‘Star Trek’ Retro Recap: ‘This Side of Paradise’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

I think we can all agree upon the fact that sometimes, life is a pain to deal with. Because sometimes the bills just keep piling up, or those that we love get on our last good nerve, or work is insufferable to the point where you’re already dreaming of your next vacation. Or the news reminds of the fact that the world is a chaotic and sometimes cruel place and when these things pile up in our minds, we simply want nothing more than to escape it all. For the thought of finding a paradise where we are free of the world’s ails puts a smile on our faces, because it would be wonderful and magnificent to find a place where we know nothing but peace and tranquility. But deep down we know such a place doesn’t actually exist and that’s why we use the thought of it to regroup and focus before dealing with our problems once again.
 
But what if we could find a place where our lives were free from stress and the problems we face on a daily basis? Would we find true serenity by not having a care in the world or would the constant peace and quiet drive us to boredom and/or madness? Well it just so happens that the next episode of Star Trek felt the need to dive into this particular notion in fascinating fashion since ‘This Side of Paradise’ saw the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise stumble upon a world where there was no pain, no suffering, nor was there any conflict on this world for that matter. There was just joy and beautiful skies and well, this turned out to be a brilliant episode for so many reasons. Starting with the fact that this one does a fine job of challenging the audience from the get-go.
 
After all, when Kirk and company first arrive on Omicron Ceta III, they’re expecting to find a mountain of corpses thanks to an interstellar radiation bombardment. But instead they find healthy and happy people and how they’ve survived all of this time creates a grandiose mystery, the kind that instantly draws you in and keeps you guessing. Because your mind races at the possibilities, since their health and immortality could be courtesy of another omnipotent being, or it could be related to some kind of scientific mutation that has allowed for these people to evolve. But in the end it’s all related to plants that love the kind of radiation present in this planet’s atmosphere, and they’re happy to keep humanity alive and free from pain of any kind in exchange for a chance to thrive and bask in normally lethal radiation and that’s quite the awesome twist when all is said and done.
 
Because that’s just nature being nature, doing what it needs to in order to survive, but what truly makes that little twist worth our while is that this entire process of discovery, is what brings about the thematic analysis in question. For these people really do get their perfect paradise, but at quite the cost. For the people of this world, and shortly thereafter the crew of the Enterprise, step into a life that is devoid of challenges or strife, they simply move about their day without a care in the world. And while one might see the benefit of that, Kirk is the one to bring the audience and the characters back to down to earth, when he points out the fact that these colonists are living a lie and a life free from conflict and growth and challenges and the lesson here is clear in that; paradise is what we make it. Because the world is a flawed place that will never bend to our whims or provide us with perfect peace, so it is up to us to find the balance and the joy we so desperately seek.
 
If anything, this was perhaps a far more pedestrian episode of the series than we are used to, since its commentary is simplistic in nature. But hey, at least it has something to say, and it does explore a fascinating notion and the acting is what really sells this particular tale. Because seeing Leonard Nimoy give us an insubordinate and romantic Spock is a true treat to watch. As is seeing DeForest Kelley transform McCoy into a good ol’ southern boy that loves a Mint Julip and those performances and the mystery at hand make this one quite the entertaining ride, one that definitely kept my attention and really, you cannot go wrong with a science fiction story that offers thoughtful concepts and fun. And now that this interesting adventure is in the books it’s on to the next one and looking at the episode listings online, our next journey with the crew of the Enterprise features another iconic outing. 

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