Another pretty good one, and a good follow-up to the last episode. This time, we are treated to an in-depth view of the passive intellectual side and wild animal side of Captain Kirk, thanks to a transporter accident.
This time, an away-team led by Sulu and being supervised by Kirk is gathering samples of rocks and whatnot from a new planet, and one of the crewmen his hurt in a rock-slide. In the process, he is dusted with some strange yellowish material, and when he is beamed back to the ship for treatment, it is clear that something isn’t quite right with the transporter. It is all Scotty can do to bring the crewman in safely, and he quickly examines the powder and finds it to be magnetic in some fashion.
Still, it doesn’t seem terribly serious, and when Kirk calls for a beam-up, Scotty obliges. Again, it is difficult and barely accomplished, but Kirk materializes and staggers, clearly woozy from the effect. Scotty helps him to sick-bay, momentarily leaving the transporter unattended.
And that’s when ANOTHER Kirk beams in. This one is sweaty, wearing eyeliner, and is dramatically lit from below. Also, he gets the evil/danger music just before we go to the opening credit sequence. Clearly, something is amiss.
Interesting to note that the newly arrived Evil Kirk doesn’t have an emblem on his shirt.
From this point, we see various examples of how the two Kirk’s differ, starting with the good, drained and indecisive about many things, preferring a nap over reading reports that when he was “whole” he would likely have gone through quite professionally.
Meanwhile, Evil Kirk is storming into sick-bay and demanding Saurian brandy from Dr. McCoy, who relents and gives it to him. Now, with brandy in hand and Starfleet emblem restored to his shirt, he swaggers the halls in search of Yeoman Rand’s quarters (remember last time?). He goes in and is rummaging through her girly things when she arrives and he forces himself on her.
It seems to me that we’re seeing the repressed side of Kirk’s personality, distilled and concentrated, and his base passions are coming out quite clearly. For the most part, this isn’t a side we’ve seen much of, or has even been hinted at, in prior episodes.
Rand scratches his face, and another crewman sees the assault, causing Evil Kirk to flee the scene. Intense close-ups and lots of sweat continue as Evil Kirk goes to ground.
Meanwhile, Spock confronts Good Kirk about the brandy incident, which of course is denied. Then we see that the transporter is still wonky, but this time they have a poor over-decorated alien doggie split in two. One passive and sweet, the other a raging little mutt. Scotty advises they will have to shut down the transporter until the problem is found, since clearly this is a problem.
Apparently the Enterprise only has one transporter room because, as a consequence, they can’t recover the away team from the rapidly cooling night-time of the planet below. If they can’t be recovered soon, they will freeze in the -120’ temperatures that are headed their way.
Yeoman Rand confronts GoodKirk about the attack, but he denies involvement, using the lack of scratches on his face as evidence. Discussion ensues, and it is decided that Kirk must have been cleft in twain like the dog was. They make a ship-wide announcement about a Kirk imposter, dangerous, and with scratches on his face. Well, of course, EvilKirk hears this and sets about covering up his scratches with makeup. He also beats the tar out of a crewman and takes his phaser.
At this point, the episode becomes a “man-hunt”, with a gradually weakening and less decisive GoodKirk and Spock searching for EvilKirk. We also have Spock reminding Kirk he must be stronger, and not appear weak in front of the crew. As Captain, he can’t afford weakness as it will shake the crew’s faith in his ability to command. GoodKirk tells Spock to remind him if he slips.
GoodKirk decides that if he were hiding, he would go to the lower engineering decks, so that’s where he and Spock go. GK and EK meet – they circle each other, and GK tells EK that he can’t kill him, that they need each other to survive. EK pauses just long enough for Spock to nerve-pinch him into submission. Yay good-guys!
Unfortunately, a blast of phaser fire from EK has now disabled the transporter – it will take days to fix. Looks like Sulu and the boys will be chilling out for the rest of their lives.
In sickbay, Spock speculates that having a human personality so perfectly dissected is a great opportunity for research. He seems particularly interested in the dark side of human nature on display. McCoy berates him, Kirk looks disappointed, and Spock advises “If I seem insensitive to your plight, understand that it is the way I am.” and reminds them that he is constantly fighting a battle with his dual nature as well.
Evil Kirk begins to rage against his restraints, and his vital signs spike into the critical range – it looks like he might be dying, by GoodKirk talks to him, tells him to use his mind, his intellect, and to try to not be afraid. He grabs EK’s hand, and together calm him back down to normal. Everyone leaves sick-bay, thinking EK to be asleep, and we’re treated to an evil grin. He’s up to something.
Meanwhile, Scotty has found a way to bypass the blasted transporter circuits (of course – he’s Scotty) and they test the transported on the doggie(s). Two leave, one returns – dead. Oops.
And here is where McCoy ads a line to the collective consciousness of humanity “He’s dead, Jim.” Who knew he first used it about a dog?
Well, Spock and McCoy try to convince GoodKirk of their view on the matter – try it now, to find out if they can save the freezing away-team, or autopsy the dog and double check everything for safety, giving Kirk a better chance to survive but dooming the team. GK decides to proceed immediately… and to autopsy the dog as well. Decisive, without being decisive, and its getting worse. Spock suggests he might need to relinquish command, and GK is finally decisive – no. He doesn’t say it, but this is more proof of his fierce intentions to never give up his ship, even when he seems to have lost that part of his personality.
So, Spock and McCoy go their separate ways, and GoodKirk, weaker than ever, goes to sickbay to get EvilKirk. By himself. Hm.
Anyway, EvilKirk says he won’t fight him, that he agrees, etc. and then when GoodKirk unstraps him, *pow*, right in the kisser. He then scratches GK’s face to mask their true identity, takes his phaser, and leaves. This time, he controls his crazy animal side, appearing more like the jaunty Kirk we’ve come to know. He even sees Rand in the hall and apologizes, advising her that he’ll explain everything later. Oh, and also, “EK” scratched his face, see, to try to make them look the same.
Onto the bridge he saunters, takes his seat, and orders the ship to leave orbit. Everyone is shocked and hesitant – what about the away team? – but he orders it again, shouting it. Now everyone on the bridge knows something is up. McCoy and GK arrive on the bridge, and the confrontation is on. Which one is which? Well, EK shouts that it is him, and gets more desperate as it becomes obvious that his plan is foiled. He breaks down – “I want to live!” – and GK takes his phaser and advises him that he will – that they will both live. EK slumps despondently into GK’s arms, and Shatner gets to hug himself – no doubt a dream come true (I know, it was his stunt-man seen from behind, but still).
Off to the transporter room. Beam out – and trouble again beaming back – tension! This time just one Kirk appears on the pad, and it is our Captain! He quickly orders the away-team beamed aboard, and the day is saved.
Later, on the bridge, there is some indication that Rand might have found something attractive about EK after all, a semi-creepy post-script to the episode. We end with apologies all around.
So, overall, I think this was an interesting episode from the standpoint that more of the “inner Kirk” that was on display in the Naked Time is revealed. All men have a dark side, but rarely do we get to see it so starkly. Normally, Kirk is well-balanced and in control, but we get to see him lose it, in both aggressive and passive modes, but it is easy to see that the “softer” side of Kirk won out in the end, reminding us that he will tend to prefer intellect and compassion over brute force, if given the choice. However, he can be savage if needed.
I’ll give this one three and a half phasers.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
AWOL
Sorry about the lack of new posts - between working late and a few other "real life" things, I've been pressed for time. I promise to get back on the horse in the next day or so, so bear with me.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Episode 4 - The Naked Time
Well, this was a wonderful breath of fresh air! This was one of my favorites from the before-times, but I had forgotten how good it was. We’ve got some classic lines, solid writing, revelation of character that will factor into the entire series and movies, and a really bad TNG episode completely rips it off a few decades later.
One thing that I noticed in taking notes for this episode, and re-reading the prior three reviews, is that I fell back on a plot synopsis style of review for the two I didn’t like, while The Man Trap (and again with this one) is more of an overall impressions review. I think that’s indicative of the strength of the stories (or lack thereof) – I have something to actually talk about as opposed to a linear recap.
So, let’s talk about it.
We’re back to the comfortable sets and colorful uniforms that we all know and love. The interior of the Jeffries Tube makes its first appearance, as Scotty works to gain entrance to a barricaded Engineering Room. And the new digital effects for the ship in orbit around Psi-2000 are sharp and beautiful, a nice improvement without being a huge embellishment.
The story itself isn’t terribly complicated; the ship is sent to recover a science team from a world that is in its last days, about to tear itself apart. On arrival at Psi-2000, they find that the science team is all dead, frozen to death in their base – but it is more than that. One was frozen solid in the shower, fully clothed. A wo-mannequin is found strangled to death, and the life support was apparently just shut off, rather than failing. Weird!
(Wanted to mention that this episode won an Emmy for “Best Original Use of Bubble Wrap” that year, for the fine work on the suits that Spock and Ensign Joe wore to the surface.)
So, while Spock takes readings, the Ensign takes off his glove, rubs his itchy nose, then resumes scanning without putting the glove back on – and promptly gets infected by whatever wiped out the science crew. He doesn’t know it at first, of course – aside from some itching on his hand, nothing seems wrong.
So of course, they go back to the ship and are decontaminated on the transport pad – well, the outsides of their suits are – uh oh! From there, things get interesting as the “mutated water molecules” (as we find out they are later) begin to spread from crewman to crewman. This is when the story really takes off, and we see some wonderful quirks and hidden personality traits come to the surface while the virus spreads and the ship is put in mortal danger.
One of the good things, we see all of the original “stars” of the show, aside from Chekov, in one episode. Even Nurse Chapel puts in her first appearance, and boy does SHE have a lot of hair. Bless you, future. We see Sulu, sans shirt (oh myyyyy) terrorizing crewmen as a swashbuckling Musketeer. Scotty at his hard-nosed engineer best. McCoy, sweaty and intense as ever, and at his best, researching the contagion. Even a snippy, but ultimately professional, Uhura. I’m saving Kirk and Spock for special comment. So far (and probably overall for the series, although it is too soon to tell) I think this is the best ensemble performance.
And then there is Reilly. It is a shame we don’t see him again during the series, because I think he comes close to stealing the show. And not just for his caterwauling rendition of “Kathleen” (One more time!), but even before that, as he is first manifesting his illness, he is chipper and funny, and has great mannerisms. I’d like to have seen even more of this character, but imagine it wouldn’t have been the same if he had been “sane”.
Great Lines – There Are So Many
Sulu (crashing the bridge as his swashbuckler persona, sees Uhura and pulls her to him) – “I’ll save you, fair maiden!”
Uhura (pushing away) - “Sorry – neither!”
Spock (using his famous “nerve pinch” for the first time, on Sulu, to security) - “Take D’Artagnen here to sick bay!”
Kirk (as Reilly prepares to launch into “Kathleen” again on the intercom system One More Time!) - “Oh, no."
Scotty – “I can’t change the laws of physics”
And then, there are Spock and Kirk. This episode reveals so much of their personality and inner conflict, that it was clearly the inspiration for much of what was to come later. Starting with Spock, his first direct exposure to the virus is in sick bay where a delirious Nurse Chapel confronts him and professes her love for him. She clasps his hands, the virus makes the jump, and mayhem shortly ensues. He is soon struggling to control his long-suppressed emotions, alternately crying and growing angry as he tries to talk himself back into control. While you could blame his breakdown on the virus, I think (based on other’s reactions and McCoy’s later discovery that it acts much like alcohol) that it simply releases the inner feelings of the victim, and maybe enhances them as well.
While Spock is having his breakdown in a conference room, Kirk and Scotty discover that the engines have been shut down by Reilly, and as the ship is spinning down into a closer and closer orbit, it will take longer to restart them than they have before they crash. Kirk insists they have to try (dur) and sets off to find Spock to perform the calculations.
And here is where we get the dynamic of their relationship spelled out in glorious detail.
Kirk finds Spock, still struggling, in the conference room. He confronts him, trying to snap him out of his fugue, demanding that he needs to perform calculations or they’re all dead. Spock laments his inability to show love for his mother as he sobs helplessly, and the fact that when he feels friendship for Kirk, he is ashamed. As we know from earlier asides, Spock is half-human, and grew up among full-blooded (and completely reserved) Vulcans, and is still struggling to keep his human side submerged. This provides a glimpse into the depth of his character that will serve him throughout the series and beyond.
Still, the ship is in peril, and Kirk is having none of it. He slaps Spock, once, twice, a third time. Spock snaps with anger and literally slaps Kirk across the room. Of course, this transfers the virus to Kirk… and we get our second in-depth look at character motivation.
Kirk recovers from the blow, and Spock seems to be regaining control. Although it is never spelled out, I suspect his alien biochemistry overcame the virus eventually, although he might simply have regained mental/emotional control – we never see him get a shot of antidote however. As the “Old Spock” returns, Kirk begins to slip under the influence of the virus, and we see his deep, hidden emotions – for the ship.
He laments the burden of command, having to be always a servant to the ship and her crew, but loving her for it. “Now I know why it’s called ‘she’.” Still, he laments the inability to even notice beautiful yeomen (Rand, clearly), and that there is no beach to walk on. This deep, unwavering devotion (sometimes passing into obsession) with the Enterprise is summed up when Kirk spits out through clenched teeth, “I’ll never lose you. NEVER.”
This one extended scene in the conference roof is a keystone to the series as a whole, and is the main reason that this episode is required viewing (aside from being a damn good story).
Oh yes, then there’s The End.
Spock goes to engineering, makes the necessary calculations for a warp drive “implosion”, and everyone braces to make the one last effort to break free of the planet before they are smashed to bits. Kirk strides onto the bridge, not even noticing when McCoy rips his sleeve and gives him an injection of antidote before he sits in the command chair. One last moment of the inner Kirk, as he gazes at Rand and mutters “No beach to walk on…” The longing is there, but is quickly buried as duty and the antidote take hold.
Switches are thrown, loud piercing sounds are heard, lurching takes place, and the view screen shows them receding from Psi-2000 and its nearby cluster of stars at a fantastic rate. Sulu looks down at his chronometer and announces in astonishment that it is running backwards!
Yep, our first Time Warp of the series. As anyone who has even a passing knowledge of Star Trek can attest, it won’t be the last, not by a long shot.
So, they end up 71 hours before the arrived at Psi-2000, presumably not having passed themselves on the way (paradox is a subject for another time). Spock is fascinated about the potential future applications of this discovery, stating that they can go back in time to any era, and planet – Kirk advises him wearily that they might risk it someday.
This one is a solid five dilithium crystals way up – most likely it will end up being one of my favorite of TOS.
One thing that I noticed in taking notes for this episode, and re-reading the prior three reviews, is that I fell back on a plot synopsis style of review for the two I didn’t like, while The Man Trap (and again with this one) is more of an overall impressions review. I think that’s indicative of the strength of the stories (or lack thereof) – I have something to actually talk about as opposed to a linear recap.
So, let’s talk about it.
We’re back to the comfortable sets and colorful uniforms that we all know and love. The interior of the Jeffries Tube makes its first appearance, as Scotty works to gain entrance to a barricaded Engineering Room. And the new digital effects for the ship in orbit around Psi-2000 are sharp and beautiful, a nice improvement without being a huge embellishment.
The story itself isn’t terribly complicated; the ship is sent to recover a science team from a world that is in its last days, about to tear itself apart. On arrival at Psi-2000, they find that the science team is all dead, frozen to death in their base – but it is more than that. One was frozen solid in the shower, fully clothed. A wo-mannequin is found strangled to death, and the life support was apparently just shut off, rather than failing. Weird!
(Wanted to mention that this episode won an Emmy for “Best Original Use of Bubble Wrap” that year, for the fine work on the suits that Spock and Ensign Joe wore to the surface.)
So, while Spock takes readings, the Ensign takes off his glove, rubs his itchy nose, then resumes scanning without putting the glove back on – and promptly gets infected by whatever wiped out the science crew. He doesn’t know it at first, of course – aside from some itching on his hand, nothing seems wrong.
So of course, they go back to the ship and are decontaminated on the transport pad – well, the outsides of their suits are – uh oh! From there, things get interesting as the “mutated water molecules” (as we find out they are later) begin to spread from crewman to crewman. This is when the story really takes off, and we see some wonderful quirks and hidden personality traits come to the surface while the virus spreads and the ship is put in mortal danger.
One of the good things, we see all of the original “stars” of the show, aside from Chekov, in one episode. Even Nurse Chapel puts in her first appearance, and boy does SHE have a lot of hair. Bless you, future. We see Sulu, sans shirt (oh myyyyy) terrorizing crewmen as a swashbuckling Musketeer. Scotty at his hard-nosed engineer best. McCoy, sweaty and intense as ever, and at his best, researching the contagion. Even a snippy, but ultimately professional, Uhura. I’m saving Kirk and Spock for special comment. So far (and probably overall for the series, although it is too soon to tell) I think this is the best ensemble performance.
And then there is Reilly. It is a shame we don’t see him again during the series, because I think he comes close to stealing the show. And not just for his caterwauling rendition of “Kathleen” (One more time!), but even before that, as he is first manifesting his illness, he is chipper and funny, and has great mannerisms. I’d like to have seen even more of this character, but imagine it wouldn’t have been the same if he had been “sane”.
Great Lines – There Are So Many
Sulu (crashing the bridge as his swashbuckler persona, sees Uhura and pulls her to him) – “I’ll save you, fair maiden!”
Uhura (pushing away) - “Sorry – neither!”
Spock (using his famous “nerve pinch” for the first time, on Sulu, to security) - “Take D’Artagnen here to sick bay!”
Kirk (as Reilly prepares to launch into “Kathleen” again on the intercom system One More Time!) - “Oh, no."
Scotty – “I can’t change the laws of physics”
And then, there are Spock and Kirk. This episode reveals so much of their personality and inner conflict, that it was clearly the inspiration for much of what was to come later. Starting with Spock, his first direct exposure to the virus is in sick bay where a delirious Nurse Chapel confronts him and professes her love for him. She clasps his hands, the virus makes the jump, and mayhem shortly ensues. He is soon struggling to control his long-suppressed emotions, alternately crying and growing angry as he tries to talk himself back into control. While you could blame his breakdown on the virus, I think (based on other’s reactions and McCoy’s later discovery that it acts much like alcohol) that it simply releases the inner feelings of the victim, and maybe enhances them as well.
While Spock is having his breakdown in a conference room, Kirk and Scotty discover that the engines have been shut down by Reilly, and as the ship is spinning down into a closer and closer orbit, it will take longer to restart them than they have before they crash. Kirk insists they have to try (dur) and sets off to find Spock to perform the calculations.
And here is where we get the dynamic of their relationship spelled out in glorious detail.
Kirk finds Spock, still struggling, in the conference room. He confronts him, trying to snap him out of his fugue, demanding that he needs to perform calculations or they’re all dead. Spock laments his inability to show love for his mother as he sobs helplessly, and the fact that when he feels friendship for Kirk, he is ashamed. As we know from earlier asides, Spock is half-human, and grew up among full-blooded (and completely reserved) Vulcans, and is still struggling to keep his human side submerged. This provides a glimpse into the depth of his character that will serve him throughout the series and beyond.
Still, the ship is in peril, and Kirk is having none of it. He slaps Spock, once, twice, a third time. Spock snaps with anger and literally slaps Kirk across the room. Of course, this transfers the virus to Kirk… and we get our second in-depth look at character motivation.
Kirk recovers from the blow, and Spock seems to be regaining control. Although it is never spelled out, I suspect his alien biochemistry overcame the virus eventually, although he might simply have regained mental/emotional control – we never see him get a shot of antidote however. As the “Old Spock” returns, Kirk begins to slip under the influence of the virus, and we see his deep, hidden emotions – for the ship.
He laments the burden of command, having to be always a servant to the ship and her crew, but loving her for it. “Now I know why it’s called ‘she’.” Still, he laments the inability to even notice beautiful yeomen (Rand, clearly), and that there is no beach to walk on. This deep, unwavering devotion (sometimes passing into obsession) with the Enterprise is summed up when Kirk spits out through clenched teeth, “I’ll never lose you. NEVER.”
This one extended scene in the conference roof is a keystone to the series as a whole, and is the main reason that this episode is required viewing (aside from being a damn good story).
Oh yes, then there’s The End.
Spock goes to engineering, makes the necessary calculations for a warp drive “implosion”, and everyone braces to make the one last effort to break free of the planet before they are smashed to bits. Kirk strides onto the bridge, not even noticing when McCoy rips his sleeve and gives him an injection of antidote before he sits in the command chair. One last moment of the inner Kirk, as he gazes at Rand and mutters “No beach to walk on…” The longing is there, but is quickly buried as duty and the antidote take hold.
Switches are thrown, loud piercing sounds are heard, lurching takes place, and the view screen shows them receding from Psi-2000 and its nearby cluster of stars at a fantastic rate. Sulu looks down at his chronometer and announces in astonishment that it is running backwards!
Yep, our first Time Warp of the series. As anyone who has even a passing knowledge of Star Trek can attest, it won’t be the last, not by a long shot.
So, they end up 71 hours before the arrived at Psi-2000, presumably not having passed themselves on the way (paradox is a subject for another time). Spock is fascinated about the potential future applications of this discovery, stating that they can go back in time to any era, and planet – Kirk advises him wearily that they might risk it someday.
This one is a solid five dilithium crystals way up – most likely it will end up being one of my favorite of TOS.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Episode 3 - Where No Man Has Gone Before
Well, after the disappointment that was Charlie X, it’ll be nice to get back into some straight-up pulpy space goodness without vain and petty proto-gods running around all over…
Well.
It’s not that bad, really. I’d put this one squarely in second place so far (I know, only three entries, but still). This one is particularly interesting from a technical standpoint, rather than due to the story itself. It looks like this was one of the earlier episodes filmed because a lot of the look and feel of both the Enterprise and the characters is markedly different from what we’ve seen before. Examples:
Spock is decidedly more “satanic” looking – bigger ears, eyebrows that slope inward at a very steep angle, and are bushier. Also, he tends to yell commands a lot in this episode, sounding like the first mate on an 18th century Man-O-War.
No McCoy. Instead, the doctor is named Piper, and is considerably older.
No Uhura, although the man who is at her station is also black.
Uniforms are very different, tending mostly to be gold turtle-neck type affairs that zip at the shoulders. We do see some blue, but no red.
There are extraneous gadgets on the bridge, most notably a view screen on a flexible metal arm on Kirk’s chair that looks a bit like the head of a Martian walker from the George Pal film “War of the Worlds”.
Phasers, instead of the sleek design we are used to, are bulky tube-like affairs, and the phaser rifle looks like something that fell out from under a 1958 Chevy.
All of this together indicates that we are far closer to The Cage than we are later episodes, in filming order if not by the actual timeline of the TOS universe. So, aside from these mostly cosmetic differences, what about the story?
It turns out the Enterprise is on a mission to the edge of the galaxy. As they near the boundary, they find and recover a recording buoy from a ship lost over 200 years before, on a similar mission. Scotty is the transporter operator for the beam-in, his first appearance in the series. It turns out that the captain of the ship, the Valiant, scuttled her for reason or reasons unknown; Spock begins to study the data tapes to see if he can discover a cause.
Meanwhile, Dr. Elizabeth Dana (Sally Kellerman, grwow) who is temporarily assigned to the Enterprise to study how crewmembers respond in stressful situations, has a frosty run-in on the bridge with helmsman Gary Mitchell. We find out later that Kirk was one of Mitchell’s classmates at Starfleet Academy, and they have been friends ever since.
Spock discovers that the Valiant encountered some type of energy barrier, and when their ship entered it, it disabled them and killed several of the crew. At some point afterward, one of the dead crewmen made a miraculous recovery. Then the proverbial poop hits the fan in an unspecified manner, the Valiant’s captain spends time researching ESP on the ship’s computer, and then boom. Yes, boom.
Dr. Dana advises that she has a fairly high ESP rating, and we discover that apparently all Starfleet personnel are tested for this during their academy days. Everyone finds this Rather Interesting.
So, sidebar completed, the ship continues to the edge of the galaxy – where they encounter an energy barrier. Odd, it doesn’t read on sensors, so they keep going. Then, boom. Yes, boom. Panels on the bridge blow up, sparks fly, and the ship barely manages to get back out of the field on low impulse power, her warp drives drained and the nearest base decades away. Oh, and Dr. Dana and Mitchell were knocked out by the mysterious force. Several other crewmen weren’t so lucky, and die.
Later, in sickbay, it is determined that Mitchell and Dana survived due to their higher than normal ESP ratings. Mitchell, lying in bed, acts unsurprised. And he has SPARKLY EYES! Man, it looks like those appliances hurt like hell, but he soldiers on throughout most of the rest of the episode looking like someone poured glitter in his eyes. Time passes, and we see him reading books at lightning speed, mentally affecting things at a distance (a cup, then later switches on the bridge). Clearly, he is on his way to demi-godhood.
So, three episodes in, and we’re up to godling #2 already. Hmph.
Dr. Dana tests his growing abilities by picking a random tape and asking him to repeat what is on page so-n-so. Turns out it is one of the best known love sonnets of all time, written on one of the planets of the Canopus system in the year 1996! The FUTURE! He says her picking that particular page was no accident. Apparently, Gary has snow globe-eyes for Dr. Dana.
Emergency officer’s meeting to decide What To Do About Zeus. Sulu advises that Mitchell’s powers are growing exponentially, explaining the concept to the highly intelligent Star Fleet officers by using the “doubling pennies in a month to become a millionaire” example. I guess Latinum isn’t in widespread use just yet. Spock is concerned that as Mitchell grows more powerful, he might turn more directly on the crew. Nah.
Kirk decides they need to recharge the ship’s engines, and fortunately there is an automated mining facility on a nearby world that can be used for the task. Spock thinks they should strand Mitchell there, but Kirk, ever the optimist, says he won’t do it. Spock says there is no other choice, they must kill Mitchell while they still can. Again in sick bay, Mitchell says Spock is right, evidencing an ability to read minds as well – surprise.
Kirk tries to overpower him as he grows more incoherent, but Mitchell zaps Spock and Kirk with electricity (man, that must get old), but Kirk recovers, cold-cocks him, and they sedate him for transport down to the planet. Once on the surface, the ship’s engineers rig the facility to blow to smithereens, and likely take Mitchell with it, if he gets out of control. Mitchell, safely behind a force field, tries the little-god routine, but he’s still too weak to break out of containment. Charlie could give him some pointers.
Despite Spock’s certainty, and Kirk’s reluctantly growing acceptance of the fact, that Mitchell must die, Dr. Dana plays the old “he’s not a monster, there’s still good in him” card. Eye rolling ensues (mine, if not Kirk’s), and hours pass.
The facility is all ready to blow, everyone but engineer Kelso, Kirk, Spock, Dana and a handful of others have left, and the ship’s engines are ready to go. Mitchell strikes! He levitates a power cable in the control room and strangles Kelso, breaks free from his cell, overpowers Kirk and Spock, then flees with Dr. Dana.
On the surface, Mitchell transforms a small grotto into a Garden of Eden, complete with an apple tree, and our metaphor meters go off the charts. “You’ll enjoy being a god, Elizabeth…” No doubt. Only, Kirk isn’t letting it happen. He orders everyone off the planet, takes a phaser rifle, and sets off in pursuit of Mitchell.
Dana, who has also begun to manifest sparkly-eyes, finds Kirk and advises he should leave, that Earth is no longer important to them. Kirk reminds her of Mitchell’s demonstrated lack of compassion, and the dark side of humanity that he has in him, trying to turn her against him.
Then Mitchell appears! Kirk fires his rifle, to no effect! So they have a fist fight! Kirk’s shirt is torn! He’s down for the count! Mitchell thoughtfully provides a grave for Kirk, complete with tombstone (dated 012774 – (something I couldn’t make out)). He tries to trigger a rockslide, but Dana stops him. Mitchell advises “Morals are for men, not god.”
Force-lightning duel between Mitchell and Dana! Zap, pow! And Dana expires! But Mitchell is weak enough for Kirk to overpower him, knock him into the grave meant for him, and blast the rocks to finish over the rockslide, burying Mitchell in the grave meant for him - an ironic twist.
Later, on the bridge… the ship is repaired and back under way. Kirk, hand bandaged (no hypo spray?), is recording the death in the line of duty of Mitchell and Dana. A quip from Spock about feeling for Mitchell despite his fate, Kirk advising there might be hope for him yet, and roll credits.
Ok, Star Trek was cutting-edge for its day, in almost any way you care to mention – but the writing so far isn’t terribly impressive. I’m hoping we can get away from the godlings for awhile. I give this one two and a half tribbles, for not being Charlie X.
On deck - The Naked Time.
Well.
It’s not that bad, really. I’d put this one squarely in second place so far (I know, only three entries, but still). This one is particularly interesting from a technical standpoint, rather than due to the story itself. It looks like this was one of the earlier episodes filmed because a lot of the look and feel of both the Enterprise and the characters is markedly different from what we’ve seen before. Examples:
Spock is decidedly more “satanic” looking – bigger ears, eyebrows that slope inward at a very steep angle, and are bushier. Also, he tends to yell commands a lot in this episode, sounding like the first mate on an 18th century Man-O-War.
No McCoy. Instead, the doctor is named Piper, and is considerably older.
No Uhura, although the man who is at her station is also black.
Uniforms are very different, tending mostly to be gold turtle-neck type affairs that zip at the shoulders. We do see some blue, but no red.
There are extraneous gadgets on the bridge, most notably a view screen on a flexible metal arm on Kirk’s chair that looks a bit like the head of a Martian walker from the George Pal film “War of the Worlds”.
Phasers, instead of the sleek design we are used to, are bulky tube-like affairs, and the phaser rifle looks like something that fell out from under a 1958 Chevy.
All of this together indicates that we are far closer to The Cage than we are later episodes, in filming order if not by the actual timeline of the TOS universe. So, aside from these mostly cosmetic differences, what about the story?
It turns out the Enterprise is on a mission to the edge of the galaxy. As they near the boundary, they find and recover a recording buoy from a ship lost over 200 years before, on a similar mission. Scotty is the transporter operator for the beam-in, his first appearance in the series. It turns out that the captain of the ship, the Valiant, scuttled her for reason or reasons unknown; Spock begins to study the data tapes to see if he can discover a cause.
Meanwhile, Dr. Elizabeth Dana (Sally Kellerman, grwow) who is temporarily assigned to the Enterprise to study how crewmembers respond in stressful situations, has a frosty run-in on the bridge with helmsman Gary Mitchell. We find out later that Kirk was one of Mitchell’s classmates at Starfleet Academy, and they have been friends ever since.
Spock discovers that the Valiant encountered some type of energy barrier, and when their ship entered it, it disabled them and killed several of the crew. At some point afterward, one of the dead crewmen made a miraculous recovery. Then the proverbial poop hits the fan in an unspecified manner, the Valiant’s captain spends time researching ESP on the ship’s computer, and then boom. Yes, boom.
Dr. Dana advises that she has a fairly high ESP rating, and we discover that apparently all Starfleet personnel are tested for this during their academy days. Everyone finds this Rather Interesting.
So, sidebar completed, the ship continues to the edge of the galaxy – where they encounter an energy barrier. Odd, it doesn’t read on sensors, so they keep going. Then, boom. Yes, boom. Panels on the bridge blow up, sparks fly, and the ship barely manages to get back out of the field on low impulse power, her warp drives drained and the nearest base decades away. Oh, and Dr. Dana and Mitchell were knocked out by the mysterious force. Several other crewmen weren’t so lucky, and die.
Later, in sickbay, it is determined that Mitchell and Dana survived due to their higher than normal ESP ratings. Mitchell, lying in bed, acts unsurprised. And he has SPARKLY EYES! Man, it looks like those appliances hurt like hell, but he soldiers on throughout most of the rest of the episode looking like someone poured glitter in his eyes. Time passes, and we see him reading books at lightning speed, mentally affecting things at a distance (a cup, then later switches on the bridge). Clearly, he is on his way to demi-godhood.
So, three episodes in, and we’re up to godling #2 already. Hmph.
Dr. Dana tests his growing abilities by picking a random tape and asking him to repeat what is on page so-n-so. Turns out it is one of the best known love sonnets of all time, written on one of the planets of the Canopus system in the year 1996! The FUTURE! He says her picking that particular page was no accident. Apparently, Gary has snow globe-eyes for Dr. Dana.
Emergency officer’s meeting to decide What To Do About Zeus. Sulu advises that Mitchell’s powers are growing exponentially, explaining the concept to the highly intelligent Star Fleet officers by using the “doubling pennies in a month to become a millionaire” example. I guess Latinum isn’t in widespread use just yet. Spock is concerned that as Mitchell grows more powerful, he might turn more directly on the crew. Nah.
Kirk decides they need to recharge the ship’s engines, and fortunately there is an automated mining facility on a nearby world that can be used for the task. Spock thinks they should strand Mitchell there, but Kirk, ever the optimist, says he won’t do it. Spock says there is no other choice, they must kill Mitchell while they still can. Again in sick bay, Mitchell says Spock is right, evidencing an ability to read minds as well – surprise.
Kirk tries to overpower him as he grows more incoherent, but Mitchell zaps Spock and Kirk with electricity (man, that must get old), but Kirk recovers, cold-cocks him, and they sedate him for transport down to the planet. Once on the surface, the ship’s engineers rig the facility to blow to smithereens, and likely take Mitchell with it, if he gets out of control. Mitchell, safely behind a force field, tries the little-god routine, but he’s still too weak to break out of containment. Charlie could give him some pointers.
Despite Spock’s certainty, and Kirk’s reluctantly growing acceptance of the fact, that Mitchell must die, Dr. Dana plays the old “he’s not a monster, there’s still good in him” card. Eye rolling ensues (mine, if not Kirk’s), and hours pass.
The facility is all ready to blow, everyone but engineer Kelso, Kirk, Spock, Dana and a handful of others have left, and the ship’s engines are ready to go. Mitchell strikes! He levitates a power cable in the control room and strangles Kelso, breaks free from his cell, overpowers Kirk and Spock, then flees with Dr. Dana.
On the surface, Mitchell transforms a small grotto into a Garden of Eden, complete with an apple tree, and our metaphor meters go off the charts. “You’ll enjoy being a god, Elizabeth…” No doubt. Only, Kirk isn’t letting it happen. He orders everyone off the planet, takes a phaser rifle, and sets off in pursuit of Mitchell.
Dana, who has also begun to manifest sparkly-eyes, finds Kirk and advises he should leave, that Earth is no longer important to them. Kirk reminds her of Mitchell’s demonstrated lack of compassion, and the dark side of humanity that he has in him, trying to turn her against him.
Then Mitchell appears! Kirk fires his rifle, to no effect! So they have a fist fight! Kirk’s shirt is torn! He’s down for the count! Mitchell thoughtfully provides a grave for Kirk, complete with tombstone (dated 012774 – (something I couldn’t make out)). He tries to trigger a rockslide, but Dana stops him. Mitchell advises “Morals are for men, not god.”
Force-lightning duel between Mitchell and Dana! Zap, pow! And Dana expires! But Mitchell is weak enough for Kirk to overpower him, knock him into the grave meant for him, and blast the rocks to finish over the rockslide, burying Mitchell in the grave meant for him - an ironic twist.
Later, on the bridge… the ship is repaired and back under way. Kirk, hand bandaged (no hypo spray?), is recording the death in the line of duty of Mitchell and Dana. A quip from Spock about feeling for Mitchell despite his fate, Kirk advising there might be hope for him yet, and roll credits.
Ok, Star Trek was cutting-edge for its day, in almost any way you care to mention – but the writing so far isn’t terribly impressive. I’m hoping we can get away from the godlings for awhile. I give this one two and a half tribbles, for not being Charlie X.
On deck - The Naked Time.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Episode 2 - Charlie X
Charlie X is the story of a boy named Anthony, who lives in Peaksville, Ohio, and has the ability to wish away those who displease him…
No, wait.
Charlie X is the story of a young man who, using the power of his mind, can make people obey his wishes, manipulate them like puppets, and alter reality at his whim. It is a story of the confusion and anger of adolescence, manifested in a man/boy who has never known human company and has been given god-like powers with no moral compass to guide him. It is a story about rejection, and unrequited love, and oh, yeah, wishing people into the cornfield.
A very big drop off from The Man Trap, in my opinion. I know Charlie X is one of the more well-known of TOS episodes, but then again, so is the space hippie episode. Being well-known doesn’t mean good, and in this case, I think that IS the case.
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t unwatchable. It was just that watching Charlie get his dander up, then get talked down by Kirk, then get mad, then get talked down by Kirk, then get confused, then get talked down by Kirk…
You get the idea.
To make matters worse, for an hour of screen-time we see several attempts by Kirk to turn the boy onto a more reasonable path, which subsequently get swept aside when someone else does something that displeases the godling (a theme that I have a feeling we’ll be coming back to in later episodes…). At the end of the day, Charlie isn’t changed one bit, and the only thing that saves the Enterprise and her crew is the Deus Ex Machina of his alien “parents”, the Thasians, arriving and taking him away. There was no growth in this episode, no character arc, and no lessons learned, except that – just maybe – a spoiled brat will always be a spoiled brat. This is somewhat surprising as it was written by D.C. Fontana, from an “original” idea by Gene himself – and it just plain falls flat, with me at least.
Still and all, there were some good bits.
The soon-to-become famous Spock and Bones Banter is on display early on, during a scene with Kirk on the bridge where they are debating how to handle their new young passenger. Spock derisively but gently asks Bones if he is basing his decisions on logic or emotion. The dialog between the three is quite unforced and natural, even talking over each other a bit as friends are wont to do in real life.
Then we have the Rec Room sequence, where Spock plays his lyre, Uhura sings, and Charlie shows up to perform some card tricks for Yeoman Rand (who he developed a crush on at first sight). One again, we have a somewhat-charged interaction between Spock and Uhura, as she sings of his “Satan’s guise” and “Devil’s eyes”, warning women to beware as she slinks around him. Spock is trying hard to keep a straight face during this scene, but it isn’t easy, you can tell. He clearly doesn’t mind her attentions.
When Charlie shows up, Uhura sings a song about him, somewhat playfully, that makes some crewmen laugh. He isn’t used to not being the center of attention, so he makes his first overt use of godlike powers to rob Uhura of speech, ending her singing, and then proceeds to dazzle everyone with some card tricks. Why nobody seemed overly concerned about Uhura’s sudden lack of voice, or did anything about it… a mystery. Or was it Charlie?
Hey, what do you know, it just happens to be Thanksgiving Day, on top of all the other excitement. A “holiday back on Earth” Kirk advises the ship’s chef, who presumably doesn’t know about it. Also, is it now a planetary holiday? No matter – he advises that if the crew is going to have to eat meatloaf, he at least wants it to look like turkey. The chef goes off, presumably to comply with the request.
We have our first attempted “role model-to-all-powerful-being” heart to heart chat about why it is unacceptable to swat Rand on the ass (other crewmen did it to each other, Charlie just assumed it was normal). Kirk struggles with this, but is thankfully interrupted by a call from the bridge. The captain of the ship that brought Charlie to the Enterprise is attempting to call them with a message. Needless to say, the message never comes through as Charlie blows it up with his mind (unknown to Kirk and crew of course). He mentions that it wasn’t very well constructed, and Spock confirms the debris field with his sensors. Dubious glances ensue.
Then there is a call from the galley – the meatloaf in the ovens has turned into real turkeys ((insert spooky music here)). Note that nothing about turkey was mentioned in front of Charlie, so apparently we’re 2-for-2 with creatures who can read minds. Charlie’s ability to do so seems to make more sense, as it appears there is little that he can’t do.
3-D Chess makes its debut. I actually played that a couple of times when I was a kid! Charlie plays Spock, loses on move three, and then melts the pieces out of frustration and anger after Spock leaves.
Rand tries to introduce Charlie to a hottie Ensign, Tina Laughton, but he only has eyes for Rand. She is growing concerned about his fixation – who wouldn’t? – but thinks at this point it is still a mostly-harmless crush.
A Good Line From Charlie: “When I see you, it’s like I’m hungry all over.” – nice description of total infatuation, I think. Also, creepy.
Observation: From certain camera angles, Rand looks a bit like Chloe from 24.
Time for another attempted “fatherly” talk from Kirk. He’s really bad at this, as we see in later episodes and movies - remember David from Wrath of Kahn? I like the fact that this trait shows up early, and is maintained for the entirety of the character’s life. It must be the result of his growing up without a father. So, being bad at talking, he takes the godling to the gym to work out some aggression with some Judo practice – always a good idea. Charlie is really bad at it, being scrawny and blinded by the way-to-tight tights Kirk is wearing, and ends up being thrown easily. A nearby crewman laughs, Charlie zaps him to the cornfield in front of Kirk, and it allll starts to come together for our intrepid Captain. Charlie evaporates some security crewmen’s phasers (and all phasers on the ship it turns out), but Kirk confronts him and sends him to his room – the first time Charlie has backed down.
Ah, maybe there’s some hope for this boy yet! A stern hand, someone he looks up to…
Nah.
On the bridge, discussions about what to do with the superbeing. It is discovered that the ship’s course to Colony 5 can’t be changed – Charlie wouldn’t like that, since he wants to meet all of the people there who he just KNOWS will be his friend – then he arrives on the bridge and causes Spock to start spouting poetry when he dares to be less than cordial. “Tyger, Tyger, burning bright…”
Another Good Charlie Line: “Very nice, Mr. Ears.”
Kirk confronts him again, and again he backs down and leaves. Confused, angry, and hurt, he stalks through the halls of the ship making people’s faces disappear, turning them into iguanas, and aging them decades at a glance. He’s having a bad day, it seems.
Charlie goes into Rand’s quarters without knocking, Kirk and Spock arrive to stop him, and Charlie mind-blasts them across the room. Quite a blast, apparently, as Spock’s shoulder makes a hole in the wall behind him. Thankfully, it is fixed between shots.
Rand smacks Charlie, and he wishes her into the warp field.
More fun ensues as Spock and Kirk try to lock Charlie in the brig. He just makes the walls go away (surprise!). At this point, he is essentially controlling the entire ship. Kirk, McCoy, and Spock speculate that it might be taxing his powers to the limit, as he has never done this before – maybe they could overload his abilities? It’s a last-ditch ploy, since it is clear nothing else will work.
So, they go to the bridge, confront the gloating Charlie, and begin to turn on every switch, system, and object on the bridge and, presumably, the whole ship. Sure enough, it works, Charlie overextends himself and loses his powers for a time.
When suddenly, wouldn’t you know it, along comes the Thasian’s ship, and the Wizard of Oz appears on the bridge and tells Charlie its time to go home. He begs the humans to let him stay, saying the Thasians have no emotions, and he can’t even touch them. Rand looks a bit sad for him in a suitably girlish way, but in the end, Charlie’s pathetic whining is to no avail. The Thasians leave, and we’re left without so much as a thoughtful line from Kirk, just a slow pullback shot of the bridge with everyone looking contemplative as Rand stands there in her pink mumu.
Not a great episode on many levels – this one only gets a two redshirt rating. Hopefully things will pick up again with Where No Man Has Gone Before.
No, wait.
Charlie X is the story of a young man who, using the power of his mind, can make people obey his wishes, manipulate them like puppets, and alter reality at his whim. It is a story of the confusion and anger of adolescence, manifested in a man/boy who has never known human company and has been given god-like powers with no moral compass to guide him. It is a story about rejection, and unrequited love, and oh, yeah, wishing people into the cornfield.
A very big drop off from The Man Trap, in my opinion. I know Charlie X is one of the more well-known of TOS episodes, but then again, so is the space hippie episode. Being well-known doesn’t mean good, and in this case, I think that IS the case.
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t unwatchable. It was just that watching Charlie get his dander up, then get talked down by Kirk, then get mad, then get talked down by Kirk, then get confused, then get talked down by Kirk…
You get the idea.
To make matters worse, for an hour of screen-time we see several attempts by Kirk to turn the boy onto a more reasonable path, which subsequently get swept aside when someone else does something that displeases the godling (a theme that I have a feeling we’ll be coming back to in later episodes…). At the end of the day, Charlie isn’t changed one bit, and the only thing that saves the Enterprise and her crew is the Deus Ex Machina of his alien “parents”, the Thasians, arriving and taking him away. There was no growth in this episode, no character arc, and no lessons learned, except that – just maybe – a spoiled brat will always be a spoiled brat. This is somewhat surprising as it was written by D.C. Fontana, from an “original” idea by Gene himself – and it just plain falls flat, with me at least.
Still and all, there were some good bits.
The soon-to-become famous Spock and Bones Banter is on display early on, during a scene with Kirk on the bridge where they are debating how to handle their new young passenger. Spock derisively but gently asks Bones if he is basing his decisions on logic or emotion. The dialog between the three is quite unforced and natural, even talking over each other a bit as friends are wont to do in real life.
Then we have the Rec Room sequence, where Spock plays his lyre, Uhura sings, and Charlie shows up to perform some card tricks for Yeoman Rand (who he developed a crush on at first sight). One again, we have a somewhat-charged interaction between Spock and Uhura, as she sings of his “Satan’s guise” and “Devil’s eyes”, warning women to beware as she slinks around him. Spock is trying hard to keep a straight face during this scene, but it isn’t easy, you can tell. He clearly doesn’t mind her attentions.
When Charlie shows up, Uhura sings a song about him, somewhat playfully, that makes some crewmen laugh. He isn’t used to not being the center of attention, so he makes his first overt use of godlike powers to rob Uhura of speech, ending her singing, and then proceeds to dazzle everyone with some card tricks. Why nobody seemed overly concerned about Uhura’s sudden lack of voice, or did anything about it… a mystery. Or was it Charlie?
Hey, what do you know, it just happens to be Thanksgiving Day, on top of all the other excitement. A “holiday back on Earth” Kirk advises the ship’s chef, who presumably doesn’t know about it. Also, is it now a planetary holiday? No matter – he advises that if the crew is going to have to eat meatloaf, he at least wants it to look like turkey. The chef goes off, presumably to comply with the request.
We have our first attempted “role model-to-all-powerful-being” heart to heart chat about why it is unacceptable to swat Rand on the ass (other crewmen did it to each other, Charlie just assumed it was normal). Kirk struggles with this, but is thankfully interrupted by a call from the bridge. The captain of the ship that brought Charlie to the Enterprise is attempting to call them with a message. Needless to say, the message never comes through as Charlie blows it up with his mind (unknown to Kirk and crew of course). He mentions that it wasn’t very well constructed, and Spock confirms the debris field with his sensors. Dubious glances ensue.
Then there is a call from the galley – the meatloaf in the ovens has turned into real turkeys ((insert spooky music here)). Note that nothing about turkey was mentioned in front of Charlie, so apparently we’re 2-for-2 with creatures who can read minds. Charlie’s ability to do so seems to make more sense, as it appears there is little that he can’t do.
3-D Chess makes its debut. I actually played that a couple of times when I was a kid! Charlie plays Spock, loses on move three, and then melts the pieces out of frustration and anger after Spock leaves.
Rand tries to introduce Charlie to a hottie Ensign, Tina Laughton, but he only has eyes for Rand. She is growing concerned about his fixation – who wouldn’t? – but thinks at this point it is still a mostly-harmless crush.
A Good Line From Charlie: “When I see you, it’s like I’m hungry all over.” – nice description of total infatuation, I think. Also, creepy.
Observation: From certain camera angles, Rand looks a bit like Chloe from 24.
Time for another attempted “fatherly” talk from Kirk. He’s really bad at this, as we see in later episodes and movies - remember David from Wrath of Kahn? I like the fact that this trait shows up early, and is maintained for the entirety of the character’s life. It must be the result of his growing up without a father. So, being bad at talking, he takes the godling to the gym to work out some aggression with some Judo practice – always a good idea. Charlie is really bad at it, being scrawny and blinded by the way-to-tight tights Kirk is wearing, and ends up being thrown easily. A nearby crewman laughs, Charlie zaps him to the cornfield in front of Kirk, and it allll starts to come together for our intrepid Captain. Charlie evaporates some security crewmen’s phasers (and all phasers on the ship it turns out), but Kirk confronts him and sends him to his room – the first time Charlie has backed down.
Ah, maybe there’s some hope for this boy yet! A stern hand, someone he looks up to…
Nah.
On the bridge, discussions about what to do with the superbeing. It is discovered that the ship’s course to Colony 5 can’t be changed – Charlie wouldn’t like that, since he wants to meet all of the people there who he just KNOWS will be his friend – then he arrives on the bridge and causes Spock to start spouting poetry when he dares to be less than cordial. “Tyger, Tyger, burning bright…”
Another Good Charlie Line: “Very nice, Mr. Ears.”
Kirk confronts him again, and again he backs down and leaves. Confused, angry, and hurt, he stalks through the halls of the ship making people’s faces disappear, turning them into iguanas, and aging them decades at a glance. He’s having a bad day, it seems.
Charlie goes into Rand’s quarters without knocking, Kirk and Spock arrive to stop him, and Charlie mind-blasts them across the room. Quite a blast, apparently, as Spock’s shoulder makes a hole in the wall behind him. Thankfully, it is fixed between shots.
Rand smacks Charlie, and he wishes her into the warp field.
More fun ensues as Spock and Kirk try to lock Charlie in the brig. He just makes the walls go away (surprise!). At this point, he is essentially controlling the entire ship. Kirk, McCoy, and Spock speculate that it might be taxing his powers to the limit, as he has never done this before – maybe they could overload his abilities? It’s a last-ditch ploy, since it is clear nothing else will work.
So, they go to the bridge, confront the gloating Charlie, and begin to turn on every switch, system, and object on the bridge and, presumably, the whole ship. Sure enough, it works, Charlie overextends himself and loses his powers for a time.
When suddenly, wouldn’t you know it, along comes the Thasian’s ship, and the Wizard of Oz appears on the bridge and tells Charlie its time to go home. He begs the humans to let him stay, saying the Thasians have no emotions, and he can’t even touch them. Rand looks a bit sad for him in a suitably girlish way, but in the end, Charlie’s pathetic whining is to no avail. The Thasians leave, and we’re left without so much as a thoughtful line from Kirk, just a slow pullback shot of the bridge with everyone looking contemplative as Rand stands there in her pink mumu.
Not a great episode on many levels – this one only gets a two redshirt rating. Hopefully things will pick up again with Where No Man Has Gone Before.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Episode 1 - The Man Trap
Well, I have to say that the broadcast run of TOS got off to a rousing start with The Man Trap. I thought it was a solid story with good acting all around. More importantly, it FELT like it was just one in a string of stories of the Enterprise and her crew, instead of a “first episode”. I know they were aired out of order, so no need to remind me of that, but getting to start out a series with an episode that felt mature, without some of the usual problems of a first episode (such as pacing, character development, etc.), seems to have been the right move in my opinion.
It was longer than I expected, a good bit over an hour without commercials, and as someone who grew up on TOS in syndicated re-runs, it was entertaining to see some of the scenes that had been edited out for syndication.
I know that Star Trek has a bit of a reputation with its low-budget Styrofoam sets, but this episode is actually quite well done in that respect. Dr. Crater’s living quarters in an abandoned temple are suitably cluttered, the “outdoor” setting feels spacious (both in close-ups and the long shots that were created for the digital enhanced release). It was a vibrantly colorful episode as well, which is a nice vision of the future – not all sterile gray and white and black. Even the food is in Technicolor. Of course, there’s that silly hand-puppet plant in the Botany Lab – Beauregard. Or Gertrude. Quite a colorful glove.
Some of the asides and mannerisms of the crew were interesting, and speak to characters that were already fully fleshed out even this early in the series. A good example is when McCoy is examining Dr. Crater and, after using all the high-tech salt shakers and such, pulls out a wooden tongue depressor. As fans of the show know, Bones always had a healthy skepticism regarding technology, and seeing it in the first episode is familiar but refreshing.
One interesting thing: the plot revolves around a creature that needs salt in large quantities to survive, and has been reduced to sucking it out of the bodies of the Enterprise crew to get it. In the episode, other characters consuming or carrying food is something that is almost always on-screen. Yeoman Rand is stalked by the creature as she carries a lunch tray to Sulu in the botanical Laboratory, and the creature (disguised as the recently deceased Crewman Greene) interrupts Sulu eating said lunch. Captain Kirk is seen nibbling on futuristically colored fruit on the bridge. McCoy is encouraged to take sleeping pills. Salt tablets are displayed by Dr. Crater in a fancy glass container, like an exotic candy, and of course, the salt pills that Kirk uses to draw out the NancyCraterCreature at the end. It seems to reinforce the theme of the episode, that just like humans, the creature is only doing what it needs to survive – in this case, eating. Something the crew sees as hideous and evil is something they do without thinking… except, of course, they don’t have to kill sentient beings to eat. I think continually relating the plight of the creature to the buffalo of ancient Earth is a bit of a stretch – buffalo don’t knock you down and drink your blood (although that might make an interesting plot…).
Related to eating, in a way - holy cow, were the women of TOS HOT. When the creature first appears to Crewman Darnell (who, although he wore a blue shirt, I am declaring the first honorary Red Shirt Kill of the original series) at the beginning of the episode, she appears as a smoking-hot blonde with curves for days – no stick-figure celery munchers in this future world, and I heartily approve. Of course, Yeoman Rand goes without saying, and then there’s Uhura. Seriously, those girls knew how to fill out a uniform.
Speaking of Uhura, she seemed to have a bit of an accent in this episode that I don’t remember from others, and certainly not from interviews with her in more recent years; a slightly southern twang, I believe. I only mention it because it was so jarring (but not unpleasant) and seemed out of place to me. Also, and this is a more interesting point – there is an extended conversation between her and Spock near the beginning on the bridge, and there is some SERIOUS flirting going on. Spock being Spock, of course, is either truly oblivious or is just playing along. I wonder if this was part of the inspiration that led to the relationship subplot in the most recent Star Trek movie. It’ll be interesting to see if this “tension” reappears in later episodes. He also refers to her as “Ms. Uhura” instead of by her rank.
You can tell this is the pre-politically correct 1960’s in this episode as well. Uhura advises Kirk that space commander Jimenez is calling and asking about the delay in receiving a shipment of supplies the Enterprise is carrying for his base. Kirk advises that she should tell him that his shipment of chili peppers will keep, and adds a few other choice tidbits of stereotyping. I’m probably ok with that personally, but can you imagine trying to get that to fly on TV today? Also, when the salt monster is trying to score some grub off Uhura, it takes the form of a black crewman; assuming, I suppose, that seducing her would be easier if they were of the same race? Technically, it read her mind and found his image there to duplicate, but I don’t guess it would have been proper to have him be white?
Snippets of dialog that I liked: McCoy is clearly not thinking straight when it comes to Nancy Crater – they apparently had a fling 12 years prior. At one point, Kirk tells him that he should take after Mr. Spock and stop thinking with his glands!
When Rand brings Sulu his tray, he says “May the Great Bird of the Galaxy bless your planet!” – a nice nod to Gene Roddenberry there. I didn’t realize his nickname was in place so early in the series’ run.
Kirk sardonically advising McCoy that he needs to get some rest; “Take one of those red pills you gave me last week – you’ll sleep.”
One jarring suggestion made by Spock that certainly seems out of alignment, with the show if not the character, is when they are trying to find out what Dr. Crater knows about the threat to the crew and ship, and Spock suggests using “truth serum” on him.
After Spock is ambushed in sick bay by the creature and clocked on the head, we see his green blood! When Kirk advises he is luck the creature didn’t feed on him for the salt in his blood, Spock advises that his and Kirk’s ancestors spawned in a different ocean. No salt in Vulcan blood I guess.
Unanswered Questions: Crater advises that the planet is covered in ruins thousands of years old (which we see during visits to the surface) and apparently was once home to a large civilization. Was it a civilization of the salt monsters? If not, where did they come from? He said there were once millions of them (the creatures, I assume) – how does he know this? What, exactly, happens to the salt that the creature eats? I guess it is broken down into other chemical components, but you’d have to eat a LOT of salt to completely strip an entire planet of it – even if it is mostly desert to begin with. Also, the creature was clearly intelligent (or at least could mimic it convincingly) – when it discovered that the ship had salt tablets for days, why did it insist on draining humans instead of negotiating for the tablets?
Well, that’s about it for The Man Trap – a solid and entertaining episode and a good start to the series. I give it three stars up.
It was longer than I expected, a good bit over an hour without commercials, and as someone who grew up on TOS in syndicated re-runs, it was entertaining to see some of the scenes that had been edited out for syndication.
I know that Star Trek has a bit of a reputation with its low-budget Styrofoam sets, but this episode is actually quite well done in that respect. Dr. Crater’s living quarters in an abandoned temple are suitably cluttered, the “outdoor” setting feels spacious (both in close-ups and the long shots that were created for the digital enhanced release). It was a vibrantly colorful episode as well, which is a nice vision of the future – not all sterile gray and white and black. Even the food is in Technicolor. Of course, there’s that silly hand-puppet plant in the Botany Lab – Beauregard. Or Gertrude. Quite a colorful glove.
Some of the asides and mannerisms of the crew were interesting, and speak to characters that were already fully fleshed out even this early in the series. A good example is when McCoy is examining Dr. Crater and, after using all the high-tech salt shakers and such, pulls out a wooden tongue depressor. As fans of the show know, Bones always had a healthy skepticism regarding technology, and seeing it in the first episode is familiar but refreshing.
One interesting thing: the plot revolves around a creature that needs salt in large quantities to survive, and has been reduced to sucking it out of the bodies of the Enterprise crew to get it. In the episode, other characters consuming or carrying food is something that is almost always on-screen. Yeoman Rand is stalked by the creature as she carries a lunch tray to Sulu in the botanical Laboratory, and the creature (disguised as the recently deceased Crewman Greene) interrupts Sulu eating said lunch. Captain Kirk is seen nibbling on futuristically colored fruit on the bridge. McCoy is encouraged to take sleeping pills. Salt tablets are displayed by Dr. Crater in a fancy glass container, like an exotic candy, and of course, the salt pills that Kirk uses to draw out the NancyCraterCreature at the end. It seems to reinforce the theme of the episode, that just like humans, the creature is only doing what it needs to survive – in this case, eating. Something the crew sees as hideous and evil is something they do without thinking… except, of course, they don’t have to kill sentient beings to eat. I think continually relating the plight of the creature to the buffalo of ancient Earth is a bit of a stretch – buffalo don’t knock you down and drink your blood (although that might make an interesting plot…).
Related to eating, in a way - holy cow, were the women of TOS HOT. When the creature first appears to Crewman Darnell (who, although he wore a blue shirt, I am declaring the first honorary Red Shirt Kill of the original series) at the beginning of the episode, she appears as a smoking-hot blonde with curves for days – no stick-figure celery munchers in this future world, and I heartily approve. Of course, Yeoman Rand goes without saying, and then there’s Uhura. Seriously, those girls knew how to fill out a uniform.
Speaking of Uhura, she seemed to have a bit of an accent in this episode that I don’t remember from others, and certainly not from interviews with her in more recent years; a slightly southern twang, I believe. I only mention it because it was so jarring (but not unpleasant) and seemed out of place to me. Also, and this is a more interesting point – there is an extended conversation between her and Spock near the beginning on the bridge, and there is some SERIOUS flirting going on. Spock being Spock, of course, is either truly oblivious or is just playing along. I wonder if this was part of the inspiration that led to the relationship subplot in the most recent Star Trek movie. It’ll be interesting to see if this “tension” reappears in later episodes. He also refers to her as “Ms. Uhura” instead of by her rank.
You can tell this is the pre-politically correct 1960’s in this episode as well. Uhura advises Kirk that space commander Jimenez is calling and asking about the delay in receiving a shipment of supplies the Enterprise is carrying for his base. Kirk advises that she should tell him that his shipment of chili peppers will keep, and adds a few other choice tidbits of stereotyping. I’m probably ok with that personally, but can you imagine trying to get that to fly on TV today? Also, when the salt monster is trying to score some grub off Uhura, it takes the form of a black crewman; assuming, I suppose, that seducing her would be easier if they were of the same race? Technically, it read her mind and found his image there to duplicate, but I don’t guess it would have been proper to have him be white?
Snippets of dialog that I liked: McCoy is clearly not thinking straight when it comes to Nancy Crater – they apparently had a fling 12 years prior. At one point, Kirk tells him that he should take after Mr. Spock and stop thinking with his glands!
When Rand brings Sulu his tray, he says “May the Great Bird of the Galaxy bless your planet!” – a nice nod to Gene Roddenberry there. I didn’t realize his nickname was in place so early in the series’ run.
Kirk sardonically advising McCoy that he needs to get some rest; “Take one of those red pills you gave me last week – you’ll sleep.”
One jarring suggestion made by Spock that certainly seems out of alignment, with the show if not the character, is when they are trying to find out what Dr. Crater knows about the threat to the crew and ship, and Spock suggests using “truth serum” on him.
After Spock is ambushed in sick bay by the creature and clocked on the head, we see his green blood! When Kirk advises he is luck the creature didn’t feed on him for the salt in his blood, Spock advises that his and Kirk’s ancestors spawned in a different ocean. No salt in Vulcan blood I guess.
Unanswered Questions: Crater advises that the planet is covered in ruins thousands of years old (which we see during visits to the surface) and apparently was once home to a large civilization. Was it a civilization of the salt monsters? If not, where did they come from? He said there were once millions of them (the creatures, I assume) – how does he know this? What, exactly, happens to the salt that the creature eats? I guess it is broken down into other chemical components, but you’d have to eat a LOT of salt to completely strip an entire planet of it – even if it is mostly desert to begin with. Also, the creature was clearly intelligent (or at least could mimic it convincingly) – when it discovered that the ship had salt tablets for days, why did it insist on draining humans instead of negotiating for the tablets?
Well, that’s about it for The Man Trap – a solid and entertaining episode and a good start to the series. I give it three stars up.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Prep Work - a couple of notes before we begin...
Ok, I received the first disc today and have determined:
a) It IS the digitally remastered version, complete with new effects, and it is byootiful. If you haven't seen it this way, rent it - well worth the effort.
b) I'm probably only going to do one episode per day, because note-taking stretches it out a bit longer than I thought. I'll likely try to do two per day on weekends, but still, that should be enough new content to keep you coming back.
That said, tomorrow we begin at the beginning with - The Man Trap.
a) It IS the digitally remastered version, complete with new effects, and it is byootiful. If you haven't seen it this way, rent it - well worth the effort.
b) I'm probably only going to do one episode per day, because note-taking stretches it out a bit longer than I thought. I'll likely try to do two per day on weekends, but still, that should be enough new content to keep you coming back.
That said, tomorrow we begin at the beginning with - The Man Trap.
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