 |
| "Don't let the weird makeup, my eyebrows, my shiny shirt and me wearing table runner as a sash fool you. I'm a complete, and utter badass." – Kang |
So, here's my dark confession as a Trek fan... don't hate me... I have never really connected with the Original Series. Could be that I grew up in a place where the reruns didn't run. Or that my first exposure to the original cast was the interminably boring The Motion Picture. Or that I freaked out at the parasite scene in Wrath of Khan. Or maybe it was the first actual TV episode of Star Trek I ever saw was a Next Generation episode.
I have trouble looking past the production values. The sets, costumes, models, and effects have, shall we say, not aged well. It's a definitely a product of its time. That's not to say I don't appreciate the show. I've come to love some episodes, (more on them as they come up in the list), and but it's never been my Trek.
Okay, I'll stop now. I think you get where I'm coming from, but...
But...
But here's the thing about 'Day of the Dove." It's badass. It wastes no time in getting to the conflict between Kirk and Klingons. Kirk and party land on a decimated colony with no clue as to what happened to the colonists. Not even a hint that they were ever there. Hundreds dead. Everyone seems on edge as a strange ball of energy hovers just out of sight. Then who decides to show up? The Klingons. Their ship is immediately disabled and begins to drift. The Klingons beam down, give Kirk a swift beatdown, — a beam down, beatdown — and Kang, their leader, steps up with Kirk.
Now, Kang is a bad motherfucker. His battleship has been mysteriously taken down without the Enterprise ever firing a shot. Hundreds of his crew, Klingon warriors all, are dead. He's only got a handful of soldiers left, and he just says to Kirk, "Hey, you know what? Your ship? The one full of perfectly fine, not-dead officers, and a complete arsenal of Photon torpedoes and phaser? It's mine now and you're a prisoner of the Empire. Oh, and our two societies, the Federation and the Empire? We're at war now, because you're a dick." No ship to back that up. No army to get his back. He's got, like, five guys with him. That, my friends, takes space balls. Kang is completely metal.
And that's just the in cold open. "Day of the Dove" does not fuck around. Not at all.
In in the following posturing (both sides claim to have been lure to the planet by a perhaps non-existent distress call) Kirk tells Kang to "Go to the Devil." Which is an odd thing to say, but Kang's reply is nothing short of awesome. "We have no devil, Kirk, but we understand the habits of yours." Then proceeds to tell Kirk how he's going to torture Kirk and his crew to death. Which means Kang has studied his enemies. He's smart. Physically, he looms over Kirk. The episode does a fine job of presenting the Klingon Commander as not only Kirk's equal and darker shadow, but perhaps even his superior.
Then the weirdness starts. Chekov accuses the Klingons of murdering a brother he doesn't have. Later, when a fight aboard the Enterprise breaks out, swords magically appear. And everyone seems to be suuuuuper pissed. And no one can die, apparently. When Kang cuts out life support, it restores itself. Injured crew members are miraculously healed, so they can continue to fight.
In complete contrast to "Bride of Chaotica!," "Day of the Dove" is a dark episode. Mara, wife of Kang and badass in her own right, accuses the Federation of having concentration camps and experimenting on prisoners before they're executed. Chekov tries to, uh, force himself upon Mara before getting punched out by Kirk. Everyone has staight-up murder on their mind. Everyone is completely paranoid. Scotty slips in the f-word under his breath. Even Spock, after being called a half-blood freak confesses, "May I say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed serving with Humans?" Even Spock is on edge!
Wh-what's happening!?
Hey, remember that strange ball of energy? Turns out its an alien or something that feeds on hatred and violence. Not sure, how or why (it's never really explained), but it does. It's go the power to warp reality and manipulate the minds of these lesser beings and feeding off the conflict between the crew and the Klingons. It's goading them to fight, so it can feed on their delicious, delicious anger. It's Kirk who figures out how to defeat the unnamed, super-powerful alien energy being.
See, Kirk's the man.
Despite my above unloading of not being able to connect to the Original Series, I will acknowledge that Kirk is awesome. It's Kirk, not Spock, who proves he's the smartest man in the room by piecing the clues together. It's Kirk, not Spock, who pushes through his emotion to over come the alien influence. It's Kirk, not Spock, who has the answers. It's Kirk who chooses the difficult path of convincing his most hated enemy, that the only course of action is peace. Because the only way to defeat the alien influence is for Kirk to convince Kang to work together in friendship and good tidings to weaken the alien enough to break free.
Fighting is easy. Getting a Klingon warrior hellbent on murdering you to be your pal? Now, that's a challenge. That's why Kirk is captain, and Spock is just the Exposition Officer.
 |
| "What's so funny? Also, what's 'funny?'"— Spock |
Despite the sets, costumes, models, and effects, this episode is pretty awesome. If "Day of the Dove" had been my introduction to the Original Series instead of The Motion Picture, I might have an entirely different perspective on the first generation crew of the Enterprise.
--
Next up, a trip to Deep Space Nine with "Paradise."
No comments:
Post a Comment