tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post695898867709746680..comments2024-03-28T14:49:36.133-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: Star Trek 50th Anniversary Blogging: "Journey to Babel" (November 17, 1967)John Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-90356046157769419262016-11-16T21:16:10.059-05:002016-11-16T21:16:10.059-05:00Hahaha! Love it!!! :)Hahaha! Love it!!! :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13101722769411384962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-89781073131141690632016-11-16T13:44:49.163-05:002016-11-16T13:44:49.163-05:00I love that line, too, Steve, and also: "It s...I love that line, too, Steve, and also: "It seemed the logical thing to do . . ." Ambiguous, that line, implying Vulcans are certainly capable of love and that being in love, the only logical thing to do was to marry Amanda. So, you think they, uh, you know, fooled around before marriage? Did they HAVE to get married? Was it a PHASER wedding?! :-]Sherinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-26995214593434417532016-11-16T10:57:10.249-05:002016-11-16T10:57:10.249-05:00A classic. So love Spock's dedication to Starf...A classic. So love Spock's dedication to Starfleet, his Captain, and his ship.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03097420555737415471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-82344503001358809852016-11-16T01:41:43.966-05:002016-11-16T01:41:43.966-05:00John,
Very little to add here. I appreciate your ...John,<br />Very little to add here. I appreciate your (and Sheri's) perspectives from a parental viewpoint, which add so much to the discussion, and my admiration of this episode.<br />"Journey to Babel" also has one of my favorite Star Trek quotes, delivered by Sarek: "Threats are illogical. And payment is usually expensive."<br />SteveAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13101722769411384962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-285865984502517292016-11-15T14:00:24.754-05:002016-11-15T14:00:24.754-05:00John, very thoughtful analysis of “Journey to Babe...John, very thoughtful analysis of “Journey to Babel”. Star Trek at it's best.<br /><br />SGBSGBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07137406272001346149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-81634623469701969282016-11-15T13:56:31.234-05:002016-11-15T13:56:31.234-05:00I agree that Spock's refusal to turn command o...I agree that Spock's refusal to turn command over to Scotty is a weakness that needed an additional driver to make sense; however, I think of his retrenchment into ultra-Vulcan mode as being less for its own sake to prove something to his father and more as habitual adolescent recalcitrance. Amanda smacks him because she's perfectly aware he's being a SNOT (she calls him on the fact that he could easily turn command over to Scotty) because he was perfectly willing to help Sarek until Kirk went down; now he seizes the first chance to use his "Vulcanness" as an excuse. He wants her to beg now that he holds the cards and he wants her to admit he's right as a way of proving she loves him more than his father. Amanda isn't falling for this emotional blackmail, which Kids engage in all the time. She loves her husband and she lets Spock have it, letting him know his Oedipal issues are his own. How many times have they played out similar scenes in their history? From this, we know she thinks Spock isn't just the poor, put-upon sweetheart he's been playing; he's as bullheaded as Sarek.<br /><br />Kirk is willing to darn near kill himself, with McCoy's help, to prevent Spock from stubbornly committing fratricide, from which he may never recover. They both know what a stubborn boobyhead Spock can be and are inclined to save him from himself.<br /><br />What I think is the major plothole here is Sarek's attitude--not toward Spock, which is understandable given their history, but toward humans. His sneering remark about "Earthmen" early on is completely unnecessary and should have been eliminated as it creates *illogical* contradictions about Vulcans generally that are highly problematic. If he thinks humans are so beneath him, what the hell did he marry one for? Sarek is clearly under physical and mental stress, and at the end he proves he is not the humorless jerk he initially appeared to be and that Spock thought he was, but that denigrating remark never does get resolved. <br /><br />Otherwise, I think Journey to Babel is among my Top Ten episodes. I have only one complaint: there's almost too much crammed into it not to have had a later episode revisit and resolve some of it. What happened with the Corridan initiative? Did the Orions try again to disrupt the conference? Are the Tellarites permanently at odds with other species after the conference? What? What? What?Sherinoreply@blogger.com