A Private Little Right Wing War

[Kegg]

^
McCoy is, as always, the voice of compassion.

I remember reading somewhere that the Next Generation episode "Too Short A Season" was originally supposed to be about this conflict - back when that plot was intended to feature William Shatner as a guest star.

Since the episode as is makes much of an elderly Admiral's tortured reaction to an ugly situation he's implicated in, it might have provided an interesting coda for this episode, after the point Vietnam was already a matter of history.

But yes, the episode's ending is unusual for Star Trek. Even in episodes where Kirk makes bold, risky moves - like "A Taste of Armageddon", which was also intended as a Vietnam alelgory (Eminiar and Vendikar... stare at those words for a few minutes and get back to me) Kirk has little doubt that his upsetting of a social order centuries in the making will have a largely positive result.

That episode, incidentally, can also be seen as a little more critical of Vietnam, in the way the war was killing Americans daily without so much as touching a single building in the country.

Upsetting the delicate equilbriums with aplomb is something Kirk does a lot. Eden imagery is used in "The Apple" too, but here the role of the starship crew as the snakes doesn't bother Kirk in the slightest - the immortal child-life of the computer-lead beings is simply no way to live, and he'll show them why.

One could express reservations about Kirk's solutions to either episode's problems, but it's only in "A Private Little War" that Kirk himself expresses reservations. Which I would see as one of the episode's strong points, even if it means it's not the most optimistic viewing for the program.

Imagine seeing several constitution type starships around the planet, barring the Klingons from getting access.

1. The money simply didn't exist for what you propose above.

Really? I could see the series doing a blockade of starships the same way they showed ships during "The Ultimate Computer", the same effect of the Enterprise flying at the camera repeated four times.

More unusual is the idea of a two-parter. The only two parter episode the series ever did was out of necessity; they wanted to dump the pilot episode on viewers, but it needed a wraparound story, and as a result they needed two episodes... but besides that necessity Star Trek never touched the idea.

 

[Yevetha]

I disagree with the title.

it wasnt just a right wing war, LBJ was a democrat.

While it's very true that most of American's 20th century major military actions were perpetuated by Democrats (Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman, Johnson, Clinton) I don't think we should really get into the political-position debate about which party is more militaristic than the other on this forum. Save it for TNZ.

TNZ?

What is that?

 

[Vance]

You see there is unease with "Kirk's solution," but no one is able to come up with a better one or a more workable one. And I think that is an intentional aspect of the episode with its somewhat downbeat ending: nobody is happy with this solution because all options are bad and Kirk's may just be the least worst.

Succinctly, there is no rosy and ideal solution with a requisite shared chuckle at the end. This thing is likely to get messier before it gets better, and Kirk is well aware of it.

And to follow up. The OP said that this wasn't a "Star Trek" solution and I have to disagree with that. This wasn't a TNG-ENT solution, but it's perfectly in line with the TOS handling of potent issues. Sometimes you really do have to deal with things the best you can.

TOS had a surprising number of 'unhappy' or 'uncomfortable' endings over its run. This ranges from having to let Edith Keeler die, to the arming of Tyree, to the death of Doctor Severin, to the racial annihilation of those 'left-whites'. Sometimes TOS was glorious just for saying "This shit sucks, but this is all we can do."

TNG would have 'solved' these problems with some technobabble, probably involving Wesley, and then with a brief pontifaction from Picard. In my opinion, it's one reason why TOS still holds up fairly well in its stories, while far more recent fare simply does not.

 

[Warped9]

You see there is unease with "Kirk's solution," but no one is able to come up with a better one or a more workable one. And I think that is an intentional aspect of the episode with its somewhat downbeat ending: nobody is happy with this solution because all options are bad and Kirk's may just be the least worst.

Succinctly, there is no rosy and ideal solution with a requisite shared chuckle at the end. This thing is likely to get messier before it gets better, and Kirk is well aware of it.

And to follow up. The OP said that this wasn't a "Star Trek" solution and I have to disagree with that. This wasn't a TNG-ENT solution, but it's perfectly in line with the TOS handling of potent issues. Sometimes you really do have to deal with things the best you can.

TOS had a surprising number of 'unhappy' or 'uncomfortable' endings over its run. This ranges from having to let Edith Keeler die, to the arming of Tyree, to the death of Doctor Severin, to the racial annihilation of those 'left-whites'. Sometimes TOS was glorious just for saying "This shit sucks, but this is all we can do."

TNG would have 'solved' these problems with some technobabble, probably involving Wesley, and then with a brief pontifaction from Picard. In my opinion, it's one reason why TOS still holds up fairly well in its stories, while far more recent fare simply does not.

Well said.

 

[toonloon]

Good points Warped, but they managed to bring about an interesting conclusion to the Eminiar/Vendikar war with more peaceful actions (if blowing up their servers counts as being peaceful).

I know you aren't a fan of later Treks and I take your point... it's a good one. But I stand by my point that this episode doesn't look to me like it was written by the same guy who created a Horta monster then turned the story on it's head by making the monster sympathetic. Maybe Coon didn't like the way GR wrote up this episode and that's why he used his pseudonym. This episode does remind me of Omega Glory in some ways. Maybe those are GR's influences.

 

[BillJ]

Does no one else agree with me that Dr. McCoy seems to be the only voice of reason in this?

Unfortunately, it's the voice of reason that would get the hill people annihilated. Unless there is a way to erase the technological progress introduced by the Klingons, McCoy's view simply isn't practical.

 

[toonloon]

Why not send in a security detail to destroy the weapons cache? Then nobody has any weapons. Then they could chase off the klingons and monitor the planet on a regular basis.

BTW, I checked at the Orion Press and they don't have a treatment for this episode. I was curious to see if there were many changes to the script.

 

[BillJ]

Why not send in a security detail to destroy the weapons cache? Then nobody has any weapons. Then they could chase off the klingons and monitor the planet on a regular basis.

BTW, I checked at the Orion Press and they don't have a treatment for this episode. I was curious to see if there were many changes to the script.

Depends on how widely distributed the weapons are. Then you have the question of whether the Klingons are manufacturing them or have they shown the villagers how to make them. It's a genie that is almost impossible to put back in the bottle.

Then what gives you the right? The Klingons have just as much right to a planet in open space as the Federation does.

Then you have the fact that Neural becomes a Federation protectorate. All the Klingons have to do is find dozens of pre-industrial worlds to tinker with and they spread your forces to thin to monitor those worlds and protect the Federation.

 

[Vance]

Why not send in a security detail to destroy the weapons cache? Then nobody has any weapons. Then they could chase off the klingons and monitor the planet on a regular basis.

Because, again, they weren't allowed to confront the Klingons directly, and it would, at best, be a short term solution. The Klingons could simply beam in a few hundred 'authentic' rifles into to village in a blockade run... and if the Federation were to try to stop the runner with force of arms...

IE, you get the war that Kirk was explicitly trying to avoid. Short of the Organian treaty collapsing (since the Organian's motivation for the treaty was telling both sides to 'sod off', they weren't really its enforcers), this was the only viable solution available.

 

[Warped9]

The treaty (whatever treaty they may be referring to) states the Klingons have right of access to the planet. You can't arbitrarily bar them from it. You can't accuse them of violating the Prime Directive because the Klingons have no such policy. This is their way of cultural development---survival of the strong and most clever and cunning by whatever means at hand.

And if you just grab the weapons cache then what's to stop the Klingons from providing another? Furthermore the fruit of knowledge has already been bitten in that the villagers now already know about how to make firearms. The only difference without the Klingons would likely be slower development of the technology.

The well has already been poisoned even if and/or when the Klingons tire of the primitive arms race and pull out. Then the inhabitants will be left to sort it all out on their own. Nice, eh?

 

[toonloon]

Okay... so what happens when Tyrees men have Scotty's rifles and they know how to make them and the Klingons give the others another upgrade? What happens next? I didn't get the impression Kirk was going to stick around to maintain the balance of power. He was only redressing it temporarily.

 

[Vance]

Okay... so what happens when Tyrees men have Scotty's rifles and they know how to make them and the Klingons give the others another upgrade? What happens next? I didn't get the impression Kirk was going to stick around to maintain the balance of power. He was only redressing it temporarily.

Explcitly stated in the episode. "Then we give them EXACTLY what the Klingons gave them to maintain that BALANCE... OF... POWER!"

The Enterprise doesn't have to do it. I can easily see a couple of gun-transports (so to speak) handling the job if the need arises. Kirk reports the situation to the Federation, the Federation sends out the "USS Give'm'flintlocks" along with the "USS Shootthebadguys" as an escort to handle the long term logistics.

Our heroes them move on to deal with the next mess.

 

[BillJ]

Okay... so what happens when Tyrees men have Scotty's rifles and they know how to make them and the Klingons give the others another upgrade? What happens next? I didn't get the impression Kirk was going to stick around to maintain the balance of power. He was only redressing it temporarily.

Technological advances don't stay secret for long. As they fight, Tyree's people will more than likely capture some of those advanced arms and also begin to make improvements of their own.

Unless the Klingons introduce Tanks, Machine Guns and Phasers, I think Tyree's people will be able to keep up enough to ensure a stalemate on the technology front.

 

[Warped9]

Also once the hill people learn how to make the guns just like the villagers then the arms race really gets going. Mix in the inevitable personal motives for personal revenge for such and such crimes by the enemy and you have one swell protracted party.

Hmm...I wonder if this is what Kahless really had in mind for his race?---supplying weapons to a bunch of primitives. Yep, lots of honour and glory in that.

 

[Jonas Grumby]

The OP said that this wasn't a "Star Trek" solution and I have to disagree with that. This wasn't a TNG-ENT solution, but it's perfectly in line with the TOS handling of potent issues.

 

[Warped9]

Okay, if Kirk's solution isn't acceptable then...

What would Picard have done? What would Sisko have done? What would Janeway have done? What would Archer have done?

 

[BillJ]

Okay, if Kirk's solution isn't acceptable then...

What would Picard have done? What would Sisko have done? What would Janeway have done? What would Archer have done?

I think the Prime Directive would demand they somehow balance the scales.

 

[Vance]

I think the Prime Directive would demand they somehow balance the scales.

Er... "How", I think is the question here. Saying "well, they would have had some solution smoehow" isn't an answer.

Plus, the Prime Directive explicitly no longer applies since the Klingons are interfering with the planet. That Picardism to justify moral-inaction doesn't work in this situation.

 

[Warped9]

I could see Picard and the rest trying to think of a way of embarrassing the Klingons in such a way that they immediately pull out. But wouldn't the hill people still need to have the same knowledge as the villagers to restore the status quo? Hmm...doesn't sound all that different...except Picard, Janeway or Archer would have some pithy little tut-tutting speech to slip in at the end.

 

[Christopher]

If you want me to provide one then I've suggested quarantine might have been a way to do it. It's a bit weak but they could have contacted the Organians and used them to intervene, or perhaps the Organians should have stopped Kirk and the Klingons from arming both sides.

I don't think that would have worked. People seem to have this impression of the Organians as activists, constantly monitoring both powers and stepping in to stop them if they fired so much as a single shot. But that ignores what we were explicitly and repeatedly told in "Errand of Mercy" itself: that the Organians find it extremely painful to interact with mere mortals on the level of humans and Klingons, that they want nothing to do with either of them, and that the only reason they intervened was because the war came directly to their planet and was annoying them. Essentially the whole thing was the godlike-alien equivalent of "Hey, you dang kids, get off my lawn!" So I figure they'd have no interest in getting involved in any Federation-Klingon dispute that didn't involve them directly. Which is borne out by the fact that we never actually saw the Organians intervening in UFP-Klingon conflicts after this. A number of tie-in tales have offered explanations for why the Organians stopped intervening, but really, the explanation is clearly given in "Errand" itself -- they have no interest in intervening unless they have absolutely no choice, unless it's their own affairs that are being disrupted.

So if someone went to the Organians and asked them to get involved in a petty dispute between humanoids on some planet they didn't care about, they would've just said, "Get away, boy, you bother me." Albeit more politely.

Does no one else agree with me that Dr. McCoy seems to be the only voice of reason in this?

Kirk is often portrayed, especially in Gene Coon scripts, as thinking like a soldier first. Normally, as in "The Devil in the Dark" or "Arena" (which, let's face it, are basically the same story in a lot of ways), Spock is the one who counters Kirk's military thinking and advocates the more peaceful side of the argument, but here Spock is out of action so it's McCoy's turn to be the anti-war advocate.