The Star Trek Thread

[Nouseforaname]

1 minute ago, devnull said:

 

And that's a review of Picard Season 1.  If Season 1 was garbage, Season 2 somebody lit the garbage on fire

 

Tho I do disagree with the reviewers criticism of the girl fight.  That fight between Seven of Nine and the Romulan chick was kinda giggity

 

I don't remember the fight you were referring to but the biggest facepalm for me was when Riker showed up with the USS CopyPaste.  

 

No creativity at all.

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode The Tholian Web airing Wednesday April 27 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short while on patrol the Enterprise comes across a sister ship namely the Defiant which is caught in an interdimensional phase shift.  Upon boarding the Defiant it becomes obvious that its crew had been affected by madness to the point where the crew was dead from attacking one another.  While attempting to beam back to the Enterprise Kirk remains trapped on the Defiant with the same madness affecting the Enterprise but at the last minute Kirk is rescued while McCoy devises an antidote to spare the Enterprise crew from complete madness.

 

 

  Guest Star : Yes, there was one but not in a live part.  Barbara Babcock who voiced Trelane's mother and played Mea 3 in A Taste of Armageddon voiced the Tholian ship commander.  Not a lot to do but I'll give her credit to putting in a day's work for a far less glamorous role than she was used to.

 

 

  Plot : The episode needed a filler in terms of time and pacing so we got aliens who used a web to subdue their opponents versus immediate destruction.  This was needed to work Spock and McCoy through McCoy's initial disgust at Spock assuming command to a point where McCoy respected Spock even if he did not agree with Spock's overall approach.  Anyways, it could be argued that the Tholian's could not make extensive use of weapons due to the risk of destabilizing space to the point where they would become entrapped in the interphase along with the Federation vessels.  Also, more plot device than plot was the concept of madness and a need for McCoy to race the clock to find a solution to avoid the fate of the Defiant crew.  By the way it seemed by this point in the series getting drunk or stoned was the solution to many maladies in the series.

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : This most likely is the ultimate Troika episode in terms of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.  Not only that but the blue shirt team had to deal with their problems short a live and interactive Kirk.  Anyways, I liked how De Kelley brought his character along from raw anger to respect for Spock.  And Nimoy did well offering a "Forget it, Bones" response to the doctor's outburst.  Shatner does quite well even for spending a fair amount of time as an apparition.  Walter Koenig as with The Deadly Years shows why he was the go to man when an episode called for a hysterical crewman.  Often overlooked but I feel this was a strong episode for Nichell Nichols in terms of showing self doubt when she saw interphase Kirk.  Doohan's interjections of immediate concern were well paced and reminded us that the Enterprise was under tight margins to regain control of its fate.

 

 

  Writing : It was pleasing that quite a bit of material was spread over most of the cast.  The characters were allowed to shine.  Talking about the concept of an interphase had to be difficult from a writing perspective but any mention in the episode came across as intelligent and well thought through.  Spock and McCoy were allowed to show their professional admiration in Kirk in their own distinct ways.

 

 

  Production : Worth discussing plus I am light in the Guest Star material.  Ralph Senensky started this episode off in terms of directing.  Problems developed when the life support suits the landing party wears onboard the Defiant were not completed on schedule wasting the better part of a shooting day.  A person might say go shoot something else and that was done to a limited extent.  But shooting is done set by set with the Enterprise bridge set was redone complete with dim lighting, tossed chairs, and the dead captain plus crewman on the deck near the helm station.  Time would have been needed to shift the set to normal Enterprise mode complete with bright lights and properly made up actors.  The bottom line was Senensky was called to producer Freiberger's office at the end of the day part way through only to be fired.  Herb Wallerstein who was considered in the profession a fireman (or in baseball a closer) got the nod to finish the episode and has the only director credit for The Tholian Web.  These moves were immediately reported in the Hollywood trade papers and I suspect was the beginning of the feeling that Freiberger was himself just there to get the minimum episodes filmed so Star Trek could head into syndication to be a cash cow for Paramount.  Anyways, check out Senensky's other work including the highly rated The Walton's episode The Conflict both parts.

 

 

  Music : I liked the breezy strain played while the title card was shown.  Generally, cues were well placed and used.  

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight :  The remaster has new footage of the two starships and I am evenly split in terms of liking old material versus new.  Some shots were unique and could not be done in the model era of the 1960's but some other shots were too video game like lacking depth for the ships.  But for the Tholian Ship the CGI helped make it look like a functioning vessel capable of any space maneuver.

 

 

  Summary : All in all a good adventure that if expanded would have made the basis for a feature length production.  Plot devices are what they are and all shows use them so I cannot demerit too much.  Good form for the characters and for the actors that portray them.  If you like effects heavy episodes then The Tholian Web should work for you.  I give it an A -.

Edited April 24, 2022 by RochesterRob

[B-Man]

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode Let That Be Your Last Battlefield airing Wednesday May 4 airing on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short the Enterprise picks up a stolen shuttlecraft complete with passenger and shortly thereafter intercepts an alien who has his own ideas as to the fate of the shuttle thief.  Both aliens from the same world have psionic powers which makes working to a peaceful resolution for the aliens impossible.  This is all rendered moot as the Enterprise is locked on course to the aliens' home world where they disembark to continue the mutual hostility between them.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Lou Antonio as Lokai a member of a persecuted population on the planet Cheron.  I like the energy Antonio brought in pleading his case to Kirk and command crew.  Also, his pitch to the "people" of the Enterprise in the rec room.  Antonio certainly did not treat his appearance as though it was a throw away on a show heading for cancellation.  Antonio's career high was appearing in the 1967 counter culture classic Cool Hand Luke as one of the prison farm inmates along with Star Trek veteran Morgan Woodward as the boss with no eyes.  Frank Gorshin as Bele a member of the ruling class on Cheron.  Kind of disappointed the producers did not find a way to amp Gorshin's character up to the level of Gorshin's much more widely known Riddler.  I say this because Gorshin could use his energy to good effect on Batman including a fair amount of freedom in terms of acting.  I think that a structured show such as Star Trek worked to his disadvantage having viewed material that stated it took considerable time for Gorshin to get through his lines to complete a take.  This annoyed Shatner greatly.  Nonetheless it was fun seeing Gorshin appear complete with his character's take on the subject of evolution.

 

 

  Plot : We have to make this a 52 minute episode and the only way to do that is to pull a Bewitched complete with aliens with super powers.  Other than regaining control of the Enterprise there is really not much more for the Enterprise crew to do than listen to the guest characters moan about their lot in life.  Probably the lowest stakes for an episode in all the series.  But it was all done in the name of discussing racism which was considered uber important in 1969.  In a way it has a contemporary feel as a shame feeling episode got produced to make all who watched it feel ashamed.  So in a way even though Star Trek was failing one could argue that LTBYLB was one small step toward going woke, one big step towards going broke.  The better approach would have had a black actor (maybe Don Marshall back as Lt Boma) as an Enterprise crewman getting caught up in the culture of Cheron perhaps to the point of being life threatening.  But this was not likely to happen as the Star Trek budget was getting chopped in terms of location and sets.  

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : No character stumbles or associated actor blunders but they could have all called in their performances in terms of what was required of them.  It would have been nice if they had Nichelle Nichols stand up as a member of a one time oppressed minority but that as not even explored.  But then again Nichols may not have had the chops to do such a performance.  

 

 

  Writing : Mission accomplished in terms of what the episode wanted which was an out in the open discussion of racism.  Probably the best aspect of the episode that the dialog was fairly intelligent and spread out among the actors.

 

 

  Music : Some new scores would have been nice but we got reused material.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : A new vision of a starbase shuttlecraft and the planet Charon in the remaster which was appreciated.  I was one of the few back in the day that was not butt hurt by Bele's craft being invisible.  You would figure that some advanced beings would develop such ships to move about in stealth hopefully in more benign pursuits such as space exploration.

 

 

  Summary : An episode that would make the 2022 woke crowd proud.  Despite my admiration of Gorshin in terms of being a good character actor and impressionist he just does not make this episode shine.  Clock in and clock out for the production day for Shatner and Co.  The Aunt Bea learns to fly an airplane equivalent of The Andy Griffith Show.  I give it a C + (mainly due to Antonio and my general feelings towards Gorshin).

Edited May 1, 2022 by RochesterRob

[B-Man]

45 minutes ago, RochesterRob said:

  This week's review will be of the episode Let This Be Your Last Battlefield airing Wednesday May 4 airing on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short the Enterprise picks up a stolen shuttlecraft complete with passenger and shortly thereafter intercepts an alien who has his own ideas as to the fate of the shuttle thief.  Both aliens from the same world have psionic powers which makes working to a peaceful resolution for the aliens impossible.  This is all rendered moot as the Enterprise is locked on course to the aliens' home world where they disembark to continue the mutual hostility between them.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Lou Antonio as Lokai a member of a persecuted population on the planet Charon.  I like the energy Antonio brought in pleading his case to Kirk and command crew.  Also, his pitch to the "people" of the Enterprise in the rec room.  Antonio certainly did not treat his appearance as though it was a throw away on a show heading for cancellation.  Antonio's career high was appearing in the 1967 counter culture classic Cool Hand Luke as one of the prison farm inmates along with Star Trek veteran Morgan Woodward as the boss with no eyes.  Frank Gorshin as Bele a member of the ruling class on Charon.  Kind of disappointed the producers did not find a way to amp Gorshin's character up to the level of Gorshin's much more widely known Riddler.  I say this because Gorshin could use his energy to good effect on Batman including a fair amount of freedom in terms of acting.  I think that a structured show such as Star Trek worked to his disadvantage having viewed material that stated it took considerable time for Gorshin to get through his lines to complete a take.  This annoyed Shatner greatly.  Nonetheless it was fun seeing Gorshin appear complete with his character's take on the subject of evolution.

 

 

  Plot : We have to make this a 52 minute episode and the only way to do that is to pull a Bewitched complete with aliens with super powers.  Other than regaining control of the Enterprise there is really not much more for the Enterprise crew to do than listen to the guest characters moan about their lot in life.  Probably the lowest stakes for an episode in all the series.  But it was all done in the name of discussing racism which was considered uber important in 1969.  In a way it has a contemporary feel as a shame feeling episode got produced to make all who watched it feel ashamed.  So in a way even though Star Trek was failing one could argue that LTBYLB was one small step toward going woke, one big step towards going broke.  The better approach would have had a black actor (maybe Don Marshall back as Lt Boma) as an Enterprise crewman getting caught up in the culture of Charon perhaps to the point of being life threatening.  But this was not likely to happen as the Star Trek budget was getting chopped in terms of location and sets.  

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : No character stumbles or associated actor blunders but they could have all called in their performances in terms of what was required of them.  It would have been nice if they had Nichelle Nichols stand up as a member of a one time oppressed minority but that as not even explored.  But then again Nichols may not have had the chops to do such a performance.  

 

 

  Writing : Mission accomplished in terms of what the episode wanted which was an out in the open discussion of racism.  Probably the best aspect of the episode that the dialog was fairly intelligent and spread out among the actors.

 

 

  Music : Some new scores would have been nice but we got reused material.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : A new vision of a starbase shuttlecraft and the planet Charon in the remaster which was appreciated.  I was one of the few back in the day that was not butt hurt by Bele's craft being invisible.  You would figure that some advanced beings would develop such ships to move about in stealth hopefully in more benign pursuits such as space exploration.

 

 

  Summary : An episode that would make the 2022 woke crowd proud.  Despite my admiration of Gorshin in terms of being a good character actor and impressionist he just does not make this episode shine.  Clock in and clock out for the production day for Shatner and Co.  The Aunt Bea learns to fly an airplane equivalent of The Andy Griffith Show.  I give it a C + (mainly due to Antonio and my general feelings towards Gorshin).

 

 

I did always like the "destruct sequence" standoff in this episode

 

 

 

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode The Cloud Minders airing Wednesday May 11 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short arriving at a world (Ardana) to pick up a critically needed compound Zenite reveals a sharp division between producers and elitists.  Kirk is thrust into the middle of this as he needs to get this compound to a world that needs it to survive.  After being pinched between the two factions Kirk arranges for an isolated encounter to resolve the issue so the compound referenced as Zenite can be readily obtained by the Federation as needed and to install measured fairness which would be needed for induction into the Federation.  

 

 

  Guest Stars:  Jeff Corey as the leader of Ardana named Plasus.  The role called for an actor that could do bald faced anger at times and Corey did quite well at this.  Also, believable as a leader who can not see a labor issue which was right under his nose plus show restrained affection towards his daughter.  Corey taught acting to many well known names including Jack Nicholson and ST's own Leonard Nimoy.  Diana Ewing as Plasus daughter Droxine who lives a life of idle contentment until it becomes obvious that the miners live under harsh conditions with little hope for change.  Adequate for the role plus wears the skimpy Bill Theiss dress also adequately as she has no curves to exploit.  Charlene Polite as Vanna the leader of the miner's rebellion.  Polite understands her role well enough to not let her character fall to the charms of Captain Kirk.  Also, knows how to get her digs in with Plasus.

 

 

  Plot : Probably one of the best for Season 3 in terms of believability which is a relative statement.  This story could have very well taken place in contemporary times.  Could have been a government official of the US sent outside US borders to secure a medicine only to find malaise at the production center due to serious malcontent by the workers to the point production of the critical good is not happening.  That a hard headed local bureaucrat is not helping in the least in terms of production of the critical good.  That the US official has a libido which could get in the way of getting things back on track.  I guess that one of the few nitpicks would be that Spock is a little out of character in terms of being charmed by the local girl.  Early on he might have been tempered by the Prime Directive in terms of butting out of Ardana's problems but was certainly a student of Kirk's cowboy diplomacy by then.

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : I thought that KIrk was a little harsh and blunt given his quite a bit less than an authority figure when it came to the affairs of Ardana.  Yes, he needed the Zenite but made the confrontational too personal taking into account the effects of the Zenite gas and its effects on humanoids including naked aggression.  Again, as mentioned above Spock is a bit out of character using more emotion than logic here.  Everybody else such as Scotty and McCoy were pretty much relegated to the background.

 

 

  Writing : Pretty well paced and Jeff Corey was allowed to flesh out a character that otherwise might have turned out as a run of the mill guest appearance.  The producers wanted to talk about labor issues at a time when labor unions mattered to a lot of Americans and strikes happened plus turned up on the national news during the evening.  Would the theme of this episode be too blue color for the woke-ist writers of today?

 

 

  Music : Served the episode fairly well.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : The remaster as always shows an updated planet but we get a pleasing re-imagination of the cloud city Stratos.  Speaking of Stratos did George Lucas steal that idea for The Empire Strikes Back?  Star Trek probably was not the first to come up with such a concept but sometimes it is he who does it best that gets the recognition.

 

 

  Summary : Nuts and bolts real world issue for the time in labor strife shown.  Strong performance by Jeff Corey.  The characterization of Kirk and Spock off center a little bit.  The cloud city Stratos an interesting concept.  Somehow lacks a little pizazz that would excite most viewers.  I give it a B -.

Edited May 8, 2022 by RochesterRob

[Wacka]

Well .Lucas used the cranes at the Port of Oakland  for his Imperial Walkers on  the ice planet Hoth.  After I moved to the SF  Bay area and saw the cranes, I said "Imperial Walkers!" The chances are close to 100% that he copied Star Trek.

[devnull]

19 hours ago, Wacka said:

Well .Lucas used the cranes at the Port of Oakland  for his Imperial Walkers on  the ice planet Hoth.  After I moved to the SF  Bay area and saw the cranes, I said "Imperial Walkers!" The chances are close to 100% that he copied Star Trek.

 

Just about everything Lucas did with Star Wars was a copy of something else.  The plot itself is a Japanese Samurai film Hidden Fortress.  The Death Star run is a mix of WWII fighter footage and a WWII movie called The Dam Busters

 

 

 

But still fun movies

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

19 hours ago, devnull said:

 

Just about everything Lucas did with Star Wars was a copy of something else.  The plot itself is a Japanese Samurai film Hidden Fortress.  The Death Star run is a mix of WWII fighter footage and a WWII movie called The Dam Busters

 

 

 

But still fun movies

 

Not many people have seen The Hidden Fortress...but if you ever do, you'll likely be shocked at how much Lucas stole outright from Kurosawa.  Even the swipe-cuts are identical.

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode Where No Man Has Gone Before airing Wednesday May 18 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short the Enterprise investigates a galactic barrier with the result damaging the ship considerably.  While heading for an observation station on Delta Vega it is discovered that a byproduct of the encounter is two crew members are now endowed with immortal powers.  Spock deduces that the arrogance gained by these two will endanger the ship so a decision is made to strand them on the planet but not before an ultimate confrontation which Kirk wins.  

 

 

  Guest Stars :  Gary Lockwood as Lt Gary Mitchell.  Mitchell's character called for an actor to play the role loose and large which Lockwood excelled at.  Lockwood is also believable as a friendly contemporary to Kirk complete with a reference to a pretty blonde lab technician who is indirectly hinted at in Wrath of Khan as Dr Marcus.  Sally Kellerman as Dr Dehner a psychologist on temporary assignment to the Enterprise.  I like Kellerman but it seemed that the producers did not have much planned for the character until late in the episode once Mitchell and Dehner were down on Delta Vega.  Anyways, Kellerman does fine to reach back for her humanity in Dehner and appealing to Mitchell to do likewise.  In the end although I know both actors were "rents" to do the second pilot both Dehner and Mitchell would have been nice to have for the series and it is too bad that a fatal climax was their destiny in the Star Trek universe.  I'm not going to reference everybody but feel a need to mention Lloyd Haynes who would go on to star in Room 222.  Not a lot for him to do here but just by the time we was given I would have liked to have seen him around more as well.  We get veteran actor Paul Fix here as De Kelley has not yet been approached to do McCoy.  

 

 

  Plot : The Enterprise takes on the mission to penetrate the galactic barrier.  Interesting concept but one that gets pooh-poohed for lack of apparent evidence for such.  How would we know if light which is our way to do lots of extra-terrestrial measuring can readily pass through such a phenomena?  Would the energy from such a phenomena create super human powers?  That I can more readily doubt.  The Enterprise limps to Delta Vega.  At impulse power that would seem like it might take years but then we know that a sci-fi series needs to indulge in short hand.  NBC was not going to afford a series 3 hours to make its launch.  Kirk seems slow to recognize to potential danger that would come from the zapped crew members. 

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : We get the introduction for Scott and Sulu here.  Not much room for Sulu to do much but Scotty is thrown right into being the improviser to keep the ship running by yanking a control panel from the research station and installing it at a bridge station.  The future does look bright when looking at modular engineering to make a starship go.  As a 10 year old kid in the 1970's it made me sit down and think about how things work.  No surprise that Jimmy Doohan inspired many people to be engineers.  Excellent episode for Spock here as he gets to pound the notion of impending danger here which was absent when the Enterprise picked up Khan later in the season.  Good episode for Kirk as well.  It was interesting seeing him engage with a human character that was friend first and crewman second.  Something that we never saw again in the series.  McCoy was never entirely on the same level as he had some professional oversight as to Kirk.

 

 

  Writing : Well paced and little time wasted.  Decisions were made as to background such as with the galactic barrier for good or bad.  Those decisions while questionable initially did what they were intended to do which was advance the story.  I would have liked to have seen a little more depth for Dr Dehner initially and maybe that was pondered but not pursued.  

 

 

  Music : A lot of the familiar scores start with this episode.  I'd like to say more but the time never seems to be there to dig in deeper as to how some of it came to be.  

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : The Enterprise in the Galactic Barrier is a treat in the remaster complete with vivid color.  Delta Vega gets a facelift as well.

 

 

  Production :   Being the second pilot there are a few things to say.  Second pilots in the television business are quite uncommon.  It has been said that Desilu owner Lucille Ball pushed for NBC to take another look at Star Trek.  Did Ball have a whimsical take on the show most likely not but no doubt was trying to recover production costs for sets and props that had no other application.  New actors were brought in and the reasons cited over the years have changed.  The latest is that Jeffrey Hunter did not want to come back but I will go with NBC wanting a younger and more brash captain in Shatner's Kirk.  James Doohan was brought in as he was good friends with the director James Goldstone.  Had things unfolded differently we may have never had our favorite Scottish engineer to pull Kirk's haggis out of the fire time and time again.  To me it seemed like Roddenberry and Goldstone dreamed big to get Kellerman and Lockwood to shoot the second pilot but the payoff was definitely there versus raiding the breakroom at Desilu.  Back to Ball there was a picture of her helping the production crew ready the bridge set by painting that I saw many years ago ahead of shooting the second pilot.  The uniforms were not quite settled as Spock gets a gold shirt and Scott along with Sulu get blue shirts.  Sexist pig that I am I did appreciate that some women of the future would want to wear slacks.   

 

 

  Summary : Bringing in Shatner for the series and Kellerman plus Lockwood for the second pilot paid dividends.  The same with Doohan as Scotty.  NBC got what it wanted in a mano-e-mano climax that they could sell  to the general public.  Spock has a prominent role here.  I give it an A -.

 

 

  Post note : The main facility on Delta Vega was a lithium cracking station to process lithium to use as a power source aboard Federation ships.  The decision was made to change to dilithium early in the first season to avoid discoveries that might be made to render lithium impractical as a power source.  Star Trek did use professional researchers as source material for scientific information.  I wonder if lithium power was even on the drawing boards for the many applications we see today for things such as common power tools?

Edited May 15, 2022 by RochesterRob

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode Dagger of the Mind airing Wednesday May 25 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short what should be a routine delivery of goods winds up being a mystery as to why a stowaway transports aboard.  Kirk beams down with a female expert while Spock and McCoy interview the stowaway.  A nefarious plot is exposed where the colony's leader controls the minds of others with the stowaway's credibility restored and the perpetrator dying in the clutches of his mind altering device.  

 

 

  Guest Stars : Morgan Woodward as Dr Van Gelder.  Woodward prior to this appearance was a staple of Westerns but wanted a change of pace thus this episode.  Playing a character fighting to control his mind was a challenge that Woodward did quite well.  Check out his being strapped down to a sickbay bed and sobbing.  Something seldom seen on the mundane landscape of 1960's US television.  A very intense portrayal.  Career highlights include a substantial role in the 1967 counter culture classic Cool Hand Luke and appearing on the show Dallas as an ally to the Ewing Family.  James Gregory as the penal colony administrator Dr. Adams.  He surprised me in that he could do vicious behavior when he overpowers Kirk's assistant while they were checking out a treatment room.  His best known accomplishment was playing Inspector Lugar on the 1970's sitcom Barney Miller who due to old age was somewhat befuddled most of the time.  Marianna Hill as Dr Helen Noel Kirk's assistant to investigate what was happening at the penal colony.  Don't underestimate Hill as her credentials seem to mostly consist of being beautiful and Elvis Presley's girlfriend.  She delivers her lines with conviction and also does stuntwork as she leg presses a (unwilling) goon into a power grid.

 

 

  Plot : I know I tend to use this section to nitpick but there really is not a whole lot to criticize here.  Force field tends to be a plot device to extend the story for 40 minutes but if a major penal colony of the future a government would want this if available to keep cons from readily escaping.  The neural neutralizer is an interesting device that seems to leave a subject more broken down than reconstructed although Adams says he can place any thought in a person's mind.  The Vulcan mind meld makes its introduction here to great effect.  It allows Spock and McCoy a glimpse as to what had been going on with the Tantalus Penal Colony.  The biggest criticism I see with this episode is Dr Adams motivation.  Even in the future people will crave power and the neural neutralizer if widely used would allow Adams to be a major factor inside the Federation or just outside.  Roddenberry kind of shot himself in the foot with this after making it known that people of the 23 Century would have minimal need to have power over others.   

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : Bravo to the big three here.  Kirk gets to be front and center in the action here.  Delivers the blow to Adams that would ultimately kill Adams.  Spock gets to uncover what has been going on with Tantalus using his Vulcan gifts of reading minds.  McCoy gets to do what a Chief Medical Officer is supposed to do which is to offer advice and reason as to what is going on with Van Gelder and the possible danger Kirk may be facing.  

 

 

  Writing : Dr Noel despite the attention of bringing Marianna Hill in as eye candy is written as a very competent professional.  Something that should have been done more with characters such as Uhura and Nurse Chapel.  Quite a bit of dialog was afforded to Morgan Woodward which was a very wise choice.

 

 

  Music : Good cues and I love the score used while Noel was fighting off the goon.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : Not much changed but Tantalus gets a facelift in the remaster.

 

 

  Summary : Good episode for Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.  The Vulcan mind meld.  Good believable plot.  All three major guests support the production well.  Nice climax.  I give it an A.

Edited May 22, 2022 by RochesterRob

[Taro T]

6 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

  This week's review will be of the episode Dagger of the Mind airing Wednesday May 25 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short what should be a routine delivery of goods winds up being a mystery as to why a stowaway transports aboard.  Kirk beams down with a female expert while Spock and McCoy interview the stowaway.  A nefarious plot is exposed where the colony's leader controls the minds of others with the stowaway's credibility restored and the perpetrator dying in the clutches of his mind altering device.  

 

 

  Guest Stars : Morgan Woodward as Dr Van Gelder.  Woodward prior to this appearance was a staple of Westerns but wanted a change of pace thus this episode.  Playing a character fighting to control his mind was a challenge that Woodward did quite well.  Check out his being strapped down to a sickbay bed and sobbing.  Something seldom seen on the mundane landscape of 1960's US television.  A very intense portrayal.  Career highlights include a substantial role in the 1967 counter culture classic Cool Hand Luke and appearing on the show Dallas as an ally to the Ewing Family.  James Gregory as the penal colony administrator Dr. Adams.  He surprised me in that he could do vicious behavior when he overpowers Kirk's assistant while they were checking out a treatment room.  His best known accomplishment was playing Inspector Lugar on the 1970's sitcom Barney Miller who due to old age was somewhat befuddled most of the time.  Marianna Hill as Dr Helen Noel Kirk's assistant to investigate what was happening at the penal colony.  Don't underestimate Hill as her credentials seem to mostly consist of being beautiful and Elvis Presley's girlfriend.  She delivers her lines with conviction and also does stuntwork as she leg presses a (unwilling) goon into a power grid.

 

 

  Plot : I know I tend to use this section to nitpick but there really is not a whole lot to criticize here.  Force field tends to be a plot device to extend the story for 40 minutes but if a major penal colony of the future a government would want this if available to keep cons from readily escaping.  The neural neutralizer is an interesting device that seems to leave a subject more broken down than reconstructed although Adams says he can place any thought in a person's mind.  The Vulcan mind meld makes its introduction here to great effect.  It allows Spock and McCoy a glimpse as to what had been going on with the Tantalus Penal Colony.  The biggest criticism I see with this episode is Dr Adams motivation.  Even in the future people will crave power and the neural neutralizer if widely used would allow Adams to be a major factor inside the Federation or just outside.  Roddenberry kind of shot himself in the foot with this after making it known that people of the 23 Century would have minimal need to have power over others.   

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : Bravo to the big three here.  Kirk gets to be front and center in the action here.  Delivers the blow to Adams that would ultimately kill Adams.  Spock gets to uncover what has been going on with Tantalus using his Vulcan gifts of reading minds.  McCoy gets to do what a Chief Medical Officer is supposed to do which is to offer advice and reason as to what is going on with Van Gelder and the possible danger Kirk may be facing.  

 

 

  Writing : Dr Noel despite the attention of bringing Marianna Hill in as eye candy is written as a very competent professional.  Something that should have been done more with characters such as Uhura and Nurse Chapel.  Quite a bit of dialog was afforded to Morgan Woodward which was a very wise choice.

 

 

  Music : Good cues and I love the score used while Noel was fighting off the goon.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : Not much changed but Tantalus gets a facelift in the remaster.

 

 

  Summary : Good episode for Kirk, Spock, and McCoy.  The Vulcan mind meld.  Good believable plot.  All three major guests support the production well.  Nice climax.  I give it an A.

 

A personal favorite.

 

Glad you gave it the A.

 

 

[B-Man]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

17 hours ago, B-Man said:

 

 

 

 

 

Missing the double-fisted shoulder blow.  

 

17 hours ago, B-Man said:

 

 

 

 

If I can find it, I'm buying it.

 

If I can't find it, I'm trademarking it and starting a distiller.  Making vodka, because "Dammit Gin, I'm a vodka, not a rum!"

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

This needs to be posted:

 

https://www.slapkirk.com/

[B-Man]

 

 

"I missed @RochesterRob's review last year. Did he like me ?

 

[B-Man]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RochesterRob]

  Getting an early start due to plans for tomorrow (working holiday unfortunately but that sometimes goes with the self employed game).  This week's review will be of the episode Shore Leave airing Wednesday June 1 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes and Icons.  A routine scouting detail turns complex as people see things that turn out to be more than illusion.  KIrk goes down to the planet to investigate and things turn more complicated as McCoy apparently dies in a mishap as another encounter with the seemingly impossible goes bad.   After enough KIrk rounds up the landing party to tell them to maintain high emotional control after which the caretaker of that world appears to set things right including McCoy.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Bruce Mars as Finnegan a Starfleet Academy student who is ahead of Kirk there which was sometime into the past.  Energetic and taunting done to perfection.  A lot of fist flying which Mars handled mostly on his own.  I read not too long ago that Mars had a fair amount of input as to Finnegan and even had Shatner's ear as opposed to the myriad of guests who indicated Shatner was not overly open to input.  Oliver McGowan as the Caretaker of the planet.  Not a whole lot to do and I wonder if the somewhat spacey approach was deliberate or just McGowan not having a good fix as to what was going on.  McGowan died before the conventions became a big thing with fans so no opportunity to quiz him to gauge him as an actor.  Emily Banks as Yeoman Barrows.  I loved her brassy attitude in general and having a thing for McCoy.  She filled out her uniform in a most pleasant way.  Barbara Baldavin as Lt Martin.  Does her job in terms of being vulnerable but obviously not trained in stuntwork as she pulls up early to not fully hit the tree avoiding the strafing from the plane.  Strangely absent for most of the climax but could be explained as she had to wait her turn in the underground complex (presuming she had a very serious concussion).

 

 

  Plot : A landing party consisting of McCoy and Sulu to investigate the practical possibility of a ship wide shore leave.  No problem there as you have to take time off when and where you can find it.  The park that the humanoid culture is designed to work off of reading minds.  No problem there as it is their world and their practices which are relevant.  Outsiders enter at their own risk.  Just like The Naked Time this is used wisely to get to know more about key characters.  Sulu has an interest in fire arms, Kirk had an old love and a tormentor to face before he became a lieutenant, Barrows interested in classic romantic literature, with other members interested in vintage aircraft and geese among other things.

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : A show piece for Shatner and Kirk.  He pulls double duty emotionally dealing with an obstacle from his past along with a very significant love.  Perhaps the strongest episode for Sulu and Takei for the entire series.  We learn things about the character and Takei was convincing in feigning interest in the chorus line girls from Rigel II.  Not a lot for Spock to do here but he had an impact for me including the last minute beam down which I enjoyed despite how trivial it may have been for some.  Not a typical outing for McCoy but he was crucial in terms of being brought down via the joust and knowing he liked to hit clubs somewhat.   I'm glad both of those incidents were dealt to De Kelley to work with.  

 

 

  Writing : Good pacing overall but it seemed to take a little too long to dispense with Finnegan.   The dialog distribution was fairly even between the cast.  I did not like Barrows bawling after the apparent take down of McCoy.  The writing should have gone any direction but that.  Yes, a yeoman but still a member of the crew that should be able to take some stress as it comes.

 

 

  Music : I never seem to have enough time to check things out for this section but we get Ruth's theme for the first time which was reused anytime a tender moment was shown involving a female character including the soon coming Spock interest in This Side of Paradise.  Scores were well used and placed considering that Star Trek from time to time tended to over compensate with music to evoke emotion.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : The planet gets an upgrade in the remaster per usual.  

 

 

  Summary : A fairly busy episode for many of the characters.  Loved Emily Banks and wished she could have become a recurring character.  Some weak spots but a lot of depth that is somewhat not typical for the series.  Interesting for sure if not on the level of Balance of Terror and some of the other Season 1 entries.  I want to stretch to give it a B + but will instead give it a very well earned B.  

[RochesterRob]

  I am sorry that this week's review is overdue considering it airs in less than an hour.  Of course this does not matter a whole lot in 2022 as we are not depending on an over the air broadcast.  In any event this week's review will be of the episode Court Martial airing tonight on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short a crewman is apparently killed due to doing his job involving manning a pod that monitors space phenomena.  This places Kirk in a position where he is placed in court martial for apparently misjudging jetisoning said pod.  This all turns out to be a frame up by the crewman to get back at Kirk for supposedly jeopardizing his promotion to the captain's list but Kirk is spared due to Spock's efforts to get at the truth and a final confrontation between Kirk and his crewman.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Richard Webb as Ben Finney.  Finney started out as an instructor to Kirk at the academy so some age difference is understandable.  It really should not matter as to performance but Webb did not pass the eyeball test in terms of an officer who should only be several years older than Shatner.  I will give Webb credit as to he passed muster in terms of his character devolving in to hysteria as his frame up plan unravels.  Percy Rodriguez as Commodore Stone.  He gets short changed when talking about top Trek guests but his at first consoling Kirk and later grilling Kirk in his office as to the apparent neglectful death is as riveting a scene as any in all of TOS.  Joan Marshall as Ariel Shaw Kirk's prosecutor.  Effective if not a standout in this role.  Marshall did a lot of 1960's television including a Bonanza episode where Little Joe is framed for an apparent murder.  Hmmm?  Elisha Cook Jr.  as Samuel Cogley Kirk's defense attorney.  Well known that Cook had considerable trouble remembering his lines but the patience was justified whereas another actor might have been replaced.  His courtroom action is very memorable and a joy to watch.  

 

 

  Plot : As said before the episode revolves around framing Kirk.  Not hard to believe as everybody makes enemies.  Add to that just like NFL quarterbacks starship captains are a special lot.  There is a tremendous drive to achieve and to come up just short of such a goal has to be maddening even to the point of sabotaging somebody that such a person considers possible.  The weather pod serves as a plot device.  A starship for the most part has to be a model of safety Captain Pike's delta radiation experience and Charlie X's shenanigans not withstanding.  The story had to get Finney to a point where a crewman normally would not be vulnerable but not to the point of being impossible.  Finney's actual sabotage while impressive to a nine year old such as myself had me reenacting that scene as Kirk many times then using the staircase in the house as my would be Jefferies Tube.  Today it seems incredulous that some single aught electric cable could completely inhibit the function of the Enterprise.

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : Excellent episode for Kirk and Shatner.  KIrk through the first 15-20 minutes truly looks like a man that has been blindsided by what should seem to be impossible.  As said above his scene with Commodore Stone in Stone's office is pure gold.  ....court martial.  ....I demand it!   Beautiful.  Almost as good as that scene was the confrontation with Finney in engineering.  Shatner to me conveys a small amount of pity for Finney to reinforce the notion that these men were once the best of friends.  Almost as good of an episode for Spock.  Although appearing cold in playing chess with the ship's computer it is Spock's way to work towards a solution to the issue in his way.  No hand wringing as to "we got to clear the captain" but roll up the sleeves and getting to work.  McCoy is an excellent counter balance and his highly emotional state is needed to remind the viewer of the urgency of the situation.  KIrk at best has only a few days left as captain unless a miracle happens.

 

 

  Writing : Despite a plot that exhibits some mild disbelief this is perhaps among one of the best episodes in terms of providing meaningful if not riveting dialog.  Kirk's and Stone's heated exchange.  Cogley in setting up the premise of placing man ahead of machine.  Very well paced episode.

 

 

  Music : I loved the use of the existing scores as the Stone scene wraps and Kirk undoing the damage done by Finney.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight: It was a treat to see starships in wait above Starbase 11 in the remaster complete with a shuttle craft scurrying about.  Also, a treat to see Starbase 11 as an actual functioning base in the remaster and the best for last as the Enterprise gains orbit near the climax.

 

 

  Summary : Excellent performance by the guests as well as the big three.  A fair story in terms of an old acquaintance gone enemy seeking revenge for a perceived wrong.  Some good visuals.  I'm going to give it an A -.  Again, apologies for lateness but could not be helped and tomorrow's episode The Return of the Archons already in the books here.

Edited June 9, 2022 by RochesterRob

[B-Man]