Production Order Group Viewing 2018

[Maurice]

It's been fairly well established the the famous "inter racial kiss" this episode is famous for was not the very first on film or TV, but it's not even the first on Star Trek! The actress who played Elaan (France Nuyen) is of Vietnamese descent and had far more smoochy time with Kirk

[...]As we discussed when reviewing Elaan of Troyius, Star Trek's REAL first interracial kiss was Shatner and France Nuyen. And THAT was a kiss, no hiding that one. And it's been said that there were other interracial kisses prior to Star Trek anyway. Much ado about not much with this "kiss."

Race is an idiotic construct used to "other" people. That said, in the context of 1968 and to the average American "interracial" basically meant black-white, and while there were some places where miscegenation laws applied outside of that back-white binary those were in the minority (so to speak). This was hot on the heels of Loving v. Virginia after all. The word "interracial" is the problem, it should be characterized as the supposed "first black-white kiss on American TV.

 

[mb22]

Shouldn't the Platonians be designated "remarkably human looking"?

 

[ZapBrannigan]

As we discussed when reviewing Elaan of Troyius, Star Trek's REAL first interracial kiss was Shatner and France Nuyen. And THAT was a kiss, no hiding that one.

Technically, Star Trek's first interracial kiss was in WALGMO:
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x07hd/whatarelittlegirlsmadeofhd055.jpg

 

[Mytran]

And now a Special Feature! Why Plato's Stepchildren is NOT the worst episode of Star Trek as some would have it. (Ahem)

1. Alexander. What a great character, one of the best in TOS, and so well acted by Michael Dunn. I've said it before, I'll say it again. The mere presence of Alexander in this episode prevents it from being the worst. He is complex, sympathetic, good, noble. He could have all the power he wanted, but he stays true to himself.

And he has a character arc! Not many characters in TOS get an arc. He starts out as the one Platonian who can't use TK. And he is badly bullied and abused by all the others for thousands of years. And as so often happens with abuse victims, he blames himself. Surely he must deserve this abuse, surely there is something inherently wrong with him. His self-loathing is palpable. But then an amazing thing happens. He meets these men from the Enterprise. And he likes them, admires them. They are good. But...they don't have powers either! And you can see in the discussion with Kirk the wheels turn and the switch is thrown. Just because he doesn't have the power, he doesn't deserve the abuse he's been taking! There isn't anything wrong with him!

Alexander: "It's not me, it's not my size, it's them! It's them! It's them!" All that rage, all that self-hatred he's been heaping on himself for such a long time, and now he's able to apply it to the correct targets: his abusers. What a huge moment that is for Alexander! To realize he's not the one who deserves the hate! I'm sorry, that is a brilliant moment in this episode and in all of TOS.

Show me a character in Spock's Brain or And the Children Shall Lead or Alternative Factor as good as Alexander. You can't? Exactly.

2. The after-humiliation scenes. First we get Kirk, Spock, and McCoy licking their wounds. Kirk's taking it surprisingly well. Spock is furious. Have we ever seen Spock so angry? What a great job by Nimoy of displaying Spock's struggle to control his fury. He ends up crushing that cup. For a Vulcan that was tantamount to trashing a room.

Then we get the discussion between Alexander and Kirk. Then we get Alexander sobbing, sorry he couldn't have been braver and warning them about Parmen sooner. Then we get our heroes using their minds to figure out the kirinide thing and taking the supplements. Lucky McCoy happened to have some kirinide solution. And we are given something to look forward to as we know that Parmen's about to get a surprise. All good stuff.

3. Taking down the bullies. It's hardly original, but it's cathartic. We've seen it countless times in movies and on tv. The bullies use their superior power to humiliate the good guys until the good guys use their heads, their pluck, their will to pull the upset and take them down. Heck, it's the plot to Karate Kid. But isn't it fun when the bullies get taken down as they so richly deserve? It is freakin' GREAT when Parmen is trying to make Alexander stab himself and all of a sudden the knife turns away, and Parmen asks "who did that?" And Kirk responds with laughter "ha ha ha, I DID." THAT is a moment to stand up an cheer. Yeah, in your face, douchebag! Kirk is in the house, and you're about to get the Mother of all Kirk Fu's!

I get it. People don't like the humiliation scenes. I don't like the humiliation scenes. Some people just can't get past them. It's too bad too, they are missing a lot of good stuff if that's all they see in this episode.

You make a fair case and if the focus had been more on Alexander's story it might have worked; it's a nice little arc inside an otherwise terrible episode.

Technically, Star Trek's first interracial kiss was in WALGMO:
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x07hd/whatarelittlegirlsmadeofhd055.jpg

Tongues or it doesn't count

 

[plynch]

I've said it many times. I like this one. It's never bothered me, and Alexander's role and portrayal might be the best guest in the series. Yup, heard me right. Right up there with Montalban and whoever else you would care to nominate.

 

[johnnybear]

The interracial kiss that people go on about really isn't! It's more a form of rape really as neither Kirk or Uhura wanted it to happen! It's all a game created by the evil Platonians for their amusement! A bit like how people used to and some still do suspect our lives are just soap operas for the entertainment of the Gods!
JB

 

[Mytran]

The interracial kiss that people go on about really isn't! It's more a form of rape really as neither Kirk or Uhura wanted it to happen! It's all a game created by the evil Platonians for their amusement! A bit like how people used to and some still do suspect our lives are just soap operas for the entertainment of the Gods!
JB

Or as Lord Melchett might say:

As private parts to the gods are we! They play with us for their sport!

 

[Commishsleer]

PLATO’S STEPCHILDREN
AKA: People in authority can be arseholes

Dipping back into the bag of Trek Tropes, we again find long lived aliens who spent some time in ancient Greece, only this time they didn’t influence any human history. Then they came to another planet, exploited the local technology (kironide) to their advantage and proceeded to act like arseholes, using a set of poorly defined powers (Return To Tomorrow). Then Kirk learns how to use the exact same tech and makes them promise to be nice before flying away, never to return.

This was a bad, bad episode and IMO has usurped The Empath as the worst one of TOS.
Both have long, drawn out scenes and feature extensive torture of the regulars, but that at least Empath had a plot with a clear focus and decent character moments.
Plato’s Stepchildren has none of those and poorly written dialogue to boot! It lurches from lazy plotting (see above) to not one but TWO exposition dumps in the first 5 minutes (Alexander, then Captain’s log) to loosely connected scenes that exist solely to demonstrate how bad the baddies are, before Kirk & Spock turn the tables in the last 2 minutes, make them promise to be nice and leave, having achieved nothing.

Kirk tries to have a “trek” moment with Alexander around 30 minutes in but it’s really not enough to save this episode - it's badly written, boring trash

OTHER THOUGHTS:

• Another distress call to start the episode?
• And just Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down?
• Yet another episode that feels like a stage play
• The Platonian’s population is 38 – exactly the number that the pinwheel alien in DOTD selected for its combatants – is there is a special significance to this figure?
• Telekentic attacks are great for actors – invisible assailants are a hammy actor’s dream come true!
• Uhura and Chapel are beamed down at 36 minutes in – just because they’re they only regular female characters on the Enterprise, it seems!
  
• The Platonians are described as “all intellect, no morality” – exactly the morale of the story in The Empath.
  AGAIN.
• Kirk had a communicator stashed in his tunic the whole time? Dare I ask where???

THE KISS
It's been fairly well established the the famous "inter racial kiss" this episode is famous for was not the very first on film or TV, but it's not even the first on Star Trek! The actress who played Elaan (France Nuyen) is of Vietnamese descent and had far more smoochy time with Kirk
Nichelle Nichols does get nice scene right before she and Shatner kiss, but the fact that they are being physically forced to do it robs the scene of any nuance or significance - it's just another form of physical abuse being visited upon them by a bully.
Like the massive exposition dumps earlier, this intentions behind this skit are blatant and have the subtlety of a brick.


On a positive note, this episode features 2 lines which are an ingrained part of my fandom, thanks to Star Trek adverts I saw repeatedly in my youth:


That latter line has so much truth about it...

I love both the Empath and Plato. They are two great character episodes. Star Trek only had 79 episodes and if we disregard these 2 then we lose the 2 episodes where McCoy isn't irrationally shouting at Spock for something. These 2 episodesshow that MCCoy and Spock are truly friends. Kirk has some really great moments in Plato and the scene with Spock breaking the vase was just fantastic. I think the dialog and acting are great. In contrast with Parmen Kirk looks so noble and dynamic.

I can think of a lot more boring episodes - Zetar, Gideon, For the World is Hollow.

Would I would I change things Of course. I'm not against the torture scenes. In fact I'd ramp them up a bit. Malle them a bit more scary - make Uhura have a bit more to worry about than a kiss.Alright get rid of the horsey scene. I'd still have the flamenco dancing, crying it was all great.

In regards to the kiss, while it may have not been the first kiss. That doesn't make it unimportant. You know a white guy kissed a black girl and the universe didn't collapse upon itself.
And also the kironide stuff was a bit hard to believe that they would never use it again.
Also Chapel and Uhura could have had some more say professional dialog. More along the lines of when Number One was kidnapped. Still it wasn't Chapels worst episode.

 

[Maurice]

Technically, Star Trek's first interracial kiss was in WALGMO:
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x07hd/whatarelittlegirlsmadeofhd055.jpg

Not on the lips, though.

 

[johnnybear]

Or as Lord Melchett might say:

As private parts to the gods are we! They play with us for their sport!

Don't they just!
JB

 

[Mytran]

And also the kironide stuff was a bit hard to believe that they would never use it again.

Presumably it only grants telekinesis on Parmen's planet. Starfleet already have access to Kironide from other sources (McCoy has a stash of it in his bag) so it's hard to believe that any telekinetic abilities wouldn't have been uncovered by now.

Also Chapel and Uhura could have had some more say professional dialog. More along the lines of when Number One was kidnapped. Still it wasn't Chapels worst episode.

Chapel's scene was alright but Uhura's was far better written and acted. Agreed that both should have been an expanded part of the episode

 

[Pauln6]

Way to instantly lose the South.
Next thing you know they'll put her in charge when the four top ranking men are on a planet. Promote DeSalle FAST!!!!

I'm amazed that anyone from the South EVER liked Star Trek.

 

[Joanna McCoy-Kirk]

I'm amazed that anyone from the South EVER liked Star Trek.

Why do you say that? I am from the southeastern USA and I have been a Trek fan since the 1970s.

 

[Pauln6]

Why do you say that? I am from the southeastern USA and I have been a Trek fan since the 1970s.

I was just being facetious given the south's conservative leanings and history of racial tension that is still reflected in conviction rates today. Obviously, I don't genuinely think every southern resident raves against Trek as communist propaganda. ;-p

 

[Mytran]

WINK OF AN EYE

Back to bottle shows! Sadly though, this episode is much more “average” than Day Of The Dove. Still, it’s an interesting conundrum of just how far a society should go to survive, even if at the end Kirk just leaves them all to die.
Maybe it’s for the best; their conversation when Kirk is unconscious reveals them to be calculating sociopaths.

Finally the plot uses character stupidity on multiple occasions to drive the story forward:

• Uhura was duped by an obviously taped message on repeat!
• Then again, Deela was duped by Kirk’s turn to the dark side for no good reason either, so…equality of stupidity?
• Additional stupidity is that Crewman Compton just drinks the Scalosian water – thus confirming the reputation of the behaviour of inexperienced Starfleet officers first hinted at in The Man Trap

OTHER THOUGHTS:

• Another week, another distress call and this is the third episode in a row! Come on, writers!
• Dutch angles, dutch angles everywhere! Does this mean that the Scalosians are really Batman villains? Nah, that would be silly
• This episode debuts the use of the communicator badge (Deela wears one on her collar)
• Coffee on the Bridge! Another welcome returning feature from Season One
• Kirk and Deela totally do it! Fairly explicitly for 1960s television, too
• Kirk fights defensively against Rael in his cabin pretty well. He really should have hot-footed it out of the door though!

NEW SETS
Life support centre – first mentioned in DOTD. Yay, continuity!
Sadly it is yet another redress of the Briefing Room. This highly technical area really should have been done in a partial redress of the Engine Room, IMO
It also features a very selective forcefield – main characters only!

SCALOSIAN WATER
This is another “high concept” episode but the implementation and future ramifications are treated unevenly, to say the least:

• Just how fast are the Scalosians? Fast enough to stand still for extended periods without being seen but slow enough for Spock and McCoy to wander down from the Bridge and formulate a cure. I know we’ve seen McCoy work quickly in the past (Naked Time) but this??? Incidentally, Phil Farrand did an excellent breakdown of Scalosian speed in his Nitpicker’s Guide.
• How does a hyper-accelerated person get beamed up without becoming visible during the process?
• Drinking Scalosian water causes all the doors on the ship to suddenly open!
• And the stun effect of the Scalosian’s weapon is to trigger Shatner-acting!
• Cell damage causes accelerated humans to rapidly age. Did Kirk really suffer no cell damage when his hands were frozen?
• So, they now have a Transporter that works at hyperaccelerated speeds, eh? That’ll come in handy in the future I expect.
• That supply of Scalosian water will also be marvellous for averting any future crisis!
• Finally, exactly how many of his days did Spock spend at super speed? And he didn’t scratch himself on any console while he single handedly repaired every broken console on the entire ship? Well okay…but was it really worth the risk?

I’ve ragged on this episode but in fairness it’s a decent middle of the road adventure. A lovely moment is that little glance which Kirk gives hyperaccelerated Spock when they first meet up; and it is also the culmination to an understated plot thread running throughout the episode:

Kirk, desperate and alone reaches out to the people he knows best and trusts them
He has no idea if they will even understand the situation or hear his message, but experience tells him that they will come through in time….And he’s right.​

I will leave this review with that feeling

 

[Henoch]

Yah, technical stuff, again. My exile is over.

Just how fast are the Scalosians? Fast enough to stand still for extended periods without being seen but slow enough for Spock and McCoy to wander down from the Bridge and formulate a cure.

I think they shifted into a different time phase (TNG-like "out of phase" but with the world moving slowly around you and not stopped as in TNG) which moves faster than our own in the same three dimensional solid universe. As a result, no air friction and gusts of wind with movement. Standing still forever and you'll never be seen. Odd that they can still make sound and see into our time dimension.

How does a hyper-accelerated person get beamed up without becoming visible during the process?

So, they now have a Transporter that works at hyperaccelerated speeds, eh? That’ll come in handy in the future I expect.

Transporter works because it's "high tech" and has more capability than we know. See above item on being seen.

Cell damage causes accelerated humans to rapidly age. Did Kirk really suffer no cell damage when his hands were frozen?

I assume it was only freezing pain but not cold enough to cause physical damage.

• That supply of Scalosian water will also be marvellous for averting any future crisis!

• Finally, exactly how many of his days did Spock spend at super speed? And he didn’t scratch himself on any console while he single handedly repaired every broken console on the entire ship? Well okay…but was it really worth the risk?

Time acceleration seems safe, but time deceleration may be dangerous. The Scalosians can't even do it without aging to death. First generation accelerators may have faced danger that Spock was not aware of; like there is a 10% chance that you would age to death each time one decelerates. Odds many get worse for repeated attempts. Maybe that is how the Scalosians got stuck accelerated; they did it too many times. Kirk and Spock just got lucky.

 

[GNDN18]

Jim West knew how to handle these accelerated characters…

…in the 19th century.

 

[Poltargyst]

Wink of an Eye

I feel like so much of this episode has been debated a great deal on this board.

I remember someone saying the opening footage of Scotty in command is from another episode? "Captain, we've encountered heavy Season 3 budget cuts!" "Initiate cost-saving measures...now!"

How long did the Scalosians have to wait from their point of view while the landing party stood around talking? That had to be really boring.

And how long would they have experienced standing in the transporter? That had to be excruciating.

Well, hello, Deela. Nice to see you in your skimpy outfit.

How did she get on the bridge and how are they getting about the ship with the doors and turbolift unable to detect them? Or is part of the modifications to the ship they've made to make the doors and turbolift detect them and move quickly enough for them? But then what about the normal-speed crew? The doors and turbolift still seem to respond to them as well.

Hmmm, it's a cool visual to see Deela sidestep the phaser beam, but...the beam is going at the speed of light. So the accelerated people are moving at near light speeds? And my gripe in comic superhero stories is when they dodge energy beams. I maintain that you can't dodge an energy beam because you couldn't see it until it actually hit you.

Except for Spiderman who has his spider-sense to tell him to move before the beam is actually fired, and...er...nevermind.

And now that I think more about it, shouldn't that affect their ability to even see? Since the light from everything would be moving slowly like the phaser beam?

Good-bye, Compton, this week's designated sacrificial red shirt. We hardly knew ye.

This interplay of Deela flirting around with Kirk while Rael becomes ever more jealous until he attacks Kirk is very reminisent of By Any Other Name with Kelinda flirting around with Kirk until Rojan becomes jealous enough to attack him.

Deela's cute little smiles. She's fun to watch because she's a woman who really enjoys her work.

Once again we see that Kirk is immune to any form of mind control whether it be spores, Elasian women's tears, Naked Time infections, or the rapid accelerating acceptance phenomena of this episode.

Maybe KIRK is part Vulcan.

Kirk: "Haveyou...TRIED...anyotherway?" I just have to laugh at this classic Shatner-doing-Kirk delivery of this line. Where's Kevin Pollak when you need him?

Every so often I get cut by something. Sometimes I don't even know how. I can't believe these people would live very long at all if any cell damage kills them.

The time lines in this episode between the normal slow people and the fast people so often don't line up or make sense to me. Best not to think too much about it.

It's an interesting camera view we get when Spock is watching the landing party tapes. I wonder how those images were captured.

A little while ago there was a poster on this board who was doing his review of every episode. I don't remember his screen name, but I remember he was Irish and had a good sense of humor so that I would often LOL reading his reviews. He has disappeared, but I was hoping he would finish because he was doing a running count of the times Kirk has sex. Kirk really doesn't have sex as much as his reputation suggests or as often as I thought. But here, Kirk's alone with Deela, and then we see him putting on his boot...um...yeah. Kirk got some! Good job, Jim!

I'm actually surprised that the friction of sex doesn't cause cell damage and rapid aging. What a way to go.

Spock's little head tilt at the end indicating to Kirk that they've developed a cure. I really like acting where no words are spoken but you know what they mean.

So how much time passed for the normal non-accelerated people? Couldn't have been more than a few minutes, could it? So once again, Spock and McCoy find a cure for something in mere minutes. Incredible.

As a kid, I always thought it was really lucky that Scotty had made it to the transporter room door enough to open it so the accelerated people could come and go.

Why does Spock buzz as he reappears? Was he talking to himself?

Wait, that's it? They just fly off and leave the Scalosians to die out? When they have a CURE???? In a REAL Star Trek ending, they administer the cure to the Scalosians who are then free to live out their long lives in peace. Oh, Season 3, you are a cruel one.

Good episode. Deela was fun. The concept was good as long as I don't think too much about it. Now I must investigate this strange buzzing I'm hearing...

Alien Watch! The Scalosians, who are remarkably human-looking. Along with the Platonians who I was reminded I forgot to designate as such.

Season 1
Talosians
That big ugly Rigellian guy Pike fought in illusion
Vina as an Orion girl in illusion
Glimpse of other aliens captured by Talosians
Ron Howard's brother
That dog from Enemy Within
Salt monster
That hand plant...Gertrude
Spock (duh)
Charlie's parents (Thasians)*
Romulans!
(Ruk)
Miri's planet kids (bonk bonk)
Giant ape creatures of Taurus II
Shore Leave Caretaker guy
Trelaine and his folks*
Gorn
Metrons*
The Lazerii
The remarkably human-looking aliens of Beta 3. (RotA)
The remarkably human-looking aliens of Emineminar VII (AToA)
The Triffids of Omicron Ceti III (TSoP)
The refreshingly non-human-looking Horta
Organians*
Klingons! (Remarkably human looking).
(The Guardian of Forever)
Flying pancakes

Season 2
Sylvia and Korob
The Companion
The remarkably human looking (though tall) Cappellans.
Native Pollux IV-ians (Apollo and his gang)
Full-blooded Vulcans
The remarkably human looking citizens of Argelius II (WitF)
Redjac
The People of Vaal (Gamma Triangulians)
Crew of the ISS Enterprise
The remarkably human-looking** (except for maybe a dot on their forehead) Halkans
Tribbles (not at all human looking)
The remarkably human-looking citizens of...892-VI. Is that what they call this planet? (The Roman one.)
Tall guys, short guys, Andorians, Tellurites, purple lady, Orion made up like an Andorian. (JtB)
The remarkably human-looking people of Neural. (APLW)
The awesome Mugato!
Shahna, Lars, Tamoon, Kloog, Thrallmaster Galt, and the Providers
The Cloud from the Tycho system.
The BIG FREAKIN' AMEBA!!!!!
The remarkably human-looking Iotians. (Gangsters)
Kelvans! Who really look like big, cool squids but choose to look remarkably human.
Sargon and the gang of not-quite-omnipotent aliens.
Remarkably human looking Zeons of Zeon and Ekosians of Ekos. (PoF)
The remarkably human looking Yangs and Coms of Omega IV.
Isis! Who looks remarkably like a cat until she wants to look remarkably human.

Season 3
The decidedly non-human looking Melkotians.
The remarkably human-looking Elasians and not so human looking Troyians.
Lawyer in a muumuu. Remarkably human-looking but maybe that was on purpose.
The remarkably human-looking Morgs and Eymorgs of Sigma Draconis.
Kollos the Medusan
Gem the Empath (remarkably human looking)
Vians (the OTHER bumpy-headed aliens)
Tholians!
The remarkably human-looking Fabrini of Yo Mama.
The malicious swirly ball of hate (DotD)
The remarkably human-looking Platonians who are douchebags except for Alexander
The fast, but still remarkably human looking Scalosians.

*Alien Watch sublist: omnipotent aliens!
**By request

 

[Poltargyst]

• Additional stupidity is that Crewman Compton just drinks the Scalosian water – thus confirming the reputation of the behaviour of inexperienced Starfleet officers first hinted at in The Man Trap

And continued in the Naked Time. This made me laugh, great point. The Federation does not have great Hazmat or security protocols.

 

[Pauln6]

The Wink of an Eye was a joyous episode when I was a kid even if, as an adult, a lot of plot points leave you scratching your head. It has a memorable visual trick that we chatted about endlessly although I find it hard to imagine that sex with different species has a greater success than fertility treatments.

Deela is a lot of fun though. A good foil for Kirk. Even she can't obscure some very obvious similarities with By Any Other Name. I do feel that as two-parters both stories could have diverged and taken on more distinctive characters.

Of course we mustn't overlook that a speedy little Kirk Jr out there somewhere getting ready to join the Guardians of the Galaxy.