A Taste of Armageddon

Okay, almost the entire show takes place in a sterile-looking compound, so this is guaranteed to be a rather bland-looking episode. But, despite this and the lack of a lot of action in the show, it stands out as one of the best episodes because it is so well-written and has an intriguing message. It seems that the Enterprise visits a new planet while they are being attacked by their enemies on a nearby planet. However, despite the landing party hearing the warnings, the see, hear and feel no evidence of attack. It turns out that the attack is a computer simulation and the ship (but not the landing party) are determined by the computer to be casualties in this bizarre game. However, despite not being real, this really is no game. You see, the two planets completely hate each other and would have completely annihilated each other with their high-tech weapons countless decades before had both sides not agreed to stop fighting a conventional war and begin fighting a computerized one. The logic was that BOTH societies could be preserved and the "victims" could be humanely euthanized to make the war more tolerable!!! This sick arrangement seems natural to the planet's inhabitants and they cannot understand why the crew of the ship refuse to report to the disintegration chambers in order to preserve the precarious balance and avoid a real all-out war!!!! The episode is exciting, thought-provoking and features an excellent performance by guest-star David Opatoshu--an exceptional character actor who was a frequent guest on TV (such as his great role in one of the hour-long TWILIGHT ZONE episodes).

A clever sf concept on how a different society may wage their wars: totally by computers. In their supposed enlightened method, the buildings and their culture continue - the populace obediently reports to disintegration chambers to fulfill an agreement with the enemy planet after each computerized attack. It all sounds very clinical, very clean, if not a bit on the 'patriotism gone mad' spectrum - but it's probably the clinical aspect which outrages Kirk the most; that and the fact that his beloved starship is declared a target almost immediately. I don't think he even remembers, at this point, that another Federation ship was lost 50 years earlier in this manner - it's his ship what counts. To be fair to this society on Eminiar, they did warn the Enterprise to stay away from their system; but the problem here again is an annoying Federation bureaucrat, ambassador Fox (see also the previous "The Galileo 7" for another such representative). Fox places more value on a successful diplomatic mission than on the lives of all the crew and the ship. This does not endear him to Kirk, Scotty, or the audience, for that matter.

Speaking of Scotty, he had some of his best scenes of the first season here. Placed in command of the Enterprise for most of the episode, he gets to shine in his confrontations with Fox and the 'mealy-mouthed' Anan-7 down on the planet. My favorite scene is when he informs Anan-7 that the Enterprise will destroy the surface of the planet in less than two hours. It sounds horrible when described this way, but it's almost a validation of a starship's power and, by extension, Starfleet, and actor Doohan learned by this point how to infuse as much melodramatic impact on such pronouncements as possible. We secretly thrill to this opportunity Scotty has in throwing his starship's weight around - following Kirk's orders, of course. For Kirk, it's his chance to play God once more (see the previous "Return of the Archons"), literally transforming an entire culture overnight - not in theory, but in practice! To be fair to the captain, one can argue his hand was forced after his ship was targeted but...I, for one, get the sense he's really enjoying himself - give him any excuse; he'll change the way a planet does things soon enough, maybe even as retribution for daring to threaten his ship.

Still, the society of Eminiar poses many questions and problems, despite the outward appearance of prosperity and technological comfort (another nice matte painting here, though not as successful as previous ones for Starbase 11 in "The Menagerie" and "Court Martial"). Anan-7 (Opatoshu in a nicely-layered performance) himself inadvertently suggests where the priorities of this so-called culture lie when he tells Kirk that he'll try to spare his starship but the human beings inside it are definitely goners. Things - material things - definitely take precedence over humanity here. There's something inherently repulsive about living thinking beings marching into oblivion at the 'suggestion' of computer results - another aspect making this similar to "Return of the Archons" - like so much programmed ants. I could understand Kirk's disgust and I noticed Spock was on his side all the way without even a word of debate about something called The Prime Directive.

The few reviews of this episode have given it a dismissive treatment, and for some very superficial reasons.

Consider; the "aliens" are ostensibly Anglo North Americans who speak perfect North American English, the computers are from the age of vacuum tubes, there's little in the way of cultural adornment, and the production values, even for a classic Trek episode, seem to be a little on the low side.

But, if one merely looks at it for its gloss, then the viewer is missing the larger theme of this very profound episode (as many classic Trek episodes tend to be).

In years past when two factions contended over resources, they fought man to man. There was a sense of personal jeopardy when engaging in combat. There was a stake involved on all levels; national, communal, and personal.

In "A Taste of Armageddon", we're shown the pitfalls of automating international conflict; i.e. warfare. Or, in this case, interplanetary warfare. We're shown a society that's become heartless by trying to preserve it's social life at all costs. And this is where the episode should hit the most astute of viewers.

Today, in the United States, we live in a push button society. At the click of a mouse we can call up any fantasy we want via the computer. In the real world this kind of mechanical symbiosis is taken to the next level by calling up death with the click of a mouse by a seaman in a submarine or a remote control pilot firing a hellfire missile from a predator drone. We now pick and choose our targets, almost seemingly on a whim.

The idea is to minimize death and destruction. A kind of jujitsu approach to warfare via defanging the opposition. Anon 7 states the reasons for this approach to warfare, but Kirk reminds of what it is he and the rest of his people are afraid of.

The speech delivered at the end by Captain James T. Kirk is typical Shatner-esquire drama. The words he delivers should strike home for anyone who's ever thought of organized warfare on any level. This is the heart of the story. This is the message, and a warning for future generations.

Enterprise visits a planet on a diplomatic mission.

This is an entertaining episode with solid character moments. It is based on a rather silly but still fairly enjoyable concept.

I found the plot to be relatively formulaic, with a similar structure to 'Return of the Archons'. The idea of what constitutes warfare is an interesting idea, but does require major suspension of disbelief. Particularly the 500 years of tradition, which is a real stretch. If you demand plausibility, you might struggle with it. However, if you go along with the plot as I did, the many decent character moments make it worthwhile.

Kirk is fairly no-nonsense and aggressive in his dealings with the people of Eminiar VII and this is entertaining to watch. Although he gains control of one situation in a ridiculous fight scene, this for me is all part of the charm of the original series.

Scotty has his first opportunity to shine in command of Enterprise and he does so with a number of memorable moments, such as standing up to the hideously annoying Ambassador Fox and admirably handing the threat from Anan 7.

Anan 7 is a credible villain and whilst part of an implausible situation he is watchable. Less can be said for Mea 3, who is poorly written and feels like a excuse to have an attractive female for Kirk to save.

There is plenty of memorable dialogue is this episode, particularly from Kirk, Scotty and Spock.

The visuals are strong, especially on Eminiar, which has some lovely cinematography with nicely lit and colourful sets. The costumes, such as the hats, worn by the guest characters are spectacularly fun.

All performances are solid as ever, with William Shatner, James Doohan, David Opatoshu and in particular Leonard Nimoy on top form. Nimoy delivers some brilliant dialogue in his typical dry humorous way.

A mission to Eminiar VII, as the Enterprise makes a transgression, all the crew dies, in the simulation's eyes, now they must be culled without question.

A 500 year war based on computer modelling to select who dies in reality causes the captain of the Enterprise to challenge the rules and find a way to bring about peace.