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] Trek The Doomsday Weapon (1967)
The Enterprise, en route with the Constellation, find rubble of destroyed planets. Spock notes that a trail of destruction of Solar Systems, planets. Yet suns are left intact, no supernovas. This destructive trail leads from outside this known Galaxy. So, whatever this threat is it's not of our Galaxy, The Constellation is found, badly damaged, it's Captain (Commander?) Decker having not gone down with his ship or crew who were destroyed when beamed to "safety" to a delicious looking planet for our unknown enemy. The Commander describes it as the Devil! The creature/weapon, in its hunger, soon makes its presence known to The Enterprise, & a battle for whole worlds survival begins!
I'm enjoying this! We have a brilliant battle for survival, with a bit of psychological warfare thrown in for good measure. While Kirk & co are still trapped aboard what's left of the other starship, in a brilliantly funny scene, Decker assumes command of The Enterprise. THAT scene, how can I do it justice, here? Red tape on viral?
The scene in which the Commissioner assumes command for his own personal revenge has me in stiches! He relieves Spock of command. Spock being the cold, logical Vulcan, steps down to a superior officer under 104 section B, paragraph 1OA? He can be relieved under section C (brain ache!) Bones is having nothing of this, to blaze with Federation rules! Spock brings up that someone not in sound of mind is incapable of command. Of course Bones is crying to sign such a statement, but Spock brings up the paperwork regulations. Am I the only one screaming at the screen? (as well as laughing?!) Dexter is insane, suffering from shell-shock & guilt, or do I need such a statement signed for myself as well?
With Spock now back in command with a mixture of a ticked off Kirk & a that legal loop-hole that Spock uses, they find a way to destroy the planet gobbling machine. Dexter, in a moment of bravery, sacrifice, (& lunacy!) destroys himself with a shuttle in an attempt to destroy this creature. Maybe not in vain? Kirk uses the damaged Constellation starship as a bomb, just as it enters the things "mouth". Typically, the transporter breaksdown but Scotty manages to beam up Kirk in time. Using an age-old technique as demonstrated by Dexter, they give the Doomsday Weapon a bad case of fatal indigestion via The Constellation & a nuclear explosion. So, atom bombs do prove to be good, after all (?) nice metaphor, by the way!
This one is heating up, big time! That scrap between Dexter & that fab (survived) redshirt, security guy shows how well trained Starfleet personnel have to be! In fact, I kept rewinding that scene. Of course, in the end, Dexter wins so he can go on his suicide mission. HOW does he beam 400 of his crew members so quickly to the 3rd planet before it's destroyed? Really dig the space dog fights between the Doomsday Weapon & starships! The transporter has a badly timed malfunction, leaving to Kirk coming close to sarcasm in ordering them to beam him up before his almost, total annihilation. Hey, guys, ready to beam up?
Neither Lt. Uhura or Chekov for that matter, are in this one. Was Uhura on shore-leave on Risa on this one? surely she can't have been aboard The Enterprise, taking a nap, in her quarters during this catastrophe?! Her replacement for this story is the beautiful Lt. Palmer, you need to be to replace Uhura! Gee-whizz, I only saw her a few months ago in a Bonanza episode. Oh, look, Uhuras' temporary replacement!
Like Doctor Who, Star Trek has lots of folklore attached to it. Not just the televised series but books, audios, comics, etc. The Doomsday Weapon was allegedly devised, untold millennia ago. By an ancient race known as The Preservers. First mentioned in The Paradise Syndrome, & bows to Erich Von Daniken & the Ancient Alien theory. We finally see them in Star Trek TNG episode The Chase, be it in ancient, hologram form. This it where it gets truly groovy. They were originally created to destroy The Borg, which they do, almost successfully! Feel free to correct me, Trekkie brethren. How would Kirk react were it The Enterprise crew that were murdered on that planets surface instead of himself? Still, there could be more of those things wondering about, out there, destroying planets & systems...
Borgduck.
Stewart, way outta here!
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