"Elaan of Toyius" Full Reaction! - Star Trek: TOS Season 3
Added 2024-10-25 18:00:07 +0000 UTCFollow along with me using your own copy of the episode!
Comments
Also, I also had a technical manual, plastic models of the Enterprise I & II, Romulan, Klingon, and the shuttlecraft, lol. I was such a Trekkie geek.
3dbadboy1
2024-11-01 17:05:53 +0000 UTCI’d love to get my hands on her outfits for sure!
bunnytails
2024-11-01 15:19:13 +0000 UTCI’ve been so exhausted lately that I fall asleep before getting much reading in, but I have read 2 of the I, Robot stories so far. I’m enjoying them 😁
bunnytails
2024-11-01 15:18:44 +0000 UTCKirk never fails with the fantastic quotes!
bunnytails
2024-11-01 15:17:33 +0000 UTCIndeed!
bunnytails
2024-11-01 15:16:42 +0000 UTCYay! Hehe
bunnytails
2024-11-01 15:16:35 +0000 UTCI can’t wait to really dig into it!
bunnytails
2024-11-01 15:16:26 +0000 UTCI can see what you are saying. There is often a lacking of polish.
bunnytails
2024-11-01 15:15:35 +0000 UTCYou’re welcome 😁
bunnytails
2024-11-01 15:13:28 +0000 UTCAs a 12yo I really despised the Dohlman, now many years later she actually is pretty hot once she went for Kirk. I agree she has some pretty hot outfits and the body to wear them 👀👀👀 also as someone else said we need a Dohlman Bunny shoot!
Anthony Silva
2024-11-01 06:08:53 +0000 UTCMixed feeling on this one. I will say it is better as it has aged.
Mark Gosine
2024-10-31 01:14:32 +0000 UTCI knew Bunny would love the “fashion show” aspect of this episode ! 😋 Polar opposite of the previous episode with a ton of fighting andsuspensful space battles. Unfortunately I don’t think that you really missed anything Bunny. A lot of the motivations don’t really hold up great under close scrutiny. But still, a lot of fun to be had wtching this. France Nuyen has a beautiful, striking look anddoes a great job as spoiled, arrogant Elaan. Shatner almost alway has great chemistry with his leading ladies but if it’s especially evident here it’s because they had previously acted together in a stage play. They would go on to wrk toghter again. Overall, a fun solid episode. I LOVE I, Robot! The short stories all have a similar theme but all have their own fun differs take on the theme. Hope you enjoy it!
Matthew Graves
2024-10-26 19:38:22 +0000 UTCLots of stuff already mentioned by others! I have several editions of the Starfleet Technical Manual. Yours looks in good condition! Elaan of Troyius has always been a fav. I always thought the Dohlman of Elas made a connection with Kirk with her tears that she didn’t expect. Prolly too many plots for one episode (the Klingon attack was like the Orion attack in Journey to Babel). France Nuyen (Elaan) was all over TV and movies in the 70s. People complaining about Season 3 are probably mis-remembering a lot of it. Yes, there are some clunky eps coming up, there are still many strong ones! When Jim Kirk said, “Courtesy is for everyone”, I was a little kid, but I never forgot. Also, not gonna lie, she needed a spanking.
Trilogian
2024-10-26 19:17:07 +0000 UTCWith her blue wedding dress, that would make a great cosplay for you :) Don't forget the necklace :)
3dbadboy1
2024-10-26 18:51:07 +0000 UTCYou pronounced "of" correctly at least!....
John Zelinka
2024-10-26 17:09:30 +0000 UTCRegarding the Technical Manual, I can recall looking forward to going to the local bookstore just for the opportunity to read more of it. When I finally got my copy, I read it religiously. This was back in '76-'77, so it had the awesome fake leather cover that made it look all the more legitimate. I still have that copy. As great as it is as a visual reference, there is a fair amount of apocrypha in the starship pages. Many of the ships seen in the series had different serial numbers than are presented in the book, and as for the Dreadnought class... well, it's had only one canonical appearance of sorts, and that was in an alternate future. But we'll get there eventually.
Lee
2024-10-26 11:31:24 +0000 UTCYou know... I was talking all kinda bad about Season 3 before. After re-watching these episodes, I think these were really pretty good.
Carlos Stevens
2024-10-26 05:26:46 +0000 UTCI like this episode. Captain Kirk is brilliant in figuring out how, why, and through what means is he to accomplish the mission, with as he says, turning tail and run is one option. After repeated attempts at commutation failing and the prospect of Elaan yelling and throughing things for the whole trip, Kirk risks the tears and lo and behold, she starts talking to him. This gets the machinery running. Whether the biochem thing was true will always be an open question. It being a legend and not real brings me around to Elaan as a sympathetic character. She was frank about not being interested in an arranged marriage. Helen of Troy was originally from Sparta, and she went to Troy not as a diplomatic demarche, as here, but because the gods were toying with the humans. The Trojan War was the Bible for the classical world, in that people carried copies of the Iliad around, and thought a lot about it, rather like the Internet and the Roman Empire today. It's not so much the battles but the politics in the Trojan War, with the courtier plots and family maneuvering, that explains its popularity, here brought excellently to life by Nguyen and Shatner. As for the books, I saw an amazing painting of the lower section of the Enterprise with whole decks open and people inside it in view. It really showed the grandeur of the Enterprise, one of the greatest art designs ever. Enjoy the Enterprise manual!
William Terry
2024-10-26 05:11:55 +0000 UTConce again its implied not shown that Kirk had sex, and I think we are supposed to think that seduced her.
NateWiz
2024-10-26 02:12:38 +0000 UTCI never thought about the first two seasons that way, but I like your analysis. The budget cuts and lack of experienced personnel in key positions clearly led to a drop in overall quality, but Bunny's open-minded attitude has improved my appreciation for this season, warts and all.
Lee
2024-10-26 01:02:22 +0000 UTCYeah, there's a lot of "fog of war" surrounding S3.... Freigberger's surviving family defend him vigorously (understandably) and he (and Singer) did have the pedigree to carry on with a "regular" series, but, in the end, maybe they were not the best fit for such a groundbreaking show. For me, I don't look at S3 through the lens of the first 2 Seasons, I try to treat it as its own animal, and, when I do that, I tend to have more fun with it. Season 1 is dark, very dark... Kirk is absolutely BRUTALIZED in S1. He is split into two, duplicated, has his mind ripped, is accused of murdering his own crewman, has to kill his best friend, loses his brother and sacrifices the love of his life. Season 2 is a cakewalk in comparison. S2 is an adventurous season full of, yes, danger, but it's much more in the vein of swashbuckling adventure, not the dark noir stuff from S1. It's more of a "fun" season with tons of humor infused. And then we have Season 3 which is neither. For better or for worse, Kirk is not always the confident hero he was in first two seasons. He's written more insecure at times (most of the time brought about by some alien force, but, still, there's a lot of it). And I find this is kind of a refreshing new direction from the first two seasons, although certainly less polished and more melancholy and bittersweet. That's my silly take on it, anyway ; )
Skyman's Follies
2024-10-26 00:36:04 +0000 UTCI like this one a lot. France Nuyen is a fantastic actress and the story allows her to show some range. Elaan's motivations are a bit cloudy regarding Kirk. But one thing is certain: whereas the tears she used to seduce him might have been deliberate, the ones she shed during her final scene were utterly sincere, which would seem to indicate that her love for Kirk was also real... or maybe she really didn't want to marry a Troyian. I'm seeing a pattern with regard to a certain amount of confusion in S3 episodes. While the overall stories and acting are still strong, there is a weakness in the writing that leads to questions of motivation, plot holes, etc. Arthur Singer was the S3 story consultant/editor and wrote many of the final draft teleplays of the scripts. D.C. Fontana was quoted as saying of him, "[he] wandered onto the set and asked our set decorator, "By the way, what does that transporter thing do again?", at which point most of the crew gave up caring." Robert Justman wrote in his "Inside Star Trek: The Real Story" that Singer was bright and hardworking, but neither he nor Freiberger understood the Star Trek concept, and the resulting episodes suffered. And so, while most of the S3 episodes Bunny has seen have been enjoyable, they still seem to be lacking the polish of the writing seen in previous season.
Lee
2024-10-25 23:49:38 +0000 UTCthat's cool, I guess all those actors back in the days were kind of floating in and out of each other's lives on this show or that show... here's the two of them performing 10 years before Elaan of Troyius in an excerpt of "World of Suzie Wong" on the Ed Sullivan show : ). https://youtu.be/19BKU7m2PXQ?si=cWCHgfIHrf4XvR6h
Skyman's Follies
2024-10-25 23:31:01 +0000 UTCI was going to mention France Nuyen's previous work with Shatner but you beat me to it! According to her entry on Memory Alpha, the two worked together again at least twice after this episode.
Lee
2024-10-25 23:24:33 +0000 UTCi really liked this one! The battle scene was my favorite part. I do agree with your summation though. Thank you Bunny!
ded cowbowee
2024-10-25 22:38:04 +0000 UTCI remember not thinking much of this one. But on repeat viewings, I really liked it. I'm also a little uncertain whether the Dohlman's tears were accidental or intentional. Given the kind of person she is, and how much there was to gain by gaining the favor of Kirk, I can imagine she would seduce him intentionally. The thing is, it's not like she wiped her tears on Kirk. Kirk himself touched her tears. Also, the line about the spanking was gold. That was very, very suggestive for the 60s.
SuicuneSol
2024-10-25 22:25:38 +0000 UTCOk episode "spoiled brat syndrome queen" not a girl I would want to meet - you're a million times nicer than her Bunny --- if Trump wins "Bunny for President" in 2028-- Biden will be shaking hands w/no one in the old folks home 😆and Trump can't run anymore ! anyway have a wonderful day ❤️ 🌅 side note --- vote Trump people - got to get rid of dangerous illegals keep the country safe again - gas prices were 2 dollars a gallon - better economy -just sayin'
dave zink
2024-10-25 21:05:21 +0000 UTChaha- yes, we're in agreement on this one : )
Skyman's Follies
2024-10-25 20:50:41 +0000 UTCAgree with what Skyman said about this episode! I also totally agree with Bunny -- I like this episode, but I don't know HOW much. I keep going back and forth between this being a good episode and a 'meh' episode. There's a lot to like here -- the costumes are great as always, especially the dresses that she wears. Very good acting from Shatner and the other guest stars. Plot flows pretty well, despite some holes and some confusion about things, with a nice twist at the end to explain why the Klingons are so interested. And once again you see the theme that no matter how Kirk personally feels about something he will put the ship and his crew and the mission ahead of anything else. You may be surprised to learn that money WAS spent on that model of a Klingon ship -- it's the first time we get a great and detailed look at a D-7 Battle Cruiser, as well as makeup for another Klingon. Also some interesting Star Trek tech here -- such as the fact that even on Impulse the Enterprise is very slow and sluggish, and she really needs warp drive in order to move well. Agree this episode takes several watches to fully grasp everything going on here. Yes, France Nuyen in her outfit at the start does look very Egyptian and it's a great look. Finally, I do like the humor in this episode as well. This is another case in which it's done well, and adds to the overall value of the episode.
Greg Polander
2024-10-25 19:33:37 +0000 UTCVery good episode, a sort of retelling of the "Taming of the Shrew" and Season 3 response to "Journey to Babel". Has a little bit of everything: comedy, steamy romance and action. Shatner and co-star France Nuyen had previously worked together on stage so they already had a working relationship which shows on screen. Also, nice tension with the Act 3 space battle. This is a John Meredyth Lucas "package deal", written and directed by. Recall Lucas was 2nd Season producer on last few episodes. Lucas was Coon's pick for 3rd Season producer but Coon, having left, could not protect Lucas who was replaced by Fred Freiberger (by Roddenberry). All in all, an enjoyable TOS episode.
Skyman's Follies
2024-10-25 19:08:28 +0000 UTC
