Product Details

• Actors: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan
• Directors: Joseph Pevney
• Writers: Gene L. Coon, Gene Roddenberry, Robert Hamner
• Producers: Gene L. Coon, Gene Roddenberry, Robert H. Justman
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: CBS Paramount International Television
• VHS Release Date: April 15, 1994
• Run Time: 46 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300213277
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #272,700 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"A Taste of Armageddon" is one of classic Trek's occasional, obvious metaphors for the absurdity of the then-cold war between East and West. Gene Lyons stars as a Federation ambassador named Fox, who boards the Enterprise to reach the planet Eminiar VII, where he hopes to negotiate a peace treaty with the inhabitants. Instead the crew of the Enterprise gets caught in the middle of an interplanetary war between Eminiar and neighboring planet Vendikar. The twist is that the war is being fought on computers, and compliant residents of those "destroyed" areas obediently report to disintegration chambers, where their "virtual" death is made literal. When the Enterprise is "hit" in one of these simulations, both the warlords of Eminiar VII and Ambassador Fox fully expect Capt. Kirk and crew to report to the disintegration center. The feisty Kirk has other plans, of course. And while the madness of this controlled Armageddon makes a suitably surreal satire of the arms race in the 1960s, the story also evoked the endless, daily reports of body counts during the Vietnam War, with no resolution in sight. Aside from its parable aspect, however, the episode gave Kirk one of his earliest and most compelling scenes of Kirkian preachiness in a bold monologue about peace, reportedly written and rewritten numerous times by series producer and indispensable creative hand Gene L. Coon. --Tom Keogh

From the Back Cover

Kirk and Spock become involved in a clean and orderly war in which the targets are determined by computers.

TREK TRIVIA
This episode marks the first on-screen Star Trek appearance for Barbara Babcock (Mea 3), although she had previously been heard as Trelane's mother in "The Squire of Gothos."
David L. Ross (Lieutenant Galloway) appeared as a security guard in all three seasons of the original series; Sean Kenney (Lieutenant DePaul) played the crippled Captain Pike in "The Menagerie."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Episode on the Nature of War, August 13, 2001

By 

"sukhisoo" (Mesilla Park, NM USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 23: A Taste of Armageddon [VHS] (VHS Tape)

What if war were fought with computers and the casualties reported to disintegration chambers? This episode covers this question and does a pretty good job.

There is a fair amount of action and the suspense is well done. The conflict between Scotty and the none-too-bright diplomat is especially well handled. This is one of Scotty's best command assignments. He runs the Enterprise with intelligence and restraint.

Kirk's solution to the episode's problem is very suspect in light of the prime directive that he's supposed to be following, but over-all, this is a very good episode.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Federation imposes its will on another society, February 8, 2005

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 23: A Taste of Armageddon [VHS] (VHS Tape)

What would happen if war were made deadly, yet clean? If the only damage to society was the loss of people? This question was raised during the presidency of Jimmy Carter, when there was discussion of the neutron or enhanced radiation bomb. It is a weapon that kills living creatures, but does not destroy the physical infrastructure. The neutron bomb was widely ridiculed, considered immoral by the many critics, the point of jokes by late night talk show hosts and production was cancelled.
In this episode, two societies (Eminiar and Vendikar) have made the "rational" decision to conduct a deadly, but non-destructive war. The battles are fought by computers, with simulated fusion bombs being "materialized" over each other's cities. The casualties are computed and the people "killed" in the attacks dutifully report to disintegration chambers. This way each society is saved from the disease, filth and brutish nature of the war. The computers of both sides are in constant contact, so both sides are aware of the actions of the other. If either side is lax in their quota of casualties, then escalation into a real war is automatic.
For decades, the two societies have warned Federation ships to stay away, but Kirk is ordered to transport Federation Ambassador Fox to Eminiar so that diplomatic relations can be established. Their orders are to violate the wishes of the two societies and essentially force the establishment of friendly relations. When they arrive, Kirk, Spock and a small party of security people beam down to Eminiar. Their treatment upon arrival is very cordial, and they are escorted to the chamber of the ruling council. However, once they arrive, Vendikar launches an attack and the Enterprise is declared destroyed. Since Kirk refuses to allow his crew to beam down to be killed, the Enterprise landing party is taken hostage and the armed forces of Eminiar try to destroy the Enterprise.
Kirk manages to get a message to the Enterprise, where he orders Scotty to implement general order 24, which means that the Enterprise is to destroy all of the major cities on the surface. The landing party then proceeds to destroy some disintegration stations, and eventually the computers that correlate the Eminiar attack and defenses. This forces the rulers of Eminiar and Vendikar to talk about peace and finally end the war. Kirk argues at the end that they had made their war too neat, that to end it, they had to face the real threat of the destruction of their societies. He also points out that they have been killing millions a year and a real attack would not have killed any more.
In an age of thermonuclear devices, the evolution of such a society is not as absurd as it may appear. For decades, two superpowers deliberately targeted nuclear weapons at each other's cities, under the doctrine of Mutual Assured Destruction or MAD. Societies have long accepted the deaths of their soldiers in battle, and there are many indications that war is an inherent part of the human condition, so a combination of these principles could lead to some form of perpetual, clean war. The degree of civilization that would lead to such a situation would also mean that the imposition of a truce by an exterior force would be as easy as is depicted in this episode.
I also contrast the reaction of Anon VII, the leader of Eminiar with that of Kirk in "Errand of Mercy." In that episode, the Organians intervene to end a war between the Federation and the Klingons. Kirk is furious, arguing that they had no right to interfere and end the war. By contrast Anon is not angry, just concerned about what will happen next.
While this episode demonstrates an unusual social order, which raises the quality, there are also two disturbing traits. The first is the Federation attempting to force a planet to open relations and become a spaceport. This is a return to the gunboat diplomacy that existed on Earth and that led to colonization and domination. Commodore Perry forced the Japanese to open their society and shortly after that, Japan launched a decades-long plan of aggressive war and eventually attacked the country that forced the opening. The second is that Kirk would order the destruction of the planet. While the Federation no doubt badly wanted the planet as a spaceport, destroying it to achieve that goal is hardly what Star Fleet command had in mind. It reminded me of the old Vietnam adage, "We had to bomb the village in order to save it." For these reasons, I can only give the episode four stars.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific, provocative episode, January 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 23: A Taste of Armageddon [VHS] (VHS Tape)

A planetary system has made war palatable by having it fought by computers, very neat and clean, and thus, something which has grown to be accepted. When faced with the possibility of waging the real thing, the warring parties opt for peace instead. A provocatve and exciting episode.