ST: TOS; The Deadly Years S2/Ep 41
Ok, I'll just say it. Ick. This is one episode I will not willingly watch. We have an officer with a major Daddy complex, officious desk jockey and a physically failing Kirk AND Spock.
The competency hearing is just awful (unlike the courtmartial in another episode). I'm sure it's well acted; I just can't bear to watch it.
So, talk amongst yourselves. I'm sure you all know this episode much better than I do.
Never liked this one much, either.
Seriously, how does Star Fleet survive, everyone of Flag Rank is a menace.
And I've been trying to figure out for years how you can reverse 30 years of aging. Not just stop accelerated aging, reverse it.
Bleh.
This was more of a concept show, showing the fear of aging and playing with what the characters would be like. It worked better back then, when viewers worried less about continuity. So the writers wrote a concept show that works badly in the Trek universe of today. I think of it like a Twilight Zone or Outer Limits type exploration of a common fear.
I should be getting the DVD by Thursday and I need to rewatch it. It has been too long for me to comment on the show itself.
The usual technical handwavery - those same Romulan warbirds that were only impulse-capable when last seen can suddenly catch up to the Enterprise in warp, but in compensation, our heroes shrug off many fireball hits when they were previously terrified of just one. And, of course, as soon as the magic cure is applied, not only is the disease halted but forty surplus years disappear like the memory of a bad dream. Still, not bad for dramatic tension, and it was good in a way to see rapidly-decaying Kirk think he could still pull it off in the courtroom - well done Shatner.
How does Starfleet survive? Systematic promotion of the incompetent to senior desk jobs where they can do no harm. Just try to make sure they stay off your starship. Or, and this is a radical suggestion, don't expose all your senior officers to the perils of a mysteriously-silent planet until you have some idea what the matter is. There was precious little need for all of them to be down there.
If the Big Three were not beamed down every episode, we would have a very different show. Not necessarily a bad one, but one not as steeped in the character dynamics and interplay. Plus, those who do beam down would then be center stage. While that is intriguing (at least for one or more shows), it sucks as a premise for a TV series, which is what ST is. Yes, they created a world and yes, it is a wondrous thing that has held up over several decades, but in the end, it's just a story. The higher ups don't have to be competent: they just have to be interesting with enough conflict, humor and pathos to make the story matter to us, the audience. The universe only needs to be as consistent as it needs to be; anything else exceeds expectations (or disrupts continuity).
It would have been both radical and a great deal of fun to see one mission of ST: TOS as seen by a lowly ensign or cook. To have Kirk et al appear briefly and only tangentially and to see how Kirk is really viewed by his crew. I'm sure there is fanfic out there about this. If not, I just stumbled upon a hugely profitable niche market. I call dibs!
Merely suggesting that, given the frequency with which they seem to get into trouble, it would make more sense not to beam down your first, second and third in command until you know everything is all right and that they will all be needed. An isolated research outpost is hardly the place you absolutely need to send your Chief Engineer in the first instance even if you decide you really do need your Captain, First Officer and ship's doctor. There was an interesting idea elsewhere about how there might be only a few people aboard who were cleared for First Contact, but that didn't apply in this case. But did they ever seem to learn?
Given the rifeness of Mary-Sue-ism, I think your dibs are already called and that ship departed at warp speed many years ago. I've seen examples in published book form, if it comes to that: a guest star takes centre stage and completely schools all the regulars in how to handle their business. Time has blurred the memory of the worst of these, fortunately.
Last edited by Sir Richard ffoulkes; 08 Jun 2010 at 01:31 PM.
Oddly enough, Doctor Who does do this occasionally. It is an OK diversion from the normal.
Here is something else to keep in mind, the times where Kirk ends up in contact with the good Flag Officers and Planetary leaders are probably very numerous but uneventful. The 48 successful transports of ambassadors, diplomats and officials go by unnoted. The visits to Star Bases where the local Commodore facilitates getting one of the Federations best and strongest ships back out to duty in not really note worthy sad to say. Confrontation is memorable, routine is not.
And it's a back-handed compliment to the series, IMO. The technology and wonder of traversing the stars is not enough for us, because the characters are so interesting. ST made space a human place: "Wanna know something, Spock? Everbody's human." And for humans, drama needs conflict or suspense.
Scotty and/or Sulu or Chekov stayed behind plenty. And with the Horta, Spock calculates the odds of BOTH Kirk and he being killed. I think they knew the odds, but more importantly, the series was about them, not minor crew members.
This. Over a five-year mission, we saw 79 days, basically. That leaves a lot of days during their tour of duty where they might have done a lot of day-to-day routine, with unremarkable interactions with perfectly competent people. It only gets interesting when they meet come across a threat to the crew, be it an alien or a space disease or a moronic bureaucrat.Originally posted by What Exit?
I have to re-watch this episode -- I haven't seen it in ages. But I do recall that the good Captain reveals his age in this one (34, as of this episode -- canon informs us that Kirk was commissioned as the youngest captain in Starfleet history at age 31). More comments later...
Hell is other people.
Mmmmm.....Kirk at 34......
Carry on.
Carrying on.
I
Carrying on.cougars!
I have photos, paintings, and even a paw-print covering the walls of my house.
Oh, very cute.
Funny how if a man came in here and said that he found younger women attractive, no one would mock him. And if he could get a younger woman, he'd be lauded.
Except take away the smile while I use the fish to smack you, Sir Dick.
Damned straight I'm grouchy today--I've had a helluva day and not much of it good.![](images/smilies/confused0036.gif ":\")
I like that second dude.
Last edited by eleanorigby; 10 Jun 2010 at 07:55 PM.
The men in my family are all about the older women -- my dad married an older woman, my uncle married an older woman, my aunt married a younger guy, my grandmother on my mom's side married a younger man, I married an older woman (that's just off the top of my head). Frankly, I don't see where it's any big deal.
Can we go back to talking about actual cougars now?
No, because this thread is about ST: TOS.
And taken in context (and if you have a twisted mind like mine), that second cougar pic looks like a pedophile checking out a fresh young cub...
Ok, maybe I need new meds.
That Robert Bateman painting, called "Excursion," depicts a beautiful and serene scene of momma cougar going for a walk with her adorable little babies. There is NO pedophilia whatsoever depicted!!!
Sorry. Back to Star Trek:
Remember in that episode, "Shore Leave," when the crew was terrorized by a vicious tiger cougar? So awesome!
So sorry you've had a bad day. Why don't you come flouncing in here and take it out on me, what with it not being my fault and all? That's sure to make me like and respect you more.Damned straight I'm grouchy today--I've had a helluva day and not much of it good.
I like that second dude.
So glad we could come to that understanding. Birds in their little nests agree and all that!
Jimbo: I think you're confusing that episode with Cat's Paw. One vicious cougar coming up!
Last edited by eleanorigby; 11 Jun 2010 at 06:40 PM.
That was some spectacularly big hair on Sylvia!
I liked the episode; I was defending the Commodore to Jim - I thought he did the best he could in a very difficult situation. The courtroom scene was indeed difficult, but the people were all acting very emotional, rather than acting like the officers they are - the first concern should have been the ship's safety rather than their Captain's feeling. There were some excellent lines, though, like Chekhov's exchange with Sulu about how he'll have no samples left, and Kirk asking the blonde woman if she's offering him love or a going-away present.
Meh. Not one of my favorite episodes by far. I just never fully connected with the tension in the episode.
featherlou, I took that more as them having loyalty to their captain rather than them trying to protect his feelings. It was a little too much loyalty, considering, but when you regularly put your life into someone's hands and trust them day in and day out I can see where it would be difficult to admit they can't be given that responsibility any more.
'lou makes some very good points. IMO, almost every ST: TOS ep has decent dialog and character development. And I do like how Kirk just puts her baggage right back on her. The man knows his boundaries.
I just don't like to see them (the Big 3) enfeebled.
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