Anti-Spock racism/general disrespect for the XO

[Dale Sams]

Besides McCoy's series-wide, mouth-frothing, insane rants...are there any other eps one can think of besides:

Balance of Terror: Sure, it's just Styles, but as seen later in Galileo Seven, Spock and a lot of people around him put up with it way longer than you should see in Roddenberry's 'advanced world'.

Galilieo Seven: See above

Turnabout Intruder: Now, this is really stretching, but I was always surprised by the reaction of the security guard. "You're as crazy as she is! You'll have to leave!"....dude, chill. It's the XO.

The Tholian Web: Generally anything there should be excused by the circumstances.


But generally...I mean, c'mon. He's the XO, the exec, Second in Command. Numero two-oh, The not as Big Cheese, Not quite the head honcho, Queen of the hill...

 

[marksound]

... And it was the 60s. Pretty advanced for its time.

What's your beef, exactly?

 

[Dale Sams]

... And it was the 60s. Pretty advanced for its time.

What's your beef, exactly?

In the words of the Iotians?

Well, the Feds got their boys see? Annnnnd these boys are run like a well-oiled machine ya see? They can't be running around cookoo like! Styles pops off to Spock, McCoy pops off to Spock, all dese guys poppin off left and right! It jeoperdizes da whole command structure!!!

 

[Melakon]

It jeoperdizes da whole organization!!!

Fixed that for ya.

Some of the outbursts were due to the stress of the moment. Stiles had a personal grudge against the Romulans, and he disliked Spock due to his resembling them. McCoy's insults were due to his general crankiness. Boma deserved to be left behind on Taurus II.

Spock kept his emotions under control enough that petty insults usually had no effect on him (exception: All Our Yesterdays).

Boma really should have been officially reprimanded, and perhaps busted to ensign.

 

[BoredShipCapt'n]

There was all that stuff in Day of the Dove, but that was being manipulated by the alien.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

STAR TREK was filmed before we had rigid speech codes forbidding any utterance that anyone might take personally. Nowadays the rule is "Watch what you say."

 

[Melakon]

There was all that stuff in Day of the Dove, but that was being manipulated by the alien.

There's a story that when Scott says "Keep your Vulcan hands off me!", the director suggested to James Doohan that he pronounce "Vulcan" as if he were saying a certain expletive. Doohan grinned appreciatively.

 

[Dale Sams]

Appropriate that "I don't like that....I never did." would come out in the second to last episode.

 

[scotpens]

STAR TREK was filmed before we had rigid speech codes forbidding any utterance that anyone might take personally. Nowadays the rule is "Watch what you say."

That isn't the point. Starfleet was conceived and presented as a military or quasi-military organization. In the military, outright disrespect to one's superiors is insubordination, which can draw anything from a stern lecture to extra duty, suspension of privileges, docking of pay, time in the brig, or reduction in rank.

 

[Nerys Myk]

STAR TREK was filmed before we had rigid speech codes forbidding any utterance that anyone might take personally. Nowadays the rule is "Watch what you say."

That isn't the point. Starfleet was conceived and presented as a military or quasi-military organization. In the military, outright disrespect to one's superiors is insubordination, which can draw anything from a stern lecture to extra duty, suspension of privileges, docking of pay, time in the brig, or reduction in rank.

But Star Trek was conceived as a television show, where the characters rib each other for dramatic and comedic effect.

 

[R. Star]

I'd like to think by the 23rd century, assuming humanity is even a going concern, we don't look into every little thing looking for something to get our feelings hurt and cry foul over.

 

[Dale Sams]

I'd like to think by the 23rd century, assuming humanity is even a going concern, we don't look into every little thing looking for something to get our feelings hurt and cry foul over.

You mean like around 1975 when we could make films like Blazing Saddles and skits such as appeared on SNL with Richard Pryor.

It would be funny if they inverted this in the Numovie:

MCCOY: "Why you green-blooded..." (switch to the brig)..."Pointy eared, computerized..."

KIRK: "I'll try and get him to drop the charges, Bones."

 

[Anwar]

Switch all of McCoy's "Green blooded son of a bitch!" stuff to "Dark-skinned son of a bitch!" and his attitude really gets disgusting.

 

[Sir Rhosis]

There was all that stuff in Day of the Dove, but that was being manipulated by the alien.

There's a story that when Scott says "Keep your Vulcan hands off me!", the director suggested to James Doohan that he pronounce "Vulcan" as if he were saying a certain expletive. Doohan grinned appreciatively.

I've heard this but instead of the director, I've heard that it was the episode's writer Jerome Bixby who told Doohan to say "Vuckin'."

Sir Rhosis

 

[SchwEnt]

Switch all of McCoy's "Green blooded son of a bitch!" stuff to "Dark-skinned son of a bitch!" and his attitude really gets disgusting.

Right on. Not only McCoy, but others kidded Spock about his blood, ears, and so on. And it only worked because it's all make-believe.

Imagine a scene with McCoy and Sulu, and you hear the doctor, "Why you yellow-skinned, slant-eyed..."

 

[BillJ]

The attitudes we saw towards Spock always gave me the impression that the Federation was much newer than depicted in the later series and maybe the Vulcans weren't highly regarded for whatever reason. The lack of emotion likely made the integration of the different races difficult.

And yes, on several occasions McCoy was way out of line regarding Spock.

 

[sonak]

I'd like to think by the 23rd century, assuming humanity is even a going concern, we don't look into every little thing looking for something to get our feelings hurt and cry foul over.

I would like to agree, but the way things are, the trend seems to be going the opposite way. If anything, the cry of "I'm offended!!!" will likely be used more often.

As for the OP, I gather that it was philosophical/cultural and not racial, at least with McCoy. He seemed to think that the Vulcan philosophy of emotional suppression was unhealthy or unnatural. At any rate, they were more like the arguing friends we've all known-they argue all the time but there's a deep level of respect underneath.

 

[Greg Cox]

It's also important to notice that it wasn't one-sided. Spock gave as good as he got, with his dry asides about silly, irrational humans and McCoy's hopeless emotionality in particular. One never got the sense that Spock was being picked on for being a Vulcan; he seemed to enjoy the banter as much as McCoy (in his own reserved Vulcan way, of course).

Which is where they got it wrong with Pulaski/Data on TNG, btw. They tried to recreate the Spock/McCoy dynamic with Pulaski and Data, but missed the fact that Data comes as as much more of an innocent than Spock ever did. Data would never think of retaliating in kind, so Pulaski always seemed like she was picking on a defenseless target.

 

[1001001]

It's also important to notice that it wasn't one-sided. Spock gave as good as he got, with his dry asides about silly, irrational humans and McCoy's hopeless emotionality in particular. One never got the sense that Spock was being picked on for being a Vulcan; he seemed to enjoy the banter as much as McCoy (in his own reserved Vulcan way, of course).

Which is where they got it wrong with the Pulaski/Data on TNG, btw. They tried to recreate the Spock/McCoy dynamic with Pulasi and Data, but missed the fact that Data comes as as much more of an innocent than Spock ever did. Data would never think of retaliating in kind, so Pulaski always seemed like she was picking on a defenseless target . . . .

Agreed, on both counts.

Pulaski just came across as mean.

 

[Anwar]

It's also important to notice that it wasn't one-sided. Spock gave as good as he got, with his dry asides about silly, irrational humans and McCoy's hopeless emotionality in particular.

But that just makes Spock as much of a racist in return. And on top of it, he's a hypocrite as well because the Vulcans used to be far worse than Humanity ever was.