The Savage Curtain - Like it, love it or hate it?

They rehash the STIII katra stuff, Archer carries Surak's for awhile, which has been passed down between his followers since his death.

 

Okay thanks! Can't say I remember but I did see all the episodes!
JB

 

Alternate between like and love. It has great little touches, like the phasers and the tricorder not beaming down, Scotty in command (and his Robert the Bruce line), and of course the classic Kirk moment where he punches a rock. The dialogue is outstanding, particularly that with Yarnek and the exchanges with Lincoln and Surak. Uhura has a nice bit and Sulu gets to sit in the big chair.

 

Once again we see a good episode that would have been much better with 21st century writing and set design. Trek indoor sets pretending to be outdoors always diminished the feel of the episode. This episode is vital to the canon as it gave us, Surak, Khaless, Colonel Green and an insight into the third world war. What other single episode added so much that has been used in multiple series.

 

What did Colonel Green contribute other than Mork's space suit?

 

Of course, I was about five years old when I first saw it, and didn't see such nuance. I thought the Excalbians' conclusion was the message of the episode.

 

I think that's very understandable. And impressive, too. I wasn't remotely sophisticated about any episodes message at the age of five; I would be more like "Cool! the Enterprise flying through space again! Wow they're meeting the actual, real President Lincoln! That rock creature is scary and great, I love the way his eyes flash when he talks with his scary voice! Oh, they're fighting; uh oh, they're outnumber...yay, they won and the bad guys are running!" Pretty hopeless, by comparison.

 

An alien species totally different to carbon based life forms that is more mineral than anything else that doesn't seem to understand the mentalities of good and evil! Quite a clever ideology for we have terrorists to some and freedom fighters to others, so that thinking already existed on earth as well it seemed!
JB

 

If only it could have been shot on-location, one last visit to Vasquez Rocks would have been great to see.

I also wish we could have spent more time with Surak, he is a fascinating character, sort-of the Vulcan version of Jesus.

 

I wouldn't have said a version of Jesus to be honest, more like a Moses or another similar historical era figure!
JB

 

Its funny how Surak seemed to find fault in Spock when these characters must have been generated largely from Kirk and Spock's minds. So it just shows how critical Spock is of himself.
I don't know how the Excalubians can conclude good or evil triumphs when the winner is really generated from Kirk and Spock minds. Or maybe that is the point.

 

Love it! This is TOS to me. But, yeah, we fell in love when I was five.

 

Hmm. Interesting idea. Perhaps not the same race, but perhaps related.

 

Mixed. It features Abraham Lincoln, my favorite President. It also introduces Surak and Kahless. But I don't care much for the Excalbian plot and Space Lincoln on the view screen is the stuff parodies are made of.

 

Oh, you must mean this hilarious scene.....

 

The Savage Curtain is neither my favorite nor least favorite of season three, but it's pretty decent as Trek episodes go IMO. Lee Bergere made a very believable and likeable President Lincoln, and Barry Atwater was good as Surak. The best part of the episode? Seeing Scotty in full kilt and tartan, of course! Hot stuff! Yarnek always reminds me of a misshapen, overcooked brownie with marshmallows just emerging from the oven. I get hungry every time I see him! Yarnek does, however, make an interesting point about there being no great difference between good and evil from the Excalbian point of view, as each side uses similar force to overcome the other. If aliens were watching a war break out on Earth, they would observe the same thing. Kirk points out that the difference between good and evil lies not in the methods used but the motivation that drives each side. A decent concept for an episode.

 

And Kirk delivers my favorite line of his....""We came in peace."

 

I must say, I'm surprised at how many people rate this episode highly, or even call it average. The Savage Curtain is in my bottom five at best. Obviously it works for some people but not for me. That's life.

 

I don't hate it. It's just okay.

 

I like the concept of good versus evil, but the way it turned out on film makes me savage.