Star Trek: The Original Series
"The Apple"
Air date: 10/13/1967
Written by Max Ehrlich
Directed by Joseph Pevney
Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
While scouting what seems to be a planet of "paradise," the landing party encounters trouble that results in several of Kirk's men (read: red-shirts) being killed. The party subsequently stumbles upon a primitive but peaceful civilization that lives to serve Vaal, a machine worshiped by the planet's inhabitants as a god.
Where did Vaal come from and why was he put there? Beats me. "The Apple" doesn't seem to know or care, either. This is a lackluster analysis of a stagnant, naive society whose existence is dictated by a machine. For once, however, Kirk doesn't make this machine blow up by offering it a circular argument; instead he has Scotty open fire on Vaal with the phasers.
The only real aspect of any real interest in "The Apple" is the wonderful (but regrettably brief) Spock/McCoy debate on the Prime Directive, proving that Trekkian polemics can be interesting. Other than those few short scenes, the episode is basically a bore. Everything from the ship being put in routine jeopardy to a half-baked theme about physical love, "The Apple" just doesn't work.
Previous episode: Mirror, Mirror
Next episode: The Doomsday Machine
Like this site? Support it by buying Jammer a coffee.
69 comments on this post
Mon, Aug 19, 2013, 3:26am (UTC -6)
Thu, Oct 17, 2013, 8:02am (UTC -6)
Sat, Mar 8, 2014, 4:33pm (UTC -6)
1. Spores kill 1st redshirt and Kirk continues mission.
2. Planet has same atmosphere globally. Non-sequiter.
3. Exploding rocks.
4. Kirk threatens and then fires Scott. Is that what a captain does to his top guy when the ship is under attack?
5. Vaal has almost infinite power by eating a few heads of lettuce.
6. Scotty uses every last power source on the engines, yet, amazingly the next minute phasers blast away on Vaal.
Mon, Apr 7, 2014, 1:12pm (UTC -6)
I will say that, as kid, I played the 8-bit Nintendo Star Trek game, and one of the levels was essentially this episode, which I hadn't seen at the time. So it was kind of fun to see the origin of that video game level in this show.
(I took the firing/re-hiring of Scotty as essentially a running joke between Kirk and Scotty. Not to be taken seriously.)
Tue, Jul 29, 2014, 11:15am (UTC -6)
Tue, Sep 9, 2014, 12:02am (UTC -6)
I loved this one growing up -- LOTS of action, various ways to get killed, etc. It was very adventurous.
As an adult, yeah, this pretty well sucks.
Wed, Dec 3, 2014, 5:54am (UTC -6)
Star Trek goes to Gilligan's Island. "Vaal" is obviously "Baal."
Actually there were two great moments: 1) when the woman crew member did those Aikido throws of the two guys wearing beach towels, and 2) when Kirk and Bones suggested that Spock looked like the devil (he does, sort of).
Thu, Dec 18, 2014, 11:46am (UTC -6)
Actually, everyone is annoying in this episode, except maybe Spock, who seems to be the sole voice of reason. Like, why is their way of life so reprehensible? Ohhh right, because the "plot" demands some forced conflict. I kind of wanted to slap McCoy for his stupid arguments, and Kirk for his asinine speech to the People of Vaal at the end on how they'll just enjoy this new life of toil so much ("HEY GUYS! You get to have the SEX now! Maybe you'll figure out how to reproduce! *crowd laughs at this for some reason*).
I especially wanted to phaser McCoy and Kirk for their dumb joke that Spock looks like Satan. Like Spock's NEVER heard that one before. Or maybe he hasn't, considering that pointy ears and arched eyebrows doth not the Devil make!
Tue, Apr 21, 2015, 11:49am (UTC -6)
Wed, May 20, 2015, 1:32am (UTC -6)
Did anyone honestly expect any of those guys to live? (You in the back, put your hand down. You obviously haven't seen enough Star Trek episodes.)
Yeah, not a particularly great episode but it did give us some classic lines/exchanges between the characters.
Sat, Jul 11, 2015, 3:57pm (UTC -6)
Sun, Aug 16, 2015, 8:47am (UTC -6)
You know the ship is going to be in trouble because Scotty is still on aboard to struggle with it. He reports that something on the planet is messing with the dilithium crystals and we're gonna burn up in atmosphere.
How many times have we seen this? The solution is always the same. Destroy something the locals think is precious,now the ship is okay. Kirk tells the locals it'll be rough without your idol your megacomputer, oracle, or whatever you serviced but you're gonna like struggling and boinking each other. Bye now.
Sun, Oct 11, 2015, 1:30pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Oct 14, 2015, 9:27am (UTC -6)
I like SCIENCE fiction, without the fiction and with accurate science, this one is why TOS sucks in comparising to later series
Ok so we have a society that has degenerated, that once build a VERY advance machine, than could controll everything, even regulated their population (no touching) and would keep everybody alive. This must have been done by a VERY advanced civilization, with population numbers in the billions.
Now I can see how even an advanced race things a simple life is better, and perhaps shieled their offspring from knowing these facts. Evidence is that at one time these antenna's were installed back when their society still had technical skills.
If it was castrofofy, like a plague or overpopulation, or the result of generations, if the machine made the rule of not breeding, or even backfired and killed all but a few, is unknown, but there we are.
But now it gets crappy :
Bug 1 : Preservation of energy
*this machine was capable of controlling the climate on a global scale and able to change it in minute detail in seconds. It was even able to control the plantlife somehow, some plants ma have been biological machines instead.
*it ALSO was able to simultainisly completely drain the energy-reserves of the enterprise, even the combined pull with all theý got was NOT enough to pull loose.
This would take a LOT of energy and computing power, much more than the imput from their sun could give them (and as all food needs to be grown from that solar energy coming it.. can't be done).
*we see them feed the thing 2 ties a day in meager quantities, even if they would feed him other energy sources (like those rocks??) it would not suffice, the energy-density for that is not high enough.
*if there would be MANY more villages like this on the planet AND many more entrences all feeding him tree times a day those rocks/uranium/antimatter or something similiar than yes perhaps.
=>
As we know there ARE no other villages on the planet, the only logical conclusion is that the feedings are merely ceremonial (thought up as part of the simple life doctrine of their forefathers) and that the machine was self-sufficient by whatever energysource was installed in it.
As such there is NO way that if the enterprise power supplies were not able to break free, their weapons would be able to destroy the machine. In both cases it is a simple power output of the enterprise vs power output of the machine. The argument it has not been fed is bogus as argumented above.
==============
to the positive side there was really no way to escape without destroying the machine, it could ONLY cmmunicate by sending information to the one guy with antenna's implanted, standing before the cave and talk was pointless, they should have reverse engineerd those antenna's. (basic neural node, not above star trek capability) Unknown is however if it was also possible to send information to the machine, as signs prove the machine was made to only SEND orders. any treats to its directive (simple life for its people) were simply destroyed.
The message "we will leave, and let them alone" hence could not have been communicated.
=======
I find spocks argument that this society works for them valid, and find it a crime that they destroyed it. After all the prime directive WAS in place indeed, and the should have sacrificed themselves and that ship in order to maintain it.
====
However as also pointed out, IF they were able to destroy it, they should also be able to escape it, and the "were burning up in atmosphere" problem would not excist.
===
That would indeed make the chooice much more interesting : leave and leave this culture intact, or destroy it before leaving.
and would show kirk for the racist and xenofoob he is should he stil destroyed it.
=> if it was capable to do his kind of things, the energy imput should have been A LOT greater than what they "feeded" him (even if they feeded him those rocks,
Preservation of energy, anyone?
Sat, Feb 27, 2016, 7:45am (UTC -6)
.....seriously?
Wed, Aug 3, 2016, 3:42pm (UTC -6)
It would be interesting if Vaal could be repaired, and then these people could choose if they wanted to live the way Vaal dictated or how they chose to live. The episode does have the common trope of one village representing a whole planet, sure, but I can overlook that. It's common enough in science fiction.
Wed, Sep 7, 2016, 2:34pm (UTC -6)
Kirk angsting about the death of redshirts? They routinely die and he never usually says as much. He also goes on and on about how this weird, alien-looking planet is somehow like the Garden of Eden.
Spock throwing the rock after commenting on its composition and then being surprised when it exploded (if he knew what it was made of, he'd have known it would explode!), complaining about McCoy's medicine instead of thanking him for seemingly saving his life (then again, he did shrug off two other redshirt-killing blows in this episode so maybe not), complaining that the native people's flower bracelets made him feel "uncomfortable", and gee, acting pretty irritable when he's supposed to be burying his emotions and human half (and no one called him on it, either! That would have been a good opening for some banter or explanation for why he's acting like this). He gets hit by three different things in this episode that would have killed a redshirt and walks it off every time (did the writers not like Spock or something?). Later back on ship he asks Kirk if he's familiar with Genesis (obviously he is, he was calling the planet a garden of Eden earlier, did Spock not pay attention? The real question is why does Spock know it, and why does he think it's relevant to what just happened?) and casting Kirk as Satan (is he trying to start a fight? Again, why is Spock so pissy in this episode?) and of course it backfires on him (I know the whole "Spock looks like Satan" thing is probably just a reference to the fact one of the producers said something like that early on and wanted to change his design, but it comes off as the writers really not liking Spock lol).
The awkward way everyone skirted around talking about sex. They were all grown adults, no reason for them to act like that! (And why does Spock of all people sit there looking embarrassed (and very out of character) instead of redirecting the question to McCoy? Obviously the doctor should be the one to explain the facts of life. Another perfect setup for banter that never went anywhere!)
The yeowman and Chekov acting like horny teenagers was annoying, but at least we finally got to see a female officer actually be competent in a fight for once (shouldn't every officer on board be as competent as her, though? Isn't it standard training?) Actually, the only other time I can recall a woman even actually trying to fight in this series is when Uhura helped them take down barbarian-beard Spock when they were trapped in that parallel universe a few episodes back.
I could go on, but I really probably shouldn't.
Fri, Feb 24, 2017, 3:23pm (UTC -6)
The highlight is the philosophical debate between the Big 3 on the prime directive. The fact that the Enterprise is threatened dictates the crew's actions.
Chekov, for having appeared at the start of Season 2, has already played significant roles - more so than Uhura (absent in this one) and rivalling Scott and Sulu. His character as a bit of a ladies man has now been established.
Some inconsistencies - Spock should/could have died twice (once from the spores, the other being struck directly by lightning). He also ran into Vaal's forcefield. Thought Scotty threw the kitchen sink at the impulse engines to break free, yet they have phaser power to destroy Vaal.
Other than the prime directive dialogue, the rest of the dialogue is mostly silly.
I'd give it 2/4 stars - a well-worn plot which would have been more interesting if some story of how Vaal was created, how his people got there was found out.
Sun, Feb 26, 2017, 1:58am (UTC -6)
I noticed a couple of comments about still having phasers after using nearly all of their power in an attempt to pull the Enterprise free. If I'm not mistaken, the phaser banks of that era were powered by batteries. Scotty talks about that in the next episode *minor spoiler* when he was on the Constellation and said he had one bank recharged.
I think it was ST: The Motion Picture *minor spoiler* where Decker informs Kirk that the phasers now draw power directly from the warp engines, which was changed in the re-fit from the previous way they did things.
I think if they previously had the phasers fully charged, they would still be that way even if the ship was out of power, unless they drained the energy back into the ships systems somehow.
This is just a thought. If I'm wrong, please show me the light. But this is how I remember the phasers working for TOS.
Have a great day... RT
Sun, May 14, 2017, 5:48pm (UTC -6)
Fri, Oct 13, 2017, 1:58pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Oct 19, 2017, 10:19am (UTC -6)
Fri, Oct 20, 2017, 5:45pm (UTC -6)
Seriously, someone is getting zapped or attacked every minute or so here, and it's fun to watch the landing party dodge the obstacles as they make for a native village ruled over by the computerized god Vaal. Not as much an ensemble piece as the first few shows in Season Two, but Chekov continues to make an impression -- his immaturity solidified by efforts to woo a yeoman during a danger situation -- and the presence of Scotty and Kyle on the ship add a note of continuity.
Lots of good dialogue and bits in this one, including Kirk's "Nothing makes sense down here!" The native humanoids are sufficiently alien and oddball to be unlike quite anything else I've seen in Sci-Fi. The debate about the Prime Directive is engaging without devolving into self-righteous posturing as we'll later see on the first two or three seasons of TNG; the fact that Vaal is trying to destroy the Enterprise and crew forces the crew (as in "A Taste of Armageddon") to intervene more in the culture than they might wish. Kirk tries to beam out and can't, and he continually tries to respect the native setting, but circumstances keep forcing him to get more involved in it. The question of whether a computer ruling a society -- albeit without its informed consent -- constitutes natural development is relevant: The notion that the computer keeps the native infantalized and ignorant of life's realities (sex, death, aging, etc.) certainly defies all human notions of what is psychologically healthy, even if it's possible that some alien cultures might experience such dependency positively.
Anyway, "The Apple" continues to surprise me, as there's a bit more depth here than the hokey set/costume design suggests at first. There's some serious stuff going on here amidst the fast-paced action. Together with the "Doomsday Machine" coming up next, "The Apple" seems to represent a conscious effort in Season Two to dial up the humor and action to 11 -- and it works because the cast's chemistry is locked down in this season in a way it wasn't quite mature before. The scene of Spock and McCoy debating to sway Kirk's decision about how to move forward establishes a classic template, not quite fully matured before this episode, that is fun to watch. And again, Chekov gets to be the naive rookie here, helping solidify our sense of his character in just a few short shows now -- he slides right into the crew like he's been there all along.
Mon, Jul 2, 2018, 12:30pm (UTC -6)
Fri, Jul 13, 2018, 5:02pm (UTC -6)
Wed, Aug 15, 2018, 9:45pm (UTC -6)
"The Apple" also neatly inverts the book of Genesis. Here we have an Edenic utopia in which aliens are ignorant of sex, violence and lack "knowledge". Instead of an Abrahamic God presiding over this Eden, we have a giant mechanical snake. In other words, the episode rightly portrays the Biblical God as a kind of tyrannical, oppressive figure. It reconfigures the Abrahamic God as a serpentine devil. The liberators of the Bible - Satan, who entices man with the apple of knowledge - become the humans here, in the form of Kirk and the gang. Completing the inversion is Spock, who resembles a devil, becoming a kind of spokesman for the Old Testament God: he urges against granting knowledge to the primitive aliens and urges fidelity to Starfleet laws (of non-interference). And from various philosophical perspectives, he's arguably right: a totalitarianism in which inhabitants are happy, or believe themselves to be happy, is not inherently worse than contemporary human conceptions of "freedom" and "individualism".
Episodes like this also highlight what Trek has lost in its slow shift toward "realism" and "naturalism". TOS and TNG were very stylized, theatrical, didactic, deliberately stilted, expressionistic, Brechtian and so forth. Their zany sets, orange skies, weird plants, giant snake caves and goofy aliens didn't really pull you out of the story, because the stories were already operating on very abstract levels anyway. Indeed, the type of imagination required to key into something abstract seems to make the stories even more powerful.
Modern Trek finds it hard to do this, to create forehead aliens which are simultaneously believable/symbolic, but it's still possible once you get the tone right (Dear Doctor, Duet, Outcast etc). Another option is to ditch anthropomorphized aliens altogether, and start doing hardcore xeno-science.
Thu, Mar 14, 2019, 9:42pm (UTC -6)
Fri, Mar 29, 2019, 12:32pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Apr 27, 2019, 10:04pm (UTC -6)
Mandatory sexy lady is interested in Chekhov, not Kirk, so that's different. And she fights as well as flirts, so half a point for that.
It took me awhile to recognize a very young, made-up David Soul. Wow.
Kirk (and Shatner) is at his worst when he's preachy and self righteous, which he definitely was in this one.
The Prime Directive talk added some interest.
Below average. Ook.
Wed, May 8, 2019, 12:24pm (UTC -6)
Absolutely repugnant!
Wed, May 8, 2019, 12:35pm (UTC -6)
This is a tricky one. TOS has a habit of both preaching non-interference, but *also* of being sympathetic to correcting a situation where interference has already happened.
In the case of episodes like A Piece of the Actiona and Patterns of Force, the interference was by Federation people, and so in a sense it was cleaning up their own mess. In others like The Apple, Return of the Archons, Friday's Child, and A Private Little War, it seems like a foreign power or entity interfering with a native people is cause (in Kirk's view) to interfere and try to return control of the planet back to the native people if possible.
Overall I would call the message in TOS consistent, which is overarchingly anti-Imperial, anti-cold war in its treatment of 3rd world countries, and anti-paternalistic. This general message seems occasionally challenged, such as in Errand of Mercy where even the Federation is shown to be more aggressive than it needs to be sometimes, and even in A Taste of Armageddon, where arguably Kirk interfered in a culture where he didn't strictly need to because he thought they were wrong. Or maybe it's because they had the chutzpah to try to claim his ship.
Thu, May 9, 2019, 3:21pm (UTC -6)
In the case of The Apple and Return of the Archons the allegory is even more insidious, those computers weren’t a foreign power they were those peoples’ Gods, so in short the message if “if we Westerners find the religious practices of others repellent to our values, we will destroy your religion.” Of course, that’s what the so called war on terror was, a crusade against the Muslim peoples to force them to be “moderate” (that is, to abide by the secular humanist and liberal values of post enlightenment Europe instead of their own),
Sat, Jun 1, 2019, 8:24pm (UTC -6)
-- Multiple red-shirt deaths (this time by a variety of groovy causes: Flower that shoots poisonous "darts," lightning bolt, exploding rock, knocked in the head).
-- Philosophical argument between Spock and McCoy.
-- Showdown with a computer (they really were obsessed with technology taking over things).
-- Scotty delivering dire news about the status of the ship in orbit while the landing party is also in danger.
-- A main character "almost" dies but quickly recovers (this time, Spock "almost" dies twice).
-- Kirk briefly questions his command decision and quickly gets over it. Kirk later gives speech about freedom.
-- Yeoman De Jour beams down with landing party.
-- An inappropriate desire for romance in a dangerous situation (this time with Chekov and Yeoman De Jour)
-- An extremely red sky (I think red was their favorite color for planetary skies).
-- After another deadly mission to red shirts, quips and laughter at Spock's expense to wrap things up.
This was the kind of Trek I loved as a kid. I definitely have less kid in me these days. The ones I found a bit boring back then I like a lot now. "The Apples" of Trek are less interesting to me these days.
Thu, Jun 13, 2019, 8:28am (UTC -6)
What really bothers me is the blatant professionalism of just about everyone. Why are they constantly insisting this is "paradise", just because a planet *has plant life*? In The Enemy Within, they have a tent set up and collect samples and make it look like they're doing actual field work.
The final straw is an exchange between Kirk and Scotty near the beginning, where Kirk is like "Dude, redshirt just died" and Scotty goes "Oh no, what a shame" and then moments later he goes on about how much he would love to stroll around down there himself. Then Kirk says something along the lines of "Ok gotta be real careful from here on out", then immediately proceeds to pick a flower and mindlessly smell it. It's like the actors and director didn't even care anymore at this point. :D
Thu, Jun 13, 2019, 8:30am (UTC -6)
Wed, Jun 19, 2019, 3:18pm (UTC -6)
The episode goes off course by making practically all freedoms taboo for the people of Vaal. No touching, or kissing, or sex? Even Spock's Vulcan customs should be against this to a degree. The unfortunate consequence of Vaal's strict portrayal is it becomes impossible to sympathize with his "paradise". I mean, it's neat that people don't die or anything, but what exactly is enjoyable about living with Vaal?
Unintentionally funny were Red Shirt deaths. There are at least 5 Red Shirts on the away team and they all seem extraneous from the start. So, it's hilarious to see them all formulaically meet their doom, as if this were the game Space Quest (which parodies Trek) rather than Star Trek itself. How lethal the planet is gets really confusing as Spock is struck by at least two lethal traps but seems perfectly fine moments after. I was expecting "Vulcan physiology" to come into play, but even that handwave wasn't present.
I don't understand the conflict between Scotty and Kirk. Kirk seems adamant that Scotty stay aboard the ship and not goof off on the planet (like he and the others do). This somehow escalates into Kirk *firing* Scotty for not being able to accomplish the impossible? I know it's a bit tongue-and-cheek with Kirk, but it makes him come off as a real jerk instead of a good captain and the moral center of the episode he's supposed to be.
The best part was probably the Chekov romance scene which subsequently led to the people of Vaal being curious about freedom. This episode could've used so many more moments like this to show how wrong Vaal was to control people instead of laying the burden on Kirk to spell it out in rapid succession almost aggressively on the native people.
Sat, Sep 21, 2019, 10:59pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Oct 5, 2019, 8:06am (UTC -6)
I note David Soul in the credits. Not sure who he was in the episode.
Sat, Oct 5, 2019, 11:29am (UTC -6)
* everyone forms a line *
Formation "Line" is entered into Star Trek canon
Tue, Dec 17, 2019, 10:47am (UTC -6)
Tue, Dec 31, 2019, 9:21am (UTC -6)
First of all: it is absolutely beautiful! The backgrounds, props (Vaal is sooo cool) and camera angles, make "The Apple" nothing less than an absolutely a treat to the eye.
Second: The dialogue and interplay with the actors is on point, at least when it comes to pure entertainment. The discussion between the Yeoman, Kirk, Bones and Spock, about sexual reproduction as they do their best to not actually mention sex, is just hilarious and brilliantly acted out. Kirk firing Scotty at first felt strange, but when the episode ends with Kirk quickly spurting out "Scotty you are rehired!" I couldn't help but laugh out loud - and there was small humorous elements like that in most of the dialogue throughout.
I also loved the scene when the landing party gets ambushed and the Yeoman kicks ass; plus the one where Akuta demonstrated for his fellow men how to crush somebodies skull with a "stick" - just great stuff. By the way, the red shirt death count sets a new record in this one I think.
The last scene where Kirk implies that Spock looks like the devil felt like an unnecessary cop out though. Spock is 100% right, Enterprise interfering with the Vaal society is one of the clearest breaches against the Prime Directive in Trek history.
Having watched through VOY and checked the comments for almost everyone of the episodes here on Jammers Reviews, it is unbelievable how much hate Janeway gets for "breaking the PD" when Kirk basically shatters the core of an alien society in every other episode.
3 Solid Stars for "The Apple"
Fri, Jan 31, 2020, 10:55pm (UTC -6)
The central concept of a utopian planet being kept in stasis that the crew of the enterprise needs to end in order to escape the atmosphere is, i think, a really smart and interesting sci fi premise. Its executed with extreme hamfistedness here, but I like that TOS had solid science fiction ideas behind even questionable episodes.
Also the main cave man actor sells the hell out of his role and is fun to watch.
3/5 for me. Exactly average trek. But thats much better htan most crap I watch
Tue, Dec 15, 2020, 6:52am (UTC -6)
https://64.media.tumblr.com/64a6f8753ecc6b1dcfd81705023957d5/tumblr_nrr16xIWPn1r67t21o1_400.gifv
I agree with @Jeff and @Beth, that scene may have been the only enjoyable part of the episode.
@PreppieYeti, LOL. I mean I assume you're poking fun at the 60's. Man, in 60 years, will people poke fun about us, and how everything just had to be about Potus these last 4 years?
I whole-heartedly endorse @Chrome's write up. Seriously, wtf.
Sun, Apr 4, 2021, 4:21pm (UTC -6)
1 star
Sun, Apr 4, 2021, 5:54pm (UTC -6)
"Not-very-subtle 'anti-Soviet / Eastern totalitarianism' clumsily disguised as a Biblical parable."
That's interesting, since personally I never read a Soviet statement into it at all. Maybe I'd have to watch it again. It pretty much seems to me to be about the Garden of Eden is a rather straightforward way.
Mon, Apr 5, 2021, 4:14am (UTC -6)
Yes, that was my reaction at first, but I got to thinking about the time it was made: it seemed that a Cold War statement was more 60s than some religious thing. The view of the time (Manchurian Candidate?) was that Soviet/Chinese populations were brainwashed and had little freedom of choice (some truth in that?), while their media portrayed society as “perfect” - if not exactly Eden, then Trek’s clumsy analogy was close enough to contemporary portrayals.
Mon, Apr 5, 2021, 11:39am (UTC -6)
I see what you're saying, but I'd ask what content in the episode really highlights that we're talking about a brainwashed population. true, Vaal is an overlord who does use force, but on the other hand he does seem actually kind to his people and offers them a perfectly pleasant, if infantile, society. It's dangerous to outsiders to be sure, but it seems that all they have to do is offer fruit to their god and they get to live like happy children forever. To me this is how a cynical person would view the Garden of Eden, where (presumably from the POV of an anti-theist) the people are kept as mental children, not allowed real knowledge, and should they ask unacceptable question (i.e. eat the forbidden fruit) they will be punished. I think the episode is saying something like, "you threaten to kick us out? I don't think so, we quit." Like, take your Garden and stick it, sort of thing, since enlightened humans don't want to live like children anyhow.
Tue, Apr 6, 2021, 3:47pm (UTC -6)
I think Vaal represents the - e.g. - Kremlin, which did use force to keep its people in subjugation, while at the same time portraying Soviet society as "ideal" with the Pravda reports of record agricultural yields, manufacture of tractors, and so on.
There's an echo of that in the character of Chekhov who constantly (and comedically!) asserts that everything good originates in Russia.
It's also obviously an Eden parable but I just think there's more to it than that, given the era it was made in.
Sat, Nov 20, 2021, 2:29am (UTC -6)
Thu, Feb 10, 2022, 2:05pm (UTC -6)
Sat, Mar 19, 2022, 9:31pm (UTC -6)
Tue, May 17, 2022, 12:14pm (UTC -6)
Thu, Jun 23, 2022, 7:51pm (UTC -6)
Best line: when the native leader says "it is a simple thing" as he demonstrates how to smash someone's head in.
Mon, Jun 27, 2022, 9:00am (UTC -6)
It's an interesting predicament, in a way. When you're a writing staff faced with 25-30 episodes a season, I suppose that eventually you're going to start taking several trips to the same well. After a while, episodes of your own show will start to feel formulaic just by their existence. In "The Apple," as @Sarjenka's Brother beautifully put it, all the typical trappings of a Star Trek episode are here via a list you can check off, as if a new writer watched a bunch of previous episodes and just made one or two trope notes in order to figure out how to write a new story for this show.
There are a few moments that save it from being a failure. The jungle of horrors element was campy and goofy. The succeeding deaths of those redshirts, offed one by one, became almost comical (the last one was the funniest--the guy didn't even look like he got hit all that severely). I love how Kirk refuses to dole out the slightest bit of punishment to that man in a beach towel that killed his security officer. There's a joke in the TV show LOST about this, where John Locke (Terry O'Quinn) comments that so many redshirt deaths happening under Kirk's watch probably makes him a "piss-poor captain."
Even more comical was Spock getting his ass kicked repeatedly by the planet -- the only reason he survives, of course, is because he was wearing his specially issued Opening-Credits Plot Armor (TM). Kirk almost looks exasperated as he's lifting Spock up to carry him to safety.
I agree somewhat that this could be read as a Vietnam allegory about imperialism, but I also cosign Peter G's comment that Kirk wasn't destroying Vaal simply because he was pissed at the natives' lot in life (like the situation in "A Taste of Armageddon")--here he needed to destroy the snake-thing so that the landing party and the Enterprise could escape. That this also led to the natives' freedom from their bondage was basically happenstance. I suppose it's an interesting message at face value: if your way of life is perfectly acceptable for you but comes into direct conflict with another group that has superior firepower, guess what happens. Still, based on the presentation here, I'm hardly willing to give writer Max Ehrlich that much credit.
Moreover, these simple happy people on the planet with their incessant laughter (more of that absurd smiling, @Peter G!) don't even seem to care all that much. Kirk introduces them to his crew, they laugh. Kirk mentions procreation (indirectly, of course, not because of their own hang-ups about it but because of 1960's network television censors), they laugh. Kirk destroys their God... they laugh. Okay then!
Hell, at least they have that hot yeoman to teach them all about sexual positions now.
Best line:
Kirk -- "Would you mind being careful where you throw your rocks, Mr. Spock?"
My Grade: D+
Mon, Jun 27, 2022, 10:46am (UTC -6)
Upon re-reading the transcript I think the writing is a little more sophisticated than it might appear from watching the episode. Spock does appear to be assessing the situation throughout, and is not against concluding that their system of life is viable. His is concerned about the PD, but also about using human standards of value to judge an alien society. And it is fairly clear that Vaal is only using force on their ship because they are a snake invading the garden, and Vaal requires an unchanging environment. Does that explain the exploding rocks? Did they only explode because Vaal wished it, or were they always explosive? If so, why would there ever need to be exploding rocks in such a paradise? I get the idea that the rocks and plants are like an immune system, and Vaal somehow knows none of the locals will disturb them. So these systems are not to keep the locals in but to keep outsiders out. That almost presupposes Vaal knows aliens will come to this world, which in turn implies Vaal knows there are aliens! Maybe this really is giving the writer too much credit.
Here's a peculiar thing: Vaal is almost a homonym with Baal, which is (by Judeo-Christian accounts) at best a non-living man-made idol people worshipped, or at worst an actual demon demanding things like human sacrifice. However you want to see it, this cases Vaal (if we accept that its naming is deliberate in this way) as being demonic in some sense, which in turn suggests a Gnostic interpretation of Genesis: that 'paradise' was really a demon trapping humanity and the 'evil snake' was in fact a savior trying to get them to freedom. And despite Spock's objections (and his Pan-shaped ears) Kirk and McCoy seem agreed that they were saviors in this situation, rather than destroyers or tempters. If we assume the title is a reference to Kirk choice to do what he did, then the writer is casting the explusion from paradise as being debatable rather than a blatant bad thing. I'm not sure if a 2/3 majority by Kirk and McCoy is supposed to land our understanding on the side of it being a good thing. This point would have been essentially impossible for the writer to deal with, so he understandably ends it on a joke instead.
I guess what sets this one apart from Archons is that this system does seem completely stable, where the outward happiness is the real deal. Even compared with This Side of Paradise, which was arguably about a drug-induced haze causing you to act like a jerk and think you were immortal, this one seems to possibly involve literal immortality and not acting like jerks. So really the objections to this society amount to:
1) Kirk doesn't like it.
2) Vaal's defensive measures are probably an overreaction, causing its ultimate destruction. Aliens coming to this world would probably be inevitable, so Vaal's hostile actions would only work against weaker aliens, but cause its destruction against stronger aliens.
Objection (1) is relevant and Spock brings it up. Objection (2) seems to not be relevant in the writing, even though it's fairly obvious that having outside cultural contamination would obviously disrupt the homeostasis Vaal has achieved. So one can hardly fault Vaal for trying to prevent it, even though this isn't viable long-term. So what we're left with is that Kirk doesn't like it. Except that he *had to* destroy Vaal to save the ship. So doesn't that invalidate the argument about whether or not he was right to take action? The possibility of allowing themselves to die in order to serve the PD is never brought up, so I assume for now that this is not a thing, and that saving the ship would take priority. So is there really a moral dilemma?
If the writing is guilty of anything it's trying to take on too much. I'm not aware of ever watching the episode and coming out deep in thought about the difficult moral problems. Maybe the points made are too messy, or maybe it's throwing a lot of crap at the wall and not really saying anything. It's surprisingly hard to see what the writing is trying to exactly do.
Sun, Oct 2, 2022, 10:06am (UTC -6)
Mon, Oct 3, 2022, 3:52pm (UTC -6)
I did wonder also if they (before having a mindwipe) or their ancestors had installed the whole thing - maybe they came from a technological society and like the hippies in The Way to Eden wanted to get back to a idealised paradise, the difference being they built their own instead of trying to find one. The reason for the ban on sex would be that children wouldn't necessarily follow along unquestioningly. There would be bound to be one or two teen rebels and it would then be necessary to zap them with the rocks or some other method. The mention of replacements I took to mean once in a while someone does fall off a cliff as the yeoman suggested, but one child being raised alone wouldn't have peers to bond with and therefore would be more subject to the general brainwashing from the adults. But they wouldn't want to have more than one child at a time as they would be bound to find solidarity with their peers and maybe find the society's way of life boring with resultant strife and Vaal vengeance.
Sun, Oct 16, 2022, 12:33pm (UTC -6)
Sun, Nov 13, 2022, 8:00pm (UTC -6)
Sun, Dec 4, 2022, 9:55am (UTC -6)
Wed, Feb 1, 2023, 11:19pm (UTC -6)
On the positive side, the set decoration is beautiful. I think the acting is fine, especially Keith Andes as Akuta. The clothing and makeup may seem silly, but it is certainly unique and creative.
The questions about the villagers being forced out of "paradise", and whether that is a good thing, are valid. As far as the noninterference directive, it seems that Captain Kirk violates it primarily to save his ship. There is some episode where Kirk says that even a starship and crew might be sacrificed to avoid interference. But obviously, in practice, kirk does not accept that aspect of the noninterference directive. There are several episodes, such as this one, where he interferes primarily to save his ship. Here the side effect is that the natives lose their idyllic existence. KIrk also suggests that the directive does not apply to a stagnant society such as this one. Of course, questions about violating the directive come up in several other episodes, and it appears that it is often violated. it seems that Kirk uses his own interpretation, depending on the circircumstances.
Also, Kirk says at the end that the villagers will have help (presumably from Star Fleet) to adapt to the new circumstances and their newfound freedom. Probably this would require relocating them, since without Vaal, their planet would no longer be hospitable.
Basically, I have always enjoyed this episode, despite its faults.
Sat, Jun 3, 2023, 6:09pm (UTC -6)
This was the first of its kind of show EVER! Writers & Roddenberry literally were writing the Star Trek Bible with every episode. I watched this show in the beginning, the mid to late 1960's & never understood why it was canceled.
Phasers had previously been rayguns, proton torpedoes had the torpedoes, there was no beaming EVER, no idea what "aliens" could look like, or planets. Until the Enterprise 1701, spaceships were rockets or flying saucers. One cannot equate this with Star Wars and its story line. This show is from our Earth's future, that was fighting Vietnam, Racism, our own culture war of kids from WW2 parents, the Space Program instituted by President Kennedy who was assassinated a few years earlier.
Appreciate what this show on a tiny budget in creating what it could. Spawning movies and other shows and 60 years later still going strong.
Tue, Jun 27, 2023, 8:19am (UTC -6)
I’m trying to find a real point to this episode and I’m struggling. Cold War parable? From some angles maybe, but it feels like a stretch. 60s counterculture allegory? Umm, the no boning thing kinda blows that up. A straight religious meditation? I guess, but geez, what is it actually saying?
It’s possible that as a viewer of TOS conditioned to expect a deep well of intellectually gratifying ideas, I’m digging for something that’s not there, and this episode is meant to just be taken for what it is as a straight piece of television. But if that’s the case you have to ask what kind of paint chips the writer was snacking on?
I think my biggest problem with this one is that the plot and themes were done before and better: Return of the Archons, This Side of Paradise, A Taste of Armageddon.
The redshirt massacre was entertaining, and visually this is a striking episode. It certainly has some camp value. But in the end it left me more confused and tripped out than entertained.
1.5/4 exploding rocks
Tue, Jun 27, 2023, 8:52am (UTC -6)
I think the one redeeming quality in this episode (aside from the visually stunning aspect which I agree with you on) is the Prime Directive debate between the Big 3. It's reasonably well handled in terms of the arguments, pros/cons and well acted.
I do also appreciate the broader themes of Kirk & co. liberating people, the analogy to the Garden of Eden etc. It's a true TOS-style episode, albeit goofy in its execution.
Tue, Jun 27, 2023, 7:07pm (UTC -6)
Some TOS episodes I’ll watch and initially think nothing of, but then I’ll start to really get into it and suddenly I’ll be falling down a weird mental rabbit hole, realizing there was far more to the show than I first gave it credit for. The Apple is not one of those episodes. Every time I think I’m onto something, it gets shut down by another aspect of the episode. It’s like The Apple can’t make up its mind what it wants to say.
The coolest parts of this for me are all implied. Like maybe Vaal deliberately imprisoned his creators in a pleasing cage in order to trick them into being his rock feeders, so Vaal is like a goofy version of Skynet or something. Sadly, tho, the episode doesn’t give us enough time with Vaal to get much out of it.
Here’s my best shot: The Apple is saying that the garden of Eden was actually a prison built by god to enslave humanity to worship, and the devil actually liberated humanity from its gilded cage, and in so doing taught us violence and fucking, Chekhov style. As a result god was destroyed, humanity was thrust into an uncertain future it never asked for, and the devil shuffled right on to the next adventure.
Perhaps I’m reading this one a bit cynically but I just can’t figure it out. I agree that the prime directive stuff is cool tho.
Wed, Jun 28, 2023, 8:33am (UTC -6)
I've been enjoying your TOS posts, keep it up!
I think your final point is an important one to make. Eden in a Christian sense is an absolute paradise, but we have to remember that Roddenbery was a humanist and he was trying to say that the human spirit is more important than a mythical paradise. That's why we get scenes like Chekhov off having a romantic affair with a denizen of Eden and building Kirk's case for what's great outside the garden.
Kirk's ultimate point is that the human condition is working for wonderful things, not just having them all being given to you. So, the "apple" he's offering represents the liberation of humanity as children and letting them work, build their own paradise, and enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Wed, Jun 28, 2023, 9:30am (UTC -6)
Your way of putting it sounds much better than mine. I suppose part of why I don’t “get” this episode is precisely due to the humanist view Roddenberry was kinda known for. This one seems to veer pretty close to straight religious parable, which I guess works on those terms. But where I’d normally expect an optimistic “onwards and upwards” kind of Star Trek vibe, I get a “these people screwed” kind of ending. The message feels very mixed, like both a rejection of, and wistful eulogy for the “old gods”.
Fri, Sep 29, 2023, 9:39pm (UTC -6)
1. How did val get all that energy just from digesting those plates of "food" they dropped into it? Did it convert it to pure energy or something? Wouldn't the people feeding it see that down the chute or whatever there was a machine?
2. Why didn't Scotty also dump the phaser power into the impulse drive? I mean there's no way to know if that would have helped and they did need the phasers at the end. But why didn't they try the phasers very early on rather than frying every circuit in the ship?
3. Did those aliens just not realize that they literally had antenna in their heads??
Thu, Oct 26, 2023, 9:55am (UTC -6)
As others have said, the arrogant anti-happiness, Kirk-knows-best lesson is tiresome, and there's really not much more there.
Submit a comment
◄ Season Index