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TOS Miri - episode #12

 
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2019 2:39 pm    Post subject: TOS Miri - episode #12 Reply with quote

___________________
___________________ Classic Star Trek: Miri


__________


MIRI (1st season; episode #12) Air Date: 10/27/66
Directed by Vincent McEveety / writer: Adrian Spies




We now reach one of the less stellar Star Trek episodes. The first season had a few clunkers in it and here is one.

To begin with, in another part of our galaxy, the Enterprise arrives at a planet which is an exact duplicate of Earth — "it seems impossible" Kirk says in his log; uh, yeah, a flat-out impossibility, unless they traveled to another dimension (a parallel), which they didn't.

It's bad enough when the crew encounter civilizations which are very similar to Earth's history (the Roman Empire in Bread and Circuses or the East-West conflict/nationals in The Omega Glory) so Roddenberry could make some social statement, but the planet in this one has the exact same continents as Earth! The odds are probably trillions to one against.


_Miri Star Trek Sci-Fi Channel Special Edition Extras


__________


Now, there is a mathematical theory that, if the universe is infinite, then it follows that such a duplicate of Earth must exist somewhere; but, even so, it would be far across the universe, in another galaxy, I would think.

From Wikipedia: Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Max Tegmark suggests that if space is sufficiently large and uniform, or infinite as some theories suggest, and if quantum theory is true such that there is only a finite number of configurations within a finite volume possible, due to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, then identical instances of the history of Earth's entire Hubble volume occur every so often, simply by chance.

Tegmark calculates that our nearest so-called doppelgänger, is 1010115 meters away from us (a double exponential function larger than a googolplex). Of course, in the film Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (1969), the other Earth was located just on the other side of the sun, and that was only a 'mirror' image of our planet, but I digress...



In Miri, on this 'other' Earth, in its version of the 1960s, an artificially-created plague wiped out all adults, leaving children who age only a month for every 100 years; so, this is when the divergence occurred, around 1965, from our Earth history.

When a child hits puberty, however, they age rapidly, looking briefly like a deformed human, and quickly die — this now resembles the plot of The Omega Man (1971).

That's the trade-off: hundreds of years of playtime, followed by an ugly, painful death. This begs another question: if no plague had occurred here, would this Earth's civilization have progressed to form its own Starfleet? Then the two Starfleets would run across each other and . . . ?

Now that might be an interesting story . . . but I digress again.




The set design was pretty good for a TV series, though I hear that they merely redressed sets from the Andy Griffith Show. Kirk.

Spock, McCoy, Yeoman Rand, and two red-shirts beam down into the middle of a dilapidated city. So, we are to assume they weren't able to detect the still-lethal virus in the air.
The landing party all contract the disease and are slated to die in a week, except Spock, who is a carrier and is stuck on the planet regardless. A bunch of these kids scamper amid the ruins and cause some trouble by stealing the communicators. Then they kidnap Rand.



We now come to the other reason I rate this episode so low: the damn kids! There are a couple of scenes with these brats which are nearly unwatchable for me. With many of the characters being juveniles, there's too much talking of "bonk-bonk on the head" and repetitive-style silly dialog which was designed for children to verbalize.



There's some tension but not much. Kirk & McCoy start to swipe at each other in frustration as the deadline looms. Rand has a panic attack. I'm wondering if there is a correlation between no fatalities occurring during a TOS story and the so-so episodes of the first season.

It's not very exciting overall.

This episode was also probably the closest that Kirk and Rand came to admitting that they had romantic feelings for each other. Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) was booted off the show soon after.

BoG's Score: 6 out of 10




These were early roles for Kim Darby, playing the title character, and Michael J. Pollard as the weird-looking main troublemaker with the strange name of Jahn.

She went on to True Grit in 1969 and he to Bonnie and Clyde in 1967. Darby was somewhat touching as the girl on the verge of womanhood, while Pollard . . .well, he applied some method acting, but he seemed anywhere from 15 to 35 years old in his scenes. I couldn't decide on which. One second he's saying stuff like "It's a foolie" or "Is this a good thing, Miri?" and, the next, he's planning the destruction of all 'grups' like some guerrilla general — be wary of the Lost Boys on other Earths!



Extra Trek Trivia: Further discrepancies are opened up in this episode since in episodes such as The Man Trap, it's established that the Enterprise's devices can pinpoint a lit match on the surface of a planet. And yet here they're unsure if anyone is left alive on the planet before beaming down.

Many of the numerous children in this episode were offspring of the cast and crew, including Grace Lee Whitney's two sons, the director's son, and the daughters of William Shatner and Gene Roddenberry.


__________________ Bonk Bonk on the Head


__________



______ Star Trek-Trailer TOS-season 1 episode 11


__________



BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus


Last edited by Bogmeister on Mon May 20, 2019 3:48 pm; edited 1 time in total
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 27, 2019 10:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

More Yeoman Rand is not a bad thing in my book!
JB
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 27, 2019 11:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Isn't this the episode in which Janice told Kirk she fantasied about him taking her into his arms during stressful situations on the bridge . . . sort of poring her heart out to him because she was afraid they would both die from the illness they'd contracted?

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~ The Space Children (1958)
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat May 04, 2019 8:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't know about that, you might be right, but I think she mentioned she had always wanted him to look at her legs! But considering the purple blotches growing on them she was probably being facetious!
JB
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat May 04, 2019 3:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I just checked the scene in question (Gee, I love Netflix streaming — I didn't even have to put in my DVD), and you were right, JB. Rand said she tried to get Kirk to look at her legs.

Silly girl, she didn't realize that EVERYBODY was looking at her legs — all the guys in the crew and every male in America! Wink

I wish I could find out which episode I'm remember, the one in which Rand told Kirk that his presence on the bridge made her feel better when the ship was in danger. I thought the scene included something about Kirk putting his arms around her (which he did in Balance of Terror), but perhaps I'm mistaken.



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~ The Space Children (1958)
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Mon May 13, 2019 12:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think they just drifted in together under the stress of the situation, Bud!
JB
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Pow
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 15, 2020 12:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tidbits for Miri first aired on October 27, 1866.

Miri was the very first episode of the weekly show to feature location filming. This was done at the Desilu Studio's famous 40 Acres backlot. The devastated city seen on this episode is familiar as the North Carolina town of Mayberry from "The Andy Griffith Show."

The town would also reappear on the Star Trek episode Return Of The Archons as an alien world. It would stand in for 1930's New York City for the classic — and what many critics and fans consider the finest episode from the originals series — The City On The Edge Of Forever.

Desilu's 40 Acres would show up on numerous television shows from the 60's. Mission: Impossible (Star Trek's sister show), The Green Hornet, and Batman to name a few.

Hogan's Heroes Stalag 13 was located on 40 Acres as was the Marine camp for Gomer Pyle.

Dr. McCoy's portable bio-computer makes its debut on this episode.

The sound effect for Captain Kirk's Phaser is unique to this episode. The beam from his Phaser was also unique in its display.

When the Enterprise first discovers the mirror Earth, we see that it has no cloud cover.

The writer of this episode, Adrian Spies, presents the audience with the intriguing concept of a planet that is a twin to our Earth, but he doesn't offer any sort of explanation for its existence in his script.

Shooting on the Desilu backlot obviously was a cost saving measure so that the production did not have to create an entirely alien looking planet.

It was also thought that having human looking children instead of alien looking kids would make the audience more sympathetic to their tragedy. Plus no alien makeup required; another cost saving measure.

A number of the kids seen on this episode were the children of Star Trek cast members. The little girl that Captain Kirk holds as he rushes to the laboratory is William Shatner's daughter Melanie Shatner. His daughter Lisabeth also appears in the episode.

Grace Lee Whitney's sons, John Decker & Scott Dweck, appear as youngsters.

Darleen & Dawn Roddenberry (who are the daughters of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry) also appear.

Greg Morris's (Mission: Impossible tech wizard Barney's kids are seen here. They are Phil & Iona. Phil will go on to be a successful actor.

Finally, John Megna — whose character wanted to bop people on the head — was the brother of Connie Stevens.

Director Vincent McEveety was very pleased with Kim Darby and Michael J.Pollard's wonderful performances on the show. However, he found both actors to be very strange and odd individuals.

Miri is the shortest titled episode for ST: TOS.

I remember when I first saw this episode back in 1966 that the scene where the Enterprise first discovers another Earth was stunning to me. At that time I was unaware of such a concept. Twin Earths and parallel dimensions were unknown to me and it blew my mind.

I enjoyed this episode with its themes of a civilization attempting to extend their lifespan, but having it disastrously backfire on them. Kim & Michael are always interesting actors to watch in anything they perform.

The trashed Mayberry outdoor set was awesome looking.

The aged-mutated being that attacks Dr.McCoy was a frightening scene and made me wonder just how many others like him were on the planet. Unable to return safely to the Enterprise also gave this episode another dimension.

The Enterprise is perfectly safe, but it will only remain so if the landing team does not transport back with a disease that can infect the rest of the crew. The feeling of isolation & fear that they would die on some unknown planet must have been awful for Kirk and company.

Mr. Spock was in an even more difficult position, since the disease did not infect him. He was a carrier, however, and could no more return to the ship than his crewmates could.

Often we are told how brilliant Mr. Spock is — but let's not fail to acknowledge Dr. McCoy! He discovers the cure here for the disease.

He also discovers the cure for the rapidly aging disease in the episode The Deadly Years. He saves the life of the Horta in The Devil In The Dark.

The Naked Time, The Tholian Web, Elaan Of Troyus all benefit from Bones medical genius.

He also successfully performs heart surgery on Spock's father Sarek in Journey to Babel.

If Mr.Spock is our resident scientific genius then McCoy is our resident medical genius.
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scotpens
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 15, 2020 2:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The "exact duplicate of Earth" was a stupid idea, especially since it was never mentioned in the episode after the pre-credit teaser. It was just a cheap hook to get audiences to stay tuned.

Pow wrote:
Miri was the very first episode of the weekly show to feature location filming. This was done at the Desilu Studio's famous 40 Acres backlot.

Technically, shooting on a backlot isn't location filming. "On location" means filming someplace other than a soundstage or studio backlot.

The famous 40 Acres lot was purchased from RKO by Desilu in 1957. It had previously been the site of the Skull Island native village in the 1933 King Kong and the burning of Atlanta in Gone With the Wind.
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 22, 2020 8:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

But in later episodes the existence of the duplicate earths could be attributed to the super race known as The Preservers in The Paradise Syndrome! We never see them or hear about them again but we learn they once passed through the galaxy saving humanoid races in danger of extinction and they probably gave us on earth a few pointers too in the construction and style of civilisation!
JB
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Pow
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 16, 2021 4:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nitpicks

Two days after the children swipe the landing party's communicators, Kirk and his party still can't contact the Enterprise.

Doesn't it seem odd that no one on board the Enterprise wonders if the landing party is having communicator problems after not hearing a word from them?
They know that Captain Kirk and the other crew members are alive. They can track them with the ship's sensors.

So transport some fresh communicators down to the party for them to use.

What happened to the ship security guards' communicators who were on the planet? The guards were out on patrol when the children steal the rest of the landing party's communicators. Wouldn't the guards possess their own communicators?

Just after Dr. McCoy gives himself a shot of the drug and passes out, Mr. Spock comments he will never understand the medical mind.

Really?

The Vulcan Science Officer realizes that they needed a guinea pig to test out the efficacy of the drug. What about this is illogical or incomprehensible to Spock?

I'll step in here. The last person that should be a guinea pig is the medical doctor developing this brand new drug. If he dies or becomes comatose just who's going to continue researching and refining the drug in case it doesn't work first time out?

McCoy is the only medical person on the entire planet who possess the background to properly develop the drug.

But hey, it gave De Kelly a chance to play the big damn hero in a scene.

At the end of the episode, Kirk orders Spock, "Full ahead, warp one." Why isn't Kirk issuing this order to the ship's navigator, who sits a few feet in front of him? Are they not on speaking terms?

I'll step in here again. It was early on the series and they just hadn't properly hammered some things out yet.

Spock comments that their concoction could be a "beaker full of death." Spock is looking at a flask, not a beaker.

My thoughts. When that mutated being attacks the landing party, how come none of their tricorders were able to detect him coming? Tricorders are utilized to scan and detect all sorts of lifeforms.
Come to think of it, did the Enterprise's sensors reveal that there were any lifeforms on this planet before the landing party beamed down? They should have.

I can't recall. When the Enterprise left orbit did they leave professionals on the planet to help the kids? Was another ship coming to take over?
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scotpens
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 16, 2021 9:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
When the Enterprise left orbit did they leave professionals on the planet to help the kids? Was another ship coming to take over?


From the final scene of the episode:
Quote:
RAND: They were just children. Simply to leave them there with a medical team--

KIRK: Just children, three hundred years old and more. I've already contacted Space Central. They'll send teachers, advisers.

MCCOY: And truant officers, I presume.

"Space Central"? At this point they were still making it up as they went along. The first episode to use the terms Starfleet and Starfleet Command was "Court Martial."
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Krel
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 16, 2021 11:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
At the end of the episode, Kirk orders Spock, "Full ahead, warp one." Why isn't Kirk issuing this order to the ship's navigator, who sits a few feet in front of him? Are they not on speaking terms?

From what I've been told, in the U.S. Navy the First Officer is in charge of the handling the crew, while the Captain handles the big picture. If that is true, then Kirk would give commands to Spock, who would relay them to the appropriate crewman.

David
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 17, 2021 10:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

KREL wrote:
From what I've been told, in the U.S. Navy the First Officer is in charge of the handling the crew, while the Captain handles the big picture. If that is true, then Kirk would give commands to Spock, who would relay them to the appropriate crewman.

I didn't know this, David. Thanks.

Of course, we know that this chain of command structure is omitted in tense situations when Kirk needs Sulu to act quickly. And since we see as much of that type situation as we do of the more routine moments, it seems odd to us when Kirk-tells-Spock-to-tell-Sulu something . . . when Sulu is just a few feet away. Very Happy

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