THE PLOT
The Enterprise is given a great honor - acting as host to the M-5 computer control unit, created by the genius Dr. Daystrom (William Marshall) to control all systems on a starship. With the M-5, the Enterprise can run smoothly on a crew of just 20, rather than more than 400. To test the unit, Starfleet has devised a series of war games: simulations to see how the M-5 will work under pressure. A cutoff switch has been installed, in case anything goes wrong.
Early engagements see the M-5 working up to its hype, effortlessly defeating other starships in simulated combat. Then the M-5 makes a mistake. It destroys a robot ship. Realizing that this could just as easily have been a manned ship, Kirk uses the cutoff... which doesn't work. When he orders the M-5 disconnected, it becomes clear that the computer is shielding itself. Kirk and his crew cannot get close to it to shut it down.
The M-5 controlled Enterprise is heading straight for another engagement with four starships - with no way of knowing whether the computer will react to a simulation or will respond with full, deadly force!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Kirk: Kirk is thrust into the uncomfortable position of being an observer on his own ship. The episode's first half sees the M-5 reacting faster than Kirk could have reacted, with better results. A simulated landing party omits Kirk, with the M-5 declaring him "nonessential personnel." Kirk's job is being made redundant, and he doesn't like it. When the M-5 goes wrong and destroys the robot ship, it is probably close to a relief for the starship captain - at least, until he discovers that he can't shut the computer down.
Spock: From a standpoint of pure logic, he admires the accomplishment of the M-5, but his loyalty to Kirk precludes him finding full control by the M-5 desirable. He expresses the view that he has no desire to serve under a computer. He is also the first to note that the computer is behaving in an illogical manner.
Villain of the Week: The M-5 Computer and, to a lesser degree, its creator, Daystrom. William Marshall gives a typically robust performance as Daystrom, though his performance does descend intermittently into ham. The computer is the real source of tension. It is essentially faceless, save for a screen of swirling lights and color. At the climax, as the Enterprise faces down four starships that are essentially sacrificial lambs, all Kirk and his crew can do is watch helplessly as the M-5 attacks relentlessly, powerless to stop the machine or even to communicate to warn off the other ships.
ZAP THE REDSHIRT!
Redshirt count: one. Zapped by an energy beam when trying to disconnect the M-5. Once Scotty handed him a big, fakey-looking plastic tool, was there really any doubt what was in store for the poor sap?
THOUGHTS
Predating the movie War Games by well over a decade, this episode sees a computer put into a war simulation, and not understanding the difference between games and reality. M-5 doesn't actually ask, "What's the difference?" But it might as well do.
The Ultimate Computer is an episode that starts fairly slow and contemplative. The first half sees only a little action, and that is simulation. The bulk of its scenes are devoted to Kirk, Spock, and McCoy musing about the benefits and costs of men being replaced by machines, a topical subject in the 1960's. Then it becomes a heavy action episode, as the M-5 inevitably goes wrong and Kirk must try - with increasing desperation - to shut it down.
The climax is probably the original Trek's largest-scale battle, with five starships involved. As with The Doomsday Machine, this makes for an episode where the remastered effects greatly aid the final product. In the original episode, the space battle footage is very clunky and static. The remastered effects definitely make this sequence more exciting, with dynamic shots that shift focus and see multiple models moving in multiple directions at the same time. Not all the replacement shots are improvements, though. The opening shot, of Enterprise approaching the space station, is particularly artificial-looking, giving less the impression of a seamlessly integrated effects shot and more the impression of a cut scene from a Trek video game.
On the whole, though, the episode gains from the remastered shots far more than not. And this is a very strong, well-paced, entertaining hour of television in either version.
Rating: 9/10.
The Enterprise is given a great honor - acting as host to the M-5 computer control unit, created by the genius Dr. Daystrom (William Marshall) to control all systems on a starship. With the M-5, the Enterprise can run smoothly on a crew of just 20, rather than more than 400. To test the unit, Starfleet has devised a series of war games: simulations to see how the M-5 will work under pressure. A cutoff switch has been installed, in case anything goes wrong.
Early engagements see the M-5 working up to its hype, effortlessly defeating other starships in simulated combat. Then the M-5 makes a mistake. It destroys a robot ship. Realizing that this could just as easily have been a manned ship, Kirk uses the cutoff... which doesn't work. When he orders the M-5 disconnected, it becomes clear that the computer is shielding itself. Kirk and his crew cannot get close to it to shut it down.
The M-5 controlled Enterprise is heading straight for another engagement with four starships - with no way of knowing whether the computer will react to a simulation or will respond with full, deadly force!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Kirk: Kirk is thrust into the uncomfortable position of being an observer on his own ship. The episode's first half sees the M-5 reacting faster than Kirk could have reacted, with better results. A simulated landing party omits Kirk, with the M-5 declaring him "nonessential personnel." Kirk's job is being made redundant, and he doesn't like it. When the M-5 goes wrong and destroys the robot ship, it is probably close to a relief for the starship captain - at least, until he discovers that he can't shut the computer down.
Spock: From a standpoint of pure logic, he admires the accomplishment of the M-5, but his loyalty to Kirk precludes him finding full control by the M-5 desirable. He expresses the view that he has no desire to serve under a computer. He is also the first to note that the computer is behaving in an illogical manner.
Villain of the Week: The M-5 Computer and, to a lesser degree, its creator, Daystrom. William Marshall gives a typically robust performance as Daystrom, though his performance does descend intermittently into ham. The computer is the real source of tension. It is essentially faceless, save for a screen of swirling lights and color. At the climax, as the Enterprise faces down four starships that are essentially sacrificial lambs, all Kirk and his crew can do is watch helplessly as the M-5 attacks relentlessly, powerless to stop the machine or even to communicate to warn off the other ships.
ZAP THE REDSHIRT!
Redshirt count: one. Zapped by an energy beam when trying to disconnect the M-5. Once Scotty handed him a big, fakey-looking plastic tool, was there really any doubt what was in store for the poor sap?
THOUGHTS
Predating the movie War Games by well over a decade, this episode sees a computer put into a war simulation, and not understanding the difference between games and reality. M-5 doesn't actually ask, "What's the difference?" But it might as well do.
The Ultimate Computer is an episode that starts fairly slow and contemplative. The first half sees only a little action, and that is simulation. The bulk of its scenes are devoted to Kirk, Spock, and McCoy musing about the benefits and costs of men being replaced by machines, a topical subject in the 1960's. Then it becomes a heavy action episode, as the M-5 inevitably goes wrong and Kirk must try - with increasing desperation - to shut it down.
The climax is probably the original Trek's largest-scale battle, with five starships involved. As with The Doomsday Machine, this makes for an episode where the remastered effects greatly aid the final product. In the original episode, the space battle footage is very clunky and static. The remastered effects definitely make this sequence more exciting, with dynamic shots that shift focus and see multiple models moving in multiple directions at the same time. Not all the replacement shots are improvements, though. The opening shot, of Enterprise approaching the space station, is particularly artificial-looking, giving less the impression of a seamlessly integrated effects shot and more the impression of a cut scene from a Trek video game.
On the whole, though, the episode gains from the remastered shots far more than not. And this is a very strong, well-paced, entertaining hour of television in either version.
Rating: 9/10.
Previous Episode: Patterns of Force
Next Episode: The Omega Glory
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