Star Trek (TOS): Episode By Episode Thread

Trivia:

This is the only time in Star Trek (1966) (TOS) in which the Enterprise ships phasers are used to stun, and not to kill or destroy or damage. It is also the only time the Enterprise ships phasers are used for a wide proximity shot, such as in this case when they are set to blanket a one city block area around a central point in order to stun a dispersed group of people.

Kirk and Spock "borrow" an old-fashioned Earth-style car (which Spock even refers to as a "flivver"). This is the only time in Star Trek (1966) that any character is depicted using ground transportation.

Marvel Comics published a sequel story to this episode as part of their Star Trek: Unlimited series. The story, "A Piece of the Reaction" featured the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise-E (The Next Generation) returning to the planet to discover that its society had in fact gone on to model itself after 23rd Century Starfleet, thanks to the communicator McCoy left behind. The planet is now led by the tough kid Kirk and Spock met in the street, who wishes to hijack the Enterprise-E and finally gain command of a starship, just like his idol, James T. Kirk.

 

Even though they aren't great, I somehow still enjoy all of the "parallel Earth" episodes of Star Trek, which includes this one, Miri, the one set in Rome, the Nazi one, etc. I think of them as all solid "B" thrillers that try to make a bit of a moral point. This one almost skips that, what with the "Feds" being dealt in for 20%, or whatever it is, but it's still a fun episode. That's one thing Shatner could really convey was a sense of fun. He might have been better at that than any of the other captains. I'm an unusual Trek fan in that I like all of the main captains—Kirk, Picard, Sisko, and Janeway—equally, but they each have different strengths. Fun was one of Kirk's strengths.

 

#47: The Immunity Syndrome

Original Air Date: 1/19/68

Stardate: 4307.1

The Enterprise is sent to investigate the disruption of the Gamma VII-A solar system and the destruction of the U.S.S. Intrepid, staffed solely by Vulcans. When they arrive they find a large dark mass floating in space that is draining energy from everything around it, including the Enterprise. Drawn into the mass, they find a huge amoeba-like creature and Kirk must decide which of his two friends, McCoy or Spock, to send into it aboard a shuttle craft on a mission of no return.

The Immunity Syndrome is forgettable for me, and I can not put my finger on why. It is known as the "space amoeba" episode, and the visual effects of the amoeba creature are pretty good for 1968. Spock makes a decision similar to the one he makes in Wrath of Khan that also plays well. Further, the episode has some nice interplay between Spock and McCoy, and also Kirk and Scottie. I can not really say one thing bad about this episode, and yet it is solid and no more.

Personal Rating: 3 Stars

 

Trivia:

The giant space amoeba the Enterprise encounters measured over 18,000 kilometers in length. For comparative purposes the planet Earth has an average diameter of just over 12,500 kilometers.

This is the second episode where McCoy is referred to as Captain McCoy instead of Dr. McCoy, this time by Spock. The first was S. 2, Ep. 12, "The Deadly Years" by Scotty.

Kirk refers to Lt. Kyle as "Cowell" throughout the episode; the correct name appears in the end credits.

As Spock is about to enter the shuttlecraft hangar he presses a button that opens the door. The faceplate on which the button is placed states "hanger", when it should read "hangar".

 

I always favored "The Immunity Syndrome" as the "generic" episode of STAR TREK. There are no guest stars getting in the way, just our brave crew facing the dangers of the universe. I'll be interested to view the remastered version to see what's improved.

Harry

 

Loved 'A Piece Of The Action'
Some of my favorite lines in the episode were only one word.


KIRK: Right?
SPOCK: Check.

Darryl

 

The Immunity Syndrome contains one of my favorite Spock lines from the 2nd season.

'I've noticed that about your people, Doctor. You find it easier to understand the death of one than the death of a million. You speak about the objective hardness of the Vulcan heart, yet how little room there seems to be in yours.'

Darryl

 

"The Immunity Syndrome" was always my favorite episode after "The Doomsday Machine." They have similarities -just one ship (or a ship and a half in the case of TDM) pitted against a monstrous, destructive force. The image of the Enterprise careening into the huge amoeba is burned into my brain as the ultimate psychedelic image. I really love the ST episodes that involve a journey into the genuinely unknown and bizarre, as opposed to just transposing human societies on to alien planets, which happens much too often in Season 2. The Spock quote that Darryl mentions above is just one of the perfect moments of Star Trek, where the combination of alien and human perception and a reality beyond ken collide with insightful result.

 

The Immunity Syndrome is one of my favorites. The focus is on the cast. There are no guest stars except for the big amoeba. Good scenes where both Spock and McCoy volunteer for a mission where there was a real possibility that they would not come back. Good interaction between Kirk Spock and McCoy.

 

re- A PIECE OF THE ACTION...

>>>>Kirk creates a diversion with a card game called "fizzbin,"

It is my belief that the game "fizzbin", with its "made up as we go along" rules was inspired by the very first episode of THE GEORGE BURNS AND GRACIE ALLEN SHOW, where George invents a similar game to befuddle Gracie! Watch it and see! *VERY* similar!!!

 

"A Piece of the Action" is one of my favorite episodes. Shatner is great at comedy, and the interplay between Kirk and Spock in the car reminds me a bit of Stan & Ollie (I have no idea why, but it does.).

It's fun to watch Kirk get more in character as he realizes it's the only way to deal with the Iotians.

Fizzbin, referring to his first officer as "Spocko" (not to mention the full nickname of "Sawbones" for McCoy), and his bemusement when Spock can't quite get a hang of the culture, are all examples of why the episode is just so entertaining.

The conversation between "gangster Kirk" and Scotty is also a hoot. Scotty's vain attempts to understand the lingo must have been similar to how parents in the late 60's tried to deal with the jargon their kids were using at the time.

"Patterns of Force" is very similar in terms of content, but without the humor APOTA has, it gets bogged down under its own weight and is not a whole lot of fun to watch.

It's a shame Fred Freiberger did away with comedic episodes in the third season. If there were more episodes with a lighter touch, the season might have gone down a bit better than it did.

 

That's just what I was thinking.
I can't recall any lighter episodes in season 3.

Darryl

 

Well, nothing intentionally funny.

 

#48: A Private Little War

Original Air Date: 2/2/68

Stardate: 4211.4

Kirk returns to the planet where he spent time 13 years before. A friend from his previous visit is now leader of the people. While trying to uphold the Federation's prime directive, the Klingons are providing more advanced technology to their enemies.

A Private Little War is an episode that is not particularly bad, but it is not particularly good either. To recommend it, the episode contains Klingon trouble (in a clear commentary on the Cold War). The injury to Spock provides a nice sub-plot, as the Vulcan healing trance and Dr. M'Benga are interesting additions. The Mugato is clearly a dressed up guerrilla suit, but I like it. I do not like the costumes of the natives. Their wigs look ridiculous. And I do not like Nancy Kovack as Nona. Her performance seems over the top. Overall, A Private Little War is a solid and enjoyable episode, but no more.

Personal Rating: 3 Stars

 

Trivia:

Neural was the name in the script for Tyree's planet (never heard in the final edit).

The Mugato was called The Gumato in the original script. But DeForest Kelley kept mispronouncing it so it was changed. The closing credits still name the creature as The Gumato.

The Mugato was designed by Janos Prohaska, who had also created the Horta for Star Trek: The Devil in the Dark (1967).

Janos Prohaska owned the ape suit, having acquired it from a previous film project.

Star Trek (1966) has been known to tackle societal, political, environmental, and other types of issues throughout the history of the franchise. This particular episode tackled the Vietnam War head-on, not only by referencing it as the "20th-Century brush wars on the Asian continent", but also as portraying the Federation and the Klingon Empire as superpowers using an otherwise peaceful world as pawns in their struggle for power (a direct allegory of the Cold War at that time).

 

I like this episode a lot. Interesting to have Spock out of the picture and have Kirk and McCoy on the mission. I really like Kirk and McCoy arguing about arming the villagers. Very well done. I like it when McCoy says that the wars went on year after bloody year. I love that Star Trek did comment about the war and other difficult issues.

 

The commentary on the Vietnam War was pretty direct. It was going to be every closer and more direct, but Roddenberry didn't think that was a good idea, and rewrote the screenplay to make it a bit more vague. Script writer Don Ingalls was so annoyed at this rewrite that he had his credit changed to "Jud Crucis," because he felt his work had been "crucified"! lol.

It's still pretty direct, actually, and at first it seems an uncomfortable endorsement of the then-current US escalation in Vietnam:

Dr. McCoy: I don't have a solution, but furnishing them firearms is certainly not the answer!

Capt. Kirk: Bones, do you remember the twentieth century brush wars on the Asian continent? Two giant powers involved, much like the Klingons and ourselves. Neither side felt that they could pull out?

Dr. McCoy: Yes, I remember. It went on bloody year after bloody year!

Capt. Kirk: But what would you have suggested? That one side arm its friends with an overpowering weapon? Mankind would never have lived to travel space if they had. No, the only solution is what happened back then: balance of power.

Dr. McCoy: And if the Klingons give their side even more?

Capt. Kirk: Then we arm our side with exactly that much more. A balance of power - the trickiest, most difficult, dirtiest game of them all, but the only one that preserves both sides!

But at the end, Kirk rejects the whole idea, and thus seemingly changes his mind about the escalation of the Vietnam War?:

He first asks Scotty to fabricate 100 flintlocks. Scotty says what? And Kirk says, "One hundred serpents, for the garden of eden," and just decides to get out before more damage is done. On a regular tv show, I doubt this kind of commentary could have been done in 1967.

 

One of the things that's fascinating about Star Trek is how it often makes some thought-provoking point about current events in a way that's more "acceptable" because it's through the lens of science fiction.

For instance, Star Trek Into Darkness in one section had some possible parallels with our current drone wars. From wikipedia:

"(Admiral) Marcus orders the Enterprise to kill Harrison, arming them with 72 prototype photon torpedoes, shielded and untraceable to sensors. Chief engineer Montgomery Scott resigns his duties in protest when Kirk denies Scott's request to examine the weapons for safety reasons."

Later, as you'll recall, Spock says it's not an appropriate Federation mission to destroy via a massive "smart bomb" strike even enemies of the state. Kirk finally agrees, and says that they'll come in to apprehend Khan and bring him to justice instead.

This kind of commentary is part of the history of Trek stretching back to its beginnings.

For instance, Kirk's opening voice-over about "Space: The final frontier..." seems a very deliberate echo of JFK's "New Frontier," as well as of Kennedy's huge acceleration of the Space Race as part of the Cold War. The trip to the moon was a peaceful and scientific mission, but it clearly had another purpose as well in terms of presenting a positive image of the US to the world. To me, the original Captain Kirk was a little like a blondish version of Kennedy in space. They are both youthful and forward-looking leaders, but also tough warriors when they had to be. But as with the Cuban Missile Crisis, if there's a way out of all-out war they'll both do everything possible to find it.

Anyway, as we know, some episodes of TOS deal in metaphorical or parallel ways with things like the Cold War or even the Vietnam War.

For instance, the early classic The Balance of Terror introduces the Neutral Zone between the Romulan Empire and the Federation. The NZ is rather like the DMZ between North and South Korea, or the Iron Curtain, or the border between North and South Vietnam. It's not at all an exact parallel, obviously, but there are some echoes as I think most would agree. But what's fascinating is how sympathetically the Romulan commander is written and played. Mark Lenard did such a great job, of course, that they brought him back as Spock's father Sarek....

"You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend."

- Romulan Commander to Kirk, after the Romulan ship is disabled

 

Yes, I think I would give this episode a "B" overall. Parts of it were great (Spock/Dr. M'Benga/Nurse Chapel; Bones and Kirk debating wars, etc.) and parts somewhat laughable over-the-top Trek (the Mugato, for instance, as well as the blond wigs, and esp. the sexy and misguided "Nona," with her wiggling rubber root, who seems to have gone to the same acting school as William Shatner).

 

For anybody that enjoys "A Private Little War", one of the Trek novels coming out this year centers around Admiral Kirk returning to the planet to see how things turned out:
http://books.simonandschuster.com/S...s-Serpents-in-the/Jeff-Mariotte/9781476749655

 

3 stars for A Private Little War? I think that's bei g 2 stars too generous. Awful episode, heavy handed writing

 

And I will comment one year later if that works. How did I miss this great thread one year ago?!?

Shatner speaks quite critically in his memoir about The Man Trap and was shocked that was the first episode the network ran of the first batch (he felt it was one of the weaker ones - I disagree with him!).

 

I agree with your comments about Noel, not just because she is a looker (what females on the show weren't?) but because she was an interesting character. One of my biggest complaints about the series is the "one and done" factor with most of the guest stars - you never see most of them ever again on future episodes.

 

If you like Helen Noel (played by Marianna Hill, whose real name is Marianna Schwarzkopf), you'll probably appreciate this recent alt-rock song tribute to the episode she's in, Dagger of the mind:



What went wrong in my head?
How’d that other fellow wind up dead?
Who turned that shiny light on?
Why do I feel as if my brain is gone?

What did I come down here to find?

Remember beaming for an away mission
Dr. Noel was on my position
Did we once get freaky at a holiday party?
What could I do? She is such a hottie

What did I come down here to find?
Can’t think for the dagger in my mind!

A crazy guy he pops out of a box
Takes out a couple red shirts, and he’s subdued by Spock
Tried to strap him down and give him some medicine
But he just came to and started to get mad again
We got this call, and he turned out to be
this crazy escaped convict from Tantalus Penal Colony
From there things get fuzzy, and I can’t get hold of Spock
Bones won’t answer, and I think I’m in love with this she-doc....