Looking for thoughtful commentary on Star Trek episodes? Well, you won't find it here. This is mostly lighthearted, occasionally bawdy, and is mostly an excuse for me to yammer on about my favorite topic.
While watching this today, I was struck by the fact that it's not too bad for a third season episode. Spock is especially likable in this, turning his "alien among humans" shtick to their advantage as he plays mindgames on Rojan. And I love when Kalinda comes in wanting to speak to Kirk so Spock takes the initiative getting himself and McCoy out of there.
"Doctor, I'm due for another injection of stokaline."
"Huh?"
Spock nudges him in the shoulder. "Stokaline."
The episode has lots of underplayed humor like that and I do enjoy the way Scotty's accent gets broader and stranger as he gets drunker.
Kalinda has a couple of nice bits, subtle and fun. Kirk kisses her and when she kisses him moments later, she mimics his movements right down to the hand under his chin. She does it again when she kisses Rojan. And finally when she kisses Kirk in the rec room, I noticed that she is the one to initiate an open-mouth kiss. Quick learners, those Kelvans.
Finally...a new special effect, courtesy of digital cable. During the fight between Kirk and Rojan, my cable system freaked out and they both broke into little pieces and then the screen blanked out. Ah, the wonders of technology.
The pure camp value of this is wonderful. To watch the actors nobly struggling with such horrible material. Ahhhh... The worse the script, the harder they try.
Some favorite moments:
When the women zap them, Kirk and McCoy practically fall on top of each other. And the shot right after that, when they're laying on the floor unconscious with their heads together...It's so cute.
When McCoy is injecting one of the women to bring her around, he says, "Give me a minute. I'll have her talking." And I know--I! just! know!--that someday the gods will answer my prayers and Kirk will push him aside and say, "Give me a minute and I'll have her barking like a dog!"
Plus Kirk actually utters a line straight out of fanfic: "Every nerve in my body was on fire!"
And the women are "the givers of pain and delight." Pain and delight! Oh yeah, baby! Bring me the paddle!
Now that we're talking sex toys...Chekov. If you don't have a videotape of "Spock's Brain," prepare to shoot yourself. I popped it into the VCR to torture a couple of friends, one of whom pointed out that there's a blow job on the bridge and onscreen! Get out your VCRs, gang! At the beginning, the woman appears on the bridge, hits a button and everyone passes out. Kirk slumps in a most delicious position, sprawled across the captain's chair with his beautiful butt in the air. Right after the opening credits, the camera pans the bridge. STOP WATCHING KIRK'S BUTT! I know it's almost impossible but the beauty of that butt shot has kept people from seeing the blow job for 35 years. (The fact that very few would consent to actually watch "Spock's Brain" probably has something to do with it, too.) Luckily, Reesa is immune to Kirk's butt and she pointed out the following. Chekov has his head under the console in Sulu's lap. When the lights come up and he lifts his head, he even jostles Sulu's elbow. Then he jumps up in horror at what he's done and runs to the engineering console where he heaves. When Kirk says "Helm status, Mr. Sulu," Sulu looks down at his lap (!!) and then at the console. ("Oh, that helm status!") The best part, however, is rewinding it so you can see Chekov run back to his station and put his head under the console to "go back to work."
What's not to love?
This is one of my favorite episodes, mostly because of Helen Noel. Of all of Kirk's amours, she's the one I can easily imagine him developing a real relationship with (if only she hadn't pulled that little trick with her Christmas party fantasy--but who can blame her really?) She's smart, she's sassy, she's gorgeous. (Those dimples--Oh! I bet she has them on her fabulous ass, too.)
She really rattles Jim's cage and I like that in a woman. Unlike most of the female pieces of scenery, she doesn't stand around waiting to be rescued by the hero. Hell, she rescues him. She's courageous and man, is she cool under fire. After knocking out the guard, she takes his phaser. Let me repeat that--she takes his phaser. No helpless, self-inflicted victimhood for this woman. I love her. I love this episode.
During careful viewing of this episode, a new post on the ship was discovered. Kirk tells McCoy to send him someone from his department who's a specialist in "psychiatry and phrenology." PHRENOLOGY? To read the bumps on the inmates' heads? Please someone write a story about the Ship's Phrenologist. (Just so you know, the subtitles on the DVD say "psychiatry and penology," which I'm not sure is even a word. But Kirk definitely says "phenology" so it could go either way.)
When I watch "Way to Eden," I'm embarrassed for the actors. I literally can't settle in and enjoy it for its basic badness, the way I can "Spock's Brain."
I've heard that "Spock's Brain" was written as a parody and the writer was shocked that it was produced. But it looks like a parody--and on that level, it's enjoyable. The same way that Kaki's TupperTrek stories are enjoyable--we know she's kidding. Write the same stuff into a serious story and--EWWWWWWWWW!
I think they were serious about "Way to Eden" and that's what makes it so painful. There's no wink of the eye underneath it, no sense of "Is this the silliest thing we've ever done or what?" It asks me to suspend my disbelief in a way that is basically unsatisfying and ultimately insulting. To me, "Spock's Brain" says "go along with the joke, OK?" "Way to Eden" seems to think it has something to say. I'm not sure I want to know what that is.
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Way to Eden
