Why not both? Universe is a big place.
Why not both? Universe is a big place.
As I stated previously, I find the Parallel Planet Theory to be laughable.
It is sci-fi. Much of it is laughable.
On Vulcan they use the phrase "Eyebrow raising."Not if you’re a Vulcan…
I could be both in the sense that "Hodgkins Law" -like other so-called "laws"- is just a model to explain what was observed, but without knowing the exact mechanisms at play.
I'm sure Hodgkins had his/her detractors, but in the absence of evidence to the contrary It persisted as a theoretical explanation.
Once the Preservers and others like them became known, Hodgkins Law would need to be modified accordingly, the same way Einstein's theories modify Newtons.
Once transplanted, cultures would continue for a few centuries or millennia but would eventually start to evolve in distinctive and unique ways.
I'm sure Hodgkins had his/her detractors, but in the absence of evidence to the contrary It persisted as a theoretical explanation.
Once the Preservers and others like them became known, Hodgkins Law would need to be modified accordingly, the same way Einstein's theories modify Newtons.
Once transplanted, cultures would continue for a few centuries or millennia but would eventually start to evolve in distinctive and unique ways.
This is an obscure example, but I remember that back in the 80's, there was a bit of an outcry about the fact that the leads in many of the action shows of the day were shown not wearing their seat belts in cars. If you watch Knight Rider, you can see exactly when this became an issue, because they "invented" KITT's "passive laser restraint system" to explain why Michael Knight didn't need seat belts -- but, kids, you should still buckle up!
"Hodgkin's Law" feels to me like a response to one too many people asking, "Why do all these alien planets look like Southern California?"
"Hodgkin's Law" feels to me like a response to one too many people asking, "Why do all these alien planets look like Southern California?"
. . . and use Paramount stock costumes? That's exactly what it was, and someone knew it was pretty dumb and buried it in a log entry in "Bread and Circuses," never to be heard from again. By contrast, the Preservers reveal was thoughtful, contemplative, and even eerie.
Referring to this?
babylonbee.com
Crew Of Starship 'Enterprise' Discovers Yet Another New Planet That Looks Shockingly Like Southern California
SPACE — The crew of the USS Enterprise made a surprising discovery after landing on yet another planet that looked shockingly like the landscape of Southern California.
babylonbee.com
It might feel like it, but Gene invented it in 1965 when he was writing the potential 2nd pilot version of "The Omega Glory" when James Kirk was Peter York. It's baked into the concept from over a year before the series hit the airwaves.
As a concept for the writers (and to sell the show to the network), yes. However, no explanation was ever given on screen until Hodgkin's Law was developed for "Bread and Circuses" in the second season. Specifically inserting a reference in spoken dialogue to explain why they're visiting yet another planet that looks and acts much like Earth is what feels to me to be a response to people asking questions and is where the analogy to Knight Rider comes into play, IMHO.
Seems like it worked and, honestly, I think Star Trek is lesser for having ditched it.
It's one of the things I believe makes S2 weaker than most consider it. S2 is very heavy on "Parallel Earth" (or at least close enough to it) stories.As I stated previously, I find the Parallel Planet Theory to be laughable.
A Piece of the Action
Patterns of Force
The Omega Glory
Bread and Circuses
Season 1 only had Miri. Season 3 had none.
This might make it as a separate Worst Parallel Planet Episode thread, but I’m not going there.
***Sneaky Edit*** My choice would have been The Omega Glory by a nose. There was just way too much coincidence in that story for my tastes.
"The Omega Glory" is easily in my top 10 episodes.
Probably we don't all have quite the same criteria for which episodes qualify, but here are a couple more that feel very obviously Earth-clonish to me:
- 2x07 Wolf in the Fold — Argelius is so strongly Arabic
- 3x23 All Our Yesterdays — straight copy of the Salem witch trials
- 1x22 The Return of the Archons — straight-up Earth knockoff; at least they aliened it up a bit with Landru and the Lawgivers
- 1x27 Errand of Mercy — Another dip into the Well of Arabia; I'd like to believe the Organians purposefully made it look just like Earth for Kirk's sake, but then why doesn't it look half like Kronos when the Klingons show up?
Because we’re viewing the story through the eyes of Kirk and Spock.
So replace Kronos with Vulcan then.
Anyway, it's not a debate I'm really invested in. I just gave it an honorable mention because the Earthiness is apparent, but not overpowering.
