I’m watching The Original Series again

[The Laughing Vulcan]

And I’m watching it in production order, just for the record.

I certainly regret the fact that it took the passing of James Doohan earlier this week to make me want to revisit the first Trek series. But reading the fond tributes and recollections of the man and the iconic character he created, I felt I needed a Scotty fix. So for the first time in well over five years, I sat down to watch the adventures of the USS Enterprise, “no bloody A, B, C or D”.

It’s ironic then, that the first episode I watched had no Scotty. Instead I jumped back 41 years to the first pilot, The Cage. Instantly, I had to alter my mindset. The more time passes, the more society changes, and social mores and standards change to an increasing degree. Without the rose tinted spectacles of nostalgia, the gender politics that have Pike complaining at seeing a female on the bridge, the idea of a Doctor serving as personal bartender to the Captain all seem unacceptable. It doesn’t take long to slip into the nostalgic mindset that I don for all entertainment of yesteryear though.

There is much to appreciate about The Cage. Of 41 years of Star Trek, 5 live action series, one animated series and 10 movies, The Cage has perhaps the strongest grounding in science fiction. The Enterprise is returning to base after a difficult mission, when they pick up a distress call. The SS Columbia, lost for 18 years is reported as crashed in the Talos system. When Pike beam down with a landing party to rescue the survivors, all is revealed as an illusion created by mysterious telepathic beings, and Pike is captured and placed into a menagerie, to serve as subject to a series of telepathic experiments. It’s the Talosians who serve as the sci-fi element. Theirs is a post-apocalyptic society, alluding to the Cold War world and nuclear brinkmanship that existed in the sixties. They have abandoned all technology to develop the mind, and have lapsed into a degenerative society addicted to telepathic pleasures. They seek a slave race to serve them, a docile and malleable species to control and dominate, which is where humans come in. In this one episode, I could see presages of future films like Planet Of The Apes or The Matrix. The story is exceptionally strong, and wasted on a pilot.

For that is the main problem, this is a pilot and the problems yet to be ironed out are too numerous to gather in one post. The biggest problem is that this is the Captain Pike show. The focus is on the one character, with the supporting players doing just that, supporting. The interactions and ensemble feel of Kirk’s Enterprise is wholly absent, despite a momentary heart to heart between Pike and Boyce. The supporting players serve to deliver exposition to an excessive degree, something that kills the pacing of the story. The Cage could certainly have done with a rewrite or two. The Cage also has perhaps the most of the Western feel about it, perhaps down to the casting of Jeffrey Hunter as Christopher Pike. His portrayal of the Captain as weary, battered and thinking about retirement is ill judged for the start of the series. It makes sense in terms of the story, and justifies the illusions that the Talosians inflict, but fail to establish a character that can carry a series. There is action aplenty in a show that I’ve read has been judged as ‘too cerebral’, but I can see how the ending can be judged as unsatisfactory by a network. Pike doesn’t actually prevail in this show, the humans do not succeed through their ingenuity and courage, instead the Talosians offer an ‘Oops, we made a mistake, sorry, see ya’. For someone looking for a heroic character and exciting show, this is certainly anticlimactic.

Of course the effects and sets are still being ironed out at such an early stage. The Enterprise bridge looks astoundingly barren, shorn of the primary colours and plush furnishings. The escapees from the War Of The Worlds perched on top of every console look horribly out of place. Yet two points in this episode always grab my attention. One is the absolutely stunning matte painting used on the Rigel set. The giant moon looming over the castle is perhaps the iconic image that still exemplifies Star Trek in my mind; it was certainly never bettered in the series. The other notable effect is another matte painting, that of the future Mojave. When I think about it, in post TOS the future Earth always made to emphasise the preservation of the past. This is perhaps the only time we actually see the people on Earth actually living in the future, in a futuristic paradise uncluttered by centuries old buildings.

The Cage is an amazing story, but the execution leaves much to be desired, with the characters poorly developed at such an early stage. It would have been much better received in the middle of the show’s run. And guess what…

 

[Jadzia Dax]

I agree in general although I would somewhat disagree with this:

Pike doesn’t actually prevail in this show, the humans do not succeed through their ingenuity and courage, instead the Talosians offer an ‘Oops, we made a mistake, sorry, see ya’. For someone looking for a heroic character and exciting show, this is certainly anticlimactic.

In this case, I think the comments, actions, and reactions of both Pike and the crew, illustrate the "human" response to being restricted and limited - essentially "caged" and denied "free will" and movement. Everything they do seems to underscore this very simple theme of a human desire for "freedom" and "free thinking" and serves as an attempt to reason with and argue the finer points of that specific issue with a supposed "higher being".

If in fact the Talosians were to be fully established as higher intellects, then the arguments had to eventually allow humanity to prevail, being that all of the Star Trek aliens essentially represent different aspects of ourselves as humans and we cannot be something that we are not. In a way, this has been one of the critiques of the franchise itself, with the lack of truly "alien" aliens, mainly because the literary focus was to be about "us" (and the aliens were essentially "us" too).

So in the end, we will always "prevail" or at least reach a compromise or stalemate with an alien "antagonist" because that "antagonist" is us.

Ironically, when you mention the backstory and personality of a Pike, it seems nowadays, many younger Trek fans have been endlessly wishing for such a character to be in a series - someone who was more "military" oriented (perhaps not unlike a Captain Jellico from TNG "Chain of Command I & II", etc.). The current scifi series like the Stargates and BSG seem to have those types exclusively and in this day and time, they seem to be the preference du jour for a Captain.

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

Where No Man Has Gone Before

The second pilot, Where No Man Has Gone Before addresses many of the weakness of The Cage, but the resulting story is weaker in terms of science fiction, and relies more on mythological imagery and legends transferred to the space opera vernacular. This is something that would remain a strong part of the make up of the Star Trek that followed.

The Enterprise now under the command of James T/R (delete as appropriate) Kirk, is assigned to venture on an exploration outside of the galaxy. The retrieval of a log buoy that warns against making the attempt does little to deter the hardy adventurers. But a pulsating pink energy barrier, something so odd that it doesn’t even register on the ship’s instruments, surrounds the edge of the galaxy. The ship’s attempt to penetrate this lurid veil ends disastrously, with the warp engines damaged beyond use and several crewmembers lost or injured. One of those injured is Kirk’s best friend, Gary Mitchell, who revives with a shocking glow in his eyes. As the ship limps under Impulse power to the Delta Vega lithium cracking station for repairs, Gary begins to change. Soon Kirk has to make decision that no man should face, and the Spock’s cold counsel does nothing to make it easier. But if Kirk prevaricates, he may end up dooming the ship.

This is only the second pilot, but it's stunning to see how many elements of the series were in place by now, including the visual and sound effects, the music and the sets. There is also an attention to detail that indicates the thought spent on the production design. There is a moment after the ship recovers from its encounter with the barrier, when the comm. channels are inundated with ship chatter that add to the authenticity. There is also another effective matte painting for Delta Vega. There is also an ethnic diversity on the ship that was lacking in The Cage, and Kirk’s problem with his yeoman is one of remembering a name, rather than an out of place gender. I actually like these uniforms, despite the awkward collar, and prefer them to the ones used in the show proper.

The first thing I always notice about Where No Man Has Gone Before is the character development. The Cage concentrated on Pike, but here we see an attempt to establish a crew as well as a Captain. This iteration of Spock is more comfortable and self assured. He’s still capable of a smile or two, but refrains from an outright grin. At this point we are unsure whether he lacks emotion, or whether his emotions are merely different, but he definitely seems more severe and alien than before. His pronouncement of, “Kill Mitchell you still have the chance” still manages to chill as he delivers the line matter-of-factly. Another strength of this pilot is the development of Mitchell, Dehner and Kelso. There is effort made into giving the characters a back-story, and an ease with which they relate to each other. It’s obvious to see that these are people (with the exception of Dehner) who have been working together for years and are comfortable with each other. It also telling that the exposition is delivered through character interaction. The writing is substantially stronger than in The Cage. It was and is remarkably brave of a show to set up a strong cast of characters, and remove three of them at the end of the pilot. Halfway through Where No Man Has Gone Before, I always wonder how Trek would have turned out if these three had remained in the cast. The show certainly wouldn’t have been hurt by it. Sulu shows up as an astrophysicist who wheels out some mathematics, and James Doohan effortlessly establishes an icon with the delivery of just a couple of lines. The contrast between Kirk and Pike couldn’t be clearer. Kirk is younger and more vital than his predecessor; a man who enjoys his command, yet still takes the burden very personally. He isn’t worn down by it, and comes across as a man who will continue for many years to come.

There is no evidence for an energy barrier at the edge of the galaxy in science; indeed the device in this episode resembles the old myths of the edge of the world than anything else. But the dragons that reside in this particular unknown are actually awakened within rather than come from without. Kirk has to deal with his friend assuming god-like powers overnight. Where the Cage appealed to the intellect of its viewers, Where No Man Has Gone Before makes a grab for the heart, and plays like a classic tragedy. The conclusion is heart wrenching in its finality. The strongest line has to be Shatner’s delivery of “Above all, a god need compassion”.

Where No Man Has Gone Before is an episode I always hold up as an exemplary of what is best about Star Trek. I don’t believe that The Cage had been aired up to this point. So in 50 minutes, WNHGB introduces and develops characters, establishes a premise, and tells an emotionally powerful and satisfying story. Television like this doesn’t come around every day.

 

[Jadzia Dax]

Re: Where No Man Has Gone Before

Posted by The Laughing Vulcan:

Where No Man Has Gone Before is an episode I always hold up as an exemplary of what is best about Star Trek. I don’t believe that The Cage had been aired up to this point. So in 50 minutes, WNHGB introduces and develops characters, establishes a premise, and tells an emotionally powerful and satisfying story. Television like this doesn’t come around every day.

Hope you don't mind my commenting on your comments as I have actually done episode critiques like this on the other BBS in the past and will probably start up again soon.

"The Cage" never aired during the original run of this show and only made it to TV for the first time in 1986 as part of a 20th Anniversary television mini-special narrated by Roddenberry (shown on NBC I believe - I taped it when it came on back then and still have the tape). The Roddenberry TV thing aired the spliced B&W/Color version of "The Cage", afterwhich the full color version suddenly appeared and that was what was then used for the retail VHS version. The latter full-color version was then shown on TV in 1988 during the first season of TNG (it was shown on those stations that had the syndicated feed of TNG) and I also have that taped.

The one other thing that I might add about TOS "Where No Man Has Gone Before" is that this is pre-McCoy, so what would be affectionately known as the "triumverate" in modern times, had not yet come together. Dr. Piper, basically a similar type of personality as Dr. Boyce from "The Cage", seems to still be cast as an "elder counselor/father figure" type character. However neither Piper nor Boyce would have the verve and strong emotions of a McCoy as the later episodes unfold. Looking in retrospect, Dee Kelley fulfilled that role perfectly.

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

Re: Where No Man Has Gone Before

Posted by Jadzia Dax:
Hope you don't mind my commenting on your comments as I have actually done episode critiques like this on the other BBS in the past and will probably start up again soon.

Please do

I meant to mention Piper's brief appearance, having made a mental note, but he was so ephemeral in WNMHGB that his character slips my mind. It would be one more episode before that final piece of the jigsaw would be added.

One other thing that I was struck by, was the realisation that never was it stated that WNMHGB was the first mission. Indeed Dehner observes that the crew is well established and have had plenty of experience working together. Add to that the fan assumption that one season of TOS is equivalent to one year in the Trekverse. (When M*A*S*H can spend over a decade fighting a 4 year war, its an unwise assumption) Then the possibility remains that Kirk's adventures as Captain of the Enterprise began 2 maybe three years prior to WNMHGB.

I'm also trying to recall just where it is said that the 5 year mission is Kirk's first mission as the Enterprise's Captain. Maybe he spent 18 months patrolling the Federation borders as a shakedown, or 2 years escorting colonists.

It's a technical point that niggled me when I watched this, and I wonder just how much of Kirk's command has yet to be related.

 

[Jadzia Dax]

Re: Where No Man Has Gone Before

^^

What you describe is one major thing that sets TOS apart from all of the later series - the fact that what we saw was but a segment of time where the crew had already been assembled and were going on various missions (adventures). Ie., we joined Kirk and crew while "in progress". The modern Trek series all showed the assemblage of the various crews and perhaps someone should have considered joining one of these crews "in progress" as well, just to mix the format up a bit. But too late.

Anyway - There have been some hints here and there about where Kirk was in the 5-years - mainly coming from some age references here and there - his having been the youngest Captain at the time of commissioning and a direct reference that he makes in I think TOS "The Deadly Years" for how old he was during that episode - ie., "34" (although he and his landing party save for Chekov, had dramatically aged during the ep up to and through the timeframe of Kirk's Competency Hearing).

I think the general consensus was that we joined him in year 3, afterwhich the films would represent a few years later where the ship had to be refitted. We know that Spock had served under Pike for 11 years per TOS "The Menagerie I & II", so the ship was at least that old before Kirk got command of it.

Another reference came about in I think TOS "Obsession" where it is revealed that 11 years prior, Kirk had served under Captain Garrovick on the U.S.S. Farragut on his first deep space assignment as a Lieutenant. So some of this sortof narrows it down. I know the Encyclopedia has direct references but I've been recently rewatching eps to look for some of the more subtle references.

Of course your .sig indicates you are like me when it comes to canon and continuity, so....

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

The Corbomite Maneuver

The Enterprise is on a mapping mission when it encounters a probe that stops it dead in its tracks. When it attempts to leave the vicinity, the probe dogs the ship, increasing its output of lethal radiation that prompts Kirk to order it destroyed. Despite the ominous encounter, Kirk decides to continue the mapping mission, and it isn’t long before the ship meets the Fesarius, a gargantuan vessel of the First Federation. The Fesarius grabs the Enterprise in a powerful tractor beam, rendering the ship helpless. The ominous voice of Balok, the ship’s commander echoes through the Enterprise, announcing the ship’s doom as payment for the destruction of the probe. It’s all too much for green Navigator, Lieutenant Bailey.

The first episode of the series proper, and everything is falling into place. The uniforms and sets generally appear as they will do through much of the series, and the cast is pretty much all present and in their rightful places. Uhura is at communications, Sulu is at the helm, and a certain irascible Doctor is insisting on completing the Captain’s physical, despite the ship being on alert status. Also Kirk’s monologue precedes the opening credits for the first time. I think the most astounding aspect of The Original Series is how it seems perfectly formed from the first frame. The characters are all developed and interact as though they have been working together for years. There is none of the settling in period that later series needed. Of course there are still memorable aspects of the show yet to make their debut. While the triumvirate of Kirk, Spock and McCoy is in place, with Spock providing reason and logic, McCoy providing empathy and heart, and Kirk’s intuition and command ability knitting this all together into an unbeatable combination, Spock and McCoy are yet to begin sniping at each other. Scotty gets the choicest line in this episode, when Spock declares that Balok reminds him of his father. Scotty’s observation… “Then may heaven have helped your mother”

In fact, that is perhaps the nicest recollection of the original Series that I have had only three episodes in. The characters are so colourful, larger than life, and the dialogue is simply choice. There is heart, soul and passion in every line, and the actors deliver them with gusto. It’s a product of the time, television and cinema of the sixties was less about realism than it was about entertainment. Yet for some reason, dialogue always sounds better in the shows and movies of this period, the scripts are economical and every word is worth its weight in gold. It was all about delivering the emotional moment, and contrasts greatly with dialogue that gets weighed down with babble. There is something to be said for simplicity and elegance.

The story is an early example of the attempt to get away from ray guns and war of the worlds, something that Trek was renowned for once upon a time. Balok is the sort of superior being who shows up from time to time, testing humanity to see if they are worthy. He’s the catalyst to show the Enterprise crew reacting to pressure. Kirk has promoted a promising young officer to the navigator’s seat, and McCoy’s concerns that he may have been premature in heaping all that added pressure onto the shoulders of Bailey might be well founded, especially when it prompts Spock to suggest he have his adrenal glands removed. It’s an interesting aspect of Kirk’s character that I rarely see mentioned, that he has a desire to give back what he received from his training, and this isn’t the only time that he will pick a promising young crewmember to mentor. He isn’t always motivated by altruism either. The oddest moment of the story is when Spock hesitatingly begins to apologise for his inability to provide answers, then stops himself. It seems an odd moment for the character, and I haven’t really understood its relevance. It almost seems an afterthought. A nice note is that the audience is considered smart enough to accept the existence of a tractor beam without seeing a glowing blue light.

 

[Warped9]

Re: The Corbomite Maneuver

Yep, I've always liked that both pilot stories and the series came into the mission already in progress. A big issue I've got with origin or beginning stories is that a lot of time is often wasted just setting things up.

 

[PhilipX]

Yes, "The Cage" has a different cast, a different type of captain (exhausted, world-weary, etc.), and the Spock developed in the series would never abandon his captain as he attempts to do in "The Cage". But I think the single biggest thing separating "The Cage" from later TOS episodes is the resolution: Pike decides to leave Vina as-is, with the Talosians, and her illusions. No other TOS episode (that I can think of) ends with, essentially, the status quo being maintained. In episodes like "The Apple", "Thie Side of Paradise", or "The Return of the Archons", the crew of the Enterprise take it on themselves to liberate anyone they see as living less than free lives from their perceived captors. Here, Pike, seeing Vina's true physical condition, willingly allows her to stay behind. It is a much more pragmatic, dark ending than subsequent Star Trek episodes would take.

I agree that "The Cage" is a great episode and a strong pilot, even if lacks the genuine TOS feel of "Where No Man...". While "The Cage" may be the Jeffrey Hunter show, he does a good job as the star. I think it is a testament to the strength of the Pike character, and Hunter's portrayal, that the viewer feels his or her sympathy greatly increased at the sight of the horribly disfigured Pike over the course of "The Menagerie" parts 1 & 2 (nevermind that he's no longer played by Hunter at all - further testament, I think, to the strength of the character he previously established).

--PhilipX

 

[Jadzia Dax]

Posted by PhilipX:
But I think the single biggest thing separating "The Cage" from later TOS episodes is the resolution: Pike decides to leave Vina as-is, with the Talosians, and her illusions. No other TOS episode (that I can think of) ends with, essentially, the status quo being maintained.

I think that the circumstances behind TOS "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" forced that the status quo be maintained. In fact, Kirk didn't have much sympathy for either side given the inherent superficialness of the disagreements - although I know it was supposed to be that way as an analogy to racism based on appearance... Near the end, you merely have a montage of the two running, with scenes of war and carnage behind them - the hunter (Bele) and the hunted (Lokai) presumably to be engaged like that forever...

Additionally I think that TOS "Bread and Circuses" with the last minute beam-out, basically left the status quo of that society in place, with only a couple guards and the Proconsul potentially aware of something out of the ordinary amiss. Scotty blacked out the entire power grid to further cover their tracks... And Kirk makes a notation at the end to commend Scotty - all in the name of the "Prime Directive", which I believe as a concept, was first introduced into the Trek universe formally in that ep at the very beginning. This was a Gene Coon ep (with co-credit to Roddenberry).

There are probably some others...

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

Mudd’s Women

The Enterprise pursues an intergalactic miscreant into an asteroid field. Engines overloaded, the fugitive’s ship drifts into the path of oncoming asteroids, and Kirk must order the ship’s deflectors extended around the other ship, long enough to beam the crew off. The transporter beam clears to reveal one Leo Walsh, a.k.a. Harcourt Fenton Mudd, intergalactic conman and rogue. Following close behind are three women, women who have an unexpected and beguiling effect on the male members of the Enterprise crew. But the rescue has been hard on the ship’s engines, and the lithium crystals that channel the ship’s power have been cracked beyond use. The Enterprise sets forth towards the Rigel lithium mines to trade for replacement crystals, but although Mudd has been placed in custody, he still has a few tricks up his sleeve, and intends to make a healthy profit providing voluptuous wives to the hard-working and isolated miners. Soon the Enterprise is being held to ransom for the sake of sating the lust of the lonely men on the planet’s surface. But the beauty of these particular women comes from a less than reputable source.

Like any entertainment property 40 years old, Star Trek has dated. It would be foolish to expect otherwise. Aspects like the acting, sets, music, and writing all change with time, but if the heart of the story remains strong, then it’s easy to put aside factors of age and enjoy the episodes for what is intended. That is except when society changes to such a degree that the very centre of the story becomes worse than irrelevant, but borderline offensive. It is Wagon Train to the Stars indeed, as this episode adapts a Western staple, that of wiving settlers to the vernacular of the enlightened future, and in doing so doubly dates this particular episode. The social mores and culture of the 19th Century are ill suited to a future where all are equal in the eyes of society and opportunity is denied to none. Being born after this aired originally, I have no idea of how this was received in a culture where the sexual revolution was taking place, but when the most popular sci-fi serials of my own childhood were Battlestar Galactica (v1.0) and Buck Rogers, both of which featured strong female role models, then Mudd’s Women must have seemed hopelessly quaint even in the seventies, barely ten years later.

The women in this episode are depicted as objects of desire, whose sole purpose is to please their men, and find good mates. Their sole ambition is marriage, their sole desire to be pampered and cosseted. This could be explained away as something that the women actually choose and desire for themselves, but the men they encounter see nothing wrong with this. As a potential vision of the future, this belongs in the Playboy mansion, along with the soft focus, gelatine smeared lenses, lingering shots of female posterior, the striptease music and the males of the Enterprise panting like Pavlovian dogs in their presence. Gender inequality and sexism was a fact of life, even in the sixties, but it is usually something that you can put to one side and forget about, enjoying an episode of Star Trek for what it is. But when that gender bias forms the heart of the story, then it becomes increasingly difficult to reconcile with the modern social climate. It becomes as outdated as Benny Hill.

I would consign Mudd’s Women to the ‘own it but don’t watch it’ pile, were it not for one man of epic stature, Harcourt Fenton Mudd himself. Played by Robert C. Carmel, this has to be one of the most memorable, colourful, and flamboyant characters to ever grace a sci-fi series, and he almost single-handedly redeems this episode, and makes it one I return to despite the dated gender politics. The man simply owns the screen; you can’t take your eyes off him as he leaves the regular cast in the shadows. This is the Harry Mudd show in all but name. The man is intergalactic pimp, drug dealer, smuggler, and all-round scoundrel but with that mischievous grin and the glint in his eye, you end up rooting for him regardless. Yes, drug dealer, for that is the social metaphor aspect of this episode that got through the censors, as the beauty of the three nymphets is provided by the infamous Venus drug, that gives ‘more of what you have’. As the three beg Harry for one more hit, to regain their youthful looks and vigour, you can almost imagine him saying “The first one’s for free, but the next will cost you my lovelies”. It’s an interesting aspect of the show that is almost buried under the libidinous foolishness of the story, and Kirk’s simple placebo cure at the end pretty much renders any relevance to drugs in our society null.

In the final analysis, Mudd redeems this story once again with a perfectly delivered line. There’s Eve, restored to simpering beauty by Kirk’s placebo, all ready to live a life of domestic servitude to the miner who was impressed with her culinary skills. Kirk begins to wax lyrical about the charms of the ‘weaker’ sex, noting that, “There is only one kind of woman”, to which Mudd adds “Or man for that matter”.

Mudd’s Women shouldn’t work, indeed in today’s society is horribly quaint. The three women who hitch a ride with this particular wagon have me tempted to reach for my remote control every time, but all such temptation fades at the majestic presence of Harry Mudd, who whether he’s attempting to outwit the Enterprise computer, or quailing at the thought of a character reference from Kirk, guarantees that this story retains entertainment value. He is the perfect example of how a decent character can salvage a doomed concept. Meanwhile Spock seems to find it all horribly amusing, the poor fellow just can’t stop smirking.

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

The Enemy Within

A landing party is conducting a survey on an unnamed planet, where nighttime temperatures drop as low as 120° below zero. One of the landing party is injured in a fall, and Kirk orders him back to the ship to receive treatment. When he beams up, the strange magnetic ore his uniform is coated in causes some odd interference in the transporter beam. Scotty orders him to get the uniform decontaminated, and prepares to check the transporter. However Kirk remains to be transported and the diagnostic isn’t apparently urgent. A rather shaken and subdued Kirk appears on the platform, prompting Scotty to escort his Captain from the transporter room. Seconds later, the transporter reactivates to reveal Captain Kirk yet again, but a feral, animalistic Kirk. As this Kirk stalks the corridors of the Enterprise lacking inhibition and seeking to fulfil his desires, the other Kirk begins to lose the ability to command, the ability to make decisions. When Scotty returns to the transporter room to beam up a sample, he finds it split in twain, and a horrible realisation dawns. Until the transporter is repaired, the landing party will be trapped on a freezing planet as the temperature plummets. When the feral Kirk attacks Yeoman Rand, the other Kirk and Spock realise that the ‘impostor’ must be apprehended, but the confrontation between the two Kirks may just doom the landing party.

The banes of my existence have to be the transporter accident and the doppelganger. The Enemy Within has both. It should get away with the ridiculous plot simply because it did it first, but regardless of this it just doesn’t bear up to scrutiny. Filled with plot holes and improbable notions, it’s best not to think about it. Perhaps this Enterprise began a tradition long before the Generations movie, in that the ship’s shuttles were to be yet delivered (on Tuesday). Yet the transporter malfunction that stops technology from working when dividing it in two, doesn’t kill a complex sentient life form and certainly wouldn’t damage any inanimate object, beyond multiplying it. Whatever stopped Scotty from beaming down blankets x2, a portable shelter x2, flammable material, or even a box of matches has never been effectively explained. Then there is the mechanism of transporter duplication. Object A of mass m is beamed up and converted into objects B and C, both of mass m. Where does the extra mass come from? Were the ship’s antimatter tanks suddenly lighter by a few hundred pounds? Then there is the recombination process, all that extra mass has to go somewhere. If it goes back to the fuel storage, without blowing the ship up, then haven’t they discovered a means of creating energy? Every time they beam something up, they could have the option of converting it directly to antimatter and filling the fuel tanks. The science of this episode is mind-boggling and gives me the same headache that I once got trying to figure out the relativistic railguns of Eraser. I didn’t even attempt to address the theology of the idea of what the damaged transporter does to the human soul.

The Enemy Within just isn’t science fiction. It’s fantasy; the kind of story that you hope is apocryphal within the Trek canon because of the absurdity of its premise. The reason that it isn’t confined to the same Room 101 in which Spock’s Brain resides is that as a fantasy taken at face value, the story is exceptionally strong, essentially a 23rd Century retelling of Jekyll and Hyde. It asks the question just what makes us human? The intuitive, charismatic and compassionate Kirk is split into light and dark, and we are introduced to two new characters, a Kirk who is indecisive, wavering and excessively sentimental and a Kirk who is impulsive and lustful. These are both aspects of the same person, and although initially their actions seem to tally with Spock’s arbitrary labels of good and evil, it rapidly becomes apparent that they are both the same person and the division is more one of intellect and instinct, adult and child. William Shatner’s characterisations almost work for me. He is spot on with his portrayal of the subdued and hesitant Kirk, attempting to wrestle some command ability through sheer force of intellect in the absence of the steel in his character, but with the feral Kirk, Shatner turns the dial up to eleven. The feral Kirk is a wholly theatrical construct, given to expressive rage, tantrums, and obvious cunning. The problem is that the medium is television, not theatre, and a little understatement goes a long way. This Kirk worked best on screen when he too used his wits and intelligence, when he initially tries to charm Rand, and when he tries to take his seat on the bridge. The second time he encounters Rand at the turbolift has more menace than any of his emotional outbursts and protestations. In terms of character development, this episode is also great for Spock, contrasting Kirk’s plight with his own internal duality.

Star Trek is truly firing on all thrusters by now, with the Engineering sets making a debut, as does the Vulcan nerve pinch. Spock and McCoy begin tossing barbs at each other in this episode, McCoy utters the immortal line, ‘He’s dead Jim’ and Scotty works a miracle, pulling off a 1-week repair in a matter of hours. There’s even a bit of technobabble to boot, “a five point variation in the velocity balance”.

As Sci-fi, The Enemy Within is thoroughly lacking in the sci department. But as fantasy, as an examination of the psychology of command and what makes a leader stand out from the men he leads this show succeeds admirably. The only real niggle in terms of the story, is the character of Rand. This is a woman who is assaulted by a man who looks like the Captain, who is to all intents and purposes the Captain. It’s hard to see how she can continue working in the same environment as the man who assaulted her, and if Kirk retains the memories and experiences of both halves after he is re-integrated, then doesn’t he become culpable for the assault? Does he feel guilty, responsible? It must have become apparent that this would be a sticking point, and there is some attempt to address this, but it doesn’t succeed. Janice tells Kirk that she learned the truth from the duplicate, and her manner is almost forgiving, and Spock makes a comment about the duplicate’s “interesting qualities”. It pretty much makes light of a crime, and given this episode it becomes obvious why the Rand character was written out.

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

The Man Trap

It’s a routine mission to the planet M113, where the Enterprise is due to check on the progress and health of the husband and wife team of Robert and Nancy Crater, who have been assigned to study the ancient ruins of the planet’s lost civilisation. The sticking point is that Nancy Crater was in a relationship with McCoy once upon a time. Kirk, McCoy and crewman Darnell beam down to begin their evaluation, and instantly run into Nancy Crater, only each man is seeing Nancy differently, McCoy as he remembered her from ten years ago, Kirk as someone older, and Darnell as a young blonde reminiscent of a girl from Wrigley’s Pleasure planet. When Nancy leaves them to find her husband, Darnell follows. While they are absent, Robert Crater shows up, demanding that the Enterprise leaves, wishing only for some salt to replace the supplies that had been used up in the last five years. But when Darnell is found dead, a strange mottling on his face, Kirk has no choice but to remain until the death of his crewman is explained.

The Man Trap is an early curiosity. From the first moment, Star Trek was to do something new, a starship that explored, made peaceful contact, which interacted with alien cultures and moved away from the stereotypes of monsters of the week and ray guns. Yet the world’s first exposure to Star Trek was with The Man Trap, a story with an alien salt vampire preying on the crew, and a resolution that involved blasting said vampire into the beyond. Yet the problem as presented here has mitigating circumstances, and I feel actually moves away from the Enterprise’s mission to contact new life and into the realms of morality. It is stated here that the salt vampire is the last of a dying race. Evolution had already selected this species for extinction, unless it reproduced asexually, and in great numbers as per the Horta. Yet even that would be of no use, as its environment had obviously been decimated, where the only source of salt was that which the scientists had brought with them. The inference is made that links the salt vampire to the various species made extinct on Earth, the passenger pigeon or the buffalo, but I feel the Salt Vampire is more akin to our own species. This is a being that needs salt to live, yet has used up all the salt in its own environment regardless of consequences. Others have not engineered its extinction, but rather its own rapacious appetites. By the time that the Enterprise crew encounter it, it is extinct in all but effect. Crater’s insistence that its intelligence is worthy of preservation is a moot point really, when in the final analysis, the creature’s instinct by far outweighs its intellect. After all, on board a space vessel that no doubt has pure sodium chloride in its capacious stores, it still feels the need to obtain its salt by preying on other life forms. Is its death regrettable? Certainly, but it doesn’t go against the directive to seek out new life when it conflicts with a captain’s responsibility to ship and crew.

The drama of the story comes in McCoy’s former relationship with Nancy Crater, and the creature’s ability to exploit those memories. It’s a relationship that brings McCoy into conflict with his shipmates, and while under the influence of medication, he actually brandishes a phaser at Kirk and Spock in his misguided attempt to protect Nancy. It takes Spock being thrown across the room for the truth to finally dawn. This is also a nice character episode, Uhura tries to flirt innocently with Spock on the bridge, and gets taken aback with his alien attitude when they learn that one of the landing party has been killed. We also learn that she speaks Swahili. We see that Rand has the ability to raise male eyebrows around the ship, as she takes us on a tour of the ship under less formal circumstances, ending up with Sulu in Botany with Beauregarde/Gertrude. It’s an informality that isn’t forced yet is integral to the story.

Man Trap is at heart a classic horror tale, complete with spooky music. The monster of the week format seems at odds with Star Trek should be about, but it’s compensated by the copious character building that is accomplished in this episode, most of all for Doctor McCoy, establishing his ‘Country Doctor at heart’ persona, as well as establishing his compassion.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Re: Where No Man Has Gone Before

Posted by The Laughing Vulcan:
The contrast between Kirk and Pike couldn’t be clearer. Kirk is younger and more vital than his predecessor.

While I do agree with the age difference, Commodore Mendez does not. In The Menagerie (which you'll soon review I hope), Mendez mentions to Kirk that Pike is "about your age."

So, according to Mendez, Pike is 33 or 34 at this point. The mission to Talos IV was 13 years before that. So Pike was captain of the Enterprise at 20 or 21 years or age? And Kirk is the youngest captain in Starfleet?

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Re: The Enemy Within

Posted by The Laughing Vulcan:
The only real niggle in terms of the story, is the character of Rand. This is a woman who is assaulted by a man who looks like the Captain, who is to all intents and purposes the Captain. It’s hard to see how she can continue working in the same environment as the man who assaulted her, and if Kirk retains the memories and experiences of both halves after he is re-integrated, then doesn’t he become culpable for the assault? Does he feel guilty, responsible? It must have become apparent that this would be a sticking point, and there is some attempt to address this, but it doesn’t succeed. Janice tells Kirk that she learned the truth from the duplicate, and her manner is almost forgiving, and Spock makes a comment about the duplicate’s “interesting qualities”. It pretty much makes light of a crime, and given this episode it becomes obvious why the Rand character was written out.

Wow. I never looked at this episode in quite that way before, and now I don't think I can ever look at it (or Rand) the same way again.

Why WOULD she stay on the ship after being assaulted by, what is for all intents and purposes, her Captain? The only reason I can think of is that Rand has some sort of victim mentallity. That she thought, however wrongly, that she deserved her mistreatment in some fashion, like a person who stays with an abusive spouse.

Rand, from other episodes ("Miri" in particular), does not seem to think too much of herself. She seems to be the type of person who seeks out validation from others instead of from within herself ("Look at my legs, please").

Now I find myself wondering what the hell happened in Rand's past that screwed up her self esteem so thoroughly. The answers are not very pretty.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Re: Where No Man Has Gone Before

Posted by ssosmcin:

Posted by The Laughing Vulcan:
The contrast between Kirk and Pike couldn’t be clearer. Kirk is younger and more vital than his predecessor.

While I do agree with the age difference, Commodore Mendez does not. In The Menagerie (which you'll soon review I hope), Mendez mentions to Kirk that Pike is "about your age."

So, according to Mendez, Pike is 33 or 34 at this point. The mission to Talos IV was 13 years before that. So Pike was captain of the Enterprise at 20 or 21 years or age? And Kirk is the youngest captain in Starfleet?

Add to that the fact that Jeffrey Hunter was 38 at the time he was shooting "The Cage", and Pike would probably be somewhere around 45-50 at the time of "The Menagerie".

I think it's pretty obvious that Roddenberry was forgetting about the 13 year gap in time when he was written Commodore Mendez's line about Pike's age. Since at that point in the show, viewers had no identification whatsoever with Chris PIke, I'd say that GR was probably just trying to draw as many parallels between Pike & Kirk as possible, to make his condition seem all the more shocking.

 

[Timo]

Re: Where No Man Has Gone Before

Of course, Mendez could for once be staying true to the (retroactively applied) premise that people in the future live longer active lives. That is, Mendez could be saying "Even though this man is forced to retire now, he is not 90 years old like most retirees. He's still in the prime of his life, that is, between 20 and 90 - just like you, Jim".

Were Kirk to meet somebody like Mark Jameison, Mendez might also offer similar sympathies: "A man shouldn't look like that when he's only 80. He's roughly your age, and looks like 160 already!"

So, according to Mendez, Pike is 33 or 34 at this point. The mission to Talos IV was 13 years before that. So Pike was captain of the Enterprise at 20 or 21 years or age? And Kirk is the youngest captain in Starfleet?

Well, why not? Pike isn't a Captain in "The Cage", judging by his cuff braid, but a lowly Lieutenant.

I'd be quite happy with the idea that Pike in "The Menagerie" is in his forties, and thus a bit younger than Kirk in "The Cage". It's just all that stress and slave women and warm martinis and delta radiation leaks that make him look more mature in "The Cage"...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[JonnyQuest037]

Re: Where No Man Has Gone Before

Posted by Timo:
Of course, Mendez could for once be staying true to the (retroactively applied) premise that people in the future live longer active lives. That is, Mendez could be saying "Even though this man is forced to retire now, he is not 90 years old like most retirees. He's still in the prime of his life, that is, between 20 and 90 - just like you, Jim".

If that's how accurate Mendez is with numbers, I'd hate to be serving on a ship where he was the navigator.

"We're between 1 to 12,000 parsecs off our course, sir. The Klingon ship is right on top of us... It's only 16 sectors away!"

 

[Timo]

Re: Where No Man Has Gone Before

That's why he's a Starbase Commodore.

"We need between 5 and 500 new terminals around here. Take between 5,000 and 190,000 credits from the account and get things done in two or sixty days, is that clear?"

"Why, yes, Sir!"

"I saw that smile, Ensign... Just don't think you can try and exploit my alleged vagueness this time. I want full account of expenses from you or somebody in your department in zero to ten forms on my desk, or Commodore Stocker's or Commodore Stone's, no later than this century! Now snap to it."

Timo Saloniemi

 

[The Laughing Vulcan]

The Naked Time

The planet Psi 2000 is on the verge of destruction, and there is a scientific expedition there to observe the dying world. The Enterprise is assigned to remove the scientists from the planet and assist in the final observations. But beaming down, Spock and Joe Tormolen find a frozen base, with the entire team dead. Some unknown catastrophe has claimed the lives of the expedition, and investigating the tragedy, Tormolen is careless with his bubble wrap suit and ends up unwittingly infected. The decontamination sequence is ineffective in removing the infection, and the disease is brought aboard the Enterprise. It spreads unchecked, and the insanity becomes apparent when Joe Tormolen, in a fit of depression turns a knife on himself. Worse happens when navigator Kevin Riley barricades himself in engineering, declares himself Captain and assumes command of the ship. Spiralling down to an impact with the planet, McCoy must race against time to find a cure, Scotty must get back into engineering, Kirk must regain command and Spock must come up with an insane last-ditch scheme that will rescue the ship. The only trouble is that both Spock and Kirk are infected too.

A show so good that they made it twice. This classic episode, notable for Sulu’s turn as D’Artagnan and Riley toe curling rendition of Kathleen ranks among my favourite TOS episodes. It’s understandable why The Next Generation wanted to emulate it, pretty much remaking it beat for beat. However in remaking it, TNG got it wrong by missing the point. The disease works in the same way in both episodes, reacting with simple water to give an intoxicating effect to its victims. TNG’s mistake was to subvert its characters, so we had Tasha indulging her lust, Data becoming the galaxy’s first tipsy android, and Picard harrumphing inanely at Crusher. All aspects of the characters that we would rarely, if ever see again. Worse, it led to the boy saving the ship. It’s unwise to subvert your main characters early in a series’ run, and doing so just the second episode in is ridiculous.

Yet The Naked Time is just seven episodes into the production run of Star Trek and it works admirably well. This is because it doesn’t actually subvert the characters, rather it takes an existing and usually restrained character trait and brings it to the fore, and thus allows us to learn more in one hour about the characters than we would do so in a normal season. The key to the puzzle is Tormolen, whose usually restrained depressive tendencies are brought tragically to the forefront by the infection. As the disease spreads, we see the enthusiasms and passion of Sulu brought out as he memorably races through the corridors of the ship, bare-chested and brandishing a sword. Similarly Riley suffers from an excess of charm, and in a nice touch he can be seen having fun with the automatic doors. This is relatively early on in the story, when comic relief is in keeping with the tone. But as the peril of the ship increases, this also becomes apparent in the personality traits that appear in those who are then infected. Christine Chapel professes her love for Spock and with her touch infects him, tearing apart his logical demeanour and emotional control. We are made acutely aware of the dual nature of the character, the intense control that he keeps himself under and the equally intense emotions that he can usually keep in check. Finally there is the Captain himself, and we learn just how much he feels for his ship, the sacrifices he makes for command, which he willingly chooses to make. In that one declaration he makes, looking up at his ship, “Never lose you, never” We learn all that we ever really need to know about James Kirk. And that is why this episode works where the remake fails. This story gives us the characters, without pretension and with simplicity, and it is not a surprise when these character traits are revisited again and again in the episodes to come.

In retrospect however, I have come to hate the ending of the episode. Spock pulls a Vulcan rabbit out his hat at the last minute, and sends the ship hurtling back in time and space, with the Enterprise achieving Time Warp. The first time I saw this, there were four further episodes of the original series with the Enterprise Crew jaunting through history, as well as Star Trek IV. That was perfectly fine, and even with The Next Generation, the occasional time travel episode early on didn’t grate, including my favourite in Star Trek full stop, Yesterday’s Enterprise. But with the advent of Voyager, and even my favourite series DS9, Time Travel became the plot device of the week. Some of the episodes were good, but the whole Time Travel idea seemed to contravene the Trade Descriptions Act. When Enterprise unveiled the Temporal Cold War at the heart of its premise, I threw up my hands and just waited for them to rename the franchise Time Trek. Just like the A-bomb, I wish Time Warp had never been invented.