50th Anniversary Rewatch Thread

This is a good episode. I like how Scotty is defiant with Ambassador Fox. Scotty would not lower the shield to let him beam down. Or so it seems. We get that great scene with Scotty. Then we cut away to a different scene and then we get back to Ambassador Fox and his assistant beaming down to the planet. My question is: Why didn't the Enterprise get shot at when they dropped their shields to transport down the Ambassador? Is it possible to beam down somebody while keeping the shields up?
P.S. I like how McCoy agrees with Scotty when they are arguing with the Ambassador about beaming down to the planet. Yet right after that conversation McCoy says to Scotty "Well, now you did it Scotty" If I'm Scotty, I would be saying "I thought we were in agreement here, What are you talking about McCoy? McCoy did this a lot to Spock. I find it a very funny trait in McCoy. A trait that I would find irritating if I actually had to hear him say that to me all the time.

 

It shouldn't be, but I'm not sure if that has been established prior to this episode?

I know they couldn't beam down through the screens in Dagger of the Mind, but that was through the prison's security screen. I can't recall if there has as of yet been an instance when they made a point of lowering the shields before beaming someone on the Enterprise...

 

I do not think they can. They made such a big deal out of it when Scotty refuses to do it for Ambassador Fox. I was so happy to see Scotty stand up to this guy. The Ambassador was running roughshod over everybody, even Kirk, it was nice to see somebody tell him no. It was such a great scene and then a little while later the Ambassador ends up beaming down anyway. Why didn't the people on the planet fire on the Enterprise when their shields were down? Their leader ordered one of their men to do just that. It is like they just forgot about it.

 

To me this episode has one of the most interesting premises.

I like Kirk's speech near the end of Taste of Armageddon, I use it as a way to try to diet by paraphrasing his phrase speech near the end of the episode.

That is something like 'We do want to eat cake , we're cake eaters but we're not going to eat cake TODAY that's all it takes'

 

I believe their not being able to beam while shielded was a key plot point in Arena. Earlier than Armageddon? I forget.

 

"This Side of Paradise", Episode 24, March 2nd

Tonight's Episode: Investigating a colony full of dead people, the Enterprise is surprised to find them alive and in perfect health, causing Spock to experiment with drugs and getting the entire crew high. But when he also gets the girl, Kirk will have to punch him out and set him back to his proper place.

 

My thoughts on "This Side of Paradise"

Brief version: How in the world do the spores manage to take over the ship?

Shatner hamming it up, plus Nimoy and Jill Ireland are exquisite. Great episode all around.

Next week, we meet the Horta!

 

He was severely out-hammed by Kelley in this one...

I got the impression it was trying to toe the party line when it comes to US views on communism.
Brainwashed masses, bland uniform clothing, barley producing enough food to survive, cultural and economic stagnation, completely lacking the entrepreneurial capitalist spark that's vital for humanity...

Why was Kirk ordered to move them out in the first place? They had no evidence at the time their minds were being affected by the spores, all the medical tests came up excellent with no apparent threat to the population from the death rays and they expressed a wish to stay?
Was the Admiral who ordered the relocation secretly working with the Sona to harness all the radiation for themselves... oh wait .. wrong movie right?

But yeah, the spores have extraordinary healing properties, seems a shame nobody suggested to investigate them further, trying to isolate the healing properties from the mind-altering ones would seem like a really good idea.

Sulu says he has no clue what a farm is supposed to look like... well that's encouraging coming from a ship's botanist.

The plot's pretty basic, but it goes into Spock's division between his human feelings and his decision to follow the Vulcan(ian) ways rather beautifully, and Nimoy absolutely nails the nuances in the period after he gets cured of the spores.

Spock also mentions his other unpronounceable name, is there a list somewhere of all the names that tie-in fiction and fandom have come up with over the years?

 

This Side of Paradise is a wonderful episode. It is great to see Spock happy. Nimoy and Jill Ireland are a great couple. I like how McCoy reverts back to his Georgian accent whenever he is under the influence of something. Is this the first episode where Kirk is alone on the Enterprise? It makes for a compelling scene. It is interesting to see actor Frank Overton in this episode. He would die shortly after making this episode. He died at a relatively young age.

 

Mxyzptlk. If you can make him say it backwards, he'll disappear back to Vulcan.

 

Hippies, commies... it's all the same to the establishment, man

I suppose... but the colonists knew those risks and chose to stay anyway, so it's still a bit draconian of Starfleet to order their forcible removal.

Mxyzptlk Spock sounds like a good name of a cool jazz act

 

The main important aspect of TSoP was that it felt like Eden. Nothing like the grey, totalitarian form of Communism...

 

Don't you remember? After being sporified, McCoy beamed up a shitload of plants and the spores were carried throughout the ship by the ventilation system.

Sulu is the ship's helmsman. Botany is his hobby -- well, one of them, anyway.

 

It felt like Eden because they were brainwashed, once the spores are gone they do the whole "We haven't done anything" speech, realizing the failures of their system.

Sandoval even steps into the Great Leader role when he tells McCoy he's not a doctor anymore because there's no need for doctors so he must do whatever the Leader tells him to do...