Guap
1585
They need to build a Tholian Net instead. Build it in space then drag it over a ship, trapping it. Like a space gladiator. Guap for Tholian President! I’ll make the Space Net a reality!
I know I’m jumping ahead a bit, but right now I have to watch when I find a minute, so I’ve powered through the final episodes, and just watched the last one.
As I think I’ve said before, I have watched these episodes many many times, beginning back with the original airings when I could, and certainly in reruns through the 70s. And yet I have pretty much zero recollection of the final episode, Turnabout Intruder. I won’t make comments here, but I just find it odd that I really don’t remember it, though I did recognize a few scenes.
Sharpe
1587
Benny I believe you have just described the operations of your mind’s defense mechanisms.
We can discuss in detail at the appropriate time.
I’m not sure how I managed it, but I got through Plato’s Stepchildren. I couldn’t sit through more than a few minutes at a time, so I finally had to setup this contraption.
Here’s a selfie I took:
The absolute nadir of Star Trek, IMO.
Close, but there are a couple worse ones imo.
It was kind of interesting at first. Oh look, mind control. They’re exploring what it means for people to get that much power. Look at them order our heroes around like puppets and humiliate them.
Oh look, this is still going.
Right then, still humiliating them.
Quite thoroughly humiliated now, can we move on to the next scene? No, apparently not, they’re not done.
I finally had to stop paying attention and go eat my dinner and just watch them being humilated from afar, not being able to hear the TV very well.
Then I was done eating, and they were still being humiliated. Oh wait it stopped! Yay! And hey, maybe this is about humiliation, and how human beings deal with it? They’re devising an escape/revenge plan!
And then Uhura and Nurse chapel beamed down in their night clothes and heavy makeup, and I said “Nope. Nope. Nope.” And I turned it off.
The next few days, I slowly watched a minute or two at a time as they were further humiliated. God, this episode was torture of the highest degree.
Last night I finally finished, and got to see the first interracial kiss on TV I guess.
Its only redeeming quality is it gave us this GIF:
Well, that episode is also famous for being the first inter-racial kiss shown on network TV, so that is something worthwhile.
“How old would you say I am? Oh, don’t be afraid. I’m not vain.”
“Thirty-five.”
“THAT old?”
Here we go again, let’s talk Plato’s Stepchildren. And it’s definitely the type of episode that I like least - it’s got crazily-overpowered bad guys who make playthings of the Enterprise and its crew, dressed up in historically familiar garb and culture, turned hedonistic by their lack of challenge and mental prowess. Seeing them force Kirk and Spock to dance about is embarrassing to watch, and not terribly interesting, nor was the ultimate solution of finding the source of the Platonians’ power to turn on them very interesting as a resolution. So I’ll focus instead on the few items that I did enjoy about this episode.
Mostly, I liked this episode’s guests, since there were a few familiar faces. I didn’t recognize the actor who played Parmen, though I was amused by his resemblance to John Slattery - it was like seeing Roger Stone playing a Greek god. You may have also recognized Barbara Babcock, who played Philana, since she’s been in a ton of TV and movies. I particularly liked the fellow who played Alexander, and only recognized him as the villain from the old show The Wild, Wild West.
As for the rest, well, it all felt like something we’d seen before, mostly because we have. It feels like, beat for beat, a total rehash of “Who Mourns for Adoniais?” which wasn’t that great an episode to begin with, so I’m not sure why they felt like they needed to tread that ground again. Oh well, maybe next week’s episode will be better. Except I accidentally watched that one a few weeks ago and it’s not really. Sigh.
antlers
1595
Yes, in addition to the abuse heaped on the crew of the Enterprise, the resolution of this was pretty weak.
In most of TOS, you can’t science your way to a solution. Science and engineering buy you time until you really win by understanding and exploiting the psychology of the adversary. In this one McCoy just comes up with a medical miracle that solves the problem. McCoy finds a simple drug that grants humans psychic superpowers, and its discovery has no effect on the Federation subsequently.
To be blunt, there are only 4 types of episodes in TOS: Kirk vs super-aliens, Kirk vs inferior aliens (or humans), Kirk vs computers, and Kirk vs the environment.
There is a very small bit of variation within those categories: for example, in Where No Man Has Gone Before, they start out of humans but become super-aliens. Inferior aliens includes things like microbes (Miri, The Naked Time).
By far the most common is Kirk vs. super-aliens. There are sure a lot of super-aliens out there. Some malevolent, some whimsical, some annoying, etc. But all perfectly happy to dick with Kirk until he outsmarts them or somehow gets through to them. You could probably lump the computer episodes into this same category. He always outsmarts them. Or just blows them up.
I suppose there is a fifth category–episodes that delve into the life or backstory of the main characters. Not many of them, but I think each of the main characters gets at least one: Amok Time, Wolf in the Fold, For the World Is Hollow, etc. Those are probably my favorite episode type, though the episodes themselves often fail. It is just nice to see a side of McCoy and Spock and Scott that you don’t normally see.
It is extraordinarily rare for them to science their way out of situations in TOS. Ironic, since that became the go-to for TNG.
I thought Who Mourns worked a lot better, not only because it came first, but because the antagonist did not seem to overly delight in torturing the crew, but instead just wanted to be treated as a god. It seemed like an insurmountable barrier for the Enterprise and yet Kirk and co worked through it logically. Plato on the other hand seemed to revel in the prolonged, painful and embarrassing-to-watch degrading of our main characters. It seemed like the majority of the episode was devoted to this almost fetishizing abuse of a person’s humanity. There’s an interesting thread of morality in there for sure, but I felt it was completely lost to the spectacle. Also, the infamous kiss played out very much against their will, which sapped it of its power if you ask me. While there are other bad episodes (brace yourselves) this was the only one to make me feel embarrassed for all involved.
Actually I agree with that, it was embarrassing for the actors as well as the viewers. But I find that stupid angel one equally vile.
On that, you have my total agreement.
Guap
1600
Ok, so I watched The Tholian Web, skipped Plato’s stepchildren, and then watched Wink of an Eye. I will go back and watch the first interracial kiss though. That’s pretty historic.
I loved the Tholian Web. It checked all the right boxes for me:
- First contact alien encounter
- Misunderstanding between two space races, but some mutual respect
- Crazy space disease that McCoy has to solve
- Really nice scene with McCoy and Spock assuming that Kirk is dead and his final words to him. I thought it was really well done and touching, actually. It was the nicest “we are all friends” moment I think we’ve had in the series.
- Cool spacesuits! I disagree that they suck. These were the best spacesuits yet, with pipes and gadgets and stuff. There is also a thing stick up past the neck when you take the helmet off, and it’s got some color to it. Better than the crappy encounter suits they wore in The Naked Time.
- Enterprise kicks the hell out of the alien ship
- More ships show up, but the Enterprise can’t just flee, Spock wants to save Kirk. THIS explains the Tholian Web and why they couldn’t just escape easily.
- Nice little ending, and Scotty going off to mix the cure into scotch was funny
But I really, really liked Wink of An Eye. I thought the premise was so cool. I felt bad for the lost civilization and the plight they were in. We can discuss it more later but I thought the Queen was rather interesting and complex, a very deep character. their plan was even kind of interesting. And the end was even more interesting. It felt very sci fi to me.
More to come when people catch up. Great little episode. Oh, and I thought Kirk was gonna punch the queen. He has a history of smacking alien girls.
So…boring…
Btw @Rock8man watch out for coffee service!
Finally! This has been the longest tease ever. I’ll watch it tonight.
antlers
1603
Wink of an Eye was one where on re-watching it was better than I remembered it. The predicament of the aliens was portrayed with a little more sophistication and clarity of motive than the very similar episodes By Any Other Name and Return to Tomorrow.
Guap
1604
Watch out for coffee service! You never know who might drop a space roofie in your drink.
