"Whom gods destroy, they first make mediocre."
THE PLOT
Kirk and Spock beam down to Elba 2, site of an asylum for the last 15 incurably insane inmates in the Federation. When Kirk learns that the asylum's newest inmate is Garth of Izar (Steve Ihnat), a former Starfleet captain who was one of Kirk's personal heroes, he insists on seeing the man. Instead, he finds the asylum's governor locked in Garth's cell. Garth has taken control - and using his newly developed shapeshifting abilities, he plans to impersonate Kirk, seize control of the Enterprise, and take revenge on the Federation!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Ham: Garth-as-Kirk throws a hilariously energetic temper tantrum when Scotty's code blocks him from seizing control of the Enterprise. He howls at the ceiling, contorting his face almost to the level of a cartoon character, before getting down on all fours and pounding on the floor. Later, Shatner gets to gyrate around in a torture chair, but that's second-tier ham compared to his Garth-as-Kirk bits.
Spock-Logic: Spock astutely observes that he will eventually identify which of the two "Kirks" facing him is the real one simply by waiting for Garth to expend too much energy to maintain Kirk's form. Fair enough, and his backup plans for picking which "Kirk" to shoot are well-reasoned too. But... Am I missing something? The phaser is set on stun. Why not save a lot of time and do at the start what Kirk ultimately urges him to do anyway: Shoot both of them, and sort it out later? It's not like one more stunning would have done Kirk any harm, and it would have defused any chance of Garth regaining the upper hand long enough to detonate his explosive. I guess Spock just really wanted to see two Kirks duke it out with that amusingly impractical, acrobatic combat style.
Hot Alien Space Babe of the Week: Yvonne Craig is Marta, the murderously insane Orion slave girl who acts as Garth's consort. Marta develops an immediate fascination with Kirk. When Garth tortures Kirk, Marta is quick to come up with an alternate plan to trick the needed information out of him. Craig's performance is as good as the insane writing allows, and she is definitely the more effective of the two villains. She's also just sympathetic enough to make it memorable when her character meets her end.
Villain of the Week: Steve Ihnat is Garth, the insane former Starfleet captain who is now determined to be Lord Garth of Izar, ruler of the galaxy. Of course, there are massive parts of Garth's plans and schemes that make little sense. Allowing Kirk to take down the force field could have (and should have) put a quick end to Garth's rule of the asylum, if not for Kirk and Scotty wasting a heck of a lot of time. Garth later decides to play a game with Spock for his amusement, in which an armed Spock is presented with two Kirks. Again, this game would be cut short if Spock simply stunned both of them. Sure, Garth is insane, giving the writers an easy "out" for the stupidity of his plans. But what excuse do the heroes have for behaving just as stupidly?
THE PLOT
Kirk and Spock beam down to Elba 2, site of an asylum for the last 15 incurably insane inmates in the Federation. When Kirk learns that the asylum's newest inmate is Garth of Izar (Steve Ihnat), a former Starfleet captain who was one of Kirk's personal heroes, he insists on seeing the man. Instead, he finds the asylum's governor locked in Garth's cell. Garth has taken control - and using his newly developed shapeshifting abilities, he plans to impersonate Kirk, seize control of the Enterprise, and take revenge on the Federation!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Ham: Garth-as-Kirk throws a hilariously energetic temper tantrum when Scotty's code blocks him from seizing control of the Enterprise. He howls at the ceiling, contorting his face almost to the level of a cartoon character, before getting down on all fours and pounding on the floor. Later, Shatner gets to gyrate around in a torture chair, but that's second-tier ham compared to his Garth-as-Kirk bits.
Spock-Logic: Spock astutely observes that he will eventually identify which of the two "Kirks" facing him is the real one simply by waiting for Garth to expend too much energy to maintain Kirk's form. Fair enough, and his backup plans for picking which "Kirk" to shoot are well-reasoned too. But... Am I missing something? The phaser is set on stun. Why not save a lot of time and do at the start what Kirk ultimately urges him to do anyway: Shoot both of them, and sort it out later? It's not like one more stunning would have done Kirk any harm, and it would have defused any chance of Garth regaining the upper hand long enough to detonate his explosive. I guess Spock just really wanted to see two Kirks duke it out with that amusingly impractical, acrobatic combat style.
Hot Alien Space Babe of the Week: Yvonne Craig is Marta, the murderously insane Orion slave girl who acts as Garth's consort. Marta develops an immediate fascination with Kirk. When Garth tortures Kirk, Marta is quick to come up with an alternate plan to trick the needed information out of him. Craig's performance is as good as the insane writing allows, and she is definitely the more effective of the two villains. She's also just sympathetic enough to make it memorable when her character meets her end.
Villain of the Week: Steve Ihnat is Garth, the insane former Starfleet captain who is now determined to be Lord Garth of Izar, ruler of the galaxy. Of course, there are massive parts of Garth's plans and schemes that make little sense. Allowing Kirk to take down the force field could have (and should have) put a quick end to Garth's rule of the asylum, if not for Kirk and Scotty wasting a heck of a lot of time. Garth later decides to play a game with Spock for his amusement, in which an armed Spock is presented with two Kirks. Again, this game would be cut short if Spock simply stunned both of them. Sure, Garth is insane, giving the writers an easy "out" for the stupidity of his plans. But what excuse do the heroes have for behaving just as stupidly?
Ihnat's performance is, in my opinion, dreadful. He overplays his every scene to horrible, hammy effect. This isn't Shatner ham (which is usually fun). No, this is bad theatre acting ham, with Garth yelling half his lines and occasionally weaving around drunkenly. Thankfully, at least two of Garth's meatiest scenes end up being played by Shatner, whose brand of ham is much more entertaining to watch. If only Garth had been disguised as Kirk for more of it!
THOUGHTS
Puts David Spade hat on. "I liked this episode the first time I saw it... When it was called Dagger of the Mind."
OK, this isn't really a ripoff of the classic Season One episode. Other than being set in an insane asylum, and having a cheap-looking chair used as a torture device, the two episodes don't have much in common at all. But the quip had to be made.
Besides, it's not like Whom Gods Destroy has much memorable about it on its own. Marta's final scene aside, this is a standard programmer. Kirk matches wits with a brilliant madman who wants to take over the Enterprise. Unfortunately, Garth is not Khan, his followers are allowed no dialogue in order to allow the producers to pay them less, and large segments of the episode are stretched to their breaking point in desperate attempts to pad the running time.
The cheapness of Season Three continues to show itself in long scenes that evoke theatre more than television. In other episodes, this has been used to the show's advantage. Here, it's not an advantage. A notable example is the lengthy scene that begins with Garth hosting a dinner for Kirk and Spock. This same scene sees Marta dance for entirely too long a time, then sees Garth bring out his torture chair, then sees Garth torture Kirk until Marta gives him another idea. It feels like a combination of at least three separate scenes, slapped together into one seemingly endless exchange to save on the threadbare budget. Which probably isn't too far from the truth.
If Steve Ihnat was just a little less campy and a little more genuinely threatening, Whom Gods Destroy would instantly become a better episode. As it stands, with a weak villain, a padded storyline, and a cheap production, it's a barely-palatable time-filler. Well below average for the series and even for the season, though I'll grudgingly admit that it's watchable.
Rating: 4/10.
Previous Episode: Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
Next Episode: The Mark of Gideon
Search Amazon.com for Star Trek
THOUGHTS
Puts David Spade hat on. "I liked this episode the first time I saw it... When it was called Dagger of the Mind."
OK, this isn't really a ripoff of the classic Season One episode. Other than being set in an insane asylum, and having a cheap-looking chair used as a torture device, the two episodes don't have much in common at all. But the quip had to be made.
Besides, it's not like Whom Gods Destroy has much memorable about it on its own. Marta's final scene aside, this is a standard programmer. Kirk matches wits with a brilliant madman who wants to take over the Enterprise. Unfortunately, Garth is not Khan, his followers are allowed no dialogue in order to allow the producers to pay them less, and large segments of the episode are stretched to their breaking point in desperate attempts to pad the running time.
The cheapness of Season Three continues to show itself in long scenes that evoke theatre more than television. In other episodes, this has been used to the show's advantage. Here, it's not an advantage. A notable example is the lengthy scene that begins with Garth hosting a dinner for Kirk and Spock. This same scene sees Marta dance for entirely too long a time, then sees Garth bring out his torture chair, then sees Garth torture Kirk until Marta gives him another idea. It feels like a combination of at least three separate scenes, slapped together into one seemingly endless exchange to save on the threadbare budget. Which probably isn't too far from the truth.
If Steve Ihnat was just a little less campy and a little more genuinely threatening, Whom Gods Destroy would instantly become a better episode. As it stands, with a weak villain, a padded storyline, and a cheap production, it's a barely-palatable time-filler. Well below average for the series and even for the season, though I'll grudgingly admit that it's watchable.
Rating: 4/10.
Previous Episode: Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
Next Episode: The Mark of Gideon
Search Amazon.com for Star Trek
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