Random observation alien power.

[Autocad]

Saticon Chick and telstar like this

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Just watched two episodes. 'The Apple' and 'Who Mourns for Adonis'.

Both episodes although they were good stories, had basically the same ending. The Enterprise used the phasers to destroy the central power system.

Just a random observation recently after watching the show for over 50 years.

The Squire of Gothos, the power was in the mirror. Anyway, doesn't diminish the stories at all. As Spock would say I find them fascinating.

John P.

 

[johnnybear]

The power was in the mirror yes but maybe as an enhancement of his powers rather than the total force as Trelane could swing a great transmuted sword all by his little self.
JB

 

[Metryq]

I don't agree with this analysis. Using the phasers to destroy what seemed to be a central power source is but a plot point. Hardly "the same ending."

In "Who Mourns For Adonais?" it is suggested that Mankind crossed paths with advanced extraterrestrials sometime in its history. They came, they left their mark, and they went. Without getting into the subtleties of "gods" needing worship, the ETs apparently did not linger on Earth very long. And Apollo's display after the destruction of his temple showed that it was not the source of his power, or at least not the only asset in his tool chest. How much of his power, if any, was innate?

"The Apple" is a peculiar tale. How exactly did the People of Vaal come to be? Were they a civilization that "voted their way into a system that needed shooting to get out of"? Were they a protected lab experiment set up by another civilization, or perhaps a colony sent forth from elsewhere? (Imagine a sub-light starship with no sleepers, no on-board generations living out the voyage—just the germ plasm of the species to be seeded and raised by advanced machines at the distant colony world.) Kirk and company knocked over an apple cart they knew nothing about.

And Trelane? He was the "child" of an apparently highly advanced race. And like Apollo, Trelane had other resources at his command than "the mirror." Maybe the mirror was his "social media" audience. It's a fascinating concept, but the episode, as-is, should not be taken as anything more than a tongue-in-cheek treatment of the idea. (I love it when Kirk calls Trelane pompous.)

 

[Pauln6]

It's a common sci fi trope. You see a variation all the time in older Dr Who stories.

I suppose in this era, the concept of power redundancy was less refined. Even emergency batteries seemed to last about 5 minutes in Elaan of Troiyus.

 

[publiusr]

The mirror machine wasn’t exactly the source of his power—but it might be the highest level tech seen on screen—even if it was another plaything…

 

[Phaser Two]

Just watched two episodes. 'The Apple' and 'Who Mourns for Adonis'.

Both episodes although they were good stories, had basically the same ending. The Enterprise used the phasers to destroy the central power system.

Just a random observation recently after watching the show for over 50 years.

The Squire of Gothos, the power was in the mirror. Anyway, doesn't diminish the stories at all. As Spock would say I find them fascinating.

John P.

That's a good observation. The two stories are so tonally different that they've never really struck me as all that similar. But both definitely belong to the highly familiar "Aliens Immobilize the Enterprise" subgroup. And Kirk was enjoying a little bit of his plug-pulling hobby on Vaal, too, just without dropping any logic bombs. "Who Mourns for Adonais," by contrast, has that wistful, sad element to it ("I wish we hadn't had to do this") that really held up wonderfully when I rewatched it recently.

Personally, any time the Enterprise fires its main phasers, I love it. I'm no warhawk or anything despite the username—quite the opposite, actually—but those effects were top notch. And seeing the E as an actual powerhouse vessel, rather than a story problem requiring neutralization for plot convenience, is quite entertaining. Plus, the awesome final sequence of the E and Apollo exchanging anguished zaps—are you kidding me?