Was Jamie In On It?

[Alter Ego]

There is something that has always bothered me about Court Martial. Things are looking grim for Kirk's case when suddenly Jamie, Finney's daughter, comes into Kirk's room where he and Cogley are talking to announce that she no longer holds Kirk responsible for her father's death and she asks Cogley to persuade Kirk to plea-bargain.

Kirk is quick to accept Jamie's change of heart, but Cogley seems to doubt her sincerity:

KIRK: Jamie. This is Lieutenant Commander Finney's daughter.

JAMIE: Mister Cogley, we've got to stop this. Make him take a ground assignment. I realise it wasn't his fault. I won't make any trouble. Make him change his plea.

KIRK: It's too late for that, Jamie, but I'm glad you don't blame me anymore for what happened.

JAMIE: I was just so upset that night. I'm sorry.

KIRK: Don't say any more.

JAMIE: But I have to. I never realised how close you and Dad had been until I read through some papers he wrote, letters to Mother and me. I don't know how I ever could've thought that you. Mister Cogley, ruining Jim won't change what's happened.

COGLEY: That's very commendable, Miss Finney, but most unusual. After all, Captain Kirk is accused of causing your father's death, and the evidence would indicate his guilt.

JAMIE: I was just thinking of Jim.

KIRK: I know, and I thank you. I have to go and change. You ready?

COGLEY: No, but I may be getting ready.

First off, I find it hard to believe that Jamie would have such a change of heart so soon after being so enraged just because she read a few old letters. Besides, the data from the visual log recordings "prove" that Kirk was incompetent at best and malicious at worst (Jamie doesn't know about Spock's discovery of the computer's programming change because it hasn't yet come to light). This would suggest that perhaps her father found a way to make contact with her in the interim and now she felt guilty for what was happening to Kirk.

Secondly, after pointing out that Jamie's change of heart is very unusual, Cogley says that he "may be getting ready," suggesting that he has a new card up his sleeve so to speak. The expression on Cogley's face would suggest that he suspects Jamie of not telling the whole truth.

Yet, when the trial resumes in the next scene, Cogley throws up his arms and rests his case. It is only after he has done this that Spock races in to whisper into Cogley's ear the reasonable doubt that ultimately gets Kirk off and helps us to discover Finney's diabolical plot. Maybe he had no evidence to suggest that Finney was still alive and that Jamie was in on it?

Third, when the court resumes session on the bridge of the Enterprise Cogley mentions an errand that he must run on the planet. We later learn that he had gone to bring Jamie onto the ship in the hopes that her presence would help to talk Finney down. It seems more likely that Cogley planned to use her as a bargaining chip to get Finney to turn himself in peacefully. This sort of has the desired effect as Finney quickly regrets sabotaging the ship once he learns that she is aboard.

I guess my basic question is why do we even bother with the scene where Jamie forgives Kirk? She doesn't really have any legitimate reason (sorry but reading some old letters just doesn't seem to cut it) for a change of heart UNLESS she knew at some point before anyone else that her father was in fact still alive but if this were true, then it was never really developed.

Is it possible some scenes got moved around in the final edit or that additional scenes exploring this idea might have been cut?

 

[Timo]

I have little problem believing that Finney contacted her daughter and revealed his survival to her. For all we know, he might also have specifically told Jamie to ask Kirk to plead guilty, in the heartfelt manner shown, in order to ensure the Captain's downfall. That would be the only good reason for Finney to contact her daughter so early on in the game and not explicitly warn her not to make any revealing moves such as forgiving Kirk...!

Yet, when the trial resumes in the next scene, Cogley throws up his arms and rests his case. It is only after he has done this that Spock races in to whisper into Cogley's ear the reasonable doubt that ultimately gets Kirk off and helps us to discover Finney's diabolical plot. Maybe he had no evidence to suggest that Finney was still alive and that Jamie was in on it?

That's the biggest shortcoming of the episode - that Cogley has a good professional reputation, but in fact achieves absolutely nothing on his own. I'm tempted to give the old codger the benefit of doubt and argue that he was going to pull some sort of a "Columbo" stunt there, a last-second reversal of course for psychological effect. "The defense rests... For twenty seconds, or as long as it takes me to eat this sandwich, after which it is back and presents this amazing new theory of what happened, casting serious doubt on the prosecution's case!"

Is it possible some scenes got moved around in the final edit or that additional scenes exploring this idea might have been cut?

I hope something like this happened, as the ultimate version of the story does leave us wanting.

Another question here is why Jamie was at SB11 in the first place. Ben Finney's exploiting of an ion storm must have been an unpredictable even if preplanned event: he apparently waited for years to put this plan to motion, the obvious reason being that ion storms are rare events. Isn't it a rather big coincidence that Ben would be able to activate his plan when the nearest repair base for the Enterprise was the one where his daughter lived?

We can't readily argue that Jamie got to SB11 in a hurry after hearing the news, because Stone had trouble getting the necessary Starfleet officials there that fast! But I guess we could argue that all starships of this caliber always go to SB11 and nowhere else for repairs, and many relatives of starship officers live in that base as the result.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[GSchnitzer]

The shooting script has some scenes that clarify the issue a bit. (I don't know if the excised scenes were ever shot; they may have been excised before ever having been filmed.)

After Spock beats the computer at chess and alerts the transporter room that he and McCoy are beaming down, the episode cuts back to the courtroom just before the court is called back into session (with Spock and McCoy soon to rush in). There is a scripted scene that's not in the episode:

INT. COURTROOM - WIDE ANGLE

Members of the Court Martial board are taking their
places. A chilling sense of futility permeates the
scene.

ANGLE - KIRK, COGLEY

Kirk is doodling on a pad. Impatiently, he throws down the pencil. Cogley doesn't seem to notice.

COGLEY
Jim...how well do you know that
girl? Jame - Finney's daughter.

KIRK
Since she was a child.

COGLEY
(musing)
I suppose that might explain her
attitude. Curious though -
children don't usually take such
a dispassionate view of the death
of a parent.

KIRK
She didn't at first.
She was out for my blood. Almost
hysterical. She kept saying:
murderer - murderer.

COGLEY
(almost a take)
Why didn't you tell me that
before?

KIRK
I didn't think it was important.
Is it?

ANGLE IN ON Cogley.

COGLEY
(thoughtfully)
I don't know... yet.

And then the episode returns to the action as seen.

Later, the script shows that when Cogley leaves the bridge because he has "an errand ashore of vital importance to this court," Cogley and Kirk have a brief quiet conversation just before Cogley dashes out:

TWO SHOT - COGLEY, KIRK

A conference between lawyer and client...
which no one else can hear.

COGLEY
It's in your hands now.

KIRK
At this point I'll try
(incredulously)
But the idea of Finney being
alive --

COGLEY
I began to suspect that when
you told me about the change of
heart his daughter had about
you. If she knew he wasn't dead,
she had no reason to blame you
for any thing.

KIRK
But how could she know?

COGLEY
You said she had been reading
her father's papers... probably
the general tone of what he had
written. A man suffering delusions
of persecution wants to set down
his complaints. She read them
... she know the kind of man you
are... and she's fundamentally
fair and decent.
(beat)
Or maybe it was just instinct.
Thank God there's that much
of the animal left in us.

Of course, Cogley had gone ashore to get Jame. She comes up to the Enterprise right at the end of the fight between Kirk and Finney in Engineering:

KIRK
All right... you leave me no
other place to go...

He takes a quick sudden lunge forward, straight at Finney...
knocking the phaser from his hand. They fight. Presently,
Kirk wins.

JAME'S VOICE

Father -- !

ANOTHER ANGLE

as Jame, with Cogley, rushes down the corridor.

FINNEY
(totally confused)
Jame...

JAME
(going into
his arms)
Oh, father.
(moving her hand
over his tor-
tured brow)
It's all right, father, it's
all right.

FINNEY
Don't, Jame, you got
to understand... I had to do it...
after what they did to me...

KIRK
Ben... quickly... where'd you
tap the energy circuits?

FINNEY
(dull, blankly)
The circuits...
(indicating)
In there... the tube...

Kirk hands the phaser to Cogley, indicating he should guard
Finney, and quickly exits.

And then were are back to the regular episode.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Jame may have felt an obligation to protect her father but I highly doubt she was actively involved in his plot to bring Kirk down.

 

[Alter Ego]

Parents will do incredible things for their children and vice-versa. Imagine growing up hearing nothing but how bad Kirk is from your own father....for most of your childhood.

Thanks for the info GSchnitzer; that certainly clears up more than a few things!

 

[johnnybear]

She only realised how wrong it was for Kirk to stand trial after her father somehow contacted her down on the base! Which stretches credulity due to the fact of how did he get off the ship and back if he went to see her or why wasn't his communicator signal not picked up and or detected by the bridge and traced to engineering? Plot holes aren't for us we're there to enjoy the story that's all!
JB

 

[T'Girl]

Slightly off topic, but from watching this episode repeatedly I come to the conclusion that Cogley was one crappy lawyer.

 

[Timo]

why wasn't his communicator signal not picked up

That's the one thing that would very naturally flow from the premise of the episode.

Ben Finney was the Records Officer of the Enterprise. Judging by the method of murder-(of-character?)-by-proxy he chose, and by the results he achieved, this meant he was the IT guru of the vessel. He had the skill and authority to falsify every record the starship's automated systems made, to block every sensor reading or telemetry signal that would expose his dastardly plot, and hide the fact that he was living inside a starship capable of detecting the most exotic of lifeforms in the most demanding of environments.

Sending clandestine messages to his daughter should have been within his skills, or else his scheme would not have worked in the first place.

On the other hand, the same argument carries the lemma that Kirk and pals would need to use something as absurd as the super-microphone to smoke out Finney: any and every attempt at using the ship's own sensing and security systems would be doomed to fail.

Conversely, it seems odd Finney used such a slow-acting method of destroying the starship when his skills should have allowed him to hold an "Instant Kaboom" button box in his hand when confronting Kirk. Rigging up something like that wouldn't have taken him more time than it took for Kirk to walk down to Engineering - and he would know that he was exposed and Kirk was coming. But the psychology of the situation might have dictated otherwise...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mudd]

Greg just explained what was written in the script. It had nothing to do with Finney contacting his daughter, which is a fairly ludicrous idea.

 

[Botany Bay]

Thanks Greg for the excerpt.

Yeah I always felt there was far too much filmed, necessitating some big edits in the back half of the episode.

Could have been a money-saving two parter, perhaps?

The production team were apparently less than impressed with the finished product here.

I always thought Jame was in on it

 

[GSchnitzer]

Thanks Greg for the excerpt.

Yeah I always felt there was far too much filmed, necessitating some big edits in the back half of the episode.

Could have been a money-saving two parter, perhaps?

The production team were apparently less than impressed with the finished product here.

I always thought Jame was in on it

If I recall correctly, James Blish included this excised script content in his adaptation of "Court Martial" in Star Trek 2.

 

[ToddPence]

I never understood the whole rigmarole with the heartbeats. Can't the ship's sensors tell how many people are on board the Enterprise? No one should even have to leave the ship then, just have the computer report on the number of humanoid life forms aboard. If one extra shows up, then that's Finney.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ That may have been one more thing that Finney could falsify or block. If he knows as much about Starfleet computer technology as it seems, he could find a way to disable or scramble the ship's sensors so as to make it that much harder to find him.

 

[FormerLurker]

Thanks Greg for the excerpt.

Yeah I always felt there was far too much filmed, necessitating some big edits in the back half of the episode.

Could have been a money-saving two parter, perhaps?

The production team were apparently less than impressed with the finished product here.

I always thought Jame was in on it

If I recall correctly, James Blish included this excised script content in his adaptation of "Court Martial" in Star Trek 2.

He included a version of it. I'd have to go back and read it to tell you how closely he hewed to the original.

 

[Nebusj]

Could have been a money-saving two parter, perhaps?

A two-parter? On a premise this flimsy?

I grant the episode could've probably used another four minutes or so of screen time, to do things like explain Jamie's change of heart. Or maybe have trimmed things like Kirk and Shaw flirting before she reveals she's the lead prosecutor, or Cogley's rambling about books. They're charming, but they really are more flavor than story.

 

[Mytran]

The original treatment had Cogley zipping off in a "space jalopy" to uncover Finney's hiding place on a nearby asteroid!

This script underwent many revisions before the filmed version was reached - it's not surprising there's a few holes in the narrative.

However, I also can't help feeling that Cogley's reputation is far from justified, given what we see.

 

[Timo]

Greg just explained what was written in the script. It had nothing to do with Finney contacting his daughter...

...And? The script snipped quoted (thank you, Greg!) in turn had nothing to do with the events of the episode, as it was torn out and thrown to the waste basket.

On one hand, the unused scenes represent a fascinating historical insight into the making of Star Trek through trial and error. On another, they are just ennui, detracting from the experience of the actual adventures...

...which is a fairly ludicrous idea.

How so? Finney was hiding, waiting and biting his nails. Stir-crazy, he'd certainly worry about his daughter, assuming he was aware of her presence. And the episode made an effort to show that while our heroes knew nothing, Finney knew everything.

Finney wasn't waiting to reveal himself, either - he could never come clean, never return to the society as himself. So there was no better time to contact his daughter, no real reason to delay.

Can't the ship's sensors tell how many people are on board the Enterprise?

The episode already establishes that they cannot - the heroes already searched for Finney once, after the ion storm, and completely failed to find him. This wasn't for lack of trying; it probably wasn't for the false assumption that Finney would want to be found; and we have every reason to think it was mainly because Finney, the master of falsifying records and readings, blocked the attempts to find him.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[GSchnitzer]

On one hand, the unused scenes represent a fascinating historical insight into the making of Star Trek through trial and error....

I think the consensus would be that pure speculation regarding Finney contacting his daughter--and so much other pure speculation in the world of Trek--lacks even this "fascinating historical insight" into character motivations that earlier script drafts or deleted scenes might provide. I think more than simply "fascinating," they are helpful and elucidative--something less than canon but of more intellectual value than just pure conjecture fabricated out of whole cloth.

 

[Mytran]

And in the case of this script, add valuable clues as the original intention behind the mysterious Ion Pod!

 

[ZapBrannigan]

However, I also can't help feeling that Cogley's reputation is far from justified, given what we see.

Kirk didn't take the legal process seriously enough. He hired a defense attorney who was picked out for him by the prosecutor.