Star Trek: Amok Time

Spock: "How do Vulcans choose their mates? Haven't you wondered?"
Kirk: "I guess the rest of us always assumed it was done quite logically."

In the space of one episode, Spock went from cool superman to sexy beast. And a whole new wave of fan fiction was born.

"Amok Time" added a good-sized amount of Vulcan culture to the Star Trek universe, as well as an intriguing bit of alien sexuality. (Not that Vulcans weren't already sexy.) The lead in -- Spock so grouchy that he was throwing plomeek soup at the wall and yelling at Christine, the medical check-up, and best of all, the scene where an embarrassed Spock confided in an embarrassed Kirk -- all great fun. And I've always loved McCoy lying with a totally straight face and saving the day with his hypo.

Yes, I'm being repetitive, but I must praise Nimoy's performance again. I thought Shatner did a terrific job, too, especially in that uncomfortable scene in Spock's quarters. (Loved them both standing side by side with their hands behind their backs as they carefully talked around the subject of sex. What great body language.) And Celia Lovsky's performance as powerful Vulcan matriarch T'Pau was exceptional. How cool is it that Vulcan has important, influential women? Star Trek did take steps forward in the treatment of women on television. Although T'Pau asking T'Pring if she was ready to become the property of the victor was a bit of a step back.

We learned that Spock is a legend on his home planet and his family is not only important, but they held that property for two thousand years. So where were his parents? You'd think they'd show up for Spock's wedding, wouldn't you? And if Vulcans are paired off so young and the relationship is so strong, how did Spock's father manage to marry a human woman? T'Pring "wanting" Stonn so much that she did what she did opens up questions, too. Is there sex on Vulcan without pon farr? Is Spock a virgin? His exchange with Christine and his dream that she was trying to tell him something was quite sexy. If there had been no T'Pring, would Christine have gotten more than she bargained for?

Stupid T'Pring. We're all nuts about him and she just tosses him back? And for whom? Some muscle-bound idiot named Stonn. It was outright dirty pool of her to choose Kirk as her champion, too. Spock is better off without her, needless to say.

Ben says...

BATT A DA DADA DA, DAAA, DAAA BA BA A DA DA... or maybe DA NA NA NANANANA NANANANA NAH... Okay, that's my best onomatopoeia of that exciting fight music that they played in the big Spock-Kirk "Dude, she's not that into you" battle.

Billie has talked about a lot of great things in this episode, but for me it is probably most memorable for the introduction of Star Trek's iconic fight music. I had trouble believing that it was already a third of the way through the series before we first heard it, because it may even surpass the opening theme as the signature music of the series. It's also incredibly useful in daily life. Put it on your i-Pod and listen to it softly as you work or sit in a meeting or a class, and it makes everything seem much more important.

Interestingly, I have actually participated in three lirpa duels over the years: two in Amtgard, and one in the SCA. I won two and lost one. Fortunately, none was with an amok Vulcan. Although one was with a berserk Viking, so it was all bruises, and no mating resulted (more's the pity). Although this makes me think of another time you might listen to the fight theme.

Back to Billie for bits and pieces:

-- Star date 3372.7. Side trip to Vulcan on the way to Altair Six.

-- DeForest Kelley was added to the opening credits, and there were new sets and new music (most notably the intense "fight music" introduced during the combat scene on Vulcan, discussed above most eloquently by Ben).

-- The fight scene was probably one of the best in the series. It was a lot harder to detect the stunt men. Plus having Kirk get sliced across the chest early in the proceedings (and continuing to fight with a big bloody gap in his shirt) was pretty effective.

-- I've always loved Shatner's expressions when he is presented first with the lirpa and then with the ahn-woon. Like, what the hell am I supposed to do with this thing?

-- The revolving buttheads in the navigator chair were permanently replaced by Chekov, representing not one, but two demographics: Russians and young people (note the longish sixties hair).

-- Spock is now a full commander, according to the plaque outside his quarters.

-- How come T'Pau was the only one with an accent? Maybe her English just wasn't that good.

-- Kirk defied Admiral Komack's orders, but got away with it because of T'Pau. She must have been psychic.

-- Laurence Montaigne, who played a Romulan in "Balance of Terror," returned as Stonn. This time, he got ears instead of just a helmet.

-- The newly revamped effects included some terrific added visuals of Vulcan.

Quotes:

McCoy: "When I suggested to Spock that it was time for his routine check-up, your logical, unemotional first officer turned to me and said, 'You will cease to pry into my personal matters, Doctor, or I shall certainly break your neck.'"
Kirk: "Spock said that?"

Spock: "It is undignified for a woman to play servant to a man who is not hers."

Kirk: "There's no need to be embarrassed about it, Mr. Spock. It happens to the birds and the bees."
Spock: "The birds and the bees are not Vulcans, Captain."

Spock: "There is a thing that happens to Vulcans at this time, almost an insanity which you would no doubt find distasteful."
Kirk: "Will I? You've been most patient with my kinds of madness."

T'Pau: ""What thee are about to see comes down from the time of the beginning, without change. This is the Vulcan heart. This is the Vulcan soul. This is our way."

T'Pau: "This combat is to the death."
Oops.

McCoy: "Now be careful."
Kirk: "Sound medical advice."

McCoy: "He's finished. He's dead."
T'Pau: "I grieve with thee."

Spock: "I see no logic in preferring Stonn over me."
You can say that again.

T'Pau: "Live long and prosper, Spock."
Spock: "I shall do neither. I have killed my captain and my friend."
This was the first time we saw the Vulcan salute and the well-known phrase, "Live long and prosper."

Spock: (huge grin) "Jim!!! (uncomfortable pause) I am... pleased to see you, Captain. You seem uninjured."

McCoy: "Of course, Mr. Spock, your reaction was quite logical."
Spock: "Thank you, doctor."
McCoy: "In a pigs eye."

"Amok Time" is a huge fan favorite, and it well deserves to be. Four out of four bowls of plomeek soup,

Billie

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Photo credit: Memory Alpha