Return of the Archons - absorption process

[MarsWeeps]

At the beginning of The Return of The Archons, we see that Sulu is "absorbed" by Landru's monkeys who simply point a tube at him.

Later in the show, the process requires the person to be taken to absorption chambers.

Why the difference?

Also, instead of just standing there waiting to be beamed up, why couldn't Sulu have just outran the slow moving lawgivers and then requested beam up before they got to him?

 

[Gary7]

Every episode has its weaknesses. You've pointed out just a few among many in "Return of the Archons". This is not one of my favorite episodes, because of the sheer ridiculousness of it all. No, to make it more believable, people would have had something inserted into their cerebral cortex that allows Landru to control them. The only other alternative would be a massive amount of brainwashing, whereby with some specific cues (audible or subsonic), one could be kept in a specific frame of mind, and altered periodically (like for the "festival"). But oddly, the Enterprise landing party detected no such emanations.

The "hollow tube" absorption doesn't work thoroughly on everybody. Sulu was one of those weaker minded people who was affected. Hilarious how Landru's computer being taken down would suddenly free Sulu of his "grip"... up in ORBIT! ROFLMAO. See, this is one of those utterly ridiculous aspects of this episode. Anyway, Kirk and Spock were deemed more devious and willful, thus requiring the more elaborate absorption laboratory which would do a more thorough job. That's about the only thing I could thing of to try rescuing the inconsistency. Yeah, Sulu could've made a run for it, but apparently where he stood were the beam down coordinates. We didn't see him or O'Neil use communicators, which was puzzling. Also, the Landru minions move very slowly. As we saw, Kirk was able to yank one of those tubes from them with ease. Why wouldn't Sulu with his well trained physicality be able to do the same? STUPID.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Landru's planet was set up by the same aliens who built the world of Vaal in "The Apple" - super-powerful creatures who couldn't find their asses with both tentacles.

 

[MarsWeeps]

Yeah, Sulu could've made a run for it, but apparently where he stood were the beam down coordinates. We didn't see him or O'Neil use communicators, which was puzzling.

Sulu uses a communicator in the opening scene when he asks for an emergency beamout.

Also, the Landru minions move very slowly. As we saw, Kirk was able to yank one of those tubes from them with ease. Why wouldn't Sulu with his well trained physicality be able to do the same? STUPID.

Exactly, and Lt. O'Neill makes a statement saying "They're everywhere!" when we only see 2 very slow people in robes. I think they moved slower than the Gorn!

 

[T'Girl]

Sulu really packing a unit in this shot, isn't he?

 

[MarsWeeps]

Probably a "stunt" unit.

 

[Timo]

The Landru process doesn't appear too different from the Borg one. An initial injection of stuff-too-small-to-be-seen-with-naked-eye-except-as-grey-smoke gets things started, and then the victim becomes docile enough to be marched to a facility where more extensive controls can be installed in him or her.

Sulu probably got shot with the standard nano-tranq dose, but wouldn't have become fully absorbed until taken to a proper facility. He didn't exactly go out and fulfill Landru's command - he just sat there, paralyzed and useless.

The real question isn't why Sulu wasn't taken to the chambers (obviously this is because he was snatched to relative safety before that!), but why Kirk wasn't shot with the sparkle tube before being taken to the chambers.

Then again, Picard wasn't shot with grey-skin-inducing nanoprobes at the "BoBW" kidnapping yet, but only later on, when reaching a surgical facility of some sort. That's fairly logical behavior when you are kidnapping a leader rather than a minion: tranquilizers will reduce the quantity and quality of intel you get out of the leader!

As for the beam-up, it makes sufficient sense if running isn't an option. And it won't be if the lawgiver staffs have decent range. Just because the victims are typically shot at close ranges doesn't mean the weapons would lack range!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Jonas Grumby]

Sulu really packing a unit in this shot, isn't he?

And from the look on his face, I'd say O'Neil just noticed.

 

[Gary7]

Sulu uses a communicator in the opening scene when he asks for an emergency beamout.

Where's that "egg on face smiley" when you need it?

We do see only 2, but then O'Neil says that they're everywhere. Who knows... maybe there was one at every possible avenue of escape. Why did Sulu just stand there? He didn't even try to duck. "You know what they're capable of!" So, he clearly knew what would happen if the "guards" fired one of their absorption tubes at him.

I'd rather have seen him tackle one of the guards, wrestle the tube from him, only to turn to his side and see one of them standing with a tube point-blank and fire... just as Sulu is beamed aboard. Wouldn't have been a hard stunt to pull off and it would have made the scene much more believable.

 

[plynch]

Give it to George Lucas and he can CGI in a whole bunch more guardians as was intended.

 

[Valin]

Give it to George Lucas and he can CGI in a whole bunch more guardians as was intended.

Then we'd have a "Sulu shot first" controversy.

 

[Wingsley]

There are a couple of things being overlooked in this thread.

1: When Sulu calls for extraction, he specifically says "Souting party to Enterprise..." So Sulu's mission would at that point be covered by the Prime Directive. He was simply there to reconnoitre, not to "engage the enemy." So when Landru's boys come after Sulu and O'Neil, their natural reaction is to try to escape on foot first, and when that didn't work call for beam-out.

2: "They're everywhere" but we only see two? Well, we only see two in that shot. But what if there were another two up the street, and another two further back... Landru can probably track the scouting party and surround them with only a very small contingent of telepathically-directed "lawgivers".

3: There is a minor bit of discontinuity when Sulu gets zapped prior to beam-up. Or is it? Lawgivers seem to apply force in stages. They killed Tamar after Hakum turned him in, so Landru was tipped off that Tamar must be part of the underground. That made him a powerful threat. ("Out of order") Kirk came along, and the natives only gradually became more hostile. Applying this to Sulu, maybe the "lawgivers" were only charged with "absorption on the run" when Sulu and O'Neil proved to be too elusive.