I Now Pronounce You Space Married

You know, I remember very well when Keiko and O'Brien got married. I remember when Tom proposed to B'Elanna and they used the Delta Flyer for their honeymoon. I remember when Worf and Dax finally tied the knot. These Star Trek weddings were beautiful and my husband and I even used Picard's words from "Data's Day" in our own tiny ceremony. The episodes were great and I remember them because they actually meant something. Those characters all went on to have (for better or worse) lasting relationships.

But I'm not here to talk about lasting relationships. I'm here to talk about ridiculous one-off wedding episodes which occurred only a few episodes apart and were never referred to again. They are "The Paradise Syndrome" and "For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky."

Here's what happens in "The Paradise Syndrome" :
-The Enterprise is called in to prevent an asteroid from zooming into a planet and wiping out a culture.
-Things get weird.
-They come in contact with a strange, obelisk worshiping culture
-Kirk falls in love with a priestess
-They GET MARRIED

Here's what happens in "For The World Is Hollow..." :

-The Enterprise is called in to prevent an asteroid from zooming into a planet and wiping out a culture.
-Things get weird.
-They come in contact with a strange, obelisk worshiping culture
-McCoy falls in love with a priestess
-They GET MARRIED

Obviously, since we never see Mrs. Kirk or Mrs. McCoy redecorating the Enterprise, our doctor and captain must return to bachelorhood. McCoy and his sweet Space Honey say goodbye and everyone's pretty underwhelmed, considering they're basically getting a divorce. Meanwhile, Kirk's wife is STONED TO DEATH. The episode ends with Kirk kissing her beautiful, dead lips.

And, I care... none at all. Why should I? I just met these women forty minutes ago and I know that nothing good can come of these frivolous relationships. They're just set pieces being used to decorate an otherwise not-very-good episode. Additionally, these ridiculous Space Weddings cheapen other, better, lovey dovey episodes like "City On The Edge Of Forever." I love Star Trek. I love The Original Series. But, seriously, how did these episodes not only happen, but happen four episodes apart?

I think a lot of this is a function of the changing dynamic of the show. By the third season, the ensemble element of the series has gradually dropped to such a low that nearly every episode is just Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beaming onto a planet, getting into trouble, Kirk getting some Space Honey Lovin', getting out of trouble, and then beaming back to the Enterprise. When every episode consists of the same things, you're bound to eventually get space married to a woman you've only known for forty-five minutes.

Anyway, instead of more rambling, I made a comic: