I have always considered Gene Roddenberry to be someone who was all about, y'know, the more progressive aspects of sci-fi. Not sure why, that's just kind of the vibe I always got, when people spoke of him. I assumed that Star Trek was going to be basically a different hard sci-fi concept examined through the lens of optimist secular humanism, each ep. Instead, I'm getting a very Cold War paranoia-vibe as far as the nature of superior powers, and an obsession with intra-gender relations.
Which is fine, mind you. I've enjoyed all three eps. But it's really running counter to what I expected.
As far as this episode specifically goes, the guest-star gave a really solid performance, again, which was fun. In general, while it was totally in the realm of B-level stuff, it was also really well done. I'm a bit sad that Final Solutions have so far tended to be the only solutions achievable; once again, I could imagine an ending that was a little less pessimistic and drastic.
Watching Shatner be non-ironic is really cool. I don't think I've seen him act as an actor, instead of an actor being Shatner, ever. Even in my memory of the movies, there's always a certain awareness of himself as a cultural icon with a certain set of characteristics he has to play off of and against. So far, he hasn't exhibited that artificial sheen in these episodes. I am wondering if he took up that mantle after the original series ended, or if he's going to start that shit before it's done. I look forward to finding out.
Random tally: 3 episodes about sex n' ESP, 3 episodes with no Scotty, 8 2oz shots of Aristocrat vodka again, 1 hangover finally killed with the hair of the dog, an uncountable number of phasers dematerialized and then restored to existence with the help of ancient magical peoples, and a shit-ton of actors who look like they walked off of Gunsmoke and put on Star Fleet uniforms.
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