SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 50 Min.
Originally televised on NBC on October 20, 1967, this Marc Daniels-directed installment has the U.S.S. Enterprise tracking an ominous trail of destroyed planets. It discovers the deep-space wreckage of its sister ship, the U.S.S. Constellation, and the sole survivor: its commander — Commodore Matt Decker.
Confirming Decker’s vague explanation (as he is evidently suffering from PTSD), the Enterprise, too, is pitted against a seemingly impregnable planet-destroyer of unknown origin that then converts a world’s rubble to fuel. Against this awesome roving weapon, the Enterprise stands no chance, but a determined Decker commandeers the ship from Spock to mount a counter-attack. Not only are the Enterprise’s weapons ineffective, but this death machine is somehow siphoning the vessel’s power supply.
With Captain Kirk’s landing party marooned aboard the Constellation, it’s up to the two battered Starfleet ships to either destroy their enemy or retreat to warn Starfleet Command. Worse yet, Spock deduces the course of this automated ‘Doomsday Machine’ will next target the most heavily-populated section of the galaxy. As Kirk construes it, they’re facing he intergalactic equivalent of a H-Bomb.
Capt. James T. Kirk: William Shatner
Commander Spock: Leonard Nimoy
Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy: DeForest Kelley
Lt. Hikaru Sulu: George Takei
Commander Montgomery “Scotty” Scott: James Doohan
Commodore Matt Decker: William Windom
Lt. Palmer: Elizabeth Rogers
Kyle: John Winston
Washburn: Richard Compton
Elliott John Copage
Yeoman: Jeannie Malone
Leslie: Eddie Paskey
Hadley: Bill Blackburn
Holloway: Roger Lemli
Montgomery: Jerry Catron
Russ: Tim Burns
Notes: No explanation is given for Lt. Uhura’s (Nichelle Nichols) absence; however, ‘Lt. Palmer’ fills in for her. One can infer that Decker’s relative {possibly even his son}, Willard (Stephen Collins), succeeds Kirk as the Enterprise’s captain prior to 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
REVIEW:
Describing this top-caliber Star Trek as an ingenious ‘Moby Dick’ tale is accurate. Yet, it also notably predates Star Wars’ Death Star by a decade. In that sense, if one has ever imagined the Enterprise tangling with a Death Star-type menace, then this episode is wish fulfillment. Even more so, Paramount’s remastered high-definition special effects for this particular episode are absolutely stellar. While the original cheesy effects were merely sufficient, the impact of these new visual effects spell out why “The Doomsday Machine” is a Top Five episode from The Original Series.
As for performance quality, Shatner and Nimoy are in vintage form. Even with too little to do, Kelley and Takei compensate with terrific efforts. Doohan’s ‘Scotty’ deftly contributes to a suspenseful finale. Yet, it’s William Windom’s guest role that merits among this series’ best-ever one-shots. On multiple occasions, his obsessed ‘Decker’ tersely spars with the main cast, which adds a welcome sense of dramatic realism. Beyond Windom’s vital contribution, the well-structured script relies on some patented Trek plot twists to ensure that this storyline works on all thrusters.
To its credit, “The Doomsday Machine” is a dynamite episode for both Trekkers and casual viewers alike. Highly recommended!
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 9 Stars
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