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Old 10-20-2017, 12:10 PM
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October 20th, 1967, "The Doomsday Machine"

Ah, one of the classics. I'll plug SF Debris again.

Fiver (by IJD GAF)
Memory Alpha
Transcript

The episode:

Prelude: Why is Decker a Commodore? I thought that a Commodore commanded more than just one ship. He certainly seems like a peer of Kirk and not one of the previous generation like Pike. If they wanted him to be able to pull rank on Kirk later it would be easy enough to just declare him to have seniority (i.e. was declared captain before Kirk).

KIRK: Did you run a scanner check on it? What kind of a beam?
DECKER: Pure antiproton. Absolutely pure.

I hope he's using "pure" to mean "no other forms of antiparticle" rather than "there's a smattering of matter in there too".

DECKER: Oh, no, I stay here. I'm not leaving my ship!

I never did understand "the captain goes down with his ship." I understand "the captain is the last to leave", which would fit this situation.

SPOCK: We are more manoeuvrable, but it is gaining on us. Sensors indicate some kind of total conversion drive.

Memory Alpha implies that this is a sort of matter-to-energy reaction that doesn't need antimatter. I fail to see what the power source has to do with the mechanics of the engine itself; it's an apples-to-oranges comparison.

SPOCK: Random chance seems to have operated in our favour.
MCCOY: In plain, non-Vulcan English, we've been lucky.
SPOCK: I believe I said that, Doctor.

You gotta love that Vulcan habit of using ten words when three will do.

KIRK: Am I correct in assuming that a fusion explosion of ninety seven megatons will result if a starship impulse engine is overloaded?

The Tsar Bomba was 50 megatons, oops. Probably should've tossed an "iso" in there so we couldn't Do The Math.

SPOCK: Appropriate, Captain. However, I can't help wondering if there are any more of those weapons wandering around the universe.

Wait until later, we'll be returning to this.

Fiver

Doomsday Machine: Kerplowie!
Enterprise: Ouch!

Is that a League of Legends reference? (I had to look that up, FYI) Because usually the word is spelled Kerplooey.

Spock: (singing) From far beyond the galaxies I've journeyed to this place, to study the behavior patterns of the human race. And I find them highly--

So apparently Nimoy recorded a novelty album in the 1967. I'll stick to The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins, if it's all the same to you.

Decker: Sulu, maintain course!
Sulu: I wouldn't be surprised if history remembers this as the "Decker Maneuver."

Odd place for an Insurrection reference.

Kirk: Scotty, I need phasers now!
Scotty: Okay.
Kirk: What? No "I need more power!"?
Scotty: Nope.
Kirk: No "I cannot break the laws of physics!"?
Scotty: Nope. Hey, I said we had phasers and we do. So use 'em already.
Kirk: (sigh) No respect for drama....

Ah, the lost of art of defying expectations. I'd have thrown in one last "no respect at all" just for some random Dangerfield.

Decker: (over the comm) "And he piled upon the whale's white hump, the sum of all the rage and hate felt by his whole race. If his chest had been a cannon, he would have shot his heart upon it."
Kirk: Herman Melville....
Decker: No, Patrick Stewart. Anyway, goodbye cruel world....
Shuttle: Ka-BOOM!

If you ask me, the only time Trek came close to matching this level of sheer Ahab-ness was Khan in the second movie.

Memory Alpha

* The first appearance of the new Main Engineering set. I don't recall the set changing all that much.
* Filmed in five days instead of six. While this episode may not qualify as a "bottle show", per se, it sure came close. Proof that you don't need tons of guest stars and special effects to make drama. *cough insert modern scifi show of your choice here cough*
* First appearance of Kirk's green wraparound tunic. Man, do I hate that thing.
* The Constellation was played by one of the early Enterprise plastic models. I assume that they used the 1966 version, I think that the one that I owned once upon a time was the 1989 version. Oh yes, once upon a time I had quite the collection of Star Trek model kits. You can ask about it if you're really interested, but that's not what this thread was for.
* This was Doohan's favorite episode. One reason he cites is the relative lack of technobabble, using more real science terms.
* Memory Alpha uses the term "planet killer" for the doomsday machine. More descriptive, less fun. Early reference works use "berserker", which I feel isn't very descriptive or indicative.

Memory Beta

* They use "doomsday machine", which I think is cooler even if it's not as precise. I'm not sure if I like the idea that the Preservers made it, I'd almost rather have it be an enemy of the T'Kon or something.

YouTube

* Decker's sacrifice.
* Kirk's last-second escape.
* A fan makes his own model of the damaged Constellation.
* A recreation of the episode with puppets and the original audio.

Nitpicker's Guide

* Phil criticizes how easily it was for Decker to steal a shuttlecraft. I must agree.
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