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| Kirk is interrogated by a 20th century military officer. |
Original Air Date: Jan. 26, 1967. Written by: D. C. Fontana. Directed by: Michael O'Herlihy.
THE PLOT
A near miss with a black hole sends the Enterprise back in time to the 20th century, where they are sighted by the U. S. Air Force as a UFO. When Air Force pilot John Christopher (Roger Perry) prepares to engage the starship, Kirk orders a tractor beam to disable the plane - then has to beam Christopher aboard when the beam destroys the man's plane.
The Enterprise crew now itself with two dilemmas, one practical and one moral. They must erase the record of Christopher's sighting of the ship to keep history on track. Then there's the question of Christopher himself, who cannot be let go with the knowledge of what he's seen.
Not to mention the not inconsiderable question of finding a way to return home...
CHARACTERS
Capt. Kirk: He identifies with Christopher and feels sympathy for the man's situation, but he also accepts Spock's conclusion that he cannot be allowed to leave. His first priority is keeping history on-course, which he places above all other concerns, including his ship's safety - showing that Kirk is significantly more responsible as an officer than he's often credited for.
Spock: His initial research into Christopher leads him to conclude that the man made no important contributions, and that the course of least interference would be to simply "pluck him out of time" rather than return him with knowledge of the future. He anticipates that their prisoner will attempt to escape, and thus is able to thwart him. He also is able to calculate what would later become the series' (too) commonly utilized "slingshot effect" for time travel, which here is presented as a perilous operation to try to get back home.
Guest Star of the Week: Roger Perry's Captain Christopher is essentially Kirk from the 1960s (am I cruel to be amused that Kirk's 1960s counterpart makes no significant historical contribution?). He behaves much as Kirk would in his situation, showing interest in the future and being perfectly cordial with his captors. However, he considers it his duty to report everything he has seen to his superiors, and as a result takes every opportunity to try to escape.
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| The "slingshot maneuver" gets a CGI update for the remaster. |
THOUGHTS
An interesting facet of first-season Trek is that we consistently see the characters prioritizing duty over personal interests, something that's the exact opposite of most modern series. Kirk's duty to keep history on track is placed above the welfare of his ship and crew. Christopher's duty to report to his superiors is prioritized above his own welfare and even his career, with him acknowledging that his report will certainly make him look like a lunatic.
The entire Kirk/Christopher conflict boils down to two good men whose duties happen to conflict with each other. Each man fully understands the other's position and even sympathizes, but neither is willign to bend. This creates an interesting central dynamic, in that Christopher is essentially the villain of the story - he's the man Kirk and crew constantly have to thwart - and yet he is himself extremely likable.
This is the first episode to really use time travel as a central plot element instead of a throwaway. It's refreshing to see the Enterprise crew actually being taken aback by their trip to the past, given how routine such trips would later become.
The episode utilizes a lot of comedy, probably to keep the story feeling sprightly in the lack of a true villain, but the humor is well-integrated into the script. The base commander may be a bit too buffoonish, but his interrogation of Kirk makes for an amusing scene. Also, while the interrogation is played for laughs, it's clear that this is a serious problem, given that any of the obvious ways to rescue Kirk would pose a threat to history.
The remastered version spruces up several effects. Notable improvements are the Enterprise in the earth's atmosphere at the beginning, which looks a great deal more convincing than the original version and features a greater variety of shots; and the slingshot at the end, which places the Enterprise in-shot with the sun - greatly increasing the sense of danger at pulling off this maneuver for the first time ever.
Rating: 8/10. Hugely entertaining.
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Next Episode: Return of the Archons
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