| 1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ari_bn_bem_colony_creature.jpg]] |
| 2 | [[caption-width-right:350:Meet Bem, one of many ''Franchise/StarTrek'' ambassadors who are [[AssInAmbassador major tools]].]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | Commander Ari bn Bem is sent to the Enterprise in order to determine whether or not the Federation is ready to interact with his species. |
| 5 | ---- |
| 6 | !!This episode provides examples of: |
| 7 | * AssInAmbassador: Bem starts off by spending weeks of his supposed ambassadorial tour of the ''Enterprise'' locked in his quarters, then suddenly insists (despite repeated gentle warnings against it) that he accompany them on their next away mission. During the away mission, he steals their phasers and communicators and replaces them with duds, then harasses the local natives and gets himself caught at spearpoint. [[GeniusLoci The planet itself]] (or rather, the godlike entity ruling it) needs to tell him to grow up before he starts acting tolerably. |
| 8 | * DetachableLowerHalf: Bem can detach parts of his body, including his head and lower torso. Justified by Bem being a colony creature, meaning he is made up of several separate organisms that share a single collective sentience. |
| 9 | * DetachmentCombat: Bem is a Pandronian, a colony creature who can separate his head, upper torso, and lower torso (at least). |
| 10 | * LampshadeHanging: At one point, Kirk asks out loud he how and Spock manage to keep getting kidnapped by aliens and put in cages. Spock assumes that it's a rhetorical question. Later, sounding frustrated by the situation, Kirk asks Spock if he can just use his Vulcan nerve pinch to solve anything; Spock say no. |
| 11 | * MeaningfulName: Sci-fi fans have a term for a bizarre, alien creature who exists only to menace the heroes: "bug-eyed monster", or "BEM". (This Bem is much more nuanced.) |
| 12 | * PunnyName: Bem's name is a reference to B.E.M, a colloquialism used in early science fiction fandom. It stands for "Bug-Eyed Monster". |
| 13 | * ReplacedWithReplica: After Kirk and Spock fall into the water upon beam-down, Bem replaces their equipment with inert fakes. |
| 14 | * SufficientlyAdvancedAlien: The episode has probably the only instance in [[Franchise/StarTrek the entire franchise]] of a powerful alien looking after a planet of primitives who appears to be genuinely wise and benevolent enough that Kirk doesn't automatically object to the situation on principle. |
| 15 | * ThirdPersonPerson: Bem constantly refers to himself as "this one". |
| 16 | * TheWormThatWalks: Pandronians like Bem are colony organisms who are humanoid in shape, but consist of three separate parts (head, torso, and legs) which can move and levitate independently of each other. |
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