An episode ... which first established ... Space Seed

[Ostap]

An episode of the original Star Trek series which first established the details of the Eugenics Wars and the genetically engineered Superhumans, Space Seed is one of the few episodes which allowed us to positively date the original series on our own calendar.

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Hello, teachers. Is "an episode" a mistake and should it be "the episode"?

 

[tedmc]

I think it means "one of the episodes". Had the second sentence come before the first, the definite article would have been appropriate.

 

[Ostap]

I think it means "one of the episodes". Had the second sentence come before the first, the definite article would have been appropriate.

It says that this episode "first established" the storyline, which makes it unique, and so does the episode title -- Space Seed. Another mistake is the absence of a comma after "Space Seed".

 

[tedmc]

Okay, I misread it as two sentences. Since it is one whole sentence, the definite article is appropriate.

 

[5jj]

Another mistake is the absence of a comma after "Space Seed".

That would come between subject and verb - a bad mistake,

 

[Ostap]

That would come between subject and verb - a bad mistake,

I believe it's a non-restrictive appositive, where the two parts of apposition are separated by commas ("Space Seed" is additional information that could be removed). So the commas are essential. It would be different if we put the episode title at the beginning -- then both the following versions are possible (with or without commas) depending on how you view the underlined part (key or not):

The episode of the original Star Trek series Space Seed, which first established the details of the Eugenics Wars and the genetically engineered Superhumans, is one of the few episodes which allowed us to positively date the original series on our own calendar.

The episode of the original Star Trek series Space Seed which first established the details of the Eugenics Wars and the genetically engineered Superhumans is one of the few episodes which allowed us to positively date the original series on our own calendar.

EDIT: I'm not sure about the latter variant -- maybe the commas are still needed. To omit them, we would have to remove "Space Seed":

The episode of the original Star Trek series which first established the details of the Eugenics Wars and the genetically engineered Superhumans is one of the few episodes which allowed us to positively date the original series on our own calendar.

 

[jutfrank]

Try reading it like this:

Space Seed (which is an episode of ... ) is one of the few episodes that allowed us to ...

With this reading, you really need the indefinite article.

 

[Ostap]

Try reading it like this:

Space Seed (which is an episode of ... ) is one of the few episodes that allowed us to ...

With this reading, you really need the indefinite article.

Yes, but that way we have to rewrite the original sentence and give it a different meaning.

 

[jutfrank]

Yes, but that way we have to rewrite the original sentence and give it a different meaning.

What difference in meaning do you sense?

I rephrased the original sentence to help you see what function An episode of the original Star Trek series which first established the details of the Eugenics Wars and the genetically engineered Superhumans is playing and why a definite article is wrong.

Here's a simpler sentence with a similar grammatical structure:

A grossly overweight man, John has trouble walking.

The paraphrase that I offered you is equivalent to this:

John, who is a grossly overweight man, has trouble walking.

 

[Ostap]

A grossly overweight man, John has trouble walking.

I see, so in the original, the whole part before the comma is an adjectival. So I was wrong about the comma, but still, "which first established" defines the "episode". There is only one Star Trek episode that first established the details of the Eugenics Wars and the genetically engineered Superhumans, whereas there are millions grossly overweight men like John. I believe this difference is essential and affects article usage.

 

[Ostap]

By the way, putting a comma before "which" in the original sentence would fix it:
An episode of the original Star Trek series, which first established the details of the Eugenics Wars and the genetically engineered Superhumans, Space Seed is one of the few episodes which allowed us to positively date the original series on our own calendar.

Now we have a non-restricted relative clause separated by commas.

 

[jutfrank]

I see, so in the original, the whole part before the comma is an adjectival.

It's a noun phrase.

So I was wrong about the comma

Yes.

but still, "which first established" defines the "episode".

I think the writer intended which first established the details of the Eugenics Wars and the genetically engineered Superhumans as a non-defining relative clause. The choice of the indefinite article makes this fairly clear, I think. If I'm right, there ought to be a comma before which.

 

[Ostap]

It's a noun phrase.

I meant its role in the sentence -- it modifies "Space Seed", like a participle phrase (we could add a "being" at the beginning of the sentence).

I think the writer intended which first established the details of the Eugenics Wars and the genetically engineered Superhumans as a non-defining relative clause. The choice of the indefinite article makes this fairly clear, I think. If I'm right, there ought to be a comma before which.

Yes, your post came with my #11 at once.

 

[jutfrank]

Yes, I saw your post #11 only after I'd written post #12.

Anyway, I think you've understood the sentence correctly now.