Responding to a distress call an away team consisting of Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the well-known Lt Galloway board the USS Exeter. There is nobody aboard; just uniforms containing a crystalline residue which analysis shows to be human remains. The medical logs state that they became contaminated on the planet below and anybody contacting them will become contaminated too. The only way to survive is to remain on the planet.
The team beam down and find themselves in a town where relatively backward villagers are preparing to execute two captives who are apparently savages. The execution is stopped by the sole survivor of the Exeter, Capt. Ron Tracey. He explains that they are in a Kohm village and the savage Yangs are waging a war against them. It turns out Tracey has broken the prime directive by arming the Kohms because he has learnt that not only are people living on the surface immune to the condition that killed his crew; they also live to a great age; he intends to find out how then make a fortune with the knowledge. Tracey has Kirk, Spock and McCoy locked up, Galloway is dead by now, and while confined Kirk is put in a cell with a Yang. After a fight the Yang escapes and warns his people about a Kohm ambush. They are then victorious and take the village; it is then that Kirk learns that the Yangs have some shocking similarities with the United States; only this society lost a war and forget the meanings of its familiar 'holy words'.
This episode gets off to a fine start with the discovery of the Exeter and the state of its crew. Things continue well on the planet as we are introduced to a society that we learn has been set back centuries after a bacteriological war as well as introducing Capt. Tracey. Morgan Woodward did a fine job in as this increasingly insane character. The ongoing conflict between the Kohms and the Yangs was interesting until the Yangs final victory then everything goes wrong. Until then the Asiatic looking Kohms were portrayed as the more civilised and the European looking Yangs are savages; then it becomes apparent that we are meant to be supporting the Yangs as they are a parallel the a United States that has suffered a defeat; they even have the same flag and 'Holy Words' identical to introduction to the US Constitution even if they need Kirk to explain their true meaning. I'm not sure if the creators of the episode wanted to stir the patriotic feelings of US viewers or (hopefully) make them think about the true meaning and intentions of their constitution before using it to justify their views if it is the former it is just embarrassing; if the latter it doesn't seem to succeed very well; I wondered if I 'just didn't get it' because I'm not American but reviews from the US seem fairly mixed too just like this episode. Overall a bit of a disappointment after a good start; but thankfully better than I remembered it to be.
The team beam down and find themselves in a town where relatively backward villagers are preparing to execute two captives who are apparently savages. The execution is stopped by the sole survivor of the Exeter, Capt. Ron Tracey. He explains that they are in a Kohm village and the savage Yangs are waging a war against them. It turns out Tracey has broken the prime directive by arming the Kohms because he has learnt that not only are people living on the surface immune to the condition that killed his crew; they also live to a great age; he intends to find out how then make a fortune with the knowledge. Tracey has Kirk, Spock and McCoy locked up, Galloway is dead by now, and while confined Kirk is put in a cell with a Yang. After a fight the Yang escapes and warns his people about a Kohm ambush. They are then victorious and take the village; it is then that Kirk learns that the Yangs have some shocking similarities with the United States; only this society lost a war and forget the meanings of its familiar 'holy words'.
This episode gets off to a fine start with the discovery of the Exeter and the state of its crew. Things continue well on the planet as we are introduced to a society that we learn has been set back centuries after a bacteriological war as well as introducing Capt. Tracey. Morgan Woodward did a fine job in as this increasingly insane character. The ongoing conflict between the Kohms and the Yangs was interesting until the Yangs final victory then everything goes wrong. Until then the Asiatic looking Kohms were portrayed as the more civilised and the European looking Yangs are savages; then it becomes apparent that we are meant to be supporting the Yangs as they are a parallel the a United States that has suffered a defeat; they even have the same flag and 'Holy Words' identical to introduction to the US Constitution even if they need Kirk to explain their true meaning. I'm not sure if the creators of the episode wanted to stir the patriotic feelings of US viewers or (hopefully) make them think about the true meaning and intentions of their constitution before using it to justify their views if it is the former it is just embarrassing; if the latter it doesn't seem to succeed very well; I wondered if I 'just didn't get it' because I'm not American but reviews from the US seem fairly mixed too just like this episode. Overall a bit of a disappointment after a good start; but thankfully better than I remembered it to be.