Star Trek Original Series
Nov. 5th, 2017 10:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
forestofgloryRecently, I’ve been watching some episodes of Star Trek the Original Series (TOS). After slowly working our way through Deep Space 9 (DS9) over the course of five or so years R and I finally finished a few months ago, so we were looking for something else to watch. The overlap in our tastes is somewhat small, which can make it tricky to pick something.
Around the time we finished DS9, Strange Horizons published an essay titled Kirk Drift which talked about how perceptions of TOS were based on exaggerated ideas, and reading that made me want to see TOS series for myself. It’s a series that I’d always been aware of (my mother was fan – she got her first color TV to watch Star Trek re-runs on) but had never seen. I was content to learn about via pop culture before reading “Kirk Drift."
Still, I wasn’t quite willing to watch the whole thing, so I asked R to help me pick 15 or so episodes to watch. I really wanted to see “The Trouble with Tribbles” and “Spock’s Brain” (I know it’s widely regarded as terrible but my mother loves it). On the other hand, I refuse to watch “City on the Edge of Forever” because I hate Harlan Ellison; he’s a bad person, and I’ve never liked anything of his that I read. Other than that, R mostly picked episodes based on what he thinks is good or historically important or just something I’d like.
It’s been really enjoyable so far. I’m watching it critically and am very aware that it’s a flawed show, but it’s also fun and kind of campy. It’s interesting how it’s clearly a product of 1960’s culture. That drives some of its flaws but also what’s good about it. For example, the show has lots of gender role issues that make me cringe, and--while it has more people of color on screen than was common at time--the show is nevertheless heavily focused on white men. But the show’s brand of optimism about the future also seems very 1960s. There’s space travel and racial harmony but not good communications or DNA sequencing (seriously there’s an episode about trying to figure out if someone is a war criminal and it would be so easy with DNA).
There’s also some stuff that’s just different than modern TV. Like how due to recording technology and the internet most shows today are one long story broken into pieces, but in the 1960s the way a show made money was syndication so each episode had to stand on its own. Also in this category is the shows color palette, which is not something I generally notice in media but this one really stood out to me. It’s bright and colorful and maybe a bit psychedelic.
Another way the 1960s are very present in the show is the Cold War ideology. Maybe ideology is the wrong word because they question some key Cold War concepts. Let’s say mindset. One obvious way this comes across is that the Federation is having a cold war with the Klingons, complete with silly posturing and proxy wars. There’s also an episode with the Romulans where they have a demilitarized zone. But there are other Cold War concerns as well, like when they run into a rough doomsday device, the future history includes a nuclear war in the 1990s. Oh and of course Chekov who is just such an American caricature of a Russian (it’s adorable).
In terms of gender issues, I’d like to talk a bit about Yeoman Rand. I was quite taken with Yeoman Rand, Kirk’s personal assistant in the 1st episode I saw her in (“The Corbomite Maneuver”). The power was out, and she made coffee using a phaser – so smart and good at her job! I was impressed. I just love people being good at domestic stuff. I was sad to learn that she only appeared in 5 episodes, but then I did some more research and found out there was supposed to be a romance between her and Kirk, and that just sounded awful (because all the romance in Star Trek is awful). I’m glad that didn’t happen, but I still wish we had more awesome, competent woman the show. I’m going to pretend that she’s still around being super competent at running Kirk’s life off screen.
One of the episodes we watched was “Amok Time” and it is so Slashly. (NB Spoilers) This the episode where Spock experiences Pon Far, the Vulcan need to mate. Kirk and Spock have discussion about ‘Vulcan Biology” which is touching and hilarious. Then, in the end, there is this cute scene when Spock realizes that Kirk isn’t dead and almost hugs him. Watching “Amok Time” reminded me of this Joanna Russ’ (author of How to Suppress Women’s Writing) essay on “K/S” which is still worth reading. It’s partly interesting because fan culture was different in the past too.
Another thing that I’m noticing is that there’s a lot of unexamined colonialism. It’s right there in the opening voice over when where it says “Space: The Final Frontier,” and the Federation seems busy putting lots of colonies all over the place. In one episode, Bones is busy studying medical properties of plants on a planet when the natives won’t benefit from his work. That’s something I wish the show did better.
While The Next Generation (TNG) and sequels are set in a post scarcity society TOS is not. From what I can tell, resources are distributed more equally then they are now, but there are traders and credits, plus hints that there’s the occasional famine. It’s one of the things that makes the show feel not quite as utopic as the other Star Trek I’ve seen.
In DS9, people were always complaining about the Federation being too bureaucratic, but you don’t actually see a lot of bureaucracy. (Ok, so a lot of that is Odo complaining about due process which I can’t get behind – gotta protect people’s rights.) Well, TOS has a lot more onscreen bureaucracy. At one point Kirk yells as part of a tirade “What am I going to put into my logs?” It’s a plot point in “The Trouble with Tribbles” that someone used a big deal military alarm for a nonmilitary situation. Kirk is shown getting a quarterly physical. So, the Federation here feels much more bureaucratic. This is one of the ways the show feels of its time though – the 1960s where a time when that type of thing was more routine and part of daily life then the 90’s when the DS9 was created.
Despite all the ways in which Star Trek is problematic, I’m really enjoying dipping into the show. I love how it is both goofy and serious. The show has really made me think about how science fiction tries to be about the future but is really about its own time.
Around the time we finished DS9, Strange Horizons published an essay titled Kirk Drift which talked about how perceptions of TOS were based on exaggerated ideas, and reading that made me want to see TOS series for myself. It’s a series that I’d always been aware of (my mother was fan – she got her first color TV to watch Star Trek re-runs on) but had never seen. I was content to learn about via pop culture before reading “Kirk Drift."
Still, I wasn’t quite willing to watch the whole thing, so I asked R to help me pick 15 or so episodes to watch. I really wanted to see “The Trouble with Tribbles” and “Spock’s Brain” (I know it’s widely regarded as terrible but my mother loves it). On the other hand, I refuse to watch “City on the Edge of Forever” because I hate Harlan Ellison; he’s a bad person, and I’ve never liked anything of his that I read. Other than that, R mostly picked episodes based on what he thinks is good or historically important or just something I’d like.
It’s been really enjoyable so far. I’m watching it critically and am very aware that it’s a flawed show, but it’s also fun and kind of campy. It’s interesting how it’s clearly a product of 1960’s culture. That drives some of its flaws but also what’s good about it. For example, the show has lots of gender role issues that make me cringe, and--while it has more people of color on screen than was common at time--the show is nevertheless heavily focused on white men. But the show’s brand of optimism about the future also seems very 1960s. There’s space travel and racial harmony but not good communications or DNA sequencing (seriously there’s an episode about trying to figure out if someone is a war criminal and it would be so easy with DNA).
There’s also some stuff that’s just different than modern TV. Like how due to recording technology and the internet most shows today are one long story broken into pieces, but in the 1960s the way a show made money was syndication so each episode had to stand on its own. Also in this category is the shows color palette, which is not something I generally notice in media but this one really stood out to me. It’s bright and colorful and maybe a bit psychedelic.
Another way the 1960s are very present in the show is the Cold War ideology. Maybe ideology is the wrong word because they question some key Cold War concepts. Let’s say mindset. One obvious way this comes across is that the Federation is having a cold war with the Klingons, complete with silly posturing and proxy wars. There’s also an episode with the Romulans where they have a demilitarized zone. But there are other Cold War concerns as well, like when they run into a rough doomsday device, the future history includes a nuclear war in the 1990s. Oh and of course Chekov who is just such an American caricature of a Russian (it’s adorable).
In terms of gender issues, I’d like to talk a bit about Yeoman Rand. I was quite taken with Yeoman Rand, Kirk’s personal assistant in the 1st episode I saw her in (“The Corbomite Maneuver”). The power was out, and she made coffee using a phaser – so smart and good at her job! I was impressed. I just love people being good at domestic stuff. I was sad to learn that she only appeared in 5 episodes, but then I did some more research and found out there was supposed to be a romance between her and Kirk, and that just sounded awful (because all the romance in Star Trek is awful). I’m glad that didn’t happen, but I still wish we had more awesome, competent woman the show. I’m going to pretend that she’s still around being super competent at running Kirk’s life off screen.
One of the episodes we watched was “Amok Time” and it is so Slashly. (NB Spoilers) This the episode where Spock experiences Pon Far, the Vulcan need to mate. Kirk and Spock have discussion about ‘Vulcan Biology” which is touching and hilarious. Then, in the end, there is this cute scene when Spock realizes that Kirk isn’t dead and almost hugs him. Watching “Amok Time” reminded me of this Joanna Russ’ (author of How to Suppress Women’s Writing) essay on “K/S” which is still worth reading. It’s partly interesting because fan culture was different in the past too.
Another thing that I’m noticing is that there’s a lot of unexamined colonialism. It’s right there in the opening voice over when where it says “Space: The Final Frontier,” and the Federation seems busy putting lots of colonies all over the place. In one episode, Bones is busy studying medical properties of plants on a planet when the natives won’t benefit from his work. That’s something I wish the show did better.
While The Next Generation (TNG) and sequels are set in a post scarcity society TOS is not. From what I can tell, resources are distributed more equally then they are now, but there are traders and credits, plus hints that there’s the occasional famine. It’s one of the things that makes the show feel not quite as utopic as the other Star Trek I’ve seen.
In DS9, people were always complaining about the Federation being too bureaucratic, but you don’t actually see a lot of bureaucracy. (Ok, so a lot of that is Odo complaining about due process which I can’t get behind – gotta protect people’s rights.) Well, TOS has a lot more onscreen bureaucracy. At one point Kirk yells as part of a tirade “What am I going to put into my logs?” It’s a plot point in “The Trouble with Tribbles” that someone used a big deal military alarm for a nonmilitary situation. Kirk is shown getting a quarterly physical. So, the Federation here feels much more bureaucratic. This is one of the ways the show feels of its time though – the 1960s where a time when that type of thing was more routine and part of daily life then the 90’s when the DS9 was created.
Despite all the ways in which Star Trek is problematic, I’m really enjoying dipping into the show. I love how it is both goofy and serious. The show has really made me think about how science fiction tries to be about the future but is really about its own time.
no subject
Date: 2017-11-06 10:08 am (UTC)Most of star trek falls into, I remember it very fondly, but I'm not really interesting in watching individual episodes any more.
no subject
Date: 2017-11-06 05:15 pm (UTC)"Oh and of course Chekov who is just such an American caricature of a Russian (it’s adorable)."
i agree, it is just so expected with xenophobes, they tend to be rather naive about the actual people they fear..
i also understand what you mean about the shoddy "gender" issues that are popping up in TOS, but i am sure that it was invisible to the actors, all of them TRAPPED in the culture of the 60s haha ;)
they thought they were being SO *un*-sexist, i'm sure... it is only fair to take their behaviors/scripts/costumes with a grain of salt... we humans tend to take a *long* time to grow-up and even longer when "culture mores" comes into play...
i am a hasidic Jew, and part of the Chabad-Lubavitch group among hasidim, compared to other hasidim we are HIGHLY modern; but compare us to modern Americans and we are nearly the Dark Ages. ;) .... i am considered a bit new-age because i walk around barefoot, i paint my hands/feet sometimes, i wear PANTS on occasions, and even WEAR RED (that is my favorite shocker haha)...
but in their defense, the Chabadniks never scorn me for acting this way because i am Sephardic and they are Ashkenazic, they know that we have different customs, and they love me anyway...
i have to admit that as much as i love feminism (i even made it part of my major at UMass Amherst), i still have a weird feeling about "giving up" a few aspects of our laws that are obviously a bit too old fashioned.. its weird to feel this way...
one last thought about Uhura, she was a hero of mine when i was a girl, i was so excited to see that she had a job that was surrounded by men (which said to me "she MUST be smart and powerful!") of course her mini-dress didn't speak to me since i was so damn young i was wearing nearly exactly the same thing! ;) i decided that her Hebrew name would be something like "Miriam" or "Yael" .....
shalom! - Juju.
no subject
Date: 2017-11-09 06:50 pm (UTC)I just think it so interesting how much the time period influenced the show so much. I think that happens all the time but it is easier for me to see in an older show.