Gimme That Star Trek Ep.7: Weddings

Siskoid and his fellow Lonely Heart Bass Levesque tackle the subject of wedding ceremonies in the Star Trek universe – how do the Vulcans, Betazoids, Bajorans, Ferengi, and Klingons get hitched?

Listen to Episode 7 below!

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Credits:“Star Trek Theme” by Alexander Courage, with the mellifluous tones of the Irredeemable Shagg. End theme: “Deep Space Nine Theme” by Dennis McCarthy.

Bonus clips from: Star Trek’s “Balance of Terror” starring William Shatner, and “Amok Time” starring Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner; Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “Data’s Day”, starring Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner, “Haven” starring Majel Barrett, and “Cost of Living” starring Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s “Call to Arms” starring Armin Shimerman, and “You Are Cordially Invited” starring Shannon Cochran, Michael Dorn, Terry Farrell, Alexander Siddig, J.G. Hertzler, and Colm Meaney; and “Heart and Soul” by T’Pau and Bass.

And thanks for leaving a comment!

17 responses to “Gimme That Star Trek Ep.7: Weddings

  1. What a great episode. You continue to go WAY outside the Galactic Barrier on Trek subjects, Siskoid, and I for one am digging it. And Bass, if you can rattle off those Klingon terms, your a Trekkie. Or Trekker. Whatever you prefer. No judging here.

    I think I could go for a Klingon wedding. The chance to beat my in-laws and relatives with a non-lethal object sounds like a fun time. Oh, and at our wedding, Cindy and I did the Unity Candle thing. Thank God no one was naked!!! Brrr….!!!

    I will give Bass some major points for making me look at Troi’s mother in a different light. Like most, my eyes roll every time she pops up, but I kind of get her a bit better now. Where were you 25 years ago, Bass?

    Chris

    1. I think he was finishing up high school.

      Bass’ insights into Lwaxana and Betazed make a lot of sense. Deanna’s the repressed one who is living with humanity and probably shutting herself off. Betazoid culture is probably more in Lwaxana’s vein. I don’t think they’d name her ambassador if they thought she was a total disaster.

    2. I also found Bass’ take on Lwaxana to be very interesting. I’d always imagined that her over-the-top behavior was somewhat calculated on her part. A tool she uses as an ambassador to throw off the competition. That being said, it makes perfect sense that in a culture where you can’t keep secrets, you may as well just come out and say what you believe.

  2. This quickly became one of my favorite shows. Great topic , Siskoid and Bass, and great coverage.

    Jadzia in her medieval Klingon get-up is always something to behold – but I’ve always loved that character.

    More shows please. This month-long wait is a killer. What if I die before we get to the “Sulu is a Badass” episode?

    1. Dave would have me give up the other shows, but then would die before OHOTMU gets to Wolverine.

      If you can last the year, you can last until the Sulu episode.

  3. Another interesting and lively episode, gentlemen. I have to say that I most like the Betazoid wedding ceremony for its openness and honesty, but I’d never have the courage to go through with such a ceremony, let alone even attend one.

    In regards to wedding ceremonies in Western culture, I think that tradition certainly plays a role, but I believe there is another force behind the spectacle that is the modern Western wedding. That would be the multi-million dollar wedding industry that sells us this image of the “perfect” wedding, which all of us deserve and need to have, no matter the cost. I think that goes a long way to explaining the superficiality that can (to varying degrees) creep into modern weddings. Of course, the whole industry is probably controlled by time-traveling Ferengi trying to destabilize human culture in an attempt to prevent the formation of the Federation.

    OK. I’m going to climb down from my soapbox and take off my tin foil hat, now.

  4. Interesting discussion. I like how this show is tackling Trek from different angles, a nice way to differentiate itself from all the other Trek ‘casts about there.

    The marriages shown in Trek (at least the ones I saw, which were only in TOS and TNG) are of course all heterosexual unions. It would be interesting to consider what marriage as a concept even looks like by the 23rd/24th century, when there are now non-humans regularly interacting–and falling in love with–humans. Considering how ugly the fight for Marriage Equality was/is, I can’t imagine what the first human/alien couple went through in terms of societal acceptance.

    I also enjoyed Bass’ notion of all-Betazoid party. Would it be off the chain, or would everyone be staring at one another in horror, because everyone’s deepest thoughts are right out there in the open?

    1. Look no further than the pre-penultimate and penultimate episodes of ENTERPRISE for a look at early human/non-human unions (sort of)!

  5. “The American Revolution happened because the French Revolution happened”?

    American = 1775 to 1783, French = 1789 to 1799 according to Wikipedia.

      1. I thought maybe you were secretly Republican.

        Loved the episode but I think we needed a female perspective. Maybe Chris can get his better half to weigh in?

        1. That would be quite a secret. Sort of like Captain America being Hydra. You won’t find a filthier socialist in this bunch.

          Bass not girlish enough for you? Watch the skies for a the OHOTMU girls guesting on an upcoming episode!

  6. The word you guys were looking for, when trying to describe the person who fills the minister’s role, in a non-religious wedding (that, thus, doesn’t have a minister), is “officiant,” which is technically what you’d call the minister in a wedding, anyway.

    I wonder how a non-Westerner might respond to your definition of what a (human!) wedding consists of. Granting that Star Trek is written from an undeniably Western perspective, there seems to be a greater diversity of practice even here on Earth than was reflected. That said, although I’ve been to a pretty wide variety of weddings (and my wife’s an Episcopal priest, and has officiated at several weddings, herself), I have to confess that I can’t really speak much to non-Western perspectives, myself.

    1. I thought I made that point by discussing my friend’s Indian wedding. But of course, yes, Star Trek is written by Westerners taking their cues from the traditional Christian wedding, either making the aliens’ similar or different, but from that base.

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