From Newsgroup: alt.tv.star-trek.tos   
   From Address: graemecree@aol.com   
   Subject: The Spock-Chapel "Romance"   
      
   The Amok Time discussion got me thinking about the whole Spock/Chapel   
   romance angle, which seemed to span the entire series.  The schtick is   
   that Spock is Nurse Chapel's Little Red-Haired Girl, but it never   
   really goes anywhere.   
      
   The Chapel scenes in Amok Time are unintentionally funny.  McCoy's   
   blatant slam at her "You never give up trying, do you?", and Spock   
   throwing the soup against the wall. "What is this???" CRASH! (I guess   
   he'd wanted minestrone).   
      
   What were they going for with that?  "I can't send you back to Vulcan,   
   but I'll tell you what.  If you really need to get it on that badly,   
   how about Nurse Chapel?" "Would you give a starving dog a rubber   
   bone?"   
      
      
   In how many episodes does the whole Spock/Chapel "romance" appear,   
   anyway?  Like "He's dead, Jim", I don't think it's actually in that   
   many episodes, it just leaves a strong impression when it does.  David   
   Gerrold wrote in World of Star Trek that Nurse Chapel was a very   
   poorly conceived and unpopular character, because she only existed to   
   chase Spock.  He said something about the guys didn't like her because   
   she threatened Spock's Vulcan stoicism, and women didn't like her   
   because they wanted to chase Spock themselves.   
      
      
   So, let's see, in how many episodes does this feature?  In her first   
   appearance, Naked Time, she throws herself at him, while under the   
   influence.  It's kind of odd.  "A character I've never seen before has   
   a secret crush on me".  But we only see her twice more in the First   
   Season (What Are Little Girls Made Of?, and Operation:  Annihilate),   
   and she doesn't chase Spock in those.   
      
   She makes the soup for him and is crushed to find he's engaged in Amok   
   Time. (Not to mention splattered).   
      
   In A Private Little War, her feelings for him make her reluctant to   
   slap him around, even to help him recover (you'd think she'd be glad   
   to after the humiliations she's suffered).  Fortunately, M'Benga is   
   only too glad to do it.  (Maybe he saw Zombies of the Stratosphere).   
      
   In Return to Tomorrow, we had the nausea-inducing sequence in which   
   she gushes over sharing consciousness with him.  This one probably set   
   the fanfic writers' pens on fire.   
      
   In Enterprise Incident, she's miffed that McCoy didn't tell her...   
   HER!  The one who he KNOWS is carrying the torch for Spock.  Didn't   
   tell her that Spock wasn't really a traitor.  "Okay Admiral, we'll go   
   on the spy mission.  No, we won't tell anyone.  Oh, but could we tell   
   this one nurse who has a crush on Spock, that it's all a sham?  Yeah,   
   I know secrecy is vital, but she'll be really upset if we don't, and   
   she can keep a secret.  You know how they say a slip of the lip can   
   sink the ship?  She never sank one!"   
      
   In Plato's Stepchildren, she's mortified at the games the Platonians   
   make them play.  She'd always wanted to be close to Spock, but not   
   like this.  Not like this!   
      
   Ugh.  But at least she never re-used the "Look at my legs, Captain"   
   bit from Miri.   
      
   Chapel's Crush is a major plot element in Mudd's Passion (one of the   
   funniest TAS episodes), but I couldn't possibly do it justice here.   
   For the full effect, read the Agony Booth's write-up on that   
   episode:   
      
   http://www.agonybooth.com/recaps/Star_Trek/the_animated_series/M   
   dd_s_Passion.aspx   
      
   The Motion Picture has a brief nod to it, but it's very underplayed   
   (as is all emotion in that movie, really).  No direct references, but   
   she does storm right up to the bridge to see Spock, the instant he   
   comes onboard.  McCoy comes too, but Chapel has the first line.  (A   
   very gleeful "Mr. Spock!!", with the implied, but unstated "I'm an MD   
   now, so how about you and I play Doctor!")   
      
   She was in Deadly Years, and Journey to Babel, so there must have been   
   some crush moments in those episodes, but I'm blocking them out right   
   now.  In Turnabout Intruder, when Kirk in Janice's body asks her if   
   she might get a visit from "that nice Mr. Spock", I expected her to   
   take Janice's head off, but sadly, nothing of the sort happened.  (A   
   shame.  For the series finale, a really good catfight scene would have   
   been welome).   
      
      
   Are there any more that I'm forgetting?  Chapel was in several more   
   TOS, and a lot of TAS episodes.  There must be more.   
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