Star Trek: The Original Series
"Spectre of the Gun"
Air date: 10/25/1968
Written by Lee Cronin
Directed by Vincent McEveety
Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
Members of the Enterprise crew beam down to investigate a planet, contrary to the warnings of the Melkot, who subsequently place Kirk and his men into a surreal recreation of the American Old West, where they must avoid the showdown with Wyatt Earp (Ron Soble), Doc Holliday (Sam Gilman), and crew at the OK Corral.
More intriguing than it probably has any right to be, "Spectre of the Gun" benefits from its bizarre surrealism, and has a Twilight Zone-esque atmosphere and aesthetic feel. Still, the story is sometimes stiffly executed, with dialog that has a tendency to repeat itself. At times it feels like the episode simply didn't have enough scenes to fill an hour, resulting in inefficient dialog being tacked on. There's dialog where characters make statements that are nothing short of obvious.
The ending revolves around the fact that mental discipline controls the unreality, so Spock mind melds with Kirk, Bones, and Scotty so they'll believe that unreal bullets can't really hurt them. Chekov? He dies. But he comes back to life—always a nice side effect of dying in non-reality.
Previous episode: Is There In Truth No Beauty?
Next episode: Day of the Dove
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46 comments on this post
Tue, May 21, 2013, 1:36pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Dec 13, 2013, 2:10am (UTC -5)
Honestly, I love Trek, but the original series writing staff seemed hell bent on doing some kind of historical drama. The message of peace and progress seems to be lost amid all the fighting; it's like Karate Kid, which I once heard described as a series of films which teach you that you don't have to fight, then put their characters in situations where fighting is the only answer.
Quite honestly TOS is my least favourite of the Treks and in my opinion barely qualifies as sci-fi. It's all well and good having phasers and warp drives if you're constantly in Nazi Germany or ancient Greece.
Wed, Feb 12, 2014, 3:50pm (UTC -5)
Ok, I'll watch this one now. I'm too OCD to skip episodes in my Watch-all-of-Trek-marathon.
Sun, Feb 16, 2014, 10:14am (UTC -5)
Retro John-Wayne-era westerns are a guilty pleasure of mine so I was bound to enjoy this one! Although I do agree that there was some slightly plodding spells in the middle, I found it very entertaining on the whole and I liked the concept of desperately avoiding violence in a desperate surreal situation. 2.5 stars would be my verdict too, possibly edging more towards 3.
I don't mind taking a break from conventional sci-fi settings, especially when the results are this good and one of the things I enjoy most about TOS is its mythical fantasy-esque approach to this final frontier of mankind. I prefer this to the more harder and more drier sci-fi.
TOS just has a certain charm and magic to it even if you could never take it seriously as a viable vision of the future. When its bad it is horrendously bad, but when its good its pretty fantastic.
Wed, Feb 19, 2014, 3:22am (UTC -5)
I enjoyed this episode. It's nothing deep, but it is good fun. TOS did have a lot of episodes where they were in Earth's past, or a facsimile of Earth's past. We had the Roman planet, the gangster planet, the Nazi planet, the Wild West simulation, the ancient Greek planet (in Plato's Stepchildren), etc
Thu, Sep 18, 2014, 4:54pm (UTC -5)
"I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing....only I will remain."
I agree with Jammer that this episode is more engaging than it seems like it should be; the only obvious "idea" in all this is the way Spock recognizes that the situation they are in is unreal, and that the only way to escape it is to believe they cannot be hurt by it. I think there is something pretty profound in that observation. Obviously in real life, if you get shot, whether you fear it or not, it will hurt you pretty badly. But the way in which they end up in this obviously-a-soundstage Western town, with some shops being just a facade with no interior at all, suggests the unreality of their situation in very stark, obvious terms, like a Brechtian distancing tactic. And yet, they are *still* threatened by it -- because the human mind is so easily fooled even by obvious fabrications, if these fabrications speak to a person on an emotional or instinctual level, or even an intellectual level. Fears, including irrational ones, can become devastating. Propaganda can create entire false realities inside people's heads that then control their actions. It takes tremendous effort to escape from the prison of one's own fears and the lies told by others -- even if one intellectually understands that they are irrational.
So on the one hand, I agree with the first commenter Lt. Yarko's succinct observation that Chekov is an idiot. Apparently all it takes is for a pretty woman to bat her eyelashes at him, and he starts believing that he has a real relationship with her and, I guess, that this relationship actually exists even though she thinks he's a historical figure in 19th century Tombstone and that he's got on totally different clothes than the one he has on. Instead of working on how not to die or how to get out of this trap, he expends mental energy flirting with her, agreeing to go to the dance in a week (?) but telling her that marriage is out of the question, too serious! I mean, it seems obvious that this is not a real person, that none of this scenario is real, and that this romantic subplot is totally irrelevant to the more important concerns. But, well.... I think the thing is, humans are much more suggestible than we like to admit, and if placed in a completely bizarre situation that nonetheless "feels" real, and in dealing with a person who seems sentient, it's hard to remember that it's fake, especially for a young and open-minded and friendly and flirtatious person like Chekov. I don't know whether his apparently forgetting that none of this is real for periods of time is "realistic," but I kind of suspect that humans are less focused and more distractible by what their senses are telling them.
One of the interesting consequences of the choice of the OK Corral gunfight as the setting for the episode is that the Enterprise crew are cast as the Canton gang, and their opposition the Earps. Quoting Wikipedia here:
"According to the Earp version of events, the fight was in self-defense because the Cowboys, armed in violation of local ordinance, aggressively threatened the lawmen, defying a lawful order to hand over their weapons. The Cowboys maintained that they raised their hands, offering no resistance, and were shot in cold blood by the Earps. Sorting out who was telling the truth then and now remains difficult."
Popular depiction of the fight, though, in things like John Ford's "My Darling Clementine" (with Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp) and John Sturges' "Gunfight at the OK Corral" (with Kirk Douglas as Doc Holliday and Burt Lancaster as Wyatt, and DeForest Kelley as Morgan Earp!) (and "Tombstone," which comes out years after the episode did) sides very heavily with the Earps and Holliday -- symbols of law and order staving off chaos. It takes just a little tweaking for representatives of civilization and order to become tyrants, figures of illegal chaos to become victims of an oppressive system they cannot escape. The choice is particularly interesting because the setting is one in which the Cantons are "trespassers" -- instructed to leave Tombstone, but with no particular way of making their way outside it, which ends up mapping quite well onto the away team, who *want* to escape the conflict but have no way to do so, and this also makes the aliens running the show map very well onto this depiction of the Earps brutally gunning down people for trespassing into their territory.
That Kirk spares the life of the Earps at the end is not all that meaningful since they're not real in the first place. But still, the point being made is that the human instinct to kill is alive and well in Kirk, but he can overcome it. This really comes back to the same thing as Spock's helping Kirk, McCoy and Scotty recognize the unreality of what they are facing. The stagey, false Western town of Kirk's imagination is not the *real* Old West, but the imaginary one which lives on in many people, especially Americans, in which the conflict between civilization and freedom is fought out with physical violence. And so it's appropriate that the way to escape the kill-or-be-killed mentality is to escape from that mental framework altogether, by recognizing that *it is not real*.
Still pretty silly and slow-paced but I'm somewhat fond of it. 2.5 stars also.
Sat, Aug 22, 2015, 6:06pm (UTC -5)
Thu, Dec 3, 2015, 8:56pm (UTC -5)
Thu, Jul 7, 2016, 11:25am (UTC -5)
As stated by an online reviewer named, Linkara, this episode is about problem solving. Kirk and Co. act like scientists and diplomats to solve their problems all the while the Melkotians are throwing up new barriers. Kirk, Spock and Co. have rarely been more resourceful than in "Spectre".
P.S.--It's also Eddie Murphy's favorite Star Trek episode (as stated in his Playboy interview). He found the 'mind over matter' theme at the end inspiring.
Fri, Dec 2, 2016, 12:12am (UTC -5)
Fri, Jan 13, 2017, 9:05am (UTC -5)
Sun, Mar 12, 2017, 7:14am (UTC -5)
Very much this. The creepy unfinished buildings with red sky were very effective. Disappointed that Chekov survived.
What's with the lighting in series 3? It's extremely harsh and distracting. Is it a budgetary issue?
Tue, Mar 14, 2017, 8:30pm (UTC -5)
WRITER 2: How about an all-powerful alien makes Kirk fight to the death to teach a lesson about pacifism?
WRITER 1: Bleh, we already did that. I want original ideas people. Original!
WRITER 3: OK, ummm... Kirk comes across a planet that looks exactly like some CBS backlot and so re-enacts a portion of Western history?
WRITER 1: I said original, dagnabbit! That was like half of the last 10 episodes!
WRITER 4: Hmmm... I'm just spitballing here, but what if... what if we had an all powerful alien make Kirk fight to the death to teach a lesson about pacifism... within a planet that looks exactly like some CBS backlot in order to re-enact a portion of Western history?
WRITER 1: Brilliant! That's the sort of original thinking I like to see here!
OK, snark aside, it really was that hard for me to get past the premise of the episode. I mean, the execution was pretty well done. Like others said, the mystery of what was going on built up well, and I think the reveal, that this was all in their heads, worked reasonably well given the clues we were given beforehand. Even the very first reveal of the aliens - when they spoke to everyone in their own languages - hinted that nothing they did was necessarily physical. And the clue of the knockout bomb not working was a big one. It was maybe a bit silly that Spock had to meld with everyone in order to save them (yet another example of Spock's magical Vulcan-ness saving the day), but the scene of the crew standing calmly while the Earps shot them was effective I thought.
It's just that the idea is so hokey... Maybe I was just in a snarky mood when I watched it or something, but some of the decisions just seemed weird. What was with Chekov being more obsessed with getting it on with the girl than the fact that he was scheduled to be executed in a few hours? How is Spock so absurdly well-versed in everything that he is fully aware of one single even that happened on Earth 400 years ago? Why is the Federation mission to establish contact "at all costs"; what if these people just want to be left alone? Why is it that the answer to everything in the Star Trek universe is a quick battle to the death rather than any sort of communication?
I guess it was just too much of a pill to swallow for me.
Tue, Apr 4, 2017, 8:19pm (UTC -5)
Shades of The Corbomite Maneuver with that warning buoy.
Fri, Jun 23, 2017, 2:26pm (UTC -5)
I thought the guest actors playing the Earps etc. were convincing in their steadfast desire to kill Kirk & Co. Chekov acts unprofessionally but his death does give a clue to the solution of mind over matter.
It's always a bit awkward when Kirk & Co. get put into a contrived situation due to the incredible powers of some alien but it's all to tell a story and this one is not a bad one. The pacing is slow and it does drag on a bit, but it ultimately a test from the Melkotians -- as another commenter mentioned, similar to "Arena".
Makes "sense" how Spock arrives at the solution - evaluating how things have happened and how the laws of reality aren't being observed.
Agree with Jammer's 2.5 stars rating - not a bad hour of Trek but not a great one either. A contrived story but one with a reasonable solution that seems to add up.
Mon, Jul 17, 2017, 2:58am (UTC -5)
I can forgive them for reusing existing sets and costumes given the budget. And give this one a little credit for not being a "just like Earth" planet.
It wasn't all that great, but it stands out above most of season 3 as being passable.
Fri, Oct 6, 2017, 8:32pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Oct 31, 2017, 11:38am (UTC -5)
Also interesting are the episode's surreal sets and distinct red skies. There's a neat alien statue and floating head too, reminding us that TOS has always had the most odd, alien and surreal aliens/planets.
Of course "Spectre of the Gun" has its problems. Let's be honest, a good 25 minutes of this episode is pure filler. There's not enough material here for a 50 minute episode. Still, it's decent.
Sat, Feb 17, 2018, 2:31pm (UTC -5)
Another good looking production. The plan was to shoot the Tombstone material on location, but thanks to the slashed budget, they couldn't afford it. There was no money for extras, transportation, and catering. So was born the clever idea that the town was put together from Kirk's spotty memory. I was glad to see what money was left was used for that great buoy miniature plus a non-humanoid alien. (Yeah, yeah, I know the Melkotian was obscured by the mist it could have been a sock puppet for all we knew, lol!)
Sun, Jun 24, 2018, 5:38am (UTC -5)
Wed, Oct 10, 2018, 7:52pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Nov 24, 2018, 3:11pm (UTC -5)
The story is very uninspiring and the episode with its dialogues drags on endlessly, there seems not to be enough content to fill the hour, so a lot of scenes feel stretched out. For most of the episode, nothing of interest really happens except a lot of western clichés that have not aged very well.
This is the first episode of season 3 where you can see a real impact of budget slashings.
Granted - they did the best they could do - making it a surreal world to explain the poor set - rooms without walls etc. - but it is what it is: a poor filler episode. They put some faces of buildings in a studio up, probably lent somewhere from Paramount, and lighted the background red to imitate a planet surface. Then they got some used western costumes and pistols and created a poor science fiction framework around a western themed set they wanted to use. It just didnt work for me. The incomplete buildings and rooms without walls looked so cheap it destroyed the immersion. You can even see in some scenes the reflections of studio lights on the hair of the actors in contrast to the dim background set.
This episode is mostly just a western homage with strange lighting - and with only some crumbs of science fiction content tacked onto it.
The pacifist message played out very unconvincing, Kirk used violence, wanted to take revenge, but somehow it is enough for him to spare a person, who he regards as a illusion anyway, to convince the sock puppet alien that humans are peaceful. ok. (this idea was taken from Arena and Corbomite Maneuver, nothing original)
In the beginning, Kirk gets a clear warning to stay away and ignores it, because „we need to make contact at any price” - could anyone think of a lazier plot device to get the crew into trouble? Spocks conclusions and remarks about illusion and reality at the end of the episode are interesting and sound, but good 5 minutes don't save 45 minutes of boredom.
I give it 1 Star, maybe 1,5 Stars if you get warm with the surreal look, it was at least an inventive idea.
Wed, May 22, 2019, 5:39am (UTC -5)
Also why was Scotty not affected by the fumes? Didn't he believe they were real? I guess he doesn't have much faith in the Doc or Spock. And Chekov! And some other minor stuff.
But suspension of disbelief is a requirement for being an ST fan, and comes into play often, sometimes for favorite eps. And closing my eyes to all that, the ep is decently entertaining (a like slow) and well acted (exceptions for preachy Kirk and smitten Chekov).
I did like Kirk making them test McCoy's contraption. Paralleled and foreshadowed the whole idea of testing - and WHY you do it, why the aliens were doing it.
Average offering overall.
Wed, May 22, 2019, 11:14am (UTC -5)
Tue, May 28, 2019, 6:47pm (UTC -5)
"The episode gets points off for not making a "Chek[h]ov's gun" joke."
Good one.
And thanks for the All Our Yesterdays vs Turnabout Intruder info.
I'm hanging in there with this - I like getting all this background. I've seen most of the eps before, but very long ago - my memories of them are sporadic and vague, so it's good to see what started it all, and see what some of the TNG, VOY, and DS9 eps were based on.
Wed, Jun 12, 2019, 11:27pm (UTC -5)
I haven't read all the comments on this page but I'm a bit surprised that no one seems to have mentioned that DeForest Kelly had been in two separate remakes of Gunfight at the O.K. Corral prior to this one.
I have to kind of suspect that they had a partial Western stage set up and the writers were asked to somehow incorporate it into an episode. The fact that Kelly had been in two previous incarnations of the O.K. Corral had to be the genesis for this episode.
It's main weakness does seem to be that there just wasn't enough dialogue to fill 50 minutes so there seemed to be a bit of fluff here and there. And the Western characters all had a cardboard cutout quality to them but that may have been the intention to add to the surreal effect.
As for the commenter that objected to Spock knowing about a 400 year old piece of Earth history....come on, it's Spock. It fits his character perfectly. He's half Vulcan, a species that is mentally superior to humans. And he is half human, so he would have a special interest in humanity. And the guy was a genius by any standards, so yeah he has Earth history down pat. And if all that isn't enough he under goes ponn farr just once every seven years. Just think how much smarter the average guy would be if he didn't spent so much time and energy on sex.
And in the final, errie shootout scene did any one notice that the off camera wind machine had to be turned up to high and was blowing 90 degrees to the path of the supposed bullets? This was because the shots were being fired point blank at the actors and they needed a high wind speed to deflect any blast debris away from them.
And I have to say the best comment on this page was given by the guy that said, "There is no spoon." Perfect!
Finally, for what it's worth I have noticed that there is another commenter on this site named Greg so I have changed my nick to Original Greg.
Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 11:24am (UTC -5)
The reason I enjoy TOS so much is its unapologetically theatrical execution. The sets are evidently fake, the performances are overdramatic, the costumes are ridiculous, and the dialogue is preachy - and I adore it. I think I loved Spectre of the Gun so much because it exemplifies all of that to an extreme. The half-constructed western town was so fascinating to me as a child, especially the buildings without walls and randomly designated edifices. There is something so unnerving about an empty stage before or after a performance, and that’s just what the charicature of Tombstone captures in SotG.
I’m a sucker for actors who take their roles completely seriously, and Star Trek TOS required that from its cast. The dedication (and overacting) of the actors help suspend disbelief and create a light-hearted atmosphere of “look, I know this is fake, but humor me”. The guest actors who play the Earps and Doc H are absolutely phenomenal and genuinely creep me out. Often my least favorite part of Trek is the guest characters (motives hard to believe, backstory ridiculous, etc) but the stone cold performances really gave our leads something to act with.
The dialogue is slow and redundant, but I’m the kind of person who enjoys a scene where the characters are just bantering back and forth, even if it is meaningless. My favorite part of TOS is the main characters and their ongoing dynamic. I appreciate Spectre of the Gun because it was one of the few episodes that actually included Chekov.
Okay.... Chekov. What a mess. I love the character, and I love the actor, but I hate the writing. While I’m appreciative that SotG gives the character an opportunity to do something, it vexes me that he was written so lamely and almost out of character. That is, if there was any character to write him out of. Why would he jeopardize the entire mission to be with a random girl who - when they first met - basically molested him...? And, also, if he’d really do that in this episode, why in The Way to Eden does Chekov’s old girlfriend say he is rigid, correct, and straight-laced??
The problem with chekov is it seems no one ever knows what to do with him. Does he HAVE any personality traits besides flirty, Russian, and occasionally psychopathic? Even though Chekov is my favorite character in the series (unpopular opinion, I know, but I’m a sucker for hard luck cases), I feel the only reason he has a somewhat consistent personality in the series is due to Koenig making the best of every line he’s given.
I think that speaks for the rest of the episode, and the series, too. In TOS the producers and the actors just had to make the best out of what they were given. SotG really demonstrates that in its writing, set, and costumes. I don’t know... for me, the most enjoyable part of the show is not just its fakeness, but the reality it wants you to accept.
Sun, May 17, 2020, 3:50pm (UTC -5)
What's cool about this episode is it's TOS using devices from later Treks where 2 characters are in stasis but their minds are very actively experiencing another scenario. Episodes like "The Thaw" or "Flashback" come to mind -- there are others. The ship's computers getting taken over also reminded me of "Evolution." What is odd is that Spock, in charge of finding the solution, never thinks of somehow communicating with the nanites or arriving at a peaceful solution. The idea is to isolate them, beam them into space, and phaser them! Certainly very un-Picard-like.
Kirk gets to make some speeches about freedom and how everybody is a slave -- very much in the TOS vein. There's also the uplifting aspect of a handicapped person being able to stand just as tall as a fully functional person. I do appreciate STC being true to TOS that way -- reminds of "Plato's Stepchildren" with the dwarf Alexander's hopeful future.
It's a tad idealistic with the kid Billy developing some massive courage from Kirk's speech, not to mention the successful solution of having the nanites migrate to a crew member's bionic arm in the nick of time -- but at least the procedure was tried and tested earlier. There's a bit of padding in here too with the war scenes, which were well done -- got a lot of stand-in people to help out. Definitely a very good production and better than the battle scenes in "Hide and Q" maybe on par with "The Q and the Grey."
2.5 stars for "Divided We Stand" -- again another solid piece of work although not really reaching into the realm of greatness. Good idea here of using plot devices that future Trek series would do to make Bones/Kirk go back in time. No issues of contaminating time lines, which was theorized at one point, but proves inconsequential just like "Spectre of the Gun".
Tue, May 19, 2020, 10:37am (UTC -5)
I'll try to go to bat for Chekov's behavior in this one. I think the underlying message here is about how Russia (the USSR back then) was also enamored with the legend of the American West. Chekov, a Russian never having been a part of American culture, might actually fantasize and romanticize about being a tough cowboy who stands up to the bad dudes and gets the hometown girl because that's something completely new and compelling from his cultural point of view. Kirk, in contrast, has an American history in his blood and knows that the cowboy days were not all grand so he doesn't get caught up in the romance.
2.5 stars with a shout out to the thought put into this one seems good to me.
Tue, Sep 1, 2020, 5:27am (UTC -5)
Sun, Jan 10, 2021, 6:27am (UTC -5)
For one, as @Original Greg points out, since DeForest had played an Earp in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (alongside Burt Lancaster!), and the same story in another TV show called "You Are There”, it should have been Bones’ memories that the Melkotian used to recreate the setting. That would have had two benefits:
1. It would have avoided the ridiculousness pointed out again by @Original Greg, that Mr. Spock would know anything at all about this event in history, and
2. It would have given us a little back story on Bones - maybe his family had been involved in that initial move westward.
https://youtu.be/P2fFWLiQ_t4
Another easy fix would have been a little more humor. The show was funny enough, but not exactly Back to the Future III funny.
https://youtu.be/DO9PtW-wMBM
Drunk Scotty was a nice touch.
And the matrix-like message (@Kiamau) is fairly cool.
https://youtu.be/z8UFzsaCRp4?t=191
The lengths Kirk goes to avoid the fight are epic. I loved the scene where Kirk goes to the Sheriff and begs protection of the law - and the Sheriff just keeps promising him that no one will ask any questions! It was great commentary on how different the morality of humans as depicted in old westerns differed from the morality held up by Star Trek.
As Kirk puts it,
KIRK: We fight only when there's no choice. We prefer the ways of peaceful contact. I speak for a vast alliance of fellow creatures who believe in the same thing. We have sought you out to join us. Our mission is still one of peace.
That is Star Trek, isn’t, boiled down to its essence? Sad that nuTrek does not follow this code. But then again, nuTrek isn’t really Trek at all, is it?
Lastly, as you may or may not remember, we get pretty close to this episode again in DS9’s Things Past
https://youtu.be/j9OorFk_wWk
Sun, Jan 10, 2021, 11:57am (UTC -5)
For some reason this episode was one I really liked as a kid. Maybe it was the playing dress-up theme of the episode but where our heroes decline. Other TOS episodes sort of do this, but in Piece of the Action for example they finally do get dressed up. But this is like a bizarre Halloween party where you didn't know it was supposed to be in costume and everyone around you is dressed funny. Or is it *you* (in your Starfleet uniform) who is dressed funny. That, along with the backdrops and the matte painting, make the whole episode strange and eerie, and probably much more effective than they have any right to be. I also like the fan-fic type thing where our heroes get to meet some other literary (or historic) heroes and hash it out. Another episode could be Spock meets Socrates, or Kirk goes to a party with William Shatner...ok maybe that's too meta. But the ending is one of my favorites, when Vulcan logic is the answer and yet the humans essentially can't handle it and so need help. This is one of those times when Spock's approach is unambiguously the only way out alive. Fascinating.
Mon, Jan 11, 2021, 6:48am (UTC -5)
Reportedly, the abstract set was because they couldn’t afford location shooting, but I wonder if that is true considering Paramount studios certainly had Wild West setups in its backlot.
Also, the notion of illusions and what is reality is featured prominently in dialog, and is key to the crew overcoming the situation.
Either way, the set is truly effective.
Mon, May 3, 2021, 2:39am (UTC -5)
It’s not a classic but still very enjoyable. I like the scenes where the party notices inconsistencies like the incomplete township, their retaining uniforms, incorrect sequence of events, etc. Also, the Earps were convincingly unreal as if only the sinister stage props they turned out to be.
Yes, it does occasionally drag, and the episode was obviously a money-saver. As for the Melkotian appearing as something out of the Muppets... LOL
3 stars for entertainment value.
Sat, Sep 25, 2021, 8:25am (UTC -5)
Sat, Oct 9, 2021, 9:21pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 10:39pm (UTC -5)
Thu, Aug 4, 2022, 10:20pm (UTC -5)
That being said, I watch TOS pretty much nightly to help me fall asleep. This is one of my top five when I’m winding down. Just such a guilty pleasure. Yea, its no City , Menagerie, or Enterprise Incident , but somehow it is so stupidly satisfying.
Thu, Nov 17, 2022, 3:38pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Nov 18, 2022, 1:06pm (UTC -5)
I admit I found the story somewhat uninspired, but nevertheless I liked the special set. This episode wouldn’t be half as memorable without it. As you describe, the roughed-out landscape, the half-formed buildings, the strange sounds that seem to come from nowhere and may be music or not, people emerging out of nowhere and disappearing when their part is done… it all feels like something between a stage play and a strange dream.
Reading the other comments, I found it extremely interesting that @Tidd called the Earps “sinister stage props”. I totally agree. As far as the buildings are concerned, both the Enterprise crew and the viewers can clearly identify them as backdrops, creating an illusion of reality – and the townspeople are not real persons either, but also part of the scenery, in their respective roles as sheriff, barkeeper etc. They only “perform”, act their part, fulfill their role, but that’s pure functioning, there is no active thinking, no working mind behind it. And when I read that comment, it suddenly occurred to me that this explains extremely well why Kirk’s attempts to reason with them, like in his dialogue with the barkeeper, are destined to fail. The barkeeper, by definition of his function, just CAN'T see anyone else than the Clantons. There is nothing in his mind that could process the information Kirk is giving him (the different clothes, for example) and draw the conclusion that those men are not the Clantons. Of course, this is true for the Earps as well.
I also like the episode's take on illusion and reality, showing that reality is not an absolute, but subject to our perception. Things are what we think they are, and if we act (or react) accordingly, our subjective perception makes them seem real. A first hint could be the opening scene on the bridge, when everyone can hear the Melkot's announcement in his or her native language. And finally, this is the solution to the conflict, when Spock manages to convince the others that the bullets can't hurt them.
Fri, Nov 18, 2022, 5:30pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Nov 20, 2022, 12:47pm (UTC -5)
I agree about the final scene on the bridge. Firstly, there is the brief exchange with the Melkot which reminded me a lot of “Arena” – crewmembers trapped in a situation where killing their opponents seems to be the only way to survive, and in both cases, refusing to kill breaks the spiral of violence and leads to a positive outcome. Secondly, we see the discussion between Kirk, Spock and McCoy, who acknowledge that the “instinct for violence” is always there in humans, but that it can be overcome… which again sounds a lot like „We’re killers, but we’re not going to kill today.“ And while I think that this message was even more powerful in "A Taste of Armageddon", the merit of "Spectre of the Gun" may be that it brings these two messages together, meaning that it’s always worth a try to restrain one’s instinct for violence because doing so can open the door to a peaceful solution, instead of being stuck in a kill-or-be-killed situation which might eventually cost your life.
From this point of view, I too am glad that the episode doesn’t end with a joke… overall, although I’m not looking or hoping for coherence, this seems to be a tendency in season 3, and I really appreciate those thoughtful moments.
Sun, Nov 27, 2022, 11:58am (UTC -5)
Wed, Dec 21, 2022, 8:40pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Dec 28, 2022, 11:02pm (UTC -5)
It's also noteworthy that this is yet again a case of the Enterprise crew surviving only because of Spock's Vulcan nature, something that anticipates plot resolutions in TNG with Data. Numerous TOS episodes involve Spock alone being able to provide skills or knowledge that no human crew members could provide. It seems to me this is possibly saying something about humans, in that there are essential skills we maybe lack that someone like Spock possesses. TOS does certainly make the case that "emotional humans" need a logical side to round them out, but it doesn't seem like there are too many episodes where McCoy is the only one standing between the ship and doom. So if anything Spock is indeed an essential part of the crew because of how different he is, much as Data is on TNG. I think maybe this is saying that humanity is really not quite equipped to handle all problems by ourselves, that some sort of other help will be needed in the long-run. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it?
Sun, Jan 15, 2023, 9:31pm (UTC -5)
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