{"id":4299,"date":"2014-01-13T06:10:43","date_gmt":"2014-01-13T06:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/219-A-Private-LIttle-War"},"modified":"2014-01-13T06:10:43","modified_gmt":"2014-01-13T06:10:43","slug":"219-a-private-little-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relivethemajesty.com\/index.php\/2014\/01\/13\/219-a-private-little-war\/","title":{"rendered":"2.19 — \u201cA Private LIttle War\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n

2.19 — \u201cA Private LIttle War\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Plot:<\/strong> Kirk returns to the site of his first planetary survey, a utopia with peaceful hunter-gatherer natives, who 13 years ago had just learned to forge iron. Kirk finds his old friends divided into factions, one tribe armed with flintlocks, using this surprise advance in technology to prey on other villages, including the village of his close friend, Tyree. A Klingon ship orbits suspiciously nearby. Can Kirk prove Klingon interference? Can he find a way to defend his friends without destroying their innocence?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thoughts:<\/strong> I finally found it. This is the episode of Star Trek<\/em> I remember most strongly from when I was a kid. The details have stayed with me for 30 years. When I think about sitting down to watch Trek, I invariably hear Kirk in my head, asking Scott over the communicator to manufacture one hundred \u201cSerpents–for the Garden of Eden.\u201d The scenes are burned into my brain, although it has to be more than 25 years since I last saw them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I can absolutely see why it blew my young mind, besides being a great character development episode for Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and even Chapel. “A Private Little War” is like a meditation on the loss of innocence, a heady theme for a young teen worried about growing up. The themes are complex, presenting a situation with no right answers. The conflict is razor sharp. It’s the only episode of TOS so far, other than \u201cThe City on the Edge of Forever,\u201d to end tragically and unhappily. Also, it\u2019s sexy as hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We see the sensitive side of Kirk on display. We see him exercise his values, yet he is caught between loyalty to his friends, his sense of duty, and loyalty to the ship. Spock slays me in the teaser. Shot through, he won\u2019t let Kirk violate regulations even to protect his life, but gasps \u201cNo Captain–I can travel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When Kirk beams down again, it\u2019s not by-the-book Spock that he takes with him, but McCoy. This is appropriate, because he\u2019s about to get a little lost in sentimentality. I love the use of music, light, and color in this episode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Enter Nona (Nancy Kovack), one of the most alluring females to appear in the series. I\u2019m sure the censors required her to wear the partially obscuring orange ruffle over the bodice of her leather catsuit. The fetish wear is hardly the only kinky aspect of this episode. There is magic, and blood. Spock pleading with Chapel to strike him. There\u2019s even a love triangle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Am I the only person to think that Kirk and Tyree seem awfully close? Their hearts are full of their, um, boyish love for each other. But now a worldly woman has come between them, and she wants Kirk. May I say I was not surprised to discover that the teleplay for this episode was written by Gene Roddenberry?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Even Kirk and Tyree\u2019s mission to spy on the secrets of the enemy camp has subtext. Together they penetrate the enemy\u2019s garden of forbidden knowledge, to look upon the source of the dangerous yet alluring innovations in hard iron that lie hidden there. (Flintlocks. What do flintlocks remind you of?) There is violence on entry. Wherefore innocence?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I identify with Tyree, and he breaks my heart. He has strong convictions, but can\u2019t make himself understood by Nona. The ground is shifting against his will; his world is moving on. I’ve felt this way. Under temptation of jealousy, he throws away the flintlock and stays true to himself. Following Nona\u2019s death, however, he can no longer stand up against grief, and the hopeless thirst for revenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Just as Tyree loses his innocence, so does Kirk. He\u2019s been holding on to his memories of this planet, keeping a place in his heart for the idealism of the young officer on his first planetary survey. Thirteen years ago, he looked at this Eden and found in it a looking glass, reflecting back to him the boundless optimism of his youth. Now, on this later visit, he has the chance to take stock of his reflection again, and finds the experience sobering and full of disquiet. Now there are no solutions, just different ways to ruin the things that used to matter to him the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I must differ with our colleagues Eugene and Torie at www.theviewscreen.com<\/a>. They watched this episode and each gave it bottom marks, 1 out of 6. I haven\u2019t had the heart to read their explanations. To me, this episode is renewed proof of the genius of Gene Roddenberry and TOS’ principal cast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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5 out of 5 spooky Khan-ut-tu<\/em> witch-women. Or, if you prefer, 5 out of 5 lifelong fascinations with Star Trek<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n

http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/A_Private_Little_War<\/a>