10 Dumbest Things in Star Trek The Original Series

Former Desilu V.P. Herb Solow summed it up in the book "Inside Star Trek," writing: 

SOLOW: And in most instances, the characters they portrayed were emotionally subordinate to the men of Star Trek. Women were, essentially, sex objects always ready for action. And they were the antithesis of the actresses starring in the other dramatic television series of that era: Barbara Bain (Mission: Impossible), Amanda Blake (Gunsmoke), Barbara Anderson (Ironside), Stephanie Powers (The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.), and of course Barbara Stanwyck (Big Valley), all playing characters of substantial independence and distinction.”

And he's right. Even though many other shows were undeniably sexist, Star Trek made a point about women being equals to men, and repeatedly fell down on the job. In the first pilot, both the clinical Number One and the fresh-faced Yeoman both fantasize about the Captain. Yeoman Rand fusses over Kirk, makes coffee in emergencies, and even feels bad for accusing Kirk after his evil duplicate assaults her. In “Miri” while they suffer from a soon-to-be fatal disease, she cries for Kirk to look at her legs, and when abducted, only asks “What are you going to do with me?” instead of using her wits to try to persuade her child captors or even to gather information.

Nurse Chapel is entirely defined by her unrequited passion for Mr, Spock. Yeoman Barrows has fantasies about a “no means yes” Don Juan. Marla McGivers lets Khan endanger over 400 lives and seize control of a starship capable of subjugating entire planets, all because she’s got the hots for men who “dare take what they want.” Caroline Palamas falls head over heels for Apollo and resists helping save the crew because it would break the Greek god’s heart. McCoy anticipates this, saying, “On the other hand, she's a woman. All woman. One day she'll find the right man and off she'll go, out of the service.” Ugh.

Spock’s no better, once saying, “And I suspect preys on women because women are more easily and more deeply terrified, generating more sheer horror than the male of the species.” Double ugh.

Hell, even the robots get in on the misogyny.

NOMAD: That unit [Uhura] is defective. Its thinking is chaotic. Absorbing it unsettled me. [....] A mass of conflicting impulses.

And the series even ends on a sour note with the horridly misogynistic “Turnabout Intruder,” which is both too dumb and too offensive to waste time on here.

Sexism is beyond dumb, especially on Star Trek.