Episode Title: Friday's
Child
Air Date: 12/1/1967
Written by Dorothy C.
Fontana
Directed by Joseph
Pevney
Cast: William
Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy as Commander Spock DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard H.
McCoy AKA “Bones” James
Doohan as Lieutenant Commander Montgomery
Scott AKA “Scotty” George
Takei as Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura Robert Bralver as Lieutenant Grant Eddie Paskey as Lieutenant Leslie Bill Blackburn as Lieutenant Hadley Jay D. Jones as Lieutenant Jackson Walter Koenig as Ensign Pavel
Chekov Frank Da Vinci as Capellan
Warrior Julie Newmar as Eleen Tige Andrews as Kras Michael
Dante as Maab Cal
Bolder as Keel Ben Gage as Akaar Kirk Raymond as Duur Walker Edmiston as the voice of SS Dierdre
Ships: USS
Enterprise NCC-1701, unnamed Klingon battle cruiser
Planets: Capella IV
My Spoiler filled
summary and review: The Enterprise is
headed to Capella IV to negotiate a mining treaty for a rare mineral that is
desperately needed on many worlds in the Federation. The good news is right before he came on the Enterprise, Dr. McCoy, spent a few
months with the local population. The
Capellans are a tribal culture and are prone to violence. They however are highly honorable people who
feel individuals must always tell the truth.
 |
| Capellans with a surprise guest! |
Kirk, Spock, and a security officer
named Lt. Grant beam down to the surface with Dr. McCoy. When they get there they discover a Klingon
with among the Capellans. Grant calls
him out and reaches for his phaser this causes a Capellan warrior to kill
him. The Klingon named Kras points out
that they are not at war and asks Kirk if it is their policy to kill Klingons
on sight. Kirk explains that his guard
was young and when he saw their sworn enemy he was called to act. The Capellans claim that the Klingon has come
to negotiate and has voluntarily surrendered his weapon. They
demand Kirk and his party do as well and, following McCoy’s advice, Kirk agrees.
 |
| Reaching for ones phaser to fast! |
Kirk relies on Dr. McCoy to guide
him throughout his dealings, which is helpful in more than one way. For example McCoy prevents Kirk from having
to fight a duel that the Capellans “politely” offer. McCoy’s biggest help is when they meet the
High Teer of the Ten Tribes, Akaar.
Akaar is an older gentleman who has a young pregnant wife named Eleen. Akaar is open-minded between the Klingons and
the Federation. Maab, a high ranking Capellan warrior, says he
wants completion but clearly favors the Klingons.
 |
| Kirk almost gets in a "friendly duel" |
Kras tries to convince the High
Teer that their cultures are similar for each is warrior based. Both believe that the weak should die and
there is no point in taking care of them.
McCoy is able to outwit the Klingon by using his knowledge of local
Capellan custom to dismiss Kras’s concerns as unimportant. Kirk chimes in to remind the High Teer that
Federation’s most important law is that of the Prime Directive, which states
that Capella will always belong to the Capellans where the Klingons are a
conquering empire who rule over subjected peoples. To the annoyance of the warrior Maab, the
High Teer seems to favor the Federation although he states he wants to think on
it.
 |
| Meeting the High Teer |
On the bridge of the Enterprise, Lt Uhura tells Mr. Scott
that she is receiving a distress call from a ship called the SS Dierdre. The freighter claims to be under attack. Following Starfleet regulations Mr. Scott
orders the Enterprise to leave the
system which has the effect of leaving the away team stranded.
That night a revolt breaks out
against the High Teer’s rule. In the
confusion Kirk is forced to defend himself which he does using his superior
fighting skills that are famed throughout the galaxy. Akaar is killed and Maab is proclaimed the
new High Teer. Kras
finds the new leader disappointing, where as a warrior Maab was a strong ally
to the Klingons now as High Teer and flushed with power he sees things “differently.” He no longer backs the Klingons blindly. He becomes amused by Captain Kirk and when
Kirk suggests that he and Kras should fight, Maab thinks he sees fear in the
eye of the Klingon.
This is good news for the away team
but it suddenly comes to a quick end when Eleen is brought in to be
killed. As she is carrying a child with
a strong claim to be High Teer she must die.
The laws of Capellans give the High Teer the legal right and their
cultural norms the expectation to kill her.
This does not sit well with Captain Kirk and he prevents her from being
killed. Eleen reacts as if she had just
been assaulted by Kirk. Now Kirk is
sentence to be killed and Eleen’s death is delayed so she can watch him die.
 |
| Seeing fear in the eyes of a Klingon |
With Spock’s Vulcan abilities and Captain
Kirk’s famed fighting skills they are able to overpower their guards. They reason Eleen’s action might have been
her delaying her own fate and offer to take her with them. She accepts and they are all off. While on the run Dr. McCoy spends a good deal
of time with Eleen where he learns that she hates the baby inside of her. She is initially irrational as her culture
teaches her medicine is for the weak. At
one point she slaps McCoy and he slaps her back. This strangely causes her to trust him. In his progress report to Kirk, McCoy reports
to his Captain that Eleen is humanoid not human so there are differences he medically has
to factor in.
 |
| Kras finding his ally not so reliable |
Kras keeps trying to get his
weapons back from Maab but the new High Teer is being very strict about their
original agreement. They continue the
hunt for the fugitives but Captain Kirk is not one to always be on the
retreat. He and Mr. Spock take their
recovered communicators and rig them to set off a sonic signal that causes a
rock avalanche. In the chaos Kras
recovers a Starfleet phaser being held by a Capellan warrior and kills the
warrior to assure his silence.
 |
| Attempting to treat the brainwashed! |
Back on the Enterprise the crew discovers that the SS Dierdre is nowhere to be found.
Scotty is convinced that they were lured out of the system by someone on
purpose. Sulu and Uhura are not as
sure. Scotty is determined to finish the
search pattern and get back to the planet to help the landing party as soon as
possible. Later when the ship is heading
back to its original location they get another distress signal. Scotty takes responsibility and ignores the
signal. He reminds the crew of the old
saying “fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.” Chekov immediately recognizes that as a
Russian saying, as he finds everything to be.
 |
| Scotty does not like being made a fool |
Back on the surface McCoy learns from Eleen
that children belong to the mother’s husband not to the mother. McCoy is irritated by that cultural tradition
and also convinced that is the source of her detachment to the baby. In the most hilarious part of the episode
McCoy tries to get her to take ownership of the child and wants her to say “the
child is mine.” This backfires
spectacularly leading Eleen to think McCoy is making a claim. This wins her over and she proudly proclaims
that the child belongs to Dr. McCoy. By
the time the baby arrives she is now referring to it as “their” child. This is an improvement but it causes some
confusion with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock.
When McCoy says he can explain, Spock says he expects that to be most
entertaining.
 |
| Getting ready for a fight! |
Kirk and Spock build some bow and arrows for the purpose of mounting a
defense. Eleen knocks McCoy out and
sneaks off to her people. While there she
confides to the Maab that she had killed the baby and the Starfleet
officers. Kras demands that she prove
it. However as a wife of a High Teer she
is not to be questioned. However as soon
as Eleen accepts her fate the Klingon causes a battle to occur between the Capellan warriors against Kirk and Spock, with the two Starfleet officers more than holding their own. Kras at this point reveals his treachery and
uses his phaser that he stole against both Starfleet and the Capellans.
In space the Enterprise is intercepted by a Klingon battle-cruiser and Scotty is
not backing down. Fortunately for the
crew the Klingon ship uncharacteristically yields. I imagine the Klingon ship’s captain
recognized the Enterprise as the ship
that so easily destroyed their sister vessel in “Errand of Mercy” that
he didn’t want to take his chances.
Now fully aware of how badly he misjudged the
Klingon, Maab tells Eleen her life is hers again and it is his that is
forfeit. Maab calls out to the Klingon
who vaporizes him with the phaser. Kras’s
attention to Maab gives Kirk and Spock an opening. They kill Kras with that opportunity. With Kras’s death things quiet down and McCoy
emerges with the baby. Shortly after
McCoy returns Scotty arrives with a security team. All is well that ends well.
Back up on the Enterprise we learn that Eleen, now the regent for her son the new
High Teer, has signed the mining treaty.
The Doctor and the Captain are quite pleased with the new monarch’s
name: Leonard James Akaar. Spock is now
concerned about the ego of his two shipmates spiraling out of control.
Additional thoughts:
Okay these Capellans are big and tall alright but it looks like they are still
in tribal stages of their existence, I am not sure they even have the wheel. Isn’t the Federation not supposed to be interacting with these pre- warp
societies? I suppose it’s one of those
situations where they came across a primitive culture that was already
interfered with by others. I would guess
the Klingons made an earlier appearance on this world.
So the Klingons find a culture that
is very much like their own and they screw up by sending the worst Klingon they possibly could to
handle this. Somehow I think this would
have been a different story had Commander Kor been on the other side. Between Kras and the battle-crusier running off with
its tail between its legs: it was not a good day for the Empire. I did feel a little for Kras for I do think
Maab was going back on his word once he became High Teer.
This was such a great episode for
Dr. McCoy. From guiding Kirk and Spock
through Capellan culture, to all his scenes with Eleen, and him almost becoming
a daddy, it was a treat to see the good doctor take center stage. I much prefer this than to him being so
lovesick in “The Man Trap.” Some modern viewers might have an issue with him
“forcing” treatment on Eleen without her consent but in my mind Eleen had so
brainwashed into thinking she had to kill herself that her refusal of treatment
wasn’t being made of sound mind and body.
I also enjoyed Scotty’s B-plot of
having to outsmart the Klingons in space.
Not only did it help Scotty but the bridge scenes allow for some great
screen time from the more supporting characters of Sulu, Uhura, and Chekov.
Personally I think Lt. Grant’s
death was his own fault and Kirk was being kind of a dick about it. Yes, no captain wants to lose a crewman but
he pulled a phaser on the Klingon who was standing next to their escort. What do you expect was going to happen? If the shoe was on the other foot what would
they have done? I am sorry the Capellans
haven’t developed enough technology to have stun setting. Next time teach your man to keep his head and
he won’t lose it.
I wish Dr. McCoy had time to explain the
government of the Capellans. So the High
Teer is their monarch which as a position seems hereditary. Akaar states that is marriage to Eleen was
arranged so he could produce an heir, and the little guy is High Teer by the
end. However Akaar is overthrown by
Maab. My question is do they Capellan as
a culture recognize that sort of thing as valid? Or would they all regard him as some sort of
usurper? Are Maab and Akaar related or
can anybody go for the position of High Teer?
If the High Teer can be overthrown for being weak doesn’t that leave the
baby High Teer in some sort of very vulnerable position? Or do child Teers get a pass? What is the final fate of High Teer Leonard
James Akaar?
FINAL GRADE 4 OF 5
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