Trek Nation
10 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in Star Trek Culture Tags: Eugene Roddenberry Jr., Star Trek documentaries, Trek Nation
Since I’m blogging about a TV show from the 1960′s, it probably won’t surprise you to find out that I’m just a wee bit behind on stuff I’ve recorded on my DVR. I sometimes think that I should just delete anything I recorded over a month ago, but if I followed that rule, I would have missed Trek Nation.
I usually avoid documentaries about Star Trek because I’m afraid that some big plot twist I don’t know about will be revealed, and the entire franchise will be ruined. Also, I don’t like it when fans are talking about some alien on a episode I haven’t watched yet. It makes me feel like everyone is laughing at a joke I don’t get.
Trek Nation is unique in that it’s told from the perspective of Eugene Roddenberry Jr., Gene Roddenberry’s son. Roddenberry Jr. begins by saying that people either get Star Trek or they don’t. Despite being the offspring of the show’s creator, Roddenberry Jr. confesses that before starting his documentary, he fell into the “don’t” category. (He’s not alone. My sister doesn’t get Star Trek either).
Trek Nation balances a history of the show’s production (including the fact that the show’s writer DC Fontana is a woman) and a brief biography of Roddenberry. Reviews of the documentary hailed it as a film that would appeal to Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike, and I would have to agree. Trek Nation isn’t just the story of a pop culture legend. It’s the story of a son trying to get to know his father.
You can learn more about Trek Nation here. Frequent readers of this blog will be probably not be surprised to find out I subscribed to the newsletter.
Jenny, out.
The Last Temptation of Spock (“Journey to Babel”)
31 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Season Two, Star Trek, The Original Series Tags: Andorian, Spock's dad, Spock's temptation, Tellarite
The title for this post is somewhat misleading. While Spock is definitely tempted in this episode, the series is by no means over, so I can’t really speak to whether he’ll be tempted again. Nevertheless, it’s a catchy title, and that’s what I’m going for.
The Enterprise is tasked with transporting Federation dignitaries to a convention during which representatives will vote on whether to admit a new planet to the federation. I imagined this convention will be something like the opposite of tribal council on Survivor, but the Enterprise didn’t make it to the convention, so I never got to find out.
As luck would have it, Spock’s dad is one of the dignitaries. Spock and his pop don’t really get along because Spock defied his dad’s expectations by working for Starfleet instead of studying science at Vulcan U. (Doesn’t seem logical to me, but whatever). The upcoming federation vote has everyone on edge, and Kirk has to break up a fight between Papa Spock and a Tellarite dignitary. A few hours later, the other Tellarite is murdered. Spock points out that a Vulcan would know how to commit this particular type of murder, casting the shadow on Papa Spock. Just as Kirk begins to question him, Papa Spock is stricken with a heart attack. Naturally, Bones can perform surgery to repair the heart problem, but only if Spock donates blood.
It’s only logical that Spock will help his pop out, BUT before the surgery can begin, an alien ship begins tailing the Enterprise and an Andorian ambassador tries to kill Kirk. Kirk survives the attack and the Andorian is thrown into the brig, but not before Kirk suffers a knife wound to the chest. With Kirk recovering in the sick bay, Spock has to take command of the ship, and it’s no longer logical for him to donate blood for the surgery because doing so would put him out of commission too.
Kirk will have none of this logic nonsense, so he and Bones conspire to trick Spock into thinking Kirk is fit to resume command, so Spock will help with the surgery. The trick works, but as soon as Kirk is back in command, the alien ship begins to fire upon the Enterprise. To make an already long story shorter, the ship is from Orion, and the Andorian ambassador is also an inhabitant of Orion in disguise. Spock admits he should have been able to figure this out, and Kirk chides him for defying Vulcan logic and being preoccupied with worry over his father’s health. The bigger question is: why didn’t Spock just mind meld the fake Andorian from the beginning?
Jenny, out.
The Brave Companion (“Metamorphosis”)
29 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Season Two, Star Trek, The Original Series Tags: Star Trek vs. The Little Mermaid, The Brave Companions, Women in Star Trek
Sometimes I worry about how women are portrayed in The Original Series. It doesn’t keep me up at night or anything, but every once in a while, I wish the pretty ladies who visit the Enterprise would put on a few more clothes. I was thinking about this today while watching “Metamorphosis.” The episode begins with Kirk, Spock, and Bones escorting a Star Fleet official back to the Enterprise for medical treatment. I’m sure this official has a name, but for the sake of argument, I’ll call her Negative Nelly. Nelly is crabby from the outset of the episode (she is sick after all), but when the Enterprise is unexpectedly sucked into an energy field and transported to an unknown planet, she really starts to lose it. Personally, I find Nelly’s negativity annoying, but it’s not really her fault that the way the Gene Coon wrote her character.
When the crew lands, they are greeted by Zefram Cochrane, who turns out to be the creator of the wrap drive. This is a surprise to everyone because Cochrane supposedly died 150 years ago. As it happens, Cochrane was rescued by the same energy field that captured the Enterprise crew, and this energy, which Cochrane calls “the companion,” made him immortal. The companion kidnaps Kirk to keep Cochrane happy because after being stranded alone on a planet for 150 years, a fellow starts to get lonely.
Naturally, a fight ensues between Kirk and the companion. Kirk wants to leave the planet, and the companion says he has to stay. The companion appears to have the upper hand in this argument because she can short circuit all electrical equipment and keep Kirk from contacting the crew back aboard the Enterprise. As usual, Kirk has a few tricks up his sleeve. Kirk and Spock figure out that the companion is actually in love with Cochrane, so Kirk tries to shame the companion into letting them all go by convincing her that she can never know true love with Cochrane because she isn’t human. Meanwhile, Cochrane is outraged to learn that this alien energy considers him her lover because he’s just not into the whole interspecies love thing.
The companion responds to Kirk’s taunting by assuming human form (just like The Little Mermaid). In order to take human form, the companion possesses Nelly’s body. Nelly was probably going to die anyway. As it happens, this Nelly isn’t bad to look at, and once the Cochrane sees the companion in this new form, he falls in love with her right away and decides to stay on the planet. See what I mean about the way women are portrayed?
Jenny, out.
His Name is Mud (“I, Mudd”)
07 Dec 2011 1 Comment
in Season Two, Star Trek, The Original Series Tags: i Mudd, sexual tension, Star Trek lunch box, things to do while baking bread
On this rainy Seattle afternoon, I decided to bake a loaf of bread. Lately, I’ve been trying to make bread using this recipe that calls for the bread to rise slowly over 3 days. Sadly, I can’t seem to get the timing right, and my last two attempts have been dismal failures. So, today I decided to make dill bread, which only has to rise for a couple of hours. Naturally, when I’m baking or doing anything domestic, I have to entertain myself by streaming video on my laptop. (You know, just like they did in Little House on the Prairie). In keeping with the theme of domesticity, I thought I might watch a documentary about the Civil War, but at the last minute, I decided to watch the next episode in The Original Series. After all, my sister just bought me this Star Trek lunch box, and as I’m sure you know, the best way to inspire someone to write is to buy them something kitschy.
Unfortunately, I work from home, so I can't use it to take my lunch to work. I am thinking about using to make Star Trek diorama.
I watched “I, Mudd”. Here are the highlights:
Best line: “I am not programmed to respond in that area.” (Sidebar: I’m going to start incorporating this into daily conversations. I’ll let you know how it goes).
Best dressed: Female androids. Sorry Kirk, you can’t win every time, but don’t worry, you’re still very pretty.
Number of times I spotted situations that could have inspired Austin Powers: 7
Most annoying guest character: Mudd. This guy is a total d-bag. I hope this is the last we see of him.
Most awkward moment of sexual tension: Spock and Bones discussing how the new guy doesn’t fit in.
Until next time.
Jenny, out.
Captain Kirk vs. Austin Powers (“Catspaw”)
16 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in Season Two, Star Trek, The Original Series Tags: Austin Powers, Fembots, Macbeth, Mojo, Splash Mountain
A few months ago, I spilled red wine on my laptop. My laptop didn’t appreciate this, and I had to take it to the Genius Bar to get it repaired. The Geniuses fixed my computer for free because it’s still under warranty, but every so often, it shuts down when I’m streaming video. I don’t want to take it back in because they fixed for free last time, and I don’t want to tempt fate. All off this is just a preface to the real story, which is that netflix now has The Original Series on streaming, and my computer shut down around 4 times while I was trying to watch “Catspaw.”
In “Catspaw,” Kirk, Spock, and Bones beam down to Pyris VII to find Scott and Sulu, who beamed down earlier but have gone missing. Oh, and some guy named Jackson was with them. He was beamed back aboard The Enterprise, but he was dead. Don’t worry, no one even knows who that guy is. When the second landing party arrives, they are confronted by three witches who sing a song to warn them not to approach the creepy castle in the distance. I think the witches are supposed to be scary, but their effect was more along the lines of the animatronic bunnies that try to warn you not to go to the top of Splash Mountain at Disneyland. (I know that’s kind of a vague reference, but next time you’re on Splash Mountain, you’ll probably won’t be able to stop thinking about these bunnies).
When I saw these witches warn Kirk about impending doom, I started planning a Macbeth themed post, but then toward the end of the episode, it’s revealed that Scott and Sulu are being controlled by aliens who come from a planet where there’s no sensation. In my opinion the issue isn’t really that they don’t have sensation, it’s that they don’t have bodies. Lucky for them, on Pyris VII, they can manifest bodies. You can probably imagine how Kirk employs his skills to defeat an female alien who’s never experienced sensation, but if you can’t, it’s similar to when Austin Powers uses his mojo to make the fembots’ heads explode. Sadly, in this episode, the aliens’ head don’t pop off, but Kirk does smash the magic wand that’s the source of their powers. Then the aliens melt into the ether. Bummer.
Jenny, out.
I’m a Blogger, Jim (“The Doomsday Machine”)
25 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
in Season Two, Star Trek, The Original Series Tags: Alias, Doomsday Device, Fringe
Sometimes I’m not that good at noticing the more well known elements of Star Trek. For example, my husband had to point out that Bones frequently says something to the effect of “Damn it, Jim! I’m a doctor, not a (fill in the blank).” In “The Doomsday Machine,” Bones tells Kirk that he’s not a mechanic when Kirk is trying to figure out how to destroy a giant robotic black hole (aka the doomsday machine). If I was Kirk, I would have probably said something like, “You know what else you’re not, Bones? A team player.” But that’s why I’m not a Star Fleet Commander.
If you’re wondering what happens in this episode, once again, the Enterprise discovers that a whole bunch of planets are missing. This time the culprit is the aforementioned giant robotic black hole. This black hole is a left over weapon from a long ago war. Apparently, if weapons are not disposed of properly, they can morph into something even more destructive than they previously were and destroy the whole universe. I bet you didn’t even think about that, did you President Truman? (I’m just guessing here, maybe Truman did think about this possibility. Does anyone know?)
While I’m at it, I don’t get the point of a doomsday device. I really should try to understand them because doomsday devices are everywhere. On Fringe, there’s one that can only be powered by the psychic energy emitted by Pacey from Dawson’s Creek. Okay, I mean Peter Bishop. In Alias, there’s the Mueller device invented by some guy during the Italian Renaissance. (If you’re frequent reader of this blog, it will come as no surprise to you that I really dig Jennifer Garner’s outfits in Alias). The common denominator among all these devices is that they’re created by some sort of genius, but shouldn’t a genius know that the doomsday device will also kill him? I guess there’s some things you can’t get from book learning.
Oh, and in the end Kirk destroys the doomsday machine and saves the day, but you didn’t need me to tell you that.
Jenny, out.
The Forbidden Fruit (“The Apple”)
05 Jul 2011 1 Comment
in Season Two, Star Trek, The Original Series Tags: alternate universe, dating advice for Romeo and Juliet, Fringe, Parallel Universe, The Apple
To celebrate this past 4th of July weekend, I got the flu. So, instead of spending the weekend enjoying the summer weather, we camped out in front of the TV and watched episodes of Fringe. If you haven’t seen this show, I highly recommend it. Leonard Nimoy guest stars, and there’s a parallel universe. While watching this show, I realized there has been a recent spate of sci-fi characters accidentally sleeping with doubles from an alternate universe. As a community service, I’m reminding everyone to make sure that their sexual partners aren’t parallel universe twins. Protests of “Wait! I thought it was you. How was I supposed to know you were trapped in a parallel universe?” are not likely to be accepted as an excuse.
On “The Apple,” characters don’t have to worry about having sex with doppelgangers because the residents of Gamma Trianguli VI don’t have sex. Instead, they worship this guy Vaal, who forbids it. The landing party of the Enterprise discovers the ban on sex when they ask the Feeders of Vaal (aka the residents of Gamma Trianguli VI) where all the children are. The Feeders of Vaal don’t understand the word “children” but soon realize that children are the same as “replacements.” Alas, the Feeders of Vaal have no use for children because Vaal has made them immortal. (Also, there’s the whole ban on sex thing). Hilarious dialogue ensues about what happens “when a man and a woman fall in love.” Let me be clear that I would never write “when a man and a woman fall in love.” I’m actually quoting from the show. Also, on Gamma Trianguli VI, there’s no need to worry about people falling in love because that’s banned too. (Do you hear that Montagues and Capulets? You could have avoided that double suicide with a simple ban.)
Who is this Vaal character? He seems like kind of a Debbie Downer. It turns out he’s a computer, but for some reason, he needs to be fed. Kirk decided to stop feeding him, and Vaal blows up. The Feeders of Vaal are devastated, but Kirk tries to cheer them up by telling that now they can enjoy freedom. Happy Independence Day, everyone.
Jenny, out.
Captain Kirk, The Fairest One of All (“Mirror, Mirror”)
08 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Season Two, Star Trek, The Original Series Tags: Dilithium Crystals, Dress Robes, Star Trek Math Problems, Star Trek Parallel Universe
Who was the first person to consider the possibility of a parallel universe? How do you think they came up with that idea? Were they just sitting around one day and thought, “I bet there’s another universe almost exactly like this one.” These philosophical questions are my way of introducing the episode “Mirror, Mirror.” As you have likely deduced, dear reader, in this episode, a few crew members are transported to a parallel universe, and they aren’t happy about it at all.
The episode begins with Kirk, Bones, Scotty, and Uhura trying to convince some planet to allow the Federation access to dilithium crystals. Right away, I know that these negotiations are a big deal because Kirk is wearing his dress robes. The planet’s council tells Kirk no dice, and Spock attempts to beam the landing party back aboard the Enterprise. But, wait! An ion storm approaches and transports the party aboard an Enterprise in an alternate universe.
The parallel universe is apparently evil. (Discussion question: If Kirk is good in the regular universe and evil in the parallel universe, does that mean that someone who is evil in the regular universe will be good in the parallel universe?) Senior officers torture insubordinate crew members, and lower ranking officers try to advance their careers by assassinating their superiors. However, their outfits are spectacular. You just don’t see many military men sporting a sleeves gold vest with nothing underneath it. Naturally, Kirk realizes that the landing party must be in a parallel universe. Keen observation skills and fashion sense! Kirk definitely has it all.
Rather than trouble himself trying to figure out how to get back home, Kirk asks the computer to tell him. Interestingly, the technology exists to program a computer to generate step-by-step instructions for traveling between parallel universes, but Spock can’t figure out how to hack into the computer to retrieve this information after Kirk secures it with a voice print.
Kirk decides to take break from interstellar travel by chilling out for a bit in his room, but when he enters the room, he discovers that parallel universe Kirk has a girlfriend. He spends a great deal of time kissing the alternate universe girlfriend to protect his true identity. Way to take one for the team, Kirk!
While Kirk is lollygagging with his alternate universe girlfriend, Scotty is implementing the instructions the computer generated to help the landing party get back home. Alternate universe Spock (who has a beard) suspects something, mind-melds with Bones to figure it out, and confronts Kirk before the landing party can leave. Kirk decides this Spock isn’t so bad after all, and advises him to see if he can’t convince these alternate universe a-holes to be a little nicer. It’s all in a day’s work.
Jenny, out.
I, Robot (“The Changeling”)
27 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Season Two, Star Trek, The Original Series Tags: Scotty dies, Star Trek Nomad, Uhura loses her memory, Vulcan mind meld
The Enterprise is on a routine rescue call to the Malurian star system when Spock announces that he can’t find any life forms in the system. A week before, there were 4 billion people, and now, nothing. Where did everybody go? There’s no time to figure that out because The Enterprise comes under fire. Not just any fire, mind you, super strong mega-fire. What’s more, the ship that’s firing on them is only 1 meter long. The crew engages in some discussion about what kind of life form could be contained in a 1 meter ship, and Spock basically concludes that size doesn’t matter. Logical, smogical.
Kirk decides to try to communicate with the attacking ship. I see this communication as some kind of intergalactic text message. The attacking ship stops attacking and agrees to be beamed aboard the Enterprise. Everyone rushes to the transporter room to greet the guest, who turns out to be a levitating robot. At first the crew thinks there’s an alien hiding inside the robot, but nope. It’s just a robot.
This robot has a crappy attitude and tells Kirk that’s its mission is to seek out and destroy imperfect biological entities. I guess we know what happened to the Malurians. The really crappy part is that there’s no definition of imperfect. The robot just makes it up. The crew soon discovers that the robot, Nomad, was a space probe sent from earth in the year 2000. At the time, scientists thought the probe was destroyed. Apparently, it wasn’t. Personally, I’m surprised that NASA decided to launch space probes after viewing this episode. If you can’t trust NASA to learn from Kirk’s misfortunes, who can you trust?
Kirk tries to corral Nomad while he figures out what to do, but Nomad keeps escaping and causes trouble. It kills Scotty and wipes Uhura’s memory. This wanton killing annoys Kirk, so Nomad tries to make amends by bringing Scotty back to life. There’s not much Nomad can do for Uhura, so she goes to the sick bay where one of Bones’ assistants teaches her all the information Nomad wiped away.
With all this chaos, I forgot to mention that Nomad thinks Kirk his his “creator.” Apparently, some guy named Roykirk created Nomad, and in the intervening years, Nomad decided that the name “Kirk” is close enough. This is an amazing piece of good luck (or good thinking on the writers part) because Nomad only delays killing the crew of the Enterprise because it thinks Kirk created it. Eventually, Kirk gets frustrated by his inability to figure Nomad out, and Spock mind melds with it. Mind melding is amazing power because not only can Spock mind meld with other biological creatures, he can also mind meld with inanimate objects. (Anyone remember the Horta?)
The mind meld helps Kirk and Spock figure out how Nomad changed its mission from seeking new life to destroying life, but it really doesn’t help them get rid of Nomad. Finally, Kirk tricks Nomad into destroying itself by affirming that Nomad must destroy all that is imperfect and then convincing Nomad that it is imperfect.
Problem solved.
Jenny, out.
The Gods Must Be Crazy (“Who Mourns for Adonais?”)
17 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Season Two, Star Trek Tags: Adonais, crabby aliens, Star Trek The Original Series
As you know the 5 year mission of the Enterprise is to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, in short, to boldly go where no man has gone before. But, when I was watching “Who Mourns for Adonais,” I had to wonder why Star Fleet sent the Enterprise on this mission. So far, most of the life forms the crew has encountered seem to be jerks.
The episode begins with the Enterprise approaching Pollux IV. The ship is innocently cruising along when a green glowing hand appears out of nowhere and grabs it. I hate when that happens. Kirk tries to free the ship from the hand, but he can’t. Suddenly, a disembodied head wearing a gold wreath appears invites (more like demands) Kirk to beam down to the planet for a visit. The entire crew is welcome except for Spock because the disembodied head doesn’t like Spock’s pointy ears. Sticks and stones disembodied head, sticks and stones.
A man who introduces himself as the god Apollo greets the landing party. In Greek mythology, Apollo is the god of the sun, but I have to wonder if this dude is actually Narcissus because he is super impressed with himself. Apollo tells the landing party they have to stay on Pollux IV forever and worship him. Obviously, Kirk will have none of this crazy talk. Apollo tries to intimidate the crew by appearing as a giant and then starts macking on Carolyn, the sole female in the landing party.
Kirk and Bones put their heads together to try to figure out who this delusional Apollo character really is. They decide that he must be a member of an alien race that traveled to ancient Greece and so impressed the Grecians that they decided to create a religion around him. Two things. First, were Kirk and Bones absent the day Star Fleet training covered Ockham’s razor (you know, the most simple explanation is usually the true one)? Second, I wonder if this episode marks the point in history when humans started to believe that ancient peoples were visited by aliens.
Back aboard the Enterprise, Mr. Spock figures out that Apollo gets his power from an electrical field in a building on the planet. Kirk and Spock decide to blow this building up and take away Apollo’s power. This is why you should always invite Vulcans to a party. If you don’t, they might blow up part of your house. Naturally, Apollo is devastated by the loss of his powers and disappears into the ether.
Kirk despairs that so much of western culture was inspired by a-holes like Apollo, and he beams back up to the Enterprise to resume his search for new life and new civilization.
Jenny, out.
