Did Spock and nurse Chapel flirt a lot in the original series and in the animated series?
- Thread starter Kristine
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Unrequited love.
Honestly, I look at Spock and Christine's interactions in "The Naked Time" in a totally new context now.
But as for women flirting with Spock in the original series, shades of the JJ verse, in both The Man Trap and Charlie X, Uhura is very flirty with Spock.
In fact, I thought I saw a spark of attraction for Spock from Uhura early on in Strange New Worlds as well until Uhura noticed the electricity between Spock and Christine, but I would have to go back and rewatch to confirm that I didn't imagine it.
But as for women flirting with Spock in the original series, shades of the JJ verse, in both The Man Trap and Charlie X, Uhura is very flirty with Spock.
In fact, I thought I saw a spark of attraction for Spock from Uhura early on in Strange New Worlds as well until Uhura noticed the electricity between Spock and Christine, but I would have to go back and rewatch to confirm that I didn't imagine it.
Here's the scene that I mentioned. For context, you have to realize that Christine has been infected by a virus that lowers human inhibitions and essentially she's drunk off her ass. She passes that virus along to Spock with a touch. This is the same virus that the Enterprise D encountered early on in The Next Generation.
On its own, it doesn't seem like Chapel's finest moment, but given the context of their past relationship that we see now in Strange New Worlds, we see that the emotions that she expresses here have been long brewing and not just popped up out of the blue with the coming of the virus. Also, Spock's focus on controlling his emotions in this scene have more of an impact when you realize that he's been holding back these feelings for many years.
Another thing. At this point in the timeline, Spock is still betrothed to T'Pring and Christine is still holding out desperate hope that her fiance Roger Korby, the same Roger Korby mentioned in the most recent episode (SNW spoilers, I guess?), will somehow turn up alive. The fact that they apparently have such strong feelings for each other when they are both committed to others, is another thing that points to a past between them.
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One-sided unrequited love. Chapel had a hopeless crush on Spock that he was either unable to reciprocate, uninterested in reciprocating, or both.
Frankly, it got pretty monotonous, because it never went anywhere. The SNW version of their relationship doesn't really jibe with TOS, but it's certainly a lot more interesting.
There are some good Spock/Chapel moments in the Stalled Trek spoof "Amutt Time." It's really funny in places. It's on youtube.
Can you expand on that thought a bit? How so?
When Picard mind melded with Sarek, he later told Spock that he carried some of Sarek's wisdom with him. For Chapel to he fully qualified as a doctor in TMP, she would have needed to start training/studying during TOS. So maybe it was Spock's logic that gave her the inspiration to go back to studying.
True, there was nothing in Phase II t cover her motivations, just her qualifications. Based on the way they've gone in SNW, she was content to stay in nursing while engaging in academic research. I always viewed her as the more sciency character whose contribution took place off camera. Becoming a Starfleet doctor and a senior officer was a new jump for her. Actually, I really enjoyed Barrett's authoritative portrayal in TMP. It's a shame we didn't get a conversation between her and McCoy or Spock.
She seems to be the go to sciencey person. I think she's done more science than Spock.
The way M'Benga defers to her in research matters does suggest that her role during the war might have very hands on in the research department. Even her background in TOS was that she left a 'promising' career in bioresearch. That's why I would have preferred her doctorate to have been in xenobiology rather medical, where she essentially plays second fiddle to McCoy.She seems to be the go to sciencey person. I think she's done more science than Spock.
I'm not nuts about that idea, just because it takes away what little agency TOS Chapel already has. Why should she need Spock's inspiration to complete her MD? Kirk says in WALGMO that Chapel gave up a career in biomedical research to sign onto a starship and find her fiancé Roger Korby, so in my mind she was already studying for her doctorate before TOS and she just completed her studies during the 2 1/2 year gap between TOS and TMP. It doesn't contradict anything we see in the series, and it makes Chapel a little less of a stereotype.
Besides, I got the impression from "Sarek" that the Sarek/Picard mind meld was more intense than the usual variety. They stayed bonded for HOURS, and Picard was getting all the emotional overflow that Sarek had been repressing for 200 years. So I'd imagine they had more residual effects than a typical mind meld.
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Spock did not love Chapel in TOS. It was one-sided on her part.
Then explain the sudden surge of emotion. Was he just horny?
And there is nothing, repeat nothing, in the original series where Spock explicitly states one way or the other what his feelings for Christine are.
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Possibly her career included studying for an MD, although biomedical research is more often a biology degree and possibly PhD, I'm sure there are multiple paths and I think I have seen interviews with medical doctors within the discipline. I was surprised that SNW went with genetics as her specialty rather than something she was seen doing, like cybernetics, but I think that might have just been for the opening episode.
From a university: In the first year, you will study subjects across the breadth of biology related to human health and disease. This will provide a sound, broad background in biochemistry, cell and cancer biology, genetics, immunology, microbiology, neuroscience, pharmacology, physiology and virology.
Some applicants decide to complete their biomedical degrees and then become eligible to study graduate medicine in Europe. This accelerated course allows them to complete medicine in 4 or 5 years and kick-starts their medical career immediately after graduation.
It's also worth noting that nursing was not, in the sixties, the the highly qualified profession it is today but given the war, Chapel's career path seems impliedly to have been steered by events - possibly volunteered for basic nursing training to serve during the war and recruited into research from there by reason of her existing qualifications.
Hmm, maybe that green juice has gene altering qualities i.e. technically illegal.
Anyway, I don't think a mind meld with Spock takes away agency any more than a conversation with M'Benga. Sometimes someone else's perspective is what it takes to inspire us. It's not mind control.
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It was unrequited love, Chapel loved Spock but he didn’t feel the same. At least, that’s how its presented on the surface, and I always saw him as genuinely uninterested. On the other hands, there are fans who interpret it differently, and think Spock was repressing his feelings for her. Art is up for interpretation etc etc
Its also important to note that Chapel is a very minor character in TOS, with a few exceptions she doesn’t really get much to do except be in the background in sick bay scenes and pine after Spock.
In TAS, there seems to have been an conscious effort to give the female characters more active roles in the narrative, which is fun. On the Spock/Chapel front, there’s an episode where she drugs him with a love potion ( ).
It’s a kids cartoon so ofc its played for laughs (and it is pretty funny) but its also one of those storylines that has kinda dark implications if you think about it for more than 5 seconds. Like, she shouldve got into serious trouble for this.
(I don’t like to think of Chapel as a would-be rapist, so I justify this storyline to myself by imagining Chapel thought of the potion of more of an aphrodisiac or something that would remove some of Spock’s inhibitions than something that would really control how he thought. Like, she was convinced he secretly had feelings for her and just needed a little nudge. And she acted out of desperation and later feels horribly guilty about the whole thing. Doesn’t make her totally innocent or anything but
)
Its also important to note that Chapel is a very minor character in TOS, with a few exceptions she doesn’t really get much to do except be in the background in sick bay scenes and pine after Spock.
In TAS, there seems to have been an conscious effort to give the female characters more active roles in the narrative, which is fun. On the Spock/Chapel front, there’s an episode where she drugs him with a love potion ( ).
It’s a kids cartoon so ofc its played for laughs (and it is pretty funny) but its also one of those storylines that has kinda dark implications if you think about it for more than 5 seconds. Like, she shouldve got into serious trouble for this.
(I don’t like to think of Chapel as a would-be rapist, so I justify this storyline to myself by imagining Chapel thought of the potion of more of an aphrodisiac or something that would remove some of Spock’s inhibitions than something that would really control how he thought. Like, she was convinced he secretly had feelings for her and just needed a little nudge. And she acted out of desperation and later feels horribly guilty about the whole thing. Doesn’t make her totally innocent or anything but
)
This.
You've laid out the Spock/Chapel relationship as it was meant to be on TOS. Even after the events of "Amok Time", Spock was cordial to Chapel, but never romantically interested in her. He was certainly had more open attraction to / interest in Droxine from "The Cloud Minders" than anything seen between Spock and Chapel.
Except, of course, that now it wasn't entirely one-sided. It's hard to tell exactly what Spock 'felt' for Droxine. He certainly seemed to find her unusual and stimulating but that may not mean much to a Vulcan.
TOS didn’t really treat any of its regular female characters very well. Uhura was smoking hot, highly intelligent, playful, and funny and all she got was sexually assaulted twice and turned down by a much older man.
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