"Who Mourns for Adonis", for all its superficial weirdness, has a strong undercurrent of a theme - or rather, a modernization of "rejecting Eden" that is hit or miss with TOS but in this episode it comes across as being quite original and entertaining. Kirk almost seems too happy to speak for all his crew and who said Apollo was being a slaver when it can be argued just as easily that Kirk is no better (not to mention, Apollo can really work that gold lamé shower curtain toga so if even everything else is boring, it's not hard to focus attention on that...)
Let's count the reasons that, in all fairness, weren't really known in 1967:
* galactic change - who knows what that ship is doing to the cosmos ("Force of Nature" reveals one now-confirmed issue). Maybe everybody should tend to gardeny things like farming crops, animals, and finding joysticks other than those that are connected to an XBox - at least until the next novel STD is passed around, I guess.. unless Apollo cured those. Then who wouldn't be happy?
* Kirk was just hiding his subconscious desire to herd sheep - ironic given that's what a captain does? Look at how he berates his crew in stories like this one, Space Seed, etc. He's just Apollo, but without the ability to grow into a 20' tall giant
* given Kirk's overt and vocal dislike of Earth-centric historians who he thinks are all lazy and worthless and yet his ship is apparently loaded with them (see "Space Seed" for more -- oh dear, that's a virtual checkmate on Kirk already.
) since McGivers, Palamas, et al, have specialties that can't translate directly or indirectly to alien worlds' cultures' histories and nobody knew Apollo was waiting on some distant planet to whip out his big hand, some characters just exist for the sake of the plot. Maaaaaybe McGivers can somehow point out universal behavioral constants, like Counselor Troi only without a direct emotional link so she just guesses at cold reading for a living I'd guess...
Now there's a response. What if Kirk's gambit failed and they all ended up herding sheep and telling baaaaaaad jokes for a living just so Apollo would stop reminiscing over playing on precious Pan's pipe collection? (pre-season 3 TOS always had happy endings as opposed to stalemates or worse... Freiberger wasn't perfect but he's a bit underrated in some ways, but I digress...)
But what would you do? Take up the offer? Readily or after certain assurances were made? Apollo, if nothing else, seems pretty straightforward.
Kirk The Boring said:
Let's count the reasons that, in all fairness, weren't really known in 1967:
* galactic change - who knows what that ship is doing to the cosmos ("Force of Nature" reveals one now-confirmed issue). Maybe everybody should tend to gardeny things like farming crops, animals, and finding joysticks other than those that are connected to an XBox - at least until the next novel STD is passed around, I guess.. unless Apollo cured those. Then who wouldn't be happy?
* Kirk was just hiding his subconscious desire to herd sheep - ironic given that's what a captain does? Look at how he berates his crew in stories like this one, Space Seed, etc. He's just Apollo, but without the ability to grow into a 20' tall giant
* given Kirk's overt and vocal dislike of Earth-centric historians who he thinks are all lazy and worthless and yet his ship is apparently loaded with them (see "Space Seed" for more -- oh dear, that's a virtual checkmate on Kirk already.
) since McGivers, Palamas, et al, have specialties that can't translate directly or indirectly to alien worlds' cultures' histories and nobody knew Apollo was waiting on some distant planet to whip out his big hand, some characters just exist for the sake of the plot. Maaaaaybe McGivers can somehow point out universal behavioral constants, like Counselor Troi only without a direct emotional link so she just guesses at cold reading for a living I'd guess...Carolyn wanting to play with Apollo's big sheep said:
Now there's a response. What if Kirk's gambit failed and they all ended up herding sheep and telling baaaaaaad jokes for a living just so Apollo would stop reminiscing over playing on precious Pan's pipe collection? (pre-season 3 TOS always had happy endings as opposed to stalemates or worse... Freiberger wasn't perfect but he's a bit underrated in some ways, but I digress...)
But what would you do? Take up the offer? Readily or after certain assurances were made? Apollo, if nothing else, seems pretty straightforward.
