I friggin' love the 60s Batman show, the greatest! Actual fights, no effects. No flying Batman, the guy is a human, not Superman. Every week a different supervillain, rather than every movie being Joker, Joker, Joker. Best Batmobile, best Batsuit. And it didn't take itself seriously, and it worked on two levels at once, a sort of magic trick.
in the 1970's, this episode made a huge impact on my young mind and was instrumental in guiding how I think about racism and bigotry today. So well spelled-out. I've always thought of it as the best of high-concept star trek, the kind of story that the show was built to tell.
Same here. I saw it on first airing when I was a little kid, and it set my opinion on racism: that it was _stupid._ Made no sense, accomplished nothing, ended up killing a planet. Yeah, no thanks. I'm forever grateful to Gene Coon for that.
Your reaction gave me a new appreciation for this episode. I’m 62 and have been watching TOS over and over my whole life, and this one to me was always just an ok episode. But now, listening to your analysis and appreciation shines a new light on it after all these years. We’ll done.
I'm glad that you guys liked this one so much. I saw this when it first aired and always thought it was one of Trek's most powerful episodes. This was a major statement on racism back then and still relevant today! I haven't seen it in awhile and I'd forgotten how well directed this one was. But I never forgot them running with the images of the burning buildings behind them. Trek at its most brilliant.
Kid rating =1 Adult =9..WOW! Thanks Guys!..see I hated this episode as a kid. I didnt get the concepts yet, couldnt appreciate a great DP and in my memory it was that silly running down the hall and the burning building over and over.. so its been 30 years since I have seen this episode. I really enjoyed it but mortified how nail on the head the writing was, how brave they even went to air this episode back then and, unfortunately how nothing changes. My utopia Star Trek planet is not happening in my lifetime, or my daughters or maybe grandkids at this point. Its going to take Aliens and butt probes to get the world to unite and fight em off.. Imagine that..a guy with a Star Trek ROOM and 45 years of collecting, conventions, seen EVERY ST episode of every series-yet-schooled by these guys who have never seen Trek. This is why you are here, plus the fun of watching you fall in love with the show. Keep it up!
This is a strong episode. Pretty obvious what the storyline really was. Always remember when this was made and what we were doing in the real world. The heart of Star Trek is their way of getting the story told even at a time when you couldn't really talk about these things on network TV.
It resonates in more ways than that. The two are also caricatures of the liberal and conservative, and both are so authoritarian that they end up threatening the ship in the same way.
This one has often been put down for being too “on the nose”, but I always considered it one of the iconic episodes. Thanks for pointing out the excellent blocking and camera work, something I hadn’t really noticed before. Now I’ll have to watch it again and pay more attention to that. 😊 PS: that destruct sequence is repeated verbatim in the 1984 film Star Trek III. A nice callback to the original series.
The complaint is that it is too "on the nose" has always seemed to me to be a blindness to the reality and absurdity of the racism that persists today.
Always liked this one. Frank Gorshin and Lou Antonio steam through their scenes and the regular cast step back a bit to let The Message of the episode push forward without it feeling thrusted at us.
Frank Gorshin, the one playing the Commissioner, was a comedian and impressionist. He appeared many times on the old Ed Sullivan show and had a long acting career.
@@ebashford5334 And a great Kirk Douglas (and Cagney) too. He did a great comedy routine of a showdown between Lancaster and Douglas . I wish I could find it.
This is one of my favorite original series episodes. I've always enjoyed the stark absurdity of the hatred between the two alien characters, and their cliche narrative grievances and attitudes they throw at each other. Beal describes himself as "black on the right side" in contrast to Loki being described as "white on the right side", rather than black on the left side. In their final confrontation on the bridge, Beal calls Loki "half white", and Loki responds by calling Beal "half black". What? They're both half black, half white. Loki's racial bigotry even extends to the Enterprise crew; that "monotones" can't possibly understand the suffering and discrimination his people have suffered.
Hah, I remember the Riddler from the West (rip) Batman! I think I had remembered or found out that's who it was then forgot about it until you mentioned it. Was always more partial to Cesar Romero's Joker, but that might just be retro bias from how popular Joker has become over the years.
One of my favorite episodes. Roddenberry was great for creating or developing storylines that spoke to problems and issues that were current then or relative throughout the story of mankind.
It’s interesting,I’ve watched every episode multiple times, and as a kid I enjoyed the stories and the witty interaction of the main characters and the sci-fi elements, but it wasn’t until later in my life when I was mature enough that I begin to realize that I had been given lessons like this about various social topics along the way. This is one of the great episodes that continues to be relevant and will continue to be as long as we as a people keep focusing on our differences instead of learning to embrace our commonality.
Whew! Glad you guys really liked the episode! Just awesome. Unfortunately, I was anticipating you two taking turns dumping on it. You both are young but very detail oriented. These older shows were made for a different audience and don't always translate to newer generations. So glad you appreciate the series. I sincerely hope you give Star Trek: The Animated series a chance starring the voices of the TOS cast. Thank you so much. 😊👍
Great reaction guys. Alex and Josh, this is a great episode in my opinion every time I see it I appreciate it all over again, and it's message is as powerful today as it was in the '60s. I'm 63 so I've seen this series a lot over the years and own it too, this still remains one of the best episodes ever.
I loved this episode too. The camerawork and editing were really great. The ship destruction countdown was so amazing...I think they took some inspiration from the final gunfight in "The Good The Bad and The Ugly" with those stylistic close ups on the faces.
This episode has been criticized for being too ham-fisted in its messaging. However, the race conflicts going on at the time in this country were so absurd, they needed a sledgehammer to the face sometimes to get the message across.
I went to a Star Trek club Halloween costume party once in the 1970's, and decided that going as a member of the alien race in this episode would be cheap and easy. Well, it WAS relatively cheap. Getting that line down the middle of my face to be perfect was CRAZY hard!
My favorite part of the episode was always the decontamination sequence. The Enterprise orbits to beautiful music as the planet’s cleansed back to lush and green, with blue oceans. It functions as the perfect counterpoint to the A-story, showing us all what future man can achieve after getting its sh** together - which is about as “Star Trek” as it gets.
Quick FYI, the Auto Destruct of the ship is very real. It absolutely would have blown up. They don’t play around. The Auto Destruct is serious business. That said, I didn’t always love this episode. I think it’s just fine and I often skip it but I’m enjoying you guys point of view and reaction. Keep up the good work guys!
Was Star Trek the first science fiction show or movie to introduce the idea of having a Self Destruct protocol for a space ship? It's become almost a cliche now a days for every space ship to have this, and to come up in a plotline. It seems almost counter intuitive and even crazy. We're going to build this incredibly expensive and technologically advanced space ship, fill it with a crew, and then add on the means for it to be blown up, just in case? Except for maybe keeping a ship from being captured or taken over by an enemy, something only likely to happen in science fiction, why would we do this?
I’m not sure if it’s the first show to do this but I assume it is. But it is realistic in the sense of Star Fleet is the military in this sci-fi universe. In actual real life it is a common practice for the military to destroy their own ships/planes/tanks etc. so they won’t fall into enemy hands for intelligence purposes. And I do know Gene Roddenberry did serve in the military. But I do understand where you’re coming from.
@@toysruskiddd After I left my comment I started thinking about it, and what you say is very true. After the end of WW1 most of the German high seas fleet were deliberately sunk by their own crews rather than letting the ships be seized by the British.
"Our mission is to decontaminate it" could be as simple as nuking the entire planet. YIKES The Riddler!! Bele is played by Frank Gorshin. An advanced alien race studying us might be confused about why we group ourselves the way we do. The genetic difference is greater between people of different heights than between people of different "races." Limited budgets makes people get more creative. Just like some directors/writers need the MPAA limit of PG-13 otherwise they just go overboard. Having Scotty rather than Bones be the third makes sense. I don't know what rank Bones was in the episode but line officers are higher than medical officers at the same rank.
In an episode of the TV show "Third Rock From the Sun", humans are trying to explain the concept of racism to the lead alien, who is completely bewildered by the idea. He's unaware of the difference between the black secretary and a white professor, even when they point it out to him. Totally exasperated, he says he could understand judging or defining people based on intelligence, education, or income, "but skin pigmentation? Give me a break!"
When the episode originally aired it had a bigger impact than you realize. The previous year there were race riots, MLK and RFK assassinations, riots at the Democratic Convention in Chicago, the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam, just to name a few things that preceded it. At the time it was a lot like the evening news with a moral.
11:25 The reveal here is supposed to be a surprise twist. You caught on to it right away, but the viewers in 1969 were meant to be drawn in thinking they’re the same and then have an “Aha”moment showing how stupid racism is. Brilliant!
This is a story that COULD HAVE been boring. It could have been "in your face" and one-sided. Instead, like you noted, you have something that is competently acted, directed, and written. You have an episode about racist hate, but to the crew of the Enterprise who are not partakers in their hate, they see both sides as ultimately ignorant and self-destructive. And in the end, we see the result: it is self-destructive. We also see how both sides attempt to rope people into their hate... "You have to see these people as evil. You have to take my side!" And that's what happens in all these situations, be it race hatred or a nasty divorce.
As a child, after seeing him trade punches with Batman and Kirk, I was astonished to learn that Frank Gorshin was not an actual "official" movie star. His manic, enthusiastic performance as the Riddler is a personal favourite.
I need to rewatch this one... my last memory of it is that the camerawork was a bit pretentious and odd, but thanks to you guys I'm willing to take a look at it and re-evaluate. That's why I enjoy your reactions so much.
A lot of the shots like the close up of the eyes and the shot composition during the destruct sequence was supposedly inspired by Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns
This episode is a perfect example of why classic trek is miles ahead of the nu/CBS/Kurtzman trek. Lessons through smart metaphor rather than try to beat you over the head or force feed the viewer blatant woke stories/characters.
Having that shot from Spock's point of view is poignant, because he is a half breed himself and kind of discriminated against both on Vulcan and on Earth.
This one's a favorite of mine, too. Frank Gorshin steals every scene he's in with a different sort of intensity than he brought to the Riddler - barely-contained rage instead of manic ego. I do feel the episode is a BIT dated because its message seems to be "both sides bad," which is really not in keeping with how actual racism occurs when one side IS being oppressed and disproportionately killed... but hey, it's allegory, not EXACTLY the same. And the impression we're given is that Lokai is an extremist in his efforts to recruit followers to a cause that has nothing to do with them but he carries on to get more people killed. Just a damn good episode and one of the highlights of season 3.
Some folks complain that today’s Trek is too political and shoving equality down their throats. They completely miss that Star Trek has always been on the forefront of these ideas. Let That Be Your Last Battlefield couldn’t be more literally in your face about the ridiculousness of racism.
I think the difference is that modern shows insist on using modern groups and painting one side as entirely wrong whereas older ones show both sides equally. For instance here we got an alien race with white and black on opposite sides with humans watching them pursue the hatred that destroyed their race. A modern show would have a white person being racist to black people even when it makes no sense. Like the Doctor who episode where a white racist came back from the future to stop Rosa Parks riding the bus in the belief that would somehow stop the entire civil rights movement. Its not "You half black bastard." "Die you half white wretch!", instead its "Die you white wretch" only. Or the rings of power where they insert black elves and Dwarves even though the fantasy setting they're using didn't have black elves and dwarves but did have an entire culture of black humans to the south they could have explored if they wanted. Again forcing modern groups in a setting where it doesn't apply. When the show is done well and makes sense Owl House, Nimoa, House of the Dragon (I believe), Voyage of the Demeter. People have no problem with it because they are progressive rather than political. Shogun with the articles about "Where are the black people" in a show about a homogenous culture that also had no white Samurai or Chinese Samurai because the show is about Japan in a period when it had little contact with the outside world. This is what I think people mean about them being too political. Its not that older shows had no politics but that the lessons were done usually with subtlety or in a way that showed the issue without attacking a particular group.
I've always referred to this episode as the "Black and White cookie people" episode. I've always enjoyed this episode. As a lifelong fan of Trek I have been enjoying watching you two see the series for the first time. I can't remember when I first saw these episodes since I was watching Trek since I was about 3 or 4 so it's interesting to me to see your perspectives on these episodes.
I know this episode is pretty unsubtle (and I think is generally less enjoyable with repeat viewings), but my favourite part of this episode is how *bewildered* Kirk and crew are by the racial hatred. It paints the picture of a very, very optimistic future for humanity, which of course is a foundational concept of what Star Trek is all about.
They had just been fighting on the bridge, throwing vast amounts of energy at each other. They were physically exhausted from fighting and emotionally devastated from learning of their planet's fate. Slogging along like that was the best they could do.
This episode aired on January 10, 1969, so the context of it was the 1968 assassinations of Dr. King and Robert Kennedy, the riots and burning of many central cities, and the violence at both political party presidential nominating conventions in late Summer. So, it was making a point that was particularly poignant at the time.
Further proof that Star Trek's third season is vastly underrated. This is indeed among the most powerful and poignant epsiodes of the original series. And it baffles me how some young clueless types out there have villified this episode for its "racism," for being "problematic," and completely missing its entire point - because they either haven't actually watched it, or they are incapable of any amout of critical thinking. Continuity Post Script - Keep an eye out for that self-destruct code. It will be seen again.
Before watching your review, I thought this one wasn't very good. But you guys have given me a new appreciation of the ep and now I like it. You're right about the directing, acting, and pacing.
Definitely one of the best. There is a Scotty centric episode coming as well The Cloud Minders, That Which Survives and an episode with a sentient lava planet.
When you guys get up to the movies, make sure that you watch the Director's Edition of the first movie. They didn't really have time to properly edit the first film before it went into theatres and so Robert Wise went back and re-edited it. I say that because you seem to like seeing the original SFX versions of things, which is great, but in the case of The Motion Picture it is a much better viewing experience to see the Director's Edition.
In fact, the consensus of Star Trek fandom is that the most recent version of the TMP Director's Edition, released in 2022 (and available in 4K), is the one to watch. TMP is the only Star Trek movie available in more than two versions (Star Trek II and VI also have director's cuts), but, unlike the controversial changes to the original Star Wars trilogy, fans seem to agree that TMP has progressively improved through its revisions over the years due to the time crunch prior to its original release.
I didn't expect this reaction. Interesting. Like a lot of commentators I've seen these episodes 100+ times. This one drags a lot on repeated viewings, and the camera work on the self-destruct sequence calls too much attention to itself. Glad you enjoyed it. As others have said, your reaction gives me a renewed appreciation for this episode.
Wow! Really glad you liked it! I was worried you'd find it too campy. Thanks for giving me a new appreciation for this one. You always have insights that are great. See, Alex, you didn't jinx it!
There's one more telling difference between them, but it's not that easy to notice. Bele, the "superior" one, has blue eyes, while Lokai, the "inferior" one, has _brown_ eyes. Just a cherry on the cake to make it really clear who are the bad guys here.
It is a bit ham-handed, but it still gets the point across. This is the kind of story Gene R. wanted to tell, only he had to couch it in a sci-fi setting in order to be able to show it on 60s network television.
Love this episode it truly shows exactly how stupid racism is and the point is that we aren't different we are all humans our outer differences are not what defines us as a species we are the human race, our outer appearance differences and cultural differences should be celebrated, embraced, honored and used to define all of us and we can see different cultures share several significant similar things rooted in every culture
THIS, is THEE episode i tell people watch to explain my love of star trek. This is a self-contained sermon, for then and for us forever. All they had left was their hate and it was that hate that completely destroyed them. As a 90s kid i had thought that our world had learned this lesson, but as an adult now i see its not true. Its especially discouraging and disheartening as a Black girl, to experience the same fears and frustrations as my grandparents and other ancestors, but the dream of star trek, old and especially NEW trek like discovery, does help me keep hope alive. I will always preach the the beauty of star trek is in the hope it gives to us in a broken world for a better tomorrow where we can travel the stars together and meet beautiful others unlike us in everyway - while an imperfect utopia, its proof Star Trek has ALWAYS been “woke” and the perfect example of if you can dream it, you can be it. I just hope I live long enough to be part of it 💕 LLAP y'all💕
@@sabalomglitz6478 I’m not sure what you’re implying, but please don’t use my comment as a way to support any “anti-woke” agenda. “Woke” does not equal hate, “woke” means AWARE; aware of the truth about the systems and society we are part. This world can be so much better when we are all awake and to me Star Trek in all it’s versions old and especially epitomizes a future where we have collectively awakened and taken action towards community care, planetary conservation, education and liberation. Fighting what many consider “woke” only prolongs our collective suffering and keeps the world of Star Trek a fantasy rather than a reality. I want to be part of that future, as I am sure you do as well. 🖖🏿 💕
Thank you for this reaction! When I was a kid and first saw this episode, and Bele says something like "can't you see the difference" I thought "what difference, you two guys are almost exactly the same!"
I noticed a lot of the reactions to this episode are "as a kid versus as an adult" comments. Star Trek works on multiple levels which is why the best episodes stand the test of time. Thinking of Aesop's Fables.
When I was younger, I didn't like this episode so well, because I thought it was preachy. But the older I get, the more I notice about it. Yes, the direction is phenomenal, and the fact that Lokai is *both* a ruthless criminal *and* has absolute justification for his position are well handled. They avoided, I think, the trap of implying "Well, there are bad people on both sides, tsk tsk," while still insisting that, sooner or later, this has to stop. And the ending, where they *refuse* to learn the lesson and spend the remainder of their (presumably short) lives doing nothing but fighting and torturing each other, was magnificent.
Seeing this on TV in the 60's when I was in High School made a powerful impression! It was talked about in our Classes the next day! Speaking of Impressions Frank Gorshin ( Beal ) was one of the best. His impressions were spot on. They must be on UA-cam somewhere.
While I like the message of the episode I think alot of the scene selections aren't great. The close ups on the mouths seem strange. The zooming in and out on the red alert light is really reminiscent of 1960s Batman. The automatic door to the rec room being partly open. How? The doors close by themselves.
Thanks guys! I'm glad you liked this one. The hate between two guys that are alike was a really good plot device. Its sad tho. In our world we often see so much hate between two groups. Even to the point of war. That they would exterminate the other side because of their differences. But when you are a third party looking on, both groups seem the same with only minor differences.
Probably already mentioned, but a famous blooper shows Frank Gorshin on the transporter pad, having just beamed up, suddenly breaking into his Jimmy Cagney impression.
There's a connection between this episode and one of the films. I don't want to say more in order not to spoil anything, but I think you guy's will appreciate it when you get around to watching the movies.
Frank Gorshin makes a few trademark Riddler body moves, and his voice rises and falls just like the Riddler, in this episode. A well-done, memorable episode, shot on a shoe-string budget. Minor spoiler (Don't read if you haven't seen the ST movies): For fan service, they recreated the exact same Enterprise destruct sequence in the third Star Trek movie.
Of course you already have been told that Frank Gorshin played the Riddler on the Batman tv series, so I find it interesting you mentioned Two Face, Harvey Dent in the beginning 😆
IMO there's only 1 more episode this season that is of this caliber; the penultimate episode "All Our Yesterdays" (which I like to think of as the REAL final episode and "Turnabout Intruder" as some kind of ''add-on bonus'' or something, since it originally aired a solid 3 months after the previous episode.) That said, I still absolutely LOVE 'The Way to Eden', despite it's faults... and 'Mark of Gideon' is aiight.
This episode is even better as a prophetic forewarning about the mortal dangers of ideological zealotry . Next on the same Kirk- time, same Kirk- channel : Kirkman battles Lee Merriweather !
This was actually the first episode of Star Trek I ever saw, WAAAY back in 1974, when I was six years old. I'd never heard of Star Trek before, and discovered this episode just flipping through channels. I didn't know what show it was, but I loved it instantly, and I've loved ST ever since.
The 2nd alien is Frank Gorshin, he also played The Riddler on tv’s Batman. Theres a great show the 1967 Batman that used stars as villains. Berges Meredith as The Penguin, Cesar Romero as The Joker, Julie Newmar as Cat-woman etc. Comic book graphics as well. Loads of laughs 👍😂
Working title: “Down from Heaven, Up from Above.” According to a widespread fan misconception, this episode had the working title “Portrait in Black and White.” In actuality, “Portrait in Black and White” and “Kongo” were working titles for an unproduced story from Season 1 in which the Enterprise visited a planet where black people owned white people as slaves, and the ruling class refused to communicate with any of the regular characters except Uhura, considering the others subhuman. This story was Gene Roddenberry’s idea, and he had his heart set on doing it from the beginning of the series, but no writer was ever able to handle it in a way that did not come across as grotesquely racist. For example, Barry Trivers, the writer of “The Conscience of the King,” wrote a script based on this premise in which the white people on the planet spoke in stereotypical antebellum African-American dialect. Stan Robertson, the NBC executive who was TOS’ liaison with the network, was Black, and he rejected the story. “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” itself was not originally about the racial issue: the storyline by “Lee Cronin” featured an angel and a devil as the archenemies (hence the working title). It was Jud Taylor, the episode’s director, who suggested having the antagonists be half-white and half-black.
Nice seeing you guys so enthusiastic. If you appreciate the little technical details like the self-destruct I think you'll really appreciate the movies and TNG when you get to them. They were made by fans of the original series, and so there's a lot of love put into them and serious efforts to try to create both continuity and to really flesh out the universe, including all the little technical details. Not saying it's all 100% consistent, but you can tell they put in the effort. Looking forward to your continued journey. :)
That destruct code sequence is cool, but I always got the impression Kirk never changed the code from the default. "Destruct code 1: 1-1A" "Destruct code 2: 1A 2B" "Destruct code 3: 1B 2B 3 "Begin Destruct, code 000, destruct." I mean, it really is only a few steps up from having 12345 as a password. But otherwise that jokey nitpick, a very well known and beloved episode, that is a good showcase for what Star Trek is. Notice how there is no judgement from our characters on the behavior of these two aliens outside of how it affects their ship and mission. Sure, they talk about how humanity has moved beyond that and there's an attempt to encourage them to be better, but there's never condemnation from Kirk and co. And at the end, when these two still continue their fruitless chase, there is only resignation from our crew as they trek on their merry way. TV nowadays doesn't do that. It's more interested in tell you how they're right, you might be wrong, and need to change. It never tries to understand you, or approach you from your perspective to get you to see the other side. It never encourages betterment. It just tells you to do better whilst sneering with smug superiority. And that is it's failing. It THINKS it's above the petty junk it tells others to do better at, but it's blind to how petty and juvenile it itself is. Moralizing is never about making a speech about being better than others and why can't you be like us, it's about kneeling down, reaching out, understanding the thoughts behind the other side and offering to help.
I saw the episode in its first airing, as a child of about 10. I was a bit confused to see Frank Gorshin morph from The Joker on Batman - to Beale on Star Trek. Yet the story line didn't escape my young, tender eyes and thoughts. Powerful even now....
While I generally praise Vic Mignogna's _Star Trek Continues_ series, if I am to stay honest, then I must admit that one episode lifted its plot from "LTBYLB" and did a gender swap with the Lokai character. If that wasn't bad enough, it also sledgehammered its politics quite heavy-handedly at the audience. The whole bridge crew is incredibly out of character, as well. It stands as a good example of how _not_ to do a Star Trek episode.
We just watched Logan’s Run (1976) for the first time! Go check it out --> ua-cam.com/video/SrvEcnRWuP0/v-deo.html
In the last episode we had Yvonne Craig (Batgirl). In this episode we have Frank Gorshin (The Riddler).
And in a few weeks, we get Catwoman (Lee Meriwether)
There's a part of the Trek outtakes reel that shows him hamming it up as the Riddler on set because of the skin tight costume 😊
@@MsAlexisPiazza- And we already saw the first Catwoman, Julie Newmar, in the Season Two episode, "Friday's Child."
Two other Batman villains were also on Star Trek: Joan Collins (Siren) and Malachi Throne (Falseface).
I friggin' love the 60s Batman show, the greatest! Actual fights, no effects. No flying Batman, the guy is a human, not Superman. Every week a different supervillain, rather than every movie being Joker, Joker, Joker. Best Batmobile, best Batsuit. And it didn't take itself seriously, and it worked on two levels at once, a sort of magic trick.
in the 1970's, this episode made a huge impact on my young mind and was instrumental in guiding how I think about racism and bigotry today. So well spelled-out. I've always thought of it as the best of high-concept star trek, the kind of story that the show was built to tell.
Same here. I saw it on first airing when I was a little kid, and it set my opinion on racism: that it was _stupid._ Made no sense, accomplished nothing, ended up killing a planet. Yeah, no thanks. I'm forever grateful to Gene Coon for that.
Your reaction gave me a new appreciation for this episode. I’m 62 and have been watching TOS over and over my whole life, and this one to me was always just an ok episode. But now, listening to your analysis and appreciation shines a new light on it after all these years. We’ll done.
Sad and tragic that this episode is still relevant today rather than anachronistic.
Sad and tragic how many warning parables are still relevant.
The worst part is that so many educated people will miss the message of the parable.
One of my favorite episodes. It shows how stupid we are to allow arbitrary physical traits to cloud our judgement.
The scene with Spock listening to Loki discuss persecution has subtext since Spock has experienced prejudice as a half-human, half-Vulcan.
I'm glad that you guys liked this one so much. I saw this when it first aired and always thought it was one of Trek's most powerful episodes. This was a major statement on racism back then and still relevant today! I haven't seen it in awhile and I'd forgotten how well directed this one was. But I never forgot them running with the images of the burning buildings behind them. Trek at its most brilliant.
Running with the images stuck with me, always. Average Trek was great, Trek at its best was awesome.
Kid rating =1 Adult =9..WOW! Thanks Guys!..see I hated this episode as a kid. I didnt get the concepts yet, couldnt appreciate a great DP and in my memory it was that silly running down the hall and the burning building over and over.. so its been 30 years since I have seen this episode. I really enjoyed it but mortified how nail on the head the writing was, how brave they even went to air this episode back then and, unfortunately how nothing changes. My utopia Star Trek planet is not happening in my lifetime, or my daughters or maybe grandkids at this point. Its going to take Aliens and butt probes to get the world to unite and fight em off..
Imagine that..a guy with a Star Trek ROOM and 45 years of collecting, conventions, seen EVERY ST episode of every series-yet-schooled by these guys who have never seen Trek.
This is why you are here, plus the fun of watching you fall in love with the show. Keep it up!
Alex's glee at spotting the "Fakeov" at the helm early in the episode is so funny. 😄
This is a strong episode. Pretty obvious what the storyline really was. Always remember when this was made and what we were doing in the real world.
The heart of Star Trek is their way of getting the story told even at a time when you couldn't really talk about these things on network TV.
A sci-fi show set in the future talking about racism is the perfect way to get an episode thru the censors of that time. Pretty slick.
It resonates in more ways than that. The two are also caricatures of the liberal and conservative, and both are so authoritarian that they end up threatening the ship in the same way.
Context-This aired less than 5 years after the CRA of 1964.
This one has often been put down for being too “on the nose”, but I always considered it one of the iconic episodes. Thanks for pointing out the excellent blocking and camera work, something I hadn’t really noticed before. Now I’ll have to watch it again and pay more attention to that. 😊
PS: that destruct sequence is repeated verbatim in the 1984 film Star Trek III. A nice callback to the original series.
It's as absurd as actual racism, seems like some people just don't want to acknowledge it.
The complaint is that it is too "on the nose" has always seemed to me to be a blindness to the reality and absurdity of the racism that persists today.
Always liked this one. Frank Gorshin and Lou Antonio steam through their scenes and the regular cast step back a bit to let The Message of the episode push forward without it feeling thrusted at us.
Frank Gorshin, the one playing the Commissioner, was a comedian and impressionist. He appeared many times on the old Ed Sullivan show and had a long acting career.
He did a great Burt Lancaster.
And he was The Riddler on the Batman TV show; one of my favorite villains.
@@ebashford5334 And a great Kirk Douglas (and Cagney) too. He did a great comedy routine of a showdown between Lancaster and Douglas . I wish I could find it.
Such a great actor.
He did an astonishingly powerful turn in an episode of the acclaimed series The Defenders. "The Hundred Lives of Harry Simms"
This is one of my favorite original series episodes. I've always enjoyed the stark absurdity of the hatred between the two alien characters, and their cliche narrative grievances and attitudes they throw at each other.
Beal describes himself as "black on the right side" in contrast to Loki being described as "white on the right side", rather than black on the left side. In their final confrontation on the bridge, Beal calls Loki "half white", and Loki responds by calling Beal "half black". What? They're both half black, half white. Loki's racial bigotry even extends to the Enterprise crew; that "monotones" can't possibly understand the suffering and discrimination his people have suffered.
Frank Gorshen is a very good actor. He was also most well known for portraying the Riddler in the 1960's Batman tv show with Adam West.
Hah, I remember the Riddler from the West (rip) Batman! I think I had remembered or found out that's who it was then forgot about it until you mentioned it. Was always more partial to Cesar Romero's Joker, but that might just be retro bias from how popular Joker has become over the years.
One of my favorite episodes. Roddenberry was great for creating or developing storylines that spoke to problems and issues that were current then or relative throughout the story of mankind.
It’s interesting,I’ve watched every episode multiple times, and as a kid I enjoyed the stories and the witty interaction of the main characters and the sci-fi elements, but it wasn’t until later in my life when I was mature enough that I begin to realize that I had been given lessons like this about various social topics along the way. This is one of the great episodes that continues to be relevant and will continue to be as long as we as a people keep focusing on our differences instead of learning to embrace our commonality.
I'm glad that TNG series also had these morality plays from time to time.
Whew! Glad you guys really liked the episode! Just awesome. Unfortunately, I was anticipating you two taking turns dumping on it. You both are young but very detail oriented. These older shows were made for a different audience and don't always translate to newer generations. So glad you appreciate the series. I sincerely hope you give Star Trek: The Animated series a chance starring the voices of the TOS cast. Thank you so much. 😊👍
It helps that this one's message is so very, and unfortunately, timeless.
This is one of my favorite episodes as well gentlemen. Well done. I also liked your notice of the various production elements.
Great reaction guys.
Alex and Josh, this is a great episode in my opinion every time I see it I appreciate it all over again, and it's message is as powerful today as it was in the '60s. I'm 63 so I've seen this series a lot over the years and own it too, this still remains one of the best episodes ever.
I loved this episode too. The camerawork and editing were really great. The ship destruction countdown was so amazing...I think they took some inspiration from the final gunfight in "The Good The Bad and The Ugly" with those stylistic close ups on the faces.
This episode has been criticized for being too ham-fisted in its messaging.
However, the race conflicts going on at the time in this country were so absurd, they needed a sledgehammer to the face sometimes to get the message across.
I went to a Star Trek club Halloween costume party once in the 1970's, and decided that going as a member of the alien race in this episode would be cheap and easy. Well, it WAS relatively cheap. Getting that line down the middle of my face to be perfect was CRAZY hard!
Can you imagine if someone else went as the opposite sides?
@@RLucas3000 That would have been a perfect couple's costume.
@@luminiferous1960 As long as you stayed at each others throats all evening...just to stay in character! 😊
@@mirozen_ Not a difficult requirement for some couples. 😉
@@luminiferous1960 Lol! 👍
My favorite part of the episode was always the decontamination sequence. The Enterprise orbits to beautiful music as the planet’s cleansed back to lush and green, with blue oceans. It functions as the perfect counterpoint to the A-story, showing us all what future man can achieve after getting its sh** together - which is about as “Star Trek” as it gets.
Quick FYI, the Auto Destruct of the ship is very real. It absolutely would have blown up. They don’t play around. The Auto Destruct is serious business. That said, I didn’t always love this episode. I think it’s just fine and I often skip it but I’m enjoying you guys point of view and reaction. Keep up the good work guys!
Was Star Trek the first science fiction show or movie to introduce the idea of having a Self Destruct protocol for a space ship? It's become almost a cliche now a days for every space ship to have this, and to come up in a plotline. It seems almost counter intuitive and even crazy. We're going to build this incredibly expensive and technologically advanced space ship, fill it with a crew, and then add on the means for it to be blown up, just in case? Except for maybe keeping a ship from being captured or taken over by an enemy, something only likely to happen in science fiction, why would we do this?
I’m not sure if it’s the first show to do this but I assume it is. But it is realistic in the sense of Star Fleet is the military in this sci-fi universe. In actual real life it is a common practice for the military to destroy their own ships/planes/tanks etc. so they won’t fall into enemy hands for intelligence purposes. And I do know Gene Roddenberry did serve in the military. But I do understand where you’re coming from.
@@toysruskiddd After I left my comment I started thinking about it, and what you say is very true. After the end of WW1 most of the German high seas fleet were deliberately sunk by their own crews rather than letting the ships be seized by the British.
I didn’t know that but I’m not surprised.
Military ships have scuttling valves or charges for self-destruction, and rockets have them too in case their guidance malfunctions.
Last five seconds... That's like the last 30(?) seconds on the Nostromo in Alien. No Abort. But on Galaxy Quest... "It always stops at 1 on the show."
"Our mission is to decontaminate it" could be as simple as nuking the entire planet. YIKES
The Riddler!! Bele is played by Frank Gorshin.
An advanced alien race studying us might be confused about why we group ourselves the way we do. The genetic difference is greater between people of different heights than between people of different "races."
Limited budgets makes people get more creative. Just like some directors/writers need the MPAA limit of PG-13 otherwise they just go overboard.
Having Scotty rather than Bones be the third makes sense. I don't know what rank Bones was in the episode but line officers are higher than medical officers at the same rank.
In an episode of the TV show "Third Rock From the Sun", humans are trying to explain the concept of racism to the lead alien, who is completely bewildered by the idea. He's unaware of the difference between the black secretary and a white professor, even when they point it out to him. Totally exasperated, he says he could understand judging or defining people based on intelligence, education, or income, "but skin pigmentation? Give me a break!"
When the episode originally aired it had a bigger impact than you realize.
The previous year there were race riots, MLK and RFK assassinations, riots at the Democratic Convention in Chicago, the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam, just to name a few things that preceded it.
At the time it was a lot like the evening news with a moral.
11:25 The reveal here is supposed to be a surprise twist. You caught on to it right away, but the viewers in 1969 were meant to be drawn in thinking they’re the same and then have an “Aha”moment showing how stupid racism is. Brilliant!
It’s a disturbing episode for sure the parallels to our history on our world it’s a eye opening journey, a real lesson to learn from
This is a story that COULD HAVE been boring. It could have been "in your face" and one-sided. Instead, like you noted, you have something that is competently acted, directed, and written. You have an episode about racist hate, but to the crew of the Enterprise who are not partakers in their hate, they see both sides as ultimately ignorant and self-destructive. And in the end, we see the result: it is self-destructive. We also see how both sides attempt to rope people into their hate... "You have to see these people as evil. You have to take my side!" And that's what happens in all these situations, be it race hatred or a nasty divorce.
Now you have tell not show in 2023
Classic Roddenberry. Take an issue of the day and pass it through the filter of science fiction so you can actually talk about it.
As a child, after seeing him trade punches with Batman and Kirk, I was astonished to learn that Frank Gorshin was not an actual "official" movie star. His manic, enthusiastic performance as the Riddler is a personal favourite.
And well it should be.
And he looked so dapper in the green question mark suit too.
Also, your reaction to this episode helps others to see how good it actually is, I think.
I need to rewatch this one... my last memory of it is that the camerawork was a bit pretentious and odd, but thanks to you guys I'm willing to take a look at it and re-evaluate. That's why I enjoy your reactions so much.
A lot of the shots like the close up of the eyes and the shot composition during the destruct sequence was supposedly inspired by Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns
Dave I agree the camera choice are odd
This episode is a perfect example of why classic trek is miles ahead of the nu/CBS/Kurtzman trek. Lessons through smart metaphor rather than try to beat you over the head or force feed the viewer blatant woke stories/characters.
Star Trek TOS was going on while MLK alive and fighting for equal rights. This episode might reflect some of what was going on at that time.
Having that shot from Spock's point of view is poignant, because he is a half breed himself and kind of discriminated against both on Vulcan and on Earth.
This one's a favorite of mine, too. Frank Gorshin steals every scene he's in with a different sort of intensity than he brought to the Riddler - barely-contained rage instead of manic ego.
I do feel the episode is a BIT dated because its message seems to be "both sides bad," which is really not in keeping with how actual racism occurs when one side IS being oppressed and disproportionately killed... but hey, it's allegory, not EXACTLY the same. And the impression we're given is that Lokai is an extremist in his efforts to recruit followers to a cause that has nothing to do with them but he carries on to get more people killed.
Just a damn good episode and one of the highlights of season 3.
Some folks complain that today’s Trek is too political and shoving equality down their throats. They completely miss that Star Trek has always been on the forefront of these ideas. Let That Be Your Last Battlefield couldn’t be more literally in your face about the ridiculousness of racism.
And "A Private Little War" includes the phrase "the 20th-century brush wars on the Asian continent."
I think the difference is that modern shows insist on using modern groups and painting one side as entirely wrong whereas older ones show both sides equally. For instance here we got an alien race with white and black on opposite sides with humans watching them pursue the hatred that destroyed their race. A modern show would have a white person being racist to black people even when it makes no sense. Like the Doctor who episode where a white racist came back from the future to stop Rosa Parks riding the bus in the belief that would somehow stop the entire civil rights movement. Its not "You half black bastard." "Die you half white wretch!", instead its "Die you white wretch" only.
Or the rings of power where they insert black elves and Dwarves even though the fantasy setting they're using didn't have black elves and dwarves but did have an entire culture of black humans to the south they could have explored if they wanted. Again forcing modern groups in a setting where it doesn't apply. When the show is done well and makes sense Owl House, Nimoa, House of the Dragon (I believe), Voyage of the Demeter. People have no problem with it because they are progressive rather than political. Shogun with the articles about "Where are the black people" in a show about a homogenous culture that also had no white Samurai or Chinese Samurai because the show is about Japan in a period when it had little contact with the outside world.
This is what I think people mean about them being too political. Its not that older shows had no politics but that the lessons were done usually with subtlety or in a way that showed the issue without attacking a particular group.
I've always referred to this episode as the "Black and White cookie people" episode. I've always enjoyed this episode. As a lifelong fan of Trek I have been enjoying watching you two see the series for the first time. I can't remember when I first saw these episodes since I was watching Trek since I was about 3 or 4 so it's interesting to me to see your perspectives on these episodes.
"Look to the cookie."
I know this episode is pretty unsubtle (and I think is generally less enjoyable with repeat viewings), but my favourite part of this episode is how *bewildered* Kirk and crew are by the racial hatred. It paints the picture of a very, very optimistic future for humanity, which of course is a foundational concept of what Star Trek is all about.
Another Batman actor, Frank Gorshin was the Riddler.
The ship does have an auto-destruct function...but no corbomite device.
One of the first episodes I ever saw and it has stayed with me all this time. SAD testament to the state of affairs today.
I think Gorshin's odd running style at the end was meant to express his mental/emotional state (completely eroded), but it does look weird.
They had just been fighting on the bridge, throwing vast amounts of energy at each other. They were physically exhausted from fighting and emotionally devastated from learning of their planet's fate. Slogging along like that was the best they could do.
This episode was a work of genius. Why didn't Frank Gorshin win an Emmy? Star Trek was a drama with a sci-fi background.
This episode aired on January 10, 1969, so the context of it was the 1968 assassinations of Dr. King and Robert Kennedy, the riots and burning of many central cities, and the violence at both political party presidential nominating conventions in late Summer. So, it was making a point that was particularly poignant at the time.
Further proof that Star Trek's third season is vastly underrated. This is indeed among the most powerful and poignant epsiodes of the original series. And it baffles me how some young clueless types out there have villified this episode for its "racism," for being "problematic," and completely missing its entire point - because they either haven't actually watched it, or they are incapable of any amout of critical thinking.
Continuity Post Script - Keep an eye out for that self-destruct code. It will be seen again.
Before watching your review, I thought this one wasn't very good. But you guys have given me a new appreciation of the ep and now I like it. You're right about the directing, acting, and pacing.
"It always stops at 1 on the show!" 😅
Definitely one of the best. There is a Scotty centric episode coming as well The Cloud Minders, That Which Survives and an episode with a sentient lava planet.
When you guys get up to the movies, make sure that you watch the Director's Edition of the first movie. They didn't really have time to properly edit the first film before it went into theatres and so Robert Wise went back and re-edited it. I say that because you seem to like seeing the original SFX versions of things, which is great, but in the case of The Motion Picture it is a much better viewing experience to see the Director's Edition.
In fact, the consensus of Star Trek fandom is that the most recent version of the TMP Director's Edition, released in 2022 (and available in 4K), is the one to watch. TMP is the only Star Trek movie available in more than two versions (Star Trek II and VI also have director's cuts), but, unlike the controversial changes to the original Star Wars trilogy, fans seem to agree that TMP has progressively improved through its revisions over the years due to the time crunch prior to its original release.
Not a favorite. As a matter of fact you have given me a new appreciation for this episode. It's one I have been skipping over when I watch TOS
FYI, if you tell your ALEXA “code zero zero zero, destruct zero” she will do the auto destruct (at least the sound effect lol)
This has always been one of my favorites as well. Season 3 added so much to the Trek Universe and ensured its longevity...
This episode confused the hell out of Justin Trudeau. I mean why not just go with full black face?
I didn't expect this reaction. Interesting. Like a lot of commentators I've seen these episodes 100+ times. This one drags a lot on repeated viewings, and the camera work on the self-destruct sequence calls too much attention to itself. Glad you enjoyed it. As others have said, your reaction gives me a renewed appreciation for this episode.
If you like men in face paint and tights jogging around the Enterprise halls, this episode is for you.
Spock's listening thru the doors stuck open has long been noted as 3rd season sloppiness. I see now opinions differ.
Wow! Really glad you liked it! I was worried you'd find it too campy.
Thanks for giving me a new appreciation for this one. You always have insights that are great.
See, Alex, you didn't jinx it!
The Star Trek novel “No Time Like the Past” did a bit of a follow up to this episode that made this ep feel more tragic
There's one more telling difference between them, but it's not that easy to notice. Bele, the "superior" one, has blue eyes, while Lokai, the "inferior" one, has _brown_ eyes. Just a cherry on the cake to make it really clear who are the bad guys here.
It is a bit ham-handed, but it still gets the point across. This is the kind of story Gene R. wanted to tell, only he had to couch it in a sci-fi setting in order to be able to show it on 60s network television.
Love this episode it truly shows exactly how stupid racism is and the point is that we aren't different we are all humans our outer differences are not what defines us as a species we are the human race, our outer appearance differences and cultural differences should be celebrated, embraced, honored and used to define all of us and we can see different cultures share several significant similar things rooted in every culture
THIS, is THEE episode i tell people watch to explain my love of star trek. This is a self-contained sermon, for then and for us forever. All they had left was their hate and it was that hate that completely destroyed them. As a 90s kid i had thought that our world had learned this lesson, but as an adult now i see its not true. Its especially discouraging and disheartening as a Black girl, to experience the same fears and frustrations as my grandparents and other ancestors, but the dream of star trek, old and especially NEW trek like discovery, does help me keep hope alive. I will always preach the the beauty of star trek is in the hope it gives to us in a broken world for a better tomorrow where we can travel the stars together and meet beautiful others unlike us in everyway - while an imperfect utopia, its proof Star Trek has ALWAYS been “woke” and the perfect example of if you can dream it, you can be it. I just hope I live long enough to be part of it 💕 LLAP y'all💕
Too bad The Woke are The Commisioner and missed the point entirely. So sad....
@@sabalomglitz6478 I’m not sure what you’re implying, but please don’t use my comment as a way to support any “anti-woke” agenda. “Woke” does not equal hate, “woke” means AWARE; aware of the truth about the systems and society we are part. This world can be so much better when we are all awake and to me Star Trek in all it’s versions old and especially epitomizes a future where we have collectively awakened and taken action towards community care, planetary conservation, education and liberation. Fighting what many consider “woke” only prolongs our collective suffering and keeps the world of Star Trek a fantasy rather than a reality. I want to be part of that future, as I am sure you do as well. 🖖🏿 💕
Thank you for this reaction! When I was a kid and first saw this episode, and Bele says something like "can't you see the difference" I thought "what difference, you two guys are almost exactly the same!"
I was never terribly fond of this one. I'm afraid the allegory was always a little to heavy handed for me.
the original shuttle craft bay model scenes are so much better than the CGI
I noticed a lot of the reactions to this episode are "as a kid versus as an adult" comments. Star Trek works on multiple levels which is why the best episodes stand the test of time. Thinking of Aesop's Fables.
When I was younger, I didn't like this episode so well, because I thought it was preachy. But the older I get, the more I notice about it. Yes, the direction is phenomenal, and the fact that Lokai is *both* a ruthless criminal *and* has absolute justification for his position are well handled. They avoided, I think, the trap of implying "Well, there are bad people on both sides, tsk tsk," while still insisting that, sooner or later, this has to stop. And the ending, where they *refuse* to learn the lesson and spend the remainder of their (presumably short) lives doing nothing but fighting and torturing each other, was magnificent.
Well said
My favourite of this season sadly the ones to follow this last season was not great oh well at least we got the 70s animation episodes to come
I agree with your comments about this episode.
Seeing this on TV in the 60's when I was in High School made a powerful impression! It was talked about in our Classes the next day! Speaking of Impressions Frank Gorshin ( Beal ) was one of the best. His impressions were spot on. They must be on UA-cam somewhere.
While I like the message of the episode I think alot of the scene selections aren't great. The close ups on the mouths seem strange. The zooming in and out on the red alert light is really reminiscent of 1960s Batman. The automatic door to the rec room being partly open. How? The doors close by themselves.
Yeah.. I felt like a lot of it was thrown in to make the 50 min time.
000 - worst password ever!
Thanks guys! I'm glad you liked this one. The hate between two guys that are alike was a really good plot device.
Its sad tho. In our world we often see so much hate between two groups. Even to the point of war. That they would exterminate the other side because of their differences. But when you are a third party looking on, both groups seem the same with only minor differences.
Season three gets a bad reputation due to the weaker episodes. Seems folks forget there are a good number of great ones like this.
Did you like how they threw in commentary about the Cold War at the end? The Cuban Missile Crisis happened just a handful of years before.
Probably already mentioned, but a famous blooper shows Frank Gorshin on the transporter pad, having just beamed up, suddenly breaking into his Jimmy Cagney impression.
There's a connection between this episode and one of the films. I don't want to say more in order not to spoil anything, but I think you guy's will appreciate it when you get around to watching the movies.
Frank Gorshin makes a few trademark Riddler body moves, and his voice rises and falls just like the Riddler, in this episode. A well-done, memorable episode, shot on a shoe-string budget. Minor spoiler (Don't read if you haven't seen the ST movies): For fan service, they recreated the exact same Enterprise destruct sequence in the third Star Trek movie.
Yes with the same destruct codes!
Don't ruin it for them! 🤐
Of course you already have been told that Frank Gorshin played the Riddler on the Batman tv series, so I find it interesting you mentioned Two Face, Harvey Dent in the beginning 😆
IMO there's only 1 more episode this season that is of this caliber; the penultimate episode "All Our Yesterdays" (which I like to think of as the REAL final episode and "Turnabout Intruder" as some kind of ''add-on bonus'' or something, since it originally aired a solid 3 months after the previous episode.)
That said, I still absolutely LOVE 'The Way to Eden', despite it's faults... and 'Mark of Gideon' is aiight.
This episode is even better
as a prophetic forewarning
about the mortal dangers of
ideological zealotry .
Next on the same Kirk- time, same Kirk- channel : Kirkman battles Lee Merriweather !
After seeing this reaction, I probably have to rewatch this episode.
This was actually the first episode of Star Trek I ever saw, WAAAY back in 1974, when I was six years old. I'd never heard of Star Trek before, and discovered this episode just flipping through channels. I didn't know what show it was, but I loved it instantly, and I've loved ST ever since.
This episode still resonates with me.
It's VERY on the nose, but I still quite enjoy it, and think it works.
The 2nd alien is Frank Gorshin, he also played The Riddler on tv’s Batman. Theres a great show the 1967 Batman that used stars as villains. Berges Meredith as The Penguin, Cesar Romero as The Joker, Julie Newmar as Cat-woman etc. Comic book graphics as well. Loads of laughs 👍😂
Working title: “Down from Heaven, Up from Above.” According to a widespread fan misconception, this episode had the working title “Portrait in Black and White.” In actuality, “Portrait in Black and White” and “Kongo” were working titles for an unproduced story from Season 1 in which the Enterprise visited a planet where black people owned white people as slaves, and the ruling class refused to communicate with any of the regular characters except Uhura, considering the others subhuman. This story was Gene Roddenberry’s idea, and he had his heart set on doing it from the beginning of the series, but no writer was ever able to handle it in a way that did not come across as grotesquely racist. For example, Barry Trivers, the writer of “The Conscience of the King,” wrote a script based on this premise in which the white people on the planet spoke in stereotypical antebellum African-American dialect. Stan Robertson, the NBC executive who was TOS’ liaison with the network, was Black, and he rejected the story.
“Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” itself was not originally about the racial issue: the storyline by “Lee Cronin” featured an angel and a devil as the archenemies (hence the working title). It was Jud Taylor, the episode’s director, who suggested having the antagonists be half-white and half-black.
Nice seeing you guys so enthusiastic. If you appreciate the little technical details like the self-destruct I think you'll really appreciate the movies and TNG when you get to them. They were made by fans of the original series, and so there's a lot of love put into them and serious efforts to try to create both continuity and to really flesh out the universe, including all the little technical details. Not saying it's all 100% consistent, but you can tell they put in the effort. Looking forward to your continued journey. :)
Yeah until JJ and Kurtzman eras, Trek was pretty highly consistent canon-wise for a 50 year old franchise. It’s kind of unbelievable.
Remember that Mr Scott is third in command of the Enterprise even though his primary Duties are chief engineer
No spoilers but there is very nice call back to this episode in the movies
That destruct code sequence is cool, but I always got the impression Kirk never changed the code from the default.
"Destruct code 1: 1-1A"
"Destruct code 2: 1A 2B"
"Destruct code 3: 1B 2B 3
"Begin Destruct, code 000, destruct."
I mean, it really is only a few steps up from having 12345 as a password.
But otherwise that jokey nitpick, a very well known and beloved episode, that is a good showcase for what Star Trek is. Notice how there is no judgement from our characters on the behavior of these two aliens outside of how it affects their ship and mission. Sure, they talk about how humanity has moved beyond that and there's an attempt to encourage them to be better, but there's never condemnation from Kirk and co. And at the end, when these two still continue their fruitless chase, there is only resignation from our crew as they trek on their merry way. TV nowadays doesn't do that. It's more interested in tell you how they're right, you might be wrong, and need to change. It never tries to understand you, or approach you from your perspective to get you to see the other side. It never encourages betterment. It just tells you to do better whilst sneering with smug superiority. And that is it's failing. It THINKS it's above the petty junk it tells others to do better at, but it's blind to how petty and juvenile it itself is. Moralizing is never about making a speech about being better than others and why can't you be like us, it's about kneeling down, reaching out, understanding the thoughts behind the other side and offering to help.
I saw the episode in its first airing, as a child of about 10. I was a bit confused to see Frank Gorshin morph from The Joker on Batman - to Beale on Star Trek. Yet the story line didn't escape my young, tender eyes and thoughts. Powerful even now....
While I generally praise Vic Mignogna's _Star Trek Continues_ series, if I am to stay honest, then I must admit that one episode lifted its plot from "LTBYLB" and did a gender swap with the Lokai character. If that wasn't bad enough, it also sledgehammered its politics quite heavy-handedly at the audience. The whole bridge crew is incredibly out of character, as well. It stands as a good example of how _not_ to do a Star Trek episode.
It would be handy to have a fake-out destruct sequence just for show, where the computer SOUNDS like it's going to blow up the ship but won't
Self destruct…not a fake out….
It said NCC-1701/7 Galileo , meaning that the Galileo is a support craft assigned to the NCC-1701 Enterprise
NCC- 1701 = Naval Construction Contract 1701. The order to build Enterprise