Isn't it Bromantic?

Bromances. I love 'em. Not sure why considering that I'm not a bro so the phenomenon doesn't even apply to me...but give me some good ol' platonic guy love and I eat it up. My favorite bromance is probably J.D. and Turk from Scrubs (hilarious!) but that's not what I'm here to talk with you about today. Today is the big heavy of bromances...Kirk and Spock.

Now, I can't yet speak to their relationship throughout the whole series since I've only made it a few episodes into the second season so far but I'm thinking that it only gets heavier from here. In the first season, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy are the three main characters and they form the core of the show. Here's how your standard episode works: something troublesome presents itself, Spock states the logical thing to do, McCoy states the moral thing to do, Kirk has to choose. Inevitably someone is in danger and in need of rescue. Almost as inevitably, Spock and Kirk have to beat each other up (only increasing the sexual tension) to counter the effects of alien mind control/a drug/some disease/etc... The episode then ends peacefully with a little witty banter between Kirk, Spock, and the Doctor on the bridge. Having said that, there are plenty of episodes that diverge from this formula, but the majority conform. At the very center, though, is the love and loyalty that these guys share (even though Spock and Dr. McCoy kinda dislike each other). I mean, Kirk often has a romantic interlude...but everyone in the audience knows that it's only gonna last a maximum of 45 minutes while his friendship (and guy love) for Dr. McCoy and Spock is pretty much a forever kind of thing. Watch for yourself, then report back here.

In all seriousness (and to give a more rounded review of Star Trek) I think the reason that this show is so popular is really because of the characters--I'm not sure that it has much of anything to do with the science fiction parts of the show. I know for a fact that the reason I keep coming back for more has much more to do with the relationships between the characters than which aliens they're gonna encounter this time. That part is neat for sure--there are some really great concepts in this show--but the main things that keep me hooked are the character relationships and the moral dilemmas that the crew is always facing. So, in all, Star Trek gets a great rating and recommendation from me. I know that some of it seems a little hokey and the special effects are dated, but give it a few episodes and I bet that you'll be a little bit hooked too.

In conclusion, here are some episodes that I loved from Season 1 (with summaries courtesy of wikipedia):

#4, The Naked Time--A strange, intoxicating infection, which lowers the crew's emotional inhibitions, spreads throughout the Enterprise. A crew member's inebriated actions place the ship in danger, forcing Scotty to perform a hazardous and untested engineering procedure to save the ship from destruction.

#8, Miri--After discovering what appears to be a duplicate of the planet Earth, Captain Kirk and his landing party find a population ravaged by a strange disease, which has 2 effects:children are granted extraordinarily long life, but anyone who reaches puberty (including the adult landing party) develop painful sores which eventually kill the infected.

#13, The Conscience of the King--The Enterprise visits Planet Q at the request of Dr. Thomas Leighton, a friend of Captain Kirk. Leighton suspects that the leader of a famous acting troupe, Anton Karidian, is actually Kodos "The Executioner," the murderous former governor of planet Tarsus IV, where Kirk grew up. Kirk initially disagrees, believing the official story detailing Kodos' death years earlier, but begins to doubt after Leighton is found dead. To confirm Karidian's identity, Kirk arranges for the troupe to perform aboard the Enterprise.

#22, Space Seed--The Enterprise discovers an ancient sleeper ship, the SS Botany Bay, which escaped from Earth's Eugenics Wars in the late 20th century. The genetically engineered passengers, led by war criminal Khan Noonian Singh, seize control of the Enterprise and attempt to destroy the ship.

#24, This Side of Paradise--Despite exposure to deadly radiation, the Federation colony on Omicron Ceti III appears to be thriving. A landing party from the Enterprise investigates, finding the colony's population to be healthy beyond explanation. Leila Kalomi, an old friend of Mr. Spock, shows the landing party strange flowers that seem to impose a state of pure bliss on all exposed to its spores (even Spock). The spores' effects spread rapidly throughout the Enterprise, causing the crew to mutiny against Captain Kirk.

#28, The City on the Edge of Forever--After accidentally overdosing on a powerful stimulant, Dr. McCoy acts erratically and disappears through the Guardian of Forever, a newly-discovered time portal on a remote planet. Kirk and Spock follow after learning that McCoy somehow changed history. Arriving in the 1930's, the duo meet Edith Keeler, a New York social worker who gives them a place to stay. As the days pass, and McCoy is nowhere to be seen, Kirk finds himself falling in love with Keeler...but Spock discovers the Keeler must die to restore the timeline.

The cast of Season 1 (with 1 exception), left to right: Dr. McCoy, Pavel Chekhov (who isn't in Season 1), Nurse Chapel, Captain Kirk, Scotty, Uhura, Spock, and Sulu