Arena: Cestus III Fortress Set

Awesome thread.

I think that's got to be Star Trek's best non-standard (i.e., not on the Enterprise) set/set dressing ever. Check out the sign (Life Support Ramp 3 Level K) implying that what still stood was part a much larger facility. There also seem to be shattered Starfleet-style (or maybe UFP-style) doorframes here and there. I think there are a couple of globes standing as though they were part of a grand entrance, flanking a doorway, a path, or an entrance of some kind.

Fantastic.

 

Those are some big balls they have there. It must have taken some effort to get those blue balls out there - and up there, since the two decorating the tops of the columns seem to be physically present, too.

So...

1) What are these things supposed to be, in the Star Trek universe?
2) What are these things supposed to be, fer real?

Since their function in-universe is so undetermined, it's a bit unlikely they were manufactured specifically for this purpose. So where does one get props that are big, more or less spherical, yet with a deliberately uneven papier-mache surface finish? Were these supposed to crush hapless archaeologists / grave robbers when let roll along an ancient corridor?

Timo Saloniemi

 

The Big Blue Balls:
My guess was that they're supposed to be some part of the knocked out offensive or defensive systems of the outpost.
Deflector screens or shields (whatever the difference between the two is.)
We've seen large phaser emitters (in The Cage) have big metallic globes on them. Maybe that's it?

And, while the wall wouldn't keep out a technological opponent, it's obviously formidable, so perhaps there's some aggressive animal life on the planet? The crenellations on top of the wall tell me that whatever they're built to defend against may have ranged weapons. (Why else would you need those battlements?)

Either that, or that's the standard wall that the Federation puts up around Any similar outpost?

Scott (Sheer Speculation) Kellogg

 

Might be a standard wall. Might be a projecting system for the forcefield dome you put on top of your outposts, to be activated when baddies start bombarding. Or just the foundation for the physical dome you erect to keep this Class K planet from being a health hazard in the long term (but the dome was combustible or something, and disappeared basically without a trace in the fighting).

The latter two rationalizations would require, and allow for, obvious fake-19th-century defensive technology features to be interpreted as parts of different technologies altogether.

...OTOH, perhaps the walls were already there when humans first landed, and the Feds just stubbornly refused to admit they had anything to do with the scores of giant lizard skeletons found around them.

Having the balls be forcefield projectors might require us to think those were more evenly spread than we saw, perhaps. And to turn a blind eye to the unwelcome commonality with the Star Wars universe on how shields get projected. Interpreting them as giant phaser turrets makes sense in that defending the gates could be a priority, while having one for anti-starship fighting but located where no ground threat outside the walls can get to it would be prudent as well. They'd be DSC-style high tech, then, essentially cordless and free-floating and whatnot. But blue, which is an important characteristic of 2250s high tech!

In set construction terms, spheres are a chore to pack in a van, in comparison with the flat wall and doorway elements we see. But they give good visual value. Perhaps erecting them out of scratch would have been worth the while, and the failure to build smooth ones using the quick-and-dirty techniques involved could be turned from a bug into a scifi feature of some sort.

Timo Saloniemi

 

There are at least three such signs.
https://tos.trekcore.com/gallery/albums/1x18/Arena_016.JPG
The life support one appears to be in the middle.
https://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x18hd/arenahd039.jpg
https://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x18hd/arenahd065.jpg

 

My guess is they inflated some big spherical balloons, slapped on some papier-mache, then painted them blue.

Looking at screencaps from Arena itself, the top of the wall is no longer crenellated, it looks like the production covered them. The top now appears more decorative than functional, so I guess we can go with aggressive animal life being the reason for the wall.

 

I see a forth sign, something like "Environmental ???? Ramp ? Level ?, ?"
https://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/1x18hd/arenahd125.jpg

 

While futuristic, the signs in themselves aren't futuristic enough: it would make very little sense to specify "level" in a sign of that sort if "level"="floor" and there are half a dozen of those. Would each level have a separate staircase or what?

Rather, the signs would have to be display screens, displaying changing information, perhaps as requested, perhaps in the style of mall infoscreens. "This way to Life Support (now 70% off!)"; "Take Me To Level 5 For A Good Time"; "Replicators are waiting for you on level 3".

Timo Saloniemi

 

Love the telephone poles. And they didn't erase them in the HD versions. Oops.

They did rather pointlessly extend the base outside the walls, as if you would notice unless you studied a freeze-frame.

 

Ah, great catch - I never noticed the "Residential Area" one! Obligatory "I love this board" announcement!

 

Never saw that one either! Too distracted by the fantastic action - that has got to be among the best action pieces in Star Trek, too, if not definitely the best (well - apart from ship-to-ship combat and tense bridge scenes and stuff).

Also, Spock's nice toss of the tricorder-turned-firecracker there was the most athletic move we ever saw him make. Nice form by Nimoy, too. I think he nailed the runner at second.

 

“They’ve locked onto my tricorder”, and he then goes on to explain how the Gorn made it explode. Classic Spock.

 

The "lilt" Nimoy gives to that line suggests incredulous surprise. If human and British, I would expected him to include, "...the cheek!"

BTW, Scott, welcome to the board!

(Kellogg and I go back around 20 years involving web comics.)

 

Howdy Redfern!
Thanks, I think I'm going to enjoy it here.
Good to hear from you!

Scott

 

Exactly! I mean, the writers, director, and actors really outdid themselves there. The whole Cestus III scene is just amazing, with immediate and instinctive (and effective) small unit tactics by Kirk, the marvelous zigzag run by Shatner WHERE HE ACTUALLY FLIPS OPEN HIS COMMUNICATOR to continue the conversation with Sulu right at the end of a roll (), the Gorn getting Lang (RIP) offscreen but not Kelowitz, the different armament for the tactical team as opposed to the three top officers (my username should check out for fascination with landing party equipment), Spock's tricorder suddenly starting to smoke - I mean, who thinks of these sorts of awesome details in modern TV? - Kelowitz's tactical opinion, and I could go on and on.

Yes - great line delivery by Nimoy. And again, good arm. I've always noted that Kirk evinces no panic and does not order Spock to do anything about the tricorder, confident that his first officer has it under control.

 

...Indeed. Too bad Lang decided to take cover in that very shellhole at that very time.

Amidst all this competence porn, what the heroes fail to consider is the fact that the enemy isn't really making much of an effort. If they can eliminate Kirk's redshirt escort at a distance, why aren't they sniping down the entire landing party? And if they want to blow 'em up, why don't they fire at them with those explosives, or apply bigger ones?

Seems there's only one conclusion to be made: the whole point of the ambush is that they want to capture Kirk and his tactical people alive for interrogation (but have too little advance intel to do the ambush in situ, not knowing the strength at which Kirk will beam down, and thus choose hilltop positions instead). Which would give Kirk an advantage, however slim. But perhaps the heroes already take that for granted, being smart and all, and only the audience is left wondering.

Timo Saloniemi

 

Yes! It's very much one of my favorite battle sequences. Gene Coon who wrote it, was in the Marines, and it shows here as well as some of the episodes of "COMBAT!" that he wrote.

The only thing I'd be tempted to put in would be Kirk calling down fire from orbit, but it was an early episode and I don't think they'd figured out they could do that yet. (Besides, the punchline to the scene was Kirk firing the Mortar/Grenade Launcher. and I wouldn't want to change that.)

Scott

 

Kirk is apparently very worried that Sulu isn't experienced enough to fight the fight at hand (so much indeed that Spock has to try and convince him of the opposite!). Laying down ground support fire might compromise the starship's position just as dropping shields would, by restricting maneuvering or something...

Timo Saloniemi

 

It might've taken too long to move the ship into firing position over the site.

Although it stands to reason that the ship would maintain a forced synchronous orbit to stay in transporter range. Normal synchronous orbit around an Earth-sized planet would be outside of TOS-era transporter range of 16,000 miles (IIRC), so it'd have to be a forced/powered orbit lower down. Which might be why the Enterprise in TOS kept "falling out of orbit" when it lost power.