From Newsgroup: alt.tv.star-trek.tos   
   From Address: sdlitvin@earthlink.net   
   Subject: Re: Amok Time: my review   
      
   "Graeme"  wrote in message    
   news:a2520477-10a2-4686-b149-9ff35744315d@j24g2000yqa.googlegroups.com:   
      
   > On Jan 5, 2:35apm, Led4Aces  wrote:   
   > > Hard to argue. Not my personal favorite, but the performances and the   
   > > establishment of Vulcan lore make it one of the most important eps.   
   > > 10/10   
   >   
   > It's a tricky episode in terms of what came later, though.  We're   
   > supposed to believe that Vulcans serve in Starfleet, but nobody knows   
   > that they may periodically require an emergency leave to go home,   
   > because they're too embarrassed to say so.   
   >   
   > In the original conception, this kind of made sense.  They seem to   
   > have thought of a Vulcan in Starfleet as being something rare, perhaps   
   > unique.  Mendez's Talos IV log, several times points out the   
   > (irrelevant to Talos IV) fact that Pike's Science Officer was half   
   > Vulcan, as if to say "Look!  A Three Headed Monkey!"  If Spock is the   
   > only Vulcan in Starfleet, it's believable that he himself might have   
   > hushed this up.   
   >   
   > But then later, they postulate that Vulcan is actually one of the   
   > founding members of the Federation, and even in the same season of   
   > TOS, we had the Intrepid, a starship manned entirely by Vulcans.  At   
   > that point, the idea that the need for these emergency leaves would   
   > not be understood, by the top brass at least, if not by the rank and   
   > file, just isn't believable.   
      
   That's no more "unbelievable" than the situation in today's co-ed Navy,    
   in which female sailors serving on Navy ships who get pregnant have to    
   be transferred to shore.  (And quite a few have.)   
      
   This past year, one admiral tried to do a very un-PC thing:  He ordered    
   that female sailors who get pregnant while serving on a Navy ship should    
   be court-martialed.  President Obama rescinded the order.   
      
      
      
   --   
   --   
   Steven L.   
   sdlitvin@earthlinkNOSPAM.net   
   Remove the "NOSPAM" before sending to this email address.   
      
      
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