Episode of the Week : The Cloud Minders

[Botany Bay]

 

[feek61]

Not much of a fan of this one; feels mailed in from almost everyone involved. I particularly like the editing on this one that has Kirk speaking at the beginning of Act 1 but his mouth not moving, lol. I rate this one at a 3

 

[TOSalltheway]

Another episode that was hardly subltle in its message. That message however, is more timely than ever. The rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, more separation. Jeff Corey was perfect as Plasus, Diana Ewing was stunning as Droxine, Charlene Polite was great as vanna. Great phaser close up. The chilling shot (even the phoney non-remastered version) of the body falling from Stratos stays with you. That horrible block of foam carved into a cloud city. Even the remastered cloud city was not much better.

Maybe its a guilty pleasure but I liked it.

 

[CrazyMatt]

4. A bit silly (well, more than a bit) at times, but like most of the third season episodes, it lacks any compelling drama. Still, if the weather outside is uninviting, and you have nothing to do more critical than clean the house, you could probably do worse than spending an hour watching this. Probably.

 

[UnknownSample]

I will think fondly of this one, just because the idea sounds so good, visually ... then I'll see it again, and be disappointed. The main problem is Wm Shatner... in his first scene on the Bridge, he's barely acting. He seems to have heard about the cancellation and is halfway out the door, already. He's fairly uninterested throughout. Spock sort of almost implies he's falling in love, an d chats with the object of this casually about pon farr, that highly personal, private secret of the Vulcan people.

The Feds did manage to prevent a civil war, creatively. I want to applaud Kirk for taking such a personal interest and for taking the matter and the risk on by himself... except Shatner played it in the opposite way, uncommitted, irritated, not wanting to waste his time there.

I do like the politics of this one. I like that we were seeing a Federation planet, but I wonder if that was tacked on ... why would the Federation bring into the fold a society like this?

I think David Gerrold co-wrote this, without credit for some reason.

 

[Marsden]

I voted 7.

I like most everything about the episode, but some of the execution is off a bit. I really like that the Federation is made of many diverse cultures and what is socially acceptable in one may not be in another.

I also like how Captain Kirk is so dedicated to his duty that he is willing to interfere into the status quo, but he's done this many times.
I suppose if the Zenite consignment was on time, he wouldn't have gotten involved because there would have been no reason to investigate.
And I believe that a culture as advanced as Stratos's would want to be in the Federation. From their point of view, there's nothing wrong, why shouldn't they be a member. I'm wondering if the city, Stratos, is in the Federation but the planet not necessarily except that it's ruled by the city. I doubt the Troglytes voted on joining, they didn't seem to have those rights.

But I don't see this as a workers type of drama, it's more akin to Apartheid, a minority controlling all of the produce of a majority. The Stratos city dwellers held themselves quite high in esteem and treated the Troglytes like another species, even if they weren't genetically.

 

[Zaminhon]

I voted 8. Loved the idea of a cloud city when I first saw this as a kid years before ESB. Like most episodes, the moral lesson clubs you over the head, but it was done in an entertaining fashion. I thought Vanna was one of the strongest female characters in the series and I enjoyed her confrontation with Kirk. I liked Droxine and Spock's flirtations, and it reinforces that Spock is not a walking computer, but employs a Platonic and Aristotelian world view that includes an appreciation of art, science, beauty, and particularly justice in this case. (Of course we knew that from the beginning.) This episode gave us a a nice mix of action and ideas.

 

[BigDaveX]

I think David Gerrold co-wrote this, without credit for some reason.

Gerrold wrote the original version of the story (possibly with Oliver Crawford, as both of them are credited for story), which was heavily rewritten by Margaret Armen, and probably rewritten again by Arthur Singer.

I think the story's decent enough overall, but I can definitely understand Gerrold's view that the ending just focuses on solving the immediate problem facing the miners, rather than doing anything that really addresses the class divide.

 

[Timo]

I also like how Captain Kirk is so dedicated to his duty that he is willing to interfere into the status quo, but he's done this many times. I suppose if the Zenite consignment was on time, he wouldn't have gotten involved because there would have been no reason to investigate.

The surprising thing is that after all is said and done, there's no indication that things would be changing for the better. At most, there will be anti-zenite masks for the Troglytes, but there are no promises. It just isn't Kirk's business to depose the Stratosians. And this is about the only time when "it's not my business" actually stops Kirk from toppling a civilization!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Forbin]

Cloud city was very cool, at least in concept. Their cloud looked a bit like an airbrushed blob of white paint.
The phrase "Stratos City Dweller" was grating to me ear and spoken too often.
I can't believe Spock falling for a scrawny waif like Droxine.

 

[UnknownSample]

Info appreciated, Large Dave.

I can't believe Spock falling for a scrawny waif like Droxine.

I'd hate to make anyone feel bad about her body type, but Trek so often presented guest starring women as being the height of beauty, while often I can't help wanting to offer them a nice, big submarine sandwich or something. They seem painfully thin. Also, their hair is so severely pulled back that there's a hint of something skull-like. Please eat. I'll buy.

 

[Crisp Conditions]

This was the first episode of ST I ever saw, so it holds a special place for me.

The torture scene still stands up and is especially relevant today, but I still find Spock acting way out of character with respect to the way he discusses Vulcan mating with Droxine.

Six.

 

[Timo]

...Why wouldn't he? Droxine apparently already knows all about it - she brings up the subject matter and presents Spock with a fact that he can either confirm or deny, and the latter would be a futile lie (plus discussion unto itself anyway).

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Captain Rob]

I could see Spock discussing Vulcan mating rituals with Droxine if he intended to mate with her.
As such:
Spock to Droxine : "Madam. Would you care to adjourn to a more private setting with me to engage in some harmless copulation? Purely for the entertainment and enjoyment factors naturally."

And doesn't the name Droxine sound like a good name for a brand of sleeping pills.

 

[feek61]

This was the first episode of ST I ever saw, so it holds a special place for me.
Six.

Wow, and you watch more episodes after!!! lol

 

[J.T.B.]

This was the first episode of ST I ever saw, so it holds a special place for me.

No kidding! It was the second to last I saw "fresh," and I tried to catch it for a long time. So it's always seemed a little "exotic" to me.

But the episode itself... not too good. As UnknownSample said above, Shatner plays it like the sooner the shooting's done the sooner he can get on to something more important.

In the writing, a lot of "big" things seem superficially presented:

• Pleased to meet you, let's talk about private mating practices.
• Oh by the way, the mineral in the mines makes people stupid, which a ship's medical officer knows but apparently no one else.
• What, you Federation snobs have a problem with public torture?

All the "lovely Droxine" and "very attractive officer" and "extreme female beauty" stuff was laying it on too thick for such a dud of a romance, besides being out of character for Spock. And his voice-over montage... yuck.

I usually cut some slack for the series' effects, especially in S3, but the first scene where they gaze up at the "metropolis" of Stratos it looks like a fantasy scene some parent painted on a kid's bedroom wall. The floating city in the 1930's Flash Gordon was much more impressive. I kind of liked the look of aerial photograph they used, though, and the fall from the height looked OK. And there was an interesting shot angle on the transporter room.

So, I don't like this one much. 3.

ETA: Oh, I forgot, Jeff Corey is always great. Glad he was in an OS episode, even this one.

 

[Timo]

I have to admit I never got the "out of character for Spock" thing. The guy has a romance - his very first one onscreen. How can that be atypical or out of the line when it's the sole example to go by?

Perhaps it would be out of character for a Vulcan to have this exact type of romance; perhaps it's a half-breed thing. But we have no pressing reason to think Sarek's fling with Amanda went any differently (except for there apparently being booze involved, as per "Conscience of the King").

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Crisp Conditions]

Wow, and you watch more episodes after!!! lol

Well, I was four. And, yes, it was enough to capture my fancy!

 

[johnnybear]

I gave it an eight and although not one of my favourites it's worth a look for Charlene Polite (who strangely enough was married to portly actor Raymond Bieri) who was stunning in both her blue mining costume and her white outfit in the cell!
JB

 

[ZapBrannigan]

I gave it a 3. One qualifier is that I like the TOS-R version of Stratos so much, visually, that it would bump the show up a grade or two if I counted that way.

Trivia: Jeff Corey was a well-known acting teacher and a personal friend of Leonard Nimoy, if I'm not mistaken.