Star Trek TOS Re-Watch

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

If they wanted to end it on a funny note, what could they have joked about instead? Somebody being bitten by the bad dog and "oh, now you're going to turn into one, like a vampire"? "Imagine if Jim had bitten you, you'd turn into Kirk." "One Kirk is quite enough, thank you very much." "Some might say, more than enough." "What was that?" "Nothing, sir." (cue laughter)

 

[Airin]

The original dialogue at the end was posted here: http://orionpressfanzines.com/articles/enemywithin.htm
It's obvious that the Spock character wasn't completely nailed down in this early episodes. For example the scene in "Mudd's Women" where he ogles the women and smiles as they pass by (though of course, that could be explained by the drug affecting Spock too, despite Mudd believing it doesn't).

 

[Tallguy]

The original dialogue at the end was posted here: http://orionpressfanzines.com/articles/enemywithin.htm

You know, that's not bad. It's kind of defusing the situation between Kirk and Janice. It's a bit of an olive branch. "This wasn't your fault. And we're OK."

WAY better than creepy Spock!

 

[Lord Garth]

I ignore Spock's line at the end. To do otherwise invites a rabbit hole I don't want to go down as a viewer. They shouldn't have had the line in there.

I'll quote Grace Lee Whitney's thoughts on the subject. (link)

"I can't imagine any more cruel and insensitive comment a man (or Vulcan) could make to a woman who has just been through a sexual assault! But then, some men really do think that women want to be raped. So the writer of the script (ostensibly Richard Matheson – although the line could have been added by Gene Roddenberry or an assistant scribe) gives us a leering Mr. Spock who suggests that Yeoman Rand enjoyed being raped and found the evil Kirk attractive!"​

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

If they'd played his amorousness for humor, like a cute sappy Kirk writing Janice a love poem, serenading outside her quarters, no violence, just sweetness (more "Naked Time" Kevin Riley than maniac), would the line have worked better?

 

[Ray Hardgrit]

I ignore Spock's line at the end. To do otherwise invites a rabbit hole I don't want to go down as a viewer. They shouldn't have had the line in there.

Yeah, the rest of the episode is too good to permit that line to spoil it.

 

[Lord Garth]

If they'd played his amorousness for humor, like a cute sappy Kirk writing Janice a love poem, serenading outside her quarters, no violence, just sweetness, would the line have worked better?

It wouldn't have worked better at all. I think Spock should not have commented about that, period. It would've been in poor taste no matter how they played it. I thought Kirk's line of "The imposter is back where he belongs, let's forget him," worked well enough for me as a final word on the subject.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

There's a strange bit at the end of this episode, where Spock implies that Rand might have enjoyed being assaulted by the bad Kirk. The original script had Rand confessing it herself; still pretty wrong, but not as bad as what happens in the rewriting. I wonder why they changed that.

Sounds rank either way it's sliced. I'll check out the script to see if it's similar to Rand saying ''Yes, the impostor had some interesting qualities.''

Thank God Spock never taunted Uhura about her TRISKELION experiences. It'd be great cause to fire him in 2019 or 2266.

It wouldn't have worked better at all. I think Spock should not have commented about that, period.

Spock was still developing and establishing himself show by show, of course. The same show which shows him mocking Rand also has him explaining his emotional duality vert effectively. Blame it on his human side?

 

[Phaser Two]

In all of TOS there are about five or six lines of dialogue I can't explain or reconcile. That's unbelievable for a 79-episode TV show with loads of complex plotting and intricate teleplays.

Spock's sneering comment to Rand is one of them. For me, it has to be ignored. Nothing justifies it. Maybe the next TOS-R will eliminate it, as controversial as altering dialogue might be.

 

[Kor]

Yeah, I also think it's safe to ignore Spock's comment. As a mental exercise to "explain" it, I was thinking in terms of "early installment weirdness," and both Spock himself and Vulcans in general not yet having had much character/story development at that point, and perhaps Spock as the extraterrestrial outsider was still unfamiliar with the nuances of human social interaction and social cues, and what's appropriate and what isn't.

But "The Naked Time" had already revealed that his human female ancestor previously alluded to in WNMHGB was actually his very own mother who raised him. So he should have known better. Then again, there are plenty of real-life human males who have poor sensitivities about things like this despite having been raised by human mothers.

Kor

 

[Warp Core Breach]

Nope. But now it's something I'll be adding to my To Watch List.

Thanks!

EDITED TO ADD: Aside from re-watching Old Trek, I'm working my way through Babylon 5 for the first time (I'd put that off for way too long), a bunch of Michelle Yeoh films from the '80s to Today, and I've just started watching another '60s show called Dark Shadows. Up until now, I'd only ever seen bits and pieces of it. But, in one day, I've somehow already watched six episodes! I'm hooked. I figure if I could watch 800 episodes of Star Trek, I can watch 1,200 episodes of Dark Shadows.

I think I'll slot The Intruder between seasons of TOS.

Dude, good choices. But you can't really watch Dark Shadows sans knowledge of The Collinsport Fly.

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[mb22]

Yeah, I also think it's safe to ignore Spock's comment. As a mental exercise to "explain" it, I was thinking in terms of "early installment weirdness," and both Spock himself and Vulcans in general not yet having had much character/story development at that point, and perhaps Spock as the extraterrestrial outsider was still unfamiliar with the nuances of human social interaction and social cues, and what's appropriate and what isn't.

But "The Naked Time" had already revealed that his human female ancestor previously alluded to in WNMHGB was actually his very own mother who raised him. So he should have known better. Then again, there are plenty of real-life human males who have poor sensitivities about things like this despite having been raised by human mothers.

Kor

"Enemy Within" was written and produced before "Naked Time" despite the latter being broadcast earlier. Basically "early installment weirdness" as you state.

 

[Tallguy]

And of course the gaping plot hole in The Enemy Within is "Why don't they use shuttlecraft?"

 

[Warped9]

And of course the gaping plot hole in The Enemy Within is "Why don't they use shuttlecraft?"

Real world answer: the shuttlecraft exterior hadn’t been built yet.

In-universe answer: they were supposed to be delivered Tuesday, but kept getting pushed back.

 

[Tallguy]

Real world answer: the shuttlecraft exterior hadn’t been built yet.

That's an answer for not showing the shuttle. It's not a good answer for not seeming to know that they are there.

 

[Airin]

That's an answer for not showing the shuttle. It's not a good answer for not seeming to know that they are there.

Maybe they had not decided yet that the Enterprise had shuttles. It would have been easy to insert a line about the shuttles "not working in these atmospheric conditions" or something like that.

 

[Tallguy]

Maybe they had not decided yet that the Enterprise had shuttles. It would have been easy to insert a line about the shuttles "not working in these atmospheric conditions" or something like that.

I really wonder about that. I mean the detail had been on the model since the first pilot. I can understand an individual writer not knowing that the shuttles would be there, but those scripts went through a LOT of re-writes.

 

[Airin]

I really wonder about that. I mean the detail had been on the model since the first pilot. I can understand an individual writer not knowing that the shuttles would be there, but those scripts went through a LOT of re-writes.

In that case, it's clearly an oversight, probably from Roddenberry. He rewrote this episode extensively, and was also the one who insisted on adding a subplot with the landing party freezing on the planet.

 

[Warped9]

When Jefferies designed the ship it seems self-evident given the design of the aft end of the secondary hull that he had some sort of auxiliary craft in mind. But likely that hadn’t been nailed down yet in any detail yet. So they either forgot about it or deliberately chose not to mention it.

 

[Lord Garth]

The shuttle crafts hadn't yet been depicted, which is why I chose to leave the question out of my review. I just go with they hadn't yet been established. And because of that, no one in the 1966 audience would've been wondering about it. It was assumed that these episodes would be watched once or twice, then never again. Not that I'd be here typing about it almost 60 years later.

If "The Enemy Within" had been made after "The Galileo Seven", then it's a point I would've brought up and held against the episode.