Question about ESP and telepaths in TOS

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Okay, so he blusters.

 

[Alencar1990]

(Oh, one quick posting tip - when you're replying to multiple posters at around the same time, try to group your replies into one post rather than making a new post for each reply. I'm no mod or anything - and the mods here are QUITE kind and good people - but in case you do decide to stay long term as we all hope, you might run across a reminder from them about that, and I thought I'd offer it here.)

Hey! Thanks for the tip! This is a much better way to reply, for sure! And thanks for the welcome to! I was looking foward to debate Trek the way I debate my other favorite franchises. This place seems nice to do It.

With both Gary and Charlie, the point was to depict a tragic outcome, not an optimal one. It wasn't about Kirk making the right choice, it was about Kirk being left with no choice. Despite how The Wrath of Khan would later give Kirk the cocky line about not believing in no-win scenarios, TOS often put him in just such scenarios and didn't shy away from tragedy.

Yeah, he had no choice with Charlie, anyways. I likedthe change of tone. Coming from Star Trek Enterprise, Archer seemed to win almost all the time. TOS can certainly use this to create even deeper narratives.. Already noticed the series is not shy of killing some secondary characters, at least to make space feel like a more dangerous place..

One of the less frequently recurring tropes involves what one might broadly call "psychic powers." Other than the Vulcans, virtually any race or individual with such abilities depicted on TOS will have been corrupted by their abilities in some manner - some great, some small. It's allegory for corruption and power as you've identifiied, and quite interesting to see on screen. It's not always just psychic abilities either - see "Space Seed," which you have coming up in the later first season, for an example of enhanced non-supernatural powers among a group.

Yeah! It's a great tool for allegory. Just wondered If there were more connected lore regarding this, but I got the point of an episodic "alien of the day" kind of vibe. I'm amazed by the amount of lore this franchise seems to have! It's like a historian/science nerd paradise! hahah

 

[Christopher]

Sure, psi powers can be good for allegory, but I think the real reason TOS went to that well so often is that it was inexpensive. Showing telepathy doesn't require visual effects, just acting, and telekinetic powers can be depicted with pantomime to show people's bodies being psionically moved around, simple wire work for levitation, or basic jump-cut and dissolve effects to make things appear or disappear.

 

[Warp Core Breach]

The Twilight Zone and TOS, at least TOS s1 have a lot in common. Charlie X could be considered an expanded (and better done, imho) version of "It's a Good Life", for example. Many other examples there, as I'm sure has been covered many times before here.