star trek episode the balance of terror

Vulcan had an aggressive, savage colonizing period, and if the Romulans are an offshoot of that time, then they dare not show weakness. The enemy ship seems to appear and disappear. Besides the we’re-almost-newlyweds banter between Tomlinson and Martine, we also have a totally gratuitous moment where Kirk clutches Rand to him when the Romulan weapon’s about to hit. Sulu saves Stiles’s ass by nominally agreeing with his racial profiling and suggesting security alert and then in the briefing room—probably because Stiles didn’t even thank him, the ungrateful bastard—argues against every point the navigator makes with regard to attacking the Romulans. The only casualty was Tomlinson. Decius broke the rule of silence and is reduced two steps in rank. This episode saw the introduction of the Romulan Star Empire in Star Trek. The wedding ceremony Kirk performs will be seen again given by Picard when he married the O’Briens in TNG’s “Data’s Day” and by Ross when he married Sisko and Yates in DS9’s “Til Death Do Us Part.”. But of course the big guest is Mark Lenard as the commander. The USS Discovery from 2017’s STAR TREK: DISCOVERY. They hit the Romulan ship, so he diverts all power to weapons and decloaks long enough to fire on the Enterprise. But when the sensor readings go clear when they enter the comet, the commander figures it out and calls for an evasive course. Hansen reports that not just #2 and #3 but also Outpost #8 are all destroyed. After Spock leaves, Stiles notices a phaser coolant leak. Sulu points out the issues with firing on a target they can’t see, plus the report would be so much more awesome if they could say they also destroyed a starship. Uhura raises Commander Hansen, whose command post is a fiery wreck, with deflectors gone—and it’s deep underground on an asteroid composed of iron. Kirk orders Sulu and Stiles to follow a parallel course, to match the enemy ship move for move—make them think the Enterprise is a sensor ghost, a shadow. Spock, amazingly, agrees with Stiles. Lots of circuit burnouts, and lots of people with radiation burns. Still and all, he agrees to finish the Enterprise off. He’s tired of death and war, and sometimes even finds himself wishing for their destruction before they can return to Romulus and report back that their old enemy can’t stand up against their shiny new weapon. Preview this Star Trek: The Original Series episode, "Balance of Terror." Written by Paul Schneider and directed by Vincent McEveety, it first aired on December 15, 1966, and a repeat broadcast was aired on August 3, 1967. The ceremony itself is interrupted by a distress call from Outpost #4, which is under attack by an unidentified vessel. Receive notification by email when a new comment is added. The Earth-Romulan War discussed by Spock in this episode was dramatized in the two-volume Romulan War novels by Michael A. Martin. Hailing frequencies open. The commander also plays a large role (and remains unnamed) in John Byrne’s various comics featuring the Romulans for IDW, one of which, Alien Spotlight: Romulans, serves as the prequel to this episode. Kirk orders all power shut down, assuming (correctly) that the Romulans have done the same. His first name has been given as John and Andrew. As Douglas Adams reminded us, space is big—really big. COVID-19 Shipping Updates - Learn More. “We are creatures of duty, Captain—I have lived my life by it. Balance of Terror The marriage of Angela Martine and Robert Tomlinson is interrupted when a Romulan bird-of-prey attacks and destroys Outpost 4, which guards the Neutral Zone between Federation and Romulan space. Kirk orders phasers to fire—and nothing happens. Stiles is rather baffled by this. Directed by Vincent McEveety. Paul Schneider’s script doesn’t just wear its submarine-movie influences on its sleeve, it wears the whole damn shirt. Lenard will be cast again in season two’s “Journey to Babel” as Spock’s father Sarek, which will become a recurring role on the animated series, The Next Generation, and several of the feature films. Official Sites Because this episode established that this was the first sighting of Romulans by the Federation, the TV show Enterprise had to go through major contortions to feature the Romulans but not allow any of the main cast to see them. Perhaps Fuller is simply suggesting that the “spirit” of these two episodes will heavily influence the overall tone of Star Trek: Discovery. In his quarters, Kirk has a brief crisis of faith, wondering what happens if he’s wrong. In Review: Star Trek Discovery – Terra Firma Part 2 (S.3 Ep.10) December 17, 2020. Recurring regulars DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Nichelle Nichos, and Grace Lee Whitney are all here, too. The Enterprise must decide on its response when a Romulan ship makes a destructively hostile armed probe of Federation territory. It first aired on NBC on December 15th, 1966. Poor Martine…. Fascinating. Stiles—who is already whiny that they’re not on an intercept course—expresses a concern that there might be Romulan spies on the ship. The characters don’t change much from start to finish, but it is an incredibly expansive world-building episode for Star Trek. Ahead warp one, aye. To celebrate the release of Star Trek: Into Darkness this month, we’ll be running through the first season of the classic Star Trek all this month. Like all episodes from the series, "Balance of Terror" was digitally remastered with upgraded visual effects. “Balance of Terror” While Mark Lenard’s commander is never named onscreen, the Star Trek Collectible Card Game gave him the name Keras (an anagram of Lenard’s more famous role of Sarek). Production episode 6149-09 She also gets to take over navigation again, but still has to open the damn hailing frequencies from there…. But after Star Wars came out in '77, the old Star Trek episodes started to come on in the afternoon, and I was psyched (Star Wars got me into Star Trek). The episode isn’t perfect, for all that I can watch it a million times and be enthralled by it. All comments must meet the community standards outlined in Tor.com's Moderation Policy or be subject to moderation. "Balance of Terror" does a nice job of working out the moves and counter moves in the running battle. McCoy, for his part, thinks they’re insane to start a war that will cost millions of lives over theories about a people they know nothing about. Can’t we just reverse the polarity? For nine hours, both ships sit, playing possum. "Balance of Terror" is the fourteenth episode of season one of the American science fiction adventure TV series Star Trek. On the Romulan ship, we learn that the commander’s plan is to disappear within the comet and then turn around quickly and double back on the Enterprise. | One of the very best episodes of Star Trek, “Balance of Terror” (season 1, episode 14), first hit the airwaves on December 15, 1966. Yes, there are stakes here, and yes the potential consequence of an interstellar war is a devastating one, but it works on an emotional level because throughout the entire episode, we see that it’s not about governments fighting or space ships firing on each other, it’s about people. The interrupted wedding. The ship becomes visible. 5 = One of the best. I’ve talked about it about it quite a bit in my earlier reviews, so I won’t dwell on it too much here, but Star Trek got really good really quickly. But that’s a minor nit in what is otherwise a brilliant episode, one of Trek’s finest that also gave us the franchise’s longest-running antagonists in the Romulans. Welcome aboard. This episode is the only time the firing of weapons on the ship is done by relaying commands from captain to navigator to phaser room—though there is a reference to “phaser crews” in “The Corbomite Maneuver.” After this, weapons are fired directly from the navigation console, either by the helmsman or navigator. This is the first of half a dozen episodes directed by Vincent McEveety, and the first of three written by Paul Schneider (the others being “The Squire of Gothos” and the animated episode “The Terratin Incident”). This gift mug features an artistic rendering of the classic Star Trek episode "The Balance of Terror". Read the next Star Trek review: "The Conscience of the King" This story is available on DVD and Blu-Ray. (The notion of a separate tactical console won’t be seen until The Motion Picture.). Read the next Star Trek review: "The Conscience of the King" “Balance of Terror” Written by Paul Schneider Directed by Vincent McEveety Season 1, Episode 8 Production episode 6149-09 Original air date: December 15, … Lieutenant Stiles reveals that he had several ancestors who died in the previous war, and Kirk has to remind him that it was their war—not his. Checking the course ahead, Spock sees that the Romulan ship will go through a comet—which means it’ll be visible for a bit. His ancestors who fought in the Earth-Romulan War are seen in Starfleet Year One by Friedman and the Romulan War duology by Martin. Spock briefs the crew on the Earth-Romulan War of more than a century ago, a brutal conflict between primitive spacecraft using atomic weapons. "Terra Firma Part 2" follows on and concludes last week's episode. The studio was considering both Lenard and Montaigne to possibly take over the role of Spock had contract negotiations between Leonard Nimoy and the studio broken down between seasons one and two. Perhaps Fuller is simply suggesting that the “spirit” of these two episodes will heavily influence the overall tone of Star Trek: Discovery. So many great scenes here. Kirk orders Uhura to send regular reports to Command and orders Sulu to call battle stations. Interestingly, after Stiles makes his nasty suggestion that Spock decode the Romulan communiqué, Uhura goes ahead and makes a copy for him without being told to. You must be a registered user to subscribe to threads. Star Trek: Picard episode 4 contains homages to the classic TOS episode "Balance of Terror" and Captain Kirk's first encounter with the Romulans. The U.S.S. The episode was directed by Vincent McEveety and written by Paul Schneider. "Balance of Terror" is the fourteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series, Star Trek. Next week: “What Are Little Girls Made Of?”. Memory-wise, it's the alien-heavy stuff that tends to stick in the mind, like the Gorn and the Horta and the freaky midget Clint Howard thing. Release Dates [Ship's Chapel] SCOTT: The ceremony will be carried on all viewing screens, sir. Capt. Comic Book News & Reviews. This Star Trek: The Original Series Juan Ortiz Arena Poster represents a classic Star Trek episode and makes the perfect housewarming, birthday, or just because gift to any fan! He orders Decius to put all debris in the disposal tubes—as well as the body of the centurion, who was killed saving the commander’s life from falling debris during the Enterprise’s earlier attack at the comet. He fires on the Romulan ship while it’s still on their side of the Zone, and then follows them in, ordering Uhura to report to Command that he has no choice but to do so. Kirk orders him to keep his bigotry to himself. 1 References 1.1 Characters 1.1.1 Episode characters 1.1.2 Novelization characters 1.1.3 Comic adaptation characters 1.2 Starships and vehicles 1.3 Locations 1.4 Races and cultures 1.5 States and organizations 1.6 Other references 2 Appendices 2.1 Related media 2.1.1 Adaptations 2.1.2 Video releases 2.2 Images 2.2.1 Episode images 2.2.2 Adaptation images 2.3 Timeline 2.4 External link … With William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Mark Lenard, Paul Comi. To celebrate the release of Star Trek: Into Darkness this month, we’ll be running through the first season of the classic Star Trek all this month. Stiles volunteers to help out, and Kirk sends him down, putting Uhura at navigation, and orders Spock to play dead, in the hopes of luring the Romulans back to their side of the Zone. Paul Schneider is credited with creating the Romulans. Only then does Kirk agree. ; Schneider also wrote the TOS episode "The … The sidelong glances at Spock by everyone on the bridge after they see the Romulan bridge. The story is tense, compelling, and thought-provoking. Kirk learns that the Romulan ship has also destroyed three other outposts and is now running at full speed towards home. Like all episodes from the series, "Balance of Terror" was digitally remastered with upgraded visual effects. To withdraw your consent, see Your Choices. Unique and colorful, this poster will look great in any room. The commander, frustrated, orders Decius to flush more debirs, this time with a nuclear warhead, used for self-destruct. “He’s a sorcerer, that one, he reads the thoughts in my brain.” What an amazing thrill-ride of an episode. Flashback | Recap | Star Trek: The Original Series S1E14: “Balance of Terror” January 2, 2018 January 1, 2018 Tyler Howat 0 Comments DeForest Kelley , Gene Roddenberry , Leonard Nimoy , Mark Lenard , Romulans , Sarek , Star Trek , Starfleet , Vulcans , William Shatner The Romulan weapon turned a piece of rodinium, the hardest substance they know, into a substance as flimsy as tissue paper. Oscars Best Picture Winners Best Picture Winners Golden Globes Emmys STARmeter Awards San Diego Comic-Con New York Comic-Con Sundance Film Festival Toronto Int'l Film Festival Awards Central Festival Central All Events Sulu maintains the parallel course. An example of why we love Star Trek. The episode was directed by Vincent McEveety and written by Paul Schneider. “Balance of Terror” Written by Paul Schneider Directed by Vincent McEveety Season 1, Episode 8 Production episode 6149-09 Original air date: … Reviews; Indieweb Television; Books ; Todays Date. The Enterprise doesn’t detect it until the last minute and detonates it with a phaser, but the damage is done. Before the ceremony, Spock reports Outpost #2 along the Romulan Neutral Zone still is quiet, and now Outpost #3 has gone dark as well. Regardless, this episode is exactly why Star Trek: Voyager sucked. The forward phaser room is the only one available, and Tomlinson is staffing it alone. Sensors—portrayed in every other Star Trek story ever as being super-efficient methods of detecting things—are shown here to be less reliable than sight, which makes them useless in space. It’s about Stiles, whose family history in the last war has made it impossible to look at the possibility of a new one rationally. 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