Stardate 4385.3
The
U.S.S. Enterprise is sent to the territory of the xenophobic Melkotians to
attempt to make peaceful contact with the mysterious race. Captain Kirk
(William Shatner) ignores a warning buoy and takes the vessel into Melkotian
space.
After
beaming down to a Melkotian planet, however, Kirk and his landing party -- which
consists of Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. McCoy (De Forest Kelley), Mr. Scott
(James Doohan) and Mr. Chekov (Walter Koenig) -- confront a Melkotian who plans to terminate the intruders using
their own primitive thoughts.
In
particular, the thoughts of Captain Kirk will be the “pattern” for their
deaths.
In
a flash, the Enterprise landing party finds itself trapped in a bizarre,
half-formed recreation of Tombstone, Arizona, circa October 26, 1881, the day
of the gunfight at the OK Corral. This
is a facet of Kirk’s family background and history: The Old West.
Worse,
all the denizens of this world see Kirk and his team not as Starfleet officers,
but as a criminal gang of the day: the Clantons. And, unfortunately, history
records that Wyatt Earp and his brothers killed the Clantons that very day.
This
is a fate that seems inescapable. To wit: Kirk attempts negotiation with the
Earps, and fails. He attempts to leave the town with his crew, only to be
repelled by a force field at the town border. He even attempts to seek the aid
of a local lawman, with no positive results.
Soon,
one of the Earp brothers murders Chekov in cold blood, and this tragedy gives
Spock a valuable clue. Chekov’s
“character,” Billy Claiborne, survived the OK Corral combat, so it is possible
that history can be changed.
Using
his Vulcan mental abilities, Spock is able to pierce the powerful Melkotian
illusion with the power of his mind, so he and his shipmates will be prepared for
the gunfight at the OK Corral.
I
know my view about this Star Trek episode is not a popular one, but conventional wisdom be damned!
“Spectre
of the Gun” is one of my all-time favorite Star Trek (1966-1969) episodes, from
any season. I also consider it one of the absolute best installments of the
third season canon.
The
episode is widely disliked by some Trek scholars and
fans for two reasons, both of which I’ll explain below.
I
fully understand both reasons, even if I don’t agree with them.
The
first reason involves TV history, and the nature of television in the 1960’s. This
was the age of Gunsmoke (1955-1975), Bonanza (1959-1973) and other
popular Westerns. In short, Westerns were everywhere,
and they were the norm. You couldn’t
turn on the TV to escape them.
And,
in fact, Star Trek was even considered a respite for audiences tired of
horse operas.
So
fans look at a “Western”-themed episode of Star Trek -- a series that was sold to
NBC as “Wagon Train to the Stars” -- and see only a sell-out; a bow to popular
taste.
The
argument goes like this: Instead of telling a “real” Star Trek story, “Spectre
of the Gun” gives audiences a half-baked Western, just like everything else on
the tube! What a desperate attempt to be popular!
And
this also plays into the rampant Fred Freiberger-blaming. “Oh look, he doesn’t understand Star Trek, and he tries to turn it into
a Western!”
What’s
the second argument against “Spectre of the Gun?”
Well,
it concerns the episode’s unusual choice in visualization.
The
production team did not have the money to create a fully-realized Western
street to represent Tombstone, and so constructed only scattered pieces of the
town, opting for a surreal approach rather than a realistic one. Some Star Trek fans consider this approach
inadequate, and may also recall that Lost in Space in 1966 used a similar
expedient in “West of Mars.”
Basically,
this argument is that the episode looks cheap and slapdash.
But
today, I wish to offer an alternative point-of-view.
I
will argue that this episode is actually one of the most visually-accomplished
and stylish ventures in the entire Star Trek catalog. It is true that the town is represented only
by pieces of architecture -- some of
which float in mid-air -- but such an abstract or surreal visualization is
perfectly in keeping with the episode’s themes.
The
Melkotians are xenophobes and telepaths who are afraid of aliens. When they
probe Kirk’s mind, they don’t glean an accurate, complete picture of the Old
West, only bits and pieces. Whether this
is because Kirk’s understanding of the era are spotty, or because Melkotian psionic
abilities are limited is entirely inconsequential, and immaterial. The Melkotians create a town out of Kirk’s
half-understood or half-complete memories, and that’s what we see. Thus, the episode’s form absolutely mirrors
its content.
And
that form gives us an opportunity to understand, visually, the unreality of
this version of Tombstone. It also permits
for highly dramatic moments, such as the ticking down of a clock….floating in
mid-air. A “real” set couldn’t highlight
the clock, or the deadline to the gunfight, in the same effective manner.
We
can see how this visual approach is utilized throughout the episode to give “Spectre
of the Gun” a nightmarish quality. Significantly, the Earps and Doc Holiday are
visualized not as standard TV cowboys, but rather as soulless automatons or zombies,
stuck in a “groove” that will lead them, no matter what, to kill Kirk and
company. They are expressionless beings, shot from low-angles, so as to
enhance their menace.
Why
is this an effective approach? The Earps are not people. They are not “real” or
accurate in an “historical” sense. They are ciphers meant to represent death,
created by the Melkotians to murder the Enterprise landing party. They cannot
be reasoned with, or bargained with. They are soulless executioners.
As
the Earps march, lock-step towards the OK Corral, the episode provides several expressionistic views of these ghouls,
lightning flares reflected on their inexpressive faces. We see craggy tree branches casting shadows
on the canvas sky of the sound stage, and again, we’re asked to reckon with a
world that is not real, but unreal. It is a half-formed, bizarre, and dangerous
terrain.
Another
terrific shot immediately follows Chekov’s murder. The other landing party
members rush to his side, and they appear tiny in the frame. In the foreground
on both sides -- visually surrounding them -- are the Earps.
The
careful positioning of the Earps in the frame reveals their out-sized menace to
Kirk and his friends. Their positioning
on both sides of the frame also carefully limits Kirk and company’s available
space in said composition.
The
imagery tells us that our heroes are boxed in.
The
expressive nature of the filmmaking here creates an absolutely relentless sense
of menace. In Star Trek, well-reasoned plans of escape don’t often fail so
dramatically.
Why?
Kirk is resourceful, Spock is logical. Scotty can fix anything. And Bones is
the voice of human morality. Working in unison, this team can extract itself
from virtually any dangerous situation. Here, because the scenario is surreal --
like a dream -- there is no clear
path to escape until Spock understands the “unreality” of the situation. Spock’s
realization that the Melkotians have bent reality to their liking is the key
that allows him to bend reality too.
“Spectre
of the Gun’s” overriding theme that the power of the mind ultimately beats out
of the power of the gun (or belief in a gun, as the case may be) is a terrific
one in terms of Star Trek history and philosophy too.
The
Melkotians “choose” the gunfight at OK Corral as the setting for Kirk’s
execution, but this episode’s events, and Spock’s dedication to reason, prove
that man has evolved beyond such violent outcomes by the 23rd
century. A positive outcome can be created not through violence (as it
was during the gunfight in 19th century America), but through
adherence to facts, science, and logic. Kirk successfully wrestles his violent
instincts here -- his anger at Chekov’s murder, namely -- and chooses not to
kill. He does not live down to the Melkotian’s expectations of a lowly human.
Buttressed
by that strong thematic line, and its daring, unnerving, expressive
photography, “Spectre of the Gun” is an entertaining and thoughtful addition to
the Star Trek canon, and a real highlight of the final
season.
I
wish it were more appreciated.
I'm with you on just about all counts, John. I love this episode. I love the performances, the message, and the set/visuals. And I, too, always thought the surreal aspect of the set was as strong plus.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the surreal set adds to the creepiness of this episode and is much better than a realistic set would be.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought of this episode as "the power of the mind vs. the power of the gun," since the "guns" are products of the Melkotians' minds, but that does seem like a potential interpretation, and it's one I like.
If you read the James Blish novelization of this episode, you'll see that the script originally called for Spock's melds with each individual to reflect a high degree of understanding of -- and compassion for -- that person, which Kirk brings up to him at the end. I'm sorry they decided to change this, though of course Kirk's wanting to kill but preventing himself is good, too.
Using Vulcan mind melds to get them out of trouble should feel like a cheap deus ex machina, but I love both Spock and telepathy so much that I'm happy for Spock to get them out of trouble with a Vulcan mind meld as often as the writers want to go there. :-) Having Spock do THREE melds is quite something, almost as good as the two-neck-pinches-at-once in "Whom Gods Destroy." ;-)
Fine analysis of a very good episode, thanks
ReplyDelete