"Errand of Mercy"
This weekend, I rewatched the Star Trek episode "Errand of Mercy." It's a classic episode, written by Gene L. Coon and introducing the Klingons. But I hadn't realized that its writing was so weak.
Immediately upon being introduced, the Klingon Empire declares war on the Federation. The U.S.S. Enterprise is sent to secure the Earth-like planet Organia, which holds a critical tactical position. Captain Kirk interprets "secure the planet" to mean "convince the primitive humanoids to join the Federation." The locals refuse Kirk and submit placidly to Klingon occupation. Kirk tries to teach the locals how to wage guerrilla warfare, but winds up convincing the locals to ditch their primitive disguises; reveal themselves as "beings of pure energy, pure thought;" and use their super-magical powers to stop the Fed-Klingon War almost before it starts.
The basic plots seem sound. The Klingons provide a popular foil for the Federation, adding tension to the show's original utopian theme. And John Colicos delights as he establishes the quintessential Klingon character.
Unfortunately, the episode stumbles over four important details:
The Prime Directive.
Kirk's plan.
Poor Communication Kills.
Klingon contradiction.
First, Kirk's mission to recruit the Organians was a blatant violation of the Prime Directive. Organian society was certainly primitive, so it should be considered off-limits by the Federation. Admittedly, this episode is from the first season, so the Prime Directive had not yet been established as canon…even though it was first mentioned in Coon's earlier script for "Return of the Archons." That earlier episode almost provides a loophole for "Errand of Mercy" -- the Prime Directive doesn't officially apply to stagnant cultures -- but Kirk was offering Federation membership and combat training before anyone realized that the Organians are stagnant. Even then, there's still no mention at all of any Prime Directive, or any hesitation about radically restructuring Organian society. This continuity problem is even more glaring considering the strong role given to the Prime Directive in modern Star Trek, even in the most recent and adulterated form of Into Darkness
Second, Captain Kirk's plan was absurd. Given the need to secure a planet against a space-faring empire, Kirk personally tried to recruit the primitives to take up arms. In his own words from this episode, Kirk is "a soldier, not a diplomat." The Federation has diplomats (as seen in "A Taste of Amrageddon"), so why did Kirk on this job? Even allowing for lack of time (the Klingon fleet is already in the area), shouldn't Enterprise have some officer trained in xenocultural exchange? Kirk's choice to do the job in person is both ineffective and immensely risky. When the Klingon fleet arrived and chased off Enterprise (following Kirk's own orders to save the ship in preference to saving the captain), the isolated Kirk (and First Officer Spock) presented a wonderful prize for the Klingons. It is only through the power of the script that Kirk avoided spilling all his Federation secrets under Klingon interrogation technology. But beyond this risk, what possible reward could Kirk have imagined? What good would even a planetful of primitives be against a space-based superpower? The script never makes it clear why Organia was useful. The Klingons didn't appear to need native workers, so they could just sterilize a section of the planet and build their base in isolation. Even if the Klingons needed a compliant populace, how much impact could Kirk have had in the limited time available? Remember, Kirk knew the Klingon fleet was in the area…and it showed up just a few hours after Kirk did. Had the Organians immediately joined the Federation, they would soon have been forced to repudiate that promise under Klingon occupation. And under said occupation, Kirk tried to inspire the Organians to resist using guerrilla tactics that can (and did) only result in retaliatory executions. Make the innocent suffer more so they'll join your team? Really?
Third, this episode's crisis could've been avoided by a little clear communication. Captain Kirk could not accept the Organians' facile claim that they faced no danger from the Klingons, because Kirk had no way to know that the Organians weren't an embodied species. The Organians never explained their charade, even when it threatened Kirk and Spock's lives. In fact, after they finally revealed themselves, they admitted that the very presence of embodied life caused them intense pain! So why not use their super-magic to hide their planet or ward off intrusion? Or perhaps just be honest with your visitors?!? While that wouldn't have ended the war, the Organians didn't seem to care about that, as long as embodied violence wasn't performed locally.
Fourth, Commander Kor seemed to undermine his own presentation of the Klingon people. Kor initially described Klingons as Nietzchians -- bowing to no law but strength, insisting that "survival must be earned," and pragmatically accepting that Klingons might lose their struggle for galactic domination. Yet when the Organians finally showed their clearly superior strength, Kor immediately argued that they "have no right" to interfere…and later tacitly agreed when Captain Kirk claims that "no one wants war." In truth, the Klingons appeared to prefer a war over either a stifling peace (the Federation "tried to hem us in" and Kor later opines that the war "would have been glorious") or an easy victory (Kor is disgusted that he must govern a planet of sheep, even if successfully), and the Klingon philosophy should accept a temporary loss. The script may intend Kor's previous monologues to be mere rationalization, or perhaps that Kor blindly grabbed any rhetorical weapon at hand to win the debate…but it's just not a good idea to immediately contradict introductory exposition. And it seems silly for a man who recently ordered retaliatory executions to argue about rights.
Despite its problems, "Errand of Mercy" is worth watching, if only for John Colicos. Sadly, his Kor archetype was abandoned after The Motion Picture in favor of a Robert-Howard flavor of Nietzche -- barbaric, physical, individual strength in place of Kor's industrialized, psychological, collective strength. I've never been able to forgive the modern Klingons for not living up to Kor's example.
Immediately upon being introduced, the Klingon Empire declares war on the Federation. The U.S.S. Enterprise is sent to secure the Earth-like planet Organia, which holds a critical tactical position. Captain Kirk interprets "secure the planet" to mean "convince the primitive humanoids to join the Federation." The locals refuse Kirk and submit placidly to Klingon occupation. Kirk tries to teach the locals how to wage guerrilla warfare, but winds up convincing the locals to ditch their primitive disguises; reveal themselves as "beings of pure energy, pure thought;" and use their super-magical powers to stop the Fed-Klingon War almost before it starts.
The basic plots seem sound. The Klingons provide a popular foil for the Federation, adding tension to the show's original utopian theme. And John Colicos delights as he establishes the quintessential Klingon character.
Unfortunately, the episode stumbles over four important details:
First, Kirk's mission to recruit the Organians was a blatant violation of the Prime Directive. Organian society was certainly primitive, so it should be considered off-limits by the Federation. Admittedly, this episode is from the first season, so the Prime Directive had not yet been established as canon…even though it was first mentioned in Coon's earlier script for "Return of the Archons." That earlier episode almost provides a loophole for "Errand of Mercy" -- the Prime Directive doesn't officially apply to stagnant cultures -- but Kirk was offering Federation membership and combat training before anyone realized that the Organians are stagnant. Even then, there's still no mention at all of any Prime Directive, or any hesitation about radically restructuring Organian society. This continuity problem is even more glaring considering the strong role given to the Prime Directive in modern Star Trek, even in the most recent and adulterated form of Into Darkness
Second, Captain Kirk's plan was absurd. Given the need to secure a planet against a space-faring empire, Kirk personally tried to recruit the primitives to take up arms. In his own words from this episode, Kirk is "a soldier, not a diplomat." The Federation has diplomats (as seen in "A Taste of Amrageddon"), so why did Kirk on this job? Even allowing for lack of time (the Klingon fleet is already in the area), shouldn't Enterprise have some officer trained in xenocultural exchange? Kirk's choice to do the job in person is both ineffective and immensely risky. When the Klingon fleet arrived and chased off Enterprise (following Kirk's own orders to save the ship in preference to saving the captain), the isolated Kirk (and First Officer Spock) presented a wonderful prize for the Klingons. It is only through the power of the script that Kirk avoided spilling all his Federation secrets under Klingon interrogation technology. But beyond this risk, what possible reward could Kirk have imagined? What good would even a planetful of primitives be against a space-based superpower? The script never makes it clear why Organia was useful. The Klingons didn't appear to need native workers, so they could just sterilize a section of the planet and build their base in isolation. Even if the Klingons needed a compliant populace, how much impact could Kirk have had in the limited time available? Remember, Kirk knew the Klingon fleet was in the area…and it showed up just a few hours after Kirk did. Had the Organians immediately joined the Federation, they would soon have been forced to repudiate that promise under Klingon occupation. And under said occupation, Kirk tried to inspire the Organians to resist using guerrilla tactics that can (and did) only result in retaliatory executions. Make the innocent suffer more so they'll join your team? Really?
Third, this episode's crisis could've been avoided by a little clear communication. Captain Kirk could not accept the Organians' facile claim that they faced no danger from the Klingons, because Kirk had no way to know that the Organians weren't an embodied species. The Organians never explained their charade, even when it threatened Kirk and Spock's lives. In fact, after they finally revealed themselves, they admitted that the very presence of embodied life caused them intense pain! So why not use their super-magic to hide their planet or ward off intrusion? Or perhaps just be honest with your visitors?!? While that wouldn't have ended the war, the Organians didn't seem to care about that, as long as embodied violence wasn't performed locally.
Fourth, Commander Kor seemed to undermine his own presentation of the Klingon people. Kor initially described Klingons as Nietzchians -- bowing to no law but strength, insisting that "survival must be earned," and pragmatically accepting that Klingons might lose their struggle for galactic domination. Yet when the Organians finally showed their clearly superior strength, Kor immediately argued that they "have no right" to interfere…and later tacitly agreed when Captain Kirk claims that "no one wants war." In truth, the Klingons appeared to prefer a war over either a stifling peace (the Federation "tried to hem us in" and Kor later opines that the war "would have been glorious") or an easy victory (Kor is disgusted that he must govern a planet of sheep, even if successfully), and the Klingon philosophy should accept a temporary loss. The script may intend Kor's previous monologues to be mere rationalization, or perhaps that Kor blindly grabbed any rhetorical weapon at hand to win the debate…but it's just not a good idea to immediately contradict introductory exposition. And it seems silly for a man who recently ordered retaliatory executions to argue about rights.
Despite its problems, "Errand of Mercy" is worth watching, if only for John Colicos. Sadly, his Kor archetype was abandoned after The Motion Picture in favor of a Robert-Howard flavor of Nietzche -- barbaric, physical, individual strength in place of Kor's industrialized, psychological, collective strength. I've never been able to forgive the modern Klingons for not living up to Kor's example.