Star Trek: The Animated Series S1E04 – The Lorelei Signal
Sisters are doing it for themselves as the male members of the crew of the USS Enterprise go horny on main after hearing The Lorelei Signal. As its live action predecessor did, The Animated Series has little hesitancy in blending classical mythology, sci-fi and social commentary with a story that blends starships, sirens and the dangers inherent in a rush of blood away from the head. When the Enterprise is drawn into a mysterious region of space by a signal that lures male crew members into a trance-like state, they are welcomed by a society of immortal, beautiful alien women who feed on the life force of unsuspecting space travellers. It’s a plot lifted straight from Homer’s Odyssey and suggests that Odysseus would have made it back to Ithica much quicker had he benefitted from having capable female crewmembers that could take over when crises arose.
This episode gives an all too rare opportunity to see the female crew take centre stage. With Captain Kirk, Spock, and other male crew members incapacitated, Lieutenant Uhura steps up to take control of the ship and lead a rescue mission, showing a command presence that’s both refreshing and long overdue. It’s one of the first times we see Uhura in a commanding role, leading an all-female landing party to rescue their male counterparts as well as ensuring that each critical function of the ship has a woman in charge. For a 1970s animated kids’ series, and even for Star Trek, it’s an impressively progressive storyline, a world away from the weird misogyny of Turnabout Intruder, the episode that saw the original series end on a depressingly regressive note.
The Lorelei Signal also has echoes of The Cage and Who Mourns for Adonais?, where illusions and seduction are used as a form of entrapment and while the siren-like aliens at the centre of the story aren’t exactly malevolent; they’re simply trying to survive, it makes them complex antagonists who force the crew to use wit and resourcefulness rather than brute force. Uhura’s ability to empathise and negotiate with the aliens is on brand for Star Trek’s ethos of seeking peaceful solutions, even with strange new life forms.
The feminist message is somewhat let down by the fact Spock’s unique biology comes to the rescue yet again as his slightly higher resistance to the signal’s effects allows him to retain enough clarity to direct the escape plan and it’s a shame that Nurse Chapel and Uhura’s agency diminishes once he exerts his influence, reducing them to taking orders when they had been taking the initiative. Spock’s rapport with Nurse Chapel, though, adds a nice touch of continuity for their relationship, giving Chapel another moment to show her medical expertise and her calm under pressure.
Overall, The Lorelei Signal is an entertaining episode that boldly goes in a different direction to five the supporting crew some much-deserved time in the captain’s chair – even if it does course-correct back to business as usual a little too soon. By giving Uhura and her fellow female crew members time to shine, it demonstrated Star Trek’s potential to break new ground, even if it took an animated episode to finally give Uhura the spotlight she deserved.
