Up now is The Apple (10/13/1967)
Eric, Rob, and I did a podcast. As Kirk might say in this episode, "Podcasts...IN PARADISE!"
Eric gets the first shot:
This apple has a worm in it. Where the previous episode, "Mirror Mirror," is a great example of Star Trek at its best, "The Apple" is a great example of the dregs of the series. It's odd, actually, because the next episode, "The Doomsday Machine," is another classic. I guess the producers, and/or network, decided a sub-par episode might not be noticeable if it aired between two that are superb.
I'm not going to spend a great deal of time repeating the critique we did in our podcast, however. (Go listen to it!) By way of a quick recap, this episode fails in pretty much every category: the acting is wooden, the special effects (especially the paper mache model that was used for Vaal) are pathetic, and worst of all, the story is derivative and devoid of anything resembling a compelling plot. On the plus side (very narrow), there are some good character moments, particularly for Scotty. And the idea underlying the story isn't bad, the problem is that it's an underdeveloped rehash of "The Return of the Archons" from the first season. If the writer and producers has bothered to explain, or at least hint at, how and why Vaal came to be, the episode might have been okay. But they didn't...
All this being said, as I pointed out in the 'cast, original Trek was produced at a breakneck pace on a frayed shoestring budget, so it's amazing a much higher percentage of episodes weren't of the low caliber of "The Apple." And as I mentioned earlier, the next episode is a classic!
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This episode is a bit of a stinker. I don't think it's one of the worst, but it really stands out within the second season as the rest of the episodes are generally quite good. The ideas expressed here might be more interesting if we hadn't seen them before in the far-superior "Archons." Landru, the society-guiding cyber intelligence of "Archons" at least had a back story and was a much more interesting adversary to the crude and poorly defined Vaal in this episode. Of course, having a planet with a stagnant computer-managed human society where Kirk has to decide whether or not to violate the Prime Directive is a good idea for an episode. Unfortunately, very little time is devoted to it. Much of the running time of the episode is spent killing off Red Shirts (this episode really establishes the tradition with four of them getting knocked off), Kirk repeatedly throwing paradise-lost-themed lines out, and bad "love" scenes between Chekov and Yeoman Landon. In its defense, the Red Shirt sequences are actually pretty funny and can be fully appreciated in the episode's trailer: it stitches together many of the bad/funny scenes in this episode.
Without the subplot of the Enterprise being attacked, perhaps there would have been time to actually explore the implications of Kirk interfering with the society, something that's only really given lip service here. Like the spore-shooting plants and exploding rocks ("Garden of Eden, with land mines." tee hee), the action in orbit is just there to juice up the tension. Of course one could argue that plenty of Next Generation episodes went in the other direction: all character/ideas with too little action. In the end, for this episode, it all comes off as silly and we find it hard to take any of the ideas seriously.
As Rob pointed out in the podcast, Shatner seemed to have dramatic difficulty doing tense scenes without a real villain to play of off. His performance if definitely off. Nimoy goes between overreaction and blandness much of the time here. Not that there aren't points of fun with the characters. I've always liked the back/forth between Kirk and Scotty in this episode and Spock/McCoy get some of their usual sparring in. There's also a very amusing scene between Spock and Chekov where they create a distraction.
As Eric pointed out, the facade of Vaal looks pretty shabby, though I remember it being somewhat more impressive when I saw it growing up. Another victim of large, high resolution screens. The planet sets look like rejects from Gilligan's Island, pretty sad. It's a good thing that the next episode brings the level back up...
Next time: "The Doomsday Machine"
Monday, September 21, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
TOS Rewind #31: "Mirror, Mirror"
Up this time: Mirror, Mirror (10/06/1967).
We recorded a podcast with Eric, Rob, Lee, and myself.
Eric starts us out:
"Mirror Mirror" is generally regarded as one of the very best classic Star Trek episodes; it is certainly in my top 10. The story is great SF--it's certainly not hard science fiction (i.e. SF that actually respects and does justice to science), but I can't think of any science fiction TV shows that are (or have been) hard SF. That said, Mirror Mirror is a great example of the kind of wildly imaginative science fiction that you find in the short stories and novels from the 50s through the 70s. It's pure geeky fun.
One of the best aspects of this episode is that there are great parts for all of the characters, not just Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. This is the only episode in which Scotty calls Kirk by his first name, and he's got several good pieces sprinkled throughout. Uhura is at her best--she gets to show her claws, which is always fun. Mirror Sulu is a delightfully malicious and lecherous diversion from his clean-cut counterpart in our universe, and who would've thought sweet little Chekov could be such a conniving, murderous shit? The version of these characters we're used to are shining examples of exceptional human beings, very upstanding and moral and proper, so it's delicious to see them stripped of their veneer of civilization.
Speaking of which, I really would've liked to see more of mirror Kirk, McCoy, Uhura, and Scotty. They are in the brig on "our" Enterprise for the whole episode, but if this had been a two-parter, it would've been great to see them attempt a breakout and takeover. The best mirror character, however, is Spock. He's essentially the Spock we know, but there's a hard edge there that makes him extremely cool. And what's fascinating is that Spock seems to be the constant in both universes. Despite being rather brutal and ruthless in the mirror universe, he's still intelligent, decent, and ethical, and it's this consistency that allows our Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura to return to our universe. It's also the factor that promises a heap o' trouble for mirror Kirk when he gets back to his Enterprise.
I'll leave my review there. There's much more that can be said about this episode (and we cover much of it in our podcast--go give it a listen). Mirror Mirror is classic Star Trek at it's best!
---
I believe we were all in agreement: this is top-drawer Trek. This episode isn't just thought-provoking, it's also a lot of fun. I have always loved this episode. The charge of seeing Spock with facial hair was something else. It isn't really that big of a deal, but when I was a kid, it certainly seemed like it. The idea of our familiar Enterprise being run by a group of futuristic thugs who happened to look like our heroes was irresistible.
It's easy to poke holes in the concept and science on display here, but the good/evil character ideas are still compelling. It's interesting to contemplate how this mirror universe actually operates. The episode doesn't give us a lot to work with, but we know there is central authority crossed with a gangster/pirate element (example: the hired goons used by the officers). As Lee pointed out in the podcast, this system probably wouldn't get very far in real life, but they manage to pack some interesting ideas into a very limited frame.
The character elements, as Eric pointed out, are the real draw here. Kirk and the landing party adapt to the new situation well. Uhura really does a 180 from being scared, clinging to Kirk, to taking on evil Sulu (complete with facial scar!). Sulu and Chekov are appropriately slimy. Hell, even the uniforms are different. Nimoy really does a great performance as the alternate Spock. His mannerisms are slightly different and he never overdoes it. "Mirror" Spock has this command authority we seldom see from the "good" version. Of course, we all think the Mirror Spock is WAY cooler than the regular one. His costume is cooler, and he's even more of a badass. Some things in the alternate universe aren't so different, like Kirk's relationships with women. This exchange between Kirk and Marlena (evil Kirk's, um, girlfriend?) got a chuckle out of me:
Marlena: "I've been a captain's woman, and I like it. I'll be one again, if I have to go through every officer in the fleet."
Kirk: "You could... I simply meant that you could be anything you wanted to be."
Wow...
Another thing I really like about this episode is how they created the atmosphere of the mirror universe with relatively few changes to the sets and costumes. They obviously couldn't change things too much, but it's enough to get the point across. Besides, the characters are what really convince us that Kirk and co. aren't in Kansas anymore.
Like Eric, I think it would have been fun to have seen more of the evil Kirk/landing party in our universe. The one scene we see has Kirk acting like a bombastic gangster trying to bribe Spock to get out of the brig. This particular plot was mined in other Trek shows to good effect. We would have enjoyed seeing the aftermath with bearded Spock after the evil Kirk returned.
The remastered version had a few enhancements. The Agony Booth got some effects, so we don't just see Chekov sweating in that plexiglass tube. There are a few zapping effects when Spock hits Mr Kyle with the agonizer hoopajoop.
So there you have it. Definitely an episode I always like to watch and one that really makes the most of its limited time/budget. "Captain Kirk, I shall consider it!"
Next time: "The Apple"
We recorded a podcast with Eric, Rob, Lee, and myself.
Eric starts us out:
"Mirror Mirror" is generally regarded as one of the very best classic Star Trek episodes; it is certainly in my top 10. The story is great SF--it's certainly not hard science fiction (i.e. SF that actually respects and does justice to science), but I can't think of any science fiction TV shows that are (or have been) hard SF. That said, Mirror Mirror is a great example of the kind of wildly imaginative science fiction that you find in the short stories and novels from the 50s through the 70s. It's pure geeky fun.
One of the best aspects of this episode is that there are great parts for all of the characters, not just Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. This is the only episode in which Scotty calls Kirk by his first name, and he's got several good pieces sprinkled throughout. Uhura is at her best--she gets to show her claws, which is always fun. Mirror Sulu is a delightfully malicious and lecherous diversion from his clean-cut counterpart in our universe, and who would've thought sweet little Chekov could be such a conniving, murderous shit? The version of these characters we're used to are shining examples of exceptional human beings, very upstanding and moral and proper, so it's delicious to see them stripped of their veneer of civilization.
Speaking of which, I really would've liked to see more of mirror Kirk, McCoy, Uhura, and Scotty. They are in the brig on "our" Enterprise for the whole episode, but if this had been a two-parter, it would've been great to see them attempt a breakout and takeover. The best mirror character, however, is Spock. He's essentially the Spock we know, but there's a hard edge there that makes him extremely cool. And what's fascinating is that Spock seems to be the constant in both universes. Despite being rather brutal and ruthless in the mirror universe, he's still intelligent, decent, and ethical, and it's this consistency that allows our Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura to return to our universe. It's also the factor that promises a heap o' trouble for mirror Kirk when he gets back to his Enterprise.
I'll leave my review there. There's much more that can be said about this episode (and we cover much of it in our podcast--go give it a listen). Mirror Mirror is classic Star Trek at it's best!
---
I believe we were all in agreement: this is top-drawer Trek. This episode isn't just thought-provoking, it's also a lot of fun. I have always loved this episode. The charge of seeing Spock with facial hair was something else. It isn't really that big of a deal, but when I was a kid, it certainly seemed like it. The idea of our familiar Enterprise being run by a group of futuristic thugs who happened to look like our heroes was irresistible.
It's easy to poke holes in the concept and science on display here, but the good/evil character ideas are still compelling. It's interesting to contemplate how this mirror universe actually operates. The episode doesn't give us a lot to work with, but we know there is central authority crossed with a gangster/pirate element (example: the hired goons used by the officers). As Lee pointed out in the podcast, this system probably wouldn't get very far in real life, but they manage to pack some interesting ideas into a very limited frame.
The character elements, as Eric pointed out, are the real draw here. Kirk and the landing party adapt to the new situation well. Uhura really does a 180 from being scared, clinging to Kirk, to taking on evil Sulu (complete with facial scar!). Sulu and Chekov are appropriately slimy. Hell, even the uniforms are different. Nimoy really does a great performance as the alternate Spock. His mannerisms are slightly different and he never overdoes it. "Mirror" Spock has this command authority we seldom see from the "good" version. Of course, we all think the Mirror Spock is WAY cooler than the regular one. His costume is cooler, and he's even more of a badass. Some things in the alternate universe aren't so different, like Kirk's relationships with women. This exchange between Kirk and Marlena (evil Kirk's, um, girlfriend?) got a chuckle out of me:
Marlena: "I've been a captain's woman, and I like it. I'll be one again, if I have to go through every officer in the fleet."
Kirk: "You could... I simply meant that you could be anything you wanted to be."
Wow...
Another thing I really like about this episode is how they created the atmosphere of the mirror universe with relatively few changes to the sets and costumes. They obviously couldn't change things too much, but it's enough to get the point across. Besides, the characters are what really convince us that Kirk and co. aren't in Kansas anymore.
Like Eric, I think it would have been fun to have seen more of the evil Kirk/landing party in our universe. The one scene we see has Kirk acting like a bombastic gangster trying to bribe Spock to get out of the brig. This particular plot was mined in other Trek shows to good effect. We would have enjoyed seeing the aftermath with bearded Spock after the evil Kirk returned.
The remastered version had a few enhancements. The Agony Booth got some effects, so we don't just see Chekov sweating in that plexiglass tube. There are a few zapping effects when Spock hits Mr Kyle with the agonizer hoopajoop.
So there you have it. Definitely an episode I always like to watch and one that really makes the most of its limited time/budget. "Captain Kirk, I shall consider it!"
Next time: "The Apple"
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