1. TOS - The Naked TIme teases out some of the underlying characteristics of Spock, Kirk and their relationship. TNG - While it's tough to find an episode (of either show) that hits all the main characters, The Enemy from Season 3 gets deep into Picard, Worf, Dr. Crusher and LaForge.
FWIW, Picard talks about the personal impact of "The Inner Light" in a sixth season episode, "Lessons" 2. TOS - "Dagger of the Mind" and "Whom Gods Destroy" might be too on the nose, as they take place in insane asylums. Dagger is the better of the two in engaging with psychological issues, even if the Enterprise psychologist isn't much more than that week's love interest. "A Private Little War" tackles proxy wars and their impact on the native populations. "Obsession" deals with, well, obsession as well as freezing under pressure. "The Enemy Within" addresses notions of 'positive' and 'negative' selves. TNG - "Frame of Mind" is about one of the characters possibly losing his mind. "The Wounded" touches on post-war resentment of former enemies. "Chain of Command" handles torture, though the whole situation with Picard and the Borg might be better material, as it deals with the consequences of Picard's abuse. "The Hunted" concerns a society with a population of soldiers who were altered for combat and have not been effectively reincorporated into society. "The High Ground" tackles matters of terrorism (which were a major theme of Deep Space Nine, but that's another show). In TNG Reginald Barclay works through his issues in a couple of episodes - "Hollow Pursuits" and "Realm of Fear" 3. FWIW, Wondercon has an annual panel on the psychology of Star Trek and Star Wars, usually including psychologists. There is probably video out there somewhere. David ________________________________ From: PGage <[email protected]> To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2014 4:00 PM Subject: [TV orNotTV] The Psychology of Star Trek 1. If you were going to introduce TOS and TNG to a group of novices, which full length episode would you use for each? I am thinking mostly in terms of character introduction and relationships, and illustrative themes. This would also be my chance to screen episodes that don't have explicit psychological tie-ins, since I would be using them mostly to give students a feel for the shows. TOS has two pilots and one premier episode, but none of these really serve as a crucial "Welcome to Star Trek, please meet our characters and understand what kind of show we are". TNG does have an episode kind of like this, but since the first season is so inferior, I am loath to make this the first introduction to the ST universe for students (I will likely use portions of "Encounter at Farpoint" in lectures). I could use typical episodes for this introductory purpose, but right now I am leaning towards two fairly atypical episodes, but each is among what I and most critics consider the best in each series: Season 1 TOS: "City on the Edge of Forever" and Season 5 (one of the strongest seasons): "The Inner Light". But I am open to other suggestions. 2. Any suggestions on episodes that you think raise or illustrate issues or questions related to psychology or social science in general? 3. Any other books or articles along the lines of Sekuler and Blake? I am familiar with the Star Trek and Philosophy and Star Trek and Religion books. -- -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
