tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post3716074358232218679..comments2024-03-29T04:57:26.162-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: Star Trek 50th Anniversary Blogging: "Dagger of the Mind" (November 3, 1966)John Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-60497453420847940162016-08-24T21:45:48.641-04:002016-08-24T21:45:48.641-04:00I liked the interplay among Kirk, Spock and McCoy ...I liked the interplay among Kirk, Spock and McCoy early on the bridge. Understated,effective, and in character. Agreed Adams motivation might have been blue-penciled somewhere along the way, because, really ... why? But I thought the penal colony insignias were the greatest, and I want one of those uniforms!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11305537333282240907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-75634984452965956402016-04-09T01:54:42.045-04:002016-04-09T01:54:42.045-04:00I wasn't trying to suggest only scientists are...I wasn't trying to suggest only scientists are unethical, John, and I take your point. It's just that I don't necessarily agree that a fully explained motive for Adams' is required in the context of this episode. Most of the inhumane scientific misjudgments in the name of helping humanity I described above make very little sense in terms of discerning motives; the scientists involved just went off the rails mainly because they became too convinced of their "rightness" and their greatness. Single-mindedness and obsession, even in pursuit of what seem to be "good" ends, is just single-mindedness and obsession. <br /><br />Put anybody in the position Dr. Adams is in, with a machine that can reorder minds on the basis of suggestion, and put him in authority over a captive population, and all the ingredients needed for monstrousness are already present. Throw in the occasional temptation to eliminate a colleague's troublesome ethical questions, and poof, you have a ghastly result. For highly controversial parallels in similar settings, Google the Stanford Philip Zimbardo study (which had to be halted due to ethical problems), or the Stanley Milgram study. <br /><br />I should point out that my degree is in psychology, and experience is a good teacher. The soft sciences are highly susceptible to temptations of misbehavior and faulty procedures that issue from dangerous thinking, because so little is strictly empirical. My own hometown had one of the highest rates of ADHD diagnoses and Ritalin prescriptions in the nation, all because of one doctor who thought himself a hammer and found nails all around him. If that guy had had a Fix-it Mind Machine at his disposal, he'd have turned the place into Zombie Central! Sherinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-61555286371455992772016-04-03T07:01:38.964-04:002016-04-03T07:01:38.964-04:00Sheri, there is undoubtedly a lot of evil in human...Sheri, there is undoubtedly a lot of evil in human nature as you write here. <br /><br />For instance, there is also unethical, immoral behavior to be seen in priests, generals, and politicians. <br /><br />Singling out those in psychology/psychiatry rings a bit hollow, and untrue given a history of pedophile priests, politicians who lie us into wars and demogogue issues, and generals who authorize dehumanizing torture. <br /><br />And nobody on this blog is saying that a scientist couldn't do bad things (just read my review of the previous episode, "What Are Little Girls Made Of,") merely that -- from a viewpoint of drama (and issues like story structure) -- viewers deserve to know why Adams risks everything to torture Kirk, when he could go on being unethical and immoral in his own little kingdom. <br /><br />He has no reason, selfish, immoral or inhumane to act in the fashion he does; or at least the episode doesn't provide them. <br /><br />As a character in a drama he should bear some kind of motivation for his behavior (like improving the breed; like Korby). He doesn't. <br /><br />I understand your point that in real life people do bad things. I agree.<br /><br />What we demand of drama -- and Star Trek -- is that we understand those bad things through the lens of human nature. <br /><br />Pretty clearly, Adams fails that test. He's a two dimensional evil scientist, and we don't really learn much about human nature from his actions or behavior. We don't know his plan, or what he is trying to achieve. He's just evil for the sake of the plot.<br /><br />Welcome to the blog!<br /><br />best,<br />John<br />John Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-46804032386453716232016-04-03T04:24:28.570-04:002016-04-03T04:24:28.570-04:00How would you like to be one of the unknown number...How would you like to be one of the unknown number of convicts stuck in prison because of faked FBI lab results? I've got news, people: scientists are human, and they are subject to all the faults of humanity. The mantle of "science" is no protection against greed, quackery, and delusions of grandeur--all of which afflict even well-meaning scientists with humanitarian ideals. <br /><br />You think Star Trek's Eugenics Wars were a random idea? Large numbers of "humanitarian" scientists saw to the sterilization of huge numbers of "unfit" and "degenerate" members of the lower classes in the interests of improving humanity! One need not have been a Joseph Mengele to have experimented hideously on helpless populations. Large numbers of Black men died in agony untreated in the syphilis studies. Truly alarming numbers of people were routinely diagnosed as incorrigibly mentally ill and lobotomized in assembly-line fashion without anesthesia over the course of decades. These things occurred right here in the United States in the 20th century.<br /><br />Psychiatry and psychology have historically been the purview of some of the most unethical, immoral practices the world has ever seen. Dr. Adams would only be the latest example in a long line of great humanitarians who became enamored of their own reputations and developed delusions of grandeur and God complexes. "Dagger of the Mind" could all too easily happen, because it already has happened, over and over and over again.Sherinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-54525105488153117212016-03-09T18:26:25.825-05:002016-03-09T18:26:25.825-05:00Count me in on the thumbs down. One of my least fa...Count me in on the thumbs down. One of my least favorite episodes for all the reasons you gave above. But I do love the Dr. Helen Noel character (a GREAT name!) and the actress. And it's always good to see Morgan Woodward.James J. Caterinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01457868136494514710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-9279560306098098432016-03-09T10:30:29.813-05:002016-03-09T10:30:29.813-05:00I too noticed the repetition of themes in the firs...I too noticed the repetition of themes in the first season of Star Trek after watching the reruns a few times over. My theory is that the show was under such a time crunch in the first season with Roddenberry, Coons, and Fontana scrambling to keep scripts in the pipeline, they had no choice but to reuse ideas over and over. While the first season had some really great episodes and interesting elements that were later abandoned, I think the second season was more balanced in terms of story selection.Neal Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17053148427058126745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-44255414329122583752016-03-09T09:05:11.829-05:002016-03-09T09:05:11.829-05:00I have not seen this episode in many years. After ...I have not seen this episode in many years. After reading this review it's time for me to review "Dagger of the Mind". The episode has atmosphere and Morgan Woodward is superb as Van Gelder -- two elements that make it very affecting at times.<br /><br />By the way, John, I've noticed you're using low-grade frame captures. Too bad, especially since <b>Star Trek</b> is a great-looking show... one of the things it's known for. (You started off your series by using Blu-ray frames.)<br /><br />"Dagger of the Mind" came in under budget ($182,140) which no doubt pleased head office, saving them from going out of their minds: production designer Matt Jefferies recycled set pieces from "What Are Little Girls Made Of?", as per the norm with series television; and the show by now was starting to build stock shots of the Enterprise in space/around a planet, which could now be drawn from as needed.<br /><br />I spoke of Blu-ray, above. Your series is going to push me to by the show on that format. As a matter of fact I don't even have <b>Trek</b> on DVD.<br /><br />Barry<br />www.barrysmight.blogspot.caBarry Smighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02464450751543573690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-53002005230376548862016-03-09T03:25:04.460-05:002016-03-09T03:25:04.460-05:00John,
I really dislike this episode. Your review...John,<br /><br />I really dislike this episode. Your review is spot-on perfect in a way "Dagger of the Mind" can only hope to be. Honestly, the two best things to come out of this entry are the Vulcan Mind Meld and a hilarious episode of South Park.<br /><br />I've read many books about Star Trek over the years, and there are reports that "Dagger of the Mind" is a veiled re-write of actual history, in which Grace Lee Whitney left the show for refusing an executive's advances after the studio's Christmas Party. I know it's all rumor and hearsay, but whenever I watch this episode, I really feel uncomfortable, for reasons that have nothing to do with the mood the show is trying to create. Can you get any more on-the-nose than naming a character "Noel" and having her hook up with Kirk at a Christmas party?<br /><br />An interesting note about the Vulcan Mind Meld: the script originally called for Spock to hypnotize Van Gelder, but Nimoy improvised the Vulcan technique as a means of keeping his character "alien." I'd say that was a choice that paid off rather well.<br /><br />SteveAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13101722769411384962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-77888171584763377822016-03-08T15:22:21.629-05:002016-03-08T15:22:21.629-05:00John thoughtful review of this memorable TOS episo...John thoughtful review of this memorable TOS episode. <br /><br />SGBSGBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07137406272001346149noreply@blogger.com