"The Menagerie"

Captain's Log 10230.6. 1324 hrs.

The Trektastic Voyage continues boldly going this week with "The Menagerie," the only two-part episode of The Original Series.

I'm a little late getting this episode viewed and reviewed, mainly because of a very busy weekend.

"The Menagerie" is an important episode of Trek for various reasons. The first is because it established that "The Cage," the first pilot filmed to sell Trek to NBC, is part of Star Trek continuity. "The Cage" featured the first captain of the Enterprise, Christopher Pike, and a younger Spock. "The Menagerie" states that the events of the "The Cage" took place thirteen years prior to the events of the first season of TOS, which is generally considered to be the first year of the first five-year mission.

"The Menagerie" is also critical because of the themes it contains. While the episodes mostly retell the story of "The Cage" in an abbreviated form, the framing story of the two episodes offer a compelling portrait of the person of Spock. Here we see Spock's commmitment and loyalty not only to Pike, but also, to Kirk and the Enterprise. Spock creates an elaborate ruse to get the Enterprise to the Starbase where now Fleet Captain Pike is stationed. Pike was on a cadet training ship when an accident exposed him to deadly radiation. Now a man with a vital mind trapped in a useless body, Pike has no way to communicate save through his chair, which allows him to say "yes" through one beep or "no" through two beeps.

Spock commandeers the Enterprise and heads to Talos IV, which the Enterprise visited under Pike's command thirteen years before. As Spock's court martial unfolds, we learn why Spock took Pike to Talos IV, which is "the only forbidden planet" in the galaxy." A visit to Talos means death, but we see that Spock was willing to risk even that to bring Pike there. The Talosians are a race of telepaths who are able to free the mind and allow it to work independent of the body, not unlike the premise of the Matrix films.

The episode ends with Pike being reunited with Vina, the Earth woman who crashed on Talos IV years before Pike first arrived, and being freed from his bodily restraint.

What's so moving about "The Menagerie" is Spock's devotion to his old captain and friend, Pike. Spock risks his career, his life, and even the career of Kirk to ensure that Pike will not live a life of torture, trapped in a ruined body. These themes of loyalty, self-sacrifice, and frienship would play throughout all of Trek, and would be revisted especially in the two-part saga that mirrors "The Menagerie," Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. This latter stories see Spock risk his life for Kirk and the Enterprise, this time, losing his life to save his friends. The second half sees Kirk risk his career and his life to try and reunite Spock's soul with his body. Kirk would lose his son and the Enterprise in the process, but his sacrifices would not go in vain as Spock was restored.

Screencaps ahoy!

The episode's title card.



"A shell of a man:" Fleet Captain Christopher Pike, injured in the line of duty.



Spock on trial for sabotage and mutiny.



Kirk watches as a restored Pike finds the peace he deserves.

"The Corbomite Maneuver"

Captain's Log: 10130.6

It's a special Friday the 13th edition of The Trektastic Voyage. Because Season One has a two-parter, "The Menagerie," which I'll be watching tomorrow, this week's leg of the voyage is only one episode long.

This week's episode is "The Corbomite Maneuver," a classic episode that captures the heart and soul of what Star Trek is all about. This episode was the first to feature Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy," despite the fact that Bones was seen in "The Man Trap," the first episode of Trek aired. This is due to the show being aired out of production order.

"The Corbomite Maneuver" highlights the relationship between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, though that relationship is really not yet what it would be later on in the series. In McCoy's first appearance on the show, we see that he and Kirk are obviously close friends, and have apparently know each other for some time. McCoy mentions that he thinks Kirk is pushing Lt. Bailey because Bailey reminds Kirk of himself "about eleven years ago." This indicates the possibility that McCoy and Kirk knew each other a long time before Kirk took command of the Enterprise, and that he very likely asked for Bones to be assigned as CMO.

Kirk and Spock's relationship is also shown as a close one, and there are some wonderful moments of friendship between the two throughout the episode. The best occurs at the beginning and towards the end of the episode, when Kirk seeks Spock's council in determining how to proceed. The interaction between the two is filled with a lot of character and tension, and there's a sense of history conveyed in only a few lines.

As for the story, it focuses on the Enterprise's first contact with an alien vessel. After being caught by the alien buoy for some time, Kirk orders it destroyed, and the Enterprise escapes. Kirk could turn the ship around, knowing that whoever created the buoy is likely awaiting them beyond it. But he orders the Enterprise on, and they encounter a massive starship, whose commander identifies as the Fesarius of the First Federation. Because the alien commander, Balok, considered the buoy's destruction an act of violence, he condemns the Enterprise to destruction. A tense countdown begins, fraying the nerves of all aboard, especially Kirk and his command crew on the bridge. Young Lt. Bailey's nerves break, and Kirk relieves him of duty. Then comes Kirk's exchange with Spock over Kirk's options in the case. There's also a tense exchange between Kirk and McCoy over McCoy's concerns about how hard Kirk is pushing Bailey.

With only minutes to spare, Kirk uses Spock's reference to chess and McCoy's stubborn refusal to accept defeat to create a bluff. He convinces Balok that destroying the Enterprise will activate "a substance and a device" known as corbomite, which also destroy the Fesarius. The countdown ends with Balok towing the Enterprise towards a nearby planet, where Balok says the crew will be left after the ship is destroyed. Kirk uses the skills of his officers and his experience to break free of the smaller ship, and Kirk, McCoy, and Bailey beam aboard to confront Balok.

There they learn that the fearsome visage of Balok they saw on the viewscreen was nothing but a decoy. The real Balok is a dwarfish alien, who used the decoy to instill fear. Balok reveals that he was testing the intentions of Kirk and his ship, and he asks Kirk if one of the Enterprise crew would wish to join him in his travels, learning about a new alien race first-hand. Kirk asks Bailey if he's interested, and of course, Bailey is. The episode ends with Kirk, McCoy, and Bailey getting a tour of the alien ship led by Balok.

The themes of exploration and the challenging of expectations and convictions run throughout this excellent episode. We see the Captain Kirk who would become legendary for being a man of action and a man of formidable mental prowess. We also get a glimpse into the characters of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, who would eventually become three strong friends. Kirk's use of a part of Spock and McCoy's personalities to creat his bluff hints at the future of the characters, who would each contribute to a triumvirate of friends and heroes who would not be who and what they were without the others.

Screencaps dead ahead...

The episode's title card.



The Enterprise dwarfed by the massive Fesarius.



The Fesarius's commander: Balok!



Kirk and Spock's tense exchange.



Kirk and McCoy's tense exchange.



The landing party meets the real Balok.



The little guy gives his taller friends a tour of his cramped ship.

CAPTAIN JAMES T. KIRK IS DEAD. LONG LIVE CAPTAIN JAMES T. KIRK!

Captain's Personal Log, Supplemental.

Today, Ali and Ava and I visited with our good friend Kenny and his lovely wife, Kristi. While watching NASCAR with them, my ever-alert Trek-sensitive ears locked sensors onto the Alexander Courage fanfare from the original Star Trek series as reinterpreted by composer Jerry Goldsmith for the first time in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture."

Kenny, whose technical prowess would make him one hell of an engineer on a starship, rewound what turned out to be a Direct TV commercial featuring the legendary William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk. Ken said he'd seen the commercial before, and that it was set on the bridge of the Enterprise.

I immediately recognized the footage as being from early in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country," the final adventure of the original Star Trek cast. What blew me away was new footage of The Shat as Captain Kirk. I was thrilled to see it, of course, and commented that it looked as if they'd filmed some new scenes with Shatner on a partial set and that he still looked good in the Starfleet uniform. My bride commented that it was just clever digital trickery (my words, not hers. She's not the nerd I am) and nothing more.

Thanks to the wonders of YouTube.com, I was able to rewatch the commercial numerous times, and I can say conclusively that Shatner definitely put on a uniform for new footage. The strap that keeps the flap of the movie-era Starfleet uniforms appears too big to be accurate in the close-up of Kirk, and the rank and Starfleet chevron pins are also inaccurately sized and colored.

What does all this mean, other than I have a razor-keen proclivity to recognize minute details? It means that the naysayers, the Hatas, if you will, are wrong.

BILL SHATNER CAN STILL PLAY CAPTAIN JAMES TIBERIUS KIRK.

In 1991, Paramount decided the original cast had to go. They wanted to make room for the Next Generation cast to take to the big screen. I liked TNG enough growing up, sure. But it was never, and never will be, the original Star Trek. It's not as mythic, not as legendary, not nearly as iconic and lasting.

A year after "The Undiscovered Country," The Powers That Be killed off James Kirk in a manner unbefitting his stature as an icon of twentieth-century fiction.

Fans have constantly debated whether or not Shatner could reprise the role of Kirk if he were to somehow return from the dead in true Trek fashion. The naysayers harp on his weight and age.

Star Trek was always about pushing past stereotypes, judgments, hatred, and antiquated expectations. TNG's Captain Picard was twenty years older than Kirk was when he took command of the original Enterprise. Older people were shown as vital and important in TNG and the other spin-offs, age be damned.

So someone tell me why the hell Captain Kirk, the greatest of all the Star Trek captains, one of the few true science fiction heroic archetypes, cannot live again.

There's no good reason, just stupid studio monkeys who are too wrapped up in the whimsy of the current entertainment industry to recognize the importance of all ages of the human experience.

The Direct TV add demonstrates the fun that Kirk's character had, and that Shatner brought to the role. In my humble opinion, there's not enough fun and enthusiasm in our heroes today. There's not enough fun and enthusiasm and passion for adventure and exploring life in our culture in general.

We need Captain Kirk. Granted, the ad used some CGI work to get rid of some wrinkles and pounds. But this was used to great effect in the last X-Men film for, ironically enough, Patrick "Captain Picard" Stewart.

So there's no reason James Kirk can't return. I say bring him on!

If you don't believe me, see for yourself.



Captain out.

"Dagger of the Mind"

The second installment in this week's leg of The Trektastic Voyage is an episode I'd never seen before in all my years of Trek love, "Dagger of the Mind." It's an admittedly strange episode, and it suffers from being one of the show's early episodes as well as having what I personally think is a rather uncertain plot.

The Enterprise is delivering medical supplies to the penal rehabilitation colony on Tantalus V. A large container is beamed aboard before the Enterprise prepares to depart, and the Tantalus V colony soon alerts Kirk that an inmate has escaped and may be aboard the Enterprise. The inmate was in fact hiding in the container, and makes it to the bridge before being subdued by Spock. The inmate is in fact Dr. Simon Van Gelder, who claims through bouts of strained dementia that he is in fact the director of the Tantalus V colony. Kirk has already beamed down to meet with Dr. Adams, a renowned researcher in the field of criminal rehabilitation, taking with him another typically sexy Enterprise crewmember. Spock warns Kirk to be cautious, as both Spock and McCoy believe Van Gelder is not completely insane. Kirk and his assistant, Dr. Helen Noel, are introduced to the neural neutralizer, a device that enables its operator to erase a person's mind and then effectively reprogram it. After being tortured by the neutralizer at Adams's hands, Kirk escapes its thrall. Spock beams down after Dr. Noel disables the colony's security field, and Adams is killed accidentally by his own device.

"Dagger of the Mind" is a weak story filled with untapped potential. Even worse is the strange characterization of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Kirk seems arrogant and even childish in his treatment of an errant crewmember in the teaser, as well as in his attitude towards McCoy and Adams. Kirk almost seems as if he's proud that he's visited these colonies before, and that he hopes to be more right than his trusted advisor and CMO, McCoy. Kirk is also out of character when it comes to his treatment of Noel, with whom he shared what seems to have been a rather ridiculous lapse in command judgment: he apparently hit on her or vice versa at an Enterprise Christmas party! Such treatment of Kirk would not be seen again, nor the contradictory nature of Spock's severe appearance but impish, mischevious attitude towards his captain's love life.

"Dagger of the Mind" has a few good moments, most of them belonging to Morgan Woodward's Van Gelder. Woodward plays tortured and struggling to be heard in ways few actors could. He would return later to play the mad Commodore Tracy, who betrays his oath as a Starfleet officer and The Prime Directive in Season Three's "The Omega Glory," a parallel development tale similar to "Miri." The episode does also manage to show Captain Kirk's mental power, as he's never really permanently swayed by the neutralizer. The only real contribution to the Star Trek lore is the introduction of the Vulcan Mind Meld, which is a huge aspect of Vulcan culture and an integral part of Spock's character. This key element of Trek mythology is the only thing saving this episode from mediocrity.

The episode's title card.



The sexy Dr. Helen Noel, yet another reason Trek made its fans wish it was a future that would one day come true.



A Star Trek first: the introduction of The Vulcan Mind Meld. Spock seems affected by the emotions coursing into his own mind from Van Gelder's, and its a shame that the writers didn't explore this idea later on in the episode or in another.



Insert constipation joke here: Kirk's agony as the neural neutralizer batters his formidable mind.

"Miri"

Captain's Log: 10080.6. 1940 hrs.

The Trektastic Voyage continues this weekend with "Miri" and "Dagger of the Mind."

"Miri's" plot is simple yet intriguing. The Enterprise finds a planet that is identical to Earth of the mid-20th century. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Rand, and a few Redshirts (security detail) beam down to investigate, finding the planet seemingly deserted. This was the first episode to introduce Roddenberry's "parallel development" concept, which surmised that there were other planets with human beings living on them whose own planet developed uncannily like Earth itself. The concept seems more than a little flawed today, and was really just Roddenberry's way of using existing Paramount sets to save money so as to keep Trek going.

The inhabitants of this parallel Earth are all children. Kirk meets one, named Miri, and McCoy and Spock quickly learn that the reason the adults on the planet died hundreds of years ago was because of their genetic research into prolonging life. They created a virus that kills a person after puberty, though first succeeding in allowing a person to age one month every one hundred years. Thus, Miri and her ilk are hundreds of years old, but will die once they enter puberty. Kirk uses Miri's newly emerging womanhood to gain her trust, and he's able to reach the other "children" of the planet before he and the other members of the landing party are killed by the disease themselves.

"Miri" is a fairly lackluster episode in terms of action, but serves as an effective cautionary tale against attempting to prolong life. The episode provides some sinister scenes, particularly one in which the children beat Kirk mercilessly, bloodying his head and face. "Miri" also displays the first seeds of the Kirk/McCoy/Spock friendship, and the eventually friendly sparring between Spock and McCoy, which is still somewhat rough here.

From now on, I'm going to challenge myself to encapsulate each episode with only four screencaps. Let's see how that works the first time out.

The episode's title card. Note the alien planet which is for all intents and purposes another Earth.



Miri, who Kirk befriends and charms so as to gain her trust.



Kirk pleads with the "children" of the planet, showing them what will become of them if they fail to listen to his warnings.



Kirk assures Rand that Miri and her people will be fine once they've aged and received the aid of Federation advisors. Kirk also assures Rand that despite the fact of Miri's love for him, he doesn't "go for older women."

"What Are Little Girls Made Of?"

Captain's Log 1010.6. 0837 hrs.

The Trektastic Voyage continues with "What Are Little Girls Made Of?," an episode that uses the science fiction devices of human duplicates and artificial life to address what it means to be human and how the goals of improving humanity can sometimes go horribly wrong.

The Enterprise is en route to planet Exo III to investigate the fate of Dr. Roger Korby, a robotics specialist who is also Nurse Christine Chapel's fiance. The good doctor has been missing for five years, and Kirk and Spock are grim about his chances of being alive.

Korby contacts the Enterprise, stunning the crew. Kirk beams down with an elated Chapel and two security guards. Chapel and Korby reunite, and Kirk expresses his admiration for Korby, whose work the captain studied in the Academy. Kirk and Chapel quickly learn that Korby has perfected human androids, and after the two Redshirts die, Kirk demands answers. Korby responds by making a duplicate of Kirk, which fools even Christine. Kirk effects one of his patented escapes but is recaptured. He then uses another of his trademark maneuvers, wooing beautiful young women who seem to have little to wear, sowing within the android Andrea the seeds of one emotion in particular: love. Andrea expresses her love for Korby, who Kirk and Christine have just learned is an android himself, and Korby uses Andrea's phaser to vaporize himself and Andrea. Kirk and a distraught Christine return to the Enterprise, where we learn Christine has decided to remain aboard the Enterprise.

This is a powerful episode in its treatment of philosophical issues such as the meaning of humanity and the power of emotions like love and fear. The cinematography and production design help create a frightening, ancient, and claustrophobic underground environment, realistic when one considers that so many planets in the solar system are very likely uninhabitable on the surface. Alan Asherman's classic The Star Trek Compendium notes that episode writer Robert Bloch, himself a noted science fiction writer of the era, was inspired by the writings of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, and points out that "The Old Ones," the beings who built Ruk and the other androids, were named after Lovecraft's godlike aliens.

We feel for Christine as she feels joy at seeing Korby again, then fear and ultimately sadness when she realizes the man she loved is gone, diminished when he transferred his consciousness into an android duplicate of himself. We also feel for Korby, the "villain" of the piece, whose goal of improving humanity is a noble one, despite his misguided means in attempting to accomplish it.

Echoes of "What Are Little Girls Of?" would resonate in the first Star Trek spin-off, Star Trek: The Next Generation, when we meet Data, an android with great sophistication but who lacks what Korby's own androids did: emotions.

Screencaps for "What Are Little Girls Made Of?"

The episode's title card.



Kirk and Chapel beam down to Exo III's underground facility.



The fearsome Ruk, Korby's ancient android enforcer.



The beautiful Andrea, yet another beautiful woman of Star Trek.



Korby and Chapel reunite.



Kirk and his android duplicate. Kirk would end up being "duplicated" in different ways three times, twice in the original series and once in the final film with the original cast.



Kirk uses his formidable mind and his charm to confuse Andrea with a new emotion: love. Kirk's use of bluffs and his own sensuality to win the day would become a recurring motif in the series.



Korby: more machine now than man.



Korby destroys himself and Andrea, realizing that he's no longer human and no longer loved by a human, only another machine.



Christine decides to remain aboard the Enterprise, distraught though she is over the loss of her love.