Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 53: The Ultimate Computer [VHS]

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

 

 

I am writing this review from the possibly heretical viewpoint that holds that the original Star Trek TV series was one of the finest series ever shown on television whereas the subsequent motion pictures and follow-up series (e.g. The Next Generation) were very poor. Given that point of view, I believe that "The Ulitmate Computer" was one of the very finest episodes ever made because it contains the elements that made the original series so good, i.e. the psychology of military command, the conflict between pure logic as a basis for the proper organization of society vs. the need to also incorporate man's innately emotional character into the equation, the proper role of technology in society and its possible misuse or loss of control, the psychology of the intelligent, creative man as well as his weaknesses and the dynamics of a group of resourceful men working to get out of a crisis situation. Although the episode is only 48 minutes long, the script writers were able to get it all into a single episode! Unfortunately, these elements were sadly missing in the later versions of Star Trek which get lost in the fog of mysticism, artificial virtual reality and escapism. What also adds to the episode's magic is the brilliant guest starring performance of William Marshall, who plays the unstable genius, Dr Richard Daystrom. All in all, a must for all fans of this marvelous TV series.

In this episode, a supercomputer called the M-5 is placed on board the Enterprise. It is so sophisticated that nearly all of the crew disembarks so that it can run the ship. However, it has been constructed using a human mind as a template. The creator of the computer, the brilliant Dr. Daystrom, used the patterns of his mind to build the circuits of the M-5. Unfortunately, Daystrom is mentally unstable, so the M-5 is also unstable.
When the M-5 is subjected to a war games exercise, it does not understand that it is a mock attack, so it treats it as a real one and destroys a star ship, killing everyone on board. The remaining ships then form an attack force, but Kirk is able to disable the computer and regain control of the Enterprise in the nick of time.
The most significant point in this episode is that a black man is portrayed as a very intelligent man who strongly defends his invention. He stands up to Kirk, interacting with the people in power as an equal, if not as a superior. Another point is that Dr. Daystrom has the most memorable reaction to the Vulcan neck pinch in the entire series.
I enjoyed the episode, it is often portrayed as anti-technology, but that is not true. I consider it an example of the reality of bleeding edge technology. Whenever a dramatic leap of technology has been attempted, there have been mishaps and deaths. Steam ships and locomotives blew up, ships sank, space shuttles exploded, planes crashed etc. Artificial intelligence (AI) remains an elusive goal with success being difficult to measure. However, one of the consequences of successfully implementing AI will be a computer behaving in a manner similar to that of the M-5, exhibiting a strong survival instinct. This is one of the episodes that is a safe prediction of a future event.

A famous inventor boards the Enterprise and brings his invention, a computer, onboard the ship with him. The M-5 computer is capable of running a starship by itself without the aid of human assistance. It is supposed to be going through an experiment by playing war games with other ships. However, trouble arises when Captain Kirk and his crew find out that the M-5 computer has taken over completely and there's nothing they can do, including control the Enterprise in any way. Everybody better watch out because if something goes wrong, the M-5 computer could possibly destroy innocent lives when it's not supposed to.

"The Ultimate Computer" is a good episode of Star Trek. It is interesting, or in Spock's words fascinating, and it has great acting. I recommend it to anybody who likes Star Trek - The Original Series.

This episode is a classic! It talks about an everyday issue, computers replacing man. It is as much of an issue now in 2009 as it was in 1968. It also shows that while computers are more efficient than man, man will always be superior. The ending to this episode is very suspenseful. I highly recommend this episode.

Computers are useful for doing boring things like adding up columns of numbers. But would anyone in their right mind want to give computers the GLAMOROUS jobs? Writing novels, composing hit songs... or commanding a starship? As McCoy points out in this episode, having computers replace people is okay as long as they don't come after YOUR job. For Capt. Kirk the prospect of being replaced by a computer is especially horrifying.

Kirk has the "honor" of trying out the spanking new M-5 computer (think of HAL on steroids), meaning he must periodically give up control to M-5. But it's a dubious honor from the beginning, and when Capt Wesley gives Kirk the backhanded compliment of being "Captain Dunsel," it's downright insulting. No wonder M-5 later tries to destroy Wesley's attack force. Maybe it was trying to exact revenge for all the insults heaped on Kirk! Our sympathies are always with Kirk and never for a moment with M-5 and its inventor, Dr. Daystrom.

For all its reputed intelligence, M-5 is ultimately very stupid because it is unable to understand the simple concept of war games and decides to destroy a bunch of ships for real. That's an acceptable premise only if you regard AI (Artifical Intelligence) as unreliable. Beyond that, handing over decisions about who lives and who dies to a machine ought to be obviously unacceptable even in the 23rd Century.

The episode has a marvelous moment when Spock -- whom Bones accuses of being in love with the new computer -- finally shows his true colors, saying that a starship runs "on loyalty... to a man." (As Kirk ironically says in Star Trek II, Spock was "the most human.") Lovely also is the casting of William Marshall as the half-mad genius Dr. Daystrom. In the 21st century, we wouldn't bother to mention that a black man played a genius with a super-high IQ, thank God. But in the 1960s this made a strong statement. The casting of Marshall was color-blind, taking advantage of his strong presence and marvelous bass voice (much like casting James Earl Jones as Darth Vader). Too bad that he's about a foot and a half taller than Shatner, so that Kirk is forever looking up. That might actually be astute casting, though, as the intent is to make Kirk feel small and unimportant for most of the episode.

A good episode and notable for Kirk's "A tall ship, and a star to steer her by" conversation with McCoy. Puts a lump in my throat every time! Pure Trek.

Not only is this one of Star Trek's best episodes, it features an African-American actor in a groundbreaking role that impressed this then-thirteen-year-old upon its initial airing. Besides regular Nichelle Nichols ("Uhura"), William Marshall's "Dr.Daystrom" was a revelation that the future would be a place where a man would be measured by his intelligence and abilities, not solely on his color.

I'm sure that Dr. King felt the same way when he saw "Ultimate", too.

The M5 introduced a new type of computer. A computer capable of human thought and morality. Spock realized the M5 was not acting in a logical manner. It seemed to be learning like a child and making mistakes. The M5 increased it energy usage as it processing requirement increased drawing power directly from the anti-matter chamber.

The M5 believe it was wrong to kill. The m5 did not seem to be aware that its actions were resulting in death. Kirk asks the M5, "what is the penalty for murder" and the M5 replies, "death". Kirk asks the M5, "how will you pay for the deaths for member of excaliber". The M5 responds by leaving itself vulnerable to Admiral Wesley. Kirk can some control of the ship and Scott tells him that shields are available. Kirk gambles on Wesley's compassion and wins.

Are computers more efficient than people? In some tasks the answer is yes. To people prefer machines over other people. Absolutely not. A machine is not a person. Machines are tools. McCoy brings out the fear that people have of being replaced by a machine. McCoy says "we don't hate the machine until it replaces our job". The machine made Kirk feel unnecessary. Kirk showed that survival was depending on compassion and cooperation. Daystrom believe his robot child would learn, adapt, and survive saving mankind from death with searching the stars. Daystrom thought man would find better things to do with their time than perform the mundane tasks the machine could perform. It seems Kirk gambled on humanity and won. Daystrom could not explain why the machine chose to kill, murder, and ignore his commands. It seemed that Daystroms insanity and compulsive behaviors were transferred to the machine making the machine insane.

In the 1960's, I suppose it was a growing concern that computers would one day take over Earth. This is demonstrated by the fact that many episodes of the Original Series involve a computer which has taken control of a population or has committed some kind of hostile act. Many of these episodes are not my favorites, but this one is. There are some nice arguements regarding which would be more desirable--computer or man--to run a starship. The suspense elements are somewhat predictable. We know that Kirk and crew will get out of there grim predicament. But Kirk's last minute gamble was enough to keep me entertained. All in all, I think is a very worthwile episode and deserves a place in your collection.

The U.S.S. Enterprise is to be the new test ship for the new M-5 multitronic computer system, a computer meant to be able to run a starship without human intervention. Also aboard for the test is Dr. Richard Daystrom, the inventor of the M-5 and an obsessive and unstable man.

Initially the M-5 performs well, but when it decides to destroy a robot freighter, Kirk orders the test cancelled. The M-5, however, protects itself and makes it impossible for it to be disconnected. The computer becomes increasingly erratic, a result of Dr. Daystrom's decision to impress his engram onto the computer as part of its programming. Starting a scheduled war games drill, M-5 uses the full arsenal of the U.S.S. Enterprise to attack four other Federation starships.

In a last-ditch appeal to the M-5, Kirk makes the computer realize that it has committed the sin of murder for killing the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur. Since Dr. Daystrom would be ethically abhorred at such an act, the M-5 is equally penitent and tries to commit suicide by leaving the U.S.S. Enterprise defenseless against a counter-attack by the remaining three Federation starships. The Federation fleet's intent is to destroy the U.S.S. Enterprise, for destroying the U.S.S. Excalibur. At the last moment, Spock and Scott are able to finish disconnecting the M-5 unit. Kirk keeps the shields down, gambling successfully that the attacking ships would not fire on an undefended vessel. Restoring communications next, the fleet is called off by Commodore Robert Wesley.