Production Order Group Viewing 2018

[johnnybear]

Kirk mentions Sam and his family seeing him off on this last mission to Roger Korby and his androids and tries to trick his own duplicate although Deneva wasn't referenced in What Are Little Girls Made of? Now if that is screened after Operation: Annihilate it would become a big error!
JB

 

[Poltargyst]

Catspaw

I'm so glad they renewed for another season!

Dead Man Talking. I was going to use this as my next clue when I used Catspaw in the Name That Episode thread. I'm so clever.

I wonder why they beamed Scotty down to what they thought was an uninhabited planet with no technology. Sulu makes sense with his background in the sciences.

Who's this new guy...Chekov? And why is there a dead beaver on his head?

Those witches. Shakespeare they're not.

If one of your crew was dead, and two others missing, wouldn't you beam down with an entire security team?

Spock can tell you obscure historical details about Earth's past, attended Starfleet Academy on Earth, knows about familiars, but doesn't know what Trick or Treat is.

"Bones...Doc." Haha. I always chuckle at that.

Maybe Spock should try a Vulcan mind trick on Scotty and Sulu.

Sylvia is shy about changing out of her cat form in front of others? Maybe she's nude when she changes and needs to get dressed?

Wonder how Sylvia and Isis would get along.

Sounds like Sylvia and Korob have a Klingon mind sifter.

I'm not really that attracted to Sylvia in any of her forms. Maybe as a cat.

It's neat to see DeSalle, Uhura, and Chekov work together.

Sulu has martial arts training, but it is no match for Kirk Fu.

That's cool how Kirk kicks the mace out of McCoy's hand then belts him. Now THAT is some cool Kirk Fu.

Heh. Don't let her touch your wand, Captain.

Why did Sylvia and Korob die? Because the wand was destroyed?

It's an entertaining enough episode, and I liked watching it this time through with a black cat on my lap (although he refuses to ever change into an attractive female human), but it doesn't really have much of a plot, and I found myself struggling the entire episode to even understand what the point was.

So Sylvia and Korob are these beings from another galaxy that are very different from humans. They are...scouting out our galaxy in advance of an invasion? And they've come to this particular planet...why exactly? And they've taken human form because they want to know what life is like in this galaxy. And they decided to lure the crew of the Enterprise down to their planet to...gain information about the galaxy and its inhabitants? And also because they don't know how to do the kind of science that Earth people do and they need to learn that. And they appeared to be trying to warn the Enterprise away, by killing Jackson, by giving the warning out of Jackson's mouth, by the witches warning them to go away, by using the scary stuff of Halloween to try to frighten them away. But all of that turned out just to be a test? So they had to be worthy before Sylvia and Korob could plum their knowledge? But Sylvia decided she liked being human with all the sensations that come along with that too much, and she got out of hand somehow and became a threat not only to the Enterprise crew, but also to Korob. So she lost the mission by wanting to experience being human. Hmmm, seems a bit thin, but we're talking about an episode with a giant black cat and rhyming witches so whatever.

So did more of Sylvia and Korob's kind ever come to further their invasion?

Looking at the wiki page, I see that Robert Bloch wrote this episode, and he also wrote What Are Little Girls Made Of? and both episodes mention the Old Ones. Same Old Ones?

Alien watch! Do we know what Sylvia and Korob's kind are called? Apparently we don't.

Season 1
Talosians
That big ugly Rigellian guy Pike fought in illusion
Vina as an Orion girl in illusion
Glimpse of other aliens captured by Talosians
Ron Howard's brother
That dog from Enemy Within
Salt monster
That hand plant...Gertrude
Spock (duh)
Charlie's parents (Thasians)*
Romulans!
(Ruk)
Miri's planet kids (bonk bonk)
Giant ape creatures of Taurus II
Shore Leave Caretaker guy
Trelaine and his folks*
Gorn
Metrons*
The Lazerii
The remarkably human-looking aliens of Beta 3. (RotA)
The remarkably human-looking aliens of Emineminar VII (AToA)
The Triffids of Omicron Ceti III (TSoP)
The refreshingly non-human-looking Horta
Organians*
Klingons! (Remarkably human looking).
(The Guardian of Forever)
Flying pancakes

Season 2
Sylvia and Korob

*Alien Watch sublist: omnipotent aliens!

 

[Mytran]

CATSPAW

So, the crew have 2 explicit warnings to go back – clearly Sylvia and Korob did not want visitors on their planet. But in a twist it was taking the form of the deterrents (at least as they saw them) that seduced and corrupted Sylvia. A deeper moral of this otherwise lightweight story, perhaps? It's the best I've got.
Other thoughts:

• Nice new, optimistic music to begin this season. And those freshly sewn new uniforms look spankin'!
• Lots of name dropping in the first 2 minutes – everyone except for DeSalle and Chekov is included
• Great to see DeSalle again! And he’s really giving it 100%. Is he up for promotion?
• At the dinner table, Korob offers the wine to McCoy – he is certainly aware of the doctor’s vice!
• People get knocked unconscious really easily in this episode - Kirk, Spock and McCoy fall maybe 8 feet and take a nap, Sulu bumps his head on a door and McCoy apparently has a glass jaw! Maybe the transmuter had something to do with it?

With Deforest Kelly’s name now in the opening titles, the “invincible triumvirate” silliness begins – Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down with no security support whatsoever

Kirk tries to make the moves on Sylvia but she sees that it is a ruse! Can this one really be counted on the romance board, since both parties are aware of the deception?

Kirk’s final solution (smashing the transmuter) is an effective solution to the problem – but makes the preceding threats seem even less threatening.

This story was an interesting dabble in a "themed" episode, but I hope they don't make more. What on earth would a "Star Trek Christmas" be like?

 

[Pauln6]

This one is pure cheese but I loved it as a kid. I agree with the illogic of the second landing party. I mean they obviously needed a yeoman in there too.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

But Sylvia decided she liked being human with all the sensations that come along with that too much, and she got out of hand somehow and became a threat not only to the Enterprise crew, but also to Korob. So she lost the mission by wanting to experience being human.

Kind of like a deep undercover agent developing sympathy for/allegiance to the cause of the group they've infiltrated?

 

[Poltargyst]

Metamorphosis

Another bitchy commissioner??? Is that a prerequisite for the job? At least she has a reason with her Sakuro's disease.

I'm curious what the Enterprise is doing and why they needed to send a shuttlecraft to pick up Hedford and why they needed to send the Captain, First Officer, and Chief Medical Officer. I guess McCoy makes sense due to her Sakuro's.

"Jim, we have to get her to the Enterprise." "I insist you make your rendezvous with the Enterprise." Thank you both for the incredibly helpful suggestions.

"Sit back and enjoy the ride." One of those iconic lines that stood out to me in childhood.

No, I'm not happy that Cochran here is presented as serious and responsible and quite the opposite in First Contact.

Speaking of which, odd how no one mentions First Contact with the Vulcans when they learn he is Zephran Cochrane, although he did recognize Spock as a Vulcan.

The Federation has 1000 planets.

Not exactly sure how Kirk and McCoy could know so certainly that it is love just by the Companion hovering over Cochrane, but okay.

Scotty: Always great in command.

Interesting: how does the Universal Translator know the Companion is female? And in what sense is the Companion female? There is such a thing as male and female energies, and she has female energy?

There's that theme again: humans can't be happy idle. Humans must have obstacles to overcome.

Kirk, unable to make the Companion self-destruct with a logic paradox nonetheless speechifies her into action.

The Companion believes in God. Or at least Hedford does.

"I'm sure the Federation can find another woman somewhere who'll stop that war." Interesting. Not another commissioner, but another woman. Are the combatants on Epsilon Canaris III more likely to listen to a woman?

I've always found it ridiculous the idea that Kirk leaves them there alone and doesn't tell anyone they're there. There are too many bad things that can happen. What if they get sick? Or badly injured? What if she has a baby? If one of them dies young, the other will be unbearably miserably alone for the rest of their life. I prefer to think Kirk does report that they are there, the Federation sends a supply ship every six months or sets up a station on the far side of the planet so Zeph and Hedford-Companion can have privacy but help when they need it.

Decent episode.

Alien watch! The Companion in the house! But she's yet another alien whose species they don't bother to name.

Season 1
Talosians
That big ugly Rigellian guy Pike fought in illusion
Vina as an Orion girl in illusion
Glimpse of other aliens captured by Talosians
Ron Howard's brother
That dog from Enemy Within
Salt monster
That hand plant...Gertrude
Spock (duh)
Charlie's parents (Thasians)*
Romulans!
(Ruk)
Miri's planet kids (bonk bonk)
Giant ape creatures of Taurus II
Shore Leave Caretaker guy
Trelaine and his folks*
Gorn
Metrons*
The Lazerii
The remarkably human-looking aliens of Beta 3. (RotA)
The remarkably human-looking aliens of Emineminar VII (AToA)
The Triffids of Omicron Ceti III (TSoP)
The refreshingly non-human-looking Horta
Organians*
Klingons! (Remarkably human looking).
(The Guardian of Forever)
Flying pancakes

Season 2
Sylvia and Korob
The Companion

*Alien Watch sublist: omnipotent aliens!

 

[Phaser Two]

^THAT is a great post.

I have little to offer except that I love the way Shatner pronounces "Companion" when he's addressing it, as "Come-PAN-yon."

Oh, and incidentally, this is an *outstanding* Kirk-Spock-McCoy episode. Right up there with Friday's Child, City and All Our Yesterdays for me. McCoy is flawless (as is Dee Kelley) in this one.

 

[Pauln6]

I never used to like this one but it has grown on me. I disliked the implication that Headford could only have a successful career if she foreswore love, presumably because a husband would selfishly require her full attention. I think I would have liked her more if there had been some discussion of the political situation she was supposed to be fixing that actually involved her input. Instead, she's another example of a female character whose qualifications are expressly stated in dialogue but never demonstrated.

I like the interaction between the troika and the way they try to puzzle their way out of their predicament, although Spock's presence on the shuttle is entirely illogical. This is one of those odd occasions where a yeoman as part of the away team would have actually made sense (as Kirk's pilot) or even Nurse Chapel would have made more sense. it might have been fun watching McCoy and Chapel working out the Companion's biology instead of that know-it-all Spock, although I accept he had become the most popular character by this point.

I think they were jumping to conclusions over the companion's 'feelings' for Cochrane. People love their pets but are generally not in love with them. It's possible that they made the decision to over-egg it to get Cochrane onside, I suppose.

Cochrane seemed a bit too wholesome with very tidy clothing for a man who had been alone for so long. He would have been so much more fun if he'd been more like Tom Hanks in castaway.

 

[johnnybear]

Love makes the world go around, the world go around! That and a few Dilithium crystals anyway!
JB

 

[Mytran]

METAMORPHOSIS

• “It’s a big galaxy Mr Scott” - Nichelle Nicols' delivery of this line is perfect
• No Enterprise until 27 minutes into the episode!
• It seems they managed to piece that shuttlecraft together after its destruction in The Galileo Seven – at any rate, the name is exactly the same

This is a thoughtful, well written script that focuses heavily on the characters and at the same time expands the history of the Star Trek universe – much like Conscience Of The King last season.
It’s an episode that I didn’t think much of when younger, but now is one of my favourites – Gene Coon is a fantastic writer and George Duning’s music raises the bar even higher.

Actually, the way the episode starts does raise a question – why are Kirk, Spock & McCoy alone with Hedford on the shuttlecraft? Did they shuttle down to the planet with her for the negotiations? Where is the Enterprise? Did another emergency call it away at the exact same time?
It’s a really good story but the reasons for it to occur are obviously so contrived that they aren’t even mentioned on screen.

Kirk’s speech to Cochrane really encapsulates the wonder and the inspirational nature of the Star Trek universe:

We're on a thousand planets and spreading out. We cross fantastic distances and everything's alive, Cochrane. Life everywhere. We estimate there are millions of planets with intelligent life. We haven't begun to map them. Interested?

 

[johnnybear]

No it's the Galileo II, in Metamorphosis, Mytran!
JB

 

[Mytran]

No it's the Galileo II, in Metamorphosis, Mytran!
JB

I would like to think so, but if that is the case then they must have run out of paint when writing the name on it:
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/2x09hd/metamorphosishd0189.jpg

Fortunately, by the following year this will have been remedied:
http://www.trekcore.com/tos/hd/albums/3x20hd/thewaytoedenhd1368.jpg

 

[Commishsleer]

I would like to think so, but if that is the case then they must have run out of paint when writing the name on it:
http://tos.trekcore.com/hd/albums/2x09hd/metamorphosishd0189.jpg

Must be a smaller shuttlecraft as Spock looks way too tall.
Maybe Metamorphosis happened before Galileo 7?

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Must be a smaller shuttlecraft as Spock looks way too tall.
Maybe Metamorphosis happened before Galileo 7?

It's the same exact mockup. They only ever had one and it cost a fortune.

You might be noticing that the mockup was a lot smaller than the interior shuttlecraft set. "To boldly go where Lost in Space has gone before."

 

[Poltargyst]

Now that I think of it, is the Companion the only one of her kind? Or is there a species of them? Are there males as well as females? Do they have a home planet? Does each one take off and claim a section of space and then start looking for a mate? Do they reproduce somehow? We really need a Companion origin story.

 

[Mytran]

Spock talked about the planet being like a remnant of a larger world, so I assume the Companion's home planet broke up and she is all that's left of the population.

 

[gottacook]

The FIRST George Duning score for Star Trek, and one of the greatest. (In broadcast order, a fragment of it is heard in the execrable "The Apple," in the kissing scene with the native couple. "Metamorphosis" wasn't broadcast until 4 weeks later.)

 

[gottacook]

Addendum to the above: I just noticed that there's also ~10 seconds' worth of "Metamorphosis" music in another episode that aired before "Metamorphosis" did: "I, Mudd" (which is on H&I right now), in the scene where Chekov is sitting on Mudd's throne and talking with the two Alices.

 

[Maurice]

I...This is one of those odd occasions where a yeoman as part of the away team landing party would have actually made sense...

Fixed that for you.

It's the same exact mockup. They only ever had one and it cost a fortune.

If recall correctly the exterior mockup and model cost the show nothing, since AMT built it in exchange for model kit rights.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

If recall correctly the exterior mockup and model cost the show nothing, since AMT built it in exchange for model kit rights.

Yeah, I think that's true. But it cost somebody a fortune, and there were never going to be two mockups, is what I meant.