‘Star Trek’ Retro Recap: ‘The Paradise Syndrome’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

If there is one thing that we can all agree upon, it would have to be that life can get pretty darn overwhelming at times. And when it does, we want nothing more, then to be able to just get away from it all and clear our heads. Which is something a lot of us do by either indulging in a hobby, or just hopping into the car for a quiet drive around town, the kind that allows for us to forget about our other problems. But some folks, aren’t quite in that position. For they have a stressful job that requires every ounce of their attention day and night and these are the folks who would love nothing more than to find a way to escape their current career situation and genuinely disappear into the world to be free of the stresses that surround them.

Oddly enough, the next episode of Star Trek takes the time to inform the audience that starship captain is a job that meets that unfortunate requirement and when we catch up with James T. Kirk in ‘The Paradise Syndrome’ he too is wondering what life would be like if he was able to escape the big chair and enjoy a little bit of life without the day to day pressure of running the U.S.S. Enterprise. Thoughts that are further indulged after he and his away team beam down to a beautiful, earth-like planet in peril. For a giant asteroid is on its way to colliding with this world and the crew of the NCC-1701 has dropped by to see what kind of beings they are going to save from such a celestial problem and who they find is what motivates Kirk’s longing.

For this world is inhabited by Native Americans from Earth. Who have thrived in simplicity after all these years and well, their idyllic lifestyle appeals to the captain greatly and it isn’t long before this story becomes a unique examination of the age old notion, be careful what you wish for. Because Kirk eventually loses his memory when he accidentally enters a strange obelisk on the planet and since it is a race against time to save this planet, Spock and McCoy are forced to return to the ship, leaving Kirk on his own to navigate a world he doesn’t know or understand anything about. And while he finds release and joy and happiness, and a wife for that matter as well, it doesn’t take long for him to realize that something is missing from his life.

Which is of course, his command, and this epiphany speaks volumes to how sometimes in life, what we think overwhelms us, actually fuels us. And when it becomes a chore, a little mental self-care should provide us with renewed vigor. Which makes it seems as though Jim’s realization that he is meant to be a leader, will lead this story to quite the happy ending. But sadly, this one ends in dark fashion since Jim doesn’t regain his memory until after the ship returns to this world, two months later. Because Spock went all in on trying to destroy that asteroid and damaged the Enterprise in the process, which means he has to work with Kirk on a lightning fast response to fire up that obelisk, since it is a giant deflector array and if that seems like a lot to jam into this episode and this ending, well guess what? We’re not even done yet.

Because to complicate matters further, the village that once revered Kirk as a God, now sees him as a monster and they stone him and his pregnant wife. An act that eventually ends her life and well, wow… that’s a bleak way to end an episode that was moving toward some inspirational territory and in the end, that just goes to show that this episode tried to do way too much storytelling wise. Because we just discussed an overwhelming number of concepts and plotlines and sadly, this jam-packed tale rushes all of those elements, and that means the death of Kirk’s wife doesn’t have the impact that it should. Nor does Kirk’s rediscovery of his love of the captaincy or Spock’s bold gambit and in the end, it’s best to just declare this episode as messy. Because its heart is in all the right places, but the execution is sorely lacking and that’s a shame. For his one could have been brilliant with just a little more focus. Until next time.  

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