i just watched yet another episode of the original trek where kirk and co. beam down to planet x.

kirk: "tricorder readings mr. spock"

spock: "well, there's a large unknown energy source coming from Great Leader of planet x's castle"

kirk: "let's head on over there and talk to Great Leader."

they get to Great Leader's hideaway....

spock: "captain, my tricorder indicates that Great Leader is [dunh dunh dunnnh] a computer."

Great Leader: "that may be true, but i've put an end to poverty, war, sickness, disease and the natives are wealthier than ever..."

kirk: "but you...are...just-a-machine!"

Great Leader: "can i finish? as i was saying, the natives now all speak 7 languages, and live in perfect harmony and..."

kirk "but you...are...just-a-machine!!"

Great Leader: "yes but there is no crime here, no evil, i can't understand your irrational..."

kirk: "you're irrational"

Great Leader: "no, you're irrational and illogical"

kirk: "no, you're illogical"

Great Leader: "no, you're illogical"

kirk: "but YOU...ARE...JUST-A-MACHINE!!!"

kirk: "i've seen enough, red shirts, whip out your phasers"

flash forward after the dust settles. a crowd of natives menacingly appears and one steps forward.

native: "what have you done?? you've killed Great Leader, our entire civilization is now destroyed!!!."

kirk: "no need to thank me, you may not have food to eat tomorrow, but at least no uppity machine is going to be making life easy for you anymore."

kirk: "errm scotty, beam us up fast. my work is done here."

episode concludes. ok, i can see that maybe rodenberry had a fondness for that theme, buy i don't see why he had to show it over and over and over again to make sure we got it. but then again maybe things were just a little different back then.