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Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 30, Episodes 59 and 60: The Enterprise Incident/ And the Children Shall Lead

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 30, Episodes 59 and 60: The Enterprise Incident/ And the Children Shall Lead

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Which is worse-being surrounded by Romulans or bratty kids?
Review: "Enterprise Incident" features Romluans with Klingon ships! Whoa! "And the Children..." It should have been called "The Bratty Bunch"...mediocre writing, bad acting, not enough sfx.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good and Not.
Review: I bought this DVD purley for the fact that "The Enterprise Incident" Is one of the best of the original episodes made. The other episode "And the Children Shall Lead" is so embarassing that it is not even funny. It contains the cheap effects combined with the ridiculous and ill-concieved storyline. I mean, really. A bunch of children that have the power to take over the people of the Enterprise and are led by evil? I mean please. The Enterprise incident is a good epsiode to watch, and the children shall lead is good for a laugh at its stupidity and a joke.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: I'm gonna lead myself away from this unfortunate incident...
Review: REVIEWED ITEM: Star Trek® Original Series DVD Volume 30: The Enterprise Incident © / And the Children Shall Lead ©

THE ENTERPRISE INCIDENT © PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: The balance of power; military one-upmanship

Historic Milestone: the introduction of the fictional "Vulcan death grip"

Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: None

REVIEW/COMMENTARY:

Jimmers' libido takes a rest in this outing as Spock takes on the task of romancing the babe-of-the-week. And what a job he does: he melts the heart-- whilst earning the trust-- of a Romulan ship commander with his little routine of logic and lack of emotion following the capture of the Enterprise after encroaching into the Neutral Zone. Adding to his credibility with the Romulan commander is his application of the aforementioned 'Vulcan death grip' on the good captain when it appears he may've gone a bit loopy. Um, the captain that is. Meanwhile, Jimmers' 'corpse' is returned to the Enterprise, where he's revived, disguises himself as a Romulan officer, and sets out to steal the enemy's cloaking device. Scotty's expression of joyful surprise as he sees the good captain in Romulan togs is absolutely priceless! Eventually, the Enterprise makes off with their prize, and with a touch of Scotty's miracle-working, uses it to escape detection. In the end, Spock has the temerity to try and salvage his 'relationship' with the captured Romulan officer after using her like a wad of tissues! And apparently she falls for it to a degree, the silly fool. Oh Spock, you smooth character you!

AND THE CHILDREN SHALL LEAD © PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: The folly of giving Melvin Belli a part on a TV show-- or an acting part of ANY kind!

Notable Gaffe/Special Defect: The entire freakin' episode!

Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: 2 killed

REVIEW/COMMENTARY:

I was pretty freaked out by the teaser to this particular eppie, featuring a buncha kids playin' and carrying on whilst their parents lie dead all around 'em! Was Stephen King a contributor to the script, or what? Unfortunately, things break down after the teaser, and never improve one iota. Melvin Belli's ultra-stiff performance as the evil Gorgan proved to me that, as an actor, he makes a pretty good lawyer. Actually, his character is very lawyer-like: he produces and feeds off of the anxiety & paranoia of others! Okay, so I made a cheap shot with that last crack. What'cha gonna do about it-- sue me? No wait, I was only kidding... honest! Please put that summons down...

Anyhoo, after pickin' up the adolescent survivors, the Enterprise encounters all sort'sa troubles... like the kids using mind-control to systematically take over the Enterprise, and making Sulu hallucinate huge knives out in space. Fortunately, the Gorgan's power over his prepubescent charges is broken when Jimmers shows 'em a few home movies with their late 'rents. This causes the young'uns to bawl somethin'awful, and frees them from their captor. I can't really blame 'em for their reaction; if I were forced to watch old home movies, I'd be cryin' too...

'Late

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Part Good, Part Not
Review: Thats all there really is to say about it. The Enterprise incident is an outstanding episode while the children shall lead is so unbelivibly stupid that it is good as a gag. If you really want the Enterprise Incident, get this volume. If you're looking for two good episodes, you won't be happy. Try volume 20.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Part Good, Part Not
Review: The "Enterprise Incident" has to be one of my favorite episodes because it involves the very rarely seen Romulans. However, "And the Children Shall Lead" is absolutely horrible. I might even go as far to say that it is the worst episode of the whole series.

This DVD is worth buying for hard core Star Trek fans. No collection is complete without the "Enterprise Incident!"

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: One of the best and the worst on one DVD.
Review: The "Enterprise Incident" has to be one of my favorite episodes because it involves the very rarely seen Romulans. However, "And the Children Shall Lead" is absolutely horrible. I might even go as far to say that it is the worst episode of the whole series.

This DVD is worth buying for hard core Star Trek fans. No collection is complete without the "Enterprise Incident!"

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Truly the best! (And one of the worst!)
Review: The Enterprise Incident isn't "one" of my favorites, it IS MY favorite of the original 79. Joanne Linvilles' performance is stunning. She shows us in so many ways glimpses of the Romulan culture we hadn't seen, and in many ways, things we will never see again. The "score" here is captivating and judging by some of the looks Spock gives, it sometimes makes you wonder what his thoughts truly were. This is simply the most rounded episode and most informative... now as for "And The Children Shall Lead..." the review of this dvd is scored only on The Enterprise Incident, I can't see holding "And..." against that superbly crafted episode. "And..." is just a poorly conceived romp....

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One action episode, one creepily surreal show
Review: The Enterprise Incident-This Romulan intrigue story is one of the 3rd season's most solid offerings. It offers a tight and dramatic plot, with plenty of twists and surprises. The teaser is particularly well-executed, and may be second only to Mirror, Mirror's opening in dramatic effect. I also enjoy the moral ambiguity of this episode. By that I mean not only that we are left to ponder whether the ends justify the means, but also that WE are left to ponder that question, rather than being beaten over the head with it and having it answered for us. Would a 1st season episode have been comfortable with this ambiguity, let alone keeping it implicit? No normative judgments implied, but Star Trek had in some sense grown up by the Fall of 1968, for better or worse. (4 stars)
Tidbits: Spock was able to stay fairly true to himself in this romance; others weren't so lucky in their 3rd season romances, which generally yanked crewmembers far out of character. As a result, here the sacrifice Spock makes is a real one, in which he compromises himself. The production team did a nice job of giving the Romulan ship interior a different feel.

And the Children Shall Lead-Incredibly, the second of the 'children' episodes is even darker than the first (Miri). This atmospheric episode is shrouded in a sense of mystery and dread. I would go so far as to call the episode courageous in it's depiction of evil and willingness to give the children complicity in the adults' deaths. Each individual's insecurities and fears are exploited by the Gorgon, and at the height of the episode Kirk has lost control both of his ship and his entire sense of reality.
While some of the effects are quite gimmicky (the knives), others are effective in their simplicity (such as the summoning of the Gorgon). Overall I found this to be an effective, eerie and surreal episode, although some may dislike the fact that there is no simple moral. The cold finality of much of the death (such as being beamed into deep space) may also upset some. The conclusions/ means of dealing with the Gorgon were also admittedly weak.
Tidbits: It would be interesting to know how attourney Melvin
Belli ended up in this role. (4 stars)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One action episode, one creepily surreal show
Review: The Enterprise Incident-This Romulan intrigue story is one of the 3rd season's most solid offerings. It offers a tight and dramatic plot, with plenty of twists and surprises. The teaser is particularly well-executed, and may be second only to Mirror, Mirror's opening in dramatic effect. I also enjoy the moral ambiguity of this episode. By that I mean not only that we are left to ponder whether the ends justify the means, but also that WE are left to ponder that question, rather than being beaten over the head with it and having it answered for us. Would a 1st season episode have been comfortable with this ambiguity, let alone keeping it implicit? No normative judgments implied, but Star Trek had in some sense grown up by the Fall of 1968, for better or worse. (4 stars)
Tidbits: Spock was able to stay fairly true to himself in this romance; others weren't so lucky in their 3rd season romances, which generally yanked crewmembers far out of character. As a result, here the sacrifice Spock makes is a real one, in which he compromises himself. The production team did a nice job of giving the Romulan ship interior a different feel.

And the Children Shall Lead-Incredibly, the second of the 'children' episodes is even darker than the first (Miri). This atmospheric episode is shrouded in a sense of mystery and dread. I would go so far as to call the episode courageous in it's depiction of evil and willingness to give the children complicity in the adults' deaths. Each individual's insecurities and fears are exploited by the Gorgon, and at the height of the episode Kirk has lost control both of his ship and his entire sense of reality.
While some of the effects are quite gimmicky (the knives), others are effective in their simplicity (such as the summoning of the Gorgon). Overall I found this to be an effective, eerie and surreal episode, although some may dislike the fact that there is no simple moral. The cold finality of much of the death (such as being beamed into deep space) may also upset some. The conclusions/ means of dealing with the Gorgon were also admittedly weak.
Tidbits: It would be interesting to know how attourney Melvin
Belli ended up in this role. (4 stars)

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good and Not.
Review: Volume 30 of Paramount's complete reissue of Classic Trek contains two contrasting episodes from Season Three.

The Enterprise Incident is a successful and riveting story, even though its plot--full of Nixonian plotting and plausible deniability--runs counter to Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek philosophy. What makes this episode work is the taut writing, tight editing, powerful scoring, and excellent performances from all involved. The scenes between Leonard Nimoy and guest star Joanne Linville--as the Romulan Commander smolder with erotic tension. The visuals are also superior to most of the series. However, some of the Romulan makeup looks rushed, with some clumsy ear appliances.

Despite an interesting concept, And The Children Shall Lead is not a success. The episode, essentially an allegory about religious cults, is undone by tortured dialogue, weak plotting, and the most egregious incident of "stunt" casting in Trek history: Lawyer Melvin Belli portrays the evil Gorgon. Dressed in a silver gown with a floral patterned collar, Belli looks like a second-rate televangelist in drag. Most of this episode is so laughably ridiculous that it's best ignored or viewed as a party gag. What a wasted opportunity.

No complaints about the picture and sound restoration. However, Al Francis' lighting and camerawork lacks the beauty and subtlety of Jerry Finnerman's, who resigned after the second season.


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