Journey to Babel (TOS - S2E10)

[Hailing Frequencies Open]

In this episode of Treks and Tangents, we take on Journey to Babel, an episode packed with diplomacy, family drama, murder mystery, medical crisis, and a suspicious little ship causing big problems.

Spock’s parents, Sarek and Amanda, arrive aboard the Enterprise, giving everyone a front-row seat to Vulcan family tension, finger-touch affection, and Spock’s struggle between duty and family.

We break down why this episode matters to Star Trek history, from the debut of Sarek and Amanda to the first appearance of Andorians and Tellarites... while also asking why nobody thought to take Sarek to an actual hospital.

[End Transmission]

Transcript

Intro/Turbolift Tease Recap

SPEAKER_04 0:10

Ailing Frequencies Open and welcome aboard Treks and Tangents. I'm your co-host Brian.

SPEAKER_00 0:15

And I'm your co-host Jackie. I'm the Star Trek movie who checks off on tangents.

SPEAKER_04 0:20

And I'm your Star Trek expert who is here to get the tangents back on track. Each episode we watch and talk about a different Star Trek episode.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

And this week we watched Star Trek, the original series, season two, episode 10, Journey to Babel.

SPEAKER_04 0:35

Welcome back, everyone. Don't forget to stay tuned toward the end of the episode where we'll reveal the topic of our bonus Star Note episode, which we'll post over at our Patreon after this episode goes live. But welcome back to another episode of our podcast, another episode of Star Trek itself. Welcome to the episode with 50 different plot lines.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

There were a lot. I really hoped that we would have been able to see more of all the delegates, the ambassadors, because the costume people did amazing.

SPEAKER_04 1:10

Yeah, this I don't know why they I don't know why they chose to do 50 different plot lines. It feels like this could have been broken up into many episodes, or maybe they had an episode and they needed to fill things out. I have no idea.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Well, they needed a reason to get Spock's father on board.

SPEAKER_04 1:27

I th I want to believe that they probably started with an episode that revolved around Spock's parents, and then they didn't have enough to fulfill or spread out across an entire episode, so they had to inject all these different plot points to kind of fill it out to give it enough content for a full episode. I don't know. But before we get too far into it, why don't we quickly just revisit the turboliftees from last week? That's where we gave Jackie the title of this week's episode, and Jackie, without any other information, tried to guess the plot of this week's episode. So, computer, what was Jackie's prediction last week?

SPEAKER_02 2:13

Jackie's prediction last week was Uhura is getting special transmissions that she didn't know. They just keep popping in. And we learn that it's from a single manned vessel that is needing help getting home, and the Enterprise is going to pull them in and help him or her get safely home.

SPEAKER_04 2:32

So, Jackie, how accurate do you think your prediction was last week? I totally nailed it.

SPEAKER_00 2:38

I mean, because it's self-destruct, so they go home. I mean, that's one way of going home.

SPEAKER_04 2:45

She gets all these weird symbols, so I win. Okay, so totally nailed it. Not so much. Definitely Ohura getting the strange signals, the single man vessel. Sure. I will just say that when the episode gives you five different plot points, it's easy to guess one of them, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 3:05

I only had Journey to Babel to go with, so I get a C at least.

SPEAKER_04 3:11

True. But Babel, at least in this case, was its own actual place and not some weird code name. Not some weird forced metaphor about some biblical reference. But anyway, Jackie,

Initial Impressions

SPEAKER_04 3:25

why don't you get us back on track and give us your initial impressions to the episode this week?

SPEAKER_00 3:31

I mean, I really liked it. I thought the costuming was fabulous. Uh, I see that they brought back the weird metals and designs on the uniforms that they had on Mirror Mirror, but it was just more in a complete like actual design. And then I also noticed that in the reception when they're talking about Seric and how he is retiring, the I noticed that one of the dishes is the symbol is like their communicator symbol.

SPEAKER_04 4:06

Okay. I didn't notice that one of the platter dishes was.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

Well, I'm assuming because it it was like triangular, and the more I looked at it, I think it looked like that. And I thought that was a really cool like throw-in. And plus, I mean, all of the color, so much color, and all the ice cubes look like the freeze-dried like Skittles that they sell at the state fair going on like right now, this California State Fair.

SPEAKER_04 4:34

And by the time this comes out, it'll be the state fair time in like five four days. Countdown. So maybe we'll do a video blog and post it somewhere. Might be fun. But let's count the number of plot points that there were, or let's try to, the number of plot lines. So we had Spock and his parents. So we had family drama.

SPEAKER_00 4:57

That we didn't know were it were his family until Spock's like, These are my parents.

SPEAKER_04 5:03

Yeah. Which I got problems with, but we'll get to it. We have somewhat tied in, but also could be its own plot line, the medical drama of Sarek having a heart attack and needing surgery and a blood transfusion.

SPEAKER_00 5:17

Sarek and Gav having a fight. We have those poor ugly masks.

SPEAKER_04 5:23

Yes. We have the murder mystery on the Enterprise, which tangentially is tied into the espionage and the mystery of the ship that is following the Enterprise. But even though plastic surgery that one of them got. Yeah, and so even though there's like a few tie-ins between the plot lines, that's four.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

And then you have the internal struggle of Spock wanting to save his father or do what he can to save his father, but also his duty to the enterprise because Kirk was attacked by said spy alien.

SPEAKER_04 6:05

Yeah. And as you start to interconnect them all, they all start to get kind of muddled together. But it really at the end of the day, I think most people remember this episode for not so much the diplomacy, the murder mystery, the spooky one-man shuttle that is following the Enterprise. This is an episode everyone remembers as this is the episode where Spock's parents make their first appearance. And I think that leads to a lot of people enjoying and liking this episode, because this is, spoiler, going to be one of the essential episodes everyone says this is one of the more important episodes of the original series.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

I can see that, because it also shows different rituals. Like his parents do not hold hands or show to show love. They hold their first two fingers, and it's like that's their way of like showing how they love each other, and they hold their hands that way. And then of course, Amanda is her name. She's like, This is the Vulcan way. Logic, logic, logic. But then she does show her humanity. And then, of course, Bach and Sarah are like, I don't know why you, you know, m married her in the first place.

SPEAKER_04 7:22

At the very end, yeah. And and and in her also to point out there that this is an episode with multiple endings where it just another example where it seems like we have a perfectly fine conclusion to the episode, and rather than going to credits, we get another 30 to 90 seconds of more talking, more characters, and it just never seems to end. The last five minutes drags out.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

Yes, and I do like that McCoy gets the last word, but it could have been earlier in the in that five minutes that you're talking about.

SPEAKER_04 7:59

Did you like the moment where he says, I'm just glad I got the last word in and he breaks the fourth wall?

SPEAKER_00 8:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:04

And he stares directly at the camera.

SPEAKER_01 8:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:07

And it's like, okay, that's the that's the take we'll keep, I guess. Like 'cause he's very proud of himself. This whole episode so proud of himself he recognizes that he's a fictional character and there's a camera to look at.

SPEAKER_00 8:19

Well, he's pre-Kevin Spacey. He he gave Kevin Spacey that idea, you know, for deck for House of Cards.

SPEAKER_04 8:26

Oh, I was like, what work are you? Bold choice going for Kevin Spacey reference, but okay. But it's interesting that that's the take that they would have kept in, because it's very goes very much against Star Trek itself.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

I can see that, but also like the undercurrent of all of this drama is McCoy saving the day, and he's so excited to learn that Spock was a little boy who ran and played like a human and had a quote teddy bear until he learned what a what a cel it really was. And I think I think McCoy's the little sprinkle of humor helped the story, all these stories move along because there are so many stories. So many stories. And I mean it because like the point is that they're supposed to be going to do this one thing, and they don't even get to do that one thing, like that goal. Like I felt that was wrong.

SPEAKER_04 9:32

Yeah. We don't technically the whole point of the episode is to go have this conference at BABEL, this code name for this planet in Galaxy.

SPEAKER_00 9:43

The Caridian planets to be added to the Federation.

SPEAKER_04 9:47

Right. There that's not BABLE though. That's the dis that's the topic of discussion. I'm trying to think. Babel is in Star System Wolf 424. Someone can correct me on that. It's not in the episode. Jackie's frantically checking her notes.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

Yeah, I didn't hear that. It just just said that they were going to a code name Babel.

SPEAKER_04 10:06

Right. Which maybe we'll get into it more in the Star Note episode. Babel has a very important role that is that plays a part of the Federation history in Star Trek. And it but it we don't learn about it until series later.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

So well, on another side tangent, I'd like to know why the Rigel colonies are so important because they are brought up all the time.

SPEAKER_04 10:31

So I don't know that there's any specific significance to Rigel. It it certainly plays a role in many Star Trek episodes and Star Trek stories.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

Right.

SPEAKER_04 10:42

Is it significant because of some specific property? Not really. It's one of the early named star systems from Star Trek in this original series, and because it's so early named, it just kind of continued on and was a frequent reference and focal point for many of the stories. So it's used often to give a familiar reference point to the viewers. Like a colony, like a settlement. Sure.

SPEAKER_00 11:19

Yeah. Okay. That how that helps ex- I've always wondered that, just because they always bring it up.

SPEAKER_04 11:25

Sure. No, just happens to be a familiar point that the writers can continue to refer back to.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

So that makes sense.

SPEAKER_04 11:32

Yeah. Kind of like tattooing in Star Wars, but that's a whole nother topic. Tattoos? Tattooing?

SPEAKER_00 11:41

Jackie's like actual tattoos?

SPEAKER_04 11:43

No, not like at not no. Tattooing, Jackie's drawing a blank. Tattooing is the planet that Luke Skywalker is from.

SPEAKER_00 11:53

Oh, we went off on a different okay.

SPEAKER_04 11:55

Star Wars?

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Okay. I did think of Star Wars when the Galileo came in.

SPEAKER_04 12:03

Anyway, we'll get to that too.

Treking Through the Episode

SPEAKER_04 12:06

Too much of a tangent, too many plots, too long of an episode. Jackie, why don't you walk us through all of the different plot points to this episode?

SPEAKER_00 12:14

Well now I have to go super fast. Okay, so we have our cold opening, and it's just Kirk and McCoy, they're complaining because they have to put on their dress uniforms and they're fancy. And McCoy's like, I feel like my head's in a sling. Calm down, dudes. And the last of the ambassadors to come onto the enterprise are from Vulcan. So sidebar, there's gonna be a total of 114 ambassadors that are being transported to that planet that's codenamed Babel, because they're going to be voting on including a set of planets, the Caridian planets, into the Federation.

SPEAKER_04 13:00

Caridian is just one planet, but yes.

SPEAKER_00 13:03

Oh, yes. And it's a special planet, and some want it and some don't, but they have to all be together and vote.

SPEAKER_04 13:13

Correct. Specifically, Caridian is rich in dilithium crystals. The Tellorites don't want Caridian to be brought into the United Federation of Planets because they claim that they have mining rights to it.

SPEAKER_00 13:31

And those are the ones that resemble pigs, correct?

SPEAKER_04 13:34

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 13:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 13:36

And if the planet is introduced to the United Federation of Planets, that would, in effect, null and void their mining rights, and they would have to renegotiate their mining rights under this new classification. The Andorians, and I think several others, want Caridian to be brought into the Federation because they view the Tellarites mining rights as illegitimate or cover for a wider illegal mining operation to gain better profit.

SPEAKER_00 14:10

Right. The planet is they don't have enough population to be able to stay protected. So be being a part of the Federation, they will be protected, thus making their crystals safe, and everyone can share and not steal them.

SPEAKER_04 14:30

And that the inhabitants of Caridian would not be taken advantage of because they don't have the power or the reach to prevent being taken advantage of themselves. Also important to note, it's not really discussed in this episode because it's not established in Star Trek lore yet, but it seems like in this episode, everyone hates each other.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

But Well, yeah, Kurt keeps saying that.

SPEAKER_04 14:55

The founding members of the Federation are the humans, the Vulcans, the Andorians, and the Tellarites. So they all are technically allies under the Federation. Never mind the fact that the icon and symbol for the Federation of Planets has those three bright stars. No one wants to talk about where that fourth star for the Tellarites went.

SPEAKER_00 15:18

Oh, interesting. And the Andorians, they look like how we think aliens would look like nowadays. I found it really interesting.

SPEAKER_04 15:28

Yes, blueskin antennas. Yeah. So almost like an ant. Almost like an ant. They play a much greater role in the series Enterprise.

SPEAKER_00 15:39

Okay. Good, good to know.

SPEAKER_04 15:41

In any case, back on track.

SPEAKER_00 15:43

Sorry about that. And so, like I said, the last two arrive are the Vulcans. And so we have the ambassador Serek and his wife Amanda. And they're they walk on. And McCoy's like, How do I do the Vulcan salute? And he's trying to like spread his fingers because Spock's like, easy, here you go. And he's like, This hurts more than putting on my uniform. I thought that was cute. Alright, so Ambassador Serek and his wife get off the Galileo and come into view. And I also wanted to add that this episode has the most intriguing and interesting music. Like each race has its own melody, and especially Carek, who has like this deep, mysterious double bass vibe going on. And even Amanda at times.

SPEAKER_04 16:44

Yeah. So why do you think they brought the Vulcan envoy to the Enterprise using a shuttlecraft instead of transporters?

SPEAKER_00 16:51

Because he's special.

SPEAKER_04 16:53

Okay, we'll go with that. I guess that's the same reason why we greet him with a line of security officers.

SPEAKER_00 17:02

Yeah, they were all like pulling down their coats, like, oh.

SPEAKER_04 17:04

Well, they're pulling down their coats and they're also like whipping their phasers out and like crossing their arms in front of their chest. And I'm just like that makes no sense to could because the Vulcans don't care.

SPEAKER_00 17:16

I mean, I'm sure on some level This is illogical, y'all are pimping for me.

SPEAKER_04 17:21

Yeah, I think on some level they reck they would probably recognize humans. They have a need for ceremony and things like that, but they would not be impressed by not only such pomp and ceremony, but almost a blatant display of force. True.

SPEAKER_00 17:39

But anyway. And so they enter and Spock is there, and Kirk's like, Well, why don't you guys um Spock can give you a tour, whatever you'd like, and Sarek uh flatly says, I'd like a different guide. And Kirk's like, uh, okay. And then he's like, Alright, well, Spock, we're here for another two hours in orbit. Maybe you can go down and visit your parents. And then awkward pause again. These are my parents.

SPEAKER_04 18:12

Yeah. Oops. Well, and super awkward pause for the viewer as well, because Spock's parents would be part of his personnel record, especially because Serek is such a prominent representative of the Vulcan people. I mean, he wears tapestry as his uniform. So why is Kirk not having this knowledge prepared going into the meeting? At no point did it never like not only is Spock your first officer, he's like one of your best friends.

SPEAKER_00 18:44

Exactly. And you see that this Vulcan has a Caucasian human with him. Like, do all Vulcans have mid lady? Like, so yeah, Kirk should have obviously Kirk had other things on his mind.

SPEAKER_04 18:58

Obviously, the writers didn't recognize that they needed to set this up better. But in any case, we get the awkward moment, we get our opening credits, we get the part of the woman singing that Jackie hates so much.

SPEAKER_00 19:13

And then when they're coming back from the break over his little log, this is when we learn we are going to Babel. It is very, very special. His 114 people on board, everything is touch and go because anything can happen, one bad word or one weird look, warfare. And so we all have to manage our people. And so Kirk, meanwhile, is giving a tour of like the computer area to Cerek and and Amanda, and then Spock is just like lagging behind, and then Kirk's like trying to incorporate him in the discussion, saying, Oh, Spock, why don't you, you know, tell them all about our systems? And then Cerek's like, I taught him about computers when he was four. And so Spock's like, I think I'll go elsewhere.

SPEAKER_04 20:12

Yeah, I think I'll just find something else to occupy my time.

SPEAKER_00 20:17

And then Spock goes away, but Amanda does have a chance to speak with him, saying, You've been around humans so much you'd think you learn how to smile. And then of course Spock's like, that's a human thing. I'm not a human. And she's like, but you are part of it, and they have this little chatter. But then Cariq tires of this tour and pretty much gives an order to Kirk that my wife will continue the the tour, and they do their cute little finger hold. And this is also when Kirk explains to Amanda that Spock is his first officer. He's so special to Starfleet, thank goodness he's there, but he's also his friend, and he's so grateful that he has him as a friend. And then Amanda's like, I'm so glad he has you. Like they have like a bonding moment.

SPEAKER_04 21:12

Well, yeah, human to human. And in this conversation, we also find out that this estrangement has existed between Spock and Seric for 18 years, which is a shorter time period for Vulcans because they live to be over a hundred years old, but still a significant amount of time.

SPEAKER_00 21:32

Yes, because Seric is like he like resents Spock for going to Starfleet and not following his own footsteps and on Vulcan.

SPEAKER_04 21:42

Yeah, and attending the Vulcan Science Academy, the Vulcan version of Starfleet, for lack of a comparison, which is explored in greater detail and other Star Trek series and movies.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

Got it. And so um Aura interrupts the little chat. And I just noticed that they have video chat now. I didn't notice that before. So she's on the little box saying that she can receive like symbols, but she has no idea what it means or where it's coming from, but she'll let you know.

SPEAKER_04 22:18

Yeah, just uh just an update. Wild that in that moment, and they do it completely for the television show and for the viewing audience, but Kirk like turns the the FaceTime video out away from him to face the camera, and you might be able to try to explain it to be like, oh hey, check this out, Amanda. I'm getting an important call from the bridge. But it's really just so that you can flatten it out for technical purposes so that the audience, the TV audience can view it. But I'm looking at that going, that's really wild that you have face-to-face communication and the first thing you do is tilt it away from you and look at it from around the corner. Awkward.

SPEAKER_00 22:58

All right, so now we're at the reception, which is absolutely beautiful and color galore. And while everyone is dressed to the nines, every time we see Amanda Spock's mother, she is just it's just gorgeous. Like she has this green dress with pink feathers, like uh like on along like the sleeves. It it's just beautiful. She has a fabulous style, like you know, it and it's age appropriate, if that makes sense. Sure. Like not too and for an ambassador's wife, you know, she has to look fancy for she's Jackie O of the Vulcans.

SPEAKER_04 23:40

Well, it could also be the fact that the actress who plays Amanda is Jane Wyatt, who has a at the time had a very distinguished acting career as an actress. She definitely was a headliner to have on Star Trek at that time.

SPEAKER_01 23:58

Oh.

SPEAKER_04 23:59

So they very much were playing that up, I believe. Also, I think being respectful. Here you have a serious actress, and again, sci-fi, not the same thing in the 60s as it is now. It's kind of more of a niche thing back in the 60s, and they're inviting her on. So I think they're trying to make her feel comfortable.

SPEAKER_00 24:19

So it would be seen like this is below her?

SPEAKER_04 24:23

Not so much below her, but we're not going to take anything away from your acting career. You're not going to sacrifice or belittle yourself by taking this unserious role, or we don't want you to perceive this as something that is not befitting your standards as an actress.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

Oh, got it. And that would also explain the tapestry on Cerek's uniform, because they make him look super upstanding, also cons compared to like Ambassador Gav, who looks like he's in an astronaut suit.

SPEAKER_04 25:00

Yeah, pretty much.

SPEAKER_00 25:02

With a really bad mask.

SPEAKER_04 25:03

Very terrible mask. I mean, at parts you can see the actor's face behind those prosthetics. They tried. But in any case, we get the reception, there's some back and forth, and it all kind of the pivotal point to the reception is that Tellerite ambassador Gav confronting Sarik in a very abrupt manner as to how he's going to vote on the Corridon admission. And it sets up the fact that Sarek and Gav don't get along because Sarik very much puts him in his place and says, This isn't really the time. We're not at the conference, we're just in rote to the conference. This is supposed to be a reception and a gathering amongst friends. Let's not talk shop, let's just enjoy the evening.

SPEAKER_00 25:54

And we also learn that Sarek is in fact wanting to retire because McCoy is like, you guys live forever, as you mentioned earlier. 102 is young, and he mentions there were other factors.

SPEAKER_04 26:12

Hinting to his health condition.

SPEAKER_00 26:14

So I thought that was important also. And then, of course, all the beautiful, colorful spread, and all the delegates in the background.

SPEAKER_04 26:24

Right.

SPEAKER_00 26:24

Fantastic.

SPEAKER_04 26:25

We also get a fun little interjection amongst everyone where Spock gets kind of put in his place by his mom, where uh his mom Amanda shares with McCoy specifically about the pet that he had as a kid, the same pet that you will see in the animated series yesteryear, where Spock has to go back in time to save himself, and his pet dies, that big bear woolly bear type thing. And in any case, Amanda refers to it as a fat teddy bear, which McCoy is absolutely delighted to hear. And Spock has to rebuke it, saying, you know, the teddy bears on Vulcan are alive and have six-inch long fangs.

SPEAKER_00 27:06

And that wiped the smile off of McCoy's face. Right. And then Chekhov sadly has to interrupt the festivities. There's an unidentified ship following them, and it's just outside phaser range, and like the super far away from the sensors, so it kind of like knows what it's doing, and they need Kirk to tell them what's happened, like what to do, and Ohura cannot contact them. And then Spock does say Enterprise is the only one that's supposed to be in this quadrant. So this ship that's following us or behind us, there's no record of it.

SPEAKER_04 27:50

Yes, which now introduces the plot point of the unidentified ship. So we've gone from family drama to Star Trek political drama to mysterious ship intrigue.

SPEAKER_00 28:02

And then meanwhile, we're in Serek and Amanda's quarters because they've retired for the evening, and he is chastising Amanda that she embarrassed Spock in front of, you know, in front of his friends. And like, why would you do that? And then Amanda, she kind of is like, just admit that you're proud of your son. Like yes, pride is a human emotion, but you can still admit that he is doing well. And then Sarek does say he's an officer, so he demands respect. Like that's like code word for yeah, I'm proud of my boy.

SPEAKER_04 28:45

Yeah, like I don't really want to admit it, but yeah, I am. So I think for whatever whatever goes on between Sarek and Spock and the parents and what the writers intended, I think this episode does start to cement that relationship between Sarek and Amanda for the Star Trek mythos, that Sarek becomes and evolves into a more unique Vulcan because of his marriage to Amanda, a human, and I think that leads to him having his successful career as an ambassador, not just to the humans, but throughout Vulcan history when he acts.

SPEAKER_00 29:28

But like he has like an inside source, outside source.

SPEAKER_04 29:33

Sure, sure. But we jump back quickly to the unidentified ship plot point, and it kind of zooms by at warp ten. None of these speeds make sense still in Star Trek, don't worry about it. It does a flyby of the Enterprise and disappears, it doesn't do anything.

SPEAKER_00 29:52

And Ceric d decides to go back to the reception, and we see him take what looks like uh a pill medication, but it could just be a tic-tac, we don't know. And uh Ambassador Gav approaches him again, demanding how to know how he'll vote. And Cerek's like, fine, I think the planets should be admitted to the Federation, they need the protection. The Dilithium crystals are are wealthy and uh some people are taking advantage of them.

SPEAKER_04 30:27

Basically, the Tellarites are mining the crystals through unscrupulous methods and making a huge profit by selling them to everyone, whereas Sarek believes if the planet comes under the Federation protection, now everyone has equal opportunity to mine the crystals, equally profit, and the Tellarites still would be to their advantage. They're not going to be left out in the cold, but they ain't gonna be making the money hand over fist like they were. So they have a huge no, I wouldn't call it huge, but it's kind of a blow-up. I think Gav attacks Sarek first, if I remember the scene correctly. Sarek very quickly responds in self-defense and subdues Gav, and that's where Kirk comes in and kind of breaks it up and says, You guys need to knock it off. We're supposed to be friends. Stop it.

SPEAKER_00 31:16

And then, of course, Sarek says, Uh, don't be threatening me, because sometimes the payback is expensive, and then that's foreshadowing that something bad's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_04 31:29

Yeah, they certainly set Cerek up to be the scapegoat in this one. And then there's like no ceremony whatsoever. We jump immediately to a scene where the red shirt is walking down the hallway and he finds Gav's body sticking out of the Jeffree's tube. It's not even really that well concealed. It's kind of like upside down. Yeah, but he's he's not like the red shirt didn't have to like open an access door to get to the Jeffries tube. It's just a Jeffries tube that opens up into the hallway, and there's Gav just hanging upside down.

SPEAKER_00 32:02

And when McCoy examines him, he notices that there's a special point of where his neck was broken, and Spock's like, Well, that's a form of execution that Vulcans use, and it's called Tal Sheila, and it's supposed to be like for mercy. And McCoy's like, uh, you just called your dad a suspect.

SPEAKER_04 32:28

Yeah. A little weird that Spock kind of jumps to that.

SPEAKER_00 32:32

I think he was just explaining, well, this is what hap-like, his neck was broken here. We Vulcans, we don't believe in violence, but if we do have to kill, this is what we do to make sure that they are killed without pain.

SPEAKER_04 32:49

Sure. But wouldn't it also make sense? Because it's not like I didn't get the impression that the spot that Gav's neck was broken was like any kind of unique thing. It was just someone had unique knowledge or intimate knowledge of their physiology and knew where to break the guy's neck the most efficiently. And then Spock jumps to the conclusion, like, ooh, ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me, pick me. The Vulcans like to snap necks with extreme precision. And it's like, Spock, anyone could have done it, dude. It didn't need to be a Vulcan, but whatever.

SPEAKER_00 33:28

And then of course Sarek isn't there, and he's back in his quarters, so they all go marching in.

SPEAKER_04 33:35

No knocking.

SPEAKER_00 33:36

Kirk, McCoy, and Spock, and Cerek isn't there either, just Amanda, and she's explaining that he is meditating in private, which is very special and like a ritual we learn.

SPEAKER_04 33:52

We've seen we've seen that in Vulcan culture before.

SPEAKER_00 33:55

And then when he returns, he is told that Gab was murdered, and it's he doesn't like respond, he just collapses. And then, of course, McCoy has to figure out what is wrong with Sarek, and we learn like way earlier that McCoy is intrigued by the Vulcan body, and he wants to learn more. And oh, guess what? You get to learn more about the Vulcan body because it seems to be his heart is the issue.

SPEAKER_04 34:28

Right. Again, still hard for me to believe that with all the time that Vulcans and humans have coexisted and cooperated with each other for mutual understanding and respect. At no point did the Vulcan High Command send over medical records to Starfleet to train Starfleet on the physiology of Vulcans.

SPEAKER_00 34:55

Well, McCoy says he has all that, but there's a difference in knowing versus doing what he's worried about doing and harming.

SPEAKER_04 35:06

Okay, fine, but he also makes comments like during the surgery when Nurse Chapel reads off the blood pressure. I hope those are right. And he goes, Well, I I I have no idea if those are right. I'm like, medical records would tell you, dude, what their blood pressure should be. Your instruments could be calibrated to do that. This is the future. Make it work.

SPEAKER_00 35:25

So now we're back on the bridge. Jumping back to the alien ship. Yes, we've been away from the bridge this whole time, but now we're back, and Spock is like working as if he doesn't know anything about his dad, and he won't like address the elephant with Kirk. And he is he's just telling all that he knows about the alien ship, and that its hole is very dense, so getting through it will be hard.

SPEAKER_04 35:55

Right. And they rule out that it's not the Romulans, it's not the Klingons, it's not the two bad guys in the area, it's not the two bullies of the neighborhood, it's not the usual suspects. But that's it. That's all we get on the alien ship, and jump back to the sick bay. Let's talk about the medical mystery once again.

SPEAKER_00 36:13

So, yes, McCoy has determined that Serek's heart has a major defect, and he has what he would it he would call a heart attack. And then Cerek's like, uh, I've had a total of four. And they're like, What? And he has to explain all these times that he's had these episodes. And they're all like, Why didn't you say anything?

SPEAKER_04 36:40

Because I'm a man and I'm gonna tough it out.

SPEAKER_00 36:43

So Spock and Serik are like discussing the procedure and what they need to do because I mean Spock's like, I know all these things, so I'll fix you, and McCoy will actually do the doing.

SPEAKER_04 36:56

Yeah, but at the end of the day, it's a major surgery and involves his heart, which means he's gonna need blood transfusions throughout the surgery, and they don't have enough blood on the enterprise to do it. Especially green bulked one. Correct, and it oh, turns out Cerx blood is a special type of blood. T negative. T negative. And especially we don't have enough of that blood type on the enterprise, but sure enough, Spock's blood type is the same blood type. Let me ask a question here. Why at no point did we just divert to a somewhere to drop Sarek off to get the surgery that he needs? Because he's a very private man and doesn't want anyone to know. It doesn't matter. He's he's a lit he is literally a figurehead in Vulcan society. Everyone knows who Sarek is. Even at this stage of Star Trek lore, everyone knows and respects Sarek. At no point, I think, would anyone object if Kirk says we need to divert from our course and go a little detour somewhere to drop Sarek off so that he can get the medical attention that he needs and then continue on to the conference.

SPEAKER_00 38:16

But could that open up Vulcan for like war, airstrikes, whatever? Why I don't know, because he's a weak leader.

SPEAKER_04 38:26

He's not the leader, he's just an ambassador. He's just a representative from Vulcan. So he could they could have easily diverted to a different star base. They could have easily diverted to another Vulcan star base or star station. They could have they could have hailed any number of Vulcan ships and said, Get your butts over here, one of your guys needs help. And bring your blood. But they don't do any of that. Why?

SPEAKER_00 38:56

They like doing things the hard way.

SPEAKER_04 38:58

That they do. They don't even stick his butt on a shuttlecraft and be like, good luck. And when you crash land on some planet later, that's next week's episode. Like we've seen so many times. With Harry Mud. With Harry Mud. You're gonna crash, and it's gonna be Cerek having a heart attack in the corner, and Harry Mud going, look at my new sex robots, everyone. Oh my goodness. That would be an interesting episode. Yeah, let's write that fan fiction.

SPEAKER_00 39:26

Anyway. So McCoy has been also arguing with Spock because Spock wants to do this experimental drug treatment that's been successful on Rigel. And McCoy's like, it's experimental, it's hard on the spleen. I don't want to do it. Your dad could die.

SPEAKER_04 39:49

So fun fact the Vulcans have spleens.

SPEAKER_00 39:52

Yeah, I didn't know that. And and then he just like continues going on, and then Spock's like, then fine, I will be a direct blood donor.

SPEAKER_04 40:01

Yeah, I will do this experimental thing. I will that will increase my blood production so that I will have enough blood to stay alive and donate to my dad during the procedure. What do you think about that, Kirk? Oh, that's right. Kirk's not in sick bay, Kirk's getting his ass kicked in the hallway. Let's jump quickly over to the next plot line for the episode.

SPEAKER_00 40:23

It really surprised me because we went from Kumbaya to like a fight, and the Andorian's costume was getting in the way. You can totally see the actress being like WTF.

SPEAKER_04 40:37

Yeah, the Andorian costumes at this point in Star Trek history look like cosplayers from the Renfair.

SPEAKER_00 40:44

And so they for some reason Kirk and he are fighting, and then Kirk is stabbed in the back, but is able to contact Spock on the bridge and ask for assistance before passing out.

SPEAKER_04 40:57

Yeah. And and he subdues the the Andorian. The Andorian is named Thelv. Thelev? Theliv, that's what I forgot. We'll go Theliv. And let me ask you this before we'll answer I will answer the question later. We'll talk about it when it comes up again. Where does the Andorian stab Kirk in this moment?

SPEAKER_00 41:18

I thought it would be the lower back.

SPEAKER_04 41:20

Like the kidney area at best.

SPEAKER_00 41:22

Yes. Okay. Okay. Because that's where his hand comes from. He's like, oh dang it, got blood on me.

SPEAKER_04 41:28

That's that's literally where you see the stab motion happen. That's where you see Kirk reach behind and and come bring his hand back from behind his lower back covered in blood. Just pointing that out for a minute.

SPEAKER_00 41:40

So hold that thought.

SPEAKER_04 41:42

Yeah, hold that thought. Let's do the TV commercial break and let's come back and let's get our butts back into sick bay.

SPEAKER_00 41:49

Yes. And we are now looking at poor Kirk and his chest is wrapped in glittery white wrapping. I love how it's so sparkly. And McCoy's like, dang, one centimeter higher and he would have gotten you in the heart.

SPEAKER_04 42:08

That's not what he says. McCoy says one centimeter lower and it would have gone through your lung.

SPEAKER_00 42:13

Well, I got my anatomy wrong.

SPEAKER_04 42:15

I thought he So did the TV writers.

SPEAKER_00 42:17

I thought he got him in the lung and almost got him in the heart. That's what I heard.

SPEAKER_04 42:22

Well, that's why his chest is wrapped, because they're trying to say that they stabbed him in the shoulder is what they're trying to imply. But in the choreograph of the fight, he stabs him where we saw in the lower back. And so the line is wrong. McCoy says one centimeter lower it would have gone through the lung. When in actuality, one centimeter lower and it would have gone in Kirk's ass, not his kidney. So who knows where he got stabbed.

SPEAKER_00 42:46

So Kirk is down for the count, and then uh oh, Spock, your father is now much more sick and he needs that surgery. So whenever you're ready, I'm ready. And then Spock's like, sorry, dude, I have to run the Enterprise now. So I'll be at the brig questioning the Andorian.

SPEAKER_04 43:06

And no one understands this decision. Everyone is literally looking at Spock going throughout the whole episode. His mom, McCoy.

SPEAKER_00 43:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 43:15

I bet you everyone else on the Enterprise, they're sitting there going, dude, there's a chain of command for a reason. Relinquish your authority to the next person in line, which would be Scotty, who we don't see in this episode.

SPEAKER_00 43:28

Yeah, McCoy says, do it, do it to Scotty.

SPEAKER_04 43:31

Yeah. But Spock is like, no, I have to remain in command and do it. So then Spock, in all of his power-hungry ego, goes down to the brig to question Telev. And Telev doesn't say anything. There's a conference between a security officer and Spock about how, oh, we've given him the truth drugs, we've given him the scanner, he doesn't want to answer anything. We we don't know anything. And the answer. Andorians don't really know him. They just go, ah, he's just part of the crew. He's part of our part of our group, but we don't really know who he is. It's no big deal. And we don't know why he would attack Kirk. There's no reason for the Andorians to be hostile toward Kirk or the Federation at all. And then we jump away from the murder mystery or the spy drama or whatever plot line we're following at this point to go back to Amanda, going to Spock in his quarters. We get this whole big appeal of Amanda trying to convince Spock what we just went through in Sick Bay. She wants Spock to relinquish command of the Enterprise, go under for surgery, save Cerek. Spock doesn't want to do it. Amanda gets ticked. Amanda slaps him at some point. That looked like a real slap. That did not look like any kind of fake glancing blow to make it look real. That looked like a full-on slap to Leonard Nimoy. You know, she had fun like that. Probably. But and that's that's kind of the end of the scene where she slaps Spock, she walks out super angry at Spock, and Spock is unchanged in his opinion and decision.

SPEAKER_00 45:09

And then we pop back to Sigbay, and Kirk wakes up, he was asleep all that time, and he asks how Cerek is doing, and McCoy explains, Well, since you're out, Spock is running the show, he won't do the surgery. And then Kirk's like, I got a plan. I will be A-O-K. I'll resume command. Spock, come come back here, we can do the surgery. And then once, you know, Spock is off the bridge, I will give command to Scotty. Easy peasy. It'll just work perfectly.

SPEAKER_04 45:46

Yeah. I don't know that that's how that would work. I would say that if Kirk is truly unfit to for command, McCoy would get in trouble for medically clearing him. Ultimately, it it starts to work.

SPEAKER_00 46:00

Yeah, they were I was they were probably assuming like five minutes. Like hi, bye.

SPEAKER_04 46:06

Yeah, because however long it cause Kirk goes to the bridge, he puts on a show that he's perfectly fine, he's ready to resume command, and Spock says, Oh, okay, cool. Well, yeah, I uh I I have no need to be in command anymore, I'll go do the surgery. So his refusal wasn't personal, but in any case, Spock leaves. Kirk is like, get Scotty up here, because whatever time it takes Scotty to get up here and Spock to get put under for the surgery is only the amount of time I want to spend on the bridge, and then I'm gonna go back to sick bay or my quarters or wherever, and Scotty can be in charge. But jump back to the mysterious alien ship plot.

SPEAKER_00 46:48

Because it's getting closer and closer and closer, and but Ohura has been able to locate that the chitter chatter from the ship, and whomever is on board the Enterprise is actually in the brig. And so Kirk's in security to go get the prisoner, but first I search him. How is he communicating to this other ship?

SPEAKER_04 47:17

Yeah, and we jump to the brig, we get a little thing where the prisoner Andorian tries to escape. There's the awkward sci-fi moment where the security officer pulls the gun, the special effects don't line up correctly, the Andorian kind of pauses like he's been hit, then the phaser fires, then he falls over. But in any case, when he falls over, his antenna magically breaks open. Uh-oh. And we find the transmitter that's being used to communicate with this mysterious vessel.

SPEAKER_00 47:49

And then now the ship is going super fast. It's closing in on the Enterprise at warp eight.

SPEAKER_04 47:55

Yep. Again, makes no sense. Pay no attention to it.

SPEAKER_00 47:59

And Scotty still hasn't arrived, so Kirk has to command the Enterprise. He has to have the Andorian come down to the bridge so he can talk to it himself. He puts the ship on red alert, tells everyone to get ready to shoot the phasers, and then poor Chekhov has to like run back and forth and check the scanners. But mirac miraculously, someone takes Chekhov's seat. I mean, doesn't know. He just pops in there.

SPEAKER_04 48:29

Yeah, it's like someone it's yeah, it's like Chekhov, go check the science station, because that's what he's doing. He's checking Spock station. Uh, but yeah, someone else can just pop in. So I guess someone else could have done the science station. Anyway, it's a chance to get Chekhov on screen.

SPEAKER_00 48:44

And then of course the delegates are all alarmed. What are we gonna tell them? And you could tell that Kirk doesn't feel well because he's like, tell him to take a wild guess.

SPEAKER_04 48:53

Yeah, he's like, just tell him to shut up. But the whole point of the scene is to show that this little vessel is so much faster than the Enterprise, and the Enterprise can't target it correctly and hit it, and so eventually this little vessel is going to wear down the Enterprise's defenses and destroy it.

SPEAKER_00 49:14

It reminds me of a pinwheel, you know, when it goes.

SPEAKER_04 49:18

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 49:19

So Kirk continues to ask this Andorian more questions, still no answers. Meanwhile, McCoy is doing his surgery on Seric and he loses power to all the systems, and then he has Nurse Chapel go to get the get the old cardio stimulator, and then to call engineering to put his lab back on line ASAP, like above anything else, because you know you got two people passed out. Right. And then we pop back onto the bridge, and Kirk's like, you're not an Andorian, you have been physically altered, and you are a spy. Right. So Kirk's like, I got a great idea. And he has the power cut to certain spaces on the ship, especially the starboard side, and has Chekhov go back to his post. Nobody knows why they're going dark, but they're just waiting. And now the Enterprise is drifting. Uh-oh, do we need to go back on course? Calm down, calm down, have your phasers ready. And they're baiting the ship. Like they want it to come closer so they can shoot it.

SPEAKER_04 50:36

Right. They needed a way to take away the advantage of its superior maneuverability. So yeah, they basically play dead in the water. The ship comes to investigate and probably to finish off the enterprise. And when it gets close enough and it has no room to maneuver, they fire the phasers to basically disable it, is what they do. I assume so that they can interrogate the pilot and figure out what's going on, but that is not to be because then the thing immediately self-destructs. And we get a fun little monologue at the end from Teliv. From Teliv that explains that yes, that was in fact the ultimate goal. He was not going to be captured, and this was a one-way mission, and same for him, because he has somehow, somewhere gotten a hold of slow-acting poison that he probably had secreted somewhere in his body. They don't explain where. And it went too fast. Yeah, and he like took it and he's like, and I'm I'm I'm out of here. I got like 10 minutes left. And they're like, Well, get him to the sick bay, let's see what we can do. And as they're taking him, he gets like three steps toward the turbolift. He's like, Ooh, I miscalculated, and then he dies.

SPEAKER_00 51:54

And now we're popping back over to Sick Bay. Sick Bay is very active in this episode. And Spock and Serek are both alive and well. And Kirk explains that he's gonna have the fake and Dorian's body sent over to be analyzed and go through an autopsy. He needs to know what's up with that. And Spock's like, I believe you'll find that this race is the Orion. And he goes on to talk about how they're stealing crystals, but he couldn't figure out why he didn't think about it beforehand.

SPEAKER_04 52:30

Yeah, and everyone's like, Oh, you probably just were distracted. So who are the Orions, Jackie? See if Jackie remembers this.

SPEAKER_00 52:37

Well, they are smugglers that are stealing the crystals from the creating planets, and by smuggling them, they're creating war from the other planet. Yeah. The other races who are wanting to utilize the planets.

SPEAKER_04 52:54

But who are they? Do you remember seeing any of them in previous episodes? We're setting Jackie up. I don't know. They better be cute. The cage? Oh, they're them? They're remember when they do the illusion and there's the they she transforms herself to the green-skinned dancing girl? Oh. Those are the Orions. Oh my. So. Yeah, they did they had to do a lot of plastic surgery. Yeah, they really had to cover up a lot of stuff.

SPEAKER_00 53:24

Well then Amanda is now, you know, of course, happy that her boys are alive and well. And she's like, Ceric, maybe you should thank Spock for, you know, saving your life. And Cerek's like, why should I have to thank someone for doing what's a lot, you know, what is logical? And then she like starts freaking out. Logic, logic, logic, all about logic. And then Spock and Seric have the nerve to talk about her, about she's always been emotional. And Spock's like, why did you even marry her in the first place? Yeah. And it's like, oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_04 54:10

Yeah. And this would have been the perfect second moment to end. The first would have been the telling of Spock, oh, you probably were distracted with other things. But we don't end. We still have, I think, Jackie's favorite part of the episode.

SPEAKER_00 54:25

Yes, because then now McCoy is like, Kirk, get to bed. And then Spock and Cerek are talking, and McCoy is just like shushing everybody like their little kids. And finally they're all quiet. And he's like, Ha! I got the last word, and there's this like giant happy grin, almost as big as the teddy bear.

SPEAKER_04 54:49

Yes. And roll credits.

Final Thoughts

SPEAKER_04 54:53

So, Jackie, what are your final thoughts now that we've walked through it? About season two, episode 10, Journey to Babel.

SPEAKER_00 55:02

I really don't like these titles. I wish the titles would be more about the episodes, because they don't help me. Okay. Okay. But I really like the episode.

SPEAKER_04 55:13

Alright. Well, ultimately it's an okay episode for me. It yes, it introduces Spock's parents, Seric and Amanda. It gives us that glimpse into the Vulcan future. Sometimes I feel like when you watch the original series, the original series can sometimes feel like it's just not necessarily Star Trek and about the Enterprise, but it's a sci-fi show about Spock. Because there are some times where Spock becomes the focus of plots and episodes, and to a point where he overshadows the series at times.

SPEAKER_00 55:51

I can understand that, but I also have questions because when we saw him during the whole mating ritual aspect, that was super primal. And this with his parents popping onto the Enterprise was like a strange family drama. Like, where's the Vulcan mean? Like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 56:16

Sure. Let's also talk about the fat. Let's talk about, let's imagine Sarek and Amanda's first mating ritual, and Serek tossing Amanda around like like a like a rag. No, let's not let's not talk about that. Let's not think about that. We'll keep this kid friendly just a little bit. As we mentioned at the top of the episode, don't forget to pop over to our Patreon, patreon.com slash treks and tangents. That's where we'll post our Star Note bonus episode, a little free bonus episode where we'll dive deeper into a topic uh about the episode, or two or three, or pretty much whatever we want. It just kind of lets lets us have an opportunity to rant and rave for about 15 minutes on any subject we want from the episode. Again, free for everyone who wants to pop over and uh follow our Patreon. This week's episode topic is going to be was Spock choosing duty over family or hiding behind duty? Really? Jackie, Jackie doesn't get to choose the Star Note episodes most of the time, so Jackie has to think, which is part of the draw for the Star Note. But in any case, don't forget to check that out over on our Patreon. Now to wrap up our final thoughts, Jackie, what's going to be your favorite quote from the episode?

SPEAKER_00 57:32

Ironically, I picked perhaps you should forget logic and devote yourself to motivations of passion or gain. Those are reasons for murder. And this is when the one and Dorian Schrauss was talking to Spock, saying, Maybe you should, you know, open your mind about the reasons behind somebody does something. Because Spock was like, Murder is so illogical. I don't get it. And we learn that this spy was killing for personal personal gain for of his race.

SPEAKER_04 58:08

Sure. Okay. Uh my favorite quote is gonna be short and simple. It's Amanda in the reception scene, and she's she just says, it's sort of a fat teddy bear. And it's not the most thought-provoking quote, but I chose it because A, I think that reception scene is probably my favorite scene from the episode. It's the best example that we've seen of a multitude of aliens coming together. But specifically that quote, that interaction between Spock and McCoy, I generally don't it's not that I don't care for it, but I don't find the interaction between McCoy and Spock and McCoy needling Spock all the time. I don't find that to be very entertaining at times. It's not really my favorite interaction. Yeah, almost bullying. It's just kind of I'm neutral on it. I like McCoy. I like his character, but that interaction, I this one in particular I liked, so that's why it stood out for me. And I also like the fact because it does reference what would become the story that we see in the animated series yesteryear, which is one of, at least so far, because we're only part way through our watch along of the animated series, is one of the stronger animated series episodes. So I just like that tie-in and that reference. Again, we look at the animated series over at our Patreon as well. Go check it out. But that's gonna be our final thoughts.

Tribble Tidbits

SPEAKER_04 59:38

Let's jump into our triple tidbits or fun facts about the episode, and why do we call them triple tidbits, Jackie? Because they are the best and fluffy. Because tribbles can be fun, interesting, a catastrophe, just a grab bag of everything. Just like interesting facts. So, first airing, November 17, 1967. The sign of affection between Spock's parents that is shown by the touching of the two fingers that Jackie liked so much was because those two actors had approached Leonard Nimoy in the lead-up to the episode and had asked for suggestions as to how the character's parents could show their affection. Leonard Nimoy was the huge influence behind pretty much everything we've seen about Vulcan tradition up to this point, the acting of the mind meld, the Vulcan hand salute, and so forth. So they went to him and asked for his advice, and that's what he came up with.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:36

I think it was wonderful and quite unique.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:39

I mentioned that the founding members of the United Federation of Planets was the humans, the Vulcans, the Andorians, and the Tellarites, and of course, this is the episode where the Andorians and the Tellarites are first introduced into Star Trek. We mentioned the terrible mask prosthetic on Gav, the Tellarites, and he could not see the other actors out of those eye holes, which is what caused the actor to lean back and tilt his head upwards. That's so that he could see out the eye holes and act. And that kind of inadvertently led to the early conception that Tellerites, as a people, are arrogant, that they're condescending, that they look down on everyone, that they feel superior. I like to argue. So a happy little accident leading to the creation of this characteristic for these aliens that would carry on, I think, throughout the rest of Star Trek. Uh, the name Amanda was chosen for the name of Spock's mother because in Latin it means worthy of love.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:48

Aw, a human emotion.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:50

Uh Mark Leonard, who played Seric, this is gonna be a recycled fun fact, but it's okay. He played the Romulan Commander in the episode Balance of Terror. That's the submarine episode for Jackie to reference.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:06

I love that episode.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:07

So also, I think I've used as a triple tidbit in the past, there was a huge contract negotiation between the actors and the studio between season one and season two, and there was the possibility that those contract negotiations would fall through. They would have to replace the actors with different actors for the characters, and Mark Leonard was in fact, in private, the backup person who would have been asked to come on board and play Spock if they couldn't reach a contract negotiation conclusion with Leonard Nimoy. So thankfully, they were able to fix it. We still got to keep Leonard.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:44

Well, he's still got to be a Vulcan too.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:46

Yes. And then I asked in the beginning, why did Sarek and company arrive to the Enterprise on a shuttlecraft instead of by transporter? And the simple explanation is it was easier and cheaper to film the scene of the shuttlecraft docking with the Enterprise than it was to create another scene with the teleporters.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:09

Or I'm just gonna say they couldn't get Kyle.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:12

Sure, they couldn't get Kyle. Kyle was busy. Kyle was busy. If you watch the absolute original version of the episode that first aired in '67, the scenes where the shuttlecraft comes on board is much different than what we watched. We are watching, again, as a reminder, the remastered version. So those scenes were entirely replaced and redone in the version that we saw.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:35

Like a Barbie car entering the garage.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:38

Yes. But those are going to be your triple tidbits. Let's

Episode Ranking

SPEAKER_04 1:03:42

go ahead and give our episode ranking for this week. This is where we assign a Starfleet rank to the episode and pretend that they are a crew member on our fictitious starship for the season. A higher rank means we not only were more entertained by the episode, but we find the episode to be a more important member of our crew. And the opposite is true. A lower rank means we weren't so entertained, and the episode is specifically a disposable member of our crew. Our ranking system starts all the way at the bottom for Ensign, Lieutenant Junior Grade, and Lieutenant, and then we get to the above average rankings. We can have a total of seven lieutenant commanders, five commanders, one captain, and as always, we can have one admiral episode that perfect, our favorite episode for the season. Jackie, for your starship, the USS Luminara, what rank do you assign this episode?

SPEAKER_00 1:04:36

I am going to give this one Lieutenant.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:40

Lieutenant.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:41

Okay. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:42

So the top just before the middle of the road or the average, so why this rank? Interesting enough, before you give your reasoning, this is the same rank that you assigned to the other major Vulcan episode of the season, amok time.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:01

I'm keeping them together. No, um, I feel like I just would have liked more interaction with Spock and his family, and not have to worry about all this other stuff. I mean, the point that we learned at the very beginning was that they're going to a council meeting to vote, and we never get there. I think that's my biggest like argument.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:27

Okay. Alright. Well, I agree with you in the sense that this episode really has so much going on that you're right. It feels like a lot of these plot points go unresolved. This is a very strong episode for Spock and his relationship with the parents, and a medical drama of surgery and so forth. That's great. But what this episode is weak on is you're right. The delegates going to Babel, the Orions and Dorians fighting, the Enterprise and the Mysterious Ship. I think those almost could be two separate episodes in addition to what we just watched. So none of that really gets resolved on screen. And yeah, it would have been nice to see a huge delegation, the resolution. Does the planet make it into the Federation? We don't know. So for those reasons, I'm gonna give it the rank of lieutenant commander, one rank above Jackie. And the only reason I'm doing that is because I have to give it the honor that it is to introduce Spock's parents. If this was something that doesn't become so iconic in Star Trek, if it was any other character, if it was Kirk's parents, if it was McCoy's parents, even if it was Chekov's parents. I think you could write an episode where it could be almost anyone on the Enterprise and their parents. But the fact that it's Spock kind of gives it a little special something. So I'm gonna put this in the lieutenant commander rank. I can understand that. And if none of that made any sense to our audio listeners, don't forget we will post a graphical representation of our rankings uh over at our Patreon, patreon.com slash treks and tangents. We'll have a representation of all the episodes for season two up to this point, and we have our graphical representations of all of the first season. You can check them out as you can find out what everything ranked at the end, you can follow along and you can see where things were promoted and demoted. We haven't had any of that yet. That tends to happen toward the end of the season. As of recording this episode, Jackie, what do you think Journey to Babel ranks on IMDB? Again, I'll remind you, it's a little bit different than our ranking system. They do do one through ten, but because it's so many sources and so many people voting, six out of ten is gonna be about the lowest you'll see. That's a terrible episode.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:07

I think it's gonna be like seven to eight.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:09

Seven is pretty average, eight is gonna be great, and nine is going to be fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:16

So seven point four.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:17

Okay. This is actually gonna be one of the top-rated episodes for the season on IMDB. It's gonna be an eight point five out of ten. Again, I think a lot of people are liked the family thing. Really liked the plot line with Spock and Spock's parents and kind of ignored everything else. So, but that's gonna be our ranking. That's gonna be this week's episode. Round it out. We're now 10 episodes through the second season. We're a third of the way, a little over a third of the way through the second season. But

Turbolift Tease

SPEAKER_04 1:08:50

before we disappear and warp away, see what I did there. We will give the turboliftees for next week. That's where we give Jackie the title of this week's episode. And Jackie, without any other context or explanation, will try to guess or predict the plot for next week's episode. Jackie, next week's episode is entitled Friday's Child.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:12

We learn that one of Kirk's friends is pregnant, and even though it's super literal, we're going she is going by Friday. And we're all going to go visit her, and she's gonna come on the Enterprise, and uh oh, something happens, and Friday needs help, and we deliver a healthy baby.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:34

So tune in next week to see if Jackie's prediction is correct, close to correct, or way off course. Well, just the name itself is gonna be creepy. And if you want more show information, you can find and directly support our podcast on Patreon, patreon.com slash treks and tangents. Don't forget we post our Starnote bonus episode. Go check that out. We also, as I mentioned, post our graphical representation. Both of those are free for people who follow the Patreon. You don't need to uh sign up or enter any payment information. We make all that available free. For those that do want to support our Patreon, and thank you very much for being a crew member of our Patreon. We post our episodes where we dive into the animated series for Star Trek. We have all of our test episodes posted there. We're still slowly trying to find our footing and post more for our Patreon supporters. If you have any ideas for what you would like to see on our Patreon, give us a comment, shoot us an email, let us know what you think. You can also follow us on x.com at treks underscore tangents. We're on Instagram, Blue Sky as Trex and Tangents, Jackie Work and People Find You, and what are you up to?

SPEAKER_00 1:10:49

I am mainly on Instagram as Jaboom, J I B O O M. I'm doing pretty great after my hip replacement. I can almost walk without the parallel bars. But so I have all that work going on. I have my music, and it is disability pride month, so we gotta send all that out also. And eventually I'll be back in my whatnot store at Glitterbo Boutique.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:20

Alright, you can watch me stream a variety of video games when I have time over at twitch.tv slash piratepoundtown on YouTube. I've got a whole slew of backlog videos and other random content at PiratePoundtown. Also on YouTube, I have a couple hobby and coin collecting videos over on my secondary channel, Pirate Treasure Hunting. I also post socially on Blue Sky at PiratePoundtown, and just random things over on Instagram as Pineapple Cannibal. Links to all social media mentioned can be found in the episode description. Thank you everyone for tuning in to this week's episode. We hope you had fun like we did, and we'll see you all next week.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:01

And even Vulcans display affection.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:05

End transmission