Mental illness in TOS

List so far:

* the inhabitants of Tristan Adams's asylum (and he himself)
* Janice Lester (idee fixe, self-loathing, homicidal) (see my post here: https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/kirk-drift—misremembering-a-character….314264/page-3#post-14516817)
* Richard Daystrom (nervous breakdown)
* Ben Finney (homicidal revenge-seeker)
* Gary Mitchell (drunk with (esper, godlike) power)

Quite a few examples.

 

Don't forget Garth of Izar and the Orion Marta.

 

Also Matt Decker. Plus PTSD

 

It's interesting that so many episode stories are driven by the actions of mentally ill individuals. Was it a 60s thing (these kinds of plotlines)?

Are the rigors of space to blame for its prevalence, in universe?

 

Kirk in Obsession.
Kirk in "Conscience of the King."

One of the major themes in SF I would read as I discovered more about Trek was about the impact of space travel on human psychology. Since there had been little study of it at the time of TOS I would imagine it was on people's minds.

 

See also Lenore in "Conscience of the King," particularly the epilogue in which McCoy assures Kirk that Lenore will get the best psychological treatment that 23rd century will provide.

 

How did I forget her?

 

Didn't Harry Mudd receive rehabilitation treatment at some point? Might be misremembering, though.

 

To no avail. Some characters are just incorrigible.

 

According to the computer, Mudd was sentenced to "psychiatric treatment, effectiveness disputed."

 

What's the episode where Scotty is suffering from unreasoning bigotry towards women?

I recall that Kirk's idea of therapy is to stop off at a sex planet and hire a hooker as a cure?

 

It's called Self-Medication now...

 

Stupid episode.

"Wolf in the Fold."

 

Isn't it just that McCoy's being sarcastic, and Kirk doesn't get the joke?

 

The portrayal of mental illness in TOS is usually pretty silly- people are almost always just generic 'crazy' which makes them evil. Like I love 'Whom Gods Destroy', its a very fun and camp episode but its a Batman level portrayal of psychiatry. And then at the end we have a magic medicine that cures all mental illness (yay?)

Ah, well, product of its time I guess. I think mental illness is just a quick and easy way to explain the actions of a villain, which is why its such a common storytelling device.

Don't know if it counts for your list, but IIRC 'Lights of Zetaar' brings up the idea that space travel can cause paranoia etc in those not used to it.

 

All these examples are humans. I suppose it was meant to suggest that evil humans are insane and can be reformed - we've "moved beyond" evil (ridiculous), while enemies that display hostility initially can be reasoned with if reasonable, and blasted out of space if not.

 

Plenty of examples in more modern dramas, especially police or court procedurals. All kinds of mentally disturbed criminals, victims, or witnesses.

 

Garth of Izar wasn't human, nor were most of the inmates in "WHOM GODS DESTROY".

 

If you're going to have a weekly show, then you're going to have a lot of bad guys, and if you're going to have a lot of bad guys, then you're going to need to give them motivations, and sometimes their motivations are going to come from mental health issues.

 

Don't forget Spock.