Star Trek: Start to Finish

The Omega Glory

The Omega Glory (Memory Alpha; Video) finds our favorite starship crew discovering the unmanned USS Exeter circling a far off planet. Aboard, the crew has turned to rock salt. Yum!

So The Omega Glory starts off strong. There’s a disease, there’s a mystery cure, there’s politics and a rogue starship captain playing with the Prime Directive, which is suddenly very, very important:

Kirk Voiceover: Although it appears the infection may strand us here the rest of our lives, I face an even more… difficult… problem: a growing belief that Captain Tracy has been interfering with the evolution of life on this planet. It seems… impossible. A star captain’s most solemn oath is that he will give his life, even his entire crew rather than violate the Prime Directive.

Captain Tracey, the only survivor of the Exeter, is trying to find the Fountain of Youth on Omega IV (not the fatty acid), and he’s bending the rules a bit. Nevermind that rule bending in extraordinary circumstances is the kind of stuff the Enterprise crew does all the time: now it’s a grave peril.

But then, half way through, the stupid drops out of the sky and ruins everything.

Begin Spoilers

It turns out that this episode is strangely familiar, and exactly as lame as it was the first time. We’re on another alternate-history Earth, and this one fell prey to bacterial warfare where the commies destroyed the world, and now the savage Yankees are coming to take it back. Weak.

End Spoilers

For all that, it’s not as bad as it could be. The back and forth between Kirk and Tracey is good, and when they play mind games on the natives it’s very clear why the Prime Directive is important.

But ultimately the stupid is an incredibly important plot point that ruins the whole thing. Spoilers Again Which is unfortunate, since Memory Alpha tells me that there’s a short aside that was edited out that neatly explains the whole thing: the people on Omega IV are humans who got off Earth during the early years of the space race. That goes a long way to making this better (even though the chronology is very confusing if you want to accept this explanation). End Spoilers

Best Dialog

[Spock does the Vulcan Neck Pinch]
Kirk: Pity you can’t teach me that.
Spock: I have tried, Captain.

Words of Wisdom From Doctor McCoy

Spock, I’ve found that Evil usually triumphs unless Good is very, very careful.

Grade as Aired

C-

Grade as Scripted

B

Friday’s Child

Friday’s Child (Memory Alpha; SD Video) never mentions Friday, but there is indeed a child.

Also: Klingons!

We open with a long scene telling us all about how dangerous Capella IV is. The crew beams down to the native encampment, and then:

[Klingon comes into view; he is unarmed and standing amongst the natives]
Grant the Redshirt: A Klingon! [Draws phaser, points at Klingon]
[Natives throw weapon; kill Grant instantly]

One scene later, Kirk defends Grant’s decision. Really, Kirk? Because Grant was an idiot.

And you know who else is an idiot in this episode? Scotty! Scotty, who is normally on top of things, falls for the most obvious trap I’ve ever heard of. Really, Scotty? I had more faith in you.

But as for the actual content of this episode, it’s a rather bland little adventure where the Enterprise is trying to secure mining rights (yawn) and has to be hospitable, but fails, and then there’s a coup so it doesn’t matter that they’ve failed, but now they’re on the run from the usurper. Just for kicks, they bring along the very-pregnant wife of the former leader. There’s a little bit of a chase, and the lame B-plot with Scotty, and a resolution that feels forced. Unsatisfying.

Of note, however, is that this is the first time we see a Klingon vessel. It’s a glowing yellow chevron of light. I hope that’s not because you spend all your budget on the ridiculous costumes in this episode.

Grade

C-

Dagger of the Mind

Dagger of the Mind (Memory Alpha; HD Video) take our favorite crew to Tantalus Penal Colony, where they’re dropping off supplies and picking up a box full of records. Except that there’s actually an escaped prisoner in the box. Whoops!

This episode contains a couple of significant “firsts:” it’s the first time we’re told that the transporter can’t work through a “security force field” like the one used at the colony. This is a necessary plot point for this episode, and becomes an important plot point in many other episodes to come. I can’t recall if anyone ever does any transporter-that-works-through-shields experiments, but I’d be kind of surprised if there’s not an episode about it.

This is also the first time we see a Vulcan Mind Meld, except that it’s kind of totally different from what I’ve ever seen as a Vulcan Mind Meld before. Here, Spock performs accupressure and speaks in a hypnotic monotone, and asks questions that the other participant answers. Later, it’s just a few fingers on the face and scenes from the past play on the screen. I must say I like the later version better.

Begin Spoilers

There is one big plot twist in this episode, and it occurs about 5 minutes in. The prisoner on the ship asks for asylum; he’s terrified that they’ll send him back to the prison. So instead of the crazy-guy-on-the-ship episode I was expecting, we get a crazy-guy-on-the-planet instead.

There’s a little bit of intrigue on the planet, but it pretty much plays out exactly how you expect it to: Kirk (and the hottie he’s sent with) are wined and dined by the prison’s director, they don’t suspect anything, they are curious about something called a “neural neutralizer,” they sneak out to use it, the director finds them and tortures Kirk, he escapes, resolution.

Except… why does the director do this? Why is he experimenting with the neural neutralizer? Kirk says early on that this guy is a genius who’s completely revolutionized the penal system, and that everything it just swell, now. So what additional benefit does this machine have? Or are we supposed to believe that this is what makes the system work, and no one has noticed before? It’s all very vague.

End Spoilers

This episode isn’t that great. It’s got a weak story with no real surprises, and it ignores the two big issues it could address: how does the penal system of the future operate? and what good is this medical-experiment-cum-torture-device? Either of these could fill out a smart episode that dealt with something, but instead the plot just kind of drifts into the finish you expect at the beginning like a bad Bond movie but with fewer explosions and no naked women.

Awesome Dialog

• Spock: Interesting. You Earth people glorify organized violence for forty centuries, yet you imprison those who employ it privately.

• McCoy: If something unusual is going on down there-
  Kirk: An assumption, Doctor.
  McCoy: I’m required to enter any reasonable doubts in my medical log. That requires you to answer in your log. Sorry, Jim.
  [Spock gives a knowing look.]

• Kirk: One of the advantages of being a captain, doctor, is being able to ask for advice without necessarily having to take it.

Grade

C-