Best of Both Worlds as a TOS Episode

Suppose the Borg had come along in TOS year 4. Would Shatner have been willing to play the role Picard did in "The Best of Both Worlds"? (Implied TNG spoilers follow)

Shatner had some behind-the-scenes power in TOS. If it were today, he'd have a producer credit (like many TV stars now). Would he have said...

- Kirk can be captured, but I don't want to be rescued by Sulu and Chekov. They aren't the stars.

- I don't want to be brought back to the Enterprise like a parcel, while I'm still under alien control. I have to escape on my own and be the hero.

- Maybe I bring the Borg system down with clever illogic.

- I don't want you putting stuff on my face. No white make-up, no Borg appliances.

So, this could have been a really good TOS episode, but much as I love Shatner as Kirk, would he have been up for it?

He and Patrick Stewart were very different actors. If anything, I think Stewart, in a subversive way, wanted to see Picard taken down a peg, whereas Shatner wanted Kirk to be Large and in Charge. Whole different ethos.

 

I suspect that Shatner would've been alright with the Borg makeup, provided that he was recognisable in it. But I'll agree that Shatner's ego would've demanded a very different kind of Borg effect on his character and an entirely different kind of rescue, altogether, than in Picard's narrative. UNLESS ... unless ... Shatner were permitted to direct. Then, he might be more available for discussion, regarding the other aspects you mentioned.

 

"His mind. He is an extremely dynamic individual."
—Spock, "The Paradise Syndrome"

The Borg would have gotten nowhere with Kirk.

 

A lot is made of Shatner's ego, but many have said that above all he was a professional. Given the right materiel and good direction he could have pulled it off. There is ample example of Shatner's talent.

Shatner knew that while Kirk was something of a classic hero he also knew he was flawed. "Obsession" and a few other episodes don't always paint Kirk in a positive light.

 

I could picture Spock in the Picard Locutus role more than Kirk (closing scene.. "Mr Chekov..Fire!" *Sol Kaplan blast* / *to be continued*)

 

This is exactly what I was going to say. Spock in the Locutus role and Kirk and McCoy struggling with their options and having to fire on him would be far more interesting.

In any case, I also think the "Shatner ego" thing is bandied about too much. He was a professional, and I'm sure he would have played the role just fine.

 

How about Spock and Bones? Just like in The Paradise Syndrome. And isn't there an ep where Kirk spends a big chunk of it flat on his back in sickbay?

Old age make-up in The Deadly Years.

 

Kirk would have seduced the Borg Queen and made her see the error of her ways.

 

If following TBOBW to any degree, McCoy would remain on the 1701, trying to figure out a way to restore the captain, while Spock and probably Sulu and the main guest star rescue Kirk.

No, since as late as season three, he was not responsible for his rescue in "The Tholian Web," but is there any record of complaints about that? In the end, that did not hurt the image of the character--or the actor at all.

Why not? Post TOS, he never had an issue with any kind of role, and yes, I know he was the star of a series, so there's more personal interest / investment, but when has he ever found himself afraid of a challenge?

 

Well... that, and Tosk's reference to unflattering make-up in "The Deadly Years", puts a dent in my thesis.

Nimoy acting mindless with gadgets on his head would be too much like "Spock's Brain". They wouldn't do it.

But imagine if they could have filmed "The Best of Both Worlds" as a two-parter in year 3-- instead of "Spock's Brain" and "And the Children Shall Lead". That could have been pretty good.

Or: BoBW would have made a better first film than TMP.

 

I bet they would. There have been TOS episodes which had a lot of similarities to others. Such as episodes where Starfleet has contaminated a planet which becomes a snapshot of Earth's history from a certain era, be it mobsters or Nazis. And the first Star Trek film was a rehash of a Star Trek episode. I don't think they were hell bent on never repeating themselves.

 

I think Shatner as a borg wouldn't be very impressive. He would just be wooden. Not knocking the actor, Shatner is good when he has a bit of passion about him. Stewart is good at playing things straight, he got the cold, tunnel vision malevolence to a tee.

Spock is already unemotional as a way of life and as an identity; him being a borg isn't that much of a leap. That's my first impression of this anyway.

 

The Battle of Wolf 359 would have been different..TOS ships took a lickin and kept on tickin..

 

Picturing Shatner playing Locutus of Borg is quite humorous lol

 

If the Borg appeared the same way they first did in TNG (via the TNG episode "Q-Who") - you would have had the same situation because (unlike P{card) onece the Borg damaged/cut into the 1701's hull - James T. Kirk WOULD NOT have stopped firing until the Borg Cube was destroyed - so it may be that the Borg would never really know where 'Humans/The Federation was located in the Galaxy.

(IE I'm assuming Kirk would have destroyed the Cube fast enough that it really couldn't get a report off to "The Collective".)

Kirk SURE AS HELL wouldn't have called for a staff conference in the middle of a battle like Picard basically did.

 

Pretty sure a single Federation ship couldn't destroy a borg cube just by firing some photon torpedoes at it

 

Go rewatch TNG's "Q-Who".

Picard could have destroyed the first Cube he encountered, BUT - he stopped firing when it was 78% destroyed - called a Staff Conference and gave the Cube time to regenerate.

 

An episode where:

1. Computer Technology Bad
2. Captain is effectively removed by computer
3. A bunch of ships get nuked
4. They beat it in the end by appealing to the machine weaknesses

...like this? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ultimate_Computer

 

Hmmmmm, seems odd when a huge Federation fleet got taken out by one in The Best of Both Worlds and another big fleet was losing the battle against one in First Contact until Picard gave them some "insider" tips. But then again the Borg never seemed that tough on Voyager, so they could be inconsistent in terms of how powerful they were.

 

They learn to adapt. It's kind of their thing.