Self v Suff
Seeing thousands of wrestling fans chanting “therapy” is about the most wholesome thing I’ve ever seen from WWE.
The more I think about “For-and-a-half Vulcans” from #StarTrek #StrangeNewWorlds, the more I think about “The Naked Time” from the original series. In Naked Time, the crew lose their inhibitions because of a compound in the planet of the week. Essentially they are drunk. And they act on their emotional impulses.
While the crew in 4.5V are ostensibly unemotional Vulcans, in reality they are using Vulcan logic and discipline to make their emotional goals a reality. They are essentially “drunk” on logic. Pike uses his cooking skills and meticulously cleans his quarters because he wants to impress his girlfriend’s Vulcan boss - a classic sitcom trope by the way. Uhura uses a Vulcan mind-meld in order to turn Beto into the perfect Vulcan boyfriend. Christine Chapel uses her Vulcan stamina and intelligence to achieve her career goals. And La’an becomes convinced that it’s only logical to conquer the universe before someone else does.
I feel that much of the negativity surrounding #StarTrek #StrangeNewWorlds #Season3 comes down to people projecting their own anxieties about the current political situation of the United States onto #SNW.
Episode 1 of Star Trek: Khan
55% Enemy Mine 40% The Martian 5% Bruce Willis' bewilderment in Die Hard
100% Moretegas
#StarTrek #StrangeNewWorlds
Watching “The Big Goodbye” from TNG and “A Space Adventure Hour” from SNW back to back makes for some interesting viewing. Both are holodeck stories and they both hew closely to the same formula. They even share romantic subplots with Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher on TNG as well as La’an and Spock showing a growing attraction to each other in their respective episodes. Both episodes feature a story (based on books about 20th century detective) on the holodeck going awry when the holodeck malfunctions. And both rely on the holodeck safety protocols breaking down to put the crew in jeopardy.
But they do differ in important ways. In SNW, the holodeck is a prototype being tested by La’an who approaches it wearily as if it is a battle simulation. In TNG, the holodeck is supposed to be a proven technology, and Picard and his guests approach it with an almost infectious giddiness, admiring its realism. In SNW, we are supposed to be seeing a new technology being pushed to its limits and the episode does a nice job of showing its limitations. La’an has to wear a scanning device before she even sets foot in the holodeck so the computer can scan her and reproduce an environment customized to her and only her - no bringing along multiple guests. The holodeck characters are transporter scans of other members of the crew. The Enterprise is also running a full scale mission simultaneously in order to expose the holodecks flaws. And boy do they ever get exposed as the holodeck proceeds to consume so many resources that it puts the ship in danger.
In TNG the holodeck malfunctions because of an outside threat. Picard is in there with multiple guests and when he is trapped, the aliens who are threatening the Enterprise want to talk to him, and only to him.
Over time, we are meant see a lot the ideas developed in “A Space Adventure Hour” being implemented later on in the timeline. Scotty insists that the holodeck can be made to work if it has its own dedicated mainframe and power supply and we see exactly that in Voyager even if they don’t really offer an explanation for why this is the case. “A Space Adventure Hour” retroactively serves as this explanation. And it is also summarized nicely in Picard Season 3 where now Admiral Picard explains to his son that because it has its own separate computer core and power supply, the holodeck can serve as a refuge or even as a lifeboat in times of danger to the ship.
One final thing to note is that TNG’s version of the holodeck anticipates the modern promise of AI by almost forty years. Everything that people see on the holodeck is being created on the fly by its computer. Lower Decks takes advantage of this in its big holo-movie episodes with spectacular results. And in “A Space Adventure Hour,” we current jargon like “prompt” and even the term “AI” itself integrated into the episode.
“Celluloid film, discontinued in the 22nd century, many say to the detriment of cinema.”
Maxwell Saint was right! Spock is a film snob.
#StarTrek #StrangeNewWorlds #ASpaceAdventureHour
Deleted scene from “Four-and-a-half Vulcans”
Pike: So you’re saying that my attempts to protect the people closest to me by through Vulcan logic and discipline is actually alienating me from them and potentially putting them danger? Well, I do miss cooking with salt. Make me human again.
Chapel: I’ve achieved so much so quickly by focusing on my work. But I’ve also pushed away everyone close to me and can’t share my success with them. I’ve also bullied my friend Spock. How can this be logical? Change me back.
Uhura: I’ve committed a serious ethical lapse by abusing my Vulcan telepathic powers. While I appreciate the efficiency of that my new Vulcan abilities afford me, I am clearly not cut out to be a Vulcan. Change me back.
La’an: Suck it Doug! I’m going to conquer the galaxy!
There is probably a serious version of “Four-and-a-half Vulcans” where the human Vulcans represent Spock’s internalized racism and sense of inadequacy. But they chose instead to go with high joke density humor instead. And I can hardly complain since I was laughing for most of the episode.
#StarTrek #StrangeNewWorlds
Quantum Physics and Wikipedia
It’s pretty amusing to see the, “Star Trek is gay space communism” leftists come together with the “when did Star Trek get so woke? Bigots, from opposite ends of the political horseshoe, to hate on #StrangeNewWorlds for the exact opposite reasons. Now back to rewatching” Four and half Vulcans for the fourth time.
So the return of beavers threatens dikes in the Netherlands? Does anyone know how to submit ideas for the Jokes Seth Can’t Tell segment on Late Night?
The Vulcan serum from “Four and half Vulcans” works a lot like the super soldier serum in the MCU. The modified humans become more extreme versions of themselves. Pike becomes an even more obsessive cook. La’an becomes paranoid and obsessed with war. Chapel turns into a workaholic who shuts out all her friends. And Uhura becomes obsessed with turning Beto into the perfect Vulcan boyfriend.
#StarTrek #StrangeNewWorlds
It’s interesting to note that when Spock was turned into a human, he acted more like a teenager than like a human adult. The human/Vulcans in “Four and a half Vulcans” are similar in that they rush headlong into using their new Vulcan abilities almost like young people who get drunk the night that they turn 21. #StarTrek #StrangeNewWorlds
“Four and a half Vulcans” could have been much more subdued and less divisive if Spock had had the confidence to put his foot down and say, “No you are not Vulcans. You are merely humans who have been temporarily enhanced with Vulcan DNA and epigenetics. Without the proper training in Surak meditation, you will all go insane in a matter of days.”
And since we are told that the Vulcan serum was, “derived from Spock’s perceived experiences,” I wonder how much of the funny Vulcan racism reflects Spock’s own struggles and self-doubt about his own Vulcan bona fides.