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Spectre of the Gun - episode #56

 
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 10, 2019 1:45 pm    Post subject: Spectre of the Gun - episode #56 Reply with quote

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___ Star Trek TOS - Spectre of The Gun Preview Trailer


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The Enterprise arrives in Melkotian space. Kirk's aim is to set up relations with the secretive race.

The Melkotians don't take kindly to visitors, however, and, as a form of punishment, seemingly send the 'big five' (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, and Chekov) to a warped version of the town of Tombstone, quasi-1881, based on information they plucked from Kirk's mind.

Kirk didn't even get a chance to play diplomat or wreck the buoy — the summary judgment/decision by the Melkotians was quicker than space spit. These Melkotians are the most hasty aliens on Star Trek yet, similar to the impatient Tholians. And, they were also a stark example of practicing xenophobes, an attitude encountered a couple of times on TOS & TNG.



When I saw this episode in my early years, as a kid, my first thought as I first observed the half-completed town was that the budget for the show had really been curtailed by this point.

They couldn't even set up a complete 'Old West' town? What, they ran out of wood? Was wood too expensive by this time?

Of course, I missed the key line of dialogue from McCoy early in the tale. The characters themselves realized the town was incomplete. Bits and pieces were selected from Kirk's brain, creating a surrealistic hodgepodge of history and stylized staged drama.

I wasn't even acquainted with the term 'surrealism' when I first viewed this episode, young as I was, so it wasn't until years later that I started to appreciate the gloomy dramatic elements of this eerie ghost story — an almost nightmarish stroll among some phantoms and shadows of a violent past era.



When I was younger, my favorite moments in this episode involved Kirk's somewhat comical attempts to communicate with some of the residents of this half-baked town: with the bartender, with the cowardly sheriff Behan, and with the main antagonists themselves, the cold-eyed Earps.

Kirk was trying to convince them of who he really was — that he wasn't really a member of the Clanton gang. But, in my later years, these scenes became the weaker aspects to the story. Why was Kirk wasting his time running around trying to convince apparitions of who he really was? Why waste time in the face of a predestined, preordained clash of wills?



Make no mistake, minutes after their arrival to this fake Tombstone, the 'landing party' has already deduced that they're trapped in some strange illusion. They're not sure of its exact nature yet, but they realize it's some replay of history, a recreation of reality, but unreal in essence — they know the aliens tapped into Kirk's mind.

So, Kirk's efforts are at odds with the nature of this storyline — the thing's a head trip and those scenes stray from the premise. It's as if Kirk is trying to make meaningful contact with natives of just another planet, as with most any other episode.



To me, the strengths of this episode are the moments when the Trek-makers adhere to the eerie play of shadows premise.

The Earps and Doc Holliday are the best sample of this. They're consistently portrayed as some ghostly, almost demonic versions of lethal western characters.

I wonder now what direction the actors received during filming for their portrayal — probably something like 'act as if you're zombies.' Morgan (Rex Holman) and Wyatt (Ron Soble), in particular, come across like some bizarre wax figures come to life. The stylized presentation of the 'not quite there' town, as if half of it is trapped in another dimension, remains a spooky excursion into Twilight Zone territory, exemplified by that clock hanging in mid-air where a wall should be.

The viewer's mind is also drawn to that clock because we're constantly reminded of how it's closing in on 5:00, the time of our heroes' doom. This is a countdown to doom — quite effective.



The ending is anti-climactic and weak by Star Trek standards, unusual in that most of the episodes have great endings, a strong asset to the series.

Kirk pummels Wyatt Earp in rage because . . . oh, yes, Chekov is shot and killed in this episode. Yes, this is Chekov's final episode . . . just kidding.

Now, doesn't Kirk realize he's brawling with an apparition? I'm sure he does. Spock told him as much beforehand. Kirk stops short of using his revolver, and the Melkotians congratulate him.

This is a nonsensical retread of other story conclusions such as Arena, where-in a more advanced race pats Kirk on the head for not giving in to his primal urges. Then we have to listen to Spock admonishing Kirk for his violent tendencies. What Spock should have said to him was, "Don't you feel silly, Jim, for fighting the ghostly Earp after I told you he was unreal?"



Extra Trek Trivia:

~ Actor Holman, who plays Morgan Earp, later appeared in a small role in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989). Deforest Kelley played Morgan Earp in the earlier 1957 film version, Gunfight at the OK Corral.

~ Also, check out the film Tombstone (1993) for another interpretation of this page of American history.

BoG's Score: 7 out of 10


_____ Star Trek "Spectre of the Gun" Remastered


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BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus


Last edited by Bogmeister on Mon Jun 10, 2019 2:53 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 10, 2019 2:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

One thing about this episode that helped give it a bit more credibility overall was the way Spock performed a mind meld on Kirk, McCoy, and Scotty to implant the subconscious conviction that the bullets fired by the gunfighters were not real and could not harm them.

This was done after Scotty stated the undeniable fact that they couldn't simply try real hard to believe the bullets were not real. As Scotty put it, "There would always be some small doubt".

To which Spock replies with something like, "And that will be the cause of your death".

Bogmeister is right about all the regrettable scenes in which Kirk tries to talk the bogus gunfighters, the sheriff, and the bartender into realizing that he wasn't one of the Clanton gang, he was actually Captain James T. Kirk of the starship Enterprise, from the future.

I watched the episode while posting the above copy of Bogmeister's review from his board to ours, and those scenes gave me the humorous mental image of a delusional Disney World guest staggering around the park while he disparately tried to convince one of the "cast members" in costume that he wasn't what he appeared to be.

"Buddy, you've got to listen to reason! You're WAY to tall to be Mickey Mouse! You can't talk, you can't stop smiling . . . and for God's sake, your eyes aren't real! They don't move around! It's creepy!" Shocked



I was also amused by the way Kirk beat the tar out of Wyatt Earp after the bad guys' bullets were proven ineffective. Good Lord, he and his crewmen had just demonstrated that it was all an illusion! So, why'd Kirk feel a macho need to smack the phantom around?

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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Jun 11, 2019 11:40 am; edited 1 time in total
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Krel
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 10, 2019 8:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:

I was also amused by the way Kirk beat the tar out of Wyatt Earp after the bad guys' bullets were proven ineffective. Good Lord, he and his crewmen had just demonstrated that it was all an illusion! So, why'd Kirk feel a macho need to smack the phantom around?

Frustration?

David.
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Robert (Butch) Day
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 11, 2019 5:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

More like the studio's need to show how tough their star was.
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Pow
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 2:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Trivia for "Spectre of the Gun.''} Early draft titles for this episode were "Execution," and "The Last Gunfight."

Glad they went with "SOTG." It has a haunting and ominous vibe to it.

DeForest Kelly was in familiar territory with this episode. In 1955 on an episode of the historical CBS TV series "You Are There'', he portrayed Ike Clanton for the infamous gunfight.

Later on, he was Morgan Earp for the big screen epic film "Gunfight at the O.K.Corral'' with Burt Lancaster as brother Wyatt, and Kirk Douglas as friend Doc Holiday.

The terrific actor Abraham Sofaer provided the voice of the alien Melkotian. In season one he was the voice of the alien Thasian on "Charlie X."

The sets for the western town of Tombstone, AZ were done in the unusual partially constructed style due to budget cutbacks for the series.

In this case though it did not suffer for it, as the eerie limbo-like appearance of the town added to the fact that it was an alien construct and not reality.

It also created a tension, suspense, and uncertainty for the episode.

Intriguing episode for the troubled and budget-constrained third season. A number of the episodes for season three had decent concepts behind 'em.

However, the $$$ for the episodes was in short supply. And with the departure of Gene Coon, and Gene Roddenberry's minimal participation with the show he created, the third season never really stood a chance of great success.

Always liked the Melkotian Buoy design for this episode.
Remastered, it was also done well.

I was very disappointed in the design for the Melkotian alien. It came off as terribly phony. They were wise to try to obscure it with fog, but still too much of it was visible. I was
stunned that the remaster team did not create an entirely new & awesome alien design for the show.

Leonard Nimoy was said to be displeased at the violent conclusion for the episode.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 4:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
Leonard Nimoy was said to be displeased at the violent conclusion for the episode.

As I mentioned earlier, the way Kirk took savage pleasure in beating the crap out of a non-existent Western character was inconsistent with his admirable nature, along with the pacifistic nature of the series.

Look at this way. If I'm walking along and see a bug on the sidewalk, it isn't really wrong of me to step on it. Hell, it's just a bug! Rolling Eyes

But if I take pleasure in doing it . . . it reveals a flaw in my character. If my idea of fun is squashing a bug, then my idea of fun is inherently evil. Sad

And finally, there's this: from the standpoint of good script writing, it was a weak moment in an otherwise enjoyable story. And that is something I don't easily forgive.
Confused
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 7:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I only kill bugs if they're in my home or buzzing around me, I try never to harm any of the little critters while they're in their own natural habitat! Just wouldn't be cricket, what!!!
JB
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 13, 2019 12:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Well, gosh! NOBODY would step on a cricket! Shocked



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Pow
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 4:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

At the conclusion of this episode we see the Melkotians blow up their cool looking satellite in space and allow the Enterprise to approach their planet.

So how come they detonated their sat in the first place? To look dramatic? They simply could have left it floating in outer space as the Enterprise flew into the orbit of their planet.
There was no need to destroy their sat.

Or was it really ever there in the first place? Was it merely part of the mind games they were telepathically playing with the Enterprise? The sat gave the crew a conventional looking reference point? Even so, why go to all that trouble in the first place?

Still and all, I did admire both the original design and effect of the sat, as well as the remastered iteration.
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Pow
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2022 7:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nitpicker's Guide.

In "Friday's Child," Captain Kirk tells the Capellans that if they want to be left alone, the Federation will leave them alone.Why, then, has Starflett given Kirk orders to contact the Melkotians?

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IMHO: In the two-part episode "The Menagerie," Starbase 11's Commodore Mendez informs Kirk that the planet Talos IV, whose inhabitants are powerful telepaths, is a destination forbidden by General Order 7---the only remaining Starfleet order that carries a death sentence.

So if the Melkotians are as powerful telepaths, or more so, than the Talosians, why does Starfleet now want to contact such a race? What's changed? If the Melkotians were hostile, wouldn't they be able to use their incredible telepathy to sabotage any and all Federation starships by creating realistic illusions that would have the crew pulling the wrong switches?

They could also create convincing illusions of Kirk, Spock, or anyone on board the Enterprise who could give deadly orders to the crew.
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Pow
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 26, 2022 7:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From TV Guide, October 19, 1968:

"Spectre of the Gun." An eerie punishment awaits the men of the Enterprise. For violating Melkotian space, they are made to appear as the Clanton gang in Tombstone, Ariz., on October 26, 1881. If history is correct, they will be met ... and killed... by the Earps and Doc Holliday at the OK Corral.

Stylized, see-through sets and the lawmen's funeral black costumes heighten the dreamlike aura of this episode.

Thoughts: TV Guide has praise for the partial sets for this episodes, which is cool since the sets were the result of the modest budgets Star Trek got during its third, and final, season.

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