Arena

[startrekrcks]

Why did you dislike Arena was it a terrible episode?

 

[MikeS]

Hi StarTrekRcks.

Who was that question aimed at?

 

[Klingon Empire]

Probably me.

Well, Startrekrcks, I sometimes get a bad feeling about vertain eps, like it's my stomach saying "No, you won't like this". When I go against that feeling, I usually won't like the thing that I'm watching. That was the case with Arena, just so you know

 

[cwnorma]

How do they make an appearance? Inquisitive about this as we are definitely given the impression in "Arena" that this is a first contact situation between Hoo-mans and Fer.. sorry, Gorn.

In the two part Enterprise episode "In a Mirror Darkly" a Gorn battles with mirror-Archer on the Defiant.

The episode takes place in the Mirror Universe, so Non-Mirror Universe continuity is not affected.

 

[MikeS]

How do they make an appearance? Inquisitive about this as we are definitely given the impression in "Arena" that this is a first contact situation between Hoo-mans and Fer.. sorry, Gorn.

In the two part Enterprise episode "In a Mirror Darkly" a Gorn battles with mirror-Archer on the Defiant.

The episode takes place in the Mirror Universe, so Non-Mirror Universe continuity is not affected.

Thanks

That was a good ENT episode. I'm surprised I don't remember the Gorn.

 

[Keith1701]

This has always been one of my favorite first season episodes. And you're right about the Gorn destroying the loser seeming a little off. In James Blish's adaptation he must have been working with an earlier script because in his story the Metron tells Kirk outright that he/she was lying earlier and that it was the winner that they intended to destroy all along because they would be the greater threat. Kirk's act of compassion surprised the Metrons and left them with no clear winner. So the Metrons changed their minds. The Metrons offered to destroy the Gorn in case they misinterpreted Kirk's motives and that by killing the Gorn that they'd be preserving the peace. Kirk asks them not to and that he'll give negotations a chance to work things out with the Gorn.

I also like how Kirk and Spock both have different attitudes about what to do with Gorn during the hot pursuit. Spock thinks that the hot pursuit alone will make the Gorn think twice (kind of like firing their phasers to scare in Galileo Seven instead of firing to kill the creatures.) Kirk is a little more hellbent on chasing and destroying them. As it turns out, the optimum solution was to chase them down and talk. Not scare or kill but talk. It flows in nicely with Kirk's statement in ST VI about them both being extremists and that reality is probably somewhere in between their viewpoints.

This has always been one of my favorite first season episodes.
I never get tried of watching TOS, I usually start out the New Year, by rewatching all the STAR TREK television series on DVD, of course I always start with TOS.

 

[ToddPence]

This episode's storyline certainly has proved popular. So much so that later science fiction series totally lifted it for segments of their own, including Space:1999 ("The Rules of Luton") and Blake's Seven ("The Duel.")

 

[cwnorma]

This episode's storyline certainly has proved popular. So much so that later science fiction series totally lifted it for segments of their own, including Space:1999 ("The Rules of Luton") and Blake's Seven ("The Duel.")

Gene Coon himself probably lifted it, title and all, from a 1944 short story by Fred Brown. Although in pure Hollywood fashion, he later claimed the similarities were coincidental.

 

[Maurice]

This episode's storyline certainly has proved popular. So much so that later science fiction series totally lifted it for segments of their own, including Space:1999 ("The Rules of Luton") and Blake's Seven ("The Duel.")

Gene Coon himself probably lifted it, title and all, from a 1944 short story by Fred Brown. Although in pure Hollywood fashion, he later claimed the similarities were coincidental.

Moot point, because they did license Brown's short story, so it was all legal and properly comprensated regardless.

 

[PhasersOnStun]

Great episode! Sure it had it's flaws but it kept the tension up, was exciting, and touched on the sometimes devastating repercussions of misunderstandings between cultures.

 

[trevanian]

This episode's storyline certainly has proved popular. So much so that later science fiction series totally lifted it for segments of their own, including Space:1999 ("The Rules of Luton") and Blake's Seven ("The Duel.")

Gene Coon himself probably lifted it, title and all, from a 1944 short story by Fred Brown. Although in pure Hollywood fashion, he later claimed the similarities were coincidental.

I've never seen any indication he made such a claim in a print source.

And I've tried to read everything by or about Coon.

He probably did do a partial lift on another show -- DEVIL IN THE DARK -- based on a George Clayton Johnson pitch, but even that is by no means certain.

 

[TheGornIdentity]

One of my favorite episodes. This episode had everything: lots of action, and obsessed Captain Kirk, a cool alien adversary, a little bit of space combat, and a Shat-Fu fist-fight.