"Star Trek" The Corbomite Maneuver (1966)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Joseph Sargent

Writers:

Jerry Sohl (written by)
Gene Roddenberry (creator)

TV Series:

"Star Trek" (1966)

Original Air Date:

10 November 1966 (Season 1, Episode 10)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

In a section of unexplored space, the Enterprise comes across a marker of sorts that will not let it pass...

Plot Keywords:

Federation | Space | Starship | Computer | Vulcan

Cast

William Shatner	...	Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock
Anthony D. Call	...	Dave Bailey (as Anthony Call)
Clint Howard	...	Balok
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy
Grace Lee Whitney	...	Yeoman Rand
George Takei	...	Sulu
James Doohan	...	Scott
Nichelle Nichols	...	Uhura

Runtime:

50 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:

This is the earliest episode of the main series (excluding the two pilots) to be filmed.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Kirk leaves sickbay, he throws his uniform shirt over his shoulders; the tunic has only two solid gold rank stripes. In the turbo lift and changing in his quarters, his tunic has the 2½ stripe marking.

Quotes:

Lieutenant Dave Bailey: It's blocking the way!
Mr. Spock: Quite unnecessary to raise your voice, Mr. Bailey.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Free Enterprise (1998)

Kirk's genius

Like many other Star Trek episodes, The Corbomite Maneuver is a good exploration of an essential 20th century theme such as the futility of war, with the addition of a riveting portrait of what makes a commander worthy of the title, as seen in the episode's depiction of Captain Kirk's skills.

Once again, danger lies ahead as the Enterprise continues on its five-year mission. This time it's more serious than usual, since the mysterious alien attacker claims to be able to destroy the ship with no risk of anything stopping him, and therefore grants the crew ten minutes to pray or something to that effect. Of course, he hasn't considered Kirk who, being the stubborn son of a gun he's always been (when Spock points out the two always argue about decisions Kirk won't take back, the latter explains that arguing makes him feel good), threatens the alien by saying he has a device that will annihilate both the Enterprise and its attacker, and he's not afraid to use it. Obviously it's a bluff, but it may come with a price, as Kirk and his opponent engage in a dangerous battle of wits to determine who's more willing to go through with their alleged threats.

Whereas most Trek episodes have pretty predictable outcomes, mostly because of the formulaic structure of the scripts, The Corbomite Maneuver is commendable for offering a very neat and intelligent twist that sits well with the episode's overall critique of the political climate of the Cold War (yes, subtlety has never been one of the show's strengths, but NBC didn't care since it was sci-fi). The acting is as inspiring as ever (even William Shatner's much mocked speech patterns come off as more serious than usual), especially Clint Howard's (that's Ron's brother) cameo at the end. Fun, tense and clever.