The Baron Watches Star Trek (SPOILERS)

[The Baron]

What I've got is the new releases with the enhanced special effects - I'll comment on these as best I can, shame I haven't got the originals to compare and contrast, but such is life. I put up the "spoiler" just on the off chance that there's someone here that hasn't seen all these a million times - you never know, I suppose.

[Philip Portelli]

The Baron said

Synopsis: Kirk and Spock investigate a potential spinoff.

Bravo!

And I agree with Jeff. Bryne's IDW Star Trek series are a great read and are fitting homages to TOS.

[Henry R. Kujawa]

BREAD AND CIRCUSES would have seemed a lot less repetitious (especially with all its awkward, overly-wordy explanations) if it had been run first instead of 3rd, as it was filmed before other, similar stories.  Then again, I really have the feeling that it was written much earlier, since not only did it fall i line with that one part of the show "bible", but it was written by Gene Roddenberry (as was THE OMEGA GLORY).

Both the "Gangster" and "Nazi" storis make far more sense, as both specifically involve interference by previous visitors.  Even so, it seems to me stories like this might have been a lot more acceptable if they'd been spaced out, like maybe, only 1 or 2 per TV season.  Crowding 4 of them together, all in the 2nd half of the 2nd season, made their similarities far too apparent.

[The Baron]

Spock's Brain:

Written by Lee Cronin

Directed by Marc Daniels

 

Synopsis:  Aliens steal Spock's brain.

 

Thoughts:

1)"His brain is gone." I pity Kelley having had to say that with a straight face.  Actually, there's alot of lines like that all through the episode.

 

2)"The bringers of pain - and dleight!" A common male definition of women.

 

3)R.C. Spock was kind of amusing.

 

4)"Captain, there is a definite pleasurable experience conencted with the hearing of your voice." Easy there, Spock!

 

5)"Brain and brain - what is 'brain'?" "Brain" is overrated.

 

6)"Aah-uhh!" Good one, Scotty!

 

7)"A child could do it!" Quick, send for a child!

 

8)"He's forgetting!"  Good line read from Doohan.

 

9)"I'm trying to thread a needle with a sledgehammer!"  There's a interesting image!

 

10)Spock looks mighty chipper for someone who's just had his brain in - shouldn't he at least have a bandage on, or something?

 

Overall:

What is there to be said? I'm not quite prepared to say that this is the lamest episode the old show ever did, but I cannot think of a lamer one just now.

[Kirk G]

I have to admit that Spock's Brain is one of the WORST episodes ever. I hate it.

However, I must also admit that we watched the Corbomite Maneuver as a family tonight, and really enjoyed it as a campy sort of way.  We also saw the Salt Monster/The Man Trap/The Last of the Buffalo and thought it was a bit contrary to the Enterprise's mission to have killed the creature instead of offering it salt and allowing it whatever it needed to continue its existence  Imagine what the Federation could have learned if Kirk had just reminded himself of the ship's primary mission.

Also, we are convinced that the reason why we never see Bailey, the navigator again, is because as soon as the Enterprise left, Balok ate him.

[Henry R. Kujawa]

Episodes I SKIPPED this time:

MIRI

THE GALILEO SEVEN

THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER

BREAD AND CIRCUSES

THE GAMESTERS OF TRISKELLION

SPOCK'S BRAIN

PLATO'S STEPCHILDREN

THE EMPATH

They're my videotapes, I'll watch 'em any damn way I feel like!   : )

[The Baron]

Also, we are convinced that the reason why we never see Bailey, the navigator again, is because as soon as the Enterprise left, Balok ate him.

 

Awesome.

[The Baron]

The Enterprise Incident:

Written by D.C. Fontana

Directed by John Meredyth Lucas

 

Synopsis: Our heroes plot to steal the Romulan cloaking device.

 

Thoughts:

1)"Intelligence reports Romulans now using Klingon design."  An interesting aspect of the new SFX - one of the Romulan ships is now an old-style "Romulan" ship, and even the "Klingon" style ships have birds painted on them. This, I like.

 

2)"I belive the Romulans have developed a cloaking device which renders our tracking sensors useless." Odd bit of lapsed continuity - Spock makes it sound like they just discovered that the Romulans have a cloaking device!

 

3)They overuse that "DUN-DUN  DUN-DUN!" music sting quite a bit.

 

4)"We can appreciate the Vulcans, our distant brothers." Yeah, she looks like she wants to "appreciate" Spock! Joanne Linville does a good job here, but in my opinion her character falls for an enemy officer a little too easily.

 

5)"I'll kill you!"  Interesting watching Shatner overact while playing Kirk overacting!

 

6)"He is not sane."  You're just noticing this now?

 

7)"How long have you been a Starfleet officer, Spock?" "18 years." That sounds about right.

 

8)"Are the guards also invited?" Ooh, burn.

 

9)"I instinctively used the Vulcan Death Grip." Which appears to be a sort of modified Iron Claw.

 

10)"Jim and Spock were operating under Federation orders." This seems to me to be an insanely risky operation.  One would think they could come up with a more subtle plan.

 

11)"You took a big chance that they didn't start an autopsy."  This reminds me of a cartoon I saw once - an extremely unhealthy-looking guy is sitting in a lawyer's office, and the lawyer is saying: "Why, yes, Mister Smith, I think you have an excellent case for malpractice. Now, when did you say the autopsy was performed on you?"

 

12)"I'll need a Romulan uniform." "Aye, it'll be a pleasure." Scotty looks forward to mistreating their prisoners.

 

13)Apparently it's not illogical to be a total dog to a woman to get what you want.

 

14)Shouldn't the Romulans detect Kirk beaming back and forth? For that matter, shouldn't they have their shields up to prevent the Feds from doing just that?   What's to stop them from just beaming photon torpedos aboard the Romulan ships?  For evil space baddies, Romulans security sure is lax. A guard falls for Kirk saying "Over there!" Good grief!

 

15)How does Scotty have fifteen minutes to install the cloaking device? Why don't the Romulans beam over right away?Or just blast them instantly? Oh, and kudos to Scotty for installing a piece of technology he's never seen before and which is designed for an entirely different kind of system, just like that. Guess that's why they call him a miracle worker.

 

16)"I demand the Right of Statement first." It doesn't seem to occur to her that he's playing for time.

 

17)"Commander, you'll forgive me if I put up a fight?" "Why, no, that's insufferably rude!

 

18)"Mister Spock will have the honor of escorting you to your quarters." Sure, humiliate her further by making her spend time with the guy who played her for a sucker. One wonders what happened to her and the other two Romulans "hostages", who, I presume, are still on board.Sure hope this doesn't end up starting a war.

 

19)"Somehow they do not look aesthetically agreeable on humans."  Shatner looks hysterically funny as a Romulan.

 

Overall:

Another episode with alot of exciting moments and a plot that makes less and less sense the more you think about it. I feel as though I ought to apologize to RTD and Steven Moffat - obviously, at some point they watched alot of Star Trek and thought this was how you're supposed to do it!

[Henry R. Kujawa]

From a friend of mine overseas:

"I hate Enterprise Incident.

Not only are our heroes spying, which isn't so bad, they are telling a whole bunch of lies and the only reason they get away with it is because one of the Romulans act decently and don't just kill everyone. they don't come over as bad in this episode. They are reasonable. The Federation are untrustworthyIt's very easy to view this from the opposite side. That is, if a Romulan or Klingon ship had done the same thing and then ended by kidnapping a high ranking female officer we'd have been meant to think 'how darstadly!'.

It really hurts to see Spock being such a lieing expletive deleted when he's tricking the Romulan Commander. 

Elaan of Troius is an an almost equally bad idea. A girl is 'sold' into slavery to an alien race so that two worlds can have peace at her expense. The end justifies the means theme again.

She should have got some tips of T'Pring."

[Richard Willis]

Oh, and kudos to Scotty for installing a piece of technology he's never seen before and which is designed for an entirely different kind of system, just like that. Guess that's why they call him a miracle worker.

At some point I remember a comment that Scotty always made things sound harder than they were so he would be considered a miracle worker.

[Kirk G]

That was in one of the later movies, as I recall.

Richard Willis said:

Oh, and kudos to Scotty for installing a piece of technology he's never seen before and which is designed for an entirely different kind of system, just like that. Guess that's why they call him a miracle worker.

At some point I remember a comment that Scotty always made things sound harder than they were so he would be considered a miracle worker.

[The Baron]

The Paradise Syndrome:

Written by Margaret Armen

Directed by Jud Taylor

 

Synopsis:  Kirk runs away to live with the Indians.

 

Thoughts:

1) I always wonder how common amnesia actually is in the real world.

 

2)"That Vulcan won't be satisfied until these panels are a puddle of lead!" 

 

3)"Behold a god who bleeds!"  And overacts!

 

4)"And under stress we Vulcans can do without sleep for weeks!"

 

5)"I bear your child."  This would have been a good time for the "DUN-DUN DUN-DUN!" music sting from "The Enterprise Incident".

 

6)"I AM KIROK!"

 

7)"I've always wondered why there were so many humanoids scattered throughout the galaxy."  Maybe the Preservers and Sargon's people had a contest going.

 

8)One wonders what Kirk would have done about Miramanee had she lived.

 

Overall:

An OK episode. Nothing amazing, but watchable.

[David Warren]

I thought it was in ST:TNG when they found Scotty in a transporter loop. Later in the episode, Scotty and LaForge were talking and Laforger told Picard the truth and Scotty said never tell them how long it really takes.

Kirk G said:

That was in one of the later movies, as I recall.

Richard Willis said:

Oh, and kudos to Scotty for installing a piece of technology he's never seen before and which is designed for an entirely different kind of system, just like that. Guess that's why they call him a miracle worker.

At some point I remember a comment that Scotty always made things sound harder than they were so he would be considered a miracle worker.