THE PLOT
The Enterprise is scanning a planet that is rumored to be the site of a mysterious civilization. After multiple scans, it is clear that the planet is uninhabitable. As McCoy says, its surface is molten lava, "its atmosphere poison." Kirk is about to order the ship to its next mission when the Enterprise is subjected to a deep scan. Then a figure appears on the viewscreen: Abraham Lincoln!
Kirk beams this figure (Lee Bergere) aboard the ship, and orders all crew members to treat him as if he were the real Abraham Lincoln. After a tour of the ship, Lincoln offers Kirk and Spock an opportunity to beam down to a section of the planet that has suddenly become habitable, even Earth-like. After some debate, Kirk accepts - only to find that he and Spock have been made part of a game for an alien's instruction and entertainment. The drama? A fight to the death, against the most notorious figures in history!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Kirk: Gene Roddenberry's return to the writer's desk also means a return of something I've personally missed: some semblance of military bearing on Kirk's part. In Season One, in particular, there was a real sense of command structure. This episode sees that return, when Kirk orders that Lincoln be treated as the genuine article, backed up with a threat to "have the hide of the first man who so much as smiles." Later, he warns McCoy that the doctor is dangerously close to insubordination as McCoy continues to argue against a decision of Kirk's after the decision has been made. It's good to see this long-forgotten trait return to the character, and this side of Kirk does bring out the best in Shatner's performance.
Spock: He is affected by Surak (Barry Atwater), but knows that logically the figure he sees cannot be Surak. He still supports Surak's decision to attempt a peaceful solution. When Kirk comments on the Vulcan's bravery, Spock replies that "Most peacemakers are (brave men)." But he remains a pragmatist. When Surak has been captured, and the others hear him crying out in agony, Spock argues against an attack. All of them know it is a trap, and while Spock is "not insensitive" to the cries, he is willing to stand by and listen to them rather than engage in a reckless action.
McCoy/Scotty: The Greek chorus. Both of them argue against Kirk's beaming down, with McCoy skirting the edge of insubordination. Both men watch the action unfold on the viewscreen, and feel similar frustration at their inability to go to Kirk's aid.
THOUGHTS
This episode brings a Gene Roddenberry script to a season in which Roddenberry was largely "hands-off." It isn't a terribly good script, but it still brings the regulars into sharper focus than some recent episodes have. Kirk is a bit more military in his bearing, Spock a bit more cold in his pragmatism. The script even makes some use of Sulu and Uhura, who have been reduced this season to little more than extras.
The Savage Curtain is an important episode for the Star Trek franchise. Not so much for the plot, which is basically a retread of Arena, minus the intensity. But the introduction of Surak fills in some of Vulcan's backstory, showing us one of the key figures of Vulcan history. That makes it probably the most important Vulcan episode since Amok Time, even if Surak ends up playing second fiddle to (a very one-dimensional portrait of) Abraham Lincoln.
The script is generally well-structured. The first third of the episode, set entirely on the ship, effectively raises questions and plants seeds. Even the rock creature who acts as the episode's villain is set up in the early scenes. The tag offers a passable explanation for Lincoln and Surak (and Col. Green, Genghis Khan, Kha'less, and Zora). All are exactly as Kirk and Spock would expect them to be, and they are that way for good reason. Somehow, I doubt the real Genghis Khan (or, in Trek-universe, the "real" Kha'less) would be willing to take orders from the likes of Colonel Green. But since Green is presumably the most vivid of the figures in Kirk's mind, he takes the lead.
The episode is severely hampered by a frequent problem with late Season Three offerings: Extreme cheapness. The money isn't there to make the fight scenes effective. When the characters break out the wobbly spears and styrofoam rocks, it looks comically bad. The cutting isn't tight enough to disguise this, certainly not when compared to the much stronger fight scene editing of episodes like Arena. This results in an "action climax" that is more likely to provoke laughter than tension.
For that matter, the spectre of Arena looms over this entire episode. Kirk's being tested? Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but he passed this whole "fight to the death" test once before. And he did so in a better episode. The Savage Curtain isn't terrible by any means - it's reasonably well-paced, and it is good to see Gene Roddenberry returning to the series. But it feels simplistic and frankly tired, with production values that make it among the worst-looking episodes of the entire series.
Rating: 5/10.
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