Rating: 
Summary: Two of the best episodes!
Review: "Doomsday Machine" is my favourite episode from ST TOS. Pure tension!
Rating: 
Summary: Doomsday Machine: In the top 5....
Review: 'Doomsday Machine' is absolutely one of the best episodes in the entire series, certainly in the top 5. Reason enough to get this dvd. Beautiful film transfer, however, did anyone else notice (aside from the missing soundtrack in one scene) that the sound is slightly off? In certain scenes, if you pay close attention to the actor's mouths, the words don't quite match up with the movements. Paramount... what's up with that? Will these errors be corrected??
Rating:
Summary: Two Trek Tales of Obsession
Review: Again another great pairing of classic Trek episodes, where our heroes rely more on pluck and luck than dry technobabble to save the day.In "The Doomsday Machine", the Enterprise confronts a huge (and apparently unmanned) spaceship that carves up planets (and just about anything else it can find) and consumes the rubble for fuel. Encased in Nuetronium (which I guess means it's essentially invulnerable), the spaceship is shaped like some kind of nightmarish ice cream cone, with a maw "large enough to swallow a dozen starships". Powered by the remains of what it destroys, the Planet Killer remains impervious to harm and capable of annihilating entire star systems as long as any exist to feed it. We learn of the machine from the demented ranting of Commodore Decker, whose ship, the USS Constellation was crippled after barely surviving a run-in with the machine. His crew beamed away to a doomed planet in a futile search for safety, Decker seems as crippled as his ship (though unlike the Constellation, he does not resemble a badly assembled AMT Enterprise model). Now obsessed with destroying the planet-killer, and unhinged enough to think he can pull off with Kirk's ship what he failed to do with his own, Decker commandeers the Enterprise and sets off in hunt of the doomsday machine. Kirk in the meantime, is stranded on Decker's old ship and, with Scotty, must struggle to get some maneuvering and firepower out of her. This was a great episode, one of those fillers set entirely on a ship and relying on models for exteriors, yet benefits from its small scale. The characters are tense, the action unrelenting and Decker's dementia utterly maddening. I thought the end was a cheat but, until then, you've got a story that keeps you as crazy as poor Commodore Decker. "Wolf in the Fold" concerns a different sort of dementia, that of Chief Engineer Scott, the apparent murderer of the lovely Kara (Tanya Lemani), a cabaret dancer from the sybaritic pleasure-planet of Argelius. Written by Robert Bloch, the story incorporates supernatural overtones, but relies on no small amount of seeming detective work. The story especially excels on its inspired casting of character actor John Fiedler, perfect as the laughably innocuous small man who holds the key to a dark evil. Fiedler was also the voice of the ceaselessly neurotic Piglet in all those old Winnie the Pooh cartoons, and his apparent lack of menace highlights this tale of a shapeless and insatiable evil unleashed upon the unsuspecting Argelians like a wolf at loose in a fold of helpless sheep.
Rating:
Summary: Is There a Wolf in the Fold of the Doomsday Machine?
Review: As usual, the 18th volume of the classic Trek series is an exemplary sample of DVD quality, bringing wonderful colors and hues as well as crisp digitally enhanced sound to the series. The saturation level and sharpness are superior to the Paramount laser disc version, (if anyone still collects laser discs). One caveat: Towards the end of Doomsday Machine(one of James Doohan's favorite Trek episodes, about 45 minutes in, Kirk states that he is intending on ramming the U.S.S. Constellation right down the Planet Killer's throat. The camera zooms in on Spock and there is SILENCE, where normally a crescendo of climactic music is supposed to be. This can be heard on the VHS and Laser Disc copies. OOPS! Is this a remixing problem or alternate version? One last thing: Would Paramount please put some extra clips, commentary, bloopers, or something on their DVD's?
Rating:
Summary: Most tensive of all TOS episodes
Review: Doomsday mashine is my favourite TOS episode. Wolf in the Fold is also very exciting. TOS at its best - I recommend it!
Rating: 
Summary: Why did they leave out some music !
Review: I also noticed that there was music missing from this episode and I found this very annoying. I hope paramount will redo this episode and put all of the music back in !
Rating:
Summary: Star Trek suddenly hardens up
Review: I was cross about Star Trek some while ago, but I can't remember why. I've been re-watching some of the old episodes, and have realized that the quality of the writing was quite distinguishable from the majority of other shows from the same era; Lets face it, America has been in transition since, and this is a glimpse of the remarkable imagination of a generation of older writers, many of whom were unabashed geniuses, certainly visionaries. They did well here. My wife remembers "Wolf in the fold" as nothing less than really frightening - and even as an adult, its not too easy. How exactly Star Trek could take something so very serious (albeit with heavily veiled violence) into a what was then a quite conservative family show was remarkable. Wolf In the Fold is very - no, wrong word, - absolutely -compelling. Its all too easy to imagine that in the deep of space, there may be terrors, possibly powers quite malevolent with intentions of their own; and that these have on occasion had a part in human history. The possibility that encounters of this sort would happen to a real space crew is all too real. The story is brilliantly told, well paced. You only get an idea of what may be the source of the evil at work very slowly. It isn't clear at first - it couldn't possibly be. When it finally is revealed that Scotty is all too likely NOT to be the perpetrators, it is a relief - we all love this man too much for that to be true. Some people have remarked that the ending of "Wolf" is weak - I don't know that that is justified. If you had to have a happy ending, this ending is quite rational, and for goodness sake the boys and girls need to go to bed sometime... The only alternative would have been an ending that would be too awful (I didn't like "Event Horizon" either) What distinguishes this, and quite a few other stories from Star Trek, is that it woukd stand by itself as an undisputed miniature, even if Star Trek didn't exist as a dramatic vehicle. There, I've said it now. The doomsday machine is really wonderful. Thank you, Norman Spinrad! I fail to see why the special effects are a problem; the story is wonderful, the tensions and passions are the special effects, and there's a lot of those. Spock excels! A captain of a wrecked ship... a sea monster... Absolutely, Gentlemen. This what its all about, and to that I do testify...
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Summary: Another brilliant re-work from Paramount
Review: I would consider myself a hardcore trekkie, and I was pretty impressed with this DVD. In the first minute of watching The Doomsday Machine, I heard a slight sound glitch, but other than that, it was superb! The film has been restored as well as it could have been by the looks of it, and the sound is great - apart from being a little flat in some places. One of the best episodes from Classic Trek, and the DVD release makes it oh so much better. Restoring anything from the 60's would be hard, so well done Paramount!
Rating:
Summary: Top Notch remaster from Paramount
Review: I've always considered "The Doomsday Machine" to be my favorite Trek episode, and when I received the DVD and played it, I was thoroughly happy with the picture quality, color, and sound. Paramount did a first rate job with this episode. You can hear background sounds that were not there on the video release, and the stereo remaster is excellent. There is one "omission" of music in the last act which was surprising, but I felt it was an actual improvement in the episode. Very good DVD to buy....
Rating:
Summary: The Doomsday Machine IS a classic
Review: It's always interesting how the Parmount Trek DVDs work out. So far, there hasn't been one that contains two BAD episodes of Star Trek. And every once in a while, you get lucky and get one with a GREAT episode and a pretty good one. Such is the case here. The GREAT episode, of course, is Norman Spinrad's superb "The Doomsday Machine." Essentially a ship-bound story designed to cut budget corners, this is one of classic Trek's finest hours. Featuring the cast in high form and the addition of guest star William Winham as the obsessed Commodore Matt Decker, the tension is palatable. All the elements of great sci-fi and classic Trek are on display and the conflict between Decker and Spock is not to be missed. Yes, the effects do look a bit dated, but when you've got a superb story and well realized, three-dimensional characters, you can overlook such flaws. As for the good episode, Wolf in the Fold is it. Dealing with Scotty and giving our favorite engineer a bit more to do that talk about his engines, this episode lacks the punch is should have. And coupling with the Doomsday Machine will bring it down by comparison. But it's still an enjoyable enough adventure that is worth viewing by any Trek fan.
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