GUEST STAR PATROL
Charles Macaulay (Landru) played Count Dracula in the '70s film, "Blacula", which also starred William Marshall (Dr. Richard Daystrom).

Is it just me, or does Reger's voice sound different in certain scenes? One line in particular sounds like someone else. After they find the unconscious Lt. O'Neill, Reger says "Not anymore, he's been absorbed". Was there something done in post-production?

I happen to like these Guest Star Patrols. They are informative for some people. So the information is available elsewhere? What's wrong with getting it here?
If you don't like 'em, all you have to do is skim past them as soon as you read: Guest Star Pa--

At the beginning of the show it sure took a long time for the ship to beam up Sulu.

Sulu says that the Archons dress like the Enterprise crew. However, Starfleet personnel have only been wearing this type of uniform since Kirk has been captain. The uniforms of the crew of the Archon would probably look more like the uniforms worn by Captain Pike's crew in The Cage, or Kirk's crew in Where No Man Has Gone Before.

At the beginning of the show, Sulu and O'Neil were dressed in Colonial America style costumes, but when Kirk and company beam down they wear clothes that look more like late 1800's Western Town style. (And Kirk thought their civilization had stagnated. Clearly their fashion sense has changed since the Archon came to this planet.)

Why take Spock on a covert mission? Isn't the idea of a covert mission to blend in?

In some ways this episode resembles The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers.

Why doesn't Regar react to Spock's ears? Are pointy-eared people common on Beta III? Was a large portion of the Archon crew Vulcan, and if so what did Landru do about Pon Farr?

Landru's desire to absorb all into the body sounds like the Borg.

Why does Kirk resist the ultra-sonics longer than the others?

If McCoy has become part of the body, then why is he waiting with the unabsorbed? Shouldn't he be joining the townspeople?

On page 84 of the Classic Guide, Phil wondered why Picard doesn't help the Ornarans since their addiction has caused their society to stagnate and the Prime Directive should allow him to interfere just as it allowed Kirk to interfere in this episode. The key difference is that the Ornaran space ships are breaking down and their addicted people are losing their ability to make repairs, new ships or pilot those ships effectively. Since the Breccians only know how to make Felecium and not space ships, Ornaran society will cease to be stagnant as soon as the Ornarans go through withdrawals and realize what the Breccians were doing. Beta III has no such option in its future. (Still, one wonders how Kirk would have justified interfering if the crew of the Enterprise had been allowed to go on its way instead of Landru trying to absorb them all?)

After the landing party beams down and before the festival begins, the dialogue is out of sync with the characters' lips.

The people of Beta III have developed the same kind of clock as we have.

Everyone pronounces Reger's name differently.

Reger's house has doors with windows from the outside, but no windows from the inside. Watch the scene as the landing party scramble into his house and slam the doors behind them.

There's no explanation for how the hollow tubes operate without a mechanism.

The underground is organized in threes for no good reason, as far as I can tell. Reger doesn't know who his third member is... doesn't this defeat the purpose?

It is pretty unrealistic that anyone could escape Landru for very long considering his ubiquity.

It's quite a coincidence that the landing parties chose the town where Landru is. Further, it is quite lucky that Landru is in the same *building* as the landing party's dungeon. (This is a symptom of Star Trek's constant portrayal of a planet as a town or two.)

When they wake up, Kirk refers to Galloway as "the other guard" instead of using his name. He also fails to mention that Reger is missing.

Scott is worried about Sulu, yet he balks at putting a guard on him.

Reger is immune to absorption yet he tries to call the lawgivers to submit to Landru near the end.

When Spock returns from the absorption chamber, Leslie is missing and no one says anything about it.

Kirk forgets to say to Marplon following his comments that he should look for a new job: "Well folks, I've destroyed your bigshot computer for you. That will be $38.50. Gotta go now. So long suckers!"

Lindstrom and the experts are going to restore the culture to a "human" form, which is rather self-centered.

This is one of, if not the, last episodes in which Kirk calls McCoy "Doc." (except for that awful halloween episode, and there it's for a laugh)

I'm amazed the censors allowed them to air the aftermath of an obvious rape.

What!? I don't remember that In the Episode. There was a Rape?

Remember when Reger's daughter came in the morning after, in hysterics and her clothing all ripped up? The odd thing is, everyone else out there just reverted to their normal bland state, acting as though nothing had happened at all.

oh yeah! I remember. It's been a while since I saw this episode. I don't know why the Censors whould show that? They won't let you show belly buttons, but they show this.

That crewman getting hit on the head by a rock is our own Lieutenant Leslie.

Man...these people are zombies!

They ruin their entire villiage after the "Red Hour" and no one begins to clean up or repair.

Certainly there were other "festivals"...
and if so....the town sure looks ship-shape
before it all begins....

In other words...who cleans up and repairs?

BEST LINES:

Kirk: You'd make a splendid computer, Mr. Spock.

Spock: That was very kind of you, Captain.

But if Spock was a computer, Kirk would be forced to destroy him. ;-)

Who cleans up after the festivals? How about those guys in the robes with the hollow tubes?

You mean The Lawgivers? Maybe. It's possible...when they're not on patrol. It's a scene they should have shown.

NIT: During the festival, a woman throws herself on Kirk and plants a wet, juicy kiss on him and he pushes her away (?) This is not normal...must be Landru having a pre-mature influence on Kirk.

Seriously, this marks the 1st time Kirk refuses contact with a woman...it won't happen again until "That Which Survives"

What is the point of Red Hour? I watched this episode yesterday, and it didn't really explain that. (Of Course I doing laundry so I may have missed that part) Can anyone explain?

They never say why they have "The Red Hour" (aka "the Festival") Congrats Meg, you found a nit.

I thought it was for release of pent-up emotions caused by the people being forced to act like they were on Valium all the time. I seem to remeber them saying words to that effect in the episode. I'll have to go back and watch it again. I haven't seen it in a while since it's not one of my favorite episodes. (Although I always shout, "FESTIVAL!!FESTIVAL!!" whenever I hear someone announce a local church festival or some thing like that on the radio or TV.)

That may be true, but it was never mentioned.

They explained it in the James Blish adaptation, which may mean that it was in the original script but had to be edited for time.

AHH! That's where I remember it from. Thanks, Todd!

I found a new one, I think. After Spock belts the guard late in the show, the guard falls and his hood comes off. When Spock kneels to take the man's cloak, the hood is back on the guard's head.

Ya' want some REAL nitpicking, well here it is...

In the closing credits, it lists:

"SCPIPT SUPERVISOR: GEORGE A. RUTTER"

"Scpipt" ? What's a "scpipt"? and why does it need supervising?

Seriously, now, the creators meant "SCRIPT"

They did not have spell-check back in 1967.

How about dictionaries? Or proof-readers?

The proof-reader was obviously reading a t-shirt that said, 'I ARE A COLLEGE GRADUATE' on it.

Ah, so YOUR'E the 3rd fake Dave Jeffries from "Why are we so hated?"

Nope, wasn't me. That joke is as old as the hills, so obviously 'Dave Jeffries' and I have heard it before.
Although I will take credit for inventing the internet if you want.

After Kirk & the others beam down, Kirk hails the Enterprise and says, "Materialization complete, Kirk out." WHY? He never said that after beaming anywhere before...and he never will say it again!

Marplon has a limp....if Landru wants perfection and everyone to be healthy & happy, why not heal this guy?

Landru ain't dead....he reincarnates as Jarvis in "Wolf in the Fold" & is married to Sybo.

Why aren't Sulu & O'Neill armed with phasors at the start of the show? Granted, they're trying to observe the Prime Directive, but Kirk & his party have phasors when they beam down. Must be TMBADPHDGTLPAW at work!

(This Might Be A Dangerous Planet,However, Don't Give The Landing Party Any Weapons)

If everyone is meant to act really happy and nice to everyone, why does McCoy suddenly start shouting and acting violently towards Kirk after he sees them whispering suspiciously? The landing party certainly acted suspiciously around the town but nobody shouted at them then!

Another thing, after Landru neutralised Kirk and Spocks phasers, the Lawgivers walk in. Why do Kirk and spock then point their phasers at the lawgivers if they knew they don't work? To scare them? Then why didn't Landru tell the lawgivers that they didn't work?

Those solid metal tubes certainly seemed light when Kirk gave one to Spock and while Spock examined it.

The funniest nit in this episode has to be when the boulder bounces off Lieutenant Leslie's head! Hysterical!

Funny, that was on Starfleet Command’s last evalutaion report of Kirk!
When one of the Lawgiver’s rods is taken away by Kirk, Spock, making only a superficial observation, says it’s just a rod, with no mechanisms. Given the potentially small size and sophistication of primitive 20th century batteries, transistors, wires, microchips, microcircuits and fiber optics, as well as nanotechnology, which they might indeed have by the 23rd century, how can Spock be sure of this?
Send in the Clones
The white-haired Betan absorbed by the Lawgivers in front of Kirk and crew looks like Theodore Haskins from The Cage and The Menagerie part I.(And he later shows up in For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky.)
Maybe they just like to repair outdated VCRs?
When Spock surmises the nature of the Betan computer, Kirk asks him if he thinks the Betans are not human, and Spock replies that they most assuredly are. Excuse me, but aren’t the Betans Betan?

RIP Harry Townes 1915-2001

Harry Townes (Reger) and Jon Lormer (Tamar) also appear as guest stars together in The Fugitive epsiode "Tug of War."

In certain scenes in this episode, Reger's (Harry Townes) voice is dubbed over with another actors, Walker Edmiston, a famous voice actor. I'd like to know why.

Townes was an actor with a noticable southern drawl. Perhaps the powers that be decided that an inhabitant of Landru's planet shouldn't have a good ol' boy accent.

Reger; "Are y'all...are y'all Archons? Dangit, some of us here are immune to that there absorbin'!"

Maybe not everybody goes around plundering and pillaging during Festival. We only see that because it's exciting and they didn't show everything. Maybe the nerds are all indoors doing the creative imagining stuff Landru is incapable of.
Maybe that's how Landru keeps the society from stagnating but he didn't mention it because...uh, he's not programmed to discuss his original programming with outsiders? Uh, because Kirk is such an obvious anti-computer bigot Landru didn't feel like reasoning with him? Because Landru faked his own destruction and decided to see how society would do without him for a while? He's really underground watching what happens afterward?

How does Sulu get to the bridge in three seconds at the end? Kirk destroys Landru, and then immediately calls Scotty. Scotty tells him that the heat beams are gone, and Sulu's back to normal. And Sulu is right there on the bridge!

I wonder if the creators of the Borg got some ideas from this episode?

Why do they have streets on Beta III when there are no vehicles? None are parked and none are driving? Wish my neighborhood was like that.....

Here's a question: Did Sulu go bonkers during "The Red Hour" (aka Festival) as well when the people in the town went bonkers?

When Kirk sees Landru for the first time, Landru states that there is no crime on the planet. No crime?! I guess rioting, looting, arson, rape, disorderly conduct and such aren't considered crimes here!

During Kirk's last encounter with Landru, Kirk blows a hole in the wall. After that, Landru neutralizes the phasers. After that, Kirk asks Landru more questions. Suddenly, the Lawgivers show up and Kirk points his phaser at them. How will he stun them? The phasers were neutralized!
Apparently, Kirk (and the writers) forgot that event had occured!

John A., go back and check the basic plot elements of this ep again, eh? Before something can be considered a crime, there have to be laws against it.

Rape etc is to Landru and his followers simply a matter of 'Festival', or letting the people work off their baser impulses. As morally indefensible as this might be...there's no law being violated, quite the contrary, ergo no crime being committed!

I agree. What Kirk should have said is "How can a lawless society be 'good for the body'? People are getting hurt! Women are getting raped, possibly bearing unwanted children!" instead of his stagnation speech.

I must add that this episode Sulu display one of his "goofy looks". I'm not sure if "The Naked Time" counts.

John Lang:"....Landru neutralizes the phasers. ... the Lawgivers show up and Kirk points his phaser at them. How will he stun them? The phasers were neutralized!
Apparently, Kirk (and the writers) forgot that event had occured!"

Or it could have just been force of habit. (Did you ever enter a room and try to turn on the light during a power failure? If so, did you feel as dumb as I did?)

Never thought of that, thanx.

Bilar (the guy with a derby) apparently has a Nazi twin brother on Ekos (Patterns of Force)

I don't have the ep. on tape, but according to the Blish adaptation Landru was in trouble and the lawgivers were wailing "Landru, guide us!" at that point. The lawgivers probably don't know that the phasers were neutralised.

John A. Lang: I agree. What Kirk should have said is "How can a lawless society be 'good for the body'? People are getting hurt! Women are getting raped, possibly bearing unwanted children!" instead of his stagnation speech.

...Except that he`s talking to an unemotional computer who obviously doesn`t CARE about any of the above, since it was it`s bright idea to institute Festival in the first place!

John, again, go back to the fundamentals of the ep. Landru was programmed to keep the Body safe and healthy, and Festival was one of the ways it was trying to do that. Kirk pointed out that it was failing in that task. That`s the only line of reasoning it could possibly understand.

I agree with the unemotional bit. THAT makes sense. I guess one of their mottos is "DO drink and drive!"

In the tag of this ep (and I'm sure in others, too) you can tell that the turbo-lift doors on the bridge are painted wood panels. You can see some of the wood grain patterns in the paint.

**Leslie Alert** I just thought I'd keep my continuity here (unlike Brannon & Braga) & list my spotting of Mr. Leslie. He's the Security Guard that gets bonked by the rock. (Yeah, I know it was listed already, but hey, I'm having fun here.)

John, I've got half a Leslie alert for you; actually a Paskey alert.
Eddie was interviewed in a recent Star Trek Communicator magazine, in which he said that he filled in for Shatner on the ocassional long shot where nobody would know that it's not Shatner.
The scene where we see Kirk, Spock, and the bald guy from behind approaching Landru's hall is actually Paskey filling in for Shatner.
Check out the magazine, and you'll find out more stuff that even I never read about before (and I've read alot of biographies and behind-the-scenes artcles).

I seem to remember that it was Lindstrom who got hit by the rubber rock, not Leslie... Will have to look at it again in frame-by-frame, since they are crowded together and running.

Sir Rhosis

Took my own advice and frame-by-framed the DVD. Even playing it straight through in normal speed, it is clearly LINDSTROM who gets beaned by the rock. Leslie is last in line, obscured by McCoy, as they run, Lindstrom is third behind Kirk and Spock.

So, if the book says it is Leslie, it is incorrect.

Sir Rhosis

Someone pointed out that it's hard to believe anyone could escape Landru for any length of time. That made me realize: apparently, Landru can't discern whether someone is a member of the Body or not. He can communicate with the Body telepathically, but I don't recall an indication that it went the other way. It looks like as long as you can fake it (act like a happy zombie and mouth the correct platitudes), Landru assumes you're in the Body. Of course, the Lawgivers should remember whom they've absorbed, which brings up another possibility. Maybe, once absorbed, you can be unabsorbed. That would make things easier for the underground, too.

When Kirk confronts the newly absorbed McCoy, a shot of Kirk seems to be reversed.

Sulu says that the Archons dress like the Enterprise crew. However, Starfleet personnel have only been wearing this type of uniform since Kirk has been captain. The uniforms of the crew of the Archon would probably look more like the uniforms worn by Captain Pike's crew in The Cage, or Kirk's crew in Where No Man Has Gone Before.

At the beginning of the show, Sulu and O'Neil were dressed in Colonial America style costumes, but when Kirk and company beam down they wear clothes that look more like late 1800's Western Town style. - Keith Alan Morgan

I think this is what happened: the Enterprise had outdated information on how the inhabitants dress, which made Sulu and O'Neil stick out like a sore thumb and they were spotted as Archons. Somehow, Sulu obtained the correct clothes, but it was too late. He was referring to these clothes when he said "This is what they wear" and threw them at Lindstrom (apparently, Lindstrom had made the error).

There's no explanation for how the hollow tubes operate without a mechanism. - MattS

Later on, after Reger takes them to the hiding place, Kirk and Spock refer to the hollow tubes as "antennae for some kind of broadcast power." Maybe similar to how Landru projected his image a few minutes later.

Why did they have to take the landing party to a special chamber one by one to absorb them? Just send a Lawgiver to their cell with one of those hollow tubes. It would only take a couple of minutes.

Another thing, after Landru neutralised Kirk and Spocks phasers, the Lawgivers walk in. Why do Kirk and spock then point their phasers at the lawgivers if they knew they don't work?

Landru was starting to break down at this point, so maybe the phasers became operational again (like in "Requiem for Methuselah," when Spock's phaser became operational when M-4 wasn't actively suppressing it).

After Kirk & the others beam down, Kirk hails the Enterprise and says, "Materialization complete, Kirk out." WHY? He never said that after beaming anywhere before...and he never will say it again! - John A. Lang

Kirk does say something similar in "For the World is Hollow": "Transport without incident. Kirk out."

Why do they have streets on Beta III when there are no vehicles? None are parked and none are driving? Wish my neighborhood was like that..... - glenn of nas

Maybe they used to have vehicles, but when Landru took them to "a simpler time," they got rid of them, like the lighting panel technology.

When Spock says, "Are you aiding the body, or destroying it" did anyone else think that sounded like a token line, just so Spock could say he contributed to the destruction of the computer? Afterwards, on the ship: "I helped, too. Jim didn't do it all. I gave Landru something good to think about...yeah...um...I...I almost got hit by a rock, too...anybody?..."

Nimoy's comments on the Sci-Fi Channel indicated that this episode was about Communism. I always thought it was about religion (perhaps Christianity in particular):

1. A feeling of peace and euphoria (analogous to heaven or the Holy Spirit)
2. Wishing one another joy and happiness upon greeting.
3. Red Hour - releasing "sinful" impulses that are unnaturally suppressed the rest of the time.
4. Reger seemed to be in repentance mode near the end when he wouldn't take them to Landru.
5. Landru is described as all-seeing, all-hearing, all-knowing; references to "the will of Landru."
6. Absorption is like baptism (except involuntary).
7. Tamar's joke was treated like blasphemy.
8. A Bible passage refers to Christians as part of a "body," with each part having a different function, like a human body.

Maybe this connection was obvious, but given Nimoy's comments, I thought I'd point it out.

>When Spock says, "Are you aiding the body, or >destroying it" did anyone else think that >sounded like a token line, just so Spock could >say he contributed to the destruction of the >computer? Afterwards, on the ship: "I helped, >too. Jim didn't do it all. I gave Landru >something good to think >about...yeah...um...I...I almost got hit by a >rock, too...anybody?..."

Too bad Number Six wasn't along on the landing party. He could have destroyed Landru simply by asking it "WHY?" without all that other verbosity.

I am not a number! I am a free man!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!!

number 5 is mr leslie!

Who is Number 1?

Majel Barret

William Ryker?

Nove - this episode was about Communism. I always thought it was about religion
Politics is the child of religion, so it could be both.

6. Absorption is like baptism (except involuntary).
Isn't baptism usually done to recently born children? How many of those children chose to be baptised?

Not all baptisms, KAM. As a former Baptist, I can tell you that even at my advanced age of 40, I'd still be a candidate for being baptised. It depends upon the denomination, I suppose.

That's why I said usually. I did know that some people who convert from one religion to another get baptised as part of the ceremony. (Assuming the religion they are converting to is one of the Christian ones anyway.)

moderator how about the bbc show prisoner board? seems like someone one started i am not a number i am a free man fella

I was searching for something in an encyclopedia when I came across an entry for 'Archon'. I never realized it was a real word, so here it is;

An Archon was an important elected official in many Greek states during the classical period.
In Athens there were 9 Archons who were elected annually. The Principal Archon was the Archon Eponymous, who was a chief civil and administrative official.
The Polemarchos was the War Archon, who served as commander-in-chief of the army, then later as the president of the board of generals.
The King Archon, or Archon Basileus, was a high priest and judge.
The remaining 6 Archons had functions that were mainly judicial.

Class dismissed.

Been a while since I've seen this one, but I seem to recall that, during the scene where Kirk and company are being chased by the crowd, that several in the party are brandishing their hand phasers--but not everyone's phaser works! I think McCoy's phaser just sits there like a piece of plastic and wood (prop phaser? lol) and doesn't emit a beam.

And considering how brain dead everyone that's absorbed is (except during Festival), didn't Reger's daughter come in sobbing and distraught? The only emotion she should be feeling is happiness. Maybe she had an arm broken, or wrist, and the pain short-circuited Landru's control over her.

Isn't Festival kind of like Pon Farr? Why would people need a room to stay in for the Festival? Also, it sounds like it's a conscious thing to be aware of the Festival, yet all of the members of the Body seem to be very automaton-like and devoid of consciousness.

If energy beams were being directed at the ship from the surface, a la Apollo's hand and thunderbolts, shouldn't Scotty be able to fire the phasers at the beam generators?

Gordon:

I always assumed that Tula (Reger's daughter) was not really part of the Body, but was faking it.

Also, they didn't need a room during Festival, when they were supposed to be partying, but to recover from the effects afterward.

Okay, that makes sense for a recovery room. Interesting idea about Tula...perhaps there was a genetic predisposition to not being in the Body? Hey, perhaps even they are the living descendants of the landing party from the USS Archon? Who 'faked' absorption to blend into the populace...

The idea of an 'underground' resistance to Landru is a better idea to me, though. Which would imply that there were a great many hundreds or thousands of people resistant to Landru's societal changes 6,000 years ago, so they kept the underground alive all these years. (Unless this planet's entire population is in this one town...a continual failing of tv sf to show the entire planet's population.) This change seems to be almost as big and important in the planet's history as Surak's Reformation. However advanced Landru was, this society couldn't colonize distant worlds the way it seems the Romulans did.

Once again TPTB have decided to use the STONE DOORS on certain buildings in this episode. I'd sure like to know how those hinges stay up. They must have some interesting contractors.

CONTINUITY ERROR:

Neither Landru nor the Lawgivers seem interested in absorbing Mr. Leslie & Mr. Lindstrom.

How is that a matter of continuity?

The Lawgivers' job was to obey Landru and to seek those "outside the body". Once they knew Leslie & Lindstrom were "not of the body", they should've hauled then into the absorption chamber or zapped them with their rods...Yet...they weren't.

But how is that a continuity error? That it's a nit isn't in question. Just why it's a continuity nit.

Live long and prosper.

Ahh.....then that's what I should have said.

More a plot error nit I would say.

This episode reunited Harry Townes and Jon Lormer (and this is Lormer's second of three Classic Trek appearances - he was also Dr. Theodore Haskins in "The Cage" and the old man in... and who stated..."For the World Is Hollow, And I Have Touched The Sky - AAAAAGGGGH!!!! (THUD)". Okay, so not all of that is the title.

Townes and Lormer appeared together in the epilog of an episode of "The Fugitive" a year or two earlier.

CG enhancing: Following up on an idea in the Space: 1999 threads, if Star Trek the Classic Series could be enhanced with CG, these are ideas I have for this episode.


Immediately after the opening titles, during Kirk's log entry, the Enterprise is flying through deep space instead of already being in orbit around Beta III. Perhaps, instead, open with the ship in orbit, then cut to available scenes from other episodes showing auxiliary viewscreens being studied by Spock, and on those viewscreens are images showing sensor analyses of the planet, the detected wreckage of the U.S.S. Archon (presumed crashed until otherwise known) near a significant population center, and apparent movement of people to and from that center from others.

Right before Kirk says, "Isn't that old-fashioned?", Spock turns to Kirk as if in reaction. Should he not turn his head after?

No he shouldn't

Someone asked if Sulu might have gone bonkers when the hour struck. In the First Draft of the script he did, and in fact, made his way to the bridge with a weapon, and had to be calmed down by Scotty.

Sir Rhosis

Lost- One Redshirt Call J.T. Kirk NCC-1701

When Kirk is taken to the Absorbing Chambers, Mr. Leslie can be clearly seen behind Mr. Spock. However, when Spock returns to the cell after Kirk is "absorbed", Mr. Leslie is nowhere to be seen! In fact, we don't see him at all after Kirk leaves! He's gone from the episode! Where did he go?

(THANX, Luigi for the inspiration)

After McCoy is "absorbed", he is returned to the jail cell. Why isn't he allowed to join the rest of "The Body" out in the streets and participate in "The Festival" at "The Red Hour"?

Wasn't "Festival" over by then? Unless they have it every day, but I don't remember any mention of it.

My understanding was that Festival was over at dawn.

Live long and prosper.

I was talking about the next day's Festival. (If they failed to escape)

I don't recall it being said that Festival was a daily ritual for the people. The impression I got was that it was a yearly or even possibly a monthly event. I definitely don't recall it being a daily thing.

Live long and prosper.

Well, whenever the Festival occurs, It don't matter. I think its still a nit that McCoy was returned to the cell instead of being allowed to mingle with the people outside

When Kirk is taken to the Absorbing Chambers, Mr. Leslie can be clearly seen behind Mr. Spock. However, when Spock returns to the cell after Kirk is "absorbed", Mr. Leslie is nowhere to be seen! In fact, we don't see him at all after Kirk leaves! He's gone from the episode! Where did he go?

Leslie's a talented guy. He probably used those teleportation powers of his again...

LOL!

I agree. He definately used his teleportation powers in "The Squire of Gothos"

So, that's teleportation, and an ability to return from the dead, and the ability to throw his voice, as well as do any job anywhere on the Enterprise...

The Enterprise doesn't need a crew of 400 ish, Leslie can do everything.

On one of the other Classic Trek boards, somebody suggested that Leslie is a Q. It makes sense.

Yeah, I did. At 08:46 am on 5-5-05 in "Lines You'll Never Hear"

In case it hasn't been mentioned here, I thought that Harry Townes (Reger) was absolutely wonderful in this episode. Watch every scene he's in, and his every move and mannerism. He nicely projects an image of a 'too scared to be effective' rebel. In rejecting the will of Landru, his whole desire seems to have become one of 'stay out of the way and don't make waves', which would hardly make him effective at seizing every opportunity to change things. When Kirk was "talking back" to the Lawgiver, Townes seemed to silently ,through mannerisms alone, say "No, don't talk that way. Go along with then and you won't be discovered for who you really are!" Townes could have basically just stood there, but In my opinion he really got the most out of every scene he had. The only exception was his non-reaction to the phaser weapons used in the street.

Torin Thatcher (Marplon) was pretty good, too, except he didn't have as big a role to utilize. I especially like his "sleight of hand" action when he produced the stolen phasers to Spock.

They both did a good job of conveying just how paranoid and ineffective the underground movement was, though to this day I'll never understand the "organized in threes" bit.

"We are not Archons, Marplon." That line is a jawbreaker. I wonder if Leonard Nimoy had to do retakes on it.

Sulu's absorbtion by the Lawgiver's tube must be temporary, which was why the landing party was taken to the absorbtion chamber to make the change permenant. This must be the case because within 30 seconds of Kirk destroying Landru and contacting the Enterprise, Sulu is already back in uniform and relieving the duty helmsman. There's no way he would have 'woken up', thrown on a uniform and dashed up to the bridge to act like nothing happened to him. He probably recovered some time between McCoy's absorbtion and Kirk and Spock's arrival in the hall of audiences. Good thing M'Benga or Sanchez or Chapel believed Sulu was okay and not faking.

Oops. I need to re-think that bit about Landru's control of Sulu. Landru lost control of the Lawgivers that came running into the Hall. That's the point at which Sulu and everyone on the planet would have been freed from the computer's control.
I'm also officially considering (from my own point of view) that the NX-Enterprise-class starship, Archon, was the vessel that visited Beta III. Too bad it wasn't the USS Archon that was NX-02, instead of Columbia in the Enterprise series. That would have been a cool tie-in to the original series.

The man Kirk and the landing party spoke to (Belah?) had almost a doll-like appearance and speech, which I thought effectively conveyed that he was 'not under his own control'.

I had to wonder who gets the clean-up job around town post-festival.

Speaking of post-festival, there were fires in the street here and there. That got me to wondering if this was the only instance of seeing flames anywhere in the series. Then I remembered Cdr. Hansen's visual message from that asteroid outpost in "Balance of Terror'. Maybe there are others.

After Reger brought the landing party to that dungeon-like place where'd they be safe, most everyone was gathered near the table as Reger spoke. In the background were the two security guard types (I think one was Mr. Leslie) wielding phasers. They were especially noticeable by the way the shot was framed. As Landru was about to appear (preceeded by some sound effect), one of those guards (I think Leslie) raised his hands as if to be shielding his face/eyes. I'm not sure how trustworthy he would have been had he actually had to behave in a security-like fashion. The guy next to him (as well as all the other people in the room) seemed just fine.

This same guy was also the first one to be visibly influenced by the "knock out" sound (even before Spock!).

By John A. Lang on Saturday, May 27, 2000 - 7:55 pm:

Man...these people are zombies!

They ruin their entire villiage after the "Red Hour" and no one begins to clean up or repair.

Certainly there were other "festivals"...
and if so....the town sure looks ship-shape
before it all begins....

In other words...who cleans up and repairs?

Apologies to John A. Lang...you already noted the town mess long, long ago!

Good episode but the payoff at the end was disappointing when we finally get a look at Landru the computer.It was a poor prop & looked like some kids constructed it in their garage.For a series where the artistic department created such wonderful things as M-5(The Ultimate Computer),the obelisk(The Paradise Syndrome),laser cannon(The Menagerie),& Nomad(The Changeling),they dropped the ball with Landru.

I always felt that location filming always enhanced an episode but doesn't it seem odd that the city where the incredible Landru computer is located is so non-futuristic looking? Spock was so impressed with Landru that he called it a remarkable machine.So why does the city look like it is early 20th century...at best? Would not the civilization that was able to construct such incredible technology also be reflected by their cities & that they would appear as sophisticated & advanced as ones like Eminiar VII(A Taste Of Armageddon)? But its still fun to see the studio backlot streets like this one which I believe was also used as Mayberry on the Andy Griffith Show.

Probably that the people of the planet live in rustic conditions despite having access to sophisticated technology, just as the Amish do. It would be consistent with Landru's philosophy.

I would still contend Todd that such an incredible computer as Landru clearly is,would have been created in a culture whose cities reflected their technological sophistication at that time.Landru's creation may have been centuries ago,& their cities from that era would now be deteriorating by the time the Enterprise arrives for this adventure. But they still should have had the look of once having been a high-tech civilization & not a simple turn-of-the-century village. Perhaps the script could have stated that Landru created these towns & then ordered the population to live in them.Then Landru would set up an annex of itself in each & every village,while the central Landru computer exists in a once futuristic city where it was created.

Or, I wonder if this planet was interfered with in the past. Maybe some other race created Landru to guide the people in its' own vision of peaceful society. Landru may have been an alien traveler, for all anybody knows. Remember the lighting panel that 'came from the time of Landru'. Spock even mentioned that it was 'remarkable in this culture', I believe.

That's an excellent point Bob.Not all civilizations would establish a "Prime Directive"such as the Federation has done.Another advanced race's intentions could be altruistic from their point of view,such as creating & placing an incredible computer like Landru to aid a planet's population.But as we see in this episode,their good intentions backfire with disastrous results.Perhaps,like Vulcan at one time,highly evolved beings came across this planet & saw that its race's intense emotions were on the verge of causing self destruction.They lacked any high-tech in their culture.Then,this unknown race placed Landru upon this planet so that it could purge their violent emotions,in order to help them evolve.And they failed to do so in the process.

Yeah, exactly. What I imagine might have happened "in the time of Landru" could have been like the episode 'The Apple', only in reverse. It wouldn't be a stretch to think that where one man (Kirk) would think a society needs to escape stagnation, another (Landru) would have believed that they needed to escape destruction. Would future Gamma Trianguli people ever speak of "the time of Kirk", in their own way? It's interesting to imagine Landru, rather than using "dazzling displays of logic" and destructive fireworks shows, instead building a computer to do the job. Somebody, after all, had to build all those computers that Kirk out-witted!

GREAT ENHANCED MOMENT

Great closeup of the planetary surface. You can see the buildings and the streets.

The remastered "Return of the Archons" airs this weekend.

My take on this episode was always that it was about religion & the damage that can be caused by certain aspects of it.I never thought of the anti-communism angle,yet I suppose it could have actually been the writer's intent to cover both issues.Interesting,since communism is atheistic.That would make both of these topics strange bedfellows indeed.Does anyone know if the writer of "ROTA" was ever interviewed & stated what his intentions were exactly for his script as to what he was saying?

Another disappointing remastered episode.When Landru launches an attack against the Enterprise with some kind of heat beams we see...absolutely nothing.Why couldn't the CGI tech team create a cool visual for that? They have a scene of the big E as its in orbit around Beta III when the star ship is being struck by these rays which could have been utilized. But just as in the original scene,nothing has been done to tweak it up.Also,the two instances where the phasers are used seem to be the original animated fx.Landru the computer was always one of the more disappointing props created for an episode of Trek.It should have been awesome to behold at the conclusion of this ep,it isn't.Could not the CGI somehow have been applied to this scene too? I have to believe that with the CGI state-of-the-art technology today,something could have been done here.If not to the Landru-computer itself,then how about the chamber that it resides in? Is it a question of time & budget when some of these episodes are left relatively untouched visually by today's computer digital animation? Why are these opportunities missed in some of these cases such as this show,& so wonderfully enhanced in other cases such as "The Doomsday Machine," or "The Corbomite Maneuver?" All & all,for an episode that I've always enjoyed, this was a letdown for a remastered version to me.Anybody else agree or disagree with me?

According to the people who remastered TOS, they did not wish to stray too far from the "original 1960's look" of "Star Trek".

It's much easier when a scene can be redone from scratch like the space shots. Shots where effects are mixed with live action are much more difficult, particularly if there's motion. Since they no longer have the original components, only the final version, they have to paint around the existing shot frame by frame.

Anyway, this episode had some nice orbital shots, but it's strange they didn't use any "heat beam" effect on the ship.

Did this civilization have electricity or not? In one shot of the town, electric power lines are clearly visible in the distance, yet I saw no evidence anywhere of power being used by the townspeople?

Even if the populace didn't get electricity, Landru wasn't steam powered.

This may or may not be a nit, given that I'm not certain about the basis for it. In the opening, Sulu hails the Enterprise and asks for a quick beamup. Here's where there may be a nit: Don't these things have an emergency button that can be used to signal the ship when things go wrong? It would seem easier to press that button and explain things later instead of wasting valuable seconds telling Kirk, waiting for him to relay the order etc. I know there's some sort of signal button since Kirk uses one in Day of the Dove.

There was an emergency signal that automaticly beamed up that Sargent just two episodes ago in "Tomorrow is Yesterday"

also, there was Condition green in Bread and circuses and a transponder in Patterns of Force.

Kirk musta forgotten about them!
---------------------------------

Landru ,steam powered?

JAL: After Kirk & the others beam down, Kirk hails the Enterprise and says, "Materialization complete, Kirk out." WHY? He never said that after beaming anywhere before...and he never will say it again!
I thought the same thing, too, John. (Although it makes sense that the landing party should confirm that they've safely arrived....) One of my biggest annoyances with ST is when a writer decides to "invent" some little thing or change something from how a character would normally do something. For example, every time Picard gets on a turbolift and wants to go to the bridge, he says, "Bridge"...except for that ONE episode where the writer decided to have him say "MAIN bridge." Or the episode where Kirk calls for "phaser guns." Or the debacle at the end of "Unification, Part II" when (1) Crusher receives a distress call in Sickbay, (2) charges up to the bridge to report it instead of using the intercom, and (3) Riker orders Geordi (4) at the Engineering station to set a course for the source of the call. Or, in TNG, when a writer decides to have the captain order "battlestations" even though the ship is already at Red Alert & the TNG Tech Manual establishes that ordering Red Alert puts the ship on battle footing. Or when they beam down to a strange planet and bring along a geologist or other specialist one time and not the next, despite the fact that these strange planets are all pretty much equally strange and the landing party would benefit from a specialist, and the only deciding factor seems to be whether or not the script needs some no-name to be killed. Seriously! If someone's gonna die then all of a sudden Kirk is yelling for "Planetary Minerologist Wilson" to join the landing party, but if no one's gonna die, then Spock or Data or Dax is perfectly up to the task of running the tricorder!

Excuse me while I go take my blood-pressure medication. John, you really got me started on one of my biggest annoyances.

Here's an analysis of the first draft of the script. It includes the "Sulu with a weapon" scene that Sir Rhosis spoke of a while back.
In one of the street scenes early on, it looks like Kirk and company run past the building that houses Edith Keeler's 21st Street Mission.

Nanjao-Anyone saw Spock sleeping with his eyes open? on this episode?

I did!

"The Return of the Archons" returns next weekend. It's followed by "This Side of Paradise" the following week.

Hey Alan can you link us a list of the updated remsasterd Tos

?

remastered. or Enhanced.

I'm just going by the TV listings, which go two weeks out.

Anyone thing it's funny that there are no sign of vehicles, yet there's plain evidence of tram lines in the street?

I've always been bothered by the fact that Marplon hands over phasers to Spock in the absorption room, then he hands over communicators in the cell. Why not give Spock all the gadgets right away?

And I'm ashamed to admit that I've sometimes been under the impression that they're both the same device anyway. Both seem to be about the size of a cell phone. It would be funny if Kirk whipped a phaser off his belt when he meant to be going for his communicator?

Or ARE they the same thing? Help !!!

If they are, let's hope Kirk remembers to press the right button.

Nove (way back in 2003) - Sulu obtained the correct clothes, but it was too late. He was referring to these clothes when he said "This is what they wear"
I never noticed that scene until I recently watched this ep on DVD. Either it had been edited out of the syndicated versions I saw, or I just wasn't very observant.

The Archon vanished a hundred years ago. What took Starfleet so long to look for them?

I wonder if Captain Archer and his crew knew any of the Archon crew personally. They would have been contemporaries.

This episode has come under fire by some who say Kirk broke the Prime Directive by destroying the Landru computer. Well, that computer was trying to kill him and his crew (or turn them into mindless zombies). Also, Landru was also attacking the Enterprise. What Kirk did saved his ship and crew. That if the first responsiblity to any starship captain.

Except that in "The Omega Glory", Kirk says "A star captain's most solemn oath is that he will give his life, even his entire crew, rather than violate the Prime Directive."

Yeah, and isn't that the pot calling the kettle black!

Yet in other episodes, Kirk says that NOTHING Is more important than his ship and crew. Obviously, he chose to save his ship and crew. Can't blame the guy in this instance. As I said, this computer was actively trying to kill them.

in my area tvland showed a tv episode of Roseanne, not Return of the Archons...,last Sunday at 6am.

anyone else got that?

Nove: Someone pointed out that it's hard to believe anyone could escape Landru for any length of time. That made me realize: apparently, Landru can't discern whether someone is a member of the Body or not. He can communicate with the Body telepathically, but I don't recall an indication that it went the other way. It looks like as long as you can fake it (act like a happy zombie and mouth the correct platitudes), Landru assumes you're in the Body. Of course, the Lawgivers should remember whom they've absorbed, which brings up another possibility. Maybe, once absorbed, you can be unabsorbed. That would make things easier for the underground, too.

That's the best explanation I've heard....though I still don't "get" how Kirk was able to remain unaffected. I can see *Spock* with his mental prowess, but.....

I read that the reason for the hedonistic "Festival" was to maintain the population level. (Think it was in the novelization.) Kind of an...unpleasant...way, though.

John A. Lang - "Did Sulu go bonkers during "The Red Hour" (aka Festival) as well when the people in the town went bonkers?"

Since Scott didn't want to post a guard on Sulu, as per Kirk's orders, I'd assume he never freaked out. Perhaps Landru's influence had it's limits, distance-wise.

Mike Powers - "When Landru launches an attack against the Enterprise with some kind of heat beams we see...absolutely nothing.Why couldn't the CGI tech team create a cool visual for that? Landru the computer was always one of the more disappointing props created for an episode of Trek.It should have been awesome to behold at the conclusion of this ep,it isn't.Could not the CGI somehow have been applied to this scene too? I have to believe that with the CGI state-of-the-art technology today,something could have been done here. Anybody else agree or disagree with me?"

I completely agree. Beams constantly hitting the ship, with energy spewing across it's hull would have been quite dramatic, and made it look like the emergency Scott made it out to be.

Thyme - " I still don't "get" how Kirk was able to remain unaffected. I can see *Spock* with his mental prowess, but...."

As Marplon turns on the absorbtion machine on Spock, he told him that the effect was harmless, and that Kirk was also not changed.

Had the Lawgivers brought in the landing party in a different order, we might have been treated to Lt.Leslie in charge with Galloway, confronting Landru, instead of Kirk and Spock.

Sure took Starfleet long enough to investigate the disappearance of the Archon. A hundred years.

I wonder if there were any descendants of the original crew still around on the planet?

I suppose it's possible that Landru allowed some of the Archons to mate with Landru's people. Then again, they may not have even had a choice, given how much sexual contact is made during the Red Hour.

The team beams down into the street, and seconds later passersby walk by them. Why do landing parties always wind up in the middle of the street ('A Piece of the Action' comes to mind), and not a back alley?

I can see why Kirk is so brave against the two Lawgivers that show up at Reger's place-- Leslie and Galloway have both of them covered with their phasers.

The citizens are back to normal, according to Spock. However, they're not so 'normal', considering every one of them is ignoring the mess and damage they did during the Red Hour. Who's job is it to pick up the debris and repair the storefronts? The Lawgivers?

Apparently only McCoy recognizes Lt. O'Neil! Kirk and Spock stun him (and the group he's with), possibly making face to face contact, and yet everyone in the landing party, except for McCoy, runs past his unconscious body. McCoy stops (being the last one in the group), to call Kirk's attention that they've just found O'Neil.

I always wondered why Lindstrom was already in the transporter room at the beginning of the show, being a blue shirt, but then I realized he was waiting for Sulu and O'Neil's report about the Betan society.

I suppose it's possible that Landru allowed some of the Archons to mate with Landru's people.

Given the longer life spans that humans have by this time, some of them could still be around. Of course, they'd all be very old.

Still wondering why it took Starfleet so bloody long to investigate the Archon's disappearance.


The team beams down into the street, and seconds later passersby walk by them. Why do landing parties always wind up in the middle of the street ('A Piece of the Action' comes to mind), and not a back alley?

Prime Directive? What's dat


However, they're not so 'normal', considering every one of them is ignoring the mess and damage they did during the Red Hour.

What was the purpose of that Red Hour anyway? The episode never says.

There was an answer in the James Blish adaptation, but it's been many years since I read it, I've forgotten it.

Guess they cut the answer out of the actual shooting script.

Never read the Blish adaptation, but I thought it was supposed to be a form of purging. They get all the "bad things" out of their system and go back to being good, productive citizens afterwards.

A completely insane idea, but I believe that was the premise, and I don't think Star Trek was the only work of fiction to use the idea.

'Given the longer life spans that humans have by this time, some of them could still be around. Of course, they'd all be very old.'

You just made me think of something, Tim.
Wouldn't it have been a shocker that the Landru-zealot, Hakim (the guy who brings the Lawgivers to Reger's house to confront Tamar), is actually an Archon?! As in Lieutenant John Hakim, Science Officer of the USS Archon, and his absorbtion has made him forget who he used to be a hundred years ago!

That's a good idea, Steve. And when Landru was destroyed, he, and all the other Archon survivors regained their true identities.

Now the question is what to do with people who've been cut off from the Federation for 100 years. Return them to Earth? No doubt most of the people they knew are gone now, and they themselves are very old.

This is a novel just waiting to be written. Hey, Greg Cox, you're the best Trek author, IMO, get right on it!

Of course, Kirk was right when he speculated that Landru was a computer, but watching the scene where the wall is burned away and a big control panel is exposed, it made me think of something;
it didn't PROVE that Landru was a computer!
Yes, we all know it was Landru that we were looking at, but in reality, all we saw was a control panel. For all Kirk knew, there could have been someone inside the hidden room, operating the controls, ie "Pay no attention to the old man behind the curtain!"

I wonder if there is any more pre-Landru tech lying around on the planet.

I realized somerthing else-- when Landru appears in the hideout it completely ignores Kirk, which Spock notes.
However, once under attack, it actually speaks to Kirk and Spock. Probably because its existence was in jeopardy.

And it realized that Kirk and Spock were not going to become part of the Body. So Landru chose to get rid of them instead.

Continuity errors in the streets:

As Reger is leading the landing party to the hideout, Landru summons the body, and the citizens pick up rocks and sticks (so THAT's why no one cleans up after Festival--the body needs ready weapons!). There is a closeup of a few of them, including two blonde women. The woman furthest back on the left side picks up a rock. Then the landing party rushes down the street and around a corner, and there is another shot of the armed citizens. That same woman is seen in a group--even though she didn't run (maybe it's her twin sister!) and she now has a stick in her hand.

The landing party starts up an alley, but there is another group of citizens in it. That group is phaser-stunned, but another group comes around the corner behind them (the group that O'Neill is in). Kirk orders them stunned too. Watch the man in the front of the group. As he falls unconscious, he extends his left hand to brace himself from the fall. Not to mention the fact that all four people in this group seems to fall slowly.

Then, immediately after that moment, as the landing party rushes past the bodies and McCoy recognizes O'Neill, we can see that the man who just supported himself as he fell is now gone!

What is the point of the underground being arranged in threes if one member doesn't know the identity of one of the other men? Reger at first, clearly doesn't know who Marplon is, though obviously he must have found out at some point.

The "isn't that somewhat old fashioned" moment is amusing, but why DID Spock resort to fisticuffs instead of the neck pinch?

It's rather disturbing sometimes how long Starfleet waits before sending out ships to search for missing ones. The Archon was a hundred years ago. So was the Valiant in "Where No Man Has Gone Before." In "A Taste of Armageddon," ANOTHER ship called the Valiant has been missing for fifty years (maybe they should stop calling ships "Valiant). In "A Piece of the Action" the Horizon has been missing for a century. What about a Constitution class ship? Well, in "The Omega Glory," the Exeter was patrolling in the Omega area six months ago and Kirk hadn't heard of any trouble. Six months, and they obviously haven't reported in, and yet the Enterprise just happens upon them when they're in the area for some other reason. No one went to look for them?

And I forgot to include my biggest nit. The Landru computer has just been destroyed, the lawgivers are free of its influence, and up on this ship, not only has Sulu been freed, but he has miraculously had time to change his uniform and is relieving a man on the bridge. Did anyone even have time to examine him to see if he really was fit for duty?

So was the Valiant in "Where No Man Has Gone Before."

Actually that ship had been missing for two hundred years, which would have placed its launch in 2065, just two years after Zefram Cochrane's first warp flight.

At that time, there was no Starfleet, and Earth probably didn't have the resources to mount a full scale search. Mind you, they could have asked the Vulcans to do it, but didn't.

As for the Archon and the Horizon, yeah, Starfleet was around then (this was in Archer's time). Perhaps they were too busy picking up the pieces in the wake of the Romulan War.


in "The Omega Glory," the Exeter was patrolling in the Omega area six months ago and Kirk hadn't heard of any trouble. Six months, and they obviously haven't reported in, and yet the Enterprise just happens upon them when they're in the area for some other reason. No one went to look for them?

Well, the Exeter was in its assigned area. The question is, how long does a ship remain incommunicado before someone raises the alarm?

Tim - "Still wondering why it took Starfleet so bloody long to investigate the Archon's disappearance."
I'm going to theorize that a century earlier, the Archon was lost 'somewhere' around the Beta III system or maybe adjoining systems, due to losing radio contact. Space was still really, really, really, really big back then, without an established Federation and allies to help, and they could have been marooned in a sparsely-populated sector of the galaxy. Search parties were sent out looking for any sign of the ship or debris, but found none in space. Maybe they even assumed orbit around Landru's planet, but without any sign of the ship or a distress signal, they left the system, unaware of what was below them. Then some smart Headquarters guy pieced together a logical route for the Archon, noted the same energy readings in a primitive society (as Spock did) and sent the Enterprise there on flimsy facts, but they lucked out (as usual for the Enterprise).

Brad - "he Landru computer has just been destroyed, the lawgivers are free of its influence, and up on this ship, not only has Sulu been freed, but he has miraculously had time to change his uniform and is relieving a man on the bridge. Did anyone even have time to examine him to see if he really was fit for duty?"
Earlier I commented about this and figured that Sulu had time to recover his senses, and make his way back to the bridge, but then I watched the episode last night and realized that Scott, under Kirk's orders, had put Sulu under guard. Someone would have had to inform the guard to allow Sulu to leave, but from the Enterprise's perspective, they didn't know Sulu was about to be released from Landru's influence, so how was Sulu allowed to leave?

That was a REALLY long time to beam up Sulu after he called for an emergency beam-out-- about 35 seconds.
But, here's my explanation; At 9 seconds, O'Neal runs away. Scott is at the controls with an assistant, and he would see this. Now, he has to wonder what to do-- which one should he beam up?
At 15 seconds, the Lawgiver has entered Sulu's beam-up area, again preventing a beam-up if Scotty doesn't want to inadvertently beam up a Betan.
Sulu is zapped, and at 21 seconds, the Lawgiver backs up. Scotty would still have to decide whether or not to leave the other officer behind, but since the native has backed away, Sulu is clear to beam up, so at around 35 seconds after calling, Sulu is finally brought up to the ship.
Which begs the question, after they questioned the delirious Sulu, why didn't they try to lock onto O'Neal? Wouldn't he be within a few blocks of Sulu's beam-up location, even if he was just running away? Didn't he have a communicator? Apparently not.
Perhaps he lost his after an earlier encounter with the Lawgivers, since O'Neal warns Sulu, "We have to get away! You know what they're capable of!"

The Lawgivers have a creeping, slowly-stepping echo in the DVD trailer for this episode. The dead siunce, without music, of their echoing steps as they approach Sulu was even more effective than the music score.

Oh, Hacom, you're such a Karen! This whiner complained and stuck his nose in other people's business and snitched on Kirk and Tomar to the Lawgivers, because they weren't doing what he wanted them to do.
The Original Karen!

It's SOP for totalitarian regimes to have informers.