The Enemy Within - Question

[Timo]

A big plot concept in the episode (indeed, the plot concept, some scifi cliches notwithstanding) was that the "good" Kirk was hopelessly inefficient as a leader. This jibes well with how the rescue operation proceeded: measures were taken, but always too little and too late, and the problem kept escalating.

It's nicely in keeping with this that the heroes did not aggressively explore the option of using the shuttles. Perhaps those were dismissed early on due to high winds (a leading cause of shuttlecraft loss in later Trek series, along with electromagnetic disturbances), but the issue might have been circumvented - had Kirk ordered that line of inquiry. He didn't; he kept on pursuing a single approach, and half-heartedly at that.

Early on, it might have done some good to beam down material for building a proper habitat that would allow the landing party to survive the deadly night. Blankets they already had; heat sources they already had; to survive minus 70 let alone minus 120 (be it C or F), they would have needed something really extensive, something that couldn't be beamed down in one piece (because the transporters couldn't handle anything complex) but might nevertheless have been assembled out of primitive components with sufficient head start. Thanks to Kirk's indecisiveness, the heroes missed that time window.

I guess the best possible use for shipboard phasers would have been to carve out a cave, within which heat from hand phasers could have been preserved and regulated. The act of creating such a cave apparently does not result in much residual heat, as we see time and again phasers being used for creating big holes, which are immediately cool enough for the heroes to climb through... "Heat" and "Remove from this universe" apparently are wholly different settings for the versatile device.

However, creating a suitable cave by firing from above would probably have been very difficult, perhaps even more so than creating fine-tuned heat glow in surrounding rock.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Christopher]

Right, but they should have already been considering it as an option. As far as I recall, there was plenty of time between when they figured out that the transporter was creating evil doubles, and when Evil Kirk started shooting up the place. Wasn't there?

Not according to the transcript.

KIRK: Isn't there any way we can help them?
SPOCK: Thermal heaters were transported down. They duplicated. They won't operate.
KIRK: Then we've got to get those men up.
CREWMAN [OC]: Mister Spock?
SPOCK: Spock here.
CREWMAN [OC]: Transporter Technician Wilson found injured near the Captain's cabin. He says the impostor attacked him, called him by name, took his hand phaser.
SPOCK: Acknowledged. Continue the search.
KIRK: We've got to find him before he, but how?
SPOCK: Apparently, this double, however different in temperament, has your knowledge of the ship, its crew, its devices. This being the case, perhaps we can outguess him by determining his next move. Knowing how the ship is laid out, where would you go to elude a mass search?
KIRK: The lower levels. The Engineering deck.

[Engineering]

SPOCK: Set and locked on base cycle to stun, not to kill. What about your phaser, Captain? Don't you think we ought to get some help, Captain?
KIRK: No. I don't want anyone else to see the
SPOCK: Captain, you ordered me to tell you.
KIRK: Mister Spock, if I'm to be the Captain, I've got to act like one.
(they split up to search, and Kirk comes face to face with himself)
KIRK: You can't hurt me. You can't kill me. You can't. Don't you understand? I'm part of you. You need me. I need you.
OTHER KIRK: I don't need you. (Spock neck-pinches him, and his phaser fire hits a panel instead)

So the search for the duplicate Kirk begins immediately after they conclude that beaming the men up is their only option. Now, even with such a decision having been made, it wouldn't have been wise to rush into it; they would've needed to plan out the optimum strategy, double-check the possibilities. But the problem with the Kirk double interfered and the transporter was damaged before they could reach that point.

 

[plynch]

I don't think it was overlooked -- just not thought of yet. The transporters were such a huge money saver in real life (so Big E didn't have to land). Was "shuttlecraft" invented just so they could do a Galileo 7 type plot? Prob'ly.

 

[Silvercrest]

So the search for the duplicate Kirk begins immediately after they conclude that beaming the men up is their only option. Now, even with such a decision having been made, it wouldn't have been wise to rush into it; they would've needed to plan out the optimum strategy, double-check the possibilities. But the problem with the Kirk double interfered and the transporter was damaged before they could reach that point.

Agreed. Looks like someone needs to watch the episode again.

 

[Jonas Grumby]

Was "shuttlecraft" invented just so they could do a Galileo 7 type plot? Prob'ly.

I think that is certainly possible.

I know it's been pointed out before that the shuttlecraft hanger doors were present on the Enterprise models from the very start, but I gotta say, when I first saw those doors, well before ever hearing any mention of "shuttlecrafts," I immediately thought, "Ah, cargo doors!"

OTOH, I also had a copy of the TOS Writer's Guide, and I'm pretty sure it did mention shuttlecrafts. But, of course, I bought the guide well after the craft had appeared on the air and I have no way of knowing when the guide was originally written...or when the shuttlecraft info might have been later added.

 

[Christopher]

Shuttlecraft were part of the plans for TOS from the original development phase, before a single frame of film was shot. At least one development memo about the possibilities is reprinted in The Making of Star Trek, although it's rather different from what they ended up with. It's just that they couldn't afford to build a shuttle until AMT agreed to fund the construction in exchange for the right to manufacture model kits of it (source: The Art of Star Trek).

 

[Captain Robert April]

The earliest drawings from Matt Jefferies with the saucer-lower hull-nacelles configuration shows a hangar deck with clamshell doors, so it was there before GR even okayed the design.

Here they be...

 

[plynch]

Good job, researchers.

 

[BolianAuthor]

I don't think it was overlooked -- just not thought of yet. The transporters were such a huge money saver in real life (so Big E didn't have to land). Was "shuttlecraft" invented just so they could do a Galileo 7 type plot? Prob'ly.

Well, not really... the Enterprise's shuttles ARE mentioned in the series Writers/Directors guide, which precedes the actual episodes... the writers always had the tool to use, should they require it.

However, the Writers/Directors guide DOES indeed say that if your script calls for a shuttlecraft, it MUST be absolutely vital to the story, because of budget considerations associated with using the shuttle.

But as I said in my original post... I do think the circumstances of this particular story were serious enough to validate the use of the shuttle.

 

[Christopher]

But as I said in my original post... I do think the circumstances of this particular story were serious enough to validate the use of the shuttle.

Well, no, just the opposite. This particular story only works is if the transporter is the only way to rescue the landing party, so that Kirk has no choice but to risk his life going through the transporter to test it. Include shuttles in the story and there's no urgency, no ticking clock.

Maybe in a later episode, they would've thrown in some quick handwave to explain why they couldn't use a shuttle. But at this point, the shuttlecraft hadn't been introduced to the audience yet, so the story could just ignore it and focus on what was relevant.

 

[BolianAuthor]

But as I said in my original post... I do think the circumstances of this particular story were serious enough to validate the use of the shuttle.

Well, no, just the opposite. This particular story only works is if the transporter is the only way to rescue the landing party, so that Kirk has no choice but to risk his life going through the transporter to test it. Include shuttles in the story and there's no urgency, no ticking clock.

Maybe in a later episode, they would've thrown in some quick handwave to explain why they couldn't use a shuttle. But at this point, the shuttlecraft hadn't been introduced to the audience yet, so the story could just ignore it and focus on what was relevant.

^

Well, yes, because as I also stated in my original post, the crew STILL would have had to face the problem of how to re-integrate Kirk... so nothing dealing with that aspect of the story would suffer, as a result of using the shuttles.

The fact is, that as has been pointed out, Kirk was fast becoming incapable to command on his own. It was a story shortcoming that Spock did not assume command, and as a result, the away teams were suffering without need. So, they could have saved the crew, and proceeded with the story with Spock in command, and leading the effort with McCoy and Scott to re-integrate Captain Kirk, in the meantime.

 

[Christopher]

Well, yes, because as I also stated in my original post, the crew STILL would have had to face the problem of how to re-integrate Kirk... so nothing dealing with that aspect of the story would suffer, as a result of using the shuttles.

Yes, it would. As I said, the urgency would be gone. If nobody were at risk but Kirk, they would've had time to solve the problem at their leisure. But as it was, there was a whole landing party freezing to death, and the only way to rescue them was a transporter that had malfunctioned and then been damaged. They not only have to solve the problem with Kirk, they have to solve it quickly, because people will die if they don't. The stakes are much higher without the ability to rescue the landing party by shuttle.

The fact is, that as has been pointed out, Kirk was fast becoming incapable to command on his own. It was a story shortcoming that Spock did not assume command, and as a result, the away teams were suffering without need.

Landing party. "Away team" is a TNG-era term.

And no, it wasn't a story shortcoming that Spock didn't assume command. On the contrary, it was an important bit of character development for Spock. It revealed that he understood the duality Kirk was experiencing, sympathized with that conflict. It showed that he was supportive of Kirk, acting like a friend to him rather than coldly using military logic. It established something that became a major part of Spock's character, as seen later in "The Menagerie" and elsewhere: his deep loyalty to his commanding officers.

Besides, I don't agree that Spock would've been any more successful at saving the landing party. First, we have to stipulate that for whatever reason, the shuttles were not an option. Second, as I already demonstrated, only moments passed between the realization that there was no way to save the landing party other than beaming them up and the beginning of the hunt for the double that led to the damage to the transporter. Yes, there was a delay, but I don't attribute that to Kirk's indecisiveness. If Spock had been in command, he wouldn't have recklessly beamed the landing party up with a transporter he knew was damaged and unpredictable. That would've been profoundly illogical. No, he would've waited and assessed the situation. He would've tried to repair the transporter before using it, because that's the logical thing to do. So there still would've been a delay, and the transporter circuits still might've been damaged by evil Kirk's phaser blast. So putting Spock in command wouldn't have made any difference.

 

[Captain Robert April]

Let's also remember the report of the ship's chief engineer:

SCOTT: A few seconds after they sent this one up through the transporter, that duplicate appeared. Except it's not a duplicate, it's an opposite. Two of the same animal, but different. One gentle, this. One mean and fierce, that. Some kind of savage, ferocious opposite. Captain, we don't dare send Mister Sulu and the landing party up. If this should happen to a man...

 

[Timo]

It was a story shortcoming that Spock did not assume command, and as a result, the away teams were suffering without need.

Agreed with Christopher that this was a character-establishing moment for Spock. But rather than coming off as human, he IMHO exhibits a perverse alien trait here: all he cares about is Kirk's public image, the integrity of the chain of command, even at the expense of the well-being of the landing party or the operability of the ship. He's the one to bring up the hush-hush issue, the one to concentrate his efforts on the Kirk hunt rather than on landing party rescue.

He may be fully justified in doing so, of course. Moments before he engages in the frankly rather obsessive alt-Kirk hunt, he has heard Scotty state that maximum effort is being made to rescue the castaways. Some time later, we learn that Spock has in fact been monitoring Scotty's progress and e.g. knows that beaming down heaters or other high-tech survival gear is not an option.

It's another example of the "callousness" of this coldly logical character: rather than futilely agonizing over the survival of three men, he acts on an issue he actually has power over, and concentrates on saving one man (or two halves of a man).

A human XO character would have looked dubious, perhaps even mentally compromised, if acting that way. For Spock, it's a reinforcing moment, driving home his special psychological makeup.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[BolianAuthor]

Yes, it would. As I said, the urgency would be gone. If nobody were at risk but Kirk, they would've had time to solve the problem at their leisure. But as it was, there was a whole landing party freezing to death, and the only way to rescue them was a transporter that had malfunctioned and then been damaged. They not only have to solve the problem with Kirk, they have to solve it quickly, because people will die if they don't. The stakes are much higher without the ability to rescue the landing party by shuttle.

So needing to re-integrate the Captain of the Enterprise back into one being is not urgent enough?

Landing party. "Away team" is a TNG-era term.

Semantics. Both terms mean the same thing.

And no, it wasn't a story shortcoming that Spock didn't assume command. On the contrary, it was an important bit of character development for Spock. It revealed that he understood the duality Kirk was experiencing, sympathized with that conflict. It showed that he was supportive of Kirk, acting like a friend to him rather than coldly using military logic. It established something that became a major part of Spock's character, as seen later in "The Menagerie" and elsewhere: his deep loyalty to his commanding officers.

Besides, I don't agree that Spock would've been any more successful at saving the landing party. First, we have to stipulate that for whatever reason, the shuttles were not an option. Second, as I already demonstrated, only moments passed between the realization that there was no way to save the landing party other than beaming them up and the beginning of the hunt for the double that led to the damage to the transporter. Yes, there was a delay, but I don't attribute that to Kirk's indecisiveness. If Spock had been in command, he wouldn't have recklessly beamed the landing party up with a transporter he knew was damaged and unpredictable. That would've been profoundly illogical. No, he would've waited and assessed the situation. He would've tried to repair the transporter before using it, because that's the logical thing to do. So there still would've been a delay, and the transporter circuits still might've been damaged by evil Kirk's phaser blast. So putting Spock in command wouldn't have made any difference.

I would give you that one, but the thing is that Spock KNEW that Kirk was losing his ability to command, and even Kirk himself finally had to admit as much. As good of a friend as Spock is to Kirk, he should have realized that there were numerous lives at risk on the planet, and that he had to act for their greater good, if need be, without Kirk. To humor Kirk for as long as Spock did was kinda foolish, IMO.

 

[Captain Robert April]

There's also the matter of servicing the needs of the show, and that means keeping things exciting so that the audience doesn't decide during the next commercial break to see what's happening with The Beverly Hillbillies tonight.

 

[Christopher]

So needing to re-integrate the Captain of the Enterprise back into one being is not urgent enough?

Within the context of an hourlong action-drama, no. There was no deadline to that story, no reason they couldn't have taken their time devising a solution, which wouldn't have satisfied the need to keep the tension level high and bring things to a resolution within 50-odd minutes of story. Never underestimate the value of a ticking clock as a tool for building tension.

Besides, it's more selfish if Kirk is only worried about himself. It makes him a more heroic figure if his greatest concern is for others, and if the risk he takes at the climax is done for the sake of his crew rather than just to save his own hide. Jim Kirk isn't just some guy, he's a character who's fundamentally defined by his role as a leader of men, by his overriding concern for the well-being of his crew. So it makes it work better as a Kirk story if his priority is saving his crew rather than saving himself.

Landing party. "Away team" is a TNG-era term.

Semantics. Both terms mean the same thing.

And "My bad" means the same thing as "Terribly sorry, old chap," but you wouldn't have Dr. Watson say "My bad" to Sherlock Holmes. Whatever its meaning, it's an anachronism.

I would give you that one, but the thing is that Spock KNEW that Kirk was losing his ability to command, and even Kirk himself finally had to admit as much. As good of a friend as Spock is to Kirk, he should have realized that there were numerous lives at risk on the planet, and that he had to act for their greater good, if need be, without Kirk. To humor Kirk for as long as Spock did was kinda foolish, IMO.

And you're ignoring the part where I said -- TWICE -- that having Spock take over from Kirk would've made absolutely no difference to the outcome of the story. Whatever happened to listening?

 

[scotpens]

Landing party. "Away team" is a TNG-era term.

Semantics. Both terms mean the same thing.

And "My bad" means the same thing as "Terribly sorry, old chap," but you wouldn't have Dr. Watson say "My bad" to Sherlock Holmes. Whatever its meaning, it's an anachronism.

To be fair, BolianAuthor used “away team” as a descriptive term; he didn’t put it in the mouth of a Trek TOS character.

Anyway, if we didn't nitpick, we wouldn't be Trekkies, would we?

 

[DrTaylor]

They didn't mention it because they obviously didn't think we'd care in forty years. Shows what they know.

 

[GSchnitzer]

The book Matheson Uncollected has a bunch of Matheson short stories that were never really released to the public. One of the works in the book is Matheson's script for "The Enemy Within"--with a short introduction "Split Personality: The Evolution of Richard Matheson's 'The Enemy Within'" by Tony Albarella and containing many quotes from Albarella's interviews of Matheson. Here are a few key excerpts:

*****

Gene Roddenberry enthusiastically accepted the ["Enemy Within"] idea and commissioned a script. Matheson wrote and submitted "The Enemy Within" in early 1966 but the work would endure several rewrites before airing on October 6 as Star Trek's fifth episode. Matheson's teleplay focused solely on the struggle of the two Kirks aboard the Enterprise; but the final draft added a secondary plot. The supplemental action featured Enterprise crew members trapped on a freezing planet, unable to be beamed aboard until the faulty transporter is repaired. The writer who incorporated the changes, however, was not Matheson.

"I wrote the script the way I wanted it," Matheson explains. "I don't know exactly who did the rewrite [[there aren't that many options)--GS], but it wasn't me. I was kind of--I don't know if shocked is the word--disappointed that Roddenberry insisted on adding a 'B' story, which was not my idea."

Thankfully, Matheson's teleplay was spared the full brunt of a typical Roddenberry rewrite. "The Enemy Within" was an intriguing script that didn't require an inordinate amount of tinkering. Beyond minor adjustments to characterization, the biggest change is the addition of the "B" narrative--a device that Roddenberry, who enjoyed utilizing multiple story lines, frequently employed. This resulted, unfortunately, in a trimming of Matheson's first draft.

This auxiliary plot, though exciting, is a bit redundant and ultimately unnecessary. The script clearly illustrates that both Kirk's are dying; each man is incomplete and unable to live for long without the characteristics possessed by the other. The addition of trapped crewmen who are dying of exposure does raise the stakes, but the motivation for reassembling the halved captain, and the deadline to do so, is already established.

"It was legitimate," Matheson concludes of the secondary plot, "but it took away from the story. An hour show, with commercials, is not that long. I'm not sure anymore what more I had [in the original draft], but obviously whatever time was taken up by the guys down on the planet was time I gave to Bill Shatner and the problems he was causing back on the Enterprise."

*******************

So if Spock (or anyone else) doesn't seem to be thinking or talking about or dealing with the men down on the surface, or if simple solutions like shuttlecraft or phasers weren't well considered, it could well be that the "B" story was just shoehorned into the script at kind of the last minute and was not very well integrated with the "A" story. And as interesting as the fate of the landing party is, I wonder what interesting Kirk-Kirk or Kirk-Spock dynamics had to be excised to make room for that subplot.