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Day of the Dove
Feb. 13th, 2006 07:53 pmI'm catching up on a lot of original Star Trek episodes I've never actually seen, as well as some old favourites. In more than one story, it's quite clear that Kirk and the Enterprise represent the US, while the Klingons are basically the Commies. It's interesting to see the extent to which "modern" Klingons from Next Gen et al are grounded in the originals, who are intelligent, articulate, and honest as well as ruthless - you respect them. And importantly, our heroes are not squeaky clean in comparison. In Errand of Mercy, when both superpowers have been chastised like schoolchildren, Kirk is "embarrassed" at having argued for the right to fight a war he doesn't actually want.
Poor old season 3 is full of terrible rubbish, but a number of better stories stand out. Day of the Dove was written by Jerome Bixby, who traumatised so many of us with "It's a Good Life". The Klingons have absolutely smashing dialogue. The moment that really got me is when the hostage Klingon/Commie is surprised that the threat to kill her was only a bluff. 'We don't mistreat prisoners,' Kirk/USA tells her. 'You've been listening to propaganda, rumours.' For a moment, I could have wept.
The final line is Kang's, presumably a Klingon proverb: 'Only a fool fights in a burning house.' Both sides are in danger, and cannot survive if they fight each other instead of facing their common enemy. It's such a powerful description of ideological squabbles in the face of the Greenhouse that I think I'll put it in my Interests.
ETA: The Klingons kind of mutated into the Japanese in the 80s/90s Treks, but were the original series made now, I think they'd represent the Islamic World: swarthy and mustachioed, proud and cultured, the Federation/West's enemies as much through mutual misunderstanding as actual aggression.
Poor old season 3 is full of terrible rubbish, but a number of better stories stand out. Day of the Dove was written by Jerome Bixby, who traumatised so many of us with "It's a Good Life". The Klingons have absolutely smashing dialogue. The moment that really got me is when the hostage Klingon/Commie is surprised that the threat to kill her was only a bluff. 'We don't mistreat prisoners,' Kirk/USA tells her. 'You've been listening to propaganda, rumours.' For a moment, I could have wept.
The final line is Kang's, presumably a Klingon proverb: 'Only a fool fights in a burning house.' Both sides are in danger, and cannot survive if they fight each other instead of facing their common enemy. It's such a powerful description of ideological squabbles in the face of the Greenhouse that I think I'll put it in my Interests.
ETA: The Klingons kind of mutated into the Japanese in the 80s/90s Treks, but were the original series made now, I think they'd represent the Islamic World: swarthy and mustachioed, proud and cultured, the Federation/West's enemies as much through mutual misunderstanding as actual aggression.
