Star Trek Old School Style

The new Star Trek movie is out, and a big hit, even with reviewers. The saga continues in a unique show business success story. The original show ran three years and was only a moderate hit. But of course, it developed such a cult following that it spawned movies, spin off TV shows, books, and even a Saturday morning cartoon show that was voiced by the original show’s cast.
I’m not an obsessed trekkie, but I was a fan of the original show. For the 1960s it was a pretty innovative. I’m sure it was one of the first shows of that era to cast a black woman in a major co-starring role. In the guise of sci-fi the show dealt with topical issues, something network TV was just beginning to do in any form.
I recall a show in which the Enterprise was invaded by beings that were on the opposite sides of a warring planet. The beings looked human except that half of their bodies were white and black. Color hatred was a major factor in the character’s motivation, the twist being one character was black on the right side of his face and the other was black on the left. By the end of the show the being’s planet had destroyed itself, pointing out the absurdity of the color conflict; a comment on the racial strife that existed in America at the time.


Even William Shatner’s Captain Kirk was innovative. He pioneered the hesitation style of TV acting. Instead of saying a line like:
“Spock, is there sign of life on the planet?”
He would say:
“Spock...............Any sign of life..........on the planet.”
For some reason in the 1960s you could repeat plot points and character lines and nobody seemed to be bothered by it. My favorite repeaters on Star Trek were Kirk and Bones.
Kirk was always challenging alien beings, even those that could wave their arms and send you flying across the room.
Kirk would say lines like:
“You can’t do that I represent the Federation. And that’s not acceptable.”
I always wanted the alien to say:
“Oh, you represent the Federation. Ooooh, I’m scared. F the Federation. And F you. ”
The alien would wave his arm and Kirk would be sent flying across the room. Undaunted, Captain Kirk would get up, brush himself off, and say:
“That’s a nice trick. But I still represent the Federation. And you’re still wrong.”
Throughout the entire series run Bones seemed to have two major dialogue themes. Declaring that he was a doctor and dogging out Spock.
Kirk would say:
“Bones, I want you to beam down with our party.”
Bones reply. “Dammit Jim. I’m a doctor Not a beamer downer ”
Bones always lit into the unemotional, logical Spock. I always wanted him to go completely off.
“Spock, you pointed-eared, green bloodied, emotionless, biscuit eating, dog breathed, no deodorant wearing piece of scum. F you and your logic ”
Old school Star Trek. You have to love it.

The Faces of Evil

It seems like every few weeks or so there is a hot crime story that captures a lot of media attention. The latest has been the Craigslist case. A man is accused of allegedly robbing several women, and robbing and killing another woman through contacts he made on the classified internet site.
The constant images and clips you see connected with the story are a photograph of the smiling blonde suspect and his cute fiancee, and clips of the suspect’s family and friends expressing doubt that he is guilty.
This brings me to the question of what is the most sinister form of evil. The evil that you see clearly and can be ready to react against. Or the evil wrapped in a pretty package that catches you off guard.
Part of serial killer Ted Bundy’s M.O was to present himself as a good looking friendly guy in need of help from a stranger. It was too late for his female victims by the time they learned his true intent.
John Wayne Gacy, on the other hand, was hardly dashing and lovable, yet he managed to murder several young men and bury them in the yard and basement of his suburban home without arousing the suspicion of his neighbors.
When it comes to these kinds of cases, there seems to be a universal response by the killer’s neighbors.

INTERVIEWER: Did you suspect anything at all?
NEIGHBOR: No. I really didn’t. He was mostly quiet and kept to himself. You know, he was always out in the yard digging. I’d say hi, you do a lot of digging, don’t you? And he would laugh it off. But I swear. I never knew he was digging graves. Because, you know, he was quiet.
INTERVIEWER: And kept to himself.
NEIGHBOR: Yeah. He was quiet and kept to himself. I never suspected a thing.