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| Lawyer Samuel T. Cogley (Elisha Cook) defends Kirk! |
Original Air Date: Feb. 2, 1967. Teleplay by: Don M. Mankiewicz, Steven W. Carabatsos. Story by: Don M. Mankiewicz. Directed by: Marc Daniels.
It's Perry Mason... in space!!!
THE PLOT
After taking damage in an ion storm, the Enterprise stops at Starbase 11 for repairs... only for Kirk to find himself accused of criminal negligence in the death of a crew member during the storm.
Records Officer Benjamin Finney had been in the ion pod during the storm, and he failed to get out of the pod before it had to be ejected. Kirk insists that he followed all the proper protocols, and that he gave Finney plenty of time to escape. But when the computer is checked, it shows 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: He is fiercely defensive of both his command and his reputation. When his actions are questioned by a commodore, he avoids a "get-out" offer that would evade prosecution, actively insisting on a court martial to clear his name. He's shaken by the accusations of Finney's young daughter; and as the evidence mounts, he has a brief moment of self-doubt. In the end, though, 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. McCoy flares up when he sees Spock apparently wasting time playing chess against the computer - but the results of those chess games end up being the key to saving the captain.
Hot Space Babe of the Week: Joan Marshall is Areel Shaw, Kirk's old flame, who is assigned to prosecute him. This is staggeringly unlikely even by TV drama standards, but we'll just roll with that plot contrivance. She clearly still has feelings for Kirk, which doesn't stop her from putting on the strongest case that she can. Marshall gives a 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 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 afterward. 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
Court Martial is a bizarre episode. The concept is basically "Perry Mason in Space," and as long as it sticks to that structure, it works. By the same token, once it abandons that structure, it more or less falls apart.
The first 35 - 40 minutes of this episode are generally pretty good. The background involving Kirk and Finney is laid out efficiently; the evidence against Kirk is damning enough to make us wonder how he's going to get out of this; Elisha Cook, as the curmudgeonly lawyer, brings the right mix of eccentricity and urgency to the courtroom scenes; and the solution found by Spock ties in with the overall story. I could wish for even one moment to show Cogley's supposed brilliance, but it generally works as a courtroom drama.
Unfortunately, the writers don't stick with the courtroom the whole way through. In the final ten minutes, this previously talky, stagey piece suddenly becomes an action story. The Enterprise is put in danger due to an intruder, a situation quickly resolved by Kirk getting into one of his acrobatic fistfights with an insane baddie.
I'm guessing the episode was overruning, because crucial scenes go unseen, replaced by voice-over narration. Not even "Captain's Logs," but outright narration. Meanwhile, other bits set up by existing footage end up having no payoff. Memory Alpha reports that at least one scene, involving Finney's daughter, ended up being cut for time. 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. 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 solid, if second-tier, episode. As it stands, the near transition-free genre change is also accompanied by a sharp drop in quality.
In keeping with this being a bizarre episode, this courtroom "bottle show" ends up being the most comprehensive yet with regard to remastered effects. There is a new view of the damage to the Enterprise, shots of multiple ships coming and going from Starbase 11, and assorted other visual garnishes. Some purists may object, but I found it helped to bring this a little more to life.
On initial review, I had awarded this a "6" because the courtroom drama does mostly work. I'm reconsidering, though. The first forty minutes is entertaining, but it was never on track to earn more than a "6" - and then it falls apart in the final Act. I enjoy the episode, but it's flaws are glaringly obvious, leaving me downgrading my score to...
Rating: 5/10.
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