Captain's Blog pt. 95: Spectre of the Gun

October 25, 1968

The consensus in the comments section for "The Enterprise Incident" was that it is the 3rd season's best episode. And it more than likely is. Is it my personal favorite, though? Nope. "The Paradise Syndrome," soaring aloft on the jetstream that is "I Am Kirok," clocked in at 84.75 points vs. 71.5 for "The Enterprise Incident." I'm curious to see where this one falls, as it too has always been a favorite. And, like "Enterprise," vastly more serious-minded than practically every other Season 3 episode, "Paradise" most definitely included.

I knew from the get-go that this was my favorite Visual Design (5) of the series.

Years later, when I saw Amazon Women on the Moon, this dinosaur-Jack-the-Ripper thing brought the Melkotians to mind. (And continues to do so.)

Like so many great moments in cinema, this episode's distinctive visual style was borne of production necessity and not (original) creative inspiration. Here's The Star Trek Compendium with the scoop:

"The original script specified filming the episode on location in an outdoor Western town. However, due to budget restrictions, filming was confined to the regular studio stages. To avoid having to build a complete Western town set, the concept of an incomplete town, put together from "bits and pieces" out of Kirk's mind, was developed, thus allowing the episode to be filmed within budget."

It also allowed for a wonderfully surreal dreamscape which enhanced the script and story considerably.

By 1968, as TV production grew more sophisticated and less and less black-and-white sets were sold, the Western-soundstage familiar to any viewers of The Rifleman, Gunsmoke, The Lone Ranger, or many others with fake backdrops, was falling out of favor. "Spectre" knowingly reflects this aspect of the era's artificiality.

The acid-drenched Monkees movie Head also came out in 1968, and its director (Bob Rafelson) likes to take credit for being the first to lampoon the visual "nowhereness" of the Western soundstage. (At least in the Mojo magazine interview I read.) Head is certainly filled with visual puns that get the point across.

For example.

But sorry Bob: "Spectre of the Gun" beat you to the punch by two whole weeks.

Title (1.75) Am I alone in getting a red pen for always spelling "Specter" as "Spectre" on account of this episode? James Bond didn't help, either. I was deliberately misled.

Guest (3.5) I reckon no one here is anyone's favorite guest star of all TOS, but with seven fairly substantial parts, each performer has real presence and individuates his (or her) self.

(l to r) Ron Soble, Rex Holman (later Sybok's right hand man in STV) and veteran of countless Westerns Charles Maxwell.

Sam Gilman (back, right) plays Doc Holliday.

I know that whenever Tombstone comes around on cable, I amuse myself by calling it Anti-Melkotian propaganda, mainly because of the grim, no-nonsense villainy of the Earps in memory from this.

As for our heroes' allies (I use the term loosely:)

Bonnie Beecher plays Sylvia.

Bill Zuckert plays Sheriff "Kill 'em any way that you can!" Behan

Charles Seel as Ed the bartender: prone to giggling at Ike Clayton's antics.

According to the credits, Jeannie Malone plays a Yeoman in this one. I missed her during my screencapping, but here's her Memory-Alpha page and a pic:

Given how many background scenes she's in throughout TOS, I should probably acknowledge her in this category at least once before hanging up my spurs:

Kirk and the Gang (33) 

Some great stuff from Doohan throughout this one.

"He called me Ike-you-Frank-Bones-Tom. And..."

"Billy?" It's way funnier (and improbably so) in real-time, but I couldn't resist including it still-life here, as I've been imitating Shatner's rapid-fire delivery of this line practically my whole life.

Story and Theme (9 / 9) Have always loved this idea: thrown into a dreamscape plucked from incomplete mental images and reliving a moment from history. As Twilight Zone as Trek gets.

 

There are, allegedly similarities between this story and the Doctor Who episode "The Gunfighters." Never saw it myself, so I have no idea.

    

Chekov's death and resurrection is as fun a commentary on said trope as the set is for western soundstages. His death is "overruled" because the bullets are not real and therefore could not have killed him. A better example of suspension of disbelief and its fundamental importance to theater would be hard to find.

Probably should have put these in Kirk and the Gang, but I love that the script sets up a non-violent Zen takedown of the concept but then contrives to have Kirk in a knockdown fistfight.

I shouldn't, probably, but it's the sort of thing that just amuses me, like the way Marvel superheroes always used to get into mistaken-identity fights before becoming friends. (Maybe they still do; I have no idea.)

Internal Logistics (2.25) I'm not sure what is so important about the Melkotians that the Federation is ramming first contact down their throats, but hey, I'll give the Starfleet brass the benefit of the doubt. (Likewise Kirk's convenient knowledge of all the particulars of the OK Corral; that's a little easier, though. It's an enduring bit of folklore and at least conceivable it would survive as legend through the coming centuries.)

One thing I never noticed before, though:

As the Earps walk solemnly to the OK Corral, Doc Holiday awaits them. As they step out of frame, he joins them in-step, not missing a stride.

Somehow he ends up second-from-the-end, though, despite clearly being on the end in the shot above.

The order is changed once again once they get there. No matter how you mix-and-match the angles, it's a different order almost every time.

Let's just say this was a "confusion to our enemies" how-did-they-do-it gunfighting strategy pioneered by the Earps and move on.

Memorability (4.5) Somewhere out there, some future blogger (maybe even a future Trek writer) is watching this one and listening to the howl of the wind and the ricochets of the bullets and dramatic music cues and puzzling over the strange set design and forging a new link in the chain.

Total Points Awarded: 68 

Well, apparently, it's my third favorite from Season 3. Thank you, Dog Star Omnibus Ratings System, for helping me work that out.

I wrote most of the above a few weeks ago and am adding this part now (10/26/13.) When I mapped out this madness at the end of July, I had all of the screencaps done but not the points or the writing. I had an idea, though, which episodes I'd have nominated if forced into a top 10 situation. There turned out to be only 13 Saturdays between then and now, which made for an awkward grouping. 

So, channeling my inner Julius Schwartz, I "showcased" those and chose Spectre, Wink of an Eye, Wolf in the Fold, Piece of the Action, Mirror Mirror, The Menagerie, City on the Edge of Forever, Shore Leave, What Are Little Girls Made Of, Arena, This Side of Paradise, Amok Time, and Return of the Archons as my at-the-onset favorites. The ones who'd earned home field advantage, so to speak, based on the impression left in my imagination.

Really, the points awarded conceit has been only for myself, a way to bring a little order to this particular file cabinet in my head. Most of the episodes listed above fared as I expected them to but some didn't, which was interesting to discover. (ha - well, for me, anyway.) "Spectre" was one that unexpectedly fared a little less when I broke it down into the categories I picked. That's the nature of categories, I suppose; by imposing them, you shape the outcome. But for what it's worth, I tried to be as objective as possible in pursuit of my completely subjective desert island TOS.

Oh but this isn't the end quite yet, just the conclusion of the Saturday Night Trek Showcase series. (Collect all the variant covers: Destination: 2029 eBay! ) Two more to go.

STARTING WITH:

Monday