The Menagerie Part 1 & 2

Star Trek, the original series, only two part episode, see Spock steal the Enterprise and his former commanding officer, Captain Christopher Pike, and takes them to the only forbidden planet in Federation space - the mysterious Talos IV. Under Pike's command Spock has visited Talos IV once before, eleven years ago, and after hearing that his former Captain is now confined to a wheelchair and incapable of any independent existence, Spock decides to risk everything in a bid to return Pike to a better life with the Talosians.

Spock works out everything to the finest details with his brilliant and logical mind. But naturally Jim Kirk is not taking the theft of his starship lying down and he follows the Enterprise in a shuttlecraft (which has only limited range). Gambling that Spock will not abandon him, Jim pushes past the shuttlecraft's point of no return. Predictably, Spock rescues the Captain and promptly hands himself over for Court Martial on the grounds of Mutiny (dramatic sting!!!)

Spock demands that the Court Martial takes place immediately and as one of only three Command ranked officers on board, Christopher Pike is part of the trial board. Commodore Mendez (who has accompanied Kirk from Starbase 11) asks Spock why he has stolen the Enterprise and as part of his evidence Spock presents a multitude of video clips of events that happened on Talos IV eleven years previously. Long story short, it is the Talosians who contacted Spock and it is they who are presenting the evidence. This, the Court Martial and even the presence Commodore Mendez are all just an elaborate trick to keep Captain Kirk busy until the Enterprise can arrive at Talos. Kirk is convinced that Chris Pike will be much happier living with Vina and the Talosians in a illusory world than spending the rest of his life trapped in his ruined body.

From a slash point of view there is much in this episode that has to do with the relationship between Kirk and Spock. Spock logically works out the only way to pull off his plan without there being any danger of Kirk being court martialed along with him. There are a number of very tense scenes between the two of them, as Jim has to weigh up his loyalties to Spock and the Enterprise. Spock pleads with Kirk to allow him to explain and present all the evidence. The obvious pain he feels as he pronounces the guilty verdict is palpable.

In the final scene when Spock returns Pike to the surface of Talos IV, the Talosian Keeper says the following to Kirk via telepathy: KEEPER: Captain Kirk, (the screen then shows the healthy young Vina and healthy young Pike hand in hand) KEEPER: Captain Pike has an illusion, and you have reality. May you find your way as pleasant. WE can read from this that the Talosians are telling Kirk that they hope his reality (with Spock) will be as delightful as Vina and Pike's will be together.

Court Martial

This episode is a little difficult for me to review because I love the first two thirds and I find the final third frustrating and annoying. Let's start with the plot. The story opens with Kirk and the Enterprise visiting Starbase 11 for repairs and to report the death of records Officer Ben Finney, who was jettisoned with a pod during an ion-storm (gotta watch out for those ion-storms).

It is revealed that Kirk and Finney have quite a past; once the closest of friends Finney ends up resenting Kirk for an incident years before when Kirk reported a mistake that Finney made, which Finney believes is what has held him back from promotion. The ship's computer records shows that Kirk jettisoned the pod too early for Finney to escape, the action then follows Kirk's Court Martial hearing, his defence (or lack of it) Samuel T. Cogley Attorney at Law; and the kicker of the Prosecution Lawyer, Areel Shaw, being an old flame from Jim's past (four years, seven months, and an odd number of days, but who's counting? Areel obviously...ha ha).

The court martial hearing has one of Shatner's finest performances in all of the original series. His intense and wonderfully underplayed speech defending himself, his actions and expressing his passion for his ship is a marvel to behold and still gives me shivers after forty years viewing.

The prosecution's rests upon the recorded evidence of the Ship's Computer Log; which is damning and shows Kirk jettisoning the pod whilst there was still only a Yellow Alert, meaning in effect that Kirk did not warn Finney about the action. The prosecution's case also puts forward the possibility that Kirk hated Finney and either consciously or unconsciously wanted him dead.

A claim that Kirk denies.

During an adjournment McCoy finds Spock in the Rec room playing chess with the ship's computer and (of course) accuses him of being blasé about the case; but of course Spock has a reason for his seemingly bizarre behaviour. He has beaten the computer 4 times, an impossibility as he himself had programmed the computer and so the best result he could achieve would be a draw, thus proving that the computer had been tampered with. Spock and McCoy rush back to the now concluding hearing (pausing only to change into their dress uniforms...LOL), and provide the necessary information to Cogley just in the nick of time...phew.

Now we get into the slow and rather boring part of the episode; the hearing is re-convened aboard the Enterprise (after an impassioned speech by Cogley about the rights of the accused to face his accuser - the computer). We then have to go through a drawn out process to discover that Finney is not in fact dead, but hiding on board the ship. Kirk confronts him, only to discover the Enterprises orbit is decaying because Finney has 'tapped out the main energy circuits' they fight, Kirk gets his shirt ripped and Finney is over-powered.

Back on the bridge we get the pleasure of seeing Uhura jump into the Navigation station and save the ship by some handy work at the computer...phew again.

Areel Shaw tells Kirk that Cogley is now going on to defend Finney in his Court Martial and then asks the Captain if he can kiss her whilst they are on the Bridge, he does, she leaves Spock and McCoy don't dare look at him, he tells them "She's a very fine lawyer", Spock responds with a clipped "Obviously"; Bones with "Indeed she is." End of episode.

The Galileo Seven

Okay, so I have to admit this is one of my least favourite episodes, so if my review is sub-standard, you will know why.

We have the premise that this is Spock's first Command, which hardly makes sense as he is already an Officer so, anyway, Spock is in command of the Enterprise's shuttle craft, The Galileo; he and his team are off to get a closer look at a quasar-like phenomena. Meanwhile, the Enterprise has an appointment to keep delivering much needed medical supplies to the plague-ridden Markus III - talk about your ticking clock! Well of course the mandatory ion-storm comes along and drags our hapless shuttlenauts down to the surface of a hostile planet...well it's not the planet that is hostile, but the 10 foot tall, spear-throwing ape-men, who have the pleasure of living there.

Well our Spock makes all the logical decisions and still manages to lose two Redhsirts to the natives, luckily he has Scotty there to help repair the shuttle.

Meanwhile Kirk has the very antsy and officious Commissioner Ferris breathing down his neck, insisting that the Enterprise leave the crew of Galileo to their fate and get those medical supplies where they should be. But his Spocky is down there, isn't he? So we know Kirk isn't going to give up that easily.

Spock is faced with more and more decisions, including whether to bury the dead and whether the shuttle craft will even be able to achieve orbit, well they do and it does, but they only have enough fuel to remain in orbit for a very short time.

Kirk waits until the very last moment, stalling for every last second, but has to reluctantly depart...leaving his scanners pointing aft.

In a desperate last act Spock jettisons the shuttle's last remaining fuel and sets it alight, as a distress beacon. The shuttle burns up in the atmosphere, but the crew are beamed aboard the Enterprise in the nick of time.

The final scene is a lovely little bit of slash, with Kirk almost snuggling up to Spock and teasing him unmercilessly about taking a gamble; Spock of course maintains that it was a logical decision and everyone has a laugh about it...end of episode.

The Conscience of the King

"The play. The play. The play's the thing, wherein we'll catch the conscience of the king."

This is a very dense episode; one that could even have been a two-parter if they had so desired. The story revolves around unmasking 'Kodos the Executioner' the man who killed 4000 colonists on Tarsus IV. Both Jim Kirk and Kevin Riley ( a communications officer aboard the Enterprise) were two of the nine people who witnessed the massacre 20 years ago. The other seven have all died in mysterious circumstances. The latest Dr. Tom Leighton, had called Kirk to Planet Q in the hope that Jim would back him up in exposing travelling thespian Anton Karidian as Kodos. Jim is unsure, but become suspicious when Tom is murdered whilst Karidian and his players are visiting. Thus begins a powerful and complicated tale with a performance of 'Hamlet' as the backdrop. There are two main plots. The first Jim's seduction of Lenore Karidian; the 19 year old daughter of Karidian; the second Spock's desperate struggle to get Jim to realize that he is the murderer's next target.

Firstly let's look at Jim and Lenore; what a complicated game of chess these two are playing with each other. Who is playing who? What are each one's motives and who will get hurt along the way? It seems that Jim has a game plan to seduce Lenore as a way of gaining information about her suspect father, but it seems that he is almost instantly besotted by her, or is he? It is almost impossible to tell; and we all know what a master Chess player Jim is. And he's not too bad at Poker either; he is playing his cards very close to his chest...I don't think he even knows what he is feeling. Jim manipulates circumstances so that the travelling players end up aboard the Enterprise, giving him the opportunity to investigate Karidian, and continue to seduce Lenore. Which he does masterfully, but Lenore is playing him like a Stradivaris as well. They both have ulterior motives and yet they are both falling in love with each other...to quote the Bard "Oh what a tangled web we weave."

Now let's look at Spock; and as a result, his relationship with Jim. Spock immediately becomes concerned when Lenore boards the Enterprise to beg a lift to their next engagement (a situation that Jim has set up). He is almost distraught that Jim is paying attention to this beautiful girl and that he is bucking regulations in the process. Kirk will not confide in Spock about his reasons for diverting the ship, nor his reasons for effectively demoting Kevin Riley (Jim moves Riley 'down' to engineering in a vain attempt to keep him safe from the possibility of being the next target). When Spock questions Jim's orders he is met with uncharacteristic shortness from his Captain. Now remember at this point he and Spock have become lovers and yet in this episode Jim blows Spock off for someone else. And the tension shows. My own explanation is that it seems that Jim is questioning whether he really wants to be exclusively tied to a man (Spock) and that Lenore beguiles him and makes him question his feelings about his homosexual relationship with Spock. Jim has been a ladies man all his life (well with the possible exception of Gary Mitchell) and is confronted with a very beautiful woman who returns his affection. When he falls, Jim does tend to fall head over heels in love (let's see: Edith, Miramanee, Rayna, yep head over heels for all of them).

Spock and McCoy have a long conversation about Jim's motivations, and Spock's reactions to events. We get an insight into a couple of things with the following dialogue:

MCCOY: Illogical? Did you get a look at that Juliet? That's a pretty exciting creature. Of course your, personal chemistry would prevent you from seeing that. Did it ever occur to you that he simply might like the girl?

SPOCK: It occurred. I dismissed it.

MCCOY: You would.

This little interchange tells me two things:

1. McCoy is clueless that Kirk and Spock have become lovers.

2. McCoy is fully aware that Spock is not interested in females all that much.

Spock goes through all the available records and discovers what is going on, and easily surmises that Karidian is Kodos and that Jim's life is in peril. Spock engages McCoy's assistance in confronting Kirk. Normally Jim would have spoken to both Spock and McCoy about his suspicions, so why has he not done it this time? The answer is Lenore and his feelings for her. He literally tells Spock to butt out and mind his own business, but Spock and McCoy both remind him that it is their business when the Enterprise is involved.

Jim is deeply conflicted for two reason, firstly as discussed above he has strong feelings for Lenore and secondly he needs to be 100% certain that Karidian is Kodos and certain that his motivation is one of desiring justice, not just vengeance.

Finally Jim confronts Anton Karidian and demands that he take a voice test to prove his guilt or innocence. Lenore is devastated that Jim would accuse her father of this heinous crime and she terminates their relationship with this bitter exchange:

LENORE: There's a stain of cruelty on your shining armour, Captain. You could have spared him, and me. You talked of using tools. I was a tool, wasn't l? A tool to use against my father. KIRK: In the beginning perhaps. But later, I wanted it to be more than that.

LENORE: Later. Everything's always later. Later. Latest. Too late. Too late, Captain. You are like your ship, powerful, and not human. There is no mercy in you.

KIRK: If he is Kodos, then I've shown him more mercy than he deserves. And if he isn't, then we'll let you off at Benecia, and no harm done.

LENORE: Captain Kirk. Who are you to say what harm was done?

KIRK: Who do I have to be?

Jim and Spock compare the voice recordings and confirm that Karidian is Kodos; meanwhile Riley who has been in Sick Bay recovering from the attempt on his life, discovers that Karidian is Kodos and takes a phaser to kill the man. Karidian and Lenore are performing 'Hamlet' when Riley makes his attempt; Kirk manages to stop him, but at the end of the play Lenore admits to her father that is was she who had killed all the surviving witnesses. Karidian is horrified and realizes that the blood of his deeds now stained his daughter as well. In her desire to kill Kirk she accidentally shoots and kills her father and suffers a complete emotional meltdown. She is completely insane and thus ends the sorry tale.

In the epilogue McCoy asks Jim about his feelings for Lenore and Jim will not answer...Curtain!

This episode is an emotional roller coaster for everyone involved; a brilliantly constructed story and brilliantly performed. As I said at the being it could easily have made a double episode, there was just so much ground to be covered. And we are treated to a number of wonderful quotations from Shakespeare. Just wonderful.

Miri

Ah 'Miri'...I love this episode and I think that it is one that is often under-rated. Many people seem to have a probelm with the episodes with children in them. Anyway, I find this a powerful and deeply moving episode that looks at the folly of a society that tries to prolong their life-spans and instead end up destroying themselves.

The Enterprise comes upon a planet identical in every way to contemporary Earth, except that when they beam down they are confronted with a ghost town or so it seems. They eventually encounter the only residents, a motely collection of children and a few adolescents. The crew quickly discover that there are no adults or 'grups' as the children call them. Everyone who reaches maturity dies of a hideous disease that covers their body with plaque and which finally sends them mad, before resulting in a horrible death.

The crew gets to work isolating the virus and searching for a cure, but the children, threatened by the adults presence, steal there communicators, thus stopping them from contacting the ship's computers to assist with the development of the antidote.

The major subplot concerns the beautiful young girl, Miri and her fate; she is about to enter adolescence and as such will soon succumb to the ravishes of the disease. Jim befriends her to gain her trust in the hope of helping all the children, but Miri develops a crush on the Captain and betrays the crewmembers in the hope of getting Jim away from her perceived rival, Janice Rand. I just want to acknowledge at this point, the outstanding effort from Grace Lee Whitney in this episode; it really is the highpoint for her character's involvement in TOS and she gives a powerful performance as she battles the disease and her feelings for Captain Kirk.

As the clock ticks, the landing party's tempers flare and a cure is found, but without the ship's computers McCoy and Spock have no way of knowing what dosage to use (with the absolutely marvelous line "beaker full of death" from Spock...LOL). Miri lures Yeoman Rand away and she is held prisoner by the children. Kirk decides that he must confront the children to gain Janice’s freedom and retrieve the vital communications devices.

Meanwhile McCoy decides that he must risk taking the serum, which he does with violent results. Kirk convinces the children in the nick of time; the serum works and all ends well.
This episode is chock full of tension and drama, and has the gentle and poignant 'love story' between Kirk and Miri at its core. If you haven't watched this one recently, please do again because it really is a gem.

Miri - Special Slash Notes

Okay so this is the first episode where I feel the need to write a 'special supplemental' post on the slash moments. About halfway through the episode we have one of the most tender scenes between Kirk and Spock that I have ever had the privilege to view (over and over again, I might add...LOL). The crew are discussing the situation with the progress of the disease (they all have it at this stage) and the following conversation takes place between the Captain and his First Officer (and by now lover):

SPOCK: The older the victim, the more rapid the progress of the disease.

KIRK: And you? The disease doesn't seem to be interested in you.

SPOCK: I am a carrier. Whatever happens, I can't go back to the ship, and I do want to go back to the ship, (long pause as he and Jim gaze with undisguised adoration into each other's eyes), Captain.

KIRK: Of course, Mister Spock (another long loving look at each other and a melting smile from Jim).

You do need to see this interchange to truly appreciate what is going on. To see how they look at each other and what is conveyed through their eyes and facial expressions. It is as beautiful and tender as the infamous 'this simple feeling' scene from Star Trek - The Motion Picture.

This is followed by a heart-wrenching scene when Janice confronts her growing fear as the disease takes over her body. In effect she admits her feelings for Jim and he comforts in a very stiff and uncomfortable way, obviously not wanting to lead her on. Only moments into their hug McCoy calls out to them to say he has isolated the virus and they rush back into the laboratory to hear the news. Janice and Jim reflexively hug in celebration but Jim quickly looks over his shoulder to beam another of his 'special' smiles at his real love...awww. I get gooey just thinking about these two moments, imagine how I am when I actually watch them.

Dagger of the Mind

'Dagger of the Mind' another episode just full of slashy goodness.

A penal colony requires a shipment of drugs and as part of the transfer a crate of research materials is beamed to the Enterprise, hidden inside of which is one of the former directors of the colony, Van Gelder who demands, at gunpoint that he be given asylum. McCoy examines Van Gelder and believes him to be quite insane, but his intuition tells him something is not quite right about the situation.

We are treated to one of the best three way arguments between Kirk, Spock and Bones about whether there is something strange going on down on the planet. Kirk wants to put his faith in Dr Adams, the other Director, who has a reputation and record of revolutionizing the treatment of insane prisoners. Kirk decides to beam down to the planet to investigate and asks for an expert in psychology and penology to accompany him. McCoy assigns the very beautiful (but very stupid) Dr. Helen Noel. As she and Kirk prepare to transport to the colony we are given one of the strangest and slashiest scenes in all of TOS. This scene is just as much a slash 'Rosetta Stone' as is the 'Back Rub Scene' from 'Shore Leave'.

Okay let's look at it in detail: Kirk and Spock (why is he there again? Oh that's right to say goodbye to Jim...huh?) enter the transporter room. Waiting for Jim on the transporter pad is the very lovely (and pushy) Dr. Helen Noel. Jim is clearly NOT happy to see her, and Spock gives him a look like 'well, well, well...another of your dalliances?' Jim reluctantly stands next to her on the pad and she starts reminding him of when they had meet before. Jim is like a cat on a hot tin roof, effectively shushing her, and nervously watching Spock's reaction. "Problem Captain?" asks Spock rather facetiously. Spock seems to be annoyed and amused at the same time. Jim dismounts the transporter pad and goes back to Spock (why is he doing that again?) and in a roundabout way assures Spock that this woman means nothing to him. Spock gives him a long suffering look as he goes back to the pad...curiouser and curiouser! What is this scene all about? I know what it looks like to me. It looks like Jim has been keeping his hand in at the old seduction game and has been caught out. He realises he needs to reassure Spock immediately that nothing is going on. I figure that Kirk and Spock have become lovers by this stage of the game and Spock is beginning to be alittle possessive of his Captain.

Anyway the rest of the episode is not all that good, alot of silliness involving a mind altering machine and Dr. Adams evil experiments on inmates. Kirk for some unknown reason decides to use the machine on himself and is re-programed to believe that he is in love with Helen Noel (huh?). Why this should be the case only comes into play towards then end of the episode when Spock beams down to the colony to save Jim's bacon. Jim is caught in a tight clinch with Helen and we are treated to another of Spock's dismayed looks at his Captain's indisgression.

This is not one of my favourite episodes, as the character of Dr. Helen Noel is just awful, she seems to have no idea how to advise her Captain with anything even approaching valid information and she spends most of her time trying to convince Jim that there should be something between them, against all evidence to the contrary. A badly written character and a weak story, but you gotta love the slash.

What Are Little Girls Made Of?

Another powerful First Season episode, where we are given an insight into how close Kirk and Spock have become plus a lovely little piece of slash at the very end of the episode, to keep us wondering: "Just what is going on between these two?

To the story. Nurse Christine Chapel joined Starfleet in the hope of finding her long lost fiancee, the brilliant Doctor Roger Corby, who has been missing for five long years. Eventually the Enterprise comes across the planet of Corby's last known whereabouts. Corby contacts the ship and asks that Captain Kirk beam down alone, because the nature of the discoveries that Corby has made. Kirk tells Corby that Christine will beam down with him and it looks like we are in for a happy reunion. Well that changes very quickly when one of the two Redshirts who accompany them falls to his death within minutes of arriving.

Turns out that Corby has discovered the machinery left by a long dead race, that enables him to produce almost perfect replica human androids. Roger has knocked himself up a replacement assistant - Brown and a nice little 'Geisha' (as Christine calls her) Andrea, to help keep him company. Corby wants to bring his discoveries to the Galaxy but fears that others will misunderstand and/or misuse the technology and he will be thwarted. He holds Kirk and Chapel prisoner and makes an Android Kirk,; he says, to 'impress' Jim of the power of the technology. However when Kirk won't come at a deal to 'selectively introduce' the androids to to humanity, Corby sends the Android Kirk to the Enterprise to grease the wheels, so to speak.

Jim is just too smart for Corby though, and during the transfer of his memories to the android, he imprints it with the phrase: "Mind your own business Mr. Spock; I'm sick of your half-breed interference!" Now, you and I and Spock all know that Jim would never speak to his First officer like that...and it takes Spock about a half a millisecond to spot the impostor.

Meanwhile down on the planet Jim is busy messing with the Androids heads (a specialty of his). First he seduces Andrea to break her programming and then he convinces the gigantic Ruk that's it's okay to rise up against his human controllers (I'm not sure if this is such a good idea, but then Kirk never seems to mind going toe to toe with those bigger, stronger and more powerful than he).

Ultimately we discover that Roger Corby had been so mutilated when he arrived on the planet that Ruk had rebuilt him an android body and Roger's 'soul' had been transferred into the machine. Corby had lost the capacity to be truly human and this had twisted him so much that he was a danger to himself and humanity as a whole. It all ends very badly, as Andrea tries to reconcile her emotions with her programming and Roger realizes he has lost his humanity...they in effect destroy each other.

The final scene back on the Enterprise is a sweet little bit of slash with Spock chiding Kirk for using the term 'half-breed' but they kiss and make up very quickly after Jim gives him those puppy dog eyes and all is forgiven...awww. Oh and there's more 'Kirklight' in this episode than really should be allowed in any given 48 minute period...yummy.

Balance of Terror

What can one say about 'Balance of Terror' that hasn't already been said? This episode is consistently voted as the most popular/best episode of TOS. A classic battle of wills. Two commanders, each as brilliant as the other, engage in a game of cat and mouse; each using every trick in their books to outsmart the other. There is much at stake as the action takes place along the Neutral Zone between the Romulan Empire and Federation controlled space, and any incursion by the Enterprise into Romulan Space could spark an interstellar war. And the Romulans are testing new technology (cloaking device) and a new weapon, which may well make them a real threat to the Federation. Everything about this episode is perfect; the script is tight, the action enthralling, the performances brilliant and the emotional content intense.

There are two powerful sub-plots: the imminent marriage between Angela Martine and Robert Tomlinson and the prejudice displayed by navigator Andrew Stiles. One resolved in a negative way (in the death of Tomlinson) and the other in a positive way (Stiles over-coming his bigotry). And probably the most beautiful scene in TOS, between Kirk and McCoy, as Kirk questions his ability to lead:

KIRK: I wish I were on a long sea voyage somewhere. Not too much deck tennis, no frantic dancing, and no responsibility. Why me? I look around that Bridge, and I see the men waiting for me to make the next move. And Bones, what if I'm wrong?

MCCOY: Captain, I...

KIRK: No, I don't really expect an answer.

MCCOY: But I've got one. Something I seldom say to a customer, Jim. In this galaxy, there's a mathematical probability of three million Earth-type planets. And in all of the universe, three million million galaxies like this. And in all of that, and perhaps more, only one of each of us. Don't destroy the one named Kirk.

There is no overt slash in this episode, however the silent bond between Kirk and Spock is still on display. When Stiles makes a snide comment about Spock being related to the Romulan enemies, Kirk immediately and vehemently confronts the crewman on his remark, defending Spock's honour in effect.

Charlie X

KIRK: Charlie, there are a million things in this universe you can have and there are a million things you can't have. It's no fun facing that, but that's the way things are.
CHARLIE: Then what am I going to do?
KIRK: Hang on tight and survive. Everybody does.
CHARLIE: You don't.
KIRK: Everybody, Charlie. Me, too.
CHARLIE: I'm trying, but I don't know how.


"Charlie X' is bitter tale of teenage angst and confusion made all the more painful by the fact that the teenager concerned has almost god-like powers to affect people and objects around him.

Although there is not much in the way of overt slashiness in this episode, there are a number of slashy moments worth mentioning.

Charlie is found alone on a planet, having apparently raised himself from the age of three. He has had no human contact and is eager to meet the members of the Enterprise, however he finds it difficult to fit in and express himself. He falls instantly in love with Janice Rand, who is kind to him, but not willing to encourage his crush. Jim Kirk tries to get Doctor McCoy to take responsibility for educating Charlie in the birds and the bees, but Bones insists that Charlie needs a father figure. Jim is very unwilling to take on the role, which is odd considering he acts this way with the crew so easily. He seems very uncomfortable trying to explain women and inter-personal relationships. He even tries to palm Charlie off on Spock. At this point we get to see a lovely slashy game of Chess between Kirk and Spock, which is always a pleasure.

Kirk tries to encourage Charlie to workout as a way of relieving the urgings of his hormones and we are treated to an extended scene of a Shirtless Kirk. Jim is finally forced to act when Charlie's frustrations boil over. A battle of wills is the result and eventually Charlie takes over control of the Enterprise. Kirk, Spock and McCoy discuss how to handle him and Spock is most concerned that Charlie will harm Jim, but it is decided that he is the only one with enough authority to control the boy. Charlie's powers are stretched to the limit controlling the ship by himself and at one point breaks Kirk's ribs and Spock's leg in a fit of anger. WE see Jim at his most intense when he orders Charlie to fix Spock:

KIRK: Mister Spock?
SPOCK: My legs. They're broken.
KIRK: Let him go, too, Charlie.
CHARLIE: Why?
KIRK: Because I'm telling you to. Because you need me to run the ship, and I need him.

A nice little piece of slash right there.
Ultimately Charlie is unable to control the Enterprise by himself and before he can make everyone on the ship 'disappear' the Thasians, the incorporeal beings who really raised Charlie, return to take their charge back to the planet of his exile. The final scene is one of the most moving in all of TOS. Charlie's desperate pleas to be allowed to stay amongst his own kind are tragic beyond belief and I have always wondered why Kirk doesn't try harder to get the Thasians to let Charlie stay. So sad.

The Naked Time

Where does one even start to discuss the slashiness of this particular episode? The story is simple a disease is brought aboard the Enterprise, the effects of which is to bring on a state of mind where the person's inner emotions and/or fantasies are brought to the surface. Combine an almost non-functional crew with a planet that is about to collapse and a decaying orbit and we have a tension filled episode with everything at stake.

Rather than go through the story I will look at the most important scenes and clues that abound for the K/Ser.
Firstly we will jump straight to Spock contracting the disease. He picks it up when Nurse Chapel ("my name is Christine" - she has to keep reminding Spock of that!) declares her love for him. See the photos below, Spock is horrified by Christine's declaration and although he is very sorry that she feels that way, he is literally backed up against the wall trying to get away from her. Since this disease takes away one's inhibitions, it is clear from this scene that Spock has zero interest in Christine, if he did he would have responded, taken her in his arms and let his feelings take flight; so sorry Christine, no coconut. But the physical touch between them leaves Spock almost instantly effected. He hurries from Sick Bay to find somewhere alone where he can try to control the emotion that is overwhelming him. And that emotion is...shame. What is he ashamed of? Well we are soon to find out. As it is we see him broken-hearted; what is he so broken up about? On his way to the conference room, he (and we) are given a not so subtle clue. Daubed on the wall in vivid red paint are the words 'Love Mankind'. This is a message about Spock desperately wanting to embrace the human part of himself, but feeling nothing but shame and guilt about abandoning his father's ways: Spock feels emotions very deeply indeed and is filled with self-hatred. He loves his mother and is angry that she and he had to live in an environment that frowned upon the emotion of love. He is guilty that he wants more than what his father's culture offered him. He cannot please himself and his mother and his father at the same time, and in the end, no-one is satisfied. It is intensely painful for us as the viewer to watch Spock go through this.

In the meantime, another affected crew member has turned off the engines of the Enterprise, and Scotty states it will take 30 minutes to re-start them, but the ship's orbit is decaying and they have only 5 minutes to save the day. Kirk goes in search of the missing Spock in the hope that his Science Officer will have a formula that will allow them to re-start the engines in time. He finds Spock, inconsolable and emotionally compromised, unable to focus upon the crisis that is unfolding. All Spock wants to do is confess his sins and discuss his feelings. Kirk has no time for this right now. He shakes and strikes Spock to break the spell and re-focus his First Officer. Spock just wants to tell Jim how terrible he feels and how he has feelings for his Captain and friend. Jim still doesn't have time for this; it's not the right time or place to discuss BIG issues about who feels what for whom. In the ensuing battle between them, Kirk contracts the disease also and finds himself descending into depths of despair about how he has no time for his feelings and that the ship and his command demand everything from him.

After the catharsis of admitting his feelings, and the shock of Jim slapping him repeatedly Spock, starts to come to his senses and realizes that he does in fact have a formula that may save the ship. Mr. Scott arrives on the scene and he and Spock hurry to Engineering to implement the plan. Kirk is left alone to swear to the silent walls that he will never lose 'you'. Who is this 'you' to which he refers? It could be the ship, but we are left unsure, if it is the Enterprise or Spock to which he refers. Jim pulls himself together and makes his way back to the Bridge. On the way he is given a not so subtle clue to his feelings - 'Sinner Repent' is painted on the inside of the turbolift that he rides to the Bridge. Who is the sinner, who needs to repent? Is Jim being told to have remorse himself, or is he being told to take pity on the the other 'sinner', Mr. Spock?

The formula works, the engines re-start, the orbit is saved and the Enterprise manages to warp away to safety at the very last moment. In so doing the ship goes into a time warp and is taken back three days; a very symbolic number of days is it not? The number of days that it traditionally takes to die and be re-born. So there is a rebirth that is taking place aboard the Enterprise.

I see this episode as what is the precursor to Kirk and Spock becoming emotionally involved with each other. I feel certain that after this the physical side of their relationship begins. By the time we are another two or three episodes along, they are lovers (which I will discuss in later posts).

Even with this very long post, I have really only scratched the surface of all the slash material contained in this episode. Watch it for yourself and count the ways...

To recap, when affected by a disease that brings out inner feelings and fantasies, neither Kirk nor Spock chases after a women, but they do spend a long time alone in a room together confessing their feelings and belting the crap out of each other. They are each given a message to love and repent, and they are given three days to live over again as a sure sign of a rebirth. This episode is all about them and their feelings for each other. Christine and Janice do not even enter into the equation. This episode demonstrates how troubled, passionate and conflicted these two men are and how they really love and trust each other above anyone or anything else. In the final scene Spock returns to the Bridge and immediately checks that Jim is okay, Jim asks the same of Spock and they take a few valuable seconds to look lovingly into each others eyes and re-assure each other that everything will be alright.

I don't know how many times I have seen this episode, but it never ceases to move me with it's powerful action and profound implications.

The Naked Time