The Ultimate Computer is one of the better episodes of season 2. Good story, Kirk vs. the computer. Classic Star Trek theme. I ,like most commentators was always irritated by Bob Wesley anger at Kirk for the attack on the four federation star ships. How can he not be aware that it is the M-5 doing? Kirk cannot stop it. When I first saw this episode I was freaked out by the death of that ensign. It seemed like a horrible way to die. William Marshall was one of the better guest stars as Richard Daystrom. Strong character. Also good character moments between William Shatner, Deforest Kelly and Leonard Nimoy.
50th Anniversary Rewatch Thread
- Thread starter dahj
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It was a horrible way for "Harper" to go out, but he came back in his more familiar O'Neill persona, at least.
It's probably the most popular, as well as of the most benefit. If you want to make sure that the people serving under you all stand on the same footing, general basic knowledge-wise, then having them attend the same school system for even a little while helps. I expect that some war (and the fallout when your doctors/engineers didn't have the knowledge needed) may have had something to do with that
I always thought that not having William Marshall's voice as M-5 was a missed opportunity too!
JB
I'm a bit late with my review, I see a lot has been covered already, and a new one's out tomorrow, so I'll keep it brief, good guest star, and while it has a premise that has has been exploited over and over again in the years since, this was one of the first "AI goes mad" episodes. The suspense is well built, the crew's powerlessness is shocking and scary, and while the "Kirk murders the computer with words" moment is one of the weaker ones it doesn't detract much from this pretty decent episode.
There was a lot of Spock/McCoy banterous insulting in this one. At one point Spock even suggests regret that current computers can't produce something to replace the ship's surgeon, foreshadowing Voyager's EMH
There was a lot of Spock/McCoy banterous insulting in this one. At one point Spock even suggests regret that current computers can't produce something to replace the ship's surgeon, foreshadowing Voyager's EMH
They might have more to bond over than Spock and McCoy did, because both are the ones trying to become more Human.
Maybe they didn't wanna spoil(or make too obvious) the twist that the computer is based on Daystrom's brain.
Yes maybe!
JB
JB
I have no doubt they would be trained in the same system, but the same school seems like a stretch. In TNG "The Drumhead" they make it sound like enlisted personnel are trained at the Academy, too. Is one Earth facility actually filling all Starfleet's personnel needs? Maybe not, but that's the way they make it sound.
Historically wars have been the time where everyone realizes you can't be too fussy and there can be effective alternate paths to utilize or develop the needed skills. The Naval Academy supplied less than 1% of US Navy officers in WW2.
I get the impression that McCoy and Scotty did go through the Academy because of McCoy's non-military behaviour and because of what Scotty said in "Devil in the Dark". That doesn't mean that they are any less capable. They may even be more capable because of their all-round experience.
I worked with an Army unit with people who were Academy trained and some who had joined after they had got their degrees. I got on better with the ones who had joined later. The former were a bit full of their own importance not having ever been in the "real-world". Maybe in war-time the fully Academy trained personnel would be better. Who knows?
Hey guys, we've run into the planet of the Romans!
And they've got magazines! All the stuff being advertised is conveniently named after Roman gods... Jupiter car, Neptune bath salts, etc. and those names work in our world where those gods are dead for ~1700 years, but over there they're supposedly still the dominant religion, so that would be like Ford was marketing a Jesus 8 pick-up truck these days...
The away mission starts with the description of everything they can't do under the Prime Directive, and then they bend every one of those stipulations. They can't say they're aliens, but in the very next scene Kirk's doing his best to make Septimus get the clue, they display their advanced technology and Scotty even saves the day with some orbital powerbending. In a way this is a more realistic look at how it would work in practice, latter series went a bit overboard with the whole "if one person sees funny looking ears their society is doomed forever!"
The Spock/McCoy banter is amped up again, but while last week's theme of computers provided a springboard for the insults to come naturally their bickering seems a bit forced at times here.
Throughout the episode Kirk's all cool and collected and this would have been a nice example how he upholds the greatest Starfleet principles and training and whatnot if he didn't then go and sleep with a slave who was ordered to sleep with him by her master, placing himself decidedly in the sleazily disgusting category for the week.
Speaking of slaves, here they get health insurance and pension, so in many ways(well... two, two ways) they're better off than most millennials today.
In the end everyone is happy how it's great that Christianity is about to kick off on the planet, but if it's so totally going to parallel the development on Earth it's basically "welcome to the Dark Ages with machine guns" for the inhabitants of that planet, not sure that's something to look forward too...
While the serious bits are kinda iffy here, the satire bits work(funny and still applicable in this day and age), and the guest cast is all pretty good, so overall a decent episode.
And they've got magazines! All the stuff being advertised is conveniently named after Roman gods... Jupiter car, Neptune bath salts, etc. and those names work in our world where those gods are dead for ~1700 years, but over there they're supposedly still the dominant religion, so that would be like Ford was marketing a Jesus 8 pick-up truck these days...
The away mission starts with the description of everything they can't do under the Prime Directive, and then they bend every one of those stipulations. They can't say they're aliens, but in the very next scene Kirk's doing his best to make Septimus get the clue, they display their advanced technology and Scotty even saves the day with some orbital powerbending. In a way this is a more realistic look at how it would work in practice, latter series went a bit overboard with the whole "if one person sees funny looking ears their society is doomed forever!"
The Spock/McCoy banter is amped up again, but while last week's theme of computers provided a springboard for the insults to come naturally their bickering seems a bit forced at times here.
Throughout the episode Kirk's all cool and collected and this would have been a nice example how he upholds the greatest Starfleet principles and training and whatnot if he didn't then go and sleep with a slave who was ordered to sleep with him by her master, placing himself decidedly in the sleazily disgusting category for the week.
Speaking of slaves, here they get health insurance and pension, so in many ways(well... two, two ways) they're better off than most millennials today.
In the end everyone is happy how it's great that Christianity is about to kick off on the planet, but if it's so totally going to parallel the development on Earth it's basically "welcome to the Dark Ages with machine guns" for the inhabitants of that planet, not sure that's something to look forward too...
While the serious bits are kinda iffy here, the satire bits work(funny and still applicable in this day and age), and the guest cast is all pretty good, so overall a decent episode.
I wonder why the official language of the Empire still isn't Latin. Or is it just because we needed to have the confusion between "sun" and "son", and "sol" and "filius" don't sound alike?
They say Rome had no sun worshippers, but they were pagan. Didn't they have a god of the sun? Apollo for instance?
So some of Merrik's men are still alive among the population of the Empire? And are we going to do anything about rescuing them?
Kirk looked pretty good in that slave shirt. I wonder if they sell those.
It was cool to see two moons in the sky when they beamed down and then see two moons when they showed the Enterprise orbiting the planet.
I feel like Spock should have been able to beat his opponent much sooner. He's had Starfleet training and superior strength.
"They threw me a few curves." Yes, she did have some.
It's actually not clear whether Kirk did sleep with the slave girl.
Shooting a jail cell lock with a machine gun seems really really dangerous for all involved to me. I'm not even sure it would work.
So the Empire in every way is like 1960's Earth, but they have no nukes. Is that because they didn't have a WWII and so no motivation to develop them?
I'm no historian, but they're making it sound like Christianity made the Roman Empire peaceful which doesn't seem to ring true to me.
They say Rome had no sun worshippers, but they were pagan. Didn't they have a god of the sun? Apollo for instance?
So some of Merrik's men are still alive among the population of the Empire? And are we going to do anything about rescuing them?
Kirk looked pretty good in that slave shirt. I wonder if they sell those.
It was cool to see two moons in the sky when they beamed down and then see two moons when they showed the Enterprise orbiting the planet.
I feel like Spock should have been able to beat his opponent much sooner. He's had Starfleet training and superior strength.
"They threw me a few curves." Yes, she did have some.
It's actually not clear whether Kirk did sleep with the slave girl.
Shooting a jail cell lock with a machine gun seems really really dangerous for all involved to me. I'm not even sure it would work.
So the Empire in every way is like 1960's Earth, but they have no nukes. Is that because they didn't have a WWII and so no motivation to develop them?
I'm no historian, but they're making it sound like Christianity made the Roman Empire peaceful which doesn't seem to ring true to me.
Oh, yes it is.
At least if you were raised with a steady diet of films made under the Hays/Breen Production Code.
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Are the two moons present in the remastered version? I can't recall two moons in the original but I might be forgetting or experiencing the Mandela effect again? 
JB
JB
Pretty much that.
Yeah, the two moons are a remastered thing, there's no mooning in the regular version.
Ahh, what a shame, dodge!
JB
JB
I have a confession to make. I'm not as impressed by "TOS" as I used to be when I was a kid. I think I may have been spoiled by the 24th century shows - "TNG", "DS9" and "VOY".
After watching those series, it became easier for me to spot the serious flaws in "TOS". Don't get me wrong. It's a good series and it featured some top notch episodes. But my opinion of it as a whole is not as high as it used to be.
After watching those series, it became easier for me to spot the serious flaws in "TOS". Don't get me wrong. It's a good series and it featured some top notch episodes. But my opinion of it as a whole is not as high as it used to be.
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