tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post6543565597445806514..comments2024-03-27T10:27:59.266-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: Star Trek 50th Anniversary Blogging: "Elaan of Troyius" (December 20, 1968)John Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-78315176668820093882017-06-28T20:22:59.674-04:002017-06-28T20:22:59.674-04:00Speaking of Dr. Shrinker, I have to say Jay Robins...Speaking of Dr. Shrinker, I have to say Jay Robinson was exactly the kind of actor, and gave the kind of performance, that Star Trek deserves kudos for casting. Anyone who saw The Robe--wherein the director lost control of everything--(you KNOW you have a major problem anytime Victor Mature is acting parabolas around Richard Burton, who's doing his impression of a block of granite)--and its sequel, Demetrius and the Gladiators, knew that Jay Robinson was going to flame the Flaming Flamer of Flamedom onscreen! The Star Trek producers knew what kind of performance he was likely to turn in and yet he was cast anyway, and gave the expected performance, and in some ways that is the least remarkable aspect of this episode! <br /><br />It's exactly the sort of casting and the sort of performance that TNG absolutely ran from. I would go even further than John in my contempt for Gene Roddenberry and his successors at TNG, who paid lip service but did absolutely nothing to advance TNG or later incarnations of Star Trek beyond--or even to--the limits of the cultural landscape of the time. I give Star Trek TOS all kinds of breaks for any errors it made in the service of taking risks to advance ideas that clearly were beyond its cultural milieu. I am contemptuous of TNG because it took zero risks, did even LESS in a time when the cultural milieu was advancing past it and overtaking it, and it didn't even have the excuse of network brass interference as TOS did. <br /><br /><br />Sherinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-25565947718622419122017-06-28T01:34:38.870-04:002017-06-28T01:34:38.870-04:00John,
I've always liked this episode and never...John,<br />I've always liked this episode and never once thought of it as an exercise in sexism. You've dotted every "i" and crossed every "t" in your examination of it, but I've always found it to be a fun romp with an exciting space battle. Isn't it implicit that a series from the 1960's, as ahead of its time as it was, isn't going to get everything right? For comparison's sake, I've been watching episodes of The Monkees on blu ray, and Good Gosh, some of those shows have elements that make me cringe now. Certain things were just accepted back then, but we've grown up since and we know better. At least Star Trek was trying its best to pole vault over a bar that was much higher than its contemporaries, and is even higher still today.<br />I think it's great that we've made progress, but we still have a long way to go to towards Utopia. As for "Elaan of Troyius," I accept it for what it is and not what it should have known it could be. It's another episode that destroys the credibility of those who malign and mock The Third Season. Plus, it earns extra points for having the one and only Doctor Shrinker in it. Young Steve appreciated that as much as Steve Mark 2017 does.<br />SteveAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13101722769411384962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-53830715557932966472017-06-27T13:24:03.995-04:002017-06-27T13:24:03.995-04:00"Elaan of Troyius" is one of those episo..."Elaan of Troyius" is one of those episodes that grew on me: I liked it well enough as a kid during the first run but have found more to appreciate about it over time. One tends to forget just how much action there is in it.<br /><br />Yes, it should be viewed within its context. I'm a woman and a (not particularly strident) feminist, but I am absolutely sick to death of the constant finger-pointing and couch-fainting over relatively minor details in older works of art. Note it as a minor detail in passing, fine; but to critique and relitigate every single instance of sexism ex post facto becomes tiresome and silly. Furthermore, I must draw attention to the fact that despite the rise of feminism and the E.R.A. in the 60's and 70's, stereotypes about women--many of them perpetuated *by women*--persisted in television and popular culture, like bad women drivers, women who couldn't balance a checkbook, etc. If one can't view an episode of The Honeymooners ("To the moon, Alice . . .!) or even, say, The Carol Burnett Show, without getting the vapors over stereotypical situations, then one ought to avoid all older works of art lest they be found wanting. Especially literature. <br /><br />As for Elaan, though I agree that the situation derives from Helen of Troy, I've never thought of it strictly in terms of a bride becoming acceptable to a groom, but more generically: Elaan is a stand-in for any heir/heiress to a head of state preparing to marry for reasons of diplomacy and statecraft, which was the norm right up until the 20th century. (And even after, in the case of the Greek monarchy prior to it being deposed, and the pressure placed on King Juan Carlos by the Franco regime to make an appropriate royal match as a condition of eventually restoring the Spanish monarchy.)<br /><br />What a well-crafted episode this is, with terrific battle sequences, Klingon (Romulan) battlecruisers, Orions, saboteurs and intrigue, and murder to go along with the more personal story. Once again, every dime that could be spared ends up on the screen: the Troyian guards look great even if they are wearing placemats! And the score for this episode is one of the very best scores ever from a show that, pound for pound, may have been the best-scored television show ever. There isn't much to complain about here.Sherinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-91234872931201944562017-06-27T11:13:29.396-04:002017-06-27T11:13:29.396-04:00I agree mostly.
Yes, she has terrible manners. I ...I agree mostly.<br /><br />Yes, she has terrible manners. I put that down to her culture, or perhaps a culture in which the high need no manners because they are high. Certainly the rich and powerful of today can get away with a lot that the regular Joe can't.<br /><br />As for her attitude, I see it as her doing her duty -- but only her duty and no more. She'll get married because she knows it's best for everyone, but refuses to change her identity for it.<br /><br />And that's the sexist part -- that marriage demands that she change her identity.<br /><br />So, aside from Kirk's comment, I guess I see the episode as a roundabout condemnation of 60's marriage values.raitonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-1587554644892898932017-06-27T10:51:09.410-04:002017-06-27T10:51:09.410-04:00Your points about 'a different time' are s...Your points about 'a different time' are spot on.<br /><br />"Star Trek: the Next Generation" is almost unwatchable. In so many ways -- not just the gender attitudes -- that show feels older than the original.<br /><br />Back to "Elaan of Troyuis":<br /><br />The battle in the last couple of reels is outstanding; the filmmaking, superb. Fred Steiner's score is something else. (Yes, I mentioned the music.)<br /><br />You write with great elan, Sir.Simon St. Laurenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02948457860768548876noreply@blogger.com