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1* FairForItsDay: The famous interracial kiss is often criticized because they were KissingUnderTheInfluence thanks to [[AliensMadeThemDoIt aliens]]. Due to the racism of the time, the showrunners and actors had to fight very, very hard to get even ''that'' to happen -- the executives ordered them to shoot alternate takes without the kiss (which Creator/WilliamShatner [[WagTheDirector deliberately messed up]] every time by pulling faces), they wanted Spock to kiss Uhura instead (because he was [[DiscountLesbians an alien, so it didn't count]]), and they outright would not budge on allowing it to be consensual. Even so, stations in the Deep South refused to air the episode at all, resulting in it being the lowest rated episode of the entire original series.
2* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: Kirk's interactions with Alexander. When Kirk asks if there are others "like him" on Platonius, Alexander immediately gets defensive thinking Kirk is referring to his dwarfism, rather than his lack of telekinetic powers. With a complete and utter lack of patronizing, Kirk reassures him that he, and by implication the Federation, do not judge people by their physical ability. While much attention is paid to the Kirk/Uhura kiss, the social challenges that the disabled faced at the time of the series (and even to many extents today) are often forgotten.
3* HilariousInHindsight: One of the suggestions for the "kiss scene" from the execs was to have Spock kiss Uhura instead. Cut to [[Film/StarTrek2009 the Abramsverse]] 40 years later, and Spock & Uhura are in a rather passionate relationship involving significant amounts of kissing.
4* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: Alexander's realization, after having gotten to know the ''Enterprise'' visitors, that he is worthy of respect as an individual. Michael Dunn's acting here is superb to the point of TearJerker.
5--> He's right. I should have warned you. They were treating you the same way they treat me, just like me... only you fight them. All the time, I thought it was me -- my mind that couldn't move a pebble. They even told I was lucky they bothered to keep me around -- and I believed them! The arms and legs of everybody's whim. Look down. Don't meet their eyes. [[StepfordSmiler Smile. SMILE!]] Those great people... [[FeetOfClay they were GODS to me]]. But you showed me what they really are. Now I know... Don't you see? It's not me or my size. It's ''them!'' It's '''them!''' It's '''''them!'''''
6* {{Narm}}: Some of the "terrible" things the crew is forced to do come off as more silly than menacing at first glance, such as Kirk acting like a horse while being ridden by Alexander.
7* NarmCharm: If you can get past the Narm, the fact is that our characters are still ''being forced to do these things'' (with [=McCoy=] ForcedToWatch it all), and it's incredibly disturbing. One example being Spock having his foot hovering above Kirk's face, when we all know how strong Vulcans are compared to humans if they made him hurt his captain, or how Kirk (while laying on the ground) just suddenly screams as if his whole body is in extreme pain.
8* OlderThanTheyThink: Contrary to popular belief, this wasn't the first interracial kiss on US TV. That honor most likely goes to [[Series/ISpy Robert Culp and France Nguyen]] or even an earlier episode of ''Star Trek'', [[Recap/StarTrekS2E4MirrorMirror "Mirror, Mirror"]], which had a kiss between Barbara Luna (who was Eurasian) and Creator/WilliamShatner. "Ah," you may think, "but it was the first ''black/white'' interracial kiss." Still, no. As far as can be determined, the first black-white interracial kiss was shared between Creator/SammyDavisJr and Music/NancySinatra on Sinatra's 1967 TV special, ''Movin' With Nancy'', where Davis plants a kiss on her after the two share a song. It ''does'', however, appear to have been both the first white/black French kiss on American television, as well as the first white/black kiss on a ''seasonal'' television show as opposed to a special. It was also a fictional narrative, which would also be a first.
9* OnceOriginalNowCommon: The Kirk/Uhura kiss. Seriously. We humble Tropers can, in truth, probably not over-emphasize how big a deal this was at the time. Not only did the cast and crew have to fight ''tooth and nail'' to make it happen, but another facet to consider is that [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loving_v._Virginia miscegenation laws]] had only been declared unconstitutional nationwide a mere ''sixteen months'' prior to the episode's first airing. It was still refused an airing in much of the country and made general news headlines. It's quite possible every interracial romantic moment on American TV in the following ''half-century'' owes a nod to ''TOS'' for being among the first to kick down that door at all. And yet today, the scene comes across as pedestrian and even kind of unfortunate in ways.
10* SignatureScene: For history, it's the kiss between Kirk and Uhura. For the fans, it's the scene where Alexander rides Kirk like an untamed horse.
11* TheissTitillationTheory: Gender flipped. The peplos worn by the women display the shoulders and arms, but are still modest compared to the scanty tunics Spock and Kirk are forced into.
12* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: Say what you will about the episode, but Michael Dunn's performance as Alexander is marvelous, often held up as the sole saving grace of a real turkey. It powerfully gets across the character's humanity, and by extension, the humanity of everyone else with his condition.
13* TheWoobie: Alexander, after being used for centuries as Parmen's ChewToy.

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