It's week 34 of the Seven Year Trek. We have managed to consume 47 episodes of the original Star Trek so far. This means we're more than half-way done with TOS, but moving at about 70% of our intended pace. Progress has been slow, largely due to low morale. And morale is low because... Well, this is what we need to talk about. We need to talk to you about "A Piece of the Action".
A Piece of the Action
Season 2, episode 17, entitled "A Piece of the Action". I have seen some disgusting crud in my time, but "A Piece of the Action" takes the cake. The Enterprise visits a planet entirely composed of 1920's Chicago gangsters.
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| All books on subjects related to ancient Earth must use German Gothic fonts per Federation law. |
The Lotians are, according to the episode, a highly intelligent but "impressionable" species whose culture may have been contaminated 100 years prior by contact with a Federation ship. What apparently happens is that someone on that ship left behind a book called "Chicago Mobs of the Twenties". In a gothic font.
So, we are supposed to believe that they found this book and utterly rewrote their entire society, including their technology, architecture, event their language and accents, to turn their entire planet into that thing they read about in that alien history book.
Even for Star Trek, this is completely unbelievable.
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| Koik! |
According to historians, Gene Roddenberry wanted more comedy episodes after the success of "The Trouble with Tribbles" (which, incidentally, is only just okay). Maybe this was comedy gold when it was filmed in 1967. It's hard for me to say what was good 50 years ago.
Some of my favorite TNG episodes are comedies. Will "A Fistful of Datas", itself already 25 years old, be this tired and painful for my son in 25 years? Will I still think it's funny? Will I still find the plot more or less believable?
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