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Title: The Omega Glory (01 Mar 1968)
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| Episode complete credited cast: | |||
| William Shatner | ... | Capt. Kirk | |
| Leonard Nimoy | ... | Mr. Spock | |
| DeForest Kelley | ... | Dr. McCoy | |
| Morgan Woodward | ... | Capt. Tracey | |
| Roy Jenson | ... | Cloud William | |
| George Takei | ... | Sulu | |
| Nichelle Nichols | ... | Uhura | |
 |
Irene Kelly | ... | Sirah |
| Morgan Farley | ... | Yang Scholar | |
| David L. Ross | ... | Lt. Galloway | |
| Lloyd Kino | ... | Wu | |
|
|
Ed McCready | ... | Dr. Carter |
|
|
Frank Atienza | ... | Kohn Villager |
As the Enterprise approaches planet Omega IV, they find another starship, the U.S.S. Exeter, in orbit. Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam aboard to find the ship abandoned but strewn with uniforms and crystals. The last log entry from the ship's surgeon tells them they have been infected with a deadly virus brought aboard from a returning landing party. Kirk's party beams down to the planet's surface and finds there is one Exeter survivor: Captain Ron Tracey. He has apparently ignored the Prime Directive and has taken sides in a local dispute supporting the Kohms against their arch-rivals, the Yangs. As McCoy tries to find a cure for the virus, Spock and Kirk try to make sense of the situation. They eventually realize there is an odd parallel with Earth's own history. Written by garykmcd
It was inevitable, sooner or later I was gonna get up to John Meredith Lucas's final episode of STAR TREK. Written by Gene Roddenberry shortly after "The Cage", "The Omega Glory" was actually the 1st of the (so-called) "parallel Earth" episodes, a concept apparently hatched as a con to make the networks think they could cut costs by re-using existing sets (kinda like THE TIME TUNNEL-- heh). It was offered as one of the 3 possibles for the 2nd pilot, but, thankfully, not chosen, in fact, unlike "Mudd's Women", downright shelved! (Since learning it was written so early, it hit me that it probably inspired the somewhat-similar "Miri", which I always felt was the WORST episode of the entire 1st season-- by a mile!)
I've long felt this was a very stupid episode, and I've found online that a lot of fans feel the same way, often ranking it as "one of the worst" in the entire series.
My original impressions remained intact watching it UNCUT again tonight. The opening sequence is the most intriguing part, where they discover the crystalline remains of the Exeter crew. (I did, after all these years, suddenly find myself wondering WHY Kirk didn't have the Exeter scanned for life before beaming over; instead, he gets on the ship's intercom and asks, "Is anyone on board?")
I've since learned that Morgan Woodward had a long career in westerns, but man, to me, he will always be Captain Ron Tracy-- a starship commander who due to circumstances went COMPLETELY INSANE!! Matt Decker (from "The Doomsday Machine") has nothing on this guy. One scene I hadn't seen in ages (clearly it's usually cut in syndication) was when Tracy decides to talk with a bound Kirk and, after quoting regulations at length, give him his reasons for violating "The Prime Directive". (Did Roddenberry really come up with this idea so early? In the order of filming, it didn't turn up until halfway thru the 1st season.) All that aside, if there's any reason Kirk should NOT have played ball with the guy, it's when Tracy, for NO apparent reason, VAPORIZED the already-injured Lt. Galloway! (Was he trying to make a point?)
Between Kirk & Cloud William in the cell, Kirk & Tracy in the street (with a battle-axe!!), and Kirk & Tracy in front of the assembled tribe, this episode has no less than 3 of the most BRUTAL fight scenes in STAR TREK history! Just the kind of thing to grab the attention of the average viewers (and no doubt keep the network happy).
Of course, the extreme annoyance of focusing on The Prime Directive aside, I didn't mind the "parallel development" concept here so much... that is, until the FINALE. When they pulled out the flag of the United States of America, followed by the US Constitution-- "WE-- THE PEOPLE...", that just went too far over the line for me. Always did, always will.
And yet... and yet... in spite of this, tonight I found this episode remains one GRIPPING watch. You just can't take your eyes off it-- no matter how stupid Tracy's actions got, no matter how outrageous Gene Roddenberry's ideas about sci-fi got, no matter how preachy Jim Kirk got. In fact, when Kirk speaks to Cloud William and the tribe, in spite of, if not because of how outrageous it is, I felt myself welling up with emotion. It's GOOD to be an American, and REMEMBER what BEING an American is supposed to be about.
Whatta ya know? I ENJOYED this tonight. And I remember that, yes, there ARE several ST's that are MUCH worse, and far more unwatchable than this one. (Including "Miri", "The Paradise Syndrome", "And The Children Shall Lead")
Funny enough, the plot about a Federation officer violating the Prime Directive and trying to wipe out an indigenous population so he can profit from something on a planet that could benefit the rest of the galaxy wound up being reused in the movie STAR TREK: INSURRECTION. (That film also borrowed the "back to nature" theme of another oft-maligned ST episode, "The Way To Eden".)