The Deadly Years (TOS - S2E12)

[Hailing Frequencies Open]

This week on Treks and Tangents, we revisit The Deadly Years, where a routine mission leaves Kirk and several senior officers aging decades by the day... but Chekov somehow escapes with little more than an exhausting series of medical tests.

They discuss the cheesy rapid-aging premise, questionable makeup, Kirk’s drawn-out competency hearing, and Commodore Stocker’s disastrous decision to enter the Romulan Neutral Zone. 

Is there a strong sci-fi story beneath the wrinkles, or should this episode have been put out to pasture? Tell us in the comments!

[End Transmission]

Transcript

Intro/Turbolift Tease Recap

SPEAKER_01 0:10

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

SPEAKER_03 0:14

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

SPEAKER_01 0:18

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_03 0:25

And this week we watched Star Trek, the original series, season two, episode 12, The Deadly Years.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Welcome back, everyone. Don't forget to stick around to the end of the episode to find out what our bonus Star Note episode topic will be. Post it over at our Patreon, patreon.com slash Treks and Tangents. Free for anyone to listen. But before we get too far into the Deadly Years, let's just quickly revisit last week's TurboLift tease. That was Jackie's elevator pitch to what she thought this week's plot episode was going to be without any other context. I mean, we can skip it. No, I well, no, I think it's important to stick to the format of the podcast. So computer. What was Jackie's prediction last week?

SPEAKER_00 1:16

Jackie's prediction last week was we are going to another planet, giving aid to them, because they have a horrific past that has been full of bloodshed. But now they are working together, finally, and growing as a whole. Both groups that were dueling are no longer dueling. So now we are going to keep going forward, and the enterprise is helping to give aid. Food, clothing, and all that great jazz.

SPEAKER_01 1:40

So, Jackie, how accurate do you think your prediction was? I got two right, so I got a D plus. Your two that were right were we visited another planet.

SPEAKER_03 1:50

I'm gonna gave them aid.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:55

I really need to redo these. I'm really bad. I tried really hard.

SPEAKER_01 1:59

Yeah. So I could definitely see where you leaned into a specific topic, the deadly years, and force forcing it into a perception of war and warring factions.

SPEAKER_03 2:13

So yeah, the titles of these things do not go with the episodes.

SPEAKER_01 2:17

Sometimes the right someone. Sometimes they don't. So since

Initial Impressions

SPEAKER_01 2:21

we got your prediction out of the way, what do you think? What are your first thoughts to the Deadly Years?

SPEAKER_03 2:27

I actually found it kind of cheesy.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

So this is a type of episode or a plot that we've seen in our other science fiction episodes. I'm thinking specifically of the SG1 episode where they all where Captain O'Neill was aging really quickly. Yes. Yes, and they had the sex pizza. Yes. Yes. So it's a cheesy plot point where it's like, oh no, something's causing people to age really quickly. And this is like the first version of science fiction of that plot point. So okay.

SPEAKER_03 3:02

Well, I mean it's and then I found it also like uh the Commodore was like, oh, we have such our four officers and one we can't replace it's irreplaceable commander. And I'm like, they're all the same, they're all human. Like, how we save them all without the like you know, like ego boost.

SPEAKER_01 3:25

Yeah. And it's like well, the Commodore is an interesting equation in this whole plot. That man. In the sense that it's like, what is the urgency to get to his new post? And I think the show kind of hinted at his idea of well, we have a lot of resources at the Starbase, and so you should just go to the Starbase so that we can utilize those resources with the enterprise to try to come up to a solution to this. But at the same time, you would think that the logical approach is something on the planet caused it, therefore, stay with the planet to find the source.

SPEAKER_03 4:03

I agree, and I mean Kirk even makes it uh a known thing that what the enterprise has, Starbase would have. But I think he wanted to go to the Starbase because it's a new post, and you know, uh get the win right away at his at the Starbase. He'd get his accolade on his resume. Like he's the new guy in town, and look, I already, you know, saved Kirk.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Yeah, a little egotistical. And in other episodes, we've seen Commodores, ambassadors, and other people who have destinations that they want to get to. And the shows at least put forth a little bit of an effort to give a reason for the urgency. We have supplies that we need to get to people, we have meetings to meet, deadlines to make. This guy literally had nothing. He's just like, I'm supposed to be there. Get me there.

SPEAKER_03 4:58

Yeah, he was like a ride along.

SPEAKER_01 5:01

Yeah. I will say this, and I enjoyed this part of the episode. The ultimate cause for the crew members to age so rapidly was not a virus and not bacteria or anything that was contagious. It was radiation from a comet's tail. And I know that seems really cheesy, but I like the fact that it was something that fit the narrative of everything that was going on. As an example, I have in my notes, they all beam back up from the planet, and there's no quarantine procedure. They just are back on the enterprise running around with their two very old people, with their very two very old people. And part of it's like, okay, stupid decision aside, if this is a virus, they've just infected the whole enterprise, and now we're going to have everyone rapidly aging. But we didn't have to worry about that plot hole because it was radiation, it was non-contagious. And I give the show credit for that. Coming up with an explanation that fit the overall episode itself. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 6:11

No, I totally agree. And everything they were doing was following that very same protocol and it wasn't working.

SPEAKER_01 6:20

What do you mean?

SPEAKER_03 6:21

Like all the medicines that uh for the radiation poisoning, it wasn't working on anybody, and they lost their two elderly people.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

Right. Okay, I see what you mean. So the regular cures to everything else bacteria, viruses, whatever, but specifically radiation treatment because it's a different radiation.

SPEAKER_03 6:43

Right. And they were just assuming, and then, oh, midway through, Spock's like, I turned all my sensors to a different setting, and guess what? It's this kind of radiation. Ta-da!

SPEAKER_01 6:57

Yeah, but I really like it because it's it it's some it's a MacGuffin that I think just really fits in the episode. I don't really have a desire to know anything more about the radiation. I don't have a desire to know more about what kind of comet it was, but I'm glad that they included it because it just felt right to me.

SPEAKER_03 7:19

No, I understand. Like if they're gonna mention a comment going by, they might as well include it as like a main character.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

Right. So I like that part of the episode. There's other things I like about the episode as well. There's parts I don't like about the episode.

SPEAKER_03 7:36

You always have that part.

SPEAKER_01 7:37

I yeah. Hey, in case you guys don't know, you could be a Star Trek fan and not be a fan of the original series. It's fine, it's not my favorite. But I don't like some of the pacing to the episode. And we'll cover it when we get to it, but specifically, how many back-to-back examples did we need of Kirk making mental mistakes to drive home to the audience hey, Kirk isn't all there mentally.

SPEAKER_03 8:08

No, I totally agree. Well, like nothing seemed to happen to anybody else except physically, and I mean, even Spock, all he said was, I have a bit of you know, head fog. Right.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

And so, and you you explain Spock away with being half human and half Vulcan fine, but you're right, McCoy. He just had he just got his accent back.

SPEAKER_03 8:31

Yeah, and super old, and then my poor little tiny uh toy woman, Lieutenant Galway, I did call her tiny toy woman because I didn't know her name until the end, and uh she died because she's tiny. Because she's tiny. Her metabolism.

SPEAKER_01 8:48

We have the the opening shot here of the of the away team beaming down.

SPEAKER_03 8:54

She's smaller than Chekhov. Yeah. And half the size of Spa.

SPEAKER_01 8:58

Yeah, she is she is very she is a very tiny person. Uh, and again, I don't care what you all say, it's it's an away team. I'm not gonna call it a landing party. But back on track, McCoy gets his accent, Scotty just kind of hangs out. None of them really lose their mental faculties except Kirk. Spock has a little trouble concentrating. McCoy kind of has to take a moment to think about things to put it all together.

SPEAKER_03 9:26

McCoy has the worst old makeup ever.

SPEAKER_01 9:29

Yeah, it's not great. It's it's it's like mad scientists. It's reminiscent of the makeup from Miri when the kids grew up rapidly and became adults and they tried to show that they were infected. But um, yeah, it's kind of interesting that Kirk's kind of the only one that suffers from any severe mental problems. And I guess I kind of like the idea that everyone is subject to, let's call it what it is, it's not an aging disease, it's radiation poisoning. Everyone suffers from the radiation poisoning in this episode in a different way and to a different degree. So Chekhov not at all that no Chekhov not at all because he had the moment that he was scared, the adrenaline moment. But everyone had it affect them in different ways. And I don't know if that was intentional when they made the episode or if it was just a byproduct of how they wrote it and how they filmed it. But I like it. I just think when it came to absent-minded moments from Kirk, we could have probably cut those moments in half and gotten the same effect and stole some of that time back for some other shots.

SPEAKER_03 10:42

I totally agree. And it's also, I believe, another example of oh, we're just gonna have Kirk be the winner. Yes, he's the captain, I get it, but like he doesn't always have to be the main character for lack of a better word.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

Oh, yeah, that's a controversial take and something that William Shatner would disagree with. Because I love you, Willie, but I I can't I can't William Shatner has an ego, and a I mean, as as we've talked about in other episodes, yes, the number of times that he won't appear on screen with other actors who are taller than him.

SPEAKER_03 11:21

Well, I mean, look how much we're just watching the opening scene, and he is literally like a foot in front of Spock and even six inches in front of McCoy. So he looks as tall as McCoy, maybe a little taller with his hair.

SPEAKER_01 11:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:38

Making my poor little tiny woman even more tiny.

SPEAKER_01 11:42

And we'll talk a little bit more about Shatner and how he acted in this episode when we get to our triple tidbits. But I I also have other problems with the episode, but let's cover it when we get to it. I'm looking at the time of the recording.

SPEAKER_03 11:56

I was like, I'm gonna have to cut out all my uh talking of the episode.

SPEAKER_01 12:02

Well, we'll maybe just let it go and then I'll just edit it out post-edit. But Jackie,

Treking Through the Episode

SPEAKER_01 12:07

why don't you walk us through this episode?

SPEAKER_03 12:10

Well, since we already started with our landing slash away party, which included Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Chekhov, and my tiny toy woman, Lieutenant Galway. And they all beam onto the planet that we learn also later, that it's called Gamma Hydra 4. And it's their yearly check-in and resupply because that they have a scientific expedition.

SPEAKER_01 12:37

Right. Much like we saw with the episode with the salt vampire. The only reason that they were there was to perform their little annual visit, their resupply, their physical. So something that Starfleet is doing at this point in the Star Trek timeline, visiting all of these outposts and colonies just to check in.

SPEAKER_03 12:58

And so they are they arrive, and usually people are there to be like, yo, welcome. This is what we're doing. And Kirk even talked to the leader an hour before they beamed down to, you know, we're coming. Are you ready for us? And so they spread out the landing team, spread out to go see maybe, maybe the people on the planet are doing their experiments and they're, you know, they're tied up. And Chekhov goes into a building and he finds a dead person and he like freaks out.

SPEAKER_01 13:35

It's kind of interesting building, too, because you walk in and it's just an open space with a table that the dead body's laying on.

SPEAKER_03 13:43

Like an altar.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:45

Oh, we learn that the dead crew member's name is Alvin. Poor Kirk. And so the leader that Kirk talked to an hour late earlier, his name is Robert. Robert Johnson. And finally, he and his wife, Elaine, they're like, Oh, we're so glad you've come. And you're gonna pay your respects to Alvin.

SPEAKER_01 14:05

It's important to note also, Chekhov finds the guy and has a visible terror reaction. Yeah. Yeah. Traumatized. Traumatized. Also, when Robert and Elaine, the two colonists, come in to the to the building, the room, whatever, everyone reacts because they are super old.

SPEAKER_03 14:26

Yes. But they when asked how old they are, they're like, oh, we're just 29. We love each other so much and we're doing so well down here. And but they look like they're over 70, they can't hear, and they have to like, you know, Kirk has to like speak super loud to get them to answer anything. Right.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

There's the whole back and forth of Roberts, like, uh uh what? What like definitely playing into the fact that they are elderly, quote unquote.

SPEAKER_03 14:56

But uh uh an older 29.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

Yes, yeah. They're only 29. They uh that was my favorite thought too when they were just like, oh, I'm 29 and I'm 27. I'm like, you keep telling yourself that, folks. Age is just a number. And then this is when we have our intro. With the singing that Jackie hates.

SPEAKER_03 15:16

I I don't hate it, I just prefer.

SPEAKER_01 15:19

You had me write a postcard to the show that no longer exists to complain.

SPEAKER_03 15:25

Well, they kind of ruined my song.

unknown 15:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 15:28

That's okay. So now we are in sick bay because we have we've all returned and we've brought our two lovers with us, Elaine and Robert.

SPEAKER_01 15:40

Two lovers, the two colonists.

SPEAKER_03 15:44

Yes, but they love each other so much.

SPEAKER_01 15:46

They love each other so much.

SPEAKER_03 15:47

Like literally, they cling, they're clinging to each other so they don't fall. Right. And so McCoy is doing uh exams. He's trying to, you know, keep them alive because Alvin just died. So and he's also trying to figure out why are you so old when you're only 29.

SPEAKER_01 16:05

Right, because I mean, and they don't all the records the enterprise has, and what they know is those ages are correct. They they they that's what partly why they are shocked that they have aged so rapidly.

SPEAKER_03 16:19

Exactly. And so we did learn that there were six people at the expedition on Gamma Hydra four. There were six of them, and four had already died of natural causes. And so Robert and Elaine are the only ones left, and so McCoy's like, we need to figure out what happened, and then Kirk wants to know did your instruments fail? Um, did you was there an alien? What happened? But Robert just keeps talking how beautiful Elaine was. Like he doesn't answer any questions, he's just so happy.

SPEAKER_01 16:56

Yeah. Also, the first kind of in in the beginning, when you're down on the planet in the in the the teaser in the opening, and you're kind of watching them act, you're kind of like, Are you guys all there mentally? And then as this plays out, you're very much realizing that no, they've got some severe mental disabilities happening.

SPEAKER_03 17:17

Completely. And Kirk tells McCoy, call me when he's lucid.

SPEAKER_01 17:22

So, like if he becomes lucid.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

Right. So he heads to the briefing room, and so off we go. And this is where we meet Commodore, is it Stalker or Stoker?

SPEAKER_01 17:33

It's either Stalker.

SPEAKER_03 17:35

So I've been calling him Commodore Stalker because he's also kind of like a stalker. So he is um invited to join in this briefing because uh he's part of the administrative area. This is when we first learned about him. And we also meet Dr. Wallace, and she is an expert in endocrinology. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

We know why Commodore Stalker's on the Enterprise because he's he's hitching a ride. Correct. We don't know why Dr. Wallace, Dr. Janet Wallace is on the enterprise.

SPEAKER_03 18:12

Me neither. It's like they just like called her up and said, Hey, can you join us? Like, that's the feeling that I get. Because endocrinology is how the body works, how it Yeah. So that this briefing, that's how I felt like she was invited and they just beamed her up from wherever she came from.

SPEAKER_01 18:32

Okay. Wherever she was at first. Okay. That would be interesting because they would have had to magically deviate from the path to get to them. I don't know. I it could also be that she happens to be going to the same star base that Commodore Stalker is going to. She could just be catching a ride randomly, going someplace after the star base where Commodore Stalker's going. Who knows? But they don't explain it.

SPEAKER_03 18:56

So, and while they're discussing what the possibilities are, because uh McCoy is like, these people are aging by the minute. We also learned that this colony is near the neutral zone with the Romulan Empire. So, could the Romulans create some new weapon and using it on the colony to like test its power? Like guinea pigs, which are actually called kabies. Now you see, now you learned something new.

SPEAKER_01 19:23

There you go.

SPEAKER_03 19:24

I show rabbits and kbys, they're so much fun. So uh Kirk instructs everyone to think outside the box of your expertise, because we have to figure out what's up, and so everyone heads out to do their job, and Dr. Wallace is locking behind, and she's just like flirting with Kirk. Because I guess years ago they had a little something, something.

SPEAKER_01 19:48

Yeah, it's funny, it's Kirk's to in my notes, it just says, Oh, hey there, only female not in a uniform. What's up? But yeah, they had a romantic relationship. It was like six years ago.

SPEAKER_03 20:00

Four months and some days.

SPEAKER_01 20:02

She kept like a timeline. Yeah, that's a red flag. Run Kirk, but but ultimately they it's revealed that they didn't stay together, they parted ways because they each had their own focus on their careers, their futures, and it just didn't fit the two of them.

SPEAKER_03 20:18

And she was getting married, so Kirk was just like, let you do your thing. But he did send a stargram when her husband died. Yeah. That was very nice. And now he's summoned to the bridge right at the perfect time, like save by the bell.

SPEAKER_01 20:35

Yes. And so he gets to the bridge. It is funny because I did note when he walked on the bridge, and there's there's the moment where it's he gives the order to Sulu. It's like maintain standard orbit, or Sulu says maintain standard orbit. It's just weird that it's thrown. I noted it when he walked on the bridge because it was a bit out of place. It's done so that at the end of the scene we can get the first memory flub, but it was funny.

SPEAKER_03 21:02

I have that here because Spock and Sulu share a look.

SPEAKER_01 21:06

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 21:07

So, but then we learn that the the planet is a class M planet, so nothing wrong with the atmosphere. But this is also when we learn about the comet. And the comet was rogue. I didn't know that comets could be rogue, so that's interesting. And but no one has investigated this comet.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

It's just, yeah, it was undiscovered, it passed, it was noted as passing by or close to the planet, and no one followed up to so Kirk says, Well, we should probably check it out, we should follow all leads.

SPEAKER_03 21:39

And he heads to the engineering, right? And this then he says the whole thing about the orbit and then the look. And now we're in sick bay, where my tiny toy woman, Lieutenant Galway, is complaining that she is having trouble hearing. And McCoy, just note that he's getting some gray, but He tells her there's nothing to worry about. We'll just do a hypersonic treatment unless you clear things up.

SPEAKER_01 22:07

Yeah. I don't think they also did justice to the character Galloway with her makeup or to make her Oh no, they just piled an ugly person's face. Yeah, and and I don't think it's her. I think I think what the show is trying to do in this moment, because we are starting to see signs of the away team starting to age. We start to see some grays in the temple. We start to see some applications of makeup to give them some wrinkles. I think what they did was a quick pass to the actress to kind of give her that first appearance, her own first appearance that she's starting to age. It is not flattering. It could have gone way better.

SPEAKER_03 22:50

And she's all she's a very tiny woman, so perhaps the mask that they created was for like a larger face, too.

SPEAKER_01 22:58

Oh, we'll get to the process of making the prosthetics and the triple tidbits.

SPEAKER_03 23:02

I'm excited. Okay, but now let's go do that ear treatment. But then now we're in Kirk's quarters and he's changing outfits and asking Spock for updates, and he talks about the comment again. And Spock assures him, you already gave the order. We are taking it under advisement. And Kirk is like concerned and goes to Sick Bay because his back hurts.

SPEAKER_01 23:29

Yeah, it's his shoulder.

SPEAKER_03 23:31

Well, he touches his back, but then when he gets a sick bay, he changes it to his shoulder. I noticed that.

SPEAKER_01 23:37

Yeah, we don't know we don't really follow anatomy when it comes to injuries on this show.

SPEAKER_03 23:42

It's the same side, so maybe it's like the mid muscle, that one right there.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

Yeah, but yes, as he's pulling on his shirt, he gets a twinge in his muscle and he goes to sick bay to get it examined. And when he's in sick bay, oh no, McCoy, who again we start to see some grain of the hair, I think it's even mentioned by Kirk. He says, Oh, you're starting to get a little gray in the temple, blah, blah, blah. He's not you should have my job. Right. But McCoy gives Kirk a very brief examination and reveals to Kirk that, oh no, I need to do a full body scan. This isn't a pulled muscle, this isn't anything normal. You have advanced arthritis in your shoulder, dude. Something's up.

SPEAKER_03 24:25

And it's important to mention that while Kirk is there, it is revealed that both Robert and Elaine have passed away.

SPEAKER_01 24:34

Right. And while Kirk is arguing with McCoy over the diagnosis of the advanced arthritis, and he doesn't believe it, Scotty walks in, and Scotty is just full-blown Halloween old man style. Like he's seen a ghost.

SPEAKER_03 24:52

Yeah, he got at the worst immediately. Yes. And then we have like a break, and then now we see that Chekhov is going through a battery of physical tests because he's not being affected by this.

SPEAKER_01 25:07

Right. Still in the sick bay, and he's doing the little exercise where he's laying on his back on the table and he's pumping his legs and into the pedals on the wall. Super awkward because as the scene goes on, Chekhov stops pedaling, but just stays laying on his back with his legs up in the air in the background.

SPEAKER_03 25:26

Well, that's because Spock is also on an examination table trying to figure out what's wrong with him. Right. So McCoy is very busy, and Nurse Chapel can only do so many things with Chekoff at one time.

SPEAKER_01 25:41

Right. And did we mention the reason why Chekhov is being examined is because he's not showing signs of aging at all. Everyone else is. Chekhov is not.

SPEAKER_03 25:50

Dr. McCoy has also estimated that everyone is aging 30 years per day. I thought this was interesting.

SPEAKER_01 25:58

Which is ridiculous because then he immediately turns around and says, so we all probably have a week left. And I'm like, 30 times seven.

SPEAKER_03 26:06

He's just a country doctor.

SPEAKER_01 26:08

Yeah, and you all are already in your 30s. He's in his 40s or 50s. So no, you guys don't have a week left. You guys have at most like two, three days.

SPEAKER_03 26:22

Well, that's what Spock is most concerned about because while the body is aging, the brain is aging faster than their body.

SPEAKER_01 26:31

Yeah. Spock is pointing out the obvious thing that, well, physically we can all be alive, but our minds will no longer be functioning normally.

SPEAKER_03 26:40

I found it weird that Dr. Wallace has been in this room the entire time and hasn't injected anything.

SPEAKER_01 26:47

She doesn't really do much in this episode. And she has a really ugly dress. Just uh, it's made from curtains. Um Jackie's laughing.

SPEAKER_03 26:56

Like from sound of music.

SPEAKER_01 26:59

There's there's lots of examples where they take draperies and they turn them into uh costumes. But yeah, her yeah, her outfit's made of of curtains. I believe it. And yeah, she just doesn't really do a whole lot in this episode other than serve this romantic like a memory.

SPEAKER_03 27:21

It's like she's just a haunting ghost.

SPEAKER_01 27:23

It's like the writers and developers were like, you know what? It's been a while since we've given Kirk a romantic interest. Let's squeeze one in and let's make her uh a doctor. Why not?

SPEAKER_03 27:33

And so while all this is happening, Lieutenant Galway is in another room and she's like, Hello, can anyone help me? And McCoy dismisses her, saying she needs to go get some rest. But the poor thing, she's afraid to close her eyes because what will she see when she opens them? And as she's leaving, she sees herself in the mirror, and she's like, That's a stupid place to have a mirror as she walks out.

SPEAKER_01 28:00

Yeah, and she uh again, poor thing, not kind with the latex prosthetics. You know what she looks like? She looks like the thing from the Fantastic Four with a wig on.

SPEAKER_03 28:11

Hey, I don't know what that is.

SPEAKER_01 28:12

We're gonna pause right here and we're gonna show Jackie a picture of the thing from Fantastic Four. So we're back after comparing pictures. Yeah, right? I I almost choked on my water. Yeah, definitely. Jackie's like, the thing, he's got a bowl for a head. Lieutenant Galloway's got a bowl for a head, too. It's just covered with a wig.

SPEAKER_03 28:35

So I need to poke in here that as she's leaving, Kirk even says she's 10 years younger than all of them, and she looks like 40 years older than them. Right. Like I think that's when he's realizing this is a bad thing.

SPEAKER_01 28:52

It's I think I again, because we will eventually learn that the cause of this is a form of radiation, I like it because it leaves it open to interpretation. It's not just a virus, I should say, not just, it is not a virus that is acting on different people's biology and chemistry. It is radiation, and maybe Lieutenant Galloway on the planet came in contact with a higher dose of radiation than other people. I like that explanation.

SPEAKER_03 29:23

Huh, I like I can see that. And then Kirk is like, we need to figure this out, and then poor Chakov has to go through another round of tests.

SPEAKER_01 29:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 29:34

And he's not liking it. And then they start guessing that it's his genes, so the poor guy is going through even more things. So as Kirk is leaving to go back to the bridge, we see that Dr. Wallace is waiting in the hallway.

SPEAKER_01 29:50

Yeah, she had left earlier for just a moment and then was waiting to ambush Kirk outside. And we get probably the most awkward conversation in the episode where she's flirting with Kirk, and that Kirk is talking to her, and he's like, Well, for some reason, all of a sudden Kirk is like, wait a minute, your dead husband, how much older was he?

SPEAKER_03 30:15

Just 27 years.

SPEAKER_01 30:17

Yeah, and Kirk is like, Oh, so he really takes he he really has a problem with that, and I don't know, I don't really understand why. Because it's like, is Kirk offended? Is this Shatner's ego bleeding through to the character going, How dare you be attracted to me because you're only attracted to me because now I am appearing to be so much more your senior in years?

SPEAKER_03 30:42

Yeah, because she keeps hinting that he's the one that got away. Yeah. But yet now he's you know, well, he's not very salt and pepper, he's like gold and silver, but yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:53

And it's almost like she's he Kirk is accusing her of like, you're only attracted to me because I'm older, or I appear older. And are you really looking to be romantically involved with me because you're attracted to me, or you just pity me because I'm older? And I'm like, dude, you two were together six years ago. What's the issue?

SPEAKER_03 31:13

So there is something she does share that on aldebaron three, she and her husband were working on a carbohydrate compound that slowed plant degeneration. So that's why she was going, she was going to the biochemistry lab, but she decided to wait in the hallway.

SPEAKER_01 31:36

Right, because magically she now is supposed to serve a purpose.

SPEAKER_03 31:41

Right, she's gonna make plants into humans, right?

SPEAKER_01 31:44

Which no. She she tried, she tried, but it it's to show, like, oh, you serve a purpose, go do some studying, but her research doesn't do anything because it's again not aging, it's radiation sickness. So again, she's only there to serve this role of a romantic interest between her and Kirk.

SPEAKER_03 32:05

So then we have another break, and poof, we're on the bridge, and Chekhov and Sulu are first showcased, and Chekhov is complaining that he's the supplier of all these samples. Have some, give me some marrow, gimme some blood, give me some skin, and then Sulu's like, you'll live, you just won't enjoy it. Yeah, and so Kirk walks onto the bridge and tells Sulu to increase the orbit, and then he is going to sign something that a yeoman brings to him, and she looks like my girl, Janice Rand's sister. Just want to say that. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 32:49

It's been a couple episodes since we've forced in a reference to lieutenant or I mean she's my girl, and like she has the same hair doing everything.

SPEAKER_03 32:58

And then he notices that Commodore Stalker is still there, and he's like, Well, the Commodore is saying, Um, when are we going to Starbase 10? Hello. And Kirk's like, We're staying here until we figure out what's happening. Spock also has an update about the comet, and yes, it has about the radiation. We are and we also have different examples of Kirk having forgetful moments. He tries to sign a fuel consumption report again from the yeoman, and he drops the pen. He's trying to send a message to Starfleet, and he asks O'Hara to use code two, but the Romulans have already broken that code, so we have to use code three. Right.

SPEAKER_01 33:45

And it's pointed out that Kirk should know that from the briefings.

SPEAKER_03 33:48

So he decides that he's just going to go take a nap, and he tells Sulu to increase the orbit to 20,000 perigree, and he's like, another 20,000? And then we learn, oh, you already had him do that earlier.

SPEAKER_01 34:05

Right. This is the part of my notes where I'm saying, how many moments do we need showing Kirk's forgetfulness?

SPEAKER_03 34:12

All in the same scene.

SPEAKER_01 34:13

And this is gonna be one, and and it's not the only scene. There's many scenes we're gonna get to very shortly, another scene where it's just multiple mental mistakes. It's like we get it. Kirk is breaking down mentally.

SPEAKER_03 34:25

So we jump into the hallway where Commodore Stalker is waiting for Spock, and he is trying to pretty much explain that a starship can run well with as he names off, like chief engineer, chief medical doctor, first officer, under par. Like they can be sick, but the commanding officer needs to be, you know, fine, super healthy. Right. And and Spock's like, yes. And then of course, Doc uh Commodore Stalker's like, oh, these are all the great things that Kirk is doing, but he's not doing great. So I suggest that you take over and command the ship.

SPEAKER_01 35:09

Right, which well, and Spock wants nothing to do with it. No, Spock is very much going, no, I'm afflicted with whatever they have as well. I am just hiding it better, but I can't concentrate. I'm having mental problems, I'm not suitable and in the right state of mind to take command.

SPEAKER_03 35:28

And then so Stalker is like, I am a flag officer of Starfleet, and I must follow regulations. Like he's like all biggie now. And he says that as first officer, he has to call for a hearing that is extraordinary competency.

SPEAKER_01 35:48

Yeah, basically, we need to have a trial, and we're gonna put Kirk on trial solely for the opportunity for either Kirk to prove that he still is mentally capable of command or to prove that he is no longer able to command, and we're gonna take that role away from him, which then means Commodore Stalker would take control. Spock, of course, doesn't want to do it, but he recognizes regulations, and boys Spock a stickler for regulations, unless it involves Captain Pike. Check out previous episodes. That's true. But Spock will convene the hearing. Let's talk about this for a minute. Why? Star Trek episode. Why are we convening a hearing? They're literally aging according to McCoy 30 years every day.

SPEAKER_03 36:38

So they're all gonna die before the hearing's over.

SPEAKER_01 36:41

So let's let's all take time away. Cause the next scene is uh yes. Well, basically a little bit. Basically, okay, so let's just quickly cover. They we jump back to Sick Bay, McCoy's examining checkoff, Lieutenant Galway comes in with her terrible makeup and terrible wig, and she suddenly just collapses and dies. They try to say that it's her metabolism. None of that makes any difference because it's just she got exposed to more radiation. That's fine. It's really just a way to set up a cliffhanger to go into a commercial break to come back to act three for the episode. Now, again, we're at the competency hearing. Everyone's there.

SPEAKER_03 37:22

That was my question too.

SPEAKER_01 37:24

I was like, who's running the ship? Who's running the ship? Who's running the ship? Who's doing the research to find a cure?

SPEAKER_03 37:31

That is true, also. And I also noticed that Kirk, like I think to add to his aging, he's wearing like a sweater, like an old man's sweater.

SPEAKER_01 37:40

We'll get to that.

SPEAKER_03 37:41

Oh, see, I was like, see, I always notice his his costume.

SPEAKER_01 37:45

Yeah. Well, I'll tell you what, I'll I'll burn the triple tidbit in the moment. As they get older and they age, they start the actors start wearing bigger and bigger size uniforms to make them appear that they're shrinking and that they don't fit as well.

SPEAKER_03 38:02

Oh, that makes sense. I was just like, look at you in your sweater. You should wear that, other than that pajama shirt you wear.

SPEAKER_01 38:08

And it wasn't mentioned, but if you go all the way back to the beginning where Robert and Elaine revealed themselves down on the planet, the older colonists, their clothes are hanging off of them.

SPEAKER_03 38:21

Yes, I did notice that. Like they were skin and bones looking.

SPEAKER_01 38:24

So I think that was the trick that they did with their costumes as well. But anyway, yeah, back on track. Sorry, sorry. The the uh the hearing, they're all there.

SPEAKER_03 38:36

But yeah, no, there's chapels doing the research. She's not there.

SPEAKER_01 38:40

She's well, okay, fine. But you don't have McCoy overseeing it because he's there to testify. You don't have Dr. uh curtains for Wallace dress because she's there to oversee and testify. Scotty's there trying to hang on. I is Sulu there. I guess Sulu's no, Sulu's there to testify.

SPEAKER_03 39:02

Yes, we have yeah, they're in the back.

SPEAKER_01 39:05

So yeah, there's no one there, there's no one left to run research except okay, maybe Nurse Chapel. They've heavily dipped into their command structure to get someone to run the bridge and the rest of everything else. But again, yeah, ultimately, let's take busy time away from trying to figure out what's going on to have a competency hearing. I guess regulations, I guess, and again, why do we need to get to Starbase 10? Because that's kind of the whole that's the that's the point or that's the motive of Commodore Stalker.

SPEAKER_03 39:40

Yeah, he wants to go there instead.

SPEAKER_01 39:42

And he wants to get Kirk relieved of duty. To go there. To get to whoever's gonna be in charge next to go to Starbase 10, which he becomes in charge at that point.

SPEAKER_03 39:52

And I I'm air quoting so that I can help you guys get better.

SPEAKER_01 39:57

I guess, but is uh I think he's a fish out of water, he doesn't know what he's doing, which we find out very shortly. But for the sake of time, all that all that you all need to know for the he the hearing is everyone gives testimony where they people give testimony and they retell all of these little mental moments that Kirk has experienced that we've all seen. Trying to send out the communication on the code two that's already been deciphered by the Romulans for code three. The yeoman gives testimony that Kirk tried to re-sign the fuel consumption report. Sulu gave testimony about the repeating of orders for the orbiting and so forth. Blah blah blah blah blah.

SPEAKER_03 40:43

Like these are all things I do every day.

SPEAKER_01 40:45

Yes, but you're also not in command of a starship.

SPEAKER_03 40:48

Oh, and Dr. Wallace changed her outfit.

SPEAKER_01 40:50

To another set of curtains.

SPEAKER_03 40:52

Yes, and she is standing on the other side of the table while everyone else is on the other side. She's the only one like closer.

SPEAKER_01 41:01

Has she changed her outfit?

SPEAKER_03 41:02

Yes, and Kirk is sitting like near the door and he needs like a dunce cap. Like they have him on a stool. Yeah. It's so weird. Uhura is the only one they have stand to give her testimony.

SPEAKER_01 41:17

No, that's not true. Sulu stands. He has to stand. I think they all stand.

SPEAKER_03 41:22

Okay, I'll go with that. I just found it odd.

SPEAKER_01 41:26

But the scene drags out so well.

SPEAKER_03 41:29

So yes.

SPEAKER_01 41:30

This is definitely a sign that they've said we definitely don't have enough to fill an episode.

SPEAKER_03 41:36

I'd agree with you on that. Like, because what we're gonna hit radiation, we're gonna get older, we're gonna get so close to dying. Are they gonna find love? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 41:48

Yeah. So we've got this hearing that fills out time. We've got the romantic relationship interest between Kirk and Dr. Wallace. And so, again, cut all of that out. Just have the Commodore relieve Kirk on the bridge in a fiery moment, cite some made-up regulation from Starfleet, Spock backs it, Kirk storms off. You know what would have been cool is if we had more of an more time at the beginning of the episode where we are this is our fan fiction moment where we rewrite the episode to Star Trek, and it should have been this way, spend more time on the planet, they arrive to do the check-in, and do the first act showing the colonists aging and dying. So when they arrive on the planet, they meet Robert and Elaine, but instead of being 87 or 90 or whatever they appear to be, make them appear to be in their 40s and make the comment of, whoa, you guys are supposed to be in your late 20s, what's going on? And just be like, Oh, we're just tired, you know.

SPEAKER_03 42:55

So in love.

SPEAKER_01 42:56

But so in love.

SPEAKER_03 42:58

I'm sorry, I love that scene. Like he just hugged her so much, and I just love her so much. Like I actually cried.

SPEAKER_01 43:07

Okay, calm down. But but yeah, have the first scene where it's it's it's showing them getting like, hey, you guys look older than you should be. Oh, we're just tired, and show them age, like doing the physicals on the physical examinations on them, show the resupplying, you know, spend 15 minutes going through that where they age a little bit. Or maybe have a grave. Yeah, show a grave of one of the other people, and they just go, Oh, we just we don't know, we we don't talk about it. And then literally then at the end of act one, show them beaming down to say goodbye. And now they're 90 years old and have memory problems.

SPEAKER_03 43:51

Oh, I like that.

SPEAKER_01 43:52

And then start they pick up the episode where we are and cut all this other stuff out. That has been our fan fiction rewrite of this episode.

SPEAKER_03 44:00

So no, that would make sense because then they would have more information overall to help themselves.

SPEAKER_01 44:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:07

So look at us being writers.

SPEAKER_01 44:10

We we've gone way off track here.

SPEAKER_03 44:13

So I have to find where we are on my notes.

SPEAKER_01 44:16

The hearing ends with them finding Kirk not suitable for command.

SPEAKER_03 44:23

And he's like, and Spock will take over. But Spock says, no, thank you. So oops, Commodore Stalker has to take over then.

SPEAKER_01 44:33

Right. Oops, loophole. Because I guess there's there's no other chain of command. Again, Uhura could have taken command.

SPEAKER_03 44:41

But she's a woman.

SPEAKER_01 44:42

She's a woman. Sulu could have taken command.

SPEAKER_03 44:46

He's just a young boy. He won't know much. And we need him as a navigator.

SPEAKER_01 44:51

Sulu could have taken command. Anyway.

SPEAKER_03 44:53

But that's also Kirk's second outburst of I am the captain of the ship and totally capable of commanding her. And let's call this off and get back to work.

unknown 45:03

Right.

SPEAKER_03 45:04

So he doesn't realize he's been relieved.

SPEAKER_01 45:07

Yeah. So, and again, it's just to show that he's losing his marbles and so forth. But this is the part where we get the revelation: what is the cure to the radiation? What is the mystery link with Chekhov? And why did Chekhov not age? And it's a realization that they come to with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. As they reevaluate the timeline of what happened when they beamed down to the planet, everyone goes, Well, no, Chekoff is the one who found the body, but he was alone and he was terrified when he jumped out of the way. And so they all come to the conclusion that, well, that spike in adrenaline is what shielded him from the radiation. Little bit, a little bit bonkers of an explanation.

SPEAKER_03 45:54

No, but McCoy totally answers that part too. Because uh before they found this drug, Hieronalin, I know I just butchered it, they did uh heal radiation sickness with adrenaline. So he was like, I don't know why we stopped our research on it.

SPEAKER_01 46:13

Because it's a crock of crap, basically, but okay.

SPEAKER_03 46:18

But I I found it nice that they had they had uh an answer.

SPEAKER_01 46:22

I'll give you I'll give them credit. They at least cut at le at least they didn't stop with adrenaline. They throw in some magic medical star trek mumble jumbo.

SPEAKER_03 46:33

Because the medicine they're using now is the one that says high the high-ro, they're using that one and it's not working.

SPEAKER_01 46:40

Right.

SPEAKER_03 46:40

So the adrenaline will have to. Yeah. So Spock, Dr. Wallace, and Nurse Chapel are put on figure out how to make this medicine duty.

SPEAKER_01 46:51

Yeah. I think this is where we get the little weird month, like five-second montage that of them like doing chemistry to put together the yes, that the little seat, the little uh chemistry set. Yeah. So then we let them do their thing, pop to the bridge.

SPEAKER_03 47:08

Oh no.

SPEAKER_01 47:09

Commodore Stalker decides it's time that we get to Starbase 10. I have command of the enterprise, go straight there. And Sulu's like, dude, this is my favorite part. It goes through the neutral zone, and Stalker's like, don't care, go warp five, we'll be fine. And I'm like, what are we doing?

SPEAKER_03 47:28

So, question what is the neutral zone? Is it I I imagine that this is a space which is kind of like a moat, but if someone goes in it, won't it still be safe? But if they cross over to the other side, then they're in trouble.

SPEAKER_01 47:47

So you are correct in saying that it is a moat or a strip of space, an area of space that exists between the Federation, Starfleet, and the Romulan Empire. And both are in a you can call it a Cold War state, or there's a ceasefire in effect, whatever. The neutral zone is this boundary that they've established that is supposed to keep them away from each other. It is supposed to separate them so that they don't just walk up to a fixed line in space and stare at each other. And they have both agreed, whoever violates the neutral zone is in effect violating the other person's space. So when Stalker says it's fine, just get into the neutral zone and we'll cut through the neutral zone, he is literally committing an act of war. It is an active evasion invasion into the Romulan Empire. It is an incredibly stupid move and serves absolutely no purpose. I was sitting there trying to struggle to remember the rest of the episode because when he said just violate the neutral zone, I thought we were gonna suddenly try to inject a plot line where he was a Romulan double agent, a spy. And I was like, this is gonna get really weird. How are we gonna resolve this part of the episode? But no, it's just to force the plot point to force what we eventually get the Romulans attacking the Enterprise.

SPEAKER_03 49:19

He just wants to go to Starbase 10 as the crow flies in space.

SPEAKER_01 49:24

Yeah, and so Wow. Yeah, and it's just What an idiot. He should know that. He should, and they should have stopped him. And by they I mean Sulu, Spock, the rest of the bridge officers. They really should have spoken up and said, No, we think we're just gonna kind of at least get a second opinion, at least get someone else up there.

SPEAKER_03 49:49

I mean, he even tells Ahura, hey, tell them we're coming, but we're we're coming, you know, in peace. And she's like, uh, they don't reply.

SPEAKER_01 49:59

Yeah, they don't talk to us, dude. So oh wow. No, okay. Ultimately, this just serves to show that uh Commodore Stalker is incredibly inept and has no experience and no business commanding a starship.

SPEAKER_03 50:15

Well, yeah, Kirk calls him a paper pusher.

SPEAKER_01 50:18

Yes. So, of course, we alluded to it, but the Romulans show up, they attack, they attack an overwhelming force because they are justified to do so. Where they are very much just like showing up with multiple ships.

SPEAKER_03 50:32

Like, don't dare bring another one over.

SPEAKER_01 50:34

And they are going to blow up the Enterprise because for them, this is the perfect opportunity to blow up a superior ship and be justified in doing so.

SPEAKER_03 50:43

And even while they're being attacked, and Kirk is like, I need to go save my ship. Stalker's like, Have we gotten a hold of them yet? Hello.

SPEAKER_01 50:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 50:54

And I I think it's even Chekhov, who's like, they're not the speaking type.

SPEAKER_01 51:00

Right. But we, for the sake of time, we're gonna kind of condense act four for you listeners. We jump to Sick Bay, they've perfected or they've come up with this serum to cure the radiation, but of course, no one's tested it, no one knows if it's gonna work, and Kirk's like, give it to me, give me the drug, I'll take it, I'll be good.

SPEAKER_03 51:23

And then McCoy's like, no, I will. We have to make sure you're safe.

SPEAKER_01 51:27

But they don't listen and they give it to Kirk anyway. And then we get the doctor and Jekyll, Mr. Hyde shot, but it's really just a zoom in on his crotch the whole time. The whole time where it's just I didn't notice that. It is, it is absolutely. We're gonna pause it right now while I pull up a shot of this such an educational episode for me. William Shatner's crotch as he is cured of radiation sickness. Where is it? There it is. Oh hang on. And yeah, so curtains for Dr. Wallace and crotch for Kirk. But you'll also notice because there's there's many scenes that happen in this. There's the dramatic, it goes from Kirk and his magical regenerative crotch. It goes to the observers in Sick Bay watching him get better. We never see Kirk's face in this moment getting better. And then we jump to the bridge where we get multiple shots of the Romulans continuing their attack and so forth. And Stalker almost peeing his pants. Yes. I should also mention as you watch the shots of Kirk struggling in the bed, his pants change from black to a dark blue and back to black for no reason.

SPEAKER_03 52:41

And then Stalker even asks Sulu what to do. And Sulu's like, uh, whatever you want, because the shields are gonna give out at any moment.

SPEAKER_01 52:50

Yeah, they're pretty much very nonchalantly, like, yeah, and Stalker's like, well, maybe we should just surrender. And Sulu's like, Yeah, they don't take prisoners, dude. That's not how this is gonna end. Again, kind of casting an illumination on the fact that Stalker, you don't know anything.

SPEAKER_03 53:07

And you effed us over.

SPEAKER_01 53:08

Yeah. So let's wrap up the episode.

SPEAKER_03 53:12

With a beautiful 34-year-old Kirk marching on the bridge.

SPEAKER_01 53:16

Yes, like a character in Pirates of the Panzance jumping onto the set. He does this big reveal where he just pops out of the turbo lift like, hey guys, what have I missed? Yeah, he's like, report, Sulu. And fully I would say swaggers onto the bridge because it is not, he is not, he doesn't portray an air of worriedness or concern. Command. It's command, and I got this under control. But what does he do to get the Romulans to go away? He us has he uses code two.

SPEAKER_03 53:51

He has Uhura send them a note via code two.

SPEAKER_01 53:55

Right. And what does he do? He uses the Corbomite maneuver bluff.

SPEAKER_03 53:58

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 53:59

And so, which is a throwback, which is fun. So, but yeah, he gets them to the same way he did in the episode the Corbomite Maneuver, he uses the bluff that they've got this secret weapon on board. They're gonna self-destruct and they're gonna blow up, and it's going to cause the Romulans to blow up as well. They pause in their attack, he punches the Enterprise into like warp eight or whatever, and catches them off guard and is able to make them escape. And they continue to blast through the neutral zone to get to Starbase 10. And roll credits. So,

Final Thoughts

SPEAKER_01 54:36

Jackie, what are your final thoughts? What do you think about season two, episode 12, The Deadly Years?

SPEAKER_03 54:42

I mean, like I said before, it I still find it a bit cheesy. Okay, but I mean, it was it was enjoyable, but I really wanted to know more about Wallace and why she was even there. Yeah, okay, so And why does she change from her curtain dress to one dress at the briefing and then back into her curtains?

SPEAKER_01 55:04

How dare you! Jackie paying attention to all the things that matter in the future, pockets on dresses.

SPEAKER_03 55:14

I I noticed all the things like Kirk should wear that sweater more often.

SPEAKER_01 55:19

Yeah. So I I also so again, I mentioned so my biggest problem with the episode, and we went way off track, and I won't go too off track again. But again, they have this whole the romantic interest between Dr. Wallace and Kirk. I agree with you. It's weird to have this character in the episode. She just doesn't, and they and I feel like they try to force it by trying to give her a medical background and to try to tie her medical expertise into the problem that they're facing. If they would have used that, it would have made more sense. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 55:56

Like she's supposed to be going to the lab, but she's gonna wait in the hallway like she's in high school, so she can kiss her boyfriend.

SPEAKER_01 56:04

Yes. I would have even preferred take the whole doctorate out of it and just say that she is hitching a ride and happen to Star Base 10. How much simpler would that have been?

SPEAKER_03 56:16

Yeah. Right? That would make sense. And so she's just hanging out because you know, he's she's his bestie.

SPEAKER_01 56:23

Yeah, and it's just like, oh, a chance encounter. That's fine, because now it's just showing that Kirk is a playboy and he's got all these women in his past, and this is how thing this that's how other romantic interests have popped up in his life before, where it's just they randomly end up on the Enterprise, we get the flirty backstory, yeah, and then they're gone. They really tried to force her into the episode by justifying her presence as a doctor that led nowhere. Also, the fact that we have the hearing that takes up like 10 minutes at least. Way longer than that. It takes up all it takes up a good quarter of the episode that's I feel unnecessary.

SPEAKER_03 57:04

Oh, I yeah. And it's what's he with Kirk's he he makes the hearing a bit over the top. Like he just needs to be like seatbelted in.

SPEAKER_01 57:14

Right. And so but those things aside, the cheesiness of it aside, I kind of like this take on the rapidly aging people plot, where it's I like the fact that they had the radiation, I like the fact that they had that explanation that I felt really fit. I felt overall the plot point could have been if you had just focused on that more, it would have been a really, really good episode.

SPEAKER_03 57:43

Yeah, like what you suggested. I like that a lot.

SPEAKER_01 57:46

But other than that, eh, so and hey, justice for Galloway, the toy lady. That poor thing. That's they did her dirty on this episode.

SPEAKER_03 57:58

So that would have been cool if we could have brought her, make her come back to life.

SPEAKER_01 58:02

Yeah, if we could have, if we she didn't have to die, I guess. But in any case, before we give our favorite quote to the episode, we're gonna go ahead and we're gonna reveal our topic question for our bonus Star Note episode that we're gonna post over at our Patreon, patreon.com slash treks and tangents. Free for anyone who follows the Patreon, our Star Note episodes are just 10, 15, 20 minutes of us just kind of going deeper into a topic and conversing back and forth.

SPEAKER_03 58:33

I and I win at them.

SPEAKER_01 58:35

Jackie oftentimes does win at them. She never chooses the topic, though.

SPEAKER_03 58:40

I I don't choose the topic, but I am such a great uh debater.

SPEAKER_01 58:45

So this episode's Star Note topic is going to be who handled the crisis worse? Commodore Stalker or Captain Kirk? So when you're done listening to this episode, jump over to our Patreon and follow us. Enjoy the episode for free, and all of our bonus Star Note episodes. Again, patreon.com slash Trucks and Tangents. Jackie, what is gonna be your favorite quote from the episode and why?

SPEAKER_03 59:14

I picked out a few, but I think overall I'm gonna go with I'm not a magician, Spock, just an old country doctor. And it's McCoy and Spock, and I love how since this episode is aging, it's like his quote that he always says, he makes it backwards about I'm just a doctor, not a magician. Okay. I thought it was fun.

SPEAKER_01 59:39

My favorite quote, I seem to be going down the rabbit hole of quoting Chekoff on episodes.

SPEAKER_02 59:45

He's good.

SPEAKER_01 59:46

Chekhov is kind of there as the comic relief, and I don't know why I find that so funny, but I do. So my quote, and it's from a scene that uh deeper fun fact, they often remove this from syndication um to save time and because of the topic, but it's when Chekhov at the end, after he's done the the bicycle wall pedaling and he's being examined, and they say, Chekhov, you gotta do more examinations, and he goes from that bed to another bed, and Nurse uh Chapel says, Come on, ensign, it won't hurt much, and Chekov is like promises in that cheeky little Russian way. So I just think it's funny. I just I just like that moment.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:27

So yeah, because even he even says it does hurt when McCoy was like, It's not gonna hurt at all, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:34

But yeah, I think those are gonna be our final thoughts. We'll jump

Tribble Tidbits

SPEAKER_01 1:00:38

into our triple tidbits or fun or interesting facts to the episode. And why do we call them triple tidbits, Jackie? Because they are the best, because tribbles can be fun, cute, cuddly, but also a nightmare, terrible. A pocket pet. So can uh interesting facts to an episode. So first airing December 8th, 1967. Side note, this is the exact same day that the NHL California SEALs hockey team changed their name to the Oakland Seals. As California hockey fans, we have to know our history. So terrible team, but that was probably probably one of the one of the my favorite uh my favorite hockey team that no longer is. So look up their history. It's too bad. It's it it's one of many teams that the San Francisco Bay Area has tried to have, and nothing ever sticks.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:39

So that's why you should have one that's solid like me.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:42

Yeah, like oh, the penguins. Yeah, no, go sharks. Uh, I mentioned this in the episode, but again, the aging cast members wore oversized versions of their uniforms to give them their impression that their bodies were shrinking with age. William Shatner absolutely hated the three hours it took to put on the aging makeup and the prosthetics.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:05

He had like nothing.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:06

He was caught numerous times arguing and shouting at show producers having to endure it. There is a famous moment in the Star Trek blooper reels where for background they don't go too much into it, but it's basically they wrapped shooting, they got to the end of the day, they wrapped shooting, but they told Kirk that he would have to report to the makeup chair again tomorrow to get it put back on to do some wrap-up scenes, and Kirk was pissed because he thought it was the last day he'd have to put on the makeup.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:37

So what a baby.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:39

Also, Shatner argued and pushed back against showing Kirk age too much.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:48

There's if you look at his Okay, that makes sense because it's only his hair.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:52

If you look at the different stages of him aging, there's a moment where his hairline starts to recede as he gets a little older, but then when he's super old, he's got his full head with hair back. That was Shatner going, No, I don't want Kirk to look too old and feeble. Because I I think in his mind, I, as an actor, don't want to portray that and look like that. Right. So he that's why he went silver and gold. Pretty much. Oh, what an ego. Laura Wood is the actress who played Elaine Johnson, the old the colonist lady at the very beginning, who was just so in love with Robert. And uh that actress is also the actress that played the crew member from the episode Charlie X, when Charlie got upset and made the crew member turn really old, and she had the little mental breakdown.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:46

That poor ladies had to be two old people.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:50

So resume plays old well.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:53

Yes. Uh, it would normally take a makeup artist a month to make up all of the different latex prosthetics that they would have used to shoot this episode. Fred Phillips was the makeup artist who was in charge of all of this. Instead of a month, he was given 10 days to come up and make all of the prosthetics and have them ready to go for shooting. He had a lot of he had a lot of extra help and a lot of extra hands, but he was given an almost impossible task. So well, he did great for that. Yes. Finally, I don't know why they didn't do this, but it was originally planned in the script. So Kirk gets the serum, which magically turns him to his younger self and cures him, and then he pops onto the bridge, right? Right. Like Superman. It was meant to instead be that they would show a sequence of shots where he got up off of the bed, left Sick Bay, walked down a couple corridors, got onto the turbulent. They wanted to show that like losing age? Yes, they wanted to sh they wanted to film a sequence of scenes where he would be visibly younger in each scene until he arrived on the bridge fully back to his normal age. I couldn't find a reason why they didn't do it. I'm just going to assume that they ran out of time to film it and they didn't have time to go through it. They didn't have a chance to put it all together. Or buddy Shatner didn't know.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:25

Or Shatner just didn't want to do it. Yeah, he's like, F that.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:28

Yeah. So, but I think that would have been really cool. I'm sad that they didn't do it.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:33

So No, I agree. But I also like what they ended up doing after all.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:38

Yeah. And that's gonna be your triple tidbits for this episode. We like it.

Episode Ranking

SPEAKER_01 1:05:44

We'll give our episode ranking uh where we pretend that the episode is a member of our fictitious starship, and we assign the episode a Starfleet rank. The rank not only represents how entertained we were by the The episode, but also more importantly, how valuable of a crew member we think the episode would make for our starship. A higher rank, of course, means that we were more entertained. A lower rank means it's a more disposable member of our crew. If none of that makes any sense, don't worry, we'll post a graphical representation on our Patreon, free for everyone, patreon.com slash treks and tangents. Go check it out. You can see all the episodes ranked for season two up to this point, and you can see our rankings for all of the season one episodes. We sometimes promote episodes, demoe episodes, because we only can have so many ranks. Our ranks start at the bottom, ensign lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant, and then we can have seven lieutenant commanders, five commanders, one captain, and one admiral. Jackie, for your starship, the USS Luminara, what rank do you assign this episode? I'm going to do lieutenant junior grade. Lieutenant Junior Grade, which is the second to last. So uh you're gonna rank it right there with the Apollo episode. Why this rank?

SPEAKER_03 1:07:06

Like I don't I don't want to make it an Infin because I want to keep it here because of all that extra work that that artist had to do. I think that's fantastic, which then made the actors and the show the outcome of the episode even more powerful. So, like that's why I like hearing all the things to make my decisions, because yes, I could enjoy an episode, but having like history helps me because I mean I don't know anything. And I think and plus I really like that McCoy kind of goes crazy trying to figure out how to fix this.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:47

Okay. Yes, so for those that were wondering, Jackie frequently lets the rest of the facts influence her ranking. My ranking's more pure, it's just how entertained I was by the episode, how much I liked it. I like the full pizza. I don't think this is a disposable episode. Again, it may be cheesy, it may have its pacing problems. A 25% of this episode could have been removed and rewritten, but it I still like the episode. So I'm gonna rank it a lieutenant commander. This is gonna be my third out of seven lieutenant commanders. It's a good, for me, solid episode that I would go back to and watch multiple times. So it's not gonna be one of the best episodes of the season, but I certainly think that it fits the core structure of Star Trek, and it definitely is an episode that I would keep in the season.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:42

I see that. You do a really good job on all these graphics.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:45

Thank you. I well pause for Brian. I use multiple assistant tools, so and it was pointed out to us uh by my brother that I forgot to mention the name of my starship in the last episode, so we will toss it in there. My starship for this season is the USS Comet there. I remembered this time. Well, you do forget often you don't have to call into this into the show on your drive home from work to tell me I forgot to say it.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:12

You should make a comment so we can get some engagement.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:15

Yes, comment on the episode.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:18

Talk to us, people. We love it.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:20

I'm staring straight at you, brother. Anyway, uh none of that makes sense. Go check out the graphical representation over at the Patreon. It's links in the description.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:30

It looks like Tetris.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:31

Tell us what you think. How about that? We always also seem to forget the engagement question. So tell us what you think. What would you rank the episode? What do you think about the episode? Just for reference, over at IMDB, uh, the episode ranking Jackie, who always forgets how the episodes are ranked on IMDb. Again, five to six is gonna be terrible, six to seven is gonna be pretty average, eight's gonna be good, nine's gonna be great.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:58

I'm gonna give it a seven.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:00

You're gonna guess a people gave it a seven? Yes. Okay, it's a seven point three out of ten. So I think we'll eventually we should go on here and we should make our own podcast uh podcast account for IMDB and just throw our average rank in there. Maybe we'll start doing that. Ooh, that'd be fun.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:19

So see how we can mess up their numbers.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:21

Yes. Uh we'll be back

Turbolift Tease

SPEAKER_01 1:10:24

next week to trek through another episode, but before we go, we'll give our turboliftees. That's where Jackie gives an elevator pitch, or really just a context guest based on the title of next week's episode, without any other information to go off of. Jackie, next week's episode is entitled Obsession.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:47

The crew of Enterprise has come back from short leave because you know things get rough. But a yeoman has been she turned magical, and now every single person that resembles a male, she becomes completely obsessed with. And it changes every time like it bounces around, whoever's in front of her. But they have to figure it out before time runs out, because something bad may happen to her.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:17

And tune in next week to see how accurate Jackie's guess is. If you want more show information, you can find and directly support our podcast on Patreon, patreon.com slash treks and tangents. Again, pop on over, check out our bonus star note episode that we'll post. It goes live with uh this episode. We'll dive into that deeper topic, listen to all the other Star Notes, all of our graphical representations, all that's free for those who follow the Patreon. If you want to support the Patreon as a crew member, you get access to our deeper dive into Star Trek the Animated series. Go check those out. We have all of our posted test recordings for the episode where we did the same format, but we did it for a while with Stargate SG1. We did it for Fringe for a little bit to work out the bugs. We have some new content coming. I ordered a comic book, so we're gonna dive into some Star Trek comics a little bit, or maybe I'll dive into some comics and because you have your corner that you have to create, Brian's Corner. Yes, Brian's Corner. That's not the brand name, it's a working title, but we're gonna like it. We're gonna do some stuff. You can also follow us on X uh at Trex underscore tangents. We're on Instagram at blue sky at trex and tangents. But Jackie, where can people find you and what are you up to?

SPEAKER_03 1:12:36

Well, as you know, I had my left hip replaced just over a month and a half ago, and I'm doing all my physical therapy, throwing it over at Instagram under jaboomjb. And soon I'll have the other one replaced, so I'll just be walking free, hopefully, and you can see that on Instagram.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:02

All right, you can watch me stream a variety of video games over at twitch.tv slash piratepoundtown. I try not to make it all World of Warcraft, but World of Warcraft tends to dominate it. You can also find other video game content and just random stuff over at YouTube uh under Pirate Poundtown, also on Twitch at PiratePoundtown, I should mention. You can find me on YouTube as well under Pirate Treasure Hunting, where I post coin collecting and other hobby content. I'm on Blue Sky at Pirate Poundtown, and you can find me on Instagram under Pineapple Cannibal. We've been posting a lot of pictures of our we're in the middle of state fair season. So we're posting a lot of our state fair pictures over there. Go check it out.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:44

I forgot to add that too.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:46

Links to all social media is uh uh down in the description. Check it out. Thank you everyone for tuning into this episode. We hope you had fun like we did, and we'll see you all next week. Steady as she goes. End transmission.