Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 3: The Corbomite Maneuver [VHS]

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3 star:		(4)
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You know after a Star Trek episode, during the credits they show stills from other episodes? The last one is the goofy alien head that looks like someone suddenly and surprisingly placed a cold hand on it's privates and told him to cough? Well this is the episode! The 'Carbinite' Move reminded me of Plan 9 from Outer Space and the 'Solarbinite' bomb.

This spinning pyramid in space is enclosing the Enterprise in a web and will destroy it. When Spock sees no way out he mutters 'Checkmate'.

"No Mr. Spock.......not chess......poker".

Well the menacing alien is a puppet used by the real alien. You remember the former child star from Gentle Ben? He grew up to be an actor of sorts. Fellow child actor Ron Howard always throws him a bone in his movies. Anyway the alien looks just like this kid. So SPock, Kirk, and the freaky looking kid have some grapefruit juice and all is well. Rock on Spock.

Yep, this is the episode that featured that rubber alien that often was the last image you saw during that slide show that accompanied the end credits. This was also the episode that featured that giant beehive in space. And who can forget Tranya? Aaahhh . . . delicious and invigorating Tranya. Yet, despite these dubious distinctions, "The Corbomite Maneuver" is actually a half-way decent episode.

The U.S.S. Enterprise encounters a strange cube in space and destroys it in order to pass. The cube's destruction attracts the attention of the I.S.S. Fesarius. Upon making contact with the gigantic ship, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) is confronted by a threatening alien who calls himself Balok. Balok threatens the Enterprise with destruction for its hostile actions. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Kirk bluffs his way to victory by telling the Fesarius that the destruction of his ship will guarantee Balok's end also. Soon Balok's true identity is revealed to Kirk when he beams over to the Fesarius. It turns out he really is only a child-sized humanoid (Clint Howard) and that the threatening alien seen on the viewscreen was a mock-up. An exchange program is suggested to Kirk and Lt. Bailey (Anthony Call) is chosen to be the lucky crew member who will get to spend the foreseeable future hunched over within the corridors of the Fesarius.

"The Corbomite Maneuver" is the ultimate bipolar Star Trek episode. It starts off with the Enterprise in dire peril and ends up with Kirk attending a cocktail party trading laughs with the being who had earlier threatened him. And the strange thing is that it works! There is true suspense in the confrontation scenes. There is true gumption in Kirk's gambling. And there is true amusement in seeing a young Clint Howard guffaw it up while serving drinks. How can you not like an episode that gets goofier and goofier as it goes along? "The Corbomite Maneuver" is not one of the deeper episodes of the original series' run, but it is one of the more amusing ones. Another round of Tranya bartender!

A mysterious alien named Balok accuses the Enterprise of trespassing, so now Captain Kirk and his crew must try and find a way to outwit this alien being who keeps blocking the ship's path by means of a cubic object and other forms.

After watching the whole episode of "The Corbomite Maneuver," it was hard for me to believe that it was only the third episode of the classic series named Star Trek. It has good acting, an interesting plot, great special effects (for the time), and one of the coolest-looking enemies. To top it all off, be on the lookout for a big surprise at the end of the episode.

"The Corbomite Maneuver" in my opinion, is a good all-around episode. It has its moments of suspense, conflict between the crew members, some good lines, and even a lighthearted part or two. If you like Star Trek The Original Series, I definitely recommend getting "The Corbomite Maneuver."

The first half of this episode is Star Trek suspense at its best, as the Enterprise faces certain destruction at the hands of an evidentally superior power. It contains an amusing introduction to Dr. McCoy and demonstrates the calm professionalism of Sulu, the calculating, logical mind of Spock, and the creativity of Captain Kirk. The spastic Mr. Bailey effectively adds to the tense situation. As the "poker" game progresses, however, the episode loses a little steam and the ending is disappointing. Nonetheless, this is a worthy episode in the Star Trek series.

One of the best original series episodes. Captain Kirk and the Enterprise are confronted by a space bouy and Kirk is forced to destroy it (after he irritated the bouy into attacking his ship). If you have ever played poker, you will love the bluffing scene! This episode, like most of the other first-season shows, reflects a more "militaristic" lifestyle aboard the Enterprise, which I find to be more believable than the "exploration only" lifestyle reflected in the later episodes.

This was one of the earliest episodes of the original series, and it is also one of the best. I think that a large reason for this is because the story is a test of wills instead of the usual science-fiction shoot-em-up. Granted, it isn't perfect--the alien ends up being somewhat cheesy, and the then-new Uhura character does nothing but open hailing frequencies. Still, it holds up well, in spite of all the time that has gone by.

The intensity of this episode and the calmness of most of the Enterprise crew in the face of imminent destruction demonstrate the professionalism of Star Fleet personnel. Crewman Bailey is the exception, when faced with the unknown; he panics and is relieved by Kirk. When Balok, the commander of the alien ship, states his intention to destroy the Enterprise, Kirk argues his case, but when that fails, he engages in an elaborate bluff. He claims that a device called Corbomite has been incorporated into the Enterprise, which will cause any destructive energy to be returned to the attacker, destroying the attacker.
The ruse apparently works, as the attack is suspended and a small ship is then used to transport the Enterprise to another location. When the Enterprise breaks away, Balok's small ship is damaged and sends out a distress signal. Rather than flee, Kirk chooses to beam over and assist the crew. In a gesture of effective command, Kirk allows Bailey to be a part of the away team.
To their surprise, they learn that there is only one person in the crew, and he appears to be a human child. The nasty "person" that appeared on their viewing screen was an animated dummy. In closing, the Federation has made a new friend and crewman Bailey has accepted the assignment of being the representative of the Federation to Balok and his species.
There is substantial substance to this story, when humans encounter other species, the initial contact will be unpredictable and problematic. An intelligent and technologically advanced species would be very sensible in taking a duplicitous approach to first contact. By appearing to be something else, as did Balok in this episode, the new species would be able to see whether the behavior of humans would match their lofty rhetoric. Also, the people who made the first contact must be calm, collected and willing to die rather than take a chance in making a major mistake when encountering another species for the first time. This is a very underrated episode; I rank it in the top ten of all episodes of the original series.

This episode was the first to be shot during the regular production schedule. It was neither the first to be aired (Man Trap) nor was it one of the two pilots (The Cage, Where No Man Has Gone Before). But otherwise, it was "first," and it has the virtue -- or drawback -- of spending more time than usual building character relationships and showing how the chain of command worked on the ship.

The Enterprise is repeatedly threatened with destruction by an advanced race that operates a gigantic mother ship. The shot of the tiny Enterprise against the alien ship, filling the whole screen, was relatively cheap to do but still manages to impress. Much of the action concerns tensions aboard ship during the crisis. While this makes for some good scenes, the onboard tension is not nearly as fast-paced as in the comparatively superior "Balance of Terror."

Kirk and McCoy are unusually at odds here. The producers and writers were still working out the nuances of this key relationship. This episode establishes that McCoy is the one person on the ship who can second-guess or criticize Kirk and manage to get away with it (i.e. not end up in the brig). It has not yet been established that this is primarily a deeply friendly, supportive relationship, even when Bones is being cranky.

The corbomite maneuver of the title is exciting and already shows Kirk as an outstanding commander. In some ways, Shatner took to the role very quickly. But if you really think about it later, this brilliant maneuver turns out to probably have been unnecessary. By far the best part of the episode is the ending. I am always moved by the silhouette shot of the alien commander leading the Earth men through his ship as he says "We are much alike, you and I, Captain, both proud of our ships."

Spoiler Space......for those who want to be surprised at the outcome of this episode....

I wish the the relationship between Rand and Kirk lasted in this early entry of the series. It would have been more realistic to have Kirk grapple with his feelings for Rand and keeping an objective view of his crewmembers.

Kirk bluffs his way out of this one with the mutual destruction device called Corbomite. His crew was doomed and having nothing to lose made up this idea of a self destruct device that would take out both the attacker and the victim.

After two pilot episodes, here is the first real episode of the Star Trek series. All the familiar elements are here (although Uhura wears a gold uniform instead of what would later become her familiar, red one). Sulu's at the helm, McCoy's in sick bay, and Uhura's opening hailing frequencies like only she can.

Kirk is in rare form here. In STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, it is taken for granted that Kirk is a miracle-worker who refuses to admit defeat no matter how dire the circumstances. This episode goes a long, long way towards developing that part of Kirk's character. This is Kirk at the top of his game and it's a lot of fun to watch.

A tremendous amount of tension is effectively built in the episode as Kirk tries to think his way out of a no-win scenario and the story approaches its climax. Unfortunately, that tension is inexcusably tossed aside in favor of a cute ending that is too eager to wrap everything up in the allowed time.