Talk:The Way to Eden (episode)

Lyrics
"some of the lyrics are rather nice." Isn't this more objective than subjective? (i.e NPOV)
 * Good point. I have changed it to read that they mirror songs being sung during the counterculture movement of the late 60s.
 * I listened to many of those counterculture songs then. Still do, although classic rock radio stations are getting harder to find. A lot of them are angrier than what's here, in fact. Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" springs to mind. - Adambomb1701 18:35, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

Episode Goof

 * Chekov is knocked out in Auxillary Control when it is hijacked.
 * He is later shown outside. How did he get outside if the doors were sealed off?
 * Chekov is never knocked out in Auxiliary Control, some unknown crewman is. Chekov is seen in the rec room watching Spock's jam session a couple of seconds later, so he's apparently off-duty at that time. When the ultrasonic thing is activated some time afterwards, Chekov is knocked out on the bridge.

Shots Reused?

 * "Brief cuts of the surface of Eden were shots reused of the planet from "Shore Leave"."

Are we sure about this one?...Eden looks like a soundstage, the "shore leave" planet is an exterior... --
 * One shot of the Shore Leave Planet was reused, namely a shot of the lake on the planet with the coloured (blue and red) pampas grass growing close to the lake. In fact it's this shot from : File:Shore Leave planet surface.jpg. The rest of the "planet" surface scenes were shot on a soundstage, just as you said. --Jörg 21:12, 27 August 2006 (UTC)


 * I'm also pretty sure that one single shot was reused from, as well. Sir Rhosis 20:33, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

Nitpick/speculation removed
I removed the following nitpick (not permitted as per a Ten Forward discussion) which contains an opinion (also not permitted) and speculation (also also not permitted). --From Andoria with Love 21:52, 14 November 2006 (UTC)
 * So soon after, when the Romulans were waiting under cloak for the Enterprise to cross the Neutral Zone, it never really made sense in "The Way to Eden" that no Romulan patrols were lying in wait at or near the border. Given the Romulans' penchant for suspicion, their absence simply can't be chalked up to "luck," particularly for the Enterprise.  However, subsequent revelations may serve to explain why they apparently pulled their ships away from the Federation Neutral Zone.  The year is 2269, and Kor may have been mounting his "attack on Romulus" right around this time .

Catuallan vs Catullan
The Summary quotes Kirk as referring to Tongo Rad as "Catuallan" and his home planet as "Catualla," yet throughout Memory Alpha, the term is spelled "Catullan" (note the lack of the first letter "a" as compared with the quoted version). I don't have access to the script, so I'm noto sure whether the quotation is incorrect or whether every related entry to "Catullan" and xref requires editing. Femur 03:59, 27 September 2008 (UTC)Femur

Analysis section
I removed the section titled Analysis, since as far as I know it's not Memory Alpha's objective to analyse episodes. The content of the section were the two paragraphs below. Hokstein 21:56, 10 October 2008 (UTC)


 * A depiction of the counterculture movement of the late 1960s, the episode dates poorly as the events of that time become increasingly foreign. Some of the lyrics are very evocative of the period, however.
 * The episode's depiction of sterile, technological societies leading to the development of virulent bacterial strains has since come to pass with bacteria that have grown resistant to antibiotics. Some scientists also believe that the increasingly sterile environment causes the immune system to become hyperactive, leading to increased incidence of allergies.  Others believe that sterile environments indeed prevent the immune system from becoming fully active thus increasing the tendency for infection upon exposure to non-sterile conditions (see the immunity section under traveler's diarrhea at Wikipedia).

Quotes removed
I don't necessarily disagree with KTJ's quote removal but I'm adding them here per unofficial custom, as it's easier to see what was removed and discuss if desired--both to readd or keep removed--than trawl through the history.

(The first quote had the latter three lines removed.)

(placing his hands together) "One."

(returning the gesture) "We are one."

"One is the beginning."

"You one, Herbert?"

"I am not Herbert."

(to Sevrin) "He's not Herbert – we reach."


 * - Spock, Dr. Sevrin, and Adam, as Spock opens a dialog

"Mr. Spock... what does 'Herbert' mean?"

"It is somewhat... uncomplimentary, captain. Herbert was a minor official -- notorious for his rigid and limited patterns of thought."
 * - Kirk and Spock on the hippies' epithet

"Dr. Sevrin, neither you nor your followers have been charged with any crime. But incitement to disaffection is criminal; if they persist, they will be so charged and forever barred from Eden."

"As I'' have been barred?" "Then you knew you were a carrier?''"

"Of course I knew! You've researched my life; you read the orders limiting me to travel only in areas of advanced technology because of what my body carries."

"What I fail to understand is why you disobey those orders."

"Because this is poison to me! This... stuff you breathe, this stuff you live in... the shields of artificial atmosphere we have layered about every planet... the programs in those computers that run your ship, and your lives, for you – they bred what my body carries! That's what your science has done to me; you've infected me... Only the primitives can cleanse me; I cannot purge myself until I am among them. Only their way of living is right – I must go to them.''"

"Your presence there will destroy the very people you seek; surely you know that."

"I shall go to them and be one with them. And together we will make a world such as this galaxy has never seen. A world... a life... a life!''"
 * - Spock and Dr. Sevrin

"I'm gonna crack my knuckles and jump for joy, I got a clean bill of health from Dr. McCoy."
 * - Adam

"Stiff man puttin' my mind in jail, and the judge bang the gavel and say, 'No bail!' Gonna lick his hand and wag my tail..."
 * - one of Adam's songs

"Be incorrect – occasionally."

"And you be correct."

(smiles) "Occasionally."
 * - Irina and Chekov, as they part company

"Headin' out to Eden, yea, brother!"

"Headin' out to Eden, yea, brother!"

"No more trouble in my body or my mind."

"Gonna live like a king on whatever I find."

"Eat all the fruit and throw away the rind."

"Yea, brother!"
 * - Space Hippies singing

Setacourse 19:32, December 8, 2009 (UTC)

Questionable lesson
So what was the moral of this episode? Be a hippy, listen to rock and roll, don't follow the rules and it'll get you killed? Hippy leaders are all madmen that'll get you killed? Following the rules to a military standard is the only way to go? The 60's were really paranoid about the destruction of society. It was either the hippy's or the commies or both who were going to do it.--A Pickering 14:28, January 14, 2010 (UTC)
 * This isn't really the place to ask that. Talk pages are for discussing maintenance of articles, not general discussion on the subject. I'd suggest TrekBBS for an ethical debate on the morals of the episode. --OuroborosCobra talk 20:57, January 14, 2010 (UTC)

Removed
I removed the following commentary:
 * Sulu still lists botany as his hobby of choice.
 * Watch Roger Holloway jamming to the music on the bridge, one of his few opportunities to emote in the series.
 * Spock uncharacteristically hesitates when explaining to Captain Kirk what "Herbert" means.
 * Ironically, the Space Hippies died from too much "acid".
 * The badge of Dr. Sevrin's hippie movement seems to be a fuzzy cut-in-half boiled egg with the symbol of infinity on the yolk.
 * To be fair to the episode's writers, however, Chekov is a straight arrow compared to the hippies.
 * The corridor outside the auxiliary control room as Scott tries to phaser through the door is very narrow, not like any of the corridors seen in other episodes.

The following were removed for nitpicking. For the first two, it's clear what they meant (i.e. closest starbase) so hardly notable.
 * In his conversation with Sevrin, Spock refers to HQ as "Federation", rather than "The Federation."
 * Kirk, as well as Lt. Palmer, often refers to "Starbase" as if there is only one.
 * In the wide shots of Auxiliary Control, you can see what appears to be an AC power cord protruding from the base of the control panel.

As for the following, it's more appropriate to Charles Napier:
 * Napier has appeared in many movies and television series since Star Trek, often as villains, military types and mean-spirited characters (including a memorable appearance as Good Ole Boys front man Tucker McElroy in "The Blues Brothers"), in sharp contrast to the goofy and rather likable Adam. He appears in Star Trek again, in, where he plays Rex Denning, the commander of the US Army installation in Roswell, a character very much in line with the hard-nosed types Napier has become known for playing.

– Cleanse ( talk 12:50, April 14, 2010 (UTC)

The Way to Earth
I removed the following note. This seems to be reading far too much into a few vague statements made in the episode, which don't specify Earth at all:

– Cleanse ( talk 06:13, September 6, 2010 (UTC)
 * This episode would appear to contradict future STAR TREK spinoffs and movies by hinting that Earth no longer has any outside greenery and that everyone lives in domes.