GUEST STAR PATROL
Elisha Cook Jr. (Cogley) is best known for playing Wilmer Cook in "The Maltese Falcon". He was also on Batman, playing an Icelandic professor in "Ice Spy/The Duo Defy" episode.
If Ben Finney has been carrying this hate and persecution complex around for so many years, why hasn't anyone picked up on it before? Surely regular psychological exams would be routine on a starship.
Yeah, I've wondered why it took so long for Finney to snap. Didn't the evnts that cost him his promotion occur when Kirk was a Lt.? Plus, I have a hard time believing that he got out of promotions over one incident years ago. Something else must have have happened to Finney, and he just used Kirk as a scapegoat.
In the teaser, Kirk's report of damages is called a sworn deposition. A deposition is testimony in response to questions. It is more probable that the document Kirk signed was a sworn affidavit, not a deposition, particularly since Kirk answered questions from Commodore Stone later in the episode.
It was ethically questionable for Shaw not to identify herself to Kirk or McCoy as prosecutor in the case. In addition, in view of Shaw's past romantic relationship with Kirk, it was an obvious conflict of interest for her to prosecute the case.
Commodore Stone accused Kirk of perjury. When Stone was conducting his inquiry, the charges were perjury and culpable negligence. At the trial, however, the only charge read was culpable negligence. What happened to the perjury charge? That seemed to have been the stronger charge against Kirk.
In my view, it was improper to charge Kirk with culpable negligence. The proper charge should have been a form of criminal homicide, probably manslaughter.
The case Shaw presented is very weak. Neither Spock's nor McCoy's testimony was probative in regard to the circumstances surrounding Finney's supposed death.
Samuel Cogley failed to cross examine Spock or McCoy. He could have elicted very helpful testimony from both.
Cogley apparently tried to call Kirk to the stand before Shaw rested her case.
Cogley erred in putting Kirk on the stand. In criminal cases, attorneys generally prefer not to put their client(the defendant) on the stand.
The biggest nit of the episode, in my view, was the the timing of the introduction into evidence of the incriminating computer log extract. Shaw introduced the log while cross examining Kirk. She should have introduced it during her case in chief.
Cogley seemed surprised by the visual extract. He should have seen it and been familiar with its contents before the trial started. As a defense lawyer, he should have also displayed more skepticism regarding the extract and had it thoroughly analyzed and tested long before Spock decided to play chess with the computer. If necessary, he should have moved for a continuance to prepare.
Shaw and Stone made a big deal about Kirk jettisoning the ion pod at yellow alert, not red alert. According to Shaw, when Kirk jettisoned the pod, the emergency did not yet exist because the ship was at yellow alert. Shaw focused too much attention on the yellow/red alert issue. Either conditions at the time warranted jettisoning the pod, or they did not. If conditions did warrant jettisoning the pod, the fact the ship was still on yellow alert, not red alert, should make no difference in determining Kirk's culpability.
It doesn't follow that Spock being able to beat the computer at chess means that the computer has been tampered with, resulting in the the computer log extract being altered, much less that Finney was the tamperer and therefore still alive.
At the end of the trial, it would have been better for Commodore Stone to have entertained a motion from Shaw to dismiss the case rather than ask if she would have any objection to the case being dismissed.
Did Finney's tampering also cause the computer in "Tomorrow is Yesterday" to call Kirk "dear"?
When Uhura reports than Finney is on his way to the pod, she gives him the rank of Commander. Everywhere else in the episode he is only a Lt. Commander.
Did they ever explain exactly why jettisoning the pod was necessary to the ship's safety?
Finney's tampering with the computer must have been extensive to affect the chess program as well as the visual log. However, Spock early in the episode stated that he had run a check of the computer systems and found no trouble. He must have not done a very thorough job!
I never understood the whole rigmarole with the heartbeats. Can't the ship's sensors tell how many people are on board the Enterprise? No one should even have to leave the ship then, just have the computer report on the number of humanoid life forms aboard. If one extra shows up, then that's Finney.
Sam Cogley apparently doesn't return to the ship after he goes back to the base to get Jamie. At least he's not on the bridge. Did he deduce that the ship would not be the safest place to be?
And for that matter, where is Jamie? She's not on the bridge, either!
When the ship's orbit begins to deteriorate, why can't they beam back up the engine room crew? The heartbeat test is over and there's no further reason for them to remain ashore.
Yet another stunt double who doesn't look like Kirk takes his place in the fight with Finney. This guy has much, much bigger hair than Shatner.
After the fight with Finney, Kirk goes to the Jefferies tube, supposedly to fix the damage Finney did. But it doesn't look like Kirk's fixing anything at all! He's pulling wires OUT, for crying out loud!
The rigamarole with hartbeats was one of Cogley's "Court room" tricks. The same thing happens on Ally McBeal all the time. (BTW, on last Monday's episode, what was the purpose of John Cage's blow torch?)
In this episode Spock`s a Lieutenant Commander. In season two he`s a full commander. Why doesn`t his sleeve insignia change? The sleeve insignia is two unbroken bands in all episodes but the pilots, which is that generally accepted as the commander insignia. Also, Finney wears the two full bands as well.
It is revealed that Kirk has read this report three times, and then regretfully says, "Death of a crewman" before finally signing this report. Does Kirk do this for every man he has lost? (Now I realize that this attitude may have been due to the fact that Finney was a friend, but then shouldn't Kirk have said, "friend" or "crewman and friend"?)
Kirk walks into the bar and says something about it being a class reunion, implying that he has a lot of friends and classmates in the room, but all these people seem to act as if they believe Kirk could have killed Finney. So are these old classmates just lousy friends to believe something that hasn't been proved or was Kirk a real SOB while at the Academy. ("So what was Kirk like as a student?" "Intelligent, hard working, helpful" "Do you believe he could have killed a man in cold blood?" "Oh sure, no problem.")
I have never understood how this pod thing worked. There is an ion storm and they need a pod to get readings, but someone has to be in the pod to take the readings and the pod is somehow attached to the ship. One, why does anyone have to be in the pod? Two, how is it attached to the ship, by a long rope? My problem is that if the pod is part of the Enterprise, then the ships sensors could take the readings, but if it is too dangerous to put the ship (or a shuttle) in the ion storm then why not launch a probe to pass through it?
As far as I can tell, this 'pod' is either a part of the ship that can be telescoped a short ways from the ship, meaning that the ship itself is close enough to take readings, or it is like a bathysphere that is sent out on some kind of tether. Neither of which would be a very safe way of gathering information and not what we would expect from a technologically advanced civilization like 23rd century Earth.
I found it odd that a spaceship would have a weather control group and later it is said, "Meteorology reports ion storm." First off, does space even have weather? Secondly, wouldn't these things come under the department of Navigation? (I realize that this episode was probably a rewrite of a story intended for some military TV show of the time, like Twelve O'Clock High or something, but the writer should have put a little bit more thought and research into his writing.)
Areel Shaw acts a bit unprofessionally, telling Kirk who to get for his defense lawyer and giving away some of what she will do as prosecution.
Are women's dress uniforms different from men's dress uniforms? All the women in court seem to be wearing normal Star Trek style women's outfits.
Kirk says that nothing is more important than his ship. Well, I guess he had a change of heart during Star Trek III: The Search For Spock.
How many cameras does the computer use to record the logs and who decides what angles to show? First, Shaw had to stop the playback and focus on the panel, but the second time the panel is shown, no order was given to show it.
Jamie Finney is living at Starbase 11, but we see no evidence of her mother.
Spock wins his fifth game of chess against the computer, then explains what this means, then McCoy and Spock leave the room to get to the Court Martial and help Kirk.
However, McCoy and Spock are wearing their normal uniforms on ship, but when they come into the trial room just in time to save Kirk, they're wearing their dress uniforms.
Did they decide it was more important to dress formally before saving their captain and friend or can the transporter convert normal uniforms into dress uniforms? (This might also explain why Kirk, Spock and McCoy are back to normal uniforms after they beam back to the ship. The Transporter chief forgot to push the button that would leave the uniforms looking like dress uniforms when he beamed them up.)
If all Finney was tampering with was the logs dealing with Kirk ejecting the pod, then why was Spock's Chess program affected? My dad, Richard Morgan, who has worked with old computer systems, says that Spock's Chess program would have to have been in the command section of the computer and for Finney to have taken out memory and then recompiled the computer, then cleaned up the timing on the data to match his story for it to be affected and didn't pay attention to all details. I guess by the 23rd century all the programming advances caused by personal computers had been forgotten. Here in the present only a system wide problem like a virus would have affected Spock's Chess game.
Earlier Cogley said that he was beginning to figure out a defense, then the next scene with him in it shows him throwing in the towel before Spock gives him the information about the tampered computer. Was something cut or is Cogley just a lousy lawyer?
If Spock's heart beats 200 times a minute, then shouldn't there be a noticeable drop in sound when Spock's heartbeat is masked?
Finney thinks he can sabotage the engines and the Enterprise will burn up in the atmosphere, but wouldn't the starbase be monitoring the position of ships in orbit? The Enterprise is about the size of a battleship and smaller objects have survived the fall through Earth's atmosphere and considering how much damage could be done if a starship crashes into the starbase, I would think that there would be some traffic controllers keeping an eye on the ships in orbit. Also don't starbases have their own transporters so they can beam a few mechanics up to a ship in a decaying orbit? Not to mention any other ships in orbit using their tractor beams to pull the ship back.
This whole thing --- turn off the engines and the orbit decays is scientifically bogus. If an object is in orbit, it is moving fast enough that its forward momentum cancels out the downward force of gravity. In essence, the object "falls around" the planet it is orbiting. We have had objects in orbit for years with no engines and no orbital degradation. Of course, if there is friction, then the orbit will decay. But what kind of idiot puts a ship in orbit so low that it cannot maintain orbit without power?
Also, does SpaceDock have to have its engines running all the time?
Cogley is a lousy lawyer. Notwithstanding his innocence,Kirk is fortunate he isn't mining borite on some penal colony.
Cogley had a hopeless case. He was pracically convicted before the trial began. BTW, is it just me, or does Cogley remind anyone of the lawyers on Ally McBeal, either Cage or Fishman.
At first I thought Areel Shaw was being inept for telling Kirk who to get for his lawyer, but considering how inept Cogley was maybe Areel was hoping to get an easy win?
There are no amplified voices, footsteps and breathing along with the heartbeats.
Kirk risks going after Finney alone for no good reason. I guess Kirk just likes to settle these personal matters with fisticuffs.
(I also agree with the previous comments about the mysterious pod, what does chess have to do with video records of the brige, the ubiquitous silly decaying orbit, and the bad lawyering.)
Something I've always laughed at (which I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned here, yet) is the heartbeat-masking scene. McCoy goes around holding his heartbeat-masker up to everyone's chest--including Spock's. Shouldn't he be holding it down in front of Spock's stomach, or something?
A minor nit, but the title on the episode doesn't have a dash in it.
I think during the first season the show intended the now-familiar Enterprise delta shield emblem in use on all ships. I base this on the fact that every Starfleet officer in the lounge is wearing one, rather than the second season trend of individual emblems for specific ships, and some obviously don't belong to the Enterprise. Kirk says hello to an old friend that he 'hasn't seen since the Vulcanian expedition', not to mention the cold shoulder everyone else is giving him. Friend of Ben Finney or not, Kirk's crew couldn't give him such a cold shoulder if they were his men.
I think the footage of the Enterprise leaving orbit after Kirk saves the ship is from "The Naked Time" (PSI 2000)
In the court room, Is that object with the light on it in which the witnesses place their hand on a lie detector of some kind?
If so, that object should be able to tell if Kirk
is lying or not.
Second: With computer hackers running amok today,
why didn't anyone stop & think that someone
could have altered Kirk's records?
(I suppose it'd be too short of a show if they
figured that stuff out)
3 for the price of 1!!!!!!
The poor Oriental Ensign has no name...
she is identified only as "Ensign"...no serial
number either.
When she leaves the stand she says something to Kirk, but you can't hear what she says.
Was the line deleted or was it meant only to Kirk
to hear? Her lips definately move!
Lastly, McCoy is the only witness who doesn't
push away the lighted arm-rest thing when he's
done speaking.
What happened to the lie detector from
"Mudd's Women"? and why wasn't it used in this
episode?
Take note of the background behind the bar
at the Starbase.......
It looks exactly like Balok's ship interior
from "The Corbomite Manuver"
For some dumb reason, when the transporter guy
hails the Bridge, the camera is focused on a wall mounted com-panel.
WHEN? WHEN? WHEN has there EVER been a wall mounted com-panel on the Bridge??????
The com-panel for the Bridge is at Uhura's station... why not take a shot of that instead?
CUTE MOMENT:
I love Uhura's reaction after Kirk kisses
Ariel...it's followed nicely by the stone-faced expression of Spock & McCoy
When Kirk and McCoy first enter the bar, the camera pans around to show all the people there. If you look closely, you will see the officers in Kirks trial. Nothing strange there. However Kirk later says that the officers comprising his court martial are "on thier way to the starbase".
When Kirk and McCoy first enter the bar, the camera pans around to show all the people there. If you look closely, you will see the officers in Kirks trial. Nothing strange there. However Kirk later says that the officers comprising his court martial are "on thier way to the starbase".
Why does Finney`s daughter Jame wear what appears to be a sailor suit? Isn`t that somewhat... outdated?
Spock says he couldn`t see when Kirk pressed the jettison button because they were "already on yellow alert". How can he say this? Isn`t this whole debate about whether they were at yellow or red?
During the playback a voice says "This is bridge engineering". Sounds like it means the engineering console on the bridge, doesn`t it? But it`s clearly not being spoken by anyone on the bridge.
Why did all those officers in the bar have Enterprise badges?
Oops, just noticed that someone else posted that already, sorry.
Interesting how the first season of Trek demonstrates the dangers of being Kirk's close friend. Gary Mitchell gets dangerous superpowers that force Kirk to kill him, while Finney goes nuts and ruins his career trying to frame Kirk. This isn't the last time this is demonstrated, "Turnabout Intruder" coming to mind.
One thing that I wonder about is how Finney intended to escape. Hide himself in some cargo, and risk getting beamed someplace unpleasant? Put on a disguise? I also wonder how easy it is to hide yourself in the future. The answer, given Harry Mudd, would seem to be fairly easy.
Kirk was repairing the damage but pulling wires out--I assume the damage consisted of putting wires in where they weren't supposed to be. That answers that nit, but here's a new one--would Kirk really know that much about engineering wiring?
It's like Kirk in the Generations movie fixing the engines (or whatever he did).
This is the only episode with narrative voiceover, isn't it? Kirk is telling the viewers that Cogley had gone to get Jaime. Presumably it's a part of a log entry, but he doesn't say "Captain's log."
What's the connection between the chess program and the computer record? Maybe Finney changed the chess program on purpose--his overt reason was to show off his computer skills. But his subconscious motivation was to leave lots of clues--he wanted to get caught, and to get help. He'd been hiding his problems for years, but couldn't ask for help directly, so he went to all this trouble to make others catch him and force him into rehab. Does that make sense? (Not to sane people maybe, but Finney isn't sane.)
Several of the other nits can be answered with an overall acronym which can be applied to any episode-- WDSE--We Don't See Everything. Episodes generally take place over a period of a few days, of which we only see 48 minutes. So there must be a lot of stuff we aren't told, which would explain away a lot of this.
Kirk's old "friends" snub him--but maybe that's only one small group, a clique who follow their leader's lead. Maybe he has other friends on the station who we don't see, who don't snub him.
Could have been better, but better than some of the other episodes.
The 'collapsing orbit' thing is just another part of the broader fact that inertia is dead in the 23rd century... This has been demonstrated constantly (such as in STIV, when the probe knocks out the shuttle in starbase and it stops)...
So, I would say Spacedock probably does have to keep its engines running....
Stephen: If it doesn't make sense to sane people, then why does it make sense to you? ;-)
Actually, I don't care for the old 'not to sane people, but (blank) isn't sane' argument. It's lazy thinking and ignores the fact that it doesn't really take that much to push someone 'over the edge'.
Finney had some mental problems that made him think that this was his only option.
I do like the idea that, on some level, he wanted to be caught, but when people dismiss someone with the statement 'he's not sane' or 'he's crazy', I feel it ignores the real problem and segregates people into an US vs. Them situation.
Georges Simeon had a line in one of his mystery novels. Unfortunately I don't remember the exact quote, but Magrait is asked how he can think like a criminal and he points out that before the person committed the crime they were a person just like you or me.
(Whew! Long-winded post. I hope you don't think I'm picking on you. I did think you put some good thought into Finney's mindset, it was just the wording of that one line that bugged me.)
Spockania: Are you talking about a Spacedock in some other episode or movie?
The Starbase is on the planet. It's the Enterprise which is in orbit. I don't remember a reference to a Spacedock in this episode.
Okay, I could have worded it better, and I was being simplistic, with regard to that and to the "we don't see everything" idea--that doesn't really explain a lot of the nits in this episode, either. Thanks for the comments.
There are a few other things.
We get a list of awards Kirk has gotten, but we never hear about those adventures. It would be nice if some of the Star Trek novels would deal with what Kirk did to get those awards.
It would be nice if some of the Star Trek novels would deal with what Kirk did to get those awards.
The "Brother's Keeper" series addresses some of that.
I was responding to ScottN's post back on Thursday, April 15 1999. The spacedock mentioned is the one in earth orbit (seen in most of the movies).
I think that the idea behind the chess program was that it was the most recent PERMANENT addition to the computer, and was therefore the most likely program to be affected by illicit tinkering.
Not knowing much about computer systems, I don't know if that's really true, or something they tossed in for the sake of the plot.
The scene for the episode takes place at a Starbase,right? So...how come the court room has a 20th century hinged door? (You see it when Spock & McCoy enter)
At the end, how come Shaw addresses herself as "the lowly lieutenant"? WHEN did she become a lieutenant of anything? She was the Starfleet Attorney with the Judge Advocate General's Office.
Kirk's house in "Generations" looked very 20th century also, didn't it.
This episode was the only one in which the female dress uniform was worn (on Lt. Shaw.) Basically the same design, with a different material, and pleats radiating from the insignia badge.
Many moons ago Padawan Nitpicker asked:
"Why does Finney`s daughter Jame wear what appears to be a sailor suit? Isn`t that somewhat... outdated?"
Assuming she's a teenager perhaps thats a school uniform. For example Japanese school girl uniforms are often in a sailor style.
Maybe she's Sailor Starfleet? ;-)
It's hard to tell, but it looks to me like one of the ships on the repair list on the wall of Commodore Stone's office is "NCC-1864." The Reliant is there!
Khan!!!!! Khan!!!!!!
Ya' wanna hear something weird? The end credits are CORRECT in this episode...it lists "SCRIPT SUPERVISOR...GEORGE RUTTER" I'm noting this because in the episode before this*, "The Galileo Seven", the end credits were WRONG (SCPIPT SUPERVISOR)
[*This is according to production order, not aired order]
This REALLY makes that nit stand out don't it? I mean, the end credits guy got it wrong in "Galileo 7", then fixed it in "Court Martial", then went back to getting it wrong AGAIN later in the season.
There has to be some correlation between the two. Perhaps the use of a certain director makes the end creditor grab the cell with "scpipt" or "script". Or maybe the script consultant listing causes him/her to use the wrong overlay. Its a puzzle worth trying to solve.
PLAUSABLE EXPLANATIONS
A. Credits person is in a big hurry to get home.
B. Credits person is nearsighted that he/she can't tell the difference between a "P" and an "R" without his/her glasses on.
C. The credits person is drunk.
D. Credits person on drugs. (Hey,this show was made in the 60's)
E. Credits person was rubbed the wrong way by Gene Roddenberry and the credits person did the "SCPIPT" error deliberately.
Who knows? It is a puzzle, ain't it, Derf?
Yes, it be a puzzle. I think though, that a close scrutiny of the end credits may reveal a correlation that, if discovered, will propel YOU John A. Lang, to the pinnacle of nitpicking heights. If I had a full bevy of 1st season eps, I would volunteer to help, but alas, I have but only six.
The production order (the order in which the episodes were actually filmed) is probably not the same as the post-production order (in which details such as scoring and credit preperation were completed). This last was probably closer to the aired order.
I've solved the mystery!
Obviously, John A. Lang used a time machine to go back to 1966, fiddle with the credits, then returned to 2001 and Nitcentral to pretend he doesn't know why the credits are wrong!
Very nice, John, but I'm on to you! ;)
When Kirk files the report on Finney's death in Commodore Stone's office. he writes on a piece of paper with a pen!
Why not ust the PADD?
After Cogley leaves the Bridge, you can see a VERY BAD splice in the film footage.
Somewhere along the line this scene was damaged and pieced back together.
I'm surprised that Kirk doesn't have a password protection for his logs...that'd eliminate this problem from ever happening.
Or better yet....retina scan.
MAYBE Kirk doesn't have those things because he might goof up on a mission (like violate the Prime Directive) Therefore, He, Spock or Finney can go into the log data bank and alter the entries.
(Kirk: "Let's see...I violated the Prime Directive and seduced a young alien babe....computer...delete and enter,'No unusual findings'.")
The whole rigmarole with the heartbeats doesn't make much sense, but it makes even less sense when you consider Kirk' quote:
"By installing a booster we can increase that capability on the order of 1 to the 4th power"
Now, it doesn't take a degree in maths to realise that that booster of their's won't improve the sound one bit.
>"By installing a booster we can increase that capability on the order of 1 to the 4th power" <
That still adds up to one, doesn't it? Just checking!
Several plot holes in this one. Most have been mentioned. Adan Bomb says that Areel's outfit is the only time we see the female "Dress uniform" - meaning the variation with the three darts from the point on the neckline where the insignia is placed. But I'm sure I've seen Chapel in this form of uniform (in blue). Only it's been a bad day and I'm too ...er... yes... to remember which episode.
The end credits say, "Portmaster Stone...Percy Rodriguez"
PORTMASTER???????
Both Kirk (Shatner) and the Star Trek Encyclopedia list Percy Rodriguez as COMMODORE Stone.
Correct me If I'm wrong, but I don't think it's the same thing.
If it ain't, that makes the end credits person a bigger twit than he/she is already. If it is, the end credits person is still a twit for the 13 spelling errors he/she made during the 1st season.("Scpipt Supervisor" indeed...HA!)
>One thing that I wonder about is how Finney >intended to escape. Hide himself in some cargo, >and risk getting beamed someplace unpleasant? >Put on a disguise? I also wonder how easy it is >to hide yourself in the future. The answer, >given Harry Mudd, would seem to be fairly easy.
The answer, of course, is that Finney DIDN'T plan to escape, he intended all along to destroy the ship and Kirk and himself (and his secret) with it, and trust that the mystery of the Enterprise's sudden fall from orbit and destruction at the starbase would forever remain unsolved and his revenge would be complete. Of course, once he learned that his daughter was on board, it foiled his plans.
Portmaster is a title commodore is a rank. At least as of the time of TOS.
I like that idea about Finney's plans. Obsessed people will do quite a few things that make little raional sense.
Portmaster is a title commodore is a rank. At least as of the time of TOS.
I like that idea about Finney's plans. Obsessed people will do quite a few things that make little rational (sorry about the double post but I hate misspellings about as much as I hate mornings which means a lot) sense.
I am not familiar with the rules of three dimensional chess but I think I have figured out how Spock was able to beat the computer 5 times...He Cheated...If you notice when McCoy enters the rec room, Spock is in the process of moving his white knight. He must have just told the computer his move because the computer is responding with its move "Bishop half level right" Spock does not move the black bishop and instead makes another move with white which he tells the computer is "Rook to Kings Pawn 4" . The computer again tells him to move "Bishop half level right". Spock then moves the black bishop, then takes the black bishop with his white bishop, Checkmate. Why didn't Spock move the black bishop the first time the computer told him to? He moved two white pieces before a black piece was moved. Now, like I said, I am not familiar with the rules for 3D chess but I am sure its one move per player and then the other player gets a move. Don't ya think?
I do have a 3D Chess set, though not as fancy, and it is one move per player.
When McCoy eliminates all of the heartbeats, he fails to remember that Spock's heart is not on the left side of his chest. Therefore the remaining heartbeat should have been Spock's (or Spock's and Finney's)
The views of Strbase 11 (from The Menagerie and here) just don' add up. The night time view showing the full valley with one tall apartment/office complex and a gantry crane in the extreme distance cannot be reconciled to the day time view showing TWO tall apartment/office complexes and the gantry crane in the background. The building(s) and the crane just don't line up in the nighttime view.
Geeky observation, I know. They're still my favorite matte paintings, though.
Sir Rhosis
They WERE good matte paintings, weren't they. Even better than some of the dreadful matte paintings in the $44 million "Star Trek - The Motion Picture." Robert Wise himself criticizes them on the commentary track of the DVD of ST-TMP; the main problem with the paintings was that the artists had no time to work on them.
Spock discovers that the computer has been tampered with after playing his chess program a few times. He decides to check the computer after Kirk tells him, "Maybe you can beat your next captain at chess." But in the teaser to "Where No Man Has Gone Before", Spock tells Kirk, "I'll have you checkmated your next move," to which Kirk replies, "You play a very irritating game of chess." Granted, they never get around to finishing that particular game, but it does sound like Kirk is no match for Spock in the chess department.
Poor Kirk; bad enough he has to deal with a court martial, but yet again he has to punch out an old friend! He fought Gary Mitchell in 'Where No Man Has Gone Before', he fights Ben Finney in this episode, and then fights Spock twice in 'This Side Of Paradise' and 'Amok Time'(and struggles with him two more times in 'Operation: Annihilate' and 'Is There In Truth No Beauty?'), and roughs up McCoy in 'Catspaw'. Pity the poor slobs that makes friends with Jim!
And for the third time in the first season, engineering is the site of a struggle; Kirk vs. evil Kirk in 'The Enemy Within', Kirk vs. Finney in this episode, and Kirk vs. Khan in 'Space Seed'. If Scotty were around he'd have a fit and yell at them to take their rabble-rousing somewhere else!
Sam Cogley doesn't use his computer because he says he hates it. My guess is he could never master Windows 2266!
Why didn't Spock check ALL the computer systems (primary & secondary systems) before hailing Kirk? It doesn't seem very "Spock-like" for Spock to be less than thorough and miss the systems tampering in his chess program the first time around.
Was there a DIFFERENT ENDING for this episode? When Jamie visits Cogley & Kirk, Cogley says, "No. But I may be getting ready" (or something like that) Then when court resumes, Cogley almost throws in the towel until Spock & McCoy bring the news about the computer tampering to his attention.
I agree. It seems odd. Like Cogley suddenly has an idea and like it has something to do with Jamie.
Good guess, both of you - in the Blish early-draft version, wherein Jamie plays a greatly expanded role, Cogley gets this exact same brainwave...and IIRC it turns out to be about how she's been helping her father since his 'death'. Presumably that little subplot was cut as extraneous, but it's interesting enough that I wish they'd kept it...
One thing I learned from this episode is all computer records can be acessed by a good chess program.
Bones had the perfect line, and De Kelley had the perfect delivery here:
Shaw: "You're an expert in psychology, especially space psychology...yadda, yadda, yadda."
Bones: "I know something about it."
Especially in contrast to Spock's line, when he's asked about his knowledge of computers: "I know all about them."
Of course one has to wonder WHY so many starships are at the Starbase for repair. Was there a battle going on somewhere? Or do the other starships have less than quality Engineers that don't do regular maintenence checkups & keep things humming thereby letting their ships fall apart?
Spock doesn't seem to have such a great opinion of Scotty's computer skills. He states that the only people skilled enough to tamper with the computer in this way are himself, Kirk, and Finney. Kirk's a better computer progammer than his Chief Engineer?
1. Cogley must really love the sound of his own voice. When Cogley tells Stone he wants to call the computer as witness, Shaw objects, and Cogley retorts with a passionate plea for the rights of man and how the rights of man should not be placed below that of the machine. Although he did sound very elequent and passionate in his arguements to Stone, he could have saved everyone alot of time by instead simply stating something to the effect of "Commodore, we have new evidence that suggests that the computer, and possibly the visual bridge logs were tampered with. I request that this board reconveine on the Enterprise so the defence can demonstrate this." Much more succinct and to the point, IMHO.
2. Given the amount of resentment Finney had towards Kirk, I'm surprised that he would want to serve under him. Why didn't he request a transfer? For that matter, if Kirk was aware of how much animosity Finney had towards him, why would he want Finney as part of his crew? Why didn't Kirk request Finney's transfer?
3. There is no way Finney's reprimand would have prevented him from being a command level officer. Other officers have overcome reprimands on there records to obtain command level posts. Riker earned one while serving on the U.S.S. Hood, and ultimately went on to become Captain of the U.S.S. Titan. Worf drew a reprimand for killing Duras, yet he managed to become first officer of the U.S.S. Defiant. Geordi drew a reprimand for disobeying Picard while trying to save what he thought was his mother, yet he became Captain of the U.S.S. Challenger. Harry Kim drew a reprimand for sleeping with some alien, and still managed to become Captain of the U.S.S. Rhode Island! The bottom is that although such reprimands may have slowed down the promotions of the above stated officers, they did not destroy there chances either. Finney, in my opinion, doesn't want to accept the possibility that the real reason he's been turned over is that he is simply ill suited for a command level position. Maybe he was more suited to being a records officer or an Academy instructor. Finney is just blaming Kirk in order to avoid facing this possibility.
4. Not really a nit, just an observation. Cogley, IMHO, makes a pitiful showing as a defence lawyer!
Several of us feel Cogley is a lousy lawyer. (And who suggested that Kirk get Cogley? Why the prosecuting attorney, that's who. Hmmm...?)
Recently, Pocket released "The Case of the Colonist's Corpse: A Sam Cogley Mystery", which is written as something of a Perry Mason story...LOL... Actually, I really enjoyed Sam Cogley's character in the episode and in the book, which takes place at the same time as "The Trouble With Tribbles"--the Enterprise drops off both Areel Shaw and Sam Cogley off on the colony world to work their cases, then speeds off to Space Station K-7. In the book, several characters--including Areel Shaw--wonder how she got to prosecute Kirk (and yes, they brought up the conflict of interest factor), and there's a suggestion of a staged court-martial for Kirk. (Interestingly, there are a number of hints throughout the book--and thinking back, in the show--that Lt. Shaw is less competent than she believes, and possibly could wind up like Finney...)
PLOT SIMILARITIES:
Court-martials for Kirk, Spock (The Menagerie); Scotty goes on trial for Ripper murders in Wolf in the Fold; Janice-in-Kirk's-body puts Spock and trial in Turnabout Intruder; more court-martials and trials in the more recent series...
In the TNG episode "The First Duty", when the computer evidence contradicts Wesley's testimony, he shoud have tried to get out of it by blaming Ben Finney.
Todd Pence said: In the TNG episode "The First Duty", when the computer evidence contradicts Wesley's testimony, he shoud have tried to get out of it by blaming Ben Finney.
ROFLMAO!
At some point way up on the thread, it was questioned why the only people who could alter the records were Kirk, Spock, and Finney. I believe that was because of their jobs: Captain, Executive Officer, Records Officer...they undoubtedly must have regulations about who can access records (being a military-oriented service, after all). Scotty unquestionably has the technical skill to do it, but it isn't part of his job purvey. Finney had the regs to do it, but obviously wasn't very competent technically--witness his mistake years ago, and his bad job of altering the computer (in the form of the messed-up chess program). Kirk had the legal authority, but not necessarily the competence (as he was written at this time...but after STII's Kobayashi Maru revelations, one suspects he was about as well-skilled as Finney.) And Spock, acting as both Executive Officer and Science Officer, has both the skills and the authority to make this work.
For some reason, everyone (including the computer) refers to Finney as a Lt Commander, but a quick check of his sleves shows 2 solid stripes which would make him a full Commander(like Spock).
And while we are on the Subject of Finney, He was a records officer, Does'nt it seem odd that he would know how to "rig the engines"? He is hardly an engineer. Also, I assume a records officer is an administrative postition. Why would a records officer be going in to a pod to "take readings"?
Well, obviously the main job for the guy was to play the records during parties! McCoy was in charge of booze, and Sulu in charge of the cake.
How did Finney stay hidden so long without eating or using the bathroom?
How do rats stay hidden and use the...
Jayson noted above - For some reason, everyone (including the computer) refers to Finney as a Lt. Commander, but a quick check of his sleeves shows 2 solid stripes, which would make him a full Commander(like Spock).
Wasn't Spock a Lt. Commander in this episode, too? As a matter of fact, he wasn't a full Commander until the second season. But...he wore the full Commander's stripes for the entire series.
One other note about the amazingly perfect visual logs -- the cameras evidently have some sort of inertial mount, as they don't shake with the ship while in the ion storm.
When Stone asks Kirk about maintaining an engine crew, there's a nasty scratch on the film. It vanishes when the scene changes, so I assume it was on the original rather than just the print used for the DVD.
Kirk facing Finney alone is just silly. It's a contrivence for the fight scene between him and Finney. When he went looking for his evil half in "The Enemy Within", he at least took Spock with him. Beaming over a security team and engineering team would have made more sense.
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.
The planet looks amazingly like Psi 2000, especially after Ben Finney's sabotage has the Enterprise spiraling down out of control. Perhaps a "normal" planet, mostly dry land with small seas, could be inserted.
When Stone asks Kirk about maintaining an engine crew, there's a nasty scratch on the film. It vanishes when the scene changes, so I assume it was on the original rather than just the print used for the DVD.
No, unfortunately, it's on the DVD as well, and pretty d*mn obvious, too. It's also seen a few more times, like IIRC when Spock's at his station (that's when I first noticed it last night) and as everyone on the bridge is watching the viewscreen as the ship reestablishes an orbit, though those scratches are so small and split-second brief that you'd miss 'em if you weren't quick enough. I just happened to have noticed them again today when I was looking for the bigger scratches.
After we first see Jame (as her name is actually listed in the closing credits, not "Jaime" or "Jamie") and then she turns her back to leave after screaming at Kirk (and pretty badly at that) you can clearly see her bra strap. Not that she appeared to have really needed one all that much, if at all, either.
When Bones uses his magical microphone to eliminate everyone's heartbeats and then uses it on himself last why does he have his back to the judges? Shouldn't he have been facing them when he did that? Of course, Kirk and Spock witnessed it and the bridge cameras caught it as well so maybe it wasn't all that necessary.
In his book Phil mentioned that during the Kirk/Finney fight Shatner's stunt double's shirt wasn't ripped like Shatner's was, but I just looked over it again on DVD and the double's shirt is in fact ripped in just about all the same places, if not the exact same shirt that Shatner wore. And was it really all that hard to find a double who looked a heck of a lot more like Shatner in wide shots? Or at least give him a decent wig or cut his hair in the same style, fer cryinoutloud!
When Kirk's pulling out the wires shouldn't he have:
1.) had an expendable redshirt do it instead to avoid the risk of himself dying (ending the series PDQ!), and;
2.) at least wore protective gear and been grounded somehow? After all, those were some very thick live wires he was carelessly pulling out! And why did he leave some of them still plugged in like that?
CG Cap, you suggest putting in a more "normal" planet. Who's to say what a "normal" planet looks like in outer space? Have you been there to make that determenation?
I could be wrong, but I think his salient point was that it looked too much like a planet from another episode, and that he would've preferred variety for the viewers' sake.
Well I'd prefer to win the lotter than have to work 40 hours a week, but thats probably not going to happen.
Although Kirk has been accused for manslaughter, he is not taken into custody but walks and talks freely around the starbase. Is nobody afraid that he could escape (with a little help from his loyal crew members)?
When they locate Finney Kirk leaves the courtroom (aka the bridge) in a hurry. Nobody tries to stop him. IMO he still is an accused prisoner until the judges decide he is innocent. All this could be an easy trick, made up by Spock and Bones, to let a murderer escape from justice...
1 word: B O R I N G