I just viewed the show today and it is one of the best conceived and executed Star Trek plots by Jerome Bixby, the only science fiction writer to remain with the series from season 2 through to season 3 of TOS. 38 Federation vs 38 Kilngon crew are driven to fight in perpetuity under the control of an alien being. One encounters many bizarre and unreal scenes: for instance, Chekov believes that the Klingons killed his older brother Piotr and wants to avenge Piotr's death. However, in reality, Chekov was an only child, as Sulu observes. Scotty and McCoy are both filled with feelings of burning hate, resentment and racism towards the Klingons for attacking the Enterprise crew when they would normally be trying to reason with Kang and reach a truce with their unwanted Klingon guests. Bixby aptly demonstrates how the alien entity was already influencing and controlling people's thoughts and emotions early in the episode.
I completely second Bogmeister's comments. This was one of the top 5 episodes of season 3 and I rate it at a generous 9 out of 10 for execution and believability. Bogmeister strikes the right tone with his post's title: "Stardate Armageddon." That memorable line stuck in my head too as Kirk notes he has to engineer a truce with Kang within 10 minutes and cease all hostilities between his crewmen and the Klingons before the Enterprise's dilitium crystals are fully depleted and the ship is rendered completely powerless--and placed permanently under the alien's sway. Both Kirk and Spock recognise the true enemy is the alien which feeds on feelings of mutual hate and conflict, rather than the Klingons who have seized control of parts of his ship. The part about intraship beaming was a novel method for Kirk to quickly reach Kang and arrange a mutual truce to weaken and expel the entity. Michael Ansara's Kang was superbly cast in his role as the Klingon commander who has no qualms about torturing Chekov or shutting off life systems in those sections of the Enterprise which the Federation crew still control. Bixby also gives an important role to Mara, Kang's wife and one of the only Klingon women ever depicted in TOS, as the peacemaker of the show who ultimately convinces Kang to reach a truce with Kirk.
If all the season 3 scripts were written this well, Star Trek's final season might have produced more hits rather than duds instead. Anyhow, 'Day of the Dove' was a shining gem in the series' troubled final season. As a moral play concerning the destructive power of racism and hatred, it ranks among the classic Star Trek shows which we come to expect--and is infinitely superior to the ponderous and heavy handed 'Let That be your Last Battlefield.'
I completely second Bogmeister's comments. This was one of the top 5 episodes of season 3 and I rate it at a generous 9 out of 10 for execution and believability. Bogmeister strikes the right tone with his post's title: "Stardate Armageddon." That memorable line stuck in my head too as Kirk notes he has to engineer a truce with Kang within 10 minutes and cease all hostilities between his crewmen and the Klingons before the Enterprise's dilitium crystals are fully depleted and the ship is rendered completely powerless--and placed permanently under the alien's sway. Both Kirk and Spock recognise the true enemy is the alien which feeds on feelings of mutual hate and conflict, rather than the Klingons who have seized control of parts of his ship. The part about intraship beaming was a novel method for Kirk to quickly reach Kang and arrange a mutual truce to weaken and expel the entity. Michael Ansara's Kang was superbly cast in his role as the Klingon commander who has no qualms about torturing Chekov or shutting off life systems in those sections of the Enterprise which the Federation crew still control. Bixby also gives an important role to Mara, Kang's wife and one of the only Klingon women ever depicted in TOS, as the peacemaker of the show who ultimately convinces Kang to reach a truce with Kirk.
If all the season 3 scripts were written this well, Star Trek's final season might have produced more hits rather than duds instead. Anyhow, 'Day of the Dove' was a shining gem in the series' troubled final season. As a moral play concerning the destructive power of racism and hatred, it ranks among the classic Star Trek shows which we come to expect--and is infinitely superior to the ponderous and heavy handed 'Let That be your Last Battlefield.'