The Galileo Seven

It was interesting, watching this episode so close to The Conscience of the King: Spock’s logical choice of who to leave behind (versus drawing lots) was similar to Kodos’ justification for the executions.

I also noted fairly early on — when Spock and McCoy were around back of the shuttlecraft — the difference between McCoy’s comments about command and Spock’s actions: it turned out to be the theme of the episode, as, at the crucial moment of the creature attacking the shuttlecraft, Spock openly questions how what is logically correct continues to lead them astray. It was clear that his actions weren’t appreciated long before this, but I particularly liked Yeoman Mears‘ line of some inspiration would be nice, or some such. :-)

My other notes follow:

• I thought the service for Latimer was a bit premature, but Spock was needlessly callous about it; particularly when it seemed he might even leave the body for the creature.
• Spock’s look upon finding Gaetano’s body was priceless! As if to say, “Well, this is inconvenient.” :-)
• A Zefram Cochrane (from First Contact) sort of move, that fuel burn.
• I loved how Kirk couldn’t speak for a moment upon learning that five crewmen had been beamed aboard alive.

The Conscience of the King and Balance of Terror

First, my notes on The Conscience…:

• Ah, the life of a starship captain: “I’m beaming back down” — for a cocktail party! :-)
• Spock was hilarious during the “pick-up” scene: first, with wondering how Kirk knew that Lenore was beaming aboard, and then with his eyebrows when Kirk hinted at quoting Starfleet regulations to her.
• Did she just ask Kirk if he was throbbing? :-D Ahem… Sorry, high-school moment.
• I really like it when Uhura sings.
• I loved that scene in Karidian’s quarters: “I AM TIRED!” I had my doubts about Moss in the opening scene, but by this time I was thoroughly enjoying both his and Barbara Anderson’s performances.
• Lenore’s collapse was both terrible and beautiful.

I really enjoyed Balance of Terror; I think it was an even better battle than Khan’s last stand in Star Trek II:

• The unseen Romulans; great opening.
• Spock’s hint of a smile as the Romulan commander was revealed was pure gold. Mark Lenard was immediately recognizable.
• The Romulan ship’s paint-job was awesome! Of all the references to birds of prey over the years, this was the best!
• The reference to Centurion got me thinking about the Roman Empire. Upon reflection, it’s clear that that’s just one of many with regard to the Romulans.
• As I said, the battle was fantastic. The moments of silence reminded me of the submarine warfare I’ve seen dramatized.
• The conversation between Kirk and Bones as Kirk gets up from his rest was great: it reminded me of the pilot footage of Pike talking about retiring with his doctor.

The Menagerie

An excellent use of otherwise-wasted pilot footage. I wish they’d made more two-part episodes! Ah well; my notes:

• My interest was piqued as soon as they said the name Capt. Pike. :-)
• My first thought, as Pike was slowly turning around, was that his chair looked a bit like Davros’ (from the 70s Doctor Who Daleks); then all thoughts were blown away by that horrifying make-up.
• Spock’s actions were very intriguing, particularly in their thoroughness re the speech he’d recorded earlier.
• I sure was surprised to hear McCoy defend Spock! Unexpected! :-)
• Could only imagine how pissed Kirk was as they pulled in tight for the message that the Enterprise had left without him.
• They set up the pilot footage perfectly: you could believe that that was a younger Spock, and the one possible confusion of Majel’s presence was covered by her darker hair, worn in a style different from Chapel’s.
• I liked the old doctor’s comment about how bartenders and doctors both see two kinds of customers: the living and the dying.
• Capt. Pike says “Engage!” too! And that was quickly followed by his reference to his “Number 1″ — more indications of just how far back these Picard-isms (as I knew them) go.
• Spock seems to have a pronounced limp in that first shot of the away mission. It’s less obvious in later shots, but it struck me as strange.
• I knew the timelines were off, but I couldn’t shake the resemblance I noticed between the Keeper and Diana Muldaur (who played Doctor Pulaski on TNG).
• I got to liking that old doctor more and more as the second part of the episode continued: strange hair-style, but I liked his lines, and I felt they were really delivered with feeling.
• I really liked that incongruous argument between Pike and the Keeper, when he discovered the power of primitive thoughts, and the Talosian steadfastly stuck to its story about the crash survivor. It’s a technique you often see, but it’s rarely used to such effect: normally it descends into a general cacophony, and while Pike’s frustration was clear in this case, you could always discern both lines of dialogue.
• Sometimes Jeffrey Hunter (playing Pike) would get this look in his eye — particularly when he was feeding that horse — that reminded me of Chuck Connors in the opening of The Rifleman. :-)
• The slag that was left of the entrance to the underground was a nice touch.
• I wonder how they got that final footage of Jeffrey Hunter going back underground with Vina? Was it extra footage shot as Vina’s illusion of how the pilot ended? Or maybe an alternate ending? Interesting.

Space Seed

An excellent episode; although, I have say, I think I built it up a bit in my mind: this was my first time seeing it, and I’ve seen The Wrath of Khan a few times now; it’s tough to not expect something epic. And I guess that manifests itself most in my thoughts about Khan’s attempt to take-over the Enterprise: with a bigger budget and more time — that wouldn’t be a feature-length film that you’re talkin’ about now, would it? ;-) — the take-over could’ve included more of Khan’s crew, and been more thorough; then something along the lines of Scotty’s intimate knowledge of the ship could’ve got them back on top (maybe even starting from the inferior position of being cast adrift on the ancient Botany Bay).

Anyway, that’s only idle speculation on my part. And I don’t mean to say that I didn’t enjoy the episode, because I really did; as per usual, I made some notes:

• A war in the 1990s, eh? Another war would certainly seem logical in ‘66; my only question would be why set it that far in the future? Particularly when you’re hinting at a “dark age” followed by nacelle (or at least non-nuclear) technology some two decades later (2018, according to McGivers); it seems a bit compressed. Then again, I have no idea how all this fits with the Zefram Cochrane timeline(s).
• Speaking of McGivers, I was certain I heard MacGyvers, to which my immediate response was, “Damn, she should be on every away mission! You just never know!” ;-)
• The Botany Bay set reminded me of a Tom Baker-era Doctor Who set: there were more whites and silvers on that one, but the feel, with the chambers, etc., was very much the same, as I recall.
• I laughed at the use of “oriental”.
• The formal dress was great. There was an unusual feel to the entire episode that was highlighted in moments like this one. (Of course, I can’t be certain that I’m not imposing that import on it, knowing what followed.)
• The scene in Khan’s room onboard the Enterprise was a tough sale, and I felt that both Montalban and Rhue pulled it off unimaginably well: Khan never let up, and McGivers managed enough strength under his onslaught to hint at her training (which, of course, came to the fore later in the episode — and all that made for a believable ending).
• The banter regarding admiring one’s enemies was fantastic: loved Spock’s, “Illogical!”
• Spock’s speculation, while much farther out than it, certainly hints at the movie.

And now it’s time to get ready for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan at the Mayfair Theatre in Ottawa; very exciting!

The Corbomite Maneuver

A friend of mine kept talking about this episode, so I was bit worried that it might disappoint; unnecessarily, as it turned out: this has to be one of my favourite episodes to-date, in fact:

• I loved how professional everyone was throughout the opening (well, except for Bones, maybe :-) ).
• Kirk’s poise during the encounter with the beacon was great! It just added to the tension.
• The turbolift dialogue between Kirk and Bones was fantastic: “I never say that… I never say that either.”
• The weight of a captain’s responsibility continues to grow on Kirk right up ’til the poker conversation; you can see it in his face and posture — great stuff!

Dagger of the Mind

Yet another good episode:

• Again, a really intense opening; in particular, Dr. Van Gelder’s (played superbly by Morgan Woodward) initial psychotic episode in the sick bay.
• I recognized James Gregory right away, but I’m still not certain what memories are triggering. I watched a lot of Barney Miller as a kid, but Gregory made brief appearances on many of the other shows I watched too (e.g., Love Boat, Wonderful World of Disney, etc.); and then there’s the original Manchurian Candidate, although I was much older when I saw that.
• The neural neutralizer was like something right out of early Doctor Who, sound effects and all. ;-)

Miri

Another good episode. From my notes:

• That first encounter with a humanoid was really intense: there was a terrible conviction is his eyes as he spat, “Liar!” and his make-up absolutely hideous.
• I loved the new vocabulary, delivered so non-chalantly.
• The taunting of Spock and the guards in the alleyway gave me chills… And Ring Around The Rosie was a particularly nice (read: grim) touch, given the possible plague; oh, how I hate that rhyme. (I’ve since read that many think that the theory of plague allusions in the rhyme are baseless; interesting, but I still dislike the rhyme.)
• It was around this time that I noticed how much Miri (played by Kim Darby) reminded me of Linda Blair. *shudder*
• Jahn (the leader of the ‘onlies’) was great! Very Lord of the Flies, obviously.
• While trying to find a vaccine was an admirable goal, presumably the only ones it would help at that point would be the remaining crew on the Enterprise (allowing Spock to return at some point) and possibly some of the younger onlies: your body can’t build up antibodies while it’s fighting a disease, as I understand it, anyway. Oh well; minor point. (Again, later research shows that vaccination after a person has been infected is not pointless.)
• I wonder whether this episode made the short list of possible starting points for the script of the second Star Trek feature-length film; there were certainly many loose ends.

More Star Trek

Mudd’s Women

• I much preferred Harry Mudd in I, Mudd, but he was still funny in this episode.
• That was quite the entrance by his women; quite the entrance. :-)
• Kirk said, “Come,” to Spock, just as Picard used to in TNG. Is anything on TNG original? ;-)
• Mudd’s banter with the computer during his hearing with very amusing at times.

What Are Little Girls Made Of?

• Man, Ruk was enormous! Like a super-villain! I haven’t seen The Addams Family, so I didn’t recognize him as Ted Cassidy, who played Lurch on that show.
• Christine’s immediate jealousy at the appearance of Andrea was excellent. Majel was great throughout this episode.
• Kirk continues to excel at arguing computers into self-destructing (or effectively self-destructing, anyway). :-)

The Naked Time

As I suspected, The Next Generation attempt at this script seems cheesy by comparison. What a fantastic episode! Here are my notes:

• I noted that they died of exposure on a planet this time, as opposed to blowing out the airlocks on a ship, as they did in TNG (as I recall — it’s been a while, though).
• That was a neat effect: how the substance appeared to jump to the scientist’s hand.
• I didn’t realize how different Scotty’s hair was in Where No Man Has Gone Before until I saw him again in this episode.
• Man, Nimoy is ripped! How’ve I never noticed that before? (That, and, unlike Kirk, he wears an under-shirt. :-) )
• I don’t remember the “We don’t belong in space…” monologue in TNG, but I really enjoyed it: it was very fitting, and delivered well.
• And, sticking with TNG, I don’t remember any imminent demise angle in that episode either; none that wasn’t self-induced, as it were. The destruction of the planet provides an excellent backdrop for this episode, such that they really don’t have to be far gone before the consequences are deadly.
• Riley’s blowing the sickbay doors open was priceless! He was hilarious all-round, actually. :-)
• I burst out laughing when Sulu jumped out of the turbolift, rapier in hand. X-D And he’s ripped too! Wow!
• I knew about the Spock-Chapel scene, and it didn’t disappoint. In fact, it was much better than I’d expected, because TNG had the aphrodisiac angle, which, frankly, seems cheesy by comparison (as I’ve already hinted at): this hidden and suppressed emotion angle was more interesting and authentic. (Although Data’s “fully functional” line was a classic, of course. :-D )
• And Nimoy’s performance in the briefing room after that scene was incredible; right up there with Amok Time for one of his best, I would suggest. “2, 4, 6…” Amazing! :-)
• Kirk said “Engage!” Wow; that’s a first, isn’t it? I can see why it stuck (or was reprised for TNG, would be the correct term, I guess).

Where No Man Has Gone Before

Right from the moment I saw the different uniforms, I knew I was dealing with the early days of the show. However, I’d heard about Captain Pike in the original pilot, so I was a bit confused. Apparently this episode was shot as a second pilot.

As per usual, I made some notes as I watched it:

• In addition to the uniforms, Spock’s eyebrows and mannerisms immediately jumped out at me; as the episode continued, I realized that the writers softened his character significantly as the series progressed.
• The silent opening was a shock! I figured Shatner’s voice-over proceeded every Star Trek episode. It actually reminded me of Voyageur’s opening, which I’d never really liked; I’ll probably see it in a new light now (I’m planning to get all the Voyageur seasons shortly and give it another go).
• There seemed to be fewer women on the set, and they were all wearing pants; big difference. :-)
• The bridge seemed to be taller and narrower, or at least a bit more confined; I put it down to more black surrounding the monitors along the walls.
• Very few of the cast were familiar, save Kirk, Spock, Scotty and Sulu; (more on Sulu in a moment.)
• Having a psychiatrist on-board was new. The Next Generation really went for this with Troi and the Betazoids in general.
• Legitimizing extra-sensory perception (ESP) piqued my interest. I was hoping for more details on how they arrived at those scores. :-)
• I really enjoy little details like the new time estimates Kirk hints at, were they to remain on impulse power (i.e., years versus days to the nearest star base).
• That initial conversation in the sickbay between Kirk and Mitchell was absolutely fantastic: the perfect mix of familiarity and awkwardness (particularly on the part of Kirk).
• Mitchell’s staring at the camera as we watch from Kirk’s perspective on the bridge was really creepy. Gary Lockwood was great in the role, actually: such superb use of silence and subtle expressions.
• I found it odd that Mitchell’s drop in vitals didn’t raise any alarm from the instruments; it was eerie!
• Sulu’s the math guy? Strange. I actually thought he made a mistake by referring to Mitchell’s potential progression as geometric; turns out I’m the one who’s been out of school too long. :-)
• The greying of Mitchell’s hair was a nice touch.