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Old 10-25-2018, 11:34 AM
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October 25th, 1968, "Spectre of the Gun"


The Fiver (by PointyHairedJedi)

Transcript
Memory Alpha


Fair warning, this one won't be very positive. I tend to not like these pseudo-holodeck episodes when they don't have any character development.


The Episode

* Why is the Enterprise trespassing in another nation's space? They aren't at war, trying to find allies. They aren't looking for a rare mineral or medicine that is needed immediately.

* If Kirk really wanted to make it clear that he came in peace, he should've stayed at the border of Melkotian space and asked for permission to enter.

* They try to explain the Melkotian's recreation of the Old West as being derived from incomplete information, then they say that this may be all that was needed. They're both baseless assumptions, and nothing comes from it, so why bring it up? We understand low budgets, we forgive a lot, so stop pointing out that the emperor is naked and then not throwing him some clothes!

* Why did they bring up the "you can't change history" thing? This is clearly not time travel, what does history have to do with it? We'll get back to this.

* "Death is real"? Why wasn't this a redshirt that we know is real? The guy that died could very well be an illusion or robot, right?
* When Chekov "dies" they use the contradiction to conclude that this is not a 100% accurate recreation of the real events. Huh? They knew that this was a fake setting already. Another script that needed a few more rounds of editing.
* So our heroes foil the illusion and refuse to be killed. How does this equate to "refuse to kill"? And why do the Melkotians suddenly like them now?


The Fiver

Captain's Log: Fog? Most unexpected. I shall certainly mention it to our meteorologist Mr. Fish when we get back.



Apparently Michael Fish is a British weatherman who denied that a hurricane was coming back in 1987. The Michael Fish Effect is when a weatherman predicts worse weather than reality as a way of hedging their bets. If PHJ is equating fog with a hurricane, it's a bit of a stretch.

Chekov: I think we may be getting an incoming message from that big giant head.


3rd Rock From the Sun hasn't aged as well as some other cultural touchstones, has it? Although the Shatner connection works better than most.


Kirk: Listen, I know this is going to sound strange, but we're actually space explorers from the twenty-fourth century, and my name is Kirk.
Ed: That's a good one Ike. Not as funny as the one about the cattle rancher and the three nuns though.



Tsk, tsk, tsk. Twenty-third century, PHJ. I'll need an explanation of the cattle rancher/three nuns thing.


Anyway, even with the dated references the fiver is way better than the episode.


Nitpickers Guide

* Phil points out that back in "Friday's Child" Kirk promised to leave if they weren't wanted, but this time he won't.





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