The Star Trek Thread

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review is of the episode The Man Trap airing Tuesday August 16 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short the Enterprise has a routine mission to planet M113 to conduct a routine contact with scientists living there.  Unknown initially is the wife was killed off by a native creature of that planet and has the ability to shape shift in to different forms plus read the mind of the subject it intends to trap.  A pattern emerges to allow Kirk and Spock to uncover the real nature of the creature and when it intends to kill Kirk it is phasered to death.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Alfred Ryder as Professor Robert Crater.  Ryder chose the route of portraying Crater as a generally aloof scientist that cares little about anything besides work.  This can be seen in his facial expressions and voice inflection.  A good job overall.  This approach helps hide the true nature of what is going on with the creature and its role with Dr Crater until Crater's death at the "hands" of the creature.  Ryder did a lot of television usually portraying a villain or antagonist.  His appearances include episodes of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Wild Wild West, and The Six Million Dollar Man.  Jeanne Bal as Nancy Crater/ the Salt Creature.  Not a great casting choice in my mind but gets the job done.  The seductive looks given by Bal just are not convincing to me.  It reminds me of the exaggerated expressions people give when talking among their friends about the nasty boss, rude neighbor, or obnoxious grocery store clerk.  Bal's career was fairly shallow appearing briefly on Bachelor Father during the late 1950's.  Michael Zaslow as Crewman Darnell who is the first to be killed off by the creature.  His screen time was short but was convincing as a horny young man who planned on hitting on the "young Nancy Crater" as soon as they were out of view of Kirk and McCoy.  Zaslow had a long career appearing on soap opera's such as The Guiding Light.  His Roger Thorpe was one of the most highly regarded villains on that show.  

 

 

  Plot : Not much to say other than there is a time element concerning uncovering the creature for what it was versus the number of deaths it would rack up.  We are not drawn to care over what Nancy Crater was as a person before she was killed.  I will say that I wonder what Dr Crater's motivation for not spilling the beans until the episode was nearly over.  Yes, his bond with the creature was emotional but being the scientist first and foremost he should have drawn the conclusion that after Darnell's death the house of cards he had built would fall before the Enterprise departed M113.  

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : Strong Kirk episode as he is allowed to emote in a self-controlled manner as to the fate of the murdered crew members and at the same time be a mild ball buster with McCoy over McCoy's obvious infatuation with Nancy Crater.  Shatner's confidence is obvious in how he portrays Kirk and sets the standard for the series.  Good episode for McCoy as he is allowed some vulnerability as to his past.  Something so basic for most people as they often see flawed acquaintances in an idealized state.  Sulu is given perhaps the most to do of any episode in the series.  Shows Sulu coming up through the ranks making a stop as a botanist plus gets to interact as to the going on's of Green by talking with Yeoman Rand.  We also get to see some depth with Uhura including her origins and as an available woman.  A fair amount of Yeoman Rand time is granted here and does not disappoint.  

 

 

  Writing : Well paced and good dialog for every one.  One criticism is the idea that salt can be used for nourishment.  Maybe in an alien environment when combined with other elements or compounds but not straight out of Earth people.  Any organic chemists here to offer a theory?

 

 

  Music : Did not like the "spooky organ score" used to show when the creature was near.  Otherwise good selections including the meak pieces showing the Enterprise in orbit.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : M113 and the Enterprise get upgrades in the remaster.  Both combine to add realism to a ship in orbit.

 

 

  Summary : Good efforts overall by the regulars and Ryder.  Not happy with the creature's background overall.  Supposed to be a get to know the crew type episode to launch the series.  My belief was that NBC did not have a lot of confidence in the show and wanted the first episode heavy in themes such as monsters and vampirism.  I'll be generous and give it a B -.

 

 

  Bonus - Costuming  : Though shown briefly I found young Nancy's outfit quite hot and I think that dress showed up mainstream not too far into the recent past.  Boots.  OK, and afterall just a "mirage" but imagine being a woman wearing those to walk through the planet's endless sand.  

Edited August 14, 2022 by RochesterRob

[B-Man]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[RochesterRob]

  This week's review is of the episode Miri airing Wednesday August 24 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short the Enterprise is lead to a world which resembles Earth in the 20th Century, has endured a cataclysm, and the survivor resemble children.  In fact the children are anything but aside from their physical development and are animalistic in their behavior.  The landing party suffers the same affliction but McCoy develops a cure and Kirk makes a social breakthrough to provide a future for the native population.

  

 

  Guest Stars : Kim Darby as Miri.  I liked Darby's early teen vulnerability as she demonstrates definite affection in her character for Kirk.  Also, shows the difficulty in giving up on her social circle for more advanced ideas.  Darby did a fair amount of 1960's and 1970's television including The Fugitive and Marcus Welby, MD.  Career highlights are appearing in the John Wayne film True Grit and the 1970's mini-series Rich Man Poor Man.  Michael J Pollard as Jon a leader of the children.  I liked the unpleasant aspect he shows including a degree of childishness in trying to undermine Kirk and his relationship with Miri.  Pollard's best claim to fame might be inspiring Michael J Fox to use Michael J in his stage name.  Pollard did work in acting including an appearance on The Andy Griffith Show as Barney's cousin Virgil and as an off scientist in the Sylvester Stallone guilty pleasure Tango & Cash.  No more than just on screen is Phil Morris son of MI's Greg Morris but his first time on camera and has a place in Seinfeld lore as Jackie Childs who never learns not to do business with Kramer.  William Shatner's 3 daughters help round out the collective of children.

 

 

  Plot : No big stakes in this episode in terms of maintaining galactic order or defeating an alien force.  Just an exercise in how an older man in Kirk deals with a teen girl who is undergoing an awakening hormone-wise.  Also, race the clock in terms of developing a cure for a man created disease.  Also, how that disease came to be namely advancing technology with consideration as to how it might otherwise impact a civilization.  The episode might have had more impact if the order was reversed with the how and why coming ahead of the social angle.

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : Strong Kirk episode as he has to work outside of his normal manner of being soldier first and lover second.  He has to reach Miri as another individual.  Not a Spock or McCoy episode but I enjoyed what Nimoy and Kelley brought to the episode.  McCoy going for broke by injecting the serum without a full knowledge as to how successful or not it might be.  Nice to see Janice Rand in there as a perceived threat by Miri.  Helps flesh out the social aspect as Miri has to face emotions such as jealousy that she most likely never encountered before.  

 

 

  Writing : Well paced and I thought just about everybody was given good dialog to work with.  I wish they had not gone with an exact duplicate of Earth to describe Miri's world but perhaps it would give the proper jolt to a 1960's audience.

 

 

  Music : Good scores and well placed.  In particular the piece played while McCoy was reacting to the serum.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : "Earth" from orbit is cleaned up.  When this episode debuted satellite technology was still quite new and a lot held away from the public.  

 

 

  Summary : I thought Kim Darby carried her weight as the title character.  Interesting supporting cast.  Rand is allowed to stretch her legs somewhat in terms of being vital to the story.  Perhaps a cautionary tale as to the use of chemical or biological weapons.  Has an energy where it exceeds the sum of its parts.  I give it a B.

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review is of the episode Balance of Terror airing Wednesday August 31 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short the Enterprise alters course after it is evident that Federation outpost have come under attack along a border with another power.  Shortly after it is discovered that a ship from this other power namely the Romulans is operating with a mission to test Federation resolve in the face of offensive maneuvers..  Kirk eventually out guesses the next move of the Romulan vessel which leads to its defeat and choice of self destructing.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Mark Lenard as the Romulan commander.  Excellent job as he is believable that he is no doubt the commander of his ship that makes all decisions regardless of consequences.  Also, that his character can wax philosophical in terms if his mission will benefit his fellow Romulans and their empire or if this is just an exercise in maintaining power.  A certain level of warmth is shown at the end as he relates to Kirk that he wishes the circumstances could have been different complete with being friends.  Not just script but an actor displaying multiple dimensions in fleshing out his character.  Certainly in the top 5 of Trek guests and the argument can be easily made that perhaps he is the top period.  Paul Comi as Lt Styles who is pulling helmsman duty while this incident is unfolding.  I liked Comi's hard stance which reinforces the idea that Styles will be near impossible to convince that the Romulans are anything but treacherous and that Spock can only have loyalty based on genes instead of philosophical ideals.  Comi appeared on other 1960's and 1970's show including The Twilight Zone.  Gary Walberg as Commander Hansen who is the last man alive on an asteroid based outpost.  Not a lot to do but sells the notion of an officer that has narrowly survived a devastating attack.  Walberg had a long association with Jack Klugman appearing in both The Odd Couple and Quincy, M.E..  Barbara Baldavin as the woman who was to be married prior to the encounter.  Nice vulnerability in the chapel at the conclusion and the same for Kirk in terms of being supportive.

 

 

  Plot : A Cold War type drama compressed into a one hour television show.  Absence makes the mind go inquisitive and thus the Romulans feel the need to skirt the border with the Federation to see how their one time enemies are doing militarily.  Also, the best example of the series in terms of technologies having very little overlap.  The Federation has superior maneuverability but the Romulans have superior fire power.  Believable in a situation where spies most likely cannot transverse borders.  All that changed over the course of the series but was also believable in The Enterprise Incident things had changed so that Federation shield technology greatly advanced.  Reminiscent of 100 years ago when battleships were already considered obsolete in design before they joined their respective navies.  And as species got around more so did the spies.  As important as anything the conduct of Kirk and his Romulan counterpart are nothing personal against the other unlike so many other stories that have a Cold War backdrop.  

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : Quite simply gold stars for all in the story.  Kirk has to make decisions that will impact the future of the Federation without the consultation of his superiors.  That it is more guessing than leading by being a he man.  And at the same time he views his Romulan counterpart without blind hatred which would have been so easy to believe since as Kirk said later in the first season he is soldier first and diplomat second.  Spock has to deal with bigotry which despite his Vulcan base has to make him a little vulnerable being half human.  That he has to help his government to victory despite having biological ties to his opponent in this matter.  McCoy pointing out is it worth a one on one conflict if it leads to general war between two galactic powers.  Scott and Sulu come across as informed professionals in terms of evaluating Romulan strengths and tendecies.  This would gradually fade by the mid point of the 3rd Season.  Uhura can readily assume another bridge post and Rand makes the captain look manly.

 

 

  Writing : Darn near exemplary in terms of story construction and dialog distribution.  For the sake of fairness and disclosure a lot of inspiration was drawn from WWII submarine movies.  One small nitpick would have been Hansen speaking in sentence fragments assuming Walberg was doing the script down to every word.  

 

 

  Music : A feast of scores including the Romulan ship having its own score and a score just for the Romulan ship going into cloak.  The music had a motion picture type influence of heightening audience emotions.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : The Enterprise gets a remake in the remaster as does the Romulan ship.  I liked the cold metallic look and the Romulan plasma weapon looks more convincing versus the smoke ring look in the original.

 

 

  Summary : Excellent story relevant to contemporary audiences.  Good guest stars.  Perhaps the best outing for the regulars.  Believable tension at times.  I give it a well earned A +.

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

3 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

  This week's review is of the episode Balance of Terror airing Wednesday August 31 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short the Enterprise alters course after it is evident that Federation outpost have come under attack along a border with another power.  Shortly after it is discovered that a ship from this other power namely the Romulans is operating with a mission to test Federation resolve in the face of offensive maneuvers..  Kirk eventually out guesses the next move of the Romulan vessel which leads to its defeat and choice of self destructing.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Mark Lenard as the Romulan commander.  Excellent job as he is believable that he is no doubt the commander of his ship that makes all decisions regardless of consequences.  Also, that his character can wax philosophical in terms if his mission will benefit his fellow Romulans and their empire or if this is just an exercise in maintaining power.  A certain level of warmth is shown at the end as he relates to Kirk that he wishes the circumstances could have been different complete with being friends.  Not just script but an actor displaying multiple dimensions in fleshing out his character.  Certainly in the top 5 of Trek guests and the argument can be easily made that perhaps he is the top period.  Paul Comi as Lt Styles who is pulling helmsman duty while this incident is unfolding.  I liked Comi's hard stance which reinforces the idea that Styles will be near impossible to convince that the Romulans are anything but treacherous and that Spock can only have loyalty based on genes instead of philosophical ideals.  Comi appeared on other 1960's and 1970's show including The Twilight Zone.  Gary Walberg as Commander Hansen who is the last man alive on an asteroid based outpost.  Not a lot to do but sells the notion of an officer that has narrowly survived a devastating attack.  Walberg had a long association with Jack Klugman appearing in both The Odd Couple and Quincy, M.E..  Barbara Baldavin as the woman who was to be married prior to the encounter.  Nice vulnerability in the chapel at the conclusion and the same for Kirk in terms of being supportive.

 

 

  Plot : A Cold War type drama compressed into a one hour television show.  Absence makes the mind go inquisitive and thus the Romulans feel the need to skirt the border with the Federation to see how their one time enemies are doing militarily.  Also, the best example of the series in terms of technologies having very little overlap.  The Federation has superior maneuverability but the Romulans have superior fire power.  Believable in a situation where spies most likely cannot transverse borders.  All that changed over the course of the series but was also believable in The Enterprise Incident things had changed so that Federation shield technology greatly advanced.  Reminiscent of 100 years ago when battleships were already considered obsolete in design before they joined their respective navies.  And as species got around more so did the spies.  As important as anything the conduct of Kirk and his Romulan counterpart are nothing personal against the other unlike so many other stories that have a Cold War backdrop.  

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : Quite simply gold stars for all in the story.  Kirk has to make decisions that will impact the future of the Federation without the consultation of his superiors.  That it is more guessing than leading by being a he man.  And at the same time he views his Romulan counterpart without blind hatred which would have been so easy to believe since as Kirk said later in the first season he is soldier first and diplomat second.  Spock has to deal with bigotry which despite his Vulcan base has to make him a little vulnerable being half human.  That he has to help his government to victory despite having biological ties to his opponent in this matter.  McCoy pointing out is it worth a one on one conflict if it leads to general war between two galactic powers.  Scott and Sulu come across as informed professionals in terms of evaluating Romulan strengths and tendecies.  This would gradually fade by the mid point of the 3rd Season.  Uhura can readily assume another bridge post and Rand makes the captain look manly.

 

 

  Writing : Darn near exemplary in terms of story construction and dialog distribution.  For the sake of fairness and disclosure a lot of inspiration was drawn from WWII submarine movies.  One small nitpick would have been Hansen speaking in sentence fragments assuming Walberg was doing the script down to every word.  

 

 

  Music : A feast of scores including the Romulan ship having its own score and a score just for the Romulan ship going into cloak.  The music had a motion picture type influence of heightening audience emotions.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : The Enterprise gets a remake in the remaster as does the Romulan ship.  I liked the cold metallic look and the Romulan plasma weapon looks more convincing versus the smoke ring look in the original.

 

 

  Summary : Excellent story relevant to contemporary audiences.  Good guest stars.  Perhaps the best outing for the regulars.  Believable tension at times.  I give it a well earned A +.

 

Trivia: Marc Lenard played a Vulcan ("Journey to Babel," Star Trek III and IV), a Romulan ('Balance of Terror"), and a Klingon (Star Trek: The Motion Picture.)

[Taro T]

2 hours ago, Crap Throwing Clavin said:

 

Trivia: Marc Lenard played a Vulcan ("Journey to Babel," Star Trek III and IV), a Romulan ('Balance of Terror"), and a Klingon (Star Trek: The Motion Picture.)

 

Roddenberry was such a raaacist.  Thinking they all look the same.  😉

 

[B-Man]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode Tomorrow is Yesterday airing Tuesday September 6 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short the gravitational pull of a black star (read black hole) sends the Enterprise back in time to Earth of the 1960's.  Trying to stay in stealth is foiled when an US Air Force Interceptor is scrambled to see what "fell out of the sky" and is further complicated when a security officer is beamed up while doing reconn at an Air Force base.  Spock and Scott save the day by doing a reverse application of what originally happened complete with returning the Air Force personnel to where they belong and the Enterprise back to its proper time and location.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Roger Perry as Captain John Christopher the Air Force pilot.  I enjoyed the inquisitive nature of his opportunity to see the future and even exercising some brunt attitude in trying to extract himself from being missing from duty.  With all that I found Perry a little too abrasive especially in the first sit down with Kirk.  Ed Peck as Colonel Fellini who was a minor part of the story.  Good competent portrayal of a head of security complete with being somewhat of a blowhard.  He made the interrogation come across as believable and sounding in control of the situation.  Peck would be utilized again in a very similar manner several years later on the 1970's sitcom Happy Days.  They even give his cop character the name Kirk.  I often wondered if that was a slap at Shatner by Edward Milkis who was part of the staff on Star Trek and rose in the ranks at Paramount after its buyout of Desilu in 1967.

 

 

  Plot : I'm not going to get too bogged down with the science or at least the provable science.  The producers needed a way to wrap up the story so a quick fly by the sun with sudden breakaway is what we got to get the 1960's people and the Enterprise back to their proper times and places.  I'm not overly happy with Captain Christopher and how he services the story.  He seemed far too obstructive at times including trying to Force Chief Kyle to return him to Earth.  Probably was done to fill out air time.  Also, Kirk being captain and aware of time travel problems should know enough to immediately isolate Christopher.  But that would make him far less interesting to a 1960's audience that was not hung up over more advanced concepts in terms of science or ship's operations.

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : Good episode for Kirk in that he gets to show concern for the ship and the Air Force officers.  Also, he gets to show a light side in the interrogation.  That as a commander he can allow himself to get wound only so tight before he trips his personal breaker and blow off a little steam.  Also, good outings for Spock and Scott.  Spock gets to demonstrate his intelligence when he is working on the time travel computation while waiting on the landing party and allow a little bit of his human side slip through in a believable manner when he retorts Captain Christopher on the matter of little green men.  Scott is allowed to show hid intelligence when advising Kirk as to what may happen when the push forward in time commences including having enough braking power.  Nice touch by Uhura to acknowledge Christopher when he first comes onto the bridge.  Nichelle Nichols did indeed try to be a professional by doing more than reciting "hailing frequencies open."

 

 

  Writing : I think I would have written the Christopher character in general as more in awe of his situation and less concerned about immediate escape.  I know they had to fill time but it is hard to watch Kirk make a big blunder in allowing Christopher onto the bridge in the first place.  But if they did that then maybe we would have not gotten the witty interaction between Spock and Christopher over little green men.  Otherwise the pacing was fairly good.

 

 

  Music Scores so good and well used that once you know the episode you are almost waiting for them to appear in a good way.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : Earth along with the Interceptor get upgrades in the remaster.  It would have been too harsh on the eyes but in some shots the original effects were better than the CGI so they should have been used where it would support the scene better.  Other than the jerky ascension into the sky the Enterprise model should have been reworked so it did not look like it was attached to a yard stick.

 

 

  Science Bonus : The episode lays a fairly good foundation for discussion of black holes of which the term would be coined around a year after this episode aired.

 

 

  Nimoy : Deliberate approach to sound like he was not from Middle America when he enunciates the words interceptor and missiles.

 

 

  Summary : Time travel on Star Trek is interesting even when it is less than well done.  Roger Perry was an OK guest star but his approach is never going to make him a top guest.  I liked how Spock and Scott were used plus Uhura gets a flattering moment.  The episode exceeds the sum of its parts.  I give it a B.

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review is of the episode The Devil in the Dark airing Tuesday September 13 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short the Enterprise is summoned to the planet Janus VI to investigate the cause of violent deaths of some of the miners there.  This is further complicated by the sabotage of a reactor used to maintain an environment suitable to humans.  In the end it is discovered that the miners are not only interfering in the life of an alien but also destroying efforts at it reproducing but in the end an understanding is reached where the one party leaves the other alone.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Ken Lynch as the head of the miners named Vanderberg.  Lynch fleshed his character out as grumpy due to production being held up and a limited understanding of what might exist on alien worlds.  Both characterizations being in his wheelhouse as a Desilu character actor.  He played similar characters on shows such as The Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle, USMC.  Janos Prohaska as the Horta which was the creature that was being infringed upon by the miners.  No humanoid character or prosthetics for Prohaska to make his job easier.  Just rutting around on the floor under some glued together rubber and other assorted materials.  He did well enough to get the production staff to pay him for an acting credit versus just doing stunt work.  

 

 

  Plot : Urgency is made clear when it is revealed the mined substance Pergium is critical for use in life support systems on various colonies.  A lack of understanding is essential so that it takes our heroes to sort out what is happening on Janus VI and realize that the deaths are not just accidents but a life form trying to protect its habitat and offspring from threatening outsiders.  That destroying the seemingly unimportant silicon nodules amount to smashing a bird's egg.  I thought that the Horta's forgiveness was a little to easy to come by given the importance of it in particular to carry on the species.  If its intellect was on par with humans or above it should have seen the act of smashing its eggs as murder.

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : A top episode for Spock as he has to reach an understanding in short order with an alien who most likely thinks very different than the humanoids Spock is accustomed to dealing with.  He does not get to start with random assumptions.  A good Kirk episode as he has the primary responsibility weighing on him to get Pergium resumed ASAP but has to balance that with being sensitive to the planet's environment.  Scotty gets to shine jury rigging up a pump for the reactor but also display that we always don't prevail in our efforts.  A shining moment for McCoy as he has to draw conclusions as to healing the Horta then implementing them.

 

 

  Writing : Given the era the episode was made in a pretty good job in constructing a story and giving the major characters important things to do.  Pacing could have been a tad bit better in terms of bringing the miners along to know exactly how they made errors in deducing what was taking place.  I thought that Vanderberg could have been made a little more enlightened early on but I believe the writing was done to show Lynch's strengths.  

 

 

  Music : I would have liked a different score for when the Horta was nearby than what we got.  The piece used made it feel more like we were watching a monster versus a sensitive and caring mother.  But maybe that would have given away the climax too early.

 

 

  Shatner Bonus : Shatner's father died while this episode was in production.  This put personal pressure on him to both go back to Montreal to bury his father and yet keep production of the episode on a reasonable schedule.  Shatner has said that it brought on pesonal growth including to know those in the Star Trek family somewhat better.  

 

 

  Summary : An episode that takes on the premise of what we do not know at first does not always mean that evil is afoot.  Lynch used to his strengths but not made crucial to the climax.  Excellent episode for Kirk and Spock with McCoy and Scotty showing their abilities to solve problems in short order.  I give it a B +.

 

 

  

[CarpetCrawler]

Best line in this episode goes to Bones....."I'm a doctor Jim, not a brick layer."  Classic, I still use it today.

[B-Man]

 

 

 

[B-Man]

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode Who Mourns For Adonais? airing Tuesday September 20 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short a routine exploration leads the Enterprise into contact with a being who considers himself a part of the Greek god legacy. This being has an immense ego including a strong desire to have people worship him which means entrapment for the Enterprise crew.  In the end he lacks the strength to back up the desire making him vulnerable to a challenge made by Kirk and Spock.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Michael Forest as Apollo.  I liked the facial expressions and tone he gave indicating a strong will in terms of wanting to control others.  Hard to see at times but Forest is a fairly tall man with muscle tone so he is what you might imagine when you think of a being with imposing strength.  He can also impart anger with minimal effort.  So many actors can do anger on a very limited interval before it is obvious that they are emotionally uncomfortable and physically drained.  Forest never had a high profile career but did appear on shows such as The Twilight Zone and check him out on Gomer Pyle as a motorist that has a run in with Sgt Carter.  Leslie Parrish as Lt Carolyn Palamas.  I did not like how the character was constructed but Parrish does her job in terms of what is expected namely being seduced by Apollo.  That she exhibits naivety in terms of what Apollo intends for the Enterprise crew.  Maybe I need to see other work done by Parrish but have only seen her on Batman as a moll of the Joker not exactly a deep role.

 

 

  Plot : Amounts to dog catches car but now does not know what to do.  Apollo tiring readily is the key to undoing him.  I guess that he was not like other old timers who can feel their age.  Rebelliousness was evident among the mortals during the classical Greek era so Apollo should have anticipate as much when he first snagged the Enterprise.  He obviously did not have a plan in the interim until the Enterprise crew lost their will.  Maybe he thought Earth people went soft since he last had contact with them?  OK, we get Helen Noel in the first season who exhibits some strength while performing her duty.  We are only 2 episodes into the second season and we get someone in Lt Palamas who is weaker than the weepy Yeoman Barrows from Shore Leave?  Good thing her need to be a willing consort to Apollo worked to be the diversion Kirk needed until he devised a plan to defeat Apollo.

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : Shatner gets to project strength and resolve in terms of dealing with Apollo.  Spock perhaps a pace on the slow side to figure out his end of dealing with Apollo.  This episode is perhaps one of the earliest in showing the regression of Scotty.  Here he does not demonstrate that he is much more than a horny 14 year old that just noticed his first love.  If the producers were really serious about developing Scotty they should have had a female crew person that would match the maturity of what you expect in an early 40's man.  This was shown in a one and done involving Picard on TNG.  

 

 

  Writing : I know I just laid down a lot of criticism in terms of the plot.  In the end what we saw was the direction the producers wanted to go in for this episode.  Putting that behind us I can say that the dialog handed out to the actors was suitable for the objective in the plot.  The pacing was fair and minimal time was wasted in terms of Kirk working towards a solution.

 

 

  Music : The scores supported the story fairly well.  Would have liked to had a new score written just for Palamas.

 

 

  Summary : Forest was a good guest star that was somewhat let down by the story presented.  Definite issues with the plot in terms of an Apollo who could realistically execute the plan he devised.  OK Kirk episode overall.  I had problems with Lt Palamas and how she did not overly fit into the story.  I give it a C.

Edited September 19, 2022 by RochesterRob

[RochesterRob]

  The arc is approaching completion in terms of reviewing TOS.  I was wondering if anybody was interested in doing review work on the other incarnations of Star Trek.  My plan as is was to start doing TNG but having looked at my work here makes me think that I may not be able to keep a schedule of one episode per week and do quality work.  I am not as up on the legacy behind TNG so this will mean more look up time to get the background on a given episode.  As it is I had intended to do more work on the production of the TOS episodes and in particular the writing, direction, and music but never seemed to have the time to do so.  Maybe somebody else can do more justice in some of these respects?

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

On 9/19/2022 at 1:18 PM, RochesterRob said:

  This week's review will be of the episode Who Mourns For Adonais? airing Tuesday September 20 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short a routine exploration leads the Enterprise into contact with a being who considers himself a part of the Greek god legacy. This being has an immense ego including a strong desire to have people worship him which means entrapment for the Enterprise crew.  In the end he lacks the strength to back up the desire making him vulnerable to a challenge made by Kirk and Spock.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Michael Forest as Apollo.  I liked the facial expressions and tone he gave indicating a strong will in terms of wanting to control others.  Hard to see at times but Forest is a fairly tall man with muscle tone so he is what you might imagine when you think of a being with imposing strength.  He can also impart anger with minimal effort.  So many actors can do anger on a very limited interval before it is obvious that they are emotionally uncomfortable and physically drained.  Forest never had a high profile career but did appear on shows such as The Twilight Zone and check him out on Gomer Pyle as a motorist that has a run in with Sgt Carter.  Leslie Parrish as Lt Carolyn Palamas.  I did not like how the character was constructed but Parrish does her job in terms of what is expected namely being seduced by Apollo.  That she exhibits naivety in terms of what Apollo intends for the Enterprise crew.  Maybe I need to see other work done by Parrish but have only seen her on Batman as a moll of the Joker not exactly a deep role.

 

 

  Plot : Amounts to dog catches car but now does not know what to do.  Apollo tiring readily is the key to undoing him.  I guess that he was not like other old timers who can feel their age.  Rebelliousness was evident among the mortals during the classical Greek era so Apollo should have anticipate as much when he first snagged the Enterprise.  He obviously did not have a plan in the interim until the Enterprise crew lost their will.  Maybe he thought Earth people went soft since he last had contact with them?  OK, we get Helen Noel in the first season who exhibits some strength while performing her duty.  We are only 2 episodes into the second season and we get someone in Lt Palamas who is weaker than the weepy Yeoman Barrows from Shore Leave?  Good thing her need to be a willing consort to Apollo worked to be the diversion Kirk needed until he devised a plan to defeat Apollo.

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : Shatner gets to project strength and resolve in terms of dealing with Apollo.  Spock perhaps a pace on the slow side to figure out his end of dealing with Apollo.  This episode is perhaps one of the earliest in showing the regression of Scotty.  Here he does not demonstrate that he is much more than a horny 14 year old that just noticed his first love.  If the producers were really serious about developing Scotty they should have had a female crew person that would match the maturity of what you expect in an early 40's man.  This was shown in a one and done involving Picard on TNG.  

 

 

  Writing : I know I just laid down a lot of criticism in terms of the plot.  In the end what we saw was the direction the producers wanted to go in for this episode.  Putting that behind us I can say that the dialog handed out to the actors was suitable for the objective in the plot.  The pacing was fair and minimal time was wasted in terms of Kirk working towards a solution.

 

 

  Music : The scores supported the story fairly well.  Would have liked to had a new score written just for Palamas.

 

 

  Summary : Forest was a good guest star that was somewhat let down by the story presented.  Definite issues with the plot in terms of an Apollo who could realistically execute the plan he devised.  OK Kirk episode overall.  I had problems with Lt Palamas and how she did not overly fit into the story.  I give it a C.

 

You can't summarize this episode without mentioning costume designer Bill Theiss's greatest creation in accordance of his design philosophy of "Will it or won't it fall off?" Leslie Parrish's gown, floor-length skirt slit up to the waist, with a top that features a front but no sides or a back.

 

 

Apparently she wasn't even glued into it for normal wear (she was for the so-called "rape of the wind" scene), and only the weight of the trail and wishful thinking kept it on.

[B-Man]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode I, Mudd airing Tuesday September 27 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short a mysterious new crewman hijacks the Enterprise to go to a little known world.  There we meet the instigator Harry Mudd who has gotten into a new jam namely being the center of interest by androids.  In order to gain control Kirk and company psych out the androids to the point to where they shutdown and new programming freeing the Enterprise is introduced.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Roger C Carmel as Harry Mudd.  I think that this episode plays more to Carmel's strength than Mudd's Women.  This episode has an obvious comedic side which Carmel utilizes well.  In terms of comedy on TOS there is little better than Mudd being henpecked by 500 android versions of his nagging wife Stella.  Carmel just eats this up with a shovel.  Early on we also get the hardened conman that is taking delight in Kirk's to the moment setback.  You would not think it by looking at Carmel but he is versatile in presentation.  Carmel was the lead in a 1960's series namely The Mother-In-Laws.  He also was supposed to be Mudd in a first season TNG episode but died before shooting commenced.  Richard Tatro as Norman the android plant who takes the Enterprise off course.  Not noteworthy but that was in large part due to being expected to enunciate his dialog in robot speak.  I thought that his costume was a bit too tight for a show that was known to be viewed by kids and will leave it at that.  Kay Elliot as Stella.  Nails hard and mean with ease.  Made me enjoy Mudd's comeuppance.   Not many acting credits given she could have had a niche with the Stella type characters.  She appeared briefly in a Gomer Pyle, USMC episode as an oval office custodian when Pyle visits DC.  

 

 

  Plot : OK, so the androids really only placate Mudd to get more human specimens to study.  So, from that standpoint it is plausible that Mudd can be central to the story.  We also get the question ahead of The Ultimate Computer is machine better than man?  That the androids could freely move through space without being impeded upon by the Federation, Klingons, Romulans, etc.  Especially, using materials and energy sources only from what is provided on the Enterprise.   And by what ethical code?  Do they pollute without regard to organic beings.  If a being is found to be extremely inferior is it OK to destroy like Nomad did?  Norman is able to sabotage the Enterprise to insure compliance.  Ship's security is in need of review for reasons such as that.  

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : Others may disagree but I think this is one episode which supports the notion that Shatner is hammy on average.  The scene where the crew is trying to sell Norman that they have an incredible explosive being an example.  While not a tremendous actress Nichelle Nichols makes the best of her expanded time when she ponders immortality by transplanting her brain into an android body.  Did not like Spock when he tries to sell the notion of liking one android but not liking another even though the appearance was exactly the same.  Spock for the most part to that point seemed to struggle with human cons but I suppose you could say he learned from Kirk as part of the course on cowboy diplomacy.  Good that the other characters got some time but it seems like Scotty should have been able to elude the Enterprise given his knowledge of the ship and its devices.  But then again we would have not gotten Scotty down on the planet joining in on psyching out the androids.

 

 

  Writing : It seemed like it took too long to reach the resolution of psyching out the androids and doing that was not very satisfying intellectually.  Mudd's character was supported very well especially with the Stella climax.

 

 

  Music : Did not matter one way or another in terms of supporting or not supporting the story.  Except maybe when the Stellas' were making their move on Mudd.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : The Enterprise and the planet get a remake in the remaster.

 

 

  Summary : Inferior Mudd story but good support of the character himself.  I don't think Shatner was overly sold on this episode hence his performance.  Very little meat there for Spock and Nimoy as well.  Alice series androids were easy on the eyes but a sharp fall off after that.  A derth of hot twins in Hollywood?  Good humorous climax when the Stellas come out to nag Mudd.   I give it a C.

Edited September 27, 2022 by RochesterRob

[RochesterRob]

  Life imitating art.  Caught the opening of The Doomsday Machine last night.  The signal goes out early on but I was going back to the opening of the game last night.  Anyways, during the moment Lt Palmer is giving Kirk her report about "all we got was the name Constellation then lost it" is all I got while my signal into the TV was going out.  

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode Wolf In The Fold airing Tuesday October 4 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short while on a Shore Leave an incident involving murder has circumstances implying Scotty as being guilty.  A repeat happens during a seance sanctioned by the planet's ruler intended to get at the truth.  It is finally deduced a non-corporeal entity is responsible jumping from host to host and its existence ended courtesy of the transporter.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Charles Macaulay as Jaris the leader of the planet Argelius.  His performance here is workman like and looking at his resume he pretty much is relegated to being a supporting actor.  He has a credit as being Doug Niedermeyer's father in the Animal House television series spinoff.  I'm going to have to check that out just to see how close to the tree did the apple known as Doug fall.  Jon Fiedler as Hengist who is in charge of the security on Argelius.  I was pretty much impressed with him going against type in Hengist.  Fiedler typically played low intensity characters such as Piglet (voice) in the Winnie the Pooh franchise, some down on his luck sort on Bewitched, or an oddball such as he did on Bonanza.  Here he attempts to keep commotion stirred up as to the murders which leads back to him and his past.  Check Fiedler out sometime as one of Dr Hartley's patients on Bob Newhart's first series.  

 

 

 Plot : Quite simple.  Jack the Ripper the 19th Century London based serial killer of prostitutes is the focus here.  In episode writer's Robert Bloch's wheelhouse whose work is most closely associated with the supernatural and macabre.  Perhaps the best known of Star Trek's writers who gave us Psycho along with the careers of Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh.  Back to the episode it is supposed that the murdering entity moved from organic (in this case human) host to organic host.  An idea that did not offer excitement but one that is certainly not impossible.  Anyways, to make this a go for an episode it winds up in the body of an Enterprise officer namely Scotty.  It can also very readily jump around as it goes to Jaris and ultimately back to Hengist who was the latest long term host.  

 

 

  Enterprise Crew:  Scotty is the focus and I did not like how he was treated here.  The setup to suspect Scott was he suffered an injury that he blames on a female crew person.  It's the 24th Century and he is fairly misogynistic?  He never had to work with the likes of Lt Masters (The Alternative Factor)?  The thinking even for the 1960's is a bit on the antiquated side.  Then I get he does not quite understand what is going on but uttering repeatedly "EYE don't NO" when questioned makes him seem a little weak.  He has assumed command of the ship when Kirk and Spock were away so I expect him to be a little more confident and insightful as to his situation.  OK Kirk episode has he is allowed to use his trademark confidence to protect Scott from being railroaded into being executed.  Spock used to good effect in determining that an outside entity is at the heart of the matter.

 

 

  Writing : Again, a story that originates with Robert Bloch.  So a story that involves murder, mystery, and mayhem.  Of course he did not write the teleplay.  The pacing seemed slow at times such as when we see the belly dancer, the seance, and the briefing room inquiry.  The bit with the relative of the dead woman and the jealous boyfriend seemed stretched out to fill time.  Did not like Kirk ordering McCoy to shoot up with happy drugs.  Some of the other Enterprise officers should be allowed to show some super human will power at times.  Kirk had his turn when he spurned the power of the spores in This Side of Paradise.

 

 

  Music : Scores were used to good effect.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlight : The remaster offers a reworked Enterprise and subject planet.

 

 

  Summary : I guess it comes down to if you like the premise of Jack the Ripper going interstellar or not.  Jon Fielder did well but the character was not thought provoking unlike so many other ST guests.  I don't know about making Scotty the focus.  All in all not a lot of meat here for my liking.  I give it a C -.

[devnull]