51. Patterns of ForceFORMULA: A Piece of the Action + ½ A Taste of Armageddon
WHY WE LIKE IT: Rolls at a good pace, with plenty of action.
WHY WE DON'T: Strains the limits of believability and taste.
REVIEW: The idea of interfering with a planet's culture using knowledge of our own equivalent period's history is an interesting one, but Patterns of Force strains credulity by making the historian John Gill much too successful at it. He recreates Nazi Germany on a warlike planet in order to civilize them and bring order to chaos, but with that structure, he recreates all the uniforms and regalia, the technology and look of things from that period, and since Kirk reads off a manifest that the phasers have been taken somewhere, human language as well (English, not German, it seems). Worst of all, he recreates - inadvertently, if we believe the show - the racist atmosphere that allows the Zeons to be victimized.
I don't care what Kirk says about John Gill, he's NOT a good man. I don't think you can recreate Nazism without the xenophobia. Nazism needs enemies, and needs to think of itself as superior to something. On top of that, just the idea that a Federation scientist would use a whole culture as a laboratory for social experimentation, that he would not only violate the Prime Directive, but also place himself in charge of an entire world... The man was as corrupt as he was foolish. I definitely question his choice of political systems to admire.
Perhaps more distressing in all this is that the Zeons are given Jewish-sounding names (Zeon/Zion, Abrom/Abraham, Isak/Isaac), which is totally unnecessary and a bit too close to home. The episode is extremely violent as well, all of which makes the attempts at humor more jarring, and at worst, tasteless. Sure, some moments work as set pieces, like Spock on top of Kirk's back (though Spock is especially distracted and unprofessional in this episode), but most don't. There's way too much levity peppered throughout (not just at the end, which has become a bit usual), and Spock telling Kirk he'd make an excellent Nazi, or Melakon saying Spock is from an inferior race make me cringe more than smile.
If you're particularly sensitive to these issues, you may well be offended by Patterns of Force. After all, it turns Hitler's final solution into a light entertainment. I'm only really offended by bad storytelling, to tell you the truth, and I have to admit that despite the many plot holes in this show's premise, it hums along at a good click, has plenty of action, and some good twists and turns.
LESSON: Just because you have a lot of Nazi uniforms in the costume warehouse, doesn't mean you should plug them into your science-fiction show.
REWATCHABILITY - Low/Medium: I want to say Low because of the inappropriate level of violence and tasteless way the subject matter has been approached, but it's a Medium if you take the show for what it is and enjoy its action-adventure aspects.
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