Star Trek (TOS): The Enemy Within

[Thebestoftherest]

https://sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/s005.php

Opinionated Star Trek Episode Guide sees Kirk confront the only person manly enough to take him on: another Kirk! And slashfic writers promptly faint.

[Mickey_Rat15]

My thought here is that "Yellow" Kirk is entirely id. There really is very little restraining him from indulging his passion of the moment. The combined Kirk seems to me to be the Ego. What it says about human nature seems fundamentally right, it takes a certain amount of ruthless impulsiveness to come to a weighty decision, especially when one does not know the outcome. That some of the human qualities that can lead to evil outcomes also make the good possible when tempered by conscience.

[Thebestoftherest]

I have to asked, why couldn't they beam the away team up sedated them and confined them to various quarters where they can't hurt themselves or others.

[Swiftbow]

I have to asked, why couldn't they beam the away team up sedated them and confined them to various quarters where they can't hurt themselves or others.

They would have been split into two halves also, with no guaranteed means of putting them back together. (That is, it might have been a death sentence.)

Perhaps they'd do that if there was no hope left on the surface. But that hadn't quite happened yet.

[CrypticMirror]

I wonder why they couldn't use a shuttle, other than, of course, the production team hadn't thought of having shuttles at that point. In-universe, I headcanon it as Starfleet having had such success with transporter tech they got a bit cocky and declared shuttles an obsolete technology (like lifeboats on the Titanic) and withdrew them from service, only for, after this and other transporter problems, to hurriedly re-issue them to all ships. I used the example of the Titanic lifeboats, but there is no shortage of other such cock ups.

[Madner Kami]

So they designed and constructed the Constitution-class and other ships with a huge shuttlebay and then put no shuttles inside?

[Mickey_Rat15]

I wonder why they couldn't use a shuttle, other than, of course, the production team hadn't thought of having shuttles at that point. In-universe, I headcanon it as Starfleet having had such success with transporter tech they got a bit cocky and declared shuttles an obsolete technology (like lifeboats on the Titanic) and withdrew them from service, only for, after this and other transporter problems, to hurriedly re-issue them to all ships. I used the example of the Titanic lifeboats, but there is no shortage of other such cock ups.

I had thought it was because the production team had not finished the models for a shuttle when the episode was shot (as this was among the first episodes produced), so they ignored that the Enterprise should have small craft.

[Lazerlike42]

It's the same reason that 90% of the plots in the first couple of seasons of Enterprise could have been entirely skipped if they had just been willing to use the transporters on people - and this is after they'd already done it a few times. It made no sense in Enterprise to have people in life or death situations and not use the transporter and it makes no sense in this episode to not use the shuttle. It's just an oversight for the sake of the writers/production team being able to tell the story they want to.

[cdrood]

One reason I'd rate the episode higher is that it's so enjoyable, despite the in-universe inconsistency. The concept is played out so well that even after multiple viewings, you don't care that much about the shuttles. It doesn't take you out of the story.

[Thebestoftherest]

I find chuck theory funny.