Star Trek -- Season 2 Episode 6 (The Doomsday Machine)

There were certain things about Star Trek that didn’t always make sense.  For instance, there were omnipotent or near-omnipotent beings that could have crushed the Enterprise, yet were eventually defeated.  There was also a planet that acted as a giant recreation area, yet came with no warning of how powerful the technology was.  Now, we get a gigantic planet-eating vessel of unknown origin built for some unimaginable mission.  It’s already killed the crew of the USS Constellation and left the ship itself in ruins and now threatens to do the same to The Enterprise.

When Kirk finds The Constellation, only it’s commander, Commodore Decker, is alive.  He’s not very responsive to questions, making it difficult to ascertain what happened.  From what Decker tells Kirk, he beamed his crew down to the surface of the third planet before the transporters gave out.  Kirk is quick to point out that there are only two planets.  It’s not until the giant Planet-Eater shows up that he fully understands what Decker’s talking about.

The thing is a long, huge cone with energy beams in the large end.  The opening is large enough to allow the machine to eat planets whole.  There’s no indication of where it came from or why it was deployed.  All anyone knows is that it will consume all of the planets in a system for energy before moving on to the next system.

Kirk and Scotty are trapped on the Constellation, leaving Decker to take command of the Enterprise.  Decker is intent on destroying the Planet-Eater at all costs.  Eventually, Scotty gets off, leaving Kirk to hopefully destroy the Planet-Eater.  All is saved at the last minute and the crew are off to their next adventure.

I have several questions about this episode.  The most obvious is why one would build such a large machine in the first place.  Kirk compares it to the nuclear weapons of our time.  Why would we have something that could render a large part of our planet uninhabitable?  Neither scenario makes much sense.

But why would you build a machine large enough to consume planets and set it off on a course that might come in contact with inhabited worlds?  In fact, part of the tension in the episode comes from the fact that the next system will be the most densely populated in Federation territory.  If you were out to kill an enemy, why not build the weapon there and make sure it stays there?  It seems like an awfully inefficient way to destroy your enemy.

Of course, I’m assuming that it was meant for that purpose, but I can think of no reason why you’d need a large machine that seems to exist only to eat planets.  But that’s another problem.  We have no indication of exactly what necessitated the machine.  It has no regard for life.  It has no clear purpose other than to consume planets.  It exists to give The Enterprise something to fight.  Kirk compares the machine to nuclear weapons, but a better analogy might be war in general.  War takes life and would seem to have no purpose other than to destroy.

The episode was followed up in a book called Vendetta.  I remember reading it decades ago and recall that it was designed to be a weapon against the Borg, which would make sense.  It’s still a little unsettling that it was just wandering the galaxy like that.  There are still easier, more efficient ways to destroy the Borg.

I will admit that there is a certain simplicity to the episode.  It doesn’t go off on too many tangents and doesn’t have a lot of characters.  This is likely due to budget constraints, though.   The Constellation is the same type of ship as The Enterprise, allowing the studio to avoid building new sets.  I’ve often wondered what Star Trek would have looked like had it been given a larger budget.

It’s a shame that the story was never got an in-series explanation.  It would have been perfect for an episode for one of the spin-off series.  Maybe the crew of Voyager would find another or the race that built it.  Even Deep Space Nine had access to a different part of the galaxy.  Maybe it was something designed by The Dominion.  There are so many possibilities with this episode.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Episode 5 (Haven)

Note:  This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.

The Enterprise is in orbit of Haven, a planet said to be able to heal the sick simply by being there. Everything is going well until a Betazoid gift box is beamed over to the Enterprise. No one is sure what it is; it stays motionless until Deanna Troi, the ship’s half-Betazoid counselor arrives in the transporter room. It activates and plays a recorded message. Finally, it releases gifts. Troi explains that it means that she’s getting married.

Apparently, on Betazed, there are still arranged marriages. She had assumed that since she was so far away and that since her betrothed was human that she would never have to go through with it. However, the other family apparently insisted. Troi’s marriage means that she won’t be staying on the Enterprise. The man that she’s supposed to marry is Wyatt Miller, a medical doctor. Troi can sense that he’s surprised when he sees her. It isn’t until a little later that it’s revealed that he expected her to look different.

As if one problem wasn’t enough, a ship approaches Haven, but doesn’t respond to any hails. The ship is identified as Tarellian. It’s a mystery since the Tarellians were thought to have been wiped out. They carry a plague that apparently has a very high mortality rate; entire planets have been wiped out. Now, the Enterprise is in a difficult situation. They can’t just destroy the ship, but they can’t just let the people on the ship beam down. The Enterprise locks on with its tractor beam and tows them away. It isn’t until then that the Tarellians contact the Enterprise; one of the people on the ship is the woman that Wyatt expected Deanna to be.

I really didn’t like this episode. I won’t tell you how it ends. I don’t really see the point here. However, the solution seems too easy. Since Troi goes on to be in the remainder of the series, it’s safe to say that, at least to some degree, things work out for her. However, both ‘problems’ had one solution that didn’t really seem to have too much thought put into it. It just happened.

On a positive note, this is the first episode where we get to see Deanna’s mother, Lwaxana Troi. Lwaxana was a bit much when in this episode. She seems to have taken a romantic interest in Captain Picard. She’s telepathic and states that she can sense Picard’s interest in her. However, Picard shows no outward signs of any actual interest in Lwaxana Troi. I suppose that even telepaths aren’t above fooling themselves. The whole thing comes across as comical. When I first watched the series, I found Lwaxana to be irritating, mostly because I wouldn’t have wanted to find myself in Picard’s position. However, watching the episode now, it’s not that bad.

The character of Wyatt Miller still seems a little irritating. Neither he nor Deanna seems to want to go through with the marriage, but both realize that there’s little that they can do about it. Wyatt seems to be taking the marriage lightly, not really seeming to mind that he’s about to marry a woman that he’s hardly ever seen. Deanna has accepted this as part of her culture. However, Wyatt is human. I suppose that he’s also known about it his entire life, as well. However, I would expect some sense of something. Commander Riker is the one that isn’t at all pleased about it. He and Deanna had been romantically involved. Even though they had gone their separate ways years ago, he still has feelings for her.

In terms of graphics, I also wasn’t impressed. When the Enterprise locked on to the Tarellian ship, the Tarellian ship seemed to skip. If you look closely, you’ll see it move backwards a little bit. I don’t know what the deal was. Maybe no one caught it; maybe it was intentional. Still, I would have expected a little more.

This episode is worth only two stars. It seems like the earlier episodes are easier to pick apart. The scripts don’t seem to be as well written and the graphics aren’t as good as in later seasons. Also, the acting and the characters don’t really develop until the second season. If you’re buying the episodes on VHS, skip this one. 

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