Balance of Terror, Season 1 Episode 14
This is often cited as the best of the original Star Trek episodes. The Enterprise is called to the border with Romulan space because several outposts have stopped responding. They arrive just as another outpost is being blasted by some weapon or ship they can't identify. The Enterprise crew is barely able to see an anomaly on their sensors. The Romulans have a ship equipped with a cloaking device and a powerful weapon. They are testing the limits of what they can get away with. Kirk and crew spend a lot of time doing the submarine warfare thing as they try to stealthily pursue the Romulan ship,.
In addition to the tense main plot, several subplots add to the excellence of this episode. First, the episode opens with Captain Kirk officiating at the marriage of two of his crew, though that is interrupted by the call from the outposts. The episode returns to the couple several times though the ending is quite tragic. Second, viewers see the Romulan commander, who is a war-weary veteran and personally does not want to go to war with the Federation. He is true to his duty, but has a very stoical outlook. Third, when the Enterprise crew see the Romulans for the first time (the original conflict was a hundred plus years before when they did not have ship-to-ship visuals), one of the bridge crew immediately suspects Spock, who has the same pointy ears and arched brows, of being a spy or colluding with the Romulans. So there's a whole racism subplot too. The lean narrative packs in all these elements to make a very satisfying episode on several fronts.
City on the Edge of Forever, Season 1 Episode 28
Another candidate for the best episode! The Enterprise is orbiting a planet that has a lot of spatial-temporal distortions coming off of it. The bridge is getting rocked back and forth, causing an injury to a minor character. Bones heals the guy with a wonder drug that's okay in small doses. Another distortion happens and Doctor McCoy accidentally injects himself with an overdose of the drug. It makes him totally paranoid and he runs out, eventually getting to the transporter room where he beams down to the planet. A team beams down to find him and discovers a large, ancient, sentient piece of technology that presents them with the whole of Earth history on a running display. The temporarily deranged McCoy shows up and jumps into the display, transporting him into the Earth's past. After that, Kirk and company discover that the Enterprise is gone and they are stranded. The technology explains that McCoy has changed the past.
Spock had been recording the Earth history so he and Kirk jump into a rerun of the timeline, hoping to undo whatever McCoy did. They wind up in 1930s New York City. They have a little trouble blending in until they are taken in by Edith Keeler (Joan Collins). Keeler runs a soup kitchen but has a lot of optimism about humanity's future. Kirk is smitten with her while Spock works on a gizmo to slow down the historical recording. Spock discovers that Edith was supposed to die in 1930 but somehow survived (probably McCoy), resulting in the United States delaying it entrance into World War II, allowing the Nazis to develop the A-bomb and win the war. Kirk struggles with her fate as they wait for McCoy to show up. He eventually does, winding up at Edith's soup kitchen where he recovers, unbeknownst to Kirk and Spock. Kirk is taking Edith on a date when McCoy comes out. Kirk races back across the street to reunite with his friend. Edith is slower in crossing and is killed by a truck when Kirk prevents McCoy from saving her.
The drama here is very melodramatic and presents a difficult moral problem. Naturally, Spock and Kirk want to restore the timeline but Kirk's growing affection for Edith makes it hard when the time comes to let her die. McCoy is very mad when Kirk stops him. Kirk is torn up inside. The drama is lightened by some well-placed humor. When Kirk and Spock first show up in the past, a cop finds them and is curious about Spock's pointy ears and such. Kirk makes up a ridiculous story about a mechanical rice picker. If you've seen the episode, you probably remember the line. The performances are very good by the whole cast. Such a satisfying episode!
Arena, Season 1 Episode 19
The Enterprise chases after an alien ship that was involved in an unprovoked attack on a Federation outpost. The pursuit leads them near a solar system where a powerful force stops both ships. The Metrons are a highly advanced race protecting that area. They take the captains of both ships and deliver them to an asteroid that has resources to kill each other. The Metrons order the captains to battle to the death, with the loser's ship being destroyed. Kirk fights the other captain, a Gorn, though they have a hard time coming up with anything other than sticks and stones. Kirk finally figures out how to make rudimentary gun powder, crafting a projectile weapon to take down the Gorn, who seems physically invulnerable to melee attacks by the smaller Kirk. After disabling the Gorn, Kirk decides to spare the Gorn, showing mercy. The Metrons are impressed and let them both go, expressing their hope that humans will evolve into better people in the future.
The show is infamous for the physical battles between Kirk and the Gorn. The choreography is slow and unconvincing. The Gorn costume looks pretty good when he's just standing there, but when the character talks or moves, and especially when he fights, it looks like a guy in rubber suit who can't quite see outside the suit. This episode could have benefited from a "less is more" attitude. But it still has its charm. The overpowered aliens manipulating weaker, more primitive Federation people is a bit of a trope for the show, especially with Kirk and company showing them up in one way or another. The episode is certainly entertaining and has an iconic villain. Speaking of iconic villains...
Space Seed, Season 1 Episode 24
The Enterprise discovers a derelict space ship from Earth's 1990s. Life forms on board have very strange readings. Kirk beams over with a few people including a historian, Lt. Marla McGivers (Madlyn Rhue). They discover the occupants are in suspended animation. The leader, Khan (Ricardo Montalban), is awakened first. He plays coy with Kirk and aggressive with McGivers, not admitting who he is or why they were sent out like that. 72 other people are in cryosleep on the ship. Soon enough, the Enterprise crew figure out that Khan was a genetically engineered, megalomaniacal leader in the Eugenics Wars of late 20th century Earth. The history records don't record his fate but clearly he was sent with a bunch of other genetically-enhanced people as a banishment. Khan tries to take over the Enterprise and fails. He succeeds in winning the heart of McGivers. The episode ends with Kirk banishing Khan and his shipmates to a planet in the Ceti Alpha system. McGivers joins them in exile and Kirk speculates what they might discover on the planet in a hundred years.
Of course, Kirk only had to wait around less than 20 years to find out what happened as detailed in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. This episode presents a great villain well played by Montalban. He's devious and sinister, with a very creepy manipulation of McGivers who is fascinated by powerful men from the past and is willing to go along with Khan's schemes. The show provides lots of good drama and action, along with the lead in to the best of all Star Trek movies.
Amok Time, Season 2 Episode 1
Spock has been acting very unusually lately, drawing the notice of Kirk and McCoy. He's not eating and he is yelling at people. Yelling! This goes on for a bit with Spock being tight-lipped about his behavior. He finally requests leave to go to Vulcan. Kirk is willing to go without understanding why. Eventually Spock reveals in confidentiality to Kirk that he is in pon farr, the Vulcan time of mating. He must return to his wife on Vulcan and perform a ceremony or he will die. When they get there, he invites Kirk and McCoy as his friends. They see his woman, T'Pring, who is beautiful but also demands the challenge, a part of the ceremony where a champion fights Spock for her. Everyone expects it will be Stonn, the Vulcan she has been making eyes with. But she chooses Kirk, forcing the two friends into fighting. Vulcan's atmosphere is hotter and thinner than kirk is used to, so he has a hard time. McCoy volunteers to give Kirk a tri-ox compound to compensate. This helps a bit but Spock winds up killing Kirk. McCoy is shocked and beams back to the ship with Kirk's body while Spock, who has now regained his emotional equilibrium, sorts out the ceremony. He asks T'Pring why she chose Kirk. She did want Stonn, and any outcome of the battle with Kirk would put her with Stonn. Spock complements her logic and leaves her with Stonn. Back on the ship, he's ready to surrender himself to Federation authorities at the nearest starbase. Kirk sneaks up from behind and surprises Spock, who is uncharacteristically delighted. McCoy and Nurse Chapel are there, so he quickly recovers his composure. McCoy reveals that the injection was really a drug that faked death.
I definitely wanted to watch this, but after some episodes so the contrast in Spock's character would be obvious. The episode has lots of good drama and an intriguing mystery. The happy ending is all the more delightful thanks to the heavy proceedings. The episode is also notable for introducing the Vulcan salute and their catchphrase, "Live long and prosper."
We intended to watch Mirror, Mirror and The Trouble with Tribbles but the opportunity to watch Galaxy Quest came up so we went ahead. We will still catch up with those episodes.
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