{"id":4293,"date":"2014-12-17T13:00:47","date_gmt":"2014-12-17T21:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4293"},"modified":"2014-12-08T11:14:22","modified_gmt":"2014-12-08T19:14:22","slug":"mark-watches-star-trek-s03e08-for-the-world-is-hollow-and-i-have-touched-the-sky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2014\/12\/mark-watches-star-trek-s03e08-for-the-world-is-hollow-and-i-have-touched-the-sky\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Star Trek’: S03E08 – For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eighth episode of third season of\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>, THIS SHOWED SUCH PROMISE. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

Seriously, there are two\u00c2\u00a0incredible<\/i> premises at the heart of this episode (whose title also made me very eager to see what this show could do), and the ending\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, to say it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s disappointing isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite right. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s almost absurdly unresolved, and the potential shown to us at the beginning of the episode is rendered moot by the storytelling standards that the writers stick to.<\/p>\n

Truthfully, if\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i> was allowed to tell any manner of serialized narratives, I could see McCoy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s struggle with mortality and loneliness being one of the best things the show had ever done. Even what little we see of it here is brilliant. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s haunting, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sad, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s done respectfully. Even though I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily buy Natira and McCoy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s romance \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I rarely am into stories about instant love like this \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I understood the context for it. I understood why McCoy was making the choice to stay behind on Yonada, and I understood why he wanted to pursue companionship for the first time in the show. In that sense, this felt a little like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Paradise Syndrome,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but with none of the\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, disaster. (Actually, now that I think about it, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re identical in other ways. An asteroid heading to a highly populated planet, a priestess marrying a main cast member, dogmatic religions, etc.)<\/p>\n

Given how well most of this story was executed, I just wanted\u00c2\u00a0more<\/i>. I adored DeForest Kelly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s acting here, which was remarkably subtle considering the subject matter. I am going to be\u00c2\u00a0forever devastated<\/i> by that scene where Spock shows genuine affection for Bones with a single hand on the shoulder. HOW IS THAT MOMENT AT ALL FAIR??? And what about Bones\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quiet sadness as he realizes his friends just left and no one said goodbye and that was going to be the last time he saw them? HAHAHA WOW, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M FINE, YOU\u00e2\u20ac\u2122RE FINE,\u00c2\u00a0EVERYONE IS FINE<\/i>.<\/p>\n

The same goes for the story of Natira\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s devotion to the faith that she was raised in. This is a fine example of how science fiction can address matters of the real world without being offensive in the process. Dogmatic belief can be a repressive thing to experience, and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153For the World is Hollow\u00e2\u20ac\u009d explores what that means for someone who has never had an outside perspective to challenge her belief. I was glad, then, that the writers didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore that the Prime Directive completely restricted the crew\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actions, since it seemed pretty clear that they couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t dismantle an entire religion just because they wanted to. But when Spock and Kirk discuss it, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s made out to be so much complicated than a mere interference, you know? Given the choice between violating the Prime Directive or being legally compelled to destroy the entire asteroid, both Spock and Kirk realize it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s better for them to infiltrate the ship and risk upsetting the natural order to save lives.<\/p>\n

So where does that take Natira? As she grows closer to McCoy (over the course of a few hours, which is shockingly\u00c2\u00a0not<\/i> the least believable part of this episode), she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s less and less likely to believe Spock and Kirk. She lashes out at them, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s completely understandable that she does so! Without any evidence to the contrary, she has no reason to doubt her religion\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s purpose.<\/p>\n

While I think the happy ending to this episode actually works in favor of the narrative of hope, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also where this all falls apart spectacularly. In McCoy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case, his entire journey of acceptance and peace is upending by a literal last-minute solution: the Yonadans had a cure to his disease the whole time! This is not just a terrible plot solution, but seriously, just one scene earlier, McCoy was telling Natira that he was going to devote the rest of his life to finding a cure. Even in that one scene, we get potential for McCoy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s character and the promise of development, and then that goddamn resolution steals that away from him, too!<\/p>\n

But holy shit, I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T UNDERSTAND THE ORACLE OR ANYTHING. Why the fuck did the Creators \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the original Fabrini who made this ship \u00e2\u20ac\u201c hide the purpose of said ship??? Why create an Oracle computer that torments its followers for slipping out of line? Why wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t you tell your descendants precisely where they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re headed and what their purpose was? In their initial state at the beginning of this episode, we see how they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re living in with this sense of peace and tranquility that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wrapped up in a MANDATED PHYSICAL SUBSERVIENCE TO A COMPUTER THAT CAN ELECTROCUTE THEM TO DEATH. Is that the world the Fabrini wanted on their new planet? Like,\u00c2\u00a0nothing<\/i> about this arrangement would even remotely prepare them to live on a new world. So what gives? Why create this mystery and then wholly abandon it by the end of the episode? That means the antagonist in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153For the World is Hollow\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 the Fabrini. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re they ones who set up this whole oppressive structure! They doomed their own people to fail, despite wanting them to succeed???<\/p>\n

It hurts my brain to even think about it. So I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll choose to think about Spock reaching out to Bones with affection, and everything will be okay. (No, it won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, OH GOD MY EMOTIONS.)<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153For the World is Hollow\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– Mark Does Stuff is now on Facebook<\/a>! Feel free to Like the page, which I’m running myself, for updates and SILLINESS.
\n– If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running, I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!<\/a>
\n– Please check out the MarkDoesStuff.com<\/a>. All Mark Watches videos for past shows\/season are now archived there!
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next two Double Features are now in the schedule! I will be watching <\/b>The Sarah Connor Chronicles<\/i><\/b> and then <\/b>Leverage<\/i><\/b>. <\/b>Commission away!
\n– I will be at quite a few conventions and will be hosting events throughout 2015, so check my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page<\/a> often to see if I’m coming to your city!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"