This Side of Paradise SEASON 1, EPISODE 24


For the first time in my life, I was happy



Wiki Entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Si...iginal_Series)

Ho hum, another killer episode from this season, with Jill Ireland looking enchanting, and we have the pleasure of seeing Spock fall in love, look at clouds and say what they look like, and act like Kirk is tiresome to him. Plus give some great lines. And a broad Southern accent from McCoy.

A fine episode, exploring an allegory rather than a realistic premise. My only question was why the hell the people decided to leave in the end.

Redshirt Count: 3


Classics -
The Naked Time (S1E04)
The Corbomite Maneuver (S1E10)
Balance of Terror (S1E14)
The Enemy Within (S1E05)
The Squire of Gothos (S1E17)
Arena (S1E18)
Miri (S1E08)
A Taste of Armageddon (S1E23)
Charlie X (S1E02)
Space Seed (S1E22)

Very Good
This Side of Paradise (S1E24)

Decent -
Return of the Archons (S1E21)
Mudd's Women (S1E06)
The Menagerie (S1E11+12)
Shore Leave (S1E15)
Court Martial (S1E20)
The Conscience of the King (S1E13)
Where No Man Has Gone Before (S1E03)
The Man Trap (S1E01)
What Are Little Girls Made Of (S1E07)
Dagger of the Mind (S1E09)
Galileo Seven (S1E16)
Tomorrow Is Yesterday (S1E19)

Another DC Fontana episode. This Side of Paradise is one of many episodes in the franchise in which the logical character struggles to deal with emotions. We saw it earlier in The Naked Time, and the theme will be repeated with Data in TNG and I think also with 7of9 in Voyager. It's great fun to see Spock get snarky with Kirk, and extra lulzy to watch Kirk troll Spock with racial slurs and "yo mamma was an encyclopedia!" zingers.

This episode loses a few points for some loltastic Shatner acting and DeForst Kelly's worst-of-all-time attempt at a Southern accent. Also, I'm penalizing it for completely excessive use of mint in McCoy's mint julep.



Otherwise, it's an excellent Trek episode.

Misc:

Why is the mysterious alien plant that poisons people with spores brought directly to the bridge? How did that seem like a good idea? And why is Kirk the last person on the ship to be affected by the spores?

Also, I've been deficient in pointing out the excellent work we've seen so far by writer/producer Gene L. **** ("The Forgotten Gene").

(note: Gene's last name gets loltastically filtered out by the forum software. I'll let you guess what it is; starts with a C)


Gene C was responsible for creating such classic Star Trek devices as The Prime Directive, Klingons, Khan Noonian Singh, and Zefram Cochrane. He also wrote the top-tier Trek episodes Arena, A Taste of Armageddon, and our next episode, The Devil in the Dark. Gene C also contributed to rewrites and minor tweaks to many scripts.

DeForest Kelly was born and raised in Georgia. Pretty sure his accent was genuine.

Devil In the Dark SEASON 1, EPISODE 25



Wiki Entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil_in_the_Dark

I hate to be repetitive, but a classic. Well-written, acted, good story, though the ecologist in me lols as a creature with a 50,000 year life cycle. That's a SLLLOOOOW evolutionary rate for what turns out to be a highly advanced species.

Side note: Shatner's father died during the making of this one. He talks about it a fair bit in Star Trek Memories, if anyone is interested.

Redshirt Count: 3


Classics -
The Naked Time (S1E04)
The Corbomite Maneuver (S1E10)
Balance of Terror (S1E14)
The Enemy Within (S1E05)
The Squire of Gothos (S1E17)
Devil in the Dark (S1E25)
Arena (S1E18)
Miri (S1E08)
A Taste of Armageddon (S1E23)
Charlie X (S1E02)
Space Seed (S1E22)

Very Good
This Side of Paradise (S1E24)

Decent -
Return of the Archons (S1E21)
Mudd's Women (S1E06)
The Menagerie (S1E11+12)
Shore Leave (S1E15)
Court Martial (S1E20)
The Conscience of the King (S1E13)
Where No Man Has Gone Before (S1E03)
The Man Trap (S1E01)
What Are Little Girls Made Of (S1E07)
Dagger of the Mind (S1E09)
Galileo Seven (S1E16)
Tomorrow Is Yesterday (S1E19)

This is my all-time fav episode.

I'm a Doctor Jim, not a bricklayer. (Does he actually say that?)

Yes, he does. Later after curing the Horta, he says "I'm beginning to think I could cure a rainy day." or something to that effect.

WOW, I was going to post exactly that!

How's the catching up going? I'm itchy to watch more, but cut it down to one a week for now. Two a week feels just right after doing it from the start.

Bones always had the best zingers

13 seconds in...

Have you noticed any pattern on when Kirk wears the green uniform?

Early episodes

This may be my favorite episode thus far. Starts off as a well-paced monster/suspense episode and takes an unexpected pivot into one of the best expressions of Roddenberry's vision of people (and aliens) seeing past their differences. Spock mind-melding with the Horta is well done and "Sometimes I think I could cure a rainy day" is possibly a GOAT McCoy line. For all the jabs I take at Shatner, kudos to him to for letting the show go on despite learning of his father dying.

"It impressed me because it presented the idea, unusual in science fiction then and now, that something weird, and even dangerous, need not be malevolent. That is a lesson that many of today's politicians have yet to learn." --Arthur C. Clarke, on Devil in the Dark

Misc:

Did you update the redshirt count? I'm pretty sure we had at least one get incinerated by molten Horta juice.

This episode feature the first ever use of "I'm a doctor, not a X!"

Gene L. C-word's original script originally stated that the Horta were based on an element other than silicon that would have been an unforgivable error for chemistry nerds.

I thought a guy already there died?

okay, redshirt count: 4

The Vulcan neck pinch really works in real life, but only on cats.

http://io9.com/the-one-myth-about-ca...rue-1469745000

Also,

Is that a new TV show??

It's a fan produced pilot.

I have high hopes for it. Looks way more interesting than anything JJ Abrams is making.

Errand of Mercy SEASON 1, EPISODE 26



Wiki Entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Errand_of_Mercy

I find this one a little dull. On the plus side, this is the first encounter with Klingons. More specifically, we have John Colicos hamming it up nicely as the Klingon commander Kor (and this is the olive-coloured Mexican crossed with Ming the Merciless type of Klingon, not the Cornish pasty-headed type of Klingon), in some sort of preparation for his turn as Baltar in Battlestar Galactica V1, but otherwise it seems a lot of acting for little gain. Best line was the final line from Kor. I did like the presaging of Human-Klingon relations at the end, when the head of the peasants says they will in time become allies.




Redshirt Count: 4

Classics -
The Naked Time (S1E04)
The Corbomite Maneuver (S1E10)
Balance of Terror (S1E14)
The Enemy Within (S1E05)
The Squire of Gothos (S1E17)
Devil in the Dark (S1E25)
Arena (S1E18)
Miri (S1E08)
A Taste of Armageddon (S1E23)
Charlie X (S1E02)
Space Seed (S1E22)

Very Good
This Side of Paradise (S1E24)

Decent -
Return of the Archons (S1E21)
Mudd's Women (S1E06)
The Menagerie (S1E11+12)
Shore Leave (S1E15)
Court Martial (S1E20)
The Conscience of the King (S1E13)
Where No Man Has Gone Before (S1E03)
The Man Trap (S1E01)
What Are Little Girls Made Of (S1E07)
Dagger of the Mind (S1E09)
Galileo Seven (S1E16)
Errand of Mercy (S1E26)
Tomorrow Is Yesterday (S1E19)

Another episode from Gene C. It's a good concept, but I agree that it kinda drags, and the Organians were always really unlikeable. John Colicos as Kor is a little over the top, but it works well when he's alongside Shatner.

Misc:

John Colicos reprised his role as Kor for DS9, which I think makes him the only person to play both an old-school and modern klingon. Kor also appears in an animated episode, but it appears that someone else did the voice acting.

Colicos, William Campbell (Koloth - The Trouble with Tribbles), and Michael Ansara (Kang - Day of the Dove) all reprised their roles (in modern form) in the DS9 episode Blood Oath. Kor also appeared in 2 more DS9 episodes.

I stand corrected.

The Alternative Factor SEASON 1, EPISODE 27



Wiki Entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alternative_Factor

This was bloody awful

Redshirt Count: 4

Classics -
The Naked Time (S1E04)
The Corbomite Maneuver (S1E10)
Balance of Terror (S1E14)
The Enemy Within (S1E05)
The Squire of Gothos (S1E17)
Devil in the Dark (S1E25)
Arena (S1E18)
Miri (S1E08)
A Taste of Armageddon (S1E23)
Charlie X (S1E02)
Space Seed (S1E22)

Very Good
This Side of Paradise (S1E24)

Decent -
Return of the Archons (S1E21)
Mudd's Women (S1E06)
The Menagerie (S1E11+12)
Shore Leave (S1E15)
Court Martial (S1E20)
The Conscience of the King (S1E13)
Where No Man Has Gone Before (S1E03)
The Man Trap (S1E01)
What Are Little Girls Made Of (S1E07)
Dagger of the Mind (S1E09)
Galileo Seven (S1E16)
Errand of Mercy (S1E26)
Tomorrow Is Yesterday (S1E19)


Terrible -
The Alternative Factor (S1E27)