22. The Return of the ArchonsWHY WE LIKE IT: Some historical firsts - first time Kirk breaks the Prime Directive, first time he makes a machine blow itself up...
WHY WE DON'T: Landru is a pretty boring villain.
REVIEW: Landru's "body" is at once a criticism of religious sects and a preview of the Borg, but while these are worthy ideas to center a science-fiction story around, there are way too many things that happen just for the plot's sake for me to like this one.
Sulu can be absorbed on the street, but the others have to be brought to an absorption chamber; Kirk and co. conveniently walk into a house owned by a member of the underground; the computer destroys itself after not very much of an argument; Spock's ears are never noticed; etc. It's the first time we hear of the Prime Directive (in those words), if I'm not mistaken, and Kirk immediately breaks it (justifying his actions, of course), and not for the last time by destroying the machine that runs the planet. His anti-machine attitudes will surface again.
The culture created by Landru has a number of unexplained elements, like the tubes that can kill (super-advanced tech?) and the Red Hour/Festival (needed to keep human instincts from surfacing?). No real mention is made of the Archon's crew at the end of the episode either. The 19th-20th century look of the place is cheap and boring, and the whole thing is very drab. I guess when you show a people with no soul, things like that are going to happen.
LESSON: If you're going to have wooden acting, write it into the script!
REWATCHABILITY - Low: Dull, lifeless and contrived, even if it is historically significant.
Comments