tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-739267574084387275.post6802682976698394685..comments2023-09-12T09:49:42.006-07:00Comments on Star Trek Fact Check: "The Alternative Factor" — What The Hell Happened? (Part 1)Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552147805234543255noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-739267574084387275.post-79483495053166571622017-02-02T20:14:48.012-08:002017-02-02T20:14:48.012-08:00Somewhere in a parallel universe, there is an anti...Somewhere in a parallel universe, there is an antimatter version of "These Are the Voyages" in which these errors are corrected. Unfortunately, if it were to come into contact with our universe...<br /><br />Seriously, I know this is an extreme minority view among Trek fans, but I have always enjoyed this bizarre and enigmatic episode. Humans have an innate tendency to make sense of what we see, and when that impulse is frustrated, the mind begins to generate its own meanings. I have enjoyed searching for meaning in this incoherent mess of an episode; no matter how hard you look, you can't find it, but you can have fun trying to construct allegories from the rich material: cosmology, eschatology, Biblical references, etc. I'm glad to learn that this wasn't a "good episode gone bad," but that it was bizarre and enigmatic from its inception.Dave Palmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12924240597739136764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-739267574084387275.post-32903670925843206152016-12-13T16:14:45.789-08:002016-12-13T16:14:45.789-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Thom MacFarlanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07850187047586448973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-739267574084387275.post-26137847460966479982016-12-13T15:59:50.310-08:002016-12-13T15:59:50.310-08:00Well done, Michael. This article is far more comp...Well done, Michael. This article is far more compelling than the episode. Another four or five rewrites and this segment would have risen to the heights of averageness.David Eversolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07668578807085853203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-739267574084387275.post-60639028279093525362016-12-13T07:05:26.015-08:002016-12-13T07:05:26.015-08:00I'm re-watching "The Alternative Factor&q...I'm re-watching "The Alternative Factor" now. My most vivd memory of it is that the episode is rather annoying, if you know what I mean. Perhaps the best thing about it is the chemistry between the Captain and Robert Brown. Shatner seems very comfortable with Brown's acting style and often seems to be underplaying in their scenes together. By the way, in his early scene on the planet with Lazarus and Spock, one of Kirk's lines has been changed. The dubbed line is "Let's have it, the truth this time." The original line seems to have been, "Let's have it, this time, the truth." Did Shatner make the switch? Also, what's with the single bar above the hatch on the time ship in the final scenes? It seems to suggest the minimalist sets used later in "Spectre of the Gun." Hang on, I just noticed that the bubble top used in the location shots is visible to the left of the ship when Kirk first arrives in the alternate universe. It looks like Lazarus B has removed it for some reason. Perhaps it was reflecting the stage lights? One for the ages...Thom MacFarlanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07850187047586448973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-739267574084387275.post-33768969945645974752016-12-12T21:57:45.284-08:002016-12-12T21:57:45.284-08:00I've never cared for this one, but that last l...I've never cared for this one, but that last line sticks with you, doesn't it?<br /><br />Far better than, "I guess it all depends on a man's...point of view, Mr. Spock," which was how Ingalls ended his first stab at the teleplay (like the final episode, Kirk gets the last word).<br /><br />About as clunky, in his second draft teleplay, Ingalls gave Kirk the final line, "Poor Charlene...I guess she was in love with both of them, wasn't she?"<br /><br />In this regard, the staff rewrite was an improvement.<br />Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00552147805234543255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-739267574084387275.post-73831887687792260562016-12-12T19:50:15.796-08:002016-12-12T19:50:15.796-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Thom MacFarlanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07850187047586448973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-739267574084387275.post-17082035876751634792016-12-12T14:45:22.133-08:002016-12-12T14:45:22.133-08:00What of Lazarus?What of Lazarus?Thom MacFarlanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07850187047586448973noreply@blogger.com