Amok Time

[Forbin]

So, what would have happened if T'Pring hadn't challenged, and the marriage ceremony had gone on as planned? Spock would have picked T'Pring up in his arms and run off behind a rock while Kirk and McCoy stood there waiting?

 

[RobertScorpio]

I actually think that AMOK TIME and BABEL show the vulcans to be a sexist society. Nothing wrong with that, its their way, but fascinating none-the-less.

Rob

 

[Brutal Strudel]

What I liked about the episode is that it shows that the Vulcans are still subject to biology, and the only way they can cope with something so deeply embedded in their biology it by reverting to ritual. What I didn't like about it is that future Trek writers were tainted by this episode and always portrayed the Vulcans as a group of ritualistic mystics. If you pay attention to the episode, the idea is that this is the one aspect of Vulcan life that they could never tame with logic. But every time we went to Vulcan, we see a secretive cave-dwelling monastic order completely at odds with the idea of purely logical Vulcans.

Brilliant!

 

[startrekrcks]

brilliant episode it has got to be one of the best TOS episodes in my opinion.

 

[scotpens]

I actually think that AMOK TIME and BABEL show the vulcans to be a sexist society. Nothing wrong with that, its their way, but fascinating none-the-less.

It's just another one of those paradoxes of Vulcan culture. They're supposed to be a logical, rational society, yet there's that whole mysticism angle. And apparently, Vulcan wives are expected to be deferential and subservient to their husbands, at least in public. Ah, those inscrutable Vulcans . . .

 

[RobertScorpio]

Exactly. I had totally let that pass, until I saw BABEL a couple nights ago and my wife, who hadn't seen it before, commented on the sexist aspects of the episode.

Rob

 

[KobayashiMaru13]

the thing is, spock's circumstasnce is unique. spock was arranged to marry T'Pring only a week before his assignment to Enterprise. this conflicted with his duty to starfleet, so it was rearranged so that spock would come back during his first pon farr. this was T'Pring's idea, so that while he was gone, she would have stonn, and if spock never had pon farr, because he was half human, she would still have stonn. it wasn't a normal marriage ritual.

i luv this episode, though!

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I actually think that AMOK TIME and BABEL show the vulcans to be a sexist society. Nothing wrong with that, its their way, but fascinating none-the-less.

It's just another one of those paradoxes of Vulcan culture. They're supposed to be a logical, rational society, yet there's that whole mysticism angle. And apparently, Vulcan wives are expected to be deferential and subservient to their husbands, at least in public. Ah, those inscrutable Vulcans . . .

It's not so much a paradox of this nonexistent society as it is Sturgeon going for the emotional jugular to tell a great story: what if the most emotionally repressed people in the Universe were biologically incapable of controlling their lust?

 

[Nerys Myk]

the thing is, spock's circumstasnce is unique. spock was arranged to marry T'Pring only a week before his assignment to Enterprise. this conflicted with his duty to starfleet, so it was rearranged so that spock would come back during his first pon farr. this was T'Pring's idea, so that while he was gone, she would have stonn, and if spock never had pon farr, because he was half human, she would still have stonn. it wasn't a normal marriage ritual.

i luv this episode, though!

I thought Spock and T'pring were bonded as children.

 

[Brutal Strudel]

Yep--at seven years old, I believe.

 

[Forbin]

Every once in a while I say "My wife, attend" to see what my wife will do.

I pretty much always regret it.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Every once in a while I say "My wife, attend" to see what my wife will do.

I pretty much always regret it.

 

[KobayashiMaru13]

the thing is, spock's circumstasnce is unique. spock was arranged to marry T'Pring only a week before his assignment to Enterprise. this conflicted with his duty to starfleet, so it was rearranged so that spock would come back during his first pon farr. this was T'Pring's idea, so that while he was gone, she would have stonn, and if spock never had pon farr, because he was half human, she would still have stonn. it wasn't a normal marriage ritual.

i luv this episode, though!

I thought Spock and T'pring were bonded as children.

They were. After the bonding, Spock was to return to her after a set amount of years to be wed. However, when Spock was called to come back, it conflicted with his duties to Starfleet, as he was a week from a reassignment to the Enterprise (under Pike) which would take him away for several years. Thus, he agreed with T'Pring to return during his first pon farr.

 

[Nerys Myk]

the thing is, spock's circumstasnce is unique. spock was arranged to marry T'Pring only a week before his assignment to Enterprise. this conflicted with his duty to starfleet, so it was rearranged so that spock would come back during his first pon farr. this was T'Pring's idea, so that while he was gone, she would have stonn, and if spock never had pon farr, because he was half human, she would still have stonn. it wasn't a normal marriage ritual.

i luv this episode, though!

I thought Spock and T'pring were bonded as children.

They were. After the bonding, Spock was to return to her after a set amount of years to be wed. However, when Spock was called to come back, it conflicted with his duties to Starfleet, as he was a week from a reassignment to the Enterprise (under Pike) which would take him away for several years. Thus, he agreed with T'Pring to return during his first pon farr.

What? Is this from a book or fanfic? Because I don not recall this in the episode.

 

[KobayashiMaru13]

^ A book, Vulcan's Glory by D. C. Fontana.

 

[Nerys Myk]

^ A book, Vulcan's Glory by D. C. Fontana.

Ah, as the saying goes "not canon.". If you want to bring material from a book into a discussion you should identify it as such.

 

[KobayashiMaru13]

^ A book, Vulcan's Glory by D. C. Fontana.

Ah, as the saying goes "not canon.". If you want to bring material from a book into a discussion you should identify it as such.

actually the majority of the novel is accepted as canon on Memory Alpha, except for a few minor details and characters, which are listed on Memory Beta.

 

[Nerys Myk]

^ A book, Vulcan's Glory by D. C. Fontana.

Ah, as the saying goes "not canon.". If you want to bring material from a book into a discussion you should identify it as such.

actually the majority of the novel is accepted as canon on Memory Alpha, except for a few minor details and characters, which are listed on Memory Beta.

I dont think Memory Alpha has that power.

ETA:Looking through MA's Spock entry I find no reference to "Vulcan's Glory". MA has a listing for the book, but they have a entire catagory for that and clearly state that they are not canon.

With the success of the Star Trek films and Star Trek: The Next Generation, a licensing office associated with the productions took stricter control of the franchise's image. Writers of Star Trek publications were discouraged from creating depictions that varied from the style and details of the franchise, as seen in filmed productions. Previous novels of the 1960s, 70s, and early 80s tend to vary from canon more than later series. Since most novels are produced by editors and writers not affiliated with franchise production staff, filmed productions generally regard the events and situations in most novelizations as completely apocryphal.

It should be noted that certain publications written by creators of Star Trek's various series are sometimes referenced in later episodes of those series. Somewhat paradoxically, the novels themselves remain apocryphal in such cases, while whatever information was mentioned on-screen becomes canon.

 

[Zakk]

Best episode ever, in my opinion its was so strange how the Vulcan's interact with there females, and such wried courtship also.

 

[MikeS]

"After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true."

Words of wisdom indeed. May be a bit cheesy in places, but remains one of my favourite episodes for dialogue and insight like this.

Also when T'Pring thanks Spock for his evaluation of her cunning and calculated logic.