A Taste of Armageddon 

Kirk and Spock must save their ship's crew when they are declared all killed in action in a bizarre computer simulated war where the actual deaths must occur to continue.

Director:

Joseph Pevney

Writers:

Robert Hamner (teleplay by), Gene L. Coon (teleplay by)

Stars:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, David Opatoshu

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
William Shatner	...	Capt. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock
David Opatoshu	...	Anan 7
Gene Lyons	...	Ambassador Fox
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy
James Doohan	...	Scott
Barbara Babcock	...	Mea 3
Miko Mayama	...	Tamula
David L. Ross	...	Galloway
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
Sean Kenney	...	DePaul
Robert Sampson	...	Sar 6

Storyline

On a mission to establish diplomatic relations at Star Cluster NGC321, Kirk and Spock beam down to planet Eminiar 7 to learn that its inhabitants have been at war with a neighboring planet for over 500 years. They can find no damage nor evidence of destruction but soon learn that their war is essentially a war game, where each planet attacks the other in a computer simulation with the tabulated victims voluntarily surrendering themselves for execution after the fact. When the Enterprise becomes a victim in the computer simulation and ordered destroyed, Kirk decides it's time to show them exactly what war means.

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Plot Keywords:

held captive | blonde | ambassador | communications device | computer | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 February 1967 (USA)

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Desilu Productions, Norway Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Mea 3 escorts the landing party from the beam-down area to the council chamber, the transition of scenes is conveyed not through a cut or a dissolve, but through a wipe - the only time such an effect was used in the original series. Also, this is the only time anyone is able to determine where a person or group of people will materialize.

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Goofs

In the opening scene, just after Ambassador Fox tells Captain Kirk to obey is order, he steps up to the upper level of the bridge, slightly tilting/dislodging the captain's chair. Causing it and Kirk to wiggle. Surely the structural integrity of a 23rd Century star ship bridge deck floor would not allow this to happen.

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Quotes

Anan 7: Planetary disrupter banks, calculate orbit of star cruiser now circling. Stand by to fire full power.
Voice of fire control officer: Councilman, planetary disrupter banks locked onto target. Standing by.
Anan 7: In ten seconds, open fire. Destroy the star cruiser. Those are the orders of the council.

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Alternate Versions

Special Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song

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Connections

Referenced in Star Trek: By Any Other Name (1968)

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Soundtracks

Theme From Star Trek
Written by Alexander Courage

User Reviews

A solid episode dealing with computer war

Ambassador Fox wins my award for the stupidest, most belligerent Federation representative ever to come aboard the Enterprise. This guy is so full of himself, he's willing to ignore Code 710 and risk the Enterprise (and perhaps interstellar war) simply because he's convinced his diplomatic capabilities can overcome any obstacles. Despite the high probability that Kirk and the landing party have been taken hostage, and despite an obvious attack against the Enterprise from Eminiar VII, Fox ignores the sound advice of Scotty and the rest of the bridge crew and storms ahead with his ill-fated attempt at negotiating a treaty to secure a spaceport.

All in all, I find this episode very entertaining. Anan 7 seems pretty ruthless, Ambassador Fox has you throwing tomatoes at the screen whenever he's visible, and I always like it when Kirk and company are stealthily sneaking around blasting everything in sight. And the idea of a war fought totally by computers gets you thinking. We're really not that far away from that type of reality, where the ease of waging war makes it easy to forget the horrors behind it. I'm giving "A Taste of Armageddon" a B+ grade and setting up my own disintegration machine to help motivate my kids to get their homework done.