First Aired: March 23, 1967Cast:
John Abbott (Ayelborne)
John Colicos (Kor)
Peter Brocco (Claymare)
Victor Lundin (Klingon Lieutenant #1)
David Hillary Hughes (Trefayne)
Walt Davis (Klingon Soldier #1)
George Sawaya (Klingon Lieutenant #2)
Writer: Gene L. Coon
Blimey, been months! Anyhow, this is a very special episode, since it contains the first reference and appearance of the Klingons, and the brilliant John Colicos as Kor.
The first thing I notice is what Kirk says to the Organians about the Klingons: they apparently run slave labour camps, and take hostages. At one point Kirk grabs a Klingon soldier and threatens to kill him if he does not give Kirk some information. The Klingon complies, which a later Klingon would not have done. They are a people who have a love of war. All of these things are later contradicted - Klingons have a love on honour, which suggests that most of the things above are not part of their culture.It is interesting to theorise about this - did Kirk exagerate the danger to try and convince the Organians to accept their help, or did the Federation use propaganda to ensure that their own people were more scared or angry at the Klingon race? Not very Roddenberry-esque, but interesting all the same.
The big thing that surprised me about this episode was how wordy it was. Given that the Klingons have a reputation for violence, there is very little in evidence in the show - it is implied but not seen on screen. Really the episode is a two hander between Shatner and Colicos, with some cracking dialogue between them. The other surprise, given how wordy the episode is, is how quickly it went - it did not drag at all. The final revelation that the Organians are far more advanced than we thought they were was something I had remembered was coming, but I guess it would not have been much of a twist even if you knew it was coming - these guys did not seem resigned to their fate, simply not bothered by what was going on, and logically there could have been no other explanation.
So the Organians prevent a war, they even predict that the Klingons and Federation will get on in the future.
Quite a satisfying episode, and an interesting introduction to the Klingon race.
Crew Deaths: 0
Total Crew Deaths So Far: 26
Score: 7/10
