The Trews and the Capital Music Hall

I bought tickets for this one with some trepidation. I’d seen these guys open for Gordie Johnson and Big Sugar a few years ago (at the old Capital Music Hall on Rideau, come to think of it), and had been blown away by their guitarist, John Angus; he and Gordie got goin’ on a few songs — man, what a show.

But the trepidation surrounded what seemed to be a new sound on their third album, No Time For Later. My first impression — a few months ago now, I guess — was that it was often repetitive, and downright dull. The only addendum that subsequent times through brought was a snort or two at the new oak-cudgel diplomacy in their lyrics.

Now, before I continue, I know I’m being hard on these guys. But it’s only because I really liked their first two albums, and I think they’re truly talented musicians. At the end of the day, however, they’re boys from down east makin’ it big, and that’s wicked (or deadly, as they say on the rock). I wish ‘em all the best, and that sentiment carried me through the subject ticket purchase.

So I get there around 9 p.m. or so and I don’t even know who’s opening. Turns out that it was supposed to be Rise Against, but ended up being a band from Toronto called My Darkest Days. Talk about f***in’ apropos is all I’m going to say about them. Again, Canadian boys, so good on ‘em, and they may have been filling in on really short notice. Definitely not for me, though.

But by the time they’re off and the roadies are startin’ to set things up for the Trews, it’s gettin’ really hot. I mean obscenely so. It was a replay of the Airbourne show I saw there in April. Again, amazing band; just amazing. (Great opening act too in that case, though: Endeverafter are f***in’ showmen in the best sense of the word.) But, crazy hot and tons of technically difficulties. Sound problems, delays. There were close to a dozen ear-piercing tones this time, though, that we weren’t subjected to last time. Just completely unprofessional. The place is a f***in’ joke. If Tool came to that place, I’d still have to seriously think about passing (and their my favourite band, in case that wasn’t coming across).

So the Trews finally come out, and they’re complaining about the heat and the fog — yeah, worse than down east, they said; fog machine was workin’ overtime — ’cause it’s really bad. Anyway, what can I say: they’re touring their new album, so they played a lot of tracks off it; and I still don’t like it. The backdrop was neat, though. I liked the light show (although my relief at being spared a second round of My Darkest Days’ seizure-inducing onslaught may have played a role there).

Anyway, I ended up taking off early, after a lacklustre solo from John Angus — it was cool, but nowhere near what he’s capable of. I swear the guy wouldn’t have broken a sweat if they hadn’t been playing on Mercury. But enough of that. As I said, good on ‘em, and lots of people around me seemed to be enjoying themselves, so there ya go.

The Changeling

In reading through the Memory Alpha wiki, I noted that this is one of four times that Kirk is able to debate a computer to death, another of those times providing the climax for The Ultimate Computer.

As an aside, I found the idea of resourceful artificial intelligence of great interest: do you want a computer that is beyond your control to attempt to repair itself at any cost, as Nomad did? I mean, with our rovers on Mars, for example, the answer is fairly obvious, but looking to the future, would we want artificial intelligence to continue to guess in an error state, or fail-safe, as it were. (I just watched 2001: A Space Odyssey again recently, so I think this idea of AI doing what it thinks is best is on my mind.)

Amok Time

Before discussing the details of the episode, I want to point out that I had no idea that Nurse Christine Chapel was played by Majel Barrett; I didn’t recognize her as the actress who played Lwaxana Troi — not for a moment — and I normally pride myself on that sort of thing. (Incidentally, a line about professing her love for Spock caught my eye in the character’s entry on the Memory Alpha wiki; the episode in question, The Naked Time, again proved my assumption about a Next Generation script being original to be false — regarding The Naked Now, in this case. Man, many of the early TNG episodes are cheesy from my point of view; they must’ve been absolute torture for original series fans who’d seen the scripts done better.)

Nimoy is amazing in this episode: he keeps the tension undulating throughout; from terrible peaks, where you wonder if he’ll stab Kirk or kill Nurse Chapel, to valleys of restraint, where he’s able to explain what’s happening to Kirk, and even congratulate McCoy on his insight. The music really helps with this, going eerily off kilter when Spock does. Similarly, the music and setting of the ceremony make for an excellent climax.

My wife liked the idea of betrothed Vulcans melding their minds at a young age, to trigger a reunion in adulthood. I too thought it an improvement on arranged marriages, though still flawed, obviously. (I loved Spock’s compliment to T’Pring after she’d described her plan.)

Spock’s momentary exuberance at finding Kirk alive was well played and a hoot to boot. :-)

Journey To Babel

This was the episode where the Enterprise escorted a group of Federation delegates, including Spock’s parents, to a planet whose membership was being considered.

McCoy had some great lines in this one: it started with his failure to learn the Vulcan greeting (“It hurts worse than the uniform.”) and ended with him shouting both Kirk and Spock back to their beds in sickbay (“I finally got the last word.”). :-)

I also really liked the exchange between Spock’s mother, Amanda, and McCoy; his face sure lit up at the teddy bear revelation. :-) And the actor playing Sarek was fantastic. I believe he was also in one of the movies (as Sarek) as well, wasn’t he?

It’s funny: I always thought of these diplomatic missions as a Next Generation thing. The more I see of the original series, the more I think that the original fans must find the stories in the follow-on series to be often-inferior rehashes of original stories.

Friday’s Child

This was the episode where the Enterprise was supposed to negotiate a mining treaty, only to discover that a Klingon had beaten them to it.

I’ve talked about how I used to be a stickler regarding The Prime Directive in my Next Generation days, and how that ultimately turned me off Voyager very early-on; however, I’ve got to thinking that a cavalier attitude is really more entertaining, and I can think of no better example of that than this episode.

Kirk’s jumping in to save the wife of the Teer after he’s been overthrown in a revolution of sorts isn’t appreciated by anyone, least of all the woman herself. That never would’ve happened in TNG, yet, at the same time, you know Kirk’s rashness is informed by a sense of right, and by golly it’s fun watching him turn those people on their heads. :-)

I really enjoyed that actress’ performance. I truly felt her offence toward both Kirk and McCoy, and was thoroughly amused by the slapping scene. It also set up the great sequence surrounding the reference to “our” child, and Spock’s fantastic closing line about the likelihood of Kirk and McCoy being “insufferably pleased with [themselves] for a month” over having a Teer named after them. :-)

Metamorphosis

• Spock’s response to the boisterous hellos: “Fascinating.” :-)
• Loved Cochrane’s opening lines; it’s like he’s become used to thinking aloud to ward off loneliness.
• I really liked the commissioner: very professional; really nice outfit, actually. (Less professional near the end, of course. :-) )
• Cochrane: “I already know [what you're doing here]… You won’t like it.” :-)
• Wow, the commissioner’s breakdown was surprising, but heartfelt; just as you’d expect an intelligent person to quickly grasp the implications and their real horror.
• Cochrane’s eyes are so alive as Kirk is telling him about what life is like now. He doesn’t have to say a word; his expression trumpets his excitement.
• Cochrane’s reaction to Spock’s device reminded me of Stockholm syndrome, but, again, well before that psychological response was widely reported in ‘73. This show is absolutely fascinating, as Spock would say.
• I liked the music that played when Cochrane and the companion came together each time.
• Uhura: “It’s a big galaxy, Mr. Scott.” :-)
• Spock’s characterization of the Cochrane’s relationship with the companion was so eloquent; just perfect. I couldn’t think of a better counterpoint to Cochrane’s attack on what he perceives as their lack of morality.
• That actress playing the commissioner, Elinor Donahue, was amazing! That achingly long moment when the companion-commissioner discovers loneliness is heartbreaking!
• Donahue really reminded me of Jewel Staite, an actress who played Kaylee on Firefly. A quick search confirms I’m not the only one who thinks so:
  

  “Anyone… seen folks on other shows that… they’ve thought… could be related to… insert favourite [Firefly] crew member…?”

  “Elinor Donahue from Father Knows Best… and Trek classic… She’s totally related to Kaylee…”

The Immunity Syndrome

I really enjoyed this episode; very tense, with a great score. If it had been a Next Generation episode, the organism would’ve been intelligent (which would’ve annoyed me, I’m certain), but a simple life-form seemed so much more probably, and, as a result, compelling (to me, anyway).

As often happens when I’m mulling over these episodes, I again find myself questioning how original subsequent ‘classic’ moments in cinema and television really are. In this case, Alec Guinness’ Alderaan moment in Star Wars: “It’s as if a million voices screamed out in terror and were suddenly silenced.” Substitute 400 Vulcans on the Intrepid, and you have Spock’s equally moving (in my opinion, anyway) performance.

Speaking of Spock, he had some great lines, as usual:

Kirk: “Are you trying to be funny, Spock?”
Spock: “It would never occur to me, Captain.”

In response to McCoy’s exclamation of rescue: “Why thank you, Captain McCoy.”

I also really enjoyed his request for “Vulcan dignity,” which got me thinking about his sacrifice at the end of Khan, but I think my favourite scene of the whole episode was his “touch of death” speech. “They couldn’t conceive of a conqueror…” And in response to Kirk’s question about that final moment: “Astonishment.”

A Piece of the Action

This one was great, all the way to the last line. :-) I was laughing pretty much non-stop from the point where Kirk starts in with the local dialect at Krako’s place, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

I loved that opening scene with Bela and the gal on his desk — and Krako too, come to think of it, only his gal had a yellow dress — a perfect introduction to the guy known as “Boss”. (Incidentally, I’m reading Friday by Robert A. Heinlein, and one of the main characters is known only as “Boss” in it as well.) That actor playing Bela was just great; really imposing in that first scene where he’s laying it out for Kirk, Spock and McCoy.

And his “Hey, you in the ship!” was hilarious. Scotty goin’ for the dictionary. Ha ha! And that camera angle, where they’re talking to the ceiling? That was pure genius! I loved it.

Spock had some great lines in this one too: his comments on Kirk’s driving had me in stitches: “You’re an excellent starship commander…” and “I have nothing against it as a mode of transportation; it’s your driving that alarms me.” And when he almost blows the card game ruse earlier, Kirk rubbing his eyebrow, “Spock, Spock…” :-) And the radio too: “Fascinating,” as he and McCoy just stand there listening to the commercial. The best was when he got caught up in the dialect to: “I would advise’s you to…” when Tepo gets beamed in. :-)

Just a fantastic episode all-round; really entertaining, in the best sense of the word.

Shore Leave

What a fantastic episode!

• Boy, that rabbit sure was a shock! I even made the connection with McCoy’s earlier comment, albeit along the lines of “What a coincidence!”
• Spock’s comment regarding rest — that, by definition, it shouldn’t involve expending more energy — was great; and the way he painted Kirk into a corner — getting him to order himself off the ship, no less! — was priceless.
• I really liked the camera work on those first few tense moments, starting with Sulu firing that old service revolver; that shaking as we seem to struggle to keep up with Kirk, Spock and Yeoman Barrows really worked well.
• Similarly, those tinkling bells in the score, particularly in those opening scenes, serve to keep you on edge; you just know all isn’t right in paradise. And I found the music as Kirk runs off to find Sulu to be ominous indeed. A final note on the score concerns Finnegan: I couldn’t imagine a more infuriating ditty to accompany Kirk’s seemingly hopeless chase.
• Kirk’s shock at the appearance of Finnegan was complete! I laughed out loud as Kirk came up on one knee after being punched, just staring at Finnegan in a stupor; you can hear his mind scream, “No! I can’t be!” even as he’s left speechless.
• I really thought Shatner did an exceptional job in this episode, actually. Another example of his expression saying it all was just before he sees Ruth: the music helps, but you know where his mind is going before it even starts.
• It was at about this point that I was powerfully reminded of Solaris. The parallels of the mind creating a physical representation of lost love are striking.
• The other reminder came when Kirk finally realizes the danger they’re in: that nightmares can kill (or so they believe at that point). The idea of one’s subconscious being one’s own worst enemy is explored rather humourously in the Red Dwarf books as interactions with a virtual reality game called Better Than Life.
• McCoy’s death was unexpected and very convincing. That’s something many shows struggle with: how to present any danger to regular cast members as credible.

Star Trek: four more episodes

The Ultimate Computer and By Any Other Name are amongst my favourite episodes to date, as I work my way through the second season. Again, two lead strong actors doin’ their thing.

The Ultimate Computer:

• Great hook: fast paced;
• McCoy vs. Spock: replacement vs. “Spock’s type”; :-)
• Dr. Daystrom’s reaction to M-5’s categorization of Kirk and McCoy as
  non-essential personnel was priceless;
• Another strong actor: “A giant”; imposing presence;
• Distance in kilometres; strange for an American show. A political statement re the future?
• Chekov’s thumb-twiddling during the exercise was a nice touch.

It’s difficult to convey the horror and trauma of hundreds of lives lost
w/o any visual evidence: I think the actors achieved it — Kirk’s anguish
stands out in my mind — and the effect was more convincing than any
number of exploding bridges, which would’ve been the effect of choice on The Next Generation, I’m sure.

The Omega Glory:

• Started out well;
• Liked the explanation re immune system;
• Didn’t like the patriotism, but could’ve dealt with it had the
  explanation been rooted in time displacement (e.g., an alternate
  universe);
• The flag and constitution were “a bridge too far.”

Patterns of Force provides a good segue at this point, because it’s a good example of the sort of explanation I’d buy re very specific ties to Earth’s history in another place and time (i.e., Nazis, right down to the uniforms), versus my difficulty with The Omega Glory. (As a final point on The Omega Glory, I will add that, as I recall, I was a bit tired when I watched it and I could’ve missed something; but my wife was with me and agreed with my assessment.)

I particularly enjoyed those final minutes in Patterns of Force, where Kirk is first pressing McCoy to administer possibly-damaging doses of a stimulant to the Führer, and then doing so himself. It was really gripping and just a fantastic finale, I felt.

Finally, By Any Other Name was fantastic; something to soundly trounce any argument that Kirk et al. were only about kicking butt and taking names: when presented with a very credible superior force, he and his crew not only outsmarted it, but offered their hands in friendship following its defeat. Just well played, that story was; and such moments too: Scotty drinking that one Kelvin under the table with bagpipes playing in the background had me in tears. :-)

I also thought the seemingly inevitably death of almost all of his crew was handled well. That sort of drama could take over if allowed to play out as it might naturally. These people are professionals, so while you can clearly see the agony playing on their faces, the episode moves on in a manner that is brisk without being perfunctory.