One scientific nit: as the crew suddenly becomes aged, their hair is completely grey which is impossible, unless they decided to dye it that color to match their ages. Hair, at least the external parts we see, is dead and fairly unchanging. Loss of pigment during age happens in the root and even if your hair turned completely white overnight, it would grow in from the roots.
Near the beginning of the episode Kirk gives the stardate as 3478. Near the end he gives the stardate as 3579. Since 1000 stardates equal a year, this makes the episode over a month long? Was this just a "slip of the tongue" and Kirk meant to say 3479 instead of 3579? If it were meant to be 3579 then the episodes "Friday`s Child" and "The Changeling" take place sometime during this episode.
I don't know if these were mentioned but here are a couple I saw the other night.
1. The cause of the aging is the radiation from the comet correct? Now when the planet passes through the orbit of the comet it infects the entire planet with the radiation. Why doesn't Chekov age? He wasn't scared the entire time he was on the planet.
2. Why didn't McCoy start trying all radiation cures?
3. Why didn't Spock give control to Sulu he has more bridge experience than the commodore?
The chick who died first said "That's (or "What") a stu-pid place to put a mirror". I'll say. It was perfectly eye level with her short stature.
In this episode, and in The Man Trap, it is stated that science teams require an annual check-up. First shouldn't science teams have their own medical people? Second how come this policy doesn't apply to colonies? Many years can go by without a colony receiving a visit from a starship.
Chekov screams and runs away from the dead body, later it is surmised that this rush of adrenaline kept him from aging, but when he screamed to the others, don't you think that would get their adrenaline pumping?
Early on when Kirk started to make mistakes it seemed like the crew acted shocked. Is Kirk so infallible that he never makes mistakes?
I realize that Kirk isn't thinking straight, but why does the notification of a health hazard like the comet need a secure channel? If this comet goes into Romulan space and affects Romulans, don't you think they would realize that this comet had passed by a Federation Science base and accuse the Federation of biological warfare?
On page 169 of the Classic Guide, Phil commented that Stocker seems to be a stickler for regulations. Well, Stocker struck me as a spoiled brat. ("No, you have to take me to my Starbase, now! You can examine this planet anytime, but I have to get to my Starbase!" Then once he's in charge. "Take me to my Starbase. Cut through the neighbors yard, they won't mind.") I certainly hope Starfleet didn't leave this guy in charge of a Starbase. (They probably put him in command of some alien deep space station and hoped something would open up and swallow him alive.)
So why didn't a Federation patrol stop the Enterprise from entering the Neutral Zone? (If entering the Neutral Zone is an act of war it would just be common sense to have patrols on the Federation side to prevent Federation ships from entering. Don't you think?)
Chekov says that the Romulans don't take captives. Well, tell that to Admiral Tomalok, and also the Romulans who captured the Enterprise-C.
In the Neutral Zone Kirk sends a message about how a corbomite explosion would make the area a dead zone and recommends that ships stay away from the area, but isn't this the Neutral Zone? Isn't the Neutral Zone an area that ships are supposed to stay away from anyway?
According to later movies, Kirk aged differently than he did in this episode. Here there was no mention of his eyesight going bad, and in this episode his hair became thin and straight instead of becoming thick and curly as indicated by the movies. I guess all that adrenaline altered his aging process.
So why did Kirk confuse Gamma Hydra IV for Gamma Hydra II? Is Gamma Hydra II an M-class planet? Is it filled with women of easy virtue?
>Chekov says that the Romulans don't take captives. Well, tell that to Admiral Tomalok, and also the Romulans who captured the Enterprise-C.>
I assume this rumor got started because the Klingons & Romulans never RETURN prisoners. We rarely see that.
Keith--I think you have it backwards. A science team would be a small group of people, and unlikely to have an MD on staff. A colony, on the other hand, would be a large group of people. It would be foolish of them not to include a doctor.
The crew is shocked because Kirk's mistakes are blatant, plus he keeps repeating them. I'll bet they're also noticing them more because Kirk is getting wrinkled and grey.
The "Romulans don't take prisoners" attitude could have just been Federation propaganda of the times. Remember, the Federation has had very little contact with the Romulans before now. The Romulans of Next Gen may have changed their tactics.
In my view, Bill Shatner appears to be doing a Richard Nixon impersonation as he plays Kirk getting older, even though Nixon wasn't yet president of the U.S. when this episode originally aired.
Mike: If you were going to be stuck on an alien planet and knew that it would be a year before a ship would visit, wouldn't you want some kind of medical person who could deal with broken bones, cuts, insect and/or animal bites, or poisonings from accidentally eating the wrong fruit?
Secondly, my comment referred to the way colonies seem to be treated in the Star Trek universe. In various episodes we learn that some colonies go years without contact from the Federation, colonies are set up in the unexplored boondocks of space where they are subject to Indian... I mean, Alien attack, unknown animals or minerals can attack, sometimes unknown diseases or forms of radiation can threaten the colony, heck, the governor of at least one colony executed half the population to avoid starvation. It seems obvious that living on a colony world is practically the same as seceding from the Federation. When the Federation does deign to treat a colony as one of its own it is usually for the purpose of kicking people off their world. A number of episodes have indicated that colonies don't have spacecraft so they can evacuate their people or fight attacking aliens if need be. It seems like the purpose of a colony in the Star Trek universe is to weed out all the disposable people in the Federation. (Hmmm, do colonies fall under the jurisdiction of Section 31?)
Hans - Line you will never see on the news.
Nixon: I am not a Kirk!
Keith--that's definitely the difference between colonies in TOS and TNG. In TOS, the colonies were like towns in the old American West: far away from home and civilization. They roughed out their existence with antiquated equipment, and got very excited when visitors came into town.
In TNG, however, the "colonists" bring all the latest gadgets and amenities. "We'll put the health club over there, the TV station there, and the mall will be built in two years."
Science stations, however, still get to rough it (by 24th century standards). I'm sure that in most cases the scientists can handle first aid and some medical emergencies. However, I wouldn't want them opening me up for exploratory surgery.
Mike: Some of my examples came from NextGen episodes.
Omicron Theta apparently only had one small ship that the Soongs escaped in.
In The Survivors would everyone, but one, in the colony have been killed if there were ships and weapons?
In A Matter Of Time the people are stuck on the planet and Picard worries about them dying if he tries a dangerous procedure. If they had ships, the colony could be evacuated before trying the experiment.
Also I don't remember any dialogue in Datalore or The Survivors that indicates a help message had been sent, so apparently they didn't even have working subspace radios.
Where or when did the rumor about Romulans not taking prisoners originate anyway? There was the war about a 100 years ago, then Balance Of Terror, then, I believe, this episode. Is this rumor a 100 years old? Or is it a misinterpretation of one of the last things said by the Romulan commander in Balance Of Terror, 'that is not our way' in response to Kirk's offer to rescue the surviving Romulans?
During a cold - or hot- warm there ar always misinformed charicatures of the enemy. In the TNG pilot, Picard said the Ferengi eat people.
Incidentally, Chekov's statement, "The Romulans don't take prisoners." was later echoed by Admiral Kirk in ST-WOK: "Prayer, Mr. Saavik; the KLINGONS don't take prisoner". (Emphasis mine.)
Other examples of the Romulans taking prisoners would include Worf's father and also Data, Picard and Spock in "Unification".
Why does Kirk, when getting ready to run from the Romulans, give the coordinates to Sulu? Isn't locking in coordinates the navigator's, Mr. Chekov's job?
I believe Spock says he's having troubles concentrating and that his mental capacity is down. Yet Kirk and McCoy trust him to have accurately computed the anti-aging formula? They must really trust Spock. (Does bring up the line in "The Voyage Home" where McCoy comments that Kirk trusts Spock's guesses. [Not sure of the full quote.])
The entire ending with the Commodore in command made no sense whatsoever. First, I never attended the academy, but even I could give the "Sulu, get us out of here" or the "return fire" order when the Romulans first showed up. This guy totally froze and did nothing. This guy must of had some field experience in his career to get to Commodore rank.
Second, when he did freeze up shouldn't protocol have insisted that Sulu, probably the next highest rank on the bridge, start giving orders when the CO was obviously out of it?
And why was this guy cutting throught the Neutral Zone to Starbase 10? Isn't that illegal by treaty? And why didn't anyone (Sulu) question it. like he did in the Kobayashi Maru in St:II?
Is that hearing the only way to boot a CO? I thought McCoy and Spock could do that themselves. What if you're in a crisis? "Shields down!' Quick-to the briefing room!
The Commodore has to be a boob so Kirk can save the day..... again.
FUNNY THOUGHT...
You look at James Doohan today...and he looks very simular to the rapid aging Scotty in this episode (sans mustache)
Except that the rapidly aging Scotty didn't balloon up to the size of a small planet (or have a kid!)
Some of the buildings on the planet resemble the buildings seen on Rigel XII (Mudd's Women)
Once again, the red alert lights stay on after activated, they're supposed to flash on & off.
The creators continue to treat us to some great overhead shots of the Enterprise.
The shots of the Romulan ships attacking were "flipped" to make it look like there was more than one ship attacking.(very clever)
I can't help but wonder how long Commodore Stocker lasted on Starbase 10.....the Romulans attack the Enterprise and he just stands there and gawks. (Must be an ancestor of Capt. Harriman)
I must note that the badge that Stocker wears is inconsistant with the badges worn by Commodores Mendez, Stone and Decker. The flowery badge seen in this episode was worn by Ms. Piper in "The Menagerie" and it was also by Ariel Shaw in "Court Martial"...in other words, the badge is usually worn by WOMEN!
OSCAR WINNING PERFORMANCES:
Shatner & Kelley.....playing "Grumpy Old Men"...their performances are truly outstanding!
KUDOS! HUZZAH! ENCORE!
Nimoy & Doohan gets 2nd place for portraying tired old men extremely well!
KUDOS! HUZZAH! ENCORE!
I guess they had to make up a gray toupee for Shatner in this ep. He is also wearing less makeup than the others.
The book "Making of Star Trek" had a pictorial of Shatner getting his old age makeup on. Interestingly, he is about 68 now and looks better now than he did with the makeup on, although at the briefing, his physical age was "between 60 and 72."
In his book, Phil was wondering where the photo of Gav the Tellarite standing in front of a red curtain came from....well, according to "The Star Trek Compendium", it was a "screen test" for the awful, fake-looking Tellarite make-up for the future episode of "Journey to Babel"
You might say...he was "hogging" the camera!
During the compentency hearing Spock asks Sulu, "Did HE (Kirk) repeat that (200 perigee) order?" Just then, Kirk yells, "HE did not!"
I think Shather either was acting more senile than he was supposed to or he simply blew his line... it makes more sense for Kirk to reply "I did not!"
Dr. Wallace marks the 2nd woman that Kirk almost married... the other being Carol Marcus.
This story takes place in the Gamma Hydra sector... very near the ROMULAN Neutral Zone... so how come during the simulation in STII, the Enterprise is in the same sector but attacked by the Klingons?
During the Romulan attack, Stocker flies back into the command chair and the pedestal lifts a little bit off the floor.
When Kirk returns to the Bridge appearing younger, he gives a directional order of 188 degrees... 188???? The scale should only go to 180... send that guy back to Sick Bay!
The warp 8 flyby is from the main credits.
I'm not sure where I read this but I believe that in an earlier draft of STII Kirk's love interest was going to be Dr. Wallace. Subsequent drafts changed her into Carol Marcus.
As to the problem of Klingon ships being in the neutral zone keep in mind that it was the computer that identified them, and computers can only do what they're programmed to, so even though the ships may have been manned by Romulans they were still of Klingon design(a la "Enterprise Incident"), so that's what the computer said.
188 degrees....188????
According to the ST Tech Manual, they used a 400 degree circle for direction.
Speaking of compentency hearings, someone should've held one for Stocker after hearing him give the order to go thru the Neutral Zone.
GREAT LINE: "Warp 7...now!" Kirk after reassuming command and bluffing the Romulans with his famous "Corbomite Manuver"(R)
The line comes complete with reverb!
Keith A. Morgan noted: "So why didn't a Federation patrol stop the Enterprise from entering the Neutral Zone? (If entering the Neutral Zone is an act of war it would just be common sense to have patrols on the Federation side to prevent Federation ships from entering. Don't you think?)"
Simple answer....the Enterprise was the only starship in the quadrant.....and so it goes.....
ALTERNATE OPINION:
I would like to add Dr. Janice Wallace to the list of "Number of times Kirk resists the attentions of a female" on the "Romance Toteboard" in the book "Nitpicker's Guide for Classic Trekkers"...I realize she's already listed in "Kirk's past love" catagory, but all through this episode, Wallace makes some pretty strong come-ons to Kirk and he refuses by recalling the past....every time.
GREAT LINE: (Correction) "Warp factor 8...NOW!"
Kirk after issuing a message via code 2 to the Romulans which included Kirk's famous Corbomite Manuver(R) (Complete with reverb)
(I originally thought it was warp 7...I was wrong...could it be old age creeping up on me too? Never mind...I don't want to know)
It appears that after McCoy says, "Well, don't just stand there jawin' Spawnk...etc.", his lips are still moving like he was saying somewthing else....I can't help but wonder if 'De' Kelley realized he mispronounced Spock's name and was trying to correct himself or something like that.
This radiation virus that's in this episode is one of the few viruses that doesn't effect the entire crew after the landing party beams back up.
Starfleet must REALLY be slipping up.
Stocker violates the neutral zone and he still gets to command Starbase 10....?
RIIIIIGHT!
(Unless Kirk & Co. never report the incident...which reeks of conspiracy)
In "Court Martial", Commodore Stone states that he...like Kirk...commanded a Starship.....so....how come Stocker never did?
Lt. Galway must be getting chilly too....she's wearing some kind of yellow sweatshirt underneath her uniform. (She didn't have the yellow shirt on before getting old)
I believe it is a yellow scarf tucked into her uniform. The creators probably wanted to forego having to age her skin down to the neckline of her uniform, so they added the scarf. Skin around the neck and chest area does not age well, it looses elasticity. So Lt. Galway was dressing her age, and not as my mom always says:"mutton dressed as lamb".
When McCoy lists one of the possibilities of the hyperaging illness, he mentions "evil spirits"
Not very medicinal, is it?
I think he was using that as a way of saying "I just don't know, Jim".
Nomination for Best Moment!
Kirk rants at Spock for relieving him of command, believing he's taken over. Then he realises that Spock isn't in command, and rants some more... culminating in:
"Get out! I never want to have to look at you again!"
Spock ducks away, almost as if he's been slapped, before turning and walking out. For a man who supposedly has no emotion, he looks like he's been stabbed in the guts.
WOW! KUDOS! ENCORE!
For those wondering how Janet Wallace's hair stayed so nice looking throughout the show, you can faintly see a ultra-thin hairnet in her 'do.
You can see it clearly in the DVD version.
(I love these DVD versions)
So do I, John. Particularly the scene with the dead Alvin in the teaser. The detail of the corpse on the DVD is superb. No wonder Chekov was frightened.
Walter Koenig shines in the scene where Chekov is at his station, complaining to Sulu about being poked and prodded during his endless physicals. ("Blood sample, Chekov. Skin sample, Chekov...".) This scene was cut by WPIX here in NYC when they ran "Trek." As George Takei was away for a lot of the second season, this was a seldom seen opportunity for Sulu and Chekov to have dialog together during that time.
Unanswered question...on the planet surface, did Alvin have any chipmunks?
How is Kirk's Corbomite trick supposed to work? Has Federation intelligence been planting rumours that starships have secretly been equipped with a new explosive called Corbomite, a substance Kirk came up with off the top of his head to trick other aliens?
Corbomite is indeed fictitious. See "The Corbomite Maneuver" (season one) for more details.
Hey why not? Any trick to keep the enemy guessing might not be a bad thing to run with. I can see an entire department at HQ looking over Kirk's logs for any really good ideas.
The British had a group of people during WWII to come up with odd ideas to keep the Germans guessing. IIRC one plan involved a sub-detector that wouldn't work if a certain type of paint was used & apparently the Germans believed it & repainted their subs. They created a fictitious person, put identity papers & fake invasion plans on a dead body and made sure that German agents would find it. Various other things as well.
SF author Eric Frank Russel & James Bond author Ian Fleming were two members of the group and some of their ideas that weren't used became plots for books.
The Original James Bond. The British also built totally fake airfields to draw german bombers away from the real ones. The Germans had empty bunkers pointing out to sea at one point. The Russians had a bomber that they only had two or three of, but to announce it on their May Day parade they had the planes fly a giant loop that repeatedly took them out of sight and then back over the crowds so that it looked like they had more. Then the US has had so much trickery in their military that its not funny. Each government lies to each other and the world as part of their posturing and ego building on the world stage.
The fake airfields were for D-Day. The Allies wanted Germany to think that the invasion was going over the Dover/Calais route rather than to Normandy, so they built dummy bases and airfields in the Dover area. In addition, for each preparatory bombing run they made over Normandy, the did one over Calais.
N.B.: The movie "Eye of the Needle" (starring Donald Sutherland) was about a Nazi spy discovering that the Dover airfields were bogus.
Actually fake airfields were used through the bombing of England. The idea was that these fake airfields would be illuminated and the real airfields blacked out drawing the enemy fire. From what I've read, it's success was mixed.
I'm not sure, but the footage of the Romulans looks like it comes from Balance of Terror.
I'm sure, it definitely is from "Balance Of Terror." Re-use of existing footage (stock) saves a tremendous amount of money.
Leslie alert! Eddie Paskey is at the Engineering station again and gets ignored by the end credits person again.
The Kirk manuever should be required reading at the Academy (Corbomite), like the Picard manuever in the Stargazer ep.
After McCoy says they're aging at about 30 years per day, Spock says that they have a week to live. That would make them over 210 years old. Maybe Spock would live that long, but the rest wouldn't.
I thought Galway entered and died in sickbay without any boots or shoes, but my photonovel of this episode shows she's wearing flesh-colored slippers. A nice touch by the wardrobe people, I'd say, since older women find high-heeled boots or shoes uncomfortable.
Kirk and his aging crew were lucky that they didn't loose their teeth, or their hair. In fact, McCoy's hair is thicker.
The last hit the ship takes from the Romulans at the end of Act 3 Chekov actually 'jumps' in his chair from the impact. Nice touch, rather than the usual tilting back and forth.
FUNNT TRIVIA: "Spawnk" is the name of a porn movie made in 1994. (Check the internet)
OOPS! Should have been: "FUNNY Trivia" 
"FUNNT" TRIVIA - is this related to Candid Camera?
Live long and prosper.
LOL
The yeoman in this episode is given a full name in the credits - "Doris Atkins", but isn't called "Doris" in the episode.
In the blooper reel, Shatner (in aged makeup) is seen yelling at the cameraman saying, "Look! I spent 4 hours getting this makeup on and I'm going to do these lines right and then I'm going home!" (or something similar to that)
*DOUBLE LESLIE ALERT*
Mr. Leslie can be seen wearing red at the Engineering Station on the Bridge.
BUT....
Just SECONDS before that, Mr. Leslie is seen wearing YELLOW and can be seen clearly as the near-sighted crewman that almost collides with Kirk & Wallace in the corridor.
I'm telling ya', Mr. Leslie is nothing short of amazing!
I'm surprised no one's offered the most obvious solution for Mr. Leslie's multiple coincidental appearences . . . he's obviously a clone!
Or maybe a series of robots like on "I Mudd" or a set of automated replicas like those of Mr. Atoz in "All Our Yesterdays".
("You're a very agile man, Mr. Leslie! Just how many of you are there?")
The clone thing has been suggested, just not on this episode board.
Also LICC's Redshirt Suicide Squad was made up of clones of Mr. Leslie (who had been promoted to Admiral).
Mr Leslie could have had a twin brother that also served aboard the Enterprise in this episode.
Or he could have been one of a colony of clones - that was one of the early explanations for Majel Barrett playing both Number One and Chapel.
The blonde headed Yoemen Atkens in this episode was pretty yummy looking!
During the scene where Galway dies in Kirk's arms, look into the room behind him, at the far wall. There are people moving around...is that an actual sickbay room or some sort of reflection of the camera crew?
Hey John:
HANDS OFF! SHE'S MINE!
A very powerful ep, with a more than excellent Shatner.
However: I never grasped the concept of the Neutral Zone, as apparently the Romulans may attack a Federation vessel when entering the Neutral Zone it should be called the Romulan Border... unless there is also a part of the Neutral Zone where the Federation has the right to shoot the Romulans.
A bit like a big river between two countries, although the armies are standing on the river banks and the river itself is neutral, crossing more than half of the river is considered as an invasion and may be stopped...
NOTE: The makeup people really deserved an Emmy for this episode.
Closed and Part 2 created because of Spambot.