Star Trek

 

loved conscience of a king.  I think it's one of the best trek episodes of any series. 

 

totally agree with you on balance of terror too.  It is slightly more acceptable when you look at it as a homage to submarine movies but still painful.  Especially stupid was the way the romulan commander thought he knew the character of kirk because he followed him into a cloud and got a few shots off.

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>THE CORBOMITE MANUEVER

>A shame this was shown 10th (it was held back due to the time taken with the complex effects), as it is obviously intended to be the first episode, with the emphasis on heading into uncharted space/exploring the unknown etc. It stands out like a sore thumb as episode 10, with Spock's different `look', Uhura's gold uniform, the thicker, heavier uniforms etc. A great story though, very enjoyable. I think Balok looks better in the still that was shown at the end of most season 2 eps - in the episode itself, the `shimmer' effect added spoils it, and when Kirk and company beam over, it looks just like a dummy. Several British comics (which were all published weekly, unlike US ones) featured Star Trek comic strips, and prior to the first one being published in 1969, this was the episode selected for the writer/artists to view, to base their work on, the series not having being transmitted in the uk at that point.

>THE MENAGERIE

>A classic, hard to know where to begin. The great matte painting depicting the Starbase gets things off to a great start, and Spock's covert behaviour makes for an intriguing first half. Once the `Cage' footage comes in, you know you are watching an epic adventure. What i ilke is that, if a new viewer had come to the series recently and was watching this for the first time, and knew nothing of the show's history, then they would think that, for this story alone, new uniforms, different makeup for Spock, different bridge, different cast etc were employed for this story. The Talosians are very effective, the fact they are played by old women adding to their alien-ness. Ep 2 has more `Cage' footage than the first part. The only niggling bit is at the end - Spock pushes Pike out of the briefing room, heading to the transporter room to beam him down to Talos. Spock and Pike exit, then straight away, we hear the Keeper's voice on the viewscreen, Kirk turns and sees Pike as he was, able to move freely thanks to the Talosians illusory powers. The problem is, that Spock has barely had enough time to push Pike to the transporter, let alone beam him down, have Pike be met by the Talosians and `transformed'. Its churlish to quibble about this though, bearing in mind the great feeling of optimism, awe and excitement the ending has. If you still dont like Star Trek after watching this masterpiece, you are probably dead.

>THE CONSCIENCE OF THE KING

>Im not a fan of Shakespeare, but its an inspired idea to combine the Bard with Star Trek. Great, very literate script, fine performances etc. Lenore's line `It (Enterprise) will become a floating tomb, the soul of the great Karidian giving performances at every star he touches' accompanied by a close-up of her mad staring eyes, chills the spine. Shame that Janice Rand was ousted after this was made. Good to see Riley back for the last time - am i  the only fan who wonders what all this 23rd/24th century food would taste like? How Kodos massacred the colonists is not explored, presumably he phasered them all.

>BALANCE OF TERROR

>One of Trek's most overrated episodes. The Romulans are fine, some nice FX, but the story is frankly boring - the Enterprise pursues an enemy vessel for the best part of 50 minutes, and finally destroys it. Ho Hum. Im amazed that episodes like this attract so much attention, whereas `Dagger of the Mind', `Miri', `Operation-Annihilate' and `Arena', just to give  a few examples, are all far superior.

>SHORE LEAVE

>A return to form, a great story mixing the drama with comedy. Nice romantic interest for Bones, tho typically, as with most 60s TV, we never see or hear of Tonia Barrows again. I like the `Roger Moore' expression McCoy pulls when Tonia is taking her uniform off, and the scene where he gets killed has real impact. The fight between Kirk and Finnegan is fast-paced and exciting, but i would have thought humanity would have outgrown that sort of `laddish' behaviour by the 23rd century. I like the bit where the tiger first appears - obvious stock footage, leading to the casual viewer commenting `Ha! did they expect us to believe they got a real Tiger in there?!', only to be silenced when we later see a tiger in the same shot as Kirk and Spock. Apparently, Shatner wanted a scene in which Kirk single-handedly fought the tiger! I would have loved to see that.

>THE GALILEO SEVEN

>Another great ep, only undermined by the fact that there's obviously only 1 ape creature lurking about, rather than the scores of them, that the script keeps reffering to. Particularly bad is the scene where the script informs us that there are hordes of the creatures trying to bash in the Galileo's hull, and what we see is one of them, standing on an out-of-shot (thankfully!) crate, banging on the hull with a polystyrene boulder! Yeoman Mears is really cute. The Galileo modelwork is excellent, and the casual viewer would get a nice surprise when we see Spock and McCoy standing next to the full-size prop, having assumed that the shuttlecraft was just a small model and nothing else. The title of this episode refers to the 7 stranded crewmembers, and doesnt mean, as some fans think, that there are at least 7 Galileo shuttles on board. The end of the ep is faintly embarrassing, with everyone almost laughing themselves into a coma, over something that isnt remotely funny.

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>ERRAND OF MERCY

>Another great episode. If the Klingons are such a major threat, why have they never been seen, or even mentioned before? Funny to see most of them clean-shaven - only the leader and 2nd-in-command have beards. Organia is another parallel Earth, this time with the appearance of the middle ages, men wearing doublets and hose, women wearing long dresses, theres even an ox pulling a cart. Kirk comes across as a warlike prick at the end, as bad as Kor. Nice to have an episode end on Kirk's face, rather than the usual stock shot of the Enterprise warping off.

>THE ALTERNATIVE FACTOR

>In the style of Captain Kirk:

>FACT: this is generally regarded by fandom en masse as the worst episode of the first season.

>FACT: it isnt, its better than a few others i could mention, and though it doesnt quite reach the lofty heights of THe Naked Time, Charlie X, Miri, The Menagerie etc, it sits quite comfortably alongside Shore Leave, The Galileo Seven, Tomorrow is Yesterday etc.

>AND, FACT: a main reason that fans dislike it, apart from the ending, is that (they say) its impossible to tell which Lazarus is on the scene at any time. It isnt, its easy to tell - the bad Lazarus has a plaster on his head and rants and raves constantly. Some of the confusion arises from the scene where the `Good' Lazarus attacks the Black female engineer (whos wearing a blue costume - why? Shouldnt she be wearing a red one? perhaps she didnt look good in red), and the radio operator from `Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea', but he does so in a gentile way. The fact that the 2 Lazruses are identical makes no difference, because ANY pieces of matter and anti-matter coming into contact would blow up the universe just as effectively.

>Theres one scene where Lazarus' beard is almost gone, just a few strands, but in the nect scene, its full and bushy again. I have an explanation for this - though he looks human, hes actually an alien of course. He must have had a shave, prior to the scene in the briefing room, but, one of the traits of his species is being able to grow hair very quickly, so by the time of the scene on the planet's surface, it grew back.

>Why didnt they just destroy Lazarus' ship, or kill the `Bad' one? Locking the 2 men forever in limbo seems a horrible solution to the problem. oh, and one more thing: the `Fact...fact....and fact 'speech is regarded as one of Kirk's catch-phrases. Why? He only says it in this ep.

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>THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER

>Excellent, but overrated. Its great, but not as great as many fans think. Ive read comments over the years to the effect that its not only the best ep of TOS, but the best Star Trek ever, better than all those great eps of TNG etc! Its overrated because it was written by Harlan Ellison, and because of the controversy of Gene Roddenberry's rewriting of Ellison's script. Possibly also, because its the only ep of TOS which deals with time/reality being changed - always a popular theme in the other ST shows. A good story, characterization, good performances etc, but i imagine that newer fans, having read all the hype about it, but not knowing anything of the story, would be disappointed.

>OPERATION-ANNIHILATE!

>One of my favourites. The theme of parasitic monsters taking over bodies is an old one, but a good one, and this ep does it justice. Its one of the iconic childhood memories i have of the series - the landing party going into a building where the `pancakes/jellyfish' are hiding on a wall, and one jumps on Spock's back. The parasites look a bit fake (to the extent that a line had to be inserted where the Yeoman says it `doesnt even look real!') but that doesnt detract from a great story. Joan Swift gives one of the most convincing performances in the series. The end is a bit odd - Kirk's brother and sister in law are dead, and hes having a good old laugh, because Spock is safe! Still, this is acceptable because this is the last ep of season 1 and a downbeat ending would have been innappropriate.  

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>WHO MOURNS FOR ADONAIS?

>Another excellent ep, this stands out as being unique in a season where the same story concepts/ideas were re-used constantly ; ie parallel Earths and mad computers. Good performance from Michael Forest, who gives a convincing English accent. Scotty is taken for a fool by Carolyn, she casually tosses him aside in favour of Apollo, but despite this, he is still concerned for her safety at every opportunity. Good FX when Apollo grows to giant size, and when Scotty is flung backwards. I think the female crewmembers uniforms are very sexy, so (as in `Squire of Gothos') its strange that Apollo changes her clothes for a look that is not as good. The rape at the end is tastefully, and subtly done, though the ep ends abruptly. Originally, it was to have concluded with McCoy on the ship telling Kirk that Carolyn is expecting Apollo's child.

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>I noticed the colour changes too, as soon as i saw the sky in the scenes in `The Man Trap' just after Darnell has been killed.

>THE CHANGELING

>A good example of season 2's specialty - that of being able to `polish a turd'. ie; take a tedious old-hat sort of a story, and turn it into an interesting piece of unmissable drama. The story marks the first use in season 2 of `kirk vs computer/machine' and `dangerous entity thats a threat to life in the galaxy', 2 elements that would keep popping up again and again. The teaser is excellent (that would make a good thread actually, best/worst teasers) with the bridge crew being knocked for a loop. The scenes of Uhura being re-educated were cut by the BBC who didnt like the double-entendres present in lines like `The Dog has a blue ball' etc.

>MIRROR, MIRROR

>Great ep, i remember seeing this at the age of 6, but only remembered the scenes of Chekov in the agony booth. Next i heard of it was years later, when i got a copy of the US SF mag `Starlog', issue 24. There was an interview with Leonard Nimoy, and a still of Spock from this ep - i didnt realise the story would feature a whole `evil' crew and ship, i imagined from the still/caption that it would involve just a solitary `evil' Spock, sat in his lair, plotting the destruction of our heroes with a sinister chuckle. This ep shows that in the 60s, tv programme makers were terrified of alienating the audience by presenting them with a mystery - the explanation, that Kirk and co are in another dimension, comes far too soon and easily. `The Mark of Gideon' is season 3 is another example - God forbid, the viewers should be confused about whats going on, so we'll explain that Kirk is on a duplicate Enterprise within 5 mins, and completely ruin the atmosphere in the process.

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>THE APPLE

>This is a nice episode, though its just a rehash of `Return of the Archons' from season 1 - a primitive society ruled by a God who turns out to be an all-powerful computer. The Prime Directive is one of the worst ideas in ST so its good to see Kirk having no regard for it at all. More red-shirts are killed in this ep than any other, particularly effective is the bit where one gets blown up by an exploding rock. David Soul is completely unrecognisable under the red make-up.

>THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE

>Generally regarded as one of the best, this is an excellent episode, with a great guest performance from William Windom. The effects are good for the time, but look a bit naff now, especially with the same few stock shots of the Enterprise and the Planet Killer being used over and over again. In fact, a lot of these shots dont fit, in context, as the action is taking place in a relatively close area, so shots of the Enterprise warping through space are silly. Theres a blue transporter beam in this ep, instead of the usual yellow one - wonder why? During the fight between Decker and the guard, its interesting to see no other crew members are around when you need them, the corridors are usually bustling, but if someone is under attack (see also `Journey To Babel') theres never anyone around. I wonder what a female crewmember would have done if shed walked round the corner at that moment? would she have waded in to help, or just stood and cowered against the wall, as in the bar fight in `Trouble with Tribbles' where the female crewmembers can be seen doing just that.

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The Companion partially took over a human's body where the original owner and herself coexisted (in a human body).

But I don't see what's wrong with the Companion 'loving' Cochrane anyway. I might love my dog who is of lower intelligence than me. Not in a romantic way of course.  Cochrane would probably be of rudimentary intelligence compared to some being like the Companion. But that's the whole point of the episode IMO that it didn't matter to the Companion the deficiences in Cochrane - she loved him anyway.

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>A PIECE OF THE ACTION

>Quite hard to review, this one, as my thoughts on it are exactly the same as everyone elses': great episode, good comedy, Fizzbin, `i would advise youse to keep diallin' Oxmyx', great sets etc.

>One thing ill say: whenever there is a poll or whatever about the sexiest women in TOS, its always the usual suspects - Janice Rand, Uhura, Helen Noel, Martha Landon etc. For my money, its the 2 women in this ep who appear near the start, complaining about the `crummy street lights' in the area. Makes me wish i was a Gangster!

>THE IMMUNITY SYNDROME

>A dull and predictable story that has already been done 3 times before - in the same season. The first time-`The Doomsday Machine'-it worked well, but the second and third outings-`The Changeling'/`Obsession'-fell flat, and this is even worse. Its basically 49 minutes of padding. The only thing that stands out is the footage of the giant amoeba. 4 points of note: 1. Its the last appearance, production-wise, of Kirk's alternate green shirt. 2. Kyle appears, but with a different hairstyle, a gold shirt instead of a red one, and is called `Cowell', both by Kirk and in the credits. Did they expect us to think it was a different crewman? 3. The shuttle interior is different to how it looked before. 4. The USS Intrepid has a crew of Vulcans- but i thought Vulcans didnt approve of StarFleet, as was pointed out by Sarek in `Journey to Babel'. The impression given to this point is that Spock is the only Vulcan in StarFleet.

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>A PRIVATE LITTLE WAR

>After my previous comments concerning `polish a turd' eps, this episode would have featured an actual turd, live, on-screen, if it had been filmed as planned: in the teaser, Kirk and Spock see the Mugato's footprints (stock footage of the White Rabbit's footprints from `Shore Leave'), and comment that there wont be any around, as they seldom stay in one place. When the ep was first written, when Kirk says they better be careful that there arent any `Gumatos' (the name was later changed, but still listed as a Gumato in the credits) around, Spock was to have pointed to a piece of turd on the ground, which had turned white, indicating that it had been dropped a few days ago, and so, there wouldnt be any of the creatures around, as they seldom stayed in one place for long.

>A very enjoyable ep, lots of action, Gerald Fried's great music, Nona having an orgasm over the ailing Kirk (in the cave after he's been bitten), some hilarious `sci-fi' dialogue ("I am a Kanutu Woman!"), and, of course, the Mugato, which looks dangerous and cute at the same time.

>The scene of the Enterprise in orbit at the end is stock footage from `Friday's Child' - rather unfortunately, as not only does it feature a different planet to the one already seen in this ep, but the footage also includes the Producer and Exec Producer credits from the earlier ep. so Gene L. Coon gets credited with an episode he had nothing to do with!John Meredyth Lucas was in charge at this point.

>RETURN TO TOMORROW

>Odd title, that has nothing to do with the story. The story is good, and, in a season that is awash with tales about mad computers/machines, parallel Earths, and entities that are a threat to life in the Galaxy, it stands out. Diana Muldaur looks good in a StarFleet uniform, but since she's a Doctor, shouldnt she be wearing a blue uniform? Another ep featuring a sinister Spock - though Vulcans are among the `Good Guys' in the show, they are much more effective when presented (both in TOS, and also Voyager and Enterprise) in a dangerous, villlainous light, as here, `Amok Time' etc.

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>Different uniforms, blue credits instead of yellow, and, according to 99% of Trekkers anyway, a horrible deterioration in the show's quality - its season 3

>SPOCK'S BRAIN

>Generally regarded as the worst episode of the entire series, by people who've never seen `The Mark of Gideon', this is actually a fun and entertaining romp, more enjoyable than many straight-faced episodes. Im not actually convinced that this isnt a comedy, either - the myth is that Fred Freiberger disliked comedy eps, and so this story, written as a comedy, was altered to become serious. But was it? The beginning is fairly serious, but then it takes a tongue-in-cheek turn. The set of the planet surface is quite cheap, with the rocks spray-painted to give them a glacial look, and that cave turns up in many a 3rd season story. Marj Dusay (Kara) is another of TOS unsung sex symbols. This episode is excellently directed, with some angles of the bridge never seen before (or since), and theres even a scene of Kirk with just the starfield on the viewscreen behind him. The idea of Spock getting his brain put back in his head while he's still conscious is utterly sick, but since its played for laughs, its not as disturbing as it might have been. 

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>DAY OF THE DOVE

>The best Klingon story in TOS by far - great performance from Michael Ansara which, if TOS had continued for a few more years, should have been the benchmark for Klingon acting. Nice to see a couple of female Klingons as well. Once again, Chekov gets a bit to do - the scene where hes about to rape (?) Mara was trimmed but not completely cut by the BBC. Kirks alternate universe bodyguard in `Mirror, Mirror' pops up here as a Klingon. The swordfights are energetic but marred because its obvious they are blunt. A pity most of the female crewmembers were trapped below decks - it would have been interesting to see them engage in a bit of swordplay.

>Listen to the scene on the Bridge where Spock and Scotty almost come to blows - Scotty says "Keep your Vulcan hands off me!", but James Doohan muffles the line and it sounds like he has told Spock to keep his `F***in' hands' off! Any casual viewer, who didnt know Spock's background, would definitely think that Scotty had just used the F word

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>PLATO'S STEPCHILDREN

>This episode stands out for me, as a British fan, as it was one of the 4 eps banned for over 20 years by the BBC. The BBC screened the series starting in July 1969, but it was screened out of order, which meant that `Miri' was shown after the rest of season 1, and the whole of season 2, had been screened. When `Miri' was shown, in December 1970, it caused an outrage, which led to it not being shown again until the 1990s, and to the BBC examining all future episodes. In 3 cases, they felt the eps were so debased, they had no choice but to ban them - this ep, `The Empath' and `Whom Gods Destroy'. I remember first encountering this story in James Blish's adaptation, and being amazed, nodding my head and thinking `yes, i can certainly see why this was banned'. It might seem tame now, but it was strong stuff at the time - the bit where Spock is about to stamp on Kirk's head is quite horrible, Kirk on the floor screamimg (if im not mistaken, are the Platonians mentally twisting his genitals? That seems to be the implication from the way its shot), and Spock's smutty and suggestive song, about women losing their virginity (Maiden Wine). Contrary to what some fans think, it was the sadism that got it banned, and nothing to do with the interracial kiss. This was the first such kiss on US tv, but the BBC beat them to it, with a similar kiss in a tv soap opera. Anyway, this is another excellent ep, and even though its no longer banned, watching it and the other 3 eps, still has a frisson. Looking at season 3 thus far, i think its poor reputation has more to do with the fact that Gene Roddenberry (next in line to God in some fans eyes, especially back in the 60s/70s) was ousted as producer and Fred Freiberger was brought in. The only differences are cosmetic ones (does the fact that Scotty has a different hairstyle, and the credits are in blue instead of yellow REALLY matter?), and the stories are easily equal (and in terms of effects, better) to those in the first 2 years. Those fans who think season 3 sucks - perhaps their tv sets have been tuned into another dimension?    

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>LET THAT BE YOUR LAST BATTLEFIELD

>(Why do some fans get the title wrong, and refer to it as `Let This Be Your Last Battlefield'?)

>One of my favourite episodes, despite what many fans think. The anti-racism message is, as some have said in the past, `mind-numbingly obvious', but who cares? Its still a good message. Nice performances from Antonio and Gorshin as Lokai and Bele, and a great, wordy script. I havent got a problem with the `cheap' invisible ship - its a nice idea. I agree with the criticism some fans have made about the direction - it is particularly odd at the end, when Bele is chasing Lokai through the ship, and it looks like he is going for a Sunday morning jog round the park! How do they know where the Transporter room is, and why do they both stand sideways on the platform? Kirk should have beamed them both back up, instead of leaving them - he is therefore partly responsible for the extinction of an entire race, as they will both kill one another. The line about Cheron being in an uncharted area is daft, plus the fact that the planet changes colour, from mauve to orange. Overall though, a great episode. The self-destruct sequence is excellent. When this was shown on the BBC, the scene where Spock listens in to Lokai preaching in the rec room was cut.

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Considering that Lincoln and Frederick Douglass were well documented friends, I think this "reality" is probably closer to the revisionist history taught about the Founding Fathers.  But I won't go into that here as it's a different topic...