Kirk's "Let's get the Hell out of here"

Something I've always been curious about. In "City on the Edge of Forever", Kirk ends the episode by saying "Let's get the Hell out of here", which people didn't say on television in the 60s and it's a powerful moment in that context. But at the same time, people did not swear in the 1960s on television. So does anyone know how they got that on the air or the reaction to it?

 

No idea...but days to be missed, for sure. Back then, if a character spoke like that, it meant something. Less is definitely more.

 

Even in 'Journey to Babel' when Kirk is told that Spock won't leave his station to give Sarek a blood transfusion, Kirk says, "You can't damn him for his loyalty."

 

Hmm..didn't Lazarus say something about "following you through the fires of hell" or some such, during one of those..time episodes, or whatever they were, in The Alternative Factor?

 

That's not cursing. Just because you say "Hell" or "damn" doesn't mean it's the swear of those words. In "City on the Edge of Forever", it's the only time I remember in TOS where they actually swore.

 

^ Agreed. Saying you can't damn someone just means you can't condemn them. Sending someone to the fires of Hell means exactly that, so it's all about context. When Kirk says "let's get the hell out of here," he's actually swearing. The other examples aren't swear words.

 

That is true, of course. It's like the saying 'Come Hell or high water' wouldn't be cursing, either. Other than those instances, along with McCoy's "Hell for leather, right out of history." in Spectre of the Gun, those are the only occurences of the word, I think.

Which brings us to the matter of Kirk's swearing in City.. that you asked about. I'm trying to remember something else from that era of television which was similar, but so far I can't think of any.

But it does remind me of some parody of Planet of the Apes I saw a few years back, I have no idea where it was, but I just remember monkeys in the place of humans. Some chimp did Heston's classic line, only it was "Darn you..darn you all to heck!" I wish I could remember what it was...

Which doesn't answer your question at all, does it?

I'll step aside and let someone useful chime in.

 

It was a very powerful moment indeed, and appropriate that it happened in that particular episode. It still gives me chills when I hear it now. We assume that Edith's death had occured shortly before Kirk, Spock and McCoy had reemerged from the Guardian, maybe only minutes or even seconds before, and the line emphasizes that this isn't your typical Galileo type ending, where everything is reset back to normal and our heroes are rolling on the floor laughing while the credits roll. This was heavy stuff, and our heroes were changed forever by these experiences.

 

Yeah, try explaining that to a Jehovah's Witness parent when you haven't hit puberty.

 

I would give it my best effort. No refunds.

 

Definitely agree! Like in Generations when Data says "Oh, shit!" as the saucer is crashing, it meant something cuz he never swore!

 

One of the better parts of Generations, which isn't saying much, unfortunately.

 

Picard once said "shit" (admittedly in French) right there on TV, resulting in Americans boycotting french fries for years.

 

Kirk saying that was such a great, emotional moment. We knew he was hurting and frustrated. I love that ending.

 

A bit off-topic, but I'm just recalling a Jean Claude Van Damme film shown on Channel 5 (So. Cal) - I think it was 'Kickboxer,' after his onscreen brother was maimed - and Van Damme's character continually cries "Asshole!" to the villain. His accent was a bit strong for some that it obviously wasn't caught....haha

In regards to Trek, the crew - mainly Kirk and McCoy - really didn't get into 'colorful metaphors' until the films; the prime universe crew. Spock would utilize said 'colorful metaphors' if he was trying to make a point.

 

According to the episode subtitles, Ben Childress yelled "Damn it" when he burned his hand on the frying pan in Mudd's Women.

 

Took me right out of the moment. At least once in every TNG movie there's a "cute" or contemporary slang (contemporary to our time) line that undercuts what's going on. E.g. Data saying "lock and load" like Bruce Willis or something.

 

Data swearing was more like a gimmick than an emotional moment. It was there to break the fourth wall and give us an inappropriate laugh at the wrong time. It was a bad decision to write that in.

 

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