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This clip has surfaced on the internet, and was particularly brought to my attention alongside a caption that implied Spock was examining a rather attractive derriere. I find it generally unlikely that this properly describes the original context of the clip, but the expression does (to me, at least) appear to be rather un-Vulcan.

Could anyone tell me which episode this clip is from, and what is its true context?

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    hoo-boy. good luck. – Solemnity Feb 20 '13 at 23:14
  • If someone can identify the shirt material as being nylon, vs velour, this gets narrowed-down to the third season (and movies). – Solemnity Feb 20 '13 at 23:29
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    @Solemnity I figure if Troi's picture from Timescape could be ID'd here, and especially if someone (you, in fact) could pin down Picard's classic "Engage" meme photo, then this should be relatively easy. It should help that it's actually a clip instead of a still image. – Iszi Feb 20 '13 at 23:31
  • @Solemnity I don't remember any of the TOS crew wearing their typical TV series uniforms during the movies - so I'm pretty sure those are out. – Iszi Feb 20 '13 at 23:31
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    @Solemnity: let the record reflect that this got answered correctly in less than six hours. – Paul D. Waite Nov 5 '15 at 22:05
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The Original Series 1x08, Balance of Terror (remastered), at about 16 minutes and 10 seconds in.

The crew just got a view of the Romulans inside their ship, and were startled to see they look very much like Vulcans. This sparks suspicion in some crew members, given Spock's half-Vulcan heritage.

They're trying to make sense of some Romulan transmissions when this scene takes place. The part of the scene the clip is taken from is in bold-italics.

[The camera is following Kirk as he walks around the bridge. Kirk stops next to the Captain's seat. Uhura is at her station in the background. Lieutenant Stiles is at the helm in the foreground]
Kirk (to Uhura): Decoding?
Uhura: Cryptography is working on it, sir.
Lieutenant Stiles: Give it to Spock.
Kirk walks towards the helmsman.
Kirk: I didn't quite get that, Mr. Stiles.
Kirk stops one step past the helmsman's seat, his back to Stiles.
Lieutenant Stiles: Nothing, sir.
Kirk: Repeat it.
[Camera switches to Spock, at his station.]
Lieutenant Stiles: I was suggesting that Mr. Spock could probably translate it for you, sir.
Kirk: I assume you're complimenting Mr. Spock on his ability to decode.
During Kirk's line, Spock bites his lip on "complimenting" and then looks at Kirk on "decode".
[Camera switches back to Kirk & Stiles, with Uhura still at her station in the background.]
Lieutenant Stiles: I'm not sure, sir.
Kirk walks back to about a step behind the Stiles chair. He then turns the helmsman's chair, so that Stiles looks Kirk in the eye.
Kirk: Well, here's one thing you can be sure of, Mister...
[Camera closes in on just Kirk & Stiles.]
Kirk: ...leave any bigotry in your quarters. There's no room for it on the bridge. Do I make myself clear?
Lieutenant Stiles: You do, sir.

Spock

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  • Thanks for the screenshot and time frame. Care to flesh it out with more details of the scene - what actually brought him to make that expression? – Iszi Feb 21 '13 at 0:08
  • @Iszi Just did while you commented, I forgot about that part of the question while looking – Izkata Feb 21 '13 at 0:08
  • Thanks again. Interestingly, Netflix lists this as 01x15. – Iszi Feb 21 '13 at 0:09
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    @Iszi Ah, according to Memory Alpha, it was the 9th TOS produced (including the pilot with Captain Pike), and the 14th released. I have the episodes in this order. (Of possible note, it was also the first remastered episode according to Memory Alpha) – Izkata Feb 21 '13 at 0:11
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    For anyone who's curious as to how I found this - starting from 1x00, Spock's uniform allowed me to skip a handful, then I did a few more looking for the display in the upper-right. Then realized the image quality was too good for a non-remastered episode, and jumped ahead to this one - the first remastered one (at least, in my collection). – Izkata Feb 21 '13 at 0:18

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