Series: Star Trek: The Original Series
Season 2, Episode 26
Original Air Date: March 29, 1968
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| via Johnny LaRue's Crane Shot |
Wait a minute...
Our heroes can time travel at will now? This is, in fact, the only story in the entire franchise where this happens. As I've explained before, I don't like the way Trek handles time travel so I was predisposed to dislike this story. But I have to admit the episode is not without its fun and also contains a few unfortunate historical coincidences.
The guest stars, intended to carry on in the proposed new series, are quite good. Gary Seven is played by Robert Lansing, that guy who looks like Steve McQueen but isn't Steve McQueen. His secretary is none other than Teri Garr (who apparently hated every minute of her Trek experience). Gary Seven also has a black cat, Isis, who looks an awful lot like one of our own feline tenants. The episode incorporates NASA stock footage, a fascinating juxtaposition with the space exploration depicted in the series.
The historical coincidences are not happy ones. Before they go down to Earth, Spock says there was an important assassination on this day. Six days after the episode aired, Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed. There was also a botched NASA launch on the same day, not unlike the one depicted in the story.
*****
Thoughts on Season 2
General Impressions
Star Trek's second season starts off strong, picking up where the first left off. However, as the year wears on, it's easier to see story ideas being recycled more frequently from week to week. While the sophomore effort is weaker overall, there are a few gems: "Mirror, Mirror," "The Trouble with Tribbles" and "Journey to Babel" all rank among Trek's finest episodes.
Spock gets some nice character development in this second season. We see his home planet and meet his family. His relationship with Dr. McCoy gets a fair amount of attention, too.
Favorite Episode: "Journey to Babel"
It's a tough choice between this one and "Mirror, Mirror." But "Journey to Babel" has more important implications for the franchise as a whole. The original series takes a lot of criticism from Trekkies more devoted to The Next Generation for its relatively ill-defined principal characters. While this is fair to a point, we learn quite a lot about Spock and his personal demons in "Journey to Babel." His hand on the door after his mother leaves the room - wow! That's easily my favorite moment of the entire series so far.
It is not lost on me that Mark Lenard guest starred in my favorite episodes from each of the first two seasons.
Least Favorite Episode: "The Omega Glory"
While the second season isn't as strong as the first, I had trouble picking a genuine clunker. The featured episode in this post, "Assignment: Earth," was a tempting choice in light of my objection to the premise but I enjoyed it in spite of myself. Teri Garr will do that to you.
I'm going to side with my old TV Production teacher and go with "The Omega Glory." The formulaic plot, the heavy-handed symbolism and the bigger than usual demands on our suspension of disbelief are a losing combination.
Favorite Guest Star: Jane Wyatt
Jane Wyatt had a rock-solid TV resume by the time she appeared on Trek, having already won three Emmys for her role in Father Knows Best. In "Journey to Babel," she is Amanda, mother of Spock. She and Mark Lenard, who played Spock's father, had wonderful on-screen chemistry. The two invented the Vulcan sign of affection on their own: the touching of two fingers.
Onward?
I can't give up now! It's hard to believe given its long-term legacy, but Trek struggled mightily in the weekly ratings during its initial run. Only the appeals of devoted fans kept the show from being cancelled after the second season.
1968 was a year of great consequence in American history. Two days after "Assignment: Earth" aired, President Lyndon Johnson announced that he wouldn't be seeking re-election (bowing to the inevitable - he was not likely even to win his party's nomination). Then King was killed on April 4th, sparking riots in cities across the country. Over the summer, Bobby Kennedy would also be assassinated. Meanwhile, the Vietnam War raged on and the tensions between the counter-culture and the establishment were building. All came to a bitter, violent and nationally-televised climax at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with police beating protesters in the streets. The United States was a different place when Trek came back in September.
Set a course, Mr. Sulu...
He-hey Squidman! We're all bloggin' simultaneously. Awright, lemme read yer post and then I'll post a real comment.
ReplyDeleteHa! Time travel. We're posting about the same topic, too!
Delete'Kay back to reading.
I like Teri Garr, too. And Isis is a fantastic name for a cat. Awkward and tragic about the eerie historical coincidences ...
ReplyDeleteOkay, so I like the way you summed up your thoughts on the entire season, with high and low points. That was quite cool.
Thank you. It is indeed freaky that we were posting about the same thing at the same time. Or, as the most bodacious time travelers of them all would say, "Excellent!"
DeleteAll we are, is dust in the wind, dude.
Assignment: Earth is one of my favorite episodes! I loved how Gary Seven went around making people take naps. Teri Garr was quirky and adorable in her role as Roberta(?). It's been years. I'm going to watch that one again.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed, Roberta Lincoln!
DeleteI think everyone realized it was a mistake to make time travel easy. This was a matter of convenience.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad they never did it again.
DeleteTime travel can ruin shows. It's too complicated when messing with the past.
ReplyDeleteIt sure can. To me, it's always a sure sign the writers have run out of ideas.
DeleteTrek and time travel and have never gone down easy with me.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you there.
DeleteWe're one of the few households that just never seemed to work in time for Star Trek. Don't know why.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure there were so few. Seriously, the ratings were terrible. The network also kept moving the show to progressively less appealing time slots.
DeleteAm I in the majority? I always loved time traveling in a story line; even in dumb movies, like "Somewhere in Time." Okay...confession: I liked that movie, too.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has a topic that they fantasize about, like winning the lottery or having three wishes. Time travel is one of my go-to fantasy day dreams. I do a lot of genealogy, and sometimes, I just wish I could actually be in a time period to get the real feel of it.
I promise not to ever disrupt the past, should that occur.
I totally understand the fascination and the urge. I simply believe that it's the rare storyteller who handles it well. Trek is great at exploring the galaxy and the moral spectrum. Traveling the timeline? That's Doctor Who's forte.
DeleteThis was an interesting episode, but always feels too much like the backdoor pilot Roddenberry was hoping for. It's noteable, but not one of my favorites. Like most TV shows the second season of Star Trek did let it flex it's muscles and explore some new areas. Thanks for the memories Squid!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure. It is sort of Trek that isn't really Trek. Fun in its way though.
DeleteI didn't know about he historical coincidences but I sure liked that episode. Terry Garr was great. What a shame she hated the experience.
ReplyDeleteApparently, she refuses to even talk about it in interviews.
DeleteInteresting summary of the year 1968. Didnt realize how historically packed that year really was!
ReplyDeleteIt was a particularly important year in my family, too. For starters, it was the year my parents were married.
DeleteI like time travel in stories, as long as it's done well. Sometimes it's tricky, messy, and too convenient.
ReplyDeleteWhen it's done well, it's awesome. No argument here.
DeleteI don't know if you ever watched the old Twilight Zones, but the way they handled aliens was HORRIBLE. There was one episode where it was clear they were made from cardboard boxes and aluminum foil! I guess they didn't have the special effects down back then to handle things like time travel gracefully.
ReplyDeleteHow were the stories, though? The original Dr. Whos are like that, too. Alien costumes are just silly. But I'm prepared to forgive classic scifi its terrible special effects as long as the stories are good. After all, these days the effects are amazing but the stories too often fail to live up to them.
Delete