No, but people - even actors - throw out hard to dispute info as fact for their own reasons. John Astin - no idea where that came from, but since other sources name someone else, it'll take a lot more than a quote form him to make me believe it. If someone, like Harvey, can dig up confirmation, I'll buy it.
The 50th anniversary madness continues for me even when TOS is on hiatus, because I decided to sync in my viewing of some other shows that I've been DVR'ing. Sometime between tonight and tomorrow I'll be watching the episodes of The Green Hornet ("Deadline for Death"), The Man from UNCLE ("The Concrete Overcoat Affair: Part II"), and The Saint ("Little Girl Lost") that aired on December 2, 1966 (the latter by its original British airdate).Ah well, guess I'll have to go to the future this week and watch some programs of tomorrow, something legendary perhaps...
That's terrific, Neil. I listened to it on the day. I liked it better than I remembered.
Nah. He's just keeping up with the Joneses.Is that Chekov?
Yep, the whole setup for the show is kinda iffy, we're supposed to believe that there's no way to establish someone's identity other than a eyewitness confirmation? And Kirk was what, 12 then? Riley would have been 7-8 years old, tops. What about DNA analysis, voice pattern, facial recognition, or even the good old fashioned fingerprint? We're told that kind of evidence is not enough because it's too inconclusive and fallible to be put forward in a court, but a 20 year old memory of an 8 year old kid would somehow be enough to put him away? Also, only 9 witnesses? What about the other 4000 colonists who survived?
Even though the setup's iffy, the actual episode is really rather good. The slow build up and reveal of what Kodos is about, Kirk trying to uncover him, Spock and McCoy trying to uncover what Kirk is up to, return of Riley which is also welcome. Also, both Karidians are great in their roles and don't fall into overacting which is a danger when actors play actors
The eugenics angle that gets mentioned, was that a buzzword fear at the time? Leftover from Nazi times, or something that the filthy commies were accused of being up to?
Because what Kodos actually did had nothing to do with eugenics, he killed half the population so the other half could live, it wasn't some crazy experiment to better the gene pool, it was in his mind a matter of survival due to food shortage, and he apparently saved kids and whacked parents so it seems his guiding principle was children (and women?) first.
Kirk again flirts with a teenager, but this one at least is in the last year of her teens, and not the first, so it's not that creepy when she talks about his surging and throbbing power. It is creepy he's only doing it to trap her father, but I guess it balances out since she's only doing it to kill him...
As for Vulcan being conquered, I presume Spock's logical thought process upon hearing that went something like this: "This guy's about to get so pissed, by tomorrow morning he'll forget anything I said, so I shan't even bother correcting his obvious error."
And once again, it's about damn time! I stand by my resolution to experience these episodes as the viewers of 50 years ago did, but I'm looking forward to my next TOS rewatch, whenever it may be, being in production order!
I try not to hold TOS accountable for not predicting advances from after its time. It's one thing to rationalize in-universe excuses, but one shouldn't hold it against a story that was a product of its time. I'm not sure where DNA analysis was at in 1966, but I'm sure that most people in the TV audience hadn't heard of it...and facial recognition software wouldn't have been a gleam in anyone's eye at that point. Also, they did do a voice pattern, but the match wasn't exact.
I do think Ms. Ironside was guilty of that sin (though I cut her some slack because her character was cray-cray)...but yeah, regarding the story...this is one that I used to consider something of a snoozer, but I didn't used to appreciate how much was going on. There are multiple layers, with characters who normally work together not being on the same page--Kirk engages in a private investigation; Kirk's investigation is manipulated by the person he doesn't know is the murderer so she can get at him; We learn crucial details about what's going on from Spock and McCoy, who investigate the Captain's investigation; Kirk and Kodos fence, both unaware that Lenore is the killer; Kodos's monologues and in-story stage acting are full of double entendres about his past life, but he avoids openly admitting the truth until Lenore is revealed; Kodos overhearing Riley while on stage....Even though the setup's iffy, the actual episode is really rather good. The slow build up and reveal of what Kodos is about, Kirk trying to uncover him, Spock and McCoy trying to uncover what Kirk is up to, return of Riley which is also welcome. Also, both Karidians are great in their roles and don't fall into overacting which is a danger when actors play actors
Most likely...WWII was fresh in the minds of a lot of TV watchers and producers.
But it was, as established in the dialogue...the reason for doing it was the disaster, but the method by which he did it was according to his personal standards. Presumably he used his beliefs about eugenics to decide which 4000 people should be weeded out of the population.
It's funny, though, how something that would have been considered audience-appropriate in its subtlety by the standards of the time is so laughably blatant in hindsight.
