"Even in our own world, sometimes we are aliens" ~ Spock
- Thread starter Hemi
- Start date
You may be thinking of his line from "The Way to Eden," in reference to the space hippies: "They regard themselves as aliens in their own worlds, a condition with which I am somewhat familiar."
I love The Way to Eden.
Sure it is full of cheese and embarrassingly welded to the era it was written in. But it's still a very good story and has strong characters. Classic Trek theme of fervent and good willed faith being horribly wrong and paying out the believers with a bunch of shit. I always sympathize with the hippies, it's a shame so little of well meaning belief systems have any basis in reality.
Sure it is full of cheese and embarrassingly welded to the era it was written in. But it's still a very good story and has strong characters. Classic Trek theme of fervent and good willed faith being horribly wrong and paying out the believers with a bunch of shit. I always sympathize with the hippies, it's a shame so little of well meaning belief systems have any basis in reality.
Yep, I love it too, and have never understood why it's so hated. After all, it's a reflection of the times it was made, as you said, and isn't THAT what Star Trek was supposed to be?
Except "The Way to Eden" isn't really a reflection of the '60s counterculture movement, it's a reflection of how a clueless older television writer saw that movement from the outside. The "space hippies" really don't come off in a good light, since they're all a bunch of dupes being manipulated by a murderous anarchist, and the thing they're yearning for turns out to be a toxic myth.
Some would say in retrospect the writer got it about right.
i think part of the reason it's hated is it just feels extremely dated and confined to the 60s whereas episodes like journey to babel and doomsday machine and city on the edge of forever (and many many others) feel much more timeless.
Also, if someone who believed all the negative stereotypes of TOS (bad-cheesey, dated, cheap, hammy acting) saw The Way to Eden before anything else, they would likely feel as if all their suspicions were confirmed. On the other hand if they were to see one of the others I mentioned, they might be pleasantly surprised at how fresh it still seemed.
I think a lot of fans of Star Trek are just embarrassed by episodes like Eden, because episodes like Eden at least partially confirm those negative stereotypes and they fear that it poorly reflects on the rest of the series.. and thats where the hate comes from.
Also, if someone who believed all the negative stereotypes of TOS (bad-cheesey, dated, cheap, hammy acting) saw The Way to Eden before anything else, they would likely feel as if all their suspicions were confirmed. On the other hand if they were to see one of the others I mentioned, they might be pleasantly surprised at how fresh it still seemed.
I think a lot of fans of Star Trek are just embarrassed by episodes like Eden, because episodes like Eden at least partially confirm those negative stereotypes and they fear that it poorly reflects on the rest of the series.. and thats where the hate comes from.
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