A guest blog by Mindless-Droid and Siblings

This week’s OS Star Trek episode The Apple you can watch the original version here http://www.startrek.com/watch_episode/RcxS8k35_LdN and the episode synopsis is here http://www.startrek.com/database_article/apple-the another confrontation between Captain Kirk and a computer controlling a group of people. We’ve been here before and this episode certainly has its flaws. I think this was another of those episodes that started with a good concept but they didn’t quite pull it off. Kirk’s angst about not seeing the danger all around him was a nice sub plot and their dilemma about following the prime directive especially McCoy and Spock’s debate was interesting but some of the scenes on the planet seemed unnecessary. I did like the scenes of Scotty trying to save the ship from destruction and it was one time the “miracle worker” couldn’t come through.

On to some mindless thoughts.

Uh Oh three red shirts in the landing party oh no two more this could get ugly.

Ah here we go again with Chekov and his everything is from Russia thing.

One red shirt down he’s dead Jim.

They always do show Kirks concern for his crew members even the red shirts.

What’s with Yeoman Landon hanging all over Chekov?

Wow they chopped most of the first act including the exploding rocks.

Shouldn’t McCoy know how to compensate for Vulcan blood?

Another Red shirt down they’re dropping like flies.

Why is Kirk sniffing flowers after they killed a red shirt and almost got Spock?

They are going to need more red shirts.

Why does kirk pummel the poor guy?

Plastic paper on the futuristic clip board.

Val the serpent in the garden just slightly obvious or was it.

Chekov dude check your hormones people have died and the ships going down and you’re still putting the moves on Yeoman Landon show some discipline.

At least they gave Yeoman Landon some mad fighting skills.

You see some of the angst in Kirk that drives Decker in the episode The Doomsday Machine.

That is a small amount of people on the planet so to design a massive planet wide system for so few people seems illogical and if there are more villages why didn’t they feed Val during the attack.

Where did they get the power for the phasers. Although the re-mastered phaser attack was cool.

Now that that’s over next week brings my personal favorite episode The Doomsday Machine. So live long and prosper as we wait till next week.

Sister: The anti-religious overtones of this episode are rather overbearing. That aside:

For all the lip service about needing to free the Feeders of Vaal so that they can learn to think, create, and just generally advance, the REAL aspect of the situation that seems to bother most of the landing party is, “They don’t have, uh,” *clears throat* “it’s hard to say because this was a show made in the sixties, but you know, they don’t kiss, much less, um, have children.”

These people are so stupid! Vaal says to wait till the strangers are asleep, and then to hit them on the head, so of course, these men attack while everyone is obviously awake, and then hit a guy on his back. And he still dies!

Although Vaal affects the Enterprise to the point of an imminent crash, it’s not stealing the power, only damping it. So what was the point? Also, am I truly expected to believe that this planetwide system is powered by a dozen people dumping a few baskets of vegetable matter into the mouth of Vaal every day? The only conceivable way it would work is if the people slaved away almost constantly to feed Vaal, which would actually have made Kirk’s decision rather easier.

76 degrees Fahrenheit is lovely weather, but not so warm that people would dress like that all the time.

My final complaint is this. Why doesn’t Bones seem more upset by the fact that over four hundred men and women are about to die as the Enterprise is nearing its final moments.

However, the episode still has good points, all the activity aboard the Enterprise as Scott and Kyle work together, Kirk’s sense of responsibility for everyone under his command, and… the exploding rocks.