WARNING: "SPOILERS" AHEAD! 
Started going back over The Original Series on Netflix. First up was "The Man Trap" and it was an interesting watch through modern eyes. This story was basically a simple monster hunt, yet by today's standards there was a shocking absence of empathy even after they knew it was an intelligent being attempting to stave off extinction.
It was really noticeable in the conference room scene when Professor Crater informs them that the creature needs love as much as salt to survive. Not even Spock suggested trying to communicate with it. In fact, he did not even acknowledge the "creature" had any semblance of "humanity."
I would imagine the negotiations would have been pretty straightforward given that all "Nancy" needed was salt and salt is generally plentiful. The unknown alien being was acting from an understandable fear. The Enterprise crew should have reacted better than they did.
I do note the series (and franchise) does becomes more sensitive and empathetic as time went on. Season one's "Devil In The Dark" for example was a somewhat similar story handled much more sympathetically. Of course, we can only chalk this up to the foundation was still not dry (or even necessarily laid) on Gene Roddenberry's "vision" yet. So, in retrospect, the theme of an archeological dig is fitting.
I would also say the quality of acting is still superior to that of most episodes the franchise produced overall. You can tell it was looked at as drama and not melodrama. At least initially. The direction was also damn good. I wish they would have stuck with the handheld stuff (whoever did it was fantastic). Almost as good as Fred J. Koenekamp's work on "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.".
Trivia: On this day, March 30 1967, "The Alternative Factor" first aired.
Started going back over The Original Series on Netflix. First up was "The Man Trap" and it was an interesting watch through modern eyes. This story was basically a simple monster hunt, yet by today's standards there was a shocking absence of empathy even after they knew it was an intelligent being attempting to stave off extinction.
It was really noticeable in the conference room scene when Professor Crater informs them that the creature needs love as much as salt to survive. Not even Spock suggested trying to communicate with it. In fact, he did not even acknowledge the "creature" had any semblance of "humanity."
I would imagine the negotiations would have been pretty straightforward given that all "Nancy" needed was salt and salt is generally plentiful. The unknown alien being was acting from an understandable fear. The Enterprise crew should have reacted better than they did.
I do note the series (and franchise) does becomes more sensitive and empathetic as time went on. Season one's "Devil In The Dark" for example was a somewhat similar story handled much more sympathetically. Of course, we can only chalk this up to the foundation was still not dry (or even necessarily laid) on Gene Roddenberry's "vision" yet. So, in retrospect, the theme of an archeological dig is fitting.
I would also say the quality of acting is still superior to that of most episodes the franchise produced overall. You can tell it was looked at as drama and not melodrama. At least initially. The direction was also damn good. I wish they would have stuck with the handheld stuff (whoever did it was fantastic). Almost as good as Fred J. Koenekamp's work on "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.".
Trivia: On this day, March 30 1967, "The Alternative Factor" first aired.
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) Gene's vision was there but having a failed pilot and a revamp, I also suspect the writers had to deal with so much more to get anything onto the screen at all in terms of adult storylines, since the show was hailed at the time as an adult, more intelligent sci-fi show instead of the usual kiddie paper mache monster romps (e.g. 'Lost in Space'). And not just for story, but character - Martin Luther King Jr was right in Uhura just being on the bridge being significant. Without the real history and social context, any kid today would just slag the character as 'glorified telephone receptionist', which is unfair. But said kid did not grow up nor read up on the 1960s to understand the genuine importance of having a presence at all. And later seasons would squeak in some lines - while I rag on season 2's "Adonis", one such line of worthiness is Spock stressing the importance of how only Uhura could get the job done. That's big, regardless. TV has evolved since then, but without stuff like this and other shows we would never have seen the industry evolve and improve at all.
