A Shot of Silly Serum

“Four-and-a-Half Vulcans”What’s the best way to pass as a Vulcan? Become one! That’s what Pike, Uhura, La’an, and Chapel do in order to save a pre-warp civilization without violating the Prime Directive. Doesn’t make sense? Don’t worry, it’s all just a setup for a story that aims to shed light on what goes on in the Vulcan mind. After their one-minute mission is done, the foursome is unable to transform back into humans but finds that they like being Vulcan more. This is a very troubling development for the crew as they watch Nurse Chapel shun all relationships in favor of work, Pike fall in love with 42-minute rotating shifts for more efficient operations, Uhura brainwash her boyfriend, and La’an try to take over the ship and start an interstellar war. The only hope for returning things to normal? A Vulcan called Doug.In this episode of Saddle Up! hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing continue our journey through Strange New Worlds with “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans.” We discuss the concept, the setup, the humor, and what each character's situation reveals about Vulcans and themselves.ChaptersIntro (0:00:00)First Reactions (00:02:39)All In on Silly (00:14:11)Biology Is Not Culture (00:16:24)Superficially Vulcan (00:24:43)Everyone Has a Soul? (00:29:42)Ideas Out of Focus (00:37:43)Four Facets of Vulcans (00:42:54)Una Digs Doug (00:45:23)And Kirk Shows Up (00:48:43)Final Thoughts and Ratings (00:50:57)Closing (00:57:10)HostsC Bryan Jones and Matthew RushingProductionC Bryan Jones (Editor and Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer)