No, totally got by me, but I saw he was credited on the Wikipedia page. I would never have picked up on it.
Yeah, it’s one of my favorite TV geek Trek-cameos. I’d forgotten it, but was reminded a few months ago when I saw Soul in a short-film version of Conrad’s “The Secret Sharer”. I have a thing for short stories made into films/TV Episodes.
The Secret Sharer (horrible transfer and film quality, but true to the Novella/Short Story, and well acted):
This episode seems now to me like a kind of anti-utopia morality tale along the lines of Welles’s The Time Machine. The inhabitants are essentially Eloi, humans who advanced to a level of technology that allowed them to create a paradise and the machines to maintain it so they could live a life of leisure and plenty, free of labor; at which point their knowledge and capabilities collapsed to the point where they are wholly dependent on the machines. The dangerous environment and need to feed the machine or suffer punishment take the place of the threat of the Morlocks in Welles’s tale, though really it’s hard to understand why the ancient engineers decided to make paradise so perilous. Maybe as a means of population control?
Anyway, the message is that striving itself is necessary and a moral good, a theme which recurs in a number of other ST episodes if I recall clearly.
Man, I love Conrad. There is no Conrad book that isn’t a joy to read, or that wouldn’t make a great movie.
Small correction. It was Orson Welles, but it was H.G. Wells. They spelled their last names differently. In this case, it’s Wells’ The Time Machine.
So … it was both of them?
Yes, you’re right. The main character in my WIP is named Welles, so I’ve typed Welles’s so many times it’s become habit. Yikes!
Nobody wants to take Spock’s side on the intervention argument? Not that I’m surprised, I think the episode seems to come down pretty squarely on the relationship between Vaal and the villagers as being pretty one-sides in Vaal’s favor, I just wondered if there might be any points in favor of non-intervention that I’m not considering.
Spock is just being pissy. Landru is in need of unplugging, but Vaal is ok?
EDIT-I mean at least Landru had some sort of programmed ethical system to deal with a perceived societal problem that had led to some catastrophe. Vaal is just an angry, dragon-faced 'puter that wants submission.
I think they at least had to make a feint in the direction of making this seem like a dilemma. So someone had to argue in favor and Spock drew the short straw. I guess, anyway, couldn’t find much info on how this was written.
Their best attempt at making the argument was the innocence angle. These people don’t know about sex, about jealousy. They are innocent and happy. By introducing the Apple to the Garden of Eden (with landmines), Kirk and company have introduced a whole host of problems that will inevitably come as a result. But hey, at least they’re not subservient anymore.
I happen to think that’s a good trade-off. I mean, I wouldn’t want to live as a slave even if I’m being well taken care of.
“That, sir, is illogical. It is suicide. Attempted suicide would be proof that you are psychologically unfit for command. If you don’t veer off, I shall relieve you on that basis.”
Happy Wednesday folks, and welcome back. Time for a new episode, and it’s quite a doozy - let’s talk about “The Doomsday Machine.” Now I don’t imagine I’ll see too much argument from you folks when I say this one is a pretty big favorite. It’s definitely one of my favorites, for several reasons. One, I really like how all the drama and action flows naturally, there’s nothing really contrived happening here, no plot devices that happen because the story requires it. You can easily understand Decker’s underlying mania, and the need to deal with the device before it reaches the Rigel colonies. But his single-minded drive also risks the ship and crew of the Enterprise. It all folds together to make a really great story and episode.
I also really like the machine itself. It’s an interesting idea, an ancient war device that just kept cranking along, doing its thing, long after its creators had passed on from existence. We don’t know where it came from or who created it, it’s not really important to the story. Spock speculates at the end that it may be possible there are more out there, and we’ve seen in future stories in books (and even Star Trek Online) that this is the case.
I had always felt in the past that William Windom’s portrayal of Commodore Decker was a touch too hammy, a little overplayed. But whether I’m just getting older and more accepting of its quirks or I’ve just seen it so many times, I do think he fits in pretty well in general with the established tone of Star Trek. It’s always been a bit more “heightened” emotionally at times. It didn’t bother me as much this time around anyway.
I also want to call out the new special effects on this episode, I think they really shined here. I spent most of the viewing hopping between the two, and I liked what they did with making the Enterprise and the Constellation look a little more real, and the machine itself look a bit more alien and powerful.
My favorite episode. Period. In all of Trek.
“Gentlemen, I’m waiting.”
I wasn’t able to see the end of the episode yet, but holy moley you guys. This episode plays out like a feature film. It’s got high stakes, action, drama in the form of a distraught Captain who lost his crew. Kirk abandoned on a derelict ship trying to make a difference despite being away from the main action. I could totally see this script working as a modern script with the current movie actors from the Star Trek reboot. I had no idea the original Trek show had exciting action episodes like this one.
At the point I reached last night, Kirk was able to power up the Constellation enough to try to be a distraction for the Enterprise. I can’t wait to get home today and watch the rest.
Edit: Also does anyone know what this episode looked like before the HD makeover? The space action scenes look really good in this episode, which made me curious what the original episode looked like back in the 60s.
Sure, the original version is on the Blu-ray that I using for this rewatch. You can just hop back and forth at your leisure.
I assume you watched the new version? Did you have a chance to check out the original? How does it look?
Yeah, that’s what I was talking about in the last paragraph of my post, I hopped back and forth between the two. The original scenes are clearly not touched up, and look like watching on an old TV with bunny ears even on my 4K TV. And the effects are, you know, vintage I guess is the right word. I’m glad I have a version that lets me view both, because I’d be a bit bummed if the remastered effects just replaced the original entirely, but I do think the new effects look pretty good.
Oh sorry, I only read the first half of your post, in order to avoid potential spoilers on how the episode ends. I hope the crew make it out alive!
Watching it for the umpteenth time, I think the character is really well-written and Windom’s performance is superb. The literary allusions to Ahab and Moby Dick, combined with the oft-referred to Queeg-like use of the data cards on the bridge by Windom really help this performance reach a different level for a Star Trek guest star.
The over the top trauma, caused by losing the entire crew, is also, barely, pushed below the surface when he attempts to take command. There are (many on the way…) Spaceship and Starship captains 'gone wrong" spread throughout the franchise, but only Decker’s collapse seems to be something not resultant from a flaw of character. More like a good captain shattered by the ultimate catastrophe that he couldn’t control. But as a good, honorable man, he can’t help but to blame himself for the tragedy. Unjustly.
And he dies a hero. Redeemed after letting his trauma overcome him, and transgressing by taking command of the Enterprise.
God I love that performance.
One fun thing, having read this thread (but not having watched TOS) and watching DS9 is the number of cross overs. Kor Koloth and Kang being one particular example. Season 2, which I just finished, had 2-3 in the last part of the season, including a visit to the Mirror Mirror universe.
Which was a surprisingly good episode considering the inherent premise. I understand there are a few more coming up as well.