"Star Trek" The Corbomite Maneuver (1966)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Joseph Sargent

Writers:

Jerry Sohl (written by)
Gene Roddenberry (creator)

TV Series:

"Star Trek" (1966)

Original Air Date:

10 November 1966 (Season 1, Episode 10)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

In a section of unexplored space, the Enterprise comes across a marker of sorts that will not let it pass...

Plot Keywords:

Federation | Space | Starship | Computer | Vulcan

Cast

William Shatner	...	Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock
Anthony D. Call	...	Dave Bailey (as Anthony Call)
Clint Howard	...	Balok
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy
Grace Lee Whitney	...	Yeoman Rand
George Takei	...	Sulu
James Doohan	...	Scott
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura

Runtime:

50 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Canada:PG (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Desilu Productions

Trivia:

Balok's "Tranya" drink was also asked for by the Odo-Curzon combination during the episode _"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993) {Facets (#3.25)})_.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Sulu watches the countdown timer it drops from 2:01 to 2:00 to 1:59, at which point Sulu says "We have one minute".

Quotes:

Capt. Kirk: This is the Captain of the Enterprise. Our respect for other life forms requires that we give you this... warning. One critical item of information that has never been incorporated into the memory banks of any Earth ship. Since the early years of space exploration, Earth vessels have had incorporated into them a substance known as...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy (#2.2)" (1989)

When All Else Fails, Bluff Your Way Out Kirk-style

Technically the first episode filmed after the 2nd pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before," this comes across as almost experimental, a dry run for the rest of the first season. You see rarely seen angles, such as from behind Kirk as he exits the turbolift onto the bridge. Though overall the episode comes across as not very eventful by the standards of most Trek episodes, its strengths are showcasing various crew members and their reactions to the presumed threat they face. Exploration is the key factor, as will be usual: the Enterprise is in an unknown sector of space and suddenly blocked by some revolving cube device. Forced to destroy this after it starts emitting radiation, Kirk now faces a choice or path - proceed further to face possible other dangers or turn around. We get a case study of how starship captains earn their pay - the buck seems to stop with him and his next decision could have long reaching ramifications. Within the possibilities of exploration, the theme here is the unknown: how do we, as a species, face it? Do we go on, advance, taking that risk, or do we stop and perhaps stagnate?

But despite grandiose ideas about mankind's future in exploring the galaxy, it boils down to the human equation of how men & women react and interact aboard such a ship. Guest star Call is excellent as the young navigator whom Kirk perhaps promoted too quickly. His nervous breakdown on the bridge is beautifully played. Then McCoy & Kirk get into it as the ship and crew have maybe three minutes of life to go, arguing over the distressed crewman. Even Spock seems uneasy as he fails to find an alternative for the now edgy Kirk, again a well-acted scene. It comes across as very true-to-life, a realistic study of people under tremendous pressure. Kirk's tactic of bluffing a far superior enemy shows, in the first of many such instances in the series, just how quickly and cannily Kirk thinks on his feet and why he is captain. No one aboard, including Spock (who prefers chess to poker) would have come up with such a play. That all being said, this episode is probably best remembered for that long shot of the colossal ship Fesarius approaching the Enterprise. With some of the best dramatic Trek score blaring away at us, it still gives me goose bumps.