Review Text
The shuttle crew of Spock, Sulu, and Uhura (a singularly unique teaming for this cast, I believe) come in possession of an ancient "stasis box," in which time stands still, making it the most perfect time capsule ever made. It's a rare remnant from the ancient Slaver Empire that was destroyed in a war with its subjugated population a billion years ago.
The box is a valuable scientific find, and also a beacon for other boxes like it, and it detects another box in the wondrous Beta Lyrae system. The shuttle lands on an ice planet to locate the other box, but the team is ambushed by Kzinti pirates, who want the box's mysterious contents. Held captive by the Kziniti (carnivorous lion-people who despise herbivores like Spock and who have among them a haggard-looking Kzinti who is a telepathic mind reader), the shuttle crew must figure out how to outsmart the Kzinti, which ... well, is not the toughest assignment of all time.
The Kzinti open the box and hope to unlock the secret of the ancient weapon they find inside, which initially resembles a green football gun. The weapon changes form and function depending on the setting that's selected, and most settings are fairly unremarkable, easily matched by the Enterprise's current-day technology. But there is one setting that is far more dangerous and destructive than the others — like a hand-held nuclear bomb gun — and it's for this reason it becomes crucial to keep it out of the Kzinti's hands.
This is a fairly intriguing premise, nearly undermined and yet made goofily entertaining by the Three Stooges sensibility in how it unfolds. To combat the telepathic Kzinti and hopefully gain an advantage, Spock tells Sulu to think of vegetables rather than meat (since the Kzinti hate herbivores and don't want to read their minds), and tells Uhura to act dumb (since Kzinti women are dumb and not worth mind-reading). Meanwhile, a series of turned tables where our heroes escape and are recaptured (Uhura thanklessly gets shot and held hostage not once, but twice) allows the Kzinti to get their hands on the weapon a second time. But the weapon also has a built-in robotic AI that has awakened and activates a self-destruct that blows up the Kzinti when they pull the trigger. Ha ha, morons.
This gets a pass for being silly fun, but the Kzinti are literally too stupid to live, and this is yet another TAS episode that seems to have deeper ideas lurking in its closing final lines than what we actually watch unfold for the duration of the episode. Spock's musings on a new war that was almost sparked by a weapon from a billion-year-old dead society is an idea that hints at a message far grander about the intersection of past and present, and is far more interesting than the middling plot mechanics we actually get. It's like TAS has these unpursued asides that serve as more cerebral concepts than it knows what to actually do with. But what we have here is amusing enough to recommend.
Previous episode: The Ambergris Element
Next episode: The Eye of the Beholder
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11 comments on this post
jc
The original of this story is the 1967 Niven short story "The Soft Weapon" (which I have in a collection called "Neutron Star") which I rate as pretty good. The "think of vegetables" part by Sulu is taken in the original by a Puppeteer who are herbivorous aliens and the distaste Kzin telepaths have for reading their minds is part of Known Space lore. IMHO this is a case where the author has tried to cram an existing story into a new framework where it doesn't quite fit.
Rahul
An original and interesting episode with only Spock, Sulu, and Uhura involved -- no Captain Kirk and no Enterprise. Thus it is refreshing to see Sulu and Uhura play significant roles.
The idea of the Slaver species is a fascinating one, as is the pursuit of a weapon of massive power. The Kzinti are a bit comical, with one of them being a telepath and somewhat meek, whereas the Chuft-captain is domineering but foolhardy. The idea that the Slaver device obviously has some intelligence is creative and Spock theorizing how it will react given that the last thing it remembered was the war that destroyed the Slavers a billion years ago is fairly clever in the writing.
There is a bit of depth given to the Kzinti in terms of their respect for meat-eaters and the Chuft-captain's honour being lost and his desire for revenge. Definitely one of the better TAS outings.
3*
Elizabeth Palladino
As others have said, it was interesting to see only Spock, Sulu, and Uhura in this episode. The concept seemed fresh, and I thought the plotting hung together and made sense. The only thing that bothered me was the way the crew could run at top speed all over the ice without slipping on it. A decent episode.
Elizabeth Palladino
Forgot to say--and not really a criticism--that cats as aliens was a little stale. It would have been cooler to have the Kzinti be some really strange and outlandish beings.
Trek fan
I’m glad Jammer shares my appreciation of this episode. I also give it 3 stars. Unique to see the only show in the original cast’s history that does not have any James Kirk in it. We don’t even see the Enterprise or other crew.
I love the concept of the fickle ultimate weapon and the peaceful resolution. I understand the writer took the Kzinti alien race and other trappings from his separate, original science fiction writings. They’re interesting, even if the plot unfolds in a sometimes perfunctory way.
Clavain
As someone has noted, this episode is a straightforward adaptation of a Larry Niven story. The action of that story is identical, although it takes place in the Known Space universe and therefore contains no references to Trek characters, live-action or animated. The Slaver empire is important as a sort of progenitor species in Niven's work but this episode might have been better if it had just called the weapon "Romulan" or "Gorn" or something. Still one of the best, 4/4 IMO.
Black Oat
Interesting that the bad guys are killed at the end of the episode. I would imagine that would be a very rare thing in cartoons from that era. Or for any era really. Not counting Jonny Quest, of course. No censor is going to tell Race Bannon he can't kill a communist.
This was a pretty good episode. I like the idea of ancient galactic civilizations lost to time. I also liked all the little tidbits of info we got about Kzinti culture too. Of course, the most interesting aspect of the episode is the lack of Kirk and the Enterprise. They should have done this more often, imo. The cast was capable enough.
Though he didn't play Scotty in this episode, I think James Doohan did a good job voicing all of the Kzinti.
Proud Capitalist Pig
My favorite moment in this episode is Sulu’s reaction to seeing what the weapon is capable of in its maximum “personal nuke” setting: “We can’t let them have that!” A close second-place is watching Uhura belt across the icy, snowy landscape in high-heeled boots; I’ll remember that sight gag for a long time.
I wish I liked this episode more than I do. The Kzinti were incredibly entertaining (Stooges is a good analogy, Jammer), the triumvirate was inspired (Spock’s resourcefulness, Sulu’s weapons prowess and Uhura’s cool head all meshed together perfectly), and I *loved* that spooky football gun. What a great gag! Nevertheless, it just never did anything to rise above any of its cartoon trappings. “Yesteryear” had a brain. “The Terratin Incident” had a great concept. This one was just a Saturday morning kids’ show marking time.
Still, there’s a lot of amusing touches that push it up to slightly above average:
--- These Kzinti cats are damned hilarious. They think vegans are silly, write Vulcans off as annoying pacifists and assume women are idiots until proven otherwise (I’m with them on two out of three of these). “I feel no pressing need to talk to an eater of roots and leaves,” to quote their captain. Funny, I said basically the same thing to a PETA protestor a few years back.
--- Points for Sulu’s gun enthusiasm being showcased again. You know, he was describing the technical features of the weapon in such a way that he'd do a decent job of selling it to a customer.
--- I snickered at the goofiness of Star Trek’s version of the chicken-or-egg question: “If it takes a stasis box to find another stasis box, how did anyone ever find the first one?” That could keep a guy up at night.
--- The “Traitor’s Claw” is a priceless name for the pirate ship, but the damn thing also happens to be a *stolen police vessel.* Winners, these guys.
-- “Guard your speech. None of my crew has yet tasted human meat as our ancestors did. We would welcome the opportunity.” That’s the most badass, creative way to say, “Keep talking, asshole!” that I’ve ever heard.
--- Spock: “Remember to zigzag.” LOL.
Jammer nailed one of the drawbacks of TAS having only a 24-minute running time: “It’s like TAS has these unpursued asides that serve as more cerebral concepts than it knows what to actually do with.” That’s a great way to put it! Maybe it would help to have Kirk spell things out like Stan and Kyle on South Park: “You know? I learned something today…” But I kid.
Speak Freely:
Kzinti Telepath -- “He makes me taste yellow root munched between flat teeth!”
Kzinti Chuft-Captain -- “Be glad if you need not read the Vulcan's mind.”
My Grade: B-
Atoz
"The “Traitor’s Claw” is a priceless name for the pirate ship, but the damn thing also happens to be a *stolen police vessel.* Winners, these guys."
That's actually a little joke. See, the police vessel wasn't really stolen. It is heavily implied that the "thieves" are actually working for the government. They are being used as "cat's paws" by the High Kzin.
Atoz
"I love the concept of the fickle ultimate weapon and the peaceful resolution"
The Kzinti were all blown to smithereens at the end.
"Smithereens" is a word that should be used more often. The Slaver Weapon used the word "widdershins" which is another word that you don't hear often enough, imo.
Proud Capitalist Pig
@ Atoz: "Smithereens" is a word that should be used more often.""
-- 100% agree. Great word.
"That's actually a little joke. See, the police vessel wasn't really stolen. It is heavily implied that the "thieves" are actually working for the government. They are being used as "cat's paws" by the High Kzin."
-- Ahh finally, I have an excuse to go back and revisit "The Slaver Weapon" and watch for that subtext. Good episode, very entertaining.
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