50th Anniversary TOS Episode Discussion Marathon

[Nate the Great]

I forgot to do Turnabout Intruder. Give me a bit more time.

[Nate the Great]

Here we are; the last TOS episode. We still have TNG to tide us over until DS9 and TAS start.

June 3rd, 1969, "Turnabout Intruder"

No Fiver
Transcript
Memory Alpha

The Episode

JANICE: Your world of starship captains doesn't admit women. It isn't fair.
KIRK: No, it isn't. And you punished and tortured me because of it.

We might as well get this out of the way; this idea is ludicrous and I don't blame later Trek for completely ignoring it. And the stupidest idea is that it wasn't necessary in the first place! All that had to be done is introducing a Ben Finney-style incompetence on Lester's part that would've kept her away from command. Or even something closer to Eddington-she was railroaded into a career path that may have played to her talents but wasn't making her as much job satisfaction as command would've ("Tapestry", anyone?)

JANICE: I loved you. We could've roamed among the stars.

You want command, he wants command. You couldn't have served aboard the same ship. Plus it seems like marriage wouldn't have made you happy anyway.

JANICE/KIRK: You had your chance, Captain Kirk. You should've smothered the life in me. Then they would have said Doctor Janice Lester died of radiation poisoning in the line of duty. Why didn't you do it? You always wanted to. Didn't you? You had the strength to do it. But you were afraid.

First, while this transcript maintains the body as the sole speaker tag I'll be using Janice/Kirk and Kirk/Janice to indicate the mind/body. Second, when did Kirk express a desire to kill Janice?

JANICE/KIRK: Believe me, it's better to be dead than to live alone in the body of a woman.

Ouch. I so want to snark about whether we're sure Gene wasn't on staff anymore, but I will refrain. Again, this problem could've been solved with a simple change: for Kirk to live without being in command of the Enterprise, or even in Starfleet would be a living hell. More than enough punishment without introducing sexism and misogyny.

JANICE/KIRKoctor McCoy, you and Doctor Coleman seem to disagree on diagnosis.
MCCOY: No, not entirely. We both agree it's radiation. Doctor Coleman isn't prepared to say what form of radiation.
JANICE/KIRK: Will it affect your arriving at a correct treatment?
MCCOY: It's crucial.

I'm pretty sure that McCoy "outranks" Coleman even before you introduce the fact that he's CMO of the ship you're on. This conversation seems to be pointless.

JANICE/KIRK: He hung onto life too hard. I couldn't
COLEMAN: You couldn't because you love him. You want me to be his murderer.
JANICE/KIRK: Love? Him? I love the life he led. The power of a starship commander. It's my life now.

There's an interesting philosophical discussion to be had here: what were Lester's feelings and desires before and after Kirk came along and right now. Furthermore, I think it's safe to say that Kirk wasn't a captain during the initial relationship. Was her love always on an unconscious level only?

COLEMAN: Doctor Lester and her staff have been under my supervision for two years. If you don't follow my recommendations, responsibility for her health or her death will be yours.

Well, yeah! Is this supposed to be a threat? I'm pretty sure you don't get to become chief medical officer without being able to handle patient deaths, even deaths where you didn't do all of the treatment.

JANICE/KIRK: Doctor McCoy, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to take you off the case and turn it over to Doctor Coleman.
MCCOY: You can't do this! On this ship my medical authority is final!

Exactly! What is this accomplishing besides causing suspicion of Janice? Was there no drug handy that could've pushed Kirk into a coma that looks like radiation poisoning?

JANICE/KIRK [OC]: The Enterprise is proceeding to its next mission, on the course set before I took over command. Now the years I spent studying every single detail of the ship's operation will be tested. With a little experience, I will be invulnerable to suspicion.

Now comes the time to really point out the main flaw in Lester's plan: not everything can be a part of the records available to her? Maybe the basic ship's layout, what's on each deck, etc. would be available to her, but not a current crew manifest or the complete details of every mission. If we wanted to we could come up with a list of episodes where the details would have to be classified above the level that Janice would have access to, "The Enterprise Incident" and "Metamorphosis" come to mind immediately.

SPOCK: If the diagnosis of Doctor Lester's illness is the critical problem, then the Benecia Colony is definitely not the place for her. Their medical facilities are the most primitive.
JANICE/KIRK: They will have to serve.
SPOCK: Starbase Two is fully equipped and staffed with the necessary specialists to determine exactly what is wrong with the doctor. Is that not crucial to your decision?
JANICE/KIRK: Thank you, Mister Spock, but the facilities will be of little use if Doctor Lester's dead. Time is of the essence.

I find it hard to believe that the medical facilities of any colony would be better than the Enterprise, except perhaps in patient capacity. Yet again, a scene that introduces plot holes for the sole purpose of creating suspicion of Janice/Kirk. A better writer could've done this premise so much better.

LYSA: Captain, shall I advise Starfleet Command of the change of plan?
JANICE/KIRK: No change of plan has been ordered, Lieutenant. Our arrival at Beta Aurigae will merely be delayed. Our gravitational studies of that binary system will not suffer, and a life may be saved! That is not unusual procedure for the Enterprise.
SPOCK: Sir, I believe Starfleet will have to be notified that our rendezvous with the starship Potemkin will not take place as scheduled.

Exactly. A change of plan has been ordered, and even if it's only a matter of hours a change of itinerary should be reported. In particular when it's a rendezvous with another starship.

[Nate the Great]

JANICE/KIRK: I won't submit to this petty search for revenge!
MCCOY: But you will submit to Starfleet regulations, and they state that the ship surgeon will require full examination of any crew member that he has doubts about, including the captain.

Exactly. You'd almost think that Lester was blowing hot air when she said that she studied how to impersonate Kirk.

Captain's log, stardate unknown. I have lost track of time. I am still held captive in a strange body and separated from all my crew.

If this log is supposed to be made at the time, how did Kirk/Janice get access to a recorder for this? If this log is suppose to be made after the mission, why doesn't he know the stardate?

(Chapel leaves, Janice pours the drink on the floor and breaks the glass against the bed. Then she uses it to cut the strap holding her down)

Cue another transparent aluminum quip. Even if plastic cups were still being perfected in the sixties, paper Dixie cups were ubiquitous. Who hands a glass cup to a person who is restrained and suspected of being mentally unbalanced?

GALLOWAY: The captain said no one is allowed to speak to Doctor Lester.
SPOCK: Has such an order ever included his senior officers?
GALLOWAY: No, sir.

Exactly. If you give the captain such powers it can only lead to abuse and tyranny. Do we really want another Garth of Izar on our hands?

MCCOY: The Robbiani dermal-optic is crucial. It reveals the basic emotional structure. You had one once before. Now I need another one to compare with that previous test. There should be no change in your dermal-optic reactions to the colour wavelengths.

The idea of an emotional fingerprint that can be done without a telepath is a wonderful idea that should've been explored further. An episode based around Troi vs a refined (and hacked by the bad guys) version of this device would've been interesting. But I guess the same plot hole that sucked up the pychotricorder also ate this thing.

KIRK/JANICE: You are closer to the captain than anyone in the universe. You know his thoughts. What does your telepathic mind tell you now?

I'll just link to the Spock tribute video "The Good of the One" here. The last sentence here was mixed with the music well.

JANICE/KIRK: You claim that, that you are Captain James T. Kirk?
KIRK/JANICE: No. I am not Captain Kirk. That is very apparent. I claim that whatever it is that makes James Kirk a living being special to himself is being held here in this body.

There's plenty to be discussed here about personal identity vis a vis thoughts and bodies, but I suspect that it'd get tedious rather quickly.

SPOCK: Sir, there is only one issue here. Is the story of life-entity transfer believable? This crew has been to many places in the galaxy. They've been witness to many strange events. They are trained to know that what seems to be impossible often is possible, given the scientific analysis of the phenomenon.

While I can see where Spock is coming from, this is a slippery slope. To claim that anything can be proven scientifically possible somewhere just raises more questions.

JANICE/KIRK: Mister Spock, have you ever heard of a case such as described by Doctor Janice Lester?
SPOCK: Not precisely, no.

What about Sargon and company? They should've been namedropped at the very least.

JANICE/KIRK: (thumping the table) It is mutiny! Deliberate, vindictive, insane at its base! But mutiny is charged, and encouragement to mutiny. Doctor McCoy, Mister Scott, you heard it! On the basis of these statements, I call for an immediate vote, by the powers granted to me as captain of the Enterprise. A recess is declared, to be followed by a vote.

Jeez, Janice, you really thought your plan through, didn't you? You really should've killed Kirk/Janice when you had the chance!

SULU: The death penalty is forbidden. There's only one exception.
CHEKOV: General Order Four. It has not been violated by any officer on the Enterprise.

This is misleading. General Order Four says no death penalty, only trumped by General Order Seven (no going to Talos IV).

Nitpicker's Guide

* Phil also points out the General Order 4/7 thing. (Hey, look at that!)
* Phil points out Chapel's difference in hair color (brunette instead of blonde) as a production problem. I disagree. It's weird but not a problem. Wigs and hair dyes will still exist in the 23rd century, I presume.

[NAHTMMM]

A better writer could've done this premise so much better.

Agreed. I find myself feeling that way about a lot of stories.

Thanks for writing all this out! I know I didn't respond often, but it's been fun reading along in this and the TNG threads.