Rating: 
Summary: Kirk and Spock deal with alien possession and Nazis
Review: "Return to Tomorrow" is one of those delightful Star Trek episodes where the characters have their bodies taken over by aliens, giving the actors a chance to show their skills. On an uncharted planet Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Dr. Ann Mulhall find a trio of entities confined to spheres, representing all that is left of a once great race that destroyed their civilization in a horrible war. The three--Sargon, his wife, Thalassa, and Henoch, a former enemy--want to transfer their minds, temporarily, into the bodies of Kirk, Mulhall and Spock, so they can build android bodies. Promising such great wonders as warp engines the size of walnuts, everyone agrees. But then, of course, Henoch decides he really, really likes Spock's body and wants to keep it. By the way, "Return to Tomorrow" highlights the fact that the original Star Trek really lacked a strong female character. Dr. Mulhall pops up out of nowhere as the requisite female body. This is still the second season and "Plato's Stepchildren" is not until the third season, but why not use Uhura? That would have been interesting. So would having Nurse Chapel be the body and then having Sargon in Spock's body. That would have been even more interesting. But then it is always fun watching Spock play the heavy. Of course, the only realistic scenario would be to use two other males besides the Captain and First Officer, but then what fun would that be for Shatner and Nimoy? "Return to Tomorrow" is one of those episodes where the performances overcome the liabilities of the story. The Enterprise visits Ekos, another one of those fun planets that is like Earth with a twist in "Patterns of Force." This time around they show up to check on John Gill, a Federation cultural observer, who has been sutdying the progress of the planet's primitive and warlike people. Instead they find a society patterned on Nazi Germany, with people from the neighboring planet of Zeon serving as the scapegoats for the Ekosians. Eventually it becomes clear that Gill introduced Nazism to make it more efficient (the whole trains running on time bit), but, gee, the "bad" side of Nazism seems to have taken hold along with the "good." I always thought this episode was was an implicit attack on academics, who like to get involved in spirited debates on such things but usually lack the power or opportunity to put their theories into practice. You have to remember this was still the Sixties and the Nazis were still the big villains of the day; it would be another decade before they were replaced in Hollywood by psychotic Vietnam vets as the top villains. In the end this episode justifes the Prime Directive, which is not exactly a vote in its favor. But "Patterns of Force" certainly makes a compeloling case for its anti-revisionist argument. Yet there is still that subversive element that those black Gestapo uniforms look pretty good on Kirk and Spock.
Rating:
Summary: Kirk and Spock deal with alien possession and Nazis
Review: "Return to Tomorrow" is one of those delightful Star Trek episodes where the characters have their bodies taken over by aliens, giving the actors a chance to show their skills. On an uncharted planet Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Dr. Ann Mulhall find a trio of entities confined to spheres, representing all that is left of a once great race that destroyed their civilization in a horrible war. The three--Sargon, his wife, Thalassa, and Henoch, a former enemy--want to transfer their minds, temporarily, into the bodies of Kirk, Mulhall and Spock, so they can build android bodies. Promising such great wonders as warp engines the size of walnuts, everyone agrees. But then, of course, Henoch decides he really, really likes Spock's body and wants to keep it. By the way, "Return to Tomorrow" highlights the fact that the original Star Trek really lacked a strong female character. Dr. Mulhall pops up out of nowhere as the requisite female body. This is still the second season and "Plato's Stepchildren" is not until the third season, but why not use Uhura? That would have been interesting. So would having Nurse Chapel be the body and then having Sargon in Spock's body. That would have been even more interesting. But then it is always fun watching Spock play the heavy. Of course, the only realistic scenario would be to use two other males besides the Captain and First Officer, but then what fun would that be for Shatner and Nimoy? "Return to Tomorrow" is one of those episodes where the performances overcome the liabilities of the story. The Enterprise visits Ekos, another one of those fun planets that is like Earth with a twist in "Patterns of Force." This time around they show up to check on John Gill, a Federation cultural observer, who has been sutdying the progress of the planet's primitive and warlike people. Instead they find a society patterned on Nazi Germany, with people from the neighboring planet of Zeon serving as the scapegoats for the Ekosians. Eventually it becomes clear that Gill introduced Nazism to make it more efficient (the whole trains running on time bit), but, gee, the "bad" side of Nazism seems to have taken hold along with the "good." I always thought this episode was was an implicit attack on academics, who like to get involved in spirited debates on such things but usually lack the power or opportunity to put their theories into practice. You have to remember this was still the Sixties and the Nazis were still the big villains of the day; it would be another decade before they were replaced in Hollywood by psychotic Vietnam vets as the top villains. In the end this episode justifes the Prime Directive, which is not exactly a vote in its favor. But "Patterns of Force" certainly makes a compeloling case for its anti-revisionist argument. Yet there is still that subversive element that those black Gestapo uniforms look pretty good on Kirk and Spock.
Rating: 
Summary: 2 more good episodes
Review: In "Return To Tomorrow" non-corporeal life forms wish to have human bodies, Kirk & Co. donate themselves until android bodies can be amde...however, the results are almost fatal. In "Patterns of Force" Kirk & Co. come across a planet that has decided to have Nazism as their form of government.
Rating: 
Summary: Second season slump
Review: Return to Tomorrow-In this offbeat episode, aliens change venue from giant spheres to crewmember bodies. Most of this episode lacks the action feel of many of its neighbors; it has an operatic, schmaltzy feel more akin to Metamorphosis or several 3rd season shows. Yet, I actually feel the episode takes a turn for the worse when the plot takes several predictably threatening turns. The action and drama are turned up, but at the expense of some of the episode's uniqueness; it becomes just another Enterprise in danger episode. It might not have been so bad to have the occasional feel-good show in which an interaction with aliens was synergistic from the get go. Tidbit: This episode must beat out Spectre of the Gun for the `longest teaser' award. Doohan, as was so often the case, played the voice of Sargon here. Muldaur would reappear in the superior Is There in Truth No Beauty?, as well as on The Next Generation. (3 stars) Patterns of Force: The Nazi episode has to rank near the bottom of Trek offerings, if only because it is in such poor taste. What were they thinking? I'm tempted to give the episode at least some support for the fact that it has plenty of action, but after being reminded by other reviewers just have off-base Kirk's speech was (the one that seems to equate the Nazis with other holders of absolute power), I can't give the episode any extra props. There could be no better example than this episode of the dangers inherent in drifting too far away from the tenets the show was founded upon. At times it worked, like in A Piece of the Action, but you can almost watch things getting out of hand as the second season progressed. Bread and Circuses flirted with the line; Patterns of Force crossed way over it. (1.5 stars)
Rating:
Summary: Second season slump
Review: Return to Tomorrow-In this offbeat episode, aliens change venue from giant spheres to crewmember bodies. Most of this episode lacks the action feel of many of its neighbors; it has an operatic, schmaltzy feel more akin to Metamorphosis or several 3rd season shows. Yet, I actually feel the episode takes a turn for the worse when the plot takes several predictably threatening turns. The action and drama are turned up, but at the expense of some of the episode's uniqueness; it becomes just another Enterprise in danger episode. It might not have been so bad to have the occasional feel-good show in which an interaction with aliens was synergistic from the get go. Tidbit: This episode must beat out Spectre of the Gun for the 'longest teaser' award. Doohan, as was so often the case, played the voice of Sargon here. Muldaur would reappear in the superior Is There in Truth No Beauty?, as well as on The Next Generation. (3 stars) Patterns of Force: The Nazi episode has to rank near the bottom of Trek offerings, if only because it is in such poor taste. What were they thinking? I'm tempted to give the episode at least some support for the fact that it has plenty of action, but after being reminded by other reviewers just have off-base Kirk's speech was (the one that seems to equate the Nazis with other holders of absolute power), I can't give the episode any extra props. There could be no better example than this episode of the dangers inherent in drifting too far away from the tenets the show was founded upon. At times it worked, like in A Piece of the Action, but you can almost watch things getting out of hand as the second season progressed. Bread and Circuses flirted with the line; Patterns of Force crossed way over it. (1.5 stars)
Rating:
Summary: (Mostly) Benevolent Body-Snatchers and Goose-Steppers
Review: REVIEWED ITEM: Star Trek® Original Series DVD Volume 26: Return to Tomorrow © / Patterns of Force © RETURN TO TOMORROW © PRELIMINARY BRIEFS: Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: Coping with human frailties; taking risks Milestone Moment: First appearance of Diana Muldaur on Star Trek, as Ann Mulhall. She would appear in a later episode of the original series ("Is There in Truth no Beauty?"), and spend the second season on NextGen as Dr. Crusher's replacement. Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: None REVIEW/COMMENTARY:
The rehashing of the aliens-who-take-human-form-and-start-acting-human-but-cannot-handle-it story (also covered in 'By any Other Name' and 'Requiem for Methuselah') doesn't exactly make this particular outing a paragon of originality. Fortunately, Shatner's exaggerated gestures and pantomimes during the scene where Sargon's consciousness takes over Kirk's body helps lighten things up quite a bit. I also loved the piping up of the Star Trek love theme when Kirk grabs his first glance at Ms. Mulhall. Man, the guy just ain't got no self-control at all, does he! It's like he's the Bill Clinton of Starfleet- well, except he has far better taste in women! Oh, and let's not forget his "risk is our business" spiel, which I consider to be THE most overdone bit of heavy-handed monologue in the whole series! Talk about driving your point home with a sledgehammer... PATTERNS OF FORCE © PRELIMINARY BRIEFS: Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: Cultural contamination; the horrific result of a cause gone wrong; the folly of hatred REVIEW/COMMENTARY: All right my fellow Trekkies, let's go down our list:
A planet of 1930s-era mobsters (A Piece of the Action)- check. A planet populated by an American Indian tribe ('The Paradise Syndrome')- check. A world where Kirk and crew are forced to live-and perhaps die- in a western ('Spectre of the Gun')- check. A world where the Roman Empire survived and continued conquering all the way to the 20th century ('Bread and Circuses')- check. All right, looks like all of Earth's most significant historical periods have been exploited to their fullest extent by our gallant Enterprise stalwarts, and- what's that, you say? Nazi Germany? Well, um... wouldn't that be kind of touchy? Oh, we're NOT gonna go with the parallel-planet evolution/history theory gimmick to explain this one? Well, that's new, but how- oh, some ET-studying professor's gonna ignore the Prime Directive (can't blame Jimmers on THIS one!), and come up with the bright idea to unite and guide an alien society using a form of government that led to earth's most horrific conflict? Wow, what a GREAT idea! Why didn't I think of that? Fortunately (or in this instance not-as-unfortunately), Jimmers and everbody's fave 'pointed-eared hobgoblin' manage to keep things from gettin' worse, as well as teach the TV audience a lesson in what results when you mess with another culture. Go team! My favorite moments in this particular eppie are the ones where Kirk and Spock are disguised in their Nazi military uniforms. Every time I see them in their fascist garb, flashes of the bumbling Colonel Klink and his incompetent sidekick Sgt. Schultz from 'Hogan's Heroes' run through my mind! They just look so goofy in their getups, it's almost laughable (Kirk and Spock, that is). Adding to the hilarity, albeit unintentionally, is the ironic fact that William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are Jewish! 'Late
Rating:
Summary: (Mostly) Benevolent Body-Snatchers and Goose-Steppers
Review: REVIEWED ITEM: Star Trek® Original Series DVD Volume 26: Return to Tomorrow © / Patterns of Force © RETURN TO TOMORROW © PRELIMINARY BRIEFS: Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: Coping with human frailties; taking risks Milestone Moment: First appearance of Diana Muldaur on Star Trek, as Ann Mulhall. She would appear in a later episode of the original series ("Is There in Truth no Beauty?"), and spend the second season on NextGen as Dr. Crusher's replacement. Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: None REVIEW/COMMENTARY:
The rehashing of the aliens-who-take-human-form-and-start-acting-human-but-cannot-handle-it story (also covered in 'By any Other Name' and 'Requiem for Methuselah') doesn't exactly make this particular outing a paragon of originality. Fortunately, Shatner's exaggerated gestures and pantomimes during the scene where Sargon's consciousness takes over Kirk's body helps lighten things up quite a bit. I also loved the piping up of the Star Trek love theme when Kirk grabs his first glance at Ms. Mulhall. Man, the guy just ain't got no self-control at all, does he! It's like he's the Bill Clinton of Starfleet- well, except he has far better taste in women! Oh, and let's not forget his "risk is our business" spiel, which I consider to be THE most overdone bit of heavy-handed monologue in the whole series! Talk about driving your point home with a sledgehammer... PATTERNS OF FORCE © PRELIMINARY BRIEFS: Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: Cultural contamination; the horrific result of a cause gone wrong; the folly of hatred REVIEW/COMMENTARY: All right my fellow Trekkies, let's go down our list:
A planet of 1930s-era mobsters (A Piece of the Action)- check. A planet populated by an American Indian tribe ('The Paradise Syndrome')- check. A world where Kirk and crew are forced to live-and perhaps die- in a western ('Spectre of the Gun')- check. A world where the Roman Empire survived and continued conquering all the way to the 20th century ('Bread and Circuses')- check. All right, looks like all of Earth's most significant historical periods have been exploited to their fullest extent by our gallant Enterprise stalwarts, and- what's that, you say? Nazi Germany? Well, um... wouldn't that be kind of touchy? Oh, we're NOT gonna go with the parallel-planet evolution/history theory gimmick to explain this one? Well, that's new, but how- oh, some ET-studying professor's gonna ignore the Prime Directive (can't blame Jimmers on THIS one!), and come up with the bright idea to unite and guide an alien society using a form of government that led to earth's most horrific conflict? Wow, what a GREAT idea! Why didn't I think of that? Fortunately (or in this instance not-as-unfortunately), Jimmers and everbody's fave 'pointed-eared hobgoblin' manage to keep things from gettin' worse, as well as teach the TV audience a lesson in what results when you mess with another culture. Go team! My favorite moments in this particular eppie are the ones where Kirk and Spock are disguised in their Nazi military uniforms. Every time I see them in their fascist garb, flashes of the bumbling Colonel Klink and his incompetent sidekick Sgt. Schultz from 'Hogan's Heroes' run through my mind! They just look so goofy in their getups, it's almost laughable (Kirk and Spock, that is). Adding to the hilarity, albeit unintentionally, is the ironic fact that William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are Jewish! 'Late
Rating:
Summary: Great with one possible problem
Review: This DVD is very good. Picture quality is excellent, but I did notice one possible problem with the sound in the episode "Patterns of Force". About 43 minutes in, when Kirk is trying to get Gill to respond, Kirk slaps Gill, but no slap sound can be heard. I also have this episode on VHS, so I know that there should be a slap sound. There is one other sound problem I noticed 2 minutes later when one of the Nazi guards is banging on the door to the booth where Kirk and Gill are. You don't hear the cound of the banging on the door. That sound is also on the VHS tape, but not the DVD. I have e-mailed Paramount Home Video about this but haven't heard back from them. I would be interested in knowing if anyone else had this same experience.
Rating:
Summary: Great with one possible problem
Review: This DVD is very good. Picture quality is excellent, but I did notice one possible problem with the sound in the episode "Patterns of Force". About 43 minutes in, when Kirk is trying to get Gill to respond, Kirk slaps Gill, but no slap sound can be heard. I also have this episode on VHS, so I know that there should be a slap sound. There is one other sound problem I noticed 2 minutes later when one of the Nazi guards is banging on the door to the booth where Kirk and Gill are. You don't hear the cound of the banging on the door. That sound is also on the VHS tape, but not the DVD. I have e-mailed Paramount Home Video about this but haven't heard back from them. I would be interested in knowing if anyone else had this same experience.
Rating: 
Summary: A Mixed Bag
Review: Volume 26 of Paramount's complete reissue of Classic Trek contains one of the series' finest stories, coupled with an episode which never should have been made. Star Trek has touched upon the concept of non-corporeal life before, but in Return to Tomorrow the issue is more fully explored. Sargon's race is a cross between the Talosians and the Organians. Kirk's pep talk in the briefing room has been lampooned in the movie Free Enterprise--but it is actually well acted, well written, and encapsulates everything Star Trek is about. Diana Muldaur, who would later appear during the second season of The Next Generation, makes her first appearance here. The voice of Sargon was supplied by James Doohan, Trek's best all-around vocal talent. Patterns of Force is a standard action-adventure story which never should have made it past the first script-reading. Setting the story in an alien version of Nazi Germany offered no historical lesson, and only served to rub salt into what was then a rather fresh wound. By using Nazi Germany as the historical example for this story, the writer has managed to trivialize both the Nazi regime and the Holocaust almost as badly as Hogan's Heroes did. In addition, the handing of the historical parallels is fatuous, substituting the phrase "final decision" for "final solution" and "Zeon" for "Zion." (This remains the only Trek episode to be banned in Germany.) One wonders how William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, both of whom are Jewish, felt about the dubious proposition of donning Nazi uniforms and participating in such fluff. Kirk's "lesson" at the end of the episode, to the effect that the problem with the Nazi's was not that they were evil, but rather that "power corrupts," is dead wrong. History has been filled with leaders, from Augustus Caesar to Franklin Roosevelt, who could wield great power, without needing to "play God." The problem with the Nazi's was, indeed, that they WERE evil, motivated by racial hatred, led by a lunatic, and had no redeeming value. The picture has been restored and looks fine. The sound is mostly fine, except for some deleted foley near the end of Patterns of Force, where a slap across the face and pounding on a door are curiously silent. But, as I have indicated, it's best to skip this episode anyway.
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