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Reviews
Star Trek: A Piece of the Action (1968)
ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS!!!
I'm still laughing fit to split after having watched "A Piece of the Action" for the umpteenth time. Star Trek has once again outdone itself in this glorious parody of all the "Chicago Mobs" movies over the years---imagine, a planet whose culture and civilization were based on a book left behind by another starship! And imagine the usually unflappable Spock being scared out of his wits by the ineptness of Captain Kirk's efforts to drive an old jalopy with a stick shift. Most of all---there's "fizzbin", and thereby hangs a tale. I remember an innovative psychiatrist of the last century, Dr.Milton H. Erickson, who pioneered some highly unusual and effective approaches to working with hypnosis---including what he called the "confusion" technique---and as I watched Captain Kirk's improvisation of the game of fizzbin I suddenly realized that he was using a version of this technique, which made the whole sequence even funnier! And
so I give this entire episode a 4-plus rating; together with the story about the tribbles it's one of my favorites.
Star Trek: Voyager: Favorite Son (1997)
VARIATION ON A FAMILIAR THEME..
While watching this episode I was struck by its resemblance to a familiar theme, and I wasn't thinking about the old story of Odysseus and the sirens. I was thinking of an episode of "Star Trek: The Animated Series"---a story called "The Lorelei Signal", which has a similar theme---and I suddenly realized how much the later Trek series has taken from the original! You may recall that the male members of the landing party were being drained of their energy and their life signs by the all-female inhabitants of the planet and how Lt. Uhura had to effect the rescue by beaming down an entire all-female security team to put a stop to the deleterious proceedings. I couldn't help smiling as I noted how similar the denouements of both episodes turned out---and I was also scratching my head in bewilderment over Harry Kim's propensity for getting into trouble. Yes, I enjoyed this story a lot, especially because of the resemblance to the animated Trek episode.
Star Trek: Balance of Terror (1966)
BRILLIANT EPISODE
Brilliant, suspenseful, excellently acted. I watched this one again---for the umpteenth time---and I was particularly enthralled by Mark Lenard's portrayal of the Romulan starship commander who had serious doubts about his role. Where his subordinates, who perhaps were too quick on the trigger, wanted to engage in mortal combat, he exercised caution, gave thought to the strategic aspects of the conflict, and had only respect and admiration for Captain Kirk's maneuvers; near the end, conceding defeat, he said to Kirk "In another reality I could have called you friend." And even as he performed his last duty, blowing up the bird of prey and himself with it,I knew that we would see him again---on our side of the fence, as Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan. Four stars all the way.
Star Trek: Voyager: Meld (1996)
ONE OF VOYAGER'S BEST
I have been investigating the various aspects of the Vulcan mind-meld for some time, and I have to say that this episode is one of the best of the entire Voyager series. It was a beautiful and provocative exploration of one of these aspects---what could go wrong in a situation like this when one of the participants, a Vulcan who is usually so logical and dispassionate, suddenly loses control. I know that Tuvok, although he's 100% Vulcan, has a very short temper and often exhibits great impatience, and this is one instance where he really goes over the top---most unusual for the guy I call the Great Stone Face! He and Brad Dourif, who portrays the murderous Lon Suder, both turn in superb performances, and I really got a fine understanding of the ins and outs of the Vulcan. I also enjoyed what Tuvok did to Neelix, whom I have always considered an insufferable nuisance---too bad it was just a hologram. Yes in deed, a masterful performance by both protagonists.
Star Trek: Voyager: Counterpoint (1998)
WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD TELEPATHS???
It seems there's a planet of extreme xenophobes who feel duty-bound to capture them and do goodness what else to them. But one of the inspectors doesn't feel that way, and when he approaches Capt. Janeway and tells her he wishes to defect the two form an alliance, however uneasy, and the two work with the Voyager crew to find a wormhole through which two families, all of whom are telepathic, can escape. (These fugitives would probably find a warm welcome on Vulcan where just about everybody has this ability.) As the story progresses we find everything, including humor---there's a scene where an army of those xenophobes overrun several decks, including Cargo Bay #1, and open up a number of crates and barrels to find---vegetables! I had a good laugh about this. Finally the problem is resolved as the two families of telepaths escape through the wormhole, and the fraidy-cat Devorans have something to think about. Incidentally---the inspector who succeeds in defecting is named Kashyk, which sounds like a variant of a Vulcan word "kashek", which means "the mind"---as in the phrase "wuh tepul t'wuh kashek" which translates as "the power of the mind". I wonder if he was a closet telepath himself? Anyway, a good story---and again, a lesson to be learned.
Star Trek: Miri (1966)
A REAL CHILLER
This was one of the most chilling episodes of the series. As I was watching this I got a sudden sense about those kids---and kids they were, with their fun and games and pranks, but with a strong undercurrent of fear. They were terrified of the fate that awaited them as they entered adolescence---and no matter what they did they were powerless to escape. So Kirk and Co. had to find a cure for the terminal illness, and it was Dr. McCoy who found it; he stuck his neck out and tested it on himself and discovered that it worked. And finally, when the captain, addressing the kids, said "I'm a grup---and I want to help you", they listened. So after all the trials and tribulations and anxieties all was satisfactorily resolved. A good story---and a message of hope.
Enterprise: Fusion (2002)
WHEN THEY GO TOO FAR...
This was a very interesting and provocative episode, exploring as it did the differences among Vulcans. It's one thing when there's a splinter group that, while it does not reject the teachings of Surak it disagrees as to how they should be interpreted---as this group, known as "V'tosh ka'tur" (Vulcans without logic) was. But when someone pushes it too far---there's trouble, as Tolaris found out when he tried to mind-meld with subcommander T'Pol who was of the traditional persuasion. She resisted and pushed him away, and he got absolutely furious and beat up on her, which resulted in her ending up in sickbay, in bad shape. She recovered but was glad to see this group leave after completing the needed repairs to their ship. Now I ask you---how far is too far? You'd think that Vulcans, even splinter groups, would have more sense than that.
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Star Trek: All Our Yesterdays (1969)
THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE LAST EPISODE!
After watching this episode several times I have come to the conclusion that this should have been the series finale. It was an absorbing trip backward in time, to the different aspects of various civilizations and the various stages of evolution---such as Vulcan in primitive times, the time of so-called witchcraft and how Kirk coped with it, the trials of poor Zarabeth and how she almost escaped...and how Kirk and Co. escaped back into the 23rd century just barely in time before the sun went supernova. I enjoyed this one and have always felt that it should have been the fitting conclusion to a superb series.
Enterprise: Stigma (2003)
SOMEONE WENT TOO FAR...
I don't usually watch "Enterprise", but I happened to catch the series one night, and they showed an episode called "Fusion", which dealt with a splinter group of Vulcans known as "V'tosh ka'tur" (Vulcans without logic"). These are the ones who, while they don't reject the teachings of Surak outright, disagree as to how these teachings should be interpreted. They believe in embracing emotions rather than suppressing them, in trying to find a balance between logic and emotion (sounds very human, doesn't it?)---and one of them, a character named Tolaris who apparently had an ulterior motive, persuaded the very logical and dispassionate T'Pol to join him in a mind-meld. But he went too far, and when she resisted and pushed him away he lost his cool, I mean really flew off the handle, and he assaulted her with the result that she ended up in sickbay, in bad shape. She finally recovered, but as a consequence she developed Pa'nar syndrome. It took T'Pau---a familiar figure in Star Trek's "Amok Time" and an expert melder---to remedy the situation and get T'Pol back to normal. Now, it seems that in "Stigma" she did not want to talk about her ordeal. I can understand how she must have felt at being thus violated, and how relieved she had been when those V'tosh ka'tur finally left the Enterprise---no doubt she never wanted to see the likes of them again.
Star Trek: A Taste of Armageddon (1967)
A LESSON TO BE LEARNED
Unfortunately, my stupid computer wouldn't let me finish what I had started, so I'll just say that I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. I will mention one highlight: Spock demonstrating "a peculiar variety of diplomacy" with a fully loaded phaser on a disintegration chamber as a stunned Ambassador Fox looks on. And Kirk forces Anan-7 to face the reality of the situation: "I've given you back the horrors of war"---not to mention that the prime directive does not apply here. Good fun, and a lesson to be learned.
Star Trek: Voyager: Blood Fever (1997)
HERE WE GO AGAIN..
I watched the first episode in which we encountered the problem of "pon farr"---the Vulcan time of mating---and I found it absorbing, the way this problem was explored, and particularly the way in which Captain Kirk got Spock to talk about it and what it was doing to him. If you recall, Kirk, after telling Spock "I haven't heard a word you said", took action, with the help of navigator Sulu, to get the beleaguered Vulcan home in time to cope with his situation. This second excursion into pon farr---and its accompanying phenomenon of "blood fever", or "plak-tow" in Vulcan, was more violent---and somehow less satisfying in how it was dealt with: the one exception being that B'Elanna Torres was able to choose herself as the defender, and it was fun to see her, with her Klingon half galvanized into action, fighting it out with Vorik, with the end result being that both fell exhausted at the end, thus breaking the grip of the pon farr. I can't help feeling sorry for the poor Vulcans who every seven years have to go through this.
Enterprise: Fusion (2002)
WHEN THEY GO TOO FAR...
This was a very interesting and provocative episode, exploring as it did the differences among Vulcans. It's one thing when there's a splinter group that, while it does not reject the teachings of Surak it disagrees as to how they should be interpreted---as this group, known as "V'tosh ka'tur" (Vulcans without logic) was. But when someone pushes it too far---there's trouble, as Tolaris found out when he tried to mind-meld with subcommander T'Pol who was of the traditional persuasion. She resisted and pushed him away, and he got absolutely furious and beat up on her, which resulted in her ending up in sickbay, in bad shape. She recovered but was glad to see this group leave after completing the needed repairs to their ship. Now I ask you---how far is too far? You'd think that Vulcans, even splinter groups, would have more sense than that.
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Star Trek: Turnabout Intruder (1969)
"If only..."
..."she knew how to pilot a starship..." But she did not. And so, all other things considered, I would advise skipping this one.
Star Trek: Turnabout Intruder (1969)
"If only..."
..."she knew how to pilot a starship..." But she did not. And so, all other things considered, I would advise skipping this one.
Star Trek: Voyager: Random Thoughts (1997)
"Oochie-woochie-coochie-coo?"
Is that what the inhabitants of this planet want? Everyone going around thinking "oochie-woochie-coochie-coo" and nothing else? Saying "oochie-woochie-coochie-coo" and nothing else? How unbelievably stupid can they get? Skip this episode.
Star Trek: Voyager: Ex Post Facto (1995)
THINGS ARE SELDOM WHAT THEY SEEM...
In the course of my investigation into the use of the Vulcan mind meld in various series I found that people, in their listings of Tuvok's efforts in this area, missed this one. This was the great stone-face Vulcan's first use of this procedure---and it was a lifesaver. Tom Paris, who is notorious for always getting into hot water, did it here and ended up convicted of a murder which he insisted he had not committed and was sentenced to what could have easily destroyed his mind if not actually killing him. But Tuvok, whose duties as chief of security include criminal investigation, performed his first mind-meld in the series and quickly determined that Paris not only could not have committed the murder but was actually framed! So I'm watching certain episodes of this series with the concentration on Mr. Tuvok and how he approaches the process of mind-melding, and I like the guy---he's my second favorite Vulcan next to Spock, and I'm enjoying comparing the two different concepts. This is adding to my own investigation of the process as a whole. As for spoilers? I don't think so, therefore i say no.
Star Trek: Is There in Truth No Beauty? (1968)
"BEAUTY IS TRUTH, TRUTH BEAUTY"...
...so said the great poet Keats in his "Ode on a Grecian Urn". And so it is---truth and beauty, two inseparable concepts, whatever we humans choose to make of them. And one wonders what Kollos---the ambassador in the box---really looked like. Probably the best person to ask would be Spock, who successfully joined with said ambassador in the Vulcan mind-fusion. And we could ask Captain Kirk, the real hero in this story, who when he saw that Spock was in danger went after Miranda Jones with both barrels, chewed her out mercilessly and forced her to see just what her insane jealousy was doing to her. (And she had trained on Vulcan!) So she had to let go of that most destructive emotion so that she could achieve her desired objective---to be one with the ambassador. And she probably felt a great sense of relief.
Star Trek: The Paradise Syndrome (1968)
"WE HAVE NO CHOICE"
One thing I've been doing in reviewing the various episodes of this terrific series is investigating the number and frequency of the Vulcan mind-melds that occur in the various episodes. I got hooked on this from the beginning, and here we have another of the most powerful---and the most stressful---of the lot: the Vulcan mind-fusion. When Spock asked Dr. McCoy "Is he strong enough for the Vulcan mind-fusion?" he knew that this was the only way to break Captain Kirk's amnesia, and when Bones replied "We have no choice" he recognized once again the Vulcan's formidable mental powers---as he had done from the very start---and he also recognized the possible danger in implementing this procedure. Fortunately, it was successful---but it also knocked the wind out of Spock (imagine! Spock out of breath!) who exclaimed "His mind...he's an...extremely dynamic individual!" It explains why the captain was able to resist whatever might be thrown at him, and this was and is throughout the whole series one of the most salient features of Kirk's personality and characterization.
Star Trek: By Any Other Name (1968)
THE BIGGER THEY ARE...
...the harder they fall. Those Kelvans were, at bottom, a bunch of greedy grabalots, and it didn't take long for Kirk and Co. to catch on. And believe me, they had lots of fun doing something about it. When they realized that Rojan and company, having taken human form, were starting to experience human reactions---human emotions---they made the most of the opportunity. I got a huge kick out of Bones pumping one of the invaders full of formic acid, which would make anyone climb the walls---Scotty drinking another one of them under the table and then passing out himself (although in a good cause)---Spock, although unsuccessful with the mind-meld, nevertheless getting a good idea of what Kelinda really looked like---and most of all, Captain Kirk's "apology" which spread like wildfire and thoroughly discombooberated the Kelvans who now realized they were stuck with their human forms and could never return to Andromeda. This was a good seriocomic story; I enjoyed it.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Violations (1992)
This exemplifies what's wrong with the series...
I have been keeping up with the Star Trek series as a whole, and I have found "Next Generation" to be the weakest, the least satisfying, of the lot. This episode exemplifies, and perfectly too, just what's wrong with it. The idea of a telepathic alien species on the Enterprise was done much better in the original series; here the writers saw fit to turn what might have been a good mystery thriller into an overblown "rape fantasy turned real"---what the blazes was the matter with them? And the worst of it was that all through the episode, indeed through the entire "Next Generation" series, we never saw a Vulcan---except for a couple of guest shots, such as in the fine story "Sarek"---and what was desperately needed here was a good solid Vulcan troubleshooter who could have resolved the whole situation. The only things I liked were not to be found here---Worf's problems with his kid and Data's cat. And so, I will retire to a quiet corner and do one of Spock's Vulcan meditations to clear my head. Spoilers? Yes---and not the good ones.
Star Trek: Requiem for Methuselah (1969)
.....0
This is a tragic love story, Shakespearean in scope, about two men---one an immortal who has lived thousands of years and been thousands of people, the other a very human 23rd-century starship captain, both in love with a beautiful woman whose one flaw is that she was not human. As the story unfolded I could see the conflicting emotions of both and the tragic denouement as the android Rayna, who had learned not only human emotions but also human desires such as the right to choose, self-destructed because she could not cope with this new knowledge. Question: who is better off---Flint, now no longer immortal but who can continue to do good works as he lives out his normal lifespan, or Kirk, at first thoroughly disconsolate over the loss of still another woman in his life but then recovering his emotional equilibrium thanks to a powerful psychological save by his second in command who demonstrates just how much he cares for his commanding officer? Think about it.
.3
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Good spy thriller, but...
It's really a shame that this was the last of the "Original Series" efforts, because the original ones were my favorites. Still in all, this was a good spy thriller, conspiracy and all, and I would have enjoyed it more if not for one scene that left me with an awful taste in my mouth because it was all too true. I am, of course, referring to the extreme interrogation of Lt. Valeris---the scene that has caused so much controversy among so many viewers as to almost obliterate the rest of the film. Fact: she had been asking for it, and she got it in spades---one of the roughest mind-melds in all of Trek---and here's the reason: she was a perfect example of something that had been told to me many years ago by a New York City homicide detective. He had said, with much bitterness, "There is nothing worse than a lousy one of your own."---and he knew whereof he spoke. And Valeris was just that: a lousy one of her own, a Starfleet officer turned rotten apple, a rogue Vulcan who was part of a deadly conspiracy to sabotage the peace conference and who betrayed not only the Federation but also the ones who had trained her (especially Spock). The only thing that saved her was that as soon as Spock learned that she did not know where the conference was he stopped the interrogation. He hadn't wanted to do this interrogation, as forcible as it was, but he had no choice, and to witness his reaction was wrenching. Sure, Captain Kirk---who presided over the interrogation---and his crew recovered from the incident, but nothing was the same after that. And so,if I ever get to see this film again there will always be that horrible taste in my mouth. Too bad.
Star Trek: Dagger of the Mind (1966)
WHEN A DOCTOR GOES WRONG...
This was a very good psychological thriller, dealing with how psychotherapy can be misused in the wrong hands. I remember reading a Sherlock Holmes story in which he observed that "when a doctor goes wrong, he is the first of criminals", and as this episode unfolded I could see one such glaring example. When the deranged Simon van Gelder exploded onto the bridge of the Enterprise and it was found that he was, not an inmate, but an associate of Dr. Adams who had been victimized by the "neural neutralizer", an investigation was imperative. The key to the whole thing was one of the most dramatic scenes in the history of Trek---the first use of the Vulcan mind-meld on a human---and a lot of credit has to go to Dr. McCoy, who for all that he called himself an old-fashioned country doctor was light-years ahead of everyone else; he was the one who pushed the reluctant Vulcan with the urgent "Will it work---or not?" Spock actually performed what I immediately recognized as a quieter version of the Vulcan mind-fusion combined with telepathic hypnosis (and Leonard Nimoy really pulled a fast one on the network censors!); he delivered two quiet, half-whispered suggestions of well-being, relaxation and of weightless suspension, which exerted a calming effect on van Gelder's mind and enabled him to describe his ordeal. And eventually the now-deranged Dr. Adams fell victim to his own nefarious machinations, while van Gelder was restored to sanity by the same Vulcan mind-fusion and took over the direction of the penal colony. +As I watched Spock in action I started to get a new appreciation of what the Vulcans call "wuh tepul t'wuh kashek"---the power of the mind and what it could be capable of. And I recognized the truth of the Sherlock Holmes observation.
Star Trek: Voyager: Infinite Regress (1998)
A REAL PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER AND THEN SOME!
I haven't had much occasion to watch any of the "Voyager" episodes---my preference has always been the original series---but this one grabbed my attention. It was a beautifully written story,centering on the trials and tribulations of Seven of Nine as she grappled with an invasion of multiple personalities that threatened to actually destroy her, and Jeri Ryan turned in a real tour de force of a performance. And when that doctor, who has a tendency to shoot off his mouth too much, was unsuccessful in his attempts to remedy the situation he had to step back and let the Vulcan, Tuvok, have a go at it---and Tuvok performed a dramatic Vulcan mind-fusion (very much like the one Spock used in "The Paradise Syndrome", by the way) as he joined Seven in successfully driving off the invaders. Electrifying, to say the least---but then I have always thoroughly enjoyed any and all mind-meld sequences in Trek. An additional comment: Someone once asked why Tuvok needed two hours to prepare. Answer: he needed that extra time because he knew what he was going up against, what he had to do if he were going to rescue Seven of Nine from the life-threatening predicament she was in. He was going all-out with the most powerful and most stressful of all the mind-melds---the Vulcan mind-fusion. He knew it was going to be a very rough ride, and indeed it was---but he had help from B'Elanna Torres in engineering who worked to destroy that Borg machine. Once it was gone, he was able to join his mind with Seven's in a full meld and pull her out of that mess. And after a wnek or so of recuperation in her regeneration chamber she was herself again.
Hawaii Five-O: You Don't Have to Kill to Get Rich - But It Helps. (1972)
A MOST ENJOYABLE EPISODE
This episode was particularly notable for the guest appearance by William Shatner, who played a Texas private eye who somehow got entangled in a 5-0 murder investigation. "Over the top"? I don't think so. Shatner, best known for his role as Captain Kirk in "Star Trek", turned in a seriocomic tour-de-force that had me in stitches---and we must remember that he was a trained stage actor who had done a lot of Shakespeare, and when you do Shakespeare on the stage you HAVE to go over the top! So I doubly enjoyed this story.