The blog Mark Watches STAR TREK has gotten me to stream a couple of the eps I havent returned to for decades; most recently Season Ones This Side Of Paradise, which I had a problem with even as a kid and it turns out actively loathe now. Thats the one about the planet where the colonists are living peaceful and healthy lives as hosts for happiness spores. Kirk is offended that the colonists wont leave the planet when ordered and even more upset when his crew is infected and decides that theyd rather be down on the planet enjoying life than sitting in their chairs before arrays of blinking lights. The commies. Alone on the ship, unable to pilot it back to unhappy civilization, Kirk proves too much of a foul-tempered tight-ass for the spores to take permanent effect. He is immune to happiness. Literally. Discovering that violent emotions kill the spores, he saves the day by first showering Spock with vile racial abuse and then hitting the planet with doubletalk radiation designed to irritate everybody on the planet into throwing punches at one another. He compares this to planet-wide itching powder, a weapon that makes the Genesis Device of the later movies look like a pop-gun. To seek out new life and new civilizations... and give it noogies. I dont care what you think about Kirks devotion to duty and his responsibility to the ENTERPRISE: the storys moral is that hes a bastard and the sworn enemy of joy, not just among his crew but among the colonists who were doing JUST FINE before he showed up to cry, Okay, everybody out of the pool! Spocks last line, summing it all up: For the first time in my life I was happy. Yeah, thank your beloved Captain for taking care of that, Sparky. Years later, Spock (temporarily) dies saying, I have been and always shall be your friend. Too bad the reverse wasnt true when you were capable of returning the love of a woman devoted to you, and James Tiberius saw his duty as being Captain Cockblock. A story I think is better off ignored.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 20:28:11 +0000
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