THE PLOT
The Enterprise makes a follow-up visit to a world last contacted 100 years previously by an Earth ship known as the Horizon - before the Prime Directive went into effect. Upon beaming down to the planet's surface, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy discover that the planet has taken a book left as a gift by the previous ship, and modeled their entire society after that book. The book in question? A reference book on Chicago gangsters of the 1920's.
Now the Enterprise crew must find a way to undo the damage done to this society, and turn a world of rivaling mob bosses into a peaceful system. The challenge may well be staying alive long enough to do it!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Ham: For the first half of this episode, Shatner gives his usual, enthusiastic but reasonable performance. He's having fun with comedy pastische elements, but it's fairly low-key. That is, until Kirk finally gets the upper hand. Once the script has Kirk imitating gangster lingo, Shatner hams it up relentlessly, delivering every line in a bad Chicago gangster accent that was making me cringe in my seat. I would rate this as the first episode to actually be made less enjoyable due to Shatner's hammier tendencies.
Spock-Logic: Which, in this instance, bears no resemblance whatever to real logic. "The first time we trusted Bela, we ended up his prisoners. We escaped, and now Bela wants us to trust him again. Therefore, it is logical that we should walk into the same trap twice." An "I-told-you-so" look from Bones turns an iffy script turn into a good comic moment, but this has to be one of the more tortuous examples of Spock's bizarre logic turns. Nimoy does have fun with the general scenario, though, and manages to do so in a way that's genuinely funny - neatly upstaging Shatner even though he has less than half as much dialogue. His explaining that he will cut the gangsters in for "a miniscule piece" is particularly fun.
THOUGHTS
One of the contrasts between the series' first season and its second is that the second season has seen several episodes that have indulged the series' lighter side. The Trouble with Tribbles is the most famous example, but there are several other Season Two episodes that veer far more toward comedy than drama.
A Piece of the Action is a comedy pastische of 1930's gangster films. Like those films, it is set in a world that bears no resemblance to any reality that ever actually existed. It's set in a world in which the most powerful men alive are the "bosses," each of whom has a squeaky-voiced moll ready to perch on his lap. The two main rivals even seem to extend that rivalry to their molls; Oxymx has a (very pretty) brunette, while Krako prefers blondes. "Hits" are a daily occurrence, and police are effectively nonexistent. There's even a scene featuring a Dead End Kids-style urchin. All you'd need to do is throw in a trusty Irish priest, and you'd have the model for half of James Cagney's 1930's filmography.
Taken on this level, it's fun. It moves quickly, the guest performances are generally strong, and the production design is vastly above the series' usual standards. Bonus points for a bit of metahumor when one of the gang bosses (a young Vic Tayback) is transported up to the Enterprise in order to "put a bag over him" while simultaneously showing him the ship's power. He ultimately fails to be impressed. "All I saw was a room and three guys. Maybe there ain't no more!" In the case of many episodes, he might as well be speaking for the audience.
Minus points for Shatner's performance in the episode's last 20 minutes, though. His ill-advised attempt to be James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and Paul Muni all rolled into one pitch the comedy a bit too far across the line between amusing and annoying. The joke is funny when the leads' reactions to this world are played straight. It becomes a lot less funny when Shatner is too clearly in on the joke.
Rating: 6/10.
The Enterprise makes a follow-up visit to a world last contacted 100 years previously by an Earth ship known as the Horizon - before the Prime Directive went into effect. Upon beaming down to the planet's surface, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy discover that the planet has taken a book left as a gift by the previous ship, and modeled their entire society after that book. The book in question? A reference book on Chicago gangsters of the 1920's.
Now the Enterprise crew must find a way to undo the damage done to this society, and turn a world of rivaling mob bosses into a peaceful system. The challenge may well be staying alive long enough to do it!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Ham: For the first half of this episode, Shatner gives his usual, enthusiastic but reasonable performance. He's having fun with comedy pastische elements, but it's fairly low-key. That is, until Kirk finally gets the upper hand. Once the script has Kirk imitating gangster lingo, Shatner hams it up relentlessly, delivering every line in a bad Chicago gangster accent that was making me cringe in my seat. I would rate this as the first episode to actually be made less enjoyable due to Shatner's hammier tendencies.
Spock-Logic: Which, in this instance, bears no resemblance whatever to real logic. "The first time we trusted Bela, we ended up his prisoners. We escaped, and now Bela wants us to trust him again. Therefore, it is logical that we should walk into the same trap twice." An "I-told-you-so" look from Bones turns an iffy script turn into a good comic moment, but this has to be one of the more tortuous examples of Spock's bizarre logic turns. Nimoy does have fun with the general scenario, though, and manages to do so in a way that's genuinely funny - neatly upstaging Shatner even though he has less than half as much dialogue. His explaining that he will cut the gangsters in for "a miniscule piece" is particularly fun.
THOUGHTS
One of the contrasts between the series' first season and its second is that the second season has seen several episodes that have indulged the series' lighter side. The Trouble with Tribbles is the most famous example, but there are several other Season Two episodes that veer far more toward comedy than drama.
A Piece of the Action is a comedy pastische of 1930's gangster films. Like those films, it is set in a world that bears no resemblance to any reality that ever actually existed. It's set in a world in which the most powerful men alive are the "bosses," each of whom has a squeaky-voiced moll ready to perch on his lap. The two main rivals even seem to extend that rivalry to their molls; Oxymx has a (very pretty) brunette, while Krako prefers blondes. "Hits" are a daily occurrence, and police are effectively nonexistent. There's even a scene featuring a Dead End Kids-style urchin. All you'd need to do is throw in a trusty Irish priest, and you'd have the model for half of James Cagney's 1930's filmography.
Taken on this level, it's fun. It moves quickly, the guest performances are generally strong, and the production design is vastly above the series' usual standards. Bonus points for a bit of metahumor when one of the gang bosses (a young Vic Tayback) is transported up to the Enterprise in order to "put a bag over him" while simultaneously showing him the ship's power. He ultimately fails to be impressed. "All I saw was a room and three guys. Maybe there ain't no more!" In the case of many episodes, he might as well be speaking for the audience.
Minus points for Shatner's performance in the episode's last 20 minutes, though. His ill-advised attempt to be James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, and Paul Muni all rolled into one pitch the comedy a bit too far across the line between amusing and annoying. The joke is funny when the leads' reactions to this world are played straight. It becomes a lot less funny when Shatner is too clearly in on the joke.
Rating: 6/10.
Previous Episode: The Immunity Syndrome
Next Episode: By Any Other Name
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