Series: Star Trek: The Original Series
Season 1, Episode 4
Original Air Date: September 29, 1966
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| via Victory Tastes Yellow |
The last 10 minutes. I am always impressed by the seemingly impossible problems the Star Trek crew manages to resolve in the last 10 minutes of an episode. With each passing moment of the opening acts, the rope tightens and hope of survival grows more remote. You know they're going to make it because there are still 700+ episodes to go but even the most devoted fan is pushed to the edge of doubt. Finally, after the last commercial break, someone - and it's not always the same person - saves the day. It's as good a formula for building a cult following as any.
"The Naked Time" finds our heroes orbiting the dying planet Psi 2000. A landing team discovers the researchers on the surface have all suddenly and mysteriously died. Upon returning to the ship, an intoxicating affliction claims one member of the crew at a time. With each new infection, the Enterprise falls into greater peril. All comes to a head when Lt. Riley locks himself in engineering and takes control of the ship. Meanwhile, the ship is being pulled into the collapsing planet. Just in time, Riley is subdued and Spock concocts an escape plan based on an untested theory. Of course, the day is saved.
Phew!
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| via The Internet Killed the Television Star |
There are moments of levity along the way. Lt. Sulu spends much of the episode running around shirtless, challenging everyone he meets to a fencing duel. Surely not coincidentally, George Takei has always claimed "The Naked Time" as his favorite episode.
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| via Star Trek Daily Pic |
DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy) was born January 20, 1920 in Toccoa, Georgia. The son of a Baptist minister, he was named for Lee de Forest, an American inventor. During the Second World War, Kelley served in the army's First Motion Picture Unit. His first feature film appearance was in 1947's Fear in the Night. His television debut was on You Are There. He first worked with Leonard Nimoy in a 1963 episode of The Virginian. Kelley was actually Gene Rodenberry's original choice to play the role of Spock but he turned it down.
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| via Shatner's Toupee |
You are making me want to sit down and watch these again. Not that I think I will any time soon, but I'm wanting to.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely enjoying my little stroll through the originals.
Deletehahahahahaha, another of my blog friends wrote about Star Trek in her blog today.
ReplyDeleteI love when something like that happens.
Sheldon would approve of this post today.
cheers, parsnip
Trek is in these days. The most recent movie definitely sparked and re-sparked interest for a lot of people.
DeleteI remember several episodes in which the crew went crazy but always favored ones where Sulu got to leave teethmarks on the scenery. Pic you included is a delightfully energetic example!
ReplyDeleteGeo, it's been fun to discover how many of Trek's basic story templates started very early.
DeleteI like Sulu, too. My basic impression of the original series is that the side characters weren't as well developed as they were in later series. The vast majority of stories revolve around Kirk and Spock with strong support from Bones. I'll be watching for meaningful glimpses of the others.
Everyone's memory of The Naked Time was the same - George Takei going crazy with the sword on set...LOL. Takei insists in his book that he was merely practicing.
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting thing is about the part where Spock loses control of his emotions...it was originally written that it would happen right on the bridge in front of everyone. Leonard Nimoy had them change that part...stating that the virus may have unleashed some things, but wouldn't change their basic character, and Spock would never lose control like that in front of all those people.
I love how invested they were in their roles.
I, too, am impressed by the investment. Even in the pilot (#2), Shatner already looks very settled in the role of Captain. He gets a lot of (deserved) flak for overacting but in these early episodes, he looks like he's been Kirk for years. That's not easy to do.
DeleteHey. Felt a bit dropped off at the end, there. You know, I've noticed you've grown a bit austere in some ways lately. Not with every post. Just measured, maybe? That might be it.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, fantastic pics of Kelley. Girl hearts them. Glad he turned down the role of Spock. All worked out as it should in this case, I'm thinking.
I'm still feeling my way a bit with these Trek posts. I'm having fun but I'm not sure of the direction I ultimately want to take them. This is, after all, extremely well covered ground.
DeleteSome posts are shorter by design - the tennis ones, for instance. In other cases, there's only so much to say. I don't believe in rambling. Write what you've got, then get out of the way.
Recently, too, I've found most of the fun is the dialogue in the comments section anyway. So, the post can be just a nice way to get the ball rolling.
I don't know. A blog is, after all, eternally a work in progress.
I didn't mean it in a bad way at all. Just an observation. I guess I sort of expected more of your personal response to the ep but maybe that's more my style! I remember this episode is The One that really turned me on to the franchise.
DeleteAha! Now see, this is the good stuff. In truth, I have yet to find the Original Series episode that really grabs me. For The Next Generation, I've got 2 goose bumpers: "The Offspring" and "I, Borg."
DeleteWith the episodes I'm watching now, my fascinations are two: 1) the story concepts that germinated early and have flourished in the franchise throughout the decades since and 2) the extraordinary cultural impact of Trek. The original show was only on for three seasons, yet remains relevant nearly five decades later. By comparison, how much could the average 21st century schmo tell you about Gunsmoke or Bonanza, exponentially more successful shows during Trek's era? Meanwhile, there's no way Nimoy goes anywhere without being recognized, ears or no ears. Never mind Trek, Spock's one of the greatest icons in all of American television.
So, what is it about this show that works? I have some ideas percolating and I'll share them as I go along.
For the moment, I'm keen to learn more about the cast of principals. In the early stages, how could any of them possibly have known what the show would become? They were just actors in a new gig.
I didn't take it as criticism. It's a fair point and considering my response has helped me to articulate my sense of purpose. It's all good.
I like it when an opportunity to articulate intent strengthens it.
DeleteAlso, I've always loved articles and stories that look back on a phenomenon with fondness and give you that chill-bumpy feeling when you imagine that, during the early stages, there was this fragility now unthinkable in hindsight. I read a book on the Mary Tyler Moore show this summer that was written in such a fashion. Intriguing and pleasant.
I love the Mary Tyler Moore Show - one of so many shows that struggled early in the ratings only to be saved by the critics. Cheers and M*A*S*H are on that list, too.
DeleteCheers?! Nuh-uh!
DeleteYou don't like Cheers? Or you don't believe they ever struggled in the ratings. I'm pretty sure they debuted in last place on the Nielsen list - really a shame because the pilot's outstanding.
DeleteYeah, Squid. I don't like Cheers. *rolls subliminal eyes.*
DeleteLast place is a little hard to believe. Though as an artist who has struggled to 'break in,' I am certainly of the mind that quality is not the only defining factor in success. There's timing, propitious positioning, luck, connections, trends and more timing.
Apparently, the only reason Cheers wasn't cancelled midway through the first season was that NBC had nothing else in the can. Meanwhile, the critics raved - 13 Emmy nominations for the first season alone, 4 wins including Best Comedy Series.
DeleteQuality is definitely NOT the defining factor of success. Bad books get published all the time.
I loved that episode! Thank God for Spock! and Data.
ReplyDeleteThank God for Spock and Data!
DeleteThat's downright t-shirt worthy...