Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 57: Elaan Of Troyius [VHS]

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The Dohlman of the planet Elas is a beautiful woman who is pledged to be married to the leader of Troyius, in an attempt to end years of bitter war between the planets. The Enterprise is ordered to ferry the Dohlman to Troyius and the Troyian ambassador is assigned to teach the Dohlman the manners needed to function in Troyian society. Since he knows it will take some time, he asks Captain Kirk to take it slow, so the Enterprise departs at sublight speed.
Because the Dohlman is an arrogant, spoiled shrew the job is impossible. She repeatedly insults the Enterprise crew and the ambassador, refusing to learn what she needs to know. She eventually stabs the ambassador, and Kirk becomes her teacher. After she refuses Kirk's help, he slaps her, which changes everything. After one more childlike fit, she emerges crying and Kirk softens and wipes her tears away.
This creates a problem as the tears contain a chemical, which causes anyone who comes in contact with them to fall hopelessly in love with her.
A member of the Dohlman's entourage is working for the Klingons, sabotaging the Enterprise so that it will self-destruct when it goes into warp. To force this issue, a Klingon ship appears and makes a mock attack run. Scotty finds the sabotage just in time, so the Enterprise does not go to warp. The Klingons then demand the surrender of the Enterprise and attack. The fight is one-sided, as the Enterprise does not have warp power. However, the ceremonial necklace worn by the Dohlman contains dilithium crystals, which allow the Enterprise to regain warp power and they defeat the Klingon ship. The stress of battle cures Kirk of his love for the Dohlman and impresses her so much that she then meekly beams down to her wedding.
This is an episode with a great deal of tension. We can see the conflict in Kirk as he tries to manage the battle and his overpowering love for the Dohlman. The behavior of the Dohlman is very well played and appropriate, as it is needed to provide the proper background for the story. France Nuyen gives one of the best guest star performances of the series. It is not one of the very best episodes of the original series, but I rank it in the top twenty.

This episode is extraordinarily rich in literary references. First and foremost, it's an obvious re-telling of the Tristan & Isolde myth, about a knight who was sent to fetch his king's bride but fell in love with her. (TNG did a take on that as well, but in a much slower-paced episode.) Second, the title alludes to Helen of Troy. Also, there are scenes that play like Pygmalion or My Fair Lady, but pitched at greater intensity. Comparisons to Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" would also not be out of place.

The Enterprise is sent on a diplomatic mission to take a princess named the Dohlman to the planet Troyius, where a marriage has been arranged to create peace between two planets. The Dohlman is selfish, crude, and savage. When she knifes the Troyan ambassador, Kirk takes on the job of teaching her manners and persists even after he is almost knifed himself. The plot thickens when he accidently touches her tears, which act as an irresistable love potion.

This episode sums up much of what Star Trek is about. Kirk, as ever, is the spokesman for liberal democratic values. Meanwhile, the Dohlman represents an ancient mentality which Earth has mostly grown out of... an attitude of privilege, arrogance, and war. The Dohlman is Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, and the Queen of Sheba. It is fascinating to see how Kirk, the icon of liberal values, interacts with such an atavistic mentality. Basically, he is the adult and she the child.

Even after being ensnared by the love potion, he's under no illusions. "What sort of mind can think up such a thing?" he asks when she suggests that he destroy the planet in order to have her to himself. It's this reaction, as much as his love for the Enterprise, that enables him to break the spell.

The episode ends with an exciting space battle against the Klingons, who want to sabotage the Enterprise's mission. Once again we see Kirk outplaying and outthinking his opponent. First, he tries bluffing them; when that doesn't work, he fixes the Enterprise engines (through a lucky break) and then sandbags the Klingons, waiting for them to approach and then firing off a full battery of weapons. If there's any episode that makes you hate Klingons and cheer for their defeat, it's this one.

Although this episode is primarily written as a tempestuous love story, its best feature may be that the space battle is one of the most exciting in the entire original series -- or any version of Star Trek. The final scene... with its insightful comments by both McCoy and Spock that Kirk's first love is the Enterprise ("For once, Doctor, I must agree with you") ties everything together, including the battle, and leaves the episode on a marvelously bittersweet but satisfying note.

Two United Federation of Planets members, Elas and Troyius, suffered war for centuries. With Klingon Empire expansion approaching the planets' system, Tellun, the Federation sends the U.S.S. Enterprise to lend assistance in a peace negotiation. The peace treaty is to be completed by the bonding in marriage of the two planets' leaders, the Dohlman of Elas and the leader of Troyius. The Starship provides transport for the Dohlman to Troyius, while also offering a time and place for the Dohlman to learn the duties and customs of Troyius. Upon her arrival on the U.S.S. Enterprise, it is clear that the Dohlman, Elaan, is an arrogant and reluctant bride. Ambassador Petri from Troyius attempts to educate Elaan in preparation of her wedding, but is rewarded with a knife wound. Captain Kirk must step in as Elaan's tutor to insure that the alliance takes place. Kirk takes a strong hand in Elaan's education, but his efforts are compromised when she begins to cry and he touches one of her tears. The Elasian tears of a Dohlman carry an infectious agent which acts as a powerful aphrodisiac. While the captain fights the effects of Elaan's tears, a Klingon battlecruiser appears. In the ensuing melee, it is apparent that the Klingon captain is attempting to lure the starship into warp speed which, as Scotty soon discovers, would destroy the ship. A saboteur from the Elasian party has damaged the dilithium crystal chamber, rendering the crystal inert, and the ship nearly powerless. While under attack, Spock detects strong energy readings which emanate from a crystal necklace of Elaan's -- made of dilithium. Fitting the raw crystals into the anti-matter chamber, the ship is able to fend off the Klingons and continue to Troyius. Kirk and McCoy discover the one true cure for the Elasian tears -- prior infection -- in Kirk's case, the starship Enterprise had infected him even more powerfully than had the Dohlman.

Episodes like this one, along with "Who Mourns for Adonis?" "Mudd's Women", and "Mirror, Mirror", are probably the reason the original Trek is, by far, the sexiest of the various incarnations. Perhaps, it fortunate that the series initial run was during the "sexual revolution" of the 60's, allowing female characters to be suggestively attired to the obvious delight of males everywhere.

While the story line isn't one of the series best, "Star Trek 57: Elaan of Troyius" does feature an eye-popping turn from guest France Nuyen in the title role. Nuyen is one of the most exotically beautiful actresses to even grace both the big and small screen. And she is more than just a pretty face; she is an excellent performer that has, sadly, not had extensive work.

Her appearance in this episode is one of the many trailblazers from the landmark show.

The beginning of the Third Season was really good. This episode is no exception. The battle scene was one of the series finest. You then have Kirk and Elaan ending their fling in order to do their duties and responsibilities. This is a nice little episode.

I know people think this episode is cheesey (which it is) but it's also very memorable. The space battle at the episode's conclusion is extremely well done--the special effects are well above average and the music really heightens the tension. In my opinion, it's every bit as good as the space battle from "Balance of Terror." France Nuyen, playing Elaan, does a spectacular job with not great material; she also gets to wear some of the show's most, uh, memorable costumes. Definitely worth repeated viewing, especially for the space battle sequence.

Captain Kirk's mission in "Elaan of Troyius" is to take Elaan and some of her companions to an arranged wedding. However, Kirk comes under a spell when he touches some of Elaan's tears. Also, the Enterprise is under attack from a Klingon vessel. It looks like Captain Kirk has a lot of work to do to even catch up to his duties.

"Elaan of Troyius" is far from being one of the best episodes of Star Trek - The Orginal Series, but it's not the worst one I've seen either. It has pretty good acting and the plot is understandable, but it just doesn't seem to work as a good all around episode. I wouldn't recommend getting this episode unless you're a die hard fan of the original series of Star Trek.

Yes, it's a fun show. Especially when Kirk tries to teach Elaan how to eat properly and control her temper. The klingons make a guest appearance during a cool attack scene at the end. Not emmy material, but a decent third season episode.