1.13 “The Conscience of the King”

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9 responses to “1.13 “The Conscience of the King””

1. 

   Randi Cohen

   July 29, 2013

   Hahaha!  I laughed out loud reading this Alex.  More once I finish the episode…

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2. 

   Randi Cohen

   July 31, 2013

   Kirk doing Hamlet is surprisingly good.  

   Rand shows up giving a catty/assessing look to the 19 year old hottie on the bridge – they cross paths while entering/exiting the elevator.

   Kirk’s moves are pretty embarrassing to watch, but then space vixen’s are also, as you rightly point out, Alex.

   Also, yes, transferring Riley yet having nobody keep an eye on him just makes no sense as a strategy.  Who wrote this episode??  Also, how exactly does Spock conclude with ironclad logic that it’s the same guy?  Circumstantial evidence at best from what I can tell.  And yes, Kirk’s wish to somehow have the Universe point him in the right direction with absolute certainty in the form of “a feeling” is very Hamlettian indeed.

   Agree that Barbara Anderson was great.

   Regarding Kirk being “mechanized”, I do kind of get that.  I mean, yes, Kodos is a murderer, but his point is that Kirk is not able to step out of the box and consider Kodos’s viewpoint.  Which, oddly, I kind of get.  I mean, if indeed it is true that supply ships were not expected to arrive in time to feed the whole planet, then it would make sense to sacrifice some rather than allow the whole planet to starve.  Would it not?  And you can’t wait till the food is all used up to make the choice either.  Kirk’s logic is the Disney logic of the Prince not being allowed to directly kill the villain because that would make the Prince Evil, even if obviously the villain has to die, which then forces Disney to come up with some mechanism of accidental death in which the hero tries to save him.  Much like Kodos’s own poetic death in which Kirk does not have to actually pull the trigger.

   So actually, I have some sympathy for Kodos here.  And what happens with his daughter, well, I would not wish that on anyone, honestly.  How awful.

   Also agree the Shakespeare quoting was excessive.  And, it is really hard for me to buy that Kirk genuinely cared for the space vixen.  I didn’t see them exchange any comments of substance, meaning, or authenticity, and obviously he didn’t particularly know her well given the developments at the end, so the whole “heartbroken hero” thing falls flat for me.  It seemed more like he thought she was attractive and was enjoying flirting with her than that he was seriously attached.

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3. 

   Melissa Simms

   July 31, 2013

   I found the scenes with Kirk and Lenore K. fascinating.  They get a lot of screen time.  Sure it’s sort of cringe-inducing, a bit like watching your parents make out, but it’s interesting to compare things to the present time.  Is that really how things worked back in the day?  I’ve been reading a recent spate of articles on college hook-up culture that I find pretty depressing http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/08/23/hook_up_culture_women_actually_want_it_and_less_needy_men_too_.html?vm=r&s=1

   so it’s making me nostolgic for old-fashioned dating and witty banter. 

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4. 

   R. Alex Reutter

   July 31, 2013

   Dara Korra’ti, excellent points about this being about Nazi hunting.  I totally see that now. 

   I think it should be possible to put Riley somewhere on the ship where you can have other crewmen always keeping an eye on him, without him getting wind of the fact that he’s under guard… though, on second thought, maybe Kirk’s motivation for putting Riley down in the bowels of the ship was less for Riley’s protection than Kodos’s?  That feels weird, but in line with the 60’s logic of the show.

   I’ll also contend that Hamlet most certainly does not know for sure what happened.  The Ghost accuses Claudius, then Hamlet sets a trap for Claudius using the players, but while Claudius’s reaction is damning, it’s not enough evidence for Hamlet to act, and when Hamlet finally does act, he kills Polonius by mistake.

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5. 

   Randi Cohen

   July 31, 2013

   Hmmm, this is a little off-topic, but I thought that pop culture article was pretty thought-provoking.  It reminds me of the research that men get longer lifespans and more happiness from being married while women get less happy.  Maybe it is indeed time for men on average to get more interested in doing relationship maintenance tasks that have been traditionally left to women.     

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6. 

   Kevin Black

   August 2, 2013

   “The play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.” Hamlet, Act II, sc. 2.

   This episode illustrates what happens when you let English majors write teleplays.

   This is the fashion episode–for sure! Lenore has SIX different costume changes. Kodos the Executioner! That is a great character name.

   There’s no DNA in the future of 1966.

   I like Lenore. I like the way she’s forward with Kirk, and the way she checks him out (like a dude would) at the cocktail party. Note that while Kirk is using her most callously (what a manipulative guy), she’s using him as well. For murder!

   Wow. The cocktail scene. Kirk at a party, seducing. Drinking. He has a creepy smile (leer?). Love the use of the ST theme as lounge music.

   Riley!  It’s good to see you, man! Not court martialed, I see. Uhura singing again, in the recreation area? Heaven.

   Kirk’s confrontation with Kodos is affecting. “What were you 20 years ago?” “Younger, Captain.” (tone full of regret).

   The Enterprise has a theater.  It’s pretty small, although they imply more crewmembers are watching on viewscreens. The players use low tech theater techniques–perhaps this is the fashion of the future. Lenore’s Ophelia is serviceable.

   The Hamlet connection is a little forced on Kirk as he is made to dither endlessly, in the face of overwhelming evidence once he has the voiceprint match to confirm the multiple eyewitness identifications and circumstantial evidence. He reminds me of Indecisive Kirk from “The Enemy Within,” where Spock tells him that such wavering could cost him his command. Can’t let continuity spoil our literary allusion, however!

   The dithering made me wonder what legal recourse is available to them in space. How far are they from a tribunal? Is there a jurisdiction issue? I assume Kirk could arrest Kodos–but what if he can’t? Is frontier justice (pushing him out of an airlock) the only option? Or an ad hoc officer’s tribunal like we saw in “Mudd’s Women” or “The Menagerie?” This seems problematic when the Captain is a witness. The procedural difficulties make the episode morally ambiguous.

   I don’t like that the episode cops out by making things easy for Kirk in the end. Why set up such a juicy scenario then just defuse the bomb? There are so many interesting questions about justice and the possibility of redemption. Still, a good episode with a rich, chilling backstory. According to Memory Alpha, Ronald D. Moore (writer and showrunner for certain seasons of TNG, DS9, and the Battlestar Galactica reboot) calls this his favorite episode of TOS.

   Now that Lenore is criminally insane, will she be dropped off at Dr. Adams’ old prison colony from “Dagger of the Mind?” Can she find her nepenthe under his mind control laser?

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7. 

   Randi Cohen

   August 2, 2013

   Nice use of the word nepenthe!  It has been years since I have had to actually look up a word.  Well, Jeremy did get me with “kerf” last year.  Curse him.

   And, good point about the probable existence of a justice system which could have potentially mitigated Kirk’s responsibility and his dilemma.

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8. 

   Kevin Black

   August 2, 2013

   From Poe:  

   “Wretch,” I cried, “thy God hath lent thee–by these angels he hath sent thee

   Respite–respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!

   Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!”

        Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”

   “The Raven,” stanza 14.

   My English degree also gives me the power of allusion. Not as useful as the Talosians’ powers of illusion….

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9. 

   Michael Hanscom

   August 6, 2013

   I may be duplicating comments already made; I’m watching the episode now and haven’t read your discussion yet. 🙂

   Kodos’ body was burned beyond recognition. Too bad that with all our technological advances, we apparently lost the fine art of DNA testing.

   Doors with actual handles (there were some in Dagger of the Mind as well) always seem anachronistic. It’s a little silly — really, it works fine, and there are probably all sorts of reasons why a simple door is enough — but it just doesn’t seem right for a futuristic door not to “swoosh”.

   Love the lounge-y version of the Star Trek theme music used for the cocktail party’s background music.

   Maybe something changes in the next few centuries so that a mid-30’s man hitting on a 19 year old girl is socially acceptable, and not creepy?

   Apparently, when discovering a body, it’s perfectly acceptable to just trundle it inside and drop it on a couch rather than calling the authorities.

   Spock: “How did you know this girl was coming aboard?” Kirk: “I’m the captain. …Bazinga!”

   I like that there’s an observation deck over the hangar bay. Most of what we see of the Enterprise is the “working” areas; the few glimpses we get of the more recreational areas of the ship are nice touches.

   “…all this power; surging, throbbing, but under control. Are you like that captain?” “Well, two out of three ain’t bad….”

   Riley’s one of my favorite secondary characters. It’s a pity we only see him a few times over the course of the series.

   Plot-wise, this really isn’t a science fiction story at all; simply a fairly standard murder mystery. It could easily be transposed to just about any time period with only minor modifications. That’s not a criticism — it’s a fun little story — just an observation.

   Rather convenient for there to be a special easy-access garbage chute right outside Kirk’s quarters. Where did that phaser go, anyway? Just what is a “pressure vent disposal”? Is it a mini-airlock that popped the phaser outside? A secure pressurized chamber somewhere within the ship (strong enough to contain an explosion violent enough to rock the ship)?

   The pink fuzzy single-arm cover on the actor playing opposite Coridian in the Shakepearean scene is bizarre. Gotta love the result of 60s-futuristic-historical-costuming.

   Good crazy intensity in the daughter’s eyes. And I typed that before the closeup!

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