The Deadly Years (2)

DVD, Star Trek S2 (The Deadly Years) (2)

Imagine, if you will, that this episode had been the first time the Enterprise had encountered the Romulans, and that 'Balance of Terror,' the actual first appearance of the Federation's number two enemy, had swapped places. What it would really mean is that I'd have been watching that one now instead of 'The Deadly Years,' which would have been much preferable! But seriously, this story would have worked better in Season 1 because we never actually get any contact with the pointy-eared deadlies, and that would have been nicely in keeping with what we would 'later' learn in 'Balance' that humans have never seen Romulans before. And it would have been some excellent continuity to then get to see them having already teased us with their beautiful Bird of Prey design in the earlier episode. Instead, history played out as we know, 'Balance' came first, stole all the Romulan thunder and then we never saw them again until Season 3's 'The Enterprise Incident,' to the extent that I'd completely forgotten there was even an encounter in Season 2 at all! No less than the Enterprise being surrounded by ten vessels, though of course, since they were reusing the footage from 'Balance,' you only ever see one. They hadn't even come up with the idea of a map on a screen with blinking lights denoting the surrounding enemy ships, something used quite a lot on later Trek (or should I call it Middle Trek now that later Trek means a whole new generation of Trek creators).

All this talk of crossing the Neutral Zone and Romulan threats helped to add some much needed zest to the episode that was otherwise rather dull, a bit like being around grumpy, ornery oldsters who only ever complain and find fault to mask their own failings. The fact that it's our fine young Captain who's become one of these types should make it a much more intriguing proposition, but the truth of the matter is that it's a lot of repetition, and I don't just mean his repeated orders due to memory loss, the story itself seems to be stuck in some kind of time loop where we keep going over the same ground - he's getting too old, but he doesn't want to give up command, so we get multiple instances of where he forgot he said something or says the wrong thing, and then it all comes back again when Commodore Stocker, this week's temporary outside authority figure, convenes a competency hearing. And then we hear it all again, as every member of the crew (the ones that aren't dozing off, that is), look uncomfortable as they're forced to admit the truth. So it's one part 'Court Martial' trial scene, one part 'The Corbomite Maneuver' bluff scene, one part 'Balance of Terror' attack by Romulans, and maybe one part 'The Galileo Seven' interfering guest star who shakes things up, with a small part of mystery to round things off.

When totted up like that it sounds like quite the recipe, but unlike Chekov's adrenaline-inspired solution it doesn't restore anyone to full health and vitality, and in fact the audience could be forgiven for drifting off just like Captain Kirk did in his Captain's Chair - sorry, I meant he was 'thinking.' Okay, maybe I'm being a little harsh on it, and just as we should give elderly people more leeway and understanding rather than being impatient and offended by their plodding ways and unrestrained opinions, this episode deserves a little more respect, and it's really not as bad as I'm making out. It actually does begin quite well, with a Landing Party going down to a pleasantly orange-skied planet where they explore the prefab buildings and are shocked to discover the colony, which consisted of no one aged above the thirties, have become elderly. It's a classic Trek use of horror, the strangeness of things that are not as they should be, confusing and out of place. It's not that the colonists are scary in themselves like the grups of 'Miri,' just the matter of fact way they tell the crew 'I'm twenty-nine and she's twenty-seven' when they both look at least in their seventies! So it certainly begins promisingly, it's only once we're back on the ship and the old-age makeup comes out that it starts to seem a little limited.

For a start you'd think as soon as they realise that the Landing Party of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Chekov and (the expendable), Galway (beaming down in red is not the only way to die - the other piece of advice is not to beam down when everyone else is a regular, because we were only missing Sulu and Uhura to complete the set!), all begin ageing at a rapid rate, they'd be quarantined in case whatever they've got is catching. But no, there's never even a mention of the rest of the crew possibly being in danger, unless I missed a line somewhere. They happen to be carrying passengers on the way to Starbase 10, which Commodore Stocker is highly strung about reaching as quickly as possible. The weird thing is, it seemed as though all that was going to happen was that he'd take command, so it's not like there's a good reason for him to nip across the Neutral Zone (does it extend like a promontory into Federation space, otherwise why would it be a shortcut?). Highly strung doesn't really do the Commodore justice, it's not that he gets all agitated, it's just that he's completely singleminded about reaching his post, whether he believes the facilities there will be able to help the afflicted better than the Enterprise's facilities or whatever other reason, he's keen to get there.

That'd the other strange thing, although he's the rank of Commodore, which I thought was higher than a Captain, he calls Kirk, 'Sir,' and can only take command when Spock refuses on the basis he is not in a suitable condition to do so, which Stocker commendably uses to out-logic the Vulcan by saying if he, with his Vulcan physique considers himself unsafe to command then he must consider Kirk even less suitable! He's not stupid, that guy. He's also not experienced in the art of commanding a starship. It would have made sense to steer well clear of the Neutral Zone, however long it was going to take, but then we need some extra peril to add to the degenerating crew and to allow a cured Kirk the chance to rush in and take over, quickly showing his panache at getting his ship out of tight spots, tricking the Romulans, and saving the day. Although his solution is stolen fully from 'The Corbomite Maneuver,' it's an example of why you can reuse an idea: it was something he'd come up with himself, used the bluff successfully, and knew there was a good chance it would work again. It adds to the impression of the continuity of a real world, that he learnt something in a previous episode and now it's become a resource he can draw from again. If he started doing it on a regular basis then it would soon get old, that saying about 'fool me once, fool me twice' would become rather apt, but a second time, to a different group in another area of space is okay.

If the amalgamation of past ideas isn't fully responsible for suggesting the episode is lacking, it can also be put down to the ponderous, circular arguing that goes on as the Landing Party degenerate, but also that there's another plot-line that is introduced and doesn't seem to go anywhere: Dr. Janet Wallace. She, we learn, almost married Kirk (he obviously likes blonde scientists), but didn't, marrying a much older man. And then she just happens to be here when Kirk himself starts ageing, with her husband dead and gone… Are we supposed to take from it that she liked older men and that now Kirk is much older she likes him more than she did? It's a very strange story to squeeze in, or it would be squeezed in if there was anything to squeeze out, but as I note, the episode doesn't go anywhere much. Perhaps she was added to pad things out a bit? It would have been nice to hear more about Kirk's past, since it's so rare that we get such details, and she could have been the oracle that shared those details. Although she helps Dr. McCoy with his work she doesn't really have any real arc and is left to peter out, no real resolution to her part in the story. She's just one more part of the equation, like the Romulans, that doesn't add up to much.

Coming to this episode now, it's even more strange to think about the parallels with real life. Only in the sense that the actors back in the Sixties were playing older versions of themselves that they never realised would come 'true' - we actually did see them age as their characters in real time, so it's amazing when you see the first stage makeup for Spock that he does look a little like old Spock did as the film series went on - Nimoy didn't really age other than the lines of his face becoming more pronounced, the darkness under his eyes, and this they got dead right. The second stage makeup didn't work so well with all those extra wrinkles under the eyes, but then it went a bit far for all the characters. I wonder if they ever considered asking Shatner to remove his hairpiece and go bald as part of the process? I imagine not, and that makes sense, for as we saw, Kirk always kept his hair. There's a strange muddling between the characters and the actors, and the extent to which we saw them age. DeForest Kelley would wear old-age makeup again twenty years later as an ancient McCoy who was still alive in the 24th Century at the start of 'TNG,' while he would go on to play the character twice more without old-age makeup after that, his last appearance being in 'Star Trek VI,' and the first of the original cast to actually die, eight years later, sadly.

James Doohan gets white hair, which is close to how he went, except it was more silvery - he would make his final appearance in 'Generations,' having already guest-starred in 'TNG,' dying six years after Kelley, in 2005. Nimoy would have the greatest longevity in terms of character, Spock also returning in 'TNG,' then almost two decades later for 'Star Trek XI' under a new regime, his final appearance in 'Into Darkness,' the low point of the film series, sadly (unless you count his image being shown in 'Beyond' when we learn Spock had died, too), the actor dying in 2015. But Kirk of course had an actual death scene for his character in 'Generations,' the last time he ever came back (in canon, anyway), though there were at least four attempts to get him back, either by his own idea (he wanted to do what became 'First Contact' with a story about his return), or others (a proposed appearance in the final season of 'Enterprise,' a scene written for 'Star Trek XI,' plans to feature him in the thirteenth film before it became 'Beyond'), and yet as I write, the actor is still alive, looking set to outlive everyone, as is only right for a legend! Of the Landing Party Chekov is the only one not to age in the episode (and it's nice to know Koenig's still going strong today), and of course Uhura and Sulu weren't part of it. But that's the uniqueness of this episode: that it makes you compare the reality of the actors and their characters to that which happens in this story, a tragic reality of life, but also true that they had no idea that the work they were doing on this series would transcend their own lifespans. What's really sad is that the next time I get around to watching this episode they'll probably all be dead and gone, but I'm glad they all (even Lee-Whitney and Barrett-Roddenberry), had long and fruitful lives.

If there is a theme to the episode I would say it is that even the most reasonable and brilliant men are reduced by time. It's perhaps more poignant watching this episode now as I discover 'Picard,' a series all about the return of old characters many years after their Starfleet adventures. It's hard no longer to see these heroes as vital and hardy people, reliant on younger characters to support them, and not altogether being considered the serious and commanding presence of old. That's the sadness of this episode: Kirk, whom you'd think of all people would be more reasonable, more able to see the faults in himself and adjust, falls as anyone would, but then he was still quite young, in his early thirties, so it was hard to accept that he was losing what he had so strongly, that his faculties weren't as dependable, and that he was no longer in a position to do what he did. It's the tragedy of old age, but it could also be the horror of accident, people forced to live differently all of a sudden, who can't do the things they took for granted before and are forced to reinvent life for themselves. The truth is, if we're fortunate, we'll all go through this ageing, because if we don't the alternative is much worse: that we don't survive to that point. Perhaps that's what should be taken from the episode, to enjoy the abilities of mind and body while you have them, but to be reminded that they aren't a certainty, not a guarantee forever, only a passing gift that will wear out eventually, but the younger we are the harder it is to see that because what we have is all we know.

Maybe that's another reason why the episode isn't as enjoyable an experience as some, because it forces us to confront the realities of mortality, and not in the usual way of sweet sadness about death and parting, but in the mundanity of loss of the mental and physical aspects of life. It's the enemy that even Kirk couldn't outrun, though he cheated by dying before his dotage, when he could still run, climb and fight, and that's one reason why I love the way Kirk died in 'Generations,' dying as a legend, but as a lost legend that only Picard knew the extent to which he saved nameless, faceless lives, a secret sacrifice, a perfect end. There isn't any deep sense of such things in this episode, it's just Kirk getting crotchety and a jumble of other episodes slung together, when it could have been so much more. Every Trek series has done episodes in which characters age, it's a science fiction trope, but it was necessary to explore it a little more than they did here, preferring the threat to the ship from its Captain's inability to command. Saying that, we didn't really even get that, because Kirk was sensible enough to order his ship to remain in orbit of the planet so it's not like there was danger to it, and it was only the Commodore's insistence on getting to the Starbase that put things in jeopardy. It would have been interesting to see how Kirk reacted in the middle of battle with the Romulans in his elderly state and what he would have done, because even then you feel he'd have been better than Stocker, much like the green Captain Harriman of the Enterprise-B needing a figure of experience to take over during a crisis.

As ever, it's the little details that surface which add a touch of interest to proceedings, such as a continuation of the double-act between Sulu and Chekov, with the former telling him that he'll live, and the latter replying, 'yes, I'll live, but I won't enjoy it!' Chekov, as well as being the guinea-pig for Dr. McCoy, gets to use the wall walker we see in Sickbay. Never quite sure why it needs to be up on the wall there, but it's a fun piece of set decoration that we'd already seen Kirk use in Season 1. The technology on the planet was interesting - when Chekov enters the hut of the corpse the lights come on as if his presence activated them, not something they'd have had in those days, I think, but very common now with even home security lights featuring motion sensors. I'm not sure Chekov's line about the Romulans never taking prisoners was true, but it would be consistent with such a secretive race that wouldn't want the chance of prisoners escaping to tell what they knew about them and their appearance (considering that until the previous year no one had seen them before, they were that good at hiding themselves). We see a stranger sitting astride the Captain's Chair, such a rare occurrence, when Commodore Stocker takes command. I also appreciated that they did eventually mention that Scotty was also afflicted so he couldn't take command, since we know from previous episodes that after Kirk and Spock, he's next in authority. I can see why they wouldn't give it to Sulu in this situation, even though he's been seen in that role after Scotty, since he is inexperienced.

On my usual watch for ladders I spotted a normal flat one outside Sickbay, maybe a holdover from the Mirror Universe, or perhaps they do have as many ordinary ladders as Tri-ladders, but the latter stand out more in the memory? Protocol once again shows that Stocker appears to be a lesser rank than Kirk, since the Captain, in a hurry, orders them to stay seated when he enters the Briefing Room, which would suggest that usually they would stand on the Captain's entrance. I like that kind of formality and procedure, the type of regulation you don't see in modern Trek due to its insistence on casualness. We also see a Science Lab, and get lots of views of Sickbay and the adjoining rooms such as McCoy's office. I was confused when a dying Galway enters, however, as I thought she'd come from the office, but there was that ring fence wall behind her in which people seemed to be working, so I was very confused about the layout from that! Good to have the long Vulcan lifespan reiterated again, and that even with this radiation, Spock was perfectly healthy for any normal example of his race on the high side of a hundred. And their first thoughts that this ageing could be a new Romulan weapon since they're in close proximity to the Neutral Zone added colour and reminded us that it's not just the Klingons who are out there. Alas, for all the good ideas it does add up to something unsatisfactory overall and didn't use the Romulans as well as it could, making it a weaker episode, perhaps even the weakest so far this season. Let's just say it hasn't… aged well.

**