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[Bud Brewster]

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Some folks say that Westerns and science fiction don’t mix. Well, it certainly doesn’t happen often. In this case it’s moderately successful — a notable accomplishment in view of the modest TV budget.

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Spectre of the Gun - episode #56

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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
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)