tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1031498593064294214.post4526728800821112283..comments2024-03-13T14:53:58.150-04:00Comments on MUSINGS OF A SCI-FI FANATIC: Star Trek TOS S1 Ep8: MiriSFFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04256589316922398158noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1031498593064294214.post-32777329956952396962013-09-10T12:20:00.981-04:002013-09-10T12:20:00.981-04:00Thank you. I mean it. I always read the terrific...Thank you. I mean it. I always read the terrific commentaries, like yours, no matter how old the topic.<br /><br />Miri is such a terrific episode. And I thank you for your reflections on this.<br /><br />I cannot for the life of me understand why people continue to harp on some sort of strange relationship between Kirk and Miri especially.<br /><br />That is actually really disturbing. I will break it down this way and with some understanding. Perhaps that over reaction or sensitivity to the age discrepancy is a reflection of our culture today.<br /><br />Certainly relationships between teenagers and adults today are generally kept at arm's length and it's unfortunate that people have lost that healthy relationship that no one thought anything about decades ago. It wasn't uncommon to see a young person have a crush on someone older. I suppose the difference today is a matter of responsibility.<br /><br />We see so many stories today where adults act on that relationship irresponsibly. We take these stories and internalize them and project them on pop culture of yesterday.<br /><br />But, no, I am with you, the relationship isn't creepy. Kirk may have his way with women but he is of sound and wise mind when it comes to caring for Miri here and the young. There is nothing twisted about it.<br /><br />I'm glad you bring focus on the issue because it seems to be entirely twisted because of today's culture.<br /><br />As I mentioned in my look at the episode, it's near perfect with so many wonderful character moments going on.<br /><br />I need to get back to the original Trek soon. Thanks again.SFFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04256589316922398158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1031498593064294214.post-87231606667008258182013-09-09T02:26:45.259-04:002013-09-09T02:26:45.259-04:00Thank you for this review, your love for the episo...Thank you for this review, your love for the episode just came through. Having watched the episode recently, I have been reading some of the reviews and they seem to focus only on two things: How can the planet be like earth? And, secondly, how creepy Kirk is with Miri.<br /><br />I am so glad to have found your review because you focussed on <br />small but revealing moments in the episode like the way Bones handles the trike, or the way the pressure-cooker situation is handled, or how McCoy injects himself with the vaccine (or a 'beaker full of death') which reveals so much about the man. I love the last scene where Kirk looks heart-broken and then starts looking hopeful and even the usually stoic Spock is forced to complement the medical mind. For some surprising reason, this powerful scene where Bones might well be injecting himself with death is not really discussed by the other reviewers. So thank you for pointing out to the dynamics of the situation.<br /><br />I don't know whether you'll read this comment or not (it is years since you posted this)but I just wanted to say a big Thank You.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1031498593064294214.post-71270011365381183472011-12-20T22:13:05.281-05:002011-12-20T22:13:05.281-05:00Kim Darby and William Shatner worked together agai...Kim Darby and William Shatner worked together again in a sci-fi/fantasy TV movie of the week called "The People." The movie is based on a series of fantasy books by famed author Zenna Henderson.dmappinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17020497724406404667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1031498593064294214.post-56503342642032618532011-07-13T13:01:00.153-04:002011-07-13T13:01:00.153-04:00Hey Sean.
Darby is awesome and she's cute. I ...Hey Sean.<br /><br />Darby is awesome and she's cute. I couldn't quite place her in the Red Hot Babe category.<br /><br />She was classic in John Cusack's Better Off Dead.<br /><br />Yes, I really enjoyed this one as you know.<br /><br />Thnaks for stopping my friend.SFFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04256589316922398158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1031498593064294214.post-64460416404945513882011-07-13T10:40:08.177-04:002011-07-13T10:40:08.177-04:00I enjoyed this one quite a bit– 50's and 60...I enjoyed this one quite a bit– 50's and 60's sci-fi TV sure knew how to depict a mob for the sake of social commentary, and you're right, the BONK BONK scene is certainly a highlight!<br /><br />I thought Kim Darby was great, too– I've been a fan since DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK.<br /><br />Thanks for another great write-up!Sean Gillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00537515557596273876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1031498593064294214.post-88694517045870356882011-07-08T14:45:57.010-04:002011-07-08T14:45:57.010-04:00L13
One more thing about your Earthbound point.
...L13<br /><br />One more thing about your Earthbound point.<br /><br />Perhaps it feels so refreshing to me because so many productions today take place in the forests of Vancouver.<br /><br />That's another reason to embrace it! : )SFFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04256589316922398158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1031498593064294214.post-67048038222501801832011-07-08T13:50:54.197-04:002011-07-08T13:50:54.197-04:00Hello Gordon,
I've been enjoying your thought...Hello Gordon,<br /><br />I've been enjoying your thoughtful commentaries elsewhere in the science fiction blogosphere. I'm pleased to see you return.<br /><br />Your additional thoughts were fantastic and I loved your additional behind the scenes information.<br /><br />Look forward to your input in the future. Thanks Gordon- sff<br /><br />--------------------<br /><br />Doc-<br /><br />You may have strong opinions, but no one can question your passion or<br />discount your perspective.<br /><br />I do enjoy your thoughts even if we see things a little differently sometimes. <br /><br />I did like the interpersonal relationships as well as the prlongation aspect of the story. I think there's a nice balance going on in here, but again I know I appreciated this one more.<br /><br />Perhaps it was a triumph of direction over story for me.... well... actually, I did like both quite a lot.<br /><br />-------<br /><br />Doc & L13<br /><br />IE6 has been long gone for a long time, but I did purchase a new laptop yesterday to replace my antiques and hope to remedy this in the coming days ahead.<br /><br />We'll know soon.<br /><br />Best to you all,<br />sffSFFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04256589316922398158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1031498593064294214.post-72115826322237844052011-07-08T12:30:08.098-04:002011-07-08T12:30:08.098-04:00@Doc @SFF: sorry for jumping in, but when SFF ment...@Doc @SFF: sorry for jumping in, but when SFF mentioned he had problems leaving comments on your blog, that always raises my interest. SFF, what browser are you using for this? I ask because many of the blogging platforms are dropping support for IE 6, which could be at the core of your problem if you still use it. If you read/comment at work, for instance, many business still deploy IE 6 for specific web applications and keep it going. Our friend Will ran into this and couldn't leave comments at my old blog (when I used JS-Kit's Echo system with it) from his job. Just a thought. HTHle0pard13https://www.blogger.com/profile/09421175808461787862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1031498593064294214.post-41487212829691682172011-07-08T12:21:09.951-04:002011-07-08T12:21:09.951-04:00@ JKM – As always, John, you make some excellent p...@ JKM – As always, John, you make some excellent points on this episode of Star Trek. Putting it in historical perspective, “Miri” has much more of a significant resonance to it. Life prolongation has long been a fertile subject for science fiction, but in the case of “Miri” it feels more like the writer of the episode just tossed this term into the dialogue to make it sound more science fictional. “Miri” is much more interested in the melodrama of Kirk’s manipulation of Miri in order to get their communicators back from the other kids and the race against time to find a cure for the virus infecting them. Unfortunately, you’re comparing “Miri” to “Lord of the Flies” is very accurate and another reason I didn’t like this episode. I’ve never liked the idea that if children are left bereft of adult supervision that they suddenly revert to wild animals… or worse.<br /><br />@ Sci-Fi Fanatic – I wasn’t trying to be overly critical of “Miri” and I hope my comments on it didn’t come off that way. I love Star Trek the original series and will defend even some of the weaker entries in the series! I was just trying point out specifics of why I didn’t like this particular episode. I agree with you that the mood that this episode created at the beginning with the desolate setting is effective, but it is almost immediately ruined by the overuse of the laboratory and school sets.<br /><br />I am perplexed as to why you’ve been unable to leave comments on my blog, Sci-Fi Fanatic. I have not altered the settings for posting them since I started the blog. I get so few comments anyway, it difficult for me to say if this is only a problem for you or for others as well. I can only speculate that it may have something to do with the new user interface that Blogger introduced to a “lucky few” a few months back. I have been using it and haven’t noticed any significant changes or problems from my end, but it may be causing problems for users still using the older software. Do you use Blogger in Draft as your default and if so are you using the old or new interface? This Blogger Buzz post explains some of the changes: http://buzz.blogger.com/2011/03/whats-new-with-blogger.html<br /><br />I hope to you’ll be able to post comments on Guardians of the Genre soon, Sci-Fi Fanatic, because you always offer fair and insightful observations on my various posts; especially the sci-fi posts!Fritz "Doc" Freakensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13209589620766485745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1031498593064294214.post-37270567352089386772011-07-08T11:04:01.539-04:002011-07-08T11:04:01.539-04:00Good review of a good episode. There's high tr...Good review of a good episode. There's high tragedy in this episode, both with what happened to the adults and what happened to all their friends.<br /><br />I can't recall if one line that was in Blish's adaptation was in the episode or not, but the fact that they were about to run out of food is interesting. However, they should have run out of food a long time ago, unless these kids were the ONLY (pun not intended) survivors in the world and they were migrating from town to city to town to city. The other alternative (I think) is that whatever happened to them , slowed their metabolism in a way so that they hardly needed to eat at all. When puberty hit, whammo! Their growth spurt used up ALL of the energy in their bodies at once, essentially draining them of the energy the way a vampire drains a human of their blood. Maybe the growth spurt is reflected in the growth of their um reproductive organs? So when the first egg goes to the woman, whammo, a girl hits puberty? Or maybe upon her first menstruation? That would be even scarier.<br /><br />I also wondered, if it was an Earth duplicate, was there a space program? Did somebody die in space, perhaps, because of the plague? Or weren't able to come back down?<br /><br />I really thought that the blue rubber makeup pieces were credible. They always reminded me of scabs, which I associate with healing wounds; here, they associate with the opposite, death.<br /><br />The Trek wiki states that director McEveety's son was the red-haired boy who liked to wear masks, and that they shot on the Mayberry set from the Andy Griffith show. Fascinating...<br /><br />Thanks for the great, detailed review! I have always liked this episode.<br /><br />Gordon LongPDXWizhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10884427889989897626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1031498593064294214.post-11218249884995708472011-07-08T09:49:48.545-04:002011-07-08T09:49:48.545-04:00Doc.
As always you never hold back. Thank you fo...Doc.<br /><br />As always you never hold back. Thank you for your input.<br /><br />Your point about Kirk with Miri is a great point. That is a bit of an uneasy component of the episode admittedly.<br /><br />Further, some of the writing isn't perfect in spots, but they are still incredibly memorable in their own way. There's also a mood and atmosphere here that works beyond some of the imperfections.<br /><br />By the way, I've tried to write at your site and have beeen unsuccessful from a variety of computers for whatever reason.<br /><br />But yes, we clearly agree to disagree on Miri. It's a personal favorite and I do see Star Trek, despite its problems at times, through a nostalgic lens. Truthfully, I just have such an affection for the series.<br /><br />Thanks again Doc for your guardianship pov<br />sff<br /><br />------<br /><br />John,<br /><br />Thank you for your alternate take and view on Miri.<br /><br />Once again, you always place these things in historical context and as we know Star Trek was always so clever at inserting current events [most of the time] like Vietnam (speaking of ... Great Aliens post once again!)<br /><br />But yes, these themes, like the life prolongation, continue to remain timely and have an impact, which si why, for me, Star Trek continues to have a profound influence on television and science fiction. <br /><br />Loved your Lord Of The Flies analogy and when I meantioned Children Of The Corn in my post I nearly typed Logan's Run too, which tells you how we are on the same wavelength on this one.<br /><br />But again I remember this entry so clearly because it was so frightening as a kid. As you said, the Grups, the disease. It all added up to a troubling experience.<br /><br />Thanks for your additional insights on this one.<br />Best, sff<br /><br />--------<br /><br />L13!<br /><br />Excellent point. I love the outdoor location vibe of this one.<br /><br />The production effort may be unappealing to some, but I did thoroughly enjoy the approach taken with Miri.<br /><br />All the best,<br />sff.<br /><br />Thanks all for stopping.SFFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04256589316922398158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1031498593064294214.post-49517164187717761642011-07-08T09:25:26.342-04:002011-07-08T09:25:26.342-04:00Another great and detailed look at a classic ST:TO...Another great and detailed look at a classic ST:TOS episode. You know, when this one first arrived on TV (yes, I'm ancient) I didn't like it at all. Perhaps, it was because it was so Earth-bound. But, your examination shows that is its strength, plus the outdoor scenes would be some of the few in the series (the later season eps would be more stage-bound). Great look at this one, SFF. Thanks.le0pard13https://www.blogger.com/profile/09421175808461787862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1031498593064294214.post-6597967142547207232011-07-08T09:14:41.479-04:002011-07-08T09:14:41.479-04:00Hi SFF:
A very detailed and welcome look back at ...Hi SFF:<br /><br />A very detailed and welcome look back at "Miri," a classic Star Trek episode that isn't remembered very often today, in 2011. <br /><br />I always enjoy when the Enterprise encounters these "dead" planets that are, in essence, laboratories for the TV audience to learn about the mistakes of another people much like humans. <br /><br />That's the inherent value, I think, of the 1960, "Another Earth" setting. At home, the TV audience realizes, quite clearly...this could happen to us. Is this the path we're on, right now?<br /><br />When you consider how turbulent the 1960s were, and how there were fears regarding reproductive rights (the official release of the the birth control pill came in -- surprise -- 1960!), then it is clear how this "life prolongation" experiment fits in with the cultural context of Star Trek. <br /><br />The ill-fated experiment of "Miri" plays on then-rampant fears of tampering with the human life cycle, with unforseen results. <br /><br />Today, it may seem quaint, but scientists on a regular basis are discussing life prolongation. I read an article this week that insisted the first 150 year old human has already been born, and that in 20 years, the first 1000 year old will be born. It boggles the mind!<br /><br />Though "Miri" talks explicitly of the issue in 1960s terms, the issues it debates are still with us; and will be so long as we yearn to escape the grip of death.<br /><br />On my blog this week, I looked at "Bad Kids" and included the children of "Miri." They remind me not so much of Peter Pan (though that certainly fits too...) but of Lord of the Flies. <br /><br />A surprising number of sci-fi programs (Andromeda among them...) postulate "what might be" if children become the dominant demographic in a culture. What is missing in such a culture, of course, is wisdom and experience. This is also an element of Logan's Run. The idea that youth, innocent and naive, can also be...extremely callow.<br /><br />I can see why the episode isn't a favorite of some folks There are definitely some moments, I think, that feel a little overtly melodramatic, in terms of performance and music. But these are symptoms, I believe, of TV at the time. Dramas were more artificial and less naturalistic, in some very dramatic ways. <br /><br />What I appreciate so much about the episode are the views of urban decay and blight you note (again, a signifier of what could happen to us...) and the nasty nature of that disease. I remember seeing this episode as a child and being incredibly fearful of the Grups and those grotesque blotches.<br /><br />Anyway, I really enjoyed your review of "Miri." Terrific way to begin a Friday: a cup of tea (I'm off the caffeine...) and a Sci-Fi Fanatic Star Trek retrospective.John Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1031498593064294214.post-82823152365236491812011-07-08T01:06:53.014-04:002011-07-08T01:06:53.014-04:00I read your review of the episode of Star Trek “Mi...I read your review of the episode of Star Trek “Miri” and I honestly could not remember the episode at all. I’ve seen every episode at least twice and still I could not recall this episode. This is not a good sign as I usually don’t remember things that I dislike; yet remember things I do like very clearly. Being the dedicated Genre Guardian, science fiction and Star Trek fan that I am, I watched “Miri’ just now on Netflix.<br /><br />Like many of the classic Trek episodes, this is not very good science fiction and as fans we do tend to overlook the little implausibilities of the “science” in Star Trek. Still, why did the writer make the planet that the colonists live on to be an exact duplicate of Earth? Why not just make it an Earth-like planet as in so many other episodes of Trek? Also, why make the level of technology and environment exactly at the 1960’s Earth? The simple answer is that the producers of the show could use existing sets and props to save money on the episode. Still, a better writer could have made a better reason for why the setting was so similar to 20th Century Earth: aka “A Piece of the Action”.<br /><br />I now know why I didn’t/don’t like “Miri”. I don’t like stories about creepy kids. The writer clearly was going for a Peter Pan vibe, with the 300 year old kids refusing to become “Grups” for fear of becoming homicidal maniacs! Wow! Puberty sucks bad enough without adding the fear of madness and death to it. Another problem I have with the idea of these children living for hundreds of years and still behaving like children is that it implies that only our biological changes makes us behave as mature adults. I think that with so much time, their minds would have matured regardless of their lack of physical maturation.<br /><br />Still, there are some nice Kirk, Spock and Bones moments in this episode, but they are outnumbered by some of the worst aspects of Star Trek. Kirk using his manly charms on a prepubescent girl is just nasty! The line where Yeoman Rand tells Kirk that she tried to get him to look at her legs on the ship and then tells him to look at her now horribly disfigured blue legs is just too silly to take as real drama. The Spock’s green blood line once again uttered by Bones is meant to be humorous, but given their situation, it just seems out of place.<br /><br />I’m sorry, Sci-Fi Fanatic, but I just can’t share your enthusiasm for this episode of Star Trek with you.Fritz "Doc" Freakensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13209589620766485745noreply@blogger.com