Spoilers Star Trek: The Old School Re-Exemanied

[Doc Mugatu]

Problem being, the Salt Vampire was killing just for the sake of killing.

The humanoids on Taurus Two were killing just to kill yet Spock recognized a duty to alien lifeforms even when proven hostile. The salt vampire was minimally no different.

It obviously wasn't starving to death when it killed the first two members of Kirk's landing party.

You don't know if the lifeform was hungry or not or fearful of discovery and extinction. Kirk and party made no effort to understand the lifeform or what motivated her/him. Risk is their business and they are to seek out new life and new civilizations yet here they go straight to the nuclear option of extinguishing the last of the indigenous life.

They put down a rabid dog, and I've never had a problem with it within the context of the Star Trek universe. What kind of life would it have had if it couldn't control itself? As an exhibit at some Federation zoo?

It wasn't "rabid." It was a lifeform desperate to survive. If Kirk and crew had at least made an attempt to reach out and it failed that's one thing, but not to have tried at all or even given a peaceful solution any consideration was immoral.

Possibly the Chief Medical Officer has more latitude, since he is outside the chain of command? We never saw McCoy have any issues with challenging Kirk or anyone else in command.

True, Kirk & Spock may give McCoy a bit more latitude, however, that doesn't explain why they drummed out a black man and kept a white man who did the exact thing (possibly worse).

 

[johnnybear]

The Lt.Boma issue mentioned on the last page is open to conjecture and I for one don't think that happened! Boma was probably transferred to another ship or Starbase at the next opportunity or he stayed in the science department that he came from on the ship until the second season anyway!
The Salt Vampire's death came at the hands of McCoy and Mr.Spock, McCoy who escaped from the control of the creature and Spock who was seemingly having an emotional outburst due to the impending death of his friend and Captain!
Kirk's scream was pretty high maintenance and proved that the Vampire's victims were in great pain before their death, another piece of proof that the thing had little care for it's prey while it was about to begin the feeding process!
JB

 

[Henoch]

Possibly the Chief Medical Officer has more latitude, since he is outside the chain of command? We never saw McCoy have any issues with challenging Kirk or anyone else in command.

Maybe Bones knows where all Kirk's and Spock's skeletons are buried.

 

[BillJ]

Maybe Bones knows where all Kirk's and Spock's skeletons are buried.

Or simply he's the guy that can take you out of the game if he doesn't like the look of a hangnail. Bones carries a lot of power for a guy who isn't in the chain of command.

 

[Doc Mugatu]

The Lt.Boma issue mentioned on the last page is open to conjecture and I for one don't think that happened! Boma was probably transferred to another ship or Starbase at the next opportunity or he stayed in the science department that he came from on the ship until the second season anyway!

Of course he was transferred, to another franchise! Boma, after being kicked out of Starfleet for being a black man in the 23rd century, changed his name and got a job in the private sector. He become co-pilot on the sub-orbital transport ship The Spindrift. Sadly, the ship and all aboard vanished.

 

[johnnybear]

Well no he did get back to earth and had some notable encounters with a rather large muscular green giant in the real nineteen eighties I believe!
JB

 

[Henoch]

I glad the original Star Trek never had a "villain" as part of the regular cast like on Lost in Space and Land of the Giants. Quark sort of applies, but that's not old school.

 

[scotpens]

"Richelieu beware!!!" "You will either leave this barb bloodied, or with my blood, on your hands!" "Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha! Cowards, cowards!"

Sulu's actual line is "You either leave this bois (French for "wood" or "woods") bloodied, or with my blood on your swords."

For years I thought he said "You either leave this war bloodied, or with my blood on your swords."

Even if Sulu was imagining himself as a French character in a French novel, why would he use a random French word when speaking English?

"The Menagerie, Parts I & II" (S1E11&12)

A bit of questionable editing. Spock was unanimously found "guilty" just prior to final act of part II which means there was no reason to stay convened. Then they come back with Spock speaking as if he his still offering his explanation, why? For everything they know the court-martial is over and Spock should be in the brig, So what am I missing?

The Talosians were continuing to transmit images of Pike's experience on Talos IV, and there was no way to shut them off. So, even though the court proceedings were technically over, everyone figured they might as well sit back and watch the rest of the show.

 

[Forbin]

Sulu's actual line is "You either leave this bois (French for "wood" or "woods") bloodied, or with my blood on your swords."

For years I thought he said "You either leave this war bloodied, or with my blood on your swords."
.

Luckily I was taking French lessons in school around that time, so my confusion at the word only lasted until I could look it up or ask the teacher.

 

[Doc Mugatu]

Even if Sulu was imagining himself as a French character in a French novel, why would he use a random French word when speaking English?

Why is the only phrase I remember from high school Spanish class, "No fumar en la biblioteca"?

The Talosians were continuing to transmit images of Pike's experience on Talos IV, and there was no way to shut them off. So, even though the court proceedings were technically over, everyone figured they might as well sit back and watch the rest of the show.

Sure, however, if the formal proceeding has been closed and a verdict rendered then that's it. They needed either to delete the scene finding Spock guilty or add some lines that explains them reopening the proceedings. Watching it on Netflix without a commercial break made it look and feel a bit rough - then again it wasn't meant to be watched without commercials.

 

[GNDN18]

Even if Sulu was imagining himself as a French character in a French novel, why would he use a random French word when speaking English?

That polywater was nasty stuff.

 

[MAGolding]

....
I know this is a nitpick, however, Star Trek: TOS was more multi-cultural than multi-racial. Everyone was shown as human except Mr. Spock who was bi-racial (human-Vulcan) who identified as Vulcan.

Actually the crew was multi-cultural, multi-national, and multi-racial. And that's just the Human crew members!

Spock makes the crew duo-species as far as is known, with the possibility of crew members of other species also being aboard but unseen.

Fans of fantasy fiction often talk about Humans, Elves, Fairies, Pixies, Dwarves, Gnomes, Leprechauns, Brownies, Trolls, Ogres, Giants, Hobbits (I mean halflings), Centaurs, Satyrs, etc., etc., etc. as different races, when the correct term would be different species.

The word race is sometimes used to mean a family, clan, or lineage, or an ethnic group, but usually means a very large group of Humans with a few visible distinctions from other humans in skin color and facial features, etc. Human races are not defined scientifically and are now generally considered to have very little scientific basis.

So science fiction writers and readers should use the word species to describe the different types of intelligent beings who evolved on different planets in different solar systems and which no doubt have different scientific species names in the future zoological science of the story. Races within the Human species, and perhaps in some or all other intelligent species, should be treated as sociological concepts with little biological basis,though it is possible that some alien species of intelligent beings do have zoologically defined races, such a co existing sub species.

 

[Doc Mugatu]

Just finished viewing "Space Seed" (S1E22).

Still one of the best episodes and smartly written by Lee Cronin (Gene Coon) and Carey Wilber (a variant of an episode he wrote for Captain Video). Of course Ricardo Montalban really sold it as Khan Noonian Singh.

This time round I really enjoyed the scene where Kirk and Spock are flooding the conference room with knockout gas. We see Khan run out as well as an Enterprise crewman starting to follow before he realizes he's supposed to drop unconscious so he stops abruptly and spins around then lurches to the conference table. Hilarious!

And why do they always have the security officer stand with his back to the door he's guarding?

 

[Forbin]

He'd look like he was being punished if he had his face to the door.

 

[Doc Mugatu]

He'd look like he was being punished if he had his face to the door.

Who cares how it looks at least he wouldn't be caught by surprise! Better yet, have his back to the other wall so not only is he facing the door he's guarding but he's got an extra second or two to react.

 

[BillJ]

...and smartly written by Lee Cronin (Gene Coon)...

Do we know the reason he took his name off of the episode?

 

[Kor]

I thought the episode showed his name as Gene L. Coon in the end credits.
Screencaps: http://tos.trekcore.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=48&page=19

Kor

 

[Sir Rhosis]

^^^It does. He didn't use "Lee Cronin" until the third season, when he was supposed to be writing exclusively for "It Takes a Thief."

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Gene_L._Coon#Star_Trek_credits

Sir Rhosis

 

[Doc Mugatu]

Do we know the reason he took his name off of the episode?

I believe it was to avoid a legal entanglement. Others probably have a better recall on that then myself.

 

[Sir Rhosis]

Do we know the reason he took his name off of the episode?

See mine and Kor's answers above. He is credited by his real name on this episode. He didn't use "Lee Cronin" until the third season.

Sir Rhosis