Let There Be Lux

Sixty years ago today, The Man Trap aired on primetime television.

As far as ratings go, Star Trek wouldn’t break the top 30. Other shows with that ignoble dishonor include Love on a Rooftop (a sitcom about a newlywed couple struggling to survive in San Francisco on an apprentice architect’s salary), The Monroes (a Western about five orphans surviving on the frontier), and The Rounders (another sitcom, this time about a New York bachelor who coaxes a hat check girl to pose as his wife for work parties).

Mostly, everyone was watching Bewitched.

Truth be told, looking at those shows doesn’t tell me how mind-melting Star Trek would have felt at that time. The Beverly Hillbillies; The Red Skelton Hour; The Lucy Show; Bonanza. Before Trekkies succumb to any narratives that Star Trek completely blew the rest of television programming out of the water, many of its competitors (including direct competitors — there’s a reason everyone was watching Bewitched!) left lasting legacies that continue to reverberate today.

Star Trek’s legacy is that it did all that with bad ratings. Fans loved Trek so much, they kept it going for two more seasons.

Or maybe it’s enough to say this: Bonanza doesn’t have a default emoji.

As for The Man Trap itself, it’s a great opening episode. I’m not a big fan of Trek’s first five-or-so episodes, so I have no complaints with moving this episode up in the release order. The actors are clearly comfortable with each other; the set and costume designs are settling into their long-term appearances; there’s a confidence that welcomes viewers in. DeForest Kelley is in dangerously fine mettle here — I say dangerous because I love Bones, and this episode is setting a frankly unreasonable precedent for expecting Bones’ inner turmoil to recur on an at least somewhat regular basis.

I’m sure this won’t be the last time I say this, but the original, unremastered version is the way to go. If you have the means — either by owning the Blurays, watching through a Paramount Plus subscription specifically purchased through Amazon Prime (yes, seriously), or by sailing the seven seas — watch it without the remaster. No, you can’t see their shiny, porous faces, but you also can’t see the sweat from the blazing studio lights or the fibers on props that were never meant to be seen. The colors look better; so do the characters — not to mention that incredible heavy lighting inherited from the only-just-bygone black-and-white tv lighting era is truly enhanced by the original cut.

Speaking of characters, one of the best (and most acutely missed) parts of this episode is seeing how much screen time characters like Sulu and Uhura (and Rand, but unfortunately while I have nothing against the actress, I’ve never been a fan of Rand or her hair) have. Their banter is such a fun and valuable addition, and I wish that hadn’t faded away in favor of the extremely heavy focus on the triumvirate…even if I love the extremely heavy focus on the triumvirate.

I could go on, but that’s enough for now, I think. It’s been a long, long day, so if I spent a little more time on my phone than I’d have liked for Star Trek Day, that’s okay. I was talking about Star Trek anyway.

Doctor Rating

Unfortunately, Kirk is right: Bones indeed spends too much time mooning over his long-lost Crater. At least he looks damn good in that black undershirt while he’s doing it.

Good Doctor:
Bad Doctor: I

P.S. What did Kirk mean when he said mysteries give him a bellyache?