THE PLOT
After taking damage in an ion storm, the Enterprise stops at Starbase 11 for repairs. Once there, however, Kirk finds himself accused of criminal negligence in the death of a crew member during the storm. Crewman Finney was in the ion pod during the storm, and failed to get out of the pod before it had to be ejected. Kirk insists he followed all the proper protocols, and that he gave Finney plenty of time to escape. But when the records are checked, they show that Kirk ejected the pod while the ship was still at yellow alert.
Put on trial by a skilled prosecutor, Kirk must rely on the battered, computer-phobic attorney Samuel T. Cogley (guest star Elisha Cook) to defend him. But as the evidence against Kirk mounts, even he begins to wonder if he may have made a mistake that cost a crewman his life!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Kirk: Fiercely defensive of both his command and his reputation. When his actions are questioned by a commodore, he avoids a "get-out" job offer that would evade prosecution and actively insists on a court martial. Briefly doubts himself as the evidence mounts against him, and is shaken by the accusations of the dead man's daughter. But in the end, he stands by his judgment.
Spock: It falls to Spock to save the day. As Kirk's case goes very badly, Spock follows his own avenue of investigation, checking the only truly damning witness against Kirk: the ship's computer. What Spock uncovers ends up being the key to resolving the situation.
Hot Space Babe of the Week: Joan Marshall is Areel Shaw, Kirk's old flame, who is assigned to prosecute him. Which is extremely, staggeringly unlikely, but we'll just roll with that plot contrivance, why don't we? Shaw still clearly has feelings for Kirk, but is committed to putting on the strongest case against him that she can. Marshall gives a quite reasonable performance, though this is hardly one of the more memorable guest roles of the series.
Washed-Up Space Lawyer of the Week: Elisha Cook Jr. is Samuel Cogley. In a classic case of "tell, don't show," we are repeatedly told how brilliant a lawyer he is. What we see on screen is an old man who's losing, who lets key witnesses testify with no cross-examination, and who rests his case without offering a defense - only to badger the judges into waiving the rules to allow him to present a defense at the end. Thank God for Spock, because Cogley's effectiveness as a defense attorney, as portrayed here, would turn the most liberal justice of the peace into Judge Roy Bean.
THOUGHTS
A particularly bizarre episode, this. The concept is basically "Perry Mason in Space." And as long as it sticks to that formulaic but solid structure, it works. The first 35 - 40 minutes of this episode are quite strong. The background involving Kirk and Finney is laid out effectively, the evidence against Kirk is damning enough to make us wonder how he's going to get out of these charges, the performance by Elisha Cook as Kirk's curmudgeonly lawyer has the right mix of eccentricity and urgency to carry the courtroom scenes, and the solution found by Spock ties in well. As long as the episode remains a courtroom drama, it works.
Unfortunately, the writers don't remain within that structure. In the final ten minutes, the episode takes a sudden left turn. It becomes an action piece, with the Enterprise in danger due to an intruder. The instant that happens, the drama falls to bits.
With the episode obviously overruning, crucial scenes are cut and replaced by voice-over narration. Mot even "Captain's Logs," but outright narration that is obviously covering missing scenes. Kirk gets to have a fistfight with a villain who is, conveniently, insane, and then he gets to defuse a bomb to firmly reestablish his "hero" credentials. Meanwhile, other bits set up by existing footage (Cogley's departure from the scene, Finney's daughter's change of heart) go with no payoff, due to scenes being cut that really should have stayed in. This leaves the episode with a vaguely unfinished feel.
The real problem, and likely the source of the overruns, is the episode's switching gears from one story structure to an entirely separate story structure 3/4 of the way through. The transition from "courtdroom drama" to "space action" doesn't work, and that is when things get jagged. If the script had been rewritten so that the final revelations and confrontations came more or less within the courtroom setting, then this would have remained a good, if expendable, story. As it stands, the near transition-free genre change is also accompanied by a sharp drop in quality.
Finally, the remastered effects are the most comprehensive yet. An episode that was always essentially a "bottle show" suddenly is laden with effects, including a view of the damage to the Enterprise, multiple ships coming and going from the Starbase, and other visual flourishes. Some purists may object, but I found it brought the universe a bit more to life.
Rating: 6/10. I struggled between a "5" and a "6," but I did enjoy it. It only really runs into trouble in that last 10 minutes.
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