Episode of the Week : Let That Be Your Last Battlefield
- Thread starter Botany Bay
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A bit obvious and preachy, although the main characters' incredulity at the stupidity of the prejudice must have had more resonance at the time. I certainly credit Star Trek with making me colour blind (not literally thankfully). Uhura was never the black character, she was the woman. I never thought twice about Sulu's ethnicity because nobody in the show did. I did wonder why Uhura didn't get to do more, like the women in Blake's Seven though.
That's where I landed too: it suffers from a complete lack of subtlety but it has some good scenes, and bottle episodes are neat because they feature the Enterprise more than most.
I voted 7. Frank Gorshin is too much fun to pass up.
Also, invisible ship.
Thank the great maker the monkeys that did TOS-R didn't make one.
The heavy handedness never bothered me, really.
Maybe because I know Bele was right and it was all those lousy half-whites' fault!
Also, invisible ship.
Thank the great maker the monkeys that did TOS-R didn't make one.
The heavy handedness never bothered me, really.
Maybe because I know Bele was right and it was all those lousy half-whites' fault!
3. Another morality play delivered with the subtlety of a sledge hammer that would be better described as an "episode of the weak."
This one has little to recommend it. Every time I see the episode, I half-expect Frank Gorshin to break into his Riddler dance and start cackling. Now at least that would have made this episode worth watching! Just think of where they could have taken this slow boat to nowhere.... "Riddle me this, Kirk. When is Spock like a volcano that spits itching powder?" Kirk: "When he's got the seven-year itch of Pon Farr!" (both cackle hilariously).
Whoever thought of having Gorshin and Lou Antonio chase each other through the same corridor set over and over and over again for what seems like about a whole act, well, their idea of riveting drama and mine don't exist on the same dimensional plane.
Given a chance to chomp some popcorn on the couch and watch this one, I'd probably flip over to HGTV instead.
This one has little to recommend it. Every time I see the episode, I half-expect Frank Gorshin to break into his Riddler dance and start cackling. Now at least that would have made this episode worth watching! Just think of where they could have taken this slow boat to nowhere.... "Riddle me this, Kirk. When is Spock like a volcano that spits itching powder?" Kirk: "When he's got the seven-year itch of Pon Farr!" (both cackle hilariously).
Whoever thought of having Gorshin and Lou Antonio chase each other through the same corridor set over and over and over again for what seems like about a whole act, well, their idea of riveting drama and mine don't exist on the same dimensional plane.
Given a chance to chomp some popcorn on the couch and watch this one, I'd probably flip over to HGTV instead.
4
A haphazardly constructed mess of an episode - especially with the self-destruct sequence - which further harms itself by being about as unsubtle as conceivably possible. But it does have Frank Gorshin in it, a man who can elevate almost anything.
A haphazardly constructed mess of an episode - especially with the self-destruct sequence - which further harms itself by being about as unsubtle as conceivably possible. But it does have Frank Gorshin in it, a man who can elevate almost anything.
I gave it a "4". It's actually well-written and acted. And an added bonus was learning about the ship's self-destruct system.
But the plot line was so very preachy. I remember thinking that as a kid watching it first-run. What made it worse was when in 1984 I was stationed at the *bleep* end of the world with only one TV station (AFN), they played Trek reruns five night per week, and THIS episode was played every other Tuesday night. I got totally sick of this episode. For that reason, I just can't give it a higher rating.
But the plot line was so very preachy. I remember thinking that as a kid watching it first-run. What made it worse was when in 1984 I was stationed at the *bleep* end of the world with only one TV station (AFN), they played Trek reruns five night per week, and THIS episode was played every other Tuesday night. I got totally sick of this episode. For that reason, I just can't give it a higher rating.
I recently saw it for the first time in 20+ years. I loved it before and still do. A message can be sent firmly, and strongly, without it hitting you on the head or being overly obvious. That's the case here. The dialogue, especially from Gorshin, more than holds up after all this time... As a kid, I didn't realize just how closely his points and arguments match those of racist authoritarians, then and now. A lot of thought was put into those lines.
This story had to be done big, and forcefully. Some bland, detached sort of Next Gen or Voyager treatment would have taken all its power away. The revelation about their faces being opposite is inspired, and hits you between the eyes, as it needs to. You don't want subtlety at a climax like that. The subtleties come over the next few hours , as you think about the causes, consequences, etc., what it all means for us in real life.
This story had to be done big, and forcefully. Some bland, detached sort of Next Gen or Voyager treatment would have taken all its power away. The revelation about their faces being opposite is inspired, and hits you between the eyes, as it needs to. You don't want subtlety at a climax like that. The subtleties come over the next few hours , as you think about the causes, consequences, etc., what it all means for us in real life.
Over the Top and great fun! The preachyness doesn't even bother me about it. ... STAR TREK always was fond of preaching to the choir, as it is. Anyway, I like how the ending reminds us that although we can look at problems of war and race and god knows what else, these issues can't be handled in some narrow, technical way. "Can't you just let go of your hate and make peace?" is logical, perhaps, but it ignores the reality of how deeply entrenched the grievances are. As hopeful as TOS tried to be, sometimes that reality deserved a nod, all the same.
I gave it a ten because..because, well I liked it and it's one of the last episodes of Trek that really delivers a punch! Shame the figure of Bele never made it to the shops back in the 90s!
JB
JB
Well, this theory that I have--that is to say, which is mine-- ...is mine: Sometimes people need to have something hammered directly into their cranium. Sometimes things can be too obvious and it hurts the story, but in this case, as an almost full, unabashed allegory--and also almost feels like a stage play--the episode succeeds brilliantly. I give it one of my higher ratings from season 3. 4.5 out 5 stars. 9/10
Well, yeah, true. Star Trek often handled controversial subjects with timid subtlety. And this episode was about a subtle as a twenty-pound sledgehammer to the big toe. But even as heavy-handed as it is, I didn't mind the "message" it presented. Standing on the merits of the script, plot, acting, direction, and production, this episode earns a solid six or seven, maybe even an eight. It loses points in my book for being played to death in syndication.
Watch the version I saw on MeTV and it appears that they both make a beeline to the transporter room. Thanks to MeTV's editing.
Here's a scary thought. Can we suppose that the people of Cheron had mirrors?
If they did. That means that every time they looked into a mirror. They saw the face of their enemy.
I expected him to start doing impressions of Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster.
It isn't called "riveting drama"; it's called "padding out the running time."
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