By any other name...awesome

[jayrath]

Lots of fun in this episode -- and lots of drama, too. A great favorite scene of mine has no dialogue, just Kirk rounding the corner and being confronted with a hall full of the cubes.

And how about when he gets mad at McCoy and slams the table? "They've reduced the whole CREW!"

Or Kirk in the turbolift: "Are you mad?"

It may not be a great episode for all, but there sure are a lot of great moments.

 

[Bad Atom]

One of my favorites. It goes from deadly serious to light in tone, but it still works.

 

[xortex]

The Kelvins won't tell us - that's their perrogative. They are giant multi tentacled beings anyway. Once they lose the Human persona they go back to being aliens not to be messed with but have learned what it's like to be Human and retained some sympathy.

 

[Warped9]

Don't forget the scene where the two redshirts are reduced to polyhedrons; one is crushed and the other spared. If you watch closely, when Rojan picks them up and handles them, there is a classic opportunity for a continuity error. But they got it right!

Plus, it's a shocker (or at least it probably was in the 1960's) that the cute yeoman gets crushed, not the burly security guy.

Yes! This scene really worked for me for just these reasons. And when I finally had TOS on DVD I actually scrutinized those polyhedrons to see if indeed it was the pretty yeoman who got crushed. And dammit all they got it right. I loved this bit of detail.

On another note it occurs to me that if the Kelvans did indeed have perfect human bodies might they also have overlooked another detail besides emotions? How about resistance to disease or infection? What if shortly after they settle on their little colony they all catch something and die off? The Kelvan Empire never hears from their scouts to the Milky Way and deduce: Oops. Dangerous apparently so we better not go there again, or we didn't hear back from our scouts on schedule so maybe we should send a bigger group to find out what happened.

Could have been an interesting followup story in TNG or DS9.

 

[Tan Ru]

Doesn't McCoy state that the Kelvins in human form are highly anemic??

 

[Warped9]

Doesn't McCoy state that the Kelvins in human form are highly anemic??

Yes, he does. While it wouldn't be followed up in TOS a story set in TNG or DS9 with Kelvans showing up again could have made reference to the first scouting party, particualrly if they'd died.

 

[Red Ranger]

Don't forget the scene where the two redshirts are reduced to polyhedrons; one is crushed and the other spared. If you watch closely, when Rojan picks them up and handles them, there is a classic opportunity for a continuity error. But they got it right!

Plus, it's a shocker (or at least it probably was in the 1960's) that the cute yeoman gets crushed, not the burly security guy.

The real shocker was it was a black security guy! Should've been a double whammy -- a black redshirt. Lucky they went with the shock value of the comely damsel dying instead.

I also recently rewatched the ep. My favorite part was Scotty drinking the Kelvan under the table, but then getting so drunk he himself passed out.

And the fistfight between Kirk and the jealous Rojan was classic, esp. when Kirk asks him, "Why don't you use your paralyzer?" And then Kirk convinces him that by the time they get back to Kelva, they'd be aliens because they'd be human.

Red Ranger

 

[Gary7]

I think it's a great episode as well.

Kelvans easily duped? No... once Rojan had the situation with the crew reduced to just 4 people, there was simply no contest. They relaxed because they found it would be highly illogical for Kirk and company to fight back. It was beyond their imagination to see how the tables could be turned.

I do agree that taking the injections was a bit too trusting. It would've been more sensible for the Kelvan to examine the hypo, not detect anything toxic or dangerous, then let McCoy do his work... since McCoy knows human physiology better. That would've made it a little more plausible.

The other thing the Kelvans didn't anticipate was the long term effect of being in human form. That emotions gradually began to have an effect on them. This was the whole premise of the solution to the problem. I just wish it hadn't been quite so whimsical. After all, a failed attempt means either death or being a prisoner aboard the Enterprise on a never changing course.

What really bugs me is this... that the distance is so vast between galaxies, and the information gathering far too sparse. Sure, the Kelvans probably tapped into the Enterprise database to see what these Earthlings knew. But there would be so much to the Milky Way galaxy that the Kelvans don't know. How could they be sure it would make sense to invade? It didn't sound like the Kelvans had been anywhere else but that planet... which means their first hand knowledge was practically insignificant compared to the extent of life in the Milky Way... So, not enough to determine if invasion would make sense, what they'd really be up against. After all... remember... THE BORG.

 

[Orcus]

Don't forget the scene where the two redshirts are reduced to polyhedrons; one is crushed and the other spared. If you watch closely, when Rojan picks them up and handles them, there is a classic opportunity for a continuity error. But they got it right!

Plus, it's a shocker (or at least it probably was in the 1960's) that the cute yeoman gets crushed, not the burly security guy.

The real shocker was it was a black security guy! Should've been a double whammy -- a black redshirt. Lucky they went with the shock value of the comely damsel dying instead.
Red Ranger

Yeah, this was the first shocking TV moment I ever witnessed as a kid. Up until then TV (and films) had rules. The male redshirts (and, in films, the bald, old or bearded guys) were always the first to bite the dust. This time it was the girl! And a pretty one at that...

When did they change the code? The rotters...

 

[seigezunt]

Loved this episode too.

Super hot kiss, as I recall.

One quibble, while you could argue that it was unpredictable that the cute girl cube gets crushed, I've been bothered that it's treated as such a tragedy vs the other guy.

"Oh shit, it was the black dude who survived.." :/

 

[Orcus]

Loved this episode too.

Super hot kiss, as I recall.

One quibble, while you could argue that it was unpredictable that the cute girl cube gets crushed, I've been bothered that it's treated as such a tragedy vs the other guy.

"Oh shit, it was the black dude who survived.." :/

Well... if you were around in those days you'll remember that little things like chivalry and "ladies go first" was still very much en vogue. Okay, so in this case the lady did go first but...

It was a shock for audiences according to our conditioned expectations (via established screen language at that point) - see my post above. It was not so much a case of: "Oh shit, it was the black dude who survived.." - or even: "Oh shit, it was the black dude who survived.." - but a case of "The Kelvan (and, by extension, the writer) is such a shocking rotter that he's just killed the woman"...

 

[Jeri]

Thank goodness it turned out to be a less-than-serious episode; her senseless destruction makes more sense in that light.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Thank goodness it turned out to be a less-than-serious episode; her senseless destruction makes more sense in that light.

Just think of the condolence letter Kirk had to write:

Dear (Insert name here)

I regret to inform you that your (son/daughter) has died in the service of the Federation. (Insert name) was a valuable and brave member of Starfleet.

Oh and by the way, the aliens who killed your child are now allies!! We even gave them their own planet!!!!!!

James T. Kirk

Commander, USS Enterprise