Dagger of the Mind

[Captain Robert April]

She was there during "Mirror, Mirror", and when she was paying attention, Nichelle's sash covered her belly button. The second Bjo dragged her away for some made-up reason, the sash got folded down a bit, and the scene was shot with her navel on display for all the world to see.

 

[Redfern]

And what a navel it was! I swear, Nichelle had the kind of abs Frazetta painted for the females in his famous fantasy art.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Neutral Zone]

Definitely one of the better episodes and Kirk yet again not being in full control of mind or senses!

 

[plynch]

Why is Adams bad?

He is the greatest penal mastermind. Why is he now villainous?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Why is Adams bad?

He is the greatest penal mastermind. Why is he now villainous?

Say what?

 

[KirksStuntMan]

Why is Adams bad?

He is the greatest penal mastermind. Why is he now villainous?

Heh, heh. He said "penal". Heh-heh.

 

[plynch]

Why is Adams bad?

He is the greatest penal mastermind. Why is he now villainous?

Say what?

According to Kirk, Adams has done more to change penal colonies in the last jillion years. So if he's been so successful and done such great things, why has he now totured his associate and is willing to take on and/or destroy a starfleet captain? His badness seems out of character, in other words, going by his stellar reputation.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Why is Adams bad?

He is the greatest penal mastermind. Why is he now villainous?

Say what?

According to Kirk, Adams has done more to change penal colonies in the last jillion years. So if he's been so successful and done such great things, why has he now totured his associate and is willing to take on and/or destroy a starfleet captain? His badness seems out of character, in other words, going by his stellar reputation.

Oh. What I got out of it was that no one really knew him until it was too late. His reputation was undeserved. He was too good to be true. Everybody was duped. Or maybe, he finally went too far. It fits perfectly.

 

[KirksStuntMan]

According to Kirk, Adams has done more to change penal colonies in the last jillion years. So if he's been so successful and done such great things, why has he now totured his associate and is willing to take on and/or destroy a starfleet captain? His badness seems out of character, in other words, going by his stellar reputation.

To quote Euripides (and to paraphrase Jerry Sohl's 3rd season script title), "Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad." Maybe Dr. Adams fell asleep in front of the neural neutralizer and he went off the deep end.

 

[Wingsley]

Doctor... Adams... was destroyed... right... death!

 

[Timo]

We can probably safely assume that after having renewed the penal system and helped so many criminals get cured, Adams continued working on a small collection of incurables - the sort of people that would eventually end up at Elba II. Having achieved so much, he'd be highly motivated to deal with "the rest", too. And aiming for perfection is a surefire way to drive one mad like that.

I don't think Adams was particularly mad, at any rate. He was used to adjusting the minds of people who would resist, who would feel their minds didn't need any adjusting. He was used to being justified, morally and legally, in doing this. His attempt at adjusting Kirk would probably be one he felt morally fully justified about - he was doing it for the greater good (that is, for his freedom to continue his altruist work for the greater good). He would have done similar things for the past twenty years, and would have been paid for it, commended for it. That's not particularly mad - merely a sad case of what lack of supervision may result in.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[WRStone]

Why is Adams bad?

He is the greatest penal mastermind. Why is he now villainous?

Heh, heh. He said "penal". Heh-heh.

Uh-huh-huh ... "penal master -- bation?" Uh-huh-huh. Uh-huh-huh-huh. Uh-huh-huh.

Dakota Smith

 

[CorporalCaptain]

We can probably safely assume that after having renewed the penal system and helped so many criminals get cured, Adams continued working on a small collection of incurables - the sort of people that would eventually end up at Elba II. Having achieved so much, he'd be highly motivated to deal with "the rest", too. And aiming for perfection is a surefire way to drive one mad like that.

I don't think Adams was particularly mad, at any rate. He was used to adjusting the minds of people who would resist, who would feel their minds didn't need any adjusting. He was used to being justified, morally and legally, in doing this. His attempt at adjusting Kirk would probably be one he felt morally fully justified about - he was doing it for the greater good (that is, for his freedom to continue his altruist work for the greater good). He would have done similar things for the past twenty years, and would have been paid for it, commended for it. That's not particularly mad - merely a sad case of what lack of supervision may result in.

Timo Saloniemi

You're right. There was nothing particularly mad about using the neural neutralizer on Dr. Van Gelder. It was, after all, for the greater good.

 

[plynch]

It's a loose end. Two lines on the bridge at the end woulda done it. "Gosh, Spock, who woulda thunk his reputation was a sham?" Or, "Gosh, Spock, too bad such genius went mad." Or whatever. It just seems weird that his rep is so played up, but when we meet him, he is the "bad guy."

There's no farewell scene or line with Helen, either. Maybe the ep was running long.

 

[KirksStuntMan]

There's no farewell scene or line with Helen, either. Maybe the ep was running long.

Bruce Schoengarth must have forgotten to edit the film finale because he was taking a hands on approach with Marianna Hill.

You lucky dog, Bruce!

 

[GSchnitzer]

It's a loose end. Two lines on the bridge at the end woulda done it. "Gosh, Spock, who woulda thunk his reputation was a sham?" Or, "Gosh, Spock, too bad such genius went mad." Or whatever. It just seems weird that his rep is so played up, but when we meet him, he is the "bad guy."

There's no farewell scene or line with Helen, either. Maybe the ep was running long.

The Revised Final Draft script of "Dagger of the Mind" (August 5, 1966) offers a bit of extra dialog that helps flesh out Dr. Adams' motivation a bit.

From Act Four, Scene 177--Kirk is in the Tantalus device chair for another treatment:

ADAMS
I give you credit. Van Gelder was
on his knees sobbing my now.
(nods)
It's good I've had a pair like you.
I've learned a great deal.

KIRK
(with difficulty)
For... what purpose, Doctor? I
cannot understand a man of your...
of your...

ADAMS
Of my reputation? Unfortuanately,
I have little else... except...
now, with this device... power.
Power over minds... and thus
over everything that counts.
The final great criterion.
Intriguing. And since I have
it, I've decided to use it for
myself... after all these years
of doing things for others.
(beat... a smile)
Say I want a very comfortable
old age... on my terms... and
I am a most selective man.

KIRK
Unnecessary. Just... trust...

ADAMS
TRUST mankind to offer me my
just rewards?
(smiles)
You're an optimist, Captain.
In this work I've learned too
much about men's minds.
(interrupted by
Lethe hurrying
into scene)

LETHE
The woman doctor... she is gone,
Doctor Adams...

At this, Adams throw a look at Kirk, reaches for the
panel, turns up the volume, the device HUMMING STRONGLY.

********

So, it appears Dr. Adams is an embittered, disgruntled employee, tired of constantly taking care of others. Dr. Adams simply went "postal."

 

[plynch]

Kinda Shakespearean. At least we get some motivation that way, thougn it is a bit Bond-esque (since you're about to die, Mr.Bond, let me tell all my plans and how to foil me . . .). Thanks, though. It is in my personal canon now.

jk

 

[Timo]

You're right. There was nothing particularly mad about using the neural neutralizer on Dr. Van Gelder. It was, after all, for the greater good.

In fact, it was doubly good! It allowed Adams to continue his good work, and it cured van Gelder and made him a better person. By Adams' standards, at any rate, and the Federation had approved of Adams' standards for a long time.

In the episode, it doesn't look as if Adams is thinking in terms of expanding his operation, or gaining further powers, or anything. His actions are purely reactive, an attempt to hold on to the status quo where he keeps doing good work in splendid isolation and receiving due acclaim in the scientific circles (and perhaps farther out, too).

"Whom Gods Destroy" is a completely different take on the insane asylum, with a "jailbreak" theme to it. Here, breaching the walls of the Tantalus Colony is the thing farthest from the curious mind of Dr Adams!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[CorporalCaptain]

You're right. There was nothing particularly mad about using the neural neutralizer on Dr. Van Gelder. It was, after all, for the greater good.

In fact, it was doubly good! It allowed Adams to continue his good work, and it cured van Gelder and made him a better person. By Adams' standards, at any rate, and the Federation had approved of Adams' standards for a long time.

In the episode, it doesn't look as if Adams is thinking in terms of expanding his operation, or gaining further powers, or anything. His actions are purely reactive, an attempt to hold on to the status quo where he keeps doing good work in splendid isolation and receiving due acclaim in the scientific circles (and perhaps farther out, too).

"Whom Gods Destroy" is a completely different take on the insane asylum, with a "jailbreak" theme to it. Here, breaching the walls of the Tantalus Colony is the thing farthest from the curious mind of Dr Adams!

Timo Saloniemi

Uh, no. The Federation busted up the Tantalus colony after they found out what was really going on. And for the record, I was being sarcastic in this post:

You're right. There was nothing particularly mad about using the neural neutralizer on Dr. Van Gelder. It was, after all, for the greater good.

Although there really shouldn't have been any doubt that I was.

 

[plynch]

And we never really find out why he fried VanGelder's brain, either, do we? Was he going to nark? An assumption.

Maybe I just need to be ok with ambiguity and loose ends, as I am with some other eps.