Star Trek (TV Series) The Doomsday Machine (1967) User Reviews

Star Trek Remastered!

[jarotra · 10/10 · 20 February 2007]

I don't know if spoiler warning applies, but just in case...

I recall watching this episode in original run at age 10. It was not my favorite - the drama was a little too intense for a kid, a little scary to see an adult going to pieces emotionally.

But I certainly remember the machine. The lack of sophistication actually made it seem more alien in my opinion. It was not a fancy effect, no bells and whistles - not recognizable as a ship or even an intelligent creation. At any rate, effective enough to instill fear of the unknown in this ten year old.

Watching the re-runs over the years, I grew to appreciate the truly outstanding performance of William Windom as Commodore Matt Decker. This brilliant actor improved the ensemble as a whole, adding another layer of much appreciated complexity to a fight with a machine. He was not just another cardboard cutout bad guy for our heroes to knock over - his wounded agonized voice cut away at the concept that everything always turns out okay, the good guys always win.

Anyway, last week I saw the episode again. Being an old fan, of course I knew what to expect. But this was different! The more I watched, the more I realized that something had happened - something wonderful! The scenes were brighter and clearer than I had remembered in years - everything looked like it had been filmed yesterday. And then the EFFECTS! I was almost in a daze - everything was so much better than I had remembered! The doomsday machine was incredibly enhanced - and the views in space of the star ships in action were far superior than anything in my memory. I had seen no announcements about a "redone" Star Trek, so it was a surprise to me.

I did some research, and discovered the remastering project currently underway at the latest owner of the franchise, CBS Television/Paramount (search @ startrek.com for info). Let me tell you, I view this type of thing with a very jaundiced eye after George Lucas' "improvements" to his original Star Wars films, so in a way I was glad not to know before hand. In fact, I had seen a shoddy CGI enhancement of this very episode made about ten years ago, and it was definitely not an improvement.

Well worry not, the work the CBS team has done is OUTSTANDING. It is an improvement in every way, and I am certain even Gene Roddenberry would agree. The enhancements are seamless and unintrusive, to the point where I was not quite sure what had been done, but I knew I was seeing new things. They have re-done other episodes also, but this episode is their tour de force (so far), because of all the space effects they had to play with.

The team on this project claimed they were doing it with the fans in mind, and that fact is in abundant evidence. Congratulations CBS Digital! To any other Star Trek fans, old or young, see the newly remastered episodes, they are worth seeing again, I promise.

Classic TOS War Story

[mstomaso · 8/10 · 16 July 2007]

The Doomsday Machine is a war story at many levels. It is the story of war spun out of control exemplified by a self-sustaining ancient device which seeks, destroys and digests whole solar systems. It is a story about military conduct aboard Federation ships. And it is, of course, a parable connected to the development and proliferation of nuclear arms. Despite all this heady stuff, it is also one of the most suspenseful and driven episodes of TOS. It is remarkable that so many viewers seem to miss the obvious points made here now that we have deluded ourselves into believing that the bomb is no longer something to be afraid of.

The plot uses a simple device - a large, impenetrable and incomprehensible rocky-looking cone with some form of bizarre and very powerful energy within it - perhaps one of the strangest and most alien space monsters ever construed. Two starships, one crew-less and crippled, and one experiencing a power-struggle involving a possibly insane commander must figure out a way to survive and warn star fleet as the 'planet killer' is just about to reach a system inhabited by millions of colonists.

Marc Daniels' directing and an amazing performance by William Windom as Commodore Decker, CO of the Constellation, are highlights of this classic episode. The Norman Spinrad script is quite serious, but not at all heavy-handed, and the regular cast, especially Nimoy, also do outstanding work.

My First Trek!

[gmzewski · 10/10 · 13 October 2006]

I was in Army boot camp the summer and fall of '67, and my buddy back home kept telling me about this great new show on TV callled "Star TreK', he said "You gotta see this one, it's the coolest!" I told him, "Nahh, I've seen Lost in Space, it's stupid, i don't care to see another one like that". But when I came home on leave, DOOMSDAY MACHINE was the first Trek episode I saw, I fell on the floor screaming "OH YEAH!! THIS IS IT FOREVER!!" I could'NT believe the magnitude of its coolness and greatness, I was an instant Trekkie, and I've stayed that way for 40 years!! Made all the early cons, even had a silver & red car painted to look like the USS Enterprise,with "NCC-1701" painted across the hood! All it took was one episode to get me hooked for life, and DOOMSDAY MACHINE was the one that did it! Live Long and Prosper!!

Moby Dick In Space

[a_l_i_e_n · 25 May 2006]

For creating and maintaining sheer suspense, this is Star Trek's crowning achievement.

A gigantic automated weapon wanders through the galaxy smashing planets to bits and consuming the rubble for fuel. The Enterprise tracks the path of destruction left by the deadly machine and comes across the wreck of the starship Constellation. Kirk beams over to find the ship completely deserted except for 1 survivor: it's commander, Commodore Matt Decker (William Windom in a vivid, absorbing performance). The traumatized Decker tells Kirk that when his ship was attacked by "that thing", he made the fateful decision to beam his entire crew down to the nearby third planet for safety. "There is no third planet" Kirk interjects. "Don't You Think I Know THAT?!" an emotionally crushed Decker responds. "THERE WAS! BUT NOT ANYMORE!" The machine attacked the third planet, killing Decker's entire crew.

Kirk persuades Decker to beam aboard the Enterprise while he preps the Constellation for towing to the nearest space port. However, when the Planet Killer suddenly attacks the Enterprise the ship is hurtled off-course from the Constellation's position. Next, quicker than you can say "Captain Ahab", Commodore Decker seizes command of the Enterprise and it is here that the episode really takes off. As if the Planet Killer wasn't enough of a threat, Decker recklessly takes the Enterprise into battle against the seemingly indestructible super weapon. The other half of the story is equally engrossing as Kirk attempts to get the crippled Constellation moving again to come to the aid of the Enterprise.

"The Doomsday Machine" provides "Trek" with probably it's greatest non-speaking villain in the form of the mammoth Planet Killer. While the machine's odd cornucopia design looks a bit strange from the side, the "mouth" with it's interior lit by a vortex of coruscating energy makes for quite a frightening image, especially when it attempts to swallow it's prey (the Enterprise). Occasionally the perspective of the machine does appear to shift a bit; a shuttle craft appears far too large in relation to the machine to match Decker's description of it as having "a maw that could swallow a dozen star ships". However, one must bear in mind that this was a low budget TV show, and the fact they could pull off the effects as successfully as they did is still mighty impressive. The memorable score that accompanies any appearance made by the Planet Killer also does a tremendous job of enhancing it's awesome, menacing presence.

Particularly impressive is how the script presents a first-rate villain in the form of the vast, robotic weapon. Then, it surprises us by turning the up until then sympathetic Commodore Decker into a secondary villain. His mad, vengeance-driven attempt to destroy the machine endangers everyone on board the Enterprise, leading to one the best scenes in the entire series when Kirk, still aboard the Constellation, orders Spock to "Blast regulations!" and relieve Commodore Decker before he destroys the ship. When Decker reluctantly surrenders command to Spock, he steals a shuttle craft and kamikaze-style takes it straight down the throat of the Planet Killer, thereby pulling off the hat trick of regaining the audience's sympathy with this act of sacrifice and atonement. The entire episode is so well written that one wonders why this was Norman Spinrad's only script for the series.

Once again the great Marc Daniels was at the helm, proving he was one of Star Trek's very best directors. The climax has Kirk unable to beam off the Constellation which is set to explode when it enters the mouth of the planet killer, and the mounting tension in this well edited sequence is magnificently maintained right to the final frame. Little wonder this story was one of the main inspirations for the first "Star Trek" movie- although that big budget, over-long attempt never comes close to duplicating the level of excitement this tidy little episode manages to achieve. Some times less truly is more.

Something Like the Old H-Bomb Used to be

[Bogmeister · 10/10 · 26 August 2006]

We're back to some overwhelmingly grim tidings with this episode, a jarring reminder that there are some very dangerous threats out there in space. In a way, this can be looked upon as a precursor to the entire Borg threat introduced on the TNG series; on that show, something like the Borg was needed to shake the Enterprise and the Federation out of their complacency - or, shake them to the core, as is done to Commodore Decker here. The actor, Windom, may very well have ended up with the single best performance, as Decker, during the run of the original series. His loss is almost unimaginable - his entire crew is dead, thanks to one wrong move on his part. He's a walking dead man during the course of this episode - it's easy to compare his character to Ahab from the famous 'Moby Dick' novel, and the monstrous killing machine here to the white whale. But, Windom brings something more to the part. He's compelling from start to finish and adds such startling nuances to an already deeply fascinating, dark character. Picture Kirk as slightly older, not so sure of himself anymore; add on devastating trauma and then complex psychosis composed of guilt, obsession, and suicidal feelings - Windom juggled all of these and more to great dramatic effect.

The cosmic threat of this huge alien weapon, while exciting in itself, takes on a much more darker tone thanks to the presence of Decker on the bridge of the Enterprise. The whole plot seems to take a back seat, for awhile at least, to the strange, awful relationship between our psycho-damaged commodore and this unfeeling machine. Everyone else becomes an incidental side player to the conflict between these two, but, of course, it's Decker, in his insanity, who creates a relationship; he no longer sees it as just a machine, a programmed robot, but as his personal devil. And one definition of insanity is trying the same thing over & over, expecting different results, such as phasers penetrating impenetrable Neutronium. He looks around his new bridge, replacing the one he lost on the Constellation, and sees only tools for his use. It's one of many great moments throughout, and usually on that bridge. The entire episode seems to have benefited from everyone giving an extra effort - from the ruined exterior and interior of the sister starship to that good fight scene between Decker and the security officer (it appeared as if they really tried to suggest a futuristic style of martial arts not seen before). The writing, direction and editing are all top notch. Not to mention, Windom, as Decker, ends up with probably the best death scene of the entire series.

One of the best

[john-1451 · 10/10 · 25 June 2017]

One of the reasons the original series is thought of so highly is that certain individual episodes (City on the Edge of Forever, Journey to Babel, Balance of Terror and this one) are as good as anything you will see on movies or TV. This episode highlights some the things that made TOS great: Lighting, set design, and the acting. For all the grief Shatner receives as an actor, in this episode he really nails what makes Kirk a great captain. He is confident, forceful, able to think on his feet and fully in command. The color scheme, which employs bright primary colors, and the eye light they use on Kirk to highlight his sense of command are excellent. And don't forget the writing and directing that fully makes use of the tension inherent in the situation. You will never see a better straight ahead action episode on TV than The Doomsday Machine.

Remastered Doomsday Machine: Amazing Star Trek Episode That Can Stand Up to Anything Produced in SF Today Thanks to CGI

[classicalsteve · 10/10 · 26 December 2009]

If there was any Star Trek episode from the original 1960's series that would benefit from a CGI face-lift in the special effects department, it was "The Doomsday Machine". And now the hope has become a reality thanks to the new so-called "Remastered" editions of the series.

The primary shortcoming between the original Star Trek series of the 1960's versus newly produced film and television Science Fiction, such as Star Trek: The New Generation/Voyager, Babylon 5, Independence Day, Star Wars, and countless others, have been the special effects. The visual effects of the original series could never top the CGI effects achieved today. But now this shortcoming has been eliminated with the Star Trek Remastered series; all of the exceptional Star Trek episodes can be viewed as if being seen for the first time with effects that match any SF being produced today. And with the enjoyment of the acting, the story, the characters, and the dialog that made the original Star Trek not only the best SF series of all time but one of the greatest shows ever produced for television, the experience is a wonder to behold.

Overall the story and the acting of the original Star Trek's best episodes surpass most of the writing in typical SF produced in the 1990's and 2000's, and far more compelling than most of the spin-off series. The characters played by William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley still rank as one of the best character-actor combinations of any Star Trek series, and certainly of any SF series to grace the small or large screen. Although Shatner was probably the weakest of the three, the sensibility he brought to Kirk meshed well with his other leads, Nimoy as Spock and Kelley as "Bones" McCoy, who were without a doubt the strongest actors of the series and balanced-out the team.

The Remastered Doomsday Machine is a case in point. "Doomsday" is one of the best-written and best-acted segments of any Star Trek series, be it original or spin-off. Norman Spinrad's compelling tale chronicles the USS Enterprise discovering a wrecked federation starship among space debris, the Constellation. (The original was unable to show any of the debris, and the wrecked ship looked like a small white plastic model.) The ship's demise was at the hands of a giant space weapon characterized as "the devil...straight out of hell" according to Commodore Decker, the last man aboard. As frightening as the Doomsday Machine was as shown in the original 1960's offering, the new Doomsday Machine as presented via CGI is a horrific wonder to behold; a behemoth the length of the Great Wall of China with a maw the size of Mt Everest that could swallow "a dozen starships". The artists that created the imagery did a tremendous job in maintaining the relative proportional sizes of the Doomsday Machine with the Enterprise and the smaller USS Constellation. At one point, the Enterprise appears the size of a flea as compared to the massive Doomsday Machine.

Part of the compelling nature of Doomsday is not just the monstrous "villain" itself, but also the intense dynamism between the characters in which Commodore Decker (William Windom, in one of the best guest performances of any Star Trek episode) attempts to take over command of the Enterprise to combat the machine. Kirk, Mr Scott, and a handful of technicians are left stranded aboard the wrecked Constellation. When Kirk realizes Decker is jeopardizing the safety of the Enterprise to combat the nearly-invincible Doomsday Machine, he is horrified but unable to intervene, or can he? Kirk and Mr Scott work furiously to bring the Constellation back to life...

On a melancholy note, James Doohan (Scotty), whose favorite ST Episode was "Doomsday" did not live to see the new remastered version. But I am certain he would have approved. All of the scenes with the actors are untouched and unchanged. In additions, some references in the dialog that indicate what's happening in space are shown with the CGI that were not present before. For example, after Kirk boards the Constellation and finds Decker, Kirk offers to tow the wrecked ship. The Enterprise is then shown towing the Constellation, which was never seen in the original episode. If you thought the original was good, the new remastered version is superb, and keeping with the spirit of the original. And when the Doomsday Machine makes its appearance, its design is fully based on the original, just a hell of a lot more terrifying! A tremendous Star Trek experience by any standard.

An example of TOS Greatness

[sixwest190 · 10/10 · 12 December 2019]

One of the things I always think about when it comes to Star Trek TOS is what makes these classic episodes so great is how alot of them could have been made into full-length movies. The Doomsday Machine in my opinion is absolutely Number One when it comes to this. A thrilling adventure crammed into 45 minutes with great performances from the entire cast. William Windom gives the greatest guest star performance in the entire series no question.

Superb Story of Obsession

[chrstphrtully · 9/10 · 7 July 2006]

One of the other commentators described this story as "Moby Dick" in space, and William Windom makes a hell of an Ahab.

The Enterprise comes across the remains of the U.S.S. Constellation, whose only survivor is its commanding officer, Commodore Matt Decker (Windom). Kirk learns that the crew of the Constellation, as well as the star system it was patrolling, was the victim of a large, cone-shaped, matter-sucking machine. Decker, overwhelmed with guilt for the loss of his crew and an obsession for vengeance, takes command of the Enterprise (while Kirk is trying to repair the Constellation) and attempts to destroy the machine.

The key to this episode is Windom's superb performance, which is balanced against Nimoy's (as always) level-headed Spock and Shatner's sympathetic Kirk. The finale is also remarkably suspenseful.

One of the very best original Star Trek episodes

[fabian5 · 10/10 · 7 September 2007]

After 'Mirror Mirror' this episode ranks as one of the very best Star Trek shows in the second season of the Original series. It is even better than 'The Trouble with Tribbles.' I just viewed a taped copy of it and the sci-fi work done here was incredible for a 1960's era show: you get to see the Enterprise's shuttle bay when Commander Decker exits the ship and unforgettable images of the Doomsday machine itself. NBC must have spent a ton of money on this particular episode.

Kirk, Spock and Decker's performances here are superb as all three get their turn playing cat and mouse with a deadly planet eating machine. It flat out deserves a 10 out of 10 ranking in my view and should be among anyone's top 10 Star Trek picks. Scotty also has a starring role--saving Kirk's life at the very last minute. The only missing original Trek character is Uhura who was played by Lieutenant Palmer (the late Elizabeth Rogers) for this particular episode.

How can battling a giant space cornucopia merit a 10?

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 7 December 2006]

How can battling a giant space cornucopia merit a 10? This reference is to the utter cheesiness of the prop used to represent the planet eating doomsday device! It really does look a lot like a gray cornucopia. Even as a kid, I laughed at it! Now for the rest of the episode, it is pretty good. Part of this is because the guest was William Windom--a mighty fine actor who did a lot of TV over the years. I read a book about Star Trek, and although you couldn't see it in the show, Windom could not stand working with William Shatner--and the things he said about being in that episode were pretty funny. So, despite grumpy old Windom's misgivings, it is still pretty decent due to his acting and decent writing--just not due to the special effects.

Great to see updated version in HD

[lemon99-1 · 8/10 · 11 February 2007]

"The Doomsday Machine" was always in my all-time top 10 list of original Trek episodes; just saw it again for the first time in several years -- luckily in HD. I first saw this episode as an 8-year old kid during the original NBC run and was just blown away. Even after sitting through the horribly "edited", after-school rerun version of this show many, many times, it still kicked ass! William Windom was great as the haggard, broken Commodore Decker and "The Doomsday Machine" has all the elements of the best Trek episodes: tight script, thinly-disguised references to 60's politics, self-sacrifice for the greater good, tactical improvisation under pressure, victory-snatched-from-jaws-of-defeat etc. etc. It just gets better with age! Hats off to all who participated in bringing this series back with updated FX - it looks great (new prints??). I'm sure it's close to what Gene Roddenberry might have done with the show way back in the day if he had access to all the modern CG bells and whistles...

Evil Dune sandworm.

[thevacinstaller-03350 · 6/10 · 21 December 2022]

I read a review where it was suggested that this episode is an allegory to the madness of Russian/USA aggression during the cold war? I didn't see it. It certainly is a depiction of personal trauma/ptsd and the madness of revenge that it can install in it's victims. If you dig deep enough you could make a case for commentary on the destructive power of WMD even after the reason for it's development has been extinguished.

This episode has a very high review but I am not in love with it personally. Decker does a great job of playing an unhinged Commander but other than that it is exactly what it is ---- a competent story about revenge/trauma.

I didn't feel emotionally moved by this one.

Annoying. Too many illogical events that ignore Star Trek precedence.

[wwcanoer-tech · 5/10 · 20 March 2022]

Things the writers forgot:

• The Enterprise can identify life signs, so they would have detected the commodore and where he is.

• The Enterprise has already used photon torpedoes in season 1 episode Arena.

Since a key plot point rests on McCoy not being able to relieve the Commodore, we should have seen the Commodore recover from his breakdown because otherwise he should have been nowhere near the bridge. That the McCoy did not relieve him of duty because of the fear of not being able to defend the decision was very weak. Made him look pathetic. (Later, a key plot point has Kirk & Spock happy to break the rules and be judged later.) Plus, since the doctor has the authority to relieve someone, he also has the authority to demand a physical or psych evaluation (often seen in later episodes). Far better if he recovered and the doctor says "He passed the tests. I can't relieve him just because I disagree with him."

When the Enterprise was so close to being swallowed, it should have been firing into the beast with phasers and photon torpedoes. Tried again to beam onto it. As well as taking readings to learn more about it.

The Commodore's shuttle flight into the beast starts good as he says that "There's no way blast through the hull of that machine, so I am going to take this thing down it's throat." But that alone makes no sense because the machine was happy to eat the entire enterprise so a shuttle alone will do nothing. He needed to be carrying explosives or cause the shuttle to explode but all he did was fly into it as a silly suicide mission. The conversation was about "throwing your life away" with a weak response by the commodore instead of a determined "I have to try. We can't lose another ship." Perhaps he could have stolen a flask of antimatter and opened it, causing him and the shuttle to explode. (Of course, this should not work because when the machine eats a ship it will at some point rupture the antimatter systems, but it would be a logical attempt.)

They could have added some action by needing to coax the beast to attack the broken ship instead of the Enterprise. The beast is chasing the Enterprise, so it could lead the beast to the to the broken ship and then power down, letting momentum carry it away while the broken ship powers up as much as possible, so that the beast turns to the broken ship.

Episode #1 of the franchise I feel strongly obliged to write about

[stumpmee77 · 9/10 · 10 September 2011]

I vividly remember watching it when it first was aired; I was five and it scared me to pieces. It's not the first episode I remember seeing -- that's Squire of Gothos -- but I remember virtually ALL of Doomsday Machine. What made it stick out was the machine. Special effects bad--now with all the advances in FX but it does not take away in me how lethal it was (despite its ice cream cone, spyglass appearance) and besides the potential loss of life had it not been destroyed, what Starfleet's enemies got hold of it's technology. *Burr* The facet of the possibility Staffleet's known enemies discovering it never comes up but did it need need to? The simplicity of it's it or the universe is enough more than enough. Intense in all caps music, performances, pacing--And Never, after 40 years plus, has it become silly over time.

This just might the episode that turned me into a Star Trek fan.

One of the Top Five Star Trek (TOS) Episodes

[jpop59 · 10/10 · 6 November 2015]

An exciting "edge of your seat" episode that also manages to highlight the main characters and shows how well they function as a team. Here they are working together to neutralize a so-called "Doomsday Machine" that travels the universe consuming everything in its path (including whole planets). Kirk and Scotty are on board the badly crippled "Constellation" (a twin to the "Enterprise")and work on trying to restore enough power to assist the Enterprise. Meanwhile, on the Enterprise, Spock is in command and is left to deal with the Constellation's lone survivor, Commodore Decker (who is now on a personal mission of his own) and Dr. McCoy who (as usual) is challenging Spock's decisions. Everyone has their shining moment in this one.

He Is Gone......

[verbusen · 10/10 · 14 February 2007]

The words from Mr Spock, "he is gone", though short, impacted a terrific dramatic moment in this episode of Star Trek, I place this episode as one of the best. Other great lines from Mr Spock, "Vulcans never bluff", and "Mr Scott speed is of the essence" yes there are those great lines, also the great dialog from Dr McCoy, "Well do something Spock!". Oh one note as I re-watch this, one of my favorite episodes, don't let Mr Kyle run the transporter controls! LOL. OK now that that levity is taken care of, William Windom steals the show as the starship Commodore who loses his starship and almost the Enterprise taking on the Doomsday Machine. Everyone has commented on the plot here, so some personal observations, we have a Lt Palmer instead of Lt Uhura here, I'm not sure it hurt the episode but I do miss Nicole Nichols, not sure the reason why but it did establish that a starship is full of many crewman. No Chekov either, he would have been nice to freak out at the proper moment, not that he would have freaked, the whole crew is very professional here, a rebellious Chekov on the bridge allied with Dr McCoy against the rouge Commodore would have been a nice touch.

On another personal note, I went to a Star Trek Convention at the Hilton NYC in the mid 70's and heard James Doohan, when asked by a fan what his favorite episode was, say "The Doomsday Machine"; upon which I jumped up applauding, by myself. Being that I was about 12-13 years old (unsupervised and paid my own way to get in because I was working at the time), I guess it wasn't embarrassing but looking back, oh my that is awkward, lol! I'm watching my Star Trek DVD's that I bought and realize that season two is indeed the best, it's a shame that the show didn't get better ratings as this is great sci fi, and great acting.

LLAP

Nice Parry and Thrust Maintains Interest to the End

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 28 April 2014]

Coming off the last clunker of an episode (Apple), this is a breath of fresh air. Starship Captain Dekker is rescued. He is the last survivor of a ship that lost all of its crew. A killer entity of great power was responsible but some poor decisions were also made. Now Dekker becomes obsessed with destroying this thing. While Kirk is away, trying to repair the other Captain's ship, communications is circumvented, allowing Dekker, crazy as he is, to take over the Enterprise. He decides to wage war on the thing again, endangering another crew. The episode draws on some wonderful twists and turns as Kirk has to deal with Dekker and then with the force that is now a danger to everyone. This is a superior effort, stepping up from some pretty suspect efforts.

A Hollowed out log roaming through space

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 9 November 2013]

One of my favorite Star Trek prime episodes is The Doomsday Machine and the thing the Enterprise and the Constellation encounter should easily qualify as a doomsday device if one is waging war on an interplanetary, nay and intergalactic scale. One wonders about the race that built this thing that is wandering through the Milky Way galaxy destroying whole solar systems at a time. It's faster, but starships like the Enterprise are more maneuverable, a fact that saves the Enterprise during this episode.

William Shatner and the crew come across the wrecked hull of the Constellation with only its commander, Commodore William Windom aboard. His crew was sent down to a planet that no longer exists because it was destroyed by a Doomsday device, a miles long machine that looks like a hollowed out log floating through space. It's not floating and it isn't hollow. It is self fueling feeding on the planets and other objects in its path and it's hull is impervious to starship phaser fire. Nobody tried Photon torpedoes.

Windom dominates this episode with his performance as the mad Commodore Matt Decker at once grieving for his crew, horrified by the seeming indestructibility of what he encountered and obsessed with destroying it somehow. James Doohan as Scotty does yeoman service in getting the Constellation engines up and running for a hail Mary pass at the Doomsday machine.

One of my favorites.

You mean you're the lunatic who's responsible for almost destroying my ship?

[snoozejonc · 10/10 · 18 August 2021]

Enterprise visits a star system where most of the planets have been destroyed.

'The Doomsday Machine' is a classic episode with great moments suspense and drama, with good themes relating to weapons created for mass destruction.

The plot has a great balance of intrigue, tense situations, and character moments. As events unfold it gradually gets more and more exciting until it eventually reaches a crescendo with Kirk, Scotty and Spock at the heart of it. This is great way of presenting themes that were very relevant at the time of writing in an entertaining way.

This is one of the best episodes involving Scotty, who makes one of his most memorable contributions to a dramatic situation. James Doohan portrays the character as both plausible and quite heroic in a number of scenes.

Spock has a solid episode from a command perspective and has some great exchanges with guest character Commodore Matt Decker. Decker is a typically unhinged Starfleet senior commanding officer with more than a hint of Captain Ahab about him played brilliantly by William Windon. Leonard Nimoy's persona as Spock plays off him excellently.

Kirk has several great moments of strong leadership and heroism. William Shatner embodies the character's best traits in this performance.

The visuals are excellent, particularly the remastered version with the doomsday machine looking very imposing. All the interiors of the Constellation work well, plus the engineering scenes during the transporter sequences at the end are great. I love the 'Caine Mutiny' tributes with Decker and generally all the tension created during the Enterprise bridge scenes.

For me it is a 9.5/10 but I round upwards.

Another link to a Star Trek movie

[russem31 · 6 April 2006]

ST:TOS:35 - "The Doomsday Machine" (Stardate: 4202.9), this is the 35th episode of Star Trek in production, the 6th episode to be shown of season 2. Like the first season episode "Space Seed" which featured Khan who would later be featured in Star Trek II, this episode features William Windom as Commodore Matt Decker, the father of future Will Decker, a pivotal figure in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Like his son, he is also in command of a Constitution-class starship (one that is an exact duplicate of the Enterprise called the Constellation), and like his son, the father will make the ultimate sacrifice. Oh, and watch out for McCoy saying one of his classic, "I'm a doctor, not a mechanic" lines!

The intergalactic space cigar.

[amusinghandle · 6/10 · 18 November 2023]

Another episode insuiting that species outside of the galaxy are a bunch of real jerks. This space cigar is a weapon of mass destruction that eats planets to maintain it's power and continue it's dietary exploits.

Decker is well performed and definitely fits in with the TOS 'big performance' that is prevelent in episodes with memorable guest stars. It's hard to not feel bad for the guy despite him becoming completely unhinged in his pursuit of the space cigar.

We are kind of screwed on earth with the amount of WMD's we have. It's just a matter of time (dozens, hundreds, optimistically thousands of years) before some crazy nut uses one ---- best to colonize another world just in case, you know?

It's a well designed and execute episode but it's just doesn't hit me hard. I don't really have a connection to Decker's crew and I don't truly feel his loss. Consessions to limited budget?

The Planet Killer, Baby! This is no Death Star, or Farce Awakens! Great Job.

[Bababooe · 8/10 · 17 December 2017]

After the dismal "The Apple" we get the most menacing killer, The Planet Killer!

This is one of my most favorite episodes. Commodore Decker was great. Spock was great. Everybody else was just ok. There were better acted episodes. But the planet killer, what the hell is that?!

One of my main problems with this one is why did Decker head into the Killer with the Shuttle Craft? What was the point? Also, the scene with Decker taking control of the ship was a decent idea, but McCoy not being able to certify insanity with test results did not work for me. The test is in front of you. The man is broken and insane.

Overall, one of the best. I miss the old effects, but the new effects are great too.

Even under many advisers scientists this episode spoils Star Trek's background !!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 28 June 2019]

Star Trek always had by some advisers scientists, who gave to Roddenberry a valuable info over how the Universe works to develop the whole concept of the series, the metallic monster goes against all universe's concept, Black holes does something alike, but such weird Doomsday Machine no make sense, also any, I say again any metal in the world is enough hard to resist a nuclear explosion, it's melt as the others elements, in the episode the Vulkan Mr. Spock tell straight to Captain Kirk that Constellation might has a weak nuclear power to destroy the protective metal involucre and even inside the eater Doomsday machine, under this odd contexts is hard to expose a proper review, also the weird behavior of the Commodore Decker didn't match with such position, for entertainment proposal is good enough, but not for Star Trek's background!!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7

Passable only

[intp · 5/10 · 1 August 2014]

In this episode, the Enterprise encounters a 'doomsday' machine created by some unknown advanced alien race. The massive machine is capable of destroying entire solar systems, and starships are little more than annoying gnats to it.

The Enterprise comes across the shattered remains of another Federation vessel (the Constellation) that attempted to battle the machine. The sole survivor of that vessel is the badly traumatized Commodore Decker, who briefly commandeers the Enterprise in a misguided and suicidal attempt to destroy the machine, which seems totally impervious to phaser attack.

My favorite part of the episode occurred when Kirk ordered Spock to relieve Decker of command. Curiously, even though Decker outranked Kirk, Spock still obeyed. Kirk, as usual, wasn't taking any sh** when it came to the safety of his own ship, even from a superior officer.

This was a moderately amusing episode, but the resolution was a little too easy in my opinion (blowing up the machine from the inside with a single starship). My main question was, why didn't the machine just obliterate the ship before it could even get close, when it obviously had the power to fire enormous blasts of destructive energy? Also, the 'doomsday machine' hardly seems like that dangerous a threat if a single starship can routinely incapacitate it.

For some strange reason, Uhura was replaced here by a completely different communications officer, who got a moderately important speaking role here. No appearance by Chekov. The most important player was probably Scotty, who managed to get the damaged Constellation moving.