TOS Rewatch

[Grendelsbayne]

There are very few criminals with this level of insanity anymore, so one on-site doctor is enough to treat them all – other medical consultants, if necessary, could be consulted remotely via subspace. Considering how dangerous these criminals are, and how decent folk probably don't want to have such a place in their backyard, I'm not surprised StarFleet would put it someplace that had good conditions (temperature, gravity) but was otherwise was not qualified for colonization (poisonous atmosphere). Most planets are more likely not right for colonization, but they can still be used. Plus it helps keep the prisoners in since they can't escape outside so once past the force field they can beam someplace.

As for the counter sign, the first time Kirk visited such a place, Simon Van Gelder beamed up and Kirk probably is still taking crap for that. So he added an extra level of security and made sure either he or Spock was on hand to personally make sure that kind of thing didn't happen again. Makes sense to me, given his history.

IMO, Spock should have just stunned them both and sorted them out later, but that's me.

I completely get the benefits of isolation and such, but a *poison* planet still seems like serious overkill. And one doctor on his own has to sleep and ought to get some time off sometimes and can easily have an accident, etc. Even if it was just a single patient, I'd still expect at least two staff just on the general buddy principle.

You're right about van Gelder, though, I'd forgotten about that. That makes much more sense now.

 

[JRTStarlight]

I WAS under the impression there was some staff there, even if we didn't see them. They were probably locked up some place out of sight after Garth took over. But if not, then I'd agree one person, doctor or not, wouldn't be able to handle to whole place 24/7 (or whatever passes for 24/7 on that planet). We did not see any staff even after they regained control of the complex, however - just a lot of extra Enterprise personnel standing around. They may still have been there, but we didn't see them. If they were there, they probably had other duties that had been neglected long enough and so were busy doing them again.

I wasn't suggesting they poisoned the planet, if that's what you mean. Most planets probably come that way, with atmospheres toxic to human life. The asylum was inside a protective dome. And despite the way it may have looked, the force field probably just surrounded the asylum and not the whole planet. If it did cover the whole planet, THAT's what I'd call overkill. But I suspect many authors don't give a lot of thought to the little details like cost analysis, practicality, etc. of every story element they need to make the plot work.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

Yeah, my impression was simply that the planet was always poison. I just think it would make a lot more sense to put your asylum in, say, an empty forest or on a big island or something. Feeling like you need a whole empty planet that's also literally poison just to guarantee the inmates don't run amuck? That's overkill.

 

[JRTStarlight]

It's over kill if you have to poison it yourself, or more work if you have to un-poison it, but considering most planets start out as unfit for humans and with poisonous atmospheres, just leaving it that way makes sense. And it uses one of the many handy planets or moons that couldn't otherwise be used.

You're saying instead of doing that, use a place good for humans but for some reason no humans are in now or will want to go to later. Maybe such places are too rare to dedicate for an asylum, particularly when such a huge percentage of planets and moons unsuitable for large scale colonization might be ideal for a small asylum. I don't see how it's overkill to use something you already have that's already suited for that use.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

Sorry, but that's just not credible. An asylum for a handful of people doesn't need more than a square mile at most. We've seen more free, isolated space than that on Earth which is inhabited by billions (trillions?) of people. There's no need to dump them in a massively hostile environment with a skeleton staff and the nearest help literal light years away. It's a totally unnecessary risk.

 

[Mytran]

Maybe no other planet wanted the worst-of-the-worst criminally insane on their planet?

 

[Grendelsbayne]

Maybe no other planet wanted the worst-of-the-worst criminally insane on their planet?

No planet in the entire Federation? While Federation culture is usually portrayed as extremely humanitarian and forgiving? They let Mudd go free after a simple behavioral therapy that even his doctors weren't sure had actually worked.

Plus, there are plenty of planets that could have the asylum and never need to deal with it at all. Little colonies that only have 1 oe 2 settlements could simply allow it to be placed on another continent. Even more heavily inhabited worlds could probably spare some little used moon. Worst case scenario, you can even put an asylum station in orbit.

 

[Mytran]

If the inmates are as dangerous as stated, having an inhospitable environment is just one extra layer of security. Putting the asylum in orbit or on a moon would require an independent power source, artificial gravity etc. Putting it on the surface of a planet means that the base can take advantage of geothermal energy as a permanent power source.

As for the location of the planet itself; we're not given a lot of information about it in relation to the rest of the Federation. Elba may simply be the best site for a combination of numerous unspoken factors.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield

I came into this one fully prepared for the lack of subtlety to seriously interfere with the story (something that often occurs with this 'heavy' of a message, and something I assume I wouldn't have noticed when I watched it as a kid). But it really actually holds up very well. The emphasis on 'dramatic' trappings (especially having Kirk actually make a theater joke about Lokai's face) sort of undermined things a little bit but it was, I think, more than made up for by the strong visual direction. I love the contrasted shots where Lokai and Bele are arguing and showing only one side of their face, with the first scene featuring one color and the second the other. And I really love the scene of Spock hearing Lokai's story from a distance, with the camera focused entirely on his shadow. The part where Lokai points out that Bele's 'order of things' will never lead to gradual change is poignant and still gripping today, and the scene where Bele can't fathom how anyone could not see the difference between 'black on the right/left side' really is the absolute perfect picture of racism in a nutshell. I also cannot overstate how perfect the ending is, with the two sides too obsessed to ever move on, just going to their deaths on the surface of a barren world already destroyed by their hate. Story and presentation wise, this is possibly the best 'message' episode Star Trek ever did.

I also have to mention the incredible performance we got from Bele particularly. So many times he almost nearly succeeded in portraying that 'veneer' of civilization, of being the 'better' person than 'savage' Lokai, yet still always that powerful undercurrent of inhumanity. There were honestly multiple moments throughout the episode that I literally could not help but see Bele as an apparent precursor to Gul Dukat, and that's possibly the best comparison one could get in the Trek franchise.

There were a few things I found negative or confusing (pretty much all minor):

The repetitive shots of zooming in and out on the Red Alert lights were useless and irritating.
The idea that Bele has been chasing Lokai for 50,000 years (I heard that right, yes?) kind of undercuts Bele's defense that slavery was abandoned thousands of years ago, so everything was fine.
The way that Bele overcame Kirk by 'burning out circuits' is immediately contradicted by him returning control back to Kirk and everything working perfectly.
The idea of a starship being able to 'decontaminate' an entire planet of harmful bacterial life in one go without adversely affecting the environment or any of the people living there is kind of weird.

But overall this was still a very, very strong episode.

 

[johnnybear]

If slavery on Cheron was abandoned thousands of years ago, then to him it would be a very short time ago surely?
JB

 

[Spock's Barber]

If slavery on Cheron was abandoned thousands of years ago, then to him it would be a very short time ago surely?
JB

Yes, didn't Bele say that he was chasing Lokai for 50,000 years? That's a heckuva long time without a potty stop.

 

[johnnybear]

Maybe he already had that in his invisibility sheathed ship my Lord Beard?
JB

 

[Spock's Barber]

Maybe he already had that in his invisibility sheathed ship my Lord Beard?
JB

I think maybe it was Justman who said that the invisible ship was just a budget saver.

 

[johnnybear]

I think maybe it was Justman who said that the invisible ship was just a budget saver.

Did that include every Klingon ship from the first two seasons and The Gorn ship too I wonder?
JB

 

[Mytran]

Now, now: Klingon ships weren't invisible, they were just offscreen. If the camera had pulled back just a smidgen, you would have seen them fine.

As for the Gorn ship, it was at extreme sensor range...

 

[Commishsleer]

Yes, didn't Bele say that he was chasing Lokai for 50,000 years? That's a heckuva long time without a potty stop.

I've reduced that in my own canon to 50 Earth years.
Its not credible that no-one checked back to their own planet in 50 000 years. Even 50 years is stretching it.

 

[scotpens]

Plato's Stepchildren

. . . TOS really did hammer home the idea of Humans being nearly powerless in the face of strange and miraculous beings out there in the universe. Strange, though, that Kirk claims no one has 'the power' where he comes from, when Starfleet has standard ESP tests and ratings (as per WNMHGB).

Extrasensory perception and psychokinesis are two different things.

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield

I came into this one fully prepared for the lack of subtlety to seriously interfere with the story (something that often occurs with this 'heavy' of a message, and something I assume I wouldn't have noticed when I watched it as a kid).

Story? There was no story. Two aliens in theatrical greasepaint makeup come aboard the Enterprise and spout clichés at each other for the next 45 minutes. The contrived "almost-self-destruct" sequence was a cheap and obvious way to pad out the running time of a very thin script and to create artificial suspense (did we really think Kirk was going to blow up his ship?)

Story and presentation wise, this is possibly the best 'message' episode Star Trek ever did.

I couldn't disagree more. This was, without a doubt, the worst "message" episode of the original series (and possibly the entire franchise). It was like having a sermon delivered through a bullhorn.

 

[Commishsleer]

Extrasensory perception and psychokinesis are two different things.


Story? There was no story. Two aliens in theatrical greasepaint makeup come aboard the Enterprise and spout clichés at each other for the next 45 minutes. The contrived "almost-self-destruct" sequence was a cheap and obvious way to pad out the running time of a very thin script and to create artificial suspense (did we really think Kirk was going to blow up his ship?)

I couldn't disagree more. This was, without a doubt, the worst "message" episode of the original series (and possibly the entire franchise). It was like having a sermon delivered through a bullhorn.

I thought the message was great.
I still remember the first time I saw the episode and wondering what the difference was between Bele and Lokai. It had a great impact on me. Maybe you were too clever to fall for it.
And I loved the self-destruct sequence. Great tension. Somewhat diminished by its subsequent failure.
Like Grendelsbayne I like the camera angles and atmosphere. Sure the performances were OTT but it was like theatre and make TOS unique in all the Star Treks.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

Agreed. Also, I can't take any claim that this could possibly be the *worst* message episode in the franchise even remotely seriously, since I also recently rewatced TNG The Last (Lost?) Outpost...

 

[Mytran]

Ah, the neverending quest for the "objectively" worst episode!