2 Shore Leave Questions

[Timo]

Speaking of which, should Kirk and co. have tried to do more to preserve that last remaining survivor of the salt monster species instead of summarily wiping it out?

To what purpose? The species was dead. The possible culture had been lost. The Feds cloning a replacement species out of Nancy would be perverse - they would be creating an all-new species for personal gratification and absolutely nothing else.

The last vampire standing shouldn't enjoy additional special status as such. Interrogate it for ah so important knowledge if you must (but why would it have such knowledge?), but if it happens to forfeit its right to live, it being the last of the Mohicans shouldn't count as a mitigating factor.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[johnnybear]

It was manipulative, hostile and possibly malevolent! And with human lives at risk there was no choice available but to kill it really!
JB

 

[Spock's Barber]

It was manipulative, hostile and possibly malevolent!

That describes my ex-boss perfectly.

 

[Steven P Bastien]

It was manipulative, hostile and possibly malevolent! And with human lives at risk there was no choice available but to kill it really!
JB

The other factor was it had the ability to immobilize and confuse its victim and with no understanding of how that trick was accomplished, it was just too dangerous to not kill it as soon as it was possible. It's kind of like 5 people stuck in the water with a great white shark. If you were all on a big(ger) boat and out of the water, you might contemplate a way to capture it, but while you're stuck in the water, you will kill it if you can.

 

[johnnybear]

That describes my ex-boss perfectly.

Mine were much worse than the Salt Vampire to be honest!
JB

 

[Spock's Barber]

Mine were much worse than the Salt Vampire to be honest!
JB

Do you know why bosses are like diapers?

 

[Kor]

Do you know why bosses are like diapers?

Er, I give up. Why?

Kor

 

[Spock's Barber]

Because they are full of poo-poo and all over your ass.

 

[Marsden]

All the parts of the body argued over who would be the Boss. The Brain explained that since he controlled all the parts of the body, he should be Boss. The Legs argued that since they took the Man wherever he wanted to go, he should be the Boss.

The Stomach countered with the explanation that since he digested all the food, he should be the boss. The Eyes said that without them, Man would be helpless, so they should be Boss. Then the Ass hole applied for the Job. The other parts of the body laughed so hard that the ass hole became mad and closed up.

After a few days the Brain went foggy, the Legs got wobbly, the Stomach got ill, the Eyes got crossed and were unable to see. They all finally conceded and made the Ass hole Boss.

Moral of the story? You don't have to be a Brain to be Boss…just an Asshole.


Ok, now I have a Shore Leave question.

I came from this in a way, I was thinking "it's a good thing McCoy didn't think about the Salt Monster" Then what if he did, it was the last of it's kind, supposedly, so if he thought of one, could they study the replica and gain the "lost knowlege" of how it functioned? Are those replicas nearly perfect or do they just look and act like the person expects? Can you think of a benign version of a dangerous thing so you can study it to learn about it?

 

[Timo]

Supposedly the planet would get the specs of the desired illusions from the minds of the users. Would it have additional knowledge it could inject to make the illusions better? Would it, say, know what a samurai is, or what a salt vampire looks like from the inside?

If so, would it make use of this knowledge? The knight illusion wasn't detailed: when the heroes got a chance to wave a tricorder at it, they found out it was a dummy that lacked the biological structure of a human knight, a "mechanical contrivance". An imagined salt vampire probably wouldn't be any better.

Also, McCoy wanted the knight illusion to support his belief that the illusions were harmless. The knight rather specifically and spectacularly failed to do that - it killed McCoy. So asking the planet for something specific would be unlikely to result in customer satisfaction.

Then again, McCoy soon got resurrected, verifying his belief just as he wanted. And also proving that the planet could do better when it wanted to, as McCoy didn't become a "mechanical contrivance" in the process but registered as fully human on many a later occasion! Perhaps you get what you ask for, but not immediately and directly. Or perhaps you get what you need, regardless of your wants.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Delta Vega]

Perhaps you could explain what exactly is so unappealing about McCoy.

Kor

Come on . . . .

 

[Delta Vega]

That's fine. I'm glad you accepted the other part where I imply McCoy is a not too shabby a guy who could attract a pretty woman on occasion.

Again, come on . . . . .

 

[Steven P Bastien]

Again, come on . . . . .

I'm not sure what that means and why it represents an actual reason for your opinion. But, I will take it to mean you can't, or at least won't, formulate a cogent viewpoint for us to consider.

 

[Delta Vega]

I'm not sure what that means and why it represents an actual reason for your opinion. But, I will take it to mean you can't, or at least won't, formulate a cogent viewpoint for us to consider.

Ok, here goes
Dr McCoy, compared to Yeoman Barrows, was way too old for her
That's my cogent viewpoint
Consider that
I stated pages back that McCoy in real life would have NO CHANCE with Barrows

 

[Kor]

Ok, here goes
Dr McCoy, compared to Yeoman Barrows, was way too old for her
That's my cogent viewpoint
Consider that
I stated pages back that McCoy in real life would have NO CHANCE with Barrows

I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. Different strokes for different folks. When my dear grandmother was twenty, she dropped her first husband (who was around her age) like a hot potato to be with my grandfather, who was eighteen years older than her, and as a regular joe honestly didn't have a whole lot going for him compared to the other guy who was a rising star building an illustrious military career. That's real life.
McCoy is this kind, charming, distinguished gentleman with a lot of heart and an irresistible wry sense of humor, not to mention that he's a doctor. That should count for a lot.

Kor

 

[Christopher]

Dr McCoy, compared to Yeoman Barrows, was way too old for her

Lots of women marry older men. It was even more common in the '60s than it is now. Note that "The Cage" and "The Conscience of the King" had no problem presenting 18- and 19-year-old women as romantic prospects for mid-30s leading men. It was a cultural norm back then. (Not always -- my mother and father were roughly the same age -- but often.)

At the time "Shore Leave" was made, Emily Banks was 33 and DeForest Kelley 46. That's only a 40-percent difference, while the age difference between Kirk and Lenore in "Conscience" was 74 percent. And with McCoy's age retconned down by TNG, he would've been only 39 during "Shore Leave."

 

[Steven P Bastien]

Ok, here goes
Dr McCoy, compared to Yeoman Barrows, was way too old for her
That's my cogent viewpoint
Consider that
I stated pages back that McCoy in real life would have NO CHANCE with Barrows

Thank you. I was just curious of your reasons. Of course "in real life" we can point to many examples of women marrying or dating older men, and even beautiful women doing so. So to say "no chance" seems a bit too strong. But, certainly this reason and maybe some others can be valid ones why it is less likely for McCoy to end up with Barrows.

 

[Delta Vega]

I'm not denying that younger women can and do date and marry older men, it happens
I just think that the McCoy/Barrows thing was a bit too much of a stretch
Kelley was, as has been pointed out, 46 and the actress was in reality 33, but let's be honest, she was portraying much younger than she actually was, almost the virginal helpless maiden role.
Seems my view isn't universally popular but hey ho.
For the record, I'm 58 and my girlfriend is 49 so it seems I fall into an age gap category of sorts

 

[Marsden]

I think too much is being made of said "relationship" if there even was one, they were both on the planet, it was nice before people started getting hurt/killed and they were just happy together at that time. Like a company picnic you spend with a person in another department that you know by name but rarely see and enjoyed spending a few hours with them. I don't see any problems until it seemed circumstances made things more than that. Having a potential aggressor of course made the doctor more defensive and fear reaction made her more "clingy". Fear heightens emotions and the response, I've read, is similar to engagement so you should take your date on a roller coaster to trick them into thinking they like you. That's what I'm seeing.

 

[johnnybear]

My wife is nearly twenty years younger than me but we've not been getting on that well for years! Eventually that two decades does build a bridge between you culturally and interest wise! Plus 'orribles getting in the way doesn't help one bit!
JB