This one may have been a "worse" episode, but may have not offended his principles or politics as much as "A Private Little War."
The Alternative Factor
- Thread starter Terok Nor
- Start date
This one may have been a "worse" episode, but may have not offended his principles or politics as much as "A Private Little War."
You can say that again.
I rather liked anti-Lazarus. He was reasonable, understanding, and helpful. His dialogue with Kirk on the anti planet was one of the most enjoyable parts of the production. I have to say he possessed an incredible equanimity for someone about to be plunged in a never ending cage match. I don't suppose I've really ever really thought about it before, but would normal physical conditions affecting a species' physiology be suspended in the corridor? For instance, wouldn't the two combatants get physically tired of brawling at various times and need to take breaks, let alone sleep? More importantly, wouldn't they simply starve to death at some point, however strong as a bull both of them were?
Just saw this on MeTV last night. Just to look for details.
Why does LT Leslie get to take the Captain's chair when the navigator next to him is in Command Division colors and wearing the rank of Lt Commander?
And after several occasions of Lazarus running off and getting into mischief and mayhem. Kirk never puts guards on him or throws him in the brig.
And in Sickbay, Kirk dismisses the guard after McCoy complains. Instead of telling him to post outside the door in the corridor. And right after McCoy tells Kirk Lazarus won't escape again. They both leave and Lazarus jumps out of bed because he's not in restraints. Who's going to stop him? McCoy?
Then on the bridge when Spock shows Kirk the blinking white dot on the planet's surface. Spock can't tell that it's the same approximate location of Lazarus' spaceship?
Near the beginning when Starfleet Command tells Kirk that they assume an imminent invasion. They have absolutely no evidence to support that conclusion. The phenomenon was felt galaxy wide. But they have no idea if it was caused naturally or artificially. Or what it actually is.
And if a planet's gravity was to suddenly turn off for a split second. I'd think that the planet would explode from the internal forces of it's core. And then collapse back into itself when the gravity was on again. A very bad day for anyone unlucky enough to be on it's surface.
Why does LT Leslie get to take the Captain's chair when the navigator next to him is in Command Division colors and wearing the rank of Lt Commander?
And after several occasions of Lazarus running off and getting into mischief and mayhem. Kirk never puts guards on him or throws him in the brig.
And in Sickbay, Kirk dismisses the guard after McCoy complains. Instead of telling him to post outside the door in the corridor. And right after McCoy tells Kirk Lazarus won't escape again. They both leave and Lazarus jumps out of bed because he's not in restraints. Who's going to stop him? McCoy?
Then on the bridge when Spock shows Kirk the blinking white dot on the planet's surface. Spock can't tell that it's the same approximate location of Lazarus' spaceship?
Near the beginning when Starfleet Command tells Kirk that they assume an imminent invasion. They have absolutely no evidence to support that conclusion. The phenomenon was felt galaxy wide. But they have no idea if it was caused naturally or artificially. Or what it actually is.
And if a planet's gravity was to suddenly turn off for a split second. I'd think that the planet would explode from the internal forces of it's core. And then collapse back into itself when the gravity was on again. A very bad day for anyone unlucky enough to be on it's surface.
I don't know that they were supposed to be able to fly, they were portals and time machines by dialog.
It was definitely tough, stood up to the ship's phaser fire for several seconds.
That the other universe was antimatter came from Kirk, and not either Lazarus (anti-Lazarus kind of said "whatever"). From what is seen on screen, I think "counterpart-matter" or opposite-matter would better fit what's said. Anti-Lazarus can come in physical contact with McCoy and all is fine, he just can't touch Lazarus.
†
I'm also thinking of Lt. Palamas falling for Apollo. If Masters falls for Lazarus, then that's three examples of women betraying their shipmates the first time a hottie comes along, which definitely doesn't make women look very good at all.
Roddenberry re-wrote Ingalls substantially on "A Private Little War," completely depriving him of credit for the teleplay and therefore depriving him of a portion of the residuals. "The Alternative Factor" may have been a mess, but Ingalls received full credit for the story and teleplay, and the full residuals that came with "written by" credit.
That was a HUGE realization for me: The Galaxy is on invasion alert, unexplained phenomenon are ripping through the quadrent, and THIS guy is clearly the key to the whole thing...yet he hangs out in the crew lounge drinking a coffee and wanders around the ship like he owns it and Kirk just keeps letting it happen. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
One thing I've noticed over the course of TOS, Enterprise security procedures weren't Kirk's strong point.
Apparently, you missed a few of the later TZ episodes, in the 4th and 5th seasons...."Come Wander With Me" to name one...
He was not missed.
Yes, Janet MacLachlan was very attractive and delivered a performance that was worthy of several appearances. Unfortunately for the series, she was not offered return visits.
Agreed. Those seasons contained episodes that seemed more like low-grade TZ parodies of "lets be weird" or "do something with a twist, 'cause that's what we do!" than anything worthy of earlier years. Aside from the episode you mentioned, "Black Leather Jackets," "The Fear," "Spur of the Moment," and "From Agnes--With Love" also come to mind as just bad episodes.
You want to watch this episode with the usual mandatory cuts that the BBC used to enforce on every episode! That way you'll be totally in the dark!
JB
One thing I've noticed over the course of TOS, Enterprise security procedures weren't Kirk's strong point.
Well Kirk did have a Ship to command and reports that needed to be filed and signed before he had to worry about the odd alien infiltrator in the crew lounge surely?
JB
I though it was funny how they crammed all of that stuff into the Briefing Room set. There was a table and chairs right in front of the door. Lazarus couldn't help but bump into people. Then you got that one crew woman that seems to be repeating her direction over and over in her head "Stare aimlessly at the wall...Stare aimlessly at the wall...Stare aimlessly at the wall."
At the end of the episode, when the Enterprise destroys Lazarus' ship, the ship in the anti-matter universe is also destroyed. How does this happen? Is there an anti-matter version of the Enterprise (perhaps the I.S.S. Enterprise of the mirror universe) which destroys it at the same time? This suggests that there are duplicates of the entire Enterprise crew in the anti-matter universe, and that when the two Lazaruses trade places, one of them goes to the other ship. But if this is true, when Captain Kirk enters the anti-matter universe at the end of the episode, why doesn't the anti-matter Kirk, who presumably would be following the same course of action, enter ours? If he didn't, then how did the anti-matter Enterprise know to destroy Lazarus' ship on their side? Or did the ship just automatically cease to exist in the anti-matter universe once it was destroyed in ours?
Lazarus at one point confesses to him and his alter-ego being time travelers. However, they show no indications of being able to travel through time, only being able to travel through the warp between the universes (which is not the same thing).
After Lazarus is treated by McCoy, he goes to relax in the recreation room, still wearing the bedraggled and torn uniform he wore on the planet. Can't McCoy at least supply him with some fresh clothes so he doesn't go around the ship looking like a bum?
Spock says "Madness has no purpose. Or reason. But it may have a goal." Aren't a purpose and a goal exactly the same thing?
In the later Star Trek movies such as Generations and others, Captain Kirk is giving credit for saving the galaxy lots of times. However, this is the only episode according to my reckoning where he actually saves the whole entire galaxy!
Lazarus at one point confesses to him and his alter-ego being time travelers. However, they show no indications of being able to travel through time, only being able to travel through the warp between the universes (which is not the same thing).
After Lazarus is treated by McCoy, he goes to relax in the recreation room, still wearing the bedraggled and torn uniform he wore on the planet. Can't McCoy at least supply him with some fresh clothes so he doesn't go around the ship looking like a bum?
Spock says "Madness has no purpose. Or reason. But it may have a goal." Aren't a purpose and a goal exactly the same thing?
In the later Star Trek movies such as Generations and others, Captain Kirk is giving credit for saving the galaxy lots of times. However, this is the only episode according to my reckoning where he actually saves the whole entire galaxy!
About half the dialogue is so bad that the rest seems unpalatable in the company, too. But some of it is actually par for the TOS course, and would have merely given the episode an exotic scifi flavor if not for the other shortcomings.
The "antimatter" thing is no doubt but a metaphor, and we wouldn't look at it twice in better company. Time travel may well be how Lazarus stumbled onto this hole between universes, and why regular space travelers don't. Etc.
And how much more sense could the wanderings of the Lazari have made if the fact that the two were constantly swapping places were properly written and edited? Surely that would frustrate Kirk's security measures if properly done.
Timo Saloniemi
The "antimatter" thing is no doubt but a metaphor, and we wouldn't look at it twice in better company. Time travel may well be how Lazarus stumbled onto this hole between universes, and why regular space travelers don't. Etc.
And how much more sense could the wanderings of the Lazari have made if the fact that the two were constantly swapping places were properly written and edited? Surely that would frustrate Kirk's security measures if properly done.
Timo Saloniemi
On the first page of the thread, I questioned why the destruction of the portal took such a relatively long time. Redfern addressed that question and your more general one, in his response below.
Techno-crapple theory... Since the craft served as a doorway between the two universes, and thus two ships, the phaser energy had to "bleed" into the antimatter realm to destroy the dupliacte craft. the "neutral corridor" acted like a kind of "heat sink" so a lot more power had to be applied than to something like a comparable sized shuttlepod.
.Or it was just an excuse to have a visually dramatic sequence. Take your pick.
I like how they filmed the anti-matter universe scene on a set as opposed to on location , so that it looked unsettlingly "off", not quite real.
I liked the fact that the "bad" one, the crazy Lazarus , was ours. not the anti-matter one.
Why were the Lazaruses threatening? Because of the extent of the possible damage. You could walk up to him and just phaser him. Maybe they should have. In cold blood. Kirk just obliterates him surrounded by witnesses, and then can't prove his story. Take him prisoner? He's very good at escaping custody, and then two universes are in danger again.
I liked the fact that the "bad" one, the crazy Lazarus , was ours. not the anti-matter one.
Why were the Lazaruses threatening? Because of the extent of the possible damage. You could walk up to him and just phaser him. Maybe they should have. In cold blood. Kirk just obliterates him surrounded by witnesses, and then can't prove his story. Take him prisoner? He's very good at escaping custody, and then two universes are in danger again.
What if the reason this episode is bad (I don't mind it that much) is that we're actually watching the so-called "anti-matter" universe. That would make anti-Lazarus OUR Lazarus. All the crazy badness and out of characterness of the main cast can then be attributed to it being an anti-universe.
Also am I the only heterosexual male who doesn't find Masters particularly attractive? I mean, she's not "AAAAH my eyes!", but neither is she "AAAAH my eyes...".
Also am I the only heterosexual male who doesn't find Masters particularly attractive? I mean, she's not "AAAAH my eyes!", but neither is she "AAAAH my eyes...".
That's "ahhhhh" for good and "AAAAAH" for fear and alarm.
Watching Alternative Factor right now!
I love Lazarus's ship. I would tots tool around space in that.
"Kill, kill, kill, kill." Wasn't as bad as I remembered. But his dancing around on the rocks during the earthquake was pretty bad.
Lazarus falls three stories and gets a headache. Must be because the gravity was in flux at the time.
Man, if they had played the two Lazaruses a bit more subtly that would have been an epic reveal.
Ok. That episode wasn't really as bad as everyone makes it out to be. The ending was pretty solid.
I love Lazarus's ship. I would tots tool around space in that.
"Kill, kill, kill, kill." Wasn't as bad as I remembered. But his dancing around on the rocks during the earthquake was pretty bad.
Lazarus falls three stories and gets a headache. Must be because the gravity was in flux at the time.
Man, if they had played the two Lazaruses a bit more subtly that would have been an epic reveal.
Ok. That episode wasn't really as bad as everyone makes it out to be. The ending was pretty solid.
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