55. Bread and CircusesFORMULA: The Omega Glory + Patterns of Force + Who Mourns for Adonais?
WHY WE LIKE IT: That great exchange between Spock and McCoy in the jail cell, about Spock being more afraid of living than dying.
WHY WE DON'T: ANOTHER parallel development story? Seems real familiar.
REVIEW: I understand the practical reason for parallel history development stories, but they're a little shameless when not in some kind of actual parallel universe context. These "what if" tales are extremely bizarre when you think about it. That said, Bread and Circuses is probably the best of the lot, and stands to gain from any comparison to the very similar The Omega Glory (which even had a corrupt ship captain coming ashore).
On the one hand, you have the 20th-century Roman culture that uses television to broadcast gladiatorial games, but still has slaves, decadence, etc. It's at least interesting, and Kirk compares much more favorably with a Roman than with a Nazi, as was done earlier. I've never been keen on "television commenting on television", but one wonders how "similar" 60s tv was to the violence of the arena, or if it was just a good prediction on the writer's part. The culture's values are more interesting to explore, and there's a real sting in the proconsul dismissing the "lesser" Captain Merik to talk about things only a man could care about. That all makes Merik's betrayal more believable. Was he looking for a way out all along?
The other reason why the episode works is because of the character development. Spock and McCoy are in particularly good form, as McCoy goes a little too far in his psycho-analysis of Spock, and backpedals from it. Great moments between the two, both in jail and on the arena floor ("I AM defending myself!"). Kirk is again the able psychologist himself, as he paints himself as the perfect Roman to gain Claudius Marcus' respect. Great line about being thrown some "curves" as well. And up on the ship, not only does Uhura get some face time, but Scotty shows himself quite competent too, as he disrupts the city's power grid. Now that's the kind of thinking Starfleet officers should always exhibit.
And what about the Worshippers of the Son, do I find that element controversial, or otherwise in bad taste? Not really. It's a rare mention of a Terran religion in Star Trek, but I don't think it's offensively done at all. It certainly has more merit than The Omega Glory's duplicated U.S. Constitution, et al. And the homonym keeps it from being a plot point throughout the episode. A clever reveal at the end brings the point across for those who hadn't come to the realization on their own.
LESSON: Be careful that the universal translator isn't throwing out homophones to screw up your understanding of an alien culture.
REWATCHABILITY - High: If you're only gonna watch one parallel history episode, make it this one. It's worth the price of admission for the famous Spock/McCoy exchange alone, but the rest of the story holds up as well.
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