"Way To Eden" always seems to get a bad rap

[Cakes488]

"Headin' out to EDEN (Yeahhh BROTHER!)
Headin' out to EDEN (Yeahhh BROTHER!)

No more troubles in my body or my mind
Gonna live like a king on whatever I find

Eat all the fruit and throw away the rine...

Yeahhh-ehhhh brother....yeah..."



"Stiff man puttin' my mind in jail
and the judge bang the gavel and
say "no bail".

Gonna lick his hand and WAAAG my tail!"



Priceless.

The music's not half bad, imo. Heyyyy brother.....And hippies will always turn up in some form. Who says they can't exist again.

I'm gonna wrap my knuckles and jump for joy, I got a clean bill of health from Dr. McCoy.

I've loved that line since I heard it and this episode DOES have a great concept even if some of you abhor the execution...you should agree with at least that much.

And how can you not love the lyrics to the little ditties? I mean this is Star Trek's Tommy...Star Trek "the musical", go with it brothers and sisters. So even if you can't stand the music or the singin...you should agree with at least the lyrics are sound and even somewhat clever.

Me and my brother just referenced this ep last week...we were agreeing about something and he said "we reach, we reach" in his way to eden guy voice...

 

[MikeH92467]

I always liked the exchange between Scotty and Kirk, where an exasperated Scotty says "Why must the young mind always be undisciplined?" and Kirk replies with a bit of nostalgic tolerance "I got into some trouble at that age myself."

 

[Michael]

Re: "Way To Eden" always seems to get a bad rep

The Way to Eden is one of my favorite episodes in all of Trek! It may actually be the episode I watched the most over the years (well, that and Space Seed). I love love love the songs and the adorable silliness of the storyline. And I agree with those who said that there's a rather interesting concept at the heart of this episode. Plus, Chekov is my favorite secondary character and this is more or less a Chekov episode.

Having said that, I would have loved to see Fontana's original Joanna script realized.

 

[Vance]

Not realy.

Maybe "That's not been my experience" would have worked better at makin' your point WITHOUT unintentionally calling me a liar.

Herbert!

 

[MANT!]

Originally Posted by Beyond Antares
The music's not half bad, imo. Heyyyy brother.....And hippies will always turn up in some form. Who says they can't exist again.

Sir, you need to come up here in Northern California, many never left!! and they kept breedin' like rabbits.....

Some of the old mining towns around here have an eradication program for them..

 

[Chrisisall]

Herbert!

....I shall try to be less rigid in my thinking.

 

[Tribbles]

After reading this thread, I watched the episode. I actually enjoyed it! I found Chekov and his girl a little boring, but other than that, I thought the episode was rather amusing. The music didn't bother me at all-- I thought it was cute in a silly way (and Adam is SUCH a ham). I loved that, out of all people, Spock was the one who seemed to connect with them (for logical reasons, of course).

I was genuinely sad at the end of the episode when Eden turned out to be uninhabitable. Paradise is rarely how we imagine it...

 

[bbailey861]

I also just finished watching this episode again after reading through this thread. I thought that story concept was good, especially for the time period it was in. That being said, it was horribly done. It would have been vastly better without any of the songs and would have probably been excellent if D.C. Fontana's original story had been allowed to survive. It is an episode of the times that hasn't aged well.

 

[Chrisisall]

It is an episode of the times that hasn't aged well.

I just checked " Disagree Strongly."

 

[Timo]

Ditto. Much like Vic Fontaine's joint in DS9, the setting here is a rare example of exotic science fiction for me: I never experienced the era of lounge lizards or the Age of Aquarius. It's not an age issue - it just didn't happen where I live. So it's far more "out there" for me than a bumpy-headed alien wielding a raygun... And thus quite enjoyable. The feeling of utterly false nostalgia is overwhelming, in a warm and fuzzy way.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Iowagirl]

Well, I like that "Herbert" thing, I like the hippies and their quest, I like Spock getting all sympathetic, I like Kirk feeling rather uncomfortable around these people but in the end understanding what they're looking for, and I even like...(sighs heavily)...the music. Not such a bad episode after all....

 

[siskokid888]

I remember reading that Walter Koenig felt this ep showed how the makers of the show didn't give a crap anymore, especially where the character of Chekov was involved. According to him, Chekov was supposed to be the "hip" younger character as compared to Kirk, Spock and the others, and here he is portrayed as an uptight establishment type, and Spock is the "hip" one. I guess he felt Chekov should have been connecting with the "hippies", not Spock.

 

[QuasarVM]

Well, I like that "Herbert" thing, I like the hippies and their quest, I like Spock getting all sympathetic, I like Kirk feeling rather uncomfortable around these people but in the end understanding what they're looking for, and I even like...(sighs heavily)...the music. Not such a bad episode after all....

Ohhoho...

...yes it is.

 

[JustKate]

I remember reading that Walter Koenig felt this ep showed how the makers of the show didn't give a crap anymore, especially where the character of Chekov was involved. According to him, Chekov was supposed to be the "hip" younger character as compared to Kirk, Spock and the others, and here he is portrayed as an uptight establishment type, and Spock is the "hip" one. I guess he felt Chekov should have been connecting with the "hippies", not Spock.

That's odd, because Chekov never struck me as "hip," not even a little bit. Young does not equal hip. He always seemed to me to be conscientious, eager and a bit of a Eagle Scout, none of which are bad things to be but that most definitely are not hip. Maybe they should be, but they aren't.

Other people in this thread have mentioned that one of the things that bothers them about the episode was how out-of-character Chekov acts, and maybe this is so. All I can say is that he seems perfectly in character to me. Maybe I have an overdeveloped Herbert-dar?

 

[MikeH92467]

Chekov is young and a bit brash, but still a bright and dedicated young officer. The space hippies force him to confront the fact that he has given away some of his individuality to pursue his career. If he came across as extra stiff, I think that's really just because of the contrast with the "if it feels good do it" ethos of the space hippies.

 

[Anji]

I root for that episode when I watch it, you know what I mean? I just keep on hoping the plot is going to develop a little more, go deeper into the conflict between the hippie and establishment subcultures and then it just... dies.

I mean, all of a sudden it has a traditional Star Trek ending put on it. It always made me think there might have been an alternative ending that the NBC censors killed.

 

[Jonas Grumby]

I agree with DiaboliKate and MikeH92467 above. Chekov may have seemed a bit "stiffer" than usual, but he was still in character. I mean, look at the situation. In an environment where he is normally surrounded by his fellow crewmates who quite naturally approve of his decision to devote his life to Starfleet, he suddenly finds himself reunited with a woman for whom he still has deep feelings who strongly disapproves of that choice. I'm not surprised he got a bit defensive and "stiff."

 

[Dusty Ayres]

Why do some come down on this show so harshly for, I wonder?

Because it's a piece of shit episode that somebody came up with in an attempt to be cool, hip and current (yeah, a future Earth that's somewhat like a utopia [by our standards] is oppressive and militaristic!)

If only they had found the Baku's planet...

Why? So that they could infect and kill off the Baku, too, thus doing the So'na's job for them? The Baku don't need that crap in their lives. Also, Sevrin's people were just a bunch of lazy morons who would have done nothing all day but 'eat all of the fruit, and throw away the rind', unlike the Baku, who still work to provide for themselves even though they are immortal. When you get down to it, Sevrin's people are just bored 'upper class' kids playing at being revolutionaries, but are really just full of shit overall.

 

[PhasersOnStun]

I like it! I like space hippies!

I think this episode is fun. I don't take it too seriously, and I don't mind if my sci-fi is fluff sometimes. I think the "cringeworthy" songs are part of it's charm--and I believe that this episode is charming in it's fluffy way, not "so bad it's good."

And again...c'mon...how can you not love Space Hippies!?!

 

[RandyS]

Ugh.. Space Hippies.

This is probably the only TOS episode that feels dated to me.

I do admit it feels dated but I do love it. It really is an episode that uses humor well.

Of course it feels dated, that's WHY I love it.