TOS - 1.27 - Errand Of Mercy

One of the surprises that I have had with this watch through of the Original Series is how little the famous alien races of Star Trek have featured so far. The Romulans were introduced back in “Balance Of Terror”, but they have not been seen or even mentioned since. And it is only now, right at the end of the first series, that we meet the Klingons. I was first introduced to the Klingons in the movies and The Next Generation and therefore remember being very shocked when I first saw what they looked like TOS – just swarthy men with dark skin make up and oriental style facial hair that does make them look uncomfortably like generic Eastern stereotypes. Their honour based society has also now yet been established. It is therefore interesting to speculate as to quite why they became so established, especially when compared with the Romulans who at least have their shared heritage with the Vulcans as a point of interest. Whilst it is likely the re-use of the Klingonds could have been down to budgetary concerns (what with all those pointy ears needed when Romulans appear), it is possibly not overstating to things to suggest that a lot of the success of these particular aliens could come down to John Colicos, who plays Kor, the Klingon commander in “Errand of Mercy”. Colicos gives an utterly charming performance, oozing smoothness as a ruthless character who could otherwise have come across as something of a pantomime villain. We are left in no doubt that Kor is formidable opponent for Kirk, but he is still able to admire and show respect for the Federation captain, and this makes him more three dimensional. Even though Kor does some horrible things and makes our heroes suffer, we aren’t really upset or annoyed when he doesn’t get any sort of comeuppance at the end of the episode. What Colicos is able to do with Kor is made especially clear when compared with that of Victor Lundin, who portrays the un-named Klingon lieutenant in a shouty monotone that is not a million miles from the Ogrons in Doctor Who.

“Errand Of Mercy” plunges us straight into a war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. The Enterprise is sent to Organia, a planet in a strategic location, but Kirk’s negotiations are interrupted when the Klingons invade and claim the planet. The Enterprise cannot hold off an entire Klingon fleet and so Kirk sends it away, leaving him and Spock alone to not just survive, but to also defeat the Klingons and achieve their mission to convince the native population to let the Federation use Organia in the war. The set-up for the episode does make the viewer think that they know exactly where it is going, with Kirk and Spock undercover and undertaking guerrilla warfare against the invaders, presumably to succeed against all the odds. However, yet again Star Trek subverts expectations, due to the wildcard actions of the Organians. The script of the episode cleverly establishes that there is something not quite right about the inhabitants of the planet. They appear to be a medieval society, but certain individuals have an un-natural awareness when the Klingons do indeed arrive. They are keen to maintain peace and do whatever necessary to avoid violence – at one point turning on Kirk but the next moment helping him. This unpredictably could become somewhat annoying, but John Abbott, plays leader Ayelborne, is just so likable. And we do get finally get an explanation for their behaviour when it is transpires that the Organians are actually a race of powerful non-corporeal beings, and hence they clearly have nothing to fear from the Klingons. They are so keen for peace that they are able to instantly stop the war all over the galaxy. Given the episodic nature of The Original Series, it was inevitable that the war would not be able to play on into subsequent instalments, but this is a bit of a deus ex machina moment (and having two sides being prevented from fighting does seem a somewhat artificial way of delivering peace since the underlying tensions will still be there). It is also pretty similar to what happened in “Arena”, not that many episodes previously.

It is interesting to see the effect of war on Kirk during the episode. He does tell the Organians that he is a “solder, not a diplomat”, and this is clear since he very quickly gets frustrated when he doesn’t get what he wants. Following the Klingon invasion, he is very gung-ho when planning his guerrilla attacks, seemingly not caring about the consequences for the Organians (or himself, since he does give himself away very easily by not spotting what does seem to be a very obvious listening device ). But it is quite uncomfortable to see him quite so annoyed when the Organians stop him from fighting the Klingons and arguing for the right to wage war – a far cry from the more thoughtful character that we have seen previously, although at least the final scene on the bridge does at least provide an opportunity for him to reflect on his actions.

Planetary Gazetteer

Organia: The only M-class planet in an area of space that is claimed by both the Federation and the Klingon Empire. It has an indigenous population that are believed to be primitive but it turns out that they have evolved into non-corporeal beings of pre energy and thought.

Starship Spotting (Or Not Actually...)

Although the episode features the Enterprise in a battle with a Klingon ship and a whole fleet then arriving at Organia, no Klingon starships are actually seen on screen in the original version of the episode as a cost saving measure. It is only in the remastered version that new CGI effects are used to show the Klingon ships in the design that would later be established (the D7 class, apparently).

The Enterprise travels at Warp Factor 7 and no one is very concerned, which is a contrast from "Arena" when operating at this speed but the ship at risk of being destroyed.

General Observations

• Two Stardates are given in the episode – 3198.4 and 3201.7.
• Neither McCoy nor Scotty appear in the episode.
• The Organians predict that the Klingons and the Federation will become “firm friends” in the future. This may be overstating things a little, but they do indeed become allies by the time of The Next Generation.
• There is not a lot of background information given about the Klingon Empire in the episode other than the fact that it is a ruthless military dictatorship. There is no real background to the conflict between the Klingons and the Federation, nor any reference to the fact that there has been an earlier war between them (which we will see in Discovery).
• Kor knows of Kirk as the captain of the Enterprise before they meet, but he presumably doesn’t know what he looks like. Spock is presumably less well known to the Klingons since he uses his own name when undercover.
• Kirk proposes that the Federation provide technology to improve life on Organia in return for being able to use the planet in the war. This doesn’t seem particularly consistent with what has already been established about the Prime Directive!