THE PLOT
Negotatiations have failed. The Federation is once again at war with the savage Klingon Empire. Enterprise is dispatched to Organia, the only Class M planet in the disputed territory between the two powers. Kirk and Spock urge the peaceful, primitive Organians to let them help defend them from the Klingons. The Council of Elders refuses all offers of protection, insisting that there is no need.
The Klingons arrive before Kirk has a chance to finish his negotiations. Kirk and Spock are left stranded on the planet, doing their best to blend in as a pair of traders. When the Klingon occupation party, led by Commander Kor (John Colicos), arrives, Kirk is still unable to get the Organians to act in their own defense. Kirk and Spock decide that they must mount as much of a resistance as they can, whether the Organians want one or not, while out in space both fleets converge in the star system around the planet...
CHARACTERS
Capt. Kirk: He has seen what Klingon occupations do to worlds firsthand, and is quite genuine in wanting to save Organia from such a fate. However, he is first frustrated, then enraged, by the passivity of the Organians. When Kor sneers at the Council, dubbing them "cowards," it is quite clear that Kirk agrees with him. Kirk wants to preserve peace, but is every bit as furious as Kor when an end to this war is forced upon him.
That Vulcan Voodoo You Do: Spock is able to resist the Klingon mind-probe, using his Vulcan powers of Script Convenience. Not that this seems likely to save him for long. Once Kor identifies Kirk and Spock, he orders Spock dissected in order to find out how the Vulcan resisted the mind probe. He is entirely supportive of Kirk's resistance efforts, though he is more accepting of the Organians' forced peace than either of the commanders are.
Villain of the Week: John Colicos is Kor, the Klingon commander named governor of Organia. Kor is very much Kirk's mirror-image among the Klingons. Note their equal scorn of the Organians, their mutual respect, and their equal indignation at the Organians' intervention at the end. Kor has been raised to relish the honor and glory of combat, and despises being assigned to oversee what he views as a planet of sheep. He bonds with Kirk as much a TOS Klingon can bond with a human even before he knows who the captain is, simply because Kirk isn't willing to accept the occupation. He will not tolerate resistance, of course. But he respects it, and despises the Organians for their passive acceptance of his rule. When he does learn Kirk's identity, his first impulse is to have a drink with the man and express his personal respect, all the while regretfully acknowledging that he will execute Kirk.
THOUGHTS
Both the Romulans and the Klingons were fortunate, in that both races were introduced in genuinely classic episodes. I slightly prefer Balance of Terror to Errand of Mercy, because I enjoyed watching Kirk and the Romulan commander try to out-think each other, and I appreciated that the situation was resolved without any external plot devices spiriting away the conflict. But as a child, I preferred Errand of Mercy, simply because it had a lot more action.
There are a lot of similarities between the two episodes. Both feature a strong opposite number for Kirk to work against. Kor isn't as instantly sympathetic as Mark Lenard's Romulan Commander, but he is honorable on his own terms. I suspect much of the spinoffs' characterization of honor-obsessed Klingons stems from Kor. He and Kirk share mutual respect, and Kor even seems to have a certain fondness for Kirk. Both episodes see Kirk and his opposite maneuvering against each other. It's just here, Kirk's resistance is more overt - blowing things up, invading a fortress - and Kor's responses (i. e., execute hostages) are blunter than the Romulan commander's were.
The Kor/Kirk parallels are the episode's most interesting feature, but it's a good episode throughout. Even the intervention at the end does not come across as a deux ex machina, because it is quite well set-up. Early scenes, before the Klingon arrival, establish that this is a world where nothing has advanced for centuries, even millennia - a seeming sociological and anthropological impossibility. The Organians' insistence that they need no protection, and their bland acceptance of Kor's brutality, all are things that build toward the revelation at the end. The very things that Kirk and Kor see as signs of weakness are actually anything but.
I'm not quite giving full marks, simply because I like to be very sparing with my "10's." The episode is exciting, but a bit of a blunt instrument compared with the more cerebral tension created in Balance of Terror. Also, some of the Enterprise crew overact horribly - and hilariously - when unable to use their instruments near the end. Still, this is a very fine episode, a genuine sci-fi television classic.
Rating: 9/10
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I agree with this rating.
ReplyDeleteYou should have also mentioned John Colicos' strong acting performance as Kor. Colicos had to play a nasty military governor from a nasty military dictatorship, but still leave you with grudging respect for his devotion to his duty.
In that sense, it reminded me of Cedric Hardwicke's performance as the Nazi military governor of a Norwegian town in the movie "The Moon is Down."