Morality

I had another memorable dream last night.

Right before I went to bed, I had watched the Star Trek episode about the planet that waged war by computer. The machines told them which people were calculated to be casualties, and then the guys in the funny hats fed those folks to the disintegrators. Of course, any time a planet relies on a computer in any significant way, Cap'n Kirk inevitably blasts it to atoms.

The fellow in this photo is David Opatoshu. He was in pretty much every TV show in the 60s and 70s, though I'm sure his Star Trek appearance was the highlight of his long career. He was also one of those guys (like Ricardo Montalban) who played aliens, Asians, or Mexicans -- whatever the role required. The plots rarely ended in his favor, but he just kept showing up.

Anyway, I had been talking to one of my science geek friends about growing up Trekkie, and it got me thinking about my first exposure to the Enterprise and her crew. And that's what I dreamed about. The weird thing about the dream was that it took place back in my teaching days. I was standing up in front of a filled lecture hall, and was using all of my Professional Public Speaker tricks to dazzle the audience with my riveting tale of that first childhood visit to where no man had gone before. I won't attempt to be as eloquent here as I was in my dream; I'll just provide the basic facts about that event that happened so many years ago.

Shortly after supper one night, the phone rang. It was my best friend Herbie. (His nickname later became "Herbert the Pervert", but that's a story for another time.) Herbie was excited and wanted me to immediately turn the TV over to Channel 12. There was a short debate with my siblings, but Herb's urgency won the day, and the channel was changed.

And there was the Gorn.

I have to admit that "Arena" (aka "Kirk vs. Scaly Green Dude") is not one of my favorite episodes in retrospect. But the first time I saw it, I was riveted. The story of a lone human, hopelessly outmatched by the alien's brute strength and ferocity, using his science knowledge to win the battle -- it fascinated me. Within about 10 seconds, I had morphed from someone who had never heard of Star Trek...into a lifelong fan.

And yes, the Gorn costume looks laughable by today's FX standards. But the appeal of the show was always about morality, not about costuming. For example, "Arena" explores the definition of "civilization" while it ponders the place of humanity within the Universe. Almost every episode deals with topics of timeless importance, which stimulates thought about values, relationships, and character. I would guess that Star Trek fans have spent more time examining their own belief systems and conscience than fans of, say, Dukes of Hazzard or My Mother the Car.

So even after all these years, I still dream about lessons learned from Kirk and his shipmates. And I still enjoy shows with dudes in funny costumes.

With that in mind, here are a couple of questions for you. The first is graphical, and is directly related to the riddles posed by morality questions. The rest, well...no. They're just trivia questions I felt like asking. Enjoy!


1. Who is the gentleman who has been cropped from these two photos?

2. What is the correct end to the phrase "Eeny meenie, chili beanie..."?
  A. What do you want for nothing? A rubber biscuit?
  B. The spirits are about to speak.
  C. I want an Oscar Meyer weenie.
  D. Yo quiero Taco Bell.

3. What is the correct end to the phrase "There's no need to fear..."?
  A. Super Chicken is here.
  B. Batman and Catwoman are here.
  C. UNderdog is here.
  D. Dude, I need a beer.

4. What is the correct end to the phrase "Davy, Peter, Mike, and..."
  A. Bozo.
  B. Spam.
  C. Ringo.
  D. Mickey.

That's all I have for the weekend. Sleep well, tonight, and have a great day tomorrow!