. I don't recognize most of these old shows.
I saw this and instantly recognised it when touring prop houses in LA in the mid-‘80s.
It's also in The Last Star- yep, there it is. Even as a youngster into sci-fi, I noticed that's thing. I think it was even in MacGyver. It's the Wilhelm Scream of Sci-fi props.
The funny thing was I first watched Airplane 2 when I hadn't really realized that this was a thing, then when they call it out I had such a shocker realization :)
As a child growing up in the 1960s, I always imagined that I would have blinking lights everywhere in my home with buttons on them by the year 2020. Nothing today really looks that cool or futuristic. Most advanced piece of tech most people own is a phone. We had a black one with a dial in the 1960s.
The cool stuff is in the labs, we're stuck with the flashy red tubes with some function.
Idk my rgb glass-sided desktop pc would probably look pretty futuristic to someone in the 70s-80s. Especially when I can make it rainbow light dance with the keyboard & mouse lol
I think we went past that era already. Like we did with flip phone communicators. We had quite a little constellation of lights, and buttons when we had DVD player, 2 VCRs, cable box, and cable modem. Now we don't even have a clock on the cable box. Used to be there was a clock on everything even things that didn't really need a clock, all blinking 12:00 12:00.
The flashing clock on the VCR killed any market desire for light accents... Now it's a feature if you can turn the blue lights off... or stick a piece of tape over them...
Yet no one can figure out how to make a functioning printer. I literally have been hoarding broken printers so that I can make my own, I'm sure I can reverse engineer something decent that works, and can use any ink, well hopefully... I just want my computer to print to it and it not say offline for no reason...
This is great, someone should make a whole documentation about this prop. This really has potential. It is kinda sad, that we don't know much about all the designers and builders behind the camera. They do such an important work.
Yes...narrated by Adam Savage as he meticulously build one himself!
Did you see the lighting “upgrades” on the extreme ends of the canister things? They wrecked it. Wrecked it!
It's had many little changes made, presumably Modern Props has made them interchangeable so when a show rents it they can request different accessories.
Star Trek: We bought this stupid thing and we're gonna use it, dammit!
"It's beautiful! What does it do?" she asked.
"That's the beauty of it," he replied. "It doesn't do anything!"
the most astounding fact to me is that I've seen every single one of these shows/movies and have never realized. Well done
The beginning of this one with Shatner is still the best out of the whole lot.
-Matt
Yes airplane 2. I loved them arguing over who gets to make the shhhh noise for the doors 😂
I first took notice of this thing way back when I first saw "The Last Starfighter". As we saw in the video it was prominently displayed in that scene. Ever since then (about the last thirty five years or so) I have always referred to it as "that Last Starfighter thing".
To me it's always that Star Trek thing!
Someone needs to make 2/3 size replicas and sell them with a glass top as coffee tables
I'm not working on ones that big, but I am developing a desktop version that will be offered as a perk to patrons of SCIFI.radio's Patreon campaign at patreon.com/scifiradio
Gene Turnbow rad
This is amazing. I was searching for reference shots for exactly that prop. Didn`t know it was used in so many shows. Thank you very much.
I grew up watching that device. Every Scifi show I watched 70's to the 90's. Classic. Great video.
YESSSSS!! OMG I'm not crazy! I have been tracking this thing through movies and TV shows for years. I'm so glad that somebody finally put a compilation video together.
We must protect this device at all costs.
In classic Dr Who from the 1970's we used to see various props get reused a lot too. There was a particular wall panel you would see in numerous Tom Baker episodes.
I love the early Dr. Who with its Cheesy recycled props and Ten Pound Budgets.
I, for one, wish to welcome our energy tube overlords!
LOL it's one of those things I've seen on television from time-to-time in the background but never really registered. Well done!
😂 i knew I'd seen that prop in multiple film & TV shows but I didn't know that many! 🤣
Well done taking the time to collate them all 👍
My favourite is when it turns up in the Fantastic Four's Lab in the Marvel Lego Superheroes videogame:)
I hid that prop in the pyramids.
"Because aliens!!!" would be a perfectly logical answer
This needs an IMDB Page!
I'm 56 now and I've noticed those in the background since I was a teenager!
Omg!! This is now officially the funniest video I have seen yet on RUclips. Really cool. Thx for putting this together.
That prop has certainly been in a lot of different productions over the years.
I wonder if it's still around.
The prop company still has it for rental. It's legendary status is so big even lower decks animated it for accuracy.
It's owned by a company called Modern Props - which rents out this not so modern prop built in the late 1960's.
The Device deserves a lifetime achievement award.
Dude...ya nailed it.... Hilarious, I almost did something similar in the way long ago times... I wanted to do a compi on all the useless 1940's-70's sci-fi future flicks w/ the flashing panels, boards, walls, modules, sectionals and the likes, the classic waving arc's & loops from oscilloscopes, the vandagraff generators, any flashing,blinking, strobing light setup arrangement they had, especially in the scenes with the futuristic _"Computers"_ ...but back then, they had no idea yet that they would involve using TV type monitors and GUI's and not punch cards (Burrough's 1100)
Nice Job Major
I'm sooo glad it's not just me who has noticed this same prop in loads of programs over the decades
Oh my GOD! I get the idea that after awhile set directors started to request this as an inside joke. Just like that famous scream sound effect used over and over in so many movies. I would love to see an entire documentary made about this gizmo with interviews, behind the scenes etc.
Hosted by Adam Savage!
That and another funky looking device gets a lot of mileage in science fiction movies and tv shows. It's sort of an odd bulky desk top computer. Then there's that large microscope looking thing the Spock used in Star Trek VI turns up a lot as well.
That might be the Burroughs B-205. Give it a Google and see if I guessed right.
Gene probably wired that too.
The technology is a high priority target to the Borg. Many cubes were lost attempting to assimilate it.
No matter how hard they try they will never be able to assimilate it. Those two tubes contain near infinite power.
My favorite comment 😂
I remember a compilation of this device being made in the past. Might have been one of yours from years ago lol But yeah, ever since that, it killed me how often I saw it but just didnt notice lol Its like realizing years later that many Enterprise A sets were just redressed TNG sets.
Many TNG sets were redressed ST:TMP/TWOK sets, they apparently just didn't have the budget for ST:VI to hide the extensive alterations that had been made for the tv show. Check out how many DS9 sets get redressed in the last couple seasons of VOY. The Defiant bridge is the most common.
I find it amazing they sneaked it in into the animated shows background as well
There is one in the background of the Disney show Lab Rats too!
this is part one of three
What's scary is this isn't every appearance. I always noticed it in Star Trek: Insurrection.
This prop goes back to at least the 1960's.
Whatever those glowing tubes are, they seem to cause very bad acting in the people close to them.
How do you explain the Twilight series? Or is the vampire sparkle effect just these tubes shrouded by a cloaking device?
Seat in a middle and say now this is podracing
It’s one those Sci-fi assets that really has been used a lot. Thank you for compiling it.
Nice work on the compilation. Thank for your time and efforts. The studios definitely got their money's worth out of that prop.