# MeTV celebrates 50 years of Star Trek. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2016, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999 "2016-09-04T06:03:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/21 "2016-09-11T08:42:21Z")
I watched _The Man Trap_. I noticed with some amusement Uhura flirting with Spock on the bridge, but it seemed to be in a teasing manner and Spock seemed perplexed at her apparent interest in him. Still, it influenced their relationship in the current series of movies. Also, the command uniforms were _green_. Kirk’s everyday tunic was green, and even Jeffrey Hunter’s uniform in _The Cage_ had a green hue. [![](https://i.pinimg.com/236x/f6/e1/3c/f6e13c696aca65728b5d0f1b5f4f3d31.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/236x/f6/e1/3c/f6e13c696aca65728b5d0f1b5f4f3d31.jpg) [![](http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/startrek/images/3/36/Pike_and_Vina.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080203162524) ](http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/startrek/images/3/36/Pike_and_Vina.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20080203162524) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/22 "2016-09-11T13:46:24Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > One question that has been pestering me is why the USPS released the Star Trek stamps on September 2 instead of September 8. It just seems like such an obvious thing to do. Why not just wait another six days and release the stamps on a significant date in the history of the franchise? Probably because they’re not complete Treky Geeks. 😉 Nice to see this on BBC-America. I’m DVRing the ones I most liked back in the day. Seen 'em all, of course, but some never get old. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/23 "2016-09-11T14:07:32Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I watched _The Man Trap_. I noticed with some amusement Uhura flirting with Spock on the bridge, but it seemed to be in a teasing manner and Spock seemed perplexed at her apparent interest in him. Still, it influenced their relationship in the current series of movies. I’ve watched a couple more episodes. Uhura’s crush on Spock is now gone. But in _The Man Trap_ and _Charlie X_ it was definitely there, in both episodes. After that (so far), it is gone. In _Where No Man Has Gone Before_ (E03, or episode 3), the normal crew isnt’t there at all - only Kirk, Spock and Scottie are there. No McCoy, Uhura, Sulu, Janice Rand, Nurse Chapel, or Chekhov. It is in E04, _The Naked Time_, the one where a contamination picked up from a planet causes the contaminated person to lose their inhibitions and let their emotions run unchecked, where Nurse Chapel shows her crush on Spock, and where Spock clearly has feelings for her and struggles to keep them in check. Anyway, the Uhura crush on Spock was definitely there in E01 & E02, and that was a big surprise. I’m also noting a couple of interesting (to me) things, like: [ul] [li]Who else sits in Kirk’s command chair on the bridge? Spock, surprisingly, is the first person we ever see sitting in that chair. Not Kirk! E01’s opening scene show Spock in the chair. Kirk is already on the planet.[/li] [li]Who gets the Vulcan neck pinch? Sulu was the first, in E04. The second was Kirk in E05, _The Evil Within_ - Kirk’s evil persona gets it.[/ul][/li] When I say Sulu was ‘the first’ to get the neck pinch, and Spock was ‘the first’ to sit in the Captain’s chair, I refer to the episode order as broadcast in the series. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/24 "2016-09-11T17:43:57Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > [li]Who gets the Vulcan neck pinch? Sulu was the first, in E04. The second was Kirk in E05, _The Evil Within_ - Kirk’s evil persona gets it.[/LIST][/li] > When I say Sulu was ‘the first’ to get the neck pinch, and Spock was ‘the first’ to sit in the Captain’s chair, I refer to the episode order as broadcast in the series. \*\*Nitpick: \*\* “Enemy,” not “Evil.” 🙂 The nerve pinch originated in “Enemy” because Nimoy balked at hitting Evil Kirk over the head with the butt of his phaser, like in an old Western. He suggested they try something different, and Roddenberry loved it when he saw the footage the next day. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/25 "2016-09-11T18:16:03Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > I’ve watched a couple more episodes. Uhura’s crush on Spock is now gone. But in _The Man Trap_ and _Charlie X_ it was definitely there, in both episodes. After that (so far), it is gone. In _Where No Man Has Gone Before_ (E03, or episode 3), the normal crew isnt’t there at all - only Kirk, Spock and Scottie are there. No McCoy, Uhura, Sulu, Janice Rand, Nurse Chapel, or Chekhov. > > It is in E04, _The Naked Time_, the one where a contamination picked up from a planet causes the contaminated person to lose their inhibitions and let their emotions run unchecked, where Nurse Chapel shows her crush on Spock, and where Spock clearly has feelings for her and struggles to keep them in check. > > Anyway, the Uhura crush on Spock was definitely there in E01 & E02, and that was a big surprise. > > I’m also noting a couple of interesting (to me) things, like: > > [ul] > [li]Who else sits in Kirk’s command chair on the bridge? Spock, surprisingly, is the first person we ever see sitting in that chair. Not Kirk! E01’s opening scene show Spock in the chair. Kirk is already on the planet.[/li] > [li]Who gets the Vulcan neck pinch? Sulu was the first, in E04. The second was Kirk in E05, _The Evil Within_ - Kirk’s evil persona gets it.[/ul][/li] > When I say Sulu was ‘the first’ to get the neck pinch, and Spock was ‘the first’ to sit in the Captain’s chair, I refer to the episode order as broadcast in the series. Sulu was in _WNMHGB_. Scotty was second officer, so he had the center seat when both Kirk and Spock were off the ship. I’m not sure which is the first episode to officially depict him as being in command, though. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/26 "2016-09-11T18:35:04Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Sulu was in _WNMHGB_. As an astrophysicist, I believe. > [@](#): > > Scotty was second officer, so he had the center seat when both Kirk and Spock were off the ship. I’m not sure which is the first episode to officially depict him as being in command, though. _ **A Taste of Armageddon** _, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/27 "2016-09-11T18:43:39Z")
Here is a list of all episodes, both in the order they were aired and the order in which they were filmed. “Armageddon” was no. 23, on both counts: > **[List of Star Trek: The Original Series episodes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Trek:_The_Original_Series_episodes)** > > Created by Gene Roddenberry, the science fiction television series Star Trek (which eventually acquired the retronym Star Trek: The Original Series) starred William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, and DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy aboard the fictional Federation starship USS Enterprise. The series originally aired from September 1966 through June 1969 on NBC. > This is the first television series in the Star Trek franchise, and comprises 79 regular ... I don’t think there were any episodes before it in which Scotty was shown as second in command. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/28 "2016-09-11T18:47:30Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Grace Lee Whitney had it going, too. Curves, that is, and not necessarily revealing photos. She was in _ **Some Like It Hot** _ as a member of the all-girl band. You can pick her out in some of the stills shot on board the train. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/29 "2016-09-13T17:15:51Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > …Scotty was second officer, so he had the center seat when both Kirk and Spock were off the ship. I’m not sure which is the first episode to officially depict him as being in command, though. Scotty was never actually said to be Second Officer, but yes, more often than not he was left in command when both Kirk and Spock were off the ship (although Sulu was in “Errand of Mercy”). I agree that Scotty’s first time in the big chair was, IIRC, “A Taste of Armageddon.” If you need some swag for the ST50 celebrations: [http://www.computergear.com/star-trek-50th-anniversary-communicator-badge.html](http://www.computergear.com/star-trek-50th-anniversary-communicator-badge.html) [http://www.computergear.com/1a916-star-trek-50th-anniversary-tshirt.html](http://www.computergear.com/1a916-star-trek-50th-anniversary-tshirt.html) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/30 "2016-09-13T17:24:28Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Scotty was never actually said to be Second Officer, but yes, more often than not he was left in command when both Kirk and Spock were off the ship (although Sulu was in “Errand of Mercy”). Sulu happened to be on duty as Helmsman and Weapons Officer when the Klingons attacked; Scotty was probably down in Engineering. When they returned to Organia with the fleet, however, Sulu was in the command chair, for reasons unexplained. (They’d probably already gone over budget on that episode and couldn’t afford Doohan.) I think the closest they ever came to declaring Scotty third-in-command was in “Journey to Babel,” when McCoy told Spock he could turn command over to Scotty during the blood transfusion. No other alternative was considered. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/31 "2016-09-13T17:29:48Z")
It has been said that “the red shirt guys are the ones who die”, or, if a crewperson of the Enterprise dies, he typically wears a red shirt. Well, in the first episodes of the first season, the first guys to die were not wearing red shirts. They wore gold or blue shirts. In the first six episodes that is true. It wasn’t until E07 that the first red shirts die. In _What Are Little Girls Made Of?_, a guy named Matthews was the very first to die in a red shirt. The second, Rayborn (Rayburn?), died soon after. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/32 "2016-09-13T17:34:29Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Well, in the first episodes of the first season, the first guys to die were not wearing red shirts. They wore gold or blue shirts. In the first six episodes that is true. It wasn’t until E07 that the first red shirts die. Yes, but the point is that Security personnel, who wear red shirts, have a much greater chance of dying in any given episode than Science or Command personnel. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/33 "2016-09-13T17:37:48Z")
I vividly remember the first episode I saw when the series was first broadcast: _Catspaw_. It wasn’t a great episode, but it was memorable to me. When the two magicians were revealed to actually be little puppet-critters, I was very creeped out for some reason. Maybe it was because I was nine years old! I taped this episode during the marathon and am going to watch it soon just to see what creeped me out so much. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/34 "2016-09-13T17:49:19Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Yes, but the point is that Security personnel, who wear red shirts, have a much greater chance of dying in any given episode than Science or Command personnel. Most certainly true. But as I was watching, I noticed it took a few episodes before the first red shirt died. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/35 "2016-09-13T18:27:11Z")
One thing that’s always bugged me in TOS was how close-ups of female characters were always done in that weird soft-focus style. Was that a common convention in 60s TV? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/36 "2016-09-13T18:45:42Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > One thing that’s always bugged me in TOS was how close-ups of female characters were always done in that weird soft-focus style. Was that a common convention in 60s TV? On occasion, women would be filmed in soft focus. Jerry Finnerman, the director of photography on _ **TOS** _, was encouraged in particular to experiment with lighting and focus since “It’s all in the future, so no one can tell us it’s wrong.” Under Jerry, sets were seldom painted anything other than in neutral grey; color was added with filters and gels, allowing the sets to be reused from episode to episode. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/37 "2016-09-13T19:07:31Z")
Concerning “Catspaw,” it wasn’t until I was in my 30s that I realized what “catspaw” meant. I had just assumed it had something to the giant black kitty that was pursuing them. And, this is a pretty trivial nitpick, but. . . In “Arena,” Spock is talking to Scotty, and asks him about if he had tried diverting power to from other sources to get the Enterprise moving again. The first time it cuts to Scotty’s response, Scotty looks like he’s hung over. Then the second time, obviously filmed at a different time, he looks. . . ‘normal.’ ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/38 "2016-09-13T19:19:48Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I vividly remember the first episode I saw when the series was first broadcast: _Catspaw_. It wasn’t a great episode, but it was memorable to me. When the two magicians were revealed to actually be little puppet-critters, I was very creeped out for some reason. Maybe it was because I was nine years old! > > I taped this episode during the marathon and am going to watch it soon just to see what creeped me out so much. It was aired on October 27th, clearly as a Halloween-theme episode. I would guess it creeped you out because it _was designed to_ creep you out. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/39 "2016-09-13T22:19:20Z")
I remember seeing for the first time, as a kid, and it creeped me out too. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999/40 "2016-09-13T23:32:52Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > One question that has been pestering me is why the USPS released the Star Trek stamps on September 2 instead of September 8. It just seems like such an obvious thing to do. Why not just wait another six days and release the stamps on a significant date in the history of the franchise? They always have a ceremony in conjunction with each stamp’s release, so it might have had to do with the reservation of the space and the booking of the talent in attendance for the ceremony. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/metv-celebrates-50-years-of-star-trek/764999.md?page=3)