{"id":4333,"date":"2014-01-30T06:32:19","date_gmt":"2014-01-30T06:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/223-The-Omega-Glory"},"modified":"2014-01-30T06:32:19","modified_gmt":"2014-01-30T06:32:19","slug":"223-the-omega-glory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relivethemajesty.com\/index.php\/2014\/01\/30\/223-the-omega-glory\/","title":{"rendered":"2.23 — \u201cThe Omega Glory\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n

2.23 — \u201cThe Omega Glory\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Plot:<\/strong> The Enterprise<\/em> finds a sister ship, the Constitution-class U.S.S. Exeter<\/em>, floating dead in space, orbiting the planet Omega IV. Its crew is apparently turned to crystals by a space virus, all water drained from their bodies. Down on the planet, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy find the Exeter\u2019s<\/em> captain, Ron Tracy, still alive. He seems, unfortunately, to have abandoned the Prime Directive by interfering with a local war between the savage Yangs and long-living Kohms. Tracy believes the Kohms may hold the secret to vastly extending human lifespans, and that the secret may be exploitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thoughts:<\/strong> That\u2019s a heck of a disease the crew of the Exeter<\/em> contracted. Symptoms: sudden stomach cramping; total dissolution of the molecular structure of the body. If you’re infected, please stay home and cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are several things I don\u2019t understand about the opening scenes. Why not try hailing the Exeter<\/em> before beaming over? Really, just taking one security officer? And how come no one in Starfleet noticed when the ship failed to report in for 6 months?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I liked the use of low light and shadows, giving a creepy cast to the repurposed Enterprise<\/em> sets. Just like on “The Doomsday Machine,” seeing the empty rooms makes the idea that Kirk’s crew could all be killed more real. The dramatic reveal of the empty uniform at Kirk\u2019s feet just after watching the surgeon’s final log entry was effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Finally–the \u201cnon-interference directive\u201d we\u2019ve been hearing about all season is properly named as the \u201cPrime Directive.\u201d Kirk explains it like this: \u201cA star captain’s most solemn oath is that he will give his life, even his entire crew, rather than violate the Prime Directive.\u201d He later tells Tracy, \u201cI don’t think we have the right or the wisdom to interfere, however a planet is evolving.\u201d The Kirk Corollary, of course, seen already in \u201cA Piece of the Action,\u201d is \u201cUnless the civilization has been royally screwed up by interference already, in which case just do your best.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why is Tracy such a jerk? I like the actor, but I don’t buy it, story-wise. There’s a lot of flyaway loose plot strands in this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It was easy to see the plot twist coming in which \u00a0the “savages\u201d turn out to be noble and misjudged. When they start the flag-waving and reading the Constitution, not so much. We have to take this as a parallel Earth story–it\u2019s obviously ridiculous to imagine that the world could have experienced parallel evolution to the extent of identical details and phrasing of Governmental precepts, down the stars on the flag and handwriting on the Constitution. The most famous parallel Earth story, Planet of the Apes<\/em> \u00a0(1968), premiered in theaters just 20 days before this episode first aired on television. Maybe they both copied a common concept? Never mind how it works, it\u2019s interesting to think about the alternate history possibilities. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Both Gene Roddenberry and some other members of the Star Trek<\/em> staff (Robert Justman, Gene Coon, and others) served in World War II, so I guess they can be expected to be patriotic? The flag-waving felt extreme to me, but it\u2019s possible to interpret Kirk\u2019s speech about the Yangs slurring the meaning of the original words of the Constitution as a rebuke to the Nixon administration and other politicians forgetful of the nation’s founding principles. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is the first time the Federation is explicitly identified as being the spiritual heir of the U.S. government, as opposed to humanity in general. I don’t care for it. This episode is a curiosity–we probably won\u2019t see many more like it, if we watch all 725 episodes of Star Trek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2 of 5 drained phaser power packs.<\/p>\n\n\n

http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Omega_Glory<\/a>