The Corbomite Maneuver

[Wingsley]

This week marks the 45th anniversary of the TOS ep "The Corbomite Maneuver", which first aired on NBC on 10 Nov. 1966!

I love this little adventure, which was a great introduction to TOS. It was also a beautiful exposition of Federation deep space diplomacy. Clint Howard was irresistible as the "real" Balok.

Happy Birthday, "Corbomite"!

 

[Captain Tracy]

NICE! Such a great episode!

It has all that early TREK charm which slowly got lost during the run,... like the whole exploring into deep unkonwn space with major uncertainty, the whole diplomacy and humanity at any cost, and leaving Bailey behind at his own request, as he is hungry to know other new and strange cultures,...

Great episode all around,... should have been the 2nd to last time the writers used the 'Starship Fly-Paper' gimmick though,... the space cheese buoy is one of the better thought-out ones.

One of the shows which really subscribed to the ideologies presented in the opening monologue: SPACE,.. The Final Frontier,.. ect, ect. you know the rest.

Awesome.

 

[Christopher]

Despite its delayed airdate, this was the first post-pilot episode filmed, and thus is the debut of Dr. McCoy and Uhura, the debut of the familiar uniform design and color scheme, and the debut of Sulu as helmsman. (But probably not the debut of the modified Enterprise with the swirly nacelle caps, since the FX for episodes aired earlier would presumably have been finished earlier.)

"Corbomite" is also the first ST episode I ever saw, and still a personal favorite.

 

[SchwEnt]

You got that right! A real winner, right from the start.
TCM really has so many of the great qualities of the best of TOS, all in one eps.

None of this latter-day ST where they need 2+ seasons to establish goodness. TOS nailin' it from the get-go

 

[Lucky]

This was a great episode. Definitely one of my faves.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Though not flawless, it is also a favorite of mine.

 

[kirsten187]

I really like this episode too - Spock is still "shouting" and, as mentioned earlier, it's McCoy's first episode.

 

[Alrik]

One of my all time favorite Trek episodes. Just love it. Hmm, all of a sudden I have a craving for Tranya.

 

[Robert D. Robot]

....
"Corbomite" is also the first ST episode I ever saw, and still a personal favorite.

"Corbomite" is also the first episode that I ever saw, too, although this fact still confuses me. Given my interest in "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" and other such science fiction programs even at that time, I am not sure why I missed the episodes broadcast earlier that Fall. I suspect that my parents must have had something else they wanted to watch and I was overruled those nights. I am glad that they eventually gave in! I did not care for the face of Balok at the time, but I sure did like the green woman in the closing credits! One of my favorite episodes.

 

[TOSalltheway]

Hands down all time best episode of any Trek series. If someone has never seen Trek and you want to introduce them to the ideals of trek this is the episode.

 

[Wingsley]

According to Memory Alpha, Balok's "Tranya" drink was actually grapefruit juice. (Which Clint Howard hated.)

 

[Christopher]

Would it had killed NBC to run this episode in production order sequence, so it'd be 2nd as opposed to 10th?

Part of the reason behind the airing order was network preference (they led with "The Man Trap" because it had a monster), but part of it was simple availability, since some episodes' post-production and effects work took longer than others. "Corbomite" had fairly elaborate visual effects, so it might've taken atypically long to complete them.

 

[Harvey]

Would it had killed NBC to run this episode in production order sequence, so it'd be 2nd as opposed to 10th?

Part of the reason behind the airing order was network preference (they led with "The Man Trap" because it had a monster), but part of it was simple availability, since some episodes' post-production and effects work took longer than others. "Corbomite" had fairly elaborate visual effects, so it might've taken atypically long to complete them.

They also wanted to alternate between planet-based and ship-based shows, which wasn't always reflected in the production order.

Still, I much prefer the production order, and wish the Blu-Rays had been released in that sequence. Maybe next time.

 

[Captain Robert April]

The main reason was the dearth of air-ready episodes (same reason "Where No Man Has Gone Before" got pushed into service, despite the different uniforms, props, and cast). And of those few that were ready to air, the only one that didn't require any amount of background knowledge to fully appreciate (sorry, "Naked Time") or overly jokey (see ya later, "Mudd's Women"), or overly weird (wait your turn, "Charlie X" and "Enemy Within"), was the fairly standard, easy for new viewers to understand "Man Trap". Plus, it was the first episode where anyone actually died, which always (in the network executive mind) equals "excitement."

 

[diankra]

Would it had killed NBC to run this episode in production order sequence, so it'd be 2nd as opposed to 10th?

Part of the reason behind the airing order was network preference (they led with "The Man Trap" because it had a monster), but part of it was simple availability, since some episodes' post-production and effects work took longer than others. "Corbomite" had fairly elaborate visual effects, so it might've taken atypically long to complete them.

Also, Corbomite is very set-light, and might have been shot first for that reason. Even episodes like Mudd's Women and Man Trap needed the planet set to be ready for use (and the transporter, and the rec room... IIRC, didn't all the standing sets have to be moved from Culver City to the Desilu lot between production of the pilots and the series?).

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

NICE! Such a great episode!

It has all that early TREK charm which slowly got lost during the run,... like the whole exploring into deep unkonwn space with major uncertainty, the whole diplomacy and humanity at any cost, and leaving Bailey behind at his own request, as he is hungry to know other new and strange cultures,...

Absolutely. One of my top five favorites, ever.

 

[Wingsley]

One of the great things about "Corbomite" was that it took place entirely in deep space. Unlike later exploration-based TOS eps, many of which were planet-based, "Corbomite" was a story about two spacefaring civilizations that encounter each other "out there", between the stars.

The essence of TOS was probably best captured when Spock reported to Kirk over the intercom: "We're picking up an object, sir. Much larger, coming toward us." That's great drama, using the viewer's imagination, and it didn't cost a penny in FX.

 

[Captain Tracy]

WINGSLEY - SPOT ON MAH-MAN!!!!!

What the heck happened?

The original mission was to go boldly WHERE NO MAN HAD GONE BEFORE,....

And as you point out, look at the DRAMA just encountering ANYTHING is,... the tension is awesome,... not to mention the mystery,.. the trepidation,... THE UNKNOWN - mankinds GREATEST FEAR,...

Reference THE CAGE,.. all they "encountered" was a radio wave,... And the whole ship is on RED ALERT,... yet,..

Soon after we have KIRK and crew doing 'milk runs' in known space,... and when things like a GIANT HAND-SHAPED GRAVITY FIELD FILLS THE FWD VIEW-SCREEN AND 'GRABS' THE SHIP,... it's like,.. business as usual,... hell they didn't even bother to have a female scream and faint.

Damn, I really though the posture and attitudes demonstrated in CORBOMITE, should have set the ENFORCED TONE of ALL FUTURE STORIES,... or would it have become melodrama after the 22nd alien encounter?

 

[Saxman1]

WINGSLEY - SPOT ON MAH-MAN!!!!!

What the heck happened?

The original mission was to go boldly WHERE NO MAN HAD GONE BEFORE,....

And as you point out, look at the DRAMA just encountering ANYTHING is,... the tension is awesome,... not to mention the mystery,.. the trepidation,... THE UNKNOWN - mankinds GREATEST FEAR,...

Reference THE CAGE,.. all they "encountered" was a radio wave,... And the whole ship is on RED ALERT,... yet,..

Soon after we have KIRK and crew doing 'milk runs' in known space,... and when things like a GIANT HAND-SHAPED GRAVITY FIELD FILLS THE FWD VIEW-SCREEN AND 'GRABS' THE SHIP,... it's like,.. business as usual,... hell they didn't even bother to have a female scream and faint.

Damn, I really though the posture and attitudes demonstrated in CORBOMITE, should have set the ENFORCED TONE of ALL FUTURE STORIES,... or would it have become melodrama after the 22nd alien encounter?

Nah, it would have been AWESOME IMHO! I love the first season, particuarly the early eps with all the "weirdness." To me that's the best Star Trek, that magical first season with hardly any duds. This rewatch, the kids and I watched practically all of season 1, but are skipping all over the place when it come to season 2.

 

[Captain Tracy]

SAXMAN1 - Yes,..... WEIRDNESS,... exactly! I often say those early epi's have a Twilight Zone feel to them,... so good!