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.

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