Rewatching Miri

Definitely one of the better ones of the first half of the series. Not without it's flaws, but worth a watch. And as I've said before, for one of our crowd, it was the first episode he ever saw, and it hooked him.

 

I had the exactly same experience with Miri, being the first full episode I saw; and, also being the specific episode which "hooked" me into the series for life.

Whereas, my first exposure to Star Trek was years earlier at a very, very young age, with the episode: Arena; just as the Gorn were violently bombing Cestus III into smithereens - whereby, the only "hook" that occurred with that truncated viewing experience was my mother immediately and forcefully yanking me out of the family den and away from the TV, by the collar of my shirt.

 

Hahaha! Wow. I know several folks whose parents censored their TV watching when they were kids, including my wife. It's nothing I never experienced.

My first full-length ep was "The Empath", which I saw when I was six. That's a really disturbing episode!

 

Agreed; and, disturbing in so many ways that it probably would warrant it's own dedicated thread to explore that episode fully.

 

Gimme two years...

 

Yes its a great episode if you can get past the duplicate Earth sttuff and don't think too much about 300 years - where you know there would be no food, no clothing and as people point out cars and tyres.
I just think the duplicate Earth was you know a message - you know scientists could accidentally create a disease that could destroy the world - our world. The 300 years instead of say 30 years is to be dramatic.
I thought the acting was great and made the episode, the symbolosm and the interaction between Kirk, Spock and McCoy, everyone working against time to save the day...
In restrospect (from hindsight in the 21st century) Kirks interaction with a young girl who has a crush on him probably should be avoided though I never thought he crossed the line and Rand should have probably taken Spock's security role (Spock should have been full time helping McCoy)

 

It seems they never knew quite what to do with Rand. It's a pity.

I find it interesting that, although Kirk is not the randy horndog modern culture paints him as, neither is he the "stack of books with legs" we're told he is. Charm is his preferred go-to when it comes to interacting with women, even if it's for ulterior purposes. As of ep. 12 of the series, we've already seen it in "Miri", "Dagger of the Mind", and "Conscience of the King".

 

Charm can be interpreted as sexual potency. Saw that in a couple of shows even if the character isn't that active.

 

Well he was that stringent "stack of books with legs" at an earlier time in his life.
Years later as a Captain he seems to look back on that time with a bit of embarrassment, asking Mitchell, "I wasn't that bad, was I?"

Kor

 

Not to mention being a snitch. “Hey, Ben, I know we’re pals and everything—thanks for naming your daughter after me—but I simply must log this error. Sorry about ruining your career and all that.”

 

Well, it was a "could've blown up the ship" kind of error.

 

THAT, was awesome!

 

I think his relationship with the older Ruth must have had a great influence on Kirk's behavior. Pre-Ruth, Kirk was strict and too focused on his studies and career. Post-Ruth, he added flirting and romance (and possibly kindness) into the mix.

 

Wow!

 

There are times when you can cover for a friend and times when you simply can’t let something really serious pass.

 

Just so. It would make an interesting story seeing how the friendship developed and the immediate aftermath of the report. Did Kirk feel any sort of regret—in fact, did he even struggle with the decision before it was taken?

It’s likely that there was more holding Finney back than “his one mistake.”

 

It’s likely to have been a very good friendship for Finney to name his daughter after him. And maybe Kirk covered for him more than once before until he faced a mistake he simply couldn’t explain away. And Kirk likely did feel guilt acting on what he knew he had to do knowing it would hurt his friend’s career.

We see Finney as an older and now somewhat unhinged individual. But he had likely been nursing the grudge for some time to do what he did. His career was going nowhere, and maybe other parts of his life were a mess, and he traced it all back to the “one mistake” that couldn’t be covered for. He focused all his failure on Kirk.

Funny, but it’s almost like “Turnabout Intruder” where Janice Lester focused on Kirk being the sole reason she was totally fucked up.

 

Don't forget Khan's hate and obsession against Kirk. Kirk seems to leave a gallery of fucked up people/aliens/computers in his wake.

 

When everyone in the galaxy seems to be a jerk, actually

 

That is a big theme in the Autobiography of James Kirk book.