Operation – Annihilate: Operation – Stay Awake

[Tan Ru]

Okay, I just finished season one of my TOS-R set.

What are your thoughts on Operation – Annihilate! ??

I remember liking this episode as a kid during the 70’s re-runs, but now it’s like, WHAT A SNOOZE-FEST!! Dramamine® doesn't even put me to sleep as fast as this episode!

I really cannot hold my attention on it for some reason, I think it’s because I find it excessively talky, not much action and the abrupt finale.

I wish that I liked it as much as when I was young, I mean it does have good things going for it:

• Shatner as a corpse with a mustache.
• A cool and futuristic outdoor colony setting
• Flying fake vomit / brain-cell creatures
• Kirk’s hot sister-in-law (YEEAAA!)
• Kirk’s young nephew that never speaks (booooo…)
• Kirk blows-up on Uhura and doesn't apologize.
• Several phaser special effects. (very nice)
• Nurse Chapel with strawberry-blonde hair.
• And the new set (lab) of Sickbay and all the cool new props.

So, good production values, great acting (as usual) and pretty good overall storyline I think. And yet, it’s missing something. It’s missing passion or something along those lines. I just find it rather dull. And dull to me is a greater sin than campy, corny, dated, poor FX etc.

Yeah, there are dorky things like Kirk ordering McCoy to over-drug the sister-in-law which eventually kills her and McCoy stupidly blinding Spock. Come to think of it, Spock stupidly lets himself be blinded. I'm glad that I wasn't a red-shirt in McCoy’s sickbay that day!

I think the ending is rather anti-climatic as well. And no "thanks a lot" from the colony or anything, the ungrateful SOB’s.

The first season should have ended on a high point with City rather than a sleeper like OA, IMHO.

So what is the general consensus here? 'Yay or 'Nay on Operation – Annihilate! ??

 

[Jeri]

I thought it was a pretty tense episode. I can't stand it when the creature smacks Spock on the back. How can you sleep with that woman yelling the whole time?

 

[Steve67]

For the most part, I really like it! The Mid-Century Modern college(?) is, too use a term of the period, "Far Out." It's an intense episode. I just think they shouldn't have brought Kirk's family into it. "Sam"? Ugh. The drama with Spock was more than enough what with his going blind. And I liked that curvy junior officer? I forget her name...Yeoman Zahra!

Now if I could only stay awake during "The Immunity Syndrome"!

 

[M'Sharak]

For the most part, I really like it! The Mid-Century Modern college(?) is, too use a term of the period, "Far Out."

If you mean the location used for the episode, that's Space Park, in Redondo Beach, California. At that time, it was the headquarters for aerospace-tech company TRW Systems (now owned by Northrop-Grumman.) You can spot some of the places seen in the episode in the pictures on this page, including one of filming in progress.

 

[Steve67]

For the most part, I really like it! The Mid-Century Modern college(?) is, too use a term of the period, "Far Out."

If you mean the location used for the episode, that's Space Park, in Redondo Beach, California. At that time, it was the headquarters for aerospace-tech company TRW Systems (now owned by Northrop-Grumman.) You can spot some of the places seen in the episode in the pictures on this page, including one of filming in progress.

Thanks for the Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo point of view!

That's one of the few times that I liked a real location as opposed to the soundstages. IMO those soundstages with the hum that sounds like someone's leaning on a Moog synthesizer, adds to the "otherwordly" feel. The desert locations, not so much. California's just been filmed by everyone, obviously.

 

[Jeri]

M'Sharak, thanks for the link. The second one has a picture of Star Trek filming there in 1967.

 

[Doug Otte]

M'Sharak, thanks for the link. The second one has a picture of Star Trek filming there in 1967.

It's interesting to see the TRW employees watching the filming from the walkway overhead. I wonder if it was hard to keep them quiet during takes? From now on, whenever I watch that episode, I'll think of the spectators during those location scenes.

Doug

 

[Shatmandu]

Nice episode. Could be better.

The whole 'Kirk's family' angle wasn't needed. He would have felt the same things, and gone through the same struggles, if it were just people he didn't know.

The first draft really played up Kirk's potential option of killing every living thing on the planet. Starfleet basically says, "It's up to you, pal. Count us out."

And I do absolutely love the blooper when the stagehand makes the vomit tag Nimoy on the ass. Between that and "The plants act as a suppository,' I don't know which makes me laugh more.

Joe, Mr. Giggles

 

[Nerys Myk]

As fans of Green Acres my sisters and I called the creatures "flying hotscakes"

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

For the most part, I really like it! The Mid-Century Modern college(?) is, too use a term of the period, "Far Out."

If you mean the location used for the episode, that's Space Park, in Redondo Beach, California. At that time, it was the headquarters for aerospace-tech company TRW Systems (now owned by Northrop-Grumman.) You can spot some of the places seen in the episode in the pictures on this page, including one of filming in progress.

My girlfriends mother works there!

 

[Neopeius]

If you mean the location used for the episode, that's Space Park, in Redondo Beach, California. At that time, it was the headquarters for aerospace-tech company TRW Systems (now owned by Northrop-Grumman.)

As a historian, I've gone to the archives in the base of the big building at Space Park. There's a spot in that episode where Kirk and Co. go under a bridge toward the cafeteria where I've had lunch several times. It was really, really cool to walk down there.. and imagine hundreds of pancake monsters waiting for me

 

[plynch]

WAIT -- Spock's not really blind!! He's got nictitating membranes!! Phew!! The ultimate in cheap, lazy writing. I should add it to that thread.

And overall I like the episode: Big, tough decision for Kirk (the heart of drama according to DGerrold) and a sacrifice on Spock's part, though mitigated.

My kids and I used to call the creatures "booger bats" by the way.

 

[plynch]

For the most part, I really like it! The Mid-Century Modern college(?) is, too use a term of the period, "Far Out."

If you mean the location used for the episode, that's Space Park, in Redondo Beach, California. At that time, it was the headquarters for aerospace-tech company TRW Systems (now owned by Northrop-Grumman.) You can spot some of the places seen in the episode in the pictures on this page, including one of filming in progress.

Great pics. I have always thought it looked like a "modern" community college, myself. And the dudes in white, short-sleeve dress shirts -- I can almost see the slide rules and pocket protectors from here. (No offense -- thanks for the space program, people!)

And I have to say I like it when ST goes on location, since it just looks real-er. I like my sci-fi fantasy as realistic as possible!

 

[Tan Ru]

Now if I could only stay awake during "The Immunity Syndrome"!

YES! IS is a sleeper as well. Glad I am not alone on that one as well...

 

[Jeri]

As a historian, I've gone to the archives in the base of the big building at Space Park. There's a spot in that episode where Kirk and Co. go under a bridge toward the cafeteria where I've had lunch several times. It was really, really cool to walk down there.. and imagine hundreds of pancake monsters waiting for me

That is so cool! You are a historian?

 

[plynch]

Now if I could only stay awake during "The Immunity Syndrome"!

YES! IS is a sleeper as well. Glad I am not alone on that one as well...

TOTAL sleeper. Maybe worst episode of TOS for that fact. No coolness like space hippies or Spock's hair being good after a brain operation. Just DULL. Woof.

 

[Cakes488]

Now if I could only stay awake during "The Immunity Syndrome"!

YES! IS is a sleeper as well. Glad I am not alone on that one as well...

TOTAL sleeper. Maybe worst episode of TOS for that fact. No coolness like space hippies or Spock's hair being good after a brain operation. Just DULL. Woof.

Wait a minute...doesn't sleeper mean that you didn't even notice it and then it became a big hit? So then you liked this episode...yayyyyyy meeeeee tooooo! I mean how can you resist flying puke anyway??

 

[plynch]

YES! IS is a sleeper as well. Glad I am not alone on that one as well...

TOTAL sleeper. Maybe worst episode of TOS for that fact. No coolness like space hippies or Spock's hair being good after a brain operation. Just DULL. Woof.

Wait a minute...doesn't sleeper mean that you didn't even notice it and then it became a big hit? So then you liked this episode...yayyyyyy meeeeee tooooo! I mean how can you resist flying puke anyway??

Correction then: "snoozer." And not "Annihilate," (ok) but "Immunity": Zzz.

 

[Grant]

Terribly written episode.

It's taken the creatures two hundred years to travel from from four systems and the pattern is well established? Nothing's been done. no one noticed the pancake creatures at any previous site? What is it the parasites want? All the brilliant scientists onboard can't figure the possible effects of UV and other spectrums of light might have on the creatures?
Wouldn't intense UV rays also have bad effects on the colonists as well?

They were, at first, going to throw intense white light at all the citizens of the colony and that would reach even people deep in a basement?
I'm not a scientist but can white light penetrate concrete?

The creature on board is drawing strength from the whole, but they can't burn it or radiate it to death because it draws from the whole entity, but then they hit the one creature with the light and it dies? Does that mean the white light caused it to be unable to draw strength or was that single white light more powerful that the entity?

The white light was going to penetrate to even people underground but it couldn't penetrate spock's extra eyelid? What is that eyelid made of?

Spock's blind--oops no he's not!

It's the bottom five of first season episodes, but for some reason episodes with location shooting always seem cooler.

 

[The Squire of Gothos]

Wait a minute...doesn't sleeper mean that you didn't even notice it and then it became a big hit? So then you liked this episode...yayyyyyy meeeeee tooooo! I mean how can you resist flying puke anyway??

I though that was what it meant too (and I'm not even American).

I love the episode, brilliant how flying puke is one of the most threatening adversaries for the crew.