In the twentieth episode of the third season of\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>, the crew takes on a group of music-loving space hippies, and while most of this is just as bad as it sounds, one thing saves it all: SPOCK. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Oh lord.<\/p>\n
I wanted this to be so much better than it was. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think this is the\u00c2\u00a0worst\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>episode this season, and I think there were others that certainly qualified for this. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot of potential in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Way to Eden,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to ignore that. However, this script has such a desperate need to take a compelling idea \u00e2\u20ac\u201c people desperate to escape the seemingly repressive Federation and its culture \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and portray it as silly and absurd. Which sucks because SPOCK AND HIS VALIDATION OF THIS BELIEF IS SO WONDERFUL AND ONE OF THE BEST THINGS THIS SHOW HAS EVER DONE.<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s confusing, basically. Through Spock, we get a sympathetic lens. The people who follow Dr. Sevrin are seeking a refuge from a world where everything is ordered and artificial. And, thankfully, we later find out\u00c2\u00a0why\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>Sevrin is so desperate to find Eden, this mythological planet free from Federation control: he is a carrier for a virus CREATED by this hyper-technological society. He has every reason to defy the Federation, and I was so impressed that this show had FINALLY given us a vehicle within this show where someone could criticize the Federation fairly. However, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also the problem within this script; without Spock\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s influence on the story, this episode utterly destroys the group\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s credibility, repeatedly and consistently. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re portrayed as irritating and impulsive. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re brilliant scientists and are familiar with the ship, yet they make decisions that ignore this awareness. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re openly manipulative, despite that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying to go somewhere to be peaceful. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re constantly singing terrible songs that\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 okay, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more of a criticism of the production of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Way to Eden\u00e2\u20ac\u009d than the characterization itself.<\/p>\n
But you know,\u00c2\u00a0that<\/i> is just as important to discuss. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that either the inspiration or motivation for this is to comment on the flower power hippies of the sixties, and while I initially thought it was neat, it comes across as horribly condescending through the writing. Look, I really do think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important to try and understand this within the cultural context of when it was made! But in this case, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Well, I understand why this was written back then,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d because I imagine that if was pretty damn terrible back in 1969. Could you imagine being told that your interest in human rights and rock n\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 roll meant you were impetuous, childish, prone to making trouble, and willing to put AN ENTIRE PLANET AT RISK OF DEATH? Or that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d ignore fairly plain science in order to follow someone like Dr. Sevrin? Or that your interest in a world that isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t dependent on technology or strict order would eventually end in your death or severe harm? Like, I find it incredibly telling that the two episodes this season that have dealt with real-world social ills (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Let That Be Your Last Battlefield\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and racism, this episode and progressive politics) have both ended with unbelievably dire and grim conclusions. Why is that? Why is that people who are desperate to make their worlds better are given absolutely no world to return to?<\/p>\n
The interactions between Chekov and Irina were mildly interesting. I always like it when the show tries to give us an idea of the main characters\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 background, but even here, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not really any significant development. Chekov is still bitter and saddened by the fact that Irina chose\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, anything other than him. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not viewed critically within the narrative at all; sure, the two of them toyed with a romantic relationship, but it totally felt like Chekov was angry that Irina chose a different path in life instead of a romance with him. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 weird? Did he think that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d follow him at the Academy and afterwards?<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Spock, though, that makes \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Way to Eden\u00e2\u20ac\u009d memorable to me in a positive way. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d ever describe Spock as an empathetic person, which is not to say that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s incapable of behaving that way. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just that Spock\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nature complicates the issue so much that I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a challenge worthy of more than just a paragraph or two in a review. He\u00c2\u00a0has<\/i> done what he can to understand the world around him, even if it is in clinical or cold terms, but there is a shred of emotional resonance in his words to Kirk here that is just downright\u00c2\u00a0rare<\/i>. When did we last hear him speak of his own dynamic within the Federation? Any references to being Vulcan are often trotted out as a way to make Spock a foil or to make a joke, but in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Way to Eden,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the writers point to something else. Spock feels a kinship to the beliefs of these people\u00c2\u00a0because he knows what it is like to feel like an alien within his home<\/i>. I find that to be a powerful statement, one that indicates that Spock is always aware of his place outside the norm within a larger organization. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean he dislikes his position, or that he feels as if the people around him are necessarily bigoted or mean or cruel. Just by nature of him being different \u00e2\u20ac\u201c visibly so and because of his culture\/behavior \u00e2\u20ac\u201c he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always going to feel out of place.<\/p>\n
It is a\u00c2\u00a0powerful\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>demonstration of something I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m quite familiar with, and I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a great way to explain to other people what it feels like to go through something like this. Being non-white in America, or being queer, produces the same effect. Even amidst friends who I adore and trust, you cannot control this phenomenon when it happens. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a reality for me living within a paradigm that frequently uplifts or celebrates another reality over mine.<\/p>\n
I JUST WISH THERE WASN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T SO MUCH SECOND-HAND EMBARRASSMENT GOING ON HERE. I tried, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, but oh my god. The music, the costumes, the language\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just way too awkward and uncomfortable to watch! Again, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think this episode is worthless or without merit. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 a mess. An enjoyable mess at times, but a mess nonetheless.<\/p>\n
The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Way to Eden\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. In the twentieth episode of the third season of\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek, the crew takes on a group of music-loving space hippies, and while most of this is just as bad as it sounds, one thing saves it all: SPOCK. Intrigued? Then … Continue reading
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