Episode Title: Amok Time
Air Date: 9/15/1967
Written by Theodore
Sturgeon
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” George
Takei as Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura Majel Barrett as Nurse
Christine Chapel Eddie Paskey as
Lieutenant Leslie Bill Blackburn as Lieutenant Hadley Walter Koenig as Ensign Pavel Chekov Byron Morrow as Admiral Komack Celia Lovsky as T'Pau Frank Da Vinci as Vulcan
Ceremonial Aide Arlene
Martel as T'Pring Lawrence
Montaigne as Stonn Walker
Edmiston as voice of Space Central Charles Palmer as Vulcan Litter Bearer Joe Paz as Vulcan Ceremonial Aide Russ Peek as Vulcan Executioner Mary Rice as T'Pring as Child Mauri Russell as Vulcan Litter Bearer Gary Wright as Vulcan Litter
Bearer
Ships: USS
Enterprise NCC-1701
Planets: Vulcan
My Spoiler filled
summary and review: The episode
begins with Dr. McCoy confiding to Captain Kirk that he concerned about Mr.
Spock. He reports that the normally
stoic Mr. Spock is seemly becoming emotionally unbalanced. Kirk can’t believe it but when they see Nurse
Chapel try to give Mr. Spock some soup that he likes they become witness to
Spock throwing the bowl across the room and smashing it on the wall. When Spock makes eye contact with Kirk he
makes a request for leave on Vulcan.
The Enterprise’s current mission is to go to Altair VI for an important
diplomatic visit. Altair has an
inauguration for its new president and Starfleet wants to make a good
impression for strategically located vital ally against the Klingons. Kirk
would like to find out what was wrong with Spock so he would stop acting
weird. When he inquires about the First Officer taking
leave elsewhere Spock refuses demanding Vulcan.
Kirk decides that Spock has done enough for them over the years and
orders the ship to Vulcan before stopping on Altair.
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| Kirk and McCoy check in on Chapel |
Unfortunately as with all the best
laid plans of mice and men Kirk’s plan falls astray. Turns out the new President of Altair wants
to have his inauguration early so the Enterprise
no longer has time to stop at Vulcan.
Kirk apologizes and Spock says he understands. Later, Kirk starts to feel guilty about not
letting Spock go so he calls Chekov to see if they went at maximum warp would they
be able to drop Spock off and attend the inauguration. Chekov is confused because they were already
heading back to Vulcan under orders from Mr. Spock.
Kirk confronts Spock about him changing the
course of the ship to which Mr. Spock claims he doesn’t remember changing the
course but thinks it is very likely that he may have given his current
condition. Kirk then orders Mr. Spock to
go to sickbay. Spock goes reluctantly
and submits to Dr. McCoy’s exam under the protest of “for all the good it will
do us.” Ironically it does do both of them a lot of good. Although Dr. McCoy can’t explain it he comes
to the conclusion that whatever Spock’s condition is if it’s not treated it
will be fatal. The best place for Mr.
Spock is on Vulcan. Then McCoy advocates
this in front of Captain Kirk who decides to speak with Spock one more time.
Kirk sees Spock in his quarters;
Spock is still hesitant to talk. Kirk
reasons with him that if he has to lose his best officer at the very least he has
the right to know why. He tells his First Officer that he will treat whatever information Spock gives him in the
strictest of confidence. Spock begins by
asking him if he ever wonder how Vulcans choose their mates. Kirk says that most assume that the choice
was a logical one. This is where
explains that Vulcans are like salmon.
They have to return to the point of origin in order to take a mate and
reproduce or die in the attempt. They
have a ritual called pon farr where
they shroud the whole thing in ceremony.
If he doesn’t go and complete the
ceremony he will die.
Kirk contacts Starfleet Command and
speaks with Admiral Komack. He tells the
Admiral that they can’t go to the inauguration and he can’t tell him why but is
an emergency. The Admiral is not at all
impressed and tells Kirk he better be there or else. Kirk thinks about it and realizes Spock has
saved his life so many times that if cost him his career no big deal. Kirk orders the ship to Vulcan.
Spock seems to calm down as the
ship heads to Vulcan. He even asks Nurse
Chapel to make him some of that soup from earlier. When they arrive at Vulcan they are received
and the Vulcan government even arranges for a lady Vulcan named T’Pring to
communicate with Spock. When they ask
Spock who she is he responds with “She’s my wife.” However we later learn they are not quite
married yet but they are more than betrothed.
 |
| T'Pring spoils the party |
As he is about to leave Spock
requests that Kirk and McCoy accompany him as it is his right to have his
closest friends with him at the ceremony.
The three beam down together to the hot climate that is Vulcan. They arrive at the ceremony and Spock has to
strike a gong twice and then a parade of Vulcans arrive. All sorts of Vulcans, some of them are very
mean looking. Among the company is a
woman named T’Pau. T’Pau is a big deal
in the Federation and the only person to down a seat in the Federation
Council. Kirk is almost in immediate
fanboy mode when she arrives. He tells McCoy that he had no idea Spock’s
family was so important.
Everything seems to be going as
planned until T’Pring prevents Spock from striking the gong again and demands
kal-if-fee. Kirk and McCoy are told that
she has rejected Spock and demands he fight for her. She continues to shock everyone when naming
her champion to fight Spock she chooses Captain Kirk. One Vulcan, named Stonn, objects claiming that
he should be the one to fight, but T’Pau tells him to shut up. Spock tries to get T’Pau to let Kirk
off. T’Pau gives Kirk and out but McCoy
said he didn’t think Spock could take Stonn in his present condition. Realizing that his fighting skills are
supreme and famed throughout the universe, Kirk reasons he might be able to
knock Spock out quickly. If not he could
just quit. He then makes a mistake by
not asking more about the rules and tells T’Pau he accepts. Then T’Pau now decides to let him know that
this is a fight to the death.
The battle begins Kirk and Spock each fight
with traditional Vulcan weapons. Kirk’s
is the greatest fighter in known universe but he is fighting with restraint not
wanting to hurt Spock, while Spock is a blood lusted horny Vulcan who must kill
to get laid. In addition to that it is
also very hot, so hot that McCoy is convinced that Kirk has no chance. McCoy directly challenges T’Pau, unlike Kirk
he is not a fanboy so he is not so intimidated.
He tells her that the contest is rigged without giving Kirk a chance. She doesn’t understand what can be done and
McCoy says that he can inject Kirk with medicine that will counter act the
heat. She agrees and McCoy does so. Kirk
says while being injected that he can’t believe he might have to kill Spock
which was the opposite of why they came.
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| Kirk is like "this isn't my party!" |
The fight continues with Spock
gaining the upper hand and strangling Captain Kirk to death. Strangling Captain Kirk is apparently better
than sex as Spock is then immediately cured.
Realizing what he has done however he is in a bit of shock. McCoy says he is in command now and he orders
the Captain’s body to be brought to the Enterprise
and to have them plot a course to the nearest Starbase so he can turn himself
in.
 |
| Yeah this not what Kirk thought he would be doing today! |
Spock goes to T’Pring and demands
to know why she invoked the challenge and selected Kirk as her champion. She explains that Spock has basically become
a celebrity on Vulcan because of his adventures and she did not want to be the
wife of a celebrity. In addition to that
she and Stonn have fallen in love. If
Stonn had fought there was a chance he would lose and die. By choosing Kirk she was assured that however
won would be so disgusted with her that neither would have her. Spock agrees to let her go and warns Stonn
with one of Spock’s greatest quotes:
“You may find in time that having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true.”
With that he says his good-byes to
T’Pau and when she tells him to live long and prosper he responds by saying he
will do neither. He is full of guilt
having killed Captain Kirk. Fortunately
for Mr. Spock his grief is short-lived as turns out Kirk is alive and well on
the ship. Turns out McCoy gave him a drug
that would slow his body functions and simulate death. Not only is Kirk alive but his career is
saved as well. T’Pau called Starfleet
Command and explained that the Enterprise
was at Vulcan on her request so Starfleet Command backed down and retroactively
gave permission for everything that happened.
There is just one more thing. McCoy challenges Spock on his emotional
outlet upon seeing Kirk alive, to which replies he was just showing the proper
respect for Starfleet not losing such a fine captain. So McCoy then asks if he is implying is that
his response was based solely on logic. Spock
confirms it was. As Kirk and Spock walk
off McCoy says loudly “In a pig’s eye!”
Additional thoughts: Before
“Amok Time” Mr. Spock was the only Vulcan fans had ever seen, and he was only
half-Vulcan. Fans often wonder what
other Vulcans were like. Well in this
episode not only did we see other Vulcans but we get to go to Vulcan and see
some of the inner working of their culture.
One of the major things we learn is that Vulcans are like salmon. They are calm creatures who go crazy during
mating season. They must mate or
strangle Captain Kirk, which is just as good as mating.
Our first post-Spock Vulcan is
T’Pring, Mr. Spock’s intended. Her name
should be T’Prick because what a horrible person she is. At first she seems sympathetic, she doesn’t want
to go through an arranged marriage with a man who is now a celebrity and has she fallen in love with someone else.
However when she decides to pair two friends against each other in a fight
to the death in order to traumatize the winner that is when she loses my
sympathy. She had other options; T’Pring could have
reached out to Spock before pon farring starts and asked to be released. Giving Spock’s high ranking family and
celebrity status I think he could have easily found himself another mate.
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| Everyone's least favorite Vulcans |
Next we get T’Pau, the frail woman
who is more powerful than Starfleet Command.
In her old age she doesn’t seem to be involved in a lot of planning
ahead of things. After all why didn’t
she just tell Starfleet to bring Spock to her?
That would have avoided a lot of drama.
Also when Kirk gets invited to the challenge you think, given that
Kirk is not from there, that she would have explained the rules better before he
accepts. I mean she did try to give him
and out but you think she could have lead with “so you want to be in a fight to the
death with your friend?”
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| All of Vulcan in one package! |
I think a great deal of trouble
could be avoided if human and Vulcan alike just learned to lie better. If Spock has just said “I need to go to
Vulcan to deal with a medical condition that only Vulcans can treat.” Would
Kirk have been so hard on him? Likely,
if Kirk had said something of the same to the Admiral would the flag officer
have given him such a hard time?
 |
| Spock says his good-byes and starts a tradition of Star Trek Fandom |
Speaking of admirals we finally get
to see one. Another first from this to
go along with planet Vulcan, Vulcans, pon farr, the Vulcan salute, and “live
long and prosper;” we get our first admiral.
Up to this point every time we meet one Kirk’s Starfleet superiors it
was always a commodore. It was a good
scene too, we got to see him rip Kirk a new one because Kirk can’t tell a
little white lie. Given the information
Kirk was giving him I can’t blame him for his response.
In the end everything turns out
okay. Spock and T’Pring both get what
they wanted, Kirk is alive and his career is saved, and the crew of the
Enterprise didn’t have to attend that boring inauguration. All is well that ends well.
FINAL GRADE 5 of 5
