Balance of Terror vs Arena

[PCz911]

Disclaimer: yes, I’m the last to notice

So I watched Arena and Balance of Terror back to back and… the set up for each was the same.

• Unprovoked attack
• Discussion of whether to chase/fight
• Decision to fight

However, the inflection point was different.

In balance, there was more discussion on whether or not to fight, whereas arena it was a quick decision to pursue and destroy.

Besides for drama/time saving, why would the decision process be so different?
* No stiles?
* The landing party was under direct attack?

Thoughts?

 

[Shawnster]

The Gorn used deceptive methods to lure the Enterprise into a trap. The deception revealed the aggressor had advanced tactical knowledge.


[Transporter room]
(Enterprise is in orbit of a planet)
KIRK: You'll enjoy Commodore Travers. He sets a good table.
MCCOY: I wonder if he brought his personal chef along with him to Cestus Three.
KIRK: Probably. Rank hath its privileges.
MCCOY: How well we both know that.
(Intercom whistles)
KIRK: Scotty. Kirk here.
TRAVERS [OC]: Travers, Jim. We're waiting.
KIRK: Good, Commodore. We're on our way.
TRAVERS [OC]: Be sure to bring along your tactical people. I've got an interesting problem for them.
KIRK: We'll beam down immediately, Commodore. Kirk out.
SPOCK: Captain. I wonder why he's insistent that our tactical aides come down.
KIRK: This colony is isolated, exposed, out on the edge of now here. He probably wants additional advice.
SPOCK: Perhaps, Captain, but nevertheless
MCCOY: Spock, isn't it enough the commodore is famous for his hospitality? I, for one, could use a good non-reconstituted meal.
SPOCK: Doctor, you are a sensualist.
MCCOY: You bet your pointed ears I am. Ready whenever you are, Captain.
(Six men, including one red shirt, get on the transporter platform)
KIRK: Energise.


They beamed down into a war zone. The Gorn impersonated Travers and called Kirk by name. Then encouraged the inclusion of the tactical officers in a planned decapitating blow against the Enterprise.

It was personal for Kirk.

In contrast, the Enterprise responded to Romulan aggression against a target other than the Enterprise. It wasn't as personal.

The Romulans were a somewhat known quantity despite the 100 year silence. There would be political ramifications. The potential was that the situation could turn into a second war. The Gorn were (at 1966) presented as an unknown with no prior history to draw from. Was this an isolated attack? Would defeating this ship quickly prevent escalation? The Romulans attacked more than 1 outpost.

 

[Spock's Barber]

Both episodes had a somewhat positive ending…

Arena had Kirk trying to save the Gorn’s life and to establish some type of understanding with them.

BOT had the Romulan Commander expressing that friendship with Kirk might have been possible in another time.

At least both aliens were intelligent and not just bugged eyed monsters or flying pancakes.

 

[Maurice]

Because one—BOT—had clear treaty consequences for actions taken. We know what constitutes an act of war under the treaty, so how do we respond and not give provocation for one? The other—Arena—was an unknown adversary and Kirk decided that it was better to make sure the ship never got home to demonstrate to whoever the attackers were that attacking Federation colonies was going to cost them. It was a calculated risk with an unknown.

 

[publiusr]

And you may have had non-combatants at Cestus III....had the Metrons played their hand in "Balance-" the world-weary Romulan Captain lives and those who fired on civilians destroyed instead.

 

[Canonical Continuity]

I'm more partial to "Arena" because I tend to double-heart love the episodes shot outdoors.

 

[Maurice]

And you may have had non-combatants at Cestus III....had the Metrons played their hand in "Balance-" the world-weary Romulan Captain lives and those who fired on civilians destroyed instead.

What?

 

[Gratty]

They are both among my top-tier favorites.

While there's some general similarity in that they both start off with being pulled into an unexpected fight, I don't see them as two sides of the same coin.

In “Arena,” Kirk certainly starts off looking for vengeance for what seemed like an unprovoked, vicious attack, and there cerainly were non-combatants among the victims - this was a colony, not just an automated lithium cracking station or listening post. I think it’s safe to say that Commodore Travers' personal chef was among the victims.

After the Metrons step in, he’s driven to survive, then chooses not to kill as he understands that the Gorn might see things differently. He doesn’t know that they do, but he accepts the possibility. Overcoming his anger, he won’t be forced to kill.

That point made a big impression on me when I first watched it as a kid - appreciating others’ viewpoints, even those of perceived enemies.

His choice is echoed later in “A Taste of Armageddon” when Kirk says "We can admit that we're killers, but we're not going to kill today. That's all it takes."

BTW my wife and I made a pilgrimage to Vazquez Rocks a while back. I felt like I was treading on sacred ground.

“Balance of Terror” also has an element of sympathy for the enemy - on both sides - while I see the story as more of a straightforward military action thriller, with a bit of bigotry and tragedy thrown in. Kirk is certainly willing to be merciful to his defeated enemy, but he’s still treating them as a defeated enemy, and would certainly have kept them as POWs per Starfleet protocols if the Romulan Commander hadn’t chosen self-destruction.

They’re both examples of some of the best Star Trek ever had to offer, bringing humanity and compassion to the final frontier.

cheers

 

[Gratty]

* No stiles?

Interesting question. My first thought is that it would take away the whole bigotry angle, not to mention a little bit of historical perspective. I'd like to keep thinking about it. If nothing else, it's a good excuse to watch it again. It's been almost a whole month since I watched it last!

Side note: Stiles always reminds me of Dave Bailey from "The Corbomite Maneuver." They're not twins or anything, but both offer unsolicited opinions.

I love it when Bailey suggests that they "blast it" and Kirk replies, "I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Bailey... when this becomes a democracy."

 

[No Grave Dug]

...Arena had Kirk trying to save the Gorn’s life and to establish some type of understanding with them...

I wouldn't say Kirk was trying to save the Gorn's life...more than he wouldn't go through with outright killing him - which per the Metron's earlier communication wax the only way to save himself and his ship/crew.

Kirk also turned down the Metron's offer of killing the Gorn Captain for Kirk.

 

[Spock's Barber]

I wouldn't say Kirk was trying to save the Gorn's life...more than he wouldn't go through with outright killing him - which per the Metron's earlier communication wax the only way to save himself and his ship/crew.

Kirk also turned down the Metron's offer of killing the Gorn Captain for Kirk.

Starfleet apples and oranges….

 

[TheAdmiralty]

There were much bigger consequences to potentially fighting the Romulans, intergalactic war with millions dead.

 

[The QyptiQonundrum]

And you may have had non-combatants at Cestus III....had the Metrons played their hand in "Balance-" the world-weary Romulan Captain lives and those who fired on civilians destroyed instead.

And would feel like a redo of the Organians from "Errand of Mercy". I love how a similar trope could be taken in so many directions and feel original and its own thing. (TOS sometimes has its tropes and influences feeling a tad similar, yet usually they still hold their own... even if Trelane feels like a take on Charlie X (complete with nuclear family), Immunity Syndrome space amoeba is a standing for the great galactic windsock of "The Doomsday Machine", etc, yet none feel like a rubberstamp copy thanks to the minutiae involved and that's big. Even "Plato's Stepchildren" takes the telekinetic thrills from "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and gives it fresh original life* that falls right into Trek's themes of the unusual without feeling like a retread. (Plus, it would get harder to do for multiple seasons. TOS, even with the occasional similar theme, had a surprising range of variety in plotting formats and tonal qualities...)


* Fun tangent: Even TNG figures this out by "Where No One Has Gone Before" where the title is regarding the distance of outer space but then made an original story (one that also did a more original job at showing characters' motivations and fears as well, plus showing Yar's nightmare has a palpable effect where her just talking about it doesn't feel quite the same.

 

[The QyptiQonundrum]

I wouldn't say Kirk was trying to save the Gorn's life...more than he wouldn't go through with outright killing him - which per the Metron's earlier communication wax the only way to save himself and his ship/crew.

Kirk also turned down the Metron's offer of killing the Gorn Captain for Kirk.

Starfleet apples and oranges….

Speaking of the big fruit salad, it's also clever how Q (who's not related to the Metrons, or Trelane in a different small universe twist ) has that same exploratory trope of "humans are savage, prove otherwise" but replaces some 20-something in a kinky Roman-style toga but instead twists it all into that delightful and prevalent late-80s Generation X style of dripping cynicism: Q is chiding Picard to kill the big nasty zappy thing, when (a) the thing wasn't zappy, (b) it's somehow a lifeform that lives in outer space somehow but I won't think about that right now,and (c) the thing was the victim and not the aggressor. Classic Trek themes right there, taken in a fresh new direction.

 

[Canonical Continuity]

* Fun tangent: Even TNG figures this out by "Where No One Has Gone Before" where the title is regarding the distance of outer space but then made an original story (one that also did a more original job at showing characters' motivations and fears as well, plus showing Yar's nightmare has a palpable effect where her just talking about it doesn't feel quite the same.

Just by the way, IMO "Where No Man Has Gone Before" could well have a double meaning, with the where in the second one being the state of godhood.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/where:

where adverb​

1 b : at, in, or to what situation, position, direction, circumstances, or respect​

Where does this plan lead?​

where am I wrong​

 

[Phaser Two]

In addition to the good points already raised, the "Arena" dialogue at least slightly suggests to me that Cestus III was a lightly-armed colony with a military detachment, but other, non-military/civilian purposes. Lt. Harold, the survivor, confirms that the installation attempted to surrender, and had women and children who were sadly killed when the Gorn ignored that information and the surrender (assuming they received it). The dialogue in "Balance of Terror" seems to tell a different story; the Romulans attacked and destroyed several heavily-armed Starfleet military bases. There’s no mention of civilian casualties that I remember.

I'm not sure, but this might help explain why Kirk decided to pursue and destroy the Gorn so aggressively.

One other point: Kirk mentions near the beginning of "BOT" that not only the outposts, but the Enterprise and crew are deemed expendable to avoid war. That certainly strikes me as a debatable decision by Federation and/or Starfleet shot-callers, but taking it at face value, it could also explain the differing approaches.

 

[PCz911]

In addition to the good points already raised, the "Arena" dialogue at least slightly suggests to me that Cestus III was a lightly-armed colony with a military detachment, but other, non-military/civilian purposes. Lt. Harold, the survivor, confirms that the installation attempted to surrender, and had women and children who were sadly killed when the Gorn ignored that information and the surrender (assuming they received it). The dialogue in "Balance of Terror" seems to tell a different story; the Romulans attacked and destroyed several heavily-armed Starfleet military bases. There’s no mention of civilian casualties that I remember.

I'm not sure, but this might help explain why Kirk decided to pursue and destroy the Gorn so aggressively.

One other point: Kirk mentions near the beginning of "BOT" that not only the outposts, but the Enterprise and crew are deemed expendable to avoid war. That certainly strikes me as a debatable decision by Federation and/or Starfleet shot-callers, but taking it at face value, it could also explain the differing approaches.

Good point about the non combatants (tho “women and children” is sort of an antiquated phrase, after all, the enterprise has women serving on board). And, frankly, it’s only in recent history that humans have (in some cases) designated non-combatants as illegitimate targets in warfare.

 

[Phaser Two]

Good point about the non combatants (tho “women and children” is sort of an antiquated phrase, after all, the enterprise has women serving on board). And, frankly, it’s only in recent history that humans have (in some cases) designated non-combatants as illegitimate targets in warfare.

Well said—that's definitely an antiquated phrase, so much so that I actually cringed while typing it. But it's what Harold (in a *really* good performance by Tom Troupe) said, so I went with it. I figured there was some balance there in the dialogue between Harold emphasizing that the Gorn mercilessly slaughtered noncombatants on the one hand, and the 23rd century placing women in positions of high reponsibility on the other hand.

I guess I was thinking of Cestus III's contingent including people like Aurelan and Peter Kirk. And of course men who were noncombatants as well—like, say, Ambassador Fox's assistant in "A Taste of Armageddon," who may or may not have been killed in the hallway shootout. (I hope he was only injured; he seemed like a nice guy.)

Frankly, the Gorn come off much worse than the Romulans (who are not especially sympathetic in TOS either). Like Kirk, I absolutely didn’t want the Metrons to destroy the Gorn, but I thought some of them deserved time in a Federation rehabilitation center (much as the Kelvans did for the senseless murder of Yeoman Thompson) or some sort of Hague-style interstellar equivalent.