Episode of the Week : Journey To Babel
- Thread starter Botany Bay
- Start date
Our first look at Sarek and Amanda, after hearing about them in This Side of Paradise and our second visit to Vulcan in the same series! One of the best!
JB
JB
Plus lots of aliens, just hanging out, doing their space-society thing. Kirk does his sneaky tactics on both the enemy ship AND Spock. Fisticuffs, assassinations, shuttlecraft cameo (and our first look at the hangar bay), Spock emotional trauma, the list goes on! Gets a 10 from me every time.
10. The last great episode of the series, though many good (and some very good, such as "The Ultimate Computer") ones would follow. But never again would the series reach the high plateau it maintained on a near-consistent basis between "Space Seed" and this episode.
After this episode was produced, the slow downward spiral in quality began. The trend was slow at first, then accelerated during Season 3.
After this episode was produced, the slow downward spiral in quality began. The trend was slow at first, then accelerated during Season 3.
I also voted 10, but rounded up from 9.5.
I think this one single episode established most of what we understood the Federation to be and all of those wonderful pre 1988 stories about the UFP and it's history are all based on this one. The first time all of those sophonts that we act like they were there all along, like the Andorians and Tellerites.
Plus, it also establishes the Orions as a player in galactic politics.
This episode is a landmark episode.
I think this one single episode established most of what we understood the Federation to be and all of those wonderful pre 1988 stories about the UFP and it's history are all based on this one. The first time all of those sophonts that we act like they were there all along, like the Andorians and Tellerites.
Plus, it also establishes the Orions as a player in galactic politics.
This episode is a landmark episode.
An all-time classic. 10 from me.
Perfect. Iconic new characters, great aliens, great story, lots of action, Checkovs' "GOT HIM !"
Love it more every time.
Well what do you know, I finally got the last word.
Love it more every time.
Well what do you know, I finally got the last word.
What the.....?
10! No question!
-The fight between Kirk & the Andorian in the hall
-Leonard Nimoys performance
-The teaser, with the shuttle craft
-Spock & Amandas scene
-the colored foam food cubes
-the fact that Sarek & Amanda went on to feature in Star Trek IV, Sarek in III, VI, & TNG. A very important episode!
How did those Tellerite masks make it to air?
-The fight between Kirk & the Andorian in the hall
-Leonard Nimoys performance
-The teaser, with the shuttle craft
-Spock & Amandas scene
-the colored foam food cubes
-the fact that Sarek & Amanda went on to feature in Star Trek IV, Sarek in III, VI, & TNG. A very important episode!
How did those Tellerite masks make it to air?
9. It only loses a point because I didn't care for the alien spy subplot. It should have just been about Spock and his parents. Otherwise love it! Favourite season 2 episode. Meeting Sarek and Amanda, the introduction of the "finger kiss", is there an actual name for that btw? Not too mention McCoy probing about Spock's childhood and the emotional exchange between Amanda and Spock.
The scene in Spock's quarters between Spock and Amanda always makes me wonder if they are speaking English or a Vulcan language.
Nine.
The only thing about this episode that rings false for me is the reveal of Spock's parentage. We're led to believe that:
a) Kirk, knowing how Spock/Vulcan's value privacy and also ingoing how out of place it is, asks Spock in front of the just arrived diplomats if he wants to go visit his folks. This is just a very awkward way to get to the hook.
and
b) Kirk doesn't know that Sarek is Spock's father. The captain of the ship, who calls his first officer his best friend, has no idea the Vulcan ambassador and his human wife are Spock's parents. Kirk never read Spock's dossier when he took command? It's not common knowledge? Are there so many Vulcan/human couples that Kirk never even got suspicious? Spock even once said, "my mother is a teacher, my father an ambassador." Kirk looks like an idiot all around, just so we can get to the big shock and loud music fade out.
Other than that, super episode all around.
a) Kirk, knowing how Spock/Vulcan's value privacy and also ingoing how out of place it is, asks Spock in front of the just arrived diplomats if he wants to go visit his folks. This is just a very awkward way to get to the hook.
and
b) Kirk doesn't know that Sarek is Spock's father. The captain of the ship, who calls his first officer his best friend, has no idea the Vulcan ambassador and his human wife are Spock's parents. Kirk never read Spock's dossier when he took command? It's not common knowledge? Are there so many Vulcan/human couples that Kirk never even got suspicious? Spock even once said, "my mother is a teacher, my father an ambassador." Kirk looks like an idiot all around, just so we can get to the big shock and loud music fade out.
Other than that, super episode all around.
Maybe Starfleet doesn't include any nonessential information in the ship's records? But that would be contradicted by "The Conscience of the King".
Definitely a bit of a hole.
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