Mixed Marriages and Arranged Marriages

AMBASSADOR SAREK, of Vulcan :

The Meaning of Spock's Existence is 

The Very Meaning of Our Marriage : 

What our two lifeforms combine, 

and offer something of value to other lifeforms. 

RODDENBERRY :

But if you take the madness, which happens to your people at the time of pon farr, then add to it the extraordinary strength of a Vulcan--" 

AMBASSADOR SAREK,

of Vulcan :

Ordinarily an Earth woman could not endure that. 

If she survived, she might be severely injured, 

both physically and emotionally.

 

RODDENBERRY :

Regarding that-- 

 

AMBASSADOR SAREK,

of Vulcan :

 

Roddenberry, I will not paint a word picture. 

I will say, that Humans and Vulcans mate in... 

Somewhat similar fashion--in quite a similar fashion. 

But physical contour, mass, duration and energy do vary. 

Since we are deprived of our Reason, during this time, 

the rest depends upon The Woman. 

Not just her strength, but also her wisdom.

 Her patience." 

 

 

 

 

 "Sarek's Son Spock" -- Gene Roddenberry talks to Mark Lenard in connection with

"Inside Star Trek", a tribute to Star Trek released in 1976.

 

Roddenberry to transporter officer: 

Set transporter for Vulcan Embassy.

 

Coordinates on Vulcan Embassy.

Lock on to Ambassador Sarek.

Ambassador Sarek, sir. Engaging.

 

[transporter effect]

 

Welcome, Ambassador Sarek.

 

My old friend Roddenberry, it's been years since we've met.

 

"And I have many new questions, Ambassador--

much more intimate, and personal, than I have ever had to ask before." 

 

About my son Spock, I presume.

 

Well, yes, if you include the beginnings of Spock...

There are some things I must know, Ambassador, in order to continue with my Star Trek journey.

Forgive me, but how were you able to... overcome... the Vulcan pon farr mating drive?

I presume you did overcome it, Spock's mother Amanda was human, and somehow she was impregnated by you— 

 

Roddenberry, are you asking if we coupled?

 

Ehrr, yes, sir.

We know that Vulcans normally mate only once every seven years--" 

 

And since it is known that we pay for our sexual repression during these years by an almost animal madness, this has aroused a... a prurient curiosity among humans.

 

It comes out of our affection for your son Spock, Ambassador. And your son's future. He's half Human, we've seen him reject a Vulcan marriage, is marriage to a Human female possible to him?

 

It was for me.

 

But if you take the madness, which happens to your people at the time of pon farr, then add to it the extraordinary strength of a Vulcan--

 

Ordinarily an Earth woman could not endure that.

If she survived, she might be severely injured, both physically and emotionally.

 

Regarding that--

 

Roddenberry, I will not paint a word picture. 

I will say, that Humans and Vulcans mate in... somewhat similar fashion--in quite a similar fashion.

But physical contour, mass, duration and energy do vary.

Since we are deprived of our reason, during this time, the rest depends upon the woman.

Not just her strength, 

but also her wisdom. Her patience.

 

Is it possible to ever completely overcome the pon farr madness?

 

It is probably impossible to a Vulcan in his youthful prime.

Fortunately, I was not.

And it was no doubt helped by the fact that I spent almost thirty years as Ambassador to other Federation planets.

 

And you spent many of those years on Earth itself?

 

Yes. But this gives too much credit to me.

Spock's mother Amanda is an extraordinary woman.

 

And Spock was the result. 

The first Human-Vulcan mixture.

 

No, not the first. 

But the first to survive. 

As you must know, an Earth-Vulcan conception will abort during the end of the first month. 

The fetus is unable to continue life once it begins to develop its primary organs. 

The fetus Spock was removed from Amanda's body at this time --

The first such experiment ever attempted. 

His tiny form resided in a test tube for the following two Earth months, while our physicians performed delicate chemical engineering, introducing over a hundred subtle changes that we hoped would sustain life. 

At the end of this time, the fetus was returned to Amanda's womb. 

At the ninth Earth month, the tiny form was again removed from Amanda, prematurely by Vulcan standards, and spent the following four months Vulcan term pregnancy in a specially designed incubator. 

The infant Spock proved surprisingly resilient--there seems to be something about the Earth-Vulcan mixture, which created in that.. tiny body.. a fierce determination to survive.

 

And, as Spock grew into childhood, Ambassador--

 

Yes, yes. There must have been times when his inner mind wondered, if the fight to survive had been worthwhile. 

You see, while all Vulcans, including our children, live by the code of IDIC, and believe that diversity is to be admired, and treasured, it must be understood that the display of emotion is considered on our planet to be grossly offensive. 

No, more than that. 

Shockingly indecent. 

I can only explain that our attitude is rooted in Vulcan history, involving events of such bloody violence

that it's left our race forever scarred, and sensitive to displays of emotion. 

Whether or not this Vulcan attitude can be defended, 

the fact is, it exists.

 

Young Spock was allowed no smiles, no tears, no anger...

 

Such emotions, so common among your small children, are shocking, even appalling, to a Vulcan child. 

Spock's playmates could only assume that the bearer of these emotions was exhibiting hatred for his fellows. 

Some desire to embarrass, to disgust them. 

The children were prepared to enjoy Spock's diversity, they were not prepared

for my son's demonstrating what seemed to be an obscenity of the grossest kind.

 

It must have been a cruel existence for Spock. 

It was.

 

Then, what kept your family on Vulcan?

 

We felt... Spock's torture, of course. 

But Amanda and I also had A Dream. 

One that justified even the risk of our precious son's life and sanity. 

What point is there in any life surviving unless it has Meaning? 

The Meaning of Spock's Existence is the very meaning of our Marriage: 

What our two lifeforms combine, 

and offer something of value to other lifeforms.

 

"IDIC." 

 

Yes. Infinite Diversity from Infinite Combinations. 

It has given us quite a lovely Universe. 

I will return to Vulcan now, if I may.

 

Thank you, Ambassador. Engage transporter.

 

[transporter effect]

 

================

 

 

OSEPH CAMPBELL: 

 

 

The Libido is The Impulse to Life.

 

BILL MOYERS: 

 

 

Comes from where?

 

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

 

 

Comes from The Heart.

 

BILL MOYERS: 

And The Heart is what?

 

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

 

The Heart is the organ of opening up to 

Somebody Else. 

That’s the human quality, as opposed to the animal qualities, which have to do with, primarily with self-interest. 

 

Opening up to that which is other is the opening of The Heart, and that’s as the troubadours saw it, it is the opening of The Heart.

 

BILL MOYERS: 

 

 

I can certainly understand, though, why The Church was threatened by this, because how can you have a church if everyone’s libido is his or her Own God?

 

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

 

Why Not? 

Why can’t The Church handle that? 

 

If you can sanctify a marriage that has been arranged,

why can’t you sanctify A Marriage where two people have Joined Each Other?

 

BILL MOYERS: 

So the courage to love became 

the courage to affirm against Tradition, 

whatever knowledge stands confirmed 

in one’s own experience.

 

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

Yeah.

 

BILL MOYERS: 

Why was that important in 

The Evolution of The West?

 

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

Well, it was important in that it gives The West this accent, as I’ve been saying, on the individual, that he should have faith in his experience, and not simply mouth terms that have come to him from other mouths. 

 

I think that’s the great thing in The West. 

 

The validity of the individual’s experience of what humanity is, what life is, what values are, against the monolithic system.

 

BILL MOYERS: 

Was there some of this in the legend of The Holy Grail?

 

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

Yes. Wolfram has a very interesting statement about The Origin of The Grail.

He says The Grail was brought from Heaven by 

The Neutral Angels. 

 

There was The War in Heaven

between God and Lucifer,

and the angelic hosts that sided one group with Lucifer,

and the other with God. 

 

Pair of opposites, 

Good and Evil, 

God and Satan. 

 

The Grail was brought down through The Middle,

The Way of The Middle, 

by The Neutral angels.

 

BILL MOYERS: 

What is the Grail representing, then?

 

JOSEPH CAMPBELL:

Well, the Grail becomes the, what we call it,

That which is attained and realized by people who have lived their own lives. 

Listen to Neelix

“The Key to Neelix is to understand that there is not a more noble heart in the universe... he is a survivor who will scavenger and wheel and deal but he wouldn't harm a fly and has a core sense of honor. 

He is extremely lovable. 

His purpose in life will become to make himself useful in any way he can to us. 

His reward for proving himself a valuable mate is a lifestyle he never dreamed about.”

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star....

Ron Swanson: Symphony for the righteous destruction of humanity in E minor

WEAKNESS

No One knows him better than I do.

The Extreme Lengths to which Our Boy has gone to Make Himself Strong are powerful indicators of The Weakness he feels that he must overcome.

That Weakness is still there, inside.

-- Hurt.

Doctor Simon, Hurt.

He's Daddy's Evil Twin -- 

And Your Own.

 

"Samson’s Hair. 

Achilles’ Heel. 

The oddly elaborate gymnastic contortions that exposed the vulnerable spots of Celtic superwarriors. 

Even the greatest heroes needed a weakness, 

or there would be no drama, no fall or redemption.

  If nothing could hurt Superman, 

what could hurt him?

  In fact, Weisinger and his writers understood 

The Most Important Thing

about Superman: 

That His Heart 

was vulnerable, 

and 

His Self-Esteem 

could be fragile. 

The Super was just 

The Icing on The Cake, 

The sugar coating : 

These were stories about 

Man and His Role 

in A New World.

  But now that The Man of Tomorrow had achieved near-divine heights of omnipotence, The Need for some kind of convincing Physical Vulnerability was becoming greater. 

Or so goes the prevailing opinion. 

The glowing green killer mineral Kryptonite had been introduced in the 1943 Superman radio series. 

The contaminated remains of Superman’s Home Planet fell to Earth in meteor form—much more often than the debris of A Distant World might reasonably be expected to fall, and in sufficient quantities to threaten Superman’s Life on a regular basis. 

As a weapon, it had a certain symbolic resonance: 

The notion that radioactive fragments 

of Superman’s Birth World 

had become toxic to him 

spoke of The Old Country, 

The Old Ways, 

The Threat of The Failure 

to Assimilate.

 

Superman was a 

naturalised American. 

The last thing he needed 

were these lethal reminders of 

Where He’d Come From; 

That he, The Son of Lordly Scientists, 

had been reduced to 

Toiling in a farmer’s field or 

Minding the general store.

  Weisinger knew how his young readers’ minds worked 

and stretched the idea a little further: 

If there was Green Kryptonite, 

couldn’t there be other colors too? 

The prismatic splintering began 

with the invention of Red K, 

The Cool Kryptonite --

Possibly because it made literal 

The Master Silver Age Theme 

of Bodily Transformation. 

It was mineral LSD for Superman, 

affecting not just His Mind 

but also reshaping His Body 

into A Playground of Fleshly Hallucination.

  No two trips on Red K 

were the same, in-story 

logic promised. 

Red K would affect Superman 

in a different way every time 

and theoretically might never become boring. 

So, under its influence, Superman might develop 

The Head of An Ant, scaling The Daily Planet building as 

The Commander of a Nightmarish Army of 

Giant Insects —

“BZZ-BZZZ … 

WE MUST CAPTURE LOIS LANE … 

SHE WILL BE OUR QUEEN!”

— or split into Good Clark, Bad Superman, 

or even become goofy for forty-eight hours.

  Red K and The Silver Age are inextricable. 

Red K was LSD for superheroes, and under its influence 

Superman could unclench 

his entire being and 

Walk The Razor’s Edge 

of Joyous Self-Abandonment 

and Ego-Annihilating Terror — 

An American Pioneer.

Red-K served equally as a handy metaphor 

for the adolescent hormonal shifts, physical changes, 

and weird moods of elation and despair 

that were being experienced by its readers.

  Other Kryptonite variants were created 

as plot mechanics demanded 

rather than with any eye to longevity. 

That’s Why --

Gold Kryptonite 

removes Superman’s Powers permanently, 

Blue Kryptonite 

affects only Bizarros, 

and 

White Kryptonite 

is deadly to plants, 

which makes it about as interesting 

as matches, DDT, or a stout spade.

But, of course, 

Superman’s Ultimate Weakness 

was his Secret identity. 

Why wouldn’t shy Clark Kent 

choose to tear open his shirt 

and reveal to his unrequited love 

The Potent God-Man behind the buttons? 

Instead he hid The Truth from Lois Lane, 

devising deceptions that became so elaborate as to be cruel : 

The Ghastly Tricks of Semantics 

a Man-Boy might play on a Child-Woman, 

all in the guise of 

“Teaching Her a Lesson.”

  A story like “The Two Faces of Superman” showed the hero promising to marry Lois Lane but only if she met him at a particular time outside the church. 

When she met his conditions, 

he contrived to seal her car door with his heat vision so that she couldn’t get out. 

Unable to marry him at precisely the correct hour meant that Lois forfeited her chance. 

A relieved, chortling Superman took to the skies, having hoodwinked the predator once more.

  Like Rumpelstiltskin, Tom Tit Tot, and the other creatures of folklore who knew that 

names held power 

and kept theirs secret, 

Superman maintained his distance 

from Clark and vice versa. 

Their paths rarely crossed. 

He hid His Heart in a plain suit, 

behind glasses. 

For Lois, A Girl, to know Who He Was would be The End. 

She’d only pressure him into exchanging his gaudy suit and life of adventure for something less embarrassing, more domestic. 

She would expect him to be home for dinner, when there were stricken ocean liners to rescue. 

In the end, his self-deceiving fantasies of one day carrying Lois up the aisle were just that, and if he married Lois, he’d be Clark forever. 

It wouldn’t matter how strong or fast he was, he’d be Clark racing around the globe to pick up groceries. "

....or making soufflés with his heat-vison

"I never drink when I fly."

** TAKES A DRINK **

** LOSES THE ABILITY TO FLY **

They Wish to Be

 

Jor-El:

Even though you've been raised 

as a Human Being, 

You are 

Not One of Them. 

They can be a Great People, Kal-El, 

They Wish to Be. 

They Only Lack 

The Light to Show The Way. 

For this reason, above all, 

Their Capacity for Good, 

I have sent Them YOU... 

My Only Son.

I Offer My Services

I offer my services as Science Officer.

-- Spock

Star Trek The Motion Picture - Spock's Arrival & Warp Speed Scene

Five Mantras for life by Rik Mayall

I just Love You, is all.

Matt and Harriet endlessly argue (Studio 60 E19)

“It's a fairy tale.” 

“No, it's not.”

“We've been having this fight for six MONTHS.” 

“We've been having this fight for TWO YEARS!”

“We have been having this fight in two different MILLENIA now!”

…..you really would have thought one of us would have WON by this point.”

“Aw, Matt -- I just Love You, is all. 

It's okay that you're a heathen.”

"Well, I appreciate that."

I've Got a Theory -- It Doesn't Matter

[Willow]

I've got a theory we should work this fast —

[Willow and Giles]

Because it clearly could get serious before it's passed

[Buffy]

I've got a theory

It doesn't matter...

What can't we face if we're together?

What's in this place that we can't weather?

Apocalypse?

We've all been there

The same old trips

Why should we care?

[Buffy, Anya, Giles, Tara, Willow and Xander]

What can't we do if we get in it?

We'll work it through within a minute

We have to try

We'll pay the price

It's do or die

[Buffy]

Hey, I've died twice!

Who'd Hurt Some Poor Crazy Priest and His Servant?

They waved goodbye to The Mad Priest and His Servant.

And Danny danced them out of sight. 

Our forward continuance is impeded by this fellow, who is begging you will accompany him that he may show you 

A Rare and Wonderful thing.

RUDYARD KIPPLING :

What thing?

Wallah :

He would not say what thing. 

Therefore, I suspect his bad intentions to entice you into a house of disreputation where he will take you, kill you, murder you cut your throat and rob the money from your pockets also.

RUDYARD KIPPLING :

Crikey!

Wait at the office!

Wallah :

Sir, please!

Myself, I will take you to a loving house.

You will be very happy and delightful...

DANNY PEACHY

Morning to You, Brother.

Glad you caught the performance. 

What do you think?

RUDYARD KIPPLING :

It's convincing, but what are you rascals up to now? 

Last week it was Kings you were to be, of Kafiristan.

DANNY PEACHY

We've gotta get there first.

Madness is A Trick.

Who'd hurt some poor Crazy Priest and His Servant?

Peachy worked this out.

We've used it before.

He Talks, while I Act Dumb.

I can clown pretty good now.

I can twitch to put the fear into any good Muslim.

I can froth at the mouth.

Want to see?

RUDYARD KIPPLING :

I can imagine.

DANNY PEACHY

All right, some other time perhaps. 

Come over here.

Give it a touch-up down here.

RUDYARD KIPPLING :

Rifles?

DANNY PEACHY

Twenty Martinis, and ammunition. 

Cost us every sou we got out of the rajah of Degumber.

RUDYARD KIPPLING :

Good heavens!

You mean you went back there?

DANNY PEACHY

Of course, Brother Kipling.

RUDYARD KIPPLING :

God Help You if you're caught with those! 

DANNY PEACHY

Gunrunning isn't exactly new to us. 

Well, Brother Kipling, goodbye and many thanks.

RUDYARD KIPPLING :

Man, Don't Do it!

The Odds are too great.

DANNY PEACHY

Wish Us Luck. 

We met upon The Level. 

And we're parting on The Square. 

RUDYARD KIPPLING :

Good Luck, indeed.

DANNY PEACHY

Come along, you ugly beast.

RUDYARD KIPPLING :

Wait!

Here. Take this.

DANNY

Last time Danny and Me came through the Khyber Pass, we fought our way yard by bloody yard and General Bobbs called us heroes afterwards. 

But that was years ago. 

DANNY PEACHY

Times have changed.

Blast! Look who's on --

Mulvaney!

That loudmouthed mick from the Black Tyrone!

"Private Mulvaney! 

Come to attention when I am addressing you!

Slope arms!

Present! March!

Mark time!

At the double!

Corporal of the guard!

Take three men and put Private Mulvaney under arrest!

Bloody man's drunk again!"

We came through the Khyber with that caravan doing all sorts of antics to amuse the people.

At night, he told them their fortunes in A Tongue of His Own and I Translated.

And all concerned were happy because I promised them all their wishes would come true.

Then at Jaedallak we turned off towards Kafiristan.

They were sad to see us leave the caravan. 

We'd brought it Good Luck. 

Two she-camels had foaled 

and there was no sniping at us from the hills. 

They waved goodbye to The Mad Priest and His Servant.

And Danny danced them out of sight.

Two Monsters

Cut to morning. 

Sunlight pours in through the cage window and down on Oz lying there naked. 

The camera pans up to Giles arriving with a cup of coffee in his hand. 

He looks down at Oz to make sure he's not a wolf, unlocks the door and pulls it slightly open. 

He takes a sip from his cup and heads over to where he sees Buffy in the stacks curled up and asleep in a chair with a book on her lap and a drawer from the card catalog next to her on a stepstool. 

Other books are lying on the floor around her. 

He quietly takes the steps to the upper level and reaches down for one of the books. 

As he does so Buffy stirs from her slumber and looks up at him. 

Buffy: 

Hey. 

Giles: 

Hmm. Hello. 

(sips his coffee) 

Buffy quickly realizes what it must look like, her surrounded by all these books, and tries to play it off. 

Buffy: 

Oh. Boy. 

(stands up) 

Faith and her nutty books. 

Giles: 

(reads some book titles) 

'Exploring Demon Dimensions' and 'Mystery of Acathla'. 

Buffy: 

Yeah! And she still listens to heavy metal. 

(walks toward the stairs) 

Freaky deaky. 

Giles: 

Buffy... 

She realizes that he hasn't bought it and leans against the railing. 

He gives her his attention and slowly comes over to her as she speaks. 

Buffy: 

What if... I told you that... 

I had a dream about Angel... and, um... it brought up some questions? 

Giles: 

I'd say it was to be expected. Must have been some dream. 

I didn't think you knew what a card index was for. 

(sips his coffee) 

Buffy: 

I dreamt that he came back. 

She sits down on the steps. 

Giles comes down to sit with her. 

Giles: 

Of course. After Jenny was killed, 

(sets the cup aside) 

I had dreams that she was s-still alive, that I saved her. 

Buffy: 

This was vivid. Really vivid. Three-dimensional, sensurround, the hills are alive... 

She stops when she realizes her use of Jenny's metaphor. 

Giles takes off his glasses and considers for a moment. 

Giles: 

Do you believe it was a prophecy? 

Buffy: 

No. I-I don't know. 

I... (inhales deeply) 

I guess it just... it made me wonder. Giles looks away in thought. 

Buffy: 

Is there a chance even? 

Could it happen? 

Giles: 

Well, there's no record of anyone returning from a demon dimension once the... gate was closed. 

I-I-I can't imagine how it could happen or-or why. 

Buffy: 

Let's just pretend for a second that... 

Angel somehow found his way back to Sunnydale. 

What would he be like? 

Giles: 

I really can't say. From what is known about that dimension, i- it would suggest 

A World of... brutal torment. 

And time moves quite differently there, so... 

Buffy: 

I remember. 

So he would've been down there for hundreds of years. 

Giles: 

Yes. 

(looks up at her) 

Buffy: 

Of torture. 

Giles: 

It would take someone of extraordinary... 

Will and Character to survive that and, uh, retain any semblance of Self. 

(swallows hard)

 

Most likely, he'd be, be a monster. 

Buffy: 

(hopelessly) 

A Lost Cause. 

Giles: 

Maybe. Maybe not.

 In my experience, there are... 

Two Types of Monster.

 

The First, uh, can 

be redeemed, or 

more importantly, 

wants to be redeemed. 

Buffy: 

And The Second Type…? 

Giles: 

The Second is void 

of Humanity, cannot respond 

to reason... or Love.

HARE

TOMMY :

What's coursing?

TURKISH :

Hare coursing.

They set two lurchers... 

They're dogs, before you ask.

On a Hare.

And The Hare has to outrun the dogs.

TOMMY :

So, what if it doesn't?

TURKISH :

Well, the big rabbit gets fucked, doesn't it?

TOMMY :

Proper fucked?

TURKISH :

Yeah, Tommy.

Before Zee Germans get there.

The Most Likely Transfer Method Would Be a Retrovirus

EMH: 

Ah, Captain. 

When you raised some concerns regarding the Taresians, I began questioning their story about Ensign Kim's birth.

CHAKOTAY: 

I thought you'd confirmed that he has Taresian DNA.

EMH: 

I did, and he does. 

At least, he does now. 

But when I checked his previous microcellular scans, I found no traces of the Taresian genetic fragments. 

I can only conclude that he wasn't born with them.

CHAKOTAY: 

Their whole story about embryo implantation was a lie. 

He's human.

EMH: 

Yes, although maybe not for long. 

The alien DNA is continuing to alter his genetic structure. 

Within a few days he'll be indistinguishable from a native Taresian.

JANEWAY: 

Do you have any idea how this new DNA could have gotten into his cells?

EMH: 

The most likely transfer method would be a retrovirus. 

He was probably exposed during an away mission.

CHAKOTAY: 

Wouldn't the biofilters pick up the virus and eliminate it?

EMH: 

They may very well have, but once the virus transferred the DNA into his cells, killing the messenger wouldn't have helped.

JANEWAY: 

Is there any way to determine exactly when he was infected?

EMH: 

Indeed there is. 

The transporter buffer performs it's own version of a microcellular scan every time someone uses it. 

I reviewed the logs and found the first appearance of the alien genes in his molecular pattern on stardate 50698.

CHAKOTAY: 

Our away mission to that planet where we found the vorillium. 

Harry was with us, and he was separated from the group for a while.

EMH: 

He might have been infected by something he ate or drank, even something he touched.

JANEWAY: 

So Harry gets infused with alien DNA which gives him the instinctive urge to come here. 

Then the Taresians tell him this elaborate story to make him believe he was one of them. 

Why?

CHAKOTAY: 

Don't forget that welcoming committee on the planet. 

It sounds as if they're giving him every incentive to want to stay on Taresia.

JANEWAY: 

And by keeping us away, they're making the decision for him.