Private Parts

I've seen the original Star Treks so many times I never watch the show any more. Except sometimes I flip through the channels and there it is. Funny thing is, I'll usually watch the weaker episodes because I don't remember them as well.

For instance, I just caught most of "A Private Little War." In it, both Spock and Kirk almost die when attacked on a backward little planet where they should have easily avoided any trouble. It's also a place where Kirk had a mission during his ever-changing but always convenient past.

This is one of those episodes where Kirk tells the Prime Directive to go screw itself. Same for the Federation, I guess, whose orders he defies. See, Kirk knew these simple villagers (or simple planeters) years ago when they were peaceful, so when he sees their weapon technology has advanced too quickly (even though there's a debate about it on the bridge), he smells Klingons.

The story isn't great, but it does have an interesting ending. The Enterprise will beam down more weapons so there can be a balance of power. Plenty of death ahead, but at least both sides in any war will have a fighting chance. So slaughters are okay if they come naturally, but if they're because of undue influence, the Prime Directive no longer applies.

Reading about the episode, I discovered the original script was a commentary on Vietnam. Gene Roddenberry rewrote it and removed most of the parallels. A smart move on his part, since that would have made the episode even worse. The original writer was Don Ingalls, an old friend of Roddenberry--they worked together in the LAPD. He was so annoyed that the screenplay is now credited to "Jud Crucis," which stands for "Jesus Crucified." What a drama queen. Save it for the page, Don.