Intro: I’ve loved Star Trek since I was a kid. I started by watching TNG in 6th grade. I’ve been a fan since then and though I’ve spent a lot of time watching Star Trek, I’ve never watched The Original Series. So, I’m watching and reviewing them as a fan of Star Trek, but one who’s never seen any of them. So I’m watching all the TOS episodes for the first time and saying whether or not they suck. At the end, I give examples of better and/or worse Star Trek episodes to watch that remind me of this episode. Usually, I ramble on about some bullshit before the Trek. That’s it.
Boy, Sears, right? If you didn't know that company Sears is in trouble. I’m sorry you had to hear it from me, but it’s true. The company you’ve long gone to for your store brand tools and Dockers might go the way of the dodo bird. This is all very sad. People are going to lose their jobs and I’m, of course not happy about that. All of these big box stores are in trouble. Some are getting better at adapting than others. I remember a while back Sears and K-Mart merged which seemed like an odd idea at the time. I don’t get why companies like that do that when they’re in trouble. It almost seems like. They were two companies who were having a bear of a time adapting to the new economy and they thought they attach their stars to each other's wagon. That’d be like if the wonder twins joined forces and remained powerless pre-teens. They’re not gonna go too far in the crime-fighting world that way.
I’m not an economist. I think I’ve made that clear. What I don’t get is the. I worked at a big box legacy retailer for a number of years. I worked at a Best Buy. It always confused me to the point where Best Buy just existing became a thing that people who worked there cared about. I don’t know if everyone who worked there thought that they’d be integral in the Best Buy rebuilding or what. Some people gladly saw themselves as pawns who’d have to be sacrificed for the greater good. The greater good being...keeping Best Buy afloat, I guess. That blew my mind.
Companies go on for a while because there's a reason for them to exist. They're filling a need and people want them to exist. Then at a certain point, their whole reason for existing is to just keep on existing. On a certain level, I guess it kinda makes sense. All these companies. People shit on people all the time for engaging in the sunk cost fallacy. Which you could say I’ve been guilty of for the past forever. As a comedian, your whole journey is a constant struggle against the sunk cost fallacy.
So maybe Sears needs to act like a comedian who's starting to realize that shits just never gonna break their way. Maybe Sears needs to move back in with its parents for a while and figure shit out. Maybe start a podcast. Learn how to sell cars. Not work retail though.
Know what will never have to figure shit after realizing everything they've done their entire adult life is a mistake? This episode of Trek. Because it was really really good.
Recap
I'm just doing one sentence recaps because these posts have gotten out of hand. In this one, the gang goes on a secret mission to steal a Romulan cloaking device. There are crosses and double crosses. It's pretty sick.
Good Trek?
Umm, hell yeah. I’ve heard that season three was going to be a rough ride. The first episode was pretty brutal. But this is one of the best episodes that I’ve seen so far. This is a good episode. I don’t know if it’s my favorite. It’s good. So far, even though the Klingons are the most iconic TOS villains, but man oh man, the limited times that we’ve had contact with the Romulans they’re knocking shit out of the park. This episode is great, of course, Balance of Terror is still my favorite episode. But this is right up there. I’m trying to think of any episodes aside from the Trouble With Tribbles where the Klingons really are great. And they’re good in Trouble with Tribbles, but they don’t steal the show the way the Romulans do in every episode they’re in. Maybe it’s because they use them a little more sparingly. Whereas the Klingons were such a huge deal the Romulans have really only popped up a few times. Also, the Klingons are just so silly so far. It’s really hard to take them as a credible threat so far. Where the Romulans are just so goddamn sneaky. They're great.
Spock's getting ready to slip her the old "Vulcan shocker"
I'm sure I could just go ahead and look this up, but how long ago were Romulans and Vulcans the same race? Because I think it’s been too long for everyone on both planets to all have the exact same hairstyle. I don’t know how many eons it takes for one to move on and maybe mix shit up a bit, but they are both well beyond that point. I’m no evolutionary biologist, but I have to think that even after a handful of generations, not just apart on the same planet, but on two wholly different planets, they might start to look a tad different. It's not like the Vulcans and Romulans decided to just put a little line down the middle of a country and each go their separate sides, like some kind of classic sitcom (and I do mean classic). You’d think that one of them would at least have a couple gingers running around. But nope. Both races. Nothing but dark bowl cut.
I find Scotty's face deeply unsettling here
Okay, here’s my one qualm with this episode. The sneak onto the Romulan ship to steal the cloaking device and prevent further acts of war. How is this not a HUGE deliberate act of war? You know how the most recognizable ship in the entirety of Starfleet went into Roman space and went aboard under false pretenses and then took secret military technology and then kidnapped the commander of that ship and then hightailed it back to Federation space. Come on. This should make the whole Roman Star Empire sit up and take notice. This should cause war. This was an insane plan on behalf of Starfleet. But seriously great episode.
Better Trek?
This is a solid one. So, watch this. If you want another episode where a beautiful Romulan gives the crew of a ship called the Enterprise the business then you'd have to go with Redemption. In that one, Denise Crosby comes back playing her own daughter. But she's also a Romulan.
If your secret plan is based on people believing the acting of this man, then it's a bad plan
There’s also a great, albeit kinda dark episode of DS9 titled "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges" where Ben Sicko and Dr. Julain Bashir are trying to stop Section 31 from doing all kinds of underhanded shit. It’s all very exciting. It’s one of the two darkest episodes of DS9 and that puts it easily in the running for the darkest Trek that’s ever trekked. Because there’s some pretty nuts implicartions in that one. That Starfleet just has spies in other people’s governments is pretty odd for a Star Trek. That they're completely cool with assassinating foreign dignitaries is another.
Gene Roddenberry famously hated the idea of Deep Space Nine. He thought it was too dark and didn’t care for the idea that folks on the ship might not get along. That’s because even though the whole Star Trek thing was his idea he really was the worst person for it. TNG didn’t really hit it’s stride until he was too old and infirm to do anything with it. So all the Trek folks owe him a debt of gratitude but really, Roddenberry kinda sucks when it comes to knowing what makes Trek awesome.