14. The Conscience of the KingWHY WE LIKE IT: I'm a sap for Shakespeare.
WHY WE DON'T: Not sure I buy the romance.
REVIEW: I can't help but like this episode because it's the one with the strongest Shakespeare connection, but I think it stands up regardless of my personal bias. The episode doesn't just feature a troup of Shakespearean actors, it also draws parallels with Hamlet in Kirk's delaying his revenge on Kodos. Riley has shades of Laertes, Lenore of Ophilia.
Strong performances throughout, though perhaps a bit stagey. It works for characters that are essentially actors, but the term "drama queen" comes to mind at times. Lenore is a bit over-the-top at all times, but I still found the ending affecting. The same goes for Kirk's refusal to answer the doctor at the end, even if I had trouble buying into the romance side of the story.
The story has some weird stuff going on that I feel I need to point out. Uhura plays Spock's harp, for example, and I'm sorry, but I'm not a big fan of "Beyond Antares"' weirdly dissonant melody. The doctor takes a break to booze it up, and makes an untrue crack about the Vulcans having been conquered. Alexander Courage's Star Trek theme plays at the cocktail party as a "real overheard song" (I guess it's a popular jazz standard in the future).
And we see the last of Yeoman Rand as far as the production schedule goes, and it's a quick look at Lenore while coming out of the turbolift. Not so much as a line. I guess Miss Whitney was having her troubles and they were writing her out of the show. Hopefully she gets a better "goodbye" in air date schedule (in "Balance of Terror").
Glad to see Riley again, the return of which paints the picture of a real and steady crew aboard the Enterprise. Mr. Lesley here is also a recurring extra.
LESSON: So THAT'S where the name for one of the Simpsons aliens comes from! (The other one in a later season.)
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: Some great scenes, but sometimes veers into the theatrical. Well, that's sort of appropriate, isn't it?
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