I learned a fun fact earlier tonight: Sturgeon invented Spock. Turtle Fan 05:37, January 23, 2010 (UTC)
- Not precisely, that was Roddenberry. He did introduce most of what makes Vulcans interesting, though. He wrote "Amok Time", for example. TR 08:36, January 23, 2010 (UTC)
- Oh. Well, close enough.
- Indeed. TR 18:32, January 23, 2010 (UTC)
- Actually writing "Amok Time" has me wondering about him. "Let's have Spock on the verge of death if he can't engage in his 'manner relating to biology,' but killing his best friend will serve just as well to heal him of his blue balls."
- That was a plot convinence, wasn't it?. I've supposed that the real issue was not the sex so much as the overflow of whatever hormone that drove the urge, and any strenuous activity was enough to get a Vulcan's ya-yas out. TR 18:32, January 23, 2010 (UTC)
- I guess, but couldn't he have found something strenuous to do on the Enterprise, or on the other planet they were supposed to go to instead of taking him home. And it would be something of an evolutionary disadvantage to have the sex drive so easily satisfied by a lot of substitutes, wouldn't it? Turtle Fan 19:32, January 23, 2010 (UTC)
- I remember one of the spinoffs, I think it was Voyager, had a Vulcan going through pon farr and he asked a human medic for some sort of potent tranquilizer which he would use in conjunction with meditation. The medic said "I've got a better idea: Wouldn't you rather have sex on the holodeck?" Turtle Fan 19:32, January 23, 2010 (UTC)
- Hmm, I've often wondered why Trek characters don't seem to use the holodeck for sex very often. You hear about it once in a while (of course they wouldn't show it) but it doesn't seem nearly as common or prevalent as you'd expect. I guess I've thought that, since the holodecks are usually part of the ships they work on, to be shared among all crew members during their leisure time, with their programs stored in the ship's main computer memory, there's too little expectation of privacy. I guess it would be like having porn on a computer at work. Turtle Fan 19:32, January 23, 2010 (UTC)
- Speaking of "Amok Time," I've always wondered if Spock's smile when he finds out Kirk survived their duel was meant to show Spock's emotional control breaking down, was a mistake on Nimoy's part, or was supposed to be a residual effect of pon farr wearing off. Turtle Fan 15:07, January 23, 2010 (UTC)
- It was intentional on the script's part, I believe. TR 18:32, January 23, 2010 (UTC)
- I would have thought so, but then at the end McCoy said "I was expecting you to make a big emotional scene." Well, he did! Turtle Fan 19:32, January 23, 2010 (UTC)
"Born Edward Hamilton Waldo". Learn something knew every day. So this is where Heinlein got the name for the character in the eponymous story. ML4E 21:05, April 10, 2012 (UTC)
Shore Leave[]
In quarantine I've been watching a bit of TOS, including Shore Leave, a great gag episode. Finnegan is funny, and apparently was a very popular guest star. I wonder why the show didn't write any more substantial roles for Bruce Mars, like it did for William Campbell (Trelane to Koloth) and Diana Muldaur (Ann Mulhall to Miranda Jones). And the White Rabbit scene is a hoot, as is the Black Knight. The Ruth part is silly, but I guess she's Kirk's idealized memory of the real thing, just like Finnegan probably wasn't as bad as Kirk's imagined version. There is a popular fan speculation that when Kirk filed his report on the planet, Starfleet Command wrote a reply adding "and Admiral Finnegan is not amused!"Matthew Babe Stevenson (talk) 07:08, May 13, 2020 (UTC)
- Early in this shitshow I grabbed a trial subscription to CBS All Access and banged out PIC, DSC, and the Short Treks. I then thought I might make a point of banging out TOS in its entirety. But it's not a very bingeable show, and while this is no reflection on the show itself, I'm SO FUCKING SICK AND TIRED of watching TV!! Turtle Fan (talk) 21:38, May 18, 2020 (UTC)
- I feel similar after watching a DVD set of the first 16 episodes of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964), such a joyless, pepless "action" show. James Doohan wisely turned down a role on it to star in Star Trek instead.Matthew Babe Stevenson (talk) 10:24, May 20, 2020 (UTC)