HEAD IN THE CLOUDS

 

Episode Title:  The Cloud Minders

Air Date: 2/28/1969

Written by Margaret Armen, David Gerrold, and Oliver Crawford

Directed by Jud Taylor

Cast: William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk    Leonard Nimoy as Commander Spock             DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard H. McCoy AKA “Bones”              James Doohan  as Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott AKA “Scotty”        George Takei  as Lieutenant  Hikaru Sulu              Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura          Bill Blackburn as Lieutenant Hadley        Jeff Corey as Plasus         Diana Ewing as Droxine                        Charlene Polite as Vanna          Kirk Raymond as Cloud Guard #1      Jimmy Fields as Cloud Guard #2                Ed Long as Midro       Fred Williamson as Anka      Garth Pillsbury as Prisoner     Harv Selsby as Guard          Louie Elias as Troglyte #1          Dick Geary as Cloud City Sentinel #1       Jay D. Jones as Prisoner #2        Bob Miles as Cloud City Sentinel #2          Marvin Walters as Troglyte #2

Ships: USS Enterprise NCC-1701

Planets:  Ardana

My Spoiler filled summary and review: The episode begins with the Enterprise on a desperate mission.  The planet Merak II has been infested with a botanical plague.  The lives of millions are at stake.  Fortunately, there is a substance called zenite that can save them and wipe out the plague.  The Federation world Ardana, is zenite rich and regularly produces it.  The Enterprise is heading there in order to pick up a shipment and bring it to Merak II.

Kirk and Spock looking up at Stratos

The leaders of Ardana want to welcome Kirk, but the Captain instructs Lt. Uhura to apologize for he will be going down to personally oversee the delivery.  Kirk beams down with Mr. Spock only to find no shipment or any people who would normally be there.  Then the two officers are jumped by a group of miners being led by a woman. The would-be-kidnapers start to learn that Captain Kirk is the greatest fighter in the known universe and Mr. Spock isn’t so bad either.  They successfully fight them off but don’t need to finish, because men from Stratos beam down and use weapons to make the attackers retreat. 

Their leader identifies himself as Plasus, the High Adviser of the Council, and he goes on to explain that these were a group of individuals known as the “Distributors.”  With that Plasus takes his two guests to the cloud city of Stratos.  When they get there, they are introduced to Plasus’s daughter Droxine.  Plasus describes his daughter as a work of art.  Spock and Droxine seem to hit it off really well.  However, after having a good time with the nice work of art Spock reflects on the conditions of the planet.  There are two classes of people on Ardana.  The Troglytes who perform all the labor of society but get little to no benefit.  Then there are the Stratos city dwellers who do none of the work but receive all of societies benefits and sit around making art all day.  When this is pointed out to them, they explain how the Troglytes are mentally inferior to themselves and our only good for manual labor.

These people will try to kidnap Kirk and Spock! They will fail!

The Disruptors, a group of Troglytes upset with the situation, are behind the lost shipment.  They are in revolt against the society imposed by Stratos.  One of them, a woman named Vanna, led the group that tried to kidnap Kirk and Spock at the beginning.  She returns to Stratos in an attempt to kidnap Kirk again.  This fails just like the last time, except this time she herself is captured by Kirk.  Plasus recognizes her as one of his former servants and has her tortured.  Just when it seems the episode is going the way of bondage torture porn, Kirk shows up and demands that such treatment stop.  Plasus responds by kicking Kirk out of Stratos, forcing him to wait on his ship.  If Kirk doesn’t like it, he will complain to Starfleet about Kirk’s internal interference.

Spock was excited to meet this work of art!

 Back on the Enterprise, McCoy has some news.  It turns out that it is true that the Stratos city dwellers are mentally superior to the Troglytes in every measurable sense, however it is artificially induced.  In the caves the Troglytes are exposed to an odorless gas that dulls their mental capacity.  The reason household servants like Vanna rise to become leaders of the Disruptors is they are removed from the gas’s influence and regain all of their abilities.  McCoy has already come up with a mask to be used as safety equipment to protect against the gas’s effects.  

Spock in a spot normally reserved for Captain Kirk

When attempts to get Plasus to do the right thing fail due to the Advisor’s long-held prejudice, Kirk decides to go down in violation of Plasus’s wishes and break Vanna out.  Kirk does this and explains to Vanna about the mines and the gas.  He shows her the mask McCoy designed.  This turns out to be for nothing as she betrays him the moment they are amongst her people.  They take away his mask and force him to work.  This lasts only for a brief period of time before Kirk shows off his supreme fighting skills and gets the upper hand once more.  He contacts the Enterprise and has them kidnap-by-transporter Plasus.  Kirk orders him beamed straight there.  Once he has both of the two under his control, he forces both of them to work.  As Kirk and Plasus start to be affected by the gas, Vanna realizes the truth and takes Kirk’s communicator and pleas for the Enterprise to beam them out.  Spock orders follows through and once on the ship Kirk starts to recover.

The Enterprise gets their shipment of zenite to bring to Merak II and Troglytes get their masks to protect them from the gas.  There are negotiations between the Troglytes and the city-dwellers.  From the body language of Vanna and Plasus this looks to be more of a good time for the Troglytes than the city dwellers.  Droxine says her good-byes to Mr. Spock.

Bondage photos this episode moved in odd direction

Additional thoughts: I really enjoy this more than I thought I would.  When I was younger, I found this episode boring. To be fair there is not a lot of action in this one, it is one of their cerebral episodes.  I felt that this was a great analogy to real-life oppression and bigotry.  In fact, I think it is far superior to “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield.”  Why the previous episode has a more visual hook, it gets lost in the confusion and direction of that episode.  Where this episode’s message is far clearer. 

point clear execution not so much!

                In this episode you have the elite dwellers of the cloud city who live in a paradise where they get to make art all day and the Troglytes who work hard labor getting nothing but basic food and shelter.  By every measurable test the city dwellers are intellectually superior to the Troglytes and in their minds this justifies the social relationship.  The Troglytes do the labor because that is what their mental skills are good for while the citizens of the cloud city peruse their natural talents in intellectual purists.  However, Dr. McCoy pulls the plug on that idea by proving it is the environment this society created that creates the disparity.   

Kirk forced to work the mines

This is reflective of some many real-life situations in our own society.  Such as the rich/poor divide.  When someone grows up in a secure home with a good education complete with tutors if necessary, of course they will seem intellectually ahead of someone whose parents had to work three jobs to keep barely afloat.  The second kid’s parents can’t find the time to make sure they are hitting their bench marks before their first day of school.  The school funded by local property taxes has a lot less resources than one from a more influent community.  Another example is the situation between White and Black people in the United States.  When one group is segregated and deprived of equal opportunity to resources and education it should come as no surprise when they don’t perform as well on standardized test as the other.  In both cases the beneficiaries of society then see the difference not in terms of their own privilege but instead they are given confirmation of their prejudice.

Kirk showing of his supreme fighting skills

The thing that has me the most concerned is the Federation.  If the Ardana has such an apartheid society then why in the galaxy were they invited to join the Federation?  When Kirk, a Federation official, confronts Plasus about what he is doing, Plasus shoots back by declaring he will report Kirk for interfering with intra-planetary affairs.  He says that with the firmness of a Southern slave-holder or segregationist arguing about his “states’ rights.” Granted the government of the Federation is poorly developed throughout the Star Trek franchise but this is a galling case.

Well, this episode became the answer to the—at this point—year long question that Star Trek fans have had after “Amok Time.” The question was, “are Vulcans restricted to mating during the pon farr or can they engage in sexual activity at any time?”  Now you might have said we already answered that because of Spock’s actions during “This Side of Paradise.”  However, Spock may have broken off his relationship with Leila because of that issue and who knows how the spores were really affecting him.  Spock has no problem getting to know Droxine really well and telling her that he can “always appreciate art.”

Spock can always appreciate a work of art

Speaking of Spock, what was up with the internal monologue bit?  I didn't like it in "The Paradise Syndrome" and I don't like it now.  It makes less sense now, before Kirk was marooned with no memory, there is no reason for Spock not to just be making a log entry.  

If I lived on Ardana I don’t know where I would want to live.  I mean I don’t want to work in mines exposed to gas that makes you stupid, but I really hate heights.  I didn’t like the views from over the edge, and I don’t know why anyone would.  I felt bad for the guy who jumped.  Cities do not belong on clouds.

FINAL GRADE 4 of 5