A series about navigators, huh?
Well, I suppose I could write a pilot...
Well, I suppose I could write a pilot...
Is Corbomite really that powerful?
- Thread starter c5maier
- Start date
I don't know what you all are plotting, but I'm making a list.
Thanks, guys (gals?) for all the input so far.
I indeed agree on a number of points. There is some nice characterisation of Kirk (pulling an ace from the sleeve), McCoy (almost) with his first "I am a doctor, not a ..." line and actually unwittingly saving the day and Spock (still the yelling kind, but already a bit harsh on his colleagues).
Also the dubbing of Balok's voice works very well. It may in fact be part of the problem that I have with this episode that I originally saw it in the German version, where they used a squeeky voice that totally defied the purpose (the French version is not much better).
And it was not my intention (although it reads that way) to put the blame on the original episode for not following up on Bailey, Balok etc. It just would have been nice to hear from them again later on. Nice find about the Tranya in Quark's bar - that bit had evaded me.
But if they scanned the small ship for oxygen content, should they have not taken a few more probes first to check on the validity of the distress call?
Further, if a low ceiling is mentioned and in line with the size of the occupant, it really should have been depicted that way. It would have been easy, doing it similar to the corridors of the Enterprise by laying a few beams across some support and be done with it.
I do not doubt the usefulness of drills in a military context, but the way it was depicted here seems like a case study in what to avoid:
[...] KIRK: Phaser Crew stand ready.
[Immediate response] BAILEY: Phaser Crew reports ready, sir.
SPOCK: Growing. We can take only a few more seconds of this.
[Pause] KIRK: Lock phasers on target. [Mitchell doesn't react] Mister Bailey, lock phasers.
BAILEY: Phasers locked on target, sir. At point-blank range and closing.
KIRK: Fire main phasers. [...]
KIRK: Mister Bailey, phaser crews were sluggish. [Huh?] You were slow in locking them into your directional beam. [Indeed] Helmsman, engineering decks could have been faster, too. [Again: Huh?] Program a series of simulated attacks and evasion maneuvers. Keep repeating the exercise until we're proficient, gentlemen. [...]
BAILEY [OC]: On the double, deck five! Give me a green light. [...]
BAILEY [OC]: Engineering, deck five, report. Phaser crews, come on, let's get with it. Phaser station two, where's your green light? [...]
BAILEY [OC]: This is the Bridge. All decks prepare to better reaction time on second simulated attack.
So our somewhat unbalanced navigator, as a reward for being slow at his post, is handed the opportunity by Kirk to bully the phaser crews. Now, this may be how it happens to be in the military (or even in business life) sometimes but is it in line with Kirk's leadership style?
I indeed agree on a number of points. There is some nice characterisation of Kirk (pulling an ace from the sleeve), McCoy (almost) with his first "I am a doctor, not a ..." line and actually unwittingly saving the day and Spock (still the yelling kind, but already a bit harsh on his colleagues).
Also the dubbing of Balok's voice works very well. It may in fact be part of the problem that I have with this episode that I originally saw it in the German version, where they used a squeeky voice that totally defied the purpose (the French version is not much better).
And it was not my intention (although it reads that way) to put the blame on the original episode for not following up on Bailey, Balok etc. It just would have been nice to hear from them again later on. Nice find about the Tranya in Quark's bar - that bit had evaded me.
But if they scanned the small ship for oxygen content, should they have not taken a few more probes first to check on the validity of the distress call?
Further, if a low ceiling is mentioned and in line with the size of the occupant, it really should have been depicted that way. It would have been easy, doing it similar to the corridors of the Enterprise by laying a few beams across some support and be done with it.
I do not doubt the usefulness of drills in a military context, but the way it was depicted here seems like a case study in what to avoid:
[...] KIRK: Phaser Crew stand ready.
[Immediate response] BAILEY: Phaser Crew reports ready, sir.
SPOCK: Growing. We can take only a few more seconds of this.
[Pause] KIRK: Lock phasers on target. [Mitchell doesn't react] Mister Bailey, lock phasers.
BAILEY: Phasers locked on target, sir. At point-blank range and closing.
KIRK: Fire main phasers. [...]
KIRK: Mister Bailey, phaser crews were sluggish. [Huh?] You were slow in locking them into your directional beam. [Indeed] Helmsman, engineering decks could have been faster, too. [Again: Huh?] Program a series of simulated attacks and evasion maneuvers. Keep repeating the exercise until we're proficient, gentlemen. [...]
BAILEY [OC]: On the double, deck five! Give me a green light. [...]
BAILEY [OC]: Engineering, deck five, report. Phaser crews, come on, let's get with it. Phaser station two, where's your green light? [...]
BAILEY [OC]: This is the Bridge. All decks prepare to better reaction time on second simulated attack.
So our somewhat unbalanced navigator, as a reward for being slow at his post, is handed the opportunity by Kirk to bully the phaser crews. Now, this may be how it happens to be in the military (or even in business life) sometimes but is it in line with Kirk's leadership style?
This early in the series, things weren't assumed to be as automated (or as oversimplified) as they became later on. Clearly it was Bailey's job to double as weapons officer and coordinate with the phaser crews belowdecks, just as it was Sulu's job as helmsman to coordinate with the people in engineering to make sure that power went to the engines and thrusters at the right moments and in the right amounts. All the members of the crew had to coordinate their efforts to get the job done, and it was the bridge officers who were responsible for directing that coordination and making sure it ran smoothly.
So in the context of the assumptions of the episode, it had nothing to do with Kirk's "leadership style." One man can't micromanage a whole crew of 430. It's his job to give orders to the department heads, who in turn give orders to the people working in their departments. How else could it possibly be done?
^^^ But what if - like in this case - the record clearly shows, that the department head was the only one who screwed up? I go along with McCoy on this one: Kirk promoted Bailey prematurely and was not willing to accept that as a fact. He could really count himself lucky that Balok happened to come along to take that hot potato off his hands before someone got burnt really badly.
I've never been a starship captain, but I did run a business for 21 years. I often found I got the best results by letting somebody fail and fall, but not too hard and not too far, then letting them attack the problem again. In general, when I promoted people too young, they responded well and I got more than I expected.
A series about navigators, huh?
Well, I suppose I could write a pilot...
This is one of those times that really calls for a "groan" smiley.
But, if you recall - all this is what starts the McCoy Kirk dialogue about Bailey through the entire episode:
McCoy: "Your timing is lousy, Jim.
and
McCoy: "I know you could have promoted him too fast. The Navigator position is hard on a seasoned man. Listen to that voice."
Also in context - given that the Captain's chair is supposed to have status displays too - it could be that Kirk was able to see that phaser crews were sluggish as well as Bailey screwing up. So, even IF it were bailey that screwed up - since his new, and coordination is a part of his job - the only way he's going to get better is if they drill him, and everyone who he coordinates with in this type of situation.
Lastlty, Kirk is the captain, not a cruise director; and although the focus may have changed in later seasons, this 'Enterprise' is a military ship; and Kirk is a hard ass captain who is able to call drills whenever he likes.
People,
This is one of my favorite eps of all time. Sure, it has its flaws, as the OP pointed out regarding Balok's mission and why he was all alone. I'm sure Bailey, in his extended tour aboard the Fesarius, got some answers.
BTW, years ago when DC Comics first started publishing ST comics around the mid-1980s, they had a companion series of books called Who's Who in Star Trek, where they came up with some interesting stories about what ever became of crewmembers like Bailey. They postulated that he became an ambassador, posted to the First Federation.
Must've been the tranya!
Red Ranger
This is one of my favorite eps of all time. Sure, it has its flaws, as the OP pointed out regarding Balok's mission and why he was all alone. I'm sure Bailey, in his extended tour aboard the Fesarius, got some answers.
BTW, years ago when DC Comics first started publishing ST comics around the mid-1980s, they had a companion series of books called Who's Who in Star Trek, where they came up with some interesting stories about what ever became of crewmembers like Bailey. They postulated that he became an ambassador, posted to the First Federation.
Must've been the tranya!
Red Ranger
Did anybody notice that when Balok was serving the tranya, everybody else's glasses were already poured and only he dipped from the punch bowl? So his taking a sip didn't prove a thing regarding how safe the other glasses were.
Besides, for all they knew, folks in the First Federation considered antifreeze a delicacy...
Besides, for all they knew, folks in the First Federation considered antifreeze a delicacy...
Indeed. But in the circumstances, would you risk being impolite, even if the only available alternative was to drink poison...?
Seriously, forks. Balok held all the trump cards, as at that point it should have been obvious that his ship's "distress" and state of weakness was but a further ruse. If the mean midget was out to kill them all, it wouldn't matter much whether Kirk sipped poison or fought his way back to his ship to perish with his friends. If the intents of the infant were honorable, though... Why, his show of no poison should be taken in the spirit, rather than rudely pointed out as ineffective.
As for the drill thing, I doubt it was ever intended as punishment or training for Bailey as such. Rather, it was a mindless job to keep the excitable Bailey occupied and to build up his self-esteem in letting him do what he was trained to do, and do it well - a standard military "reward", really. More importantly, it would have been a suitably mindless job to keep the rest of the phaser team from going stir-crazy. After all, the ship had recently exchanged fire with an enemy, and the enemy obviously was still out there; an excellent time for psychologically oriented drills, at least until one actually risks exhaustion.
Timo Saloniemi
Seriously, forks. Balok held all the trump cards, as at that point it should have been obvious that his ship's "distress" and state of weakness was but a further ruse. If the mean midget was out to kill them all, it wouldn't matter much whether Kirk sipped poison or fought his way back to his ship to perish with his friends. If the intents of the infant were honorable, though... Why, his show of no poison should be taken in the spirit, rather than rudely pointed out as ineffective.
As for the drill thing, I doubt it was ever intended as punishment or training for Bailey as such. Rather, it was a mindless job to keep the excitable Bailey occupied and to build up his self-esteem in letting him do what he was trained to do, and do it well - a standard military "reward", really. More importantly, it would have been a suitably mindless job to keep the rest of the phaser team from going stir-crazy. After all, the ship had recently exchanged fire with an enemy, and the enemy obviously was still out there; an excellent time for psychologically oriented drills, at least until one actually risks exhaustion.
Timo Saloniemi
Interestingly enough, apparently Mitchell was a helmsman, not a navigator, (despite the location of his bridge station), and Kelso was the navigator:
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Lee_Kelso
Corbomite Maneauver is the Ultimate Star Trek for me. I thought the episode was sheer brilliance in writing, directing and acting. I love the mystery, the feeling of exploration, even the non-violence of it (in spite of war movies being my second favorite genre). Any minor plot points can easily be forgiven when comparing this work to it's only competition at the time the episode was made. (Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!)
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