Production Order Group Viewing 2018

[Marsden]

I don't want to argue, but most western hemisphere dwellers, as I am, think of Hispanic/Latino when they hear names like Jose, but there's a country full of "caucasians" called Spain. I know I was reading a review of that Captain America tv movie from the 70s and the reviewer complained that the bad guy's name was Miguel and he was played by Christopher Lee. Why can't they be Spanish, like Emilio Estevez?

But, I agree with your point on all other things and I'm sure there will be more mixed combination names like Hiro O'Malley and Stanislav M'gutu and any other you could think of.

 

[Poltargyst]

Because "Hispanic" isn't a race. You can be white and Hispanic or black and Hispanic or anything in between.

 

[Poltargyst]

Mudd's Women

Not one of my favorites. Meh.
They certainly blew through some dilithium (lithium?) crystals in rescuing Mudd and the girls. Doesn't seem like it should have taken so much power. Smacks of a plot contrivance to set up the crisis.

Scotty's and McCoy's reactions to seeing the girls in the transporter room. Ha ha.

I'll just get my sexist statement out of the way here: I never particularly found these women attractive either before or after eating their Gummy Bears.

The look Spock gives Kirk when Mudd says "...the Heaven's own truth.." Ha ha.

Uhura doesn't notice Mudd's transmission to Rigel 12? Enterprise needs better security...but we're going to see that over and over.

Spock still smiles in this episode, but he's not yelling anymore.

I would have kept the miners and Mudd on the ship. If we're going down, so are you.

What a crappy place for those women to settle. They could have have gone with Enterprise to a more hospitable location.

Like I said, not my favorite episode. A solid "meh."

 

[Harvey]

And I also want to mention José Tyler. A very non Caucasian first name for a very non Hispanic individual. This is how it should be by the far future of Star Trek.

I have to disagree on this point. I don’t know what’s worse - Roddenberry’s description of the character in the 1964 show proposal (“born in South America...he is full of both humor and Latin temperament”) or the fact that they didn’t consider a single latino actor for the part.

In that version, the character was José Ortegas. Once you get to the pilot that was filmed, the character’s last name has been changed to Tyler and he’s nicknamed “Joe.” I could be wrong, but a perusal of the episode transcript suggests he isn’t even named in dialogue.

 

[alchemist]

And I also want to mention José Tyler.

As an FYI, his first name is written as "Jose" in the scripts (starting with the first draft), not "José."

EDIT: Digging deeper, "Jose" goes at least as far back as Roddenberry's first draft pilot story outline for "The Cage" (6/29/64) where he's introduced as Joe (Jose) Tyler.

 

[Commishsleer]

As an FYI, his first name is written as "Jose" in the scripts (starting with the first draft), not "José."

EDIT: Digging deeper, "Jose" goes at least as far back as Roddenberry's first draft pilot story outline for "The Cage" (6/29/64) where he's introduced as Joe (Jose) Tyler.

At least GR tried for diversity.

 

[Shawnster]

Because "Hispanic" isn't a race. You can be white and Hispanic or black and Hispanic or anything in between.

Exactly! Cultural. Regional.

 

[Marsden]

Exactly! Cultural. Regional.

Hispanic isn't a race but the name is Non-Caucasian. I'd ask for clarification but it's illogical to the extreme and I regret saying anything about it. I'm going to restrict my posts to Star Trek and not made up stuff like "race".

 

[Poltargyst]

Hispanic isn't a race but the name is Non-Caucasian. I'd ask for clarification but it's illogical to the extreme and I regret saying anything about it. I'm going to restrict my posts to Star Trek and not made up stuff like "race".

But if you're white, and you're Hispanic, you're going to have a Hispanic name.

 

[J.T.B.]

As an FYI, his first name is written as "Jose" in the scripts (starting with the first draft), not "José."

Well, no surprise really, most US typewriters couldn't handle that.

 

[Shawnster]

Ah, the new navigator of the week. Wonder how long he stays before he gets eaten by an alien or something. Serving on this ship is dangerous. Don't wear gold. Or greenish gold.

This Venus drug van apply makeup and skin care products. Maybe it's produced by Yunique?

Rigel is a very popular and hazardous place. Rigel 2 has castles and giants with chain mail armor. Rigel 12 has sandstorms that can swallow a person to the point starship sensors can't find them.

This Harry Mudd is a thoroughly dangerous man. I think he directly or indirectly helped poor Leo Walsh to his untimely demise. He definitely didn't care if the Enterprise spiraled down from orbit. We discussed Harry Mudd when he appeared 15 years earlier in DISCO. Beware spoiler.
Proceed at your own risk.

Just How Bad *IS* Harry Mudd? (TOS & Discovery)

Star Trek: Discovery 1x07 - "Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad"

Harcourt Fenton Mudd

Star Trek: Discovery 1x05 - "Choose Your Pain"

I hope Evie recognized those big red flags Childress was waving. The more he protested he never laid a hand on her, the more apparent it was he was an abuser. Hope she beamed back to the Enterprise after that get to know you day. Eh, maybe it didn't matter to her. Something was up with all 3 women. Something more than just looking for husbands. They were in on the Venus drug scam. They were acting really shifty early in the episode. They were not upset at ditching the prospective husbands they were going to at the start (if they indeed were) and were happy to marry the rich miners.

Lithium crystals. Earlier we saw a lithium cracking station. Lithium ion batteries today store electric power. Do these lithium crystals store power? The Enterprise engines generate power. Putting the deflector screen around Mudd's ship strained the ships engines, drained power, blew out the lithium crystal circuits. They barely had enough power to limp to Rigel. Maybe the crystals convert raw power from the engines.

Harry didn't know a starship was pursuing him. Later he says starship captain or not... Apparently not all spaceships are starships.

Nice morality ending. Beauty comes from within. Even Harry got in on delivering the speech.

 

[Phaser Two]

Not one of my favorites, but still interesting. I don't think it's sexist to note that I was never all that attracted to any of the three ladies either. This one has some acting problems, which is really quite atypical for TOS. The plot is a mess. But I do like seeing the Rigel system. Where did I once see a layout of the system in the Trek universe with all of its densely populated planets? I've been wondering about that for years.

I would argue that this is one of the most dated eps in TOS. It did not age well at all.

 

[Maurice]

As an FYI, his first name is written as "Jose" in the scripts (starting with the first draft), not "José."

Unsurprising given the type limitations of a typewriter keyboard. My sister's name is Hélène but no English speaker types it like that even on computer keyboards.

 

[alchemist]

Well, no surprise really, most US typewriters couldn't handle that.

Unsurprising given the type limitations of a typewriter keyboard. My sister's name is Hélène but no English speaker types it like that even on computer keyboards.

You're very likely correct, but I stick with the script (a primary source) as much as I can. Call me odd about that.

 

[J.T.B.]

You're very likely correct, but I stick with the script (a primary source) as much as I can. Call me odd about that.

It's not odd, they are two different spellings. Got to go with the original.

 

[Shawnster]

It's a mine. And they were able to hide all the lithium crystals?

Not that our intrepid heroes would ever take anything by force...

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

I don't think it's sexist to note that I was never all that attracted to any of the three ladies either.

Granted, you haven't been working on a planet with no members of the opposite sex around for light years.

Poor Bones doesn't think he could handle giving Ruth a once-over. So why not ask Christine or some other female sickbay staffer to do it?

Though filmed before The Man Trap, this airs after it.

MCCOY: Are they, Jim? Are they actually more lovely, pound for pound, measurement for measurement, than any other women you've known? Or is it that they just, well, act beautiful. No. Strike that, strike that.
KIRK: What are they?
MCCOY: You mean are they alien illusions? That sort of thing?
KIRK: I asked you first.
MCCOY: No, an alien smart enough to pull this could also keep my medical scanner from going beep!

Bones doesn't speculate that there may be more Salt vampires than they thought...probably because there's no trail of dead crewmen or missing salt.

MUDD: Well, what it does is give you more of whatever you have. Well, with men, it makes them more muscular. Women, rounder. Men, more aggressive. Women, more feminine, and...

Maybe Kirk should have given the miners some of the drug to even the score so that everyone could see how ridiculous it was.

 

[Phaser Two]

MUDD: Well, what it does is give you more of whatever you have. Well, with men, it makes them more muscular. Women, rounder. Men, more aggressive. Women, more feminine, and...

Maybe Kirk should have given the miners some of the drug to even the score so that everyone could see how ridiculous it was.

LOL, good call. Now that would have nicely countered the awful message of the episode. By which I mean, I have no idea what the message actually was. I just know it was awful!

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Basically that a little self-confidence goes a long way.

 

[Shawnster]

Did the Venus drug do something to their body chemestries that interfered with the medical sensors? Were they wearing some kind of jamming device? Di the Venus drug contain some kind of pheromone? That would explain the male reactions.

Kirk, while affected, seemed more in control than some of his other crew. I also like how Kirk and McCoy's conversation took for granted the three women could actually be aliens of some kind

It took me coming on this board to finally realize McCoy wears a medical smock and not just his blue uniform top.

Uhura in gold.

No engineering set. The department is mentioned, but they don't have a set. I wonder how long before we see one.

Sulu is interesting. Jack of all trades. He was in life sciences or something like that in "Where No Man.." Now he's helmsman. He covered for Bailey last week. Seems to be doing his job and the navigator's again this week. He's a man to watch, I tell you. He'll go places. Maybe even his own command, someday.

Speaking of jack of all trades - Kirk manning the sensor station! A good commander should be well rounded.