When the Enterprise encounters a rogue planet, Kirk and Sulu and abruptly snatched away to the planet's surface by an apparently omnipotent being known as Trelane (William Campbell). Trelane is obsessed with war, and has studied Earth from his rogue planet - though the distance from Earth has left him looking at Earth history from a remove of hundreds of years, leading him to believe that Earth society is still as it was in the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Kirk first attempts to reason with Trelane. When that fails, he determines to escape.
He notes several errors in Trelane's recreations of Earth settings, and determine that their "host" is not only fallible, but using a machine to aid him. After destroying Trelane's equipment, he and his crew return to Enterprise to make good their escape. But it turns out that Trelane is more powerful than they had anticipated... and now Kirk has made the self-styled "Squire of Gothos" very, very angry!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Kirk: It's clear from the outset that Kirk is less powerful than Trelane. But Kirk trusts his wits, his instincts, and his officers, and exploits every advantage he is given. He tries genuinely reasoning with Trelane. When that doesn't work, he plays along with Trelane, using his own observations to decide on a course of action. Even when apparently cornered, with Trelane sentencing him to death, Kirk exploits every advantage he can. Yes, a deux ex machina is employed at the end - but not until Kirk has figured out Trelane's true nature on his own, and in fact beaten him.
Spock: Though decidedly in a supporting role this episode, Spock does reason out several key elements, notably why Trelane's food and wine are so poor. Trelane has based his recreations purely on observation. "He knows all of the Earth forms, but none of their substance." These observations are key to Kirk figuring out his plan of action.
Villain of the Week: William Campbell has a field day as Trelane, the outwardly amiable and high spirited superbeing. Trelane is outgoing, gregarious, and has a simplistic view of war as something exciting and glorious. He essentially desires to "play war," and sees Kirk and his crew as ideal toys to use in his game. This provides plentiful clues as to Trelane's true nature, as does Campbell's almost childlike performance, swinging wildly from gleeful to petulant to wrathful. It's a fine, energetic bit of acting, and both role and performance are the clear inspiration for the character of Q in the Next Generation series, 20 years later.
THOUGHTS
Another episode dealing with the creation of false, yet substantial images, there are some definite similarities between this and Shore Leave, making it odd that they came so close together in production. Once again, Kirk and his crew encounter superior technology and members of a superior race. Once again, things from Earth history are created for their benefit, and once again these very settings are used to create jeopardy for them. This is like Shore Leave with a more traditional Trek story structure (and villain).
It isn't nearly as good an episode, but it is quite enjoyable. There's a vague sense, watching it, that there's not quite enough story here to fill 50 minutes. Kirk's "escape" and then return to the planet seems to be nothing but padding, for example. Despite the clear superiority of Trelane's powers, there's not much tension. Trelane's capricious nature should make him potentially terrifying... but the script never really pulls out the stops. If Trelane were to kill a couple of crew members the way a child might use a magnifying glass to fry insects, then that might create some tension. All he really does is manufacture a few basic illusions and rant a bit. It's a good performance by Campbell... but it's not a threatening one.
I don't mean to be overly critical. The episode is fun, and fairly well-directed. It may be a bit padded, but it's never dull. Kirk's final confrontation with Trelane is satisfying, as Kirk slaps and scolds the superbeing, and the revelation at the end is well-prepared.
Rating: 7/10.
Previous Episode: Shore Leave
Next Episode: Arena
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