WHAT ARE LITTLE GIRLS MADE OF? | S.1.E.7

Star Trek - The Original Series

Original air date: October 20, 1966 | Run time: 50min

Captain’s Log, Stardate: 2712.4

SYNOPSIS

Nurse Chapel is reunited with her fiancé; but his new obsession leads him to make an android duplicate of Captain Kirk.

CANON CONTEXT

RECAP

For the first time since I’ve been reviewing these I’ve got a problem with the title. This is where I feel the writers are clearly reaching for their audience and I don’t necessarily think they needed to. Not every episode has to be “women-centric” for viewers sake. Especially, as this one has more to do with what little boys are made of, to use their own title. But I digress.

Nurse Chapel apparently has a fiancé. A rather famous fiancé, whom no one has seen or heard from in five years. He’s basically considered dead and this is the Enterprise’s final attempt to contact him. Suffice it to say, they do, and yay everyone is so excited for Nurse Chapel to be reunited with her long lost love.

When Nurse Chapel recognizes his voice and confirms it’s him, she and the captain transport down to the planet. The famous scientist, Dr. Roger Corby (aka fiancé) isn’t there straight away. This worries Captain Kirk and he radios for two guards to transport down as well. Unfortunately, as all NPCs do in this show, they don’t make it.

Killed by an AI we must discuss.

As I’m getting strong Lurch Addams vibes I head on over to IMDb to discover my hunch was correct. They are played by the same actor, Ted Cassidy.

But going back to Ruk and whatever grandmas nightgown he’s wearing? I just can’t take him seriously. Even if he’s strong enough to lift the captain like a feather.

Getting back to the story. They are met by an assistant to the brilliant doctor who should remember Nurse Chapel but for a moment doesn’t. Strange. Although not strange at all as he’s a robot! Cue the dun-dun-dun music!

We soon discover his other assistant that Nurse Chapel hasn’t heard of is also an AI.

I have to admit the cleverness in the hints this episode drops for the big climactic scene to come.

First, it’s the AI that’s there when Dr. Corby and his assistant first arrive on the planet, Ruk. Then there’s his assistant whom is now an AI. And his female assistant who is 100% AI like Ruk.

Ok, ok but what’s the real story here? Well, the doctor wants to impress Captain Kirk so he will aid in his ultimate mission, to remove disease and suffering from humanity by putting the human mind into robots. In that way humans will live forever as healthy as ever. And how does he propose to do this? By making an AI captain, of course. And the only way to do this? By putting a naked captain on a spiny thing. Duh!

What do you think of the results?

Well, Captain Kirk is not impressed. In fact, he thinks the good doctor has gone insane. As was to be expected. But a moment of genius happens while the cloning happens whereby Kirk passes on false thoughts about his relationship with Spock in the hopes that message will reach his friend as a warning. And of course, it does. After all, Mr. Spock knows that his friend would never call him a “half-breed” to his face.

What we discover (beware of the SPOILER up ahead) is that Dr. Roger Korby is his own creation!

The only solution here is to, as always, get rid of this before others discover the possibilities. So, like the ESP episode before it, all of these AI’s end up evaporating themselves. The End. Or is it? I have a feeling this storyline of advanced humans will be used again in some different capacity and the same conclusion will come about.

DID THEY REALLY SAY THAT?

Dr. Roger Korby: Christine, you must realise an android is like a computer. It does only what I program. As a trained scientist yourself, you must realise...

Nurse Christine Chapel: That given a mechanical Dr. Brown, a mechanical geisha would be no more difficult?

Dr. Roger Korby: You think I could love a machine?

Nurse Christine Chapel: Did you?

Dr. Roger Korby: Andrea is incapable of that. She simply obeys orders.