tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post2560776325086197202..comments2024-03-29T04:57:26.162-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: Star Trek 50th Anniversary Blogging: "The Alternative Factor" (March 30, 1967)John Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-4802640013655453722016-08-05T10:58:48.773-04:002016-08-05T10:58:48.773-04:00I watched this episode last night for the first ti...I watched this episode last night for the first time in 30+ years and I have to say that, in spite of the issues you describe in this review, I found it to be a gripping episode which asks questions that people in the late 60's and even now are not ready to answer nor are they even contemplating them! I enjoyed the episode very much.Rob Instigatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09659953495364260163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-31549586077672832542016-07-18T12:01:36.070-04:002016-07-18T12:01:36.070-04:00Many years after seeing this episode, I also becam...Many years after seeing this episode, I also became a Doctor Who fan. And it hit me--Lazarus is a Time Lord! His ship is a TARDIS! The dead planet is Galifrey! Perhaps he is even the Doctor himself in his final incarnation--fighting Omega (who was last seen disguising himself as The Doctor and turning into antimatter! Fighting a duplicate of himself to save two universes is just the sort of self-sacrifice The Doctor would make!<br />Well, that theory fell through when Doctor Who was re-vamped, of course--but it was still a good thought while it lasted! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09791209153048574804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-48342260896848376322016-07-14T18:40:10.899-04:002016-07-14T18:40:10.899-04:00Sheri,
LOL! Now I can't unsee George Jetson b...Sheri,<br />LOL! Now I can't unsee George Jetson behind the bubble on Lazarus' ship!<br />SteveAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13101722769411384962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-89517112874439521312016-07-14T14:19:01.306-04:002016-07-14T14:19:01.306-04:00Neal, I agree that the matter/antimatter issue was...Neal, I agree that the matter/antimatter issue was confusingly presented in itself. Perhaps the reaction could have been controlled technologically, but not by the Enterprise crew and not in time to deter the determined madman. Worse, the show universe treated matter and antimatter as if ANY contact between the two would cause destruction, but this episode suggests such destruction would occur only if Lazarus and his counterpart came together. The idea would have worked much better if it had just been presented as parallel universes whose counterparts must not come in contact with one another, which would not have contradicted "Mirror Mirror" since none of the characters comes in contact with their specific counterparts in that episode.Sherinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-60420150103813898642016-07-14T14:08:12.298-04:002016-07-14T14:08:12.298-04:00Now I have to watch the episode again, Steve, to s...Now I have to watch the episode again, Steve, to see if I really have it right which Lazarus is the "good" Lazarus, darn it.<br /><br />I'm with you in that I can't see what's wrong with Shatner's "What of Lazarus?" line reading. There is no right way to deliver a line written so stylistically out of keeping with the rest of the work. It needed to be changed to something like, "Yes, but what about poor Lazarus?" But line changes like that require going up and down the chain of approval, and they were already heavily pressed.<br /><br />I have to add that I always liked Lazarus' ship, too, and never understood the derision some fans have had for it. It's a little out of keeping with the overall design aesthetic for the show, but what should a little one-man craft look like? I think it looks cool! Although a little Jetson-ish (should we hear it go bleeble-bleeble-bleeble-bleeble-bleeble when it takes off?)Sherinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-18011283914738945252016-07-13T11:05:54.378-04:002016-07-13T11:05:54.378-04:00Yes, definitely SPACE:1999 year one it would fit.
...Yes, definitely SPACE:1999 year one it would fit.<br /><br />SGBSGBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07137406272001346149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-11499833670470585142016-07-13T09:36:24.401-04:002016-07-13T09:36:24.401-04:00I actually read this story in James Blish's St...I actually read this story in James Blish's Star Trek 10 collection before I saw the episode and I'm glad I did because the story was more fascinating to me as prose. When I finally got to see the episode on TV, the weaknesses were more apparent. Also, because I experienced this story early in my fandom, it really confused me with regard to the whole concept of anti-matter and how it related to the Enterprise engines (still does to be honest). I assumed that all the anti-matter in the universe was stored in this other dimension. Therefore, how could they only be discovering it now? I later realized that this was not a proper assumption, but I still couldn't see how they could control matter/anti-matter in their engines, but not find a way to control this corridor between the two dimensions. Definitely lots to ponder.Neal Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17053148427058126745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-70246158633439602122016-07-12T20:20:04.365-04:002016-07-12T20:20:04.365-04:00John,
You and I seem to see eye-to-eye on a variet...John,<br />You and I seem to see eye-to-eye on a variety of genre subjects, so I am glad to hear your thoughts on "The Alternative Factor" and happy that you've found reasons to admire this ambitious entry.<br />This episode has taken a lot of heat from the fans for many years, but I've always found something admirable about the look and feel of it. There's a dreamlike quality to every scene in which Lazarus appears, as if his very ambiguity is intruding into the clear and bright world of the Enterprise crew.<br />While Kirk's final musing may seem a bit melodramatic, we need to remember that he's been to Lazarus' hell and back, has seen his world first-hand, has met the "hideous, murdering monster" and found him to be noble and worthy of remembrance. He knows the sacrifice Lazarus has made to preserve the very existence of the Universe, which seems to bring out his introspective side. Kirk's empathy is on full display in this moment, and it resonates. He is mourning for Lazarus, who has been consigned to a fate worse than death.<br />That the episode is flawed is quite obvious, as Sheri has pointed out; it's confusing (I always thought the good guy was from our Universe, but come to think of it...) and Lt. Masters is a great character who enriches the show with a single appearance. All really great points you make, Sheri.<br />SGB, I've never even considered that this would've made for a great episode of Space:1999, but you are right. That show was always trying to go for the deeper meaning (in Year One particularly), and I believe "The Alternative Factor" is trying to do the same thing.<br />Whether it succeeds or not is very much up to the varying mileage of the viewer.<br />SteveAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13101722769411384962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-6361757470504608882016-07-12T14:51:21.044-04:002016-07-12T14:51:21.044-04:00Interesting episode that does seem like a potentia...Interesting episode that does seem like a potential Space:1999 episode. Parallel realities are the basis of Sliders(1995-2000) series. <br /><br />SGBSGBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07137406272001346149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-61824853600629203152016-07-12T14:50:32.359-04:002016-07-12T14:50:32.359-04:00I appreciate your take on this problematic episode...I appreciate your take on this problematic episode and feel pretty much the same way about it. If the original romance between Lazarus and Lt. Charlene Masters had not been scrapped due to network interference, we indeed would have felt we had a stake in Lazarus' fate, which would have made all the difference. As filmed, they are clearly supposed to have some connection, but we don't know why and nothing really comes of it. If the rewrite hadn't been such a scramble, it might have been possible to retain some personal backstory for them without the romance angle. <br /><br />I think it further hurts the audience's involvement with the character that the "good guy" is the antimatter Lazarus instead of the one from "our" universe, which places him at further remove unnecessarily. I mean, if I understand the plot correctly! In addition, having him dressed in rags as if he's been crawling through rocks and brush for eons just makes it seem silly that he doesn't draw more scrutiny from random crewmen when he keeps turning up in odd places. Nobody really tries to engage with him in the dining area, and nobody really seems suspicious when he wanders around engineering. As if a guy in dirty, torn rags (probably stinking) is hardly worth a second look! <br /><br />There is a Starlog Magazine interview with Robert Brown in which he described the immense pressure everyone was under; nobody was quite sure what which Lazarus was up to bat at various points. Brown ended up in the thing at the suggestion of William Shatner, who had worked with him years earlier on an unsold pilot, and I've never understood the scathing attitude toward Brown on the part of so many Trek fans. He made more of this incoherent hash of a role than anyone had a right to expect. Not his fault this episode is such a befuddlement.<br /><br />How wonderful it would have been if Lt. Masters had been retained for another episode or two, ala Kevin Riley. Janet MacLachlan makes such an impression in a mere moment of screen time. And we see that engineering anteroom that is never shown to us again! It makes one want so much to go back in time and provide a real budget for them!Sherinoreply@blogger.com