#9 (1-14): Balance of Terror

A Romulan captain (Mark Lenard) is caught in
a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the Enterprise.

Original Air Date: Dec. 15, 1966. Written by: Paul Schneider. Directed by: Vincent McEveety.


THE PLOT

Several Earth Outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone are attacked and destroyed, with the Enterprise the only ship in the area ("drink"). Tracking the attacking ship, Kirk begins a careful strategic game of cat-and-mouse with the Romulan vessel.

As Spock notes, he cannot afford to allow the Romulan ship to get back across the Neutral Zone. Such would be seen as a sign of weakness and might potentially invite a larger scale attack. Thus, Kirk and the Romulan captain (Mark Lenard) plan moves and countermoves. If Kirk wins the engagement, the peace will be maintained; if the Romulans win, then a second Earth-Romulan War might well be the result!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Kirk: This is probably the most intellectual outing for Kirk yet, and I think it's also William Shatner's sharpest performance to date. Kirk isn't making instinctive last-minute gambles, as in Charlie X and Corbomite Manuever. Here, he is planning and strategizing like a master chess player. He puts the Enterprise on a parallel course with the Romulans, counting on the Romulans reading the Enterprise as an echo. A combination of luck and tactics reveals the weakness in the Romulan weaponry, which Kirk exploits. He has no patience for useless emotionalism or bigotry among his crew members, and he clamps down hard on crew member Stiles (guest star Paul Corni) when both emerge.

Spock: Reacts to Stiles' bigotry largely by ignoring it, even going so far as to agree with Stiles (while ignoring Stiles' implied insult against him) that attacking the Romulan vessel is the only logical course. Recognizes that if the Romulans are related to the Vulcans, then any display of weakness would be fatal.

Villain of the Week: Mark Lenard brings typical dignity and intelligence to the role of the Romulan captain. He's not exactly the "villain," being portrayed in sympathetic terms. He is not happy about his mission, seeing it as politically motivated. He respects Kirk's tactical intelligence, and he sadly observes that in another time and place, the two captains might have been friends. He is nevertheless devoted to his duty. Even though he doesn't agree with his mission, he will do everything in his power to complete it. With he and Kirk frequently anticipating each other's moves, the battle is a near-run race.


THOUGHTS

Famously an adaptation of the classic World War II submarine movie, The Enemy Below, this is also a key episode for Star Trek's mythology. It introduces the Romulans, the Earth/Romulan War, the Neutral Zone, and the Romulans' relationship with the Vulcans. In the scenes on the Romulan ship, we get a clear impression of Romulan society - a peculiar hybrid of the Roman Empire and Stalinist Russia that is ruled over by a Praetor, in which ambitious Senators launch missions for purely political gain, and in which spies (read: Soviet political officers) are assigned to war ships to keep an eye on potentially troublesome military officers. It is a testament to writer Paul Schneider's script that, despite relatively little screen time, and despite this being only one of two TOS episodes in which they properly appear, the Romulans are so vividly created that they ended up becoming a major part of Trek lore.

Beyond its importance to the franchise, Balance of Terror is a flat-out excellent episode. It is action-heavy, with a more militaristic portrayal of life on the Enterprise than has been seen since... well, probably since The Corbomite Maneuver. It is a shame that this properly military portrayal of the Enterprise was not to last, since I think it's well-suited to Shatner's acting strengths.

The script is tightly structured, and the moves of both Kirk and the Romulans are made clear at every stage. This isn't a Nelson-style "get in close and hammer the enemy" engagement. This is a carefully thought-out games of wits with lives as the currency. It has also hardly aged a day, despite a few ropey effects (notably a video effect mapping the Neutral Zone, which looks hilariously tacky).

The best episode of the series yet... though when it opened with a wedding, was there any real doubt as to what would happen to that young couple by the end?


Rating: 10/10

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