Series: Star Trek: The Original Series
Season 2, Episode 23
Original Air Date: March 1, 1968
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| via Star Trek Fan Companion |
The Enterprise discovers yet another planet which has suffered from the cultural interference of a Federation emissary, in this case Ronald Tracy, captain of the USS Exeter. Stranded on the planet Omega IV when the entire crew of his ship succumbed to disease, Tracey discovered he was immune as long as he never left. The hardy constitutions of the planet's natives afforded them long lives and Tracey lived in hope of discovering their secrets. But Omega IV's inhabitants, the Yangs and the Kohms, are locked in brutal war. Tracey sided with the Kohms and supplied them with phasers, a clear violation of the Prime Directive. All standard Trek fare so far.
Then the story, admittedly, runs off the rails. When Kirk, Spock and McCoy fall into the hands of the Yangs, they piece things together, drawing upon 20th century Earth parallels. The Yangs, the Caucasion-seeming savages, are the Yanks or Yankees. The Asiatic Kohms are the Communists. It was as if the Earth conflicts had gone the other way and the Asian Commies had won (bear in mind, the Vietnam War had yet to play out in its entirety). But the Yangs held on to their holy relics: an American flag and a copy of the US Constitution. How such items made their way across the galaxy is a fair question and my TV Production teacher's main gripe.
"The Omega Glory" was one of relatively few episodes which creator Gene Roddenberry wrote himself. Expecting a speculative fiction universe to be "realistic" is probably missing the point a bit. However, I think eye rolling over the heavy-handed symbolism is fair.
The episode does contain one truly great line towards the end, even if it is quite a long walk getting there. Kirk chastises the Yangs for treasuring the words of the Constitution without understanding them. He says to their chief, the Holy Words "must apply to everyone or they have no meaning."
*****
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| via Memory Beta |
The Enterprise happens upon a planet of the condemned. Convicts sentenced to death have been sent to uninhabited worlds which are doomed to impending supernova (Can a planet supernova? Is supernova a verb?). The prisoner leader Targu and his goons capture Captain Kirk and the rest of the landing party, intending to use them as leverage to escape their plight.
The Gold Key folks seem to have a better handle on the philosophy of the series than they did in issue #1 (review here). However, there's still room for improvement. When the Enterprise finds itself caught in an electronic field, Kirk's intention is to destroy its source, usually not the Federation way.
I think a lot of viewers felt the series had gone off the rails at that point. The more I looked at how the season progressed, it was easier to understand why Star Trek had such a hard time just surviving three seasons. Everyone says the third season was terrible as a whole, but the quality slacked off before that.
ReplyDeleteThere are some true gems in Season 2 - "Journey to Babel," "Mirror, MIrror" - but in general, it's weaker than the first. It's much easier to detect formula. Even the very best TV shows depend upon formula to an extent but it's awkward when it feels obvious - like a guy who doesn't realize he put his underpants on over his jeans.
DeleteI look forward to Season 3 with morbid fascination.
Re."Can a planet supernova?" Grammatically, supernova is an intergalactic gerund. I remember this episode and considered it mindful for the time and appropriate for any time. Roddenberry was addressing a troubled nation.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a problem with the message - it's a sound one. I'm not even overly troubled by the big stretch of the relics turning up where they shouldn't. It's a story, roll with the metaphor.
DeleteCharacters explaining a story's symbolism feels a bit like an eight-year-old explaining his own joke. (I guess I'm all about the similes this morning.) If you can't depend upon your audience to get it the first time, over-explaining only draws attention to the flaws.
When one hears the phrase "American exceptionalism" in political discourse, it's tempting to assume the speaker is being kind of a Yang about it. But I think that, sometimes, the speaker is echoing Kirk's reminder that we're built on a foundation that's not tribal, but instead based on some pretty cool ideas. Eee plebnista.
ReplyDeleteThe metaphor established in this story has lost no relevance whatsoever, even if the philosophical characters have changed. Too many Americans, in my opinion, still put too much faith in the symbols with little regard as to their ideological significance. It's still "us and them" for far too many.
DeleteI don't remember much about that episode but the series had more a few episodes I found same old, same old. Probably why I forgot that one.
ReplyDeleteTrek had to fight hard to get a third season. Poor ratings were the main issue but episodes like this one probably didn't help.
DeleteI took TV Production in college--my major was broadcast journalism. I worked for the campus TV station...we had a blast!
ReplyDeleteFor me, the history of TV was actually the best part. I was glad to learn the tech stuff, too. It was demystifying in many ways - in a healthy sense.
DeleteThat first picture looks familiar.
ReplyDeleteSome episodes were stale or not written with subtlety.
Yeah, this one's on the weaker side.
DeleteI wish I'd had a teacher like that. Roddenberry's strength was always that he surrounded himself with great people, but when he tried to do it all himself he faltered. Star Trek has gone above and beyond him though.
ReplyDeleteShe was, without a doubt, one of the most dynamic teachers I've ever had. Years later, I did an internship at a summer workshop with her - amazing woman.
DeleteRoddenberry's basic vision is the true power of the franchise and the secret of its enduring appeal. For all of the bells and whistles, Star Trek is, at its heart, a very simple idea. That's why it still works.
That had to be a super cool class! We didn't have anything like that when I was in middle school. Your teacher sounds so inspiring. :)
ReplyDelete~Jess
She was great.
DeleteFirst of all, I thought I went to an exceptional high school until I realized that you had much cooler class options. I would have taken that in a flash!
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I know I must have seen all the Star Trek episodes at least once, but dagnabbit, SquidYank, you're reviews and insights are spot on and make me feel like a goldfish watching the tube.
It's not a bad thing... ;-)
It's a fun little project for me. I'm delighted that anyone cares to read my little musings.
DeleteGood times. Yangs and the Kohms were weighted down by all the symbolism, good vs. evil, Kirk to save the day and deliver the magic line--I remember that one fondly. Just because it was so out there.
ReplyDeleteNever had the comics. Sadly.
P.S. Your teacher must have been so creative to allow you each to explore the possibilities. An awesome teacher.
DeleteCreative, indeed - boundless energy and a touch of crazy.
DeleteI will have to admit while reading this my mind screamed "nerd alert" lol! My boyfriend would be the one to talk to about the Trek's but it seems you have it all pretty figured out :)
ReplyDeleteEmbrace the inner geek, ceslavie22!
DeleteTerrific analysis! Any TV show (or book or movie) that beats the viewer over the head with its obvious symbolism and not-so-hidden meanings misses the mark for me. Far better for viewers/readers to discover those symbols and meanings on their own. Such self-discovery serves two purposes: it makes the viewer/reader feel inordinately clever to have figured it out on his own, and it instills admiration in him over the cleverness of the writers. Being force-fed the writers' "moral of the story" is apt to cause a gag reflex.
ReplyDeleteBUT... I still loved "Star Trek." It sure beat the heck out of the old "Flash Gordon" shows of the '50s.
Thanks.
DeleteI still love it, too. But not all of the episodes are equal, to be sure.