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#1
09-08-2016, 05:06 PM
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50th Anniversary TOS Episode Discussion Marathon
Fifty years ago today "The Man Trap" aired in the United States (apparently two days earlier in Canada). It was followed by "Charlie X", "Where No Man Has Gone Before", "The Naked Time," and so forth.
Yikes. If that initial lineup aired in today's world of social media and instant ratings calculations, do you think the series would have survived? I don't. Anyway, here's what I propose as a forum game for the anniversary. On the anniversary of each episode's initial broadcast (link to Memory Alpha, we'll use the "Initial Airdate" column), somebody (not always me, we can share the tasks) will post a link to the appropriate fiver, and talk about each episode and the fiver for the week until the next episode. I'll start in the next post.
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mudshark: Nate's just being...Nate. Zeke: It comes nateurally to him. mudshark: I don't expect Nate to make sense, really -- it's just a bad idea. Sa'ar Chasm on the 5M.net forum: Sit back, relax, and revel in the insanity. Adam Savage: I reject your reality and substitute my own! Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. Crow T. Robot: Oh, stop pretending there's a plot. Don't cheapen yourself further. 
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#2
09-08-2016, 05:40 PM
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September 8th, 1966, "The Man Trap"
The Fiver (by IDJ GAF) Memory Alpha Page Transcript (courtesy of chakoteya.net) Thoughts: * Wrigley's Pleasure Planet was always a funny concept to me. To me "Wrigley" still means chewing gum. * First example of the captain's log knowing things that the cast doesn't. I mean, it's weird how the captain's log was never fully explained. How, where, and when are these "omniscient narrator" entries made? * It seems fitting that "may the Great Bird of the Galaxy bless your planet" appears in the first episode aired. Fiver quotes: Captain's Log: We've beamed down to the planet to investigate the Crater of two evils. Oh, the puns in this fiver. Crater: It's the last creature of its kind -- much like the passenger pigeon, American buffalo, dodo bird... Kirk: ...Diatryma, Smilodon, Tyrannosaur... I get the picture. I looked these up. Diatryma was an early giant flightless bird whose status as carnivorous or vegetarian is in dispute. Smilodon was one of the saber-tooth tiger species. That being said, I don't understand the comparison of long-extinct species to those who went extinct in more recent times due to the interference of man. Kirk: She's an it. It's a salt monster. Nancy: Mmmm.... Kirk sweat.... Spock: (entering room) Shoot it, Doctor! McCoy: I dunno, I think I need more evidence than that. (Nancy morphs into a salt monster) Salt Monster: Mmmm.... Kirk sweat.... McCoy: Good enough. (Fires) Salt Monster: GAK! Ah yes, the ever-popular Gak. But the idea that Kirk's sweat would be considered more delicious than McCoy's or Spocks has disturbing implications. Further discoveries from the Memory Alpha page: Mainly because this episode was chosen to be first via process of elimination, the initial reviews weren't all that great. However, this is what got David Gerrold hooked and led to many collaborations. Comment and so forth. I hope someone else can take care of the main entry for "Charlie X" next week.
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mudshark: Nate's just being...Nate. Zeke: It comes nateurally to him. mudshark: I don't expect Nate to make sense, really -- it's just a bad idea. Sa'ar Chasm on the 5M.net forum: Sit back, relax, and revel in the insanity. Adam Savage: I reject your reality and substitute my own! Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. Crow T. Robot: Oh, stop pretending there's a plot. Don't cheapen yourself further. Last edited by Nate the Great; 09-12-2016 at 10:08 AM.
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#3
09-09-2016, 08:53 AM
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Great thread!
 I'll have to come back later to actually comment.
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My 5MV webpages My novel fivers list Yup “There must have been a point in early human history when it was actually advantageous to, when confronted with a difficult task, drop it altogether and go do something more fun, because I do that way too often for it to be anything but instinct.” -- Isto Combs
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#4
09-09-2016, 03:26 PM
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"The Man Trap" coverage, part two.
The Nitpicker's Guide entry for "The Man Trap" says that Allan Asherman (author of The Star Trek Compendium) dubbed Kirk the "male Fay Wray" because of his ability to scream with expression and emotion. In this episode he does so when the salt vampire attacks him. Clip of Spock hitting the salt vampire (the nerve pinch hasn't been invented yet) to no effect, only for it to backhand him across the room. This clip also includes the Kirk scream. A salt vampire cosplayer dances (and strips away her costume) at a Star Trek Beauty Contest at Dragoncon. So, um, that happened... You probably don't remember Sulu's pet weeper plant Gertrude (formerly known at Beuregard). Well, the creators of The Red Shirt Diaries do. I just discovered these videos, so enjoy their episode for "The Man Trap". Wait until the end for a special twist. I've just seen the first episode, I want to watch the others as I make the anniversary entries here. Hallmark made a Christmas Tree Ornament for this episode.
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mudshark: Nate's just being...Nate. Zeke: It comes nateurally to him. mudshark: I don't expect Nate to make sense, really -- it's just a bad idea. Sa'ar Chasm on the 5M.net forum: Sit back, relax, and revel in the insanity. Adam Savage: I reject your reality and substitute my own! Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. Crow T. Robot: Oh, stop pretending there's a plot. Don't cheapen yourself further. Last edited by Nate the Great; 09-09-2016 at 04:43 PM.
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#5
09-09-2016, 03:52 PM
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"The Man Trap" coverage, part three. All of this is from Memory Alpha.
The actress inside the salt vampire costume, Sandra Gimpel, also played a Talosian in "The Cage." The staff wanted someone small who could act in costume. She didn't know about the fandom's affection for the salt vampire until she attended her first Star Trek convention earlier this year. I'd never noticed the salt vampire costume on display in Trelane's mansion along with other aliens. Originally the NX-01 crew was supposed to go to Wrigley's Pleasure Planet in "Two Days and Two Nights", but Risa was substituted, as the Enterprise was supposed to be far removed from places with human names. After all, W.P.P. does sound like something Harry Mudd or Cyrano Jones would set up, right? (Okay, this next one is Memory Beta) If the Star Trek Roleplaying Game is to be believed, Wrigley's Pleasure Planet was built inside a hollowed-out asteroid in the solar system.
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mudshark: Nate's just being...Nate. Zeke: It comes nateurally to him. mudshark: I don't expect Nate to make sense, really -- it's just a bad idea. Sa'ar Chasm on the 5M.net forum: Sit back, relax, and revel in the insanity. Adam Savage: I reject your reality and substitute my own! Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. Crow T. Robot: Oh, stop pretending there's a plot. Don't cheapen yourself further.
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#6
09-10-2016, 10:54 PM
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Um, guys? Anybody besides NAHTMMM out there?
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mudshark: Nate's just being...Nate. Zeke: It comes nateurally to him. mudshark: I don't expect Nate to make sense, really -- it's just a bad idea. Sa'ar Chasm on the 5M.net forum: Sit back, relax, and revel in the insanity. Adam Savage: I reject your reality and substitute my own! Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. Crow T. Robot: Oh, stop pretending there's a plot. Don't cheapen yourself further.
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