“Court Martial”

What I like about this episode is the utter certainty that Spock and McCoy demonstrate in Kirk's character and command ability. The prosecutor can't shake them into saying that Kirk might have made a mistake--she can only get them to say that it's hypothetically possible that SOMEONE could make that mistake.

Both Spock and McCoy are known to criticize Kirk's decisions frequently, but when someone else tries, they close ranks and step in front of him. That's because they have earned the right, both as proven senior officers and proven friends, to hold mirrors up to Kirk--precisely BECAUSE they respect him so much. They aren't about to let others, even an impersonal system, get away with it.

However, I didn't quite get why Spock beating the computer at chess was the golden piece of evidence. How did it indicate that the computer's program banks were tampered with? Did Finney stop to alter the chess program when he altered the tapes?

Come on Jam Man, this is a four star episode. Absolutely gripping, a nice Man vs Machine subplot, Kirk is magnificent in the way he chews scenery, and the over the top flirting is totally funny. Not to mention that this is the bedrock of all other Trek Courtroom episodes.

Jammer brings up the same points I always thought as well, but.... I love this episode anyway. Mccoy using a vibrator to silence heartbeats until u hear only finneys, best part.

3+ STARS 4 me

What I liked about this episode is that except for "The Menagerie," it's the first one that gave you some sense of how this Federation works -- that it was more than one spaceship doing whatever it damn well wanted.

There was a structure behind it all, and we got a brief glimpse at that.

I loved this episode, esp. the courtroom scenes, where Samuel T. Cogley is arguing the merits of man vs. machine. It reminded me of a very different courtroom scene on TNG, where Data's very status as a living being was on trial, in "The Measure of a Man". I wonder what Mr. Cogley would have thought of the JAG's ruling in that case (hell, with life spans the way they are in the 23rd and 24th centuries, he might have been alive to hear about it. Unless he's such a Luddite that he'd refuse medical assistance to stretch his lifespan).

I also enjoyed the fact that the "white noise maker/silencer" is just a microphone. :p Also, that the heartbeats are amplified, but no other bodily organ/process is. We should be hearing a deafening whirr of the computer's instruments, and loud burbles of gas moving through several colons. :D

80 years later on the Enterprise D, all they'd have had to do was ask the computer, "Where is Lt. Cmdr. Finney?" or that didn't work, scan the ship for life signs and pinpoint his location that way.

And you've got a point, Jammer, about why in the heck this particular officer death would be suspect at all. I guess it's because it happened on-ship, not on an alien world or due to any alien/viral influence, and because the computer logs quickly put Kirk's remembrance of the situation into question.

Nice episode with some fine scripting. Percy Rodrigues (Commodore Stone) was from Montreal, Canada, as was William Shatner. I wonder if their paths had crossed onstage previously. Some of the romantic music cues (written by Mullendore) between Kirk and his old flame Lt. Areel Shaw had been previously used in "Conscience of the King," and would be of their greatest effect in "City on the Edge of Forever," alongside some of Fred Steiner's music cues based on "Good Night, Sweetheart." It is amusing to know that Finney was played by an actor best known for portraying Captain Video---it is as if Kirk were displacing Video, showing that TV sci-fi has stepped up its game since the '50s.

Totally agree with Corey - 4 stars. I was born in '71 and caught a lot of TOS in early reruns. This one was totally riveting. The silencing of heartbeat scene is on the three or four most indelible TV moments of my childhood. Loved it. I've picked up the new blue-ray release and have been watching them with my son - he gives this one 4 stars as well. Can't argue with that.

The premise of a courtroom drama is excellent and it brings out some good acting from the Big 3 and supporting actors. Kirk's old school attorney brings a nice touch of the tradition to the legal profession. He makes a valid point about man vs. machine. Plenty of passionate shouting about beliefs and principles...
It's an interesting episode but where it mostly falters for me is the lack of rigor around the trial -- I can see lawyers shaking their heads at it. The heartbeats thing is a bit ridiculous, surely nobody can hide aboard the Enterprise. The decaying orbit part where the Commodore says he won't beam off the ship because the trial is ongoing makes no sense -- Finney's already been found, so Kirk's innocent.
Finney's gone bananas -- he's suicidal hiding aboard the Enterprise after he means for it to be destroyed and thus truly exact revenge against Kirk. But in the end he tells Kirk how to undo his sabotage because Kirk tells him his daughter is on board (without proof - we didn't actually see her on board).
Anyhow, too many inconsistencies that ruin an excellent premise (won't be the first time for a Trek TOS episode).
Overall for me 2.5/4 stars -- good, creative idea but a few holes in the plot.

I am shocked no lawyer has commented on the ludicrousness of an old romantic flame being selected as the prosecutor and not stepping down. Sliiiiiight conflict of interest!!

The cut to McCoy when Cogley first suggests that the computer may be the villain is sweet.......

.......the actor that played Finney turns up in the noir classic "Out of the Past"......

.......Joan Marshall was lovely.......in a brief (and great) hollywood season, she with Hal Ashby were noted L.A. demimondains.......her fictionalized personal life formed the basis of the script for "Shampoo".......which reputedly pissed her off.......

Don't get me started on Elisha Cook.......love that guy.......

Top rating

Thanks to everyone for such great comments. I was 12 when the show first aired and taped (open reel) the show for playback later. Portmaster Stone must make a pressing decision to evaluate CAPT Kirk's fitness for command before sending the Enterprise off on pressing business. He accepts Shaw because she is the best available JAG counsel available (at least before Cogley and the board arrive). In any case, the decision will be appealed if it goes badly for Kirk and Stone will have a new captain on board by then. Kirk accepts because any delay would mean loss of his command.
Kirk's old "buddies" clearly resent the meteoric rise of their 35 year-old classmate.
Favorite lines: Dr. McCoy to Areel Shaw: "All of my old friends look like doctors. All of his look like you"
The death of a crewman not at the hands of the enemy would probably automatically require a review.
The Enterprise log extract was worth many listens on my open reel tape deck.
Certainly Ben Finney had to have everything prepared well ahead of his Ion Pod duty and would have very little ability to finesse the computer logs afterward. A well-thought out plot has a way of holding a tightly-wound obsessive together. Finney's substitute files might have dated from month's before and include Spock's old programming. Spock's chess test was improbable but entertaining. So was the "White Sound Device" and — The idea that a starship that was being repaired at the Starbase would be in a decaying orbit and out of reach of the space station was both outrageous and nearly unnoticed by a 12 year old me.

I love that during the final fight in Engineering that Finney grabs a conveniently located GIANT WRENCH to attack Kirk with. First of all, Scotty did not stow tools when done? Secondly, what the heck on a WARP DRIVE do you use such a tool for?

OK, it's "Courts" Martial.

Victor, that's the warp core lock nut hexagonal calibtration device :-)

Good universe-building TOS episode that expands our view of Starfleet and strengthens the friendship of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Nice to see a serious and professional face of Starfleet here, including the no-nonsense Commodore Stone and hyper-competent JAG officer Areel Shaw as well as civilian lawyer Cogley. These characters, as well as Finney and his daughter, are well-cast and sharply drawn guest stars for Trek. I give it 3 1/2 stars.

Elisha Cook is always great and his eccentric Luddite lawyer is fun to watch. The dramatic conflict of Kirk doubling down against the computer record is fun to watch as the case builds against him. The sudden appearance after the tense heartbeat scene of Finney, crazed with jealousy, is riveting to watch with Richard Webb's full-bore scenery chewing. The ex-flame prosecuting Kirk is a strong character whose sense of fairness toward a former boyfriend surpasses personal considerations, making her little kiss with Kirk at the very end especially delightful when the camera cuts back from their soft-focus closeup to reveal the amused reaction of Uhura and the others. And I love the way McCoy and Spock circle the wagons around Kirk in the trial scenes.

I do think TNG, as it often did with TOS episodes in its first two seasons, cribbed from this one when it staged the brilliant "Measure of a Man" in Season 2 -- the JAG lawyer ex-girlfriend of Picard (rather strange for his character as opposed to Kirk) and man versus machine theme in "Measure" found their inspiration in this one. While "Measure" is probably a better episode because it is deeper, meriting four stars for its philosophical exploration of what makes a person a person, "Court Martial" is still a richly satisfying character study. I love the chess scene with Spock, the sharply drawn characters, and the very 1960s effort (albeit done better on "Ultimate Computer," I think) to defend human rights against mechanization adds a shade of thoughtfulness to this one.

As for the accidental death of Lt. Commander Finney raising eyebrows, it didn't shock me. First of all, he's a high-ranking officer on the ship, unlike a security guard killed in action by hostiles. Second of all, and more importantly, let's remember that his death appears to be a routine matter (Kirk and Stone begin the episode mourning his death while filling out paperwork, but without any hint of a court martial) until the computer contradicts Kirk. The court martial occurs not because a man died, but because of the suspicion that his CO is lying to cover up a big mistake, and that's always a big deal in the military. In a lot of ways, this plot is similar to the movie "A Few Good Men," where the questionable circumstances surrounding a soldier's death (and the issue is that Finney should not have died in such a situation had Kirk been acting correctly) cause trial proceedings: "Did you order the Code Red?!"

So yeah, I like this one too, and I think Jammer is a bit too hard on it. I especially like how it gives us a darker look at Starfleet: People still get jealous and seek revenge in the 23rd century, still hold grudges, and still lose their marbles in the encounter of human nature with incredible (especially in the future) stressors. The tragedy of Finney, who never moves past his mistake and is tellingly wearing captain's braids in his final showdown with Kirk, rings true to me -- there are many people like him.

PS -- I think it's a dead-end to try apply logic to the science on Star Trek; what the ship's sensors can and can't pick up constantly shifts throughout all of the various series. On TNG, it seems the sensors can pick up anyone, or can at least tell you many life signs and what kind are in a place. But on DS9, it's very clear that the sensors cannot detect anyone not wearing a comm badge -- whenever someone takes off their comm badge to "go rogue" in DS9, Sisko can't find that person, and it's the same situation on Voyager. Sometimes they even beam up the comm badge by itself or attached to someone else thinking it's the person they want; so the magic sensors that can tell you exactly where a given person is seem to disappear after TNG. But here's the bottom line: Whatever the TOS Enterprise sensors may or may not be able to do, Kirk points out that an officer like Finney (however the particulars of the science work in this universe) would know how to evade them, and I for one think it's a *good* thing that TOS doesn't feel the need to make up Treknobabble pseudo-scientific explanations which distract us from the human motivations in play. In many ways, it's a more human and relatable show than the later Trek series, and that makes it easier to follow than Voyager episodes where people talk for several minutes at a stretch without saying anything coherent to us viewers. As for McCoy's "white noise machine" magic mic, it's simply a dramatic story device that we must accept, believing it's the one certain way to find Finney even if he's been able to defy all of the other methods a starship has for detecting someone. But again, how is it any different when TOS asks us to accept futuristic science without explanation than when TNG/DS9/VOY explains it to death with long dialogues of nonsense words? Actually, the one difference is this: We can actually *follow* what's happening on TOS without getting derailed into analyzing the fake science involved. Arguing about science on Star Trek is like arguing about apples and oranges -- it misses the point that Trek is primarily a show about ideas and people, not about constructing a believalable scientific worldview. Yes, we expect Trek to follow the basic rules of it's own made-up universe, but we have to remember that the science serves the story/characters and not vice versa. To my mind, "Court Martial" is an example of Trek done right in that way, with the Sci-Fi gimmicks serving the human elements.

Wow, this episode was a masterpiece IMO. The remastered version with the new CGI also adds tremendously to it; with its floating starships, urban colonies and neat future sets (lots of courtrooms and bedrooms and bars in this one), you really get a quite expansive look at TOS' future world.

Ironically, TNG's great courtroom episode (Measure of a Man), put forth a message opposite to TOS' "Court Martial". While TOS finds man triumphing against machine, TNG essentially gives them civil rights.

So why did Kirk have to alone go after Flynn, and make the repairs to the ship? How could Spock not notice that the Enterprise's orbit was decaying and a power loss until Kirk told him? Scotty could not make the changes to computer for the sabotage?

Not sure if mentioned earlier, but I remember this episode as one where Kirk is describing the action at the end as it occurs, not like his usual captain's log. I thought they overwrote this one, and had to cram in the climax at the end with Kirk's descriptions.

I first saw this episode when originally broadcast back in the 66-67 season. Upon a recent re-viewing, a few things nagged at me: a) of the witnesses at the trial, only Spock and Kirk's names are spoken/idenfied by the computer. The Personnel Officer is not named, and neither is McCoy. b) Likewise, only Spock and Kirk seem to have Starfleet serial numbers. c) considering that the computer's audio pickup was amplified 10,000 x, how come only heartbeats are heard? d) We all know that Vulcan hearts are not in the chest, but McCoy positions the "white noise device" in front of everyone's chest (including Spock) to mask out known people on board. But then Spock is able to mask out the technician in the transporter room by pressing a few buttons on his console.

Good episode, but I wish there was a more detailed explanation about how the visual computer record was altered to show Kirk pushing the jettison button early. How do you alter something like that? Finney certainly didn’t seem to have the know how to do that.

This episode is one of the first that really made me love Kirk as a captain. I love when Spock says he's bitter, and Kirk says "that may be. But not bitter enough not to thank you for your efforts." That line, along with McCoy and Spock's testimony to Kirk's character, really made me feel for him. I thought Shatner's performance here was pretty good too! And it was fun to see Elisha Cook, Jr., who I know from the excellent Humphrey Bogart film The Big Sleep.

This episode contains one of the greatest "howlers" in Trek: The heartbeats are picked up by sensors whose efficiency has been increased by a factor of "one to the fourth power." That is, ONE!

Arithmetic was apparently not the writer's strong suit.

First, thanks to @Random Thoughts and William B and anyone else who commented, for your encouragement in getting through TOS.

So far, it's been more fun than I thought it would be, though I have gone from being retired to recently re-entering the workforce, so I have lot less time I'm afraid my comments are likely to be a lot more perfunctory - for that reason, and also because . . . it's TOS.

I liked this one. The mandatory "sexy lady who's into Kirk" did make an appearance, but she was interesting and intelligent and a lawyer! Yay!

The plot moved along at a good pace and held my interest. Of course I knew that Jim wasn't guilty, but I thought the mystery was handled well.

I wonder what Ben's plan was for after Jim was convicted? Sneak off the Enterprise and begin a new career?

Anyhow, a good ep.

Again late to the party, thanks for the review and the comments!

Well, we'll never learn what exactly an 'ion pod' is and does, and why the third button from the top on the captain's chair just casually ejects a - hilariously specific - part of the ship, potentially killing the person in there. However, I agree with Trekfan that this is actually a good thing, having us accept the futuristic technology as a plot device and getting on with the story.

What about Jamie though? Not only is she conveniently present on the ship in the end as someone wrote above, but why is she on that starbase in the first place? Also, Cogley seems to get his initial suspicion from her reaction, so is she in on the thing? I don't get it.

3.5/4 stars from me. I liked this episode, but the last 3-4 minutes were not all that great. The kiss, among other things. To me it looked like that one happened on the bridge, in front of the whole crew, but it would have made a lot more sense is that scene had happened in the captain's quarters or somewhere else private.

Increases the computer's hearing by 1^4. Anyone else have a problem with that line?

Beautifully written and played out from the beginning to the end. If not 4, than definitively 3,5 Stars.

PS. That giant wrench in the end was hilarious.

Super late comment, but I'm posting anyway because I just discovered this site and I want to contribute.

I love how Kirk commands a room no matter where it is. When he walked into the bar on the star base and didn't shrink away even when things got uncomfortable, that set Kirk apart from other starship captains. I think that's a testament to the character but also the actor. Not everyone can pull that off.

And when Kirk initially recounted to Portmaster Stone what happened on the bridge, did anyone else notice that he showed a command presence even when he's just answering questions? That's pure Shatner!

Interesting how the folks at the time could get this episode title wrong.

It's "Courts-Martial"

Hear hear, Jay Marks! Kirk is THE MAN. No other Captain can just sit there and be totally commanding a scene. Shatner's focus is just outrageous. Terry Farrel mentioned when first coming to work on DS9 that she didn't think she could act next to Brooks, who had a serious gravitas and she was more of a beginner; so he had to tone it down and soften for her. I can't imagine what it would have been like to act next to Kirk; I imagine the feeling would have been like actually being in the presence of a starfleet Captain, and falling into line instinctively.

A mixed bag. Most of the acting with the exception of Richard Webb was tip-top. There were some interesting investigative scenes and the heartbeat scene was both a clever and creative reveal if nothing else. The absurdity of the legal portions makes this difficult to watch at times. It doesn't help that the music dramatizes the wrong moments in the courtroom. For example, Kirk pleads "not guilty" at the beginning of his hearing and a dramatic trumpet blares, but the teaser already made it abundantly clear Kirk was requesting the trial to prove his innocence.

One shining point that deserves praise comes from Samuel T. Cogley's main argument. His speech about a person's rights to face their accuser was spot on. The position has become more relevant in modern times since today we have similar computerized accusers like red light cameras which are hotly contested on the same grounds presented for the Computer in this episode. Still, I could do without the rambling name dropping of Moses and Aristotle at the trial (without even quoting them).

Jason R. wrote:

"I am shocked no lawyer has commented on the ludicrousness of an old romantic flame being selected as the prosecutor and not stepping down. Sliiiiiight conflict of interest!!"

Yes, that part's nutty and I'll add that it's dubious Kirk would take the stand at a trial for his own criminal negligence. I know it doesn't make for good tv, but shouldn't the defense attorney be saying what Kirk said? DS9 at least gave a nod to a Fifth Amendment-like law in its courtroom episode (Worf was just a Gomer and waived his rights).

All-in-all, the basic structure of this show is sound and as someone mentioned above "The Measure of a Man" riffs on some of the same character beats. I'll give this 2 stars for that and the intriguing legal argument.

I hasten to add that, conflicts aside, Joan Marshall's portrayal of the a prosecuting attorney was quite enjoyable. It's nice to see that this show was fairly ahead of its time portraying women as very competent and formidable professionals. That might be enough to add an extra .5 stars.

Yeah, I am with Chrome on much of this one, though my final rating would be much higher. I've always been distracted by the strangeness of the court proceedings (and some of the other plot elements) every time I've watched it. As I've grown older I've come to appreciate it much more, actually, because the themes resonate more maybe, but also because I've grown used to the things in the episode that don't work for me. I like how intently this episode zeroes in on what incredible responsibility it is to be a starship captain, more than almost any other episode, and the consequences of failure, and it does the man vs. machine story in a way that does not simplistically pit Kirk against an evil computer (not that that's necessarily bad, but it happens often) but instead asks us how we define value, trustfulness, etc., in a world in which apparently infallible devices can be manipulated in ways which had been unexpected. Elisha Cook Jr.'s performance as Cogley is magnetic.

But I never really stop being distracted by elements of the trial that seem strange, as Chrome mentions, nor the way in which the camera angle of the internal recording changes dramatically from moment to moment in the playback for the court, nor the way in which Kirk suggests that they will enhance the audio recorder "on the order of one to the fourth power," nor the whole premise that the audio recorder can hear everything on the ship but only is playing back heartbeats and not the loud dialogue the characters are engaging in, and so on. This stuff I just mentioned is all material that genuinely does not matter for the episode's big ideas; to enjoy this episode I should become the ship's audio sensor and automatically, without explanation, filter out all the noise but the beating, passionate heart of the show. I'm better at that now and the episode does have an impressive heart, but I still find the other noises very distracting.

Love how the heart beat is also used as tense music. That scene was very well done. Probably the best part of this episode7

@Chris Arturo, I had no idea that he was from Montréal, to me everything about him just shouts “Toronto” and that’s only because I knew that he’s Canadian.

Anyhow, on it’s own this is an alright episode but I really enjoy it in context, particularly in light of Data and the Doctor. For me, as a biology graduate and someone interested in philosophy, the idea that a robot of any sort is life, let alone a sentient person is profoundly unsatisfactory, they are well designed copies — my sister in law is allergic is shellfish and so when I had them over for dinner the other day used surimi, imitation crab. I think that if I hadn’t prepared it and didn’t t know the truth I would think that it was real, does that mean that surimi *is* crab?

I haven't seen this episode in years! For some reason, I falsely remembered the daughter (Jamie) being in on it. I guess it was her 180 degree turn. *(I suppose she really did just not want Kirk broken-I thought it was because the defence was getting too close, and she wanted to stop it)

This WAS an enjoyable episode! I too liked how Spock and Bones defended Kirk.

@Strider: Yes, Spock and Bones criticize Kirk frequently, but they never accused him of vindictiveness (to the point of murder), or of panic.

Was this Jimmy Doohan's day off? Why wasn't he the one to fix the engines at the end? (Well, I guess all of Engineering was beamed away, but still!)

I just wish there was a scene of Kirk's old academy classmates apologising for the cold reception they gave him earlier!

Court Martial

Star Trek season 1 episode 20

"All of my old friends look like doctors. All of his look like you.”

- Bones

3 stars (out of 4)

“Court Martial” is the ur-text for all great Star Trek courtroom dramas over the next half century. From the most famous, “Measure of a Man” in which the JAG officer is Picard’s old flame and there is even a bar scene reminiscent of this week’s episode, to the extradition of Jadzia in “Dax”, to the asylum hearing for the Q known as Quinn conducted by Captain Janeway in “Death Wish", to half-a-dozen more - not least of which is my favorite Star Trek episode of all time, “The Drumhead”. They all start here.

Today the world is awash in legal dramas, from Law & Order, to the nightly news. And it’s been that way for a while. I remember being riveted in college by the impeachment hearings that were taking place in parallel with the last season of DS9.

I see a few people objecting to the form of the proceedings. It’s a TV show - medical research that would ordinarily take a year or more is wrapped up in a single episode; various legal proceedings that would ordinarily take place over 3 or 4 years, are handled - as they are on Law & Order - in under 30 minutes. No one wants to watch armies of lawyers pour over hundreds of thousands of records for months on end. I mean, if you do, you can watch “Michael Clayton”. It did very well at the oscars. George Clooney at his peak.

So what make’s the Star Trek genre of courtroom dramas unique? Here’s what the great orator Samuel T. Cogley, second only to Cato (I kid, or do I?) had to say:

COGLEY: Now I've got something human to talk about. Rights, sir, human rights. The Bible, the Code of Hammurabi and of Justinian, Magna Carta, the Constitution of the United States, Fundamental Declarations of the Martian colonies, the Statutes of Alpha Three. Gentlemen, these documents all speak of rights. Rights of the accused to a trial by his peers, to be represented by counsel, the rights of cross-examination, but most importantly, the right to be confronted by the witnesses against him, a right to which my client has been denied.

Star Trek, from the very beginning, treats your day in court as a right. It is not something to be avoided. It is something to be embraced. When, a few weeks ago, Spock needed some way to distract the Captain on the journey to Talos, he chose to undergo a Court Martial. When Commodore Stone offers to make a deal with Kirk so Kirk can avoid the ignominy of being the first Starship captain ever to face Court Martial, Kirk utters those iconic lines:

STONE: It's in the transcript, and computer transcripts don't lie. I'm telling you, Captain, either you accept a permanent ground assignment, or the whole disciplinary weight of Starfleet command is going to land right on your neck.

KIRK: So that's the way we do it now? Sweep it under the rug, and me along with it? Not on your life. I intend to fight.

STONE: Then you draw a general court.

KIRK: Draw it? I demand it. And right now, Commodore Stone. Right now.

Draw it? I demand it! I jumped out of my seat cheering for Kirk when I watched the episode last night.

Watch the scene yourself.

https://youtu.be/uM2u1L-F7D8

Tell me that doesn’t raise the hairs on the back of your neck?!

In Star Trek, there is an abiding faith in the process.

That faith begins with “Court Martial,” and over the decades, we see that faith kept time and time again.

When Wesley’s classmate dies in an accident in “First Duty,” the whole crew jumps at the chance for an inquiry - surely the truth will come out. And it does. And truth and justice prevail.

When Bashir is found to be a genetic augment, Sisko goes to Rear Admiral Bennett, the Judge Advocate General, and Admiral Bennett comes up with a very fair solution that allows Bashir to continue to serve in Star Fleet. Truth and Justice prevail.

Again and again and again, for more than 50 years, Star Trek has stood by the principles of due process, open justice, and transparency. Adversarial yes - but undertaken by all sides in good faith and with honor.

Yes honor.

Even when the Klingons send a lawyer to seek the extradition of Worf in "Rules of Engagement”, at a time when the klingons and the Federation are no longer allies, even then, the Klingons have absolute faith in the fairness of Federation Justice.

Because Star Fleet does its best to come to the right answer no matter the cost.

Picard makes the decision to give away the grandson of a Starfleet Admiral to an alien race in the highly under-rated episode “Suddenly Human", because justice demands it. Imagine the career consequences of that kind of decision - against the brass - in a system that didn’t put paramount importance on justice?

The bright and shiny future of Star Trek is not aspirational just because of faster than light travel, or holodecks, or transporters, or replicators. Not merely because poverty has been eliminated, or that men satisfy ambition through constructive service instead of divisive competition. The bedrock of that society - the system that resolves disputes and secures the rights of individuals, including the rights of Starship Captains like Kirk in “Court Martial” or Picard in “Drumhead", that legal system in Star Trek… works.

Isn’t that amazing!

"All of my old friends look like doctors. All of his look like you."

Because, of course, the two are mutually exclusive.

Ah, the 1960s!

This worked far better for me when I was younger.

So many headaches.

* McCoy’s dramatic microphone thing, then Spock doing the transporter room guy. All with Kirk directing. In a court proceeding, I would suspect they were pulling shenanigans. This is a ridiculously melodramatic sequence.
* They’re endangering the ship for this stunt? And, there are orbits that require no power. We use them for things like the moon and satellites.
* Kirk’s lawyer Cogley vanishes in the final act.
* Cogley’s book rant. Moses wrote in books did he? (Though kind of acceptable as the guy being eccentric)
* Finney's plan is ridiculous, and he seems far too deranged to pull it off.
* And, yes, 1^4==1

I think it’s a borderline failed episode. But it does do a lot of world building.

Apparently it was a troubled production: https://them0vieblog.com/2013/05/15/star-trek-court-martial-review/

It kind of seems like too many cooks, and that they were worried the court stuff would be too boring. Hence, the ship falling out of orbit microphone thing, and especially the fist fight.

I love Star Trek but this episode is a mess. All the principal holes in the plot:
1) The prosecutor was a lover of Kirk!!! Clear conflict of interests!
2) The daughter of Finney reaction at first changes because of letters she found??? What??
3) Finney could altered through the computer the record tape???
4) The attorney Cogley is the best? His performance really is very poor and at the end he vanished
5) The way of founding by the heartbets Finney is ridiculous
6) What advantage could have Finney to make all this mess?

Apparently, the lawyer’s book rant was actually due to the capabilities of computers around the time this was shot. Computer memory was very expensive in those days and any book would be stored as some boiled down summary.

It was a VERY good episode — courtroom drama, eccentric but brilliant defence attorney, the interplay of all factions involved, the gradual emergence of positive evidence— which was completely thrown away by an absurd final scene where Kirk and Finney meet in the bowels of the ship. Just a ridiculous fist fight between the “heroic Kirk “ and the “gone mad Finney “.

I was still ‘with it’ at the great scene where McCoy wields a microphone (!) to hide the heartbeat of those present, b from then on it descended into farce, and I was left feeling that a good ending would have sealed a great episode, but that’s not what we got.

Just one more note: Spock beating the computer at chess was a good scene, but how did it fit with the storyline? Are we to assume that Finney was inspired to interfere with Spock’s programming, and to what purpose?

Should have been 3 stars but less than 2 I’m afraid 😟

Having recently reviewed the episode with the upgraded computer-generated special effects, I noticed the damaged "ion pod" on the starboard flank of the Enterprise's engineering hull; but I haven't seen the pod or any indication of it in any other episode.

OK, I will bite: I am a retired lawyer (and also a retired judge) and I agree that the prosecutor had a conflict of interest and the trial was way faster than real life, but so what? The prosecutor was a wonderful female role model in a series that could be sexist. The trial was reasonably well scripted and realistic with regard to the questioning of witnesses, the objections at trial, and the presenting of curriculum vitae. The prosecutor was sharp and well spoken. And the old fashioned defense attorney was not atypical of attorneys I knew who were colorful characters and also effective in trial.

I will add that TOS reruns were shown in our student union on Friday nights in the late 70's, with jam packed attendance by all of us law students. The 3 year series reruns helped us all survive to graduation.

The prosecutor loses all credibility when they ask the "Smith and Jones" possibility question. So far beyond a reasonable question that any judge sitting in a courtroom (even a military courtroom where many standard rules of the civilian court do not apply) would have stopped the proceedings and either reprimanded the prosecutor or replaced them.

The fact that Bones even answered astounded me, even when I first watched this ( age 11).

However, I am aware that the necessities of an hour long sci fi episode (and the time in which it was created and aired) are bound to have these kinds of absurdities.

Still, I'd give the episode at least more star more.

Funny how Kirk's uniform gets torn again, and precisely the same way as it was torn in the last episode. The jettison button on Kirk's command chair was ridiculous, why would that be a thing? Do they jettison the ion pod on a regular basis? Shouldn't another officer be responsible for things like that? I love how the buttons have no covers on them either so it would be incredibly easy to accidentally hit the button and kill a crewman. The microphone was really silly too, I know the show was on a tight budget but they could at least try to make it look like something other than a common microphone.

I'm also curious what Finney's plan was here; Kirk loses his command, then what. Is he going to hide in engineering for the rest of his life? Was he going to sneak off the ship without being seen somehow, a seemingly impossible feat, and then go into hiding on some uninhabited planet, abandoning his daughter, all to get back at Kirk? Granted this episode wasn't as goofy as Spock's Brain but it was still pretty ridiculous and definitely one of my least favorites.

@Alyx
The Finney part was not TOS' finest hour certainly.
Sadly, the Scotch tape affixed labels on the yellow alert and eject pod switches inspired no confidence and stand as pathetic testimony to the limits of ST budgets in the early days. ...something in the low two figures for many episodes.

However, IMO:
Samuel T. Cogley's speech about the computer as damning witness and the level of the machine being raised above that of humanity was prescient and not to be missed.

“You’re not an ordinary human. You’re a starship captain and you’ve stepped into scandal. If there’s any way they can do it, they’ll slap you down hard and permanently for the good of the service.” -- Areel

That, right there, is one of the major points of “Court Martial,” and it’s appropriately chilling. The brass hats in charge are all too quick to believe their lying eyes--as Kirk’s own attorney, Samuel “No Questions” Cogley puts it, “Computers don’t lie,” even when they do. It would have been nice if Starfleet had an investigative team that could have discovered Finney’s deception themselves before they even brought Kirk to trial in the first place, rather than have this fall on the shoulders of Kirk’s lawyer and crew. I know, that would have complicated the story and the “stars” of it had to be featured prominently. But really, the lack of inquisitive zeal that is shown here, just to hang Kirk as quickly as possible, seems to be an accidental indictment of Starfleet that paints it as being full of the sort of corrupt government actors that do things like this all the time to political adversaries and whistleblowers, or to accused criminals just to get a quick conviction. Kirk is expendable, essentially. He can just as soon be replaced by another Captain, so for God’s sake let’s just lock him away with all deliberate expediency lest our benevolent organization be rocked by a scandal in the next day’s press. Like I said--it’s chilling. Also, it’s often a pointed truth that in some governments, a military court is indeed subject to an entirely different rulebook considering that they are exclusively trying defendants who have already signed some of their rights away (sometimes it isn’t even their choice to join).

Oh yeah, and apparently in the Star Trek universe, it isn’t necessary for a prosecutor to recuse themselves from a case on account of having fucked the defendant in the past. I’m not judging here; this is just an observation.

This particular courtroom drama is, by design, dryly procedural and no different than what we’d see in a TV show or movie set in the present day (though maybe with significantly less theatrics and speeches), with standard arguments, witness statements and cross examinations (or lack thereof in the case of Samuel “No Questions” Cogley, Esq.). What sets it up as being uniquely Star Trek is adversarial computers and high-tech shenanigans on the part of the true culprit.

“Court Martial” brings up a great point about humanity being at technology’s mercy, almost caught in a vice grip. Consider Exhibit A, Cogley’s stacks of law books that he swears by. My son’s friend who was watching with us, being the Zoomer born with a silver smartphone in his mouth that he is (and as my own kids are as well), made an absolutely awesome comment -- “Kirk’s right, books take up space. There’s no difference between printed books and having them all just on the computer.”

There is a whopping big difference, kiddo. On the surface, he and Kirk are correct. Think of the space you can save by having an entire library accessible on your computer. But we all know the rub here. A plain old book with printed words can’t be changed by an outside force. It can’t be amended or otherwise altered after it’s printed--a new edition would have to be printed and the old one would still remain. Not true of an “e-book.” I know this example is extreme, but e-books can be updated instantly, or simply deleted from a service. Forget the licensing issues; I’m talking about censorship. If a powerful corporation that provides e-books decides that one of those books is “offensive” or “not sufficiently Woke,” or else decides that the author of a book should be “canceled” because of some Twitter snafu, they can jettison a title as if it never existed. By contrast, the information contained in a physical tome of paper pages and hardcover binding is permanent. It can be wrong or misleading, sure. But it can’t be denied, ignored or altered by a corporation, totalitarian government or radical squad of politicians. That’s why they’re actively burned in the dystopian future world of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury--my favorite book of all time and required reading for my kids (if it wasn’t on the school reading list I’d prescribe it myself). I’m going off on a tangent here, but I think man’s relationship with technology is a worthy theme in science fiction, and “Court Martial” reminds us that machines shouldn't always be trusted.

Ironically, in this case, it’s not the fault of the computer itself. It’s been reprogrammed by Finney, a bad actor in more ways than one (not to pick on Richard Webb here but his performance was indeed dreadful). Most technology starts out as beneficial and even neutral. It’s we humans who hack it. It’s we humans that reprogram it for our questionable ends, and it’s we humans who create malicious software and steal trade secrets. The burden of managing and protecting all of our cool new toys is great. Thankfully there are men like Spock, McCoy and Samuel “No Questions” Cogley who strive to keep us all honest.

“Court Martial” could have easily been boring (my son was nervous about just that possibility upon learning that this was a “courtroom episode,” though I try to give the genre the benefit of the doubt as there are lots of gems out there), but it held my attention. Jammer is right, by the way--The Finney Saga of the last act, once his jig was up, was loathsomely underwhelming (though the fight was good for some laughs--it would have been even funnier had it happened in open court). At least the central investigation was interesting and it left us with a lot to consider.


Best Line --

Kirk: “You have to be either an obsessive crackpot who’s escaped from his keeper or Samuel T. Cogley, attorney-at-law.”

Cogley: “Right on both counts.”


My Grade: C+

@Proud Capitalist Pig
"Court Martial” brings up a great point about humanity being at technology’s mercy, almost caught in a vice grip. Consider Exhibit A, Cogley’s stacks of law books that he swears by. My son’s friend who was watching with us, being the Zoomer born with a silver smartphone in his mouth that he is (and as my own kids are as well), made an absolutely awesome comment -- “Kirk’s right, books take up space. There’s no difference between printed books and having them all just on the computer.”

I really enjoyed reading your post on Court Martial.

But: The "experience" of reading words on a physical page is actually different than reading digital copies onscreen. Books have properties such as fragrance and texture which can influence cognition. The text itself is completely trustworthy, if the edition of that book is the authoritative text. That level of version-quality cannot be guaranteed in every "text" that floats around in a digital world. The ability to digitally manipulate photographs is just too great nowadays, and OCR is far from perfect.

This does not mean that "No questions" Cogley is more broadly credible.

If I remember correctly, he says "I may be getting ready to be ready" and he just up and disappears from the episode! Left on the Editing Room floor perhaps?

@Sigh2000

Thanks, I appreciate your thoughts. I didn't think about the literal "fragrance" of books being part of the experience, but that's a great observation. Another point in favor of real books and against the e-books that I can file away.

Kirk literally beamed two red shirts into space in season 3, but he is being court martialed here?!?!

@ DexterMorgan
"Kirk literally beamed two red shirts into space in season 3, but he is being court martialed here?!?!"

LOL! Well for one thing, this is a season one episode and season three hadn't happened yet, so that's hardly the fault of this episode, but let's let that go. Your comment made my eyes bug out. Kirk actually beams two redshirts out into space in an upcoming show?! I've been jokingly advocating that form of execution/removal of villain threats since "Where No Man Has Gone Before," so that's amazing that it's actually put to use. Maybe the redshirts deserved it? I'm not at Season Three yet so I haven't seen it. But eventually I'll get to it.

It's dead. I've killed it. I tapped out your primary energy circuits.

It strikes me that TOS had almost an obsession with madness. Finney's deranged desire for revenge at all costs is the basis of (1) this episode. Off the top of my head, I can also think of (2) Dagger of the Mind, (3) Whom Gods Destroy, (4) Where No Man Has Gone Before, (5) Turnabout Intruder, (6) The Naked Time, (7) Amok Time, and (8) Is There in Truth No Beauty?. I think it could be argued that mental health issues contribute to (9) Charlie X and (10) The Squire of Gothos. "External intelligence takes over character's mind" is a kind of insanity, as seen in (11) What Are LIttle Girls Made Of?, and a similar argument could be made of the splitting of a character's mind into two distinct personalities in (12) The Enemy Within. The spores in (13) This Side of Paradise and Landru's "absorption" in (14) The Return of the Archons strip our characters of their normal personalities to give them a bland euphoria. Kirk's amnesia in (15) The Paradise Syndrome surely qualifies as a mental disorder. Much as many may hate for me to mention it, (16) Spock's Brain, anyone? I think the vivid illusions in (17) The Cage and (18) The Menagerie deserve to be counted twice.

That's 18 episodes, and again, that's just off the top of my head.

Out of 80 episodes, that's almost a quarter of them being based on somebody having something not right in their head.

The 23rd century brain is apparently a fragile thing.

Continuing my "madness in TOS" count:

(19) "Operation—Annihilate!"

Lots, lots of madness.

My thanks to @Rahul for his comment on "Operation—Annihilate!" that these are not all about "insanity" in the sense of diagnosable mental illness. I would now nuance it differently as mental illness being a subset of the broader quality of being "not oneself," or at least not what a rational being should be, as in the old expression, "out of one's mind," or "not in one's right mind," which would include being "possessed" by another consciousness.

Also thanks to Rahul for adding some entries.

Here is my updated list of TOS episodes with a major part of the premise involving a person not being in their right mind:

In no particular order:
(1) Court Martial Off
(2) Dagger of the Mind
(3) Whom Gods Destroy
(4) Where No Man Has Gone Before
(5) Turnabout Intruder
(6) The Naked Time
(7) Amok Time
(8) Is There in Truth No Beauty?
(9) Charlie X
(10) The Squire of Gothos
(11) What Are LIttle Girls Made Of?
(12) The Enemy Within
(13) This Side of Paradise
(14) The Return of the Archons
(15) The Paradise Syndrome
(16) Spock's Brain
(17) The Cage
(18) The Menagerie
(19)Operation—Annihilate!
(20) The City on the Edge of Forever (The whole thing begins because of McCoy's temporary insanity.)
(21)The Doomsday Machine (Decker's suicidal mania)
(22)The Ultimate Computer (Daystrom's insanity is passed on the his computer)
(23)The Tholian Web
(24)The Way to Eden (Sevrin's insanity)
(25)The Conscience of the King (Rahul points out Lenore's murderous insanity, but perhaps Kodos the Executioner is also as much mad as evil?)

@Trish

I still think the premise of being out of one's mind or not being oneself is too broad given that a great variety of stories have been told using this device and it's kind of a staple in sci-fi (especially classic sci-fi which TOS exemplified). So I think your list needs more rigour/specificity applied to make some kind of meaningful conclusion. In the extreme, it's like asking what percentage of episodes was there conflict between 2 people?

I would also suspect any other Trek series would have a fair number of episodes that fall into your very broad categorization, though I also suspect TOS may have the highest percentage -- but I don't think that's saying anything noteworthy, just that TOS was more classic sci-fi than any other series.

But what I did enlighten to in putting together my list is that I never really thought of actual medical insanity as being a TOS trope, but it does seem like it was.

I think we should also be dividing up episodes with goofy smiles from those with idiotic smiles. Those two should never be conflated.

No, I joke :)

@Peter G.

Goofy smiles and idiotic smiles are definitely important Trek tropes!

@Rahul

I do think being "out of one's mind" is not nearly as standard a device in storytelling as a whole as it seems to be in Trek at least in TOS. Not by any means a rare one, but not on the order TOS displays.

At any rate, now that I've started my list, I feel compelled to go on. Perhaps I am possessed by an alien influence that forces me to do it. :)

The updated list, in no particular order:
(1) Court Martial Off
(2) Dagger of the Mind
(3) Whom Gods Destroy
(4) Where No Man Has Gone Before
(5) Turnabout Intruder
(6) The Naked Time
(7) Amok Time
(8) Is There in Truth No Beauty?
(9) Charlie X
(10) The Squire of Gothos
(11) What Are LIttle Girls Made Of?
(12) The Enemy Within
(13) This Side of Paradise
(14) The Return of the Archons
(15) The Paradise Syndrome
(16) Spock's Brain
(17) The Cage
(18) The Menagerie
(19)Operation—Annihilate!
(20) The City on the Edge of Forever (The whole thing begins because of McCoy's temporary insanity.)
(21)The Doomsday Machine (Decker's suicidal mania)
(22)The Ultimate Computer (Daystrom's insanity is passed on the his computer)
(23)The Tholian Web
(24)The Way to Eden (Sevrin's insanity)
(25)The Conscience of the King (Rahul points out Lenore's murderous insanity, but perhaps Kodos the Executioner is also as much mad as evil?)
(26)And the Children Shall Lead (How could I forget that one?)

Great episode. Commodore Stone is awesome. Lieutenant Shaw is also.

I liked this one for the overall story line and acting. I thought the court room scenes were especially good, but the ending was weak and lazy in my opinion. They had to find Finney in order to clear Kirk of the charges, but the heart beat masking device was lame. Still a thumbs up for me.

Solid episode in which I have very few quibbles to make, and yet not an episode that comes to mind when I think of my favorites. Go figure. But still I like this one, it’s pretty cool to get such a work-a-day view of the federation, with star bases and bars and workplace politics and whatnot.

I have to defend this episode from a few of the criticisms above. For example, areel shaw did indeed have a conflict of interest as prosecutor/former Kirk love buddy, however we don’t know the procedural norms of the federation, and it’s possible to imagine an unseen hearing in which this issue was addressed to both sides’ satisfaction. Maybe the script should have mentioned it, but I don’t find this to be too big a deal. Also the sound isolating microphone thing is totally in-bounds for trek tech. I mean, in a universe containing transporters, universal translators, and warp speed engines, the idea of a device that can hone in on certain sound patterns isn’t that far fetched, is it? Lastly the idea that Kirk would be facing scrutiny over a crewman’s death might seem odd given the prevalence of redshirts dropping like flies onboard the enterprise, but this isn’t really a problem with this episode so much as it’s a bit of a issue with all the other episodes of all trek put together. I mean, you’d imagine that anytime a member of starfleet personnel croaks there’d be at least a little paper work to do, especially if it turned out that a salt vampire had infiltrated your ship and was killing dudes like crazy, might at least warrant an email or something. At least in this episode we get a sense that there is indeed some level of consideration towards the consequences of starship operations.

A few other observations/ideas:
- The closeup of Kirk’s command chair with three exposed buttons on his console is both magnificently ridiculous and strangely endearing. The idea that you could set off red alert and jettison the ion pod by a simple motion of carelessly putting a cup of coffee down, just makes me want to give TOS a big hug. I don’t know why. If ST:Picard did something like that I’d be all like “pffft, how lame.” Also, the ion pod: Whassat?
- Kirk’s lawyer cogley sort of pulls a Lionel Hutz and scampers from the courtroom never to be seen again. Maybe there were production issues with that actor? Sorta weird.
- Pertaining to the discussion above about TOS’ focus on insanity I think it’s worth noting that the use of “madness” as a character motivation seems to be in proportion to the real-world evolution in the understanding, or at least attempted understanding, of mental illness in general. In the mid-twentieth century to use the term “mad” to describe someone could be shrugged away and accepted in its vagueness, but now that term is wholly inadequate and as such, contemporary sci-fi has a greater burden to imbue its characters with more sophisticated mental processes. At least that would be my hypothesis for why TOS went back to drink at that particular well so often.

Fun episode, 3 stars I’d say. Be careful scrubbing out your ion pods.

2 1/2?? This is one of the greats: a solid 3 at worst

On this viewing, I found that one scene had elements that didn't quite fit with the rest of the plot: The one where, after evidence has been presented at trial, young Jamie comes running into the room where Kirk and his lawyer are wallowing in pessimism and pleads with the lawyer to get Kirk to take a ground assignment.

Cogley's lines, and his demeanor in delivering them, give the impression that a plot twist is coming, but not the plot twist that actually does come. He seems suspicious of her motives, as if he thinks she is in some way responsible for the trouble Kirk is in. He points out that it's strange for her to defend the man accused of causing her father's death, and by the end of the scene, he gets the funny look on his face that in a courtroom drama or a detective usually means that he has just realized the key to the entire mystery, and will be revealing it in due course.

But none of that pans out. Cogley goes back into the courtroom and dejectedly rests his case, only being given the key information when Spock and McCoy rush in to tell him the ship's computer had been tampered with.

Yes, the scene does emphasize that Kirk had a way out of the charges if he hadn't insisted on defending his innocence, and that he and Finney had once been very good friends, but I think both those points had already been made adequately earlier in the episode. It also lets Jamie become a likable character whose death, had she gone down with the sabotaged Enterprise, would have been more obviously regrettable, but only if the viewer accepts Kirk's view of her rather than the one Cogley seems to be working up to.

It's almost as if the scene was leftover from some earlier version of the script that had the mystery play out differently. In fact, I find myself thinking it might have been a more interesting one.

Well it spoiled it for me when I read the episode was motivated by the need to produce a show with just a few cheaply built sets. Could be the first episode where dialogue and costuming usurped the sci fi, which would become common in season 3 and TNG. I don't watch much TNG but the one I'm watching now (Legacy S4-E6) seems exceptional and even hot. And I don't know what's going to happen to Data and that girl is crazy hot lol. Anyway there is a large cast in this episode with many uncredited unfamiliar crew and operations personnel, so the strategy worked this time. It seems like something in the story was lost (or seemed odd) while editing down to what could be fit in an episode. Kirk goes by himself to confront Finney, just for the requisite fight scene. Elisha Cook kind of disappears after pulling off a nice man vs machine speech. Kirk has to save the ship by yanking his own wires in the tube, 'cause they needed to conserve Scotty's and Sulu's pay for extra costumes and tight editing. Trish is right to comment so many episodes are based on some character that's insane, it's a shame that Morgan Woodward only got to do a couple of them.

@ Trish,

I just watched that scene again, and I do think there's some subtle foreshadowing going on, along with a hint that's not explained.

Notice how Jamie pauses when Cogley asks why she's defending Kirk, and there's a somewhat guilty look in her eye that he picks up on. She has mentioned that reading through her father's journals is what changed her mind away from anger at Kirk. She says she learned how close they were, but surely she'd have known that already. I think she learned something else that her dad wrote there, that she isn't going to reveal here. She is only going to admit to saying knows Kirk wasn't the one to blame. Cogley realizes something is up, but has no proof. In the subsequent court scene, when asked if the defense has anything else to say, he looks like he'd like to say something, but knows he can't. I think he knows Jamie knows something, but he can't say that in court. Spock and McCoy do come in to save the day.

The writing here is interesting; or maybe it's the directing. They are already setting up what we're going to learn in the finale, but are giving us a couple of scenes to wonder what the surprise will be. It's not so much a surprise defense by Cogley, but a surprise by the writers. I think it works well enough.

@Peter

I wonder if we are supposed to figure out that somewhere in her father's "papers" Jamie had read of his elaborate plan for revenge, perhaps years before the opportunity presented itself when he got assigned to that pod. Was she trying to prevent the crazy plan from coming to fruition?

Of course, it was quite a stretch in the first place to imagine that Finney would know that someone would figure out just enough for the court proceedings to be moved to the Enterprise, so he could sabotage the ship and kill them.

@ Trish,

If this was real life I would just assume that Finney wrote about his negative feelings about Kirk, feelings he never made known in person. Or if Kirk was aware of any hostility, he wasn't going to bring it up as any kind of motive because I don't think he was considering the possibility that Finney engineered this situation. If Jamie knew her dad had been developing a seething resentment and was looking for ways to sink Kirk, Jamie would have a strong interest in (a) exonerating Kirk, and (b) not having this part of her father's life brought to light. From the look on her face earlier in the scene it also looks like she did have an affection for Kirk which was shaken by this incident, and which has now returned since she knows something new.

@Trish, Peter,

Perhaps her dad's journal also showed him just becoming unhinged in a more general way - even without writing about Kirk - having some kind of apparent ongoing mental breakdown that would make it seem more likely that the "accident" was his fault (even without the revenge plan).

@Peter G.
@William B

I think we are succeeding in writing a really cool story that would have been nice to see more of on the screen!

:)

@ Trish,

"I think we are succeeding in writing a really cool story that would have been nice to see more of on the screen!"

Yes, I think they rushed the denouement in this one. Most of the time spent chasing Finney at the end should have been spent learning more about what's fishy about the case.

@Trish, Peter,

I am sure these extra details are all there on screen, we just need to enhance/zoom by..."ON THE ORDER OF ONE TO THE FOURTH POWER"...as Kirk does with the audio sensors.

Whoa, don't you think 1^4 is overkill? Surely not a number that large...

I think we could even go to 1^5, if the equipment can handle it. We will have to consult Scotty to see.

His poor bairns...

@Peter G
@Trish
@William B

I just watched this episode again and the whole ending sequence is a bit strange. First, Cogley does indeed seem to be ruminating on some idea that never seems to manifest itself. When Kirk asks him if he’s ready Cogley says “no, but I may be getting ready”, which sounds like he’s about to hatch some legal hijinxs. Then later, Cogley declares that he has to go run an errand for the court but he’ll return, clearly setting up some sort of strategic move on his part, which is quickly followed by a somewhat awkward voiceover by Kirk exposition-ally informing us that Cogley brought Finney’s daughter on board. However, neither Cogley or Jamie are seen again. Was there perhaps some production situation that caused certain script/scene changes?

@ Idh2023,

"However, neither Cogley or Jamie are seen again. Was there perhaps some production situation that caused certain script/scene changes?"

I think the mechanics of the script were designed to bring up that Cogley realized something strange was going on, but to reveal it to us through more exciting means than through a courtroom. So looking strictly at the court case, there is something missing. But if you see the court case as merely part of a larger examination of what actually happened, it sets us up for what's revealed in the scan of the ship, and finally the action sequence. They effectively transfer the drama out of the courtroom and into a fistfight.

It's very interesting to watch this episode shortly after the UK's recent Horizon scandal.

Ragging on something is easy, doing better is difficult. I try to keep that in mind when writing reviews, though not always successfully. Purely for practice, I've tried to improve a few episode scripts that, to me, are lacking in some fashion. It helps me better appreciate what the original TOS writers tackled.

I thought Court Martial might benefit from a rewrite to better tap into its great, but ultimately unrealized, potential. There's the court drama, a staple of both TVs and movies. There's the crazed antagonist looking to frame Kirk for an old event. There's a love interest backstory. There's lots of meat on the bone.

Upon episode review, however, I think it's not so much a rewrite that's needed as a bigger budget. The story's important elements are too often talked about rather than depicted. We never get to see the origin of Finney's dispute on the USS Republic. We never see the relationship between Shaw and Kirk, it's merely mentioned. Shaw does not even reveal she is on the prosecution side until after she's questioned Kirk, which seems a breach of friendship if not ethics. Perhaps she feels justified based on their prior relationship, but we can only speculate.

Instead, the episode fills the time with technical court proceedings and a rather tedious demonstration onboard the Enterprise that the defense attorney demands but does not attend. Perhaps that could do with a bit of rewriting after all. With or without, I rate Court Martial 2.5 planets with negative gravity.

@Jammer

"I find it a little hard to believe that the death of an officer in this particular instance would be so much different in presumed fault than the average red-shirt death."

Not least because the "Eject Pod" button is right next to the "Red Alert" button. It's totally believable that someone, even one as decorated as Capt. Kirk could have simply let his finger slip in error. As Kirk started to second-guess himself given the video evidence, I started to wonder if that's what really did happen! Of course, that would have made for a pretty lousy episode... facing a full court martial for the equivalent of a typo!