And some of the viewers did have a life.
In this particular episode, the Enterprise is clearly outmatched. As I recall, an extremely large "entity" had immobilized the star ship (with the infamous tractor beam) and told the crew to make peace with their creator. Spock, the personification of pure logic, informed the captain that they were effectively "checkmated." But naturally our daring Captain would take the best logic from Spock and the best empathy from "Bones", mix it with a little daring do, and come up with the solution - the classic poker bluff. Kirk took a rotten hand (a lost game of chess) and made something from nothing. He radioed Starfleet that this quadrant was about to become permanently contaminated because their carborundum device would make it so when the "entity" destroyed them. He asked Starfleet to cordon the area off.
And in the end, the entity itself was bluffing. The entity merely wanted to study the behavior of the creatures within the spaceship. Since none of the major characters were "walk-ons," everyone lived (I believe) to act in another episode.
What the hell is Bill getting into now?
Did you have your dose of cowboy movies as a kid? Even the Japanese were fascinated by tales of The Old West. These were the stories of man facing menace and fear - the kinds of things that the rest of us just read, write, and dream about. It was a cruel place where the rule of law or the path of human nature was often force itself. In a way, it is the venue we all train for when we think of "self defense."
What comes to mind when I (and others) think about The Old West, is the picture of cowboys playing poker in a saloon. And in a way, I believe this is a uniquely American ritual of bushido. I believe there was a good reason why men in tough times favored this form of recreation. It was a game of the spirit. Why do I say that? Consider this.
* First, think of all the poker metaphors people use when describing a confrontation: playing the hand that is dealt, bluffing, calling a bluff, having a good or bad hand, showing your poker face, taking a gamble, folding, etc.
* Poker is a game that combines skill and chance in a uniquely interwoven way. Such is life and conflict.
* You do not need to "have the best hand" to win.
* You can "have the best hand" and lose.
* It isn't really poker until you have something at stake (money in this case).
* You put your "currency" at risk in the game when you choose to engage.
* You can fold, and play another hand. Sometimes this is a good idea, and sometimes not.
* It is usually played when faculties are impaired (alcohol is the chemical cocktail of choice here).
* Poker and the law have a traditionally testy relationship.
* One cannot play well (i.e. win a lot of money) if one cannot control one's emotions (the poker face and demeanor).
And so on...
Is it any coincidence that poker was the game of choice in the American Wild West?
- Bill
