Retrogaming Review of The Year 2017

Retrogaming Review of The Year 2017

The most monumental event of the year in terms of retrogaming was getting a scandoubler so I could play my Amiga through a VGA connection, and what a relief it was to be able to go back to the old computer. The item itself wasn't too expensive, about £60 with postage, and it worked very well. There was a minor setback only a couple of months into its use when the cheap power adapter failed, the ebay seller I bought it from very unhelpful, offering to sell me a new one instead of replacing it, despite it lasting such a short time. But once I managed to find a suitable replacement elsewhere and got up and running again, it was freedom to once again be able to continue my decades long game of 'UFO,' and complete another game from the nineties I'd got stuck on back then, to add to my tally of recent years (such as 'Alien Breed II' and 'Elf' actually on the Amiga, or 'Curse of Enchantia' and 'Future Wars' via DOSBox). I'd award the scandoubler ****, because it does give excellent picture and sound, but my experience with the seller wasn't the best (I should have asked about a warranty before buying - instead I asked after I'd paid the money and had no response at all!). That was the highlight in a year of generally underwhelming gaming time spent on too many average games, proving yet again how important it is to commit to the best games and avoid the others if possible.

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


January: Starfox Adventures (2002, GameCube) - The first month of the year is traditionally finishing off time for whatever game I played over Christmas. As I said in my review, it was a nice-looking game, but not very deep, yet had enough of the 'Zelda' clone about it that it was reasonably involving, and as Rare's final game for a Nintendo home console, held a special place of nostalgia, though that was thanks to the legacy of games before it more than its own merits. Added interest came from its original development being on the N64, so it had some heritage, it's just a shame that it shows the falling from grace Rare went through, and as far as I know, have never fully recovered from, creatively. ***

January - March: Armorines: Project SWARM (1999, N64) - My first game proper of the year, and I chose to go back to the N64 era for this FPS which I'd never played, but had a long association with, thanks to the closest N64 Magazine to when I got my console featuring it, staying in mind as something worth exploring in future. It only took eighteen years to get there, but it was another reasonably enjoyable game in the same genre as 'Turok,' for which I have fond memories. It was also brilliant to find its resolution was high enough that I could plug the N64 directly into my LCD monitor (the Dell FP2007), instead of having to make do with a convertor as most N64 games require with the screen, which must be played through a VGA connection, upsetting the contrast and making the visuals inferior and the setup process more fiddly. That accessibility helped endear the experience to me, and creeping around in dark tunnels was ideal in the waning winter months. ***

March - December: UFO: Enemy Unknown (1993, Amiga 1200) - I finally got around to continuing my longest single gaming experience, almost a year after it had been curtailed thanks to the loss of my trusty old Amiga monitor! And it was a joy to return to the familiar disk-swapping, precise pixel graphics, and slow, but reassuring gameplay I've stuck with for so long. In July I passed the milestone of my 1700th UFO and I have no intention of slowing down or of finishing the game naturally by taking the trip to Cydonia, as long as the scandoubler holds out. *****

March - April: Dune (1992, DOSBox) - A game I never played on the Amiga, but knew of, this precursor to the superior 'Dune II' was hard to get into, but once I had its measure became fairly enjoyable and challenging, and most importantly encouraged me to play the sequel not long after. It's really the Grandfather of RTS games, though rather basic and fiddly, with the sequel better known as the true originator of the genre for the more recognisable setup and improvements, but it wouldn't have existed except for this. Games history, for sure. ***

April: Watchtower (1995, Amiga) - Never a keen shoot-'em-up-er I got this out of the loft when I was going through a box of games and fancied trying some mindless blasting. It's pretty basic, a step back for the A1200, something the original A500 could have coped easily enough with, but that's what was happening towards the end of the Amiga's life: small companies releasing the dregs of gaming, only better than nothing to a starved and dying platform. This wasn't too bad, except for being rock hard - no saves or passwords, complete all levels in one sitting! Those were the days, the bad old days - I never appreciated that kind of gaming much, not being great at it, but was determined to complete at least the first level, and on the standard difficulty of double trouble, not wimping out on the easier option. Controls weren't bad with the CD32 pad I used, much better than many of the joysticks of that time, but it still made hands ache after a while - ergonomics hadn't been invented then, maybe! Two hits and you're dead, unless you can find a medi-pack to boost you up after one hit, and there was strategy to it, but mostly being careful. It's not ugly, but the kind of thing you'd see in mobile gaming now, and a hundred older shoot-'em-ups from the 80s and early 90s. Never tried the two-player, and if it had been password save for each level I'd have persevered, but I never liked those games which had to be finished in one sitting and through a process of trial and error, slowly pushing further each time. Too much of a chore. **

April - May: Dyna Blaster (1991-1992, DOSBox) - The fun little origin of 'Bomberman.' I played 'Bomberman 64' on N64, and it was a moderately enjoyable, if basic platform adventure, but it was the multiplayer that really made it worth playing, and that classic gameplay is what this original is all about, blowing up the opposition while avoiding the same fate yourself. At the opposite end of the spectrum to 'Watchtower,' this was extremely forgiving, allowing you infinite continues via a password system. You lose the power-ups you've collected, but otherwise it's a free ride. It says something that I wanted to get to the end, because it didn't have that much challenge, but was satisfying, especially stringing bombs together. The real test would be to complete the game in one sitting without using more than the two continues before you have to resort to passwords, but I wouldn't have the patience for that. It was a nice little thing, looked pretty, cutesy graphics and basic, jaunty tune, not to mention job satisfaction, but nothing more. **

June: Dune II: The Battle For Arrakis (1992, DOSBox) - The only question with this game was whether to play it on my newly restored Amiga or go for the more accessible, but less nostalgically appealing version via DOSBox. Still early in my use of the scandoubler, and concerned about how long the power adaptor would last, I decided to keep the Amiga mainly for 'UFO,' so although this wasn't strictly the version I played years ago, it was less hassle and practically identical (with the enhancement of actual speech in the cutscenes). The retrogaming purist in me baulks, but it was still a top game, even in this version, and remains one of my all-time favourites for the revelatory gameplay and sense of involvement. Many things would improve about the genre, you're constantly in a state of repairing individual buildings one at a time, or moving one unit here, and one there, so it's not an easy game on the mouse or the wrist holding it, but it was the first of its kind, building so much on the first game, stripping away the entirety of the RPG elements to concentrate on the action and satisfaction of building bases, massing an army and taking out the forces of the opposition. Along with 'Settlers' and 'UFO' it was one of the big three strategy games I played on the Amiga, and while always in mind as something to go back to (I'd already won the game with all three Houses, so this time I returned to Ordos, the House I began with when playing originally), it was only a question of when, not if I'd get to this. *****

June - July: Pac-Man World 2 (2002, GameCube) - The best thing about this game was selling it for more than I paid! Sure, it looked pretty good after the basic graphics of N64 and DOSBox that had dominated the year's play, and any chance to find another good 3D platform world was one to be seized, but sadly, as with most of the genre on the 'Cube, it didn't impress, failing in the control department, and being largely linear. It also lessened its appeal with an insistence on precise jumping. There was little to no joy of exploration, or freedom to express yourself through the character, and while there were collectables, they paled in comparison to the N64 greats from Nintendo and Rare. It seems you just can't beat 'Banjo-Kazooie,' 'Super Mario 64,' and 'Donkey Kong,' and having any expectations even close to those makes for an instant fail. Hence why I sold it: I knew I wasn't going to spend any more time on it once it was beaten, and not even the prospect of unlocking more classic 'Pac-Man' games could persuade me. Ultimately it was another example of being too much of a chore and not enough freedom to explore. **

July - August: Jurassic Park (1993, Amiga) - While I was saving the Amiga for the ongoing 'UFO,' I did manage to complete this game which had remained in limbo ever since the late-nineties (I got stuck on the Stegosaurus paddock), providing some satisfaction by its defeat, though as a game it was another to stick on the homework list rather than fun time. It wasn't easy, but an adult brain proved more able to cope with the puzzles, and endurance to see it through, and again, the graphical beauty was the main draw, just a shame I didn't get to play more games this year I fully enjoyed. That's the trouble with my system: I mostly play just one game at a time, so if it's not much good, then it's hard to remain motivated, drawing out the experience before I can start a new, and hopefully better game. I'm not above abandoning a game, as happened with 'Watchtower,' but when you can save or use passwords there's not really an excuse for it, and this year I made too many poor choices, miring myself in average software and losing the will for it all. At least this one was a challenge I could overcome, and was pleasing to finish and see the end at long last after about twenty years! **

August - October: Age of Empires II: The Conquerors campaigns (2001, MacBook Pro) - My quest to play through all the 'Age of Empires II' campaigns on the hardest difficulty continued this year with two more ticked off the list (Attila The Hun and El Cid). The good thing about this game is that I know I'll enjoy it, it has a definite challenge, and is as involving and engrossing as they come, so I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. It still took me a while, so I was happy to leave the final two campaigns for 2018, eking out the pleasure into another year because it's one of those rare games I don't want to finish too soon because I want to look forward to it, and playing it in summer seemed to be a good fit. *****

October - December: Starshot: Space Circus Fever (1998, N64) - The low point of the retrogaming year, because even the attractive graphics of other games weren't in evidence as solace from the poor gameplay and control. The music wasn't too bad, and that's about the most positive I can be about the game. Yes, it's from the early N64 era, but it came out the same year as 'Banjo-Kazooie' and couldn't be more different. In one way I was annoyed that I didn't get to play one of the levels, because I visited Earth as soon as I could, not knowing I couldn't go back to the other planets once I'd gone there, but on the other hand it did mercifully shorten the experience. A struggle to get through, not so much because of the difficulty (although it did have its share of challenges to surpass, just mainly in the irritant category - I was stuck on the outside of the ship in the final level for far too long!), but the annoyance of bad controls and cluttered visuals, not helped by the necessity of playing through a VGA convertor. It was certainly the worst experience in a year where too many games were merely average, and didn't cap it well: its score may reflect the cumulative effect of so much mediocrity across the months, so I was only too pleased to get it done and sell it to some poor customer whom I hope gets more out of it than I did! *

December: Beyond Good & Evil (2004, GameCube) - This should probably belong in the honourable mentions section as I only played a few hours around Christmas so it remains too early to judge (though at time of writing in January 2018 I'm just starting to get into it). It was supposed to be my big Christmas game this year, but I didn't have the focus to be able to concentrate on gaming this Christmas, so it suffered. I also found it too full of stuff, places to go, people to see and not enough focus, so it was hard to get motivated. Ironically, it's been one of the top three games I've been after on ebay for a few years (along with 'Animal Crossing' and 'Starfox Adventures,' the former of which I have yet to win), one that looked like it could be my cup of tea, and I finally won it at auction in May. Perhaps it's the gloomy graphics that didn't warm me to it, as well as the multiple, but samey items and story to keep track of, but despite any reservations, and that it hasn't grabbed me from the start, being a little too simplistic in terms of overly context-sensitive controls, it was always going to be a big improvement on the previous game, 'Starshot,' it just remains to be seen whether it can reach the heady heights of above average! Provisionally I'd give it **, but it's fairly engaging so I could see it go to ***.

Honourable mentions go to 'Colonisation' on the Amiga, one of the games I tried out in my joy at having the machine back to life again, but found it ultra-heavy on the disk-swappage, not to mention one of the disks immediately developed a problem, and while I'm sure we've got another copy somewhere, I didn't have the inclination to track it down - nice music, though! '1080º Snowboarding' and 'Snowboard Kids' both had some play when I celebrated my N64's 18th 'birthday' (when I first got it on the 12th October 1999), snowy games seeming the obvious choice for winter. And 'Mario Kart: Double Dash' had its moment at Christmas in honour of past Christmases when it used to be a highlight of the family season.


Next Year - I kept up the tradition for playing games from as many of my various machines as I could, NGC Magazine continuing to be a source of potential new gaming suggestions, and I came close to buying either a Nintendo Switch or a Wii, but in the end couldn't justify either, really, since I have so many games still to play. At least I was successful in completing several of the tasks I set the previous year, with 'Age of Empires,' 'Dune' and the Amiga all figuring strongly, but too often I was let down, so in 2018 I need to:

- Make better choices on the games I play!

- Get back to some Game Boy games, whether that's 'Advance Wars' or 'Return of The Jedi,' I still feel drawn to the old machine, the first I owned.

- Play more DOSBox, though I don't know specifically what out of the large selection - again, careful choice is required!

- I will certainly finish the last of the 'Age of Empires II' campaigns from 'The Conquerors Expansion.'

- Other than that, it's GameCube all the way, as I have a number of games I've never played, most of which I'm sure I'll enjoy, with the next 'Need For Speed' at the top of my list after 'Beyond Good & Evil' is conquered.

- I really don't know if I'll buy a new console, the price of the Switch would need to drop to make it justifiable, and I'd only get a Wii if I could get one that plays 'Cube games, and came bundled with some of the top titles on that system.

Happy New Year!

Image In The Sand

DVD, DS9 S7 (Image In The Sand) (2)

I felt like I had arrived at the station and was a fly on the wall to all the things happening, and it was a very interesting time to visit. The reality is that I've been to this time period many times before, but it genuinely gave me the impression of stumbling into a bustling world full of fascinating developments for the ears of the weary traveller. So much is going on, it is as the series would become for its final ten episodes, a fully-woven tapestry where the threads are indistinguishable from the whole fabric and the plots and arcs mingle organically from scene to scene, a far cry from the staid, but somehow reassuring style of the early seasons and their generally standalone style of storytelling, the traditional Trek method that has stood the test of time. Here, we're right into what is now contemporary TV series' as we know them, to an audience expecting development as its own source of interest rather than the satisfaction of a complete beginning, middle and end. Season openers have always been this way, however, especially on 'DS9' because the previous season always ends with some kind of cliffhanger, be they low-key (Odo ominously realising that Gowron is a Changeling at the end of Season 4), or fraught and exciting (the station relinquished to the combined might of Dominion and Cardassian forces as our heroes flee for their lives at the end of Season 5), so it's no strange thing to see Season 7 begin with what could have been a continuous story all the way to the end, but is in fact just the familiarity of a two-parter to bring us back into the beloved world of DS9, Bajor and the Dominion War.

One reason to feel like a fly on the wall observing all the fascinating plots is thanks to some strong visual direction from Les Landau, not a name I usually pick out for praise such as an Alan Kroeker or a David Livingston, but right from that shot moving up from the ground level of the Promenade (many years before drone filming made laborious and restricted crane shots unnecessary), across and up to Odo and Kira talking above, following them as they walk and talk, the story is told functionally, but also with a zest for creation, whether that be the sight of Kira looking small as she sits at Sisko's desk having just taken on his mantle against an Admiral Ross bringing bad news, or the great Captain himself, playing piano all day at his Father's full restaurant, and going from wide and busy times at the station, both inside and out (such as the beautiful view of Federation, Romulan and Klingon ships orbiting or docked), to the utmost intimate of a back alley where Sisko is violently, and shockingly, stabbed. The focus is both large and small, taking in a huge picture or giving us small and personal moments, and handling the many plot points they needed to hit, with aplomb. It's good to be back here once again, as Sisko would agree at the end of part two.

Before all this could happen there had to be a reminder of the dark times that had driven things to the point where they are and we see the traditional pre-teaser recap with Majel Barrett's computer voice inviting us back to the party. We see again the tragic, senseless death of Jadzia Dax, the monstrous Dukat and his embracing of evil, with the aftermath cold and sorrowful, especially for Worf in an anguish of rage, and for Sisko, feeling a failure as the Wormhole has collapsed, cutting him off from The Prophets, and Dax' death cutting him off from the wise advice of the 'old man,' his dearest and oldest friend, driving him to seek a stunned solace in the comforting familiarity of home on Earth. And that's where he's remained, nothing resolved, a period of healing, but one that hasn't progressed anywhere, he's waiting, but for what he doesn't know, listless, but pensive until the penny drops, or at least the baseball, and a vision brings mystery into his safe, routine life, far from the Starfleet one which he'd retreated from. I appreciate the quality of the writing, the way important happenings are arrived at in small, organic ways, a story woven gracefully despite its many pieces, avoiding big battles and adventures to allow time for introspection and the arrival at decisions and choices ('life is full of choices,' states Joseph, you make them and hope for the best'), much of the story setting up the journey many of the characters will take in part two.

If this series were 'Smallville,' the pendant featuring Ancient Bajoran writing on the back (belonging to Sarah, a new character whom we learn very quickly was a terribly important person in Sisko's life), would have dropped out of some portal in the heavens, a fight to possess it would have ensued, and the quest it presented would have been over and done by the end of the episode (or alternately the narrative would have been dragged, dying or half-dead, across a third of a season!), Sisko having been commanded to go to Tyree in the vision rather than the revelations allowed to bubble up gently in the realistic, yet mythic manner they crafted here. That story would have been all about bashing a villain, or someone being in jeopardy for a few minutes, but here we see mature storytelling where people's life experiences and feelings are brought into focus, making this mystical path to action believable and complementing the characters rather than forcing them into a course they wouldn't naturally go. I'd say the episode is an object lesson in juggling the needs of drama, the requirements of the unresolved Season 6 plots, and a new dawn for the characters, and while it may not be one of the greatest episodes of the entire series, it is certainly one of the better entries, and that without the need for explosions, shouting and running, all devices to disguise a lack of direction in poorer genre examples. The closest we come to action is in the culmination of Kira's encounters with new Romulan character, Senator Cretak.

Cretak is quite different from the usual stereotypes of her race: amenable instead of arrogant, accommodating instead of vicious, civil and open to new things rather than rabidly xenophobic, and she immediately puts herself, if not in Kira's good books, then certainly off the books, a big question mark hanging over her. Knowing Romulan character so well I suspect she was chosen for this mission for the very reasons laid out above. If there were any way to establish a dug-in presence for the Star Empire in Bajoran space then it would be to put its highest ranking official off-balance. Cretak isn't openly devious, but what could be more deceiving than a Romulan that seems open? It's an excellent guise and if it weren't for those pesky torpedoes she would'a gotten away with it, too! Despite the promotion Kira hasn't lost her vim and vigour, something of her old volatile self blasting into a meeting between Ross and the Senator, neither of which is particularly happy to be disturbed, especially when allegations of illegal weapons are fired liked missiles into the middle of a cosy talk. Kira has more than one run-in with the good Admiral, and you almost feel sorry for him ('Have you ever worked with Bajoran women before, Sir?' as a Chief once said, back on the Enterprise-D), but in her new position as Colonel (complete with more constructed hair, fancy braids here and there), she has to swallow her distaste because the decision to allow Cretak and some of her soldiers to station a permanent garrison on DS9 had already been made. Cretak sees to it that any objections are smoothed over and seems reasonable… for a Romulan, going as far as Kira wanting to help by endorsing the request for a hospital facility on an uninhabited Bajoran moon, before the real issue rears its head, the final confrontation leaving no one in doubt Kira will remove the weapons herself if no action is taken.

As far as action that's about it, unless you count Worf mashing his fists into poor Vic Fontaine's Holosuite bar and lounge set, although if the burly Klingon needed something to smash (Worf Smash!), he could have chosen worse than a holographic simulation, though his choice might have been better spent on replicating the skull-faced alien and the safeties off for some warrior training rather than taking it out on a sentient holo-character's business who's only trying to help. Sure pally, he knows the whole shebang can be put right with a simple command, but it don't do a guy any good seeing the place he's worked so hard at get wasted, you know? The thought struck me on seeing the post-Worf devastation (sadly we don't get to see much of the rage mode in action), about whether those smashed bottles had contained actual, replicated drinks, or were just for show, because it's got to come out of somebody's bar bill, surely? Oh yeah, I forget they don't do money, except for Quark and he's just concerned that Worf will tire of holo-violence and come and pull the real bar apart. The trouble with Worf is he's trapped in frustration, an example of a time when Starfleet can't indulge his Klingon side leaving him incomplete, distraught as he feels his wife, Jadzia, won't make it to Sto-vo-kor (Klingon Heaven), because she didn't die in battle. His friends, Bashir, O'Brien and, yes, even Quark, learn all this thanks to the Chief's brave night of drinking with his old Enterprise crewmate, kicking back and talking about the good old days in the hope that Worf will loosen his tongue. He does, but not until O'Brien's tongue is feeling hot and heavy for trying to match the Klingon nervous system drink for drink.

It's another scene we're not privy to, left out in the corridor when O'Brien tries to inveigle his way into his old friend's quarters, and though we get a nice little starter with Barclay, Geordi and their Holodeck adventures recounted (so weird to think Barclay was in a Trek series later than either of these characters talking about him!), you have to cut something from such a packed episode when you only have forty-five minutes to tell it, and this way at least it leaves it up to the imagination as to what the whole fascinating conversation must have been like. We learn that Klingons usually have shorter mourning periods than humans because they don't value the body left behind, and it is thanks to Bashir and O'Brien that someone who does understand and can help, is called in, providing a little combat for Worf (we'd previously seen him fight Martok back in Season 5's 'Soldiers of The Empire'), though the younger, driven Klingon, well rested from too much uneventful convoy duty and itching for some outlet, doesn't take long to deck the worn, older warrior, but it's Martok's way of offering a solution to Worf's needs as a Klingon rather than the human way of simply talking to him (why miss out on the opportunity of a duel if you can have one). It's in moments like these that you see what great value having a recurring Klingon character brings to a series, complementing the regular in a way that couldn't have been achieved so naturally had he not had two years in which to build a friendship - as important as Starfleet and his humanity are to Worf (one of the things he and O'Brien talked of was growing up in Russia), he's remains Klingon at heart, with all the specific needs of that race which cannot be fully understood by outsiders.

Angry Kira and Angry Worf initiate the injection of heat into a calm episode, but the most dramatic and disturbing moment is awarded to Sisko, whom I'm sure would rather have declined such an honour, since it comes with a knife to the gut from a crazy Pah-Wraith cult worshipper who's tracked The Emissary to his Earthly hideaway where the sudden and surprising attack is all the more horrifying for taking place in the heart of his security, as far from war, enemies and malice as can be, aside perhaps some Vulcan monastery somewhere, as I can't imagine them allowing a psycho to get so close to such an important figure. Jake's quick thinking saves his Father (those sacks of clams came in handy after all - I wonder what happened to the attacker, was he marched off to gaol by Starfleet Security?), but if the Pah-Wraith's are so opposed to Sisko finding the Orb of The Emissary then that's a good enough reason for getting up and getting on, leaving the clam-scrubbing behind for actions more appropriate to an inquisitive and bold Starfleet Captain. The fact that his aged Father decides to go, as well as his son, makes it a Sisko Adventure through and through (though you want to watch that Joseph, I wouldn't bet against him smuggling some sacks of clams up to the Runabout to give young Jake something to do with his time!). It would have been exclusive to the family Sisko had not one late arrival appeared at the door of the restaurant asking for Benjamin: a petite little lady calling herself Dax…

The episode doesn't have a typical cliffhanger, a moment where the characters are trapped or in fatal jeopardy, we're merely left to wonder how Sisko will react to this young pretender to the Dax throne. But it was like his Faerie Prophet-Mother had answered his wish that if he could only have Dax here to help him: and lo! she did appear. I still remember the wonder at how the series would be with a new character added so late in its run (the first main cast change since Worf joined at the start of Season 4, and we saw how incredibly well that worked out), and it's a very small cameo for her first appearance, but still so exciting to speculate on what this new person will be like, continuing the lineage Jadzia was a part of - how she'll react to each of the characters we know so well, and how they in turn will react to her. But that's all for next time, and a very effective way to close out the episode it is, in typical serialised style leaving you eager for the next part to devour, though there's much to be said in the waiting of a week so that the nutrients of this episode have time to filter down into the mind and the anticipation is built up instead of being instantly satisfied, because a lot can be forgotten or overwritten by jumping straight into another instalment when each one is as rich as this series was.

The hardest thing to accept about 'DS9' coming back was the loss of Dax, so it made sense to introduce a new character that had some connection with her rather than forget, or ignore, the impact she'd made over the course of six years, often the soul of fun and joy in a series that was visually and tonally grey, with lots of characters that were slanted towards keeping their distance and dealing with serious things of great gravity. I'm glad they didn't make the next host a male, not just because Kira would have been the only female main cast member, and the series would have looked unbalanced, but because having another female Trill is like having a piece of Jadzia with us, not too far removed from the way things were, though as we'd soon find out, she was quite different to the confident, assured, playful Dax we knew. One way the season could have improved was if they'd had Terry Farrell back in some recurring capacity - I know Jadzia was dead, but there could easily have been times her memory spoke to Worf in dreams or in visions. Ezri Dax could have seen her past hosts portrayed as characters for her to interact with (a little like the zhian'tara ceremony from 'Facets' where each of her friends took on the memories of the hosts for a short time), perhaps even The Prophets communicating with Sisko through her image. All we actually got was occasional sight of a wedding photograph on Worf's bedside table as we did here, but at least her memory wasn't forgotten since much of the preoccupation of Worf and the others, especially Sisko, was her loss.

Worf's dilemma, squashed by his Starfleet duty, but needing and wanting a way to prove his loyalty to her and win her a place in Sto-Vo-Kor, was as much for our benefit as his, a route to move on from such an integral character as Jadzia. It was handled well and used the Bashir/O'Brien friendship to excellent effect, where humour was allowed even though it had been such a devastating loss, and their escapades continued. I can't remember if the rest of the O'Brien clan had returned to the (relative, as we'd find out later in the season), safety of Earth, because it certainly seemed as if the Chief had the freedom to spend his time with his best mate, and Keiko, Molly and Kirayoshi would remain almost entirely unseen this season, sadly, since I always loved the little domestic scenes that spiced up the series and added a dose of reality. Reality is important to the series, because if it had degenerated into fantasy (as Trek can sometimes do, such as Voyager and its future armour in 'Endgame'), it can begin to unravel - one reason I think a new series still hasn't explored post-'Voyager,' the general impression being that technology would be too advanced to be taken seriously and would lose the grounded nature of Trek science and lore. What works well here is we're still in the middle of great events, larger in scope than we'd ever seen before, yet with daily life and the minutiae of continuing to live even in wartime an important component of the drama - everything seems comparatively settled in appearance, with the battles and their victories and losses happening far away, offscreen. DS9 appears to be something of a haven thanks to the combined forces surrounding it, so the danger comes internally, whether that be from Kira letting her guard down when presented with a seemingly reasonable Romulan, or Worf, almost unable to keep his frustrations bottled up. Just below the surface things are fraught and uncertain for everyone.

The perspective of the opposition is granted little screen time, but what we do see plants the seeds for the future, with Damar comfortable in his role as head of Cardassia, though Weyoun is disapproving of him and his penchant for drinking. We also see him as more thoughtful than he's seemed before, speculating on the celestial battle that must be raging inside the Wormhole (a bit like the Q civil war in the Continuum, as seen in 'The Q and The Grey'), this thoughtfulness and the drinking two characteristics that would become key to his development through the season and the man he became before it ended. It's always the little details that show how well these writers knew their stuff, whether that be the ongoing continuity or the references to the past, from stembolts and Jumja sticks, to talk of the Enterprise and Worf's growing up in Russia. But hang on, I thought he grew up on the farming world of Gault? Well, details and chronology are a bit sparse, though according to the 'Star Trek Encyclopedia' he did grow up on Gault, and then Earth, so it's not a mistake for him to speak of Russia (I'm surprised he doesn't claim everything Klingon was originally Russian-invented, or vice-versa: you've never read Dostoyevsky unless you've read him in the original Klingon, and you've never read Kahless unless you've read him in the original Russian!). One piece of apparent continuity is actually nothing of the sort: I was sure Tyree, the planet Sisko's drawn to, was named for Kirk's friend from 'A Private Little War,' but according to Ira Steven Behr in the immortal 'DS9 Companion' it was named for a character in the film 'Major Dundee'! Perhaps 'TOS' got the character name from that 1965 film?

If Worf's history isn't a nitpick, I can spot a few that are. One is subjective, with Quark claiming Jadzia always was squeamish when it's said she never ate the heart of an enemy, but I would have thought of her as anything but squeamish, always ready to try new things, such as her baffling enjoyment of Ferengi culture, at least in terms of the food and Tongo! I also found it strange when Kira and Odo are discussing the Pah-Wraith cult and how numbers are up, inferring that those chanting in the doorway to the apparently packed Temple on the Promenade are members, but why would the monks allow a cult to take over a Temple to their Prophets? That didn't make sense and we could do with a lot more than throwaway lines to explain the Bajoran religion is in chaos because of the Wormhole's collapse. We need to see Kai Winn and find out what's going on, though unfortunately that side of the series got less and less shrift after the first couple of seasons, except for its part in the mythos and the Emissary's journey. The Emissary himself must have great powers of vision because somehow he's able to create the full head of the woman he saw, when, as far as we could see, only her face was visible to him. Unless he had more than one vision, or was extrapolating from instinct, maybe a buried memory, since she turns out to have been his Mother, and in his life for a full year. The fast-paced, instant adjustment of his digital photo-fit on a padd was some cool tech! Lastly, a minor continuity glitch I noticed was the shoulder strap of Joseph's bag flipping from flat on his shoulder, to tangled, and back again as they stand ready to leave for the mission at the end. Unimportant, but it stuck in my mind.

A lot has happened in the Trek world since I last saw this season almost nine years ago, both big and small, films (and maybe even film series'?), have come and gone, Trek has returned to the small screen, in a manner of speaking, with 'Discovery' debuting mere months ago, and we've lost many more of the actors and creators behind the greatest sci-fi saga ever made, but when watching this particular episode it was a reminder that this is the first time I've seen an episode of the series with Barry Jenner dead, the great Admiral Ross himself. His Admiral was probably the most well-adjusted, believable authority figure in Trekdom, able to be both friend to his subordinates, especially Sisko, and the stern giver of orders when he needed to be, Jenner's portrayal a great asset to what could have been an unsympathetic role as almost all other Admirals were. It's come to something when people start dying off from the TV shows you watched on their original transmission, a reminder of mortality and the ever-increasing speed of life. But it's watching 'DS9' and other greats that helps in that place of struggle with life and death, and even though so much time has passed since I last watched the series I can't help but feel a warm glow of comfort and happiness when surrounded by these characters I have so much affection for. Though Season 7 is far from the days of the series when so much was left to discover, when a simple visit from an alien was enough to satisfy the demands of the running time, it mirrors the uncertain times we live in, while providing solace, just like Sisko craved, sitting engrossed at the piano in the middle of his Father's busy restaurant.

****

Collateral

DVD, Smallville S10 (Collateral)

When an episode ends with everyone unconscious I can't help but suspect the reality of the next episode, so it was no surprise to me to discover, and from Chloe no less, that they were indeed in a simulation. But I'm a sucker for false reality stories and this is one of those rare episodes where it works on all sides, both the 'cheap' dialogue and character scenes, and the expensive action ones (apart from the suspect CGI of Chloe walking through a wall!), creating what I can only assume was their tribute to 'The Matrix' - just look, we've got a computer simulation that our heroes are hooked up to, where if they die in there they'll die in the real world. But someone from the real world enters to bring them the truth, and she gets to wear a cool outfit, an all-white suit, while packing guns, taking out two enemies at the same time, having a kung fu fight where she can run up walls and even stop weapons that fly right at her face in mid-air… That's without even mentioning that the enemies in this virtual prison are the equivalent of Agents, computer programs designed to keep its security, and then we even get multiple Chloes at the end whom the hero escapes by flying away! If this wasn't a tribute to 'The Matrix' then we must all be living in some unreal world! My only regret is that once the others became aware of the truth of their reality that they didn't get to wear shades and sharp suits like they did in 'The Matrix' as an avatar choice, but it was so good anyway.

The big news is that Chloe Sullivan is back, not even for a guest appearance, she's in the main credits montage so I guess Allison Mack was only busy for a few months as it looks like the character's back to stay until the end. And it was a perfect way to use her character as she was the computer whizz, so what better reintroduction than having to save her buddies from the virtual pit they've been pushed into. Even better, we're left confused over what's really going on, an excellent device of showing Chloe as the one attaching Oliver, Clark and the others up to the machines, and because she has been gone so long we do wonder at her motives. Oh, I never thought she'd turned bad, at least not of her own accord, but there've been plenty of times when loyalty has been twisted, or minds wiped, or any number of other reasons for good characters doing bad things. We've even had our share of fake realities, but then show me a sci-fi/fantasy series that's lasted for years and hasn't done them! It's a staple of the genre, and thankfully, one of my favourites, and while I haven't been all that impressed with how they used Chloe through most of the series once they moved out of school, she was given her dues in full here.

It's refreshing for this series to give us a proper fight for once, even if it is short-lived. Usually it's a case of whack someone across the room or bash them with scenery, but here, thanks to 'The Matrix' influence Chloe gets to show off her artificial martial arts skills against Black Canary (who once saved and returned to the real world repays the favour by doing the acrobatics for real), a good use of her as a negative voice against Chloe's voice of reason. All the characters get to look cool for a change, even Deadshot, firing as he does, two bullets either side of Chloe's neck to take out her would-be executioners. Chloe herself is spitting out the old pop culture analogies like a good'un and it was genuinely lovely to have her back, and in a way that I don't think they could have done better. I'm still a little shady on why she had to go away (aside from what I assume were real world contractual issues or other jobs for Mack), but it was clear she came back on the advice of the special helmet of that guy… the one who could see the future… Yes, it's been a few weeks and already I'm forgetting the large collection of characters, but it didn't detract from the episode, and like her friends, it's not as important why she went away, why she strong-armed the Suicide Squad of Rick Flag and Deadshot into working for her, and what role she'll play now, as much as the fact that she is back. Once again I find myself thinking that if they can pull off this level of good storytelling, using the pieces of the series as well as they did here, this has a good chance of being one of the best seasons of the series.

They did miss a trick at one stage, I felt: the emphasis for the villains was all on keeping Clark locked up in his mental plane, and that's clearly because once he's out he could just dash round disarming all the VRA soldiers, knocking them out at super-speed and halting their plans in seconds, that's how dangerous an opponent he is. But we never see him wake up, we get the positive conclusion to his arc by him flying into the sky and taking Lois for a short 'Superman: The Movie' spin around the Metropolis skyline before speeding down into the exit point, whereas they could have added another level of drama by having everything about to go wrong in the real world just before he chooses to take the plunge. Then he could have saved all the other heroes in a sequence of impressive multiple split-second rescues. But in that case you couldn't have your cake and eat it, and at least the way it was done all the heroes get their moment of working together and showing their mettle, which is really what it's all about, and if Clark did all the work they wouldn't seem necessary. But like almost never before, the team (even without many of the main Justice League group), get to work together to win the day, and it impressed.

What most impressed, however, was the simple theme of trust: will Clark forgive Chloe for up and leaving without telling him, for keeping her secrets without confiding in him, as he was forced to do for much of his life to keep his own important secret? His life depends on it and I couldn't help seeing a Christian parallel (if 'The Matrix' idea of seeing the real world for something transitory before the real existence to come wasn't enough), with Clark having to come to a point where he could take a literal leap of faith, to 'lose his life in order to gain it,' if you will, and it is these kinds of inspiring themes and approach to drama that too often is missing, but here was powerful and a greatly satisfying use of Chloe's previous absence. I had it in the back of my mind that even Chloe could be a trick at first, but if Oliver could believe in her it set my mind at rest and we were just waiting for Clark to deal with his feeling of abandonment before he finally saw what was real.

Added to all the action, excitement and strong storytelling there's the necessary twinge of nostalgia for this stage of the series coming towards a conclusion, as we see several old photos of the past, and the setting of the glowing Kent house or barn reasserting the warm past that we've come from and that we've seen these characters periodically return to. Too often the series has turned cold and hard, harsh, violent, nasty and depressing, whether that's through family, friends or the outside world, but the warmth of the series has always been one of the biggest losses, so whenever that returns it puts the series right, inspires the audience and makes me, for one, anticipate the final half. I'm sure things will have to turn cold, dark and friendless before the end, but for now I'll take this oasis and be grateful. It even ends with Clark smiling in the glowing light, something which won't last, but for once it's a relief.

***

Escape From Jupiter

YouTube, Escape From Jupiter (1994) TV series, 13 episodes

I remember this series from childhood and I think at the time I liked it even better than Trek, probably my favourite series back then because it seemed to have all the ingredients that made Trek great, but the added identifiability that it was from the perspective of children and teens. I've wanted to see it again for years, but it was never released in its entirety on DVD and was never available fully in any form, but thanks to YouTube I finally found it, with its own official channel and good quality picture and sound (with the caveat of a slight issue with the dialogue coming only through the left channel, while all other music and sound came through both channels as normal). A very minor gripe when compared with being able to see a series that had such an impact that it's remained with me to this day. I didn't have many strong memories about it, though the music was very familiar as I recorded it onto cassette tape back then, and I was curious to view it again through older eyes. The impressive thing about it is how well it holds up, both in the acting, the stories, and even the CGI, which is something special for a 25-minute children's TV show that came out in 1994! The computer models are beautiful and have their own distinct style, as good as 'Babylon 5,' an adult space series of that same period that used CGI and which must have had a huge budget compared with this.

I don't know what it was about Australian children's dramas in the nineties, but they produced a number of great series' like this: there was the sequel, 'Return To Jupiter,' 'The Girl From Tomorrow,' 'Ocean Odyssey,' even non-genre examples like 'Glad Rags' stuck with me, and probably a few more I'm forgetting. But this and its sequel were the best, with my predilection for space drama drawing me to it. It concerns the crew of a mining station on Io, one of the moons of Jupiter, and their emergency evacuation back to Earth when deep drilling causes lava eruptions that destroy the base. The characters are well defined, with Duffy, the commander of the mission, an especially stressed, hot-tempered leader who hates children and is constantly trying to curb their explorations of childhood and clamp down on them so they can't keep causing trouble. Of course boredom, something every child knows too well, is the cause of most of their escapades, but if they were all good and quiet there wouldn't have been much of a series since space travel is basically a long, drawn-out journey through nothingness in a straight line! The main adult crew are made up of a couple of miners, one of whose wife is in charge of operations from what I can tell (some have coloured plastic collars as if to denote rank or designation, Duffy with blue, this lady with yellow), an Asian couple as tech experts, Professor Ingersoll as the brains of the operation, and a female doctor. We rarely see any other crew, but there's the impression of a larger complement.

The main characters are really the group of children, so you have the two main teens, Michael and Gerard, the first being more of an intelligent, thoughtful type, the other being the cool dude, hair all slicked up in spikes, and always up for a fight. Kumiko rounds out this group, newly arrived from Earth, and initially sceptical of being in some dump, she soon becomes firm friends with the boys, the group complemented with the two younger children, Kingston, the 'genius'/tunnel rat, and Anna, Gerard's younger sister. It's a really good mix of personalities and where too many child actors are obnoxious or unsympathetic, that's not the case here, making you care about them and wanting to be part of their adventures. The group dynamic holds a fascination as we see the various ups and downs that bring them all together, ultimately into a team that the adults depend upon for their survival in the final episode. There's a lot of "drop dead" and squabbling to begin with as they respond to the only lives they've ever known collapsing, but far from being a series where the children mope and moan, they take every opportunity for fun and adventures to the extreme detriment of senior adult Duffy, the headmaster figure in the drama. Without his rigid, uncompromising shadow looming over everything it's hard to see where much of the conflict would have come from, but they all at least have a common enemy to band them together, and the most delightful part of the series is seeing those moments where differences are overcome.

That two such different young lads as Michael and Gerard end up as fast friends through the challenges they face, is something that adds a deeper dimension to what could have been a simple escape story. They both show their growing age by the responsibilities handed to them by their parents, but at the same time they're still young enough to drop everything and have fun. Similarly, it's great to see Duffy go from child-hating bureaucrat to a man that has enough sensitivity to be able to persuade young Anna to go on the final escape aboard the tug that only has room for the five children, and really takes his character to a new plateau. As an adult you can appreciate the position of the adults as much as you can remember the viewpoints of the children. The adults don't contribute a huge amount to the ongoing story, but they're always there to reassure or to remind the main characters what they should be doing, or show concern for their safety. But as befits a series aimed at children, it is they whom are often the heroes, solving problems and arriving at solutions the adults haven't foreseen. Professor Ingersoll is the closest in mind to them, existing outside the command structure and the pressures of parents, he is open to their thoughts and shows himself to be an unconventional intelligence.

There are a lot of aspects to the series and the children's lives that would appeal to a young audience without putting off an adult one: gadgets of all kinds, from Zit, Kingston's characterful robot that can zip about on its tank tracks, Kumi's amazing computer which can shape-shift into something much smaller, Kingston enjoys Sega games in 3D holographic form (which shows what a powerhouse brand this particular games company was in the early nineties, though in the real world has since been eclipsed by Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft), and even Gerard has his multi-mate that acts as a tool for most eventualities. The technology even now looks impressive, with transparent flat-screens for communication, but also a pleasingly chunky, working impression to everything. Like 'Star Wars' it has a heavily lived-in feel, from the worn clothing to the battered consoles and the industrial nature of station KL-5's interior. It's a world that is worth exploring and I found myself only wishing there was more to see of the state of human technology and development in this undated era. What draws me to it is the way they solve each problem, the ridiculous pranks they get up to, and a really good sense of what real people do. We get some touching moments as the parents say goodbye to their offspring when they have to leave as the point of no return for the station is reached, and that, as much as those times when they're furious with the hi-jinks, spreads a strong feeling of the reality, stakes, and gravity of the situation.

As if the graphics, the humour and drama, and the look of the production weren't all top-notch, we're also treated to sly little in-jokes about other sci-fi. The most obvious one is Ingersoll's wishing "May the Force be with you," to Michael as he takes control of the escape tug, which all the children have no idea what he's talking about. 'Star Wars' is also referenced in the occasional 'I have a bad feeling about this.' They also mention they need to 'phone home' ('ET'), there's talk of xenomorphs and 'in space no one can hear you scream' ('Alien'), and possibly even 'Total Recall' when Kingston is talking about having your eyes melt and stuff when you go out into space. None of these things take away from what is a very grounded series, despite its location of spinning off into space, and that's probably thanks to the Antipodean attitudes we see, and those accents which when serious seem very serious. We see the children grow and learn, with Kumi giving up her prized possession, her beloved computer, for the sake of their survival, and Michael having to take the pilot's seat as the ultimate test of courage. Maybe Kingston doesn't change, but we get to know him better through his sense of injustice at being one of the youngest, and his desperate fear of being parted from his Mother. There are side quests into future tech, such as the holographic chamber that beams worlds into your head, though it's the exploration of the inner workings of the air ducts that provides the best diversion for them.

Being a children's series it has a happy ending, and all the better, with a beautiful final shot of all five children running about on the beach by the sea, playing with new dog, Duffy, as the camera whirls up and away above them. It's a terrific way to finish the thirteen episodes that were made with a deft touch. It's not rocket science or great art, but it very much succeeds at what it sets out to do, and I would say does more than you'd expect of it. I don't know why it should have worked so well, why they spent so much effort on making something right (that Consulting Script Editor, Peter Jackson, he wasn't the… nah, probably a common enough name… but if it was…), or whether it simply happened to be one of those productions that clicked together, but it certainly did, and that's not nostalgia talking because as I said I really didn't have that many specific memories of the series, I don't even know if I saw the final episode, but it was charming to see it the full journey, my only regret being that it had to end after only thirteen episodes. But then there was the sequel, 'Return To Jupiter' which I await with glee. If it's as good as this one it'll be well worth the return journey!

****

Operation -- Annihilate!

DVD, Star Trek S1 (Operation -- Annihilate!)

A suitable cap to a good season, this one is an ideal episode of original Trek, presenting as it does, the trio of main characters, their camaraderie, their roles as balancing act for the Captain, as well as giving us an excellent creature to add to the pantheon already established throughout the season, and featuring a strong planetary location that sells this totally as an alien world colonised by humans. The creeping horror of a plague of mass insanity through history immediately adds an ancient mental terror to the mix and a strong sense of the progression of time, reinforcing the series as set in a real period of history to come. All this and good use of the secondary main characters again, as well as a personal trial for Kirk, and it's a terrific all-round Trek-heavy episode. It's not quite as powerful as that which preceded it, but few are, and it continues the good work of 'The City On The Edge of Forever,' really emphasising the big three of Kirk, Spock and McCoy, without forgetting Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, and even Nurse Chapel. I don't have specific memories of watching this one as a child, but I'm sure I must have because I still recall the sense of repulsion from the single-celled creatures which convincingly zip around at such speed, something that's stayed with me. Once again they took the trouble to create something more than just a static model: it flies, it 'breathes' in and out, and when finally defeated, it melts away, dissolving in smoke.

There's something about the idea of a creature so alien it may not even have come from our galaxy, that strikes a chill only to be increased by the buildup it is given: no people, everyone hidden from sight, the whole population holed up in buildings except for a posse of men in work outfits brandishing transparent clubs, who rush the Landing Party, yet hesitantly as if fighting their own violent natures before finally succumbing and coming on, felled by Phaser blasts. It's cool to see the Landing Party forced to defend themselves so suddenly, straight into professional action, and it only continues when, alerted by a creepy humming they stumble upon a nest of the creatures, Kirk ordering his team to form a ring for protection as some awaken and fly threateningly above them. It's really well shot and could only have been bettered if they'd made the internal setting so badly lit that the creatures were just barely visible shapes hidden in shadow, heaving and massing, suddenly flitting into the light, but even so the audience sees them first, hidden behind a pillar or arch of some kind, an unknown menace. The power of the creature in our mind grows when even a Phaser on full power can only knock it temporarily to the ground. Even then this only takes it out for a few moments, whipping up onto Spock's back in vengeance as the group retreat and causing him his greatest mental challenge yet. The episode's flaws are minor, but one is Kirk doesn't seem to be really gripping the creature in his efforts to release Spock, and when the Vulcan goes crazy on the Bridge you can tell it's stunt men, not the actors themselves.

If anyone was to take an alien life form and survive the pain it exerted it would be a Vulcan, so Spock does his race credit in this extreme state. But even he, one so versed in self-control and the mind over matter ethos of his people, is initially overcome, hurrying to the Bridge against his will to take over and provide the creatures with transportation to fresh pastures of humanoid life. It takes four men to restrain him, and even then just barely (which would make sense, since Vulcans are said to possess roughly three times the strength of a human, and even with his half-human side Spock has embraced his Vulcan half more). You'd think they'd have made sure the restraint straps with which he's then held to the biobed in Sickbay were strong enough to contain him, because although it is Mr. Spock in control of himself who rips the belts away so he can continue his work, he still makes short shrift of them! The idea of an alien creature latching onto a character is one that has gone down as one of the main plot devices in sci-fi - you'll rarely see a genre series that doesn't have at least one episode where this occurs, and it's because it's such a visceral horror. You have a ticking clock from whatever the creature is doing, you have the desperate survival of the individual affected, and you might have the devastating effects someone who is trusted can wreak when under the influence of an unwanted symbiosis.

I like that Spock, in this case, is able to conquer his own inner pain and torment, but the hold the parasite has is so strong that only by keeping his full abilities trained on the problem can he remain in possession of himself, and throughout the episode the strain can be witnessed by the jerkiness of his movements, far from his usual relaxed, interested poise. Spock is an inspiration in the episode: not only does he carry on his work regardless of the intense pain, but he reacts calmly and acceptingly, without bitterness towards the strokes of hardship that come his way, remaining scientifically detached. How many could just accept the loss of their sight in such a way? And before that, he was ready to go down to the planet when the only apparent solution was to eradicate all who had been affected by the creatures' sting. Few episodes paint Mr. Spock in such an overwhelmingly favourable and inspirational light, one reason why this is one of my favourites from 'TOS.' The idea of a single-celled organism that is part of a greater brain is another concept seen throughout science fiction, as is that of a human host being possessed against its will. 'TNG' ran with both: think the Borg, individuals subsumed to a greater will, a hive mind. And the critters from 'Conspiracy' that insert themselves into the host body to take over its will in order to spread and conquer.

It's a mix of excellent concept and great production design. Although the creatures look like that fake rubber splat of joke sick you used to get, the way they're shot and articulated give them a life beyond their diminutive size. If nothing else in Trek had worked, the creature designs would still stand up as classics today: from the bulbous-headed Talosians, the green Orion slave girl and the salt vampire, to the Gorn, the Horta and these nasties, Season 1 produced some terrific and memorable aliens. But the thing is, it wasn't just the creative production the series excelled at, it was the characterisations that really stood the test of time. Kirk and Spock had been well established as a double-act, especially in the latter episodes, but McCoy was yet to be granted equal billing with them. But DeForest Kelley's presence and the depth he brought to the Doctor slowly elevated him above the other recurring characters, and if 'City On The Edge' confirmed that status, this episode underlines it as he does all he can to save Spock. It's not just the First Officer who needs saving - the shock of the episode is in Kirk's own sister-in-law dying in front of him in extreme torment as she desperately tries to give up the information of what happened and the goal of these awful creatures, at the cost of her life. Kirk has to deal with the loss of his brother (something apparently so painful to him that he blanks Sam out of his mind after the events of this episode - I think it's in 'Star Trek V' he claims he never had a brother!), and the horrible suffering his nephew, Peter, will endure when he awakes.

Kirk's decision-making is temporarily, and understandably, clouded by these extremely personal deaths, and McCoy has to remind him that his responsibility isn't just to the surviving two afflicted lying in Sickbay (Peter and Spock), but all the colonists still at the mercy of those things down on the planet. It appears there are only two options: to find a way to kill these parasites or to prevent their further damage by exterminating everyone on the planet. But Kirk demands a third alternative, something I've always found to be one of the most compelling devices in storytelling: when there is only a positive or a negative course of action what other, surprising choice, can garner the success that is required? Often it can be a simple solution - like the common cold in the Martian attack of the classic sci-fi story 'The War of The Worlds,' or the command to sleep which halts the Borg attack on Earth in 'The Best of Both Worlds' on 'TNG.' In this case it's as basic as high intensity light, or that's what the Doctor believes before subjecting Spock to such brightness that he's blinded unnecessarily, leaving McCoy guilt-stricken - ultraviolet was all that was required to turn them to mush. I must admit, this episode does put you off pancakes rather, and the day I was writing this review, what did I have for dessert? Yes, pancakes!

This twist in the story is another reason why it stands out above the usual fare: the Doctor's tragic horror at failing to diagnose the correct course of action, Spock's under-reactive response, and the positive viewpoint he chooses to take, that it was an equitable exchange when previously his life had been the price, only seem to make it more heartrending. I remember thinking the last time I watched this, almost ten years ago, whether the writers would leave Spock in this condition and conveniently forget about it by the start of the second season, because it appeared to be so final. I've equally thought that the inner eyelids that get Spock out of jail for free were something that came down over his eye like a second layer under his outer eyelids, but it sounded like it was something that protected the optic nerve internally. It's so unnecessary in ordinary Vulcan life that they don't even think about it, which is why Spock thought his blindness was permanent. It also leads to McCoy paying the Vulcan the greatest of compliments, calling him the best First Officer in the fleet, a touching moment that is expertly converted into a loveable exchange to end the episode, and one that is actually funny - McCoy's embarrassment at having said such a nice thing leads him to ask Jim not to tell Spock, who looks up from his station and thanks the Doctor for his compliment, with Kirk reminding McCoy that he'd been so concerned about the Vulcan eyes he'd forgotten about the Vulcan ears. A lovely way to close out such a strong episode, and by extension, the whole season.

There are a couple of logical inconsistencies in the story, the first requiring speculation, the second answered by the episode itself: if these organisms needed hosts in order to travel to other planets and systems, or at least build the ships that they couldn't construct themselves, how did they make it from one galaxy to another? It is only presumed they came from outside the galaxy, and even then perhaps there was some phenomenon that allowed them to be swept through the vastness between galaxies, or even that they travelled aboard some kind of vessel that other creatures from their galaxy had built - we'd learn the Kelvans came from the Andromeda Galaxy and they managed it, so it's certainly a possibility. I wish 'Enterprise' had somehow dealt with them since we know from the star map they consult (on one of the side screens above the consoles, a rare use of such), that the spread of mass insanity had taken two hundred years to get to the Denevan system, and I'm sure they could have found a way to include it without finding a permanent solution or being able to make record of the encounter for the future Enterprise to discover in its databanks. The other story point that at first is inconsistent, is that of the speculation the heat of the Denevan sun was what killed the parasite and set the Denevan free, which is what he shouted as he burned up. But they can't use extreme heat because it would turn a person to ashes before the creature was destroyed, they say. Easily answered: it was the light that killed it, as was later explained.

Everyone has their moment (even Mr. Leslie), with Sulu helping to take down Spock, Uhura being respectful, but firm when standing up to Kirk after he snaps at her for not being able to make contact with the planet (I noticed she was still wearing the black belt she wore for the Landing Party in 'City,' but she didn't beam down this time - maybe she thought if she wore it again Kirk would choose her, or it could be the scenes from both were filmed close together), and Scotty proving he's no fool when he holds a Phaser on Spock who's already pushed him across the room and nerve-pinched Leslie in the Transporter Room - the Scotsman is resolute in his obedience to his Captain's orders, to his credit. Had the creature regained control of Spock things could have been a lot worse, because, as with McCoy in the previous episode, he would be an unstoppable force if he ever turned against the crew. He could have crushed the life out of Leslie and Scott, he broke out of Sickbay as it was, just imagine what evil he could have been forced into had he been unable to counteract the hold the parasite exerted over its victims. As it was he merely pushes Scott away, and it appears his nerve-pinch can have degrees of potency, as we see Leslie conscious and back on his feet again by the time of the Captain's arrival at the Transporter. He may still be rubbing his shoulder and looking a mite aggrieved, but you'd expect him to be out for a while, usually. Nurse Chapel is included, too, her deep personal concern for Spock causing her to question the Doctor's actions in the midst of surgery, which shows just how much her heart ruled her head!

McCoy admits that all the labs and science departments are stumped by the situation, unable to remove the creature (I love the glass jar filled with liquid and little rubbery parts that he brings to the Bridge to show Kirk!), and we learn the Enterprise has a whopping fourteen science labs, so it's a heavily science-focused vessel, something we don't often get the impression of because of the dramatic action stories we're often given, but this weighted balance towards science and exploration is taken and run with in the spinoff series' which gave plenty of time to such things. We do see at least one of the labs where McCoy carries out his tests on the creature Spock recovered from Deneva (fending off another attack from a spanner-wielding citizen, in what is another great moment - taking its toll on his mental subjugation of the creature he's momentarily overcome with the pain again, but soon continues on his way to carry out the mission). The uniforms of the workers are just like those of the miners in 'The Devil in The Dark,' a nice piece of continuity, even if it was a necessity to save money on costuming. The colourful, futuristic location also served to enhance the scale of the episode which would have been diminished a little had they been running around a fake rocky planet set instead of between outwardly empty buildings, the camera watching from a distance, emphasising their smallness in the greater scale of the city. I'd have loved to see the creatures buzzing in the skies, but they probably wouldn't have been able to do it as effectively as in the tightly enclosed internal area, or it would have been like 'Pitch Black,' and they'd only have come out at night.

The title must surely be the only one in all of Trek history to be so heavily punctuated! Not only does it end in an exclamation mark, but it has two, yes two dashes between the words, quite an accomplishment. It hides the subtlety of the episode in such a melodramatic title, but I have a fondness for even the title because the story and character is so good. It was rare in 'TOS' for any of the characters to reveal backstory and family - we'd had something similar with Nurse Chapel when we met the remains of her fiance in 'What Are Little Girls Made Of?' and we'd go on to find out more about Spock and his culture in both 'Amok Time' and 'Journey To Babel,' but this episode is very much Kirk's, albeit with a tiny sliver of side order for Scotty (he talks of making the freight run as an engineering advisor, though whether this was before his Starfleet career or after, he doesn't elaborate). It's a wonderful touch to have Shatner play his own brother's corpse, even though it was the briefest of moments of seeing a man like Kirk with a moustache, and great to meet his sister-in-law and nephew (the actor would later appear in a different role in Season 3's 'And The Children Shall Lead'). Aurelan's brave defiance of the alien within her might be the most powerful scene and really chills the spine as she goes from screaming hysteria to forcing out the truth of them needing people to be their arms and legs, forcing them to build ships, all as the hypnotic throbbing of the biobed readouts underscores her death throes, the horror finally pulling her under. It's a horrible death and does more than most to craft a living terror around the creatures.

The subject of money may have come up again, as Kirk orders McCoy to help them, no matter what it takes or costs. He may have been referring generally to the effort it would cost, but equally it almost sounds as if he's saying spare no material expense. Although they come up with the third alternative of light rays, the idea crossed my mind that they could also have quarantined the planet. Spock and Peter Kirk would have been forced to go down and live among the maddened population, but I could imagine Spock going around bringing pain relief to as many colonists as he could, living out his days foiling any plot of the creatures to build ships, and living a hunted existence. It could have made for a great spinoff series, actually! Spock was the opposite of McCoy in 'City' - both under the influence of internal pressures, in the Doctor's case, an overdose, but where McCoy was wild with paranoia and unable to contain himself, Spock's Vulcan nature was able to assert the necessary control, once again proving that Vulcans, for all the lacking varieties we've seen in 21st Century Trek productions, are superior and inspirational as a race. Long live the Vulcans! And long live 'TOS,' too, for it managed to do what few TV shows could, and end its season stronger than it began, with the one-two punch of these last couple of stories, and the steady goodness of most of those preceding it was an impressive achievement and guaranteed Trek's return for Season 2. What's even more impressive is that, with the original pilot, it counted thirty episodes, the longest season of any Trek. Annihilate that!

****

Starshot: Space Circus Fever

N64, Starshot: Space Circus Fever (1998) game

To be able to play a platform game on the N64 that I had never encountered before should have been an experience to cherish. But there's always the possibility when embarking upon a new gaming challenge that it won't be enjoyable, and because I like to play games through to completion, a chore to be endured. Sadly for me, that was the situation I encountered here. You can tell it was a multi-format production, not one geared specifically to the N64 as the greats of the genre were. In its defence I didn't have the option of playing it in ideal viewing conditions, only able to use a VGA convertor which had the detrimental effect of increasing the brightness of all bright colours, bleaching them and making it look far less distinct than I imagine it would be on a screen designed for composite at the correct resolution. But I can get past imperfect graphics, and I sense that it wouldn't have been all that much more defined had I used a screen made for it. Besides, it is the gameplay that matters in a 3D platformer, the feeling of freedom through the control of your character, the broadness of the landscapes you traverse, and the breadth of tasks you're given to accomplish, that make the game. With the first being a bit of a failure, the second became interminable and the third, while being the only one of the three to be a reasonable challenge, it was really only through a sense of relief at completing the latest puzzle that I had any positive reaction at all.

The controls, then. Terrible frustration ought to cover it: the character's movement was imprecise, moving jerkily so it was hard to judge when to jump, increased manyfold in flying, or I should say was the opposite, being too precise so that the tiniest movement of the stick would send your rocket buddy veering off at all angles. This might not have been so jarringly difficult to take control of if you hadn't been fighting the wilful camera for authority at the same time. It could zoom in and zoom out, but wouldn't stay as you'd set it, deciding for itself when it was going to do this (even the 'feature' of sound diminishing as the camera moved out was merely an annoyance to underline the lack of control over the camera). The technique to centre it behind you was fiddly (hold 'Z' and double-tap 'R' or some such nonsense!), and even the ground-based travel could find you dropping off a thin ledge into the sea or a void because your steps weren't reactive enough to the push of the stick. If you play 'Banjo-Kazooie,' the inevitable yardstick by which I measure all in the genre, you would find that if you moved the stick slightly, Banjo would tiptoe along, then if you pushed the stick as far as it would go he would run.

No such subtlety in this control scheme and it was an immediate black mark. Simple moves you'd expect as standard thanks to 'Super Mario 64' and 'Banjo,' such as a useful slam attack when jumping in the air, were absent, and the range of moves you had were rather limited, nor was there the opportunity to learn new ones - the draw was supposed to be the control of your energy bolts (or 'star shots'), but because of the unreliable camera you couldn't be sure to move it in the right direction as the compass would be changing while you were rooted to the spot! If you fall in water there's no climb move so even at a tiny ledge you'd have to laboriously swim around until a slope was located, and not even any way to swim faster! No context sensitive control, so walking near a ledge you'd fall and wouldn't hang on. If the control system hadn't been so poor there were yet other major irritations. Because the graphics weren't the best it wasn't always easy to see whether a character on screen was an enemy, or an ally you could talk to by standing next to them. You had to take the risk of losing life points every time and often they'd be enemies. If this wasn't unfair enough your robot 'companions' seem chiefly designed to annoy you, the rocket, Willfly, swirling about the screen with trails that clutter up your vision and make it difficult to tell if a projectile is coming your way, and Willfall, the wheeled one, getting under foot or blocking your fire. They couldn't have done a much better job if they were trying to irritate the player! As in most platformers the enemies were pretty mindless, so I can't fault them for something that even the greats tended to do: creatures that hang around a set area, only coming after you only when you enter their proximity and 'activate' them.

It's easy to forget after playing games like 'Banjo' how difficult it must be to create such a fun playing experience, because this game does just about everything wrong. The first level is nice and sprawling, a desert island of orange sand and blue water, but what is there to do? Not very much. There's little incentive to collect items, along with puzzles, the staple diet of the genre, and though it seems to be giving you freedom, all the levels are pretty linear in where you need to go. What is it you do collect? Health (life points), represented by green things, blue stars to add to your shots, yellow blobs to give you flying time and red 'Mega fuel points,' the only true collectable since you need it to get you to Earth. The sound effects are basic, even for a game released in 1998, the music unmemorable (though I did like the music aboard the Space Circus ship which acts as the hub to move from level to level), and it was a wholly unimpressive package. The point of collecting is to give you a sense of achievement with an addictive, pleasant sound on collection of each item, but there was very little to make you want to come back to a level for the required fuel cells, and in fact I was able to get the necessary hundred without even completing all the worlds.

Ironically, even this shortcut ended up irritating, because once I'd reached Earth I assumed I'd be able to go back to any planet I hadn't completed, but no, you get sucked up to the enemy ship and there's no way back. Primitron was the only level I didn't get out of the starting block on, and decided to leave for later. I even wondered if after the game was won I might be granted the choice to return to it for a 'proper' completion, but no. That I wanted the experience to be over so I could move on to playing a game that was actually enjoyable, I can't deny, but at my choice, not the game's. The other troublesome aspect of the gameplay was the annoyance quotient of the puzzles and tasks. Undeniably, a number of them created satisfaction upon success, but it was more of a battle to get through them than to enjoy the journey itself. I was tempted to rate the game as merely 'average' (two stars), because of this, but on reflection I so wanted to get the whole thing over with, that I couldn't award it more than the lowest score of one star ('poor'), simply for the level of frustration - in just about every way, the game doesn't work. I understand people put their lives into it, I can see they were trying to create something good, but it didn't work out that way, and this is from someone who enjoys playing old games and often finds satisfaction from persevering through them even if they aren't really that good (such as 'Jurassic Park' on the Amiga, this year).

Can I say anything constructive about it? It was fun to hear the gabbling gobbledygook talk of the characters, with subtitles, before digitised speech was readily accessible on cartridge-based systems, reminding me pleasantly of 'Banjo.' Some of the puzzles were fairly ingenious such as turning enemy forces against each other to proceed. The speed booths were a good idea, speeding you up, though in practice the level around you slows down and you move normally, the music suitably slowed to fit. And it was fun seeing the Millennium Falcon in one level, and what I think was the ship from 'Space: 1999.' I will grant that the last level, as you solve puzzles to move around the outside of the evil Virtua Circus ship on all sides without jumping (which disconnects you from gravity), is inventive, and I would also say the internal parts of levels where you weren't in danger of plummeting to your doom, could almost have been right out of 'Banjo.' Except for the awful controls and excruciating camera… It always comes back to this! I have no idea if this game was a success on the N64 or the other systems it 'graced,' but I'd be very surprised if it spawned a series of sequels and its own gaming brand.

After leaving it for a week or two and returning, I'd forgotten just how boring it was until I ended up roaming a level aimlessly with no idea what to do or where to go, and with nothing fun to do. For example, you find tanks on Earth, but you can't jump in and start rolling the thing over buildings or blasting holes in things, so your expectations are lowered and your desire to complete it are sapped. The final proper level before Virtua Circus is typical of 'last level fever' that often affects, or at least affected, games back then: that of a brown, boring landscape, ugly and difficult. Contrast that with 'Click Clock Wood,' the final level of 'Banjo,' an experience that remains with me to this day, and I can hardly believe both games came out in the same year! It wasn't just the flaws in control and fun that were detrimental, it was the frustration of a monotonous final battle where you spend half the time running back and forth to the corners of the room to replenish your weapon, and repeat. I was grateful that it saves at each stage of the battle, so once you've dealt with villainous Wolfgang Von Ravel's different stages you don't have to play them again, making it much easier, though still boring. And it ends on a cliffhanger with Starshot imprisoned aboard the enemy vessel with a 'The End?' coming up. If they wanted to make sequels they should have ensured the first one was any good! I never played it in its day, so perhaps a warm glow of nostalgia would have earned it an extra star, but I'll never know, nor do I wish to in future.

*

The City On The Edge of Forever

DVD, Star Trek S1 (The City On The Edge of Forever)

The trouble with high expectations is disappointment, 'familiarity breeds contempt,' they say, and none are more lauded than this famous 'greatest episode' of Trek which stands in the same sentence with 'The Best of Both Worlds' and 'In The Pale Moonlight' among the most popular and best regarded. My own feeling is that it is undeniably one of the finest of 'TOS,' though not my personal favourite, but the greatest of the later series' are a level above. Like most of the episodes I've been seeing again, it was in some ways almost a chore to have to deal with this one again because what can be written about greatness? It's easier to pick holes in the flawed stories or marvel at the wonders of the great, but beyond that, what's there to say? I felt I knew the story too well to be surprised, all the important moments stick in the mind, but the reality is with most of these episodes the in-between moments are fresh, and I found, just like watching 'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,' there was a warm bubble of glowing joy experienced as the story plays out. From the moment Joan Collins appears on the stairs in the basement of the mission there's a lightning rod between her and William Shatner, and she embodies the purest form of the Trek vision: a dreamer who somehow sees the way forward to the peaceful, well-fed and looked-after future the Federation would preside over. The irony is heavy that it could only happen with her death.

Time travel always compels the imagination, and the approach this time is different to the previous uses of the staple sci-fi device in the series, an alien artefact of great age and unknown origin, The Guardian of Forever (any relation to The Vault of Tomorrow from 'The Devil in The Dark'? - it would be quite a twist to learn the Horta were its creators!), is a sweetshop of possibilities, ruined by McCoy's illness. Instead of the Landing Party being confronted with a universe of potential times and places to visit, a gateway to their own past if they so wish, Kirk and Spock must ensure they jump through at the correct time in which to prevent the Doctor from altering history, which has taken away not just the Enterprise and her crew, but theoretically the whole of existence as the Landing Party knew it. No wonder Uhura's frightened! The Guardian, for all its untold power, was miserably limited, unless that very limit was imposed as part of its design to stop any potential traveller from controlling time (can you imagine what would have happened if the Klingons or Romulans had gotten hold of it - or even renegade Vulcans, which is rumoured to have been the original idea for what became 'Star Trek Beyond,' a way to revert the timeline back to its original setting in those films). Whether a design flaw or feature, the fact that it can only show time in fast forward is a limiting factor for its usefulness, and only thanks to Spock's Tricorder is even a modicum of precision time-jumping possible.

Speaking of Spock, this isn't a very good episode for him in some ways: he calls himself out as a fool for not immediately thinking to record the passage of time flowing through the Stargate, er, I mean Iconian Gateway, er, I mean Guardian, and this just after it has put him in his place by calling his science primitive. Then when he and Kirk do jump (we might say 'leap'), backwards to Earth, 1930, he's a liability thanks to his mechanical rice-picker accident ears which were saved by a missionary in China (he's Chinese, obviously), who just happened to be a skilled plastic surgeon… Even knowing that was coming it still made me laugh, and that's the sign of quality: even when expecting the twist or the gag, this episode still gets a reaction. As does Spock. The other thing is, he's the third wheel around Kirk and Keeler, a constant reminder that the Captain must do his duty whatever his feelings - a great sentiment (if that word can be used in this context), and one we could all do with being reminded of, that emotion should be secondary to the rational mind. If Kirk had wanted, he could have saved Edith, but at the expense of millions of lives. And even though most of those lives were unknown to him and he could have argued that they never existed since the timeline was altered, he chose duty at the cost of a visionary, and one that shared the dream he was part of.

If Spock had his own trials in the episode, none of which were on the same level as Kirk's, he also provided vital intelligence by cobbling together a power source to run his Tricorder from stone knives and bear skins (which he was irritated enough about to pronounce it to Edith when she came to the door - irritation? Ah yes, one of your Earth emotions). It's not this that most stayed in my mind when I was done, however, it was the humble picture of Mr. Spock, the brainy Vulcan, First Officer on a starship, pouring tea at the counter of the 21st Street Mission for the homeless of the city. It's the epitome of servanthood and notwithstanding it was the logical thing to do to earn money with which to purchase the necessary items to rig up the Tricorder, it remains a surreal sight and a testament to his dutiful character. The same can be said of Kirk when he and Spock are given the chore of cleaning up the basement and Edith later thanks them for doing such a good job - it's all that Starfleet spit and polish, and it shows that even in the 23rd Century the people of Starfleet know about hard work and elbow grease, technology hasn't removed from them the ability to do manual labour when required. I just wish we could have seen it! It sounds strange, almost comical to think of the two stars of the show sweeping up or doing mundane menial work, and the avenues were there for much more direct humour.

If there's one thing I took from this episode it was its influence. Everyone knows about Harve Bennett's viewing of every 'TOS' episode while trying to decide on a direction to take for what became 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,' eventually selecting 'Space Seed' as ripe for a sequel, but I have to wonder if Leonard Nimoy did something of the same when he came to direct 'Star Trek IV.' There are so many parallels and it would make sense for him, the man who played Spock to know which episode had garnered the most praise and use it as a template. It would be the logical thing to do! Both 'IV' and this episode hinge on time travel and the saving of the future. Both feature a female character whom Kirk becomes close to and who is integral to the success of the mission. But where the film is more of a knockabout comedy, sometimes even straying into cartoony territory, the episode is much deeper and impacting. It has the same vein of comedy to draw upon, that of fish out of water, or men out of time, but it doesn't over play it, keeping it realistic - Kirk and Spock are still 'human' enough to fit in, even if their uniforms aren't. The contrast can be seen quite dramatically in an almost identical scene in both: a character crosses the road and gets honked at by a car that is forced to stop. In the film it's a chance to loose off some profanity, in the episode it's much more toned down (though you'd think Kirk would have remembered this experience and been more careful crossing in 'IV' - in fairness it's Spock that hangs around in the road on this occasion!).

I've often said that when done right, 'Star Trek' feels like Christmas. What I mean by that is its emanation of joy and goodness, its brightness in both tone and visuals, whether that be the fairy light glow on the dark DS9 station, the beaming Enterprise-D in space, or the optimistic ideal of good people solving problems, doing the right thing whatever it means for them personally. With this episode, that core of goodness is so strong, and excessive laughing at our characters for lacking the necessary understanding of the nuances of the time would have reduced them. The comedy is as much aimed at the contemporary people's reaction to these strange visitors as the reverse, and the episode is only enhanced by the characterisations of those we meet, the guest roles especially well acted, maybe because it was easier to grasp historical Earth than alien worlds. 'The Rodent' as he's titled in the credits, is important in his own way. He serves as commentary of that time's view on the hopeful ideology Keeler espouses, taking her charity, but thinking of her as a nut. More importantly he serves to show the difference between lives: Edith's, full of service and virtue, will make a huge difference on history whether she lives or dies, but the poor tramp who mistakenly blasts himself out of existence after stealing McCoy's Phaser, a selfish thief, apparently has no impact whatsoever. It's a very small moment in the episode, but that's what I read into it, a deeper lesson on choice and free will for right or wrong. It's sad because he brings great humour to the story, his terrified reaction to the rabid McCoy quite brilliant.

It's a wonder the wild Doctor wasn't locked up. Except McCoy is cunning, even when shot through with cordrazine, a drug powerful enough that a couple of drops brings the prone Sulu back to consciousness with a beaming grin on his face (unless he was just reacting to being cradled by the asian Yeoman who leapt to his aid when the Helm console blew a gasket - she seemed to be hanging around Kirk's chair just for this eventuality!). It struck me that he's a bit like Data - if he goes bad and still has his faculties he's much more dangerous to the ship than the average guy, and I always thought how cool it was that he could drop a man with a couple of carefully chosen chops to the back, poor Transporter Chief Kyle the one to get it (though still not credited as Kyle). If it wasn't for Edith and her kindness who knows what would have happened to the Doctor in the state he was in - he looked like the Salt Vampire had been finger-sucking his face. And this whole adventure was due to a bit of turbulence, which led him to accidentally inject himself with the drug that turned him into a hyperactive paranoid wild man, so opposite to his usual laid back nature. I sense he has a lot of anger in him at times, his crotchetiness coming out in mutterings and irritation, and it's like his inner personality comes out times a thousand, all the energy and rage rushing to the surface in violent action and voice. If he weren't such a good guy you wouldn't want to cross him!

Edith Keeler is the linchpin of the episode, and if they hadn't found someone to pull it off so startlingly it might not have gone down as such a classic. But Joan Collins is perfect in the role, at the height of her powers, the walking embodiment of the Trek future, with an angelic light about her. It doesn't matter how she has these strange convictions of life where all are fed and cared for, her otherworldly perceptiveness stretches even to Kirk and Spock, knowing they don't belong and seeing an identical soul in Kirk that shares exactly what she foresees. It's tragic that, unlike Gillian in 'Star Trek IV,' she will never be able to see it firsthand, denied the Promised Land for being in the wrong time. Actually, I wonder why they couldn't have simply whisked her off to the future where she couldn't do any harm, but The Guardian probably wouldn't have allowed it. I'm left to wonder how they even got back - was it like 'Quantum Leap' where once the good deed is done they leap to the next time, and they only returned to the correct period because unlike the computer in that series The Guardian isn't broken? It may not be broken, but it's certainly insensitive to the weighty experience endured by the Captain. It offers more adventures, they can go to any world or time, but it falls on deaf ears, the Landing Party paying no heed and Kirk so affected he's allowed to swear. Probably the shortest, most brutal end to an episode of 'TOS,' and though such a mild word by modern standards it was a big thing for the time and has an impact because of that, something lost in the films because the use of such language was common and everyday, no longer really an exclamation.

You can see how far the series had come in such a short time, and it shows that a concentrated machine of storytelling can smash out great work, art thriving on constraints, that gives the lie to the suggestion that TV needs to have a long time taken over it, to do less episodes and to keep the audience's interest by ensuring serialisation. Trouble is, unless the coalface of writing is kept hot, the ideas forced out by desperate time limits, most of the time lethargy and laziness, the natural condition of human nature, will mean that simpler, less expressive and impressive storytelling will be allowed to take control. That's when a production line mentality leads to loss in quality. But in the feverish early days of the series it had undoubtedly benefited from fever pitch, deadlines and budgetary constraint, towards the end these last few episodes showing what their creativity was capable of. They'd learnt many things from the process, such as banding Kirk and Spock together as much as friends as work colleagues - this was following directly from them being abandoned on a planet and having to deal with the Klingons without the support of ship or crew, and here it's the same. Kirk doesn't want to risk the rest of the Landing Party, his order to Scotty and the others that if they don't return eventually each of them will have to jump through where they'll at least be alive somewhere - reminds me of Picard's orders for his crew to settle down on some corner of 21st Century Earth in 'First Contact' when the Borg have taken over the Enterprise. The same air of finality and last resorts to keep the crew alive while the Captain does what he can to take care of the problem.

I see also this episode influenced the 'DS9' two-parter, 'Past Tense' (and not just because the same boxing poster that Kirk and Spock appear before was recreated for Kira and Bashir's time jump), going back to a period of depression in Earth history, doing something that will protect the timeline, knowing that a sacrifice will need to be made… Going back to Earth's past has always been an understandable draw for Trek, putting its characters right in the midst of a moral debate, a choice must be made without the certain knowledge such interference will have. Here at least Kirk knows what must be done, but it doesn't make it any easier. From the start his immediate reaction to Edith was honesty as far as she could understand, and I wonder a little why he didn't share the knowledge that he really is from the future. I think she would have believed him, her perceptive ability able to see through Kirk and Spock's friendship to a dutiful belonging to some organisation of rank. If Kirk had remained apart from her he'd have spared himself the pain of loss, but drawn to this hoping mind that sees his existence in the future he was compelled toward her. He could rationalise it that she was the key point to which the eddies of time had drawn him and Spock, and would McCoy, time itself described as a fluid, even The Guardian emanates waves of time displacement, but the timeline itself, for it to be as it should, and is known to be, must be protected at even the most personal cost, something that has rung down through the decades in all Trek that followed until needing to make money off the old names by redoing them with new faces led to the Kelvin Timeline films that rejected the premise. Guess which is the more dramatically satisfying?

The story, the setting, every aspect of the episode works. If there were a flaw it would be the city on the edge of forever is very 'produced,' clearly a set, especially after the large and impressive location sets used in preceding episode, 'Errand of Mercy.' But is that the city of the title, could it not be that Edith's city, holding her as this visionary on the cusp of changing history one way or the other, is the true city on the edge of forever? Even though The Guardian's environs look manufactured, they still work well, like an artistic interpretation - not as extreme as that of the facades of the Western town in 'Spectre of The Gun,' but still imaginative and with the impression of something larger. Helping the story at this point is seeing Scotty and Uhura as part of the Landing Party (Uhura gets to wear a black belt, not for any martial arts training, but so Phaser and Communicator will have something to affix to), especially pleasant to see the Communications officer beam down as she so rarely leaves the Bridge. They all get featured, even Sulu getting it in the face from his console, a moment that made me think of Chekov being injured on the Bridge in 'The Motion Picture' (though I'd have thought he'd need something for facial burns rather than a stimulant!), one of the earliest examples of a console exploding in Trek, as they were wont to do in times of danger! Even the much-parodied shaking on the Bridge was done expertly to sell the turbulence, small movements followed by sudden violent ones, well choreographed and coupled with sound and lighting that totally sells it.

As I said at the beginning, one thing about episodes that are considered greats is that you can go into them with the feeling of needing to be impressed, or worrying that it won't work any more, but the true greats always impress and never let you down, and so it is with this. Its position as one of the best is without doubt, giving out that joyful hopefulness that is Trek at its most potent, with events as simple as they are moving, and with a continuing attraction that says 'this is what we can do with Trek.' It definitely lived up to my memories of it, even with the heaped tablespoons of decades of accolade threatening to drown the cup into which Spock might be pouring strong tea for the homeless. With Collins at her best, Shatner at his, and Nimoy supporting his Captain as only he could it remains terrific, giving us a character that basically talks like she's reading the edict of Trek, and having a life-changing effect on the Captain. What I'm left with is a desire to read the 'Crucible' trilogy, books released for the 40th Anniversary that delved deeper into this very story, and that's the highest compliment when Trek books have so often underwhelmed. No such concern can be directed at this episode and like Christmas, it needs to be experienced again and again.

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