The Star Trek Thread

[B-Man]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode The Enterprise Incident airing Wednesday July 20 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short Kirk violates the Romulan Neutral Zone for no apparent reason and is promptly detained by Romulan ships.  Further, it is made to appear that Spock has betrayed his oath to the Federation by cooperating with the Romulans as to Kirk's transgression.  In the end this is all revealed to be a deception as to raiding a Romulan cloaking device to bring back to Starfleet at which they succeed.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Joanne Linville as the Romulan commander.  Linville knew her role well and knew how to play cool when needed and get wildly emotional.  This aided Spock's observation in Balance of Terror that although cousins to the Vulcans the Romulans as practiced tended towards raw emotional states.  Linville was also very seductive in her approach to Spock without the gloppy affection seen in humans.  I liked her sharp command while on board the Enterprise for her fleet to close on the Enterprise.  Jack Donner as Subcommander Tal.  Not a lot to do but believable as a second in command.  Donner was one of the guests used in the Sci-Fi channel's commentary used as a wrap around to broadcast the series around 25 years ago.  

 

 

  Plot : I think that this is the only episode in the series done as a Mission Impossible type spy mission and it works.  I remember David Gerrold commenting in his book that such spying would be beneath an organization such as the Federation and therefore Starfleet.  In my mind this is the same as the British looking down at the Colonials for fighting in stealth versus just simply showing up in a line in front of them.  The Federation just could not leave things to chance after the events of Balance of Terror.  The cloaking device was a very real threat to Federation worlds and it was only logical for the Romulans to take another shot to test Federation resolve.  Afterall, the Romulans by the time of The Enterprise Incident jumped to having FTL capability from having "simple impulse power" during Balance of Terror.  We seem to have a constant in the galaxy in having less than capable security people.  The Romulan that confronts Kirk after the makeover seems like a real dullard that should be laddling soup or pouring ale.  By the way is it me or is it the best races in space love soup.  I say this as a soup, stew, and chowder lover.

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : I know this was intended to be a strong Kirk outing but I really did not enjoy the character nor Shatner's performance here.  Don't hate it but thought Shatner should have toned it down a little.  Spock was the better character to watch here and Nimoy on target.  I liked Scotty's glee in knowing that he was going to have to obtain a uniform from the "captured" Romulan officers.  I always tried to imagine the process to return those two to their ship.  I would imagine a Romulan uniform for Kirk would be as simple as replication but the episode made it sound like it would be a whole lot more personal in nature.

 

 

  Writing : Well paced and little time wasted.  Good dialog given to Linville and Nimoy.  I don't know how it would be done as it was intended to be Kirk centric but I would prefer less Kirk time given what was shown.  

 

 

  Music : A situation where not noticing scores very often means enough is going on so the drama and action are strong for the most part.  

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : We get to see the Bird of Prey ships in the remaster which were lacking from the original.  Word was that the prop guy felt screwed in terms of fair compensation for the original model so he smashed it therefore we get the blurb in the original about Romulans using Klingon designs.  It just does not seem logical when you think about it and the matter was cleaned up when TNG came on in 1987.

 

 

  Summary : I liked Linville's performance and a good outing for Nimoy.  The Kirk aspect comes up short but not so much to bring the episode down much.  Good for Star Trek spy story.  I give it a B +.

[B-Man]

1 hour ago, RochesterRob said:

  This week's review will be of the episode The Enterprise Incident airing Wednesday July 20 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short Kirk violates the Romulan Neutral Zone for no apparent reason and is promptly detained by Romulan ships.  Further, it is made to appear that Spock has betrayed his oath to the Federation by cooperating with the Romulans as to Kirk's transgression.  In the end this is all revealed to be a deception as to raiding a Romulan cloaking device to bring back to Starfleet at which they succeed.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Joanne Linville as the Romulan commander.  Linville knew her role well and knew how to play cool when needed and get wildly emotional.  This aided Spock's observation in Balance of Terror that although cousins to the Vulcans the Romulans as practiced tended towards raw emotional states.  Linville was also very seductive in her approach to Spock without the gloppy affection seen in humans.  I liked her sharp command while on board the Enterprise for her fleet to close on the Enterprise.  Jack Donner as Subcommander Tal.  Not a lot to do but believable as a second in command.  Donner was one of the guests used in the Sci-Fi channel's commentary used as a wrap around to broadcast the series around 25 years ago.  

 

 

  Plot : I think that this is the only episode in the series done as a Mission Impossible type spy mission and it works.  I remember David Gerrold commenting in his book that such spying would be beneath an organization such as the Federation and therefore Starfleet.  In my mind this is the same as the British looking down at the Colonials for fighting in stealth versus just simply showing up in a line in front of them.  The Federation just could not leave things to chance after the events of Balance of Terror.  The cloaking device was a very real threat to Federation worlds and it was only logical for the Romulans to take another shot to test Federation resolve.  Afterall, the Romulans by the time of The Enterprise Incident jumped to having FTL capability from having "simple impulse power" during Balance of Terror.  We seem to have a constant in the galaxy in having less than capable security people.  The Romulan that confronts Kirk after the makeover seems like a real dullard that should be laddling soup or pouring ale.  By the way is it me or is it the best races in space love soup.  I say this as a soup, stew, and chowder lover.

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : I know this was intended to be a strong Kirk outing but I really did not enjoy the character nor Shatner's performance here.  Don't hate it but thought Shatner should have toned it down a little.  Spock was the better character to watch here and Nimoy on target.  I liked Scotty's glee in knowing that he was going to have to obtain a uniform from the "captured" Romulan officers.  I always tried to imagine the process to return those two to their ship.  I would imagine a Romulan uniform for Kirk would be as simple as replication but the episode made it sound like it would be a whole lot more personal in nature.

 

 

  Writing : Well paced and little time wasted.  Good dialog given to Linville and Nimoy.  I don't know how it would be done as it was intended to be Kirk centric but I would prefer less Kirk time given what was shown.  

 

 

  Music : A situation where not noticing scores very often means enough is going on so the drama and action are strong for the most part.  

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : We get to see the Bird of Prey ships in the remaster which were lacking from the original.  Word was that the prop guy felt screwed in terms of fair compensation for the original model so he smashed it therefore we get the blurb in the original about Romulans using Klingon designs.  It just does not seem logical when you think about it and the matter was cleaned up when TNG came on in 1987.

 

 

  Summary : I liked Linville's performance and a good outing for Nimoy.  The Kirk aspect comes up short but not so much to bring the episode down much.  Good for Star Trek spy story.  I give it a B +.

 

 

Great episode.

 

I always felt that the show's title was taken from the terrific 1965 movie The Bedford Incident (1965) - IMDb

 

.Confrontation between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. 

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky airing Wednesday July 27 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short Bones is discovered to have a terminal illness and the Enterprise encounters an asteroid apparently under its own power.  A landing party consisting of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam over to the asteroid and immediately run afoul of the inhabitants living there.  Kirk reasons with the chief priestess that their laws are abnormally harsh and in the process a cure is discovered for McCoy's affliction.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Kate Woodville as the high priestess Natira.  I enjoyed her performance and she knows how to play alien if that makes any sense to you.  She generates an air of indifference towards the fate of the landing party that I find highly believable.  She also puts out an air of child like innocence when reflecting on her culture's laws.  She grew up with them and society functions so why question them.  Woodville was married to Patrick MacNee and later to Edward Albert.  Definite cool factor be married to the guy who played The Avenger's Stead and voiced the Cylon's original Imperious Leader.  Jon Lormer as the elder man living on the asteroid.  Lormer also has no problem projecting that he is an old man in a society that does not allow questioning about its beliefs.  He pays the ultimate price as the implant that all inhabitants of Yonada receive has the capability of causing death which he befalls.  Lormer holds the distinction of having the most TOS appearances with three.  He also appears in the Season 1 episodes The Menagerie and The Return of the Archons.  He was a staple in 1960's television appearing in Lassie and The Andy Griffith Show including an episode costarring Bill Bixby.

 

 

  Plot : The asteroid was on a course with an inhabited world of which it would have hit in order of a little more than an Earth year.  So the Enterprise has a choice of an evacuation then destruction of the asteroid (not Prime Directive friendly) or trying to resolve a course change which still tampers with the Prime Directive in the case of the Yonadan's.  I think that in this episode the Prime Directive parallels too close to being US liberal type wimpiness.  Your world if allowed to go on unaffected will cause the death of billions of innocent inhabitants.  At this point I don't think that you are afforded all the benefits of the Prime Directive.  Pretty convenient that the cure to McCoy's rare disease is found on Yonada.  Also, an anti-authority anti-religion angle is worked in as the oracle is found to be too controlling and inflexible in running Yonada's population.  

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : McCoy is the featured character here and while I generally enjoy Kelley's work I found in this episode that Kelley is only good for once in a blue moon feature performances.  He just lacks the range to do much more than bluster in my mind.  Kirk engaged in Shakespearean type theater here was more satisfying.  I would have liked to see what somebody like Walter Koenig would have done if thrust into McCoy's position.  Nimoy certainly was reliable in what he had to do.  In general Season 3 did not do the actors any favors in coming up with love stories for its regulars.  Scotty certainly fared worse in his turn with The Lights of Zetar.

 

 

  Writing : Was acceptable overall with perhaps a little too much time focusing on the big three over on the Asteroid.  I don't know how much could have been changed to help Deforest Kelley out in his scenes or how much bend you can have before breaking the Prime Directive.

 

 

  Music : The scores work with the story given.  We can see by this point in the series that the whimsical scores from season 1 have been replaced by more harden pieces in Season 3.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : Yonada gets a face lift in the remaster and the Enterprise get better relative positioning to Yonada.

 

 

  Summary : I liked Woodville and Lormer as guests.  The Prime Directive gets kind of loopy to me in this episode.  I thought McCoy was perhaps let down a little in the writing as De Kelley just did not shine to me.  I give it a B.

Edited July 24, 2022 by RochesterRob

[RochesterRob]

  RIP David Warner who played Chancellor Gorkon in ST VI.  He was 80.  He also appeared in the 1980's Sci-Fi movie Tron.  

 

  Almost forgot his excellent portrayal as Picard's tormentor in Chain of Command Pts 1 & 2.  

Edited July 25, 2022 by RochesterRob

[devnull]

4 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

  RIP David Warner who played Chancellor Gorkon in ST VI.  He was 80.  He also appeared in the 1980's Sci-Fi movie Tron.  

 

  Almost forgot his excellent portrayal as Picard's tormentor in Chain of Command Pts 1 & 2.  

 

[RochesterRob]

  RIP Paul Sorvino who played Worf's adopted brother Nikolai.  Best known for playing Capo Paul Cicero based on real life Capo Paul Vario in Goodfellas.  Maybe he will finally find about that thing with Christy.  You know.  The one who made a beef about...........

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review is of the episode Elaan of Troyius airing Tuesday August 2 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short the Enterprise is summoned to ferry a female member of royalty to her wedding on another planet.  The woman in question wants no part of this and the journey is complicated by sabotage by the woman's guard who is working with the Klingons.  The star system where this is taking place has an abundance of dilithium crystals which are used to rehab the Enterprise in order to fend off a Klingon attack.

 

 

  Guest Stars : France Nuyen as Elaan of the planet Elas.  The role called for Nuyen to be difficult and she took it one step further as she made her character down right harsh.  This worked and gives us a glimpse of a society that is barely one step above being barbaric.  Late in the episode Nuyen modulates successfully to show vulnerability including revealing her general lack of enthusiasm of being married off in the name of intergalactic peace.  Nuyen worked together with Shatner previously in the Broadway production of The World of Suzie Wong.  Nuyen was the first high profile Vietnamese individual in the American entertainment industry.  I enjoyed her in the later seasons on the 1980's dramedy St Elsewhere as an administrator for St Eligius hospital.  Jay Robinson as Petri an official from the planet Troyius who is sent ahead to prep the bride.  Robinson goes against type as he normally plays villains such as Dr Shrinker a Kroft Brothers production.   Not a lot to do but he does not fumble the ball and conveys a mildly submissive personality that one might expect from somebody who would have to work with royalty.  Victor Brandt as crewman Watson.  Not a lot to do but Brandt did a fair amount of 1960's television including a semi-regular role on Gomer Pyle as Sgt Hacker's assistant Jensen.

 

 

  Plot : Basically a futuristic telling of all the marriages between royals of all the major European powers.  At the same time we get Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew where Captain Kirk gets the job of sanding, no make that grinding, the rough edges off of Elaan.  Throw in some intergalactic mischief by the Klingons and we get in interesting tale.  The only stretch in my mind would be the concept of dilithium as common stones on Elas.

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : Shatner obviously has chemistry with Nuyen.  Nuyen knew how to react well to Shatner's delivery.  Even with that I thought Shatner was maybe a little elevated such as getting Elaan to a safe area of the ship.  Scotty is wound up fairly tight in terms of reacting to the sabotage.  Nice touch by Chekov at the climax displaying glee over a direct hit of the Klingons by a photon torpedo.

 

 

  Writing : Well paced for the most part but maybe a little too much time spent showing Kirk succumbing to the tears of Elaan which are said that no humanoid can resist.  While on the surface it may seem like a waste of time giving dialog to the Elasian guards adds a depth of militancy to show how rigid Elasian sociey is.

 

 

  Music : I enjoyed the score that opens the showdown and conclusion of the encounter with the Klingon vessel.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : The remaster gives us a splendid looking Troyius and a more detailed view of the Klingon D7 battlecruiser which debuted in this episode.

 

 

  Summary : Good chemistry of Shatner and Nuyen.  Nuts and bolts story lines of European royal marriages and Shakespeare.  Something was off with how Spock and McCoy are used but I quite can't put my hand on it.  Probably Kirk being influenced by the Elasian tears should have warranted command being temporarily shifted over to Spock.  The Klingons get beat at the end in excellent fashion.  I give it a B.

Edited July 31, 2022 by RochesterRob

[MothersMilk]

https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/entertainment/2022/07/31/-star-trek--actress-nichelle-nichols-dies-at-89--family-says

[Deranged Rhino]

So it’s only Sulu and Kirk left from the OG crew? Or am I missing someone? 

[RochesterRob]

Just now, Deranged Rhino said:

So it’s only Sulu and Kirk left from the OG crew? Or am I missing someone? 

  Walter Koenig is still around.

[B-Man]

 

 

 

 

 

       

[Taro T]

8 minutes ago, B-Man said:

 

 

 

 

 

       

 

That Zoe Saldaya next to her?  The 2 Uhuras.

 

(She's way hotter done up in green. 😉 )

 

RIP original Lt. Uhura.

[devnull]

This afternoon, Pluto TV's Star Trek channel ran TNG episode Conspiracy, which has one of my all time favorite Star Trek special effects moments

 

 

 

 

 

[Deranged Rhino]

[Nouseforaname]

On 8/1/2022 at 3:20 PM, devnull said:

This afternoon, Pluto TV's Star Trek channel ran TNG episode Conspiracy, which has one of my all time favorite Star Trek special effects moments

 

 

 

 

 

 

It always bothered me how they never bothered to follow up with this story line.  Seems like they just scrapped everything in season 1 like it never happened.

[RochesterRob]

  Gonna do something different this week for a contribution.  At some point in the not too distant future the list for TOS episodes will be complete for review.  In memory of Nichelle Nichols I will look at some of the prominent moments in the series for Uhura.  

 

 

  The Man Trap : Early on in the episode Spock takes a report of a crewman's death while sitting in the captain's chair.  Uhura comes over to express her concern over the death and to take note of Spock's lack of emotion.  I thought this was important in developing depth for Uhura.  Further, when the salt "vampire" shape shifts to make Uhura vulnerable it added depth in making her desirable and showing a background.

 

 

  Charlie X.  Nichols gets to sing in this one and although I don't know what her professional training was in music I will give her credit for signing in the recreational lounge.  She certainly was not a negative distraction.  I would have liked to have heard her sing maybe a song of a more neutral origin than an obvious "space" song.  She most likely would have never been a Jim Nabors who on occasion ditched his Gomer Pyle twang for a rich baritone but who knows what her high end may have been.  Also, nice subtle touch of concern on her face as the Thasian's whisk Charlie away.

 

 

  Tomorrow is Yesterday : Nice touch to have her acknowledge Captain Christopher while he was on the bridge.  

 

 

  City on the Edge of Forever : Nice to see her included in the landing party and doing something in terms of updating the ship on the search for Dr McCoy.

 

 

  MIrror, Mirror : Nichele's real showcase in my mind.  Although initially frightened she interacts with Sulu who she knows is not the smiling and affable Sulu from her own universe.  I also wonder if the costume was more than she anticipated and perhaps was less modest than what she may have preferred.  Thigh high leather boots were anything but common place in women's fashion but maybe that was the start to make them common place among young and trim women today.  Nice culmination with her grappling the phaser away from the "captain's woman."

 

 

  The Trouble with Tribbles : Uhura has an interest in small animals.  NIce to see her and Chekov together on shore leave.  Shows some comraderie with her bridge co-workers.  

 

 

  Gamesters of Triskelion : Again a part of a landing party.  I'm trying not to be overly critical given that this is supposed to be a memorial but I thought Uhura was written to be a little weak here.  I wish that her thrall had at least got something in his groin courtesy of Uhura's feet.

 

 

  Plato's Stepchildren : The interracial kiss.  Probably a big deal personally for Nichelle as like the rest of the regulars outside of Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley fatigue was setting in terms of Shatner widening his presence on the series.  

[devnull]

18 hours ago, Nouseforaname said:

 

It always bothered me how they never bothered to follow up with this story line.  Seems like they just scrapped everything in season 1 like it never happened.

 

I read somewhere that the TNG writers and producers were divided on the Conspiracy episode.  Some thought it was too dark and others thought the final version of the script had been watered down.

 

Ultimately the storyline of an unknown threat to the Federation was picked up with the introduction of The Borg

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

On 8/7/2022 at 4:06 PM, devnull said:

 

I read somewhere that the TNG writers and producers were divided on the Conspiracy episode.  Some thought it was too dark and others thought the final version of the script had been watered down.

 

Ultimately the storyline of an unknown threat to the Federation was picked up with the introduction of The Borg

 

There was also Roddenberry's viewpoint, going all the way back to TOS, that you never, ever show the Federation in conflict with itself.  That episode was a marked departure from his views, and arguably marks the point when he really started to lose creative control of the series to the line producers and talent he'd brought on board.

[RochesterRob]

15 hours ago, Crap Throwing Clavin said:

 

There was also Roddenberry's viewpoint, going all the way back to TOS, that you never, ever show the Federation in conflict with itself.  That episode was a marked departure from his views, and arguably marks the point when he really started to lose creative control of the series to the line producers and talent he'd brought on board.

  But was it not in conflict with itself in terms of the member worlds in Journey to Babel?