CAPTAIN KIRK MEETS A PRINCESS

 

Episode Title:  Elaan of Troyius

Air Date: 12/20/1968

Written by John Meredyth Lucas

Directed by John Meredyth Lucas

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          Eddie Paskey as Lieutenant Leslie                 Bill Blackburn as Lieutenant Hadley Frank Da Vinci as Lieutenant Brent       Walter Koenig as Ensign Pavel Chekov                 Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel      Jeannie Malone as unnamed Yeoman              Lee Duncan as Crewman  Evans     Victor Brandt as Crewman  Watson      Dick Durock as unnamed guard# 1          Charles Beck as unnamed guard#2        Hal Baylor as unnamed guard#3             France Nuyen as Elaan           Jay Robinson as      Petri     Tony Young as Kryton            K.L. Smith as unnamed Klingon Commander

Ships and Space Stations: USS Enterprise NCC-1701, unnamed Klingon K't'inga-class battle cruiser

Planets:  Elas and Troyius

My Spoiler filled summary and review: The Enterprise is entering a solar system in space claimed by both Federation and the Klingons.  In the system are two planets Elas and Troyius that are often at war with one another.   With the development of nuclear weapons it is becoming more likely that the two peoples will wipe each other out.  So the two governments in an attempt to find peace they have arranged a marriage between the Ruler of Troyius and the Dolhman of Elas.  After Kirk explains to Spock and McCoy what is going on Spock notes that Elasian men were known to be hostile and aggressive while McCoy points out that the women had a special mystical power that can drive men wild. 

The armed guard!

They meet with the Troyian Ambassador Petri and as they head to the transporter room their guest explains that the Dolhman is the most feared and hated person on his planet.  Petri asks if Kirk can slow the trip to give him time to prepare the Dolhman for her new life.  They end up beaming three men onto their ship.  These men are Elasian and they are the Dolhman’s bodyguards.  They insist on inspecting everything to make sure it is safe.  Kirk manages to convince them that it is and they beam the young woman abroad.  She immediately starts barking orders forgetting that she is not on her planet anymore.  Kirk amuses her at Petri’s request.

Showing respect for the royalty!

Kirk orders the ship to Troyius at the slowest possible speed which is stunning to the bridge crew.  Try to imagine a car trip where your vehicle never exceeds 15 MPH.   Soon however Kirk is called down to the Dolhman’s quarters because she is having a temper tantrum.  She doesn’t like the quarters, she is insulted by the Ambassador’s gifts.  Kirk tells her there are no better quarters and if she likes he can get her more things to break.  He leaves as he feels like it which annoys the Dolhman.  The Captain then tells the Ambassador that he is just going to have to get tough with the Dolhman in order to make progress.  When the Captain returns to the bridge Mr. Spock informs him of a blip on their scanners possibly a Klingon warship. 

Kirk discovers that his advice to the poor Ambassador didn’t go to well as our favorite Dolhman has literally stabbed him in the back.  While recovering in sickbay Nurse Chapel asks the wounded diplomat why it is anyone would want to be married to these Elasian women and he responds by telling her their tears contain special chemical hormones that make men fall madly in love with them.  While this is going on one of the Elasian guards named Kryton begins to sabotage the Enterprise and kills an engineer in the process.  

The Ambassador is not having a good time!

Kirk forces his way into Elaan’s room with assistance from Spock.  Kirk in no uncertain terms tells her that her position in society requires she follow her duty no matter how undesirable that might be and if she doesn’t want to do it then she should forfeit her position.  She throws things and tries to stab Kirk but he dodges and in some cases gives the Dolhman a taste of her own medicine.  However as this goes on she confess to Kirk that her fear is no one likes her and she would like Kirk to show her how to change that.  She cries and as Kirk wipes away her tears he falls under her spell.  They make love until Kirk called away when Kryton’s communication to the Klingons is detected and his sabotage is discovered.  To avoid interrogation by way of a Vulcan mind meld, Kryton steals a phaser and commits suicide. 

Kirk checks in with Elaan who says that Kryton was in love with her and probably formed an alliance to prevent her marriage.  The two embrace again and Elaan asks not to be brought to Troyius and instead use his ship to destroy that planet so that she can be with Kirk forever.   Spock and the Doctor run in and this is not as bad as it could be, for Dr. McCoy already knows about the tears.  He asks Kirk if they touched him.  McCoy vows to find an antidote.  However this becomes the least of their troubles as the Klingon ship moves into attack. 

Bad day on the job!

Kirk orders the ship into warp but Scotty discovers the Kryton’s had sabotage the Enterprise so that it will blow when it hits warp.  The Klingon ship just swings by hoping to provoke the Enterprise into jumping so that the bomb will go off.  Elaan goes to the bridge but Kirk tells her he can’t defend her this way and decides asks her to go to sickbay.  Scotty is able to deactivate the explosive set up  but the sabotage wrecked the dilithium crystals.  Without the crystals the ship is operating on battery power and can barely crawl.  As the Klingon ship returns the battle between it and the Enterprise is like a young boxer fighting a senior citizen who just walked out of a nursing home.

The Klingons are here!

In sickbay the Ambassador offers her a necklace.  In a sign of growing maturity she accepts it.  However she does not stay but returns to the bridge to die with Kirk.  While there Mr. Spock makes a startling discovery.  Her necklace is made out of dilithium crystals, and Elaan explains that on her world these are “common stones” and quite worthless monetary wise.  With her permission Spock takes the neckless down to engineering.   Once the crystals are in place the Enterprise is returned to full strength allowing Kirk to make short work of the Klingons. 

Kirk with his lady love

Elaan leaves for her wedding and says one last good-bye to Kirk; Kirk lets her go but won’t go the royal wedding as he can’t bear to watch.  McCoy later creates a cure for the Elasian tears that we were earlier couldn’t be done.  However Spock points out Kirk was already in love with the Enterprise.  The cure to love is a starship.     

Additional thoughts: First Nona and now Elaan!  What is up with these beautiful women who think they need to drug Kirk in order to get him to sleep with them?   Joking aside in both cases it was clear why they had to: Elaan is royalty who is being provided taxi service to her wedding, and Nona was his friend’s wife.  Also to be fair to Elaan her case is a bit different.  Her chemical tears are something her body naturally produces and it’s her specie’s way of mating whereas Nona was going full Cosby. 

In addition I am not sure I bought into Spock’s “Captain Kirk was already in love with the Enterprise” line at the end.  It is cute but I am not sure it is accurate.  It seems to be a better explanation is Kirk is human and not Elasian therefore the effects were simply limited.  Kirk was taken by Elaan but not enough to completely lose his mind.  For example he might not be able to resist her sexual advances but when she says things like “use the Enterprise to destroy Troyius” he can deflect that with easy.   As time goes on the effect should naturally start to wear off in any non-Elasian.

Spock discovering a surprise on the neckless!

What the hell is up with Lt. Uhura having to give up her quarters to Elaan?  They don’t have guest quarters?  They have had guests before.  What about Kodos the Executioner and his acting company?  Did they put crewmembers out?  How about Journey to Babel when they had all those diplomats, did they have to have people sleep on the floor?  Okay, say the Dolhman wants the best quarters; wouldn’t that have been Captain Kirk’s?  Maybe there is some religious restriction for occupying quarters that belonged to a man so she has to have the best female quarters?  If that is the case then why Lt. Uhura?  Last I checked the highest ranking woman on the Enterprise was Dr. Ann Mulhall so wouldn’t hers be the best?  I never noticed much a difference between quarters on the Enterprise whether they are Captain Kirk’s or Ensign Garrovick’s.   

So what is a Dolhman anyway?  This isn’t very clear in the episode.  At first I thought she was the ruler of her planet and it seemed to be when the Ambassador referred to her title as the one his people most fear.  Then there are others that suggest she isn’t.  For one there is no talk about a merging of governments once she marries the ruler of Troyius, just that she will be that planet’s queen.  Yet nothing is said for the continued government of her own planet.  When talking with Kirk she refers to her rights as hers by right of being a member of the royal family.  However she never refers to herself as the monarch.  Could it be that the Dolhman is like prince/princess the title that the children of the monarch get?  Yet she is often called THE Dolhman, so perhaps it’s a position like the Princess Royal of Great Britain or the Madam Royal of France?  

The Enterprise in battle!

Whatever she is she clearly expects all her wants to be met and is not used to hearing ‘no.’ The only limit she acknowledges is the power of the Council but she still tries to defy it.  I am not sure how much power she has on her own planet.  There is a “Last Emperor of China” feel about her.  Where she has life and death power over her immediate servants she may have little to no power in areas which it matters.  One can feel for her desire not to get married against her will; however as Kirk points out that possibility comes with her position.  If she wants control over whom she marries give up the position. 

Also not since Yeoman Tonia Barrows have we had a more kinky character.  I for one think Elaan knew exactly what a spanking was when he first threatened it.  The whole thing seemed to excite her.  The first thing she says when Kirk is affected by her tears is she asks about the spanking.

I am no civil liberties lawyer but shouldn’t forced mind-melds be illegal?  Or would this fall under the “dirty bomb in a suitcase” torture exception?

Also at the beginning of the episode they stated that this system was under the control of the Federation.  These two planets don’t seem like Federation worlds to me.  Since when are Federation members allowed to go to war with one another?  That makes less sense the living quarters situation on the Enterprise. 

FINAL GRADE 3 of 5