Captain Kirk falls in love with a Native American woman in this possibly questionable episode. However, aside from a few unflattering stereotypes, the story is not bad, and it was reasonably well received by audiences. The 60s were a thing, and Kirk embraces his inner flower child in a beautiful wilderness setting. For a character … More Dances with Memories, TOS: S3E3 “The Paradise Syndrome”
Exploring the origins of a specific cultural belief often turns into a chicken or egg question. Historians can speculate whether a society adopted a new creed based on the environmental pressures of the time, or if it was a natural progression of their already existing values. The reality is most likely an intricate combination of … More Chicken or Pledge, TOS: S2E23 “The Omega Glory”
If “A Piece of the Action” was a cursory view of cultural contamination, this episode’s adventure is a fully realized infection of the worst disease in philosophy. Much like the mafia planet, the citizens of planet Ekos were introduced to an outside viewpoint by a Starfleet bungle. This time, a historian and cultural observer John … More A Shift in Power, TOS: S2E21 “Patterns of Force”
With great power comes great…capacity to make things worse. Starfleet wields amazing strength due to its superior weaponry and the governing capability of a united political force. With so much influence, it is not surprising that many powerful organizations find themselves in dilemmas when weaker states look to them for help. Is it immoral to … More Friend of my Enemy, TOS: S2E19 “A Private Little War”
The Original Series of Star Trek was ground-breaking for its era, even if many of the stories seem dated by our standards today. During a time when the initial idea of a female captain was rejected, as producers thought a woman would never rise to that level, Gene Roddenberry still pursued his vision of a … More Perception of Progress, TOS: S2E11 “Friday’s Child”
Utopias and dystopias are often explored in science fiction, with speculative storytellers imagining vast possibilities of what the perfect world could look like. One could argue that the first ‘utopia’ story found in many Western cultures is that of the Garden of Eden. However, this legend is not concerned with the inner day to day … More Eternal Childhood of the Forgotten Mind, TOS: S2E5 “The Apple”
A person of strong moral character benefits the society of which he or she is a part, and the society itself was the most influential in fostering the individual’s beneficial traits. The Enterprise crew faced their own test of character, but emerged championing the superior society. When transporting through an ion storm, Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, … More Contract or Character, TOS: S2E4 “Mirror, Mirror”
What more can be said about one of the greatest episodes of Star Trek ever written? “The City on the Edge of Forever” is praised by critics and fans for its perfect combination of emotional depth and inspirational SciFi storytelling. After accidentally injecting himself with an overdose of cordrazine, a delirious Dr. McCoy transports himself … More Timely Treatment, TOS: S1E28 “The City on the Edge of Forever”
Technology has a tendency to sanitize our experience of the world… and distance us. We celebrate machines taking the grunt of our back-breaking physical labor, or completing a hazardous task in place of a human, but when is it more prudent to have a closer relationship with one’s task? Even the art of war has … More The Cost of War, TOS: S1E23 “A Taste of Armageddon”
Responding to a distress call from the human colony on Cestus III, the Enterprise and crew witness the aftermath of a massacre executed by one of the most iconic classic Star Trek aliens: the Gorn. Not so much infamous for its ruthlessness, but more so its ruthless cheesiness, the Gorn episode remains memorable none the … More Gorn in my Side, TOS: S1E18 “Arena”
Hopeless Trekkie 