The Return of the Archons - 45th Anniversary this week

[Wingsley]

Yes, the common "starship trap" trope seems to be that the Enterprise investigates an inhabited planet, finds some totalitarian force at work there, and then the landing party and ship come under attack. The totalitarian force dominates/controls the locals, so Kirk decides he has the authority to override Gen'l Order One and it's time for the Enterprise and/or landing party to kick some totalitarian ass. And since Kirk never seems to get demoted or thrown in the brig for it, Starfleet must be cool with it.

Can anybody think of any other TOS examples like "Bread and Circuses" where the Enterprise abides by the Prime Directive? The only one that comes to mind for me right now (and this is splitting hairs) in "The Cloud Minders". Kirk does abduct Plasus, and the abduction is both crucial to his mission and does indirectly result in changes being made to Adana society, but if that can be called interference than it must be minimal.

"The Mark of Gideon" and "The Omega Glory" come to mind for me. Kirk only bothers to interfere in Omega IV society after Capt. Tracey starts mowing down Yangs. And Spock could have used his phaser to stun the guards on Gideon. It would've been more efficient than a neck pinch, but he choose to tread lightly in rescuing the captain.

Any others?

 

[Timo]

"Patterns of Force" is little different from "Bread and Circuses" in this respect. In both, Kirk helps remove an outside influence (and a Federation one at that) without directly dictating a change of course for the local society. And neither involves any sort of danger to the starship and the crew, beyond the immediate plight of the landing party.

What is it with these well-intentioned powerful entities that force humanoids to live in ways Kirk disapproves of? Why do they always threaten Kirk's ship with force that prevents her from leaving? On one hand, a little chat with the landing party should reveal that Kirk is obligated to leave if the entity insists; on the other, shouldn't the aliens be in control of forces that can destroy the intruder outright, or repel her, without the needlessly prolonged phase of keeping her on a decaying orbit?

It's probably a case of these entities being so used to controlling humanoids that they mistake control for the best way to deal with Kirk, too.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[BillJ]

Can anybody think of any other TOS examples like "Bread and Circuses" where the Enterprise abides by the Prime Directive? The only one that comes to mind for me right now (and this is splitting hairs) in "The Cloud Minders". Kirk does abduct Plasus, and the abduction is both crucial to his mission and does indirectly result in changes being made to Adana society, but if that can be called interference than it must be minimal.

I'm sure there are some laws that Kirk broke in dealing with Ardana, but I'm not sure the Prime Directive would be among them. Ardana was mentioned as being a Federation member...