The Star Trek Thread

[RochesterRob]

6 hours ago, Crap Throwing Monkey said:

 

I've never liked that episode for one very simple (and admittedly, largely trivial) reason: the episode title has never made any &#%$ing sense to me whatsoever.

  I was never big on this episode as a kid but have grown to appreciate how events on Denova impacted Kirk and Spock.  Also, how McCoy professionally interjects relative to Kirk's priorities and Spock's physical and mental condition.  Probably one of the best episodes in terms of showing how a mission is handled by a starship crew.  Where the title comes from I never heard.  Annihilate the organism at least on Denova?

Edited December 13, 2021 by RochesterRob

[B-Man]

 

 

[Wacka]

Liked the flying burritos when I was a kid.

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode The Doomsday Machine which airs Wednesday Dec 22 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short while on patrol the Enterprise passes through several star systems where all planetary masses have been reduced to debris and rubble but also finds another starship which is heavily damaged.  Upon beaming aboard the wrecked Constellation the landing party encounters the Captain who is the only survivor and has intentions of evening the score at the cost of more lives and ships.  After making his efforts revealed as hopeless and suicidal he is pushed out of the way but not before giving Kirk an idea as to how to stop an immense automated weapon of mass destruction.  

 

 

  Guest Star : William Windom as Commodore Decker.  Easily in the top ten of TOS guests.  Windom shows range as his Decker first exhibits disorientation then anger then a desire for revenge then regret coupled with a death wish.  Not a tough guy actor but not the one you would expect with a heavy NYC accent to break down into despair complete with weeping.  The scene aboard the Constellation with Decker explaining to Kirk the fateful encounter his ship had was Windom's to shape as he saw fit.  Director Mark Daniels said he was not sure what to do in that scene but he was going to take a short break and let Windom let loose in front of the cameras.  Nice touch by Windom while Decker is in the shuttle craft.  At first at peace with committing suicide then recognition that was not the way to deal with the pain Decker was feeling.  

 

 

  Plot : After Kirk completes his assessment of the Constellation he sends Decker aboard the Enterprise for medical examination.  At that point Decker seizes command of the Enterprise in order to carry out his plan of revenge.  Its been pointed out if this was the US Navy of recent times (WWII) that such a takeover would be very improbable.  Commodore was more or less a temporary command for a fleet exercise involving several captains with one needing to be designated head of the exercise.  But in the world of Star Trek commodores seemed to be a permanent rank at a level below admiral.  To have administrative duties on a regional or departmental basis.  Decker's plan is to try to blast holes in the weapon dubbed the Planet Killer using phasers.  It seems like at this juncture Spock would have all the evidence to call Decker's plan into question and relieving Decker.  The Planet Killer is knocked out via a controlled explosion inside its interior.  I guess our heroes were the first in perhaps countless centuries to attempt this?

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : Excellent episode for Kirk as he gets to watch first hand an old friend in Decker mentally and emotionally implode.  Further, upon when contact is re-established with the Enterprise Kirk immediately has to take control of the situation meaning he cannot be concerned with bruising Decker's ego.  Excellent episode for Spock as he is thrown on the railroad tracks with a train bearing down in terms of Decker's irrational behavior.  Spock had to feel he was racing the clock in terms of getting to a point where he could assert himself over Decker without risk of charges of mutiny.  Once again we get to see McCoy having a large say so in terms of mental fitness over a commanding officer.  Saving the best for last we get to see Scotty showcased as he revives the broken down Constellation.  Perhaps the most emotional scene in all of the series is when Scotty throws the switch to get the Constellation under way with the boarding party trying to stay upright and the impulse engines going from rough to gaining power in the span of a minute.

 

 

  Writing : Excellent pacing and excellent dialog for nearly all the characters.  Even Sulu gets his turn as he counts down the closing in of the Constellation on the Planet Killer.  Catch phrases and impactful statements galore.  There is no 3rd planet!  There was but not anymore......  Scotty, I need that power!  Vulcans never bluff.  

 

 

  Music : Sol Kaplan scores that draw heavy emotions.  The Enterprise finding the Constellation.  The Constellation under tow.  The Constellation getting under way.  All those scenes have exclamation marks in them due to the musical interludes.

 

 

  Special effects bonuses : Much debate among the fan community as to original versus CGI.  I come down on the side of CGI as the Planet Killer looks more intimidating looking like a bugle chip than ....well.... a wind sock dipped in concrete.  The detail all though video game like with the Constellation was worth doing to strengthen the impact of what happened every time we see that ship.  Debris showing up on the view screen makes us feel like we actually aboard a space vessel.  The perspective is cleaned up in terms of shuttle craft versus starship.

 

 

  The Planet Killer : A fair number of people had a problem with the two starships taking out the Planet Killer.  I look at it like this.  In Kirk's dialog the Planet Killer most likely had been at mission for countless centuries.  No doubt it had not seen any maintenance since its initial launch.  Components were probably made of superior quality given its unique task but as we see here on Earth even military weapons fail over time.  The Constellation and Enterprise had excellent time as the Planet Killer's control mechanism had failed to the point to make it vulnerable to simple counter strategy.

 

 

  Summary : Perhaps the best showcase for the major characters.  Excellent guest star who is willing to lay it all out there to flesh out a character.  A story that simply makes us forget that the original Planet Killer was not the best conceived prop to appear on Star Trek.  Amazing musical score.  Grab the armrest of your chair climax.  I can see my way through to how the Planet Killer was vulnerable.  I'm feeling generous today.  I'm giving it an A +.

 

 

  Post note : Just in the last few days I saw Windom on an episode of Barney Miller playing a Decker-like character.  The episode was titled "Doomsday."  Shows how well this episode was regarded in television

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode The Deadly Years which airs Wednesday Dec 29 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short a stop to check up on a research station on Gamma Hydra IV reveals that the personnel there are suffering from exposure to radiation which resembles rapidly advancing aging.  An inexperienced base commander forces his way into command when the landing party which included Kirk suffers the same affliction.  A cure is found in the nick of time and Kirk retakes command to bluff his way out of a deadly encounter with the Romulans.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Charles Drake as Commodore Stocker.  Drake does not stand out in this episode.  His lines could have been read by a stage hand to the same effect that Drake had.  A flat performance that was not helped in part I suspect to Shatner pushing the producers to take a larger hand in the episode.  Shatner's reputation was growing in terms of raising Kirk's presence although not in a positive manner.  It has been alleged that by this point in the series that Shatner was very acute in terms of counting lines for Kirk's time in an episode.  Sarah Marshall as Dr Wallace.  What the series needed in terms of an understated former love of Kirk's but minimally important to the episode.  Marshall did not evoke any strong emotions for me that would have been normally critical to a person from Kirk's past.

 

 

 Plot : This whole thing is centered around Stocker making a bad decision in terms of a direct route to a starbase where he is to assume command.  Easier to swallow back in the days when most people understood travel movement in terms of left or right and up or down.  Also, convenient that while the Romulan sphere of influence is huge and resources are sparse that the Enterprise winds right up in the lap of the Romulans as soon as they cross the Neutral Zone.  Chekov before the series finishes its second season becomes the preferred crewperson when medical poking and prodding is needed.  A position that Laforge would inherit in the next incarnation of Star Trek.  Does aging automatically mean senility?  In this episode it does but then again this is all due to radiation from a comet which is not the same although the analogy is pushed repeatedly.  The Romulans are rather easily bluffed into opening a gap for the Enterprise to slip through.

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : I'm not going to say much about the regulars other than we see little to value in terms of a contribution.  I will say that it was a gutsy decision to cast somebody other than a Hollywood hottie to be the young female lieutenant of the week here.  That the crew is somewhat populated by younger but realistic looking people.  I kind of was starting to wonder after seeing engineering and technical types that look like men that reflected the age of 60 but in fact were played by actors who were in their 30's who had very bad genes.

 

 

  Writing : A poor outing as the regular characters had very little to do other than carry on about the effects of old age...errr.....radiation.  Dr Wallace had more screen time than she warranted but that could be due to poor editing.

 

 

  Music : A fair amount of cues carried over from The Doomsday Machine but sorely needed to enhance the values of production.

 

 

  Special Effects Bonus : The Romulan vessels ganging up on the Enterprise.  Whichs leads to criticism in that the Enterprise took many hits from the Romulan ships but stayed in one piece.  I guess the strength of the Big E's shields are whatever the episode calls for.

 

 

  Summary : One of the poorer Star Fleet officers in the series on display here.  Kirk's love interests past of present usually can stir the members of the male audience but not Dr Wallace.  A story that narrows rather than broadens as the episode moves along.  Interesting seeing the Romulan ships in battle maneuvers.  I give it a C +.  

Edited December 27, 2021 by RochesterRob

[B-Man]

 

 

                

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode The Immunity Syndrome airing this Wednesday Jan 5 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short a starship that Starfleet has lost contact with leads the Enterprise into a zone of darkness.  What is waiting inside is in essence a giant amoeba that has a bottomless pit in terms of consumption of planets and ships.  Kirk deduces in short order that an antimatter charge will be the antibody to free the Enterprise, destroy the organism, and save innocent star systems.

 

 

  Guest Stars : None for this episode.

 

 

  Plot : The Enterprise is ordered to investigate the disappearance of the starship Intrepid and the destruction in the Gamma 7A system.  This leads to the black cloud.  Is entering a reasonable risk?  Sure it advances the episode but entering without any idea of what is taking place seems like too big a gamble for a ship that is vital to Federation interests.  But we have already established in episodes such as Balance of Terror that a starship and crew are expendable under the "right" circumstances.  After all, the security of a large sector of space was at risk.  The Enterprise is dragged against its power to the amoeba itself and yet under than less than full power impulse it can readily back out?  Maybe the organism once determining if it needs food or not relaxes its grip?  The area around the amoeba can even be navigated by a vessel as it is near to open space versus being biological mass?

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : A good episode for Kirk as he has to decide which of his friends will have to face what is certain death in terms of a closeup encounter with the organism.  For me it was not the strongest episode in terms of the Spock-McCoy dynamic.  Spock almost seems spiteful (a human emotion?) in terms of McCoy possibly being the better candidate to pilot the shuttlecraft for the mission.  Scott and the rest of the bridge crew felt a little more into the background for such a job than they should have been.  There really should have been a briefing room scene  just like there was in Balance of Terror and The Corbomite Maneuver for these specialists to show their wares.

 

 

  Writing : As already suggested some time should have been found for a briefing room scene and it should have replaced maybe some Kirk time as Kirk endures growing fatigue.  Speaking of fatigue maybe the whole concept should have been replaced as fatigued crew but yet being injected with stimulants.  Stimulants that are not the same things as food matter which would provide among carbohydrates which were being indirectly sucked from the crew.  A little less harshness with the McCoy-Spock exchanges.  Pacing was fairly good other than the Kirk time although not a guest star to split time with.   I disagree with some of the direction but the actual spoken words were decent for what was trying to be accomplished.  

 

 

  Music : Heavy reuse of material from The Doomsday Machine but quite effective here.

 

 

  Special Effects Bonus : The amoeba is dressed up for the remaster.  Might have been nice to see more debris including that from the Intrepid.  

 

 

  Summary : This episode felt like it was reworked from The Doomsday Machine.  A very strong episode for Kirk.  I had issues with the escape of the Enterprise plus finding power to tractor the shuttlecraft out as well.  Just not a whole lot of energy in this episode.  I would have liked some Vulcan-like enthusiasm from Spock about McCoy's abilities.  I was going to talk a little more about the amoeba but maybe I will come back for an edit.  I give it a B -.  

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

2 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

  This week's review will be of the episode The Immunity Syndrome airing this Wednesday Jan 5 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short a starship that Starfleet has lost contact with leads the Enterprise into a zone of darkness.  What is waiting inside is in essence a giant amoeba that has a bottomless pit in terms of consumption of planets and ships.  Kirk deduces in short order that an antimatter charge will be the antibody to free the Enterprise, destroy the organism, and save innocent star systems.

 

 

  Guest Stars : None for this episode.

 

 

  Plot : The Enterprise is ordered to investigate the disappearance of the starship Intrepid and the destruction in the Gamma 7A system.  This leads to the black cloud.  Is entering a reasonable risk?  Sure it advances the episode but entering without any idea of what is taking place seems like too big a gamble for a ship that is vital to Federation interests.  But we have already established in episodes such as Balance of Terror that a starship and crew are expendable under the "right" circumstances.  After all, the security of a large sector of space was at risk.  The Enterprise is dragged against its power to the amoeba itself and yet under than less than full power impulse it can readily back out?  Maybe the organism once determining if it needs food or not relaxes its grip?  The area around the amoeba can even be navigated by a vessel as it is near to open space versus being biological mass?

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : A good episode for Kirk as he has to decide which of his friends will have to face what is certain death in terms of a closeup encounter with the organism.  For me it was not the strongest episode in terms of the Spock-McCoy dynamic.  Spock almost seems spiteful (a human emotion?) in terms of McCoy possibly being the better candidate to pilot the shuttlecraft for the mission.  Scott and the rest of the bridge crew felt a little more into the background for such a job than they should have been.  There really should have been a briefing room scene  just like there was in Balance of Terror and The Corbomite Maneuver for these specialists to show their wares.

 

 

  Writing : As already suggested some time should have been found for a briefing room scene and it should have replaced maybe some Kirk time as Kirk endures growing fatigue.  Speaking of fatigue maybe the whole concept should have been replaced as fatigued crew but yet being injected with stimulants.  Stimulants that are not the same things as food matter which would provide among carbohydrates which were being indirectly sucked from the crew.  A little less harshness with the McCoy-Spock exchanges.  Pacing was fairly good other than the Kirk time although not a guest star to split time with.   I disagree with some of the direction but the actual spoken words were decent for what was trying to be accomplished.  

 

 

  Music : Heavy reuse of material from The Doomsday Machine but quite effective here.

 

 

  Special Effects Bonus : The amoeba is dressed up for the remaster.  Might have been nice to see more debris including that from the Intrepid.  

 

 

  Summary : This episode felt like it was reworked from The Doomsday Machine.  A very strong episode for Kirk.  I had issues with the escape of the Enterprise plus finding power to tractor the shuttlecraft out as well.  Just not a whole lot of energy in this episode.  I would have liked some Vulcan-like enthusiasm from Spock about McCoy's abilities.  I was going to talk a little more about the amoeba but maybe I will come back for an edit.  I give it a B -.  

 

Another episode that bugs me because the name badly connects to the plot.  Though not as badly as "Operation:Annihilate!"

 

(Corrected)

Edited January 3, 2022 by Crap Throwing Monkey

[devnull]

31 minutes ago, Crap Throwing Monkey said:

 

Another episode that bugs me because the name badly connects to the plot.  Though not as badly as "The Immunity Syndrome."

 

Would you rather they renamed it the "The Shuddup and take the vaccine anyway Syndrome"

[RochesterRob]

3 minutes ago, devnull said:

 

Would you rather they renamed it the "The Shuddup and take the vaccine anyway Syndrome"

  Glad that you brought that up.  Would that be better as a TOS or TNG episode?  McCoy or Crusher to be the point (man) person?  Maybe myself or someone else will write up an outline of what a story should look like.  

[devnull]

5 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

  Glad that you brought that up.  Would that be better as a TOS or TNG episode?  McCoy or Crusher to be the point (man) person?  Maybe myself or someone else will write up an outline of what a story should look like.  

Why limit to McCoy and Crusher?  Include Bashir, Phlox, and the holographic doctor to the discussion

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

12 hours ago, devnull said:

Why limit to McCoy and Crusher?  Include Bashir, Phlox, and the holographic doctor to the discussion

 

 

Doesn't matter.  Would be better with McCoy no matter who else you consider.  His gruff, passionate bedside manner would give the message more impact, particularly when combined with Spock's dispassionate logical arguments.  

 

Although as a whole, it'd probably be an episode best suited for Star Trek: Voyager.  The relationship between Starfleet and the Maquis is well-suited for exploring the issues of mandates vs. free choice surrounding vaccination.  You could do the same with Deep Space Nine, with the polyglot population of the station, but it wouldn't be quite as clear or easy to examine.  Any other flavors of Star Trek, you lose that dichotomy simply because "captian's orders" on a starship remove any semblance of free choice.

[RochesterRob]

  In my mind the TOS characters would work best but the idea might be best suited for the era of TNG.  As you and Dev have indicated the idea with the right touch could be made to work in the other series as well.  These are the sort of things I was hoping for when establishing this thread.  Agree with you especially in regards to McCoy carrying the water in such an episode.  

 

  For TOS or TNG rather than a ship board story it would be better if the crew encountered a planet based dystopian society.  Perhaps one that belongs to the Federation but is skating towards the edge in terms of social policy.  

Edited January 4, 2022 by RochesterRob

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

7 minutes ago, RochesterRob said:

  In my mind the TOS characters would work best but the idea might be best suited for the era of TNG.  

 

Particularly, too, if you consider they did an episode tangential to such themes in The Mark of Gideon.  In no way the same sort of story or conflict, but it certainly gives you some idea of how they may have approached a story about issues surrounding public health policy.  

 

Ultimately, TOS was set in a very different era than now, and would never have approached such a vaccination story in a way anybody would agree with now.  

[Wacka]

Wesley Crusher, not he doc! He's expendable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[B-Man]

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode The Ultimate Computer which airs Wednesday January 12 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes and Icons.  In short the Enterprise is chosen to be the test ship for full automation directed by an autonomous computer.  The creator of the computer dubbed M5 Dr Daystrom is gifted but has personal quirks including paranoia and these traits are impressed on the computer.  The safety of other starships is at threat with deaths already incurred but Kirk salvages the day by reasoning the computer into a shutdown or human equivalent of suicide thus regaining control of the Enterprise before more live are lost.

 

 

  Guest Stars : William Marshall as Dr Daystrom.  Most actors are hesitant as to buying in to playing flawed character.  Marshall does an excellent job portraying Daystrom as a middle aged man who is under extreme pressure to produce regular results in computer advancement in comparison to having a bowel movement.  I in particular liked his unfolding nervous breakdown including talking about giving lectures to students who have little hope of truly understanding Daystrom's genius.  Marshall is perhaps best known as Blackula in the exploitation genre of the late 1960's- early 1970's.  He also did quite a bit of television including a Bonanza where he is mistaken to be believed a runaway slave.  Barry Russo as Commodore Wesley.  Competent.  Believable.  Not given all that much to do but helps the story advance while his character is in the Enterprise transporter room explaining the upcoming training exercise.  Should give James Doohan a nod as he is given vocal work including voicing the M5 computer and the starbse liaison that Wesley is in contact with to inform of the unfolding disaster.  

 

 

  Plot : At the most basic is it man or machine?   Seems like in one heck of a hurry that it was decided M5 was going to crap out.  It really did not work well for the other starships not to readily respond to the Enterprise going to full phasers.  McCoy going fully rabid once the intentions of Starfleet were made known in terms of testing M5.  Gee, I wonder why Daystrom felt that others were out to persecute him.  At least the story left the door open via the computer having human thought processes for Kirk to talk it into suicide.  Worked better than Landru which was never designed as a true interactive machine.

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : I know McCoy's role in the series is to be wary of coming technology but he was foaming at the mouth before the first M5 flub.  For a man who should put science first he should have waited before judging M5 incapable of running a starship.  The descent of Scotty starts around this time.  "Captain, wadda are we goyn to do?"  I have to wonder how hard it was for James Doohan to perform that scene.  "Pull out the plug, Spock?"  You would think that Scotty was just one week out of the academy instead of a well seasoned chief engineer.  Kirk should be one to put the needs of the service ahead of those of him as the captain but he does not.  Spock is perhaps most on target here but still should not be one to be especially leery without evidence to do so.

 

 

  Writing : I did not like the generally hysterical tone of the Enterprise crew which has already been substantially discussed above.  I would have liked to have seen more from Wesley as a peer to Kirk.  The better story in general would have been to have M5 realize its mistakes before deciding to finish off the starship task force.  This would have complicated the machine versus man debate but might have brought the whole thing closer to true for an organization that was probably feeling its way along in terms of advancing technology.  

 

 

  Music : The scores do well to support the scenes as shown.

 

 

  Special Effects Spotlights : The remaster gives us a good remake of the ore freighter Woden.  Probably more realistic but less pleasing is the starships maneuvering through space.  Some people preferred seeing different designs in the task force but I was happy to see more Constitution class vessels.  Mr Harper getting zapped in Engineering.

 

 

  Summary : We get to see glimpses of the Federation that are usually only talked about in the space station and other starships.  A man of color playing a very important figure in Starfleet and one we get to see having warts and all.  Would not happen today in the current woke culture.  A crew a little prejudiced against technology given their positions in Starfleet.  Some strong points and some clear issues.  I give it a B.

 

 

  Post Note : This episode is almost concurrent with 2001 which has a similar central plot point in a flawed computer.  I wonder how much Roddenberry and Clarke knew of each other's efforts before they debuted.  What little I have read about Clarke he started work on 2001 a few years prior to its 1968 first screening.  He also was living outside of the US as well.  

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode And The Children Shall Lead airing Wednesday Jan 19 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes & Icons.  In short a visit to a scientific expedition reveals that adults died apparently at their own hand but leaving the children alive.  Once aboard ship the children are revealed as pawns of a malevolent alien entity.  In a showdown between Kirk and the Gorgan the alien's bad intentions are laid revealed allowing the children to reject him and embrace more human behavior.

 

 

  Guest Stars : Melvin Belli as the alien Gorgan.  Belli's courtroom demeanor pays dividends here as his character can show barely controlled rage and deviousness all at the same time.  For a man who is not a professional actor and has to portray a less than flattering character I give him credit.  Pamela Ferdin as one of the surviving children of the scientists.  Does OK as a devil child running around controlling various crew members of the Enterprise.  Ferdin has that way cool factor as her career included voicing Lucy in a few Peanuts specials from that time, playing Felix Unger's daughter in the Odd Couple, and voicing Fern in Charlotte's Web.  Brian Tochi as another expedition child survivor.  Not memorable but also has that way cool factor playing Tokashi in the Revenge of the Nerds franchise.  Maybe his character here would have been helped by drunkenly riding a tricycle?  

 

 

  Plot : The Gorgan is like Lugosi's Dracula here to me.  It seems like it is more bother to round up problematic recruits than just doing the job yourself.  Evil seems like it is a profitless business.  Going to Markus 5 just to gain control of its population?  It might have been better just to have an opponent that he was trying to put the pucks to.  Maybe a Biblical analogy was too obvious.

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : Not a bad episode for Shatner is we see Kirk's command threatened from an unlikely direction.  The final showdown between Kirk and Gorgan is not half bad but a road we have been down nonetheless.  In boning up on this review I found out it was Nimoy's least favorite episode which is a sentiment I share.  McCoy carries on about grieving as being a solution to the alien's influence.  Empathy is a good counter punch to evil but I would have still taken the kids out in back of the observation deck (remote place like a wood shed) for a good old fashioned spanking first.

 

 

  Writing : As hinted at in the plot section I would have given the Gorgan a different background and different motive for his actions than what we saw.  Too much time spent on the kids running amok around the Enterprise.  The kids had too much power for most of the episode.  I would have written one of the kids being vulnerable early on.

 

 

  Music : An episode so poor that the familiar scores do nothing for it.

 

 

  Special Effects Bonus : The shot of the planet gets an upgrade in the remaster plus the Gorgan's aura looks like it got an upgrade as well.

 

 

  Summary : An episode to me that exemplifies the Seinfeld concept of a show about nothing.  A list of actors that are very interesting outside of this episode but do not do much to raise this episode.  Nice to know Nimoy felt the same way about this episode that I do.  I give it a D -.

[Wacka]

Herbet! Herbet! Herbet! Herbet! On MeTV tonight is the space hippie episode. Dr.Sevrin is also in the Nazi episode.

Edited January 23, 2022 by Wacka

[RochesterRob]

  This week's review will be of the episode Plato's Stepchildren airing Wednesday Jan 26 on WHEC 10.5 Rochester Heroes and Icons.  In short a distress signal leads the Enterprise to a world that is modeled after classic Greek society.  Also, it is discovered that the inhabitants have immense telekinesis based powers that threaten to destroy the ship and doom the crew to  miserable existence on the planet dubbed Platonius.  Before long the landing party discovers that the powers are due to a complex substance found in the planet's food supply with McCoy reproducing it so that Kirk and Spock can defeat the Platonians.  

 

 

  Guest Stars : Liam Sullivan as Parmen the society's leader.  Competent and can display visciouness though I would liked to have seen him a little more raw in that respect in the final confrontation.  Barbara Babcock as Philana.  We have seen her in the flesh once before in A Taste of Armageddon and can see why she is a callback for live appearances or voice work.  Excellent performance with subtle add on's such as clasping her finger in her mouth while watching the landing party perform.  Another reason she was considered one of the sexiest women of her time.  It is just not a matter of looks but how she handles and demonstrates herself.  Babcock also best displays the condescension by the Platonians of which nobody else in their minds can compare to.  Well, until Kirk came along.  Michael Dunn as Alexander more or less the clown entertainment of the court of Platonius.  Interesting to see Dunn shift gears after playing the ruthless Dr Loveless multiple times on The Wild Wild West.

 

 

  Plot : The Platonian's were really unaware of what made them powerful after thousands of years?  I guess that could be chalked up to arrogance to an extreme but these beings traveled space more than once so they would have to embrace science somewhat.  The same with addressing a basic infection?  Otherwise in perfect health to live an idle existence.  They logically should have killed the landing party once Parmen was taken care of but that was never going to happen to a group of regular cast members.

 

 

  Enterprise Crew : I'll give Nimoy credit for lowering himself to singing Greek songs of somberness.  Shatner displays the appropriate indignation at the Platonian's and their twisted code of conduct.  Majel Barrett while just a so-so actress does show some emotional pain in terms of getting close to Mr Spock but in a way that is sadistic to her character's desires.

 

 

  Writing : I did not like how the scenes were put together.  Too much time focusing on Parmen gave a Lost In Space feel.  Even for 1968 Kirk's comment near the end about a little visitor beaming aboard the Enterprise seemed somewhat insensitive.  Though necessary to the plot I really was not on board with digesting a substance to give telekinetic powers that could be found as easily as shopping your mall's nearest GNC.

 

 

  Music : In the Memory Alpha Trek page a couple of new scores appear in this episode.  

 

 

  Special Effects Bonus : The obligatory redo of the planet of the week.  Also, interesting that the tricorder gets a sophisticated display field while McCoy is sorting out the Platonian's likely power base.

 

 

  Woke moment : Was the kiss the signature moment of social progress that many pundits make it out to be?  I would put Boma's outbursts in The Galileo Seven as a far better example.  After all, Boma was sassing his superior in the minds of many viewers back in 1967.  The recently mentioned portrayal of William Marshall as a complex but mentally flawed scientist in The Ultimate Computer.  I would put the kiss after those two examples of social progress.  After all Barney and Betty Hill who were kissing and making babies while encountering UFO's did it before and with no fanfare as did many other mixed couples in the shadows of American society.

 

 

  Summary : Another cast wasted in a poor story.  Freiberger and Roddenberry thought that they hit a homerun with the kiss but in my opinion they did not.  I give it a D.

Edited January 24, 2022 by RochesterRob