Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 58: The Paradise Syndrome [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love how in the third season, Star Trek made tons of very original episodes. Some people have complained that the Enterprise should have been able to destroy the asteroid easily. But remember Spock said it was as big as the Moon. I highly doubt that the Enterprise has enough fire power to split the moon open. Also, the Enterprise took forever to get back to the planet. Their engines were burned out so it took them two months!

The ending is very touching and makes you realize how important your loved ones are.

Ok people why has no one ever noticed that in this episode Kirk was turned into Hiwatha playing opposite his Minnehaha in the guise of Mirimanee (Sabrina Scharf). The writers also managed to include Hiawatha's chief opponent Pau-Puk-Keewis, played by Rudi Solari's character Salish. In Lonngfellow's The Song of Hiawatha, (1) Pau-Puk-Keewis has serious misgivings about Hiawatha's god-hood, (2) he tries to woo Minnehaha away from Hiawatha, (3) Minnehaha eventually dies, and (4) Hiawatha leaves his people, supposedly returning to the realm of the gods.
All this sounds all too familiar when placed side by side with the events depicted in this episode. I cannot believe that it took a native Italian, raised in Montreal, who then moved to the Canadian west to teach English in a French school, in order to put all of this together. :-)
Now the Google gods will truly be enlightened!
Live long and prosper!

I had always liked this episode "The Paradise Syndrome". It had great music, an interesting story, and it was unique in being the only episode of the original series about Native Americans. It could have been made more authentic by adding more Indian artifacts, customs, mythologies, etc. Kirk is seen in a different role as the leader of a tribe instead of the commander of a starship. The obelisk was very effective and added a more ancient feeling to the atmosphere of the story. Sabrina Scharf was apealing as Mirimanee. All in all, a very enjoyable episode, especially if you like Native American myths.

Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy are on a planet trying to find out a way to save it from the impact of an approaching asteroid when Kirk mysteriously disappears underground. Once Kirk gets out, he discovers an Indian tribe that thinks he is a God, and he gets to marry an attractive Indian woman. But one thing is wrong, Captain Kirk has lost his memory. Spock and Dr. McCoy must find a way to save Kirk from the planet before the asteroid hits.

"The Paradise Syndrome" is a decent episode, but it's not really that great in any way. The best part of the episode is when Spock uses one of his tricks to help Captain Kirk at the end of the episode.

Great original score to an otherwise fair episode. The last scene with Kirk at Miramanee's bedside is very effective & touching. This guy Kirk can't win --talk about unlucky in love!

An asteroid is threatening a planet inhabited by a tribe of humans that appear to be of Native American descent. Kirk, Spock and McCoy are on the planet for what is planned to be a brief time. In order to prevent the asteroid from striking the planet, the Enterprise must intercept it when it is some distance away. The asteroid is so large that the Enterprise can barely move it, so they must move it very soon and allow the deflection distance to grow over time.
However, while exploring an ancient structure, Kirk accidentally triggers its' opening and while inside, presses the wrong button, which causes him to be rendered unconscious and suffer from amnesia. When Spock and McCoy can't find him, McCoy wants to stay and search but Spock insists that they must leave.
The Enterprise arrives at the asteroid and the attempt to deflect the asteroid burns out the Enterprise's warp power. They are forced to limp back to the planet's location on impulse power, a journey that takes many days. It is ironic that this is the only episode where Scotty is incapable of repairing the warp engines.
When Kirk awakes, he emerges from the structure and is hailed as Kirok, a god on "Earth." The structure is an asteroid deflection device and the high priest of the village is the only one with the knowledge needed to operate it. However, the last high priest died before he could pass the knowledge on to his apprentice. In the time that passes while Kirk is on the planet, he meets and marries Miramanee, although he still faces opposition from the man who was to have been the high priest. As the asteroid approaches, Miramanee informs Kirk that she is pregnant.
As the danger from the asteroid becomes critical, the villagers plead with Kirk to activate the structure to deflect the asteroid. He cannot and in their rage, the villagers stone him and Miramanee. Spock and McCoy arrive in time to save Kirk but Miramanee is killed. Kirk is unconscious and in a powerful mind meld, Spock is able to clear the amnesia and restore Kirk's memory. Spock has managed to decipher the writing on the structure and activates the beam that repels the asteroid and the planet is saved.
This episode is surprisingly good and the ending, while sad, relieves Kirk of having to make a decision. Of course he would not give up command of the Enterprise to stay on the planet, yet it would have been hard for him to leave his wife and child on the planet. Therefore, one wonders whether Miramanee and his child would have left the planet and joined the Enterprise. People in positions of great responsibility tend to hear the call of the wild and the less complex life. Despite his skills as a commander, Kirk also feels the urge and this episode is a great way to explore and deal with that subject.

Okay, the acting is a little hammy here... but this is another unforgettable episode for fans of the original show. When Kirk's bellowing "I AM KIR-OK!" was lampooned on Mystery Science Theater 3000, everyone recognized the reference to this episode.

It is actually quite moving. Kirk goes native, not by choice but a series of accidents that cause amnesia. He becomes an "Indian" god/chief/medicine man and marries a young hottie, Mirimanee, who is quite endearing. Obviously, these people can't literally be Native Americans -- this isn't Earth! -- but they have developed in a way exactly parallel to such people, wearing the same clothes and even talking like "TV Indians." Kirk big medicine man.

There are moments that send a shiver down one's spine. Kirk (or "Kirok") says the "strange dreams have returned," about the "giant lodge that moves through the sky." The episode works on multiple levels. On one level, Kirk tries to recover his memory while Spock and McCoy have to gone back to the ship and try to stop an asteroid from destroying the planet. Spock messes up, as McCoy keeps asking him, Are you out of your Vulcan mind? And this is a classic episode for Scotty wailing about "me poor engines" as Spock overloads the ship's power trying to deflect the asteroid.

But on another level, everything the Native-American-like people believe is absolutely true. The prophecy about a god coming from the sky to "open the power of the temple" -- i.e. an obelisk planted there by ancient astronauts -- is fully realized by the end. The god turns out to be Spock, with McCoy and Chapel at his side. Somehow the natives know disaster is coming because of ill omens in the weather. I'm not sure an asteroid can cause bad weather even before it hits the atmosphere. But this works, even if it's only coincidence.

In short, this is one of the rare episodes to respect another culture even though that culture lags behind our own technologically.

The background music for this episode is indeed excellent. And after seeing the bittersweet ending, involving a simple shot of Kirk and one other character, ask yourself if it is not one of the most poetic in the history of Star Trek.

Wow. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this one, but I was surprised. It had action, suspence, humor,and a few twists. The only parts I didn't like were the scenes on the bridge. Other thann that, I recommend it.

Investigating a planet in danger of collision with an asteroid, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Doctor McCoy discover both Native American inhabitants and a strange alien obelisk. While examining the obelisk, Kirk is accidentally trapped inside. Trying to escape, he inadvertently triggers a device that gives him amnesia. Unable to locate the Captain, Spock and McCoy return to the U.S.S. Enterprise to try and stop the asteroid from hitting the planet. Now free from the obelisk, Kirk is found by the natives, who come to believe Kirk (calling himself Kirok with his damaged memory) is a god. Kirk both becomes the tribe's medicine chief and marries the priestess Miramanee. Meanwhile, the U.S.S. Enterprise fails in its attempt to destroy the asteroid. Spock is able, however, to translate the obelisk's carvings. He learns that an alien race known as the Preservers transplanted the Indians to this world, and provided an asteroid deflector inside the obelisk to protect them. Returning to planetary orbit, Spock and McCoy beam down. They find the natives, frightened that Kirk does not know how to use the obelisk to protect them, stoning Kirk and Miramanee. Rescuing the pair and restoring Kirk's memory, Kirk and Spock enter the obelisk and activate the deflector. The planet is saved but Miramanee, pregnant with Kirk's child, dies from her injuries.