Star Date: 1512.2
Summary: The Enterprise is mapping uncharted space --- truly, where no human has gone before --- when they suddenly encounter a large, colorful spinning cube blocking their way. It does not appear to be a starship with a crew, but rather some kind of beacon or sentinel. When the Enterprise attempts to retreat back the way they came, the cube follows them, getting closer and closer, until finally Kirk is forced to destroy it with the ship's phasers in order to prevent the cube's radiation from harming his crew.
Afterward, Kirk directs the ship to continue on its original course, reminding his crew that their mission is to "seek out and contact alien life". In short order, they succeed, as the ship which originally sent out the cube confronts the Enterprise, insisting that destruction of the cube proves that their intentions are not peaceful. This ship is a huge sphere, at least a mile in diameter. The alien confronting them is named Balok, and Balok clearly has a technological edge. He is able to hold the Enterprise, disable its weapons, and examine all data on its computers. He then informs everyone aboard that he will destroy the Enterprise in 10 minutes, leaving Kirk to try a number of gambits to obtain a reprieve. During this time, Spock manages to get a blurred image of Balok, a stern-looking humanoid figure.
Kirk successfully bluffs Balok by telling him that the Enterprise contains "corbomite", a substance which will deliver an equal force back to Balok's ship if Balok attempts to destroy the Enterprise. At this, Balok relents, and sends out a much smaller vessel to tow the Enterprise to a planet where the crew of the Enterprise will be imprisoned for life. As the larger ship departs, Kirk plots to overpower the smaller ship's engines by pulling against the tractor beam holding them. His plan succeeds, and as the Enterprise breaks free, the smaller ship is disabled, with Balok aboard. Balok sends a distress signal to the mother ship, but Kirk is certain the mother ship can't hear it. Despite Balok's earlier belligerence, Kirk beams over with McCoy and another crewman to aid Balok. They find that what they thought was Balok was in fact just a puppet, and the real Balok is a smaller, jovial man who invites the Enterprise crew to join him for drinks. He explains that everything that had come before was only a test, so he could learn the true intentions of those on the Enterprise.
This was definitely the best episode so far. It had everything: suspense, humor, intrigue, and a surprise ending. And best of all, there were really no holes in the plot, a first for a Star Trek episode.
A secondary plot was the coming of age of one crewman named (I kid you not) Dave Bailey. At one point, McCoy compares Bailey to a younger Jim Kirk: impulsive, questioning authority, prone to be overwhelmed by events --- and possibly promoted to the position of navigator before he is ready. Bailey's lack of experience shows, and as the clock is clicking down on Balok's promise to destroy the Enterprise, Bailey lashes out at everyone on the bridge, and is ultimately relieved of his duties. He returns to the bridge with only 30 seconds left, asks permission to resume his duties, and Kirk acquiesces --- probably because Kirk doesn't want Bailey to have to die ashamed. In the end, Kirk gives Bailey an opportunity to redeem himself by beaming over to Balok's ship and staying with Balok as an ambassador of sorts.
This episode is also where we first see Starfleet principles spelled out, by Kirk, on two occasions. We also see a bit of dry humor from Kirk and Spock on the first of these occasions, after the cube has been destroyed and Kirk has to decide whether to continue on course or go back.
Kirk: Care to speculate on what we'll find if we go on ahead?
Spock: Speculate? Well, logically, we'll discover the intelligence which sent out the cube.
Kirk: Intelligence different from ours, or superior?
Spock: Probably both. And if you're asking the logical decision to make . . .
Kirk: No, no, no. The mission of the Enterprise is to seek out and contact alien life.
Spock: (After a pause, a bit nettled) Has it occurred to you that there's a certain --- inefficiency --- in constantly questioning me on things you've already made up your mind about?
Kirk: It gives me emotional security.
The second occurs just before Kirk, McCoy and Bailey beam over to Balok's disabled ship to offer aid, when there is still reason to believe Balok is a threat. When McCoy tries to change Kirk's mind, Kirk responds: "What's the mission of this vessel, doctor? To seek out and contact alien life, and an opportunity to demonstrate what our high-sounding words mean."
In fact, this is really the first episode where the dialog is worth listening to. There is some great banter between Kirk and McCoy, and between Kirk and Spock; it is genuinely funny as well as being dramatic. I won't try to list it all, but I will give two other examples:
When the cube is first encountered, Kirk is undergoing a quarterly physical exam with McCoy. Kirk can't see the red flashing light indicating an emergency situation, and McCoy doesn't inform Kirk, even though he can see it. When Kirk finds out about McCoy's omission, he chastises him and then runs out of the room, leaving McCoy all alone as he says: "What am I, a doctor or a moon shuttle conductor? If I jumped every time a light came on around here, I'd end up talking to myself."
Also, upon seeing the Balok puppet (but not knowing it's a puppet), Spock says it reminds him of his father, which makes Scotty express sympathy for Spock's mother.
Other observations about this episode:
I wonder what Balok would have done if Kirk hadn't come up with "the Corbomite maneuver"? Surely he would have given some other excuse not to destroy the Enterprise, but what?
Sulu keeps a countdown clock of the 10 minutes Balok has given them before destroying the ship. It is the same clock we see in "The Naked Time"; however, in this episode, the clock is counting down because it's a timer. In "The Naked Time", the clock is counting down because they're going backward in time.
I love the final line of Kirk's bluff: "Death has little meaning to us. If it has none to you, then attack us now. We grow annoyed at your foolishness."
The Moral of the Story: You stand by your principles even when it's inconvenient to do so. That's what makes them your principles.
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