TV

Trek Review: “Tomorrow is Yesterday”

Posted on by

If you will recall, at the end of “The Naked Time,” the Enterprise traveled back in time 71 hours escaping the situation that they were in.  That was not the original way that episode was supposed to end, however.  As has been documented in countless books and documentaries, the original ending was for our heroes to end up in 1969 instead.  Well, that part two didn’t happen there, but the idea of it didn’t go away.  It was made later in the season and became Star Trek’s first foray into the past, which is almost the present, in the all-time classic “Tomorrow is Yesterday.”

Roger Perry plays Captain Christopher, an Air Force pilot who ends up on the Enterprise, which has been placed in 1969 by way of an accident after trying to escape the pull of a black hole.

All of the drama and a little hilarity that ensues is top notch Trek.  I always loved the scenes on Earth in the Air Force base.  Especially, the “What was that?”, “What was what?” (which was coyly brought up again in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home during a similar situation.)

One minor thing however, is during all of the attempt at the end of the episode to get back to their present time is that if you’re not paying attention, you probably will get lost.  There are a lot of moving parts and pieces to what’s going on, what with having to go back in time, then forward in time involving the magnetic pull of the sun.  It’s actually interesting to me, and I wonder if the theory would actually be true, or is it truly science fiction?  I probably won’t be alive if we ever achieve any level of star flight to be able to test that theory, but still, I wonder…

This episode has always been one of my top 10 favorites. That will never change.

If only it was that Part Two… if only….

Next week, Kirk is in trouble, and there is a few plot holes here and there to boot…

Trek Review: “Arena”

Posted on by

This is undoubtedly one of the most well known episodes of not just Star Trek, but of any TV show.  Everyone out there at one time or another has seen the Gorn, even if they don’t know a Gorn by name.  Just mention that creepy lizard-like alien, and they’ll remember this episode.

This episode has always held a special place in my heart.  I just love its scope and its depth.  Most of all, I love the planet location, Vasquez Rocks.

I love this location so much, that me and Greg went there back in March 2008 on our second trip out to Los Angeles.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

When we were there that day, there were lots of high wind warnings around.  The sand was being blown all over the park, which made it impossible to really see anything.  If it wasn’t so windy, I would have climbed up to the top of the famous rock face and pretended I was Kirk rolling down that giant foam boulder. 😛

I am sure that everyone watching this episode back in 1967 were pleasantly thrilled for the entire hour.  I find it interesting that Kirk is taking such a stance of “the aliens must be destroyed” and Spock trying to change his mind.  It makes me wonder why McCoy wasn’t there to try to interject his opinions more.  That will always remain a mystery as to why Gene Coon didn’t write it that way.  It doesn’t make the episode any less enjoyable for me anyway.

Next week, we go back in time… to not quite the present:

Trek Review: “The Squire of Gothos”

Posted on by

Greeting and felicitations!  With those words, Trek fans were introduced to one of the most interesting, dynamic characters of the Original Series.

Trelane, the lonely Squire of Gothos, who in reality is a very superior being.  Except for one thing, he’s a very young child, or at least what we would consider a child.

When I first saw this episode, I honestly did not have any idea until the reveal at the end of the episode that Trelane was, in fact, a child.  I thought he was just what was he was being presented to be up to that point, a very omnipotent being with no regard for what he was doing.  That’s exactly what they wanted us to think!  I have to give a clever tip of the cap to the production team, they had me fooled.

William Campbell’s portrayal of Trelane is very exquisite.  I still chuckle every time when, in the “hunt” with Kirk, he exclaims to him “YOU BROKE MY SWORD!”

What would the audience of 1967 have thought?  Probably the same as I did, that they would have been left guessing for the whole hour just who this Trelane fellow really was, and then the realization at the end hits, “Aha!”

Something of note that has always interested me about the character of Trelane:  there was a novel written by Peter David called “Q Squared” in which he suggests that Trelane is a member of the Q Continuum.  I could buy that, even though the novels are considered non-canonical.  It still is an interesting theory.

Next week, one of the most remembered alien encounters that is often quoted in pop culture…

This is the City, 50 Years Later

Posted on by

Today, January 12th, 2017, marks the 50th anniversary of the debut of one of the more memorable revivals ever to hit network television, at least in my opinion.  On this date, one of the iconic characters of TV and radio cop shows made his comeback onto NBC.  It was the ubiquitous Jack Webb and his show “Dragnet,”  with his iconic character Sergeant Joe Friday leading the way.  However, unlike the 1950s version, this show was different in tone.

Watch just about any episode of the original and you will see that they would usually do standard cop/action fare.  Bad guy commits crime, police track him down, dramatic standoff, and resolution.   When you get to the modern world of 1967 however, it’s quite apparent that formula would probably not work from week to week.  What Webb and his production team did is absolutely what was needed for the time:  a modern approach to the storytelling.  It is quite evident from the premiere episode: “The LSD Story.”

Everybody remembers that episode for these images of one Benjamin Carver, played by guest star Michael Burns:

I don’t think kids these days are painting their faces whilst high on drugs, but nonetheless it’s still pretty disturbing.  Of course, he dies at the end of the episode from, you guessed it, an overdose.  But where this show excels is the fact that this plot element isn’t treated as some glorifying realization, but as grim and irritating as the overdose of any person would be.  People should be warned about the dangers of narcotics, then and now.  They are not things to be played with, and certainly can ruin you and quite possibly everyone around you as well.

Of great note here also about the series in general is the change in Friday’s partner.  In the 1950s series, Ben Alexander played Friday’s sidekick, Officer Frank Smith.  Webb had wanted to bring him back for Dragnet 1967, however, Alexander was already committed to a short lived series on ABC called “Felony Squad.”  So, Webb turned to another venerable actor, Harry Morgan, to play a new sidekick, Bill Gannon.  Morgan was great at playing a character with a straightforward, dry sense of humor that his tone could certainly convey.  I like Gannon and his weird demeanor in this show, especially when he talked about his life outside of the job.  One could envision a whole spinoff of Gannon’s adventures outsid….. no, no, no, don’t give NBC bad ideas…

Would this show work in 2017?  Not in this form.  Probably not in any form.  Remember that 2003 attempt to revive it?  If you don’t, don’t worry about it, it was bad.

Trek Review: “The Galileo Seven”

Posted on by

Welcome to 1967!  As Trek begins the new year, it tells a tale of test and survival on a mysterious planetoid.  It’s the episode that introduces the shuttlecraft to Trek lore, “The Galileo Seven.”

While I want to like this episode 100%, I have always had this nagging feeling that there was something amiss in this storyline.  Time and time again I have tried to realize what that thought was.  Every time I watch it, I’m just so pulled in by the story that I don’t stop to analyze that nagging feeling I keep having.

I guess the problem I have is that Spock has this crew with him and most of them have to constantly question his methods and his lack of emotion.  Shouldn’t they already know that about Spock?  Any intelligent being should know and respect the differences in one another.  I realize of course that it has to be this way in order for the plot to work.  That’s why it doesn’t detract too much for me to not be able to enjoy the episode.

I like the conflict between Kirk and High Commissioner Ferris a lot, it adds an interesting dynamic to the desperate search that is ongoing to find the missing shuttle crew.

All around, another great story and a great episode to open 1967 for Trek.

Next week, we meet one of the most interesting foes in all of Trek lore, with comparisons to some later omnipotent beings:

Trek Review: “Shore Leave”

Posted on by

Have you ever wanted a vacation somewhere but never got to do what you truly wanted to do?  While all of my vacations over the years have certainly been satisfying, I can truly understand how some people could possibly have wanted more out of their leisure moments.

Imagine a planet where what you thought becomes reality.  That is the planet at the core of the episode “Shore Leave.”  This is one of the most uniquely crafted stores in the first season of Star Trek.  I love it for its off-beat humor that isn’t absurd whatsoever, but is true and believable.  The situations that our favorite characters encounter on this planet are wide and varied.  Such things as the giant white rabbit, a Samurai warrior, a tiger, and Finnegan, Kirk’s nemesis from his academy days.  I mean, what would you expect from a guy like this:

As Kirk puts hit, “He’s the kind of guy that would put a bowl of cold soup in your bed… or a bucket of water propped on a half-open door.  You never knew where he’d strike next.”  He sounds like the kind of guy that would get on my nerves, that’s for sure.

But what this episode is in the serious Sci-Fi aspect is an examination of just how complex a planet can be, yet be simple all at the same time.  As is said towards the end, “The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play.”  I really can’t state it any other way than that.

The one minor complaint with this episode that I have is the all-of-a-sudden love and romance that briefly buds between Yeoman Barrows (played by Emily Banks) and Dr. McCoy.  You’re not expecting it, and then, all of a sudden, it’s there.  Yes, it is necessary to the plot to set up McCoy’s “death” at the end of Act Two, but still, I think McCoy could have been protecting her without necessarily being in love with her.

I think the 1966 TV viewers would have been very pleased with this episode.  Airing during the middle of kids’ holiday break from school could afford the whole family the opportunity to watch it together.  There is lots of mystery, intrigue and a little comedy to delight all eyes.  This is all around a solid, great episode.

I should note that it’s a miracle it turned out as well as it did, given the hell they went through while filming on location to even have a script to shoot. That fact is well documented in many books.

Next week, a crew of seven goes missing, and Kirk has to find them against incredible odds…

Trek Review: “Balance of Terror”

Posted on by

Before I begin my thoughts, watch this trailer for the 1957 20th Century-Fox film, “The Enemy Below”…

Now, imagine some of that out in deep space.  That in a nutshell is the episode “Balance of Terror.”

This show introduces one of the hallmark alien races of the Trek universe… the Romulans.

You have to imagine what it was like for 1966 viewers to see that this new war like race looked the same as Spock.  I surely would have thought about all of the plot possibilities that the writers could go with in future episodes with this new race being unveiled.

This story itself is very enthralling.  However, one or two minor things that I love to nitpick about.  This is assuming, of course, that you have already seen the episode (which I assume in all of these posts as a standard, by the way.)

First of all is the Stiles character itself.  I find it hard to believe exclusively that anyone in a bright future that this 23rd Century entails could hold any kind of bigotry towards someone like Spock.  Anyone on the Enterprise should full well know that if it’s First Officer is anything but loyal, he wouldn’t be in that position.  I have to take exception with that characterization.  It’s OK to certainly have some misgivings, but I think they went a little heavy-handed with it.  If they had toned it back a bit, I wouldn’t have such a problem with it.  Then again, there is no motivation left for having that in the story if you dial it back.  So, I guess it has to stay, right?  (I realize that I’ve just talked myself into a corner.)

The other thing is the safety of working in the phaser room.  If you know the phasers are damaged, shouldn’t you be taking proper precautions.  Check this out…

I mean, shouldn’t Tomlinson and Stiles have known that could possibly happen?  Of course, they didn’t.  But still, why is something like that so exposed to anyone working in that room?  It probably would have worked better had the room exploded.  (OK, now I’m overthinking it a bit.)

Don’t get me wrong, this little nit-picky behavior on my part doesn’t take away from my enjoyment of this episode.  Paul Schneider wrote a great script, and it was masterfully directed by Vincent McEveety.   This one is still highly recommended.

Next week, Star Trek took a week off and showed a repeat of “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” (which aired back on October 20th.)   Here is the trailer that presumably aired during that repeat telecast, for “Shore Leave”.

Trek Review: “The Conscience of the King”

Posted on by

Shakespeare is the beast that speaks to a lot of people’s souls.  The Bard’s writings are often quoted in a lot of Star Trek series and movies over the last 50 years.  This episode, “The Conscience of the King” is unique in that the participants are actually doing Shakespeare out in space.

They are a touring company, led by Anton Karidian and his daughter Lenore, as they put it in the script:

another in a series of living plays presented in space, dedicated to the tradition of classic theater.

But there is a hitch, Anton might actually be Kodos the Executioner, a figure who declared martial law on a planet where the food supplies had run out some time ago.  And if that wasn’t bad enough, the people who could identify him (his body was never found) are dying left and right and the actors happen to be nearby.  Captain Kirk was one of them.

Now you may ask yourself at this point, “Is this Star Trek? Is this a story that fits into the narrative of this show?”  Well, yes and no.  Trek would deviate more from the norm as later series unfolded.  The list is too long to go into in this post, but you get the idea.

The story is a good premise, but where I find it lacking is the fact that in a futuristic society such as the 23rd century… how could the Karidians get away with it for so long?  Are the authorities who investigate things just so inept with more advanced tools than was available in 1966, and surely in 2016, to not be able to detect where Kodos was this whole time?  Or for that matter that Lenore was committing the murders of seven of the eyewitnesses before the events on the Enterprise unfolded?  I find that very hard to believe.  One has to suspend their disbelief to the extreme in order to swallow the implications of that point.

Once the action gets on board the ship, a couple of questionable things happen.  The attempt on Kirk’s life is made by a phaser set to overload and put in his quarters in the flashing red alert light above his cabin door.  Now how in the world did Lenore get it in there without being discovered?  Where did she get a phaser?  As we find out later on, Riley (the other eyewitness who hasn’t been liquidated at this point) broke into a weapons locker and stole a phaser himself.  They sure don’t secure the weapons very well on this ship, do they?

Oh, and one more thing… in terms of the production order, this is Grace Lee Whitney’s last appearance on the series as Yeoman Janice Rand.  However, she doesn’t go out without a loose parting shot. Just check out this nasty look she gives Lenore Karidian:

If looks could kill…

Next week: another venerable alien race makes it’s Trek debut.

A Look Back at a Jack Benny Special

Posted on by

December 1st, 1966.  If you were to sit down that night in front of your TV set all warmed up at 8:30pm Eastern time, you might have thought you would see Star Trek on NBC.  At that moment, you would be in for a shock.  Watch…

If you’re a little kid, that announcement at the beginning will probably make you say, “Noooo!” or “Gee whiz!“.   Me, the 1966 TV viewer at the ripe age of 37, would keep watching.   You can’t go wrong with a comedy legend like Jack Benny.  All of the sketches made me laugh.  What’s interesting in this special is the Smothers Brothers.  According to IMDB, their CBS variety show debuted on February 5, 1967.  What I’m guessing is that someone saw them on this special, or something prior to that, and thought that they should have their own show.  They were always hilarious.

The most memorable bit here is by far the Tijuana Strings with Mel Blanc doing the famous “Sy Si Sue Sew” bit that dates back to Benny’s earlier days.

A very hilarious hour indeed.

But wait, there more!

In Knoxville, what happened to this special?  If you’ll remember in this article, Star Trek was not seen on WATE.  So, with this special airing in that slot, there was only one solution.  Tape delay!

It was tape delayed to the following Sunday, December 4th, at 4:00pm.  And it might not have even played at that time because right before it on NBC was an AFL football game between the Boston Patriots and Buffalo Bills.  (Boston won 14-3, in case you’re curious.)   If I had to guess that game probably didn’t run over it’s 3 hour time slot, given for the fact that there were a *lot* less commercials during sports broadcasts in 1966 than there are today.  That’s another examination for another day, however.

The real thing to point out, however, is that if you look at the grid of what was on other stations, you will notice that on WRCB (Chattanooga’s NBC station) and WCYB (Bristol’s NBC station), you will see Meet the Press.  Wait, what?  That means WATE was preempting one network program with a tape delay of another network program that was preempted by a locally ran program.  That sounds totally bizarre, doesn’t it?

That’s why I like looking at old TV listings!

Trek Review: “The Menagerie” Part 2

Posted on by

Part Two of “The Menagerie” is mainly dominated by the bulk of the first Star Trek pilot, “The Cage.”  As is standard practice here, I am going to assume that you, the reader, are already familiar with the show and have seen it.

The frame story here is not meant to be thrilling at all, but maybe rather just compelling.  Sure, Spock is on trial for his life (I could go off on a whole side rant about why the death penalty still exists in the 23rd Century…), but I guess we’re just intrinsically supposed to worry that Spock might get obliterated before the hour is over.

In hindsight, the whole experience of this two-part episode is really good.  I enjoyed it the first time I saw it, and I continue to enjoy it to this day.  The 1966 version of me would no doubt have felt the same way.

Next Thursday, Star Trek was preempted on NBC for a Jack Benny special.  So, in my attempt to restore the original look of the previews that aired each time, in this case, “The Conscience of the King,” I think it might have looked like this:

By the way, I will be writing a blog post next Thursday (at least.)  Stay tuned…