Original air date: November 10, 1966
SYNOPSIS
After the Enterprise is forced to destroy a dangerous marker buoy, a gigantic alien ship arrives to capture and condemn the crew as trespassers.
CANON CONTEXT
The first regular episode filmed after the two pilot episodes were filmed. But, because special effects weren’t ready and this series was notorious for airing episodes out of any particular order it was tenth in the first season.
RECAP
Maybe it’s because I’ve been watching an episode every single day for the past ten days, but I swear they are getting better the further into the season I go.
Okay, so how can I describe what this one is about? I guess it depends on your feelings about chess vs poker?
So, the crew is enters a part of space that no ship has ever been to before and they are given the boring task of taking pictures of their surroundings. While they are doing this a weird rainbow colored cube latches on to them. Wherever they go it follows.
For several hours this strange cube will not leave them be till Captain Kirk sees no other alternative but to blast it. This turns out to be a pretty bad idea. In so doing, they attract the thing that sent it in the first place. The only word I could use to describe it on first glance was “Borg-like” in size.
This thing decides it’s going to destroy the Enterprise in retaliation for the rainbow cube they blew up. The interesting thing is that this sphere reads all of the Enterprise logs to determine they have a “god” they worship and because of this decides to show a bit of mercy by allowing them to pray to it for the next ten minutes before it destroys their ship.
This makes Bailey, another of those “throw away” characters (a moniker I’m starting to use for just such characters), that appears in this one episode for a singular purpose. The purpose for Bailey is to express feelings that no one else on the bridge seems willing to express; fear. He’s so terrified as the clock clicks down from ten that he has a breakdown and is told to leave the bridge at once.
What happens next could be perceived as pure genius on the part of Kirk who, faced with less than three minutes till the end decides to rely on his knowledge of poker and the bluff, or in this case, the corbomite maneuver.
Captain Kirk explains to the sphere that has them at their mercy that if they should be attacked in any way a substance called corbomite will attack it and kill whatever harmed them instantly. Apparently in the few times this had been implemented in the past it was successful at completely destroying the enemy who attacked starfleet. Of course, because of its immense power captains are sworn to secrecy about this corbomite and therefore evidence of its existence is nowhere to be found in the ships computer or logs. Clever man.
This ruse works, or so they think. Instead, a smaller piece of the alien ship breaks away and using a tractor beam forces the Enterprise to follow as it leads them to a nearby planet where they might then have their ship destroyed.
Kirk is too smart for that and manages to escape, however, not before realizing the life signs on the small alien craft is limited and the distress signal they are sending to their main ship is too weak to reach. Being of starfleet there is only one thing Captain Kirk can do, head back and try to help this new alien race they have encountered.
Captain Kirk, Bones and Bailey transport onto the small alien ship to discover a ruse was also played on them. The alien they thought was aboard the vessel turns out to be a fake!
I must admit it is kinda creepy. But none more creepy than this six year old child actor who is supposed to be some adult supreme being with vast knowledge and power.
Now, he was downright creepy. But I digress.
In the end, Bailey volunteers to stay behind with this “man-child” alien to inform him of what it is like to be human and to also keep him company. In exchange, Enterprise is given vital information that he has for them over the course of his existence.
Yeah, I really enjoyed watching this one. And the more I think about it, I wonder if I enjoyed it so much because there was less scantily clad women in it and the story was never centered around that to begin with. While yeoman Janice and Uhura are both in this episode, the former has a much more comedic and lighter tone while the latter is all bad ass business. How it should be every time.
DID THEY REALLY SAY THAT?
Mr. Spock: Has it occurred to you that there is a certain... inefficiency in constantly questioning me on things you've already made up your mind about?
Capt. Kirk: It gives me emotional security.
Capt. Kirk: This is the Captain of the Enterprise. Our respect for other life forms requires that we give you this... warning. One critical item of information that has never been incorporated into the memory banks of any Earth ship. Since the early years of space exploration, Earth vessels have had incorporated into them a substance known as... corbomite. It is a material and a device which prevents attack on us. If any destructive energy touches our vessel, a reverse reaction of equal strength is created, destroying -...
Balok (voice): You now have two minutes.
Capt. Kirk: - -DESTROYING the attacker. It may interest you to know that since the initial use of corbomite more than two of our centuries ago, no attacking vessel has survived the attempt. Death has... little meaning to us. If it has none to you then attack us now. We grow annoyed at your foolishness.