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What is THE Worst continuity error in Trek history..?!

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But they don't have emotions!

They do have emotions. They just work to control them.

Only thing about the whole Pon Farr business I liked was the fact that it implied that Vulcans only had sex very rarely. I think they consider the whole thing distasteful. Compared to us sex obsessed humans that is alien.

I'm not so sure. But it definitely seemed like they had sex more often than just during Pon Farr time.
 
Yes, Vulcans have emotions. It's been stated many times throughout Trek.

Kor
 
Purging of emotional connections really (how it seemed in TMP). But that should tell you that your average everyday Vulcan does have emotion.
We really don't know how common Kolinahr is. When I first saw TMP I assumed that it was something pretty much all Vulcans did at some point, but in retrospect that doesn't need to be the case.

In any case, there's a lot of talk about Vulcan lack of emotions in Star Trek. I prefer to take this at face value. They are mostly emotionless. I know there are some interpretations that say that they're just pretending and really have emotions, but to me that cheapens Vulcans and makes them less alien.
 
I prefer the lack of emotions to show how alien Vulcans are. Duelling to death and winning women like trophies. Good job Vulcans, very logical.

Not to mention that whole thing never made any sense. The whole concept of dying of blue balls is bloody absurd. I guess it sucks to be a widower on Vulcan. Or maybe they duel each other to death so that at least some of them get to survive...

Lack of emotions - nah humans can do that as well, nothing alien it.
Dying of green ballitis - definitely alien!

Solution in my head canon, all Vulcan males are bisexual, no pretty gal around, grab the nearest guy instead lol
Although Spock seems to have escaped the 'I have to find a mate' mantra. Another reason why IMO JJ blowing up Vulcan sucked. All those males going ape shit when their cycle is drawing near.
 
But they don't have emotions!

Only thing about the whole Pon Farr business I liked was the fact that it implied that Vulcans only had sex very rarely. I think they consider the whole thing distasteful. Compared to us sex obsessed humans that is alien.

Implied perhaps, but it was not the writer of Amok Time intent. After all its illogical to ignore the sexual urge and pretend it does not exist. Going to the loo is messy, but no one ignores that! lol
 
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We really don't know how common Kolinahr is. When I first saw TMP I assumed that it was something pretty much all Vulcans did at some point, but in retrospect that doesn't need to be the case.

In any case, there's a lot of talk about Vulcan lack of emotions in Star Trek. I prefer to take this at face value. They are mostly emotionless. I know there are some interpretations that say that they're just pretending and really have emotions, but to me that cheapens Vulcans and makes them less alien.

If Vulcans were born emotionless than Surak had no need to do his thing. Repressing emotions is not the same as not having any in the first place, none of the TV shows or movies supported that view. But it appears Vulcans do not correct the myth of 'Vulcans don't/can't lie' and 'Vulcans have no emotions' to offworlders.
 
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If Vulcans were born emotionless than Surak had no need to do his thing.
They are not born emotionless, but they start practicing getting rid of emotions as small children. By the time they're adults most of them have pretty much succeeded in this.
Repressing emotions is not the same as not having any in the first place, none of the TV shows supported that view.
Yes they do. It has been said over and over again.
Vulcans do not correct the myth of Vulcans don't/can't lie and Vulcans have no emotions to offworlders.
Vulcans do not lie is obviously a lie, but I don't think that Vulcans do not have emotions is.

Now practically, they probably have some faint traces of emotions, but I really do not buy the idea that they're merely controlling their emotions. A Vulcan mind is in a state of perpetual rational calmness.
 
Now practically, they probably have some faint traces of emotions, but I really do not buy the idea that they're merely controlling their emotions. A Vulcan mind is in a state of perpetual rational calmness.

The shows really don't agree with you.

There's Sybok from The Final Frontier, the V'tosh Ka'tur folks from Enterprise, there's Sarek showing pride in Spock in "Journey to Babel". There's Soval getting obviously emotional and raising his voice in "Broken Bow".

There's the disease that strips away their emotional control in "Sarek"/"Unification I".
 
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The shows really don't agree with you.

There's Sybok from The Final Frontier, the folks from Enterprise, there's Sarek showing pride in Spock in "Journey to Babel". There's Soval getting obviously emotional and raising his voice in "Broken Bow".

There's the disease that strips away their emotional control in "Sarek"/"Unification I".
Sybok and the 'rebel Vulcans' From ENT obviously rejected Surak's teachings, they wanted to feel emotions.
As I said, purging of emotions isn't perfect. I'm sure that there are moments when some emotions surface. But most of the time they are pretty emotionless. And I really don't get what Sarek's dementia has to do with this.
 
Not to mention what both Sarek and Spock Prime say in Star Trek 09.

Yes, Sarek says "Emotions run deep within our race. In many ways, more deeply than in Humans. Logic offers a serenity Humans seldom experience. The control of feelings, so that they do not control you."

This closely echoes something that Sarek said in TAS, actually.

Then there is this exchange between Vulcans in the VOY Episode "Gravity:"
YOUNG TUVOK: You speak in riddles because the truth frightens you.
VULCAN MASTER: You're right, it does frighten me. You are surprised to hear a Vulcan master admit to having emotions?
YOUNG TUVOK: Yes.
VULCAN MASTER: Emotions can be a powerful tool. To deny their existence is illogical. But you must learn to control them.

And the following insight into the strong nature of Vulcan emotions, from the same episode:
PARIS: Tuvok, everyone feels a little insane when they fall in love, but it's worth the risk.
TUVOK: For you, perhaps. But I am Vulcan. My natural emotions are erratic, volatile. If I don't control them, they will control me.

(Source: Chakoteya.net)

Kor
 
We really don't know how common Kolinahr is. When I first saw TMP I assumed that it was something pretty much all Vulcans did at some point, but in retrospect that doesn't need to be the case.

In any case, there's a lot of talk about Vulcan lack of emotions in Star Trek. I prefer to take this at face value. They are mostly emotionless. I know there are some interpretations that say that they're just pretending and really have emotions, but to me that cheapens Vulcans and makes them less alien.

Vulcans at the core have more intense emotions than humans. That's why they work so hard to suppress emotions. We can function with meditation but they can't. We don't exactly know what would happen to a Vulcan crying over a dead loved one but they would be more overwhelmed than a human. It doesn't make them any less alien. I think Kolinhar is something very few Vulcans can achieve.

It's interesting the myth that Vulcans only have sex every 7 years gets passed around both in and out of universe. T'Pol said that in Fallen Hero but it's one of those BS things she says about Vulcans (like that they don't worry, etc). Personally, I don't think they have sex as often as humans but it's definitely more than just during Pon Farr. Would they find the whole thing distasteful? I doubt it. Remember that they're touch telepaths. They form bonds with their mates. If anything, their experience with sex must be richer than humans. Imagine feeling your partner's emotions during the deed.

It's ironic that the writers of Amok Time didn't think that deeply of Pon Farr but it has become a continuity lightning rod. Not so much over here but on IMDB and Triaxian Silk (which isn't so active anymore), some were very angry about ENT introducing female pon farr. I know they go by what Saavik said in Search for Spock. But in the Cloud Minders, Spock did say all Vulcans are affected by pon farr. If you interpret his words to mean they're directly affected, then women can get it too. Also, the idea that they MUST go back to Vulcan in order to get rid of the seven year itch doesn't make much sense if the partner is nearby.
 
Vulcans at the core have more intense emotions than humans. That's why they work so hard to suppress emotions. We can function with meditation but they can't. We don't exactly know what would happen to a Vulcan crying over a dead loved one but they would be more overwhelmed than a human. It doesn't make them any less alien. I think Kolinhar is something very few Vulcans can achieve.
At the core, yes. But they mostly get rid of these emotions. I think Kolinhar is common, kind of a right of passage. Marking you as a responsible adult.

But I don't think it is only us who disagree on this, I think different writers over the years have interpreted the situation differently. Spock almost always seemed calm and he has some trouble understanding emotions. It really didn't seem like he was constantly struggling with intense feelings. When they planned Phase II, the character of Spock was to be replaced with Xon. The idea was that as a full Vulcan Xon really had not much understanding of emotions, but desperately wanted to understand them in order to get better along with his human ship mates (and thus be good at his job. It's all logical.) Much of the character concept was later used in the form of Data. So at least at that point Roddenberry's idea was that Vulcans really didn't have human-like emotions.

Tuvok seems to fit 'controlling emotions' idea better. I know he's a fan favourite, but I never really liked him that much (granted, to this day I have seen only a fraction of VOY episodes, as I didn't really like the show.) Instead of being calm, he often seemed to be mildly annoyed.

As for Enterprise (somehow, I watched the entire series) handling of Vulcans was a mess. I really didn't like them. T'pol was actually okay, as she seemed mostly calm. But overall the Vulcan in that show didn't seem like the same species as Spock.

Anyway. It is really not being right or wrong interpretation, it is more about my preferred depiction of Vulcans. It is perfectly possible that by now most writers disagree with me on this as well.

It's interesting the myth that Vulcans only have sex every 7 years gets passed around both in and out of universe. T'Pol said that in Fallen Hero but it's one of those BS things she says about Vulcans (like that they don't worry, etc).
I don't think it's BS. Vulcans don't lie, remember? ;)
 
^ Seems obvious from TMP. You heard the Vulcan master, she said that Spock "labored long" to achieve Kolinahr. That's not something that you do every day.
 
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