THIS IS BALOK!
- Thread starter Crazy Eddie
- Start date
^ Splitters.
Some more thoughts (and I concur with all the posters that "Corbomite Maneuver" is one of the - if not the - best episodes of TOS, especially once you consider it was the first produced of the regular series):
IMHO, Balok expresses rather human than alien behaviour. Since the real Balok does not look intimidating to other humanoids, Balok is obviously using deception ("appearances can be deceiving") on a regular basis.
I'd dare to say that therefore he is a little paranoid and suspects other sentient beings also to be deceptive on a regular basis, hence his character tests.
Considering that he misses company and conversation and wouldn't mind the company of an alien, suggests strongly that there are not any of his kind in our galaxy and that the First Federation and its planets actually do not exist (in our galaxy).
For all we know the Fesarius could be a scientific exploration ship from another galaxy and Balok just occasionally contacts "natives" he finds interesting and are suitable for First Contact procedures of the First Federation.
For the same reasons he probably gives Klingons and Romulans a wide berth. I don't think he has any interest on getting involved in any political conflicts in our galaxy (sort of a Prime Directive of the First Federation?) which could also explain why we never heard or saw him or other members of his species ever again.
Bob
IMHO, Balok expresses rather human than alien behaviour. Since the real Balok does not look intimidating to other humanoids, Balok is obviously using deception ("appearances can be deceiving") on a regular basis.
I'd dare to say that therefore he is a little paranoid and suspects other sentient beings also to be deceptive on a regular basis, hence his character tests.
Considering that he misses company and conversation and wouldn't mind the company of an alien, suggests strongly that there are not any of his kind in our galaxy and that the First Federation and its planets actually do not exist (in our galaxy).
For all we know the Fesarius could be a scientific exploration ship from another galaxy and Balok just occasionally contacts "natives" he finds interesting and are suitable for First Contact procedures of the First Federation.
For the same reasons he probably gives Klingons and Romulans a wide berth. I don't think he has any interest on getting involved in any political conflicts in our galaxy (sort of a Prime Directive of the First Federation?) which could also explain why we never heard or saw him or other members of his species ever again.
Bob
Interesting thoughts. This might also lead to an explanation, as to why Balok is travelling in such an extremely huge ship all by himself: The Fesarius may just be filled with generators, drive systems and fuel to create the enormous speed necessary to travel between galaxies, with Balok´s little tow ship containing the only habitable space.
Still odd, that the First Federation would send a single person, though ...
Mario
Still odd, that the First Federation would send a single person, though ...
Mario
Like I said, I think the episode itself made it clear that the First Federation's approach to new contacts entails putting on a big bluff -- making an intimidating show to conceal how small and harmless they actually are. Balok presented himself as the scary cadaverous guy with the deep menacing voice, but then turned out to be this cheerful, child-sized guy. By the same token, the Fesarius's bulk was probably mostly for show.
Excellent observations, Bob. The ambiguity of "Corbomite Maneuver" is one of the reasons I like the episode so much. Taken literally and going only by what is seen in the episode, Balok is a diminutive, human-like creature in both appearance and behavior. Aesthestically, the episode is all about humanity, where Balok is mere symbolism that the audience will understand.
James P. Hogan posited a lifeform in his "GIANTS" series whose biology never evolved deception and suspicion. Without going into detail, humans are an enigma, and the Giants employ one group of humans to help them understand another group.
Whether you want to view "Corbomite" literally or allegorically, one might argue that Balok does not innately have a wary disposition, but may have learned it from past experience, personal or racial. The Franken-Balok doll seemed custom-made to frighten humans, which makes me wonder if the Balok we saw offering tranya was any less an illusion?
[Mental projection, like the Talosians or Melkotians, sophisticated android, metamorph—take your pick. But was that really Balok's true appearance? In the climax of the novel 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, Clarke describes the evolution of the aliens who left the monolith:
Was the Fesarius the real Balok?]
Gaa someone put his head on a pike! 
That thing could use some restoration. What's that made of? Wood? Some kind of plaster? Or, wait, maybe melamine? The cracks do remind me of some old dinner plates I used to have.
That thing could use some restoration. What's that made of? Wood? Some kind of plaster? Or, wait, maybe melamine? The cracks do remind me of some old dinner plates I used to have.
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Foam rubber with a heavy layer of paint. The rubber is slowly rotting thus causing the long dried paint to crack with a "dried lake bed" pattern. One can see the same "aging" upon Harryhausen's animation figures.
Sincerely,
Bill
Oh, of course, foam rubber. I can see it now. I'm so bad at this...
I don't know what it is about certain types of rubber. A friend of mine dug up a fifteen or twenty year old rubber head mask he has, what with Halloween coming up, and the thing is just crumbling away! 
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