Primitive Culture 4: Flirty Fly-Boys / by Trek fm

Legacies of WWII in The Original Series.

Running Time: 1 hour 5 minutes 26 seconds
Download / RSS / Send us a message / Discuss the show / Support Trek.fm

For the cast and crew of The Original Series, World War II was more than just a dark page in the history books—it was an experience through which they had lived, loved, and lost. From piloting bombers over the Pacific to storming the beaches of Normandy, many of them had seen more than their fair share of action. Those who were too young to have served had witnessed the devastation that war brought to ordinary people. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy—both raised in Jewish immigrant families—were also impacted by the conflict as the horrors of the Holocaust felt very close to home.

In this episode of Primitive Culture, hosts Duncan Barrett and Tony Black explore the war stories of Star Trek’s original cast and crew, focusing on Gene Roddenberry’s service with the US Army Air Forces and James Doohan’s time with the Royal Canadian Artillery. Along the way, we consider how The Original Series explored the historical legacies of the war in episodes such as “Patterns of Force” and “The City on the Edge of Forever.”

Chapters

Intro (00:00:00)
Gene Roddenberry (00:02:53)
James Doohan (00:14:51)
They also served… (00:32:58)
“Patterns of Force” (00:35:30)
Fascist iconography (00:42:50)
“The City on the Edge of Forever” (00:49:05)
Allegory and historical sensitivity (00:55:57)
Final Thoughts (00:59.57)
Closing (01:01:23)

Hosts

Duncan Barrett and Tony Black

Production

Tony Black (Editor and Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Amy Nelson (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)

More recent episodes of Primitive Culture…
Primitive Culture 126: Progressive Nostalgia?
Primitive Culture 126: Progressive Nostalgia?

Music in Star Trek. We take a look at how Trek’s underscore has developed over more than half a century with musicologists Jessica Getman and Evan Ware.

Primitive Culture 125: Five-Year Mission
Primitive Culture 125: Five-Year Mission

Half a Decade of Primitive Culture. In this special episode, recorded earlier this year, we look back on the podcast and how Star Trek has changed in the time we’ve been podcasting.

Primitive Culture 124: Just Following Orders?
Primitive Culture 124: Just Following Orders?

Cardassian war crimes and The Man in the Glass Booth. We look at the DS9 episode “Duet” alongside The Man in the Glass Booth, as well as the presentation of war crimes in Star Trek more generally.

Primitive Culture 123: Neurodiversity in Infinite Combinations
Primitive Culture 123: Neurodiversity in Infinite Combinations

Autistic representation in Star Trek. We look at Trek’s history of (accidental) representation of neurodiversity, considering characters such as Data, Seven of Nine, Reginald Barclay, and Sylvia Tilly.

Primitive Culture 122: Identical Strangers
Primitive Culture 122: Identical Strangers

Star Trek’s Double Troubles. We look doppelgängers and duplicates from The Original Series through Lower Decks.

Primitive Culture 121: When Is an Allegory Not an Allegory?
Primitive Culture 121: When Is an Allegory Not an Allegory?

Trans Representation in Star Trek. We look at how Star Trek accidentally addressed the topic in TNG and DS9.

Primitive Culture 120: Resurrecting Nightmares
Primitive Culture 120: Resurrecting Nightmares

The Alien franchise and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. We take a look at “All Those Who Wander” alongside the Alien franchise.

Primitive Culture 119: Cowboy Diplomats
Primitive Culture 119: Cowboy Diplomats

How Star Trek’s leaders reflect our own. We talk about the parallels between Star Trek’s leaders and our own, and ask whether Star Trek has finally managed to marry the military ethos of Starfleet with the business of intergalactic politics.

Primitive Culture 118: Servants to Two Masters
Primitive Culture 118: Servants to Two Masters

Star Trek’s backdoor pilots. We take a look at the original attempt to establish a spinoff series, “Assignment: Earth,” as well as more recent examples including Strange New Worlds and more potential offspring of Discovery.

Primitive Culture 117: What If …
Primitive Culture 117: What If …

What if it wasn’t the Vulcans who made first contact? In honor of First Contact Day, we imagine how things might have played out for humanity had it been the Klingons, Romulans, or others passing by on April 5, 2063.