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Production Order Group Viewing 2018

No it had to be the extreme moment of terror, enough for it to feed off the person being threatened then after maybe the person dies or Rejac simply kills them!
JB
 
No it had to be the extreme moment of terror, enough for it to feed off the person being threatened then after maybe the person dies or Rejac simply kills them!
JB
Fear of death is the terror. It was redjac's choice to go through with the deed itself.
 
Rejac was so alien to have evolved on Earth. Did he magically pop up in 1888 London out of nothing? I doubt he originated on Earth. It was shown that he needed transportation to move between planets. If alien to Earth, how did he get there in the first place? I'd be checking out UFO sightings about that time. :techman:
 
So many things wrong with "Wolf in the Fold".
1. Scotty hating on anyone (excepting maybe Shatner)
2. Scotty having access to women after it looks like he just murdered one.
3. The whole investigation.
4. Why didn't Rejac just stop until Scotty was convicted and then continue on afterwards with no-one to stop him?
5. The end was so inappropriate in so many ways when Kirk appear to consider going out with Spock to pick up prostitutes,

I didn't mind the seancey thing around the table or when they doped up the crew.
 
But then it would not have to kill. It could just frighten people. Make horror films for a living. Campaign for Brexit. Something constructive.

It could just eat salt out of salt shakers or tablets instead of killing for it,... oh wait, right wrong murderous monster.

5. The end was so inappropriate in so many ways when Kirk appear to consider going out with Spock to pick up prostitutes,

Who said anything about money or payment?

It could have been a Cabaret, he never gets past "the women are so..."
 
WIF is either my second or third favorite episode, depending on when you ask me. I love, love, love, the angle. TOS does murder mystery! And at the end of it all, Kirk and Spock confront and beat Jack the Ripper. Moreover Doohan and Shatner are just terrific, there's no tiresome Spock-McCoy bickering for its own sake, Argelius gives us a nice bit of world-building, Macaulay and Fiedler are fantastic, and the dialogue (particularly but not exclusively in the briefing room scene) is absolutely outstanding.
 
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The Changeling

"Shields just snapped on." I'm glad they do that automatically.

The shields absorbed the equivalent of 90 photon torpedoes???? Oh, come on. The Klingons and Romulans seem like much less of threat now.

Nomad's energy attacks are traveling at Warp 15? Aren't they energy? Shouldn't they be traveling at the speed of light? How do you make energy go faster than light?

Why is Kirk so stunned that the target absorbed one photon torpedo when his ship just absorbed 90?

Spock: "Intelligence does not require bulk, Mr. Scott." Yoda: "Judge me by my size, do you?"

I'd love to see a philosophical conversation between Spock and Yoda. I would pay for that.

I like that Uhura helps in the deciphering of Nomad's signal.

Nomad: "My mission is not hostile." Everyone: "Could have fooled us."

I'm not happy about the idea of bringing aboard something that can launch the equivalent 90 photon torpedoes.

Early 2000's? Have we launched Nomad yet?

Uhura showing some authority in her conversation with the tech.

Jackson Roykirk must be living now. He was probably born in the 60's when Star Trek was on.

Sulu's like "whoa" when Nomad glides by.

Apollo, Nomad. Scotty won't hesitate to attack more powerful entities if a lady is in trouble. A week after hating women, Scotty dies in defense of one.

Oh boy. Uhura's thinking is "chaotic...a mass of conflicting impulses." This a week after we are told women are more easily and deeply terrified.

Actually, Nomad could have just been reacting to Uhura as a human. SPOCK is the one who identifies her as a woman. AND Spock's the one last week who said women are more easily and deeply terrified. Spock doesn't seem to think too highly of the thought processes of women.

McCoy: "If there's a chance, it'll have to be soon." I didn't realize McCoy was an expert in resurrection.

Two armed guards in surveillance of Nomad. Um, Jim, your ship's weapons can't hurt Nomad. What are a couple of guys with Phaser Two's going to do?

So how the heck did Nomad bring Scotty back? Simple structural repairs? So if someone dies, all you'd have to do is fix the damage and the person comes back to life? Seems like there would be more to it.

I wonder if Kirk couldn't have just ordered Nomad to shut down and let them take it apart.

I agree with those who've said that the knowledge must still be there in Uhura's brain or how did she speak Swahili? And how does she get educated to get back to work so quickly at the end?

If you can program someone to be a competent Starfleet officer in a couple weeks, why do you need Starfleet Academy?

Should a mind meld with a machine really be possible?

Good acting by Nimoy when melding with Nomad.

Look at Spock talking with his hands after the meld. He's practically hysterical.

Really quite dumb to try to treat Nomad like a common prisoner. It can fire 90 torpedoes, and you think your cell can contain it?

And why did Nomad zap Scotty dead but his body was still present but send the guards to oblivion?

D'OH! Kirk you idiot! Acknowledging you're imperfect!

How stupid can Kirk/the guards be? ANOTHER pair of guards shoot at Nomad and get killed????

Is that Engineering tech dead?

Nomad's in for it now. Kirk's setting the Logic Trap. Make the computer state its rule for when death is required, then show it that it broke those rules. I almost feel sorry for it.

It's an okay episode. I'm having trouble with Nomad being THAT powerful on the one hand. I know they want Nomad to be a threat to the very Federation, but how would it get that powerful anyway? And then on the other hand, the writers have Nomad gallivanting around the ship and characters treating it like it's a normal human threat.

Alien Watch! No new aliens (not counting Nomad)
Season 1
Talosians
That big ugly Rigellian guy Pike fought in illusion
Vina as an Orion girl in illusion
Glimpse of other aliens captured by Talosians
Ron Howard's brother
That dog from Enemy Within
Salt monster
That hand plant...Gertrude
Spock (duh)
Charlie's parents (Thasians)*
Romulans!
(Ruk)
Miri's planet kids (bonk bonk)
Giant ape creatures of Taurus II
Shore Leave Caretaker guy
Trelaine and his folks*
Gorn
Metrons*
The Lazerii
The remarkably human-looking aliens of Beta 3. (RotA)
The remarkably human-looking aliens of Emineminar VII (AToA)
The Triffids of Omicron Ceti III (TSoP)
The refreshingly non-human-looking Horta
Organians*
Klingons! (Remarkably human looking).
(The Guardian of Forever)
Flying pancakes

Season 2
Sylvia and Korob
The Companion
The remarkably human looking (though tall) Cappellans.
Native Pollux IV-ians (Apollo and his gang)
Full-blooded Vulcans
The remarkably human looking citizens of Argelius II (WitF)
Redjac

*Alien Watch sublist: omnipotent aliens!


Special Feature! It's a Geekie Battle Scenario: Okay, the Planet Killer and Nomad meet in space. The Planet Killer recognizes a great source of power and moves in to attack/eat Nomad. Nomad sees the PK as an imperfect life form and moves in to sterilize it. Who wins?
 
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The shields absorbed the equivalent of 90 photon torpedoes???? Oh, come on.
Not only that, the shields absorb 4 of them in a row! :techman: We just got new upgraded warp engine power and shields between Season 1 and Season 2. Didn't you see that big gizmo in the center of the floor in Engineering? This baby will do warp 11, now.
Nomad's energy attacks are traveling at Warp 15? Aren't they energy? Shouldn't they be traveling at the speed of light? How do you make energy go faster than light?
Encase the energy in a self-sustaining warp bubble. It has no mass, so it can go real fast.
Early 2000's? Have we launched Nomad yet?
We did in 2002. Flawless launch thank goodness. :)
Jackson Roykirk must be living now. He was probably born in the 60's when Star Trek was on.
Nope, born in 1959. My old college roommate. Lives in Houston, now.
McCoy: "If there's a chance, it'll have to be soon." I didn't realize McCoy was an expert in resurrection.
Nah, it was just getting time for our cigarette break. Union rules, you know. :whistle:
So how the heck did Nomad bring Scotty back? Simple structural repairs? So if someone dies, all you'd have to do is fix the damage and the person comes back to life? Seems like there would be more to it.
"What a doctor it would've made." ;)
Should a mind meld with a machine really be possible?
Sure, and it won't be the last time. :vulcan:
And why did Nomad zap Scotty dead but his body was still present but send the guards to oblivion?
Scotty was unarmed, so just killing him was the programmed response. The guards had disintegration weapons which required a different programmed response, in this case, disintegration.
D'OH! Kirk you idiot! Acknowledging you're imperfect!
Relax, this is not his first rodeo.
How stupid can Kirk/the guards be? ANOTHER pair of guards shoot at Nomad and get killed????
Red Shirts. It's what they do. :o
Nomad's in for it now. Kirk's setting the Logic Trap. Make the computer state its rule for when death is required, then show it that it broke those rules. I almost feel sorry for it.
Kirk's an old hand at talking computers/robots into suicide. Kirk 3, Computers 0.
This is a fun episode. I rather be lucky than good. :beer:
 
The Changeling is an episode that has a really great idea (duly recycled for STTMP) and lives well in memory but is not nearly as good when you watch it. The dialogue is at times great and at times awful. The opening bridge scene's dialogue regarding Nomad's power level makes no sense as Poltargyst aptly noted. However, this one benefits from great use of music cues, what for my quatloos is one of Nimoy's best performances in all of TOS, and some really inspired directorial choices like how Scotty's death scene is blocked and NomadCam. Also, WHAT A STUNT by Doohan's double!! :wtf:
 
"The Changeling" has some total shit, retraining Uhura being at the top of the list, with "mass of conflicting impulses" right behind.

But I absolutely love the mind-meld scene, and the discussion Kirk and Spock have afterwards. Nomad "repairing" the ship is also outstanding. Kirk talking Nomad to death is absolutely brilliant.

So, a mixed bag overall, but unquestionably it's one of "the essentials."
 
"The Changeling" has some total shit, retraining Uhura being at the top of the list, with "mass of conflicting impulses" right behind.
But we did get "BLUEY".
How stupid can Kirk/the guards be? ANOTHER pair of guards shoot at Nomad and get killed????
I believe the FX team came up with a neat ray-beam special effect (two wavy zigzags beams at the same time!; cool sound effect, too.), and they wanted to use it as much as possible on screen because it WAS so neat. :techman:
nomad-vs-redshirts.jpg
 
Can you imagine Nomad travelling through space like some kind of missile? As long as he's not moving upright like he was in the episode then it would look quite cool!
JB
 
The schematic of Nomad on the screen, although looking different and before the collision with Tan-Ru was very bulbous rocketty in shape! :razz:
JB
 
The Changeling

I'm sorry but this is one of my least favorite episodes, worst of the second season easily. I haven't watched it in a long time. even though I used to watch whatever episode was on back when things were like that and thus have seen it many times, but this is the first time in years I watched it.

I think I've come to a conclusion why I don't like it, it's all over the place with tone and scale.

Is it a light hearted adventure with funny lines or is it a dark space nightmare. Over 4 billion people are killed, doesn't sound too light hearted to me but at the end they are joking about it being a doctor. The whole business of reeducating Uhura all too much for laughs and feels.

The scale of it is also all over, it wipes out a whole civilization but they think it will stay in the brig, it's shots have the power of 90 photon torpedoes, which the Enterprise handles very well more than once but it absorbs 1 torpedo and it's mind blowing for everyone. Uhura's whole mind is totally wiped out. I know we here have discussed that's not the case but they didn't actually say that in the episode. Scott is killed. I hate when they kill a character for a shock just to bring them back fine as anything and never mentioned again. Kirk remembers a Nomad from 300 years ago, Spock isn't too unusual to remeber something like that but then even McCoy joins in. They all certainly seem to think Jackson Roykirk is a big deal and know a lot about him but just a decade earlier Khan Singh's info is fragmented and history was uncertain.

Also, too many times Kirk kind of just puts his people in harms way as if he's willing to sacrifice them for time, Mr. Singh is lucky he didn't get killed. Why are the guards so stupid? This is a complaint about many episodes, when Nomad breaks why didn't they call it in? Later, Spock says "I must assume they are dead" They didn't even know it was moving around until it started fixing Engineering. And the next two are just as bad.

This show has some interesting concepts but really needed some one to read it and have it reworked. It's trying to hard too be funny and endearing while being edgy and cool. Even the title of the episode has to be "worked in" to the story. I'm grateful that no on in Amok Time said to Spock, "gee you're having a real Amok Time here" or when the Horta was in the tunnels lurking someone saying, "The Devil in the Dark is killing us" It just underlies the first draft nature of this one for me. @Harvey or any of the other people that know those things can correct me, I doubt it wasn't gone over as all episodes were but it doesn't seem like it to me.
 
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THE CHANGELING

A decent bottle show with an interesting mystery. The total lack of humanity shown with the Nomad prop really helps to sell its “alien-ness”
It's also a tour de force of the new sets! Some we saw in The Doomsday Machine aboard the USS Constellation, others of which are making their first appearances here and will continue to feature throughout the rest of the series.

NEW SETS
  • The Transporter Room now has a dedicated scannning station, off to the side (Spock uses it when Nomad beams on board)
  • Auxiliary Control –similar to the one on the USS Constellation but with a scanner for Spock to peer into and better access to the side room that house the tall control console. Does that console look familiar? It should! It used to be in the Season One…
  • Engine Room – the one seen in this episode bears a striking resemblance to the one on the USS Constellation (but without the damage).
  • Brig – complete with the wall shelf (from Pike’s cabin) and a desk.

The disconnect between Enterprise absorbing multiple 90-torpedos’ worth of energy vs Nomad absorbing 1 just defies explanation.
I might suggest that Kirk’s disbelief is simply due to the small size of the target: Enterprise is considerably more than 90 times larger than Nomad, after all.
However, all this happens before Spock gives the size and dimensions, so that theory is bunk!
I wonder if there is a clue in an earlier version of the script?

Nomad’s put-downs of Spock and McCoy (and their reactions) are fun. Spock’s smirk when Nomad compliments him is just classic!

Uhura’s singing is back! And yet again heralds bad times (this time for her)

The second time this season Scotty is hurled backwards when coming to a lady’s rescue. I wonder if he has learned his lesson this time?

Uhura’s memory – Nomad’s dialogue and what we see on screen do not match. Uhura knows Swahili but must re-learn English reading (and language). She is able to be restored to her previous level of education within a week.

Nomad must feature the most compact power source in the galaxy! It’s a shame they couldn’t study it, but it’s a mystery as to where it came from. Surely Tan Ru (the other probe) didn’t possess such god-level power? And if it did, where is the civilisation that created it? Tan Ru was a mere probe, after all!

I think I've come to a conclusion why I don't like it, it's all over the place with tone and scale.
That's actually a fair assessment (although I still enjoy it)
Also, I nominate this episode for having the most forced funny ending to date, even worse that the ROFL from Galileo Seven. The sombre conversation about loss of technology and risk to billions of lives takes an abrupt right turn into goofy humour and cheesy music, just so Kirk can shoe-horn in “my son the doctor”
 
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They should film these joke scenes at the dead crewmen's memorial services. Might as well go all in.

I struggle to get past the silliness of the Changeling, especially Uhura's brain drain. If I'm forced to choose, give me TMP every time.
 
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Even the title of the episode has to be "worked in" to the story. I'm grateful that no on in Amok Time said to Spock, "gee you're having a real Amok Time here" or when the Horta was in the tunnels lurking someone saying, "The Devil in the Dark is killing us"

Is there a reason to assume that the title came first and was worked into the script, rather than something from the script being used for the title? It happened in "The Doomsday Machine," "The Apple" and "Catspaw" too, off the top of my head. "The Conscience of the King" and "By Any Other Name" also, though of course those are Shakespeare quotes.
 
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