In the Classic Nitpicker guide, the Chief Nitpicker asked why Spock didn't have a prosecuting attorney at his court-martial. One could also question why Spock had no defense attorney either. How could the case proceed with neither present?
In addition, why is Captain Pike on the tribunal? He is, after all, the ostensible victim of a kidnapping carried out by Spock. Nonetheless, he is sitting in judgment of Spock.
It's like a judge who has been a mugging victim serving as judge at the trial of the accused mugger. Pike is also a witness to the extent that Spock told Pike beforehand of his plan.
Why should Spock's hijacking of the Enterprise to Talos IV justify the death penalty for Spock, particularly when the death penalty seemingly has been abolished for all other offenses?
Oops, I forgot that Spock waived legal counsel, even though it was illogical for him to do so.
How did Spock know what had happened to Pike? Had the Talosians contacted him? Why in the teaser did he tell Pike he had no choice?
There wasn't really a trial since Spock pleaded guilty. No prosecutor or defence attourney was needed.
Nit?- We discover at the end Mendez was an illusion. I suppose the Talosians also made Kirk think he saw Mendez move stuff. But at one point Kirk on the shuttle checks the life support. Since Mendez isn't there, there should be twice as much oxygen remaining- and Kirk should have known that. The Talosians could have affected this, but would kirk have suffocated when he though the air ran out? And what WAS Mendez doing? Did he think he was there on the Enterprise?
A prosecutor would still have been necessary to formally read the charges to Spock.
GUEST STAR PATROL
Jeffrey Hunter (Pike) was a western star, and played Jesus in the film, "King of Kings".
Malachi Throne (Mendez) was Noah Bain on "To Catch a Thief", does various voice-overs, and was Falseface on "Batman".
Susan Oliver (Vina) played a Martian in the Twilight Zone episode--"People are Alike All Over".
John Hoyt (Phil Boyce) played a scientist in the TZ episode--"The Lateness of the Hour".
So Pike can only communicate "yes" and "no" eh? If his brain still works, why can't he do morse code or something similar (like "Vulcan blink code")? And the advanced Federation can't connect a voder like Steven Hawking uses?
I admit it would be less dramatic if he used morse and this episode is before computer miniturization. But that won't stop me from nitpicking it!
I agree, Spockania; I can't believe that the advanced medical technology of the 23rd century couldn't do a better job on Pike. Even today's plastic surgery could have fixed up his face a little better.
Or how about hooking up whatever controls the flashing light to something that plays a recording of the word "yes" or "no"? We could do that today! Heck, they could have done something like that in the 1960s.
And if there was a situation that required a more complicated answer than yes or no, why didn't Spock (or a Vulcan doctor) do a mind-meld on Pike?
Good points Spockania and M.K. 1/19 and 1/20/99,
I think Pike was attempting Morse code. The only one who noticed was Kirk, but he said, "He keeps saying 'no'".
Pike would've a heart attack if he had to spell words more difficult than "stand back" hee hee.
They missed the opportunity for a funny scene:
Kirk:" It's Morse Code! What is he trying to say?"
Spock:"Y-O-U-R-E S-T-A-N-D-I-N-G O-N M-Y A-I-R H-O-S-E!"
This has very little to do with the actual episode, but a "Bump-and-Go Captain Pike" custom action figure made its way into the pages of ToyFare magazine a few months ago. After Mike's last comment, I just felt like posting that. (And that would have been a funny scene, Mike.)
This episode has both the spherical & vent ends on the nacelles.
Mendez says that Pike is about Kirk's age. However thirteen years earlier, Pike was Captain of a starship, whereas in Shore Leave it is mentioned that fifteen years earlier Kirk was in the Academy being picked on by Finnegan, an upper classman. So if Pike and Kirk are around the same age, then Pike must have been one of those child prodigies who went to college around the age of ten or so.
Pike can only move his chair around a little bit, why? Today we have wheelchairs capable of letting quadriplegics move all over the place. Has this knowledge somehow been lost?
How long do Vulcan Nerve Pinches last? The technician sees Spock and tries to stop him. Spock pinches the guy unconscious and then tells the Enterprise that they will be warping out in an hour. How long does Spock expect that guy to lie there and not tell anyone that a Vulcan attacked him?
It is very illogical of McCoy to assume that Vulcans can't lie. Amongst themselves Vulcans would have no reason to lie, but when dealing with emotional people they should know that there are occasions when a lie would work better than the truth. It is illogical, but it is so very true. (This episode has more than enough examples of Spock lying to disprove the notion that 'Vulcans do not lie.')
Spock really timed his abduction of Captain Pike well. Miss Piper is watching Pike on the screen, turns away for a moment, then when she turns back, Pike is missing. Either Spock grabbed him at just the right moment, or the Talosians had been projecting a false image of Pike after he had been taken.
The object following the Enterprise is "About the size of a Starbase shuttlecraft." Are Starbase shuttlecraft bigger or smaller than Starship shuttlecraft?
The shuttle is past the point of safe return. How exactly do they figure that? By how much fuel is left? By how much oxygen is left? Shouldn't a Starbase have more than one Shuttlecraft, or better yet a ship in case of emergency?
Either Spock does not know that Commodore Mendez is an illusion or he is lying about there being three command rank officers aboard.
Starfleet sends a message to the Commodore on the Enterprise, but the Commodore is really on Starbase 11. So did Starfleet really send that message or is it part of the Talosian's illusion?
How come Starfleet knew the transmission was coming from Talos IV, but Lieutenant Uhura didn't?
My tape has some oddities in the music soundtrack during the final credits.
I just watched this episode to day, and he seemed to use both 1 and 2 blinks to answer yes. How does anyone know what his answer was? And as someone else asked, why didn't they give him a computer like Steven Hawking has. Surely, they could install a simple TTY teletype device in his chair, (even though the computer technology in the original StarTrek appears much cruder than today's).
Something else Spock says seems particularly egregious.
"While our destination is secret, our mission is relatively simple. Kirk has been assigned rest leave..."
Oh? Isn't this like telling kids, "you can help by staying out of the way."? If Kirk needed a rest wouldn't the crew have noticed? Why does the destination need to be secret? What's their mission have to do with Kirk being on leave? Why couldn't Spock or Roddenberry come up with a less lame and implausible excuse? Why didn't anybody say anything about how lame Spock's little speech is?
Simple, Pseudo - these are military men. They follow orders. They probably assume Kirk's off on a secret mission - there's no reason to assume the upper brass is telling them the truth. They don't need to know.
In reference to "Vulcans do not lie" - whether this may be the case or not, does everyone here forget Spock is half-human and no matter how hard he tries to suppress that side of himself, it is still part of him?
It is illogical to assume that lying is a racial characteristic.
Also, whomever said that "Vulcans do not lie" could have been lying. Also, on some occasions it is logical not to tell the truth. (i.e. ST:VI)
I think McCoy is the one who states that Vulcans don't lie, at least in this episode.
I think Vulcans lie, but they call it different things. Like in ST 6, when Spock and Valeris were doing all that lying and calling it something different, or if we were to go to Voyager Tuvok told Janeways Davinci program a lie about where he was from.....Vulcans can lie. They just dont like to.
The book THE VULCAN ACADEMY MURDERS took a sensible view regarding Vulcans and lying. It said that lies were sometimes necessary in the interests of diplomacy, the social lie was uncommon but not unknown. Lying to avoid the consequences of one's actions was what Vulcans tried to breed out of their children.
Found what I believe to be a nit while watching this today. Commodore Mendez comments that Capt. Pike is the same age as Kirk. This doesn't seem right. How could Pike be Kirks age when he was in command of the Enterprise so many years ago? Spock comments that he served under Pike for seven years. Pike would have been just a kid when he took command.
The projector that Scotty operates looks very similar to a medical device McCoy & Rand were using in "Miri"
Talk about your multi-purpose devices!
Does that mean if you get sick while watching the movie, they can find a cure while you're watching?
(snicker, snicker)
Several notes: (perhaps nits)
Commodore Mendez has a desktop viewer and a "gooseneck" viewer (Seen on Pike's Enterprise). Are 2 viewers necessary or does the "gooseneck" thing have a different function?
I must say too that the "gooseneck" devices remind me of the heat ray device seen in "War of the Worlds" (1953)
At one point Vina says to Pike, "I'm a woman. As real and as human as you are."
Pike's a woman??????? (snicker, snicker!)
I believe she meant..."I'm a human, as real as you are. And I'm a woman."
Last...
The viewer used to watch Pike's voyage is the same viewer seen on the Bridge of Pike's Enterprise.
Syntax trouble, John? She says she's as real and human as he is. He is both real and human. That sentence does not mean "I'm a woman, like you."
Ok, that's a gimme. But it still sounds funny.
When the Enterprise is ready to go "hyperdrive" (sic), Pike says, "Engage"...this would never be spoken again before a warp drive sequence until "Star Trek-The Next Generation" by Jean-Luc Picard.
"Hyperdrive" indeed...was the Enterprise built at the same factory as the Millenium Falcon in "Star Wars"?
The panels & the computers at the Starbase are the same ones used in Engineering on the Enterprise.
(The creators must really dig that layout!)
Wouldn't it make sense to make modular, compatible equipment to save costs?
About the "engage" order, I'm pretty sure Kirk used it once (I think at the end of "The Naked Time."
Isn't the death penalty way way too severe? And how could this possibly be the only crime that still has it? Is going to this planet really the worst offence to the Federation?
To Chris:
You are correct about Kirk saying "Engage" on "The Naked Time". My mistake.
Yes, but it is the one and only time it was spoken in the original series. I only remembered it because I have a copy of TNG blooper reel that mixes "The Naked Time" with bloopers from (mostly) "The Naked Now" and they happened to use that shot of Kirk saying, "Engage!"
Maybe after Kirk said, "Engage!" Yeoman Rand said, "We're engaged, sir." and single guy Kirk panicked and decided to never use that term again? ;-)
Pike mentions a planet in his bemoanings to the doctor in his quarters. He has just had a disasterous encounter at Rigel 7, is distraught, and wishes he were somewhere else. He says "Perhaps I'll go to Regulus, or the Orion Colonies." Is Regulus the same star system where the Regula One science station is (in ST2-The Wrath of Khan), or are Regulus and Regula two separate systems?
Commodore Mendez shows Kirk a secret file, detailing the Enterprise's encounter with the Talosians. Why? This is prior to the Enterprise warping out and heading for Talos IV, and prior to the transmissions sent to Spock, asking for Pike to be returned to live there. There was no previous indication that Spock was working with the Talosians, so why is Mendez even mentioning a particular mission that occured in the 11+ years that Pike and Spock served together?
Concerning "Pike's a woman??? Snick, snick snick"
I ALWAYS thought of that line like that. You're not alone, John Lang.
Kirk: It's one of two things; either someone sent a message diverting us here, or someone onboard the ship lied about receiving it. Could that someone be Mr. Spock?
McCoy: Jim, forgetting how well we both know Spock, the simple fact that he's a Vulcan means he's incapable of telling a lie.
McCoy and Kirk do not know Spock as well as they think they do, because even if Spock is incapable of lying, deception is not beyond his purview. (as this episode proves)
The illusionary Mendez's presence seems to be justified when he says "I want to know why", and Spock responds, "Is your request part of the record?" This would force Kirk to view the transmissions regardless of his own feelings. Yet, if Mendez IS an illusion, why does Starfleet send a message to Mendez on the Enterprise telling them they are detecting transmissions from Talos IV? Where is the REAL Mendez?
I suppose the Talosians can create a "message" for their own illusionary Mendez. (it could've been sent from anywhere and Uhura would have believed it)
When Spock takes McCoy to the room where Pike is, the door opens...but it doesn't have the normal "swish" noise....it's more like a hum...in fact, it sounds like the sfx for the doors back on Starbase 11!
Why did Pike hail Boyce on a hand-held communicator when he has a goose-neck monitor device in his quarters?
Pike probably had a few 'anytime' monthly minutes left on his communicator and wanted to use them up.
Pike has a TV in his quarters.
Can one still get a program all the way from Earth? Or is there some other alien channel that Pike can watch?
(HMMM...Now THAT has some possibilities, doesn't it? I can hear Pike now, "Let me see....which channel is the Orion Slave Girl on?"
Maybe it's a retro-styled view screen, I've heard of some companies who at a price will fit modern sets with classic styled cases.
Great Line:
"Captain... Jim... don't stop me. Don't let *him* stop me. It's your career, and Captain Pike's life."
Tom Paris also had a TV in his quarters. However, he is a 20th/21st century dude anyway; he likes old style sci-fi flicks, art deco theaters and 1960's muscle cars. Wonder if HE can find what channel the Orion Slave Girl is on.
Could Pike have liked muscle cars?
Wonder if HE can find what channel the Orion Slave Girl is on. - Adam Bomb
B'Elanna would thwack him for that.
This is a nit for "Spock's Brain", but I'm putting it here because that's where I noticed it... so there.
In SB, Scotty seems very impressed by the Ion drive. But in this episode, the computer identifies Type F Shuttlecraft as having Ion engines.
I always thought it was odd that Mendez would refer to Spock as a Half-Vulcan Science Officer, yet when i freeze-framed the part where Kirk opens the Talos IV Book, that is how he is referred to in the book TWICE. Does this seem a bit odd? Why doesn't he now refer to himself as Lt. Cmdr. Half-Vulcan Science Officer Spock?
Malachi Throne (Mendez) was Senator Pardek in TNG "Unification" episodes (the ones where Spock makes a guest appearance).
I believe this is the only time in the original series where the same recurring character was played by two different actors. Jeffrey Hunter is of course the original Captain Pike and Sean Kenney plays the crippled version in the "framing" show. This is of course apart from having different actors portray the same shape shifting creatures (like the six actors who portrayed the salt monster from "The Man Trap" or the four who portrayed Captain Garth from "Whom Gods Destroy").
In the hospital room, Kirk calls Pike by his first name. Isn't this a bit presumptuous, considering he's only met the guy once before in his life?
Maybe when they met Pike asked him to call him by his first name.
Besides, he may have known Pike for a while. They obviously weren't close friends or else Kirk would have known about the accident.
:: I believe this is the only time in the original series where the same recurring character was played by two different actors. ::
Depending on whether you can call the character "Kirk" or if you need to say "Kirk's mind in Lester's body," there is "Turnabout Intruder," in which Shatner plays Kirk and then Sandra Smith becomes the second actor to play Kirk.
Regarding the Ion drive on the shuttle, and Scotty being so impressed in "Spock's Brain"-- there are many kinds of ions, in many combinations. Some kinds of ion power might be less technologically feasible or require rare substances.
NASA has had ion engines for years.
Dr. Stephen Hawking, a professor of the 20th century is also a crippled man & cannot speak on his own. Yet his devices are MUCH, MUCH better than Pike's. What happened?
LESLIE ALERT: Mr. Leslie is at the Engineering Station on the Bridge in this episode
It doesn't matter if there are different kinds of ions. Ion propulsion, no matter how sophisticated is still—and always will be—a conventional action/reaction engine, and can never go faster than light. So for the chief engineer of a ship that can go thousands of times the speed of light to be impressed by it—so much so that he states that the owners of that engine could teach them a thing or two--did not seem plausible to me. That's just me.
The fact that both are disabled and cannot speak doesn't mean they suffer from the same condition.
Hawking is not "crippled" in the sense that he is paralyzed. He can move, but his motor skills are severely impaired. The reason he cannot speak is because he had a tracheostomy (in the 70's, I think), not because of paralysis.
What Pike's wheelchair actually does is unknown. But it's possible he's paralyzed and a computer interface translates his brain patterns into "yes" or "no" responses, which would certainly be more advanced than Hawking's device (even though it cannot articulate as well).
Personally, I think the articulate speaking device on Hawking's chair is far superior than the computer interface on Pike's chair than can only "beep" once for "yes" and "beep" twice for "no". If I were Pike, I'd want a chair like Hawking's....so I could speak WORDS...like "How are you?"
(I apologize also for not fully understanding Hawking's illness.)
If I'm recalling A Brief History of Time correctly, I believe he suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease.
[ED-MCMAHAN]
You are correct, sir!
[/ED-MCMAHAN]
If Pike is incapable of using Hawking's machine, that doesn't mean Hawking's machine is more advanced...
As I said, Hawking is not paralyzed, which is why he can "speak" with his device. He taps keys that trigger a menu of words on a computer.
If Pike is paralyzed, then he would be unable to use that type of machine. If his machine is connected to his brainwaves, it would be beyond the capabilities of Hawking's machine, thus superior.
Scott, that's Ed McMahon. (Just happen to be passing by and I saw the nit.)
Couldn't remember how it was spelled, Benn... I tried the correct spelling and it didn't look right either... I should have used Google... Oh well 
So...why not hook up a Hawking-like machine to Pike's brainwaves? He wouldn't have to press any buttons, and the episode states that Pike can still use his mind. Therefore, it would be do-able. Makes sense to me.
sigh
Because Hawking's machine requires him to physically push buttons, which Pike may not be able to do, but Hawking can.
What you're talking about is a mind reading device. Such a machine does not apparently exist in either the 23rd or 24th centuries. If it did, then there would be no need for the lie detectors we see them use in Court Martial or for Counselor Troi.
Very well. I concede. Ignore the mind reading device I suggested & let's go back to pushing buttons....
Let's assume Pike presses buttons or uses a joystick in his wheelchair to move around. (Backwards, forwards, etc) That would mean he would be able to use a Hawking-like device to communicate...therefore...why isn't he hooked up to such a device?
No prob, Scott. I just happen to see it when going over the New Messages and it just kinda jumped out at me.
Sorry. Incorrect wording on 12/18 8:12 message...It should have read, "I concurr...."
Darth Sarcasm - What you're talking about is a mind reading device. Such a machine does not apparently exist in either the 23rd or 24th centuries.
Watch Metamorphosis, specifically the explanation for how the Universal Translator works.
Also wouldn't the psycho-tricorder from Wolf In The Fold count as a mind-reading device?
So, according to the original contention, that Captain Pike's wheelchair isn't as advanced as Dr. Hawkings'...... Pike's wheelchair can read his thoughts about moving, but the controll isn't good enough that he can convey concepts other than yes/no. Dr. Hawkings' is moved by joystick and he speaks by pressing buttons, which Pike cannot do. Pike's wheelchair is more advanced. 
True...Pike's chair is more advanced than Hawking's chair in some ways, but inferior to Hawking's chair in other ways.
Pike can't "speak" thru a speaking device like Hawking can. That's the whole basis of this ongoing discussion.
You seem to be confusing Pike's limitations with the chair's limitations.
If Pike operates the chair via some means other than touch (like brain patterns)... even if those commands are simplistic, it is still more advanced than what Hawking's chair.
Let's put it another way...
You have a man with a broken leg in a regular wheelchair.
You have a man who is completely paralyzed in Hawking's chair.
The man in the regular wheelchair is able to roll his wheelchair in all handicap-accessable locations.
The paralyzed man cannot move his chair at all or communicate with it because his paralysis prevents him from operating it. Thus, the wheelchair doesn't move or speak.
Does that mean the regular wheelchair is more advanced?
You're asking why Pike's chair can't articulate more than yes/no when Hawking can with his chair. The answer is that Pike is incapable of operating a chair like Hawking's. So his chair operates via a different method. That the end result is more simplistic doesn't change the fact that the chair's capabilities are beyond the capabilities of Hawking's chair.
if the chair can get a signal from his brain to the lights for yes or no seems they could could hook that up to a computer and he could see the screen and spell out the words. The signal for no could mean go further up in the alphabet and the one for yes could mean select and with those 2 commands he could spell out anything you want.
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Interesting idea, Brian...I like your idea better! You'd think that Starfleet would've come up with something like that for Pike. Excellent! Good job, Brian! I am satified with that reply!
Actually, Brian, Jean-Dominique Baby used a similar method to write his memoir, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." Bauby could only communicate by blinking on eye... a nurse would point to letters near the door (which were arranged from most common to least) and he would blink when she had selected the appropriate one.
But such a method wouldn't be practical in a courtroom.
John A. Lang to Darth Sarcasm---LOL!
You certainly live up to your Nitcentral name 
Spock: Captain Pike, may I remain for a moment?
Pike: Beep (1 beep = YES, 2 beeps = NO)
Spock: You know why I've come, Captain ... it's only six days away at maximum warp, and I have it well planned.
Pike: Beep - beep
Spock: I have never disobeyed your orders before, Captain ... but this time, I must.
Pike: Beep - beep
Spock: I know ... I know it is treachery, and it's mutiny ... but I must do this.
Pike: Beep - beep
Spock: I have no choice.
Pike: Beep - beep
WHY would Spock, the NOTED Vulcan do such a thing without acknowledging his own HUMAN roots of loyalty OVER logic? The end result was definitely worth the effort, but how could Spock know that?
He HAD to be motivated by his HUMAN side! ... and ALL other arguments about Spock and his VULCAN logic can be laid to waste from this simple exchange! (at least until Spock gives his kahtra to McCoy)
Here's a prime example of the "Short Show" syndrome. We find out at the end of the ep that Commodore Mendez has been an illusion all along. In other words, at some point prior to Kirk boarding the shuttle to chase down his ship, the Talosians intervened and made him think that Mendez was coming along. This HAD to have happened at Starbase 11.
BUT BUT BUT--if the Talosians could reach all the way from Talos IV to Starbase 11, why didn't they use their powers all along to trick the Enterprise into leaving? Why did Spock have to go through all that rigamarole of hot-wiring the Starbase computers to send fake messages, faking log entries, and generally creating confusion so he could get away? Consider the evidence:
1. Spock's falsified log entry
2. Spock's initial questioning of Pike
3. Spock's assaulting the tech in the computer room and faking the message
4. Spock having to go through an elaborate song-and-dance on the bridge to convince the officers to go along with his plan
All of this could have been avoided with Talosian assistance. Of course, if this had been the case, there would have been no court-martial and thus no chance to reuse the "Cage" footage.
Jesse: We find out at the end of the ep that Commodore Mendez has been an illusion all along.
I'm sorry, Jesse, but WE don't find that out until the end of Menagerie, Part II ...
As far as your "rigamarole" of Spock is concerned, I defer to my above post of his giving over to his HUMAN side. The Talosians use of an "illusary" Commodore Mendez is discussed in Phil's book, but the topic you've mentioned is well worth exploring by any Trek lover.
In "Court Martial", there were at least 6 Starships at Starbase 11 waiting for repair. Were these ships still broken...seeing that Mendez & Kirk had to take a shuttlecraft to chase the Enterprise? (BTW for those who don't know, this episode takes place at Starbase 11 as well)
But that's only a nit in Production Order. If you go by Air Date Order The Menagerie precedes Court-Martial by several episodes.
Also a Production Order nit, IIRC, Court-Martial had a different Commodore in charge of Starbase 11.
Well, whatever the case may be, it sure is dumb to not have at least ONE Starship at Starbase 11...you know...in case of attack.
Pike's room on the starbase has a bed in it. Maybe that's standard issue, but it seemed odd.
McCoy said they were questioning Pike to see what he was so agitated about, but it might take years before they stumbled on the right thing. Not really. Spock was allowed to talk with Pike alone when the Enterprise visited. So the first question I would ask Pike would be, "Is it something to do with Spock?" That's a logical starting point since he spoke with Pike right before he got upset.
How could Pike be Kirks age when he was in command of the Enterprise so many years ago? Spock comments that he served under Pike for seven years. Pike would have been just a kid when he took command.
Kirk was 34 in "The Deadly Years." This was one season earlier, so he's presumably 33. Spock actually said he served under Pike for just over 11 years. That would make Pike 22 when he took command. If he's a prodigy, as someone suggested, that might not be too far out of line.
you REALLY think someone would be given command of a starship on deep-space exploration at age 22? Occam's Razor suggests this is simply a continuity error.
What's the lower age limit for joining up with Star Fleet? Instrestingly enough Pierre Treudeu was Canadian Prime Minister after only 3 years in politics, & Daniel Gooch was made Chief Engineer of the Great Western Railway at the age of 20.
Here's one: The Enterprise receives a message from Starbase 11 for Mendez to take control of the Enterprise. According to the story, Mendez on the Enterprise was an illusion. Just WHO authorized this message to the Enterprise seeing that the REAL Mendez was still at Starbase 11? Was the message an illusion also?
Most likely, the message was an illusion.
Probably the whole episode was an illusion, so you know what'll happen when you land on Talos: you'll be disfigured, held captive, and later be dragged back when in a wheelchair. Don't mess with these guys.
After Spock turns himself in after locking the ship on course for Talos, he sends a security team to the bridge and then requires McCoy to give the order for his arrest. McCoy?? Shouldn't Hansen, whom Spock has just put in command, be giving the order?
According to Spock, Mccoy was the most senior officer. My guess is, he outranks Hansen.
Why is the file on Pike's first visit to Talos IV recorded on PAPER in a BOOK?
Also, Mendez says that the reason for the death penalty for visiting Talos IV is not in that book....WHY NOT?
Of course, if one looks at "Production Order" for TOS, this episode take place IMMEDIATELY after "Court Martial".....If I was the Fleet Admiral of Starfleet, I'd be wondering just what is going onboard the Enterprise!
NOTE: John Hoyt (Phil Boyce) played Stanton...the greedy miser from "When Worlds Collide"
>Why is the file on Pike's first visit to Talos IV recorded on PAPER in a BOOK? >
So hackers can't get to it. Can you immagine if there was a hacker's convention on Talos IV. (Really, those guys on Talos should open a hotel. Think about it.)
The star patterns around Talos are sure strange, as seen on the old Enterprise's viewscreen. All four quadrants of the screen are identical, although rotated/reflected.
Although he went through the starbase's records, there's no evidence Kirk asked Spock about the message he supposedly recieved. Although Kirk doesn't know at this point that Spock is lying, he should still ask Spock for information that might help identify who sent the message.
Oh, and re: the odd closing credits music, the credits are long due to credits for both casts. The music was rather badly edited to make it longer.
Why is the chair in Pike's quarters so high up? The seat is waist-high to the doctor.
The ambient noise made by the plants vanishes when Pike's landing party discovers the encampment, probably so it didn't interfere with the music which starts then.
Something I used to look for but could never see in TOS eps (and it'd been sometime since I'd seen 'em before getting this set, other than Vol. 40 of the single disc releases) was the seam in Spock's ears, so I always just figured that the makeup guys did a fantastic job even back then of hiding it...
...until I watched this on DVD the other day! At approximately 17 minutes into the episode Spock turns his head to the left in closeup and you can clearly see the seam on his right ear, thanks to Okuda's textual commentary pointing out, seconds before that shot was shown, how much clearer DVD technology improves on image quality. I might've still seen it even without that but it was still kinda neat.
I thought I had posted this, but apparently not. Phil may have commented as well.
On Talos IV, we see Spock emoting all over the place, in particular, see his smile at the musical plants.
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 scene that Miss (Ensign?) Piper is looking at, just before Kirk & co. beam down (and again right after the opening titles), is quite static: a star that has a fixed twinkle and a crane in the background that isn't moving, or raising or lowering its load.
While inside Mendez' office, it is dark outside, and yet, it is daylight in exterior establishing shots. Make it day in Mendez' window.
Interesting how the computer centre at the starbase looks like a redress of Engineering on the Enterprise, with the high ceiling and the cleverly concealed impulse drive bed (blue panels covering it).
The communicator sound effect could be added for Mendez to respond to, when he says, "Mendez here, what is it?", only to be told that the Enterprise is leaving orbit.
Also, when Spock and McCoy enter the Enterprise quarters assigned to Pike, the starbase sound effect was used for the door instead of the regular "whish-t!" sound; that could be fixed. Pike's "no" is cut off just before "Kirk's" message to McCoy starts playing; it should be added over the close-up scene of Spock that was just cut to.
Mendez' and Kirk's shuttle should be shown flying at warp, not impulse, if they're to have any hope of catching the Enterprise. We can assume it is a short-range warp shuttle meant for system-to-system hops, not with the anti-matter fuel needed to generate a warp field to chase a Constitution class starship for more than a few hours.
It could, therefore, be shown as a spiffier-than-usual shuttle, rather than using stock footage of the Galileo: sharper looking nacelles, extra equipment built around the aft end. On the interior, replace the Galileo's aft compartment with some panels that reflect the dying glimmer of a small warp core that has run out of enough anti-matter to power a warp drive, but has enough to maintain on-board power for a few more hours.
When Spock is watching Kirk order the computer to disengage from the helm, the viewscreen dramatically pulls back to show Mendez. Yet, Spock didn't press a control, and we do not hear a "sound effect" that customarily accompanies changes in viewscreen magnification. There are two options to fix this:
One, fade to the transporter room just prior to the pull-back and show Kirk as the view pulls back to show Mendez. Two, dub in the sound of Spock pressing a control and the sound of the viewscreen adjusting.
The device Scotty uses to control the briefing room viewscreen resembles McCoy's portable electronic microscope. Is it easier for Fleet Engineering to punch out similar consoles?
The transporter assistant on Pike's Enterprise is wearing glasses while Pike is talking to the chief, but they're gone when they start to beam Pike & crew down. Perhaps they're special viewing aids for looking at the tech readouts on that era's transporter control panels?
After Tyler stops firing at the Talosian entrance, Spock takes out his communicator for no apparent reason, then identifies himself, and Number One says, "Landing party, come in." Did Number One page them?
The DVD pause and zoom functions - you gotta love 'em. I always wanted to know what the text of the Top Secret file on Talos IV said. Here it is (with my coments in parentheses).
TOP SECRET
For eyes of STARFLEET Command only
Subject: TALOS IV in third quadrant of vernal galaxy. (Third quadrant? Is that like the Delta quadrant? And what the hell is a "vernal" galaxy? I thought we lived in the Milky Way.)
Known facts: Detailed information cross referenced with 3XY phagrin-level mass computer. (Phew! Talk about techno-babble; I'm not sure that's even English :-))
The only Earthship that ever visited planet Talos IV was the U.S.S. Enterprise commanded by Captain Christopher Pike with Half-Vulcan Science Officer Spock. (Not true; the SS Columbia, carrying scientists from the American Continent Institute, crashed there, with Vina as the only survivor. However, Pike and Spock probably hid this fact to preserve Vina's privacy and remove a reason for other ships to attempt to visit. And why the racial reference to Spock? If Lenny Kravitz had been the Science Officer, would the report had referred to him as "Half-black Science Officer Kravitz"?)
Recommendations: Be it hereby noted that said following instructions be incorporated into STARFLEET policy--
NO ONE WILL EVER VISIT TALOS IV.
The following officers have visited Talos IV and recommended that no human should ever visit it again--
Captain Christopher Pike
Half-Vulcan Science Officer Spock
(Again with the racial reference. Is there another Science Officer named Spock in Starfleet? Maybe he's a descendant of the famous pediatrician and author. And too bad Spock didn't ask for counsel; the report clearly says "no human should ever visit". Any decent attorney would argue that Spock is not human, and therefore exempt from this restriction.)
Starfleet Command
by order of
Robert L. Comack
Commandant General (this is blurred in the shot, so it's my best guess at Comack's title)
>Any decent attorney would argue that Spock is not human, and therefore exempt from this restriction.>
I doubt this argument would work. Spock wanted to take Pike there. Also, shouldn't he be charged with kidnapping, too. (or at least Captain-napping)
Back to the zooming feature;
When green Orion Vina stares at Pike in the cave, IU've always like how her eyes have a really sexy, sleepy look, but I never noticed how her mouth twitches on her left side as she smiles, as if she's thinking, 'THIS time we're gonna have some fun'!
The reference to Spock is not race-based, it is species-based. So the Lenny Kravitz analogy doesn't follow.
It is still somewhat jarring, though.
Sir Rhosis
>Any decent attorney would argue that Spock is not human, and therefore exempt from this restriction.>
I doubt this argument would work. Spock wanted to take Pike there.
Not to mention the prosecution could argue that Spock was indeed human. Just because Spock tends to ignore his human heritage doesn't mean the court has to.
On to the next part.