"This Side of Paradise"
"This Side of Paradise" is an enjoyable episode, and is one I had not seen until now. That's one of the things I'm most looking forward to in this year long voyage, watching episodes of Trek I've not yet seen.
The Enterprise arrives at Omicron Ceti III, expecting to find the agricultural colony's inhabitants dead from exposure to deadly Berthold radiation. Kirk and the landing party are shocked to meet Elias Sandoval, the head of the colony, and other colonists, all very much alive and in perfect health. Spock is as surprised as he can be to meet a flame from his past, Leila Kalomi. McCoy examines all of the colonists and is dumbfounded by their perfect health, and Spock discovers first-hand the reason behind their well-being when he's exposed to a strange spore. The spore frees him of his inhibitions and lets him feel happiness and the love he has for Leila. The rest of the landing party is soon exposed, as well as the entire crew of the Enterprise in orbit. Kirk is the only person not affected for some reason, and even when he is finally swayed by the spore's effects, his strong will and love of his ship overcomes. Kirk realizes strong emotions cut off the influence of the spores, and goads Spock into a fistfight. Spock is freed and assists Kirk in freeing the other crewmembers, and the episode ends with us learning that Spock had known happiness for the first time in his life, despite the cost the spores would have brought.
"Paradise" has some great moments for Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Kirk realizing he can't run his beloved Enterprise without a crew is an interesting insight into his character. Spock's loss of happiness and love is tragic, and McCoy's reversion to an "ol' country boy" replete with drawl is extremely funny, if a little hard to swallow. This type of story, which seeks to deliver an important lesson by allowing the characters to learn it in front of us, is one of the most successful kinds of Trek episodes. Kirk's speech about fighting our way through life to achieve happiness instead of just having it given to us free of charge is inspiring and revealing of the ethics behind Trek and the character of Kirk. Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley all deliver performances that make this episode sing, and it's no wonder this would be one of the templates of future successful Trek episodes and films.
The episode's title card.
Spock after exposure to the spores.
Spock shows his true feelings for former love Leila.
Spock: The Vulcan Who Smiled.
Kirk alone on the Enterprise, faced with his powerlessness without a crew.
The Enterprise arrives at Omicron Ceti III, expecting to find the agricultural colony's inhabitants dead from exposure to deadly Berthold radiation. Kirk and the landing party are shocked to meet Elias Sandoval, the head of the colony, and other colonists, all very much alive and in perfect health. Spock is as surprised as he can be to meet a flame from his past, Leila Kalomi. McCoy examines all of the colonists and is dumbfounded by their perfect health, and Spock discovers first-hand the reason behind their well-being when he's exposed to a strange spore. The spore frees him of his inhibitions and lets him feel happiness and the love he has for Leila. The rest of the landing party is soon exposed, as well as the entire crew of the Enterprise in orbit. Kirk is the only person not affected for some reason, and even when he is finally swayed by the spore's effects, his strong will and love of his ship overcomes. Kirk realizes strong emotions cut off the influence of the spores, and goads Spock into a fistfight. Spock is freed and assists Kirk in freeing the other crewmembers, and the episode ends with us learning that Spock had known happiness for the first time in his life, despite the cost the spores would have brought.
"Paradise" has some great moments for Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Kirk realizing he can't run his beloved Enterprise without a crew is an interesting insight into his character. Spock's loss of happiness and love is tragic, and McCoy's reversion to an "ol' country boy" replete with drawl is extremely funny, if a little hard to swallow. This type of story, which seeks to deliver an important lesson by allowing the characters to learn it in front of us, is one of the most successful kinds of Trek episodes. Kirk's speech about fighting our way through life to achieve happiness instead of just having it given to us free of charge is inspiring and revealing of the ethics behind Trek and the character of Kirk. Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley all deliver performances that make this episode sing, and it's no wonder this would be one of the templates of future successful Trek episodes and films.
The episode's title card.
Spock after exposure to the spores.
Spock shows his true feelings for former love Leila.
Spock: The Vulcan Who Smiled.
Kirk alone on the Enterprise, faced with his powerlessness without a crew.
posted by Christopher at 12:02 PM
1 Comments:
Hey Chris!,
I'm not sure how I stumbled upon your blog but i'll chalk it up to 6 degrees of kevin bacon...er separation. Anyway, great to see that you are writing!
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