Suspicion

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S1 (Suspicion)

Seems to me their logic was slim and they were reaching a bit with this one: just because the Wraith have shown up at five out of nine planetary missions, Weir and her appointed head of security, Sergeant Bates (or Sgt. Grumpy as I think of him), decide there must be a spy in the ranks. But not the human ranks, of course, it has to be the Athosians because they're outsiders. The issue of trust, who's earned it, and why, should have been explored much more deeply, but unfortunately it does feel a little lightweight. You have the new face we've never seen before in Bates, and on top of that he's never shown in a sympathetic or positive light, immediately suggesting an agenda, if not by the guy himself, by the writers. It turns out he was right, but not in the way he thought. The fact humans unleashed this vast Wraith menace on the galaxy at large, makes me think that it's highly possible the nasties could be popping up everywhere, but it is proved to be as simple as the harmless necklace Sheppard and Teyla found in the cavern during the pilot, Sheppard apparently activating its homing beacon with his Ancient genes, and Teyla unwittingly drawing the pale-faced fiends at every turn. I felt they were a little too quick to jump to conclusions on both sides: Weir sets up 'interviews' to 'get to know' each Athosian personally, with what aim, I'm not exactly sure, but presumably so she can weed out any that seem spy-like! Then on the opposite you have Sheppard, who's loyalty to Teyla makes him the Athosian advocate, and Bates was right that he was putting his personal feelings ahead of protocol.

Except it's also his personal experience and that counts for a lot. The way the Athosians become practically prisoners only emphasises their pitiful refugee position and it's sad to see them get shunted off to the first piece of land that's located on 'Atlantica' (as Ford wants to call the planet, and it certainly won't be known in future!). It's a bit too pat that Sheppard was in the mood for exploring, then just happens to find unexpected land, and that Halling and his group see it as an ideal place to start again, away from Atlantis and the out of bounds Stargate. I got the impression having the Athosians in the city was too complicated and they wanted to simplify things by booting them off, though not too far in case they do want to use them again. I wouldn't fancy their chances in the inevitable Wraith attack, away from the protection of the city, but at least they can grow a few vegetables to improve McKay's diet of choice: ration packs. I didn't get the significance of his blast to the face, or that he, Sheppard, and almost Ford, get zapped by the Wraith stun weapons. I was waiting for it to become a plot point - perhaps the gun takes over the mind and leads to spying, or leaves a residue that can be tracked. Anything that showed McKay's short-term paralysis was more than a joke at his expense. But I'm forgetting: this is 'Stargate,' and though we're missing the strong irony and chattering embarrassment/raised eyebrows of the 'SG-1' characters, which we all know and love, they're still trying to fit into that mould so of course not everything will have significance.

That said, the Wraith rifles did bring me to wonder why they use stun rather than something more powerful that would kill or maim. But that's a conceit of this type of sci-fi. Whether it's 'Star Trek' and their Phasers, or 'SG-1' and the Goauld zat guns, the ability to stun rather than take life is probably important on a couple of fronts: one, it means there's more leeway for story as you can't do much when dealing with enemies that just kill you, and two, TV still wasn't, still isn't, ready for weekly series' to have lots of people cut down, especially when these are 'family shows.' Which is fair enough, but I also thought of a particular reason the Wraith would have for adopting such a soft approach: they don't want to ruin a good meal, which is pretty sinister in its own right!

Teyla's loyalty coming under question, which to be fair doesn't really happen, at least from Weir and Sheppard's perspective, is really about her connection to her people, personified by Halling. You can tell she really trusts in Weir and the team, and believes in Atlantis, setting it up as some kind of great sign of hope for all those oppressed by the Wraith. It's a charming sentiment, though I'm not sure as yet that it's really warranted since it was the humans' fault in the first place for waking them, and they don't have full control of the city, nor the ultimate escape route of the 'gate back to Earth lined up in case the Wraith do get hold of their Ancient enemies' technology. With the Athosians no longer staying within will it even feel like a city any more, or just another military installation, albeit one controlled by a civilian at the top? One things's for certain: Teyla can fight, as she proves in her stick fighting ability against the lead Wraith they capture in their plan to lure them with the necklace. The 'Morlocks' blow themselves up, but main guy doesn't quite manage it and is left to rot in a cell back at Atlantis (how did they deactivate his suicide device after the fact?). I always Teyla'd be a warrior, but it took a while for her to show that side. Not sure on the ethics of keeping even your worst enemy locked up without food, even if he can just regenerate. Would lack of sustenance be what sends the creatures back to sleep? Hopefully we'll find out a bit more about the Wraith with one held captive. The episode was a bit plodding, but both 'SG-1' and 'Universe' took their time to get started, and the potential is still there.

**

The Galileo Seven

DVD, Star Trek S1 (The Galileo Seven)

Logic versus emotion: the ultimate smackdown! That's pretty much the backbone of this episode, with Spock against three humans. I don't say against all six because Yeoman Mears, though questioning, never skirts insubordination the way the others do, and Latimer doesn't survive long enough to object to his superior's command style, despite his callowness potentially putting him in the Boma/McCoy/Gaetano camp. And of course Scotty was too busy making picturesque descriptions and mending broken circuits to get on Spock's case. In fact he actually jumps to the Vulcan's support when Boma goes a little too far in his angry responses to Spock's cool logic, as does McCoy, though the Doctor isn't above putting salt in the wound, occasionally flaring up and pointing out the flaws of logic, and you'd have to say he and the other two don't show themselves to be at their most professional in the attitude they display towards Spock. Early on, before any real danger presents itself, McCoy is stirring things up by suggesting this is just the situation Spock would like, in order to show how his command through logic is superior, not the actions of someone keeping their thoughts to themselves to make sure they have the best chance of survival. In his defence, McCoy speaks to Spock alone, but even so, this was before the pair had become the bickering double-act we think of them as.

It does show McCoy's caring attitude for his fellow man, that he would share such thoughts of concern towards Spock's motivations, perhaps to get him to see that he's the only one relying on logic, and it also sets up the central conflict ready for both sides to be tested. But the Doctor's right, Spock does have unshakeable belief in his people's system, and it takes this experience to show him that "logic is only the beginning of wisdom," as he would one day pronounce. But this is still a young, relatively inexperienced man, Vulcan or not, and it is learning experiences like these that helped him gain an understanding of the value both sides of his heritage have. It's not a one-sided argument that the episode presents, either, with both logic and emotion proving to be important to the ultimate success of the escape. There's a lot of buried racism that is exacerbated by the extreme predicament the Shuttle crew find themselves in - true character only reveals itself under stress, but the negative attitudes on display by some of the crew, and their combative personality clashes, demonstrate that emotion is flawed. Spock has to deal with humans that think they know better and stand on their moral rights, show their lack of comprehension, and generally behave in a childish manner. I can't imagine Kirk being treated this way, but then he knows how to handle the emotions of his crew - when to clamp down hard and when to explain himself.

Spock's issues stem from his inability to see things from his subordinates point of view. From very early in the story he's voicing the likelihood of having to leave three crewmembers behind or the shuttle won't lift off, and obviously that doesn't go down well, even more because he relays the information in such a dispassionate way, making them think it's easy for him to make such a decision. It's also true he doesn't turn off the scientifically curious part of his mind, evaluating the enemy creatures with a cool detachment when he might have done better to consider the effect on morale that the deaths of both Latimer and Gaetano have on the rest of the crew. He just assumes they'll follow his leadership, and they do, but not unquestioningly. Some don't have confidence in his ability to get them out of there. They're especially unhappy with the idea that logic, which to them is almost like random chance, will be used to calmly analyse every situation and will make the decisions about their lives and deaths, a completely alien concept to these hotblooded humans. That Spock doesn't support their wish for funeral services and burial for the dead crew mates only lessens their respect for his authority. He allows them to carry on, but won't stop working to say a few words. In this case he was probably right, because the needs of the living outweighed the needs of the dead, or their memory, but foolish humanity refused to see that their survival was reliant on time: a very human trait to look at the immediate, a small part of the picture, react to current thought and feeling instead of regarding the whole picture and thinking ahead.

At the same time, Spock has his own impressions of negativity to an alien attitude: he's surprised at the low regard they have for life when Boma and Gaetano want to take out as many of the creatures as possible, where Spock prefers to frighten them, rather than kill. It's McCoy who expresses his lack of understanding of the First Officer's ways, because he'll go out of his way to bring back Gaetano, yet he was the one who ordered him to stand guard in the first place. You get the impression Spock would have been the one to stay behind, too, perhaps citing a greater survival possibility due to his Vulcan abilities. Gaetano should have been alert enough to notice one of the creatures approaching, and instead of shrinking back, escaped to warn the others. It did seem a little pointless of Spock to leave him there when it would have made more sense to have him as watchman closer to the ship, but the Vulcan must have had reason to do so. And when Spock is trapped by a boulder and orders them to take off without him, you can tell he doesn't understand why they would do all they can to save him, so it's incomprehension on both sides and a genuinely alien distinction between them, far more than pointed ears or a bumpy forehead can present.

The thing about Spock is that he never sugarcoats their chances, and although he somewhat loses it when they're under attack by a creature smashing a boulder on the roof of the Galileo, speaking aloud his confusion at the illogical way the creatures have behaved, he swiftly gets back into the driving seat and, with the expertise of Scotty who's able to utilise the multifunctional Phasers to provide power for liftoff, gets them off the planet. If that had been it, with Spock logically keeping the fuel for one orbit, logically optimising their chance of discovery by the greater time they would have had, they wouldn't have survived, but he instead uses an instinct of desperation to burn up the remaining fuel in one burst, creating the flare that alerts the retreating Enterprise to their whereabouts and saving their skins with the split second decision. It impresses Scotty with the genius of it, and even prompts warm words from McCoy about it being a human thing to do. At any other time Spock would have taken it as an insult and rebutted the Doctor's compliment, but it's an episode where he discovers something about himself, and ironically, in a story where he's largely at his most Vulcan (aside from when he snaps at them that this isn't a democracy, or raises his voice at times in the desperation of dealing with these difficult people), than the majority of episodes before, he learns to take the action that seems illogical. A full Vulcan would have said (as Tuvok did), that when all logical courses of action have been exhausted, the only course is inaction, but the desperate act is proved right.

Spock still sees it as a logical choice, as we discover when the episode ends with the traditional moment of levity. This time the Bridge has an atmosphere of informality, with Uhura and Mears standing about, perhaps because High Commissioner Ferris is no longer breathing down Kirk's neck, and also the Captain's relief that his friends and colleagues have been saved. But it's a scene like no other, with Kirk practically throwing his arm around Spock's shoulder as he digs at him over his decision being an act not borne of logic. Naturally Spock replies that it was the only option left unexplored: a logical decision, arrived at logically, prompting Kirk to label him a stubborn man, followed by howls of laughter, Kirk's guffawing the most out of character. At the same time it might just be showing the release of some guilt and tension that he made the wrong choice himself and should never have sent out the shuttle when he was on a deadline, no matter how much time they had left. They could have logged the Murasaki phenomenon and returned to it after they'd delivered the medical supplies to counteract the plague. Kirk's relief is strong, and the episode could have ended just as effectively when we see that weight lifted at the moment Uhura gives him the news that five have beamed aboard from the disintegrating Galileo, to provide a poignant, if brief conclusion. But, for once, the jokey ending fits perfectly, a sign of the weight of a higher authority off their backs, and the recovery of most of the shuttle crew in the very nick of time, a metaphorical breathing out necessary.

The authority in question is Farris, whom I think is the first person we see that Kirk is subordinate to, and is certainly the first in a long line of Admirals and officials whose pedantic, unerringly inflexible attitude to the free mindset of captaincy would provide internal conflict in this and all other Trek series' to follow, with few exceptions. Ferris is the archetype of the arbiter of the ticking clock, the very spirit of punctiliousness. It could be that the Admirals and higher-ups have their attitude of exacting and unbending obedience purely because they no longer have control of a ship: the equivalent of a desk-based position sacrificing the freedom of the spatial high seas, embittering them. But it could also be argued that such authoritative attitudes are required to deal with Captains that are difficult to rein in because of their familiarity with having their own way. Ferris doesn't help any sense of fairness by the way he swaggers onto the Bridge, and though he never oversteps his authority he continually reminds Kirk of the deadline, at which point he will have authority. As the episode proceeds and they get closer to the deadline, Farris closes in on Kirk, a veritable phantom menace, his presence increasing until, towards the end, he's leaning over Kirk and almost speaking in his ear. It was very effective to keep him on the upper deck of the Bridge, while Kirk stays on the lower, so that he remains aloof, removed, like a bird of prey ready to swoop, or an untouchable physical representation of time. But he also comes off as a bit petty with an air of 'I told you so' when Kirk's insistence of the shuttle mission ends in disaster. He should have shown more concern for the plague rather than apparent satisfaction that Kirk was wrong, though he does express regret for the fate of Kirk's missing crew.

It has to be said that Kirk made a mistake in adhering so strictly to his mandate of exploration, because he probably could have overridden the standing orders. I sensed he took some satisfaction in defying Ferris to delay that mission, and if not that, then overconfidence that his team would be able to make their scans and get back in good time. No doubt it's not a pleasant or a familiar position for Kirk to be in to have someone with greater authority than himself aboard (though McCoy technically outranks him in medical matters), but if Kirk was perfect he wouldn't be human. What threw me at the start was his Captain's Log mentioning that they were en route, yet the episode opens with a stationary shot of the Enterprise. It does make sense, however, as he then explains that they'd stopped to examine Murasaki. The effects of this green, swirling, spatial phenomenon are quite beautiful and when we so often see vague and unimpressive visuals on the series, this proves they could achieve some great stuff, and wouldn't have looked out of place in the Remastered version. The same can't be said of all the effects in the episode: the Phasers are moved slightly by the actors during firing, while the beam remains stationary so that didn't look right, and the Enterprise isn't quite 'cut' right in some shots (and once, towards the end, was in black and white since the red side arrow was black), its edges rippling, though I did like the planet seen from space, as I always do on the series, a particular style that takes you back like few things do.

The planet set on the other hand isn't quite so impressive. I like that they did something different with it by making a thick, low ground fog that gives it a swampy impression, but the rocky location is very claustrophobic and there's never really the feel of being outdoors. It does the job and it's good enough, and I would even say it adds to the tension because you never know how far away these huge creatures are - they could be round that next outcrop ready to pounce. The use of atmosphere is also effective because I seems like we see several of them, but in reality there's only ever one onscreen. The giant spears didn't work so well, a bit silly, clearly thrown by people just off camera, and not having the required heft of such a huge weapon - I'd have thought something that big, thrown by such large arms would have gone clean through Latimer instead of being lodged in his back, but they wouldn't have shown anything that brutal at that time, and it's possible it could have been stuck in his ribcage. The shield was another incredulous moment as we see it chucked and when it lands near the crew it looks about human size, then in the next shot it's suddenly grown to massive proportion and they're dwarfed in comparison as they clamber past! Perhaps it was case of 'just add water,' with all that fog swelling it - a secret weapon! There's no real reason why the creature threw it otherwise…

Spock isn't entirely Vulcan in this one. Leaving aside his moments of outburst, he says some things which are very Vulcan, such as considering the third alternative (something I always think is a vital part of stories - instead of having either the positive or negative options, finding something else that is neither, is most compelling to me), and saying that there are always alternatives (just like "there are always possibilities," as he would say later in his career), even if he does suggest he might be wrong about that when all hope seems lost. But he also says that 'with luck' they won't be here when the creatures attack, something I wouldn't have thought Vulcans would believe in. It could simply be an expression, no doubt picked up from his many interactions with human crew mates, but in one so logical it stood out. He also says he doesn't believe in angels. The context seemed to suggest that he meant miracles more than celestial beings (the latter would certainly be encountered on occasion), since he was referring to their chances of being rescued, but since Vulcans are such a mystical, spiritual race, this attitude doesn't appear to be entirely compatible. Not that Spock is entirely compatible with himself at this time in his life, but it could also be that his race's penchant for the miraculous hadn't yet been established, and Spock is very scientific. It was also said at a moment of life and death, at the very end of their attempts to survive, in space, so it's not necessarily his rational mind speaking - as a scientist he shouldn't rule out the unexplained.

What makes the episode stand out are a couple of things: first, that the gang's all here, with Scotty along for the ride as part of the Galileo crew, Sulu at his station (even if Kirk basically tells him to concentrate on his Helm duties and not interfere!), and Uhura at hers, able to provide important updates on the search and other information - it's she that reveals there's a 'Type M' planet in the centre of Murasaki, giving hope that the crew could have landed on it, qualifying it with the detail that it's capable of supporting human life, probably the first ever designation of a planet as such on the series (it was first mentioned in 'The Cage,' though that wasn't broadcast for many years, so this would be the first episode in production order that was shown in the Sixties). Mr. Leslie is also visible at the Engineering station on the Bridge, his usual haunt, though he may have been pulling double duty as it looks like the back of him at the Transporter console, unless this was the next day, or even one of his brothers! Continuity in technology is shown not just in the Phasers, but with the mini computer with screen that McCoy used in a recent episode which makes two appearances: it's on the deck of the Galileo among Scotty's kit and caboodle, and more prominently Kirk uses one on the Bridge, actually inputting those disks of coloured squares. We also see one of the screens around the edge of the Bridge used to communicate with someone that had just beamed up from a search party, rather than him reporting to the Bridge personally, or for it to be shown on the main viewscreen, which is rare.

It's a shame there wasn't location shooting to complement the story, but the second, and most important standout feature of the episode is the first appearance of a Shuttlecraft in Trek! Not only that, but we also have the privilege of witnessing shuttles launch and return from a fantastic view within the Shuttle-bay. There are two Shuttlecraft involved, the second being Columbus, which was a surprise as I didn't know how many the Enterprise had and it's great to hear of another named one, not to mention see it, even though it is just the same model as the Galileo. It really is thrilling to see the shuttles and the bay, and I think the window pattern looking down from above is the same as in 'The Conscience of The King' where Kirk took us to the Observation Deck, the other side of those square windows in horizontal sequence. The bay doesn't look large enough to house at least seven other shuttles (Galileos 1-6, plus Columbus), but we're only seeing it from one view, and behind the camera could be where the shuttles are neatly stacked away. Or it could be they only carry a couple, and Galileo 7 is the seventh craft of its generation, not necessarily meaning that the previous versions are aboard.

It's the actual Galileo set that is the most exciting to see. There were three variations, one being the model, the second being the external, full-sized ship, and the third being the internal, which was slightly bigger and had the capability of having its side removed for ease of filming, as you can tell from certain shots in the episode. The whole thing looks so cool, with a design that clearly is part of the same style as the mothership, but uniquely compact. It has all kinds of features, with a foldaway compartment housing Phasers and those brown belts we've only ever seen being worn, but which we actually see in hand when the Phasers are passed out. There's a floor compartment for Scotty's access, something which gave me a warm feeling as it reminds me of the Runabouts of DS9, and a rear compartment for the engines. But the most swish component are the doors which slide open in the same manner as those aboard the Enterprise, but also feature a step which folds out onto the nacelle. It looks so good! Inside it's basically a pared down Bridge, which is really all you need at Trek's most defining level. It's a brilliant piece of work, especially for a series that was cash-strapped (there was some kind of deal for the rights to make model kits which is how the Galileo came to be built), and it's been in the news in recent years as a restoration project to bring it back up to full strength again. Who knows, maybe it will even make a cameo in 'Discovery'? That would be absolutely wonderful, perhaps the prototype model, since it's set ten years before.

The title of the episode stands for two things: the registry number for Galileo, but it also refers to the seven crewmembers who travel within it, evoking a legendary quality to their survival. It's a good intellectual study of logic and emotion, it puts Spock under pressure and shows how he reacts, and gives us a full complement of the main characters (minus the now-departed Janice Rand - I expect Rand would have been in Mears' place otherwise), all working towards a solution. It cleverly takes away hope, but then displays the genius of the engineer, the beginning of his rise to miracle worker, and doesn't come down firmly on one side or the other of the central debate. It even gives us a new race to be challenged by. It's a broadly satisfying story with a good mix of character and the Trek way of people solving problems, even if they aren't yet at the stage of controlling themselves (reminds me of 'DS9' episode 'The Ship,' to some extent), and gave us some new pieces of Trek lore. In other words, it's as much a success as Spock proves to be, which is to say imperfect, but ultimately victorious and looks pretty cool, too.

***

Thirty Eight Minutes

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S1 (Thirty Eight Minutes)

As if to remind us that the series is sci-fi and is going to be doing all that you would expect of an ensemble sci-fi series, we have the one where a creature gets attached to a main character. And also the one where some of the characters are trapped in a confined location. And the one where the length of the episode in real-time is the ticking time bomb. And the one where an alien cultural belief comes into conflict with the human characters. And… But seriously, at this rate they'll use up all of their predecessor's, as well as 'Star Trek,' 'Babylon 5' and any number of other genre shows' stories in no time! My point is that they did rather cram too much into the story, so we only get one or two threads that had sufficient development, a kind of disguise for the lack of originality. Yet we expect this kind of thing, especially in a first season where the characters haven't yet been fully established, nor their interconnectedness decided upon. It's also not so bad when they make missteps like throwing too many plots and too many characters into the mix. And to give them their dues, they do surprise by going from a creature attachment story which you think is going to be the typical execution of a character stuck in a medical bed as his life ebbs away (à la B'Elanna Torres in 'Nothing Human' on 'Voyager'), or effecting a change in the guy (à la Teal'c in 'SG-1'), and instead we're suddenly stuck in a disaster story. It's after that that things get piled on.

It appeared to be incompetence by the pilot (Sgt. Markham), who was flying the Jumper when an engine pod got caught on the rim of the Stargate, but fortunately this didn't devolve into 'Galaxy Quest' territory (or even 'Star Trek XI'), and I was especially pleased about that since… hang on… I think I recognise that guy… nah, can't be… Except when I checked the credits, it was! Joseph May! From my favourite ever British TV series, 'BUGS'! He played the Hive agent Adam Mosby, a recurring character in that series' final season, but you never see those actors in anything, at least not sci-fi related (I keep seeing him in an advert for power tools, possibly Ryobi), so it was a real joy to have an English actor from that series in a role, however small, on big-budget American sci-fi. He didn't get to do much as he and his buddy were stuck in the cockpit which is trapped within the event horizon of the 'gate, but hopefully, since he didn't die, they might use him again, considering there are limited numbers of humans at this base. Or colony, as Weir has it when putting scientist Kavanagh in his place.

He has it out with her over her militaristic overruling of his safety concerns. It was rather unprofessional for him to be sounding off while they were still deep in a state of emergency and he should have brought it to her at a later date when things had died down, although he did have a point, she could have been more diplomatic, but it wasn't the time for thin skin. She makes it clear she sees Atlantis as a colony and she's the Governor, and even though he expected a civilian leader to act less like the military back at SGC, she'll do what she sees fit. I didn't entirely buy the actress' performance of getting tough, she certainly didn't have the presence and whiplash tongue that would sell her standing on authority like a Janeway in 'Voyager' or a Starbuck in 'Battlestar Galactica' would, but again, these are early days and it takes time for actors to fully inhabit their characters. Weir hasn't struck me as a tough type of leader, but she showed she wasn't going to be talked down to, so we'll see.

They do a fine job of answering any questions you have as the episode progresses as you think why wouldn't this solution work, or that: for example, I was immediately wondering why the front part of the Jumper didn't poke out the front of the Stargate, but we learn that a 'gate won't work until all of an object is through, so the two in the cockpit are stuck in stasis, at least for thirty-eight minutes, which is ironically, the time at which a 'gate will shut down, inevitably scything the ship in half and pitching everyone into space. Not even the unfortunate pilots will survive because that part of the ship will be vaporised, I think, may even result in a bomb for Atlantis, so the stakes are high. I like that they're using previously established internal logic: the 'gate's shutdown time, which was dealt with on 'SG-1,' and is an unavoidable hazard. Interestingly, Lieutenant Ford is able to be pulled back into the back of the craft since his arm is still visible. The episode gets better as it goes, despite throwing so much into it, because it's a bit 'Trekky,' with people solving problems and working together as a team, which is always good to see. They have to try out whatever materials they have on the bug sucking the life out of Sheppard, ultimately shocking him with paddles so the creature's fooled into thinking he's dead, then shocking him back to life, and in the event of that failure, Teyla drags him into the wormhole which acts as a stasis until the ship is successfully recovered, thanks to McKay's trial and error.

The side story of Halling interrupting Weir's rescue attempts wanting to perform some ritual for Teyla which will mean her being able to accept the death he believes is certain added to the feeling of an episode really stuffed full, but it was an idea that would have borne further investigation, the cultural differences between these people and the humans threatening to disrupt the peaceful relations when Weir refuses Halling's request on the basis that it's not a done deal, they will survive, and she doesn't want them to give up hope. The important thing with both this and the Kavanagh situation is that there's a nice little moment of redemption or reconciliation which warms the heart: Weir shares a look of understanding with Halling when the ship finally glides out of the 'gate with no lives lost, and Kavanagh gets on with his job in spite of the loss of face, coming up with the last minute way to save the team when, despite retracting the errant engine pod, the ship no longer has any momentum to take it in, and he suggests blowing the rear hatch. Ford takes the job, it having to be done manually, and sends McKay through, but the bug they hoped had been shot to death starts to come round and I was genuinely considering this might be Ford's exit as a shock twist so early in the series (a bit like the killing of Kowalski early in 'SG-1'), especially as he's a bit of a generic soldier guy and hasn't yet stood out among the other characters, though this act of heroism helps, for sure.

Everything's all right in the end, though they could probably do with coming up with a contingency plan so this doesn't happen again, the action side of things is taken care of with flashbacks to how they got into this situation (returning to the Wraith base only to find it gone, a crater the only evidence of the mountain, speculation it was a vast ship), and there's a joke about Sheppard having a 'Klingon,' so what more could they fit in? I also appreciated that they didn't turn Sheppard's unsaid speech at the moment of potential doom into a corny joke at the end with him revealing that it wasn't anything special, just don't forget to turn the gas off in his quarters, or something trivial like that. Instead he says something which brings the team together, helping them realise that they did work well and solved the problem, saving their lives, which ends things on a high. Still, I can't quite say it's good enough yet, but it's really getting there, and if the episodes haven't felt uniquely 'Atlantis' yet, that is sure to come in time, and the important thing is that I don't dislike any of the characters and want to see more. They should probably pull back on shoving so many different people in front of the camera if they want to build a cast of recurring characters that we care about, because it was too much, but I also hope those we saw do return - it was good to see people from other nationalities, like the Russian scientist or that there was definitely a British patch on one of the scientists (though surely it should have been an England flag since Beckett has a Scottish one…).

**

Star Trek 2017 TV Series - Sarek

Star Trek 2017 TV Series - Sarek

One of my greatest fears for discovery was that its setting ten years before 'The Original Series' was chosen specifically so they could use the 'TOS' characters, or younger versions of them, to tap into the same audience that wanted to see the Kelvin Timeline films with recast roles, all for brand recognition rather than imagination. I still have mixed feelings about this, even though it's an intriguing idea, but it also means that 'TOS' continues to be seen as The Star Trek, rather than a part of the expanding Trek Universe that had been broadened and deepened up to the end of 'Enterprise.' Falling back on familiar names and setting, relying on that for Trek's appeal rather than genuinely going into something new as a post-'Voyager'/'Nemesis' series would have been, or even one set far enough before 'TOS' that the characters weren't alive yet. In fairness, Sarek is the first preexisting character to have been announced, and we've had a number of the characters named, so they aren't doing a remake of 'TOS' yet.

Back when it was rumoured the series would be set between 'TOS' and 'TNG,' post 'Star Trek VI,' it immediately set alarm bells ringing because I saw the inevitability of them setting up 'TNG,' recasting those characters and not giving us something genuinely new. It's all to do with the reliance on branding and general audience expectations, and that's frustrating to me. I prefer the way it was almost always done on Trek, right up to the end of the Berman era, when an actor played their character and no one else did, and if the actor didn't want to, or had died, that was the end of that character, nothing new could be added about them, about the role they created. I like it in 'DS9' and 'Voyager' when they talk in some nostalgic way about the 23rd century, but it doesn't mean I want to visit there again, or to be precise I don't mind visiting, but I don't want to exist there - if I wanted to do that I'd just watch 'TOS' and the films. There have been exceptions, such as Tora Ziyal being played by three actresses, and Worf's son, Alexander, having the same fate across a longer timespan, but for the most part Trek maintained a believable internal consistency regarding people, places and technology so that in the rare times when we do get to revisit that era ('Trials and Tribble-ations,' 'Flashback,' 'Relics,' 'In A Mirror, Darkly,' for some of the best examples), it's a special event.

At the same time it's simply gratifying that Trek is coming back after twelve years of absence from the small screen, and most importantly it's set in the original timeline (let's hope it stays much more true to itself than the modern films). It is fascinating to imagine seeing how those original characters met, what they were like earlier in their careers or lives, and as long as they aren't overused it could be a nice leavening to add to a strong series. But if they're going to be relying on that kind of brand recognition to drive stories, then I see it as a crutch. I'm not prejudging the series and I hope it will be great and lives up to the grand tradition that came before, but it is quite sad to think that the book is being reopened again on characters that weren't like James Bond, Dr. Who, superheroes, etc, designed to be reimagined and rebooted forever, but were real, flesh and blood people who existed, lived and died in a period of our future history, and their legacy survives. But because of the relative success of the KT films it constrained future writers into narrowly considering the 'TOS' era (and possibly a rebooted 'TNG' era), as the only real choice for Trek to explore that would get people's attention. Walter Koenig predicted in the early 2000s that Trek would eventually recast 'TOS' and remake it, and he was right when the films did just that. At least with 'Discovery' they're not out and out, blatantly setting it on the Enterprise under Kirk, but the setting does make me think they could quite easily hop forward a few years, should the series continue to be produced, or is successful enough to warrant a spinoff, and the logical choice would be to redo 'TOS,' which I really don't want.

At this stage it's merely the casting of an actor (James Frain? Nope, never heard of him, which is a good thing), as Sarek. It makes sense to feature the most famous Ambassador of the era, and if 'Enterprise' had been a little further into the future we would probably have seen him in that, and it's not even the first time he's been played by another, younger actor - in 'Star Trek V' we see a flashback to Spock's birth in a cave and his Dad remarks how human he looks. In that case they went out of their way to make the actor look like a young Sarek rather than just any old guy, and they had Mark Lenard supply the line, which made all the difference. And I liked Ben Cross in 'Star Trek XI,' mainly for his role in 'Chariots of Fire' - I like it when an actor I've admired in something else comes to Trek. But he didn't have the presence of Lenard - when he was on the Bridge he was just part of the background instead of emanating an importance and will that Lenard always had. I don't see anyone ever being able to replace Lenard in the role, that regal voice and bearing so powerful and evocative that even though he only made a handful of appearances, he's one of the best Vulcan characters ever.

And that's another thing - I really hope this series gets the Vulcans right, because 'Enterprise' messed with them in very disagreeable ways, turning them from noble superheroes (in the best sense), to petty Romulans, sneaky and vindictive, openly displaying emotions, raising their voices and generally being obnoxious in a superior way rather than simply being superior. Let's see Vulcans that display the Syrranite conduct that was a fix towards the end of 'Enterprise,' showing a return to the revolution in Vulcan behaviour that Surak had taught, laying the groundwork for the Vulcans we see in the 23rd and 24th Centuries.

It's great to have pretty much all of the cast now announced and I'm glad that Klingons are going to play a big part. Naturally I'm a little disappointed that we're not getting any of the previously established characters, such as Jeffrey Combs as Shran the Andorian, who could still be alive at this time, potentially. Or even a character from another series who could move into this one (as O'Brien and Worf transferred to DS9). I appreciate it would be a bit of a stretch, with time travel and all kinds of stuff having to happen in order for such a thing, but in Trek anything's possible and it would have been a great draw for us older viewers to see an established character return, played by the actor, no matter how farfetched that is. It was never likely, although I did have the slight hope that Combs or another famous Trek face would be signed up to the series, and it's not beyond the realms of possibility that we could see a stunt like that in recurring roles, but clearly they want to establish their own new cast more than throwback to previous series' too much, at least initially.

Having Saru (interestingly, pronounced 'suh-ROO,' perhaps to differentiate him from Saruman, or maybe he has a lineage that is Austr-alien!), be a previously unknown race is intriguing. It gives the actor and writers space to do whatever they want in establishing a new alien species and its culture, which is essential for a Trek series, so that's one element in place which I approve of. At the same time it would have been even better if they'd chosen to use a known race, whether a one-off alien of the week, or a lesser known, but recurring species (say, a Lethean, for example, or a Coridanite), in order to further flesh out an underdeveloped race and tie the series into the Trek Universe even more. But I'm not going to complain that they're doing something new and different, I just hope it becomes more of an Odo, who was a fascinating character of mystery whose uniqueness was more in his contrasting and conflicted personality than his amazing abilities, rather than Phlox, whose quirks of personality and physicality, although fun, seemed more like gimmicks than a serious examination of an unknown alien culture, for the most part (nothing against the Doctor, but he could have been developed better).

Things are starting to coalesce for the series, and latest news is that it's going to be pushed back again from its May release, which is no bad thing if it gives them time to refine and improve (and me time to get more 'TOS' reviews finished!).

Anticipation Rating: ***

Retrogaming Review of The Year 2016

Retrogaming Review of The Year 2016

Reading early issues of NGC Magazine I was reminded why the GameCube was only really a good console rather than the truly great and groundbreaking N64 - there's a lot of concern over Nintendo's new policy of shorter games, and if you think about it, this was the precursor to the Wii and it's games, which were more like minigames than full console experiences. The anger over 'Zelda' turning cartoony was also a big issue, though I can't recall being upset about it, and in the end we got the best of both worlds by having the epic 'Twilight Princess' at the very end of the 'Cube's life. Many of the big games were simply prettier, more detailed versions of N64 titles or genres, though there were new experiences to be had: I think of 'Hitman 2,' 'Super Monkey Ball,' 'Metroid Prime,' 'Spider-Man 2,' 'Burnout 2' and 'Conflict: Desert Storm' as good examples of games that either weren't possible, or weren't seen on N64. But the big change for me this year was the death of my Amiga and gaming monitor...

[Ratings reflect total, historical experience, not just the enjoyment level I got out of them this time.]


January: Donkey Kong 64 (1999, N64) - Finishing off this fun platformer kept me busy through January, and was the last N64 game I played for the year, partly thanks to the unforeseen loss of my gaming screen. Have a read of my full review for more on this one. ****

January - February: UFO: Enemy Unknown (1993, Amiga 1200) - I've been playing this game regularly, usually weekly, since January 2005: that's eleven years! Sadly, my routine (which actually began even earlier with a previous file beginning in 2002: that's thirteen years!), was blitzed when my Amiga monitor died (which I also used for console games), so I was left very disappointed. It's not that I needed to keep the game going, after all I've had the opportunity to visit Mars and complete the final mission for years and years, but I just enjoy it as a game to relax to, from the music to the beautiful visual style. There's been nothing new to do in the game for years, I'd researched every item possible, made more money than the game could actually compute, and been reduced to one funding nation that's kept the mission alive for such a long time. I never even see Alien Base missions any more since they basically run Earth, except for my little section. But it's sad not to have the option to continue playing, not to mention the many other Amiga games I wanted to revisit. On the positive side it has given me more time with whatever current game I'm on, but it's small consolation for a gaming tradition, even ritual, that lasted more than a decade. *****

February - September: Need For Speed Underground 2 (2004, GameCube) - A huge game that kept me busy for a good chunk of the year, though I had one false start when my screen died, and it wasn't until March when I found a Dell 2007 FPb 20" LCD screen as replacement, and by then I was well into 'Age of Empires II.' Still, when I did get back to it I thought it was a reasonably engaging racer with enough new features to justify its existence. I'd enjoyed the first game, and this improved things a bit with some races at dawn or sunset to offset the constant night racing of before. The vast city that served as hub, instead of a menu screen, was quite an achievement for the time, an early form of the sandbox-style open world that would become common in later years. The outrun feature where you take on street racers who happen by could be addictive and exciting with multiple consecutive wins on the line. I also liked the additions of Downhill Drift and the Street X smash-abouts. The cats eyes on the road were helpful and the graphics generally seemed to have improved (apart from such flaws as faceless, zombielike fans to wave you off at the start of a race, and the DVD covers, mag covers and title screen's low resolution), and it was a fun aspect having control to take the photos of your car for magazine or DVD covers. It also grew on me as I played - a little too long, but I realised the basic maps weren't a hindrance as they encouraged you to read road signs and act like a real visitor to the city, immersing you in the world. AI could be brutal, and the game certainly had challenge, sometimes unfairly so: I could never complete more than 98%, despite having fulfilled all the tasks, so it was frustrating not to get a clean 100%. But it was worth most of its playing time, satisfying to unlock large new areas, but not such a tight experience as the first game. ***

February - August: Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings campaigns (2001, MacBook Pro) - One good thing about losing my Amiga's screen, was that it gave me ample time and a desire to keep playing games. After many years of planning to 'one day' complete the Campaigns on the hardest difficulty, that day had finally come! I began with Joan of Arc as that was the one I remembered fondly (I've always preferred the green landscape and trees rather than desert, or sea-based, combat), and I had no trouble scything through those missions (even if I did artificially lengthen them by taking long routes and often totally destroying the enemy rather than just completing the objectives). But I was surprised to find it much easier than anticipated, in general, and in fact there was only one level higher than 'Normal,' designated 'Hard.' Still it was good fun, and I even played the William Wallace Campaign for old time's sake, even though they were  training scenarios (and to hear the 'varied' voice acting that wavered between Scottish, English or Irish at any moment, and which became a family joke). For an experiencer 'Ager' I should have expected it to be within my ability level, but it still had its challenges (the level where you have to get into the enemy town, rescue some villagers, then cross the river and break through the opposite wall before making your way to the allies' settlement in the North, sticks out). Ironically, this was one of the few years I hadn't made playing this game one of my goals! I enjoyed Saladin more than I expected, but Genghis Khan was not so much fun, being all steppes and mazes of rocks. *****

June - July: Wave Race: Blue Storm (2002, GameCube) - Warm, summery weather made me feel like it, but initially I found it inaccessible, the handling even on the easiest tournament tough to master, with unforgiving courses and robust opposition. Not until Expert level did it finally click (the nuances of releasing the accelerator, or tapping it to turn easier; the balance between too little or too large a turn the key to victory; careful use of the boost - all too often it would push you off course into a wall or make your handling ridiculously lumpy!). The best way to win was not to miss buoys, and rather than concentrating on environs or opponents, steering correctly was paramount. At the same time, tactical use of up to four missed buoys without disqualification was a useful trick, as well as judicious use of shortcuts - I couldn't win La Razza Canal until I found a couple there! By Expert mode I was addicted to winning all championships and actively enjoying the experience, where before I found the strict racing line constraining, unlike '1080º,' which was much more intuitive (snowboard control substantially easier). Riding those huge waves on Southern Island in a storm, or gliding over glacial waters in Arctic Bay, the water reality stood out as top-class and I wonder how many iterations have followed, ever more realistic? Almost makes me want a new-fangled Wii to find out… Sadly, no special end music (one of my favourite pieces is the finale of 'Mario Kart 64,' simultaneously sad and happy), and no real connection to these people or their world, as good as it was to have '1080º' and previous 'Wave Race' characters crossover. As NGC said, Nintendo Software Technologies wasn't strictly Nintendo themselves, and you feel a slight lack of the big N's magic. A much better experience than it first seemed, though not quite classic gaming pleasure for inaccessibility, though putting the time in, rewards. I wanted a mirror championship so I could keep playing, the sign of a good game, but it had limited appeal as a multiplayer due to requiring hours of learning to control your machine! If you're not into stunts or time attack, there's not much to keep you after breaking the championships, and the lack of weather choice in Free Roam was disappointing as I really wanted to ride those storms! ***

September - October: Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (1992, DOSBox) - In the 50th Anniversary year of my favourite franchise I planned to play one of its classic games. The graphics were adorable, the sound effects evocative, if basic, and the puzzles… well, they could be frustrating, as were various other ticks and irritations: not being allowed to save until after the briefing on a level, the impression of being the leader of a team, but in reality your crew remaining pretty mute, and the usual trial and error of the genre. But it was so much fun to be aboard the Enterprise and though basic, to have the ability to carry out the tasks and interact with the characters, all in a very 'Star Trek: The Original Series' style that played to the intelligent series' strengths, rather than being a shoot-'em-up or action-based game. The patience-testing was high, leading to a close call in rating, but the overall experience was positive. ***

September - November: WWF No Mercy (2000, N64) - Having enjoyed previous iterations in the wrestling series on the N64, I had to check this one out, since it was considered the pinnacle for its time. I didn't get a chance to try out the multiplayer experience, perhaps the most important judge of such a game, but I'm sure it would only have been enhanced by so many additions to the formula, from new game modes to improved graphics and animation. It provided plenty of game time, though it was annoying that you had to play through a serious trial and error to get 100% on a belt, something I never managed as my enjoyment waned by 90-odd% on a belt! ***

December: Starfox Adventures (2002, GameCube) - Basic 'Zelda' ripoff, that has the distinction of being the last home console game from Rare to grace a Nintendo system (as far as I know they're still tied to Microsoft to this day, not that I keep up with that sort of thing). I wanted to play it for some time, and Christmas seemed the obvious time for it, keeping up a tradition of the past two years of playing a Rare platform game at that time. Not that this is a platform game, but it served the purpose, and while being fairly reminiscent of other games, it managed to hold my attention and staved off boredom, something not all games can do. The good stuff came from some beauty in the visuals department, and some nice music and voices (as well as some irritating voices), and if the flying sections felt forced, they weren't a big part of it. The game had varied locales and plenty of puzzles, though the lack of invention was evident. Not groundbreaking, but worth the time I spent on it. ***

Honourable mentions to 'Burnout 2,' continuing to be the occasional multiplayer outing of choice, as well as a bit of multiplayer 'Perfect Dark.' Also, 'Speedball 2' on Boxer, which I can't really include as a serious entry in the main reviews as I only played it a little bit back in May, not really getting into it properly, just as a knockabout. I expect 'Age of Empires II' would have qualified here in multiplayer guise, too, except that as well as losing my Amiga monitor my Apple PowerBook G4 also died a death, so it was no longer possible for linkup play, sadly.


Next Year - I continued exploring the GameCube legacy, NGC Magazine useful as a shop window for potential purchases, and I did play a few more of the DOSBox games, including the Trek game I'd planned, thanks to the Amiga being off the table. In 2017 I'd like to:

- Continue playing more 'Cube games, which shouldn't be difficult as I have several queued up, as well as the desire to replay some I own from times of yore, particularly the two 'Zelda' releases.

- I have a strange hankering for some Game Boy Advance gaming, especially as I've discovered a headphone adaptor for the SP, so 'Advance Wars' might finally see the light of day again.

- Play more DOSBox, in particular, the 'Dune' games.

- More N64 games, a few of which are lined up.

- Find a way to play my Amiga again, although this looks less and less likely.

- Having enjoyed the 'Age of Empires II' campaigns so much I might do the ones from 'The Conquerors Expansion.'

- I'm tempted to purchase a Nintendo Switch, the first new console I would have bought since the 'Cube, and the first that I feel some interest in thanks to the unique idea of turning it into a portable console. We'll see...

Happy New Year!

The Conscience of The King

DVD, Star Trek S1 (The Conscience of The King)

One of the better episodes of the season thanks to a couple of factors: the developing friendship between Kirk, Spock and McCoy, which is so important to this story, and the quality of the guest stars: if you couldn't believe Anton Karidian as a conflicted, but great actor, he wouldn't have worked as the suspected villain of the piece. But merely because he is so enigmatic and his potential alter ego, Kodos The Executioner, so extreme, we're allowed room for doubt. All of which cunningly pulls the rug from under our feet when it's his daughter that proves the real villain, confounding expectations by showing a former monster as a man grieving his past mistakes, only to see the last bright thing in his life extinguished when he finds his daughter tainted by his heinous past life, and then to die with that knowledge fresh in his mind, by the hand of that same daughter. It may be the first strong link between Trek and Shakespeare, and would be one of many to come, but the quality of the story, the writing and the acting had to be at a high enough level in what was basically a sixties sci-fi series, so that including references to the Bard's work, and even including some of it as a play within a play, shows the ambition for Trek to be recognised for its storytelling and character in the intent of the writers. And Shakespeare was for the people, not some highbrow form of entertainment, just as Trek was for the large TV audiences of the day, and so the two, both attempting and succeeding at commenting on the human condition, would be intertwined forever (except perhaps nowadays when Trek has become mere action adventure).

The story is notable for giving us our only datapoint about Kirk's childhood, aside from his birth, forcing him to relive a terrible time in his formative years that may have had great influence on his life, except he's not too keen to talk of it, even to his closest friends. I like that Kirk keeps it to himself, doesn't run off to his buddies to say, 'look what this guy's been saying, and now he's dead,' or appears to become concerned for his own safety. He acts in a mature, adult way, cautious that the facts and events aren't to be raked over at a whim, or what seems a fancy of Tom Leighton (who could almost be McCoy's son in looks!), one of the nine witnesses to the tragic massacre on Tarsus IV twenty years prior to the episode. This would have made a fantastic opening for 'Star Trek: Discovery' (and might explain the need for a fungus expert since the event occurred due to the food supply of the planet being attacked by a fungus, which led to Kodos taking power), but sadly, I don't think this is going to be the event that was mentioned in Trek that will be seen in that series, since this happened twenty years before 'TOS,' and 'DSC' occurs only ten years before it. It's possible they could flashback to that earlier time, but on the other hand, would a massacre of four thousand colonists be the most appropriate way to open a bright, optimistic new Trek series? Yes, we'd get to see a child Kirk, but that didn't help me get into 'Gotham' when they had a child Bruce Wayne, so it could smack more of a gimmick than a compellingly argued reason for inclusion.

Whether the Tarsus IV massacre returns to play a bigger part in Trek lore or not, it will forever be etched upon the mind of Captain Kirk, and shows him once again using his charm to find out facts: last time it was the wellbeing of Miri, and the desire to keep her onside as they solved the conundrum of her planet, and this time it's Lenore Karidian. Despite 'Miri' taking place mainly in an expansive location shoot, it felt more like a stage play than this one, which is ironic considering how stagey and meta the stage play connection is to this episode. But we see a variety of places and we get a sense of a larger universe, instead of concentrating on one planet, and even more, to one laboratory. Here, we visit Planet Q (absolutely nothing to do with the Q race or their Continuum, as far as is known, of course!), a basic and rather plain designation for a planet, it has to be said, but then it was a slightly plain and basic planet set that we saw, back to the painted sky and foam outcrops of other episodes before it. It's not important, as we're only there long enough for Kirk to attend a cocktail party arranged by Dr. Leighton at which he plans to unmask the dreaded Kodos, and for Kirk to find the body of said Leighton. Lenore is quick to fall to Kirk's charms, at least in a teasing, flirty manner, never suspecting he arranged for the Karidian Company of Players' ride (the Astral Queen - a name that inspires the imagination, and makes you think of something even more swanlike and majestic than the Enterprise herself, though we never do get to see it), to be diverted, calling in a favour, in order to take them aboard his own ship.

Even if Lenore had suspected his Machiavellian string-pulling, she'd probably have been more gratified than shocked, especially as it gave her perfect opportunity to put Lieutenant Riley off his milk forever (there must be some regulation preventing bored crewmen from calling up the Rec Room while on duty! He even requests a song from Uhura! Actually there's good use of that set as it's also used by more of the crew that couldn't fit in the audience of the play to view it on a screen), and to blast Kirk with an overloaded Phaser, cunningly hidden in the Red Alert light fitting in his Quarters, though perhaps not so cunningly giving him time to find it, especially as it was a very noisy overload! The sequence was actually quite tense as Kirk demands Spock clear the rest of the deck, confidently encouraging him with the certainty he'll find the makeshift bomb, a confidence borne of the infallibility of leadership: even if Kirk didn't think he could find it in time, he wasn't going to let anyone think that, and neither was he going to let a chunk of his ship's decks go flying if he had anything to do with it. His determination and control, not panicking, but narrowing down the hiding place and deactivating the buildup in time, shows his great leadership qualities, strongly. Spock too, shows the ability to follow orders when he'd rather stay and help his Captain, overcoming that strong urge to deny such orders on logical grounds. Spock is clearly shown to accept the boundary of command when he notices Kirk's secretive attitude and doesn't question him in front of the crew, or disobey.

What he does do when Kirk isn't being forthcoming is consult the Doctor. McCoy takes it as overreaction at first, quite happy to let such explainable displays of behaviour pass, sitting down for a drink as Spock brings his earnest observations, finding it easy to brush off the First Officer's suspicions, even assuming Kirk had ulterior motives for allowing Lenore aboard, which perhaps shows McCoy's wishful thinking for his Captain's happiness more than for the Captain's actual attitude, always displaying a high degree of professionalism, acting in the interest of his ship and crew, where McCoy can be a little more relaxed about such things if it affects a crewman's morale in a positive way, medically speaking (adding to the errant mythos of Kirk having a constant attitude towards romantic inclinations). Spock seems to know Kirk better, knows his Captain would usually share. Kirk makes enigmatic references such as talking of Leighton's long memory, which, out of context, means nothing to Spock. Then added to that is Kirk's foreknowledge of Lenore's beaming aboard, and keeping such to himself, and especially when he orders the Enterprise's course changed, refusing to give reasons, standing on a Captain's prerogative. Spock must be quite deeply affected - he's far from dispassionate in recounting the terrible history of the Tarsus IV massacre to McCoy, far from the contained, passive Vulcan we expect. He's definitely shown far more emotion in the first half of this season than I ever remembered!

I'm not sure what McCoy meant about Spock's people being conquered - does he mean becoming subsumed into the Federation or is he referring to some other event that we never heard about? Eventually things rise to a head, and Spock and McCoy visit Kirk's Quarters to hash it out. I noticed for the first time a buzzer sounds when they're at the door and Kirk pushes a button on his desk to open it - he must have tired of people walking in unannounced, or shouting through the door to do so! Kirk still isn't forthcoming, but Spock makes it very clear that if it affects the safety of the crew, if there's a chance his predicament could interfere with the performance of his duties, he must be informed, McCoy backing him up, reminding the Captain it's a First Officer's job, in case people think it was only Janeway, Chakotay and the EMH that had these kinds of rows. McCoy opens an interesting point, too: is Kirk's motivation justice or vengeance? That it's not a simple thing for Kirk to wrestle with makes the episode much more complex than simply hero versus villain, and this leads into the eventual meeting between Kirk and Karidian where the two trade parries and thrusts in words, Kirk coming away uncertain of his intention, Karidian never truly confessing, but talking around it all, even being an apologist for Kodos' methods. The man and his troupe are quite removed from the general society of the Federation in spite of their many performances. It's as if they merely attend their various bookings, and the real life, at least of Karidian himself, is in his work. An escape from his past, the play an inversion of real life, an invented reality better for him than the alternative.

He seems to have remained something of an idealist, even if it seems likely his Kodos ideas of eugenics have been abandoned. But like the leader of some kind of hippy commune, he seems to live for the past, rejecting the mechanical society, as he calls it, calling Kirk the perfect specimen of this age. But he's lost the love of living and while Kirk talks of technological advancement as tools, he says words are also tools. Which leads on to Lenore, who asks if she, too, were a tool in Kirk's plans. She appears of much the same mind as her Father, earlier, questioning Kirk on whether women have been changed by the machine. It's almost as if she were from Shakespeare's day, because we know that this 'mechanical' world has been around for over a century, it's not some new development, but that was speaking to the 1960s view of the future, as computers and advances in every field were beginning to pick up as we entered the last few decades of the 20th Century. But it works as the words of a sheltered young lady, who doesn't really know more than the productions of her Father's company. At the same time you know she's more perceptive and shrewd than she ever lets on - if she could find out about her Father's shady past and has the gall for serial murdering, she must know what a technologically dependent society is like, and she was probably being more than a little coy in her interactions with Kirk, perhaps even then having immediate plans to take him out in the killing sense, not the romantic - she must have had every name seared in her mind, and every face who could still harm her Father.

If the Captain's aim was to use her to get to the bottom of the truth and potentially Kodos, it at least gives us the chance to see a bit more of the ship, Kirk taking Lenore to the Observation Deck above the Shuttle Bay. Not that you can observe much, as it would probably have been too expensive to have shown that, but it would have been nice if they'd built a model to look down on. It has the feel of being somewhere important, but only getting the barest impression, like the scene in 'Enterprise' where Archer visits the future Enterprise-J, and all we see is a corridor - both tantalising, but rather unsatisfying. Lenore's madness appears to affect the Captain more than he'll admit, giving us another good, poignant ending, mixed with a lightness of touch, as McCoy asks if he really cared about her, and in answer Kirk continues giving orders, leading to the doctor's observation that he isn't going to tell him, is he? We definitely see the friendships and lore becoming better defined as the season continues. There are still bobbles along the way, such as Kirk referring to McCoy as 'Doc' when he and Spock are discussing Riley's condition when you might have expected a 'Bones,' the more common nomenclature, which hadn't become the standard nickname yet. And the thing about Vulcan being a conquered people. And even the, sadly final, appearance of Yeoman Janice Rand, Grace Lee Whitney sacked for her substance problems. Reviewing the episodes again I'd say she was more than a 'space secretary,' as Uhura was, or McCoy's assistant, like Chapel: she was a space valet, space housekeeper and an excellent personal assistant to the Captain who could hold her own and probably had as much to do in her handful of episodes than those other female characters had in the series' entire run: a worthy addition to 'TOS.'

The one area the episode falls down is on its internal reality when Lenore steals a Phaser and ends up shooting her Father by mistake. For one, Kirk and Karidian are a little jostled by each other, but the staging of it is a bit odd - how could an old man get in front of Kirk to take the blast at the speed a Phaser fires? Nor should a Phaser be automatically set to kill, yet this one does for Karidian. There are answers, as there always are: if Lenore was devious enough to set a Phaser to overload she would have known how to adjust the settings intuitively, and Karidian may have had a heart condition, or the stress of the moment could have been as much to blame as the blast. If the execution of the ex-executioner didn't ring entirely true, it did at least lead to a suitably tragic Shakespearean conclusion, Lenore pathetically babbling words from the play over her dead Father's body, then being torn away from him forever. It can be said that the integration of 'Hamlet' into the story was well… erm, executed, to say the least. Perhaps because it's about humans and not some alien menace, the face of humanity the real villain, the episode remains a timeless story, and regardless of the future setting and technology all around, it's about emotions, motives and important questions such as the value of a man's life, even putting it to the test against technology as when Kirk says the voice prints are a close match, but no machine can make such a decision.

There's also the side story of Lieutenant Riley, brought into it first by Lenore's assassination attempt on him in Engineering, but also when he overhears a careless Medical Log McCoy records in Sickbay, right next door to the antsy patient, hardly the wisest choice! In fact McCoy looks remarkably at ease and lacking his oft seen stress and temper, kicking back with his drink and telling Spock not to worry, and then doing this! It leads to Riley almost becoming a murderer in revenge, and the backstage of the play is just as interesting as the front of house when Kirk and Riley are about, then confession comes and more drama. It's a good mix, and I especially like that Riley's ardour is quickly brought under control by the stern commands of his Captain. Again, it's nice that they brought back a character we'd seen before and went some way to redeem his foolishness (albeit brought out by the virus in 'The Naked Time'), as he was a pretty laughable character in that one. This is also Mr. Leslie's finest hour so far, having the honour of taking Mr. Sulu's station on the Bridge throughout, and even (for the first time, I think), being called by name, several times in fact, by Kirk. He must have thought all his Christmases had come at once!

Other noteworthy details include the period music used in the play - period as in the kind of score heard in period films of the sixties, which makes it quite quaint and appealing. It was also fun to notice a jazzy version of the 'TOS' theme played as quiet background music at the cocktail party. We see a lot of paper for a futuristic setting: it makes sense that an anti-tech group would have props, costumes and sets, as well as the script for the play in a paper volume to flick through, as Karidian is seen to hold in his quarters, but we also see lots of books in Kirk's Quarters (even if he does treat them badly, flinging them about like a frenzied animal in his bid to locate the overloading Phaser!), and most oddly, a scrap of paper is used to provide the Kodos speech for Karidian to recite in the voice print test. Why didn't Kirk give him one of those PADD-like boards that we sometimes see Yeoman's carrying? Even McCoy eschews using one to bring his Captain a medical report on a completely different pad, which features a small viewer in the centre. Is this a specific Medical Tricorder or some kind of device unique to McCoy? I wonder if the photo we see of Kodos from twenty years before was of the same actor as the current Karidian? It could have been an old publicity still of him, if they used those back then. And we learn that the Enterprise retains the day and night conditions of a planet, which explains the low lighting when Kirk gives Lenore the tour. Finally, we learn that Vulcans don't drink, if Spock's attitudes to the 'dubious benefits of alcohol' are anything to go by - he says his Father's race was spared from it.

***

Hide and Seek

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S1 (Hide and Seek)

I'm still not sold on the theme music, it's just a derivative, more wallpaper-y version of the 'SG-1' version, but I felt more at home with a proper opening credits sequence, my theory of the usual absence of one in a pilot proving correct. This is also typical of the post-pilot episode of most TV series' first season: an inoffensive bottle show that sees our protagonists learn a little more about their surroundings and deal with a threat, without it becoming too complicated or dramatic. Less stakes than the first episode, but plenty to keep the interest with McKay trialling gene therapy to enable him to be the first human without the Ancient gene to use their technology. There's even a name for it: ATA, or Ancient Technology Activation, which makes sense. The first piece of tech he finds to try out his newfound ability is initially a cool device that acts as a personal forcefield, enabling Sheppard to push him over a rail to the hard floor beneath without suffering the slightest ill effects. It's a great item, the sort of thing anyone would love to play around with, and who knows, it could become essential in the inevitable rematch with the Wraith. Downsides are: not being able to eat, not being able to drink, and not being able to turn it off, essentially making it a deathtrap for the morose doctor. It seemed to me that a man's life, especially one which is so integral to the scientific investigation of the city, is taken so lightly as to be a comical interlude to the story! McKay isn't the nicest, most pleasant, humble sort to be around, but to make light of his situation was a little cruel and didn't put the others in the best light - they should have been seen to work around the clock to find a solution.

As you'd expect, his usefulness becomes a plot point in saving the city from the B-plot… or is it the A-plot, I'm not sure? I'm also not sure about having children running around! The Enterprise-D successfully carried it off, but it was made in a different age and was a different type of series in some ways (in others, this is yet another spinoff of the genre 'TNG' devised: sci-fi ensemble cast character adventure drama). Jinto, son of Halling (the long-haired guy whose status in Athosian society I'm uncertain about, but seems fairly high up), manages to find what McKay dubs a Transporter (not even bothering with the Ring designation any more - call a spade a spade, I suppose), getting lost in another part of the city and in his fear, pressing all kinds of controls and releasing the shadow creature. It's another sci-fi series trope that you have to have a monster roaming the corridors of your space ship/station/city, so at least they got it out the way early on. Ford gets it doled out to him by the creature when he fails to get out the way quick enough, and they soon discern that this was something the Ancients were studying and the thing probably just wants to get away. McKay gets to be the hero when the MALP carrying a snackable Naquahdah generator stops short of the 'gate, and hurls it into the wormhole, encouraging the creature to exit after it.

It's not the most compelling or inventive story, but then neither were 'SG-1's' a lot of the time, so it's only keeping up the tradition. But we do get to learn a little more about our characters and the city, so it was worthwhile, if a little bit of a treading water type, instead of diving right in and doing something daring. But I quite like episodes like this where you just explore a little bit instead of having big revelations, cliffhangers and high-octane drama, so no harm done. I was wondering why the writers seem to have an affinity for Scottish characters, since both this with Dr. Beckett, and 'Universe' with Dr. Rush, feature one in a prominent role, while it looks like most of the rest of the cast are American, except for Canadian McKay (something which comes up again when Sheppard's discussing his preference for American Football over Hockey). I wonder if it had anything to do with David Tennant in 'Dr. Who,' but that wouldn't account for Beckett as this series came out in 2004, and Tennant didn't take the role properly until Christmas 2005, so perhaps they were preempting a trend for Scottish sci-fi characters (even if Tennant was doing an English accent - you know what, forget I mentioned it!). Sheppard's beginning to display a little more of a quirky personality, like O'Neill, but I still feel the characters aren't generally too well defined, aside perhaps from McKay and Weir who we'd seen before. The sets continue to look good, the effects impress (when McKay enters the shadow to see all these tiny electrical impulses), but it has yet to grip me.

**

Rising

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S1 (Rising)

I skipped this to go straight to 'Stargate Universe' simply because that was a shorter series, but I'd got to the point in my 'SG-1' watch-through that I either continued that series or watched 'Atlantis' concurrently with it, the way it was made to be seen, and so here I am. If 'SG-1' was the 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' of its franchise, and 'Universe' the 'Voyager,' I'm hoping 'Atlantis' will be the 'Deep Space Nine' - deeper, more texture and high production values, with a side order of well developed characters and a genuine continuing threat, wrapped up in strong writing and storytelling. By the looks of it, the visuals and values of the series are set to fulfil that hope, with a definite step up from 'SG-1' in sets, effects and makeup, with an attractive 'station' in the form of a giant snowflake floating on an ocean beneath a beautiful horizon, CGI that looks pretty good, and aliens that look pretty bad, in the best possible way, of course. Stargate Command, let's face it, doesn't take much beating in the aesthetic department, being a spare, concrete military installation underground where the need for CG set extensions or views out the window, were entirely unnecessary and not particularly doable when it was created in the late nineties. But technology had moved on since then and by the mid-2000s TV was capable of much more, especially off the back of a successful TV show that had been running, to that point, for seven seasons.

This pilot wasn't a bad introduction to the first 'Stargate' spinoff, but neither is it easy to judge how successful a genesis it was, relying a little too much on throwing lots of characters at us and spinning out a basic story that tries to present all the facts of the situation for this series. 'SG-1' was much simpler, and came off the back of a film release, but by this point they'd racked up an impressively convoluted backstory and large roster of characters. With 'Atlantis,' we plunge right in with a continuation of the project begun in 'SG-1' when O'Neill saved Earth from attack by the use of a nifty chair in Antarctica (I think). It's had a bit of a facelift since then, looking all shiny and fancy with the sheen of a whole new series' pilot budget to throw around. The main cast isn't entirely clear yet, perhaps one reason I felt slightly out of my depth with this story, but it's good to see Dr.'s Weir and McKay, both previously introduced on 'SG-1,' Weir expressly with the purpose of taking on the Atlantis mission. Then there's Colonel Sumner, played by a 'name' actor (Robert Patrick), so you know he's not going to make it out of this mission - why would you have a leader over and above the guy introduced as O'Neill's helicopter pilot, who just so happens to have a strong Ancient gene in him, as well as Weir who's the overall commander, with a higher authority. That 'just so happens' is also something of a theme of the first episode (it just so happens the Wraith, who only attack every few centuries, come on the very day the team visit a particular planet, for example), though it's difficult not to have contrivances.

We also meet the natives of the planet they visit in the search for a ZPM (those things again!), essential if they're to get enough power to regain contact with Earth again. It was nice to hear McKay call it a Zed-Pee-Emm, instead of the American pronunciation of Zee-Pee-Emm, and they even made it a joke ("He's Canadian" - makes me think of 'Due South'!), but I was a little hazy on the exact mission: visit Atlantis, a city in the Pegasus galaxy, hoping to meet The Ancients, which for the first time in the mythology we actually see on screen, though it's a flashback at the very opening of the episode. And then? I guess the old mandate to seek out new forms of technology and weaponry and boldly go where no one has gone before was part of it, coming as it does, out of a very 'Star Trek-y' sci-fi model. Major Sheppard, the guy with the gene, ends up taking the military leadership, having shot Sumner to save the guy a worse fate as his life is drained away by a nasty Wraith woman. I can't help thinking it would have been a better choice to keep firing at her so she was forced to stop her devastating procedure, though it was already too late for Sumner - thanks to Sheppard's hesitation or slow reactions, he'd become an elderly man. So far Sheppard isn't objectionable, but has yet to prove himself as a strong character that we care about in the same vein as O'Neill, Jackson, Carter or Teal'c.

That's the real trouble with something like this: the characters were always the best thing about 'SG-1' and it's difficult to come up with new ones without straying too far from the established archetypes of soldier (O'Neill), historian/expert (Daniel), scientist (Carter), or warrior (Teal'c). We have Sheppard and Lieutenant Ford in the military camp; Weir, McKay and Beckett in the science area; and I suppose Teyla may turn out to be the warrior type, a female version of Teal'c (she has that look about her, though she hasn't actually done anything in that vein yet). I didn't feel the characters were that well sketched out, and on the whole it was a bit messy with so many people around, visually busy with crates and equipment all over the place, and not all that directional in the story - they're reacting to the apparent looming destruction of the newly found city, then the abduction of Sumner and the others, and while it was fine, and the scenes set in the Wraith compound gave it a harder edge than usual (though it's worth bearing in mind that 'SG-1' began it's first few episodes with a bit more nastiness to proceedings than became the norm, as tends to happen with series pilot), I'm still not entirely sure what they're going to be doing. 'SG-1' were all about missions, 'Universe' was about survival day to day, but 'Atlantis'?

It certainly had the aura of an important, life-changing mission, especially as so many of these people may never return to Earth (the main reason Daniel wasn't going to be allowed to go, since 'SG-1' still had a few seasons left in it and they wouldn't want to lose him again!). I can imagine the sets for the city being a good base of operations, the Stargate itself had a more advanced design, without the usual revolving chevron locker (or whatever the technical term is), replaced by lights. No doubt the Wraith will prove an unpleasant and deadly enemy, and certainly seem much more potent than the pantomime villains the Goa'uld so often were. Perhaps there's less of the flippant or world-weary tone so popularised in its forebear, but you still get that sense. It was nice to have O'Neill and Daniel there to get the series off to a start (not to mention Siler and a couple of familiar faces - the main guy in the village had been on 'SG-1' before, as, I think, had Weir's husband or partner, receiving her message at home. I believe he was the alien that fell in love with Carter, or one of them anyway!). It didn't feel quite complete without Carter and Teal'c, but I suppose they didn't want to overwhelm the new cast by featuring too much of the old, and I can respect that. And there were nice little touches such as the champagne bottle rolling out of the Stargate as a final goodbye, or the 'Star Wars' reference (Sheppard tells a villager they're from a galaxy far, far away).

In all, it certainly has the feel of a 'Stargate,' but it definitely needs time to bed in. To reveal the character of these people in better definition, not to mention the purpose and hopes they have. I was a little put off by the lack of opening credits, but that could be because it's a pilot - it'll be interesting to see if they go the route that became popular around this time, of dispensing with an opening theme and cutting to the episode, or whether an 'SG-1' montage will be coming for the regular episodes. I didn't think a great deal of the theme played in the end credits, sounding far too derivative of 'SG-1' without the bold unique flavour of that score. But that's always the great difficulty with a spinoff: the balance between making it true to what came before and carving out its own identity, distinct from its inspiration. Talking of inspiration, I couldn't help thinking of Superman's origins: a race that had to abandon its home (or were destroyed in it), telling their story in holographic form. It was all very Kryptonian.

I can see potential in the series, though it will be hard to do much in the way of crossovers with the still airing 'SG-1,' at least until they get the ability to dial Earth, though with five seasons I'm sure little details will get worked out somewhere along the way. And in a way it's nice to still have mystery as to what the series will be about. Fighting this latest threat of evil Wraiths is the obvious guess, but aside from that it remains to be seen. A pilot has so much to do in setting a tone, setting up characters and bringing viewers in. They tend to concentrate on action over too much exposition, so you can't generally judge a series by them. For the moment I'll be happy to see how it pans out.

**

Miri

DVD, Star Trek S1 (Miri)

It may have been the first episode of Trek I ever saw, or it may not, but whatever the case, it certainly remains in the memory as my first exposure to this otherworldly, terrifying, exciting, inventive space saga, if it can be called that when this particular episode barely takes place in space. My memory was of seeing that grup run crazed out of nowhere to grab the tricycle, its mottled skin burnt and shrivelled, a scary, wild face with a shock of hair to complete the effect, madly desperate to take its forlorn prize, a tragic, terrible creature. It's more shocking and sad when you see it as a pitiful creature, an adult's body scarred, 'distorted' as Spock calls it, but with the mind of a child, an extreme of rage and fear, looking like Odo when he can't regenerate. I probably only recognised the basic horror of a scary-looking figure charging out of the blue, because I believe we went out in the dark afterwards to see what would become my secondary school, on its open evening, and all the way I was eyeing the dark corners either side of the path down through the estate for any sign of an attack by such a fiend! I also remembered them being in a laboratory, so it's nice in a way, during this fiftieth year (of the series, not me!), to come full circle and revisit the place I began. I've seen it other times since, naturally, although I hadn't seen as much of 'TOS' as the later series' so each episode has a freshness to it that isn't always the case with the more familiar series' that I've gravitated to more.

This could be the first proper Kirk/Spock/McCoy story, as they are the rare trio who beam down, along with three redshirts, two of which are (rather ineffective and muted), security, and the other is Yeoman Rand in one of the final appearances for her on the series (though her short shrift sacking would be redeemed later when she came back for cameos in several of the films and a lovely guest role on 'Voyager' for the 30th Anniversary - still hard to believe that's twenty years ago now, and we're almost as far removed from that time as that time was from 'TOS' in the sixties!). It's a good inclusion for her character as she gets to emote, has further development with Kirk, and provides a linchpin of confusion for the motivation of Miri, whose jealousy over 'Jim's' comforting reassurance of the stricken Yeoman drives her to split to the other camp and inform on her new friends and helpers, or more specifically, 'The Captain.' It's a story all about the pain and sadness of growing up, symbolised by the plague that affects all who reach puberty and makes them ugly, with skin blemishes and wild behaviour - kind of like teenagers… It's about the loss of innocence and that freedom of childhood that can never be regained, and it provides a unique challenge to young Kirk, for once made to feel old, despite his youth.

Even unruly children can't parry his razor wit and persuasive arguing, and though it at first seems his words fall on foolish ears, the onlies succumb to his urgency and zealousness, even if they don't truly understand their plight. It just so happens that the Enterprise has arrived a few short weeks or months before the food will run out, the episode doing a good job of ticking time bombs: the food shortage means the onlies are destined for destruction, but there's the more immediate effect of the plague on Kirk and his Landing Party, not to mention the likelihood that our main guest character, the endearing, eager to please Miri, could become a madwoman at any time. There's tension from any half open door or dark alley, as any moment a grup might appear to shock and scare, so these multiple angles of unsettling potential events builds a strong gantry of drama in which the group are trapped, unable to return to the ship for fear of contamination. I think the idea could have been taken a stage or two further, as the grups are basically zombies, and if we could have had more interference from them it would only have increased Kirk and co's peril. But it remains a more thoughtful story of science and psychology with fascinating examinations of their characters.

Kirk uses his natural charm to reassure the frightened Miri that these grups are here to help, though she knows they're doomed. It's a great introduction to the plague when he's won her trust, holds her chin up and she recoils at the blemish on his wrist, knowing what it means. In that respect it has the elements of a horror film: dark, rundown buildings full of broken down imagery such as dolls and toys covered in dust; monsters that can appear at any moment; creepy children with malevolent intentions; and a small group trapped amidst it all and slowly degenerating. But these aren't just run of the mill participants, they're Starfleet officers (even though I believe Starfleet has yet to be mentioned - this time Kirk references 'Space Central' who will send teachers and advisors to the planet), and they keep it together to solve the problem. Again, the potential isn't fully realised, with Spock taking more of a back seat when you can imagine he would have been the main character if it had been one of the spinoffs, since he was the only one unaffected by the disease, and was able to keep his temper in check when Kirk and McCoy are going off the rails. At the same time he's not a cold, calculating machine, taking time to banter with McCoy about the antique microscope they find, and reminding Jim that, as a carrier he also can't return to the ship, and he does want to. This could be down to William Shatner being the star, as it's really his vehicle with various impassioned speeches or reassurances to an audience of Miri, Rand or the onlies. I didn't get a strong sense of their helplessness - apart from the Communicators being stolen, they always seemed in control and I wasn't sure the passage of time was effectively marked since they're there for a few days.

It would have been good to see them having to access more survival skills, hunting for food and water, the security men needing to keep their wits about them as night draws in, that kind of thing. But I suppose it wasn't really that sort of episode. Perhaps if the onlies had been able to steal the Phasers too, it might have made their predicament more apparent. It's more of an inconvenience that they can't contact the ship to verify the data input on the 'personal computer' that was beamed down, which makes it seem a rather ineffective machine. And you'd think the Tricorder would be able to process this data and even send or receive such from the ship, but that's putting modern eyes on a series that's fifty years old in a time in history when the pace of change has increased exponentially. In a way it's astonishing that the series is watchable at all considering it's based so heavily on technology and extrapolating the future, but it just shows how imagination can do a lot more than scientific progress in presenting a believable future, and they were especially prescient in much of Trek, one reason it has lasted all these decades. Another is, despite all the technological trappings, it's about good people solving problems, problems that still exist to this day because humanity doesn't change, no matter how many advances are made: people are always going to be people, there will always be emotive issues and motivations, so Trek will never grow old as long as it follows this path.

It's one reason I feel some of the films, particularly the Kelvin Timeline entries, will date much more, because of their reliance on special effects and action sequences, rather than speaking to the soul and mind. Here, we see our characters put through a trying time, and the most they do is snap at each other, they never leave their humanity (or Vulcanity), behind. McCoy bravely injects himself with the potential antidote that could be deadly poison for all they know, without the ability to confirm via the Enterprise computer, and his gamble pays off. Kirk risks life and limb to save the children, and Spock proves invaluable in helping to narrow down the cure. It could be a stage play, as so much of the episode takes place on one set, and it's much more about the psychology of dealing with children, working under stress and keeping it al together, than violence and excitement. There's some of that, with Kirk getting beaten down by the swarm of children, directed in a most creepy way by the choice to hold on a little girl watching the attack, smiling as her friends draw blood from the poor Captain. No doubt he could have fought his way out, but he wasn't going to hurt the children, despite being quite rough with the skinny boy a couple of times, pushing him against the wall or flinging him off the table! It seems like another point where Spock would have been useful, even if it was just to give them nerve pinches, although I suppose that would have frightened them away when Kirk was attempting to engage with them to make them understand their peril.

Perhaps it wasn't advisable for Kirk to turn on the charm for Miri, but he had more to worry about than one girl's potential jealousy, he wanted her to feel safe and keep her close by as she was a key to solving the mystery of what happened on this planet. He keeps her busy with little tasks, partly to occupy her mind, and also so she doesn't hear the results of their speculations - I think he felt pity for her and what had happened there, after all she's so horribly afraid when they find her, she almost needs counselling before she'll calm down (another good use of Rand's presence, as comforter). Rand is wistful when she speaks of eternal childhood with endless play, but the environment they live in is squalid and without the discipline and direction of the adult mind, there is no society. It's not really touched on, but by the fact that the children are open to violence, having witnessed plenty of it from the grups (and despite being three hundred years old, their perpetual childhood means they still have young, fresh memories), it's very possible they could have murdered, at times, or severely injured, either each other or the grups that attacked. They flee at the mere sight of a grup, and they're described as mice, scurrying into holes, but that doesn't mean they never fought, and that nasty side to their existence is hinted at.

Something that's never mentioned is the potential for this world to be part of the 'parallel Earths' theory that Roddenberry put forward as explanation for the fact that so many of the planets visited were humanlike. It postulated that they were at a similar development as Earth, but at various stages, which gave us the gangster planet, the Nazi planet, or the Roman planet. In truth it was a budget-saving method, but it worked and gave us some memorable episodes, and this could be the first of that sub-genre. They do express amazement at a planet that appears identical to Earth, even down to the continents, so perhaps the theory hadn't reached wide acceptance through Starfleet then, though they say that the age of the buildings is equivalent to 1960. It seems to be a rare occurrence since they're out where no colonies are and no vessels have been, genuinely fulfilling their mission brief of going where no man has gone before. Out there the children have developed unique lingo: they are onlies because they're the only ones left. The grups were grownups. They make a fooly, or play a joke or game, and they remember the beforetimes when the grups went mad. It really is a tragic tale, a society that experimented with life prolongation, but though they succeeded, allowing their children centuries of existence, they all died from the resulting plague, and their children had no guidance. It's a warning to those who want perpetual existence, perhaps saying that a childlike state isn't the best experience that could be had.

I'm surprised they didn't really go into the success of the experiment, because it did prolong life, ultimately. You'd think they'd have people studying what was done to see if it could be replicated as it worked for the children, but that isn't the point of the episode. It ends a little limply with the ship heading off having arranged for adults to come and help, but we don't know how long it will be for them to get there and who knows what the children will get up to until then! It seems like Kirk's glad to wash his hands of the situation, because I don't recall anyone saying that a team had been left behind, Kirk just says something about them surviving successfully for three hundred years! Then there's a limp joke about him not dating older women and it's over. Some episodes have a powerful ending, others go the jokey route, and it doesn't seem to matter whether the tone of the episode suits it or not. It was sad to suddenly realise in the moments when Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Rand were together, that only one of those actors was still living, as two of them had died relatively recently, the last time I watched this it was only Deforest Kelley who had gone. But that's the reality of life: these people don't have any life-prolongation, so many of the actors from this time are dying and it gives the episode an added layer to its examination of eternal childhood.

One fascinating aside to having so many child actors in an episode is that some of them grew up to be on other Treks: both Phil Morris and Iona Morris would appear on later series', both Shatner and Roddenberry's daughters were among them, and Kim Darby who was Miri, went on to greater fame starring opposite John Wayne in the original 'True Grit.' Ed McCready is credited as 'a boy creature,' but there might be some mistake as there's an actor of that name credited for various other 'TOS' episodes, including the previous one, 'Dagger of The Mind,' which as far as I recall didn't have any children in it, so either there's a spelling mistake or the same rules  of only having one actor with a specific name don't apply for children. The Morris' have the distinction of being a handful of actors that played Trek characters in both the 20th and 21st Centuries, quite an accolade when you consider it's shared with Leonard Nimoy, the 'TNG' cast and the only other one that jumps to mind is Jack Donner, although you could also include the 'Voyager' cast who straddled the Millennium, and some of their recurring characters. It's still a select group, even more so for those appearing in 'TOS.'

With the focus on the triumvirate on the planet (plus Rand), there isn't much call for the ship's crew, which is why we don't see Scotty, Sulu or Uhura - in fact, her role at Communications is oddly taken by Lieutenant Farrell from 'Mudd's Women' and 'The Enemy Within' in his last appearance. A strange choice, but it's always nice to see the internal consistency of the crew played up a little to remind us that it isn't a ship of five or so people. I wonder if 'Star Trek V' was referencing this episode when it had a crazy cat woman leap on Kirk's back, as the grup does exactly that. It may have been just the shorthand for madness, the only effective way for a female assailant to make any impact on a male victim, long before martial arts and fitness was a possibility. Kirk does actually rip his shirt, but not in any fight: he pulls apart his sleeves dramatically to reveal the lurid blue signs of the plague. We also see his collar unzipped, but I wasn't sure if he did that on purpose for ventilation or not. It's one of the few times you can clearly see the zip on the uniform.

I have to say that I like this episode, it does a good job of creating a story that deals with childhood and the threat to adults it could mean. It sees things from both angles and gives Kirk a problem to deal with. Spock could certainly said to be underused, in his Captain's shadow, but it's good to see the three main characters divorced from the ship and all its amenities, while Rand is still being used well. It will always be remembered by me as the one with the scary guy rushing out, but there's much more to it than that. After all, how many things from childhood do we still like as we age out of them? Trek had the ability to appeal across the ages for different reasons, and somehow that's a fitting reminder to take from an episode about the frightening transition out of childhood.

***