60. Is There In Truth No Beauty? I’ve been tabulating Trek Tropes as I go, but I’m finding that it doesn’t really affect my enjoyment of any particular episode. I might like a really trope-heavy show because it’s got all that lovable Trek stuff, or might find it boring because it’s nothing new. But none of the trope-light shows have been disappointing. I think if they have a good enough core idea that they don’t need to resort to a fistfight or Kirk seducing someone, well, that’s probably a good thing. There aren’t many tropes in this one–in fact, a few were presented then turned around on us for a distinct outcome. The general setup is that the Enterprise is shuttling a representative of the Medusans, named after the mythical character because like Medusa, human eyes cannot view these creatures. The explanation is that they’re so ugly it drives humans insane, but that’s a little unbelievable, and anyway whenever a Medusan is hinted at there is a dazzling green light, so let’s say that there’s something about that light that mucks up your brain circuits (they are non-corporeal beings, mind you). As a Vulcan, Spock can see a Medusan, but only with the aid of a special visor. Most of the plot revolves around the human envoy for the Medusan, Dr. Miranda Jones, who has undergone special Vulcan emotion-zapping training, and further, is blind but makes use of a special sensor array in her clothing to see. She evidently spends so much time fending off unwarranted advances (no less than five dudes take a shot during the episode) that you can understand her desire to disassociate with our race. Particularly pushy is another envoy who wants her to give up her career to stay with him, but as she’s so particularly well-suited to her job she won’t, and out of jealousy he tries to murder the Medusan. This necessitates seeing the thing and going insane, Star Trek style, which essentially means wide-eyed running around the ship and eventually getting into engineering and causing big troubles, flying the ship clear out of the galaxy. (Seriously, Scotty. Put a security keypad on the door to engineering and like 20% of these episodes never happen.) They eventually subdue him and Spock works out a mind-meld thing to make use of the Medusan’s incredible navigational abilities to set things right. There are some good takeaways here: lessons about how being pretty isn’t everything, and how even Spock needs friends. Getting this back around to my original thought, most interesting to me was how the show upset several common tropes. In the Trek universe you can usually solve problems with a quick punch in the neck but this time that doesn’t work. Kirk usually comes up with a plan where he needs to seduce someone but this time she’s not buying it. I was just waiting for Dr. Jones to give up her important job to marry someone but she never did. Killer Spock line: “I see, Dr. McCoy, that you still subscribe to the outmoded notion, promulgated by you ancient Greeks, that what is good must also be beautiful.” Overall: actually quite a good episode, engaging with a lot of twists. 4 out of 5.

Trek tropes (I’m bailing out on trying to count these. Too many episodes and too many tropes. I seriously had a whole spreadsheet going but then I’d decide there was a new one and have to go back and edit both the spreadsheet and the old post.):

• Enemy allowed easy access to highly sensitive area of the ship
• Spock displays Vulcan superpower never really seen again
• Highly experimental plan with low probability of success somehow works anyway

61. Spectre of the Gun. When I started my TOS watching I was grateful they hadn’t developed holodeck technology yet and I would be spared those bizarre cross-genre whiffs. Well, it turns out that early Federation crews just found more exotic ways to find themselves enmeshed in Nazi culture, or trying to sneak around 1960s Earth, or, as in this case, milling around the old west. Kirk and crew encounter a bizarre probe in space, and it tells them not to pass, but Kirk obviously just smirks at that and off they go. Next thing they know, most of the principals are transported to an odd foggy planet where their captor tells them they shouldn’t have pushed his buttons. The fog clears and suddenly they’re on a Hollywood back lot complete with a cheap western set, and the general crappiness is justified with something about how they pulled the event from Kirk’s brain, where memories not related to alien babes or fistfights are hazy, therefore it’s incomplete and looks like a a cheap Hollywood back lot. They quickly figure out they are serving as the losing side of the historic gunfight at the OK Corral, and they encounter a few Earps and Doc Holiday, but find them to be spectacularly uninterested in any negotiating. So they’re stuck and have only a few hours to find their way out of a death by bullet-riddling. At this point I was wondering how I would make it through the remainder of the hour: I hate these holodeck-type setups. Does Star Trek really need to address the gunfight at the OK Corral? Hasn’t drama already covered this? Like, westerns TV shows? Movies? Does a space show really need to shoehorn itself in? Well, clearly not, but the show finds an interesting and suspenseful path anyway. They keep coming up with plans only to have them foiled by the constraints on the simulation: they can’t leave town because they run into a forcefield, they can’t hide in the bar because when the time for the fight comes they just get transported to the site, their attempt at brewing a tranquilizing potion doesn’t work for no rational reason. It’s the most rigged Choose Your Own Adventure in the universe. But, an interesting twist: this is where the show gets saved. Had the tranquilizer worked, for example, it would have rehashed a pretty standard Trek escape hatch. Instead, it helps them figure out the mechanics of the simulation, and they use their brains (and some borrowed Vulcan willpower) to win. Killer Spock line: “If I remember correctly, that would involve you in what was called ‘The Fast Draw.’ It initiated unfortunate events.” Overall: there’s some pretty cheesy setup and execution here but you know what? I liked where they went in the end. 4 out of 5.

Trek tropes (number of instances encountered in series so far in parentheses):

• Strange probe encountered in space
• Spock displays Vulcan superpower never really seen again
• Recent Earth history will always be relevant

62. Day of the Dove. You know what happens a lot in the future, in space? Swordfights. However, it must be a part of Academy training because there isn’t a crew member on the Enterprise who isn’t ready for it. And if swordfights on a spaceship are your thing, this is the hour of ’60s TV for you. If not, there’s a bunch of Klingon politics and other forms of scrapping to like here, in the classic Trek vein. The Enterprise answers a colony’s distress call only to find that the colony isn’t there anymore. At the same time, some Klingons show up claiming the Enterprise fired on them and their crew is decimated. Also there’s a weird light entity flitting about behind the rocks. In short, no one knows what the heck is going on. Kirk employs a little ruse to get the Klingons back aboard the ship and under control (it’s a little crazy that the Klingon commander falls for it, but anyhow…), but the little energy ball follows them, and that’s when things get really weird. I try to avoid all but the most minimal plot recaps here so to summarize: there’s a whole bunch of fighting and running around until Kirk and Spock discover that the energy ball is behind it and earn peace with the Klingons. There are a million plot holes and conveniences to set up all the action and then break it back down again at the end, and it’s ostensibly done by the energy ball although really it’s the show writers doing it. You can’t take away that it’s an important episode regarding race relations and the clash of the two cultures, and it’s mostly quite fun and action-packed, but you also can’t ignore that the whole thing is more contrived than a Fox News segment. If you want explanations or more talky stuff, take it up with Picard. Killer Spock line: “May I say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed serving with humans. I find their ill-logic and foolish emotions a constant irritant.” (Note that he says this while under mind control.) Overall: 3 out of 5 if you care about tight writing; 4 out of 5 if you want to watch Scotty chase Klingons with a claymore.

Trek tropes (number of instances encountered in series so far in parentheses):

• Shatner showcase
• Even in interstellar space, the best way to resolve problems is with your fists (uh, or swords)
• Enemy allowed easy access to highly sensitive area of the ship

63. For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky. Two big ideas here. First there’s the secret computer master where a primitive race worship something they think is a mighty god, but actually it just turns out to be some kind of beepy supercomputer. Also there’s the generation ship idea, where said race worshiping said supercomputer is blissfully unaware they are actually passengers on a ship traveling for thousands of years to a new destination. Both of these ideas have been done repeatedly in sci-fi, and I’m not sure FTWIHAIHTTS adds much to them other than to squeeze them onto the same people at the same time. In this case, they are passengers on a giant asteroid-like ship hurtling towards another populated planet. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy get aboard and figure they can correct the trajectory of the ship without overly upsetting yet another primitive civilization. Well, you can guess how that turns out: the high priestess falls totally in love with McCoy and Kirk and Spock more or less destroy their religion. McCoy’s situation is interesting, though. He’s been diagnosed with a fatal disease and has a year to live, so staying behind with the high priestess sounds like a better way to go than spending his last days trundling around the Enterprise bickering with Spock. But after Spock repairs the computer’s broken bits, he takes the opportunity to raid its information repository, and wouldn’t you know it, he finds a cure for McCoy. So without impending death, McCoy suddenly decides he’s got better things to do then retire. The priestess is a little ruffled but accepts all of this, especially since it means that neither her boyfriend nor her entire race are facing imminent death. All in all I enjoyed the episode, it was nicely paced and intriguing throughout. There aren’t many new ideas to credit here, but all was well done. Killer Spock line: none. Overall: when your biggest flaw is an overlong title, that’s a good thing. 4 out of 5.

Trek tropes (number of instances encountered in series so far in parentheses):

• Violation of Prime Directive (forgivable in this case, it probably really was the right thing to do)
• In the future, computers are magic, but still make teletype sounds

56. Spock’s Brain. Somewhere I read about how, after a vigorous letter-writing campaign to extend TOS into a third season, and the first episode shown was “Spock’s Brain,” everyone must have wondered just why they’d bothered to put so much effort in. Because, wow, this is some kind of sorry episode. It’s widely considered to be one of the worst, if not the absolute worst, of the series, and as with my watching of TNG the internet was absolutely right about which episodes I can anticipate being bad. So that was a long way of saying that the internet has something knowledgeable to say about Star Trek. Here is where I should probably just get on with it. The basic plot is that some aliens appear on the Enterprise and knock everyone out, and when they come to, Spock has been deposited in sick bay…but is missing his brain! Oh no! This is a thing that can happen in space! Kirk, McCoy, and Scotty set to tracking down the missing part, which mostly consists of Kirk barking angrily at the brainless aliens until he gets what he wants. They don’t have much to tell him because they’re all pretty vapid, mostly being kept sentient by their supercomputer. There are a lot of holes in the story, at least I think there are, upon reflection. Maybe I missed these details and I’d look them up just to make sure they didn’t omit some major explanations, but let’s not kid ourselves. It really doesn’t matter. The end sequence is so corny there is nothing that can save this one. I’m not sure how adults could write this stuff, so I must conclude that they didn’t. This is the 1960s version of Axe Cop. It starts with McCoy subjecting himself to a computer procedure where a bunch of information on how to re-implant a brain is zapped into his head. Then he becomes a surgical genius (observing him work, Scotty yells, “I’ve never seen anything like it! He’s operating at warp speed!” Ha-ha, WARP SPEED! That means fast!). Only the effect is temporary, and the process wears off, in an effort to both create suspense and make sure no one ever speaks of this ridiculous procedure again. But it’s OK because he’s far enough into the surgery that Spock is conscious again and talks McCoy through the rest of his own brain surgery. I’m necessarily leaving out the dozen other insane things here, but what else can I say? Maybe the thing that I’m most bothered by is the completely amateur view of science: complex knowledge is treated like learning it is just a matter of procedure. Not, say, a mixture of deep systemic knowledge combined with experience. Nope: just learn these simple steps and you too can perform brain surgery. Killer Spock line: “While I might trust the Doctor to remove a splinter or lance a boil, I do not believe he has the knowledge to restore a brain.” Overall: Just totally out of character for the show. The actors were trying their best, but the writing and direction here are just abysmal. This is like, Roger Corman and Michael Bay teaming up. 0 out of 5.

Trek tropes (number of instances encountered in series so far in parentheses):

• Strange probe encountered in space (4)
• Badger alien until you get what you want (2)
• Even in interstellar space, the best way to resolve problems is with your fists (4)
• Highly experimental plan with low probability of success somehow works anyway (5)
• Lighthearted banter to close episode (6)

57. The Enterprise Incident. Wait, one last dig at “Spock’s Brain”: one of the episode write-ups plagiarized by Wikipedia mentioned that Leonard Nimoy felt embarrassed during the episode, and would go on to feel that way more often in the third season. But we’re not there yet, and “The Enterprise Incident” isn’t without flaws but really turns things around. The premise is pretty intriguing, and keeps up a high level of suspense throughout. Kirk is clearly engaging in some sort of ruse even with his crew.  He’s ordering them to do all sorts of strange things, and having a pretty snotty attitude to boot. It turns out to be a cunning plan to steal some Romulan technology, and the episode gets to be “the one where Kirk is disguised as a Romulan.” Two stories are intertwined here, something TOS doesn’t often do and do well, and both tread a fine line of believability, but ultimately I dug them both. Kirk is able to engage some pretty good tricks to get his hands on the Romulan cloaking device, while Spock is keeping their female captain busy by just being his usual irresistible self. So I guess both were a little odd but I bought it. The suspenseful Kirk stuff is fun but mostly it ends up being a good Spock episode; he reveals a lot about his Vulcan/Human conflict sort of because he has to to keep the Romulan captain busy, but sort of because you feel like he’s made very comfortable by her. Somehow she understands his plight as a Vulcan surrounded by gross humans. Killer Spock line: “What is your present form of execution?” Overall: solid. 5 out of 5.

Trek tropes (number of instances encountered in series so far in parentheses):

• Highly experimental plan with low probability of success somehow works anyway (7)
• Spock displays Vulcan superpower never really seen again (5) [debatable, actually; they leave it a little fuzzy whether he really has a Vulcan death grip or it’s a fake]

58. The Paradise Syndrome. This is “the Native American one” and you know it’s going to be dicey the instant that’s established. TOS tries really hard to be a progressive show, it does. I think everyone involved wanted to break through stale cultural stereotypes on gender and race. Sometimes they were brilliant and years ahead of their time. Other times…not so much. The Enterprise crew frequently encounter primitive civilizations in the series – it’s one of the standard setups. Most of the time these races are sort of like cavemen. Race is irrelevant. But TOS and TNG always seem to get in a little trouble when the people are, in fact, not white. Since the people here are like Native Americans (obviously they aren’t Native Americans, being that they aren’t on Earth and all, but you wouldn’t know it from their wardrobe and customs) there is some criticism that the episode doesn’t portray them very admirably. See also, the widely criticized TNG episode “Code of Honor“. Wil Wheaton is quoted about “Code of Honor” that if the people hadn’t arbitrarily been cast as African-Americans, there would be no issue. Exactly. There’s little doubt the episodes couldn’t be better, but I think it’s missing the point to focus on race. It’s not like the producers in either case ever thought, “Hey, let’s make sure to cast it as [race] because we want to make a statement about what those people are like.” That’s pretty ridiculous. Instead, let’s judge “The Paradise Syndrome” on its merits rather than casting choices. Well, turns out we won’t get far going that direction either. Because there is some definite cheese here. Without rehashing the whole plot, it is set up that Kirk is stranded on a planet of very Native American-like people and has lost his memory, while the Enterprise is trying (and failing) to destroy an asteroid headed right at that planet. Things are further set up that several weeks pass during the episode, so Kirk has enough time to develop a whole relationship with an alien woman (and marry her, and she gets pregnant) while a damaged Enterprise is trying to get back. There are a few interesting things going on, I think the problem is more in execution. The love story with Kirk is a little unbelievable, it relies on some native mysticism to get going, and generally seems about as serious as one’s junior high dance date. There is a scene with Kirk and his wife chasing each other around and frolicking in the woods, to give you some indication of its portrayal. The idea is actually interesting as we really see a detour in Kirk’s life (the idea that he’d love to just get back to nature is seen several times in the Trek movies), but compare it to another TNG episode, The Inner Light, which had a similar idea for Picard, but was much more effective. We do at least have the positive of an unusual show structure, which for TOS is a novelty. Meanwhile, on the Enterprise, Spock battles both McCoy and Scotty with his decisions every step of the way in the old endless logic versus emotion game. This part of the show works a lot better, and while it had its weirdnesses, it makes for an interesting portrayal of what leaders have to deal with all the time, namely a bunch of dopes who think they know best and want their opinions heard when they are just that: opinions. Spock has to make some tough, logical decisions, and they turn out not to work. But he did make the right decisions. Killer Spock line: (after a mind-meld with Kirk) “He is an extremely dynamic individual.” Overall: a strange one. Doesn’t do a lot well but has some good ideas. 2 out of 5.

Trek tropes (number of instances encountered in series so far in parentheses):

• Recent Earth history will always be relevant (9)
• Spock displays Vulcan superpower never really seen again (6)
• Kirk hits it off with alien babe (6)
• The Enterprise is the only ship within range (4? I should have been tracking this one from the start)

59. And the Children Shall Lead. I thought I’d seen an episode like this before, with superkids, and I did: the first season’s “Miri.” But it’s been a while and I’ll have to get back around to it for a full comparison. Memory Alpha reports something I’ll have to come back to when I do get there, at which point the third season will be fully behind me. It says that Fred Freiberger, producer of the third season, implied “And the Children Shall Lead” was a great episode while “Miri” was trash, which seems to be exactly the opposite of popular opinion. So right now Freiberger is on the hook for me. The first disc of season three has been a strange one and Freiberger’s name is prominently placed over the final shot of every episode. Is this what I can expect from him all season? Anyway, ATCSL has some good moments (the part where the kids all see their parents and it hits home that they’ve been killed is effective, if mean), but is not too memorable, and was often a little sloppy. Ultimately a lot hinges on the group of kids’ inability to get Kirk to succumb to their powers. While the rest of the crew is immobilized or tricked, Kirk is free to run around and set things right. It seems like they just inexplicably never tried to get him. But there are also hints that they did, only he is Kirk and is able to fight off those kinds of things. So which is it? Also, somehow Kirk knows the identity of the evil force behind the kids, referring to it by name, even though he never actually hears the name. (Memory Alpha reports that this was an editing mistake, but even without the mistake it didn’t quite make sense.) Also McCoy likes it when children are sad. Also other than the part where they cry, the kids spend a lot of time being sort of annoying and pretty poorly developed (ice cream and “Ring Around The Rosie?”…sheesh). Killer Spock line: none.  Overall: hit and miss, mostly miss. 2 out of 5.

Trek tropes (number of instances encountered in series so far in parentheses):

• Anonymous redshirt killed (6) [two of them accidentally beamed out into space – whoops!]
• Shatner showcase (4)
• Only Kirk can truly make command decisions (6)

(Edit: just read Tor’s reviews of the last few episodes. Regarding #58, I missed some bits about how the Native American-like people were in fact Native Americans, explained the same way that a lot of other human-like races are explained, in that an ancient race called the Preservers actually brought humans to other planets. Sure it’s ridiculous, but that’s the deal. Regarding #59, man. There really was a lot of goofy, inexplicable stuff. I won’t revise my rating but it’s definitely generous.)

49. Return to Tomorrow. TNG broke conventions so so rarely that it was a real treat when they did.  Or, it was a disaster because they were so bad at it.  TOS, on the other hand, is pretty much the opposite.  They break conventions so often you objectively kinda wonder what the conventions are.  Really it’s one of the strengths of the show that there are conventions when they break them so often.  K watches an episode with me here and there and it seems like I have to tell her how the characters are “supposed” to be acting all the time, because she never seems to see it.  How did they ever even get established then?  Basically: incredibly strong, identifiable characters, flawlessly portrayed, and a ridiculously well-imagined universe.  They strike a terrific balance throughout the series of establishing these strong characters, then immediately getting them into situations where that is challenged.  You understand pretty fast what’s “supposed” to be happening, and since it isn’t, why it’s interesting.  Anyway, Return to Tomorrow hits the nail on the head of broken conventions.  Or wait, totally misses the nail, I guess.  I should not have attempted this analogy.  Point is, this is a great episode.  The Enterprise encounters a race of near-super beings who need physical hosts to escape from their dead world.  Of course, the beings turn out to be a bit untrustworthy.  Or, as it turns out, maybe they don’t.  Lots of interesting twists here.  Maybe most unusual, the convention of the valiant humans controlling everything and winning is also pushed aside.  Instead the crew is mostly subject to the whim and consequence of these beings.  The story is played out above the influence of the crew, they just have to go along with it.  Some fun extras: Nimoy getting to play essentially a totally different character; Chapel with a real sneaky “I secretly love Spock” moment; McCoy and Scotty getting to be at their best.  Killer Spock line: “I do not know.” (Kirk gives him a surprised look.) “Not even a Vulcan can know the unknown, Captain.” Overall: one of the few that I thought about re-watching immediately to absorb the ending.  Terrific.  5 out of 5.

Trek tropes (number of instances encountered in series so far in parentheses):

• Shatner showcase (3)
• Kirk hits if off with alien babe (uh, not really, actually, but I’m going to count this whenever Shatner kisses a guest star) (3)

50. Patterns of Force. Here’s another that can be boiled down to a simple description (like the recent “the one where they get old”, “the 1920s Chicago gangster episode”).  “Patterns of Force” is “the Nazi episode.” So anyway, a premise: any story requires some buy-in from the audience.  Sci-fi stories have the problem that they are asking the audience to believe something completely out of ordinary experience.  Although, maybe you get some leeway there, because you can always make up new rules.  Like, there can be drama because that’s not how they normally behave on this planet, even though it’s totally alien, right?  Right.  “Patterns of Force” struggles with buy-in, to me.  The whole premise is a little wonky.  The idea is that a Federation guy, John Gill, has come to this planet and managed to implement a Nazi system of government, but not the evil parts, just the really efficient good parts.  Problem is that’s not really how it worked on Earth, of course.  It was so efficient because Hitler convinced most of the population that there were racial scourges that needed to be wiped out, and their efficiency contributed to the overall good of the Fatherland.  Sure, maybe German engineering was really fantastic in the 1930s, but if you also motivate people with threats of terror or death, they’re going to give that special extra effort.  And that’s exactly what happens in this instance: a corrupt member exploits the system and turns it into a war effort against a neighboring planet.  Gill is drugged and neutralized and made into nothing but a figurehead.  But rest assured, Kirk and crew figure out what’s happening and take down the bad guy, to let the nice Nazis regain control.  Mostly I think this episode is an exercise in letting the Enterprise get in a last solid kick on the Nazis.  Take that, history!  The episode borderlines on whimsical as Kirk and Spock spend their time trying to infiltrate Nazi headquarters.  There are plenty of good gags to be had (Nazis=funny!) and Spock spends a lot of time with his shirt off.  Killer Spock line: “Captain, I’m beginning to understand why you Earthmen enjoy gambling.  No matter how carefully one computes the odds of success, there is still a certain exhilaration in the risk!” Overall: kind of a goofy one that is entertaining but there’s not much to take away. 3 out of 5.

Trek tropes (number of instances encountered in series so far in parentheses):

• Recent Earth history will always be relevant (4)
• Violation of Prime Directive (mostly by others, but Kirk figures he better just do what he has to) (4)
• Lighthearted banter to close episode (4)
• Spock’s suspicious Vulcan nature can be disguised with a good hat (2)

51. By Any Other Name. TOS loves to make the point that humans are just a pretty damn great race.  The combination of intelligence, compassion, emotion, and passion is unmatched by any other species.  It also loves to teach us lessons about moderation and controlling all those human things.  Here we get it all.  The Enterprise encounters a few Kelvans, aliens from the Andromeda galaxy, looking to conquer new territory in our galaxy.  They have a technology that paralyzes humans so they can effectively control them, so Kirk and company are powerless to stop them from taking over the ship and returning to Andromeda to report back home.  They can also neutralize humans altogether by converting them into little matter cubes (that they can crush to fully kill, or restore back to life; kind of like a human save point), so they do this with the entire crew other than Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty.  The four take it upon themselves to trick the Kelvans into stopping what they are doing so they can be welcomed into the Federation as friends instead of enemies.  So we get four different tracks of plot as each tries to use his talent against the Kelvans.  It’s a lot of fun: Kirk smooches the alien babe to make their commander jealous, Spock wipes the floor with said commander at Trek Chess, McCoy drugs up another guy, and Scotty tries to drink his guy under the table.  If you just go along with everything, it’s entertaining and funny and a swell episode.  If you look at it too close, it all falls apart.  Truth is, it’s full of little plot holes and meandering divergences.  Like: we’re all friends in the end, even though in the beginning you turned one of our landing party into a cube and crushed her with your bare hands just to prove a point.  Luckily it’s not the point.  This is a simple trope-heavy episode of entertainment: fightin’, drinkin’, alien babes, and humans winning.  Killer Spock line:  didn’t note one.  Not a heavy Spock episode.  Sorry, Spock.  Scotty gets the glory here as he burns his entire substantial liquor stash trying to out-drunk one of the Kelvans.  Overall: you want to be entertained, right?  Well, here it is.  If you want a good sci-fi story, take it up with Geordi. 4 out of 5.

Trek tropes (number of instances encountered in series so far in parentheses):

• Spock displays Vulcan superpower never really seen again (3)
• Anonymous redshirt killed (well, she has a name, but it’s not that important) (3)
• Even in interstellar space, the best way to resolve problems is with your fists (2)
• Kirk hits it off with alien babe (4)
• The indomitable human spirit conquers all (2)

52. The Omega Glory. So where “By Any Other Name” succeeds at TOS just being TOS, “The Omega Glory” fails.  It’s certainly a classic example of TOS’ swashbuckling action-oriented nature, but in the end it’s not nearly as much fun, and the plot goes completely haywire.  Part of the problem is that it tries to make a serious point about the unassailable righteousness of the Prime Directive, when like 1 out of every 4 other episodes goes right ahead and ignores it.  Another part of the problem is that if you want to just pad out your episode with fistfights, you may as well just be watching The A-Team.  Anyway the whole premise is insane, and takes a truly bizarre turn at the end.  The Enterprise visits Omega IV, looking for the crew of the Exeter and its Captain, Ron Tracey.  The Exeter turns out to be deserted, with only remnants of the crew’s bodies left behind.  Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and an anonymous redshirt (uh-oh) beam down to the planet after uncovering a warning message about the disease that wiped out the crew, where they find Captain Tracey.  He’s gone loony, though, and has not only messed up the entire power dynamic of the planet, but is convinced Omega IV is some sort of fountain of youth.  Then there’s some fightin’ as Kirk picks this occasion to decide you should never ever violate the Prime Directive.  Eventually he takes down Tracey, and they further realize that the disease and fountain of youth thing weren’t actually anything important (oh well! sorry about all that suspense earlier).  So with the native situation stabilized, it’s time to head home.  Only then things go off the deep end.  It turns out the natives evolved pretty much exactly as humans did, right down to the struggle between Americans (“Yangs” or “Yanks” in local terms) and Communism (the “Khoms”).  They even HAVE THE SAME FLAG AND AN EXACT COPY OF THE CONSTITUTION for some reason.  Only they are too primitive to read or understand it, but Kirk educates them.  In the end, Kirk smirks proudly at the American flag, his work here is complete.  Wait, what?  Seriously, what happened here?  There’s no explanation for anything.  Apparently the idea is that America is so great that alien cultures would definitely come up with the exact same idea independently, and Kirk says, “Heck yeah, why not?  America’s number one!!!”  Killer Spock line: “I’m making a suggestion.” Overall: I don’t think “disaster” is too strong a word.  Although: kudos to Capt. Tracey for a truly whacked-out creepy performance. 1 out of 5.

Trek tropes (number of instances encountered in series so far in parentheses):

• Recent Earth history will always be relevant (5)
• Anonymous redshirt killed (4)
• Even in interstellar space, the best way to resolve problems is with your fists (3)
• Violation of Prime Directive (5)
• Spock displays Vulcan superpower never really seen again (4)

46. A Piece of the Action. TOS doesn’t have a holodeck, but they make out all right.  Instead they just time travel or manage to find planets that are so Earthlike they may as well have time traveled.  I even know what I’m in for in some future TOS episodes, and I watched every single one of the holodeck TNG episodes, and “A Piece of the Action” is the leader in the clubhouse for the stupidest.  Somehow a long-ago visit to a planet where that crew wasn’t too careful about the prime directive and left behind (among other things) a book about 1920s Chicago crime bosses has led to said planet wholly adopting the 1920s Chicago society, complete with numerous crime bosses.  It gives Kirk a chance to act really hammy and try out a goofy gangster accent, and it gives Spock another chance to be fish out of Vulcan waters, but this episode is a total misfire.  The comedy isn’t funny enough to be worthwhile (compare “The Trouble With Tribbles” or Star Trek IV) and the plot is utterly ridiculous.  How could this ever happen?  And even if it did, could we portray it with somewhat more originality than a Bugs Bunny cartoon?  People get kidnapped at least four separate times.  Which is actually no biggie because simple ruses are adequate to escape.  There’s some negotiation at the end and somehow Kirk mucks with things even more than they are already mucked with.  One of the Tor.com reviewers for this episode gave it their highest rating, but I just don’t see it.  He made what seems like a good point, that this is a chance to have some fun while demonstrating the negative consequences of violating the prime directive.  But where is the lesson, then?  Kirk repeatedly violates the prime directive (including this very episode) now, in the past, and in the future.  If he takes any heed of what happens here, he stops doing it.  Nah, it’s just a flat whiff.  Killer Spock line: “Sir, you are employing a double negative.” Overall: ick. Our low bar is set. 1 out of 5.

Trek tropes (number of instances encountered in series so far in parentheses):

• Violation of Prime Directive (it still counts if someone else did it first) (2)
• Recent Earth history will always be relevant (2)
• Spock’s suspicious Vulcan nature can be disguised with a good hat (1)

47. The Immunity Syndrome. If I fall asleep during an episode, does it mean I was tired or the episode was bad?  I mean, it can’t be a good thing, right?  But then, I fall asleep during movies I like all the time.  Anyway, I fell asleep here, and I was tired, but I don’t think the pacing and lack of intrigue in this episode help.  The crew encounter what amounts to a giant space amoeba.  They investigate.  It’s something, all right.  I mean, yeah, a giant space amoeba!  Everyone almost dies.  But then they don’t. Here is another challenge of TV: you know that not everyone is going to die, so how do you make an episode feel like it matters?  I guess…things just need to be interesting enough that you don’t really care that you know things will be all right, really.  Well, whatever those things are, they aren’t here.  Sometimes just having some crazy thing isn’t enough, you know?  Also didn’t they make a big deal about how the whole crew was really exhausted at the beginning? What happened with that?  So that has no bearing on the actual episode?  Oh, OK.  That’s fine, it doesn’t matter really.  I’m sorry to be so jaded, 1968 Star Trek episode, but I just didn’t feel this one.  Killer Spock line: “Do not suffer so.  This is not the first time superior capability has proven more valuable than professional credential.” Overall: shrug. 2 out of 5.

Trek tropes (number of instances encountered in series so far in parentheses):

• Strange probe encountered in space (it counts that it’s actually a giant space amoeba) (3)
• “Doctor” McCoy admits he has no idea how Vulcan physiology works (1)
• Spock displays Vulcan superpower never really seen again (1)
• Highly experimental plan with low probability of success somehow works anyway (4)

48. A Private Little War. At some point I’m going to have to talk about TOS’s treatment of gender.  Frankly, it’s not the strength of the series.  They try, galaxy knows they do, but this was 1960s TV and just having unmarried women in real jobs was a pretty big deal still.  I think you have to at least acknowledge that TOS needed some work consistently portraying good female characters when it comes to episodes like “A Private Little War.”  Wins: Uhura is a useful part of a discussion on the bridge.  Chapel provides valuable medical assistance.  Losses: the lead female guest star is quite literally a sexy conniving witch.  I really have no defense for some female characters from the classic sci-fi era, both in TV and books.  It’s definitely a limitation of the genre at times and if anyone wants to be critical of it I’m not going to stop them.  But at the same time, I don’t think anyone set out to write bad female characters, it just kind of happens.  There are plenty of flat male characters too.  The thing is, character isn’t the point in a lot of these things and you have to be cool with that.  It would be swell if we could have great characterization while we’re getting all this other interesting sci-fi stuff, and top sci-fi delivers, but they can’t all be winners.  Like this episode.  It’s not great.  Good, yes.  There are a lot of neat ideas here, actually.  Mainly: what do you do if your enemies are violating the Prime Directive?  Do you do it too, just to balance the playing field?  It’s not right of course, but you could argue it’s better than the alternative of doing nothing and letting one side just wipe out the other.  I didn’t have it in specifically in mind while I watched but wikipedia reminds me that it’s basically the same story as the Vietnam War, and yes, of course it is, and in that regard they succeed.  There’s also a scary creature, the Mugatu, thrown in for some fighting and danger.  Killer Spock line: (After being slapped repeatedly by guest star Doctor–and this really was a medical thing): “That will be quite enough.  Thank you, Doctor.” (There are plenty of good lines in the show aside from Spock’s; I’m just choosing to select his.  But I have to say the whole Spock-slapping sequence was golden for both lines and action.  Nurse Chapel slaps his in this sort of girly nurse-ish way.  Scotty happens to walk in and shrieks, “What are you doing, woman?!” and there is no reason for Scotty to be around except to have a reason for Scotty to do his patented over-the-top shrieking and tear Chapel away from Spock’s moribund body.  Then the doctor comes in and really lets Spock have it.  It’s explained that this is necessary for Vulcans to regain consciousness. And I am totally cool with that.)  Overall: some great, some good, some bad, some just weird. 2 out of 5.

Trek tropes (number of instances encountered in series so far in parentheses):

• Violation of Prime Directive (it still counts if someone else did it first) (3)
• “Doctor” McCoy admits he has no idea how Vulcan physiology works (2)
• Spock displays Vulcan superpower never really seen again (2)
• Recent Earth history will always be relevant (3)
• Kirk hits it off with alien babe (2)