TheGodBen Revisits Star Trek
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I love this one. It's good to see time travel before it became such a tired staple in later years. I like how they were all for keeping him onboard before they realised his importance to the timeline. That point of view had totally changed by the time of Voyager with the Temporal Prime Directive (meh).
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^^^I didn't get it either. Thinking about it gave me a headache and made my eyes turn normal for awhile.
This is always what ruins the episode for me. I can't even think of a way it's meant to make sense.
Well there's some precedent for that kind of seemingly fanciful thought. Our Man Flint, released about a year before this episode, had idealistic scientists using global weather control, but also with the ability to induce earthquakes IIRC, to bring the world to its knees and make it over into an anti-militaristic, utopian, and anti-American paradise. Also in '65, Burgess Meredith played a geologist in the Wild Wild West who could cause earthquakes at will, but I believe his motive was mere extortion and nothing terribly overarching.
I just take it as it seems to be presented, that the hijacked versions of Christopher and the MP are reintegrated with their earthbound versions mere seconds before being exposed to the forbidden fruit of exposure to any speck of the future of which they can remain cognizant and leave it at that. It's much easier for simple souls such as myself to process!!!
My question is...so what? So you beam Christopher and the guard back to Earth, and they start telling people about their experiences on this amazing ship from the future. So what?
Spock explains that to Kirk in the episode:
SPOCK: We cannot return him to Earth, Captain. He already knows too much about us and is learning more. I do not specifically refer to Captain Christopher, but suppose an unscrupulous man were to gain certain knowledge of man's future? Such a man could manipulate key industries, stocks, and even nations. and in so doing, change what must be. And if it is changed, Captain, you and I and all that we know might not even exist.
Huh, I did develop an almighty headache a few minutes after the episode ended. Maybe that's what caused it.
The Return of the Archons (*½)
Let's start out with the thing I most liked about this episode: it was seriously fucking weird. There's a perfect, ordered, pleasant town that suddenly goes nuts and starts rioting when the clock strikes 6. (Note: An alien civilisation using our 12-hour clock? Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planetary Development in effect.) Monks with booming voices and magic staffs seek out nonconformists and execute them. Characters speak complete gibberish, “not of the body” and so on. We also learn in this episode that Spock sleeps with his eyes open and that Kirk sleeps standing up. This is all delightfully bizarre.
Sadly, the story feels half-baked. As an example, take the resistance movement that Kirk and co accidentally stumble upon. They oppose the despotic rule of Landru, but when given an opportunity to help Kirk stop it they freak out and start hugging each other in fear. Another example, what is red hour and the festival? That seemed really important at the start of the episode, but it's never explained what it is for. Nor is it explained exactly how often it happens. Another strange point is that the people of this planet are on several occasions referred to as humans. Indeed, at the end of the episode Kirk declares that they are going to restore the planet's culture to a normal human form. But they're not human and the episode seems to be confused about that fact.
The biggest problem with the episode for me is how small scale everything feels. This entire civilisation is reduced to a small town. I guess this is a problem with many episodes of Star Trek, but most of them don't involve the captain upending an entire planet's system of government. Was it right for Kirk to destroy Landru? I don't know, maybe. But it would have been nice if he had made that decision after developing a wider perspective of this society.
KIRK: You'd make a splendid computer, Mister Spock.
Sssshhhhh! Don't give the space bimbos any ideas.
Captain Redshirt: 8
This is what I'm skeptical of. What could Christopher possibly know that could alter anything? Who would believe him? How is it any different than people today who say they've been abducted by aliens and can give you detailed descriptions of the aliens and of the insides of their ships?
If his son wasn't conceived yet then if Christopher went blabbing about abductions by future space men, he might end up committed and as a result no future son to save the day.
I'll acknowledge that as a possibility, though Christopher seems smart enough to me to see that coming and shut up before it comes to that.
I really like your review posts for Alternative Factor and Return of the Archons.
I have this funny scene in my mind now where Lt. Masters grabs the redshirt by the back of the head and yells in his face, "I said give me the coffee!" like evil Kirk in The Enemy Within and the brandy incident with Bones.
I have this funny scene in my mind now where Lt. Masters grabs the redshirt by the back of the head and yells in his face, "I said give me the coffee!" like evil Kirk in The Enemy Within and the brandy incident with Bones.
A Taste of Armageddon (*½)
There's a novel concept in this episode of a society where war has become so institutionalised and so sanitised that they actually did away with the war part but continued the killing. I suppose that this is analogous to the US during the Vietnam war, a war where US territory and its infrastructure were never under any threat, but where men were randomly selected to fight and die at their government's behest. But there's a key difference between the Vietnam war and the Eminiar-Vendikar War; the Vietnam war was actually about something. It was about projecting power and containing the spread of rivals. Those may be stupid reasons to fight a war, they may be a cover for something more sinister, but at least a reason was given.
Wars are often fought over resources. They're fought over territory. They're fought to overthrow governments. They're fought to earn prestige points. They're fought because the bad man with the moustache made a fool of your daddy. What is the Eminiar-Vendikar War fought over? What are either side hoping to accomplish by continuing the conflict? Some may say that that's not the point, the war had been fought for so long that people forgot the reason why. In which case this episode would be a failure as a piece of social commentary as every war fought in modern times is justified in some way and with an end goal in sight. There are still plenty of stupid and unnecessary wars, but none quite so worthless as the Eminiar-Vendikar War. Instead of numerous scenes where our heroes run around the most poorly guarded government building in the galaxy, perhaps more time should have been put into contextualising the war.
Some people will criticise Kirk for breaking the Prime Directive in this episode, and that's a viewpoint I can sympathise with. But I have a different point of contention, the fact that Kirk orders Scotty to commit GENOCIDE!! And Scotty's all like, “Well, I've got to follow orders.” Sure, Kirk was making a calculated risk and was hoping that the Enterprise wouldn't have to destroy all life on the planet, but that's not a risk that I feel he should be taking. Kirk's lucky he wasn't shipped off to the asylum on Elba II.
An interesting episode with a memorable concept, but undermined by some serious flaws in key areas.
There's a novel concept in this episode of a society where war has become so institutionalised and so sanitised that they actually did away with the war part but continued the killing. I suppose that this is analogous to the US during the Vietnam war, a war where US territory and its infrastructure were never under any threat, but where men were randomly selected to fight and die at their government's behest. But there's a key difference between the Vietnam war and the Eminiar-Vendikar War; the Vietnam war was actually about something. It was about projecting power and containing the spread of rivals. Those may be stupid reasons to fight a war, they may be a cover for something more sinister, but at least a reason was given.
Wars are often fought over resources. They're fought over territory. They're fought to overthrow governments. They're fought to earn prestige points. They're fought because the bad man with the moustache made a fool of your daddy. What is the Eminiar-Vendikar War fought over? What are either side hoping to accomplish by continuing the conflict? Some may say that that's not the point, the war had been fought for so long that people forgot the reason why. In which case this episode would be a failure as a piece of social commentary as every war fought in modern times is justified in some way and with an end goal in sight. There are still plenty of stupid and unnecessary wars, but none quite so worthless as the Eminiar-Vendikar War. Instead of numerous scenes where our heroes run around the most poorly guarded government building in the galaxy, perhaps more time should have been put into contextualising the war.
Some people will criticise Kirk for breaking the Prime Directive in this episode, and that's a viewpoint I can sympathise with. But I have a different point of contention, the fact that Kirk orders Scotty to commit GENOCIDE!! And Scotty's all like, “Well, I've got to follow orders.” Sure, Kirk was making a calculated risk and was hoping that the Enterprise wouldn't have to destroy all life on the planet, but that's not a risk that I feel he should be taking. Kirk's lucky he wasn't shipped off to the asylum on Elba II.
An interesting episode with a memorable concept, but undermined by some serious flaws in key areas.
A strange concept for a war, yes, but it shows how pointless war can be when it's based on old beliefs. I would say an average episode for me.
In fact the last few episodes you reviewed that we're below average (well, apart from The Alternate Factor), I think they were at least average. It makes me wonder what scores you'll be giving the dredge that is the third season.
In fact the last few episodes you reviewed that we're below average (well, apart from The Alternate Factor), I think they were at least average. It makes me wonder what scores you'll be giving the dredge that is the third season.
Ha ha yeah. I loved this episode when I was younger but upon rewatching, i was mortified. It isn't just that Kirk makes the order, it's an official Starfleet order, and Scotty doesn't even balk at the notion.
Pointless wars based on old beliefs are an Irish speciality, but even our wars had goals to them, even if they were unachievable. I just don't see what the two sides in the Eminar-Vendikar War hope to achieve by taking virtual potshots every few days.
Maybe it's because it's been a while and I'm hazy on the details, or maybe it was because of lowered expectations, but I don't remember season 3 to be as bad as its reputation. Definitely a decline in quality from the first two, but not the worst season of Star Trek I had watched. I guess we'll see I get there.
Space Seed (****½)
I said in an early review that the thing that sets Kirk apart from the other captains is his charisma. That's also why Khan is such a memorable villain, and why he's the perfect foil for Kirk. Kirk is a larger than life personality, almost superhuman in his ability to solve difficult problems and kiss pretty girls along the way. But Khan is literally superhuman, and he doesn't simply kiss pretty girls, he convinces them bow before him. Next to Khan, Kirk looks like a normal, fragile human. That's what makes him so memorable. That and his chest. Sorry Kirk, you may be able to out-strategize Khan, you may be able to beat him in a physical brawl, but Khan wins the swimsuit round.
If Khan is the highlight of the episode then the lowlight is Lt McGivers. Her relationship with Khan is questionable in many ways. Is it down to good old fashioned 60s sexism, or is she simply an example of a psychological condition such as hybristophilia? The idea that women are secretly attracted to bad boys and want to be dominated by them is a common and offensive trope, but it is true that a small number of women do suffer from such harmful desires, and it is possible that McGivers has this condition too. But if that's the case, if this is a dangerous personality flaw, then she should be encouraged to overcome it, not offered the chance to join Khan on Ceti Alpha V.
Beyond all that, this is another great episode in terms of universe-building. We learn of Earth's history with augments and the Eugenics Wars, and we get to see an early human interplanetary spacecraft. But what elevates this episode further is the presence of one of television's all time great characters. Not Kirk nor Spock. Not Khan and not Khan's chest. Not Shatner and Montalbán's stunt doubles. No, it's the inanimate carbon rod that's capable of taking down a man five times stronger than the average human. In rod, truly, do we trust.
Oh it's not the worst season of Star Trek as it has a couple of classic episodes and a few other good episodes going for it. There were quite a lot of mediocre episodes and four or five terrible ones that made me want my time back.
After seeing your thread originally I did my own rewatch to gain a more of an up to date perspective of your reviews. I pretty much sped through seasons one and two (though the amount of Parallel-Earth stories in season two was annoying). Season three was a challenge.
Had she faced a court martial, McGivers would certainly have been found guilty of mutiny and possibly treason. She would have faced a lengthy prison term at the very least. Kirk was being exceedingly generous in giving her the choice to join Khan on Ceti Alpha V.
The notion that McGivers' attraction to Khan might be a sign of a "dangerous personality flaw" that she should be "encouraged to overcome" is applying modern pop psychology to a TV show that was written nearly 50 years ago.
You say that like it's a bad thing. I wasn't using that as a stick to beat the episode with, it was my attempt at exonerating it. Because if we take the episode at face value then the portrayal of McGivers is cringeworthy and offensive, and it ruins an otherwise solid episode. By choosing to interpret it the way I have, it makes her actions more understandable, even if only from the perspective that she's not a healthy person. But interpreting the episode in that way has its own smaller flaw.
This Side of Paradise (***½)
After facing off with one of humanity's most dangerous tyrants in the previous episode, this week the Enterprise crew encounter an even greater villain: flowers. Come to think of it, perhaps they should have settled Khan and the supermen on this planet, it would have cured them of their ruthless ambition.
This story of this episode is a bit slight. The flowers of this planet release magic spores that make people happy, and for some reason it causes the crew abandon their lives on the Enterprise. Uhura even goes so far as to sabotage the ship to prevent Kirk from sending a distress signal. What's the purpose of moving all these people down to the planet? Are the plants intelligent in some way, and do they need humans on the planet to serve some goal? It's never explained. It would have been interesting if the episode had delved a little deeper into the sci-fi here, but I guess they wanted to keep things simple so it can work as a drug analogy? I'm not sure.
What the episode lacks in plot it makes up for in character development. Under the influence of the spores, Spock's self control collapses and he lets his emotions rule him. He falls in love, climbs a tree, and probably engaged in some hot finger rubbing action. But then the spores lose their control over him and he chooses to break up with the woman he loves so that he can become a model Vulcan again. How sad. We also learn more about Kirk's love in this episode. The prospect of being torn away from his ship, whom he loves like a woman, is strong enough to free him from the spores. We also learn about McCoy's love of mint juleps.
The best moment of the episode isn't actually in the episode, it's in the trailer. I know it's childish, but it made me laugh all the same.
I thought Spock broke up with her because he didn't have a Death Wish.
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