When Tracy is forcing Kirk to call the ship and ask for all the phasers, Sulu tells him that they can't give him the phasers "without verification."
Since when has Kirk needed his orders verified? And who would normally give such verification? If another ranking officer is needed, why doesn't Tracy give it and get the phasers he wants?

By D.K. Henderson on Saturday, November 14, 1998 - 06:36 am:

Whoever did the psychological profile on Tracy should be fired. He didn't seem to have much concern about the four hundred odd crewmen who died a horrible death. It must have occurred to him that HE wasn't showing signs of dying, so why didn't he have everyone beam down to the surface immediately? Could it perchance be that he knew his crew wouldn't stand for what he had in mind?
Another thing--McCoy said that the longevity was the result of the bacteriological warfare of the planet. What's-his-name's father was over a thousand years old. That would make their culture older than ours, and would mean that OUR Earth paralleled THEIR world, not the other way round.

By Hans Thielman on Tuesday, December 15, 1998 - 02:04 pm:

If the struggle between the Yangs and the Kohns has finally ended, perhaps Admiral Dougherty could have suggested that the Son'a go to this planet.

Also, what ever happened to Captain Tracy?

By Adam Howarter on Tuesday, December 15, 1998 - 11:03 pm:

Oh he was in lots of trouble. As is standard for anyone who violates the prime directive he was immediately told "don't do that again" and given his ship back.

By Jeff on Wednesday, January 27, 1999 - 04:49 pm:

Possibly the world's stupidest Trek. This episode must have come out on Veteran's Day, or July 4th or something. Overly gingoistic and sentimentally flagwaving as it is, though I liked its message of inclusion. E Plebnista indeed.

By Charles Cabe (Ccabe) on Wednesday, January 27, 1999 - 09:17 pm:

This episode first appeared on March 1, 1968.

By Todd Pence on Tuesday, February 02, 1999 - 12:15 am:

The Exeter's doctor warns the landing party that their only chance against the disease is to beam down to the planet surface. If he knows this, then why didn't he and the rest of the crew beam down once they discovered it? Why is he remaining on the ship to die?

By Adam Howarter on Tuesday, February 02, 1999 - 06:10 am:

I have a question? If the Exeter's Doctor knew what was happening to them why didn't he activate the ship's quarantine beacon? Of course the same applies to the Enterprise in "Genesis."
Why didn't Capt. Tracey do this? Surely it would discourage anyone else from coming looking for him? Hmmm, I like this idea. If you're ever sailing around and you see a 25ft red and white sloop beached with its quarantine flag flying then you know that island is paradise...and its MINE! all MINE! Ha ha ha ha.

By Hugh Mowen on Thursday, February 04, 1999 - 07:40 am:

I wonder if the Exeter was ever salvaged or is it still in orbit.

By Adam Howarter on Thursday, February 04, 1999 - 07:22 pm:

I'd hope so. All they have to do is open up a hatch and suck all the air out. Close the hatch and beam a new atmosphere in and you got a perfectly good ship. Of course the same thing held true for the Lantree but they scuttled it. I'll bet now they're kind'a kicking themselves.

By Todd Pence on Tuesday, March 16, 1999 - 04:30 pm:

In Phil's guide, he notes that at the end of this episode Spock and McCoy seem to be about to start an argument which is cut short and wonders if a scene wasn't removed. I have the original script for this episode and there is indeed a scene scripted in which Spock and McCoy have a brief argument. McCoy speculates that the Omegans may be early Earth colonists, Spock remarks that they are certainly aggressive enough to be humans, and the two start arguing, at which point Kirk cuts in. This scene was probably filmed and then cut either to trim down running time or because someone realized the inconsistency and absurdity of the Omegans being Earth colonists (they would have had to have left Earth more than a thousand years ago, since that's how old Wu's father is).
Another, more lengthy scene from earlier in the script also is missing from the final episode. This has Kirk asking Tracy whether or not he has violated the Prime Directive, Tracy being evasive, and the two of them debating the issue. Tracy also displays open hostility towards Spock during this scene. Again, this was probably filmed and then edited out at the last minute.

By Todd Pence on Saturday, March 20, 1999 - 07:55 pm:

Guest Star Patrol: Morgan Woodward (Tracy) was also in the X-Files. He played that really old serial killer guy (I don't remember the title offhand).

By Todd Pence on Saturday, March 20, 1999 - 07:56 pm:

Whoops, sorry about that, I see that MikeC already covered that on "Dagger of the Mind."

By Todd Pence on Wednesday, April 21, 1999 - 04:29 pm:

OVERDUB ALERT: At the beginning of the episode when Kirk is calling for Lt. Galloway, his voice changes noticably when he says the name. Sounds like an overdub.

By MattS on Thursday, May 13, 1999 - 02:55 pm:

You've got to wonder why Captain Tracy was the only member of his crew to end up on the planet. What was everybody else doing?

By KAM on Friday, May 14, 1999 - 09:37 am:

Going to pieces.

By Todd Pence on Friday, May 14, 1999 - 02:45 pm:

And they didn't listen to Tracy when he told them to hold their water.

By ScottN on Friday, May 14, 1999 - 03:06 pm:

When he did that, the conversation just dried up, and the crew fell apart!

By ScottN on Friday, May 14, 1999 - 03:07 pm:

Is it just me, or do the shots of the Exeter's crew look grainy? :-)

By KAM on Saturday, May 15, 1999 - 06:47 am:

What are the nicknames of two of the Exeter's crew?

Sandy & Dusty

By Todd Pence on Tuesday, May 25, 1999 - 04:16 pm:

The Exeter's new motto:

"One of the finest crews in the fleet - just add water"

By Todd Pence on Monday, September 06, 1999 - 10:58 pm:

Starfleet must not keep very good track of their ships. The Exeter has been at the planet for six months, but Kirk said he "hadn't heard of any trouble". Wouldn't somebody at Starfleet notice that one of their starships hadn't returned from their mission and was out of contact for six months?

By Steve McKinnon on Tuesday, September 07, 1999 - 03:11 pm:

Especially since Starfleet knew of the last reported mission of the Exeter. Could it be because the producers pictured a much smaller Starfleet force out there? Kirk tells Christopher in 'Tomorrow Is Yesterday' that there are only 12 ships like the Enterprise, but I can't see the producers implying that the entire Fleet consists of just 13 Constitution-class starships. If this IS true, however, that would explain why it took so long to come looking for the Exeter; not enough manpower or ships.
Regarding a different episode, 'The Paradise Syndrome', the Enterprise trails an asteroid back to a planet for 50+ days! In 7 weeks there wasn't another Starfleet ship out there to render aid to the flagship of the Fleet? Maybe the Fleet really is smaller than we've always thought?

By mf on Tuesday, October 05, 1999 - 03:51 pm:

I thought it was canon that there were only 13 original constitution-class starships.

By Padawan Nitpicker on Saturday, February 19, 2000 - 08:50 am:

Galloway: Kirk seems to call him Galway, but Spock calls him Galloway. As you yourself (Todd Pence) know, he was originally Lieutenant Raintree. In the original draft, written before Where No Man... Lieutenant Commander Piper was the brash young navigator, Lieutenant Phil Raintree was the ship`s helmsman, who came along with them on their mission, and he went where all good redshirts go. Spock was also much more telepathic, and one occurence of this ability was kept in the script.

Speaking of Galloway, after Captain Tracy phasers him there`s a strange jump in the music, similar to that in the end credits of The Menagerie part II.

Where`s Scott during this episode? Why is Sulu in temporary comamnd.

Leslie is mentioned by name in this epsiode, the first time since Obsession.

By Mike Ransom on Tuesday, April 11, 2000 - 10:54 am:

(Also noted under "Dagger of the Mind") Morgan Woodward's talented brother, Lee, was a Tulsa TV weatherman and puppeteer for many years on the local CBS affiliate. Check him out at:

Tulsa TV Memories

By Rene on Saturday, October 14, 2000 - 02:59 pm:

When explaining what happened to Kirk, Tracy says he beamed down to arrange a planet survey with the village elders. Kirk doesn't react to this at all...like as if it what he should have done. These people don't look like space travellers. Isn't that a violation of the Prime Directive.

By Anonymous on Saturday, December 30, 2000 - 11:49 am:

CLONES! Tracy (Omega) & Van Gelder (Dagger)

By Todd Pence on Monday, February 12, 2001 - 03:02 pm:

I wonder if this story wasn't at least partly influenced by Edgar Rice Burrough's classic novel The Moon Men. This novel features a future Earth in which America has been overrun by enemy aliens from the Moon. These aliens are thinly-disguised representations of communists. The Americans in the novel have been forced out of their cities by the invaders, and adopt Indian tribal customs as they return to the wilderness and fight to regain their cities, just like the Yangs in this episode. Also like the Yangs, the Americans in the novel worship an ancient American flag as a deified religious object, although they have long since forgotten its origin and meaning. Roddenberry may have read "The Moon Men" and been inspired by it, there are certainly many paralells between Burrough's book and his script.

By Will S. on Friday, April 06, 2001 - 11:30 am:

How is Omega 4 a parallel of earth, when 1000+ years ago they had Yankees and Communists before such ideologies even surfaced on Earth? Earth would be an Omega 4 parallel, instead.
Unless the Preservers had something to do with this, but travelled back in time thousands of years ago, seeding Omega 4 with Americans and Chinese?

By John A. Lang on Wednesday, June 20, 2001 - 05:23 pm:

Anonymous posted: "CLONES! Tracy (Omega) & Van Gelder (Dagger) Yeah....they even ACT alike!

By John A. Lang on Sunday, July 08, 2001 - 02:40 pm:

MISSED OPPORTUNITY: Having Kirk salute the flag before departing. That'd be a nice touch.

By Will S, on Tuesday, July 10, 2001 - 11:33 am:

The way he paused it almost seemed as if he considered it. After all, he stood up in its presence when it was brought out.

By John A. Lang on Tuesday, July 10, 2001 - 07:44 pm:

TRIVIA: Which book of the Bible did the Yangs open up to?

Why is Uhura's speaker oval lite on when no one is using it?

For some strange reason the transporter guy pulls the switch on the transporter mechanism before anyone beams to the Exeter...you can hear the "DRRRR" noise.

The crystallized crew is nothing more than rock salt....Sorry, but it's so bad, it's good.

For some strange reason, the camera guy shows Kirk fiddling with his ropes in slow-motion.

How come the woman at the execution & McCoy's Chinese maid get to show their navels but Shanya from "Gamesters" & Droxine from "Bread & Circuses" can't?

When Kirk & Tracey, fight, Kirk's underwear is exposed quite a bit.

GREAT LINE: "I have tried." Spock to Kirk when Kirk stated that Spock should teach him the Vulcan neck pinch.

GREAT SFX: Two starships in orbit around the same planet...KUDOS!

Mr. Leslie who was killed in "Obsession" is back from the dead! A zombie, maybe? No wonder the Yangs are shocked.

GREAT MOMENT:
NOBODY....BUT NOBODY can read the Preamble like Captain James T. Kirk...geez...the man was BORN to read those lines!

Trivia answer: Haggai.

By John A. Lang on Tuesday, July 10, 2001 - 09:45 pm:

Chekov is missing from this episode.

The mind control scene is probably one of the best in the 2nd season.

By John A. Lang on Wednesday, July 11, 2001 - 04:58 pm:

BEST MOMENT:

Even though Spock was not born in the United States (nor on Earth for that matter), he still STANDS when the American Flag is brought into the room.

This kind of patriotism is extremely needed today...for there are a LOT of people in this country who are from other countries who WILL NOT STAND UP when the American Flag is brought into an area nor will participate when the National Anthem is being sung....so...hey, all you people out there who won't do their patriotic duty...if you want to live in this country, you're going to have to respect our Flag and sing our National Anthem.
Otherwise...leave.

By John A. Lang on Wednesday, July 11, 2001 - 06:00 pm:

NIT: When Cloud William opens the Bible, he only opens it 1/16th of the way and already they found the book of Haggai(?) I have Bible and the Book of Haggai is well past the middle of the Bible. Why is Cloud William's Book of Haggai so close to the beginning of the Book?

I must say that the picture of Satan is done very well, but I must ask is it genuine? Was that picture REALLY in that Book or did someone at Desilu draw it so it looks like Spock in the role of Satan & paste it in there? The resemblance between the drawing & Spock is too close to be coincidental to be an accident.

By John A. Lang on Wednesday, July 11, 2001 - 06:09 pm:

MUSIC ABUSE: Twice...count 'em two times...the creators played the fight music from "Amok Time"...couldn't they write ORIGINAL fight music for this episode or at least play different "Star Trek fight music"?
This piece & the "Doomsday Machine last encounter theme" (the one that sounds like the theme from "Jaws") is getting a bit worn out now.
WRITE NEW MUSIC FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!

By John A. Lang on Wednesday, July 11, 2001 - 06:19 pm:

OOPS! My mistake! Droxine is from "The Cloud Minders"...Drusilla is from "Bread & Circuses"....ah well...They both start with "D"...as in "DELICIOUS!" (Slurp!)

By Merat on Wednesday, July 11, 2001 - 08:05 pm:

I don't know, I really like the fight music from "Amok Time." If the Pon-farr episode from Voyager had used it, then I would forgive them the "The Borg are in this episode... WATCH IT!!!!" promo. Didn't they use it in the movie "The Cable Guy" during a fight scene too?

By John A. Lang on Wednesday, July 11, 2001 - 09:38 pm:

Merat--I like the "Amok Time" fight music too, but the creators have gotten to the point that EVERY TIME there's a fight, they use that music.

The answer to your question is "Yes"...Jim Carrey even sings the "Amok Time" fight music.

By Todd Pence on Thursday, July 12, 2001 - 06:58 pm:

They do play different fight music in the scene where Kirk and Tracy fight and Tracy tries to do a Lizzie Borden job on Kirk before the Yangs capture them.

By John A. Lang on Saturday, July 14, 2001 - 06:40 pm:

ACADEMY AWARD WINNING SCENE: Kirk reading the Preamble....I can't say enough about that scene.
Shatner REALLY pours his Shakespearean experience into his character.

FUNNY THOUGHT...When the Yangs read The Bill of Rights and they come to the part "The right to bear arms",I can see a Yang woman saying, "I am bearing my arms....now what?"

By John A. Lang on Saturday, July 14, 2001 - 06:47 pm:

IMHO...I think the "additional phasers without verification" scene was a ploy made up by Sulu...as you recall, Kirk asks Sulu, "Not even if we're in trouble?"
In my opinion,when Kirk asks that, he is SECRETLY telling Sulu that he, Spock & McCoy ARE in trouble and that Sulu should NOT issue the additional phasers. Kinda like "Condition:Green"

By LUIGI NOVI on Saturday, July 14, 2001 - 08:42 pm:

Hear my voice�you will do exactly as I say�.you are feeling sleepy�.you will forget this episode ever happened�.
I pointed out how Spock, in the previous episode, attempted a mind meld with Kelindra by merely touching a wall that they were both adjacent to. At the end of this episode, the creators try to stretch Spock�s abilities even further. Spock successfully makes contact with the woman he has activate the communicator, simply by concentrating. Curiously, he never is seen able to do this after these two episodes.

By Adam Bomb on Sunday, July 15, 2001 - 04:50 pm:

John, we wll would love new music. The "Amok Time" fight music was used in the series as late as "Whom Gods Destroy." I think that due to budgetary restrictions (what else) they composed the bare minimum of music, and re-used it endlessly.

By Dave on Monday, July 30, 2001 - 04:14 pm:

Regarding that scene at the end where Spock telepathically makes that Yang woman activate the communicator: Do all Vulcans have this ability or just some? All throughout the Voyager series I don't remember Tuvok ever trying this trick. It would have come in handy in many situations.

Kirk must have a Titanium skull: He gets wacked on the the back of the head with a steel bar by a fairly strong man, yet he's only knocked out for about 7 hours. This kind of blow to the head would kill most people or at least give them a major concussion, yet Kirk wakes up from his 7 hour nap a little dazed but otherwise fine.

By Todd Pence on Friday, October 05, 2001 - 07:25 pm:

John Lang wrote:

>For some strange reason, the camera guy shows >Kirk fiddling with his ropes in slow-motion.

This may have been stock footage from Kirk trying to unloosen his bonds in "What Are Little Girls Made Of". The film may have been slowed down to match the dialogue in the scene.

By John A. Lang on Tuesday, October 09, 2001 - 08:56 pm:

Todd...
Nope it ain't from "What are little girls..."

In that episode, Kirk was untying the ROPES on a chair.(He wasn't tied up with them.)
This episode, he's tied with leather thongs on his hands with no chair in sight.

By John A. Lang on Tuesday, October 09, 2001 - 09:00 pm:

An "OUCH" moment...
Cloud William clubbing Kirk with the iron bar.
It's so realistic, it looks like Shatner (Kirk) was really clubbed by the thing!

By Todd Pence on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 06:19 pm:

Yeah, you're right about the clip not being from "Little Girls" . . . but the reason the film was slowed down still might have been because the untying hands were shot seperate from the rest of the scene and Shatner wound up untying his hands too quickly in the take.

By John A. Lang on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 07:51 pm:

Todd, I agree...that indeed is a possibility.
Good job.

However, I'll never, NEVER be able to figure out how Cloud William got "E Pleb Neesta" out of "We The People" in a million years.

Pig Latin, maybe?

By ScottN on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 09:01 pm:

Neesta = United States

By John A. Lang on Wednesday, October 10, 2001 - 10:18 pm:

You sold me, ScottN.

NANJAO: I believe this is the first & last time we see the phaser power packs.

By Rene on Thursday, October 11, 2001 - 08:03 am:

Only Americans would like this episode :p

By America the Beautiful on Thursday, October 11, 2001 - 12:32 pm:

Dang straight. A show about how the best country on the planet can survive anything.

By John A. Lang on Thursday, October 11, 2001 - 07:58 pm:

AMEN...Empires may come & go, but Stars & Stripes are indeed forever!

NANJAO: Some of the props in the city come from "Errand of Mercy"

By Rene on Friday, October 12, 2001 - 06:43 am:

Bah. I roll my eyes whenever I see the American flag in this episode...which is pretty rare since I usually change the channel if this episode is on.

By America Love it or leave but we saved em twice! on Friday, October 12, 2001 - 11:19 am:

Typical Brit.

By Rene on Friday, October 12, 2001 - 12:20 pm:

Canadian, actually.

And I roll my eyes because of the obvious problem : What the heck are the odds that a planet thousands of lightyears away would create a flag similar...no, exactly the same as the flag of the United States?

By Rene on Friday, October 12, 2001 - 12:26 pm:

Oh and because of the "best country in the world" comment. You Americans and your egos.

By ScottN on Friday, October 12, 2001 - 01:09 pm:

Rene, the odds are the same as the odds that they'd write the identical Constitution.

By Rene on Friday, October 12, 2001 - 01:18 pm:

Exactly.....Pretty slim.

By kerriem. on Friday, October 12, 2001 - 08:47 pm:

So you are Quebecois, Rene? I've been wondering since you added your last name to your posts. (I'm from Toronto [ducks and covers] .)

Of course, you have a point. In any other place and time, this is a truly inane ep, American jingoism at its worst. Especially in it's assumption that reverence for the USA and the symbolism thereof has survived globalism, WWIII etc. all the way through to the 23rd-century.

But right now...let's let our southern neighbors take their comfort where they find it, huh, mon ami?

By Rene on Friday, October 12, 2001 - 08:51 pm:

Nope. Ontario. But many of my relatives live in Quebec.

And I guess you have a point.

By American by Birth, Free by choice! on Saturday, October 13, 2001 - 12:40 am:

God Bless America! My Home Sweet Home! Land that I love, Sweet land of Liberty!

By Anonymous on Saturday, October 13, 2001 - 03:46 am:

Rene,

Once you get by the "Planet just like Earth" nit (and it is a big one). This ep ain't too bad except it lacks a hockey game and back bacon, eh.(?) I apologize if French Canadians do not eat back bacon and for not being fluent enough to also post in French.

By kerriem. on Saturday, October 13, 2001 - 10:32 am:

Back bacon, ughhhhh. Nobody in Canada eats that stuff, OK? Not since they discovered cholesterol, anyway.
But it is fun to speculate on what this ep might have contained had it been based around other cultures. I can totally see Cloud William entering to the strains of the Hockey Night in Canada theme, reverently shaking the sacred goalie stick (shreds of black tape fluttering in the breeze) at a tattered portrait of Don Cherry...then reciting the Holy Points Totals of The Great One.

After which there'd be a ceremonial round of euchre by way of a maturity test (the youngsters would compete for the honour of chanting 'clubs are trump' at the appointed time) while the audience settled down to munch the holy butter tarts, made from a recipe handed down through the generations (most recently from Cloud's Auntie Florence out in Winnipeg), and conduct the solemn debate: What was Rush's best album?

By Bob & Doug McKenzie on Saturday, October 13, 2001 - 11:38 am:

Not to mention singing the theme from "The Great White North"

Coo roo coo coo roo coo coo coo!
Coo roo coo coo roo coo coo coooooo!

G'Day, eh!

SCTV is the BEST import from Canada to the USA!

By Rene on Saturday, October 13, 2001 - 12:30 pm:

It's more than just the flag thing that annoys me. This episode just doesn't click with me. I don't like the episode at all.

And I don't even know what back bacon is :p

By William Berry on Saturday, October 13, 2001 - 03:06 pm:

Rene, I'm an ignorant United Statesonian but I know back bacon is what we United Statesonian call Canadian Bacon. There is this cheese you call American cheese but we United Statesonians call back cheese.

Sorry Rene, any chance to bring up an old McKenzie bit...

By Anonymous on Saturday, October 13, 2001 - 04:24 pm:

It should not be unreasonable that the U.S. Constitution (the first document of that kind) survives through time (just like the Magna Carta).

By John A. Lang on Saturday, October 13, 2001 - 06:12 pm:

I agree...Sam Cogley (Court Martial) mentions the Magna Carta & the Constitution in Kirk's trial..implying that these documents still exist in one form or another.

By Merat on Sunday, October 14, 2001 - 03:29 pm:

Plenty of documents has survived the passage of time and that many people can quote. "The Iliad", "The Odyssey", "The Bible", "The Magna Carta", etc... So, I don't doubt that the US Constitution will survive, even if the US is absorbed into a world-wide government.

By kerriem. on Sunday, October 14, 2001 - 04:01 pm:

My argument wasn't so much that the documents themselves will survive, as whether the same value would be attached to them in the very changed 23rd century that the ST universe postulates. (WWIII, etc.)
Maybe there would be some sentimental value in remembering the Constitution etc, but to the point where Kirk & co. would go into a 1950's McCarthy-esque swoon over the mere sight of the Stars and Stripes?

By America the best. on Sunday, October 14, 2001 - 05:46 pm:

And why not it is a Beautiful flag. The Federation was based on the Constitution of the United States, America leads the Federation and United Earth. All aliens speak American English. America Rules!

By Rene on Sunday, October 14, 2001 - 05:55 pm:

Okay, now I am getting annoyed. This is 300 years in the future. Earth is ruled by a world government. Earth is just one of hundreds of planets in a United Federation of Planets. America does NOT lead the Federation. It is really a stretch that Kirk and company would find sentimentality in the US flag.

By Sorry, but some jingoism is justified by facts on Sunday, October 14, 2001 - 07:53 pm:

Rene, Where is Star Fleet HQ? Last I checked San Fran was in the US. What accents do most of the humans have? There are exceptions but the majority of the humans we see speak American English (yeah, that includes Canada loosely). Where was Kirk born? Where are Sulu's ancestors from?

It is because in the 1960's they didn't have big budgets and it was a US show. Star Trek is definitely jingoistic. Maybe by accident, but the future they portray is definitely American (or United Statesonian). IMHO this episode is fatally flawed by the "Planet just like Earth Syndrome." However, Kirk & Co.'s reaction to the implausible flag and Constitution not implausible. They are of American stock, they are "military", and they are as surprised as we are by them.

By Rene on Sunday, October 14, 2001 - 08:16 pm:

Starfleet? We're talking about the Federation. And according to Trek VI, Federation HQ is in Paris.

And we hear everything in "American English" because of the Universal Translator, not because everyone is actually speaking American English.

And whether you like it or not, it is a nit that Kirk and company would be sentimental over a US flag.

By Todd Pence on Sunday, October 14, 2001 - 08:34 pm:

People get so hung up on the "just like Earth" syndrome and the jingoism that they forget this episode's other merits.

By John A. Lang on Sunday, October 14, 2001 - 10:23 pm:

Rene said,"And whether you like it or not, it is a nit that Kirk and company would be sentimental over a US flag."

I disagree. The U.S. may or may not be around in the 23rd century, but you can still REMEMBER its significance as a great nation and everything it stood for..therefore to be sentimental about the flag is NOT a nit because it REPRESENTS the U.S.A AND it focuses on the fact that the Federation is carrying on the SPIRIT of the U.S....which is, the 4 freedoms...including...one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty & justice for all.

By Merat on Monday, October 15, 2001 - 06:36 am:

Rene, remember where Kirk and McCoy are from. Kirk is from Iowa and Bones is from Georgia (Georgia, mind you!). These two areas are known for their remembrance of times past, especially Georgia. Also, many people in the States still feel pride over the "Don't Tread On Me" flag that is now over two hundred years old.

By Merat on Monday, October 15, 2001 - 06:38 am:

Not that I don't agree that this episode is VERY pro-American (remember what era this was made in). I'm just saying that, in my opinion, its plausible.

By John A. Lang on Monday, October 15, 2001 - 05:17 pm:

Let's not forget...In the "Pledge of Allegiance"
"I pledge allegiance TO THE FLAG of the United States of America. And TO THE REPUBLIC for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all."

Standing when the US flag is a token of RESPECT for the flag.

CASE CLOSED.

By Benn on Monday, October 15, 2001 - 07:17 pm:

I don't have any problem with Kirk's reverence for Old Glory. In "Bread and Circuses", note the wistful awe in Kirk's voice when he thinks of "Christ and Caesar" happening for the people of Planet 892-IV. In "Spectre of the Gun", the Melkotians put the crew of the Enterprise through the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The basis of this choice: Kirk's memories of history. At the beginning of Wrath of Khan, Spock gives Kirk a copy of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, citing the Admiral's fondness of antiques. And of course, in the "Savage Curtain" we learn that one of Kirk's childhood heroes was Abraham Lincoln. The bottom line, for me, is I don't see any problem with Kirk's reverence for the American flag. It may have been doubled by the fact that he's seeing it so many light years away on another planet (however improbably.) (But then, Roddenberry was hardly STAR TREK's best writer.)

By Anonymous on Monday, October 15, 2001 - 09:08 pm:

Hey don't the Brits and Canads get sentimental over two hundred year old queens?

By Lolar Windrunner on Monday, October 15, 2001 - 09:15 pm:

Well to jump in something hazardous here I go.

Starfleet has seemed to be a prarmilitary organization at best and Kirk is a very military minded man from Iowa. Part of the "heartland" of America. Since he has studied Earth history quite extensively and says hes from Iowa in IV not Earth or United Earth or anywhere else just Iowa (which makes one wonder if Iowa actually rules the earth or not ;-) )I don't see a problem with Kirk's being respectful. And if you notice Mccoy and Spock look at Kirk then stand up more out of respect for the captain than anything else (my opinion at least.) as for E Pleb Neesta that is another story all together.

By John A. Lang on Monday, October 15, 2001 - 10:01 pm:

MOVING RIGHT ALONG NOW....(PLEASE!)

Did anyone else notice the piece of painted wood where the dedication plate should be on the Exeter?

I realize it was really the Enterprise Bridge set, but jeez, couldn't they make a DIFFERENT looking plate for the Exeter? Or at least change the set around a little bit to give it some kind of variation?

By KAM on Tuesday, October 16, 2001 - 02:51 am:

I wonder what Canadian actor William Shatner thought when he read this script?

IIRC this was one of the choices for Star Trek's second pilot. (Fortunately Where No Man Has Gone Before was chosen.)

Lots of SF futures are similar to the country of origin. Dr. Who has a very English future. (Although I don't think they ever had a future story where they brought out the Union Jack.)

Also, as I believe Phil pointed out, the war between the Yangs & the Comms happened more than 300 years ago indicating that this world's United States, Constitution & flag are older than their Earth counterparts. So it's actually a coincidence that Earth developed a USA, constitution & flag that resembled theirs. ;-)

Personally I think I'll just assume that some powerful being like Q or Trelane just decided to make copies of Earth to drive Humans nuts trying to figure it out.

By Shatner fan on Tuesday, October 16, 2001 - 12:27 pm:

According to Shatner's books it was the Preservers who did all of the alternate Earths.

By John A. Lang on Tuesday, October 16, 2001 - 04:30 pm:

"The Paradise Syndrome" confirms this as well.

By kerriem. on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 08:30 am:

OK, granted Kirk's a confirmed Americaphile (I'd forgotten about the Abrahma Lincoln thing), but there's still something skewy about his behaviour in those scenes. He's reacting as if the flag etc. have immediate significance...i.e., as if he were performing on a 1960's US television melodrama.

(Actually, for real entertainment you can contrast Kirk's attitude here with the NextGen crew's contempt for similar during the first season. 'Pompous, strutting charades', anyone?)

By Merat on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 10:31 pm:

Abrahma Lincoln... any relation to the Centauri Abrahamo Linconi? :-)

By kerriem. on Thursday, October 18, 2001 - 01:30 pm:

Very funny. :P

Just realized that both Morgan Woodward's guest roles (here and in 'Dagger of the Mind') involve him going bug-eyed bonkers at some point. Some sort of specialty, was it? (Or is he Marty Feldman's long-lost uncle?)

By stephen on Saturday, November 10, 2001 - 06:51 pm:

At the beginning, McCoy analyzes the powder and says, "Jim, this is what's left when you take all the water away!" So, what happened to all the water??

It would have been delightfully spooky if the ship had been a damp, dank place full of weird funguslike things which had grown from the microorganisms inside the human bodies. And living things escape from the science labs to start growing indiscriminately, with no humans around to stop them.

"Where have all the people gone", a 1974 movie with Peter Graves, has solar flares causing most of the people in the world to crumble into powder, exactly like the "Omega Glory" powder. It gets good reviews at the Internet Movie Database, but the only thing I remember from the movie was that white powder.

At the end, Cloud William, or Cloudy Bill, says, "I do not fully understand, one named Kirk."
Aside from the primitivist phrasing, he should have asked some very pointed questions.

"If the constitution can be amended, how are its principles to be preserved? What if others wish to choose a different constitution? If the laws must apply to everyone, shall idiots and children have the right to vote and hold public office? What if no candidates for an office are acceptable to the voters? What if--hey, wait, come back here, I have some more questions...!"


And of course, when Kirk says the laws must apply to everyone or they mean nothing, he's contradicting Picard from "Justice" when he says laws must have exceptions or there can be no justice. They shoulda talked about that in "Generations"!

On the good side, they had a nice Oriental rug and the other set decorations were nice.
I couldn't tell that that book was even a Bible, let alone the Book of Habakkuk. How could you tell?

I think they probably just printed a new sheet of paper and carefully inserted it into the book. I wonder where that sheet is? It would be worth something!

By stephen on Saturday, November 10, 2001 - 07:08 pm:

I just checked this page...John A. Lang said it was open to Haggai, not Habakkuk. I'm sorry I couldn't tell, but it's been a long time since I've seen the episode. But my question still stands.

By kerriem. on Saturday, November 10, 2001 - 08:43 pm:

LOL, Stephen! And I like your ideas for jazzing up the mystery ship. Too bad the TOS budget couldn't stretch to more than a few handfuls of rock salt.

As the Chief pointed out (in one of the funnier passages of the Classic Guide), there are still massive gaps in the Omegans' understanding at the end of this ep. ("You can pass a law in Kongruss, but only on Mondays when leaves are on the ground.")
Anyhow, in the final event, I'm assuming that one of those ubiquitous Federation 'teams of advisors' will be showing up shortly...presumably made up of reps from the John Birch Society.

Speaking of which, something that nags at me off and on: Who says the 'Kohms' are gonna submit peacefully to having the Stars and Stripes waved over 'em? I would guess there's a faded hammer-and-sickle flag and a tattered copy of The Communist Manifesto somewhere in their camp. Kirk somehow forgets to mention the concept of personal freedom of belief whilst babbling about the Constitution. (I know, I know, this is 60's TV. )
Meanwhile, wonder what happened to all the other cultures on this planet. It doesn't seem likely that they were all obliterated in a Cold War tidal wave.

By stephen on Sunday, November 11, 2001 - 01:52 pm:

It is consistent with Trek history that the Preservers could have kidnapped some Yanks and Chinese, and used time travel technology to take the Yanks and Chinese back in time to settle this planet a few thousand years in the past. Then the Preservers sit back and watch what happens.
Alternatively--Captain Tracy tried to teach English to the Wu, but each had only a limited understanding of the other's language and worldview. So that business of "years of the Red Bird" is a misunderstanding. Wu has seen 47 years of the Red Bird. The Red Bird is one of the several moons of the planet, and was a new moon the day Wu was born. He's 47 years old. (A 47!) He's simply acknowledging the metaphysical importance of that particular moon in his life. If he'd been born when the Green Lizard Moon was new, he'd say he had seen 47 Years of the Green Lizard.
Or, the Red Bird moon has a period of 210 days; 47 times 210 is 9870 days, or around 30 years.
I made up the number 210; it's more plausible than Wu and his father being hundreds of years old.

By kerriem. on Sunday, November 11, 2001 - 04:43 pm:

It is consistent with Trek history that the Preservers could have kidnapped some Yanks and Chinese, and used time travel technology to take the Yanks and Chinese back in time to settle this planet a few thousand years in the past. Then the Preservers sit back and watch what happens.

Errrr...aren't the Preservers supposed to be in the business of, well, preserving the cultures they transplant? That certainly seems to be what's going on in 'The Paradise Syndrome'...OK, except for the part about leaving the transplantees in an asteroid alley...but still. Setting up rival cultures to fight to the death wouldn't seem to be quite the Preserver style.

By John A. Lang on Sunday, November 11, 2001 - 09:48 pm:

They also preserve several fruits from trees and make great jellies & jams

By KAM on Monday, November 12, 2001 - 06:24 am:

IIRC the information on the Preservers from Paradise Syndrome was partly conjecture & partly what had been written inside the machine.

Any conjecture on the Preservers' motives could be wrong.

Any info the Preservers wrote about themselves might only include the things they want to be remembered for.

It's not outside the realm of possibility for the Preservers to have a nastier side to themselves. Possibly even a rogue branch like the Romulans are to the Vulcans.

By Matt on Wednesday, November 14, 2001 - 11:38 am:

Kirk is from Iowa, USA, and McCoy is from Georgia, USA, and Sulu is from California, USA. The USA must still exist in their time, despite a world government and Federation council because nobody in their right mind, in any country, would willing allow the rest of the world to tell them that TPTB are going to drop the name of their country. Would Americans in 2001 willingly allow TPTB to rename the United States as simply North America? Canadians are adamant about not becoming a bunch of new American states, so they sure as heck wouln't allow the name Canada to be dropped in favour of North America, because we all have too much pride in our country's history and character.
Therefore, the USA still exists in Kirk's time, and Omega is just a copy from the Preservers.

By kerriem. on Wednesday, November 14, 2001 - 12:45 pm:

Good argument, Matt...or it would be if the Trek universe's history didn't differ markedly from our own.

For one thing, the 1990's were supposed to have been marred by the Eugenics wars, which featured Khan & co. taking over a good chunk of the planet wholesale. So much for current national boundaries.
Then comes WWIII, from which (judging by Q's recreation in 'Encounter at Farpoint' and the events of 'First Contact') civilization as a whole was handed a major setback - and only struggled up again with great difficulty. So much for national pride (at least temporarily, it would be subsumed by the sheer need to survive).

All of this would have significantly weakened mankind's commitment to artificial national groupings. I don't doubt that after awhile one's heritage would have once again been a source of individual pride (I can even see it, by Kirk's time, becoming fashionable) but geopolitically, a world government - more or less modelled on the USA, I'm guessing - would probably have seemed feasible and even necessary.

By kerriem. on Wednesday, November 14, 2001 - 12:53 pm:

PS - The admittedly non-canon (and otherwise pretty dull) TOS novel 'Crisis on Centaurus' postulates a 23rd-century Earth in which a world government is in overall charge but individual nation-states still consider it a point of pride to make certain traditional nationalistic gestures, i.e. be the first to send rescue ships. Makes sense to me.

By Merat on Wednesday, November 14, 2001 - 08:26 pm:

Kerriem, is that the one that says Coca-Cola is still around? Also the one with McCoy's daughter, Joanna? That book's Earth is one of my favorites put forward by Trek authors.

By TJFleming on Monday, February 25, 2002 - 07:25 am:

That the United States of America and all its trappings still exist in Kirk's time is borne out by his erroneous reading of the Pledge of Allegiance. Like most people, he inserts a superfluous pause after "one nation." (Consistently, CC puts a comma there.) He would only recite it this way if he had learned it orally. If he had had to resort to a written version, Kirk, a history buff, would have used the primary source, Title 4, section 4 of the United States Code, which clearly shows there is no comma. It reads "one Nation under God, indivisible, . . . "

"You could look it up . . . " Casey Stengel

By ScottN on Monday, February 25, 2002 - 10:47 am:

Of... Course... Captain Kirk... is known for... superfluous... PAUSES!

By TJFleming on Monday, February 25, 2002 - 01:40 pm:

Back to the drawing board.

By Adam Bomb on Tuesday, February 26, 2002 - 01:14 pm:

Morgan Woodward guest starred in three or four second season "Hill Street Blues" episodes, as the father of P.O. Andrew Renko (Charles Haid). In a bit of inspired tastelessness, his last appearance was as a corpse, lost by the funeral home and abandoned on skid row.

By Todd Pence on Sunday, May 26, 2002 - 08:03 pm:

If the Bible in the episode was opened to the book of Haggai, then why does it have a picture of Satan? Haggai is an Old Testament book and doesn't mention Satan at all.

By John A. Lang on Sunday, May 26, 2002 - 10:05 pm:

The Old Testament DOES mention Lucifer, however.

By Rene on Monday, May 27, 2002 - 09:27 pm:

Sure it does. In the book of Job.

By John A. Lang on Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 05:56 am:

Sorry, Rene...It's Isaiah...Specifically...Isaiah 14:12.

By John A. Lang on Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 08:02 am:

Ding ding on me, Rene...just double checked my Bible...Satan's name DOES appear in the book of Job. I had my brain "locked" on the name "LUCIFER". My only excuse is, I'm a Nitpicker, not a Bible scholar.
My apologies.

By Todd Pence on Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 10:04 pm:

Although the point is that neither appears in Haggai.

By ComfortablyDumb on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 12:52 pm:

Actually the point is, there is no point. Kinda like 'spy satellites over Canada - why?'


"First he told them not to look at the facts of the case, but at the meaning of the facts. Then he told them the facts had no meaning."

--who said it?

By somebody whos refraining from making Haggai/Haggis jokes on Saturday, January 25, 2003 - 06:35 pm:

I still don't know how you know it's supposed to be the Book of Haggai?

By ComfortablyDumb on Sunday, January 26, 2003 - 12:57 pm:

uh, no, its was Billy Bob Thornton. Close, though, huh?!?