Star Trek: Start to Finish

For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky

For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky (HD Video; Memory Alpha) is an awesome name, and a nearly awesome episode.

It starts out, as is the show’s wont, in the middle of a crisis, with chemical missiles hurtling toward the Enterprise. Phasers make quick work of them, and they are traced back to a generation ship built inside of a massive asteroid, aboard which the last remnant of a long-dead race is blissfully unaware of their heritage.

The setup is nice, the pacing is good, the natives are interesting (if hilariously badly dressed).

But to tie the crew into the action the writers decided to give Bones Xenopolycythemia (which my latin translates to the actually sensible “alien multi-blood-cell-condition”), which will kill him in a year. In response, he decides to stay on the generation ship and live out his last year the happy husband of the high priestess. That’s… that’s just silly. Bones wouldn’t settle down to die quietly: Bones would be out looking for a cure (and, it should be noted, he comes around to this by the end).

The setup also lacks for a villain, what with the high priestess fulfilling her primary role as love interest, so we once again have to rely on a malfunctioning computer. Computers in Star Trek never work right, which is kind of a shame for such a forward-thinking, pro-progress show. But even if it’s well-trod territory, it’s not the focus of the episode, so it’s a minor weakness.

Even given those two drawbacks, this was a good episode in a season that’s been pretty bad. It’s no classic, but it’s more than worth watching.

Grade

B+

Kirk versus Spock on Retaliation

Arena sees another in the long-running dialogs between Kirk, who jumps immediately to a “Kill ‘em all” stance, and Spock, who wants to show all sentient creatures compassion. This is an undercurrent with particular implications on this episode, but it’s been present in a lot of episodes and it’s something I don’t remember from my occasional viewings before this.

Which is a shame, really. This is a smart argument for these two characters to make because of who they are. Kirk, the thinking but emotional human, is driven by revenge and impetuous desires. Spock, the logical and sometimes cold half-Vulcan, is instead weighing reactions and repercussions.

But what’s really interesting is that when McCoy makes an appearance in this back-and-forth, it’s usually as a stand-in, but he switches between the sides. He frames his argument for compassion in terms of our ability to aid suffering, and his argument for vengeance in the shared burden that suffering inflicts upon us.

It’s this sort of discussion that makes Trek interesting, and I’m kind of surprised that I don’t remember this particular thread. Does it fade out as time goes on?