Arena

[Maurice]

When the Metron appears at the end of the story, there's a “twinkling” effect around him (her)* that I thought had been added digitally in the remastered version. But it's lens flare that was present in the original film.

*Played onscreen by actress Carole Shelyne, voice dubbed by Vic Perrin. And, of course, the Talosians in “The Cage” were all played by women. Wonder if G.R. had a cross-dressing fetish?

I suspect he was more a one-trick pony.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Oooh...it's really hard to get past the fakeness of the lizard suit. And I'm used to a lot of fakeness in TOS. The Doomsday Machine is obviously a paper mache thing on a string, but I can suspend my disbelief much more readily for that.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

When the Metron appears at the end of the story, there's a “twinkling” effect around him (her)* that I thought had been added digitally in the remastered version. But it's lens flare that was present in the original film.

*Played onscreen by actress Carole Shelyne, voice dubbed by Vic Perrin. And, of course, the Talosians in “The Cage” were all played by women. Wonder if G.R. had a cross-dressing fetish?

I suspect he was more a one-trick pony.

It was a damn good trick, though.

I imagine the casting director made some suggestions in this regard, though.

 

[Maurice]

...The Doomsday Machine is obviously a paper mache thing on a string....

"Sorry, neither."

 

[scotpens]

...The Doomsday Machine is obviously a paper mache thing on a string....

“Sorry, neither.”

Yes, it looks to have been constructed of chicken wire and plaster and covered with some kind of translucent plastic or resin, and it would have been supported on a rigid stand in front of a bluescreen backing. But I think Temis the Vorta was speaking figuratively.

As for the Gorn, I can accept the fake-looking costume, given the limitations of the effects available at the time. What I can't understand is why he's wearing a tunic that looks like one of Cher's old outfits.

 

[T'Bonz]

Oooh...it's really hard to get past the fakeness of the lizard suit. And I'm used to a lot of fakeness in TOS.

Yeah, that is really a problem for me too. It's just so FAKE.

 

[Maurice]

...The Doomsday Machine is obviously a paper mache thing on a string....

“Sorry, neither.”

Yes, it looks to have been constructed of chicken wire and plaster and covered with some kind of translucent plastic or resin, and it would have been supported on a rigid stand in front of a bluescreen backing. But I think Temis the Vorta was speaking figuratively.

Hey, it was a great opportunity for an Uhura quote!

Actually, since we're on the subject, to my eye it appears to be fabricated of strips of clear tape, with color painted on various layers and then overlaid with more tape. You can see through the outside of the thing near the mouth. When the machine turns, it looks like there are shifting layers of detail. At the very least, I think it was painted inside and outside, and you can see through the outside paint to to inside paint, creating a sense of dimensionality.

As to how it was filmed, I think there is only one actual motion film shot of the thing, and that's when it turns. The rest of the shots appear to be static images moved on an animation stand or moved/scaled on an optical printer.

 

[RobertScorpio]

The most famous, episode, of all that puts Captain Kirk against the gorn, what you take on it, love or hate it and why.

I loved it..and I think the Gorn in TOS is far more creepier than the cartoony Gorn from ENTERPRISE...

Arena is a classic episode..iconic i dare say!!!

Rob

 

[Kelso]

I think the suit looks great (other than the sparkley texture). It's the slow movement and silly growls that really hurt it.

 

[RobertScorpio]

I think the suit looks great (other than the sparkley texture). It's the slow movement and silly growls that really hurt it.

no...I disagree here. I think the slow movement of the Gorn, and Kirk's ability to move fast, is the best part of the episode. It reminds me of the car/truck duel in the move 'duel'. This slow, lumbering truck, chasing down this much faster car...the truck (gorn) keeps coming and coming and coming, and will eventually catch up with our hero...

Rob

 

[scotpens]

One minor nit in this episode is those translator/recorders provided by the Metrons. When Kirk hears the Gorn speaking through the device, it comes out in English with a growling "monster" voice and rather silly hissing sounds. But when the Gorn hears Kirk speaking, it's Kirk's own voice. Shouldn't Kirk's words have been translated into . . . what? Gornese? Gornian? Gornish?

 

[RobertScorpio]

One minor nit in this episode is those translator/recorders provided by the Metrons. When Kirk hears the Gorn speaking through the device, it comes out in English with a growling "monster" voice and rather silly hissing sounds. But when the Gorn hears Kirk speaking, it's Kirk's own voice. Shouldn't Kirk's words have been translated into . . . what? Gornese? Gornian? Gornish?

Come on, its a tv show. Have to take it from the time it was produced.

Rob

 

[Maurice]

I think the suit looks great (other than the sparkley texture). It's the slow movement and silly growls that really hurt it.

no...I disagree here. I think the slow movement of the Gorn, and Kirk's ability to move fast, is the best part of the episode. It reminds me of the car/truck duel in the move 'duel'. This slow, lumbering truck, chasing down this much faster car...the truck (gorn) keeps coming and coming and coming, and will eventually catch up with our hero...

Rob

The problem is that the Gorn moves ridiculously slowly. It it moved that slowly it couldn't impart the energy indicated when it flings the boulder. They could easily have just made the Gorn unable to run quickly, making Kirk able to dance out of reach, instead of having it swing its arms so laughably slow.

 

[Kelso]

I think the suit looks great (other than the sparkley texture). It's the slow movement and silly growls that really hurt it.

no...I disagree here. I think the slow movement of the Gorn, and Kirk's ability to move fast, is the best part of the episode. It reminds me of the car/truck duel in the move 'duel'. This slow, lumbering truck, chasing down this much faster car...the truck (gorn) keeps coming and coming and coming, and will eventually catch up with our hero...

Rob

The problem is that the Gorn moves ridiculously slowly. It it moved that slowly it couldn't impart the energy indicated when it flings the boulder. They could easily have just made the Gorn unable to run quickly, making Kirk able to dance out of reach, instead of having it swing its arms so laughably slow.

Yeah, it's the execution that was lacking. I think they should've avoided the hand-to-hand fight, perhaps sticking with the forcefield idea from Brown's story instead.

 

[Warped9]

It could have helped if there'd been perhaps a line of dialogue referencing the asteroid's climate was cooler than what a Gorn is used to. Perhaps in a cooler climate it's metabolism slows down or something and it can't react as fast.

Just guessing really.

 

[RobertScorpio]

no...I disagree here. I think the slow movement of the Gorn, and Kirk's ability to move fast, is the best part of the episode. It reminds me of the car/truck duel in the move 'duel'. This slow, lumbering truck, chasing down this much faster car...the truck (gorn) keeps coming and coming and coming, and will eventually catch up with our hero...

Rob

The problem is that the Gorn moves ridiculously slowly. It it moved that slowly it couldn't impart the energy indicated when it flings the boulder. They could easily have just made the Gorn unable to run quickly, making Kirk able to dance out of reach, instead of having it swing its arms so laughably slow.

Yeah, it's the execution that was lacking. I think they should've avoided the hand-to-hand fight, perhaps sticking with the forcefield idea from Brown's story instead.

No...Imo...I think it was done this way because Shatner was brought in for this reason; hand to hand action sequences that the network wanted more of. And, along with Amok Time's fight scenes, perhaps no other fight scene is more famous than this one...its one of the most iconic fights EVER in the history of scifi..

Rob

 

[Red Ranger]

They were there on the original as well, you can verify by checking screengrabs over at http://tos.trekcore.com/gallery

Thanks, Myko. Can't believe I didn't remember.

 

[SPOCKED]

The most famous, episode, of all that puts Captain Kirk against the gorn, what you take on it, love or hate it and why.

I love "Arena" because of how it brought to my daughter the raw emotion of spellbinding, edge-of-your-seat, 60's-style drama as captured above. You can almost smell the fear

 

[RobertScorpio]

The most famous, episode, of all that puts Captain Kirk against the gorn, what you take on it, love or hate it and why.

I love "Arena" because of how it brought to my daughter the raw emotion of spellbinding, edge-of-your-seat, 60's-style drama as captured above. You can almost smell the fear

^^ my six year old son was 4 when he first watched this all the way through..and yes..the fear was there!!! He watched the ENTERPRISE gorn and thought it was just a cartoon...IT WAS...

Rob

 

[SPOCKED]

^^ my six year old son was 4 when he first watched this all the way through..and yes..the fear was there!!! He watched the ENTERPRISE gorn and thought it was just a cartoon...IT WAS...

Rob

Awesome!! "Arena" is a masterpiece.. for and of ALL ages!