Iirc, this is basically mag-dumping the phaser, so probably not useful for... Well, anything but exactly this scenario and checking for changelings

Ouch.

Contra and Metal Slug. So much good times.

but the laser is so cool

My favorite is the repair tool from S1 PIC, the one powered by imagination. Lets just create and forget a magic wand that commoditizes the entire engineering department 🙃

• That alien transporter with a range of 40,000 light years (the spatial trajector) that just can't work on Voyager because it has an incompatible power supply
• Infinitely fast travel at warp 10 that comes with serious, but entirely curable side-effects

Isn't there a plant in TOS that can heal wounds that's never brought up again?

If we're counting Kelvinverse stuff, the plot twist in Star Trek Into Darkness in which magic villain blood turns out to be the universal cure for Actual Death also qualifies.

Oh how I aspire in writing my own Star Trek stories to both not do that, and explain away why it's like that (basically: "forgot we could do that").

or the detachable Enterprise saucer section

I miss Anderson’s rational voice of reason in an unrealistic sci-fi style of acting.

Someone should've written down what happens when you shoot something with a zat three times.

Gotta be my next series to re-binge.

(Or skip to atlantis. ... Or reschedule Bab5 again first...)

Don't forget heat rocks!

Wish they'd explored Kira mentoring Ziyal more. Coulda been her lil badass protégé.

Phasers are super versatile but they need to be programmed. That's not something you want to be doing on the battlefield - which is why the default function is "point and click to shoot".

And most of the time we see phasers used - aside from the occasional stone heating or vaporising - it's in a battle situation where reaction time matters. Tuvok had a moment to set things up, but in most other situations, that moment might be deciding if you live or die.

I am.a HUGE fan of "competence porn," in all its forms!