Science fiction has repeatedly become science fact. Star Trek has always presented a future where man and machine have worked together – and sometimes against each other. Computers and androids have assisted the crew of the Enterprise in every series, and technology has been something they’ve come to rely on. Yet as anybody who’s been the victim of hacking, has dealt with a mobile phone or bank machine glitch or confronted the Borg knows, technology can become our enemy too. Yet it’s really not the machine’s fault, it’s faulty programming… and for that you can blame the programmers.
In both of the episodes here we have examples of technology out of control, and societies relying more on machines than trusting themselves and those around them. While future series may have had Starfleet personnel using technology to great advantage, Captain Kirk understood that it should benefit us without enslaving us. In the right hands it can be a wonderful tool, but in the wrong hands or when artificial intelligence kicks in it can be dangerous….
Court Martial – Summary: The Enterprise has docked at Starbase 11 for repairs after being caught in an ion storm, which resulted in the death of Lt. Commander Ben Finney who was in a pod that got ejected while the ship was at red alert. Kirk goes through the details of the incident with Commodore Stone, but after Finney’s daughter accuses Kirk of murder, Stone checks the records and they indicate that the pod was ejected while at yellow alert and organises an inquiry. In the course of the investigation, Stone learns that Finney and Kirk’s relationship had been hostile, and believes that Kirk may have caused Finney’s death intentionally. Kirk aggressively welcomes a court martial to prove his innocence, although can’t understand how the evidence is against him.
Kirk asks his former girlfriend Areel Shaw to represent him, but she instead suggests he use the eccentric lawyer Samuel T. Cogley, since she’ll be leading the prosecution against Kirk. At the court martial, Spock’s testimony is that the computer records are wrong and Kirk’s nature wouldn’t allow him to act out of malice, but has no actual proof to back him up. McCoy tries to defend Kirk’s character but can’t avoid the facts. Cogley avoids any cross-examination, but calls Kirk to testify. Kirk sticks with the facts and doesn’t apologise for his actions, but when he’s shown footage from the Enterprise of him jettisoning the pod while at yellow alert his guilt seems overwhelming. Kirk grimly suggests that Spock find himself a new chess opponent.
This gives Spock an idea, and he engages the computer in several chess games. McCoy criticises his coldness, but Spock explains that he has beaten the computer four times in a row, something impossible since he should only have been able to achieve a stalemate. Cogley suggests that the case be moved to the Enterprise, where he points out that the computer has been reprogrammed and suggests Finney has faked his own death. All personnel are beamed to the surface and they start reading the heartbeats of everyone on board. After filtering out the heartbeats of those on the bridge the ship should be silent… but one remains. Using it they locate the insane Finney, hiding in engineering, who has sabotaged the ship. After a brief struggle Finney is apprehended and the ship saved, while Kirk is cleared of all charges. While Kirk says farewell to Shaw he learns with amusement that the eccentric Cogley will represent Finney in the future.
The Return of the Archons – Summary: On planet Beta III a search party consisting of Sulu and O’Neil are being chased by cloaked mysterious figures called Lawgivers. Only Sulu makes it back, although he has been altered to be permanently contented. Kirk, investigating the disappearance of the USS Archon a hundred years prior, beams down with his own landing party to find out what has been happening. A strangely-contented local greets them and advises them to find somewhere to rest soon since “The Red Hour” is almost upon them. When the town clock chimes, the peaceful locals suddenly become violent and sexually aggressive, creating anarchy in the streets. The landing party barely manage to escape, and make their way to shelter in a local boarding house.
In the morning the town clock chimes again, and the raging chaos instantly stops as the locals return to their contented ways. Reger, the owner of the boarding house, assumes they must be “Archons” and says they need to hide, but Lawgivers arrive and confront Kirk and his party to absorb them into “The Body”. They escape but once the landing party is out on the street they are stalked by the citizens who are under the telepathic control of Landru, the fate of those absorbed into The Body. Reger leads them to safety and tells them that Landru forced the USS Archon to crash and when Kirk communicates with Scotty he finds out that the Enterprise is soon to suffer the same fate.
A hologram of Landru appears, telling Kirk that he has created a perfect world of tranquillity, and that they too will be absorbed into The Body. They are captured, and while McCoy is absorbed, Kirk and Spock are saved by Marplon, a member of the resistance. They realise that Landru is a machine that has brought peace to the society but robbed it of individuality. They locate Landru and Kirk argues that it has violated its own directives by harming the people it has tried to save, causing the machine to self-destruct. Free of Landru’s influence the people have independence and the Enterprise is saved. A team of Federation advisers stay behind to help the people of Beta III regain what they have lost, while Kirk explains to Spock that mankind is lucky it never had such stagnation caused by perfection.
While both Court Martial and The Return of the Archons are good ideas, neither can be considered that good. In Court Martial we’re never in doubt about Kirk’s innocence and the moment we hear that the computer records contradict him we know that something’s wrong. Kirk’s aggressive nature in demanding the court martial is also poorly handled, and it’s a moment that makes Kirk look arrogant, not heroic. There are still some good moments though, in particular Spock realising through his games of chess that the computer must have been tampered with, and Elisha Cook as Sam Cogley is quirky and brilliant, making passionate speeches about human rights and the power of books and personal knowledge over a reliance on computers.
The Return of the Archons starts brilliantly, and at times resembles The Body Snatchers and a host of zombie films. It’s sufficiently creepy and that mood follows throughout, especially when we see McCoy as one of The Body. Unfortunately Landru isn’t that great as a villain, and while the concept of perfection versus stagnation is a good philosophical argument it’s poorly played out by having Kirk simply overload the computer with a moral debate, something that they would repeat in later episodes. While neither episode here is bad, they both fall short of greatness.
