The Final Frontier Season 1 Episode 10: So That's Why It's Called The Plane-arium

🚀 - https://cdzcollegiummusica.org/ 🚀 - Check out ‪Again and Forever 🚀 - Visit our website: https://www.aretemedia.org 🚀 - This week is a special treat for you Trekkie Frontiersmen. We're watching the famous Star Trek TOS episode Dagger of the Mind, which is not only a great episode, but it's very revealing about Captain Kirk's past and his reputation as a lady's man in the series. This voyage also inspired an entire South Park episode and one of Jake's favorite running jokes in all of television. Strap in and set your phasers to fun! This one's gonna be hilarious. 🚀 - Welcome to The Final Frontier! Every week Jake and Justin watch an episode of Star Trek starting from the very beginning and dive deep into the behind the scenes, commentary and love of the franchise. Join us on our weekly mission to explore the final frontier!

[00:00:00] This podcast is brought to you by Casa de la Zissa, and by Again and Forever.

[00:00:12] The Final Frontier Podcast. These are the voyages of Jake Boger and Justin Spur. Our weekly mission to explore memories of Star Trek's strange new worlds. To recall the search for new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has had the spare time to go before.

[00:01:20] All righty, well, welcome everyone to this week's episode of The Final Frontier. Today, your head's gonna hurt. Because we're talking about... Yeah, you like what I did there. Because we're talking about Dagger of the Mind, which we're getting away from the silly in this week.

[00:01:39] It's... Well, it's... It's a little silly. Because we're gonna make it silly. But I mean, it's not as silly as like a Muds Women, for example.

[00:01:49] Oh no. So...

[00:01:51] But it does get a little... I would say it's about as silly as the Android one. Because that's... The logic went there for me. Some of the logic on this went there for me.

[00:02:01] Yeah, but you remember, this is 1960s psychology. So...

[00:02:05] That's... That's... Well, that's gonna be a... That's a big question for me.

[00:02:09] All righty. Well, buckle up, everybody. Because it's time to visit the planet Arium.

[00:02:14] The planet Arium. Oh yeah, that's where this totally comes from. Oh my god.

[00:02:19] Oh, trust me. There's gonna be... There's gonna be a whole section on that here in Covenant.

[00:02:22] But of course, like I said, talking about Star Trek Season 1, Episode 9, Technically, Dagger of the Mind.

[00:02:29] Start... Well, actually, let's first, because I like this format better.

[00:02:32] Would you please grace us with the Paramount Plus synopsis for this episode?

[00:02:36] Oh, of course. So, naturally, this one's very concise, okay?

[00:02:40] So it just says that Kirk investigates.

[00:02:43] So obviously, my first question is, is Kirk going at this solo?

[00:02:46] To which the answer is yes. Yes, he is.

[00:02:49] And then, will this... Because of the... It was like they go to a prisoner or jail experiment.

[00:02:57] So I was like, is this gonna be about prisoner ethics?

[00:02:59] Which, it's not. It's not. I... There's multiple times where I thought it was gonna be about...

[00:03:03] Especially when they introduced the beginning, that it's a penal colony.

[00:03:06] Although they can't... Yeah.

[00:03:08] Psychiatric hospital or hospital or penal colony.

[00:03:10] It's a penal... Two different things.

[00:03:11] It's a penal colony for the criminally insane.

[00:03:15] So both?

[00:03:16] Both?

[00:03:17] Well, yeah. I mean, Arkham Asylum is technically not a prison, for example.

[00:03:21] True. Everyone treats it...

[00:03:22] I mean, I saw someone, I think it was a kickcock, where someone was like,

[00:03:26] how come everyone always breaks out of Arkham?

[00:03:29] Isn't it a more secure prison?

[00:03:31] And it's like, well, no, Arkham's not actually a prison.

[00:03:33] It's a psychiatric hospital.

[00:03:34] But a lot of...

[00:03:34] That is a question I had for later.

[00:03:37] So this episode takes place between star dates 2715.1 and 2715.2,

[00:03:44] which I actually think that's wrong.

[00:03:46] Because this takes place over at least two days.

[00:03:50] And I think...

[00:03:50] Yes, it does.

[00:03:51] I think that timeline is not long enough.

[00:03:54] But there's another discrepancy with the star dates, which I'll get into in a second.

[00:03:58] We're still in the year 2266 with our intrepid crew.

[00:04:01] And the original air date for this episode was November 3rd, 1966.

[00:04:05] Written by Shimon Winselberg...

[00:04:08] Shimon Winselberg.

[00:04:09] And directed by, again, Vincent McIvity.

[00:04:12] Which that should sound familiar.

[00:04:14] McIvity.

[00:04:14] The name should sound familiar because I believe he directed the last...

[00:04:19] Yeah, he directed Miri, the last episode.

[00:04:20] Ah, that makes sense.

[00:04:21] Ah.

[00:04:22] Yeah.

[00:04:22] And there's some similarities.

[00:04:24] But so the star dates, this does not make sense.

[00:04:26] Because if you recall, in the previous episode, aforementioned Miri,

[00:04:31] that took place between star dates 2713.5 to 2717.3.

[00:04:39] So if we're going by time logic, what's happening in this episode happens while Kirk is on the planet in Miri.

[00:04:50] Huh.

[00:04:51] Oops.

[00:04:52] Someone wasn't paying attention.

[00:04:54] Oops.

[00:04:54] Well, they hadn't really...

[00:04:56] Star dates were arbitrary at this point.

[00:04:58] Although, they had been making somewhat sense up until this point, but...

[00:05:04] Yeah.

[00:05:05] They're like, no one's paying attention to the star dates.

[00:05:07] Yeah.

[00:05:08] So the title of this episode is taken from a line in William Shakespeare's Macbeth.

[00:05:13] I mean, okay.

[00:05:15] Yeah.

[00:05:15] That was a question I had.

[00:05:16] I was like...

[00:05:17] You're a Shakespeare guy, so...

[00:05:18] I recognize the dagger of the mind.

[00:05:20] I specifically studied Macbeth in high school.

[00:05:24] So that's one of the ones I remember from high school.

[00:05:26] And I was like, dagger of the mind.

[00:05:27] And so that was one of my notes for later.

[00:05:29] Is that a reference to Star Trek?

[00:05:31] Or to, um...

[00:05:32] Star Trek.

[00:05:32] Yes.

[00:05:33] Shakespeare was like, I predict that many, many centuries in the future, there will be

[00:05:40] this thing called television.

[00:05:42] It'll be like a play, but you can watch over and over again.

[00:05:47] Hey, but like...

[00:05:48] You know what?

[00:05:49] If Shakespeare existed today, he'd probably be a television writer.

[00:05:52] He'd still be a television writer.

[00:05:54] Like low budget television or an indie film director.

[00:05:58] Because his...

[00:05:59] Within the context of his time, his shit was very low budget.

[00:06:01] I know they have that air of being for hooty-tooty-snooty folks, but they were...

[00:06:05] Not really.

[00:06:05] They were for poor people.

[00:06:06] Shakespeare is hoity-toity now, which is ironic because as we know, Shakespeare is big

[00:06:11] in every Star Trek series, at least those that I have seen.

[00:06:14] And it's like, everybody who serves on a starship is like a Shakespeare nerd.

[00:06:18] And it's kind of like...

[00:06:20] These were actually really, at the time, if I'm not mistaken, and you can correct me if

[00:06:23] I'm wrong, Shakespeare's plays initially were very, very...

[00:06:27] For the masses.

[00:06:29] They were for...

[00:06:30] Oh, yeah.

[00:06:31] Yeah.

[00:06:31] They were for the poor and the downtrodden, which is why they were so funny.

[00:06:34] And really didn't look kindly upon nobility.

[00:06:38] Yeah.

[00:06:38] A lot of his stuff is like, for the time, highly controversial.

[00:06:41] But yeah, he saw theater and arts as for everybody.

[00:06:45] And so it's funny that the...

[00:06:49] Globe Theater, which is his theater.

[00:06:51] But that was like for the poor.

[00:06:52] It's like the poor people went to that theater.

[00:06:53] That was a whole idea.

[00:06:54] Well, but didn't he come up with theater in the round with the logic of getting more seats?

[00:06:58] Yes.

[00:06:59] Yes.

[00:07:00] That's what I thought.

[00:07:01] But specifically, this refers to a moment in Macbeth where Macbeth, the titular character,

[00:07:07] is preparing to murder Duncan, who is his cousin, correct?

[00:07:11] Yeah?

[00:07:12] I think so.

[00:07:14] But anyway.

[00:07:14] Yeah.

[00:07:15] He's preparing to murder Duncan, the King of Scotland.

[00:07:18] And he sees a dagger that he attempts to grasp, only to discover it is a figment of his imagination.

[00:07:23] Which means this title really doesn't make any sense, but...

[00:07:26] I mean...

[00:07:27] Well, because everything that...

[00:07:29] I like the answers that are in people's imagination, I suppose.

[00:07:32] Well, no, because everybody you think is crazy is actually sane in this episode.

[00:07:37] True, but also they do implant imaginary ideas.

[00:07:43] Okay, fair.

[00:07:44] Fair.

[00:07:44] Okay.

[00:07:44] That's fair.

[00:07:46] But anyway, our story begins with the USS Enterprise making a supply run to the planet Tantalus V,

[00:07:52] a colony where the criminally insane are confined for treatment.

[00:07:55] The facility's director is Dr. Tristan Adams, a psychiatrist famous for advocating more humane treatment of such patients.

[00:08:02] After the Enterprise delivers supplies and receives cargo from Tantalus, a man emerges from the container taken aboard and assaults a technician.

[00:08:11] So, okay.

[00:08:11] I just have a number of questions about the preceding events that come from this man coming out of this box.

[00:08:16] I mean, first of all, my first note is that they have penal colonies in...

[00:08:21] Because do we still have penal colonies in our modern day?

[00:08:25] I tried to Google it, but I couldn't find any, like, modern day...

[00:08:29] Other than, like, some, I guess, exist in Russia.

[00:08:32] But, um...

[00:08:33] And then, obviously, yeah, there's a man in that there box.

[00:08:36] Did they not scan the box before bringing the box onto the ship?

[00:08:41] That not a part of the security process?

[00:08:43] Well, you know, that's logic there, good buddy.

[00:08:46] That's...

[00:08:47] Get that shit out of here.

[00:08:49] Get that logic shit out of here.

[00:08:50] Well, and the other thing, so here's...

[00:08:52] I'm under the impression, and I could be wrong, but I think your transporter settings are different for inanimate objects versus, like, biological materials.

[00:09:00] So...

[00:09:00] That would make sense, yeah.

[00:09:01] If it's a box of supplies and that rings true, then this man would be dead.

[00:09:06] You would imagine, yeah.

[00:09:07] Like, super dead.

[00:09:09] And then, yeah, the guy who's fixing stuff and he sticks up behind him and he knocks him out.

[00:09:14] Is he just, like, completely deaf?

[00:09:15] He didn't hear him open the box, walk over it?

[00:09:18] He didn't hear a thing.

[00:09:19] That's my note.

[00:09:20] I said, two people, which I guess one of them left, but we don't see him leave on screen.

[00:09:24] So two people are in the transporter room, and not one of them saw a crazy dude getting out of a box in the middle of the room.

[00:09:31] Not a one.

[00:09:32] Getting out of a box and knocking the guy out.

[00:09:35] Like, he didn't...

[00:09:36] Not even if he didn't notice him out of the peripheral of his vision, but, like, didn't hear him moving.

[00:09:40] Like, I would have heard him moving.

[00:09:42] Right, and then so...

[00:09:43] That was great hearing.

[00:09:44] So my other thing was a description of the inmate you're missing, and you know who he is,

[00:09:49] would be extremely helpful in an event like this.

[00:09:52] Right?

[00:09:53] I know, yeah, and then I've got a note that says, seriously, why didn't they scan the box?

[00:09:56] This seems like a major fuck-up.

[00:09:58] It's a huge fuck-up.

[00:09:59] Like I said, this is another moment where...

[00:10:01] And a lot of these...

[00:10:03] Which, again, it's the 60s.

[00:10:04] It's a new kind of show.

[00:10:05] So there's a lot of moments in these early episodes, especially where it's like, a lot

[00:10:09] of these things are happening because the plot needs them to happen.

[00:10:13] Pretty much, yeah.

[00:10:15] This is a disciplined, military-esque group on a ship in the middle of space.

[00:10:22] You're gonna want to know what's in the box.

[00:10:24] What's in the box?

[00:10:25] Yeah, there's a lot of moments in this episode where characters do things that are dumb.

[00:10:32] Real...

[00:10:32] Oh, God.

[00:10:33] So many, so many.

[00:10:34] Trusting?

[00:10:35] So, but the other note I had is the first time we see our...

[00:10:39] Well, who we think is a patient, but in turn...

[00:10:41] It's actually one of the doctors, but he's got the crazy eyes.

[00:10:52] I...

[00:10:52] Yeah, I said his eyes were real striking.

[00:10:54] Like, that standout performance from our guest stars this week.

[00:10:58] Well...

[00:10:59] Very much...

[00:11:00] Well, one of them.

[00:11:00] Our crazed doctor, yeah.

[00:11:02] Yeah.

[00:11:02] Kirk sounds super Republican when he's describing these penal colonies because he actually at

[00:11:07] one point says, they're more like resorts now.

[00:11:10] And I'm just like...

[00:11:10] Oh, yeah, I know.

[00:11:11] I've got a note about that.

[00:11:12] Yeah, where...

[00:11:12] Like, wow, dude.

[00:11:14] Kirk is just justifying penal colonies, which...

[00:11:18] Like, oh, all right.

[00:11:20] That's a lot of justification.

[00:11:21] Yeah, his...

[00:11:22] He's got a real lax attitude towards the situation.

[00:11:26] Reaching the bridge, the intruder demands asylum, but Spock subdues him with the Vulcan nerve

[00:11:31] pinch.

[00:11:31] In sickbay, the intruder identifies himself as Dr. Simon Von Gelder, and a computer check

[00:11:37] reveals that he is not a patient, but Dr. Adams' assistant.

[00:11:40] When they inform Tantalus of Von Gelder's capture, which I don't remember, do they pronounce

[00:11:45] it Van Gelder or Von Gelder?

[00:11:47] I think they say Van Gelder.

[00:11:48] Van...

[00:11:48] Van Gelder.

[00:11:50] Van Gelder.

[00:11:50] Very strange, Van Gelder.

[00:11:51] When they inform Tantalus of Van Gelder's capture, Dr. Adams claims that Van Gelder's

[00:11:56] testing of an experimental treatment device on himself is responsible for his disturbed

[00:12:01] condition.

[00:12:02] McCoy, suspicious, urges Kirk to investigate.

[00:12:05] Kirk transports down to the colony with one of the ship's psychiatrists, Dr. Helen Noel.

[00:12:10] Oh, a lady!

[00:12:12] Oh, yeah.

[00:12:13] Oh, goodness, Dr. Helen.

[00:12:15] So, um...

[00:12:16] So, okay, first few notes on that little chunk there.

[00:12:18] Um, Spock has a little speech about how on Vulcan, they don't have violent criminals because

[00:12:24] when you only have logic or there's no emotion, you don't have violent crime, which like, okay,

[00:12:30] so then does Vulcan just not have psychopaths or sociopaths?

[00:12:34] That's demonstrably not true because Spock's, um, half-brother or brother.

[00:12:39] You don't have a brother.

[00:12:40] Technically, you are correct.

[00:12:41] I do not have a brother.

[00:12:43] Hey, you see?

[00:12:43] See?

[00:12:44] I have a half-brother.

[00:12:45] Yeah, I think it's half-brother.

[00:12:48] I gotta sit down.

[00:12:51] Uh, who is conveniently not mentioned until Star Trek V, um, the movie, is, uh, expelled

[00:12:58] from Vulcan for being emotional, so...

[00:13:01] Exactly.

[00:13:02] So I'm like, what Spock says is just blatantly untrue.

[00:13:04] Well, it's also illogical if you think about it because even if, because the Vulcan discipline

[00:13:09] of logic is a learned behavior, they're not born with it.

[00:13:12] They go through various...

[00:13:14] They go, so, I mean, it just stands to reason that of a planet with at least a few billion

[00:13:19] people, I would imagine that there's at least a handful of psychopaths, you know?

[00:13:24] Exactly.

[00:13:25] Uh, this, when the guy gets to the bridge, uh, the silent communication amongst the crew

[00:13:29] as they're all looking uneasily at each other.

[00:13:32] Super good.

[00:13:32] Love that.

[00:13:33] Very, very good.

[00:13:34] Very good, yeah.

[00:13:36] I don't...

[00:13:37] It was a very tense scene.

[00:13:38] I actually give kudos because it was kind of like, you know, it could have turned very

[00:13:43] goofy very quickly, but it didn't.

[00:13:45] And I think it's because the guest star owned it and the crew, you know, the cast of the

[00:13:50] crew hacked it accordingly.

[00:13:52] The only funny part was Kirk kicking the phaser.

[00:13:55] Yeah, yeah, that was funny.

[00:13:56] But again, at the distance you're at, I mean, I guess what else you gonna do?

[00:14:02] Which kudos for the kick.

[00:14:03] That's pretty high kick for a man in his 30s to do.

[00:14:06] Yeah, no, fair enough.

[00:14:07] Uh, yeah, the great performance from the, uh, from the guest star, the way he's contorting

[00:14:11] his body.

[00:14:12] Real good, real good stuff.

[00:14:14] I've got notes here that he says, well, that's suspicious.

[00:14:16] Uh, I was sure this episode was gonna be about prisoner ethics.

[00:14:20] I've got that note.

[00:14:21] Uh, oh yeah, the Kirk speech about the penal colonies seems to be, uh, um, and this is

[00:14:27] sort of where I started to kind of maybe change what the episode was about, but his speech

[00:14:31] seems to be some sort of commentary on psychiatric hospitals, which I'm not sure how prevalent

[00:14:37] they, cause now they don't exist.

[00:14:39] But in, in the 19, yeah, in the 1960s, these were, I'm not going to say commonplace, but this

[00:14:46] was during kind of, which is really funny.

[00:14:48] Cause I'm, I, I not a hankering to rewatch Mad Men.

[00:14:52] And, um, this is around the, this is part of the time where sort of like the Freudian

[00:14:58] ideas became a lot more mainstream.

[00:15:01] Like this isn't where they originated, but they kind of became in vogue if it's, if I'm

[00:15:06] under, if I'm remembering correctly.

[00:15:08] Um, so there was sort of an expansion of psychiatry, not, not so much, not really as a novelty,

[00:15:14] but there were, there was a real expansion of, um, I'm not even going to say mental health

[00:15:18] cause a lot of this shit was crazy.

[00:15:21] Um, but there were in the fifties and sixties, there were, you know, asylums and, um, what,

[00:15:28] what would you call that?

[00:15:29] Not, not so much.

[00:15:32] I mean, when I Googled it, it was psychiatric hospital, psychiatric hospital.

[00:15:36] Okay.

[00:15:36] Yeah.

[00:15:36] So that's yeah.

[00:15:38] And, and they're varying degrees of course, cause obviously not all of these were for, you

[00:15:43] know, criminal behavior, but, um, the loony bin was a common, you know, realism, you know,

[00:15:50] and this was during a time, this is where the idea of getting therapy slowly started to

[00:15:55] become destigmatized because prior to the 1960s, it was really like only crazies.

[00:16:01] And even, I mean, this was real slow burn cause even in the seventies, particularly in

[00:16:05] your more conservative areas, it was still like, Oh, they're getting therapy.

[00:16:08] What's wrong with them?

[00:16:10] This, this would have been somewhat prevalent at the time.

[00:16:13] And it's pretty obvious that the writers and creators of star Trek were a little bit

[00:16:18] more liberal minded.

[00:16:20] So it was probably, I got the sense that there is very much a compassionate look and the people

[00:16:25] that were in patients in this episode were absolutely not being treated.

[00:16:30] Right.

[00:16:30] And they were, they were aware of that.

[00:16:32] It wasn't incidental to the story.

[00:16:34] Interesting.

[00:16:34] Okay.

[00:16:35] Interesting.

[00:16:36] Cause that, that, that will, I have a point later on that ties into that.

[00:16:39] So that, that's interesting to hear.

[00:16:40] Uh, and then Kirk is being way too trusting.

[00:16:44] There's like a ton of red flags.

[00:16:46] It's driving me crazy.

[00:16:47] A ton of red flag.

[00:16:48] Kirk is way too trusting.

[00:16:49] And then after Kirk tells them that they're going to come down and he's just like, yeah,

[00:16:53] just bring like one person.

[00:16:54] And he's like, all right, cool.

[00:16:56] Yeah.

[00:16:56] One person.

[00:16:57] I mean, I'm going to investigate you, but one, one person.

[00:16:59] Fine.

[00:16:59] That was my other thing.

[00:17:00] Why didn't bones go?

[00:17:01] Yeah.

[00:17:01] That's well, bones was saying on the ship to take care of the patient.

[00:17:04] So that I kind of get.

[00:17:06] Okay.

[00:17:07] Um, but I have some, uh, oh, I just had some notes about, about our, about Helen.

[00:17:14] Oh, so I've, I've got some doctor notes and then we'll get it.

[00:17:16] We'll get into Helen.

[00:17:17] Not like Kirk did, but we'll get into him.

[00:17:20] Um, I, I do, I really, really liked the interaction between Kirk and McCoy and how McCoy

[00:17:26] is sort of being a check and balance to Kirk's powers, the captain because, and they, they

[00:17:32] lay it out in the dialogue.

[00:17:33] Yes.

[00:17:33] Kirk can overrule him, but McCoy is obligated to report it in his medical log to which Kirk

[00:17:39] will have to answer for it.

[00:17:41] And I actually really, really liked this.

[00:17:45] Yeah.

[00:17:45] I was like, I'm going to do this, but you gotta, you're going to have to deal with it.

[00:17:48] So deal.

[00:17:49] And he's like, ah, fine.

[00:17:50] I'll deal with it.

[00:17:51] He's like, fine.

[00:17:52] I'll do my job.

[00:17:53] No, no, Kirk's being, Kirk's being a bit too smug here.

[00:17:57] Um, bones is just doing his job and being a good doctor, frankly.

[00:18:01] Yeah.

[00:18:01] And there's a lot of red flags that, yeah, yeah.

[00:18:04] We'll get to, when I get some overall thoughts at the end, I'll get to it.

[00:18:07] But yeah, I get too trusting, trusting, but now let's get into Helen.

[00:18:11] Cause there's actually a lot of information about Helen.

[00:18:14] So the part of Helen Noel was originally written for Janice Rand.

[00:18:17] So Rand was supposed to go down to the planet instead of her.

[00:18:21] However, the producers wanted to avoid showing Kirk becoming involved with her.

[00:18:25] And Grace Lee Whitney was already on the verge of leaving the show due to personal problems

[00:18:29] on the set.

[00:18:30] We mentioned in the last episode that she'd been sexually assaulted by one of the show's

[00:18:34] executives at a wrap party.

[00:18:35] Um, she believes and puts in her book that she was pushed out for speaking up in protest

[00:18:40] about this.

[00:18:42] But in this episode, it does kind of make sense because it didn't make sense for Rand

[00:18:46] to go down to the planet in Miri.

[00:18:47] It really didn't make sense for Rand to go down to this planet.

[00:18:50] There would have been no reason.

[00:18:53] But I had that thought, especially, especially later in the episode, I had the thought that

[00:18:58] this does feel like it was written for Yeom and Rand.

[00:19:01] I did have that thought.

[00:19:02] So it's interesting that you say that because it feels like it.

[00:19:03] I mean, it essentially did.

[00:19:04] So I think the plan was to kind of sort of have them on a not so much a will they, won't

[00:19:09] they, but kind of have them as like an unofficial item.

[00:19:12] But for reasons that didn't work out, the character's name is a joke because Kirk meets

[00:19:19] Helen Noel at a Christmas party.

[00:19:23] That's funny.

[00:19:24] I can only miss that.

[00:19:25] Which apparently they still celebrate Christmas in the 23rd century.

[00:19:29] So nice.

[00:19:30] Nice.

[00:19:31] Rudolph.

[00:19:32] The Red Doze Reindeer.

[00:19:34] Oh, he had a very shiny nose.

[00:19:38] And if you ever saw it, you would even say it glues.

[00:19:45] Number one.

[00:19:46] Yeah.

[00:19:46] When she walks in and she's like, oh, you know me.

[00:19:48] Oh, Kirk definitely knows her.

[00:19:50] And then I just wrote wink, wink.

[00:19:51] I actually loved his face.

[00:19:53] I loved his face when she walked in.

[00:19:55] I was like, Kirk, my man.

[00:19:58] And then I was sure that they had done it.

[00:20:01] So I just wrote Kirk or in the science lab, Kirk, you dog.

[00:20:04] They absolutely did.

[00:20:06] I was like, Kirk, how many women on your ship are you kissing, bro?

[00:20:09] Right.

[00:20:10] Like, I know it's the 60s.

[00:20:12] I know it's the 60s.

[00:20:13] But stop dipping your pen in the company ink, my man.

[00:20:16] Yeah.

[00:20:17] You'd think there'd be some sort of rule against it.

[00:20:19] They have pleasure planets.

[00:20:22] He's saying.

[00:20:22] Just go there.

[00:20:24] Oh, actually, it's probably a good thing Kirk didn't have hollow suites because he'd probably

[00:20:27] just be in there all the time.

[00:20:29] It was like, Captain, we're being attacked by Klingons.

[00:20:33] Be out in a minute.

[00:20:36] I'm busy.

[00:20:37] Fuck.

[00:20:38] Do it for me.

[00:20:39] Oh, right there.

[00:20:40] Just like that.

[00:20:42] Hit me harder.

[00:20:43] But yeah, Kirk is really unlikable in this episode, especially at the beginning, because

[00:20:49] he is just so smug.

[00:20:50] And all McCoy is trying to do is say, hey, I think there's something wrong here.

[00:20:55] And I just think we should look into this.

[00:20:58] His assistant came up and was all fucking in the brain.

[00:21:01] Like, that's an immediate should be an immediate red flag.

[00:21:03] The other red flag is, first of all, they didn't tell him there was a patient missing.

[00:21:12] Then they told them it was a patient missing, completely ignoring or not mentioning the fact

[00:21:18] that it was actually a doctor.

[00:21:20] Yeah.

[00:21:21] And then it's like every time there's a convenient excuse for why something's going on.

[00:21:26] And it's just kind of so many red flags.

[00:21:30] So many red flags.

[00:21:32] Well, Tantalus sure didn't advise Kirk accordingly, but we're going to advise you about a fantastic

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[00:23:22] So Kirk and Helen beam down to the planet, and Adams introduces them to a strangely emotionless therapist

[00:23:29] while touring the facility named Lethe, and gives Kirk and Noel a tour of the colony.

[00:23:35] Although he is affable and accommodating, his staff, like Lethe, all seem lacking in effect.

[00:23:42] No shit, Sherlock.

[00:23:44] I'm sorry, but when everybody's going around looking like this...

[00:23:48] Yeah, well, I mean...

[00:23:50] Okay.

[00:23:51] Let's get to what the procedure is first, and then we'll talk about the staff,

[00:23:55] because they've had a particular real-world procedure done to them, in effect.

[00:24:00] So, before we get into that, though, I had to nerd out on the word Lethe.

[00:24:03] The word Lethe comes from Greek.

[00:24:06] The word Lethe, meaning forgetfulness.

[00:24:10] In Greek mythology, Lethe is a river in the underworld that causes those who drink from it to forget their past.

[00:24:16] The river's location is described differently from different sources,

[00:24:19] but some say it throws through the fields of Asphodel or the Elysium fields.

[00:24:25] Lethe is also the name of the daughter of Eris, who personifies oblivion and forgetfulness.

[00:24:31] Lethe is also referenced in the graphic novel, the original graphic novel of The Crow,

[00:24:36] from a Milton quote, which is,

[00:24:39] Lethe, the river of oblivion, rolls his watery labyrinth,

[00:24:43] which whoso drinks forgets both joy and grief.

[00:24:47] Which, really, in the context of what's happening when this is brought up in The Crow,

[00:24:51] I mean, it doesn't really make sense.

[00:24:55] It's been so long since I've seen The Crow, I don't remember it much.

[00:24:57] Oh, no, this is in the graphic novel.

[00:24:59] It's not in the movie.

[00:25:00] Oh, I've never read the graphic novel.

[00:25:01] You should. It's quite good.

[00:25:02] But, yeah, knowing what the quote is now, I'm kind of like,

[00:25:05] I think James O'Barr just wanted to sound smart by quoting Milton.

[00:25:10] Probably.

[00:25:11] Because it really doesn't make that much sense.

[00:25:14] Like, I mean, if you really stretch it mentally, it makes sense.

[00:25:18] Because, I mean, he's about to kill somebody, so I guess?

[00:25:22] But, anyway.

[00:25:23] I mean, oblivion can be short for, I guess, death, I guess?

[00:25:27] Yeah, but the quote is referring to somebody forgetting, so...

[00:25:31] Whatever.

[00:25:32] It's whatever.

[00:25:32] So, yeah, we're gonna go...

[00:25:34] We gotta go down the South Park rabbit hole.

[00:25:36] Because it's funny, because we were just talking about this a couple episodes ago,

[00:25:38] and I didn't realize that this was that episode until...

[00:25:42] Immediately when I started watching it, I was like,

[00:25:43] Oh, this is the episode that Star Trek parodies, but...

[00:25:46] That's so funny.

[00:25:48] Pick up on that.

[00:25:49] But even down to the, I love my work.

[00:25:51] I love my work.

[00:25:52] I love my work.

[00:25:54] That's so funny.

[00:25:55] Yeah, to be fair, I don't remember much of early South Park.

[00:25:58] There's just so much of it that...

[00:25:59] Yeah, I completely forgot about that.

[00:26:01] That's so funny.

[00:26:02] Well, if you've seen this episode of Star Trek, and you watch...

[00:26:06] It's in season two, and the episode is titled,

[00:26:09] Roger Ebert Should Lay Off the Fatty Foods.

[00:26:12] Yes, yes.

[00:26:13] It is such a...

[00:26:14] And it actually has one of my favorite South Park jokes,

[00:26:16] which I thought was a reference to something.

[00:26:18] It's not.

[00:26:18] They just thought it would be fun to say Planetarium.

[00:26:21] My name is Dr. Adams.

[00:26:23] Welcome to the Planetarium.

[00:26:25] I thought it was Planetarium.

[00:26:27] Well, it is.

[00:26:28] But I have a bone disease,

[00:26:29] which impedes my ability to pronounce the T in Planetarium.

[00:26:33] That's a pretty weird bone disease.

[00:26:35] Yes.

[00:26:36] Planetarium.

[00:26:37] Planetarium.

[00:26:37] But there's no T.

[00:26:38] It's Planetarium.

[00:26:42] Which I said in the past episode,

[00:26:44] we were talking about it.

[00:26:44] That inspired my usage of the pronunciation Aquarium,

[00:26:48] just to annoy people.

[00:26:49] It's not wrong.

[00:26:51] Just atypical.

[00:26:52] Exactly.

[00:26:53] Not wrong.

[00:26:55] But every time I say the word Planetarium,

[00:26:57] I'll do that just to gauge if somebody is my kind of...

[00:27:01] Planetarium.

[00:27:01] Oh, would you like to go to the Planetarium?

[00:27:05] But yeah, it's a dead ripoff.

[00:27:08] But it's a great parody episode.

[00:27:09] It's very, very funny.

[00:27:11] That is funny.

[00:27:12] Adam shows Kirk and Noel the treatment device he referred to as a neural neutral...

[00:27:18] He referred to as a neural neutral...

[00:27:20] He referred to as a neural neutralizer.

[00:27:23] He claims the machine, harmless at low intensity,

[00:27:27] is used only to calm agitated inmates.

[00:27:30] But they have sedatives.

[00:27:33] Yeah.

[00:27:33] So why would this be necessary?

[00:27:35] This is the red flag number a thousand.

[00:27:38] Noel is satisfied.

[00:27:40] Another red flag.

[00:27:41] The professional psychiatrist sees nothing wrong with this.

[00:27:43] Whatever.

[00:27:44] Yeah, she just instantly aligned this episode.

[00:27:47] She's like, you should just trust him.

[00:27:49] Yeah.

[00:27:49] But Noel is satisfied with this explanation.

[00:27:52] But Kirk remains suspicious for the first time in this episode.

[00:27:55] He's not suspicious at all in the beginning.

[00:27:56] But as he goes down there and sees what appears to be a well-oiled machine,

[00:28:01] he starts to go, hmm.

[00:28:03] Yeah, right?

[00:28:04] It's just running too well.

[00:28:07] Yeah, it's a little too good.

[00:28:09] He's like, there's no chaos here.

[00:28:11] This isn't run anything like the Enterprise.

[00:28:13] I must investigate.

[00:28:15] So I actually said, this should be a giant red flag.

[00:28:18] Use of experimental procedures on non-consenting patients is so unbelievably unethical and immoral on so many levels.

[00:28:26] This dude has more red flags than a communist party parade.

[00:28:30] I mean, yeah.

[00:28:32] Crimson.

[00:28:33] The flags are crimson.

[00:28:34] They might as well be bleeding.

[00:28:35] Crimson flags.

[00:28:36] Right?

[00:28:37] And then Kirk makes what might have been the dumbest decision, singular decision.

[00:28:42] Because trust me, they build on...

[00:28:44] The bad decisions build on themselves.

[00:28:45] But this one might have been the most singularly stupid of, why would you spend the night there?

[00:28:51] Yeah, I don't understand.

[00:28:53] Especially because they're like...

[00:28:54] Someone is like, why?

[00:28:56] I know the guy's like, no, don't do that.

[00:28:58] But also, I don't think they actually get to the sleeping part anyway.

[00:29:02] Because all these stuff happens during the night.

[00:29:05] Okay, so I guess if you want a logic, Kirk probably planned on poking around.

[00:29:11] Yeah, oh yeah.

[00:29:12] He wanted to further investigate.

[00:29:14] That's what led him to testing the machine.

[00:29:16] Because he knew that if the doctor showed him the machine, he wasn't going to get the full picture of what it did.

[00:29:21] Fair enough.

[00:29:22] Fair enough.

[00:29:22] Yeah, so that would be the logic why.

[00:29:26] Turns out.

[00:29:26] I suppose it works out in the end.

[00:29:29] With a lot of luck.

[00:29:30] With a lot of luck.

[00:29:32] On the Enterprise, Van Gelder frantically warns that the landing party is in danger.

[00:29:36] But when he tries to explain the danger, he is convulsed with pain.

[00:29:40] Spock mind melds with Van Gelder to enable him to tell his story.

[00:29:44] So this is the first on-screen appearance of the Vulcan mind meld.

[00:29:48] So in regards to the procedure itself.

[00:29:51] So they're lobotomizing them.

[00:29:52] The lobotomy.

[00:29:54] It's not exactly the same.

[00:29:55] Because what a lobotomy is, is it actually damages the brain to the point of memory erasure, if I'm not mistaken.

[00:30:02] This is more like hypnosis.

[00:30:06] Okay, so then I have another comparison.

[00:30:09] Maybe.

[00:30:10] Or the Clockwork Orange procedure.

[00:30:13] It's more like...

[00:30:14] Well, yeah, I guess it's more akin to the Clockwork Orange procedure.

[00:30:18] That's why.

[00:30:19] Okay.

[00:30:19] And then, yeah, obviously, it's the Vulcan mind meld.

[00:30:23] And I had a question.

[00:30:24] Because I...

[00:30:25] Is this the first time that they've specifically referred to Spock as a Vulcan?

[00:30:29] Or has he been called a Vulcan prior to this?

[00:30:31] No, he's been referred to as a Vulcan before.

[00:30:33] Has he?

[00:30:34] Okay.

[00:30:34] I wasn't sure if it was like...

[00:30:35] They just called him an alien?

[00:30:37] Or have they specifically called him a Vulcan?

[00:30:38] It's Vulcan because Harry Mudd calls him Vulcanian.

[00:30:41] Oh, okay.

[00:30:43] Okay.

[00:30:43] And I think a couple of other times they have expressly said Vulcan.

[00:30:48] But...

[00:30:48] Oh, yeah, because in the...

[00:30:51] Oh, what episode was it?

[00:30:52] The Man Trap, when Hura's trying to, you know, flirt with Spock.

[00:30:57] And he says, Vulcan has no moon.

[00:30:59] Right, right, right.

[00:31:00] And then the overall comment on the Vulcan mind meld scene is that it's good, but oddly sexual.

[00:31:06] Well, I mean, you are probing into somebody's mind.

[00:31:08] I mean...

[00:31:09] I always see it's funny.

[00:31:10] I heard this is another one of those, like, me, me newbie cultural osmosis moments where

[00:31:18] I was familiar with the Vulcan mind meld.

[00:31:22] I always thought of it as more of like a psychic thing.

[00:31:25] Oh, yeah, you know, you're right.

[00:31:26] Because in the episode, the South Park episode, Mackie mind melds with the kid.

[00:31:32] That's right, I forgot about that.

[00:31:34] He totally mind melds with the kid.

[00:31:37] I forgot about that.

[00:31:38] That's so funny.

[00:31:39] Oh, my God.

[00:31:39] That just came back to me.

[00:31:42] But yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:31:43] Oh, my God.

[00:31:43] I thought it was more of a psychic thing.

[00:31:44] Like he was like...

[00:31:45] Or telepathic thing.

[00:31:46] But it doesn't seem to be.

[00:31:48] I really, really want to look up the dialogue in that scene, but do it as Mr. Mackinac.

[00:31:52] It's like, this calm, this calm, relax your mind.

[00:31:56] Okay.

[00:31:56] One mind.

[00:31:58] One mind.

[00:31:59] Yeah, that's pretty much what it's like.

[00:32:04] My favorite bit was not so much when he started to do it, but when he got towards the end,

[00:32:08] he started to go...

[00:32:09] He started to like move down the guy's face like sensually.

[00:32:12] And I'm like, okay, yeah, this wasn't sexual.

[00:32:15] And then it became sexual.

[00:32:16] It became very.

[00:32:17] Very.

[00:32:19] I'm like, are all Vulcan mind belts like this?

[00:32:21] Or does he have to buy him dinner first?

[00:32:24] No, they...

[00:32:24] Unfortunately, there does eventually get to a more standardization.

[00:32:29] Like there are certain nerve points on the face that a Vulcan must sort of like connect with.

[00:32:36] Interesting.

[00:32:37] As of right now, it's not really...

[00:32:39] It looks like it was the first time he had kind of...

[00:32:41] Not...

[00:32:41] I just don't mean...

[00:32:42] Like it just kind of...

[00:32:43] Okay, from an external point, it looks like they just kind of let Leonard Neiman...

[00:32:47] Moid do whatever.

[00:32:48] Like he just kind of improv the movements in the moment.

[00:32:50] But like from like...

[00:32:52] In universe, the scene read as though it was the first time he had actually done that to a human.

[00:32:59] Yeah, it read it.

[00:33:00] And I actually looked back.

[00:33:03] Was this chronologically the first time a Vulcan mind meld with a human?

[00:33:06] It's not, but that was technically...

[00:33:10] It was earlier in the Star Trek timeline, but later in terms of television productions.

[00:33:15] Yeah.

[00:33:16] So this is the first on-screen mind meld we see.

[00:33:19] But it had happened at least a few times before between a Vulcan and a human.

[00:33:23] And certainly a Vulcan and other species.

[00:33:24] If nothing else, in Star Trek Enterprise, T'Pol does a mind meld with a human.

[00:33:28] And I was correct.

[00:33:29] I looked that up.

[00:33:31] Interesting.

[00:33:31] But it's mentioned.

[00:33:32] It's like Spock.

[00:33:34] This is like the first time Spock had ever sort of...

[00:33:36] The character himself is sort of mind melded with anyone really.

[00:33:40] It kind of seemed like maybe.

[00:33:41] Like this was because he still seemed kind of new at it.

[00:33:43] Again, I know that's because Leonard Nimoy is still figuring out the mechanic.

[00:33:48] But in universe, I think this was the first time Spock and mind melded with a human.

[00:33:52] I believe, if I'm not mistaken, which we can...

[00:33:55] We'll get an answer on this later.

[00:33:57] I think part of the ritual of pair bonding with his engagement when he was a child was that there's a type of mind meld.

[00:34:07] Maybe.

[00:34:08] If I remember correctly.

[00:34:09] So, yeah.

[00:34:11] I cannot remember though.

[00:34:13] But...

[00:34:14] Okay.

[00:34:15] Interesting.

[00:34:16] Yeah, I was so...

[00:34:17] I was like...

[00:34:18] Every time I see like a classic, iconic Star Trek thing, I get excited.

[00:34:23] So, I got really excited when the vault went.

[00:34:24] I was like, the Vulcan mind meld!

[00:34:26] It is.

[00:34:26] It is quite exciting.

[00:34:27] Yeah.

[00:34:28] So, through the mind meld, Spock learns that the neural neutralizer can empty a mind of thoughts, leaving only an unbearable feeling of loneliness.

[00:34:35] And that Adams has been using it on inmates and staff to gain total control of their minds.

[00:34:41] Spock assembles a security team, but the colony's force field blocks transport and communication.

[00:34:45] In the meantime, while all this is going on, Kirk decides to secretly test the neutralizer on himself with Noelle at the controls.

[00:34:53] Okay, no, I changed my mind.

[00:34:55] This might have been the worst mistake he made.

[00:34:58] I mean, well, okay.

[00:34:59] Yes and no.

[00:35:00] I understand it.

[00:35:01] I theoretically understand you want to understand what the machine does.

[00:35:05] And the doctor does kind of make a point earlier about it not being ethical to like test it.

[00:35:10] So, he wasn't going to test it on her.

[00:35:12] I agree.

[00:35:13] And the doctor wasn't going to...

[00:35:13] So, like, him testing it on himself in and of itself isn't necessarily dumb.

[00:35:19] He kind of pushes it a little too far, though.

[00:35:21] Like, the first test should have been enough to be like, yeah, this thing fucks with your brain.

[00:35:24] Yeah.

[00:35:25] But I did write.

[00:35:26] I just wrote, this is incredibly stupid on so many levels.

[00:35:29] Like, this is...

[00:35:31] It's not incredibly well thought out, no.

[00:35:34] But I do have a note about this.

[00:35:37] It says that this woman's inner conflict is wanting to remain professional while also wanting to bang Captain Kirk.

[00:35:42] I didn't see too much conflict there because my note was Dr. Noel using a mind control machine to make Kirk have feelings for her is a little too 1960s for me.

[00:35:49] Well, her concern for her reputation.

[00:35:52] That, for me, I'm like, that is peak 1960s.

[00:35:55] She's like, I don't want to be known as a girl who sleeps with a guy on the first date.

[00:35:59] I'm like, oh, yeah.

[00:36:00] That's peak.

[00:36:01] That's a peak 1970s.

[00:36:01] But that makes sense to a certain extent.

[00:36:05] But her being like...

[00:36:06] It felt very 1960s fantasy to me where she's like, oh, I have a mind control device.

[00:36:13] I'm going to make him fall in love with me.

[00:36:15] Even, like, never mind just the being a psychiatrist and the ethical problems with this.

[00:36:21] Oh, I didn't even think about that.

[00:36:23] You know, I mean, I...

[00:36:24] Sorry.

[00:36:25] I was just going to say, never mind all that.

[00:36:27] He might marry me.

[00:36:29] Right, right.

[00:36:30] Well, my thing is just, like, obviously, I went, of course, William Shatner needed to

[00:36:35] make out with the hot brunette.

[00:36:36] So, of course, they kiss.

[00:36:38] Of course.

[00:36:39] Like, there's so many, like, times where these female guest stars show up and I'm like,

[00:36:43] I think Shatner, uh, you know...

[00:36:47] No, he didn't, right?

[00:36:48] I think he tried.

[00:36:49] Just wait till we get to Space Lady Gaga.

[00:36:52] Space Lady...

[00:36:53] I'm...

[00:36:54] All right.

[00:36:55] Those are three words I never thought I'd hear together.

[00:36:58] Oh, it looks just like her, man.

[00:36:59] It's uncanny.

[00:37:01] That's hilarious.

[00:37:03] It's quite funny.

[00:37:04] Kurt punches her after he kisses her.

[00:37:06] And it's...

[00:37:06] So, it's funny.

[00:37:07] A lot of times...

[00:37:07] Okay, this is the first time in a while this has happened where I don't remember why I

[00:37:11] wrote this.

[00:37:11] But I've just got a note that says, after, because, of course, they kiss.

[00:37:15] I'm not really sure what that was.

[00:37:18] So, I don't know what that's in reference to.

[00:37:20] I really...

[00:37:20] I genuinely don't.

[00:37:23] I mean, that might have been one of the moments where she...

[00:37:25] Because, like, there's periods where she's being pretty professional and pretty serious.

[00:37:28] And then I don't know where she's like, I remember the Christmas party?

[00:37:31] No, we can't.

[00:37:32] And it's just, like, lady.

[00:37:33] Well, when she was talking about the Christmas party, she was like, no, you were professional.

[00:37:36] And you just did a professional, I'm your boss, dance.

[00:37:39] And then I wanted more.

[00:37:40] And I was like, all right, then.

[00:37:41] But it's implied that they...

[00:37:44] Again, you know...

[00:37:45] In the science lab, she's like, you and me.

[00:37:47] In the science lab.

[00:37:48] I'm like, in the science lab, Kirk?

[00:37:50] You didn't even take her back to your quarters?

[00:37:52] Come on, man.

[00:37:53] I mean, at least it was sanitary.

[00:37:55] At least it was sanitary.

[00:37:57] Was it, though?

[00:37:58] Do you think it was in Sulu's botany lab?

[00:38:02] I really hope it was.

[00:38:04] I don't know why.

[00:38:05] I just, I want him to be like...

[00:38:06] Like, it's not about...

[00:38:08] It's about dominance.

[00:38:10] He needed Sulu to know.

[00:38:12] That's what it was about.

[00:38:13] I'm the boss.

[00:38:15] Sulu walks in and goes, oh, my.

[00:38:17] Kirk just...

[00:38:18] This is my botany lab.

[00:38:20] This is my shit.

[00:38:21] This is my shit.

[00:38:24] Poor little puppet flower just goes...

[00:38:30] Oh, I'm the worst.

[00:38:31] So you think...

[00:38:32] So, like, now I'm just imagining a universe

[00:38:34] where Sulu's the only one that knows.

[00:38:36] No, my thing is...

[00:38:38] No, no.

[00:38:39] Sulu...

[00:38:39] No, it was a...

[00:38:40] It was a science lab.

[00:38:42] Sulu walked in on them

[00:38:43] and then it became the botany lab.

[00:38:46] That's why he has a botany lab.

[00:38:48] That's how we got his botany lab!

[00:38:50] He needs...

[00:38:51] He needs...

[00:38:52] He needs his palms thoroughly greased to keep quiet.

[00:38:54] We just solved the mystery.

[00:38:57] Because Kirk's got a vibe this episode

[00:38:59] where she walks in of, like...

[00:39:01] So many funny moments.

[00:39:04] Like, sitcom reactions from Spock

[00:39:06] walking in on Kirk being like...

[00:39:08] Mm-hmm.

[00:39:09] This episode...

[00:39:10] It's so funny.

[00:39:13] Somebody should re-edit this episode

[00:39:15] with, like, audience sounds.

[00:39:17] Yeah, you absolutely could.

[00:39:18] With, like, a laugh track.

[00:39:20] Ordnance.

[00:39:21] Locked in, sir.

[00:39:22] Ready to beam down.

[00:39:31] Dr. Helen Noel, Captain.

[00:39:34] We've met.

[00:39:43] Real quick before we jump ahead and start.

[00:39:45] I just had to go pushing forward

[00:39:47] because we cut...

[00:39:49] We're in their room, right?

[00:39:50] That's the next bit

[00:39:50] where they're in the bedroom?

[00:39:52] Or is that not happening?

[00:39:53] Yes, you're in Kirk's quarters, technically.

[00:39:55] Yeah, that's...

[00:39:56] That's before they...

[00:39:58] Oh, well, they go back and forth.

[00:39:59] But anyway, just...

[00:40:00] Well, my question is,

[00:40:01] did air conditioning exist in the 1960s?

[00:40:03] This is the me-me dumb question.

[00:40:05] I actually didn't know.

[00:40:06] No, I think it did.

[00:40:07] Hang on.

[00:40:08] Did it?

[00:40:08] We can verify this.

[00:40:09] I don't think central air did, but...

[00:40:12] Because when he's, like,

[00:40:12] air conditioning vent,

[00:40:13] I was like,

[00:40:14] hey, have those in the...

[00:40:15] Or is that...

[00:40:16] Is that a future thing for them?

[00:40:18] It's not a future thing for me, obviously.

[00:40:19] But when she's, like,

[00:40:20] crawling through vents,

[00:40:21] I'm like,

[00:40:22] hey, have those in the 60s?

[00:40:23] Wow, did you...

[00:40:24] Okay, this is interesting.

[00:40:26] Did you know that

[00:40:26] air conditioning dates back...

[00:40:28] So, yes, it looks like they did.

[00:40:29] So, it used to be just architecture

[00:40:32] that was the oldest...

[00:40:36] Example of this that we know

[00:40:37] is the city of Kamilkar

[00:40:39] in modern-day Syria.

[00:40:40] But in terms of...

[00:40:43] Okay, let's get into modern here.

[00:40:45] Okay, first devices.

[00:40:47] The first air conditioning system

[00:40:48] was installed in 1902.

[00:40:51] Really?

[00:40:52] Yeah.

[00:40:53] So, yeah.

[00:40:54] This goes back a ways.

[00:40:55] Now, certainly in a commercial sense,

[00:40:57] I think, like,

[00:40:57] central air in homes

[00:40:58] would come later.

[00:41:00] But let's see here.

[00:41:01] All right, then.

[00:41:03] Well, let's see.

[00:41:03] That felt like a thing.

[00:41:05] It's going to be way older

[00:41:07] than I think.

[00:41:08] Okay, so here we go.

[00:41:09] Here we go.

[00:41:09] In 1945,

[00:41:10] Robert Sherman

[00:41:11] of Lynn, Massachusetts

[00:41:12] invented a portable

[00:41:13] in-window air conditioner.

[00:41:15] The first inverter air conditioners

[00:41:17] were released

[00:41:18] in 1980,

[00:41:19] 1989.

[00:41:19] So this would have been

[00:41:20] like a commercial...

[00:41:21] They would have had

[00:41:22] an idea of air conditioning

[00:41:24] in a commercial sense

[00:41:25] at the very least.

[00:41:26] So, yes.

[00:41:27] A large event like that.

[00:41:29] Yeah.

[00:41:29] Wow.

[00:41:30] Okay, then.

[00:41:30] Yeah.

[00:41:31] That felt like one of those things

[00:41:32] when I wrote it down

[00:41:33] where I'm like,

[00:41:34] yeah, it's going to turn out

[00:41:34] to be way older

[00:41:35] than I'm expecting.

[00:41:36] That's a good question.

[00:41:37] That's very interesting.

[00:41:37] That is...

[00:41:38] That's the thing

[00:41:38] that we don't think about today

[00:41:40] because it's so ubiquitous, but...

[00:41:41] No, I find that when we...

[00:41:43] Again, when watching older shit,

[00:41:44] there's certain moments

[00:41:45] where we're like,

[00:41:45] oh, is that a thing back then?

[00:41:46] And yeah, it's always fun to be...

[00:41:47] Like, again, escalators

[00:41:49] of the 1930s

[00:41:50] will always be my go-to.

[00:41:51] I'm like,

[00:41:51] that blew my fucking mind.

[00:41:51] Noelle finds that she can

[00:41:53] easily implant thoughts

[00:41:54] into Kirk's mind,

[00:41:55] even altering his memory

[00:41:56] of a recent Christmas party

[00:41:57] encounter between the two of them.

[00:41:59] Dr. Adams appears, however,

[00:42:01] overpowering Noelle,

[00:42:02] seizing the controls

[00:42:03] and increasing

[00:42:04] the neutralizer's intensity.

[00:42:06] For some reason,

[00:42:07] he proceeds to convince Kirk

[00:42:09] that he's been madly in love

[00:42:10] with Noelle for years.

[00:42:12] Kirk and Noelle...

[00:42:12] Yeah, I can figure that out.

[00:42:13] Yeah, Kirk and Noelle

[00:42:14] are then confined to quarters,

[00:42:15] so it's like,

[00:42:16] does this dude just watch people have sex?

[00:42:19] Well, and then later on,

[00:42:20] he uses it to be like,

[00:42:21] give me your phaser

[00:42:23] and your communicator.

[00:42:24] Well, see, that part makes sense.

[00:42:26] That makes sense, but...

[00:42:27] Not so much because

[00:42:28] when Kirk first got there,

[00:42:30] he was like,

[00:42:31] do you want my communicator

[00:42:32] and my blaster

[00:42:34] as a show of good faith?

[00:42:35] And he's like,

[00:42:35] no, you can keep your blaster.

[00:42:37] And he's like,

[00:42:37] I know that it's normally

[00:42:39] procedure to give you my blaster.

[00:42:40] He's like, no, that's fine.

[00:42:41] Don't even worry about it.

[00:42:42] So then why did he do that

[00:42:43] just like half a day later?

[00:42:46] He'd be like,

[00:42:46] no, I actually want that blaster.

[00:42:47] Give me the blaster.

[00:42:48] It doesn't make any sense to me.

[00:42:49] Also, what did he want?

[00:42:50] What was the end goal?

[00:42:51] I don't think he ever says

[00:42:52] what his end goal here is.

[00:42:54] So this goes back to

[00:42:55] sort of a trend

[00:42:57] and not just the 60s,

[00:42:58] but just older villains in general

[00:42:59] who are just kind of evil

[00:43:02] for the sake of being evil.

[00:43:04] Like there's no real good reason.

[00:43:06] Yeah, it's like,

[00:43:08] there's no real good reason for it.

[00:43:10] It's just kind of like,

[00:43:11] he just likes being bad,

[00:43:13] which I mean,

[00:43:13] I guess fair enough,

[00:43:14] but it just feels like

[00:43:16] it's coming out of nowhere.

[00:43:17] Yes.

[00:43:18] Yes.

[00:43:18] I have a lot of thoughts,

[00:43:19] but they all,

[00:43:20] they're all like overarching thoughts.

[00:43:22] So we'll get to it at the end.

[00:43:23] Yes.

[00:43:24] I have thoughts about him in particular.

[00:43:25] Well,

[00:43:26] the doctor's motivations

[00:43:27] may have come out of nowhere,

[00:43:28] but this sponsorship ad didn't.

[00:44:04] So before I went to the ad,

[00:44:06] I forgot to mention this,

[00:44:07] but you mentioned Kirk being coerced

[00:44:09] to give up his phaser and communicator.

[00:44:11] I'm watching the scene happen though

[00:44:13] and Kirk is about to drop,

[00:44:14] but then he opens his communicator

[00:44:17] as if to try to send a message.

[00:44:18] And I'm like,

[00:44:19] the communicator doesn't work

[00:44:21] because the force field is up.

[00:44:22] He should not be able to contact the ship.

[00:44:25] That's true.

[00:44:26] Yeah.

[00:44:26] Oh,

[00:44:26] I mean,

[00:44:27] he just kind of is like treatment time now

[00:44:29] and he just kind of goes with them.

[00:44:31] I don't,

[00:44:32] again,

[00:44:32] I don't really understand the act,

[00:44:34] the,

[00:44:34] the back,

[00:44:35] the front half of this episode was intriguing.

[00:44:36] I was interested.

[00:44:38] The payoff's just not there for me on this.

[00:44:39] But it has to happen for the plot.

[00:44:42] And it,

[00:44:42] cause Kirk could fight those two guys off for sure.

[00:44:45] I mean,

[00:44:46] just awesome.

[00:44:46] Oh,

[00:44:47] that's what my,

[00:44:56] what happened there.

[00:44:57] He could chop the doctor,

[00:44:59] drop,

[00:44:59] kick the other guy,

[00:45:00] and then roll down the hallway and get away.

[00:45:04] Like this would have been nothing for this.

[00:45:06] No big deal for captain Kirk.

[00:45:08] Right.

[00:45:08] He could have fought those guys off.

[00:45:10] He has enough judo skills.

[00:45:11] Yeah,

[00:45:12] but he doesn't.

[00:45:13] He doesn't.

[00:45:13] And,

[00:45:14] and,

[00:45:14] but I,

[00:45:14] I was very annoyed by the fact that he was able to use his communicator.

[00:45:17] Cause I'm like,

[00:45:18] no,

[00:45:19] you established,

[00:45:20] you established that he couldn't do it.

[00:45:22] They don't just arbitrarily turn the force field off at night.

[00:45:24] Right.

[00:45:25] No,

[00:45:26] that is absolutely true.

[00:45:27] Well,

[00:45:27] I,

[00:45:27] that was a note I had earlier in the episode when the,

[00:45:30] when Kirk was like,

[00:45:30] when the guy's like,

[00:45:31] it's not letting me transport the shit.

[00:45:33] And Kirk's like,

[00:45:34] yeah,

[00:45:34] it's a penal colony,

[00:45:35] man.

[00:45:35] Obviously you can't just errantly transport shit down there.

[00:45:38] Yes.

[00:45:39] Because they go,

[00:45:39] they go out of there.

[00:45:40] That makes sense when you say it like that.

[00:45:42] And they go out of their way multiple times,

[00:45:44] starting with that to make sure the viewer understands that there is a force field that prevents

[00:45:49] transporting and communication.

[00:45:51] Um,

[00:45:51] and it has to be.

[00:45:52] Also the argument could be,

[00:45:54] well,

[00:45:54] I guess not.

[00:45:55] I was going to say,

[00:45:55] Kirk is in distress.

[00:45:56] He's not thinking clearly,

[00:45:57] but that's kind of his fucking job.

[00:45:58] So it functions.

[00:45:59] You know what?

[00:45:59] It's one thing to go to open it,

[00:46:02] but it actually there there's communication established.

[00:46:06] So that's,

[00:46:07] that's what bothers me is the fact that,

[00:46:08] okay,

[00:46:09] I guess we just forgot about the force field.

[00:46:11] No,

[00:46:11] no.

[00:46:11] But,

[00:46:11] but when he,

[00:46:12] when he initially got there,

[00:46:14] doesn't he check the communicator to communicate to Spock?

[00:46:17] He's like,

[00:46:17] yeah,

[00:46:18] Spock,

[00:46:18] I'm here.

[00:46:18] And the guy's with your ship.

[00:46:20] So the communicator does communicate to the ship though.

[00:46:22] I know,

[00:46:23] but he had to turn the force field off first.

[00:46:25] That's what I'm saying.

[00:46:26] They go out of their way to make sure you understand multiple times that the force field has to be down.

[00:46:31] So,

[00:46:32] uh,

[00:46:32] but when he went to communicate,

[00:46:35] was that when he did that?

[00:46:36] Like Spock,

[00:46:37] Turner prize.

[00:46:38] He was like freaking out and he did that weird,

[00:46:39] like,

[00:46:40] like soliloquy or whatever.

[00:46:41] Like when he was like Spock,

[00:46:42] Turner prize,

[00:46:44] like that's when he had that moment.

[00:46:47] I don't know.

[00:46:48] He was making a weird face.

[00:46:50] He was being weird.

[00:46:51] I don't know how else to describe what he was doing.

[00:46:53] You just reminded me of gold dust when they did in WWF,

[00:46:56] when they did the angle where he got Tourette's from Tourette's from being electrocuted.

[00:47:01] You are worried.

[00:47:05] Let me guess.

[00:47:05] This was in the nineties.

[00:47:07] It was,

[00:47:07] it was hardcore.

[00:47:08] Yeah.

[00:47:09] Out there cutting promos going randomly.

[00:47:12] That sounds,

[00:47:13] that sounds very much like it.

[00:47:15] Oh God.

[00:47:15] It was so stupid.

[00:47:16] He was like right in the cock.

[00:47:18] Cock,

[00:47:18] cock,

[00:47:18] cockles.

[00:47:20] God.

[00:47:21] It's,

[00:47:22] it's,

[00:47:22] it's bad,

[00:47:23] but it's funny.

[00:47:23] On Kirk's orders,

[00:47:25] Noel enters the facility's power plant through a ventilation duct and interrupts Kirk's next neutralizer session by shutting off power to the entire complex.

[00:47:33] Freed from the machine,

[00:47:34] Kirk attacks Adams because he didn't do it before for some reason,

[00:47:39] leaving him alone and unconscious in the treatment room.

[00:47:42] A guard discovers Noel's sabotage.

[00:47:45] They fight and she kicks him into the electrical circuitry,

[00:47:47] killing him with the force.

[00:47:49] Yeah.

[00:47:49] Oh shit.

[00:47:50] Yeah.

[00:47:50] Oh shit.

[00:47:51] She killed that guy.

[00:47:52] Lit him up like a Christmas tree.

[00:47:53] Yeah,

[00:47:53] he did.

[00:47:54] It's kind of like the scene in home alone when Marv gets,

[00:48:02] it's not,

[00:48:03] it's not far off from that.

[00:48:04] More lethal.

[00:48:05] With the force field now off,

[00:48:07] Spock beams down to the planet,

[00:48:08] disables the force field and restores power to the colony.

[00:48:12] This reactivates the neural neutralizer.

[00:48:14] God,

[00:48:14] I can't say that.

[00:48:15] Which empties Adams mind completely.

[00:48:18] Yeah.

[00:48:18] My favorite moment was when he,

[00:48:20] when Spock,

[00:48:20] he just kind of flipping switches.

[00:48:22] Yeah.

[00:48:23] He's like,

[00:48:24] figure out what the switches do before you just kind of randomly flip them.

[00:48:27] See,

[00:48:28] that's the thing.

[00:48:29] Theoretically though.

[00:48:29] So it's,

[00:48:30] it's kind of like,

[00:48:32] at least,

[00:48:32] at least in the West,

[00:48:34] like our housing here,

[00:48:36] like we all know what a white switch looks like.

[00:48:38] A breaker box is generally speaking the same.

[00:48:41] It,

[00:48:41] there might be,

[00:48:42] you know,

[00:48:43] kind of standardization.

[00:48:44] One would think within the Federation,

[00:48:46] like a big red lever.

[00:48:48] It probably means power.

[00:48:50] Yeah.

[00:48:51] So I don't know.

[00:48:52] But yeah,

[00:48:52] Spock comes down there and knows exactly what to do.

[00:48:55] Right.

[00:48:56] I'd love to see a moment where Spock just comes down and doesn't understand what the shit is.

[00:49:01] And he's trying to figure it out.

[00:49:02] And then he just gets frustrated,

[00:49:03] but like in a very Vulcan way.

[00:49:05] Yeah.

[00:49:06] Yeah.

[00:49:07] But I,

[00:49:07] I know I enjoy it.

[00:49:08] It just is calm.

[00:49:09] Like solves the problem instantly.

[00:49:11] I just kind of enjoy that.

[00:49:12] Uh,

[00:49:13] Adams does get just desserts though.

[00:49:15] He,

[00:49:15] he,

[00:49:15] he deserved it.

[00:49:16] Well,

[00:49:17] yeah,

[00:49:18] yeah,

[00:49:18] kind of,

[00:49:19] kind of.

[00:49:20] If he did kind of devolve to just being generically evil by the end of this.

[00:49:23] Yeah.

[00:49:23] I mean,

[00:49:24] you could,

[00:49:25] you could make the argument that nobody deserves it,

[00:49:27] but I mean,

[00:49:27] if anybody deserves it,

[00:49:30] it's the guy who's been doing it to other people.

[00:49:32] Yeah.

[00:49:33] I mean,

[00:49:33] the lack of the,

[00:49:34] yeah,

[00:49:34] the guy,

[00:49:35] yeah.

[00:49:36] Certainly against their will.

[00:49:37] Yeah,

[00:49:38] certainly.

[00:49:38] It's one thing.

[00:49:39] See,

[00:49:39] I don't,

[00:49:39] I actually don't have a problem with experimental treatments so long as the people are consenting

[00:49:44] to being part of said experimental treatment.

[00:49:46] Exactly.

[00:49:46] I tend to,

[00:49:47] I tend to agree with that.

[00:49:48] Yeah.

[00:49:50] And they consent consent or like that's a sense big here.

[00:49:55] Yeah.

[00:49:56] That's the theme of the final frontier is like consent is definitely,

[00:49:59] it's definitely not in this episode.

[00:50:01] Like it's not there.

[00:50:03] No,

[00:50:04] even Kirk is kind of like,

[00:50:06] okay.

[00:50:07] So correct me if I'm wrong.

[00:50:08] Kirk.

[00:50:08] I don't think Kirk is so much sexually harassed in this episode.

[00:50:11] A little bit.

[00:50:13] A little,

[00:50:13] a little,

[00:50:14] a little,

[00:50:15] a little bit.

[00:50:16] I do.

[00:50:16] I do like the kind of dig is like bones.

[00:50:18] This doctor better check out in every single way.

[00:50:21] Yeah.

[00:50:22] Yeah.

[00:50:22] I did enjoy that.

[00:50:23] I was like,

[00:50:23] Oh,

[00:50:24] I'm sure she will.

[00:50:25] Oh,

[00:50:25] I'm sure she will.

[00:50:26] There was some,

[00:50:27] there was some,

[00:50:27] we've talked about the CGI replacement,

[00:50:29] but towards the end,

[00:50:30] there was some model work or there was some exterior shots of the enterprise that would

[00:50:34] look like legit model work.

[00:50:35] So as impressive.

[00:50:37] Yeah.

[00:50:37] So it looked like the background was probably augmented with CGI,

[00:50:41] which actually we had some of our first comments on an episode a couple nights ago.

[00:50:46] A very intelligent gentleman was not,

[00:50:49] not so much criticizing,

[00:50:50] but he was elaborating on some of the things we talked about more in depth.

[00:50:55] When actually we have a,

[00:50:57] what did we fuck up segment at the end where he,

[00:50:59] he called me out and he was 100% right.

[00:51:01] But he was talking about the,

[00:51:04] and this makes sense.

[00:51:05] Um,

[00:51:05] a lot of the model work in early star Trek was apparently hot garbage and paramount plus felt

[00:51:13] that they could do a better job,

[00:51:14] which the backgrounds are a lot more detailed.

[00:51:17] They're a lot more dynamic.

[00:51:18] So I kind of,

[00:51:20] I get it to a certain extent,

[00:51:22] but he does,

[00:51:23] he does,

[00:51:23] you know,

[00:51:25] he does.

[00:51:27] I,

[00:51:28] I,

[00:51:28] my response to that would be,

[00:51:29] I subscribe to a warts and all,

[00:51:31] all philosophy,

[00:51:33] uh,

[00:51:33] when it comes to my media.

[00:51:34] So like,

[00:51:35] I want to see the,

[00:51:36] I want to see the shitty ball.

[00:51:38] But also,

[00:51:38] but also having a secondary option is also nice.

[00:51:41] So I do get it.

[00:51:42] I'm just saying it would be kind of nice if you had the option to watch the original,

[00:51:47] you know what I'm saying.

[00:51:49] Well,

[00:51:50] but how far does that see the strings on like my gods?

[00:51:53] I love like,

[00:51:53] like I,

[00:51:54] I,

[00:51:55] I'm way far aside,

[00:51:57] but I,

[00:51:57] I've talked about Godzilla on here and I love like an early alter man where like,

[00:52:01] one of the monsters is just Godzilla in a costume.

[00:52:04] Like I love,

[00:52:05] like,

[00:52:05] like I love Carrie.

[00:52:06] Like it gives this stuff.

[00:52:07] But again,

[00:52:08] I,

[00:52:08] I see both sides of the argument.

[00:52:10] I'm not,

[00:52:10] I'm not going to say I don't.

[00:52:11] Well,

[00:52:12] then on the flip side of that though,

[00:52:13] is how far do you take it?

[00:52:14] Because I mean,

[00:52:15] obviously the footage has been updated to HD.

[00:52:18] So yeah,

[00:52:19] how far do you take that logic?

[00:52:21] Right.

[00:52:21] Um,

[00:52:22] yeah.

[00:52:22] So I get,

[00:52:23] I guess to each their own,

[00:52:23] but I will say this.

[00:52:24] It's never been so blatant that it takes away from that.

[00:52:29] I'll give you the,

[00:52:30] the energy of the episode.

[00:52:31] So yeah,

[00:52:32] I'll,

[00:52:32] I'll give you that.

[00:52:32] So back on the enterprise,

[00:52:34] Kirk is informed that van Gelder has destroyed the neural nerve.

[00:52:38] Van Gel.

[00:52:39] I think I'm actually going to keep in every time that I mispronounce it just to have a

[00:52:43] neural network.

[00:52:44] Kirk is informed that van Gelder has destroyed the neural neutralizer.

[00:52:49] Neural neutralizer.

[00:52:51] McCoy is surprised that loneliness could be lethal,

[00:52:54] but Kirk,

[00:52:55] having his experience is not.

[00:52:58] Yeah.

[00:52:58] The perspective that loneliness can't be lethal is yeah,

[00:53:01] that you could tell that's a product of its time,

[00:53:03] which especially coming from bones.

[00:53:05] That seems really odd.

[00:53:07] Yeah.

[00:53:08] That bones would think that.

[00:53:10] So ultimately I was disappointed with the ending of this episode because I,

[00:53:14] I was kind of hoping that the,

[00:53:16] that the argument was going to be like,

[00:53:18] Oh,

[00:53:18] I knew,

[00:53:18] I knew that the reveal was he was using a machine to fuck.

[00:53:20] With good people's brains.

[00:53:21] Like that was immediately apparent to me,

[00:53:23] but I thought that the argument was going to be for like,

[00:53:26] I don't know.

[00:53:27] There's a name for this type of philosophy,

[00:53:29] but the idea of like,

[00:53:30] you take a bad person and like it,

[00:53:33] you can make them a good person.

[00:53:35] But is that ethical?

[00:53:36] Like to,

[00:53:37] to change the nature of who,

[00:53:38] like,

[00:53:39] like there was no argument for the ethics of what he did to those people.

[00:53:45] Like the,

[00:53:45] there was no argument that the,

[00:53:46] that the machine itself was bad,

[00:53:48] just that he was bad in the way that he was using it.

[00:53:52] And I would,

[00:53:52] I would have kind of,

[00:53:53] I kind of wanted a more nuanced take of like,

[00:53:57] he,

[00:53:57] he's not a bad guy.

[00:53:59] And he ultimately is doing what he thinks is right for these people.

[00:54:02] And then the,

[00:54:02] the,

[00:54:03] the argument would have been from Spock,

[00:54:06] maybe why,

[00:54:07] or from Kirk,

[00:54:08] why,

[00:54:08] or from bones,

[00:54:09] why doing this to people is immoral.

[00:54:11] And then from Spock of like,

[00:54:13] well,

[00:54:13] no,

[00:54:13] it's logical because yeah,

[00:54:14] you,

[00:54:15] they're no longer violent.

[00:54:15] If you take a,

[00:54:16] like to go back to the,

[00:54:17] cause he spot,

[00:54:18] Spock,

[00:54:19] we mentioned earlier,

[00:54:20] even brought up the idea that without emotion,

[00:54:23] there's no crime.

[00:54:24] So like,

[00:54:25] I,

[00:54:25] it's just,

[00:54:26] there was no argument for the machine.

[00:54:28] And I kind of wish there had been,

[00:54:30] because I think it would have made this.

[00:54:31] Yeah,

[00:54:31] it would have,

[00:54:32] it would have made it interesting.

[00:54:33] Yeah,

[00:54:34] I agree.

[00:54:34] It would have made the debate more dynamic,

[00:54:36] although I would lean to the side of it being immoral,

[00:54:39] but yeah,

[00:54:39] there's,

[00:54:39] there's a,

[00:54:40] Oh,

[00:54:40] me too.

[00:54:41] Me too.

[00:54:41] Definitely.

[00:54:42] But I'm just saying like,

[00:54:43] I,

[00:54:45] I,

[00:54:45] like you,

[00:54:46] like,

[00:54:46] look at my favorite Superman quote is like,

[00:54:48] when you kill a person for being evil,

[00:54:49] you deny them the opportunity to be good.

[00:54:51] Like when you change the fabric of a person's personality,

[00:54:54] you deny them the opportunity for character growth.

[00:54:57] Right.

[00:54:58] So yeah,

[00:54:58] I mean,

[00:54:59] that's,

[00:54:59] you brought up a clockwork orange.

[00:55:01] That's basically the point.

[00:55:03] Yeah,

[00:55:03] pretty much.

[00:55:04] At a very,

[00:55:05] very basic level.

[00:55:06] That's the point that the movie is making.

[00:55:09] Is that,

[00:55:09] yeah.

[00:55:10] You know,

[00:55:10] like the clock record,

[00:55:11] but yeah,

[00:55:12] I get,

[00:55:12] yeah.

[00:55:13] I think the messaging is muddled in that movie.

[00:55:15] It really is because of a reason.

[00:55:17] Well,

[00:55:18] it kind of glorifies the violence in a way,

[00:55:20] but then at the same time,

[00:55:20] it makes a case for not going through the treatment,

[00:55:23] which I agree with in a vacuum because I,

[00:55:26] I,

[00:55:26] I come down on the side of like altering someone's brain is immoral,

[00:55:30] but yeah,

[00:55:32] same,

[00:55:32] you know,

[00:55:32] but this,

[00:55:33] this episode doesn't make that point.

[00:55:35] It doesn't make the point that what he's,

[00:55:36] it makes the point that he's evil,

[00:55:38] but not that his actions are evil.

[00:55:40] Uh,

[00:55:41] you could,

[00:55:41] you could make the,

[00:55:42] you could make the point that the machine,

[00:55:43] the machine existing is not inherently evil because of somebody consented to the procedure.

[00:55:47] Like say somebody just had these violent impulses that they couldn't control and they wanted to have them,

[00:55:54] you know,

[00:55:55] you know,

[00:55:57] how I would resolve that is when Kirk is testing the machine,

[00:56:00] maybe,

[00:56:00] maybe implant again,

[00:56:02] criticizing it,

[00:56:03] however you're old show,

[00:56:04] but maybe implant the idea,

[00:56:06] a good idea in his brain to show the positive benefits of the machine.

[00:56:10] Like,

[00:56:10] I don't,

[00:56:11] I don't know.

[00:56:12] They,

[00:56:12] they show so insistent on making Kirk perfect,

[00:56:14] but like pick a flaw.

[00:56:16] Yeah.

[00:56:16] Well,

[00:56:17] so like for,

[00:56:18] well,

[00:56:18] for example,

[00:56:19] so like in a,

[00:56:20] in a real world application where everybody would jump on this.

[00:56:23] So the biggest reason a lot of people don't work out or exercise or eat right is lack of motivation.

[00:56:28] Right.

[00:56:28] Yeah.

[00:56:28] So strap them to that chair willingly and sentingly and just be like reprogramming their brains.

[00:56:34] So that like exercise makes you happy.

[00:56:36] Or,

[00:56:36] or,

[00:56:36] I mean,

[00:56:37] my,

[00:56:37] my brain goes to addiction.

[00:56:39] Like that's,

[00:56:40] that's,

[00:56:40] that's a much better example.

[00:56:42] Yeah.

[00:56:43] They,

[00:56:43] they,

[00:56:43] I mean,

[00:56:43] they refer to it as rehab in the episode,

[00:56:45] but yeah,

[00:56:45] to be like a,

[00:56:47] a heroin addict who doesn't want to be addicted to heroin.

[00:56:49] That's a,

[00:56:50] that's a positive use for,

[00:56:52] for that machine.

[00:56:53] Right.

[00:56:53] And I just,

[00:56:54] yeah,

[00:56:54] I kind of wish there was like,

[00:56:55] again,

[00:56:56] there's no,

[00:56:57] I thought that that's what this was going to be about the ethics of experimenting on prisoners and changing the fabric of their personality.

[00:57:03] And it was just kind of,

[00:57:04] you had to kind of devolve to,

[00:57:05] he's kind of vaguely evil.

[00:57:07] And it was like,

[00:57:08] wouldn't,

[00:57:08] wouldn't this episode have been a much more.

[00:57:10] Oh,

[00:57:11] go ahead.

[00:57:12] Go ahead.

[00:57:12] You're out of thought.

[00:57:12] I was going to say the show is,

[00:57:14] is,