The Corbomite Maneuver

Not so much a Cold War analogy as some Star Trek episodes tended to be, this particular installment of the classic 1960's Star Trek franchise dramatizes the push and pull, the ebb and flow, of two nations coming into conflict with one another, and how the game of denial, deception, and bluff (usually in the form of classic saber rattling) can remand relations to square one.

This is the genius of Star Trek. The ability to codify everyday experiences into a dramatized setting for comment. When I first viewed it I understood the underlying message, but not the entire theme and ramifications thereof. It would take another thirty years for me to go "Ah-HA! I get it now..." Oh sure, I understood the whole misunderstanding and suspicion thing, but I figured it was story filler. As it turns out, this episode, like nearly all Trek episodes, cleverly illustrates the extension of male oriented interpersonal relations manifested on a national level. A little counter to this high minded philosophizing is the introduction of a character on the bridge who represents the fear and loathing of the common man, and the innate reptile (or inner child) as he follows orders (or his inability thereof). And therein lies a whole other level of meaning above and beyond geo-politics.

Production Values; the SFX for 1960s television are what they are; i.e. not always convincing, but able to get their point across. Ditto with one artificial "alien", though this is countered by some optical effects and the overall thesping by the cast (including the voice actor for the off-screen dialog). I've not seen the remastered episodes, but, of all the classic Trek that have had their SFX and other production values tweaked for modern visual sensibilities, I'm very interested in seeing this one.

Enjoy.

Like many other Star Trek episodes, The Corbomite Maneuver is a good exploration of an essential 20th century theme such as the futility of war, with the addition of a riveting portrait of what makes a commander worthy of the title, as seen in the episode's depiction of Captain Kirk's skills.

Once again, danger lies ahead as the Enterprise continues on its five-year mission. This time it's more serious than usual, since the mysterious alien attacker claims to be able to destroy the ship with no risk of anything stopping him, and therefore grants the crew ten minutes to pray or something to that effect. Of course, he hasn't considered Kirk who, being the stubborn son of a gun he's always been (when Spock points out the two always argue about decisions Kirk won't take back, the latter explains that arguing makes him feel good), threatens the alien by saying he has a device that will annihilate both the Enterprise and its attacker, and he's not afraid to use it. Obviously it's a bluff, but it may come with a price, as Kirk and his opponent engage in a dangerous battle of wits to determine who's more willing to go through with their alleged threats.

Whereas most Trek episodes have pretty predictable outcomes, mostly because of the formulaic structure of the scripts, The Corbomite Maneuver is commendable for offering a very neat and intelligent twist that sits well with the episode's overall critique of the political climate of the Cold War (yes, subtlety has never been one of the show's strengths, but NBC didn't care since it was sci-fi). The acting is as inspiring as ever (even William Shatner's much mocked speech patterns come off as more serious than usual), especially Clint Howard's (that's Ron's brother) cameo at the end. Fun, tense and clever.

The Corbomite Maneouver does a couple of things really well. It is easily one of Star Trek TOS' most dramatic and suspenseful episodes. It also provides the first really good character study for James Kirk in the series - establishing Kirk as the one man who will always find a creative solution for even the impossible situation.

The Enterprise encounters a very highly technologically advanced alien culture in deep space. Their first encounter occurs when Enterprise meets up with a buoy that gives off harmful radiation and simply will not go away. They destroy the buoy and are then confronted by its makers The First Federation - belligerent, unforgiving, and all-powerful. Kirk must think his way out of this one.

The Corbomite Maneouver is also one of the most visually interesting TOS episodes. The special effects, as simple as they are, are well done. And the directing is some of the best in the series.

Stardate 1512.2 through 1514.1 Approximately 2266 AD

On a routine star-mapping mission, further out into the galaxy than anyone has ever been before, the Enterprise encounters an unusual cube that does not allow the ship to pass. After being forced to destroy the cube the Enterprise is threatened by Balok, commander of the Flagship Fesarius of the First Federation. The Fesarius is a much larger ship which forces the crew of the Enterprise to believe Balok when he said that he will destroy the Enterprise and everyone onboard in a few minutes.

This is one of the all time great "Kirk" episodes, where we see Kirk run out of logical solutions and think completely outside the box to solve his problem head on. We learn a lot about Kirk's character and his relationship to his crew. We see Kirk not only being a great mentor to his crew, but we also learn that he is a stern disciplinarian who demands perfection and runs a tight starship.

There is a misconception about Captain Kirk floating around out there, one that I blame entirely on the newest generation of Star Trek films led by JJ Abrams. People tend to see Kirk as a spontaneous wild card, always following his gut feelings. The original series is a lot smarter in its approach to Kirk. Kirk is an entirely logical individual, almost always taking the advice of his first mate Spock. Kirk differs from Spock, however, in that he still has the capacity to look past pure logic and take advantage of his human nature to bluff, trick, and sneak to a solution. His human nature in the original series does not negate his logical self, but rather enhances it in a way that Spock in later episodes learns from. In the episode "Charlie X," Kirk actually beats Spock in a game of chess, which is much like beating a computer at chess. Spock blames Kirk's irrational playing style but we must not forget that Kirk still beat him in this game of logic. Not cheating, but following the rules to achieve his desired outcome. It's a subtle difference, but I think it's an important one.

Near the beginning Kirk got a checkup from Bones, and we got to follow a shirtless and sweaty Kirk around the starship minding his own business. I actually had a great deal of fun watching Kirk just exist on the Enterprise doing his thing, I think the show could do a lot more mundane day to day actions of the crew.

My biggest complaint of this episode is the very end when we see Balok's true form. I'm not going to get into too much detail, suffice it to say it is certainly the weakest part of the episode. It's not just that the ending is corny, it's that it makes the whole episode entirely pointless from the beginning. Surely there must be a better way to end an episode that has such an interesting concept.

Others have already praised this episode for its unique camera angles, and other technical aspects. But there are also script elements that elevate this episode above others in the series. As the episode opens, we hear "Dave Bailey" carping about how bored and fatigued he is after three long days of "star charting". This brilliant line shows us that between "adventures", the Enterprise and its crew are actually doing something productive! Another element is the phaser drills that Kirk has the crew run. Once again, they are keeping busy. Also notice the constant background chatter over the intercom system (a feature that would slowly disappear as the seasons progressed). With this episode, one gets the feeling that this is a "working" vessel and crew (as opposed to nothing but plywood sets) - aspects that would be completely lost by the third season.