TOS: Space Seed

My creepy crushes are going to come out sooner or later, might as well go ahead and get the first one out of the way while we're still in the first season of TOS. So, here it is:

I have a thing for Evil Geniuses. 

As a kid, I only halfway remember watching "Space Seed" which features Khan Noonien Singh for the first time.  I watched it again, as an adult, a few years ago and like Lieutenant McGivers I was suddenly way, way into Khan. Watching it again this week, nothing has changed. Khan struts onto my TV and I'm not good for anything for the next hour.

Yep, just like this. 

I don't know if it's the accent, the ridiculously perfect posture, or just the superior ability mixed with superior ambition but this dude is amazing. If he suddenly showed up in my quarters and said I should change my hair-do (lol, as if I've ever had a hair-do) I would do exactly what McGivers does--which is to say I'd show him all my fan-art of other evil geniuses and then agree to help him take over the ship.

"Oh, you should put this on DeviantArt."

Kirk sort of explains to Spock what makes charismatic evil geniuses like Khan so captivating:

Kirk: We can be against him and admire him all at the same time. 
Spock: Illogical. 

I tend to agree with Spock but that's ok. Sometimes I don't think it's so important to question why I'm super into something. I know one thing though, by the time you get to Wrath of Khan, I'm over him. It's not the age or the mullet or the space-monster-skin outfit (I actually rather like that) it's just that he's lost control and gone "Full Ahab." By the time Chekov stumbles upon the Botany Bay, Khan's focus has shifted. He's less about world domination and more about killing Kirk at any/all costs. He doesn't have time to come up to my room and look at my etchings. But that's a conversation for another day... you know, the day after I re-watch Wrath of Khan.

The Young Naturalist #1

So, for some reason, I thought it would be an excellent idea to start doing vintage zoological illustrations of the creatures in Star Trek. Like, if Darwin had taken a trip on the USS Enterprise instead of the HMS Beagle. Anyway, this is the unicorn dog thing from "The Enemy Within."

When You Love Something

This is a blog about liking things. I just want to get that out there right now.

Often, I hear people say, "Oh, I love Star Trek because it's so campy." And, really, I guess I shouldn't question someone's motives for liking something. But, when I love something--really love it--I love it without irony. I love it with abandon.

And so did Daniel Craft. If you haven't heard about this story yet, go read it. I'll wait.

Back? If you're reading this through tears, I get it.

Basically a terminally ill  man loved Star Trek and wanted, more than anything, to see the new movie before he died. His wife wrote an open letter to the producers, put it online, and not long after, they came to his house with a very rough cut of the film. He watched it. He loved it. And, it ended up being the last thing he did before he died.

I read this story over the weekend and couldn't really write about it until today. I couldn't even talk about it to my husband without crying. I'm having difficulty holding it together just typing this.

The story really struck a chord with me. I spent a lot of time thinking about why. I decided that this story is about loving something. Loving something without irony. Loving something with abandon. It's about a man who knew he had days--maybe only hours--left, and chose to spend those precious hours in the company of the people and the show that had given him so much joy over the years.

I get that I'm spending a year watching Star Trek and that this probably seems laughable to a lot of people. I get that anyone at all could point their finger and say that I could/should be doing something "more important" with my time. But, I love Star Trek. If I found out that I had only days--maybe only hours-- I'd be doing the same thing. Watching the show I love, with the people I love, and writing about why it means so much.

I also get that, the people involved in Star Trek, the writers, actors, directors, especially in the earlier years, maybe felt like they could/should be doing something "more important." I'm sure they had friends and family who said, "Oh, I love Star Trek because it's so campy... but really you should be doing something serious with your time." But, reading Daniel Craft's story, I can't really imagine what's more important. They signed on for Star Trek and decided to boldly go into history and our hearts and, really, I'm just so glad they did.

A Short Comic

I actually can't wait to see The Hobbit. The day we went, though, we we under really tight deadlines and coudln't sit in a theatre for three hours. Plus, we just HAD to get out of there and talk about the Into Darkness intro.

Sunday Night Roundup

So, I figured that since it's the end of the week, I really ought to let all (eleven) of you know which episodes I managed to watch so far. I don't get to write about every episode but I wish I could. I think about all of them but I just don't have the time to make a post about every single one. Not sure if I mentioned this but there's A LOT of Star Trek out there and this blog is a moving train.

Anyway, here's the list and some of the things I was thinking as I watched the episodes:

Pilot- The Cage:
-"Time Warping" has its own music.
-Wow, those away mission coats are FANTASTIC. Why didn't they keep those around?

1- The Man Trap:
-Uhura is my new girl crush. It can't be helped.
-I eat A LOT of salt. I wonder if I'm a salt monster who forgot her natural form.

2- Charlie X
-Hey, this kid isn't too bad.
-LOL This is the best space gym ever!

3- Where No Man Has Gone Before
-Does the costumer repair all of Kirk's ripped shirts after they shoot or do they just make new ones?
-Those silver eyes look pretty amazing.
-This is still early enough that they're hitting the "Spock's an unfeeling alien" thing pretty hard when Kirk says, "Will you try for one moment to feel? At least act like you've got a heart!"

4-The Naked Time
-Everyone remembers this episode because of this:

But it's about a lot more than that. Still, shirtless Sulu is pretty awesome.

5- The Enemy Within
-Although I love the concept of this episode, it's not one of my favorites. I think a lot of that has to do with the last line, when Spock asks Yeoman Rand, "The impostor had some very interesting qualities, wouldn't you say, Yeoman?" Seriously? I know you feel like you had to end on a laugh but it should've had something to do with the space dog, the away team, or anything other than Yeoman Rand almost getting raped.

6- Mudd's Women
-Love Mudd's costume
-Interesting. The crystals that power the ship are called "lithium" and not "dilithium" in this episode.

7- What Are Little Girls Made Of?
-Majel Barret is pretty amazing here. Christine Chapel is a totally heartbreaking character.
-See these guys:

They're about the become the first official "Red Shirts" to bite it in Star Trek.

8- Miri
-"Bonk! Bonk! On the head! Bonk! Bonk!"

9- Dagger Of The Mind
-Is this the first use of Shakespeare in Star Trek? Not sure.
-It's definitely the first mind meld.

10- The Corbomite Maneuver
-This one has the first variation on "I'm a doctor, not a ___" when McCoy says, "What am I, a doctor or a moon shuttle conductor?"
-We see A LOT of the Kirk from Wrath of Khan. He's getting older, he's gained a bit of weight. He doesn't like any of it and he's definitely not losing to some mysterious alien.

11 & 12- The Menagerie parts 1 & 2
-This feels like a clip show. Had clip shows been invented yet? Is this the first clip show? I guess it's not technically a clip show since, at the time, no one had actually seen these clips.

13- The Conscience of the King
-SERIOUS use of Shakespeare in Star Trek. I wish I'd had time to write about this one in detail. Maybe I'll come back to it.

14- Balance of Terror
-First time we see Romulans and boy, they look a lot like Vulcans. Quit being so damn racist, Stiles! Geez.
-Mark Leonard is fantastic here. No wonder they brought him back as Sarek.

15- Shore Leave
-Man, 2009's Star Trek really missed an opportunity by not making their "Burly Cadet #1" (who calls Kirk, "Cupcake") the man who was revealed to be Kirk's bully while at the Academy--Finnegan.
-Also, this happens:

Bones is a total Ladies' Man

16- The Galileo Seven

-We have shuttles now! 

-Spock literally says, "It is more rational to sacrifice one life than six, doctor" <Mind Blown>

-Here's another episode I might come back to later. 

17- The Squire Of Gothos

-I remember talking to my dad about how "That Squire guy" was obviously a Q, when I was a kid. My argument has changed none at all. Apparently this question is answered in one of the novels. 

18- Arena

-The Gorn blinks now! 

-I really want to do some Gorn-themed art. 

19- Tomorrow Is Yesterday

-The remastering really did this episode some favors. I almost cried watching the Enterprise in orbit around Earth.

Tell me that's not one of the most beautiful things you've ever seen.

20- Court Martial

-I can't wait for "Measure Of A Man" to come around. I'm SO going to write about this episode when that happens! 

21- The Return of the Archons

-Crazy cult episode. 

-Why don't they ever explain why everyone goes crazy at 6pm? How is that part of Landru's plan? 

-Amazing quote from Kirk: 

Without freedom of choice, there is no creativity. Without creativity, there is no life. 

Alright, kids! That's it for this week. I got 22 (counting the pilot) episodes into Star Trek: TOS and I can't wait for more. 

TOS: The Corbomite Maneuver

My dad was a straight-up chess champion. He was captain of his chess club (king? president? knight? I can only speculate about chess club hierarchy) and he won a bunch chess competitions. When I was seven years old and wanted to play with his fancy-pants marble chess set, he said, "Yeah, ok." Then, he sat down on the floor and taught me to play the game.

There are a lot of references to chess in Star Trek, a lot of people playing chess, a lot of remarks about strategy. Spock and Kirk play. Data plays with Troi. Sisko has a set in his quarters. The list goes on and on.

Spock's chess set is even more fancy-pants than my dad's. 

Even before "The Corbomite Maneuver" chess was already integrated in the Star Trek canon. Spock plays against Charlie in "Charlie X" and in "Where No Man Has Gone Before" says one of my favorite Trek lines during the match against Kirk: "Irritating? Ah, yes. One of your Earth emotions."

"The Corbomite Maneuver" is all about chess. It's all about strategy. This whole episode is a battle of wits between Kirk and the alien, Balok. When the mysterious alien gives them only minutes to pray to their deities before he promises they'll be blown up, it seems The Enterprise is finished. Spock even says, "Chess, when one is out-matched. The game is over. Checkmate."

That statement says a lot about Spock's personality and highlights the difference between Kirk and him. It sets up what we'll all see later--The No Win Scenario. This subtle difference between Spock and Kirk comes to mean so much, not just for the first series, or for a single movie, but for the entire franchise. Chess is a war of of attrition and one typically plays by the rules. If Kirk starts losing according to those rules, he just changes the game. That's who he is and it's one of the things that makes him such a fantastic captain.

As Balok ticks away the minutes, Kirk says, "Not chess, Mr. Spock. Poker." That's when the tides turn. Now, Balok is playing Kirk's game and that's a game only Kirk can win.

He broke out the "Sly Face!" You're goin' down, Balok! 

I don't play chess anymore. I never really got past that original lesson with my dad. I know how to move the pieces around but I don't have any of the strategy. Like Kirk, I'm more interested in cards. When I was a kid, and got frustrated with chess and my dad's relentless execution of Four Move Checkmate, my mom said, "Here, settle down. Let's play cards instead." Then she got out her trusty Uno deck and I learned, like Kirk, how to bluff, how to wriggle out of a losing hand, and how to just enjoy the game.

TOS: Miri

I only vaguely remember having seen this episode before. Somehow, I've seen "Mudd's Women" like five million times but "Miri" always snuck past me and I don't think I've seen it since I was a kid. 

Anyway, this episode feels a lot like Kirk, Spock, Bones, and Yeoman Rand all fell into Neverland and had a run in with the Lost Boys, Peter Pan, and Wendy. They wind up on an Earth-like planet where all the adults have mysteriously bit it and all that's left are a bunch of grimy, self-ruling children. The leader of these children, the oldest girl, is Miri. And, man, I really love this character. 

Some of it, I think, is the casting. Kim Darby, most famous for playing Mattie in the original True Grit, plays Miri with innocence and honesty. She's a girl on the cusp of adulthood with the perfect mix of maturity and naiveté. Oh, and she's way in love with Kirk because... who wouldn't be? 

I loved "Miri" even more as an adult than I did as a kid and I ended up just wanting to sit around and draw stuff from this episode. So, because I'm a self-ruling child, that's exactly what I did: