Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 56: Spectre Of The Gun [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Starfleet sends the Enterprise to make contact with the Melkotians "at any cost." There is no reason stated for this urgency, just that no one has recorded contact with them. As they approach Melkotian space, they encounter a probe that communicates with all of them in their own language, telepathically. The telepathic message tells them to turn around and leave because they are tresspassing on Melkotian space - and they are told, "this will be your only warning."

Kirk has no respect for the Melkotian's claim on their space or desire for privacy, and Spock doesn't seem to think there will be any bad consequences. He concedes that he would prefer to be welcomed by them, but absent a welcome, they are going to beam down to the planet armed with phasers.

The Melkotians don't take kindly to this cowboy mentality and promise that they will all die for their actions. Since Kirk was the one in charge, they telepathically get images from his head to choose the pattern of death appropriate for them.

Everything blinks and suddenly, their phasers are gone, replaced by 6-shooters. They find themselves at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, circa 1881. When they try to leave town to avoid conflict, they are met with force fields. It seems inevitable that they will be forced to relive the last day of the doomed Clanton brothers, shot down by the Earps.

When Chekov is killed, they begin to grasp just how real this surreal movie-lot appearing town is. Consequences are real - but they then realize that Chekov, perceived as Billy Clanton by the townsfolk, was the only Clanton to survive the 1881 shootout - so maybe they aren't doomed to repeat history after all. Chekov might be dead, but they don't have to be.

Things would have been a lot simpler if they had just been polite to the Melkotians, respected their rights to privacy and sent them a Hallmark card instead. Fun fighting but the opening premise - pulllllease!

Gene Coon is my favorite Star Trek writer. He wrote so many wonderful stories for Star Trek. I think he made the series really great. After he left the series, his absence was felt.

A couple of years ago, there was a blackout. I went to another house that had power and brought along this episode. I fell in love with it and watched it many times over. This was a beautiful way to begin the Third Season.

A major question that will have to be addressed when humans meet new species will be convincing them that our intentions are indeed peaceful. If the creatures can read our historical records and perhaps our minds, they will find ample evidence that we are not to be trusted. Our history is replete with the callous destruction of each other as well as any species deemed unworthy. Our minds are full of irrational fears, prejudices and impulses to destroy that which we don't immediately understand.
In this episode, the Enterprise is given specific orders to make contact with the Melkotians. As they approach Melkotian space, they encounter a buoy, which issues a warning, telling them that they are not welcome and to immediately leave the area. After noting the warning, they move onward to the Melkotian planet. Once arriving, Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, and Chekov beam down to the planet, only to find themselves in a fog, which parts to reveal a facsimile of a frontier town.
This is the backdrop to a reenactment of the famous gunfight at the OK corral in Tombstone, Arizona in 1881. In that fight, the Clanton gang fought it out with the three Earp brothers and Doc Holliday. Kirk's party is forced to assume the role of the Clanton gang, which lost the fight. Only one member of the Clanton gang survived the battle, the person whose role is being filled by Chekov.
Despite everything they do to avoid it, the "Clanton gang" is clearly being forced into a fight that they feel they cannot win. However, when Chekov is "killed" by Morgan Earp, Kirk and company realize that the results are not pre-ordained. However, when they try to build a device to render the Earp gang unconscious, Spock realizes that there is a solution that does not involve killing the members of the Earp gang. He understands that what they are doing is not real, so if they truly believe that the bullets from the Earp gang are not real, then they will not be harmed. They manage to win the fight without "killing", which impresses the Melkotians, and they allow the Enterprise to continue and make contact.
This episode is superb, both in the premises of the story and the execution. The choice of a scenario from Earth's violent past (and Kirk's mind) is an excellent test of the true nature of the humans who desire the contact. All of the members of the Earp gang play their roles very well. Their muted, yet clearly violent hostility towards the "Clantons" is very well done. I consider it some of the best acting by guest stars in the series. The surreal aspects of the set and the other supporting members of the episode all combine to create just the right atmosphere for a test of what the human species really is capable of doing and avoiding. It is one of the better episodes in the original series.

This is a moody 3rd season episode that has a surrealistic quality -- a quality that makes sense in the context of the story. It is not, as some claim, simply an attempt to shoot an episode of "Gunsmoke." After an alien species -- the Melkotians -- say to the Enterprise crew "Go away, we don't want any," they punish the Earthlings by making the bridge crew (Kirk, Spock, and co.) refight the shootout at the OK Corral... apparently to arrange their deaths.

There's an fascinating issue at the heart of this episode: what were the Melkotian's true intentions? By making Kirk, Spock, and co. re-enact the shootout at the OK Corral, were they really arranging their deaths, as claimed? I don't think so.

Instead it seems to me, these aliens, after saying "Please leave us alone, we don't like salesmen (or visitors from other planets)" have two intentions: 1) They want to scare the heck out of Kirk, and 2) This is their way of demonstrating why Earth men are dangerous contaminators. In effect, "You bring too much history of violence with you."

This explains why the death of a crew member is reversible. It underlies the premise of the episode, that as Spock says, "The bullets are not real." Above all, it explains why Kirk's refusal to kill makes such a huge difference to the Melkotians. The biggest criticism of the episode I have is that its ending, after all, repeats the ending of the Gorn episode ("Arena"). But it's such a good ending, why not re-use it??? And something is added to that theme. The Enterprise, though in some ways international, is also representative of America, its strength and weaknesses. For America, it is the Old West that defines our history of violence -- the Civil War, vigilantism, and the run-ins with Indians -- and that is what we have to overcome to be worthy of Galactic Civilization.

Get a load of this one. The show was so broke, that the sets were 2x4 fronts. They weren't even cardboard buildings, just rickety boards nailed together. So hokey that it must be seen to be believed. If you believe the bullets aren't real you won't be harmed? I believe this hammer won't hurt when I bang it on my thumb...............OUCH!!!!!!!!

The Earps VS. Kirk's crew

In this one we get one of those surreal budget crunched episodes. That's one where the producers can't afford any lavish sets and costumes so the script has to center on something cheap to produce. The story is about Kirk and co. being taken to another dimension to fight the Earps. It's all an illusion by some other worldly being who wants to study humanity. How many times have we seen that plot? It's a good episode and we get to see Kirk in a moment where he's thinking "What if their guns aren't an illusion?" .
For all it's worth, it's better than most of the third season material. At least we get to see a few moments of drama and dialogue between the crew. Kirk is in top form in this one. We get to see him handle his command knowledge in a cowboy western environment.

From the title, I was expecting "Spectre of the Gun" to be a war episode, and in a way it is, it's a western. Captain Kirk, Spock, Dr. McCoy, Scotty, and Checkov beam to a planet full of smoke and hear a strange voice that speaks to all of them in different languages. Before they know it, they are transported to a place that is set on history dating back to October 26, 1881. Kirk and the crew must deal with history and the Wyatt Earp battle, but it won't be easy.

In my opinion, "Spectre of the Gun" is one of the best western-type episodes of Star Trek. If you like Star Trek, I definitely recommend getting this episode, it's one of the best.

One scene makes this the best of the series. When the bad guys shoot at the good guys, the good guys stand unharmed:BECAUSE THEY REFUSED TO ACCEPT THE BAD GUYS SCRIPT. Spock and the good guys just said this is not real; this fighting at with the Younger boys on a far far planet...and the bullets could not harm them. Brilliant!