# Star Trek TOS Rewatch Binge — Annoying Recurrent PlotThemes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, star-trek-paramount\ **Created:** [April 10, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos-rewatch-binge-annoying-recurrent-plotthemes/939761 "2021-04-10T18:19:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos-rewatch-binge-annoying-recurrent-plotthemes/939761/1 "2021-04-10T18:19:25Z")
In some ways the original series still stands out as superlative television from an age of pretty awful television suckitude. But after a couple decades of _not_ watching it, which perhaps has had the effect of de-fanboying me and letting me make a fresh assessment… holy shit, their writing team could sure fasten onto an idea and keep making run after run at it and… well, I can imagine them turning to each other after each of these and saying, “Nope, I think there’s a good show to be made with this plot, but that wasn’t it yet, was it?” We’re doing a consecutive-in-broadcast-order watch and are only around the halfway point, so I expect more iterations of these themes yet to come… Tin God Syndrome – somebody has or acquires way too much power (usually can manipulate matter or hurl energy with a simple gesture) and becomes a tyrant Charlie X Where No Man Has Gone Before The Squire of Gothos Who Mourns for Adonis? Catspaw A Simpler and Autocratically Controlled Life – no individual autonomy and creativity for you! It’s for your own good, we have a benevolent tyrant! You will be taken care of and kept lovingly in your gilded cage whether you like it or not! The Return of the Archons This Side of Paradise The Apple I, Mudd Computers will control everything! Welcome to the singularity, puny humans! (But you can defeat the computers by pointing out an error or inconsistency which will freak them out as badly as if you made them divide by zero) The Return of the Archons The Changeling The Apple I, Mudd ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos-rewatch-binge-annoying-recurrent-plotthemes/939761/2 "2021-04-10T19:01:54Z")
My least-favorite recurring TOS plot is the “parallel Earth” story—a planet that has developed almost exactly like Earth, either by chance or because of some previous exposure to Earth culture. Miri (in this case the planet is literally a duplicate of Earth!) Bread and Circuses The Omega Glory A Piece of the Action Patterns of Force Wow, that’s a lot of parallel Earths! At some point they came up with “Hodgkin’s Law of Parallel Planetary Development” to explain it. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos-rewatch-binge-annoying-recurrent-plotthemes/939761/3 "2021-04-10T19:20:04Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > Wow, that’s a lot of parallel Earths! At some point they came up with “Hodgkin’s Law of Parallel Planetary Development” to explain it. I think Hodgkin’s Law was invoked in “Bread and Circuses” to explain the parallel Roman Empire that survived into the mid-20th Century. “The Omega Glory” would presumably have the same explanation. “A Piece of the Action” had “Patterns of Force” actually had specific justifications. The native culture in “A Piece of the Action” had been contacted by an Earth ship before the Prime Directive was established, and the notes from that expedition indicated that they were _extremely_ imitative. That expedition also accidentally left behind a book on the Chicago Mob of the 1930s (which for some reason they had taken on an early interstellar exploratory mission), so the imitative natives revamped their whole culture to match… In “Patterns of Force”, an Earth historian had secretly come to the planet to study their society, found it to be a violent anarchy on the brink of planetary catastrophe, and introduced Nazi ideology and symbolism, devoid of anti-Semitism and Aryan supremacy, because it was supposedly one of the best-run states in Earth history (all of the characters, including Spock, seem to accept this). But, patterns of force repeat, and the Nazi state inevitably devolved into a genocidal regime seeking lebensraum on a neighboring inhabited planet. Whose natives just happened to have names that sound a _lot_ like European Jews… Also, Plato’s Republic (aliens who had visited Earth and knew Plato and based their society on his writings), Tombstone from the American Old West (aliens using telepathy and matter manipulation to create a fantasy drawn from the crew’s memories), an 18th Century manor house (alien using super-science to observe Earth from a few hundred light years away), a spooky castle (aliens using telepathy and matter manipulation to create a fantasy drawn from the crew’s memories), an encounter with various historical figures including Genghis Khan and Abraham Lincoln (aliens using telepathy and matter manipulation to create a fantasy drawn from the crew’s memories)… “Miri” really stands out because the cold open made such a big deal about the fact that the planet was an exact duplicate of Earth, but not only is no explanation ever offered, it’s not even _mentioned_ again in the rest of the episode. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos-rewatch-binge-annoying-recurrent-plotthemes/939761/4 "2021-04-10T19:25:38Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Tin God Syndrome – somebody has or acquires way too much power (usually can manipulate matter or hurl energy with a simple gesture) and becomes a tyrant > > Charlie X > Where No Man Has Gone Before It’s worse than that. “Charlie X” and “Where No Man Has Gone Before” are specifically about normal humans who gain immense psionic powers which render them inhuman and unable to exist in human society, and originally aired back to back as the second and third episodes of the first season. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos-rewatch-binge-annoying-recurrent-plotthemes/939761/5 "2021-04-10T19:51:05Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > “Charlie X” and “Where No Man Has Gone Before” are specifically about normal humans who gain immense psionic powers which render them inhuman and unable to exist in human society, and originally aired back to back as the second and third episodes of the first season. Yeah, that’s what kicked off my initial “WTF, writers?!?” reaction! Well, that in conjunction with finding it a tiresomely unentertaining theme. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos-rewatch-binge-annoying-recurrent-plotthemes/939761/7 "2021-04-10T20:50:34Z")
In all of literature there are a limited number of basic plots. I give you: > **[The Seven Basic Plots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Basic_Plots)** > > The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories is a 2004 book by Christopher Booker containing a Jung-influenced analysis of stories and their psychological meaning. Booker worked on the book for 34 years. > The meta-plot begins with the anticipation stage, in which the hero is called to the adventure to come. This is followed by a dream stage, in which the adventure begins, the hero has some success, and has an illusion of invincibility. However, this is then followed by a frustration stage, in which... > #### Overcoming the Monster > > Definition: The protagonist sets out to defeat an antagonistic force (often evil) which threatens the protagonist and/or protagonist’s homeland. > > Examples: [Perseus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perseus), [Theseus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theseus), _[Beowulf](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf)_ , _[Dracula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula)_ , _[The War of the Worlds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds)_ , _[Nicholas Nickleby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Nickleby)_ , _[The Guns of Navarone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guns_of_Navarone_(novel))_ , _[Seven Samurai](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Samurai)_ ( _[The Magnificent Seven](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magnificent_Seven)_ ), [James Bond](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bond), _[Jaws](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaws_(film))_ , _[Star Wars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars:_A_New_Hope)_ , _[Attack on Titan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Titan)_ . > > #### Rags to Riches > > Definition: The poor protagonist acquires power, wealth, and/or a mate, loses it all and gains it back, growing as a person as a result. > > Examples: _[Cinderella](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella)_ , _[Aladdin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aladdin)_ , _[Jane Eyre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Eyre)_ , _[A Little Princess](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_Princess)_ , _[Great Expectations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Expectations)_ , _[David Copperfield](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Copperfield)_ , _[The Prince and the Pauper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prince_and_the_Pauper)_ , _[Brewster’s Millions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewster%27s_Millions_(1985_film))_ , _[The Jerk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jerk)_ . > > #### The Quest > > Definition: The protagonist and companions set out to acquire an important object or to get to a location. They face temptations and other obstacles along the way. > > Examples: [_The Iliad_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad), _[The Pilgrim’s Progress](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pilgrim%27s_Progress)_ , _[The Lord Of The Rings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_Of_The_Rings)_ , _[King Solomon’s Mines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Solomon%27s_Mines)_ , _[Six of Crows](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_of_Crows)_ , _[Watership Down](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watership_Down)_ , _[Lightning Thief](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_Thief)_ , _[Raiders of the Lost Ark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raiders_of_the_Lost_Ark)_ , _[Monty Python and the Holy Grail](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python_and_the_Holy_Grail), [Xenoblade Chronicles 2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenoblade_Chronicles_2)._ > > #### Voyage and Return > > Definition: The protagonist goes to a strange land and, after overcoming the threats it poses or learning important lessons unique to that location, they return with experience. > > Examples: _[Ramayana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramayana)_ , _[Odyssey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey)_ , _[Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland)_ , _[Goldilocks and the Three Bears](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldilocks_and_the_Three_Bears)_ , [Orpheus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheus), _[The Time Machine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Machine)_ , _[Peter Rabbit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Rabbit)_ , _[The Hobbit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbit)_ , _[Brideshead Revisited](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brideshead_Revisited)_ , _[The Rime of the Ancient Mariner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rime_of_the_Ancient_Mariner)_ , _[Gone with the Wind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind_(novel))_ , _[The Third Man](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_Man)_ , _[The Lion King](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_King)_ , _[Back to the Future](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_to_the_Future)_ , _[The Midnight Gospel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Midnight_Gospel)_ , _[Gulliver](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulliver)_ , _[Coming To America](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coming_To_America)_ . > > #### Comedy > > Definition: Light and humorous character with a happy or cheerful ending; a dramatic work in which the central motif is the triumph over adverse circumstance, resulting in a successful or happy conclusion.[[2]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Basic_Plots#cite_note-2) Booker stresses that comedy is more than humor. It refers to a pattern where the conflict becomes more and more confusing, but is at last made plain in a single clarifying event. The majority of romance films fall into this category. > > Examples: _[A Midsummer Night’s Dream](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Midsummer_Night%27s_Dream)_ , _[Much Ado About Nothing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Much_Ado_About_Nothing)_ , _[Twelfth Night](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Night)_ , _[Bridget Jones’s Diary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridget_Jones%27s_Diary)_ , _[Music and Lyrics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_and_Lyrics)_ , _[Sliding Doors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sliding_Doors)_ , _[Four Weddings and a Funeral](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Weddings_and_a_Funeral)_ , _[The Big Lebowski](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Lebowski)_ . > > #### Tragedy > > Definition: The protagonist is a hero with a major character flaw or great mistake which is ultimately their undoing. Their unfortunate end evokes pity at their folly and the fall of a fundamentally good character. > > Examples: _[Anna Karenina](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Karenina)_ , _[Bonnie and Clyde](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonnie_and_Clyde_(film))_ , _[Carmen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen)_ , _[Citizen Kane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Kane)_ , _[John Dillinger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dillinger)_ , _[Jules et Jim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_et_Jim)_ , _[Julius Caesar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar_(play))_ , _[Macbeth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbeth)_ , _[Madame Bovary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Bovary)_ , _[Oedipus Rex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus_Rex)_ , _[The Picture of Dorian Gray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray)_ , _[Romeo and Juliet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet)_ , _[Hamilton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_(musical))_ , _[The Great Gatsby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Gatsby)_ . > > #### Rebirth > > Definition: An event forces the main character to change their ways and often become a better individual. > > Examples: _[Pride and Prejudice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_and_Prejudice)_ , _[The Frog Prince](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Frog_Prince_(story))_ , _[Beauty and the Beast](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauty_and_the_Beast)_ , _[The Snow Queen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snow_Queen)_ , _[A Christmas Carol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Carol)_ , _[The Secret Garden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Garden)_ , _[Peer Gynt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer_Gynt)_ , _[Groundhog Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day_(film))_ . ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos-rewatch-binge-annoying-recurrent-plotthemes/939761/8 "2021-04-10T22:10:43Z")
Are these any worse than _Twilight Zone_ (and remember, TZ was an anthology show drawing from many different writers, and with many different actors putting their own interpretations into the characters)? How many different TZ episodes involved some sort of Nazi- style government; neighbors who, under a thin veneer of civilization, were ready to kill each other; creepy kids or their dolls; inexplicably being transported to a different time, etc. It’s an unfortunate coincidence that “Where No Man Has Gone Before” and “Charlie X” had to air back to back, but the sad truth was, they didn’t have enough episodes ready to go on the air. With a better production schedule, “Naked Time” and “The Enemy Within” could have moved up a couple of weeks, No Man could have been repackaged as a flashback episode (justifying the different cast members) and the first few episodes would have had better character development. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2021, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos-rewatch-binge-annoying-recurrent-plotthemes/939761/9 "2021-04-10T22:35:49Z")
I’m not good with episode titles, but almost every cast member had at least one episode where they go crazy or are processed. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos-rewatch-binge-annoying-recurrent-plotthemes/939761/10 "2021-04-11T00:13:30Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > In some ways the original series still stands out as superlative television from an age of pretty awful television suckitude. But after a couple decades of _not_ watching it, which perhaps has had the effect of de-fanboying me and letting me make a fresh assessment… holy shit, their writing team could sure fasten onto an idea and keep making run after run at it and… well, I can imagine them turning to each other after each of these and saying, “Nope, I think there’s a good show to be made with this plot, but that wasn’t it yet, was it?” I’ve recently been rewatching _The Next Generation_ (spurred on by this [review series](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LxkZ_F1-SI&list=PLAXhpI9PdbZYF9gX4d8SHTk56eQ7w912Q)) and then _Deep Space Nine_, and frankly both shows have the same problem. Part of it is just the episodic nature of the show; every week the characters have to face a new challenge, and while I think the “Seven Basic Plots” @ThelmaLou references below is a bit reductionist, the truth is that there are only some many variations on a story that fit into the space of a 47 minute episode, especially one in which nothing of significance can actually occur to the characters because the episodes might be aired out of filming order and the creators don’t want to take dramatic chances. (_Deep Space Nine_ is more progressive in this regard–they actually have character arcs that go across episodes which have the characters changing and being affected by their experiences, but it still has plenty of silly episodes that are basically a rehash of previous plots.) So eventually the writers rehash ideas because, well, every writer since the author of _The Epic of Gilgamesh_ has done that; Shakespeare arguably wrote nothing original, preferring to mine classic stories and steal plots wholesale from other playwrights (a common practice in that day and later), and ultimately the originality comes not from introducing a unique plot and resolution but the way the characters interact with each other and respond to the plot complications. The most memorable episodes of _The Twilight Zone_ (which as mentioned below had a similar issue–you can barely find an episode that doesn’t have a twin somewhere in the five seasons) aren’t those with the unexpected plot twists but those that have great characters and performances which accentuate the twist ending. > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I’m not good with episode titles, but almost every cast member had at least one episode where they go crazy or are processed. If you start watching with a critical eye, you’ll see that the wider universe of _Star Trek_ is actually one of absolute existential horror. Not only the horrifically genocidal societies like the Borg and the Dominion or the suicide-machine that is the transporter, but all of the really Lovecraftian-style horrors that the crew encounters through their journeys. At every turn something is taking the life of another nameless security team crewman and nobody even mentions the poor guy’s name because sudden death is so familiar to them. [“Did you guys ever watch the show?”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ83r886Kyg) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos-rewatch-binge-annoying-recurrent-plotthemes/939761/11 "2021-04-11T07:27:43Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > Wow, that’s a lot of parallel Earths! At some point they came up with “Hodgkin’s Law of Parallel Planetary Development” to explain it. And yet they never once ran into a parallel Vulcan, parallel Bajor, parallel Qonos, etc. I’d give real money to see a few parallel Risas, though. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos-rewatch-binge-annoying-recurrent-plotthemes/939761/12 "2021-04-11T13:32:29Z")
Most of these points would not be as obvious in normal (1966-1969) viewing - a week between episodes, no recordings to review, etc. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos-rewatch-binge-annoying-recurrent-plotthemes/939761/13 "2021-04-11T14:03:06Z")
The Hero’s Journey, by Joseph Campbell, is the basis of many many many many many stories… ---
**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:** [April 11, 2021, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tos-rewatch-binge-annoying-recurrent-plotthemes/939761/14 "2021-04-11T14:34:52Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > My least-favorite recurring TOS plot is the “parallel Earth” story—a planet that has developed almost exactly like Earth, either by chance or because of some previous exposure to Earth culture. > > Miri (in this case the planet is literally a duplicate of Earth!) > Bread and Circuses > The Omega Glory > A Piece of the Action > Patterns of Force > > Wow, that’s a lot of parallel Earths! At some point they came up with “Hodgkin’s Law of Parallel Planetary Development” to explain it. There is also the one with the Earth-like Native Americans (“The Paradise Syndrome”?)