Star Trek (TV Series)

The Paradise Syndrome (1968)

DeForest Kelley: Dr. McCoy

Photos 

Quotes 

• Dr. McCoy : Why, they look like... I'd swear they're American Indians.

  Mr. Spock : They are, Doctor. A mixture of Navajo, Mohican and Delaware, I believe - all among the more advanced and peaceful tribes.

  Captain James T. Kirk : It's like discovering Atlantis. Or Shangri-La.

• Captain James T. Kirk : It's just so peaceful. Uncomplicated, no problems, no... command decisions. Just... living.

  Dr. McCoy : Typical human reaction to an idyllic natural setting. Back in the 20th century, we referred to it as the 'Tahiti Syndrome'. It's particularly common to over-pressured leader types, like starship captains.

• Dr. McCoy : Well, Spock, you took your calculated risk in your calculated Vulcan way and you lost! You lost for us, you lost for that planet, and you lost for Jim.

  Mr. Spock : [studying his screen]  I accept the responsibility, Doctor.

  Dr. McCoy : And my responsibility is the health of this crew. You've been driving yourself too hard; now I want you to get some rest.

  Mr. Spock : [using the comm panel]  Mr. Chekov, resume heading, 883 mark 41.

  Dr. McCoy : Back to that planet without warp speed? It'll take MONTHS, Spock!

  Mr. Spock : Exactly 59.223 days, Doctor; and that asteroid will be four hours behind us, all the way.

  Dr. McCoy : Well, then what's the use? We might not be able to save the Captain, even if he still is alive! We might not be able to save ANYTHING, including this ship!

  [Spock is motionless, studying] 

  Dr. McCoy : You haven't heard a word I've said. All you've been doing is staring at that blasted obelisk!

  Mr. Spock : Another calculated... Vulcan risk, Doctor.

• Mr. Spock : The obelisk is a marker, just as I thought. It was left by a super race, known as the Preservers. They passed through the galaxy rescuing primitive cultures, which were in danger of extinction, and seeding them, so to speak, where they could live, and grow.

  Dr. McCoy : I've always wondered why there were so many humanoids scattered through the galaxy.

  Mr. Spock : So have I. Apparently, the Preservers account for a number of them.

  Dr. McCoy : That's probably how the planet has survived all these centuries. The Preservers put an asteroid deflector on the planet.

  Mr. Spock : Which has now become defective and is failing to operate.

• [first lines] 

  Dr. McCoy : Look at those pine trees!

  Captain James T. Kirk : And that lake.

  Dr. McCoy : I swear that's honeysuckle I smell.

  Captain James T. Kirk : I swear that's a little orange blossom thrown in. It's unbelievable. Growth, exactly like that of Earth, on a planet half a galaxy away. What are the odds of such duplication?

  Mr. Spock : Astronomical, Captain.

• Mr. Spock : Lock all phasers on that mark. Maximum intensity, narrow beam. I want to split that fissure wide open.

  Dr. McCoy : You sound like you're cutting a diamond.

  Mr. Spock : Very astute, Doctor.

• Mr. Spock : I believe those symbols are the key.

  Dr. McCoy : Well, you won't read them by killing yourself. You've hardly eaten or slept for weeks. Now, if you don't let up, you're going to collapse.

  Mr. Spock : I am not hungry, Doctor. And under stress, we Vulcans can do without sleep for weeks.

  Dr. McCoy : [scanning Spock]  Well, your Vulcan metabolism is so low it can hardly be measured, and as for the pressure, that green ice-water you call blood...

  Mr. Spock : My physical condition is not important, Doctor. That obelisk is.