"A Private Little War" Full Reaction! - Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2
Added 2024-06-07 18:00:07 +0000 UTCFollow along with me using your own copy of the episode!
Comments
MBenga a central character on Pike's Enterprise in the Strange New Worlds Star Trek spin-off series
Timothy Bennett
2024-11-14 07:23:52 +0000 UTCHmm I didn't think about it from that perspective
bunnytails
2024-06-19 21:52:03 +0000 UTCNona = High Maintenance Kanutu.
Mark Gosine
2024-06-15 22:44:47 +0000 UTCwritten and produced in the Cold War, and in particular the Vietnam war with Russia/China backing one side and the US allies supporting the south. This would have been very controversial at the time.
Rupert Purcat
2024-06-14 11:04:46 +0000 UTCI think the implication was all it takes is for one person to disrupt the balance of power? And that was Nona. I think she was trying to defect to the other side by showing them the phaser? I thought it was weird (and a little too much) that they ganged up on her instead.
SuicuneSol
2024-06-13 21:55:23 +0000 UTCit's not supposed to be satisfying and no one won in the end. That is this episode's statement on war because it's usually how it works IRL. Right down to the deaths of the innocents.
Chas Summers
2024-06-09 12:43:44 +0000 UTCMy pleasure! Always happy to be of some use. LOL
Lee
2024-06-08 18:06:41 +0000 UTCFor the record, there are 3 Klingon names you need to remember.
Carlos Stevens
2024-06-08 06:29:40 +0000 UTCNo Bunny, not blood lust... vendetta; much much worse.
Carlos Stevens
2024-06-08 06:23:01 +0000 UTCheh heh heh, unnamed Klingon. Do you remember the names of the other two significant Klingons???
Carlos Stevens
2024-06-08 06:07:22 +0000 UTCThanks! :)
bunnytails
2024-06-08 03:10:27 +0000 UTCThanks for your explanation about Nona's motives. I feel like I understand a little better now.
bunnytails
2024-06-08 03:10:13 +0000 UTCOhh I didn't catch on to the Vietnam War aspect. Thanks!
bunnytails
2024-06-08 03:06:45 +0000 UTCOh my!! haha
bunnytails
2024-06-08 03:03:20 +0000 UTCThey had an episode called "Balance of Terror" which scotched calling it balance of power with the names' similarity. The balance of power strategy had a good reputation in the 1960s from the Pax Britannica. The problem was it worked so well everybody forgot about what it was for and concentrated on internal issues and stumbled into World War One. I believe Bunny is saying that it is way too inflexible and the problem has answers that everyone ignores, such as removing the Klingons, reporting them to the Organians, calling for everyone to turn in their guns and artillery and negotiate. Bunny's right! And about watching Star Trek: it's never a waste of time. Not when she's wearing the Enterprise uniform and a SHEFIT sports bra-priceless!
William Terry
2024-06-08 00:17:15 +0000 UTCWow, I'm with you. Weird episode! Maybe if you do a cosplay as "Nona" everything will be right in the ST universe again! 😋 No seriously, bizarre is how i would describe this one. Still it was fun watching with you, thanks Bunny!👍
ded cowbowee
2024-06-07 23:01:41 +0000 UTCGregory already touched on this episode being an allegory for the Vietnam war, so I'll move on to other points of interest. But I don't think the episode -- or the producers, for that matter -- meant to suggest that the war was needed. Only that by maintaining a balance of weaponry, neither side could wipe out the other. It's not a solution by any means, nor does it provide one within the story. I share his hope that the Organians would step in and attempt to restore the planet to its previous standard of living, otherwise there would seem to be no hope for a peaceful resolution. As far as Nona's motivations, I think she was content to be the wife of a peaceful man with personal strength and convictions... until it became apparent that the villagers were capable of wiping the hill people out. At that point, she tried to move Tyree off of his pacifism, but he wouldn't budge. When she takes Kirk's phaser, she knows Tyree would refuse to kill with it, so she decided to switch sides in an attempt to gain power as the village leader's woman. I think her main goal was to attain the highest personal status available to a woman on this planet, but she didn't realize that the villagers would only recognize her as a commodity to be divided amongst them (which, to me, was the sickest part of the episode). Her death accomplished what she couldn't while alive: Tyree's becoming a killer. On the trivia side, the mugato/gumato creature was created and performed by Janos Prohaska, who previously brought the Horta to life in "The Devil in the Dark." The only other returning actor that I know of is Paul Baxley, who played the leader of the villager patrol that Nona encounters. He played Lt. Freeman in "The Trouble with Tribbles" and, as a stunt man (he frequently doubled for Shatner), he got to actually participate in the big bar fight.
Lee
2024-06-07 22:26:24 +0000 UTCI agree with you Bunny -- this is a weird episode with a lot of unanswered questions and a very abrupt ending. It DOES get a bit easier to follow with repeated viewings, but it's not among my favorites. I wouldn't say it's in my worst list, but it's a very 'meh' episode for ne. The Prime Directive is indeed explained here and in a good way. Kirk is bending his orders and how the Directive is to be used however by deciding to arm the villagers with the same type of weapons that the hill people have. The debate between him and McCoy on what to do is very good, however, and a highlight of the episode. Why the Klingons are doing this is never really explained -- my best guess is that under the terms of the Organian Treaty neither side can claim this world. The Klingons want the world for some reason (resources? Location?) but are unwilling to risk a direct war, so they choose to slowly advance the technology and weapons of one side to wipe the other, and then eventually the world would either ask to join or be be conquered the Klingons. They are trying to do so in a way that could be seen as 'natural' development, since they are breaking the treaty. It's assumed that when Kirk gets back to base and he files his report, the Federation brings the matter up to the Organians, who force the Klingons to stop. I know, I'm making some assumptions here, but it's not a very well thought out plot. Also Star Trek often serves as commentary on current events and this episode is one of the strongest examples of that. When Kirk was talking about the 'bush wars of Asia in the 20th century' and how both sides were being aided by a great power to avoid direct war between them, it's a direct reference to the Vietnam War (which in 1967-1968 was nearing it's peak) and the other minor wars happening there, and the United States and Soviet Union supporting one side over the other. Kirk paints as it being 'no alternative' and that it 'avoided direct conflict between the great powers' which as a history major I take issue with, but this thought process was very common at the time period. Star Trek is often liberal and forward thinking in many ways, but this episode never felt like that to me. The Vietnam War was a pointless, tragic, and terrible conflict in which millions died and the effects are still being felt today, and the writers are saying it was 'needed'? That's how I've always taken this episode, and it's always rubbed me the wrong way. I also don't feel the episode has aged very well due to all of this, compared to some Star Trek which is timeless. I did enjoy many of the same things you did -- the outfits, the acting here, the witch women and her strange rituals, the implied sexual overtones of the episode, Spock's recovery and how he was brought out of his coma. Despite my issues with this episode, there's some good stuff here, which is why it sits strongly in my average rating and not a bad one.
Greg Polander
2024-06-07 21:38:05 +0000 UTCThe sexiness of this episode is from author Gene Roddenberry, who was certainly no prude. Best behind the scenes story: Booker Bradshaw who played Dr. M'Benga reported that the director did not like the way he was slapping Spock to wake him from his coma. So, he hit him so hard, Nimoy sat up from his "coma", cursing and grabbed the actor by the throat. Suddenly, everyone on the set, from stage crew to actors fell over themselves in hysterical laughter while Nimoy sat there steaming.
Mark Chrisco
2024-06-07 20:31:17 +0000 UTC
