Star date: 3842.3
Summary: The Enterprise is collecting diplomats from various systems and transporting them to the planetoid of Babel to discuss the application of the Coridan planets to join the Federation. The last delegation to arrive is the Vulcan delegation, led by Sarek and his wife Amanda. Despite displaying coolness toward the ship's only Vulcan crew member, Spock, we learn that Sarek and Amanada are in fact Spock's mother and father. We later learn that Spock and Sarek are estranged as a result of Spock's decision to join Starfleet rather than attend the Vulcan Science Academy. We also learn that Uhura is picking up bits and pieces of a transmission from an unknown vessel.
Tensions run high among the delegates over the Coridan question due to Coridan's rich deposits of dilithium crystals. At one point, Kirk has to intervene when a discussion between Sarek and a Tellarite diplomat, Gav, verges on violence. Shortly afterward, Gav is found dead, his neck broken in the manner of Vulcan "tal-shaya". Of course Sarek becomes a prime suspect, but as Kirk is interrogating him, he collapses due to a heart condition he has recently developed but kept hidden from Amanda. Meanwhile, the unknown vessel has been detected by Enterprise sensors and is visible, but does not respond to hails and continues to follow the Enterprise at the limit of sensor range.
McCoy examines Sarek in sick bay, and determines that he requires surgery; however, Sarek has a rare Vulcan blood type, and Spock, the only viable donor on the ship, cannot possibly supply enough blood to keep Sarek alive through the operation. After some research, Spock and McCoy conclude that the use of an experimental drug might allow Spock to produce enough blood to operate on Sarek --- or it might kill Spock, leaving Sarek to die anyway. Spock wishes to go ahead with the procedure, but McCoy and Amanda both forbid it.
Meanwhile, Kirk is attacked by an Andorian named Thelev. Kirk succeeds in subduing Thelev, but not before Thelev stabs Kirk and punctures his left lung. By now, it is certain that Sarek will die without surgery, and so McCoy and Amanda reverse their earlier position and ask Spock to act as donor. However, with Kirk critically wounded, Spock refuses to relinquish command of the Enterprise. Amanda confronts Spock, begging him to reconsider, and even strikes him in anger, but Spock holds firm in his position. When Kirk learns of Spock's decision, he resolves to act as though he has healed and relieve Spock of command, with the intention of relinquishing command to Scotty as soon as Spock is in surgery. However, before Kirk gets the chance to transfer command to Scotty, Uhura detects that the alien vessel which has been following the Enterprise this whole time is sending transmissions to Thelev in the brig. A search by security discovers a transceiver hidden in Thelev's fake antenna. This discovery prompts an attack on the Enterprise by the alien vessel.
The alien vessel is not as well armed as the Enterprise, but can move more swiftly. Thus it can attack the Enterprise while avoiding counterattacks. The Enterprise absorbs several hits, all while Spock and Sarek are on the operating table in sickbay. Kirk eventually "plays dead", shutting down all power except for life support and phasers. This draws the alien vessel in close enough for Kirk to take a clean shot at them, disabling their ship. However, the ship self-destructs before any survivors can be taken aboard, and Thelev, who is not really Andorian but only disguised as one, also dies as the result of a suicide pill he'd taken earlier.
With the danger past, McCoy is able to successfully complete the operation on Sarek. Spock concludes that the insurgents who attacked the Enterprise were Orion smugglers who stood to profit by sowing suspicion among the delegates and starting a war over Coridan.
This was definitely one of the series' better episodes. So if experience is any guide, the next show will suck. But seriously, there are three different plot lines, all of them well-written and interesting, and they interact with one another well. The climax of McCoy performing an operation with two Vulcan lives in the balance while the Enterprise is under attack is great drama, and of course we get to learn more about Spock, everyone's favorite character.
Speaking of which, we get a brief, private glimpse of genuine emotion from Spock after Amanda has come to his cabin to berate him for refusing to relinquish command in order to be the blood donor for his father's operation. Amanda slaps him in the face and walks out, and after the door closes, Spock places his hand on it, as if in need of support to carry his twin burdens of command and duty to his father.
We learn other interesting tidbits about Spock's background as well, including the fact that other Vulcan children bullied him when he was younger because he is half-human, as well as the more amusing fact that he was very fond of his pet "Salot" when he was a boy, a pet described as a Teddy Bear but alive and with 6-inch fangs.
Considering how generally awful Star Trek sets and special effects are (prior to the recent digital remastering anyway), the few shots we see of the diplomats are fairly well done: the Tellarites, the Andorians, and several others who we only see but learn nothing about --- including the gold-skinned midgets who like to put what looks like Easter eggs in their drinks.
The only criticism I have about the episode --- and it is minor --- is that no explanation is given for McCoy and Amanda's about-face on the subject of Spock being a blood donor. When the possibility first arises, McCoy is opposed and Amanda says "I refuse to permit it. I won't risk both of you." Almost as soon as Kirk gets stabbed --- and Spock is therefore no longer available as a donor --- McCoy is asking Spock to get on the operating table and Amanda is smacking him around for not doing it, even going so far as to say "Nothing is as important as your father's life," and "I'll hate you for the rest of my life," if he doesn't act as donor. People become irrational in life-and-death moments, so a change of view is understandable, even though this one seems remarkably abrupt.
Oh yeah --- the Orion smugglers actually do some pretty dumb things here. Trying to assassinate Kirk makes sense, but with a knife?!? How about something a little surer, like poison or a phaser? And why do it in a corridor of the Enterprise, rather than someplace more secluded? (Answer: because you can choreograph a better fight scene in the corridor). Also, one of the smarter things they do is trying to frame Sarek for the assassination of Gav. But by hovering around the Enterprise just out of phaser range, they at least provide a clue that there might be another party involved.
Other observations about this episode . . .
It's too bad we don't learn more of the history between Sarek and Amanda. I'm still curious to know how Sarek ended up with an Earth woman, what with Pon Farr and all.
This episode occurs after "Amok Time", so I would generally expect that when the Enteprise picks up Sarek and Amanda at Vulcan, we would see T'Pau raging around demanding answers for the trick McCoy and Kirk played during Spock's Pon Farr.
Also, seeing Spock's parents, I can't help but wonder: are Vulcans unemotional, detached and logical in the bedroom too? In which case, how sad for Amanda!
Apparently when Vulcan spouses are together, they are obliged to dedicate significant amounts of time to holding the index and middle fingers of their right hand extended, and touching the similarly extended fingers of their spouse.
It was cool to see the green Vulcan blood getting pumped through the transfusion machine.
Last comment regarding Vulcans in this episode: as all good Trekkies must know, Mark Lenard, who played Sarek in this episode, also played the Romulan commander in "Balance of Terror". No wonder the crew members in "Balance of Terror" saw a resemblance between Spock and the Romulans.
When the danger has passed, Kirk doesn't transfer command to Scotty, as originally planned, but to Chekhov of all people. So at a minimum, all of these people are ahead of Uhura in the chain of command: Kirk, Spock, Sulu, Scotty, DeSalle, Chekhov (if you wonder why I care about this, look here).
Speaking of Sulu, where has he been? He's been AWOL for the past three episodes. On leave or something, I guess.
Finally, there is this amusing exchange between Spock, Sarek and Amanda at the end of the show:
Amanda: Logic, logic! I'm sick to death of logic! Do you want to know how I feel about your logic?The Moral of the Story: Heroes never hesitate to sacrifice for the greater good.
Spock: Emotional, isn't she?
Sarek: She has always been that way.
Spock: Indeed? Why did you marry her?
Sarek: At the time, it seemed the logical thing to do.
No comments:
Post a Comment