Wolf in the Fold: Put On The Red Light

Forget that Scotty is on trial for murder (which over the course of the episode becomes a triple homicide). Forget the weird implications of human history, and how in the 60s folks still couldn’t quite believe that serial killing was a thing that people did (and do). Forget that the ship’s computer — which has been hacked/tricked in the past — is supposed to be an infallible lie detector.

Kirk is a pimp. Scotty is at risk for becoming resentful of women because some girl “caused” an accident in the bowels of the ship. So, what does our good captain do? He takes his favorite engineer to a planet that puts pleasure above all else. Girls are wearing skimpy outfits and belly-dancing and their “culture” dictates that marriage is not a hindrance to showing anyone a “good time”.

A woman is to blame for an explosion that gives Scotty a concussion. To keep him from resenting all women, he is taken to a “brothel” planet. I’m sorry, but — in the original pilot for this show — wasn’t the woman playing blonde Christine Chapel cast as a brunette No. 1? Didn’t Roddenberry want women aboard the ship to promote universal equality among people? Why is resenting all women after one accident okay?

Especially when the captain is constantly on the verge of destroying the ship in pursuit of some enemy and getting Scotty all flustered. When that happens, there have been clips showing explosions in the engine room, but no mention of anyone resenting all of Starfleet. That would be totally reasonable.

Starfleet Course Recommendation: Genderism — Are We Still Tolerating This Crap?


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