{"id":2755,"date":"2022-01-14T12:00:20","date_gmt":"2022-01-14T12:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tomsalinsky.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2755"},"modified":"2023-03-06T11:08:10","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T11:08:10","slug":"trekaday-003-dagger-of-the-mind-the-corbomite-maneuver-the-menagerie-the-conscience-of-the-king-balance-of-terror","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tomsalinsky.co.uk\/blog\/index.php\/2022\/01\/14\/trekaday-003-dagger-of-the-mind-the-corbomite-maneuver-the-menagerie-the-conscience-of-the-king-balance-of-terror\/","title":{"rendered":"Trekaday 003: Dagger of the Mind, The Corbomite Maneuver, The Menagerie, The Conscience of the King, Balance of Terror"},"content":{"rendered":"

TOS S01E09 Dagger of the Mind <\/strong>(\"4). Another day, another intruder on the Enterprise<\/em>. This time it\u2019s penal colony (more like a resort colony, according to Lock \u2019em Up Kirk) escapee Simon van Gelder. The Enterprise crew is well practiced now in tracking down intruders who aren\u2019t what they appear to be and so van Gelder is overpowered fairly rapidly \u2013 particularly when he marches on to the bridge and announces himself.<\/p>\n

Kirk asks McCoy to send a qualified member of the medical staff to accompany him and McCoy despatches one of Kirk\u2019s previous conquests. Hilariously, Kirk reacts as if he didn\u2019t even know she was on board. Compared to many of the sweaty liars we\u2019ve beamed down to meet, Dr Adams is warmly convincing, which helps to keep us guessing. Morgan Woodward constantly looks is if he\u2019s going to dislocate his jaw or pop out an eyeball and is the first human to experience a Vulcan mind meld. Here it is portrayed as nearer to hypnosis than a touch-based psychic connection.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile Kirk is undergoing a brainwashing which makes The Manchurian Candidate<\/em> look like a vague suggestion. He\u2019s remarkably helpless in his captor\u2019s grip \u2013 more shades of The Prisoner<\/em>. Again, TNG<\/strong> would have had the Captain\u2019s brainwashing as a reveal but it works perfectly well when we know what\u2019s happening from the off, trading mystery for dramatic irony. It\u2019s also surprising that Dr Sexy Pout isn\u2019t immediately written out, having concluded her arc (but nor will we ever see her again I suspect). Even the red shirts make it back alive, but Kirk looks genuinely disturbed by what he\u2019s experienced.<\/p>\n

TOS S01E10 The Corbomite Maneuver <\/strong>(\"4.5) is a bit of Trek <\/strong>history \u2013 the first regular episode to be filmed after the two pilots (but as you can see, transmitted tenth). A few things are a bit wobbly. Neither Nimoy\u2019s hair nor makeup are quite right (but no fluffy eyebrows), Uhura is in gold, McCoy looks like he hasn\u2019t shaved and it\u2019s a Kirk-less teaser which is highly unusual (not even a Captain\u2019s log). It\u2019s also one of those episodes of which I have no memory whatsoever.<\/p>\n

McCoy asks \u201cWhat am I \u2013 a doctor or a moon shuttle conductor?\u201d which is one of the more absurdist variations on this theme. Spock thinks that adrenal glands sound inconvenient and ponders whether they could be removed. This is used to burn poor Mister Bailey who is roasted by Kirk moments later and pretty soon is given a dressing-down around the conference table (where a mute Uhura is included under the term \u201cgentlemen\u201d).<\/p>\n

There\u2019s some striking camerawork here \u2013 a big crane move at the beginning and some handheld shots when Kirk enters the bridge. They know that we\u2019re going to be on this same set a lot this week and they\u2019re determined to shoot it as flashily as they can. The lighting is nuts here as well (in a good way).<\/p>\n

Compared to some of the more exotic menaces the crew has been up against recently, this colourful space cube doesn\u2019t seem all that exciting, but its implacable omnipresence become increasingly arresting as the story unfolds. Interesting too that Kirk waits and waits and waits before opening fire on the thing \u2013 desperate to avoid destroying it before he\u2019s solved the mystery. A far cry from the shoot first, ask questions later gunslinger which he\u2019s sometimes portrayed as when comparing him to Picard. He repeatedly emphasises the importance of preserving life \u2013 all life \u2013 to his crew. And this episode is an interesting study in tactics, leadership and personnel management. Should Kirk be pushing Bailey harder and harder, or cutting him some slack so as not to burn him out?<\/p>\n

Kirk and McCoy\u2019s relationship is solid right from the off, but Kirk\u2019s attitude to Yeoman Rand betrays the shuffling of episodes \u2013 she\u2019s presented here as new in the role, but we\u2019ve seen her and Kirk go through a lot together, particularly in Miri<\/em>. Don\u2019t get too comfy Janice\u2026<\/p>\n

We\u2019re apparently on board the \u201cUnited Earth Ship\u201d Enterprise<\/em> and the enemy appears to inhabit \u201ca planet of the first federation\u201d. Eventually, it turns out that the geometric solids are the work of \u2013 ho hum \u2013 a childlike alien with god-level powers. All right, at this stage, it\u2019s still a pretty nifty reveal. As with The Cage<\/em>, a disorienting effect is created by having one performer on camera and another behind the mic. On camera is Ron Howard\u2019s little brother Clint. The initial vision of Balok is one of those indelible Star Trek <\/strong>images, a Mekon-like blue head issuing dire threats from the view screen.<\/p>\n

This episode forms a well-spring of ideas that will be returned to again, and again, especially when Roddenberry has his way. The probing of the Enterprise<\/em> by Balok feels a lot like Star Trek The Motion Picture<\/em>, the sense of hopelessness recalls early encounters with the Borg, and the there\u2019s a clear line connecting Balok to Q (via the Squire of Gothos and various others). The ship is caught by a tractor beam, which I believe is another one of those things which we imagine was always part of science-fiction storytelling but which was in fact invented out of whole cloth by Star Trek <\/strong>writers.<\/p>\n

What makes this episode sing, as usual with TOS<\/strong> at its best, is the interplay of the characters. Kirk, Spock and McCoy all take different approaches to Bailey, ship operations and the threat of Balok, but mutual respect is at the heart of their interactions. The desperate improvisation which Kirk engages in is uniquely his, however, and a brilliant piece of scriptwriting. This may also be the first mention of poker in the series, which becomes a big feature of TNG<\/strong> in years to come.<\/p>\n

For a series that only got on the air by promising action and adventure, the warmly optimistic ending is revelatory \u2013 closure for poor old Bailey, for Kirk and we hope for Balok. This has got it all.<\/p>\n

TOS S01E11 The Menagerie Part I <\/strong>(\"3). Our first glimpse of a bigger organisation behind the Enterprise<\/em> starts here. Spock claims to have orders from Star Fleet, we\u2019re on Star Base XI, there\u2019s a commodore waiting to see the Captain \u2013 even though \u201cSpace\u201d sent no message summoning them. Nor did rangy, angular Captain Pike who is now a mute version of Davros \u2013 23rd century space science lags behind what Stephen Hawking got in the 1980s. Spock having served with him \u2013 for eleven years! \u2013 also begins to add richness to the backstory, not just of these characters but to the \u201cworld\u201d of Star Trek<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This of course is the emergency manoeuvre which enabled the writing team to create two episodes of Trek<\/strong> out of about two-thirds of an episode\u2019s worth of scripting and filming. So we get an episode of Star Trek<\/strong> in which our regular characters sit around and watch an episode of Star Trek<\/strong>, in which episode a bunch of aliens sit around and watch an episode of Star Trek<\/strong>. It doesn\u2019t play quite as meta as that sounds. It does however require some production-created continuity issues to be hastily swept under the carpet, and not for the last time \u2013 you try asking Worf about TOS<\/strong>-era Klingons.<\/p>\n

It takes a while for the pilot episode to get on-screen \u2013 longer than I remembered (this is one I definitely saw on BBC2 in the 1980s). To begin with this is fairly standard Trek<\/strong> intrigue, albeit with a fascinatingly duplicitous Spock at its centre. Part I is half over before the hearing starts and Spock begins showing the old footage, everyone having put on their dress uniforms, all Christmassy gold braid and colourful insignias.<\/p>\n

For some stupid reason (possibly to do with managing clearances for the use of the old footage) the voice actor for the Talosians is in the framing story is Commodore Mendez, which required further treatment on the Talosian voices to conceal the doubling-up. He also has to remind Spock that he in a \u201ccourt of space law\u201d which is a pretty dreadful line.<\/p>\n

How much you enjoy this episode depends greatly on what you think of The Cage<\/em>. The framing story grinds to a halt once Spock starts his home movie show, so if you\u2019re in the \u201cStar Trek<\/strong>\u2019s original pilot was a misunderstood work of genius\u201d camp you may love this, but if, like me, you think that the original pilot got a lot of things wrong and they needed another go, then seeing those mistakes all over again isn\u2019t terribly interesting. Under the extraordinary circumstances though, this works well enough to fill two weeks and avoid NBC having to show fifty minutes of test card.<\/p>\n

TOS S01E12 The Menagerie Part II <\/strong>(\"3). Part II is almost all The Cage<\/em> so I don\u2019t have a lot more to add. Although watching Kirk be compassionate, thoughtful and measured week after week (if often highly libidinous) makes the more aggressive Pike seem even less suitable to be the lead of this show. Even the Talosians make fun of his pugilistic instincts and he escapes captivity mainly because of his restless human nature, not because of any stratagem or insight specific to him.<\/p>\n

The resolution of the framing plot when it finally comes is neat enough and just about makes sense of Spock\u2019s insane-seeming actions (as well as giving the Talosians a happier ending than they got in The Cage<\/em>) so it\u2019s unlikely first-time viewers would be too frustrated. The death penalty for visiting (or even talking about) Talos IV is a bit hard to swallow, but Shatner and Nimoy are as committed as ever and pretty much make me believe it. More egregious clip shows will follow (or at least one will) meanwhile this should be celebrated primarily for keeping the show on the air in any form at all.<\/p>\n

TOS S01E13 The Conscience of the King <\/strong>(\"2.5). By now the series is devoted to demonstrating that it can do anything, tell stories in any genre. This is essentially a murder mystery in space with a dose of Shakespeare for added class (nice to see that arts subsidies are still going strong). Talk of a new synthetic food which would end famine is odd given we\u2019ve already had talk of replicated meatloaf. Plastic surgery seems to have made little progress in 250-odd years too, as Tom Leighton is forced to wear a Phantom of the Opera<\/em>-style half mask to conceal his disfigurement. And genetic fingerprinting (or even regular fingerprinting) appears not to exist in this world either.<\/p>\n

William Shatner wears Kirk like a glove by now. The leer he gives the chief suspect\u2019s 19-year-old daughter on first seeing her is simultaneously delightful and grim. Sexual politics is the big blind spot of this series. Talk of Shatner\u2019s absurd acting style is greatly exaggerated. Talk of Kirk\u2019s demented libido is not, but we haven\u2019t really had anything like a love story since The Man Trap<\/em> and that was with McCoy. It\u2019s all just been teenage ogling so far. When Kirk strands her acting troupe on the planet, Lenore negotiates for a lift on the actual Enterprise <\/em>bridge, which looks like flagrant cost-cutting \u2013 surely they had a Captain\u2019s ready room set still standing?<\/p>\n

Although Kirk seems to be thinking with his groin, his actual agenda is to try and unmask an infamous mass-murderer. So why does he never take Spock into his confidence? Is it revenge for Spock pulling a similar trick on Kirk last time? I also think that\u2019s Majel Barrett as the computer \u2013 for the first time? And speaking of familiar faces, Lt MacIrish from The Naked Time<\/em> is back.<\/p>\n

I appreciate the shift in tone, but this feels like a hangover from a more exciting story we only get to hear about. We also don\u2019t get enough face-time with the supposed villain, and the plot relies on characters wilfully concealing information from trusted friends and colleagues and suffering hysterical blindness on occasion. A Columbo<\/em>-style trap which definitively exposed the truth would have added considerably, but as it is, Kirk just keeps putting himself in harm\u2019s way until everyone confesses. No sign of Sulu or Scotty, but Uhura continues her song writing career in the rec room.<\/p>\n

TOS S01E14 Balance of Terror <\/strong>(\"5) opens with Kirk having to split his time between investigating Earth outposts and officiating an onboard wedding \u2013 the old softie. The Neutral Zone (between planets Romulus and Remus) makes its first appearance as do the Romulans. Unlike many aspects of the series \u2013 phasers, transporters, Vulcans, communicators, much else besides \u2013 the appearance and culture of the Romulans is unknown to the crew<\/em> as well as to the viewer. The backstory needed to set up both the existence of a treaty and the cultural amnesia about Earth\u2019s long-ago foes stretches credulity a bit (22nd century spaceships didn\u2019t have Zoom, nobody took any prisoners) but the human drama works wonderfully well. Kirk again is compassionate, thoughtful, telling a crewman that this was not his war despite his family history (compare this to Kirk\u2019s \u201cLet them die\u201d regarding the Klingons in Star Trek VI<\/em>). Kirk reports back to \u201cour nearest command base\u201d.<\/p>\n

Romulan ships are said to look like birds of prey and have cloaking technology. Later episodes will tend to overlap Klingon and Romulan technology and terminology for reasons I\u2019m not sure are deliberate. But the big overlap here is between Romulan and Vulcan physiognomy which is an amazing way of ramping up the internal tensions between the crew.<\/p>\n

In fact, compared to last week\u2019s rather relaxed encounter, the tension throughout this story is incredible. It\u2019s a shame that the Romulan war backstory is given to an interchangeable right hand console crew member rather than be used to flesh out one of our regulars, but that does give them more leeway to put narrow-minded views in the mouth of that character \u2013 which dissenting views Kirk calmly solicits in order that his conference table receives a full range of options. And of course, that\u2019s Mark Leonard as the Romulan commander \u2013 later to be immortalised as Sarek, father of Spock. The mutual respect between the two ship’s captains is fascinating.<\/p>\n

Much of the Romulan iconography established here would survive to TNG<\/strong> and beyond, save for the bird-like helmets worn by junior officers, which resemble Flash Gordon<\/em> more than anything else. The glimpses of life on board the Romulan vessel are fascinating too \u2013 there are two sides to this story as well as this conflict. And in the debate which Kirk moderates, it\u2019s Spock who offers the logical reasons for striking first \u2013 to McCoy\u2019s horror. In a fascinating reprise of the Pike\/Boyce \u201cI\u2019m tired\u201d scene from The Cage<\/em>, Kirk and Bones have a heart-to-heart before the final battle. Coming half-way through the first season, it means so much more. And that final battle isn\u2019t without cost, it transpires.<\/p>\n

Uhura takes over the navigator\u2019s station at one point, but all she gets to say is \u201chailing frequencies open, Captain.\u201d And thanks for your service, Yeoman Rand. We\u2019ll see you in The Motion Picture<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Key observations<\/strong><\/p>\n