TOS - 1.21 - Tomorrow Is Yesterday

This episode has a somewhat startling opening as we see contemporary fighter aircraft manoeuvring on the runway, rather than the usual shot of the Enterprise in space. I can imagine that this might have made a viewer on broadcast television wonder if  they have tuned into the right programme. However, its soon revealed that these aircraft are about to take off in order to intercept a UFO, which happens to be the Enterprise that has been thrown back in time as a result of escaping the gravitational pull of a “black star”.

“Tomorrow Is Yesterday” is a thoroughly entertaining episode. Time travel will become a fairly frequent activity in later Star Trek shows, but it is still a novelty here. There are no actual villains or even anyone acting with malicious intent, but there is still plenty of drama as Kirk and the crew must preserve the timeline. The troubles start when a US Air Force pilot called Captain John Christopher ends up the Enterprise, but things soon escalate with a confused military policemen also being beamed aboard and the Kirk getting arrested while infiltrating an Air Force base to remove evidence of the Enterprise’s existence.

The story being told is engaging and punctuated by some effective action, notably a well-staged fight between Kirk and no fewer than three guards, but it is the lightness of touch that makes the episode so enjoyable, with lots of humour that manages not to undermine the drama. Much of this comes from the characters, with some lovely moments such as Spock reveals himself as Captain Christopher talks about not believing in little green men and McCoy’s reaction to Spock admitting to having made a mistake (“This could be an historic occasion”), but there is also an amusing subplot where Kirk’s computer has been reprogrammed to have an affectionate and flirty personality. Even the more obviously comic moments, such as the bemused reactions of the poor military policeman who ends up on the Enterprise and Kirk’s bravado while being interrogated, are actually funny, and not over the top.

The main guest character is Captain John Christopher who is well played by Roger Perry. Christopher is a likable character and we sympathise with his situation when Spock suggests that he cannot be returned home since he has seen too much. It is therefore entirely believable when he does try to act against the crew in order to return home and do his duty. He also gets a lovely moment at the end of the episode when he gets to enjoy being in space having been rejected from the astronaut programme.

The only really problems with the episode really arise from the mechanics of the time travel as featured. There is an attempt to introduce jeopardy by questioning whether the Enterprise will ever be able to get home, but this is undermined by the fact that we have previously seen Spock and Scotty invent time travel in “The Naked Time”. The omission of this is presumably hold over from the fact that “Tomorrow Is Yesterday” was originally intended to follow on directly from that episode, with the Enterprise ending up in the 1960s as a result of what happened there rather than a completely separate incident. However, the bigger issue arises with the end of the episode in which the Enterprise is able to travel back in time slightly to when it arrived, returning Christopher and the policeman to the point at which they left with the effect of making them forget everything that they have seen. This makes no sense in terms of “cause and effect” (to quote a later time travel episode title) and results in history being changed and therefore making a lot of what happened in the episode irrelevant!

Planetary Gazetteer

Earth: This is the first episode of Star Trek to feature Earth, albeit one in contemporary times. The time period to which the Enterprise has travelled is not specified other than it being the late 1960s. However, it is shortly before the first “manned moon shot”. Assuming that this is referring to Apollo 8 (which travelled to the moon, even though no one landed on it) then this means that the episode takes place in December 1968, almost two years after it was first shown in January 1967. I see that other sources have interpreted this as referring to Apollo 11, the first mission to land on the moon, which puts the events of the episode in July 1969.

Cygnet XIV: A planet that is “dominated by women” when the Enterprise put in for general repair and maintenance and where Kirk’s computer was given a more feminine personality.

Starship Spotting

Kirk says that the Enterprise is one of 12 starships, all of the same design. I think the intention at this point is that this is the entirety of Starfleet, but I suppose we could interpret the dialogue to mean that there are 12 ships in what will become known as the Constitution class given that Starfleet is a lot bigger than this in Discovery, which of course is set earlier in its history.

The Enterprise has a crew of 430, which is almost the same figure as given in the previous episode (“The Alternative Factor”).

General Observations

• Four Stardates are given in the episode, ranging from 3113.2 and 3114.1. It is interesting that Stardates continue to be used in the Captain’s Log, even when it is known that the Enterprise has travelled back in time. This suggests that it is some sort of shipboard time, rather than anything absolute.
• The Enterprise was travelling to Starbase 9 for resupply prior to being thrown back in time.
• Kirk says that the operating authority for the Enterprise is “the United Earth Space Probe Agency”. This matches the reference to “UESPA” in “Charlie X”, but it is unclear how this organisation fits in with Starfeet, given that this has also already been established and indeed is mentioned in the episode (although in the context of the Enterprise trying to contact “Starfleet Control”, rather than Starfleet Command as has been used previously).
• Captain John Christopher is married and has two daughters at the time he encounters the Enterprise. He will go on to have a soon called Colonel Shaun Geoffrey Christopher who will go on to lead the first successful Earth-Saturn probe. Given the setting of this episode, this suggests that this probe will be in the late 20th or early 21st Century and so we are seeing a very optimistic vision of space exploration compared with what happened in reality!
• The episode goes to a lot of trouble to avoid stating the date that the Enterprise has travelled from, with Spock at the end saying only that they are approaching “our century”. When Kirk is captured and Lieutenant Colonel Fellini tells him that he should have him locked up for “200 years”, Kirk replies that this should be about right. This is not completely correct in terms of later assumptions concerning the period in which Star Trek is set (I see that it is generally assumed that the Original Series is 300 years in the future), but it is still a very funny line.
• There’s lots of lovely little details in the episode which show the care and attention that has been put into it. My favourites are Kirk and Sulu admiring what is to them an old fashioned noticeboard in the air force base, and Spock subtly showing Captain Christopher where to stand on the transporter pad. 

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TOS - 1.20 - The Alternative Factor

The Enterprise is surveying a planet which becomes the source of a mysterious force that affects the whole galaxy. Kirk is ordered to investigate and meets a man called Lazarus who has suddenly appeared on the planet. He claims to be hunting an evil creature who destroyed his home planet and now wants Kirk’s help in his mission of vengeance. Lazarus is brought on board the Enterprise to allow McCoy to treat injuries that he has suffered in an apparent attack by his foe, but he soon starts acting in an increasingly strange manner and McCoy gets confused by the fact that he has a head wound that keeps appearing and disappearing.

This episode is notable for introducing the concept of parallel universes into Star Trek when it is revealed that the planet provides a corridor through to a negative anti-matter universe and this has been the source of the mysterious force. But, it is generally a bit of a disaster. Yes, it is good to have an intriguing mystery but this is only sustained through Lazarus keeping lying and changing his story (next claiming to be a time traveller) whilst Spock detects different odd signals on the planet. As a result, there aren’t really a lot of satisfying investigations as Kirk and company just keep travelling to and from the planet in a repetitive manner without really learning anything, and Spock’s ultimately correct theory about the parallel universe seems to come out of nowhere.

Even by the end, it is never entirely clear exactly what has been going on. It is obvious from early on that Lazarus is subject to some kind of Jekyll and Hyde effect. This turns out to be some sort of battle between him and his parallel counterpart to occupy the same space in our universe, but the precise mechanism by which this is happening is unclear. It’s a nice twist that the parallel Lazarus is actually the good one, but it is never made completely clear which one we are seeing at each point. And where did the second Lazarus come from? Is it supposed to be the one from our universe who has been driven mad by seeing his parallel double? And how did they meet? (It would have been a bit of a coincidence if it had been random). Is there any truth in him being a time traveller?

But probably the biggest issue is Lazarus is a somewhat annoying character, overplayed by Robert Brown and without any sort of charisma to make him engaging or believable. This was probably something of a symptom of the problematic production of the episode, with Brown being cast at the last minute when John Drew Barrymore dropped out at the last minute due to script changes. And he’s not helped by the unconvincing wispy fake beard that he has to wear (and the fact that the thickness of it changes between scenes). Brown is a lot better as the sane and noble Lazarus who appears at the end. Indeed, the climax of the episode is probably its most successful element as the good Lazarus volunteers to trap himself with his mad counterpart in order to save both universes from mutual destruction. The final scene sees Kirk musing on this self-sacrifice and what Lazarus has done for the greater good, making for a more effective close than the forced humour that we have had in previous episodes.

Planetary Gazetteer

The planet that features in the episode is never named.

Starship Spotting

It is established that the Enterprise is now powered by a dilithium crystals, rather than just lithium as in “Mudd’s Woman”. The crew of the Enterprise is now implied to be 431, up from 400 in “The Squire Of Gothos”.

General Observations

• Three Stardates are given in the episode – 3087.6, 3088.5 and 3088.7.
• Neither Scotty nor Sulu appear in the episode. The engineering role is instead taken by Lt Charlene Masters who was intended to feature more significantly in the episode as a love interest for Lazarus but this sub-plot was removed at a relatively late stage when it was realised it was too similar to events planned for “Space Seed”. Masters was originally intended to be a chemist, which explains why she wears a blue scientific tunic rather than the correct red engineering uniform.
• There is a reference to Starbase 200. The episode features another senior officer, Commodore Barstow, who orders Kirk to investigate the mysterious forces – this is the first time in which we see live viewscreen communications between the Enterprise and Starfleet Command.
• There are certainly some psychedelic effects in the episode with a negative picture being used to represent the corridor with the anti-matter universe. Unfortunately, the way in which this spins into the picture to represent the Lazarus battles (and accompanying sound effects) are highly reminiscent of scene transitions in the 1960s Batman series!
• Kirk keeps taking some red-shirted security officer down to the planet and, contrary to the cliché, they all survive on every occasion! 

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TOS - 1.19 - Arena

Despite only a passing knowledge of the Original Series prior to this Trekaton, I was of course aware of “Arena” as the famous episode in which Kirk fights a man in an unconvincing reptile costume on Vasquez Rocks. I was however surprised that this set piece only takes up the second half of the episode. Before that, we get a sequence where Kirk and his landing party are under siege on Sestus III from a mysterious alien threat and then the Enterprise chasing down the alien ship in a manner that is reminiscent of “Balance Of Terror”. The difference from that episode is we see nothing of the alien threat until Kirk meets its captain on the battle planet, and we don’t get to understand the Gorn’s perspective in the way that we did for the Romulans in the previous episode. However, it is soon clear that this is very deliberate, with the episode setting up the Gorn as Bug Eyed Monsters for Kirk to take down, before ultimately revealing that they may well have a point in the conflict. This is a clever idea, but the execution is unfortunately too heavily dependent upon Kirk seeking vengeance on the Gorn for their actions on Sestus III. Yes, this is needed so that the captain can develop his understanding later in the episode and overcome his prejudices by sparing his opponent, but it does seem somewhat out of character, especially in his dismissal of Spock when the Vulcan suggests a more measured response.

Given the notoriety of this episode, it is probably now a very different viewing experience compared with its original transmission. It does build anticipation to not show the Gorn for the first half of the episode, and so the revelation that they are so completely alien must have been a surprise at the time. Unfortunately, it probably goes without saying that the costume has not held up well, and this isn’t helped by the deliberately slow and ponderous motion of the poor stuntmen inside nor the comical sound effects that makes the Gorn captain sound like a heavy smoker. The attempts to show it as an immensely strong threat to Kirk are also undermined by the fact that the rocks that bounce off it are clearly artificial.

The battle between Kirk and the Gorn captain is initiated by the Metrons, a mysterious alien race who object to the violent natures of these creatures who have strayed into their territory. This gives a nice parallel since Kirk is able to overcome some of their prejudices about humans in the same way that he does in his attitude to the Gorn, but the sheer number of powerful and unknowable aliens being encountered by the Enterprise is now becoming somewhat repetitive. There is an interesting design choice when the Metron appears at the end as almost an stereotypical angel, only missing the wings. This seems to be picking up on the fact that the name Metron appears to derive from Metatron, an angel in Judaism and some Christian and Islamic traditions.

The structure of the episode does mean that the second half of the episode does struggle to find things for the rest of the Enterprise crew to do. Reading about the production of the episode, I see that the original outline focussed entirely on Kirk and his battle but it was felt that the viewer still needed regular check ins with Spock and the other. I can’t help but think that the original concept would have been the best way to go since these later Enterprise scenes don’t really add much; initially the crew are just wondering what is going on before the Metrons handily let them watch what is going on and we transition into something that looks a lot like a futuristic version of Gogglebox as we randomly switch back to the bridge for brief comments as to what Kirk is doing.

Planetary Gazetteer

Sestus III: An isolated planet on which an Earth Observation Outpost had been set up. The planet is apparently within the territory of the Gorn, leading to them defending themselves by destroying it. The outpost was commanded by Commodore Stone, who was famous for his hospitality, but is presumably killed in the Gorn attack.

The rocky planet on which Kirk fights the Gorn captain is not named.

Starship Spotting

The Enterprise can travel at up to Warp Factor 8, but extended periods at Warp Factors 7 and 8 lead to a risk of the engines exploding. The starship is seen to use photon torpedoes for the first time.

General Observations

• Two stardates are given in the episode – 3045.6 and 3046.2. This is a leap higher again after the very low date of 2124 used in “The Squire Of Gothos”.
• Grant Woods reprises the role of Kelowitz from “The Galileo Seven” (he was the crewman on a landing party searching the for the crashed shuttle who is seen reporting back to Kirk). The initial landing party on Sestus III also includes O'Herlihy and Lang, both of whom are killed (although only O'Herlihy wears a red shirt – Lang is in gold). We also meet yet another navigator, DePaul, played by Sean Kenney who had previously been hidden under make-up to portray the injured Captain Pike in “The Menagerie”.
• We’re led to believe that the Gorn destroyed the outpost on Sestus III in order to protect themselves from the Federation who have inadvertently stumbled into their territory. There is something to be said for this motivation, although they do seem to be a bit blood-thirsty in their response. And it isn’t clear why they deliberately lured the Enterprise to the planet. If they are planning to destroy it, then this seems a bit too premeditated for a defensive action, and they do seem to give up and leave pretty easily when Kirk sends the Enterprise away for a bit.
• Sulu is in command of the Enterprise when Kirk and Spock are off the ship (although still from the helm position, rather than the big chair). He apparently has extensive combat experience, which is interesting given that he was the ship’s physicist not that long ago in “Where No Man Has Gone Before”.
• Lt Harold, the survivor of the Sestus III outpost, wears the same tunic badge as Commander Hansen from Outpost 4 as seen in “Balance Of Terror”.
• There are some very melodramatic reactions from Uhura during the episode – she screams as Kirk is beamed away from the bridge (which is not after all that unusual an occurrence since the same thing happened in “The Squire Of Gothos”) and seems extremely worried for his safety during the battle.

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TOS - 1.18 - The Squire Of Gothos

“The Squire Of Gothos” tells a very simple story in which the Enterprise crew is captured by Trelane, a mysterious being with immense powers who he is using them for his amusement. Despite not knowing a lot about the Original Series before embarking on this mission, I did have some awareness of this episode and the character of Trelane through having seen references to him being something of a precursor to Q, the recurring character from The Next Generation. And it is very easy to see where these comparisons come from, especially in the brief scene in which Trelane invades the bridge of the Enterprise. But, Trelane is more of a parochial character than Q, with a specific interest in Earth and the war-like ways of its inhabitants. He is also fallible – recreating the form of what he has seen but no substance (fire without heat and food without flavour). It also seems the Trelane isn’t a true god-like being, with his powers coming from some sort of machine, although the precise nature of this is never properly explained. As a result, the situation seems somewhat reminiscent of the similar magic technology employed by the pleasure planet in “Shore Leave”.

The simplicity of the plot means that there isn’t really a lot going on in the episode and it is somewhat repetitious, treading water a bit as the Enterprise crew escape from Trelane only to be captured again before escaping and being captured again - I think one round would have been sufficient to demonstrate the difficulty of their situation. But the plot isn’t really that important since the episode very much belongs to guest star William Campbell who gives a supremely entertaining performance as the mysterious alien as he manages to be balance menace with charm and playfulness. He leads us to share Kirk’s frustrations with Trelane, without ever being annoying. I was initially nervous that Trelane would be used as an excuse for continuing the painful whimsy of “Shore Leave”, especially when he initially communicates with the Enterprise (“Tallyho!), but the balance of humour and threat is much more successful here. There are some amusing moments in “The Squire Of Gothos” that are actually funny, including the eye-rolling and other deadpan responses of the crew to Trelane’s antics. I was also particularly fond of Yeoman Ross initially continuing to perform her duties on the Enterprise bridge despite still being dressed in period costume.

“The Squire Of Gothos” is an interesting episode for Kirk. Whilst he ends up in another big physical fight (albeit using swords rather than fists here), it is more satisfying that he uses his intelligence and the support of his team in trying to defeat Trelane, working out that the mirror is the source of his power and shooting that within his duel, a clever resolution as to what appears to be a difficult moral dilemma about shooting his unarmed captor.

The episode also succeeds in having a very satisfying conclusion. Yes, it is again something of a deus ex machine (like “Charlie X”, an episode that has a not dissimilar storyline) as Trelane’s parents turn up to stop everything just as it is looking bad for Kirk. But the revelation that Trelane is just a child does make sense, perfectly explaining his behaviour earlier in the episode. And it allows Campbell to give yet another layer to his performance, perfectly switching to being a believable spoilt child fighting with him mum and dad.

Planetary Gazetteer

Beta VI: An Earth colony in Quadrant 904 to which the Enterprise is travelling before it gets diverted by Trelane.

Gothos: An artificial planet created by Trelane within a “star desert” (an area of space devoid of stars) that is 900 light years from Earth. It consists of iron-silica and is a somewhat hostile environment since it has an extremely hot, toxic atmosphere devoid of oxygen and is subject to continuous volcanic eruptions. This is about from a small area that has been made habitable by Trelane.

Starship Spotting

Kirk says that the Enterpise has a crew of 400. This is a bit of a decrease from the figure of 433 given in “Shore Leave”, the previous episode to be made.

General Observations

• Four Stardates are given in the episode, ranging between 2124.5 and 2126.3. This is lowest since “Balance of Terror” given that more recent episodes have been above 2700.
• The Enterprise has yet another navigator, DeSalle, who has French ancestry. We meet another Yeoman of the Week, Teresa Ross, who, like Yeoman Barrows in the previous episode, gets to wear a pretty dress. There is another featured guest crew member, Carl Jaeger, who is a meteorologist with an expertise in geophysics.
• Amongst the hunting trophies seen in Trelane’s hall is the salt vampire from “The Man Trap”. McCoy does a double take as he walks past it.
• Uhura mentions “Space Fleet Command” as the organisation that controls the Enterprise which is odd given that the name of “Starfleet Command” had been established previously in “Court Martial”

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TOS - 1.17 - Shore Leave

With the crew of the Enterprise stressed and in need of rest and relaxation, an uninhabited and idyllic Earth-like planet appears to provide a good opportunity for shore leave. Unfortunately, this is not a normal planet and the initial landing party soon start to experience physical manifestations of their thoughts and dreams.

Well, this is an odd episode. The fact that it starts with McCoy meeting the White Rabbit from “Alice in Wonderland” gives the impression that this is going to be a charming and comic instalment of the show. And it does feature its fair share of whimsy, including Kirk being presented with the return of Finnegan, his nemesis from the Academy, who is Irish (well, in the same way that Harry Mudd is Irish) and whose appearances are accompanied by an “amusing” Irish jig on the soundtrack. But the episode soon starts to get a lot darker, with what appears to be an attempted r**e of Yeoman of the Week Tonia Barrows and the actual death of McCoy as the manifestations become more dangerous. Strange energy drains leave the landing party cut off from the Enterprise and without functional weapons as the threats continue, and even Finnegan becomes more dangerous, resulting in a brutal (and seemingly never ending) fight between him and Kirk (and Kirk ruining yet another perfectly good tunic). This all leads to an odd mixture of tones, which the episode doesn’t successfully balance. The threats being thrown at the Enterprise crew also seem very random, leading to things feeling disjointed and somewhat episodic

“Shore Leave” does have a very different feel from its predecessors through featuring extensive location shooting. The locations that were chosen cleverly mirror the increase in threat as we move from beautiful parkland and woodland into desert as the episode progresses. I note that the desert scenes were filmed at Vasquez Rocks, a location that would soon become synonymous with the show.

After a strong female character in “The Menagerie”, the somewhat dated sexual politics of Star Trek again returns. Yeoman Barrow initially appears to be a more interesting a stronger character than her predecessors, but it isn’t long before she is in an unconvincing romance with Dr McCoy with the 13 year age gap between the actors making Bones seem more creepy than romantic, despite Barrows fawning over him. The yeoman soon starts dreaming of being a princess “to be protected and fought for” before ultimately being humiliated by McCoy when he subsequently becomes more interested in two scantily clad showgirls in a moment which I think that the script thinks we are supposed to find funny.

As an episode with a very bizarre premise, there is a lot depending on the script in its ability to provide a satisfying explanation for everything that has been going on. And here. “Shore Leave” definitely fails since, as we are rapidly approaching the 50 minute mark, an old man casually wanders in from the background to explain that everything is alright and that the whole planet is just an amusement park designed to give people whatever they want. Quite why this Caretaker has waited until now to reveal himself isn’t quite clear, especially after subjecting the landing party to stress, physical attacks and even death! Of course, McCoy does get better, but I was expecting it to have been revealed that his death had been an illusion, but no. it is explained that the inhabitants of the planet were simply able to cure his death through their amazing technology! I would have expected a doctor such as McCoy to be more interested in the implications of this, and not content to let it just be part of the first aid facilities on a pleasure planet! Even more bizarre is Kirk’s response to the revelation as to what has been going on, with absolutely no anger and a rather rash decision that this means that the planet is a suitable location for shore leave.after all. Has he immediately forgotten what has just happened and the lack of safeguards? I’m not sure that “just try not to think about anything that might be dangerous” is sufficient…

Planetary Gazetteer

The planet on which the episode takes place is never named. It is in the Omicron Delta region. No details are given about the race that is running this amusement planet and the nature of their really advanced technology is left frustratingly vague – all we see is something that looks like a flimsy television aerial that presumably allows the native species to read people’s mind and recreate whatever they find - somehow. These aliens are just too advanced for the Enterprise crew to understand and this is blindly accepted – which seems a little odd given that the whole mission of the starship is to seek out new life. I see that there is a return to the planet in the Animated Series, so it will be interesting to see if that provides any answers…

The showgirls that are recreated for McCoy are from a cabaret that he knows on Rigel II.

Starship Spotting

It is implied that the Enterprise has a crew of 433 (McCoy tells Sulu that Kirk is responsible for both of them and 430 others). This is comparable with the figure of 428 given in “Charlie X”.

General Observations

• The episode commences on Stardate 3025.3. It is a nice idea to have Kirk struggle with the Stardate in his log to indicate his own stress and tiredness, but it’s a bit over exaggerated in execution.
• Sulu’s interest in botany is mentioned again (following “Charlie X”). He also appears to be a collector of antique fire-arms and has been coveting an old-time police revolver. 
• James Doohan does not appear as Scotty in the episode.
• One of the landing party is Angela Teller, played by Barbara Baldavin who had previously appeared as Angela Martine in “Balance Of Terror”. I think we are supposed to assumed that this is the same character, with the change of surname being a mistake. She appears very friendly here with another crewman, Lt Esteban Rodriguez. This must make her seem somewhat callous when viewing the episodes in transmission order since “Shore Leave” comes immediately after “Balance Of Terror” in which Angela’s fiancé is killed on their wedding day!
• It is 15 years since Kirk was at the Academy and menaced by Finnegan. The version of Finnegan that is created by the is supposed to be still as young as from those days compared with Kirk’s “old man”, which makes the casting of Bruce Mars a bit odd (well, even odder than his inability to do an Irish accent), since Mars was 31 at the time that the episode was shot, and therefore only four years older than William Shatner. Finnegan wears a silver tunic with a small star-like emblem (essentially a smaller version of the one worn by Starbase personnel) – this is presumably the uniform of an Academy cadet.
• We meet yet another old flame of Kirk’s, a woman known only as Ruth who he knew 15 years previously (so presumably while he was at the Academy given the timeframe for that given in the episode). Kirk spends some quality time with this recreation of Ruth, which does some a little creepy when she is after all a copy of a real person.
• Teller and Rodriguez are unconvincingly menaced by a tiger that very obviously appears via stock footage. I was therefore subsequently very surprised when, in a later scene, the camera pans from Leonard Nimoy to a tiger in the same shot, proving that they did actually have the animal on set!

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TOS - 1.16 - The Menagerie Part II

We are very conditioned these days to television shows featuring extensive “Previously on…” recaps, so it is quite refreshing that “The Menagerie Part II” takes a somewhat minimal approach to reminding viewers what has being gone – just some clever use of Kirk’s personal log and a repeat of the final scene of the first episode in which we learn that Kirk’s life is also at risk due to his ship receiving signals being received from Talos IV. However, this element of the plot seems to be forgotten pretty quickly as Spock explains that there is no way of stopping the transmissions and so everyone had better just sit down and watch “The Cage” anyway.

The bulk of the episode is now taken up with the material from “The Cage”, only returning occasionally to the present day for brief scenes for Kirk to explain what is going on and presumably also to wrap around the ad breaks. This means that there is a bit of a lost opportunity since present-day Pike is pretty much a passive observer as to what is going on – I know his condition limits his contribution to the story, but it would have been nice to have had some acknowledgement as to the effect on him of having to relive his experiences on Talos IV.

Pretty much all of the remaining material from original pilot is used within this second episode which therefore gives a faithful retelling of the events of “The Cage”. The main change is Vena is here left by herself rather than an illusory version of Pike. This cleverly allows that  footage to be repurposed at the climax of the episode to show the actual Pike restored to health via the powers of the Talosians and therefore getting a sort of happy ending with Vena. But this is probably the only satisfying element of the resolution of the story, which is otherwise somewhat rushed and doesn’t make that much sense. There is some tension as Kirk is unable to avoid having to find his friend guilty, but this is immediately undercut when it is revealed that Cdre Mendez as seen on the shuttlecraft and the Enterprise has actually been an illusion created by the Talosians and that the whole court martial has been plotted by Spock to delay Kirk from doing anything while they travel to Talos IV (so essentially wasting everyone’s time – I’m tempted to say that I know how they feel). This is the point at which the real Mendez conveniently choses to make contact with the Enterprise to reveal that he has also been watching “The Cage” back on Starbase 11 (I would love to know the circumstances) and he has decided to suspend General Order 7 on this occasion given how important Captain Pike is, thus allowing contact with Talos IV. Which does make one wonder how a single commodore can have such power, especially given how absolute the wording of the order was in the first episode (“no vessel under any condition, emergency or otherwise, is to visit Talos IV”).

This convenient suspension of General Order 7 also seems to make everything fine for Spock, who is no longer under the threat of punishment by death. Which does seem to forget about everything else that he did in essentially hi-jacking the episode, which all looked to be pretty serious crimes. And, despite his own protestations, I do still find it hard to see what he did as logical, especially as their must have been other ways of helping Pike (indeed, Kirk himself wonders why Spock was not open with him about what he wanted to do). So, whilst “The Menagerie” was a clever idea in allowing “The Cage” to be re-used, I can’t help feeling that the new envelope storyline wasn’t quite able to execute this in a satisfying manner.

Planetary Gazetteer

More of Talos IV, as “The Cage” and the first episode. We also again see Pike’s illusory trip to Rigel VII from “The Cage”.

General Observations

• Two Stardates are given in Kirk’s log – 3013.1 and 3013.2. These do at least follow on logically from the Stardates given in the first episode.
• The episode features very few of the regular characters – only Kirk and Spock with Uhura heard over an intercom. Lt Hansen again appears (previously seen in Part I and “Court Martial”)

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TOS - 1.15 - The Menagerie Part I

Whilst I included “The Cage”, the original Star Trek pilot, in this Trekathon, it had been rejected by the network, leading to some reconfiguration of the series and an almost completely different cast, most obviously a new captain. This made it impossible to simply use “The Cage” as a regular episode with production of the first series proving problematic due to lengthy script developments and episodes exceeding their budget. It was actually a very clever idea to therefore re-use material from “The Cage” as flashbacks, reducing the amount of new material needed and to maximise this benefit across two episodes and thus leading to the only two-part story within the Original Series. It is fortunate that one character did survive from “The Cage” into the series proper, allowing the story to tie into Spock’s earlier career on the Enterprise.

I was aware of the background to “The Menagerie”, and was therefore somewhat surprised as to how little material from “The Cage” is actually used within the first episode (the flashbacks don’t start until almost 30 minutes in). Instead, the bulk of the episode concerns Spock’s plan to hi-jack the Enterprise and use it to transport Captain Pike to Talos IV. Spock’s actions in the episode are rather shocking with his lying, faking of orders and especially his fight with a perfectly innocent crewman but it is interesting that Kirk does not regard him as above suspicion for the odd things that are going on. This is in contrast to McCoy, who sees Spock as a much simpler character and is therefore completely wrong in his assessment of what Spock is capable of doing. This leads to a weakness of the two-part format since Spock’s actions at this point do indeed seem somewhat out of character. Yes, we are told about his loyalty to Pike, but nothing that we have seen nothing so far that has justified his actions, especially when Pike himself refuses Spock’s help.

Aside from Spock, Pike is the other linking factor between the new and old material. Pike is here, disfigured and disabled after being exposed to delta rays when rescuing cadets after an accident on a starship. He is now confined to a wheelchair, unable to speak and communicating only via a flashing light. It is a tragic fate for the character, and one that is probably more effective in retrospect given how likable the character was in Discovery (which did of course tie very much into this episode when Pike there saw a vision of this future) given that Jeffrey Hunter’s performance in “The Cage” isn’t really that engaging. Pike is here played by a new actor, Sean Kenney, who has been given some remarkable make-up that is effective in making him look suitably disturbing, as well as convincingly an older version of Hunter.

Spock’s plan involves abandoning Kirk at Starbase 11, although the captain gives chase in a stuttlecraft, accompanied by Cdre Mendez, the commander of the Starbase, making for a somewhat highly ranked crew, especially given Kirk’s high risk strategy to put himself at risk and force Spock to rescue him. This is at least successful in causing Spock to surrender and explain what his doing through a court martial being convened and allowing Spock to start showing “The Cage”, which is a little disconcerting as first as we cut straight from Spock as he has now been established to the shouty and emotional version from the original pilot. The material included here does including a surprising amount from from before the Enterprise actually gets to Talos IV such as the scene between Pike and Dr Boyce in his quarters that does feel very much like padding in this context.

The ending of the episode is surprisingly low key. Yes, the stakes have been raised with the revelation that Spock is receiving the transmissions from Talos IV and with the effect of putting Kirk at risk of execution as well as himself (which does all seem to be something of an exaggeration of the rules relating to contact with the planet as explained earlier in the episode), and there is still the on-going mystery of Spock’s motivations. But it is a bit odd to a modern viewer that there is no big cliff-hanger moment to convince viewers to tune in next time – only a caption slide just to make clear that there is more story to tell.

Planetary Gazetteer

See “The Cage” for details on Talos IV. The Enterprise visited the planet some 13 years prior to “The Menagerie” (and it is the only starship to have done so). Since then, Talos IV is the subject of Starfleet General Order 7 which means that it cannot be visited by any vessel with the death penalty as the punishment, making this the only remaining capital offence. This does seem to something of an over-reaction from Starfleet.

We return to Starbase 11 (as seen in “Court Marial”). The planet on which it is located is still not named.

Starship Spotting

Pike suffered his injuries when conducting an inspection of an old Class J starship that was being used for cadet training.

Kirk uses a Class F shuttlecraft to follow the Enterprise from Starbase 11. In the original episode it is just numbered (it is Starbase Shuttlecraft One), rather than having a name like those used by the Enterprise (although  the CGI model used in the remastered version of the episode is labelled as the Picasso).

General Observations

• Two Stardates are given for the present day events – 3012.4 and 3012.6. There are no Stardates retrospectively added to the flashbacks (the use of Stardates was established after "The Cage").
• Sulu is absent; his position at the helm is again taken by Lt Hansen who returns from “Court Martial”.
• The shortcomings of the production order are apparent with “The Menagerie” following immediately after “Court Martial” given that both featuring scenes on Starbase 11 and both concerning senior Enterprise officers being subject to a court martial. As well as the repetition, this apparently leads to a sudden turnover of staff on Starbase 11 with this now commanded by Cdre José Mendez rather than Cdre Stone as in the earlier episode (although Mendez wears gold rather than the red worn by Stone so it is possible that they could be commanding different parts of the Starbase). 
• Spock served under Pike on the Enterprise for 11 years, 4 months and 5 days. It is confirmed that Pike was Kirk’s immediate predecessor as the captain of the Enterprise.
• There is an utterly random moment when Kirk is introduced to Miss Piper, a crew member on Starbase 11 who knows the captain since they have a mutual friend, Lt Helen Johansson. This exchange and connection seems to have absolutely no relevance to the episode, so the precise point of it is somewhat unclear. The mention of Lt Johansson makes Kirk a little nervous, but it is not exactly surprising that there is yet another woman in his past.
• Pike is now a Fleet Captain, not a rank that we have heard of previously (checking subsequently I see that there is only one other Fleet Captain to appear anywhere within any Star Trek series).
• There is some clever casting with Malachi Throne playing Cdre Mendez. Throne has provided the voice for the Talosian Keeper in “The Cage” which meant that he was conveniently available when new dialogue was required for that character to enable it to repurposed within the context of the new story. The Keeper’s voice is electronically distorted here in order to hide the fact that this is the same actor. 

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