The Storm

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S1 (The Storm)

After seeing the previous episode, 'Underground,' I speculated we might see the Genii and Colm Meaney's Cowen again, but I didn't expect it immediately! It's actually only the one scene for Meaney, with the spotlight firmly on his star military commander, Kolya, who's tough enough to take on three opponents at stick fighting and win (he even hurts the female in the group, that's how tough he is!). It's a shame Meaney doesn't have a bigger role, but I imagine they just had this scene tacked onto the production of the first episode so they didn't have to pay such a big star for two episodes (although Robert Davi, the baddie of Bond film 'Licence To Kill,' is Kolya, so it's not like they're shy about using film stars!), or maybe his schedule was too busy to commit to two, or more. That's because rather than this being a two-parter, it ends on a cliffhanger, so either 'Underground' was the prequel and now we're into a two-parter, or it's an ongoing story, it's all up in the air at this stage. It does make things interesting - although Kolya isn't that compelling a character he forces Sheppard into a stalemate with Weir and McKay as hostages, her life about to be forfeit unless Sheppard capitulates. It reminds me of the end of the first season of 'Stargate Universe' which went on to do a similar tale of outsiders leading a strike force to take over, and even 'Invasive Procedures' from 'DS9,' another tale where a storm forces the base to be evacuated, leaving the way open for a small band to infiltrate and take the facility, while those left behind try all they can to thwart their enemies.

I didn't feel the place had much atmosphere, unlike DS9, perhaps too bright and always with the small chambers or corridors, never really exhibiting the vast scale - the closest we come is in McKay telling the Major he'll have to run to get to the thing he has to get to in order to set up the city to protect itself from the coming storm. I have to say, when I first saw the title I wondered if it referred to The Wraith, and perhaps the attack was going to come at this early stage, but it's a literal evocation of the episode's theme, which is the mega-storm that threatens to engulf Atlantis, forcing the Athosians to be evacuated from the mainland as well as all but a skeleton crew in the control centre of the city. There is a moment when Sheppard is shouting against the gale when communicating via radio to control, but apart from that there isn't a great deal of a stormy impression, except for those stuck in the Puddle-Jumpers back on the mainland. Sheppard doesn't come off to well, either - aside from a good hero moment of taking down the two Genii soldiers sent to kill him once he's finished his task, he comes close to causing Weir's death, and also gets on the wrong side of Smeadon and his people, threatening their leader when he demands something of value in exchange for temporary sanctuary, which wasn't the most diplomatic reaction.

He does get to do a spot of 'Die Hard' reenactment when taking out the baddies and setting them up to fail, hiding the C4, but I'd have liked to have seen them go further with that (and maybe they will in the next part). I still don't see why they didn't simply traipse off to another planet - they mentioned that they're uninhabited for a reason, but it was weak story logic, and have they really made no other allies at all? Only enemies or those that want to exploit their position? I also thought Teyla's people were supposed to be farmers, but here the crux of their slow evac is due to them being hunters and they're all out hunting. True, crops don't magically appear out of nowhere and they may have secondary hunting skills for when they have no crops… but why strand Ford, Teyla and Dr. Beckett unless they're going to use them to come flying in and save the day when the storm has dissipated. It's not really trying to do anything surprising, and that's okay, part of the charm of 'Stargate' is its comforting familiarity in the realm of sci-fi. You always know where you are and it makes up for unoriginality with pretty locations and entertaining characters (Dr. Weir's line in response to double-act McKay and the Czech Dr. Zelenka when they propose harnessing the power of the storm, is my favourite: "You want to build a windmill?"), but you can see what's coming with the embittered Sora, whose Father, Tyrus, Cowen accused Teyla of killing, as she's unhappy with Kolya's uncompromising methods, killing when it's unnecessary. She's sure to turn the tables eventually.

It remains to be seen how well this story will play out, but I foresee a one on one battle between Kolya and Sheppard, with the Jumper crew charging to the rescue of the city at the last minute. I was confused at first by the Athosian Smeadon lulls into a false sense of security in order to steal his 'gate operating device (why let the Athosians have one?), as I didn't get who he was or what faction he represented, though it soon became apparent. It's funny to hear the humans referred to as Atlanteans, and I had to agree in part with Kolya's scepticism that Weir's lot are the best hope for the galaxy as they have the Ancient gene - who's to say some of the Genii don't, they're all human genetically, after all. I was also surprised to hear Weir call the Ring Transporter merely a Transporter, as if they'd decided to drop all pretence: yes, we nicked this from Trek so why call it something different!

**

Underground

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S1 (Underground)

Not all potential allies are trustworthy, and in the same way as it we had Don S. Davis back as Hammond in the previous episode, here we have Colm Meaney, most famous as the dependable Chief O'Brien of the 'Star Trek' universe, crossing over into 'Stargate' one and proving a duplicitous leader of a harsh group. Not as harsh as they initially seemed when their rural, agrarian, pastoral facade was peeled back to reveal what seemed like a Nazi, militaristic secret society underground, but in fact a sensibly concealed level of technology only sixty years behind Earth, with black and white TV monitors, the ability to get pretty far towards the creation of nuclear weapons, but not quite at the level of C4, which was interesting. Meaney was just about the ideal actor to portray, on first impression a simple farmer, and then his experience with the famous technobabble serving him well when we learn his true level of understanding. Why Sheppard and McKay had to go and uncover a hatch in an old barn, and then descend to explore, I don't know. If they'd just handed over some C4 in exchange for the needed food crops, all might have been well. Although… the Genii were pretty sneaky and untrustworthy, fooling Teyla with their pretend simplistic lifestyle enough for her to consider them friends, but they had good reason to be, considering how earlier generations had lost so many to The Wraith.

This particular population decided to hide away their technological advancement (much like the Hoffan libraries in 'Poisoning The Well' - hiding development seems to be the only way to progress with Wraith looking over everyone's shoulders), so they'd be left alone, while also formulating a bold plan of attack, to set off nuclear bombs in Hive ships. Except the timetable has been completely messed up when Teyla reveals that thanks to her and her new friends, The Wraith are awake and on the prowl decades earlier than they should have been! I never had any faith in the uneasy alliance - as Sheppard said to Weir, Ford and Teyla had been made to stay behind as he and McKay reported in, to be leverage, and no alliance can work on such obvious distrust and ulterior motives. You could never turn your back on the Genii for one moment because it was only dangling the tantalisingly even greater firepower and more assistance than McKay's knowledge of everything and some C4, that kept Cowen from turning on them right away. But as soon as he heard about a ship… It should have come as no surprise when he instructed his men to surround the team, especially after the botched mission to gather intel on how many Hive ships there are and where they are. The secondary objective to save any of those half-alive victims in the morgue-like storage area had already been ruined by Tyrus' rejection of Teyla's attempts to help, and in fact it was his weapons fire that alerted Wraith soldiers, to the detriment of the mission.

But Cowen, typically deceiving, decides Teyla killed Tyrus and calls an end to the weak truce. At least Sheppard and his team had weapons, but they weren't getting out of there without serious casualties - I thought they should have aimed at Cowen, but he was obstinate enough to have ordered a firefight, or a massacre, despite it, I'm sure. So it's with great relief and feelings of victory that we realise Sheppard had provided for just such a stab in the back by bringing along a couple of other Puddle Jumpers as backup, ensuring the Genii have no choice but to let them leave. Even then, Cowen tries to threaten them, saying they don't want to make an enemy of his people, but it was he and his uncompromising, selfish people that made themselves enemies! I wonder if we'll see them again - I could imagine Cowen becoming a recurring nemesis, out to get his own back in a darkly inverted mirror of the Atlantis team's own mission of acquiring technology, he might well have had his interest piqued by theirs.

It was a good lesson in trust and the need to earn it. Teyla was a cause of a lot of the trouble thanks to her belief in these people, but also because she foolishly gives away important information at the meal without consulting Sheppard, it still not sinking in that these people lied so drastically to her that they aren't to be trusted: she tells them whose fault it is that The Wraith are awake, even after such a tenuous peace had been established, instead of biding her time and seeing how things were going to pan out! McKay doesn't do much better, encouraging their inquiries into his technological expertise, especially in the nuclear realm, when if they'd kept quiet Sheppard could have brokered a simpler deal as was originally proposed of C4 for food, and then they'd have been on their way. Teyla acted out of good motives, still believing the Genii would honour an alliance if she showed trust in them, but she was sadly, a bad judge of their character. But the upshot of it all was useful in one way: they discover just what magnitude of threat The Wraith pose. The answer is 'a lot.' They learn that at least sixty ships, possibly more, are spread out in the Pegasus Galaxy and Sheppard ominously expresses his hope to Weir that they don't all come for Atlantis at the same time…

On the whole it wasn't a bad little episode, though it was pretty much a standard 'SG-1' throwback with a team of four going through the 'gate, meeting a new human group at a different technological stage, then finding out their dark and devious secret, but as I keep saying, this is 'Stargate,' so why not? And as usual, the landscapes are lush, green and beautiful. McKay continues to be egocentric to the extreme (and childish - very true of human nature when he admits to drinking so much coffee, even though it's running out, to make sure he 'gets his share,' although it sounded like he was getting more than his share!), but is somehow still likeable, Sheppard impressed me with his nous and good sense in how to recover the situation (they had to find some way to keep an advantage over the Genii), but Ford continues to feel more like a glorified extra. Again, he's likeable, but he seems to melt into the background a bit too easily, overshadowed by the other characters even though they're not especially gregarious and outgoing themselves. I did like that it was a team of four going through the 'gate, though, as it felt more like 'SG-1.' The episodic nature mixed with serialised plot points makes it more like 'DS9,' too, especially since its base is a stationary location. Colm Meaney did seem a bit like a possessed Miles O'Brien, but that's just because I've seen him so many times in that sort of guise, and it's just nice to see him in something else.

**

Arena

DVD, Star Trek S1 (Arena)

Huffing and puffing, hissing and spluttering, coughing and chuckling, the Gorn hams his (is it a he?), way around the set at a snail's pace, belying his reptilian brethren's famous spurts of sudden movement and violence. As a child all you remember is the face and those terrible fly-like eyes, grimacing teeth and bulging green physique, inexorably hunting our hero, but watch it in later life and the Gorn appears clumsy, inept and very, very slow, with a side order of daftness thanks to its wheezing cackles. But take another look, because aside from the stumbling, hissing monstrosity and shamefully polystyrene boulders, this is quite possibly the quintessential Trek episode. It's one of two I've seen more than any other, because it's one of two that was first released on DVD as a bonus on the 'Voyager' Season 1 set to pad out that relatively meagre season (only sixteen episodes - what we wouldn't give for sixteen episodes now!). It always struck me how much more to the episode there is than just the memorable planetary (or asteroidal), showdown meted out by the Metrons (was 'Captain Scarlet' and his "This is the voice of the Mysterons…" before or after this, I wonder?), their spectacle of forced battle to the death in a not-so-barren environment coming about halfway through, before which we see a Landing Party beam down to Cestus III, a terrific outdoor set that had been used in previous Paramount productions, I believe, and marked the episode from the start as one with big ideals.

There's brief discussion of mercy and avoiding destruction from Spock when Kirk is adamant that this incursion can't go unpunished, calling himself and his crew the police of this area of the galaxy. There's the shocked and burned single known survivor (complete with what appears to be a grey-coloured uniform, though that might have been the dust and dirt; the old-style brown Phaser belt; plus a different insignia for those collecting along, though sadly it isn't given much exposure so is difficult to distinguish), who struggles to come to terms with the wanton destruction of the planet along with women and children, and the conclusion reached by Kirk that can only mean one, chilling thing: invasion! For invaders the Gorn do a lot of running away, but it sounds like this was all part of their plan, hoping to lure away the only ship in this section of the Federation (the Enterprise - they obviously had far fewer ships in that day and age), perhaps into an ambush (maybe then we'd have actually gotten to see this unknown configuration!), with Kirk's sense of justice playing right into their hands (paws? claws!). Or was it vengeance? Whichever way the good Captain was heading, he stopped himself from going too far, and if there is one episode that is an excellent display of his mix of physical skill, daring, but tempered with rationality and careful thought and strategy, it's this one - he doesn't even get his shirt ripped!

The key to the story is in Kirk's ultimate mercy to the Gorn Captain he's managed to subdue through cunning and, dare I say it, logic. He puts together the age-old ingredients for a chemically propelled weapon (creating a kind of cannon or mortar - there were a lot of mortar weapons in the episode - the Gorn use something that seems like it, and Kirk does too, complete with blue bowls as projectile!), and the lumbering Gorn's strength of never backing down and continually approaching, is turned into a weakness as he's a perfect target. Kirk has him on the ground, the creature's hand-sharpened knife ready to plunge into its neck and end the contest, taking the life and freeing his ship, not to mention getting satisfaction by paying it back for what it did to his people. But while you can see he did get to the point of sticking the point in (see the red colouring on the end of it when it's lifted away), he refuses to go through with it, coldblooded or otherwise. He was taking a mighty risk with that outcome, as the Metrons had shown how powerful they were by stopping both ships in their tracks, teleporting both Captains and even providing some dramatically edited coverage for the awestruck crew to watch (I thought we wouldn't be getting any more scenes of watching Trek alongside those in the episode, as we did in 'Court Martial' and 'The Menagerie,' but I forgot about this one with the whole cast together on the Bridge, glued to the screen!).

If the Metrons had been less savoury fellows they might very well have judged the contest a draw since Kirk refused the kill, and annihilated both vessels. Or not have accepted the result until one was dead, in which case the Gorn might have recovered and who knows what would have transpired (or whom would have expired). As it was, they were of the sufficiently advanced stage of alien development to be surprised and pleased with Kirk's demonstration of the finer values and give him hope that in, oh, a thousand years or so, humans might be ready to make some sort of agreement with them! I wonder if it was purposeful for the Metrons to be portrayed in the classic image of angelic beings, with white garments, sandals, a mop of blond hair and sparkling light around them, as well as an almost genderless appearance, aside from the deep voice that sounded a bit like Balok or any number of disembodied or powerful aliens' voices. They do like their echo and reverb, these top dog aliens! What makes the episode quintessential Trek is that married to the wonderful alien design (I'm talking Gorn, not Metron), the impressive sets (the famous Vasquez Rocks a perfect environment, suiting the 'Wagon Train' to the stars mentality), is the showing of human choice in a positive way, and, with the encouraging words of the Metron, hope for the future: an optimistic goal to aim for. The Metron says they're still half savage, which may be why people (at this current stage of the pendulum swing), have returned to the more down-to-earth style of 'TOS' in the last fifteen years, with 'Enterprise,' the Kelvin Timeline films, and now 'Discovery,' all set around (or prior), to this period in Trek history when things were a little more up in the air and perhaps there's a feeling of more room to grow, both in technology and experience.

I would dispute that the 24th Century series' were full of perfect people that always did the right thing and had been subsumed by technology - apart from the first couple of seasons of 'TNG' when that vision was still being peddled, it shows as much reality and humanity as the 'TOS' era (and is less stifled by the need to fit into existing canon, with limited means to do whatever is wished), but one area which is true, is the fact that less space had been explored and so there was room to head into a region that was unknown, so much so that these Metrons could be there to interfere, or that there was another race out there who felt their space was being invaded: cue the Gorn. I'm not sure I entirely buy the justification for the Gorn actually showing up as the wronged party, because their Captain appears to have great enjoyment in his superior strength and is arrogant enough to assume he'll prevail, it's just a matter of time. True, he angrily accuses the humans of invading, but that doesn't justify totally wiping out a colony including powerless victims in women and children. And by their tactics we see they're cunning: sending out false messages to lure the Enterprise in (I originally assumed the messages took longer to get through space, which would explain why the colony was devastated but seemingly still transmitting to Enterprise), and once that had been destroyed or taken, who knows what they'd have done. It's similar to the 'Voyager' episode, 'Nemesis,' though that story's examination of hatred, misinformation and propaganda, handled the subject better. It's the same idea: Kirk has a natural aversion to reptiles, so different from us warmblooded creatures, and like the Kradin, it turns out the Gorn aren't so different from us, despite a fearsome appearance.

Looks can be deceiving, so goes the old adage, and the Gorn get their due in the end, with Kirk hoping that an agreement over the disputed space can be reached. We know it must have happened thanks to 'DS9,' which revealed that Cestus III became known for relaunching the lost sport of baseball. Who knows, maybe there were even Gorn on the team? Though it wouldn't be very fair, as although they could no doubt routinely hit the ball out of the park, they wouldn't be sliding into home. More like stumbling slowly! I do feel sad that the restrictions of the time meant that this most fascinating of races never fulfilled their potential as recurring figures as the Klingons and Romulans did. Seeing such a different race, especially one that has that iconic 'TOS' style, make only one appearance, in a monster of the week guise, is disappointing - their culture and different attitude could have garnered rich further exploration. But I think it was the panting and staggering that made them a little laughable in motion where they look incredibly deadly at rest. But even a small appearance at the Babel Conference with a Gorn in the background would have been something. The biggest reason must have been the expense and effort of putting together such an amazing full body suit. I expect it was bad enough for Bobby Clark outside, but under hot studio lights…

Maybe they felt it was a little too ridiculous to be taken seriously, that certainly seemed to be the attitude taken to much of the old-style Trek aliens during the Berman era, with only re-imagined Klingons and Romulans becoming a big part of those later series', partly on Roddenberry's insistence that they create new races, not rely on the old. It seems like they felt green women (Orions), pig people (Tellarites), yellow crystalline creatures (Tholians), and the likes of green lizard men were too outlandish, old-fashioned schlocky sci-fi, or complicated to fit with that time period, but ironically all of these were brought back for 'Enterprise.' My feeling is that any and all Trek races could have been used effectively (especially by the 'DS9' writers who loved making 'TOS' references). There was also the fact that the 24th Century-set spinoffs were made closer to the time of 1960s Trek and were trying to escape the foibles and tropes that it had become known for: the weird and the wild, rather than the more subtle approach of the 80s and 90s, and by the time 'Enterprise' came along they were ready to go for broke and return to a brighter, less restrained time. No mention of the Gorn could be complete without referring to the CG version seen in 'Enterprise,' which was great fun, but showed how superior a man in a costume is, at least to CG of the mid-2000s. They changed it to make it look more reptilian and less humanoid, effectively stripping it of its charm and defanging it. The same was done for the Kelvin era's computer game, changing the unique design to be more realistic perhaps, but less Gorn. Should 'Discovery' somehow find a way to use this fantastic species I only hope they stick to the classic version.

The Gorn and Captain Kirk aren't the only ones in the episode, lest it be thought so: it's another one where all the main players (bar the departed Rand and moderately recurring Chapel), are together on the Bridge willing their Captain and friend on. The technical details of the episode are as informative and interesting as the thematic narrative, with all kinds of policies and procedures rearing up. For one, Sulu is the man left in charge (an early sign of his eventual destiny), which is strange as Scotty would later be the definitive number three after Kirk and Spock. It's also strange that the Helmsman stays at his post, organising things from the Helm rather than taking the Captain's Chair, which I suppose shows him to be an efficient and adaptive kind of person (if only he'd been the one to be kidnapped to the asteroid he'd probably have worked out the gunpowder plot much quicker thanks to his love of old weaponry - though he never makes a mention of it when Spock hints at the solution, which you'd have thought he would). Indeed, when Kirk, Spock and the Landing Party are down on Cestus III and Sulu has to fight off the enemy vessel, Spock shows faith in his abilities as an experienced combat officer, which is high praise from the Vulcan. It's still odd that a Helmsman would be left in charge, with his Navigator arming the Photon Torpedoes - shouldn't there be a dedicated weapons officer? At least Mr. Leslie is ever at the Engineering station so you know that's going to be okay, although perhaps Mr. Scott doesn't have as much confidence since he spends most of the episode looking over Leslie's shoulder!

There's also a bit of an issue with the sensors: at Cestus III Sulu reports the enemy ship is at extreme range when it beams its people aboard, so does this mean Gorn Transporter technology can reach as far as Starfleet sensors? Later, in the pursuit he mentions that the Gorn ship is slowing, counting down Warp Factors, but unless the Enterprise was slowing in unison wouldn't it immediately catch up, considering it went right into pursuit and was able to keep the ship on sensors, especially at such high velocities? At least the famous inability to beam through shields is right on the money here: Sulu says he can't beam them up because he's just rigged up 'defensive screens.' If Gorn Transporter technology is superior, then maybe its offensive capabilities are too, since Sulu notes their ship has a deflector screen, which means the Phasers have no effect. I wonder what the difference between these two types of screen are? The 'disruptors' used by the Gorn on the planet also have strange properties: they sound like mortar weapons, with a whistling noise denoting a projectile hurtling through the air to explode, but O'Herlihy, this week's dedicated and dead Redshirt gets vaporised. The weapons are said to be superior to Phasers, as those are 'all we have.' And was it the same weapon that locked on to Spock's Tricorder and somehow fed an overload to blow itself up?

Like the Gorn themselves, their weaponry appears invisible. It's a shame because the broken remains of the colony is an exceptional set, and there's much ducking and diving, rolling around in the dust, crouching in craters, down and dirty like we'd not seen before, but without any sign of the enemy or the effects (beyond the occasional flash of explosion), it's a little one-sided and sanitary, which may be true to the technology, but doesn't match the mess Kirk and his party get in. If only we could have seen an outline on the ridge in the distance it would have been something, but they prefer to keep the buildup to the Gorn mysterious. If it hadn't been for the choking gurgles and hisses it might have remained a striking and devastating threat to the senses, in line with the intense bombardment of Kirk and company. I also never bought that he'd be able to escape the iron grasp of those scary limbs once caught in them. Granted, slapping the earholes of the creature was a truly great escape, but the Gorn should have crushed him instantly as soon as he was in its grasp. It also would have allowed the tension to continually build as we don't know what will happen if it gets its claws on Kirk, and we can only imagine the damage it could do. The best thing about Kirk's test is that he doesn't just fight mindlessly, as soon as he sees he's outmatched he makes a tactical withdrawal to consider his options, disciplined enough to record a log of his thoughts and actions, though unfortunately for him, it wasn't just a recorder, but a two-way communication device so the Gorn hears all he has to say!

Spock is gratified that his Captain has reasoned out the problem, finding the solution scattered around the area, and he says a line more famous in another episode: "He knows, Doctor, he knows…" which is what he said in 'The City On The Edge of Forever' (ironically, the other episode included on the 'Voyager' DVD set!). McCoy is the moral centre, speculating that they were in the wrong in the first place for building a colony in Gorn territory, and that they were the invaders, and for once he and Spock are in agreement. The Vulcan's preference to protect life, and the Doctor's, are both vocalised during the episode. It seems McCoy is in charge of a much bigger department than we ever imagined as Kirk takes into consideration that there might be further survivors on Cestus III and orders thirty medical personnel to beam down for the search while the ship follows the enemy vessel, not even counting McCoy! That's a huge staff, and Sickbay rarely has more than a couple of people in it, even accounting for shift rotations that's about seven percent of the crew! I suppose some could be auxiliaries that have other tasks about ship and are only called in to medical duties when the need arises (like Tom Paris as a nurse on 'Voyager'), or they might be carrying out medical research in laboratories, which would also explain it, and then the number probably fluctuates as they transfer to and from other postings, and we'd not long been at a Starbase, so that could account for them all.

Although it's great to have Scotty and Uhura be more a part of things, they're essentially nonessential, only there to gaze open-mouthed at the events on the Viewscreen, out of their control. Uhura lets out an uncharacteristic scream when Kirk is first vanished away - you'd think she'd be more used to such things by now! Or maybe she was feeling like her position was under threat as Spock once again wears her earpiece during this episode! Kirk mentions Starfleet Command, so the vernacular is coming to fruition nicely as the first season begins to wind down (in the same way that 'a generation's final journey begins' - it's a long season), and the reason he never ripped his shirt in the most likely of shirt-ripping incidents might be because they didn't want to reveal that he was in fact wearing a white undershirt beneath it - you can just see the sleeve at his cuffs - was it a cold day? I guess it would have been winter at the time of filming, although the bright blue sky and much sand makes it look like a blazing hot asteroid surface. McCoy makes mention of looking forward to a non-reconstituted meal, so does that mean the food slots aboard ship are similar to Replicators, rather than having a chef prepare meals, as on 'Enterprise'? What constitutes this reconstituted food? And it's great to have Captain Pike back with us again: nope, it's Sean Kenney as Navigator DePaul, who played the injured version of Pike in 'The Menagerie' - he does look weirdly similar to Jeffrey Hunter now we see him out of injury makeup! Like the previous episode they continue having clips for unseen episodes in the end credits, too.

Big sets, big threats, a personal vendetta for the Captain, and the whole cast urging him on, make this one of the most memorable in the classic series. Yes, it may seem a little silly in places (Kirk pushing a boulder over the lip of the rock face, while it doesn't appear to have much weight, then it rolling down and away rather than thumping into the ground doesn't quite sell it), but despite the shortcomings it is an enjoyable outing, made far better for being shot outside, even though the location would become overfamiliar eventually - it's just so much more real. Kirk is the complete Captain here, using his brain muscle as much as the rest, and taking the high ground against impossible odds, inspiring the viewer. If only the series had had bigger budgets we might not have seen the last of the Gorn (by the time of 'Enterprise' and its Xindi arc we were seeing regular reptilian characters), but it might well be the most iconic creation from the series, as my Gorn action figure will attest, standing proudly on my shelf, glaring menacingly across at a Mugato.

***

The Squire of Gothos

DVD, Star Trek S1 (The Squire of Gothos)

This one is a firm favourite of many, or that's the impression I get, but contrary to popular opinion I find it to be one of the weaker episodes. I'm not saying its terrible, almost no Trek episodes are, but for years I've considered it a tiresome runaround (enjoying it much more when I was a child), albeit with a great punchline, but one of those that when you know the twist there isn't much to be entertained by in the rest of the episode. Looking at it positively for a moment, it does give us a complete crew complement, with everyone from Sulu to Scotty, Uhura to McCoy part of the action. Scotty doesn't get much, but then he's deemed too invaluable to leave the ship on this occasion, as is Spock, only the Vulcan First Officer doesn't have a choice when his Vulcan heritage angers the titular Squire Trelane. It is good to see them all interacting, and even Uhura gets to break away from pushing buttons on her console to… push keys on a harpsichord! At least she looked like she was having a whale of a time doing it, and I don't think that was Trelane's doing, she appeared to be transported by her new ability to play, and this would fit her character profile as she's always been musical, though usually with her voice. Sulu shows some restraint at Trelane's bizarre behaviour, Spock expresses distaste enough for Trelane to pick up on it, and McCoy makes the pronouncement about it being not a life form as we know it, launching a thousand phrases in the process.

Kirk, though, he's the one that really gets to shine, at least initially, displaying his powerful intuition about character, seeing how this being is likely to react, and soon attempting to get his ship and crew well out of reach. And when that doesn't work, he switches tactics and plays up to Trelane's childish desire for games by putting his own life on the line as a willing prize in a challenge to the death, in exchange for his ship's free passage. He uses all his charm and experience to manipulate Trelane's naivety and singlehandedly… fails to beat him, since his opponent doesn't play fair, and would have slaughtered Kirk, then each one of his crew for the thrill of the chase. Or would he? How far would he have gone in his quest for games, and did he have the power to bring people back if he'd killed them? Because, unlike some powers the Enterprise encounters in its voyages he never actually offed anyone. At the end we discover he is but a child by his race's standards, as Ma and Pa turn up in energy form to call him in for din-dins (or the equivalent), and he won't be allowed pets if he mistreats them. I'm sure they would have been able to restore anyone lost to Trelane's violent games, but maybe they wouldn't? I just never had the feeling of tension, or the horror of rats trapped in a maze that you sometimes get with powerful forces beyond human control.

This makes the episode more of a comedy, because, if you know he's only a child you realise that, like the Enterprise crew, you're being forced to watch this kid show off, and no one wants to see that for forty minutes. That he's an obnoxious, irritating and silly character only makes the time spent with him go slower, and his flamboyant cartoonish persona is only accentuated by such questionable additions as the comedy boing noises when the mirror, his source of power, is shot to pieces by Kirk under the cover of the duel. There's also the language his parents use that he has to come in now and all that, and you can see it as funny, and it is, but it doesn't help to make the episode a serious story. 'TOS' could do comedy, there's nothing wrong with that ('The Trouble With Tribbles' is one of the best of the series), but this straddles the fence between outright farce and the usual scientific exploration of a new phenomenon, and it doesn't sit particularly comfortable. There are also minor issues such as Trelane holding characters in suspended animation, except they can't stop themselves breathing or swaying slightly, always a problem in these situations where an actor has to remain completely still. The best way to achieve it would be to split-screen off that part of the picture, in the way they did for the cage walls that Trelane places either side of Kirk. I could posit that the trapped crewmen weren't completely held in stasis and had freedom of slight movement…

The reason I think this episode is so well regarded is for its obvious inspiration for the much-loved character of Q on 'TNG,' and it is certainly clear how much Trelane was the template: deliberately annoying and childish, in possession of godlike powers beyond our knowledge, and the ability to instantly transfer himself wherever he chooses, not to mention having humans as his personal hobby, and that he appears as a judge in a courtroom to pass sentence on a Captain of the Enterprise! People have long suspected (ever since Q was first seen), that the Squire was a member of the Q Continuum, but I have to pour doubts on that theory, in spite of there being a book starring both Trelane and Q (sorry, the books aren't canon!), because there's as much likelihood that he was a member of the Organians as the Q: his parents show up looking just like the hovering lights that would later be seen as the true form of the Organians, and why would a young Q need the power of a matter-energy machine to carry out his tricks? There are also lots of advanced beings in Trek, and it's more for the fact Trelane's character and attitude is similar to Q's that makes the connection even slightly plausible. It's fun to speculate when a couple of iconic creations from different eras have a link between them, but not everything in Trek is connected - it's a big galaxy Mr. Scott, after all, so I personally don't think Trelane was a Q.

It's really unimportant to the story, at any rate, such as the story is: that is, a runaround where the crew are confused by meeting a throwback (nine hundred years, apparently!), to Earth history, realise he's dangerous and to be avoided, escape, get recaptured, Kirk agrees to a competition and runs around until he's cornered. There's not much more to it than that. It's interesting they picked nine hundred years as the first dating of when the series takes place, as the Squire had recreated Napoleon's era, which could be the 18th Century, making their period the 27th Century rather than the 23rd! Of course, there wasn't an historian among them, so they could have miscounted by a few centuries, which is the best explanation in the surprise of the moment. But it doesn't change the fact that nothing final ever happens - there's a thrill of danger when Trelane first uses the Phaser to vaporise his prize stuffed Salt Vampire (one of a kind, the last one in existence, probably, and which would make the other weird bird thing a Pepper Vampire, I suppose), but he never takes out anyone, not even DeSalle who had it coming to him, a couple of times going for the annoying Squire. He wasn't too switched on, though, since the first time he took aim when Trelane was looking in the mirror, so of course he was going to see him!

It's also another race that doesn't really understand humans. Trelane states that they're one of the few predator species that preys on itself, but he couldn't have met many other Trek races if that were true - what about the Klingons and Romulans, etc? His parents don't do much better, apologising since they didn't realise Kirk and company weren't equipped to deal with Trelane! They can't be very observant or knowledgeable in that case. At least Kirk gets to reiterate that the missions of his people are peaceful, not of conquest, which helps solidify our growing understanding of Starfleet (or 'Space Fleet Command' as Uhura puts it when asking if she should send a report), and the United Space Ship Enterprise (as Kirk titles his vessel). On the other hand we get a distinctly 1960s outlook in the jokey end scene: Kirk talks of dipping girls' curls in inkwells and tying cans onto things as examples of pranks Spock never did as a child. Would children even know what an inkwell is nowadays, and I'd be surprised if they had cans in the 23rd Century (or 27th, whichever you're going for!), so it does sound incredibly anachronistic for such a futuristic series, but it can easily be explained away as Kirk making a joke, which he was.

His poor fighting skills can't be explained away, however - he runs around trying to get the ship on his Communicator, while Trelane charges after him with a sword. The best he can do is use a branch to knock his enemy down, but even when he's got hold of the guy's arm, even when he's got hold of the sword itself, he just throws it away and is probably the most ineffectual I've seen him in a fight. Granted, he was preoccupied with his ship escaping, but why not take the upper hand? Unless he knew there was no way to win against such powers - Trelane had shown he was quite happy to put a loaded pistol in the Captain's hand and stand, arms wide, waiting for the 'fatal' shot, so you could say Kirk knew he had no chance of killing him and only wanted to prolong the battle so the Enterprise would have the best chance to get away. But still, it didn't help the episode feel less flawed. I will say that the greens department did a good job on the 'external' set, with trees, plants and bushes probably the most realistic indoor approximation of outdoors they'd achieved by then. And as for Kirk, he redeems himself when, in the best moment of the episode, he refuses to kneel for execution, despite being trapped. He won't give Trelane that final satisfaction of defeating him, which was truly great!

Technically there are plenty of things to keep track of. The idea of a device that converts energy into matter and the reverse is what the Replicators and Holodecks of the future relied upon, so perhaps this episode is responsible for more than just Q. Funny, considering the previous episode was 'Shore Leave' in which a planet-sized approximation of a Holodeck was the main gimmick, and now we have the next stage towards that with actual energy conversion. At this stage it's still too advanced for the Federation, and I'd love to know who invented the Holodeck and Replicator, just as we know who came up with Warp Drive and the Transporter - such technology is really more of an offshoot of the latter, and the ability to control it more finely. I don't think we'd seen the breathing masks before. I thought the large black belts to which they were secured were the Phaser and Communicator belts mistakenly on the outside of the shirt, until I realised. There's also a 'laser beacon' for more accurate pinpointing the Landing Party, which proves useless, unless we account for it by suggesting Trelane was deliberately blocking it, though how he would know to do that when the Napoleonic era he had studied didn't have anything close, I don't know. It was like a precursor to the Transporter pattern enhancers, rods that improved the signal for a given area between them, used from 'TNG' onwards. Also like the spinoffs we get to see crew jump into the newly vacated seats of Bridge consoles, which was always happening in the later series, and this time happens because Kirk assigns Bridge crew to the Landing Party.

I also like that one of the screens above Uhura's console is used, as the screens around the Bridge don't often display anything other than static images due to the expense of effects at the time - here Trelane sends a message by text. I have no idea why this wasn't shown on the Main Viewscreen, but I always like it when we get to see another part of the ship being used. Which brings me onto the moment Trelane appeared on the Bridge: he stands just to the left of the Viewscreen, in an area we hardly ever see on screen. Yeoman Ross (after dishing out drinks in paper cups, naturally!), also makes use of the portable disk reader, handing it to Kirk in his Chair, and you get to see him actually slot a disk in. Back to Uhura's console, and I have to say it didn't look like the tilted angle was a good match for the cup she had precariously balanced on it - she needed the assistance of Trip Tucker to make her a specialised cup holder! We also get an odd log entry from Spock, left in charge while Kirk's on the planet: he announces it as a Captain's Log, on behalf of Captain Kirk, rather than simply stating First Officer's Log. And finally, we were disappointed in the effects of the star desert the ship was supposedly crossing (we'd get to see what that might look like in both 'Voyager' and 'Enterprise'), since it appeared as a normal star field, but at least we got to see everyone in their place: Kirk in his Chair, flanked by Spock and McCoy, Uhura to rear, Sulu at Helm, and even Mr. Leslie at the Engineering console - and he got time in the Captain's Chair, too. As if to pique our interest, the end credits show clips from episodes we've yet to see. Perhaps to reassure that more were coming, even after a less than stellar episode.

**

Home

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S1 (Home)

McKay gets all excited by the energy field of a foggy planet the team visit, and it turns out, due to the Stargate drawing power from this weird mist, it has the potential to power the eighth chevron so they could dial a wormhole back to Earth! That on its own would be a worthwhile story to pursue - it would be great to see what Teyla makes of our own green Earth, and how would Weir, McKay, Ford and Sheppard use their time to revisit their old haunts? We may never know, as sadly, it turns out to be a ruse by non-corporeal entities. I know, that old one. It's not a bad concept - it wouldn't have been in so many TV series' if it was, but it's also something you could describe as a little tired unless some new angle or vibrant and thrilling approach could be achieved. Neither is true, they merely play out their fantasies slowly becoming aware that all is not quite as it should be (as Sheppard said, "The dead guys were a dead giveaway"). I must admit I genuinely thought they would be doing something like this, probably thanks to watching 'Stargate Universe' and having them traverse the galaxies through the use of Ancient tech stones enabling day trips if wanted. 'Atlantis' doesn't give the impression of being quite as far away ('only' one galaxy distant rather than many!), and I'm not sure it had even sunk in that they were stranded due to lack of power in the Atlantis 'gate, I thought they just had no need to return yet.

As you'd expect from a 'Stargate' there's plenty of wry humour (McKay returning to his pad, pressing the answer machine and finding zero messages, for example), and the characters aren't un-engaging. It's also fabulous that they availed themselves of Don S. Davis to return as General Hammond (although I thought he'd moved on to other projects by this time, and O'Neill was in his seat - this is supposed to run concurrently with Season Eight of 'SG-1' I believe, so Hammond shouldn't have been in command, but that may have been just another mistake from the aliens). Shame it's not the real Hammond, or the real Walter, or Sergeant Harriman as he identifies himself - is that his real name? Had it been revealed before? I can't remember, but it was fun to see our (new) people walking the corridors of the reassuring, but ugly, Stargate Command. I wouldn't say we got a whole lot of character development, with John Sheppard picking up on something being wrong quite early, Rodney's expected slobby lifestyle, and the already difficult position for Elizabeth, feeling guilty she left boyfriend Simon, and now guilty she can't get back to her expedition team. Oh, and Teyla gets to go clothes shopping, so there's a big development for her… Amusing how Sheppard reacts to her boring love of shopping!

One thing that did prove slightly innovative was the revelation that each character (apart from Teyla and Sheppard, as Teyla was included in his fantasy since she has no memories of Earth to draw from), is seeing things from their own unique perspective. So even though Weir and McKay believe they're the ones who came through the 'gate, they don't actually meet each other, but a fake version who tells them what the aliens want. There was very little mystery, I must say I prefer it when things become sinister in these situations, and the team have to fight to regain a sense of reality, but in this they slowly develop a dawning sense of falsity until the alien in Hammond's guise admits the truth. They explain they can't live like this, and it's irrelevant anyway since their bodies are dying from lack of sustenance, so Hammond agrees to let them go because they promise not to visit again. It just so happens the mist the 'gate draws its power from is the aliens, killing many of them each time it's activated (why did the Ancients do that, and if not their fault, how did the mist creatures end up being 'attached' to the Stargate?), and obviously they're not going to kill millions of beings just to make contact with Earth or send someone home. The aliens can read their minds so this convinces them to let them go (although won't using the 'gate to return to Atlantis just kill more?), promising they won't return, and Hammond in turn promises that this is their reality, not another fantasy realm. McKay confirms it by being really hungry.

I like the discussion at the end that they wouldn't knowingly put alien lives in danger, and it does become a nice Trek-like conclusion, but at the same time it does come out as rather pat. On the other hand the writing must have been quite subtle as I picked up on several slightly odd character interactions, like Sheppard and Hammond or Teyla, and maybe Weir and Sheppard (actually, I think that was back on Atlantis, so maybe it wasn't such good writing - did they actually return to Atlantis the first time or was that illusion? They must have, as Weir wasn't on the original mission). Lieutenant Ford gets stuffed again, with barely any appreciable role, just a backseat part to proceedings - I actually thought this might be how they were going to drop this character, when I still believed they were back on Earth, or were about to go, I thought they'd send him and then it wouldn't be possible for him to return again. Not that I want to see the back of him, but I increasingly get a sense that he might be a character that didn't last long, for no reason other than everyone else has more strongly defined roles.

I think from the disappointment they didn't actually get to visit home I'd have to give it only an average rating, in line with most of the episodes of the series I've seen (and passably enjoyed), so far. Also for the fact that it was too easy to get out of, with little jeopardy apart from a few seconds when the alien had made his pronouncement that they'd have to spend their remaining lives in fantasy land. I do give it points for skirting a discussion of the validity of the Atlantis mission, with Weir concerned over an increased military bent, and finding reasons to support the humans that are in the Pegasus Galaxy, since they awoke The Wraith early and still have a standing mission to seek out new technology, plus the opportunity to get to grips further with the Ancient city makes it an invaluable place to continue exploring. It's always a bit of an issue with these advanced aliens that have no trouble reading or manipulating the minds of their human captives, yet don't realise that these same minds won't accept captivity and/or don't pose a threat because they're honourable. Or maybe it's wilful ignorance and they prefer to play the game their way.

Whatever, I can't say it wasn't fun in parts (with McKay's greatest line ever: "Bing, tiddle, tiddle, bong"), and even a fake visit to Earth was appreciated, but as with most of the episodes so far it could have gone further and has yet to find its groove. But it's the first season, and they're long form seasons, and I was reflecting as I watched that watching a series like this, counter to the modern trend towards short, snappy, serialised seasons, it's not so much about the story as in visiting this familiar world and its inhabitants - with a regular dose there's something reassuring about that, which a more intent-driven, sophisticated and highly compact approach doesn't have: whether the episodes stand out or merge into each other or what has come before, it's nice to enter a world you can spend as much time in as possible.

**

Poisoning The Well

DVD, Stargate Atlantis S1 (Poisoning The Well)

The most like an 'SG-1' episode yet, with a team visiting an industrial world, similar to the early 20th Century on Earth. The Hoffans have suffered generations of culling by The Wraith, but have secretly built their society to progress by storing the knowledge of their forefathers in vast underground libraries, to the point that they've managed to create a serum that will act as a defence against Wraith harvesting. With Dr. Beckett's expertise, the lead scientist, Perna, and he, arrive at a final test: to try it out on the captive Wraith held at Atlantis (whom Sheppard nicknames 'Steve,' since it refuses to admit to a name), as only live cells will prove its effectiveness. It sounds fairly simple, but it digs up a lot of moral complexity and there's very little moral compass seen in the episode, which is surprising for one that's one part 'SG-1' to one part 'Star Trek' (as if to hit it on the nose, Sheppard even likens Carson Beckett to Dr. McCoy for his fear of travelling through the 'gate!). As soon as I saw Alan Scarfe was playing the Chancellor of the Hoffans I knew there was going to be some unfortunate twist in what would be the ultimate panacea for The Wraith's chilling harvesting of peoples in this galaxy. Scarfe has been in everything from 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' to 'Due South,' usually in a less than positive role, and his singleminded determination to use this drug at all costs leaves the episode in the same way as the team leave (in a) Hoff: disagreeing with the famous quote of Churchill's about victory at all costs.

It's a bit of a throwaway bone of the writers at least giving us this to chew on, but for all the grey areas and lines that are crossed it's almost a flippant comment. After all, they've defied The Geneva Convention on treatment of prisoners, an example of their human values being compromised by the nastiness of the enemy, and Beckett is wondering if he's broken his Hippocratic Oath to do no harm when the Hoffans provide a terminally ill test subject to see if Steve will be able to feast on him, or will be prevented by the drug. First, I have to say how well The Wraith's mystique and presence is kept up, when it could easily have dissipated with one being held in a cage, impotent and exposed. Along with refusing to give any name, it does reveal that all Hive ships will have awoken, and the only reason they haven't come down hard on Atlantis or other planets is because they're patient, checking their usual feeding grounds first, before they eventually search farther and longer. It's a good explanation for why they haven't completely overrun the galaxy or become an imaginably large and immediate, while also setting them up for the future where they'll become much more than a distant problem that occasionally prove troublesome on missions to other planets. Steve is like an evil Gandalf, its straggly white hair and long robe-like garb giving it poise and latent power even while captive. I'm surprised they got rid of it so quickly, but they had to find some use for it before it died.

I'm still unsure on the rights and wrongs of keeping a creature like that locked up: on the one claw-fingered hand it's basically Dracula, desperate to feed on the life energy of any sentient beings, but on the other, it is one itself, and does that excuse the good guys from treating it differently to a human prisoner? Sheppard seems to think so, since he counters Dr. Weir's citing of The Geneva Convention that The Wraith would have feasted on it had they attended, which is true, but surely that shouldn't decide how they act toward it? In Sheppard's defence he said he tried to feed it 'live things' (we're not told what, so as not to offend any animal lovers out there, I expect!), but either it refused to eat them, or couldn't. This raises an interesting problem: do The Wraith have the right to exist if they must take sentient life in order to do so? Not that they need the right, because they simply take what they need. You could liken them to the terrorists of the 21st Century, which is what I assume they were modelled on: such a different, implacable foe that can't be treated with honour or respect in the usual rules of war, simply because their existence is ideologically opposed, their whole way of living causes destruction and chaos. And it could be a question of how we treat terrorists and whether they have a right to exist when they prey like predators. That's what this is all about, The Wraith are predators, but they're intelligent, too, and how do we react to that?

Such thoughts are compelling and aren't answered easily, but I think the key is in not losing the human values those from Atlantis hold to, otherwise what do they have? And beyond all the questionable actions of them, the Hoffans prove even more unorthodox - I think it was ninety-seven percent of the population voted to have the inoculation, despite the fact that it proved deadly to fifty percent of that population! It goes from being an effective defence against Wraith feeding, to an offence when Steve dies from its poisoning. So it proves very effective, but only at the cost of half the people that use it, a chilling reality. Sheppard tries to explain to the Chancellor that they won't stand back and allow their prey to live on after they've been confronted with deaths of their kind, so the Hoffans are sure to be annihilated in revenge, and the team certainly aren't going to assist in the dissemination of the drug to other worlds where those populations can divvy up half their people to be sacrificed for the good of the other half. I wonder at what point it would have become acceptable, because if it had been just, say, three percent, would they have had the same qualms, considering it would have the effect of ridding such a violent race from the galaxy? Or is any cost too high unless all can share in the reward of survival? It's a real quandary, or it would have been if not for the huge loss of life that was the reality in the story.

Dr. Beckett gets a starring role, and I find it strange that he's not in the main cast montage - he's pretty much a main character, has been in most of the episodes and you need a doctor, but I suppose they were taking the same approach they did with 'SG-1' with Dr. Janet Fraiser a recurring character rather than a full-blown regular. It is, after all, a military based series, so it's more about the soldiers, and maybe the scientists, with the administrators and medical staff coming in last - though Dr. Weir is in command she hasn't had that much to do on an ongoing basis so far, and while that seemed natural for General Hammond, she's younger and looks like she should be out and doing more rather than being the arbiter and rule-maker supreme. One of the things that didn't work so well was Beckett's bond with the Hoffan scientist, Perna (I think this actress had been in 'SG-1' before). It's been done so many times on 'SG-1' where one of the team has become attached to some brilliant scientist (usually Carter or Daniel), only to see them lost and we're supposed to care about them because one of our regulars spent forty minutes with them? It wasn't the actress' fault, but it was the usual role, amazed by human technology and speaking in some old English enunciation, so when she dies it wasn't much of a wrench.

McKay, Teyla and Ford don't have much meaningful to do, so it's really up to Beckett and Sheppard to carry the episode, and because it's so close to a good few 'SG-1' episodes I couldn't help wishing it was Carter doing the science stuff and O'Neill providing the sarcastic conversation with Steve. The montage of developing the serum went on too long, and the Hoffans were so familiar I thought for a few seconds at the beginning that the team had somehow visited a race from our galaxy, but that wouldn't have made sense. While the scenes with Steve The Wraith were all good, I've never been much of a fan of the parallel Earth developments, especially the industrial cities, and even Alan Scarfe couldn't pull it back to being up there with the quality of the previous episode. 'Atlantis' works when it is aping 'SG-1,' and when it concentrates on its own USPs, but either way this one wasn't quite doing it.

**

Shore Leave

DVD, Star Trek S1 (Shore Leave)

The first ever Holodeck episode. Think about it: it's a place where fantasy and reality collide, you can be injured (and patched up again), can enjoy the sights, sounds, smells and all forms of your imagination through the construction of life-sized replicas drawn directly from your thoughts… in some ways it could be said to be superior to Holodeck technology since it has no bounds and you couldn't experience death on the Holodeck and return to tell the tale. The Holodeck has the advantage of a compact space that can be completely defined and redefined by the user or presets, whereas the planet showed no signs of terraforming capability, it was merely the stage upon which entered the curious mechanical beings conjured up by the thoughts of the Enterprise crew, but constructed by the Caretaker, or his machinery. It's not all entirely clear, we don't even get a glimpse of the underground factory churning out these wonderful (and terrible), imaginings of people and things, beyond the cursory description of McCoy and the brief sight of a Samurai warrior exiting through a trapdoor in the ground to terrorise Sulu (such a shame he hadn't imagined a sword, too, then we could have had a classic sword fight instead of the Helmsman running like a frightened rabbit!). My theory is that this race used a device much like Dr. Korby found in 'What Are Little Girls Made Of?,' though possibly a superior model, as it took only a few seconds between thinking and execution.

Execution is about right, considering McCoy bravely bought it from the lance of a charging knight. His surmise that this was all from the imagination proved correct. That they couldn't harm anyone, less so, as he found to his great pain and the distress of his friends and crew mates. You'd think the Caretaker would have put out warning buoys around this planet, or at least the occasional written warning sign so that unwitting visitors wouldn't be perturbed by such strange goings-on, but as is often the case with extremely advanced races, they forget to think about the 'little people' and assume everyone knows what's happening around them. He was certainly a genial old gent, quite apologetic for the confusion that had been caused, wearing his modestly lavish forest green cloak with brocade design, and coming upon them like Father Time there to explain the mechanics of his pleasure planet. It would be easy to come to the speculation that he was of the same race as the Nacene, another Caretaker from the pilot of 'Voyager,' cunningly called 'Caretaker,' except that we only know for sure that two of that race encountered humanity, since they were from another galaxy and were just passing through. But it doesn't discount the possibility, and in Trek 'there are always possibilities…' He said that they weren't quite ready to understand his people, but if he'd gone to the trouble of creating an entire 'amusement planet,' as Spock called it, you'd think he'd do a modicum of market research to find out about his potential customers!

The mechanics of the works were of great interest to me, and although I would have liked to have seen the underground factory, McCoy's description leaves much to the imagination and probably does a better job than the budget would have allowed. I wondered why the sophisticated recreations of real people Kirk and crew had met were not the exclusive exports of this thought-accessed environment, because we see a rather creepy artificial head under the knight's mask, which bears only the basic resemblance to a human in comparison to the 'real' people. I would suggest it was because the knight wasn't designed to be seen under the mask, so a rudimentary puppet-like approximation was good enough for the short time necessary in the manufacture, as well as the proportionate use of resources, was all that was required for that particular creation, whereas Ruth had to be glowing with a warmth and presence that would please Captain Kirk, and Finnegan (strikingly similar name to Finney - I'm always getting these two important figures in Kirk's life confused!), to burst with irritating joy in an effort to goad him into a tooth and nail fight for satisfaction's sake (a chance for some Kirk fu, with double leg kicks and the like!). I would say these real, historical people from Kirk's own life were far more interesting, in general, than the abstract lifeforms brought into being by undisciplined, wandering thoughts, whether that were Don Juan, World War II fighter planes, or Alice and the White Rabbit.

I will give the rabbit its due for being one of the iconic moments of 'TOS,' something that's gone down in popular culture, and quite a bizarre opening to an episode that already promised more fun than the average, with Kirk hesitating on the Stardate in his Log, and some physical comedy as Kirk thinks his knotted back is being straightened out by Spock, until he sees the Vulcan step forward and realises his Yeoman is performing the manoeuvre, which rather upsets his dignity, especially when he's sitting in the middle of the Bridge on his Captain's Chair. It's just not done! But to return to the pale mammal with the long ears and timepiece, I have a theory as to why McCoy didn't imagine a more realistic depiction of this famous literary animal, and that was because he was thinking of a recent performance of the play rather than a genuine giant rabbit (while he was about it he should have imagined James Stewart, too - imagine if they'd had a cameo from him!). I only speculate, but what if the Karidian Company of Players, who visited the Enterprise not so long ago, had not just Shakespeare plays in their repertoire, but Lewis Carroll stories, too? It doesn't seem likely, given the po-face of Karidian, but who knows if he was partial to a bit of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,' and the madcap, zany events would have appealed to his insane daughter, I'd have thought.

After the indoor sets of 'The Cage,' shown again in 'The Menagerie,' as good as they were, they could never usurp the appeal of the great outdoors, with all its verdant greenery, sandy rocks and blue sky, full of colour, vivacity and vitality - it's a shore leave for viewers as much as the crew, as we're so used to episodes set in the darkness of space, and aboard the enclosed, flat environment of the ship. They use the famous landscape of Vasquez Rocks, with its well known outcrop, very well, probably the first of many visits to this location, one with water, rocks, grass and trees, and this variety only helps the episode bloom visually, the bright uniforms fitting perfectly into the vibrant kaleidoscope. What's more, the episode has an energy to it that puts other episodes to shame, rattling through various mood changes with the use of a greatest hits collection of the series' incidental music, from light to critical, mysterious to jolly, and on to romantic and emotional, lending proceedings an impression that anything could happen at any moment. And, what's more, it could. It's dynamically shot with a moving camera in several scenes, infusing the dramatic mood changes or sudden threat, with urgency and danger, and this, combined with the fast running and strangeness makes it an exhilarating experience.

As you would expect, Kirk's encounters have the most depth, with a long-lost love called Ruth, spellbinding him, and Finnegan, his nemesis at the Academy, a provocative, but enjoyable rivalry, like going back to school and sorting out the school bully when you're older and stronger. Except Finnegan actually makes fun of Kirk for being an 'old man,' infuriating him and getting his blood up, but in a good way, the thrill of the fight is upon him, and unlike Kirk usually, he doesn't really stop to think about all these apparent manipulations, which is perhaps one reason why the stakes never seem that high - if the Captain isn't worried about such impossible happenings, then why should we? Until he loses McCoy, but even then he doesn't get too emotional or lose his poise, and neither does Spock. I suppose if there was too much wailing and gnashing of teeth it would have meant an earlier intervention and explanation from the Caretaker, cutting the episode short, so it was a fine balance to keep it believable. It's quite a stunt to be able to actually kill someone, or influence them so much that they think they're dead, and so do observers, yet there's no permanent damage. McCoy certainly seemed to be in pain, but whether it was actual physical agony or mental realisation that the knight had skewered him, I don't know. Now that I think about it, McCoy should have cited this episode when Spock said in 'Star Trek IV' that he couldn't discuss his experiences of being dead with the Doctor, as they didn't have a common frame of reference, because they clearly did!

There is a sinister side to the episode, and though unintentional, I imagine from the tone of it all, when you think of it in these terms it could change how you watch the episode: how do we know we got the real McCoy back, was he indeed, the real McCoy? If they could recreate so perfectly every hair on someone's head, could they not also duplicate those that were there? Could they not have brought back Angela's dead fiance, Tomlinson, lost in the battle against the Romulans in 'Balance of Terror'? Mind you, she seems to have moved on and formed quite an attachment to Rodriguez, so her thoughts weren't going in that direction. The important thing is, how do we know the real Captain and crew returned to the Enterprise? When Kirk, Yeoman Barrows and the Doctor emerge onto the Bridge, still in high spirits after their recent adventures, and profess their enjoyment, to Spock's comment of "Illogical," then all chuckle weirdly, you could take it as relief and relaxed appreciation, or you could wonder if they are actually duplicates! It's not much of an end scene to cap off the episode, but they did like to conclude with a shot of the Bridge as if to prove that they were actually leaving and the next episode would be something different instead of a whole episode of the crew relaxing on this planet. But I think Kirk going off to see Ruth again would have been a more satisfying finale, and a more pleasant sign off than the more heavy-handed 'pile onto the Bridge and off we go' style they preferred.

In reality it must have been hard to pull away from such an experience, the chance to relive the past or visit the fiction or fantasy of a thousand worlds, but more specifically each's own personal experience. It could have been as painful as it was pleasurable, and I picked up a hint of this other side to it when Kirk relays to Spock his encounters with the two people he met, and he refers to the clout Finnegan gave Kirk, saying it sounds very painful, and the Captain agrees almost wistfully, as if he was thinking of his separation from Ruth as much as the skirmish with his teenaged self's nemesis. By and large, though, the episode is knockabout fun, even more when you know the twist, and if there is a lesson (the discipline and challenge of controlling your thoughts), it's very lightly touched on, with Kirk keeping the Landing Party focused on standing at attention when he still thinks the apparitions pose a threat to them all, quickly dispelled by the Caretaker's arrival on the scene to reassure. If not, they might have delved a little deeper into thoughts of fantasy versus reality, the danger of living entirely in a world you control, of make-believe and unreality, which would have taken the episode into a deeper, more interesting direction.

As it is, it remains a harmless, pleasurable experience, just like the planet itself, and at least it gives us a starring role for Sulu, though his botany interest seems to be completely forgotten, as does his interest in swords, though he is allowed to sound off about old Earth firearms, specifically a 'police special' (I wonder if this was the type of gun Roddenberry owned when he was a cop?), which he draws and has some fun firing - I like that he has to explain that these kinds of weapons used chemical propellant to fire! You'd think Scotty would have had a starring role in this kind of episode, but he hadn't yet become as comedic a character as he would be (especially in the films), and where would he be at a time of shore leave? Probably in his quarter with a stack of technical journals! At least Mr. Leslie is, as ever, at his post, the Engineering station… except, hang on, he's covering Sulu's Helm position, and you think it's going to be another one without him, but no, it's because Mr. Sulu is actually part of the scouting party checking out this planet. There's a heads-up that this is going to be more of a fun experience than the usual, because of the lightness in music and tone, with Spock tricking Kirk into going down to the planet by citing a crew member who refuses shore leave and it's affecting his performance - of course it's Kirk he's talking about, but the Captain's so tired and strained that he doesn't pick up on it until after he's categorically ordered whoever it is to go down on his authority!

It's also amusing for other reasons (not least the Irish-type jolly tunes, much like those used for Harry Mudd - it might even be the same music), such as the fact that Kirk rips his shirt, only he's not the first person to do so in the episode: Tonia Barrows has a discomfiting encounter with Don Juan and comes off worst (though she's soon imagined a beautiful princess gown, and lo! doth it appear), and it's not often that Kirk gets out-ripped by a female member of the crew! Oddly, the rip is on the left side as we see it (her right), but when she puts the uniform back on, it's on the right (her left). Hmmm… the Caretaker playing tricks? Barrows' dress comes about because McCoy is charming her, and I was expecting the dress to suddenly appear on her as when Q snaps his fingers, but as if to emphasise the mechanical nature of the planet, it hangs on a bush ready for her to pick up and change into. There's also the moment which should be tragic, when we see Angela Martine get shot by the strafing run of an antique aircraft, except, because of the angle, it looks like she ran into a tree and toppled over in a slapstick way, and it's only the blood, just about visible on her face in the medium shot, that you see she must have been wounded or killed. Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing her again during the episode, and she never returned on the series…

A few technical details were of interest to me, not least that the Communicators appear to have the ability to field multiple signals simultaneously, as Kirk is talking to McCoy when Rodriguez beeps in. It's also noticeable that the ugly brown belts the Phasers and Communicators usually attach to had been replaced by the black velcro, making it seem as if they were magically attached to the user's trousers, under their uniform shirt, which was an improvement, visually. I always find it of interest (to discover more of Starfleet history in signage and uniform design), to see a different outfit worn by Finnegan: silvery, ribbed, and with, once again, a different badge, like a flower's petals or a stylised sun. I'd love it if we saw variations close to this in 'Discovery' as it would mean a great deal to be able to actually see a development within the 2250s and 2260s. Things weren't all as technically accomplished, however, with the stunt doubles for Kirk and Finnegan a bit too obvious, despite the usual attempts to keep their heads down and cut quickly from shot to shot. And they were a hair away from a great beam-down for Spock. Literally, as you can see a large hair hover into view right in front of his face! Some large ephemera caught in the Transporter beam? What is most clear about the episode is how much fun they had, sore leave definitely turning into shore leave. Why do I think this? Usually they show images from multiple episodes in the closing credits, but this time it was almost exclusively stills from this episode, apart from the green girl, so it must have been memorable. And it still is, to this day.

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