Catching up on Star Trek
So, here I was - resting after new years (PF 2006) when I decided to watch some Star Trek. Since I have a considerable backlog of episodes to watch I resumed where I left of last week… Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 2 Episode 14. In this episode, Kirk, et. al. goes down to a planet that seems to have had a history similar to that of Earth. The major difference was, the Roman Empire did not fall. So, the away team finds themselves on a planet with Roman values but mid 20th century technology. Well, at approximately 17 minutes into the episode, there are a bunch of shots of Roman buildings. At 17:27 in, there is this one:
When I saw that, I went: “Whoa! Is that….?” I couldn’t help but resist pausing and googling to make sure my suspicion was correct. And it turns out it was.
What exactly did I think when I saw the frame above? “Whoa! Is that Building 10 at MIT?” Yep. I knew the name or rather number of the building. (I blame the fact that I applied there as a freshman.) Here’s a photo I found on google that is from not too long ago:
And here is a link to the original of the above image. In the larger version you can clearly see the “MASSACHVSETTS INSTITVT OF TECHNOLOGY” and the year “MCMXVI.”
I think the reasons the producers chose the MIT shot were:
- Not everyone knows what it looks like, compared to say many of the Roman-like architecture buildings in Washington, DC.
- (Possibly) Star Trek does tend to be watched by more technologically oriented people. And it adds the episode a nice touch to show one of the major technology universities
Overall, it was a nice episode.