Episode Title: The Savage Curtain
Air Date: 3/7/1969
Written by Arthur
Heinemann and Dorothy C. Fontana
Directed by Herschel
Daugherty
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 Bill Blackburn as
Lieutenant Hadley Roger Holloway
as Lieutenant Lemli Arell
Blanton as Lieutenant Dickerson
Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel Walter Koenig as Ensign Pavel
Chekov Lee Bergere as President Abraham
Lincoln Barry Atwater as Surak Phillip
Pine as Colonel Green Carol
Daniels as Zora Bob Herron as Kahless Nathan Jung as Ghengis Khan Bart La Rue as Yarnek (voice) Janos Prohaska as Yarnek (body)
Ships: USS
Enterprise NCC-1701
Planets: Excalbia
My Spoiler filled summary and review: The Enterprise is surveying what appears to be a rather boring planet. Just as they were getting ready to leave their systems go haywire. While trying to address this they receive a communication from Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States who at this point had been dead for over 400 years. Lincoln assures the crew he is who he appears to be. A patch of the planet Excalbia, suddenly transforms into an Earth-like environment and Lincoln requests to be brought aboard. A request that Kirk decides to grant.
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| Lincoln on the Enterprise! |
Kirk arranges Lincoln to be brought up with full presidential honors. This means that all the senior officers will be in dress uniforms and they will have music playing when the President arrives. Scotty, who can’t get in touch with sheer absurdity of what is going on, notices the scanner doesn’t pick up a human at first then suddenly does. Lincoln is now on board and he has a lot of questions about the 23rd century from recorded music, to the transporter, to the Enterprise traveling the stars. Kirk explains as best he can. As he brings the President around there is a cringe scene with Uhura that I will go into later. He also informs Spock that on the planet he will meet a great Vulcan.
Later in the conference room the senior staff, despite being time travelers themselves, seem to think the idea of Lincoln being here in the 23rd is just impossible. Mr. Spock points out that Abraham Lincoln was Captain Kirk's personal hero. They may be dealing with aliens who have the power to create illusions out of our own thoughts. Now they have seen that before a fact that Kirk is well aware because of Spock.
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| Meeting on Lincoln |
Kirk decides that he and Spock will accompany Lincoln to the planet’s surface. When they arrive the find themselves greeted by an ancient Vulcan named Surak. Surak was the founder of Vulcan civilization and philosophy. To Spock this is his Abe Lincoln, George Washington, and Jesus all rolled into one. Spock denies this can be Surak but the man plays his part well. Then a rock comes to life and introduces himself as Yarnek. Yarnek's people like to watch plays of alien philosophies. They know of the human concept of good and evil and they would like to know which is stronger. Kirk and Spock were given their two respective heroes for their team. Yarnek brings in some villains: Colonel Green, a fascist from World War III; Kahless the Unforgettable, founder of the Klingon Empire; Zora of Tiburon, known for experiments on humanoids; and Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire in the 12th century. The two side are to fight so the Excalbians can see who is truly superior.
Kirk and Spock refuse to cooperate at first but the Excalbians revel that they have the power to destroy the Enterprise and right now have disabled it. If Kirk and Spock don’t win to will be curtains for the crew, who get to watch as the Captain has to fight for their fate again. Colonel Green starts a conversation with Kirk reminding him that the Excalbians are the true enemies. Kirk remembers that Green likes to attack during negotiations and this version it true to form. The “good” force fights back and retreats to a more fortified position. Lincoln and Kirk discuss strategy where Lincoln remarks that Kirk reminds him of General Grant.
Surak isn’t not a warrior and would like to try to negotiate. Kirk tries to tell him that such a gesture with the characters they are facing would be pointless. Surak is a man of peace and must attempt it. This works as well as one would expect it to and Surak is captured and tortured. The remaining three form a rescue plan. Kirk and Spock attack while Lincoln goes around to rescue Surak. This was a good plan but unfortunately Surak isn’t just captured he is dead. Kahless, it seems, can imitate voices. Lincoln is stabbed in the back with a spear but lives long enough to warn Kirk and Spock. The two press their attack and kill Green and Kahless. Khan and Zora retreat. Yarnek returns disappointed that he didn’t learn anything. Kirk and Spock couldn’t care less and are glad to leave. In the end they reflect on the experience and how it was kind of cool to meet their heroes exactly as they were in their mind.
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| Surak in person |
Additional thoughts: This is why classic Star Trek is my favorite version of the franchise. You can’t beat the original. Lincoln showing up who would have thought? Apollo one season and Lincoln the next, this series is one that always keeps you on your toes. We also got to meet the founder of all Vulcan civilization, Surak. Seeing the one who Spock described as the “greatest of us all” and his reaction to it was a treat.
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| Yarnek |
So, Kirk’s great hero is Lincoln. I wonder where Lincoln ranks in comparison to Garth of Izar. I am assuming Lincoln is ranked higher since he didn’t try to kill Kirk, and it was he who the Excalbians recreated. (Wouldn’t it have been funny if they brought Garth of Izar? Imagine Kirk’s reaction to seeing him on the viewscreen.) I think it is awesome that Kirk holds real-life Lincoln in such high regard it shows a number of different things. It shows that Kirk is something of history buff and he has good taste. I too am a fan of Mr. Lincoln and have read a number of books about him. I read this one, this one, and this one here. He is the only president who accomplished more that than what he set out to do[1] and did so much to change the nation for the better. In way he re-founded it.
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| Bad guy team |
Okay so let’s talk about Lincoln’s big faux pax in the episode. That is went he goes to talk with Lt. Uhura and uses a very outdated term that I won’t repeat here. The term was acceptable in Lincoln’s day but was falling far out of use by the time this episode was airing. Fortunately for Lincoln, Lt. Uhura has grown up in a society where her blackness was never something that was used against her. Old fashioned racism is to the Lieutenant as feudalism is to me as white person. I understand it intellectually but I was never forced to experience it. For if that word was said at any point in my lifetime our dear 16th President would have been knocked on his butt. What I find really interesting is that Lincoln didn’t need to be told he had made a mistake. He all of a sudden knew as if the information had been directly transferred to his brain. If I was Lincoln I would have been pissed, a warning before would have been nice. Words change and over time words that may not have been offensive may suddenly become so. So, imagine you travel 400 years into the future and you now have a superpower that causes any time you say a word that in the last few centuries had become a slur, your brain instantly knows you did really wrong. As opposed to one that would just give you an updated lists of things you can and cannot say in polite society.
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| Lincoln is lucky the Lieutenant is such an understanding person |
So, when they sent out the representatives for evil why Col. Green and not Adolf Hitler? After all it wouldn’t be the first time Kirk and Spock had to face off against some Nazi. I also didn’t understand why the likes of Kahless and Khan would have followed the orders of Green. Wouldn’t one of them had been a better choice as leader? After all they were actually successful in what they were trying to do historically.
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| Good guy team |
Personally, I could have done without the whole “good vs. evil” battle. I think it would have been better for the four of them to work together to figure out why it was Lincoln and Surak had been displaced in time. Ultimately have them triumph over the Excalbians and allow Lincoln and Surak to return to their own time. I wish Kirk had pressed Lincoln more about what he remembered about himself. Did he know of his own death or that his efforts to save the Union succeeded in the long term? Having Lincoln and Surak be forced to make the choice to go back knowing what happens to them could have been very interesting indeed. The mystery and the decision could have allowed the characters of Lincoln and Surak to shine more.
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| Being sneaky |
Okay what has all this about “converting into minutes” about. They have been using hours, minutes, and
seconds for the entire series by this point.
Stupid writing error. I wonder if Scotty is just bad with history or
another writing error when he fails to account that Lincoln was four not three
centuries ago.
FINAL GRADE 4 of 5
[1]
James K. Polk did exactly what he set out to do—the only other president
besides Lincoln—but Lincoln achieved far more than his initial goals.
