TheGodBen Revisits Star Trek

[Drone]

The biggest problem that I had with the episode is this:

I can't believe in a Starfleet General Order they would list "Half Vulcan Science Officer Spock" instead of just Science Officer Spock or Lieutenant Commander Spock. I know, I'm nitpicking.

Yeah, I had some fun with that odd phrasing in my review for that DS9 Risa episode. Just another example of early instalment weirdness.

Getting a good look at this, I now find that I'm dying to see or know the specs of a 3XY phagrin mass computer. Kind of a ridiculous sounding name (the operator must be a Vidiian displaying a particularly gruesome smile, or alternately makes me think of Dr. Sardonicus!!!!!)

The Menagerie, Part 2

(*½)

And now the conclusion... where our heroes sit down and watch television for an hour. Just like in part 1, I'm going to focus on the new material in this episode, and there's not much. There's only 4 or 5 scenes, and they all more or less boil down to Spock saying “Wait, wait, the good bit is coming up soon, I promise.”

I strongly disliked the ending, where it was revealed that Commodore Mendez was Bruce Willis all along, because it doesn't make any sense and calls the nice tidy ending into question. It implies that the Talosians' illusion power can reach all the way to Starbase 11, so why didn't they just fake orders dispatching Pike to Talos? Why did Mendez vote to find Spock guilty if it was necessary to keep the trial going in order to distract Kirk? How do we know that the orders Kirk receives from Starbase 11 at the end of the episode are real and not just another illusion? Things would have made a lot more sense had Mendez been real, but I guess they wanted Kirk to be the one to make the ultimate decision at the end, and I feel that hurt the episode a great deal.

Maybe it's a little harsh to focus so much on that point considering it was a minor element of the episode as a whole. But when you strip out the material from The Cage, there's not much else to focus on.

Just so to all of the possible flimflammery cited above. What's always bothered me about the ending, is that Spock wheels his beloved old boss out to send down to the planet, and then about 10 seconds later, Kirk sees Pike making his way down to his old man cave. Now I realize that Kirk wasn't going to be shown staying in the briefing room for 5 minutes, whistling a tune, until the same thing is finally shown on the viewing screen, Why would he remain there at all after everyone has left? So, I guess the obvious answer is that the Talosians are doing him a favor while he's still in a position to see it, by previewing what will shortly happen, out of respect or gratitude perhaps in his helping to make the plan reach its desired goal, before he has the chance to walk out. Mighty nice of them and yet you still can't go there. It doesn't seem fair or warranted somehow.

This doesn't really apply since they were the last lines of dialogue in Part I, but I've always liked this exchange:

KIRK: Do you know what you're doing? Have you lost your mind?
SPOCK: Captain, Jim, please don't stop me. Don't let him stop me. It's your career and Captain Pike's life. You must see the rest of the transmission.
KIRK: Lock him up.

Especially, I like the touch of Spock's tilt of the head when referring to Mendez. I think it just seemed like a neat part of an unusually emotionally charged vision of him, that added to the gravitas I think the scene contains, helped also by that familiar, yet dramatic musical selection.

 

[Marsden]

I understand how it seems too fast for Pike to be on the surface in that scene, but I was wondering, the fact that the Talosians can project thoughts into orbit and beyond really wouldn't necessitate Capt. Pike to be on the surface, so as he's finally agreed to go, the illusion of his being there can start at that moment. It's not as if he wasn't still wheeling when they show him holding hands with Vina and waving. So of course Kirk was seeing the illusion of Pike enjoying a healthy body, what does it matter how long it takes for his physical form to get there?

 

[J.T.B.]

I strongly disliked the ending, where it was revealed that Commodore Mendez was Bruce Willis all along, because it doesn't make any sense and calls the nice tidy ending into question. It implies that the Talosians' illusion power can reach all the way to Starbase 11, so why didn't they just fake orders dispatching Pike to Talos? Why did Mendez vote to find Spock guilty if it was necessary to keep the trial going in order to distract Kirk? How do we know that the orders Kirk receives from Starbase 11 at the end of the episode are real and not just another illusion? Things would have made a lot more sense had Mendez been real, but I guess they wanted Kirk to be the one to make the ultimate decision at the end, and I feel that hurt the episode a great deal.

Good points and totally valid. But I have to state for the record just how much "The Menagerie" blew my mind as a kid in the '70s. I had no idea of rejected pilots, recycled footage, envelope stories or anything like that. I had seen flashback episodes on other shows of course, but this was on a whole other level. For all I knew, they had cast different actors and given the sets, props, wardrobe and everything else a different look to show that it wasn't set in the same time. The idea that the future had a past that was still in the future, and here was a look at it, was very intriguing. The two-parter has a high nostalgia factor for me.

 

[ItIsGreen]

Good points and totally valid. But I have to state for the record just how much "The Menagerie" blew my mind as a kid in the '70s. I had no idea of rejected pilots, recycled footage, envelope stories or anything like that. I had seen flashback episodes on other shows of course, but this was on a whole other level. For all I knew, they had cast different actors and given the sets, props, wardrobe and everything else a different look to show that it wasn't set in the same time. The idea that the future had a past that was still in the future, and here was a look at it, was very intriguing. The two-parter has a high nostalgia factor for me.

I had a similar experience, I loved The Menagerie because it showed us a glimpse into the future's past, and I liked the framing of the courtroom and Spock seemingly going rogue. But strangely, when my uncle lent me the VHS of The Cage, I found it dull. Probably because I'd already seen the majority of it as a flashback first, and it lacked the familiarity of Kirk and Spock as we knew him, and was just these unfamiliar characters and the weird smiling proto-Spock. I've grown to appreciate it now, of course, but as a 12 (or so) year old I found it 'blah'. Clearly watched them the wrong way round

 

[TheGodBen]

Good points and totally valid. But I have to state for the record just how much "The Menagerie" blew my mind as a kid in the '70s. I had no idea of rejected pilots, recycled footage, envelope stories or anything like that.

I can imagine how great The Menagerie must have been when it first aired. But I remember watching The Cage on BBC2 at some point in the 90s, many years before I watched The Menagerie, so it's difficult for me not to see the latter as a clip show.


Shore Leave (***½)

The crew of the Enterprise find themselves on a planet where everything they imagine becomes a reality. Please, for the love of god, nobody imagine Rumpelstiltskin! Thankfully, they don't. Instead they imagine giant white rabbits, revolvers, rapist Spaniards, tigers, samurai, fighter planes, princess dresses, and brawling Travellers. The Irish itinerant kind, not the creepy space-paedo kind.

This episode is like a dessert; you can't live off something so lacking in nutrients, but the occasional one is good for a soul. It's a light-hearted fun romp in which our heroes have silly adventures involving all manner of strange characters and creatures. McCoy's “death” was, perhaps, unnecessary. An episode like this shouldn't play up stakes that aren't really there, because the ending reveals that the planet is essentially magic and that nobody was ever in any real danger. It also took too long for the characters to figure out that their imaginations are the key to the strange events that are happening. But, whatever. It was a reasonably entertaining way to spend an hour.

In the end, the crew of the Enterprise enjoy an unusual shore leave, Dr McCoy and not-Rand-2 have a little fling, and Kirk has sex with a plant women. (No, I'm not counting that.) Now, onwards to the next adventure.

 

[Seven of Five]

Kirk has sex with a plant women. (No, I'm not counting that.)

What about if he has sex with that radiator woman from the radiator planet?

And Shore Leave is definitely enjoyable enough, but there are better funny episodes to come. YMMV?

 

[Pauln6]

I think it's nice to see how quickly Angela Martine got over the death of her fiance. The power of MCCoy's sedatives in action.

 

[TheGodBen]

What about if he has sex with that radiator woman from the radiator planet?

Then he gets a scalding followed by a scolding from McCoy. But he gets no points from me!

I think it's nice to see how quickly Angela Martine got over the death of her fiance. The power of MCCoy's sedatives in action.

Remember that in the future people don't grieve like we do, they accept death and yadda yadda yadda.


The Squire of Gothos (**½)

Another day, another god-like being. Actually, does Trelane count as a god-like being? He has god-like powers, but they're not intrinsic to his nature, they come from a machine. And at the end it's revealed that he's some sort of inter-dimensional green glowy thing? Eh, I'll count him.

The God Things: 3

So the crew of the Enterprise encounter Trelane, a powerful alien who has developed a fascination with 19th century Earth culture because he has been observing the planet through a very powerful telescope. It's a pity he didn't look towards Vulcan instead, it would have made for a far less annoying encounter for Kirk and co. I suppose they're lucky he didn't look at Qo'noS. Anyway, by some coincidence a mostly human ship encounters a being who is obsessed with human culture, and he then proceeds to act the maggot with them. There's a banquet, dancing, some shooting, and eventually a hunt to the death. Trelane has figured out human culture to a T.

According to MA, this episode originated as an anti-war story about children playing war. Well, if there's any anti-war message in the finished product then it was so slight that I missed it. This episode is something of a rehash of Charlie X, which I already felt was too similar to Where No Man Has Gone Before. There's a being with god-like powers who doesn't have the maturity to use them responsibly, and the solution to the problem is to wait until the adults show up and take him away. William Campbell just about rescues the episode with his authentically obnoxious yet slightly amusing portrayal of a child.

 

[Mytran]

A thought on MIRI - just a little late to the party!

When the men are standing around the lab desperately searching for a cure, their uniforms look a bit funny. I later realised that this is because they have all unzipped them at the neck. Now, these are the supposed "invisible" zips that Roddenberry wanted in order to present the uniforms as "seamless".
Why have they revealed this costuming secret?
Was the director trying to present a sort of "stripped to their shirts and waistcoats" kind of laboratory look, but this was the best he could accomplish with the Starfleet uniforms?

 

[Maurice]

Bill Theiss had a fit over them showing the zips undone. He had cautioned them against giving away how the closures worked.

 

[Poltargyst]

That "beaker full of death" line is one of the best lines in all of Star Trek.

 

[Drone]

I think it's nice to see how quickly Angela Martine got over the death of her fiance. The power of MCCoy's sedatives in action.

Remember that in the future people don't grieve like we do, they accept death and yadda yadda yadda.

The two episodes aired consecutively, but the difference in the Star Date is huge from 1709.2 to 3025.3, so she definitely had some time to process the tragedy in the old fashioned way, though it certainly could have seemed rather odd to viewers.

The Squire of Gothos

(**½)

Another day, another god-like being. Actually, does Trelane count as a god-like being? He has god-like powers, but they're not intrinsic to his nature, they come from a machine. And at the end it's revealed that he's some sort of inter-dimensional green glowy thing? Eh, I'll count him.

The God Things: 3

So the crew of the Enterprise encounter Trelane, a powerful alien who has developed a fascination with 19th century Earth culture because he has been observing the planet through a very powerful telescope. It's a pity he didn't look towards Vulcan instead, it would have made for a far less annoying encounter for Kirk and co. I suppose they're lucky he didn't look at Qo'noS. Anyway, by some coincidence a mostly human ship encounters a being who is obsessed with human culture, and he then proceeds to act the maggot with them. There's a banquet, dancing, some shooting, and eventually a hunt to the death. Trelane has figured out human culture to a T.

According to MA, this episode originated as an anti-war story about children playing war. Well, if there's any anti-war message in the finished product then it was so slight that I missed it. This episode is something of a rehash of Charlie X, which I already felt was too similar to Where No Man Has Gone Before. There's a being with god-like powers who doesn't have the maturity to use them responsibly, and the solution to the problem is to wait until the adults show up and take him away. William Campbell just about rescues the episode with his authentically obnoxious yet slightly amusing portrayal of a child.

As for the Squire, I wonder if you should also start keeping a reference count for foreboding castle exteriors as well as smoke machine effect covering planet surfaces, which may even be more numerous over all than the former. More tedious indexing perhaps, but also interesting to track perhaps, from a production standard basis?

 

[Pauln6]

The two episodes aired consecutively, but the difference in the Star Date is huge from 1709.2 to 3025.3, so she definitely had some time to process the tragedy in the old fashioned way, though it certainly could have seemed rather odd to viewers.

I think someone noted that the stardate for Catspaw is part way through season one, proving canonically that Chekov was on board.

 

[Drone]

Well, maybe someone in authority didn't take to his Russian schtick from the get go and consequently he spent a lot of time in the agony booth and then needed an extended period to recoup in his quarters. Hence, OK, he was there, but he was otherwise detained and we just didn't see him.

 

[Pauln6]

They probably refused to let him back on the bridge until he got a haircut. Worked for Rand... eventually.

 

[Seven of Five]

I think William Campbell made The Squire of Gothos more enjoyable than it should be. The petulance at the end of the episode was a big turn off, bit Trelane was entertaining. He reminds me of Q somewhat.

 

[TheGodBen]

As for the Squire, I wonder if you should also start keeping a reference count for foreboding castle exteriors as well as smoke machine effect covering planet surfaces, which may even be more numerous over all than the former. More tedious indexing perhaps, but also interesting to track perhaps, from a production standard basis?

Did it really happen that often? I remember this episode and Catspaw, but my memory is fuzzy on the details of the series. It might end up like that time I counted all Harry Kim's deaths on Voyager and came to the disappointing number of 3. That guy should have died more.


Arena (*½)

This episode has an amazing first act that sets up an exciting episode which never happens. The Enterprise arrives at the (finally named) Federation colony of Cestus III to find it has been destroyed by a hostile alien force. While Kirk and the away team battle the unseen enemy on the surface, the Enterprise fights a mysterious ship in orbit. Once defeated on the planet, the aliens retreat back to their space with the Enterprise in hot pursuit. Convinced that this is the beginning of an invasion of Federation space, Kirk is determined to stop that ship no matter the cost.

Then the Metrons show up and derail the proceedings. A supposedly “superior” race, they decide that the best way to deal with these “savage” beings is a fight to the death. Maybe it's because I'm a savage, but their solution to this problem seems... uncivilised. Could they not have attempted to organise a diplomatic solution to the conflict? Apparently not, apparently murdering a ship full of people based on the outcome of a glorified gladiator brawl is the civilised thing to do. All hail the wise and benevolent Metrons.

METRON: By sparing your helpless enemy who surely would have destroyed you, you demonstrated the advanced trait of mercy, something we hardly expected. We feel there may be hope for your kind. Therefore, you will not be destroyed. It would not be civilised.
KIRK: What happened to the Gorn?
METRON: I sent him back to his ship. If you like, I shall destroy him for you.
KIRK: What?! You claim yourself civilised, you promote the value of mercy, yet you offer to murder a helpless being?
METRON: They are an inferior race, their destruction would be of no consequence.
KIRK: Who made you the moral arbiters of the galaxy?
METRON: We are a superior race! Have you not seen how powerful we are?
KIRK: I met a being with similar power just last week. Believe me when I say that he was not a superior being.
METRON: But what about my appearance? I have a futuristic '80s androgyny thing going on.
KIRK: Appearance can be deceptive too.
METRON: So you doubt my pretensions?
KIRK: I doubt any God who inflicts pain for his own pleasure.
METRON: Seriously? Of all the movies, you choose to quote Star Trek V at me?
KIRK: It was a good movie, very well directed.
METRON: And you claim not to be a savage.​

I embellished that exchange a little. But my point stands, the Metrons are smug bastards and nothing they do points to them being truly superior. They are not worthy of the praise that this episode heaps upon them, and that's what ruined the story for me. This could have been a great episode about humans and Gorn learning to overcome their own aggressive tendencies, of choosing of their own accord to step back from war and seek a peaceful resolution to their conflict. Instead, the Metrons show up, arrange a cock fight, then pat the head of the victor, who laps up their approval like an adoring puppy. Bleah.

The God Things: 4

 

[Search4]

I understand how it seems too fast for Pike to be on the surface in that scene, but I was wondering, the fact that the Talosians can project thoughts into orbit and beyond really wouldn't necessitate Capt. Pike to be on the surface, so as he's finally agreed to go, the illusion of his being there can start at that moment. It's not as if he wasn't still wheeling when they show him holding hands with Vina and waving. So of course Kirk was seeing the illusion of Pike enjoying a healthy body, what does it matter how long it takes for his physical form to get there?

I have had two members of my family trapped in a wheelchair due to accidents (otherwise ok). They would give their eye teeth to be able to have "the illusion of a healthy body". This ending - not what "The Cage" did with the same footage - is profoundly uplifting and sad at the same time given what I've seen. If you haven't lived day by day with someone in this situation, you have no idea how moving this idea could be.

 

[TheGodBen]

The Alternative Factor (½)

I mentioned before that during my first run through TOS I dozed off towards the end of The Naked Time. Well, only one other episode had that effect on me, The Alternative Factor. And while I regret falling asleep during The Naked Time as it was a good episode, I feel that nodding off to The Alternative Factor actually improved the experience. Because this episode is nothing more than pseudo-scientific gibberish starring a raving lunatic.

The episode starts out with a strange concept: the universe blinked out of existence for a fraction of a second. This is somehow linked to the planet that the Enterprise is orbiting, so Kirk and co beam down and discover a spaceship from the Jetsons and a man with a propensity for falling off cliffs. This crazy man warns them of another crazy man who supposedly destroyed his planet and must be stopped. Confused, Kirk returns to the Enterprise and contacts Starfleet Command.

COMMODORE: The question is, are these natural phenomena or are they mechanically created, and if they are, by whom? For what purpose? Your guess, Captain.
KIRK: Thank you, sir. I have considered all the alternatives. My best guess is it could be a prelude to invasion.
COMMODORE: Exactly our consensus.​

Wait, what? Why would anyone think that this craziness has anything to do with an invasion? That's like experiencing an earthquake and jumping to the conclusion that it was a prelude to an attack by mole people. Even the non-scientific parts of this episode are gibberish. Take this exchange:

REDSHIRT: Hi.
MASTERS: Hi. Coffee?
REDSHIRT: Is that an order, Lieutenant?
MASTERS: I know what you mean.​

I don't get it. Is she saying that the coffee is so bad that you'd have to be ordered to drink it? If so, it's awkwardly phrased and not exactly clear when watching. But I'm not sure I want to give this episode any benefit of the doubt, because so little of it makes sense, so why expect the dialogue to? How about this exchange between Kirk and McCoy?

MCCOY: Well, as you know, we both brought Lazarus in here and I treated a deep abrasion on his forehead, right?
KIRK: Right.
MCCOY: Then I bandaged it, I stepped into this room for just a moment
KIRK: Bones, I've got a lot of things to do. Get to the point.
MCCOY: Well, say he's got the constitution of a dinosaur, recuperative powers ditto. As we both know, I'm a bright young medic with a miraculous touch...​

Firstly, McCoy was explaining the situation reasonably succinctly before Kirk rudely told him to get to the point. McCoy's response is to extend his story with unnecessary literary flourishes. Is he being passive-aggressive? I don't know. I don't think even the writers know. So, anyway, Kirk and co beam back down to the planet to look for the crazy person that the crazy person has warned them about.

SPOCK: I ordered re-confirmation on our sensors. They indicate no living creature on this planet. I suggest, Captain, that you've been lied to.
LAZARUS: Captain, you yourself said there were no other explanations. Why do you give credence to this man?
SPOCK: I fail to comprehend your indignation, sir. I've simply made the logical deduction that you are a liar.​

Mr Spock, considering all the crazy shit you've encountered so far in this show, considering the fact that this episode is about the supposedly impossible blinking out of existence itself, is it not possible that there is some unknown alternate explanation that you've overlooked? Why jump to the conclusion that the crazy man is lying? I mean, he is, but there's no reason to so rudely assert that at this point in the story. Oh well, moving on. Lazarus falls off a cliff again and has to go to sickbay.

MCCOY: Well, don't worry, [Lazarus]'s not going anywhere. Not this time.​

Following this statement, Lazarus immediately leaves the room. Meanwhile, Kirk and Spock get together in the briefing room to see if they can figure this mess out.

KIRK: Pretty fishy what happened to me on that planet...
SPOCK: You mean where there's a fish there could be a Penguin?
KIRK: But wait! It happened at sea... Sea. C for Catwoman!
SPOCK: Yet, an exploding shark was pulling my leg...
KIRK: The Joker!
SPOCK: All adds up to a sinister riddle... Riddle-R. Riddler!
KIRK: A thought strikes me... So dreadful I scarcely dare give it utterance...
SPOCK: The four of them... Their forces combined...
KIRK: Holy nightmare!​

Oh wait, those quotes are from Batman: The Movie, the 1966 epic starring Adam West and Burt Ward. But the actual scene from the episode made about the same amount of sense, Kirk and Spock make one irrational guess after another, using technobabble jargon to justify the complete nonsense of this plot. And much like in Batman, they are miraculously correct in their reasoning. It is revealed that there are two Lazarii, one crazy and one sane, one from a positive matter universe and one from a minus antimatter universe. Somehow, they keep switching places, but if they ever meet they'll destroy both universes.

Kirk is then accidentally transported to the minus universe where he meets the sane Lazarus who is more than willing to explain everything to him. Why didn't he explain all this whenever he found himself in the positive universe? Beats me, and Kirk doesn't think to ask. We learn that the crazy Lazarus is obsessed with killing the sane Lazarus because he can't live with the knowledge that there's an antimatter duplicate of himself somewhere in a minus universe, and he doesn't care that his obsession will lead to the destruction of both universes. The sane Lazarus comes up with a crazy scheme to trap the two of them in a magic corridor for all eternity (or until they starve to death). Why not just imprison the lunatic? Maybe the two Lazarii would keep switching and keep causing the two universes the blink out? Why is that happening anyway? Just accept that this is the ending the writers chose and rejoice that this adventure is over.

There's a seed of a good idea in episode. The concept of a man driven to madness because of the knowledge of his alternate self could have made a fascinating story. Unfortunately, this episode does not tell that story. This episode covers that interesting seed in cement and flings the resulting mass into a neutron star. It's high-concept science fiction at its worst, featuring a plot that makes no sense and actors who look like they don't want to be there. Hell, the actor who was originally cast to play the Lazerii chose not to show up for work, having decided that getting blacklisted for a few months would be preferable to appearing in this crap. That's how bad it is.

I counted 3 separate occasions in this episode where Kirk needlessly put himself in a dangerous situation.

Captain Redshirt: 6

 

[TheGodBen]

Tomorrow is Yesterday (***½)

The Enterprise is thrown back in time following an encounter with a black star. My guess is it was Idris Elba. (As an aside, he's listed on wikipedia as African-American, when he's neither.) They accidentally screw up the timeline by destroying a plane and beaming the pilot, Captain John Christopher, onto the ship. Spock initially makes a rudimentary error of not accounting for Christopher's offspring, but eventually realises that Christopher's unborn son will play an important role in the human space program so they have to figure out some way of putting him back. That seems like a highly illogical error for Spock to make, surely he would have known that Christopher's life may have thousands of unforeseen consequences that he couldn't possibly account for.

Maybe Christopher spits his gum on the ground at some point in 1976. A dog eats it and gets sick on a rug. The dog's family decide to buy a new rug. The store sells out of that type of rug early and have to order more stock. The truck leaving the rug factory is delayed by a few extra seconds, causing the truck driver to miss a green light and get stuck in traffic for several extra minutes. Had Christopher not spat that gum on the ground then the truck driver would arrive home from work slightly early, discover Donald Trump screwing his wife, he'd shoot Trump, thus preventing Trump from becoming President and starting the third world war. Spock can't know for certain that something like that wouldn't happen.

But that's part of the charm of the episode, in a way. I'm generally wary of time-travel episodes as I feel that they were overdone by the franchise. Time travel became so casual that Starfleet had to develop a temporal prime directive, and every officer understands how important it is to minimise interference with the timeline. But as the first proper time-travel episode, those procedures and rules haven't been developed yet. The characters aren't immediately aware of how important it is to put Christopher back where he belongs, and once they do figure it out their attempts to put things right spin out of control.

I suppose I could complain about the contrivance of the Enterprise dropping out of the time warp only a few kilometres above the surface of the Earth, but the bigger problem with this episode is the confusing ending. Slingshotting around the sun somehow sends the ship back in time a few days, preventing the Enterprise from even being within Earth's atmosphere, but they still have to transport the future versions of Christopher and the other guy back to Earth, but they've somehow forgotten they've forgotten everything about the Enterprise? Does that make sense to anyone, because I genuinely don't understand what happened there.

Captain Redshirt: 7