I wouldn't consider Dr. Sevrin evil from what I understand he only wanted to live outside the sterile ,artificial society he lived in where everything is controlled the air ,the weather,nature, all made and controled by The Federation ,safe and ..boring .I would call Sevrin more naive and unprepared rather than evil I think that is part of Roddenberry's criticism on the hippies where all is very utopic and like paradise,but naive to the dangers of the World outside where things can hurt and even kill you if you are un- or illprepared.

But remember, Sevrin knew that the disease he carried would destroy any primitive culture he encountered.

Is that not evil?

("Are we not men? We are DEVO!")

by knix:

Question: was Dr Sevrin (from "The Way To Eden") more or less evil than Zora of Tiburon ("The Savage Curtain")?

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I just finished watching both episodes to refresh my memory.

Dr. Sevrin was insane.

He wanted to go to Eden and live with the natives. The fact that he would have infected and caused their death could be considered an evil action, but it was clear he was completely nuts. In the eye of the law, being insane impairs a person's judgment and capacity to act rationally.

Adam had died eating a fruit, and Dr Sevrin's feet had been burned, yet he insisted he wanted to stay on the planet; he escaped on a tree and ate a fruit which killed him.

Zora was evil. She did experiments on the locals. She reminds me of Mengele. When the war was lost, he escaped because he didn’t want to be judged and sentenced to death for his crimes. He felt no remorse or empathy for his victims.

Ordinary people might label him as insane to explain the atrocities he committed, but medically speaking, Mengele was not considered insane.

Fair point, by that time. I just think he was probably evil first, and then insane. We only saw the insane version.

And of course Zora could have been insane too, we never got her backstory.

My main point was about them both having been from Tiburon. But that could just mean there was a street named Tiburon in Gene Roddenberry's neighborhood. Apparently that's where he got many names from.

by knix:

Fair point, by that time. I just think he was probably evil first, and then insane. We only saw the insane version.

We do know in board terms Dr.Sevrin's history.

He was a brilliant engineer. Part of his research findings were even used by the Federation, but then his work came to a sudden halt when he contracted synthococcus novae.

A disease that some people develop due to living in unnatural, technological settings.

The technological society in which he lived in and was contributing to with his research is what caused him to fall ill.

After getting diagnosed, his movements were restricted, and slowly he started to refuse, then hate modern technology.

This caused him a mental breakdown. He became the leader of a group of activists who were against modern technology.

Dr. Sevrin then wanted to find Eden and live with Mother Nature.

He could have turned evil and tried to destroy his city; he was an engineer ( he did neutralise the Enterprise crew ), others would have followed him. Instead, he was just fixated on finding the mythical planet Eden and live a peaceful life with Mother Nature and the natives.

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My main point was about them both having been from Tiburon. But that could just mean there was a street named Tiburon in Gene Roddenberry's neighborhood. Apparently that's where he got many names from.

But were they both native of Tiburon. Dr. Sevrin has huge cauliflower ears. Zora has all that fuzzy hair, so you can't see hers, but she has very long, bushy eyebrows.

In the TOS series, characters of the same species shared common physical traits, didn't they? eg. Vulcans have a slightly brown, greenish-grey hued skin, are tall, black-haired ( elders have some grey), with pointed ears and up-swept eyebrows.

Dr. Sevrin and Zora look completely different.

Male vs female, perhaps.

And Sevrin's ears might have been a fashion statement. Like some people do now.

by knix:

Male vs female, perhaps

And Sevrin's ears might have been a fashion statement. Like some people do now.

I prefer your second option.

@Knixon said:

Male vs female, perhaps.

And Sevrin's ears might have been a fashion statement. Like some people do now.

Flanged ears are typical for Tiburons, just like Vulcans have pointy ears.

Ciao wonder2wonder

Flanged ears are typical for Tiburons, just like Vulcans have pointy ears.

And according to the alpha memory search I made after reading your reply, some males also sport bony protrusions on their heads and neck ( which Dr.Sevrin didn't have).

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Tiburonian

While the females can have large eyebrows ...large versus bushy ...is that the same thing ?

(If I had huge cauliflower ears, I would definitely hide them with my hair, but I'm not Tiburon)

That said , I prefer knix's second option/ explanation.

In the TOS series, males and females of the same species exhibited the same traits.

Alpha memory doesn't give a reason why they have different physical traits...to me, it just feels convenient to state males and females are different but there is no reason why they should be different, except for the fact Dr Sevrin was portrayed bald with cauliflower ears and Zora with bushy hair and bushy eyebrows. ( and the Mediterranean disease I would add )

@sunshine62 said:

Ciao wonder2wonder

Flanged ears are typical for Tiburons, just like Vulcans have pointy ears.

And according to the alpha memory search I made after reading your reply, some males also sport bony protrusions on their heads and neck ( which Dr.Sevrin didn't have).

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Tiburonian

While the females can have large eyebrows ...large versus bushy ...is that the same thing ?

(If I had huge cauliflower ears, I would definitely hide them with my hair, but I'm not Tiburon)

That said , I prefer knix's second option/ explanation.

In the TOS series, males and females of the same species exhibited the same traits.

Alpha memory doesn't give a reason why they have different physical traits...to me, it just feels convenient to state males and females are different but there is no reason why they should be different, except for the fact Dr Sevrin was portrayed bald with cauliflower ears and Zora with bushy hair and bushy eyebrows. ( and the Mediterranean disease I would add )

The pointed ears are a typical trait for Vulcans, but hairstyles can vary. Saavik had long hair that covered her ears. There are also bald-headed Vulcans.

Tiburons are not one of the main species in the Star Trek Universe of television shows and movies, so there is little known about them, but flanged ears have been part of their appearance. If you check other media, you'll find more information. Another Tiburon who I recall is T'Lor.

by wonder2wonder

The pointed ears are a typical trait for Vulcans, but hairstyles can vary. Saavik had long hair that covered her ears. There are also bald-headed Vulcans.

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I was always referring to TOS .

I wrote:

In the TOS series, males and females of the same species exhibited the same traits.

In later series or the films, the writers did add new Vulcan traits to make it all more realistic, but in TOS, males and females of the same species exhibited the same traits.
Dr.Sevrin and Zora are like day and night.

@sunshine62 said:

by wonder2wonder

The pointed ears are a typical trait for Vulcans, but hairstyles can vary. Saavik had long hair that covered her ears. There are also bald-headed Vulcans.

.......................................

I was always referring to TOS .

I wrote:

In the TOS series, males and females of the same species exhibited the same traits.

In later series or the films, the writers did add new Vulcan traits to make it all more realistic, but in TOS, males and females of the same species exhibited the same traits.
Dr.Sevrin and Zora are like day and night.

T'Pring and the the Romulan commander in (S)TOS have long hair, that could cover their ears.

And yes, Vulcans and Romulans share the same ancestry.

T'Pau had long black hair too, and sported in Amok Time an elaborate bun-like hairdo with plaids like T'Pring.

From mark 0.20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5qFelZAU4I

@sunshine62 said:

T'Pau had long black hair too, and sported in Amok Time an elaborate bun-like hairdo with plaids like T'Pring.

From mark 0.20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5qFelZAU4I

I know. Fortunately, their hair does not always cover their ears, so that you can see that trait. Otherwise, it would all depend on the eyebrows, which one could easily do with a brush, tweezers and makeup.

There is only one male and one female Tiburon in (S)TOS, and the female has her ears covered, so that distinguishing trait cannot be seen. When Zora woke up in the morning after a late night of experimenting, she should have gone to a beauty salon and had everything done by a professional, who would make her look better.