A Taste Of Armageddon

[MikeS]

I can't find an exisisting thread for this excellent episode.

One of the best scenes is between Scott and the Ambassador, where Scott refuses to lower the defensive screens. I found it interesting to read on MA that "as a lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Artillery, James Doohan was threatened with court martial for real for saying "No sir, I will not," to a visiting colonel when he realized a training exercise order would entail blowing the heads off some of his own men. Fortunately, his immediate superiors backed him up and, like his fictional character, he was eventually promoted to captain."

Kirk gambles at the end, but his logic is sound, and we are given the impression that it pays off.

Great episode.

 

[Kegg]

One of my all time favourite TOS episodes. I remember back getting the DVD two-packs, I picked this one up because it was paired with "Space Seed".

I wound up watching it a lot more often then the other episode on the DVD. It's really one of the best hours of the show, both in its commentary about war, but also in being a fun, tension-filled romp. Classic Trek, this, and where else do we see Spock pull the 'spider on your back' trick with such droll wit? Nowhere, that's where.

 

[docrice]

Armageddon was an interesting concept with populations who voluntarily die based on computerized attacks. We see Spock demonstrate yet another Vulcan Jedi skill - influencing people through walls. I wish they had created a new hand weapon though instead of re-using Klingon disruptor (which never emitted a beam when it destroyed a disintegration booth).

 

[Timo]

I thought it never emitted a beam, period? Which is good and well for a sonic gun, because sound isn't visible...

Also, those are some real mighty sonic guns if they can hit a starship separated from the planet by hundreds of kilometers of hard vacuum! Then again, "decibels eighteen to the twelfth power" is something you wouldn't hear even if all the nuclear weapons ever built went off simultaneously inside your ear... Perhaps sound like that does travel through vacuum? (It could rip a sizeable portion of the atmosphere with it, at any rate.)

...To be sure, the episode never really establishes that either the sidearms or the anti-starship batteries would be sonic in nature. All we ever learn is that their effect when hitting a shielded starship is "extremely powerful sonic vibrations" at what was probably meant to be 18 TdB. And that their beams are invisible - which is a very welcome thing and stands apart from the cliched raygun whose ray for mysterious reasons and for no good purpose is visible. If I could choose a raygun from the Trek arsenal, I'd take the Eminian weapons - because they don't pinpoint my location every time I fire at the enemy!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Forbin]

I rewatched this one a few months ago and was reminded of its greatness. And Barabara Babcock's classic beauty.

Couple of highlights: Yoeman Tamara's brass, General Order 24 and Spock's firm assertion "This is a killing situation." Yup, we're gonna save these people if we have to kill every last one of them!

 

[M'Sharak]

Still one of my favorite episodes -- it's hard to find anything wrong with this one. It's a strong story, a good episode for Kirk, one of the best outings for Scotty, and the guest cast is excellent.

Armageddon was an interesting concept with populations who voluntarily die based on computerized attacks. We see Spock demonstrate yet another Vulcan Jedi skill - influencing people through walls. I wish they had created a new hand weapon though instead of re-using Klingon disruptor (which never emitted a beam when it destroyed a disintegration booth).

Actually, they did create a new hand weapon for "A Taste of Armageddon", which was produced first and aired a month to the day before "Errand of Mercy". The Klingon disruptor was a re-use of the Eminian weapon, rather than the other way around.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

It's one of my all-time favorite TOS episodes.

and Spock's firm assertion "This is a killing situation." Yup, we're gonna save these people if we have to kill every last one of them!

And people bitch about Spock's attitude towards Nero in the movie? People have short memories. That guy can be vicious!

 

[Warped9]

One of the very best done. Kirk's verbal swordplay with Anan is simply fantastic.

And Kirk was right: he could destroy the planet with just a disruptor. By blowing up a few disintegration booths he set up a situation that put Eminiar 7 on the brink of total real war with Vendikar.

And I love his lines:
"Stop it? I'm counting on it."

"We don't program attacks and count up lists of "casualties." We make the real thing."

 

[startrekrcks]

I think the episode is great, it is really enjoyable and the dialogue is great also.

 

[PhasersOnStun]

Love this episode! You can tell it's an early one, because Spock is still a "Vulcanian," not a Vulcan. A bit funny that the Yeoman (or was she a lieutenant?) who beams down with them has hardly any lines (or anything to do).

The Ambassador in this episode may have begun what has become a tradition in the Trek universe: the "Space Douche." Yes, it seems that nearly everyone with any sort of political or Starfleet authority who steps onboard the Enterprise ends up being a bastard in one way or another, even if ultimately they mean well. But he did a great job with it!

 

[cwnorma]

The Ambassador in this episode may have begun what has become a tradition in the Trek universe: the "Space Douche." Yes, it seems that nearly everyone with any sort of political or Starfleet authority who steps onboard the Enterprise ends up being a bastard in one way or another, even if ultimately they mean well...

Brilliant! You hit upon one of my chief complaints about the Trek Universe. Nearly every leader, whether Starfleet, Federation, non-Fed, what have you, is some kind of Space Douche. To be sure there are exceptions, still even those who were once respected (i.e. Garth) end up having feet of clay of the douchiest variety. Abrams and co specifically called out the "bad captains other than Kirk" and decided to make Robau a badass.

There must have been some good leaders somewhere in the Fleet or amongst the various Federation worlds, but I guess showing those wouldn't make for easy drama...

 

[Timo]

There always were one or two of those in every show, but the plots had less use for them than they did for Space Douches.

TOS featured Admirals and Commodores that Kirk could respect, with very few exceptions: Stone didn't trust Kirk's character, but had reasons for it and was later redeemed, and Stocker was a failure but readily acknowledged this and always respected Kirk. It was only the two civilian bigwigs, Fox and Ferris, who really fit the Space Douche bill - and Fox got his act together by the end of the show, gunfighting alongside Kirk for the good cause.

TNG had hardass Admirals that Picard trusted and respected, Haden and Nechayev being the recurring ones. But it was also the first show to feature the Crooked Admiral (although admittedly TMP had already used this, with Kirk himself in the villain role!), a feature typical and almost unique to TNG.

DS9 Admirals were supporters of Sisko and iron-willed doers almost through and through - the one big exception was Chekote who used politics as an excuse not to have a firefight, which is always a sign of evil wimpiness in television. DS9 also introduced the character of the Good Admiral, when Ross became recurring. Sisko often ran into Space Douches, but those were always his opponents and outright enemies (Bajorans, Cardassians, S31), not members of his own organization.

VOY had only Admiral Paris, really. And his Space Douche moment was in reference to Reg Barclay. Nobody should be chastised for that.

ENT had no Space Douches in the heroes' organization. Instead, it had a Good Admiral who stood firmly against the Space Douches of Vulcan Central Command.

I'd thus claim that the above complaint about the Trek universe is only valid for TNG, really. And I'd further suggest that this is only to be expected, as Picard commanded a starship of political importance and was fated to become a pawn in Starfleet power games. Similar games flew high above the balding head of lowly Commander Sisko in DS9, and never reached Captain Janeway in the Delta Quadrant.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Unicron]

I will admit (and it would be good to watch the ep again) the computerized war always seemed a little strange to me; if you're going to simulate all of the damage and still have people willingly die to produce results, what's the point? Why keep the war going at all?

I do think we should add a Space Douche category over at TV Tropes though.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

The anti-conscription episode. That context was pretty powerful when it first ran.

 

[Wingsley]

I have to disagree on Robert Fox. I don't see him as a "space douche".

Gene Lyons did a great job at playing an ambitious kick-ass negotiator. Lest we forget: Fox would've been disingenuous only if he hadn't chosen to beam down himself. Fox revealed himself to be dedicated to the cause by sticking his neck out. He would've been just a mealy-mouthed prick if he chose to stay on board the Enterprise.

I never had a problem with the weapons used by the Klingons and Eminians looking so much alike. I always thought that, due to the similarities in costumes, maybe the Klingons and Eminians were somehow related. (Maybe Eminiar was an ancient Klingon colony?)

But I did have a huge problem with the notion of sonic weapons being used to attack the Enterprise in space. Hello, sound waves of any kind don't exist in space. That was a SPACE: 1999 moment in an otherwise excellent show.

I kinda liked seeing Tamura in the landing party. It was a teeny-tiny role for Miko Mayama, but it was neat to see Spock ordering an NCO to take tricorder readings, instead of just doing it himself. And his yeoman was a lady to boot. Too bad we didn't see more of this in TOS. And the "knock her down and sit on her" scene, with Mayama's hands on her hips, is always a joy to watch. Simply irresistible 60's TV!

Another little plot device I enjoyed here was the mention of the ill-fated Valiant. The U.S.S. Valiant joins another Valiant, the Archon, the Beagle and the Horizon in a long TREK tradition of the Enterprise bravely exploring where an ill-fated lesser spaceships had already gone before. Don't look now, but the old 1970's fan notion of the Constitution-class starships being 50 years old in STAR TREK MAPS probably came from the Valiant being lost at Eminiar 50 years before.

And let's not forget David Opatoshu's portrayal of Anan 7. "You force us to act like bandits!" And then Anan proceeds to do so without hesitation. Throw that clown into a disintegration machine! He sacrificed his own wife!

I love "Taste". It was a great Cold War allegory, and a bushel of fun!

The only serious deficiency in the ep was the sets looked a little cheesey, like we were still on board the Enterprise. Kind of a no-win situation.

 

[Winterwind]

This episode has always been one of my favourites as well, for all of the reasons already listed. But my personal favourite is still the exchange between Scotty and Fox.

 

[Jeyl]

I love this episode because it doesn't put our characters in a situation where they have to prove themselves before a superior race and in the end be told that they have a long way to go to rid themselves of their barbarian ways. You don't have to be barbaric to do stupid things!

 

[scotpens]

. . . The only serious deficiency in the ep was the sets looked a little cheesey, like we were still on board the Enterprise. Kind of a no-win situation.

I thought the set for the Eminiar war room, with the large illuminated wall maps and radar-like rotating beams, was fairly impressive for the time and must have cost a sizeable chunk of change for a one-time set that never reappeared in another episode. The episode also featured one of Trek TOS’s most beautiful and credible matte paintings, depicting the futuristic architecture of the Eminiar capital city.

 

[Timo]

But I did have a huge problem with the notion of sonic weapons being used to attack the Enterprise in space. Hello, sound waves of any kind don't exist in space. That was a SPACE: 1999 moment in an otherwise excellent show.

...Although, as pointed out, nowhere in the episode is it stated that the weapons used against the ship are sonic in nature.

The effect of the weapons on the ship is sonic in nature. But the effect of a rifle bullet on you is sonic in nature, too: it's the sonic boom of the bullet inside your soft tissues that kills you, not the tiny hole that the bullet makes...

As for the similarities in guns and uniforms, I wouldn't assume that the Eminians are related, as much as I'd assume they buy their military gear from the best.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[The Squire of Gothos]

I can't find an exisisting thread for this excellent episode

It was one of the first things I posted about when I started here, but that thread is likely long gone now

I rewatched this one a few months ago and was reminded of its greatness. And Barabara Babcock's classic beauty

Goodness yes, such a thing of elegance (Babcock I mean )