Star Trek: Season 3 Episode 6 "Spectre of the Gun"

I watched Season 3 Episode 6 of Star Trek. It is called "Spectre of the Gun." I was not looking forward to watching this episode and I came to realize that it was not half bad. The episode revolved around the fact that the Enterprise trespassed into some uncharted territory. Captain Kirk and the crew (Spock, McCoy, Scotty and Chekov) were transported to a place that resembled that of Tombstone, Arizona. It was October 26th, 1881 and the crew, or the Clantons as they were in the show, were forced to fight the Earps. In real life, the Clantons are killed and the Earps win. However, in this episode, Billy "dies" because believes he was actually shot. Spock realizes that if they truly believe that the bullets are fake then they won't die. Turns out that Spock is correct. The Earps unload bullets on them, but the guys don't budge. Kirk fights one of the Earps and after proving to him that he could kill him he lets the guy go. The episode ends with Kirk and the crew telling the leader of this uncharted territory that they try not to kill when it is not needed.

While watching the episode, I was thinking of ways it related to Dollhouse. I noticed that the crew was placed into this situation (being in "Tombstone, Arizona) just like the actives in Dollhouse are placed into situations where they have to do a task. Also,I instantly noticed that Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, and Chekov's names were changed to Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury, Billy Claiborne, Ike Clanton, and Billy Clanton in the episode. It reminded me of how the actives in Dollhouse do not use the names they have in real life. Finally, Spock reminded me a lot of Topher because he was the brains of the group. Topher is the genius behind programming the actives and Spock is the one that figured out that if they believe the bullets are fake then they will not die. I did not think I would find as many correlations between Dollhouse and Star Trek, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Battlestar Galactica

When I heard we were watching Battlestar Galactica, I was expecting a show that was very dull. I mean my dad has watched it before, so I assumed it would be real old-fashioned and lame. However, I now have a different view of the show. While I won’t say it is a show I will watch in my free time, I will say that I can understand why people watch it.
I liked the idea of a futuristic world vs. the Cylons because that is interesting. However, I was very confused in why there were so many sex scenes. I feel like these scenes did not add to the plot of the episode, so I do not understand why Ronald D. Moore, writer and producer of Battlestar Galactic, included them in the miniseries. Number Six, or Caprica Six, is a prime example of a woman who uses her attributes to her advantage (even though she uses it for evil). She seduced Dr. Gaius Baltar, who was very powerful. She deceived him by helping him with his work on the Colonial defense system. Although she used Baltar to help the Cylons, she did sacrifice her life in order to save Baltar’s. I feel like this really proves that she did care for Baltar, but she had to use him to provide an opportunity for the Cylon’s to attack. I feel like Number Six is very similar to the woman in “Firefly” because she used her abilities to seduce the Captain, which eventually led to her getting what she wanted/needed.

Poem

Sick
by Shel Silverstein


"I cannot go to school today,"
Said little Peggy Ann McKay,
"I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash, and purple bumps.
My mouth is wet, my throat is dry,
I'm going blind in my right eye.
My tonsils are as big as rocks,
I've counted sixteen chicken pox
And there's one more--that's seventeen,
And don't you think my face looks green?
My leg is cut, my eyes are blue--
It might be instamatic flu.
I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke,
I'm sure that my left leg is broke--
My hip hurts when I move my chin,
My belly button's caving in,
My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained,
My 'pendix pains each time it rains.
My nose is cold, my toes are numb,
I have a sliver in my thumb.
My neck is stiff, my voice is weak,
I hardly whisper when I speak.
My tongue is filling up my mouth,
I think my hair is falling out.
My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight,
My temperature is one-o-eight.
My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear,
There is a hole inside my ear.
I have a hangnail, and my heart is--what?
What's that? What's that you say?
You say today is---Saturday?
G'bye, I'm going out to play!"


I have never read this poem before, but I enjoyed reading it. It reminded me of the days when I told my mom that I did not feel well and then came up with a bunch of excuses for why I shouldn't go to school. They never seemed to work, but I always tried. When it comes to poetry, I like poems that aren't real lengthy. The one's that are real long and have hidden meanings usually lose my interest, but the one's that are quick and to the point I enjoy. I also like poems that are fun meaning are written in a way where they make a shape or something to that effect.

Buffy the Vampire

I really was confused during this episode. I couldn't figure out what was real and was not. I think since I am not familiar with Buffy that I had a harder time understanding the episode. It was strange when the doctor and her parents were telling her to say that she did not have a sister. I did not like that scene because the concept of rejecting your family is dumb.

Favorite Movie

One of my all-time favorite movies is Remember the Titans. I have seen the movie so many times, but it never gets old. I think I like the movie so much because it is based on a true story involving sports. I find myself liking movies that are sports based and are real stories. The movie really portrays what society was like when blacks and whites were just beginning to unite. There is a scene when Sunshine (a white guy from California) takes Petey and a few other black guys into a restaurant. Even though the black guys said we should not go in there, Sunshine convinced them to go in. The owner of the store comes up and tells the boys that they are full (even though there were a ton of tables available). This scene made me realize just how awful people were treated back then. One of my favorite scenes is when Gary is in the hospital and Julius comes to visit him. The nurse says something to the effect of: "Sorry, visiting hours are only for relatives." Gary, the great guy that he is says, "Alice are you blind. He's my brother." That line always brings a smile to my face because it shows how far the team has come in accepting one another. This movie is and always will be one of my favorites!

Commonplace Problems

In my paper, I am worried that I do not explain enough about my show. I tried not make my paper more interesting by cutting out all the details of the show. The only time I mention specifics about the show is when I talk about the actives getting "treatments." I quickly explained what an active was and what a treatment is, but i am not sure if it makes sense to someone who has never seen the show.

"In Dollhouse, the actives (programmable humans who can receive different personalities in order to do whatever a client wishes) receive treatments. These treatments erase the memory of the zombie-like beings so they can have different personalities inserted into them."

If you could let me know if I need to be more specific or not I would greatly appreciate that.

Possible Commonplace Paper

I am going to continue writing on the idea that torture happens all around us and people either are too oblivious to see it or just simply disregard it. I am definately going to cut out most of the background to the plot because that took up a lot of space. In my Analytical Paper, I mentioned how word choice is important in how people see a situation. I am going to go more in depth about that because in Dollhouse they use the word "treatment" in replace of torture, which distracts the viewer from what is really happening. Although the words could be used in exchange for one another, people react differently to hearing "treatment" compared to "torture." I will prove my point by giving examples of the actives constantly getting "treatments" and even though the actives are put through these situations regularly, nobody realizes how wrong it is.

More Paper Problems

I have been having a hard time focusing my paper. I realized that I have not been using my thesis statement as a guide to write my paper. I actually never included my thesis into my paper, which I think has been giving me a lot of problems. Also, I did not describe what an active is early enough in my paper, which caused my paper to be confusing. I moved this statement from the end of the first page to the first paragraph: "An active is a programmable human who can receive different personalities in order to do whatever a client wishes." I think this will help people know what I am talking about, but I need to explain more of the background of Dollhouse so people can follow what I say