Episode of the Week : This Side of Paradise
- Thread starter Botany Bay
- Start date
Spock's hand is a little creepy. 
Eight is about right.
Two of my favorite character moments in the series are both in this episode: Kirk coming out from under the spores ("I can't leave!") and Leila coming out ("And not only you, I've lost all of it.").
Two of my favorite character moments in the series are both in this episode: Kirk coming out from under the spores ("I can't leave!") and Leila coming out ("And not only you, I've lost all of it.").
Ready to beam up. Hiya, Jimmy boy! Hey, I've taken care of everything. All y'all gotta do is relax. Doctor's orders.
A good episode. I find I seem to be voting 8 a lot, I'm not sure what that means, but that's what I voted.
My only complaint, yes you know I have a complaint, is that this episode has a real fountain of youth with no downside and it's never mentioned again, even when that's the main subject of many subsequent episodes and even movies.
Discuss if you disagree, but this has always been Star Trek's greatest weakness, inherent in the episodic format and not really particular to this show, but they find something that's a real universe altering thing and never mention it again.
My only complaint, yes you know I have a complaint, is that this episode has a real fountain of youth with no downside and it's never mentioned again, even when that's the main subject of many subsequent episodes and even movies.
Discuss if you disagree, but this has always been Star Trek's greatest weakness, inherent in the episodic format and not really particular to this show, but they find something that's a real universe altering thing and never mention it again.
Just because it works in the conditions presented doesn't mean that it will work under every condition.
This Side of Paradise said:
Without constant exposure to Berthold rays, they may quickly lose their effectiveness.
When I was younger I didn't really "get" the message behind this one, but now that I've learned a bit more about '60s culture I appreciate the episode more.
I will say, Kirk's "cure" for his spore infection was a bit of a cop out. That's always bothered me.
Also, it's fun to go back and see how often Nimoy got to show an over range of emotion despite playing the supposedly emotionless Mr. Spock.
I will say, Kirk's "cure" for his spore infection was a bit of a cop out. That's always bothered me.
Also, it's fun to go back and see how often Nimoy got to show an over range of emotion despite playing the supposedly emotionless Mr. Spock.
I do wish Insurrection had made some kind of subtle callback to this episode. The fountains of youth are just so ridiculously similar it's tough to ignore.
Favorite line: Would you like to see how fast I can put you in a hospital?
Gave it an 8.
But this is not the sort of effectiveness you need to sustain. Rather, you can drop sick or injured people off at the planet, wait for them to become healthy, and take them out - they will stay cured of their original ailments (even if they can of course again fall ill for various reasons). The spores of Omicron Ceti III not only keep you alive and healthy under Berthold ray bombardment, they heal scar tissue in your lungs and grow back your appendix!
Then again, the Ba'ku planet grew back LaForge's eyes, but that effect didn't last. It's extremely difficult to understand how something like this could happen (especially as LaForge has never had functioning eyes - he was born blind), but if it could happen there, it could happen on Omicron Ceti III, too. Somehow, the scars would reappear and the appendix would disappear, as insane as that sounds.
Timo Saloniemi
Back in November 2000, I wrote the following on a music bboard:
Even an episode without its own specially composed score, like "This Side of Paradise," can be ripe for commentary.
The story involves a planet with flower spores that alter the human mind, making people licentious, romantically susceptible, and insistent upon long vacations. Yes, it turns them into Europeans. Most of the Enterprise crew are like, "Hmmm, sex and drugs, eh? I'll take one of each!"
The music is tracked in from prior episodes, and only the best stuff was chosen. Some highlights:
When the spores hit Spock and he convulses, we hear a mystical, suspense-building cue. Alexander Courage wrote it for Captain Pike's entry into the Rigel VII illusion in "The Cage." The piece is not included on GNP's soundtrack CD [update: it's in the LLL box set].
When Spock loses his battle with the spores, he takes an immediate shine to Leila Kalomi (Jill Ireland) and the music artfully shifts into a love theme. It's "Ruth" by Gerald Fried, written for "Shore Leave." This becomes Leila's leitmotif, to be fully played in her tearful farewell scene with Spock. (Star Trek Vol 3, GNPD 8030).
Kirk's first view of the mentally altered Spock, hanging from a tree, is tracked with "Old English" from "Shore Leave." Originally intended to suggest medieval gallantry, here "Old English" conveys a jaunty disregard for both Kirk's authority and Spock's own Vulcan logic. (ST Vol 3, GNPD 8030).
A shot of the deserted Enterprise bridge, which a disconsolate Kirk enters and slowly surveys, is scored with "The Big Go" from "The Naked Time" (Courage). It is a finely wrought, martial lament that accents William Shatner's performance: discipline in the face of unmitigated disaster; grim resolve overcoming any notion of fear. (GNPD 8030 again).
The spores are defeated during a climactic brawl on the planet surface, which provides a welcome chance to hear Fred Steiner's most exciting cue from "The Corbomite Maneuver." Originally titled "Cube Radiation," it's an urgent, lapel-grabbing scherzo that I can't get enough of. (On two CDs: Best of ST Vol 2, GNPD 8061; and Varese Sarabande's Star Trek Vol 1, VCD 47235. The Varese version is a very good re-recording by Fred Steiner and the Royal Philharmonic).
The episode has more than just music. Guest star Jill Ireland ranks with Marianne Hill ("Dr Helen Noel" in Dagger of the Mind) as a top notch space babe. Jerry Finnerman seems to have shot the close-ups of both women using a diffusion filter, which concealed any flaws and made them into perfect angels. He would later give Cybil Shepard the same good treatment in "Moonlighting" on ABC.
This Side of Paradise is a musical treat, and Jill Ireland supplies some extra eye candy.
Even an episode without its own specially composed score, like "This Side of Paradise," can be ripe for commentary.
The story involves a planet with flower spores that alter the human mind, making people licentious, romantically susceptible, and insistent upon long vacations. Yes, it turns them into Europeans. Most of the Enterprise crew are like, "Hmmm, sex and drugs, eh? I'll take one of each!"
The music is tracked in from prior episodes, and only the best stuff was chosen. Some highlights:
When the spores hit Spock and he convulses, we hear a mystical, suspense-building cue. Alexander Courage wrote it for Captain Pike's entry into the Rigel VII illusion in "The Cage." The piece is not included on GNP's soundtrack CD [update: it's in the LLL box set].
When Spock loses his battle with the spores, he takes an immediate shine to Leila Kalomi (Jill Ireland) and the music artfully shifts into a love theme. It's "Ruth" by Gerald Fried, written for "Shore Leave." This becomes Leila's leitmotif, to be fully played in her tearful farewell scene with Spock. (Star Trek Vol 3, GNPD 8030).
Kirk's first view of the mentally altered Spock, hanging from a tree, is tracked with "Old English" from "Shore Leave." Originally intended to suggest medieval gallantry, here "Old English" conveys a jaunty disregard for both Kirk's authority and Spock's own Vulcan logic. (ST Vol 3, GNPD 8030).
A shot of the deserted Enterprise bridge, which a disconsolate Kirk enters and slowly surveys, is scored with "The Big Go" from "The Naked Time" (Courage). It is a finely wrought, martial lament that accents William Shatner's performance: discipline in the face of unmitigated disaster; grim resolve overcoming any notion of fear. (GNPD 8030 again).
The spores are defeated during a climactic brawl on the planet surface, which provides a welcome chance to hear Fred Steiner's most exciting cue from "The Corbomite Maneuver." Originally titled "Cube Radiation," it's an urgent, lapel-grabbing scherzo that I can't get enough of. (On two CDs: Best of ST Vol 2, GNPD 8061; and Varese Sarabande's Star Trek Vol 1, VCD 47235. The Varese version is a very good re-recording by Fred Steiner and the Royal Philharmonic).
The episode has more than just music. Guest star Jill Ireland ranks with Marianne Hill ("Dr Helen Noel" in Dagger of the Mind) as a top notch space babe. Jerry Finnerman seems to have shot the close-ups of both women using a diffusion filter, which concealed any flaws and made them into perfect angels. He would later give Cybil Shepard the same good treatment in "Moonlighting" on ABC.
This Side of Paradise is a musical treat, and Jill Ireland supplies some extra eye candy.
I never really liked this one. I found Jill Ireland to be annoying as hell and the tracked love music from Shore Leave to be way overdone. It is slathered on like a kid dumping whipped cream on a sundae. They constantly crank it up whenever we see dewy eyed Leila and Spock, even using it for two or three seconds when Spock gives her a quick kiss before he beams up. Enough. We get it. Ugh, it's like a fan film.
What does save this episode for me is Shatner. As usual. He is brilliant as his frustration mounts. When he kills his own spores, it's just fantastic. "No...NO! I...can't...leave!" And then he puts so much venom in his insults to Spock.
KIRK: You're a traitor from a race of traitors. Disloyal to the core, rotten like the rest of your subhuman race, and you've got the gall..! To make love to that girl.
SPOCK: That's enough.
KIRK: Does she know what she's getting, Spock? A carcass full of memory banks who should be squatting in a mushroom, instead of passing himself off as a man? You belong in a circus, Spock, not a starship. Right next to the dog-faced boy! "
Shatner is on fire in this episode. That "gall" is magical and the "dog-faced boy" crack just makes my life worthwhile.
Then Spock hits the cardboard food slot and it kinda ruins the illusion a bit... But damn. Shatner.
What does save this episode for me is Shatner. As usual. He is brilliant as his frustration mounts. When he kills his own spores, it's just fantastic. "No...NO! I...can't...leave!" And then he puts so much venom in his insults to Spock.
KIRK: You're a traitor from a race of traitors. Disloyal to the core, rotten like the rest of your subhuman race, and you've got the gall..! To make love to that girl.
SPOCK: That's enough.
KIRK: Does she know what she's getting, Spock? A carcass full of memory banks who should be squatting in a mushroom, instead of passing himself off as a man? You belong in a circus, Spock, not a starship. Right next to the dog-faced boy! "
Shatner is on fire in this episode. That "gall" is magical and the "dog-faced boy" crack just makes my life worthwhile.
Then Spock hits the cardboard food slot and it kinda ruins the illusion a bit... But damn. Shatner.
I'm not ashamed to admit that scene still makes me cry like a little girl.
[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gMVrQ4Zq3M[/yt]
And smelt of elderberries, no doubt!
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