"Star Trek" The Conscience of the King (1966)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Gerd Oswald

Writers:

Barry Trivers (written by)
Gene Roddenberry (creator)

TV Series:

"Star Trek" (1966)

Original Air Date:

8 December 1966 (Season 1, Episode 13)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

While Captain Kirk investigates whether an actor is actually a presumed dead mass murderer, a mysterious assailant is killing the people who could identify the fugitive.

Plot Keywords:

Presumed Dead | Mass Murderer | Beautiful Daughter | Fugitive | Faked Death

Cast

William Shatner	...	Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock
Arnold Moss	...	Karidian
Barbara Anderson	...	Lenore
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy
Grace Lee Whitney	...	Yeoman Rand
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura
William Sargent	...	Dr. Leighton
Natalie Norwick	...	Martha Leighton
David Troy	...	Larry Matson (as David-Troy)
Karl Bruck	...	King Duncan
Marc Grady Adams	...	Hamlet (as Marc Adams)
Bruce Hyde	...	Kevin Riley

Runtime:

50 min | Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Canada:PG (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Desilu Productions

Trivia:

The title refers to Shakespeare's Hamlet Act II, Scene II; "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king".

Goofs:

Plot holes: The plot involves the last few people who know what Kodos looked like being murdered one by one. Yet Kirk brings up a clear *photo* of Kodos to compare with Karidian's.

Quotes:

Karidian: I am an actor. I play many parts.
Captain James T. Kirk: You're an actor now. What were you twenty years ago?
Karidian: Younger. Much younger.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bring Back... Star Trek (2009) (TV)

Hamlet and Nazi war crimes

I really wasn't sure what to call this review, so I figured I'd just call it what I thought the whole thing was about.

What we have here is a classic criminal investigation using a theatrical technique to recreate the theme of whatever crime it was that was committed. The idea is to get the suspect/perpetrator to emotionally connect with their alleged criminal act. The concept is an old one. The astute viewer, particularly one familiar with Shakespeare (Edward de Vere's works) will note Hamlet's "the play's the thing..." concept, and how said notion is cleverly injected into this episode.

Most of the episode is a murder mystery a-la a PBS episode with Diana Rigg. But, unlike WGBH's production, we're not given hints nor clues as to who is doing what. It's part of the ingenuity of this episode as the audience is shown apparent evidence for inferred correlation. As such the audience isn't really challenged to figure out who is doing what, but presented a twist without realizing it.

The theme is lifted from the criminal investigations that continue to this very day as of this writing, concerning the heinous acts of mass murder by the Nazi regime prior to the ending of the second world war. What is stronger? Peronsal ties or societal obligation? And what are the personal ramifications on a personal basis when two sets of right and wrong collide? Can anyone, so divided, exist and retain their sanity? This episode explores those themes, and offers a possible outcome. It is an interesting exploration, and an interesting writing exercise.

A respectable episode. Enjoy.