Thanks, this makes a lot more sense.
Kirk's expression changes instantly when he realises it's not Spock rubbing his back. If Kirk had just confused the person, he would have corrected himself and then continued enjoying the back rub. Instead he looks embarrassed, as if he said too much. And like you said, it's not really like Spock to massage another man's back like that for no reason, especially if you consider that touch is a sensitive thing for Vulcans.
It just seems oddly intimate for Spock to give a back rub and Kirk seems uncomfortable with the idea of someone else doing it. I'm not sure what else we can possibly read from the scene.
That's interesting and would be appropriate for Kirk's character. Kirk had many love interests (even considering that he actually didn't sleep around much) but he didn't involve himself with his crew.In television shows at the time, a woman giving a massage to a man implied something sexual whereas the general viewing audience would not assume the same about guy rubbing another guy's shoulders cuz that was just, you know, guy stuff. I'm basing this off being a member of the viewing audience during its initial broadcast.Your mileage may vary.
Baned? Nah.Isn't this picture banned on this website?![]()
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And I have watched Star Trek for decades and never even thought about this being anything but a weapon until someone mentioned it on this website and now I can't watch this episode without giggling in anticipation.
I told my Trekkie friend about it the other day and didn't believe me - another I've watched Star Trek for decades and would have noticed. Now the picture's on her Twitter account. Maybe she should have #WilliamShatner
In television shows at the time, a woman giving a massage to a man implied something sexual whereas the general viewing audience would not assume the same about guy rubbing another guy's shoulders cuz that was just, you know, guy stuff. I'm basing this off being a member of the viewing audience during its initial broadcast.Your mileage may vary.
I recall a quote from either Nimoy or Shatner discussing the props and their handling of them. They recall being really worried about breaking the props so they handled them delicately. Maybe that's why.What always confounded me even more about Kirk and that rock is the way he's holding the fat end. Like if you're going to use a bat as a weapon, you would naturally hold the fat end, right? It's like the way he holds it is very deliberate and I never knew what to make of that.
Robert
Not sure if you’d call this a WTF moment, but what was Bill Theiss thinking when he put the menacing android Ruk in a long bathrobe and pink ruffled nightgown?
If you look at it and think about it in terms of red, green, and blue primaries, it makes a lot of sense, actually.I guess you could read a gay subtext into the back massage, but for me Spock’s explanation in “Amok Time” was believable -- “When I thought I had killed the captain, I found I had lost all interest in T'Pring. The madness was gone.”
Not sure if you’d call this a WTF moment, but what was Bill Theiss thinking when he put the menacing android Ruk in a long bathrobe and pink ruffled nightgown?
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Isn't this picture banned on this website?![]()
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Ruk was built by the Old Ones to work on machinery and wound up being a bodyguard...from that perspective it doesn't make sense to actively move around in a long robe and skirt. Maybe Theiss was going for a maximum contrast between the monster makeup and the costume.... like the Talosian males being acted by women....I dunno.
I've long wondered which take was used for Kirk's first encounter with Ruk. Specifically, did Shatner know beforehand his feet would be leaving the floor?
Yep.
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