Kirk and Spock vs. The Planet of the Nazis! Can't you just see that as a title for a Grade B 1950's sci fi flick? Possibly directed by Ed Wood?
THE PLOT
When historian John Gill, assigned to the planet Ekos as a cultural observer, fails to report for an extended period, the Enterprise is sent to investigate. Kirk and Spock beam down to the planet's surface... and discover that Ekos has remade itself in the image of Nazi Germany, and is launching a campaign of terror and extermination against the Zeons, people from their neighboring world.
And their Fuhrer? John Gill.
CHARACTERS
Capt. Kirk: As with Bread and Circuses, this episode demonstrates the level of responsibility Kirk feels to uphold the Prime Directive. Contrary to the character's reputation, the reality in the series is that Kirk has - at least, up to this point - generally wrestled to find a way to reconcile that rule with his beliefs about right and wrong. Different aspects of this have been seen in Bread and Circuses, A Private Little War, and again here. This time, he discovers that the Directive has been breached by someone he knows and respects. He feels personally responsible to find out what happened and to find a way to repair the damage. No evidence of "Captain Ham" here, though "Captain Beefcake" makes an appearance when the Nazis capture him and strip him and Spock to the waist in order to subject them to a very fake-looking flogging.
Spock: Some evidence of his human side here, as he confesses late in the episode to feeling some of the exhileration of beating the odds when they manage a risky infiltration of Nazi headquarters. Nimoy's facial expressions, when a Nazi "expert" evaluates his genetics and determines him to be a member of "an inferior race" with features denoting "stupidity," are priceless.
Hot Space Babe of the Week: Valora Noland is Daras, a woman who has been named a "hero to the Fatherland" after turning her father in for disloyalty to the Fuhrer. We learn that she actually did this in order to infiltrate the Nazi inner circle, and that she is secretly working with the Zeon resistance. Daras is furious over the damage done to her world by the rise of the Nazis, and more resourceful and quick-thinking than the average Trek "Space Babe." Noland gives a reasonably strong performance, while also being very pleasing to the eyes.
Villain of the Week: Although we are given a specific villain, in the form an opportunistic Nazi (Skip Homeier), the real villain is the Nazi Party itself. In an episode made at a time when a reasonable proportion of the show's audience either remembered the Nazis or had parents who would have remembered and spoken about the war, the imagery on display here would have been all-but-guaranteed to arrest viewer attention. Unfortunately, these Nazis are almost equal parts Hogan's Heroes bumblers as they are a serious threat, with none of the stormtroopers displaying much in the way of intelligence. They also have a remarkable tendency in this episode to think that one or two guards are sufficient to safeguard vital areas.
THOUGHTS
Another of Season Two's many "parallel Earth" episodes. We've had the planet of the Romans and the planet of the gangsters. Now we get the planet of the Nazis. What next? The Planet of the Pastry Chefs?
It shouldn't be too much of a mystery as to why these episodes were so popular. Paramount could dig into its vaults for Nazi costumes, or gangster costumes, or even Roman costumes, relatively easily. Studio lots could be redressed to much more convincingly portray Nazi Germany than to portray a genuinely alien world. Also, it should be acknowledged that these episodes were probably easier for viewers to relate to. Finally, they did bring out the best in the writers. I might grouse about the Roman/gangster/Nazi episodes being too numerous in Season Two. On the other hand, none of these episodes were bad. In fact, they were all pretty good ones.
That includes this episode. The Nazis might be a touch too buffoonish, and the true horrors of their regime may be kept tactfully off-screen to avoid interfering with the light-hearted Kirk/Spock interplay. Still, this is an easy episode to get caught up in. The pace is brisk, the dialogue is sharp, and it's all thoroughly enjoyable. It's not a breakthrough episode. In its way, it treats its subject matter in just as offhand a manner as A Piece of the Action did Chicago gangsters. But it's fun to watch, and I can't imagine many Trek viewers being at all bored.
Rating: 7/10.
THE PLOT
When historian John Gill, assigned to the planet Ekos as a cultural observer, fails to report for an extended period, the Enterprise is sent to investigate. Kirk and Spock beam down to the planet's surface... and discover that Ekos has remade itself in the image of Nazi Germany, and is launching a campaign of terror and extermination against the Zeons, people from their neighboring world.
And their Fuhrer? John Gill.
CHARACTERS
Capt. Kirk: As with Bread and Circuses, this episode demonstrates the level of responsibility Kirk feels to uphold the Prime Directive. Contrary to the character's reputation, the reality in the series is that Kirk has - at least, up to this point - generally wrestled to find a way to reconcile that rule with his beliefs about right and wrong. Different aspects of this have been seen in Bread and Circuses, A Private Little War, and again here. This time, he discovers that the Directive has been breached by someone he knows and respects. He feels personally responsible to find out what happened and to find a way to repair the damage. No evidence of "Captain Ham" here, though "Captain Beefcake" makes an appearance when the Nazis capture him and strip him and Spock to the waist in order to subject them to a very fake-looking flogging.
Spock: Some evidence of his human side here, as he confesses late in the episode to feeling some of the exhileration of beating the odds when they manage a risky infiltration of Nazi headquarters. Nimoy's facial expressions, when a Nazi "expert" evaluates his genetics and determines him to be a member of "an inferior race" with features denoting "stupidity," are priceless.
Hot Space Babe of the Week: Valora Noland is Daras, a woman who has been named a "hero to the Fatherland" after turning her father in for disloyalty to the Fuhrer. We learn that she actually did this in order to infiltrate the Nazi inner circle, and that she is secretly working with the Zeon resistance. Daras is furious over the damage done to her world by the rise of the Nazis, and more resourceful and quick-thinking than the average Trek "Space Babe." Noland gives a reasonably strong performance, while also being very pleasing to the eyes.
Villain of the Week: Although we are given a specific villain, in the form an opportunistic Nazi (Skip Homeier), the real villain is the Nazi Party itself. In an episode made at a time when a reasonable proportion of the show's audience either remembered the Nazis or had parents who would have remembered and spoken about the war, the imagery on display here would have been all-but-guaranteed to arrest viewer attention. Unfortunately, these Nazis are almost equal parts Hogan's Heroes bumblers as they are a serious threat, with none of the stormtroopers displaying much in the way of intelligence. They also have a remarkable tendency in this episode to think that one or two guards are sufficient to safeguard vital areas.
THOUGHTS
Another of Season Two's many "parallel Earth" episodes. We've had the planet of the Romans and the planet of the gangsters. Now we get the planet of the Nazis. What next? The Planet of the Pastry Chefs?
It shouldn't be too much of a mystery as to why these episodes were so popular. Paramount could dig into its vaults for Nazi costumes, or gangster costumes, or even Roman costumes, relatively easily. Studio lots could be redressed to much more convincingly portray Nazi Germany than to portray a genuinely alien world. Also, it should be acknowledged that these episodes were probably easier for viewers to relate to. Finally, they did bring out the best in the writers. I might grouse about the Roman/gangster/Nazi episodes being too numerous in Season Two. On the other hand, none of these episodes were bad. In fact, they were all pretty good ones.
That includes this episode. The Nazis might be a touch too buffoonish, and the true horrors of their regime may be kept tactfully off-screen to avoid interfering with the light-hearted Kirk/Spock interplay. Still, this is an easy episode to get caught up in. The pace is brisk, the dialogue is sharp, and it's all thoroughly enjoyable. It's not a breakthrough episode. In its way, it treats its subject matter in just as offhand a manner as A Piece of the Action did Chicago gangsters. But it's fun to watch, and I can't imagine many Trek viewers being at all bored.
Rating: 7/10.
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