TOS S03E05

In this installment:
(viewed Wednesday, March 27th)

Star Trek: The Original Series, S03E05 - "Is There In Truth No Beauty?"

"Is There In Truth No Beauty?"

• PULASKI!
• "I can't understand why they let you go with Kollos."
  "They, Captain?"
  "The male population of the Federation.  Didn't someone try to talk you out of it?"
  "Now that you mention it, yes."
  "Well I'm glad they didn't succeed, or I wouldn't have met you."
  
  Two days later, Captain Kirk is ordered by HR to attend mandatory sexual harassment training.
• This is the first explicit mention of the Vulcan IDIC, the appearance of which apparently annoyed Leonard Nimoy because it was designed and introduced explicitly for the purpose of merchandizing by Gene Roddenberry's Lincoln Enterprises.
• McCoy is kind of a jerk in this episode.
• Scotty in a kilt!  Although, disappointingly if not surprisingly, it's not of the actual tartan material for the real-life Clan Scott.  It's always possible that Mr. Scott belongs to an off-shoot or "sept" of the clan that wears a different "sett".  It's worth noting that we believe Scotty to be from Aberdeen, although the primary area for Clan Scott is the Lowlands.  That said, Scottish clans--especially those with very old names like "Scott"--can be spread around quite liberally.  Plus even in our 20th/21st Centuries, it was no longer a reality that Scottish people with a clan-based surname would always live in a traditional "home range" of that clan.  I'm sure this is even more the case in the 23rd Century.
• Again with the Galactic Barrier.  They just hop back and forth across that bastard, don't they?  And every time, it's because someone makes them do it and it's all dangerous and stuff...but then they survive just fine every time.   You'd think that after the third or fourth time, Starfleet would just be like "Well, it seems safe enough.  Let's send ships out there on purpose now!"
• Stop hitting on the lady, Kirk.  We've got bigger problems.
• Wait, she's blind?  How did I forget that?
• This episode is pretty well-produced and well-written*, but the whole jealousy angle is a bit boring for me.  It may be a classic motivation, but in this context I don't find it particularly compelling.
  
  * - For an old episode of Star Trek, at least.
• The remastered version of this episode features a new design for the Medusan vessel, which closely resembles a Federation vessel.  The thinking in its design, reportedly, is that non-corporeal beings wouldn't necessarily have their own design aesthetic.  Rather, they would utilize technology available to them from corporeal allies (e.g. the Federation).