The Savage Curtain

Gene Roddenberry's stories tended to reflect his social views, and "Star Trek's" sci-fi dramas were frequently metaphors for social and historical issues. The 3rd season's "The Savage Curtain" was Roddenberry's take on President Lincoln and the American Civil War. Specifically, Roddenberry explores the ethics of the leadership provided by Lincoln and weighs in against those who bemoan Lincoln's willingness to adapt expedient but extra legal tactics against his opponent.

In the episode Roddenberry nicely illustrates this by using two Lincoln's. Surak is the newly elected Lincoln, a President significantly more moderate and conciliatory than most of his party. Someone who arrived in Washington fully convinced that the union could be preserved peacefully.

And during his first couple months in office many Unionists began to question whether they had put the right man in the White House for the unprecedented crisis faced by the country. They feared he lacked iron and would be unable to rise to the occasion.

Colonel Green appears to be a blend of John Floyd (Buchanan's outgoing Secretary of War) and Brigadier David Twiggs (Army commander of Texas); who had specialized in especially deceptive (and unnecessary) acts of treason following Lincoln's election. Aggressively abusing their positions of trust and violating their oaths of office; all in the service of gaining a short-term advantage. From the devious actions of opponents like these Lincoln learned that pro-Union people would be increasingly vulnerable should they expect the old rules to still apply.

As occurred in history, the Surak Lincoln is only briefly a part of the equation. Replaced by the Lincoln who when finally compelled by events to accept the gravity of the situation, worked extra-legally to prevent the secession of Maryland and Missouri. In the episode this Lincoln states: "We fight on their level with trickery, brutality, and finality".

In the end the creature poses the same question often posed by students of the American Civil War: if good and evil use the same methods toward the achievement of the same results, what is the difference between them? Of course, Roddenberry has already answered it; Kirk is fighting for the lives of his crew and in a bigger sense his mission of advancing civilization. His opponent is fighting for the rewards of power, fighting to gain an advantage over others.

Kirk and Spock's final confrontation with the evil forces is deliberately listless; representing secession as the retreat of evil when forcibly confronted. As in 1865, evil retreats to preserve itself - knowing there will be less direct ways to protect its advantaged status.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

The Enterprise is in orbit around a planet of molten lava with a poisonous atmosphere, which makes the life reading from the surface most perplexing. Even more confusing is the appearance of Abraham Lincoln on the ship's scanners.

Beaming the president on board, Kirk is amazed that Lincoln appears to be exactly who he claims to be. Spock and Kirk agree to accompany Lincoln to an area on the planet's surface that has transformed into an Earth-like environment; there they encounter a rock creature that seeks to understand about good and evil, in particular, which is stronger. To that end, it pits Kirk, Spock, Lincoln, and famous Vulcan Surak in a fight to the death against four historical villains.

This episode reflects moments in America's history that have demanded sacrifice, wisdom and bravery from its leaders in order to try and bring about equality and peace. Lincoln is obvious -- he united America -- but at what cost? Surak, on the other hand represents those who have taken a more peaceful stance against prejudice and violence and who have paid the ultimate price for their beliefs, in particular civil rights leader Martin Luther King, a recent tragic figure at the time this show was made.

That said, what I REALLY liked about this episode was the cool rock monster -- a really bizarre creature with a mean pair of claws and multiple eyes that flash in time with its voice -- and the fact that Lincoln goes mano a mano against Genghis Khan (would have loved it even more if Kirk had shouted 'Khaaaaaan!' at some point).

6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

"History tends to exaggerate," says, Col. Green, one of history's most evil people. He makes an interesting point. Perhaps history does exaggerate. And perhaps history does much, much worse.: perhaps history even lies. Humans have a difficult time extricating themselves from their many webs of lies. Surely it has invaded our history. Who knows what really happened? Who indeed.

But that's not really the main point of this episode. It's good vs evil. Pure and simple. It's so simple it's almost like a Saturday morning kid's show. But that's part of its charm. This episode has a folksy charm to it, like an old western TV show where good guys both sing and defeat evil all in a day's work. But it does have depth of ideas even if they are presented as simple as possible. Simplicity is not always a weakness. It can also bear strength, like a rock, if you'll pardon the pun.

My main complaint is the cheesy looking alien/rock thing with flashing lights. Not good. It's just a big blob of rubber. The best part is the performance by Lee Bergere as President Lincoln. And his lines are very well written also. I also like the scene early in the episode when Dr. McCoy and Scotty are trying to talk Kirk out of going down to the planet. They think it's going to be suicide. Kirk reminds them of the basic mission to seek out new life. It is indeed their #1 mission. It's a good scene. Familiar, but good.

I think this is an underrated episode. Not great, but underrated. Look past the childlike simplicity. Don't hate it. It's not something you hate. Eat your popcorn and enjoy it. It's Star Trek.

Season 3, episode 22. The Enterprise arrives at the volcanic planet of Excalbia for a geological expedition where their sensors detect carbon-based life forms. Suddenly an image of Abraham Lincoln appears floating on the ship's screen. Spock says its not the real Lincoln but Kirk invites Lincoln aboard the ship with honors. Lincoln claims to be human but knows nothing of technology past the 19th century but knows the Vulcan philosophy of Nom (meaning "all"). Lincoln invites Kirk and Spock to the planet where an area is earth-like. Scotty and McCoy protest the idea but Kirk and Spock go anyway. Once there they find their phasers, tricorder and communicators gone and out steps the Vulcan Surak who is the father of the Vulcan civilization - Spock again does not believe: Not in Lincoln now Surak. Next a boulder becomes a rock-like creature and the alien, Yarnek, announces to inhabitants to conduct an experiment: which opposing human philosophy is stronger good or evil. The alien puts Kirk, Spock, Lincoln, and Surak against Colonel Green, the Klingon Kahless, Zora, and Genghis in a fight to the death. To force Kirk and Spock to fight, the alien has set the Enterprise to explode in 2 hours if Kirk is defeated and all the Enterprise can do is watch on the screen.

Not great but it's Star Trek fun! Very entertaining.

8.5/10

I've always enjoyed this solid 3rd seasoner from the gitgo, for various favorable points reviewers here note. The bravura performance by Lee Bergere as Abe Lincoln makes this episode memorable by itself. Seeing it again recently after some few years I was struck anew. All the way back to first season, other episodes (Corbomite Maneuver, Arena etc) have featured Kirk and crew forced into confrontations staged by superior aliens. But "Savage Curtain" stands out among them for its unusual down beat ending theme of futility and frustration, redeemed by resolve to overcome. Equivalent scenarios in other episodes mostly ended with promising outlooks (Arena) even open invitations after winning over alien hearts and minds (Specter of the Gun, Corbomite) - the beginnings of what could be beautiful friendships. The closing perspective in Savage Curtain is sadder but wiser, and far more solemn - uniquely for this ST subgenre. After testing the humans and their moral concepts without satisfactory result, the unimpressed alien dismissively releases Kirk and Spock, letting them go back to their ship. But its one of Kirk's lines that, for me, tips off the subtext - about how hard it was so distressing to witness the death of the Abraham Lincoln character: "It was so hard for me to see him die again. I feel I understand what Earth must have gone through to achieve final peace." The context of the times when the show first ran, with what the country was going through in months preceding it, especially - the assassinations of RFK and Martin Luther King echoed between the words loud and clear, even though I never caught it previously. As an icon of civil rights. and an assassinated US president as well - the Lincoln character by association evokes MLK and JFK both in a single stroke. This episode's finale sounds a dramatic note as if consolatory, of grief understood and shared by the show's creators with its audience - at the time reeling alike, under the traumatic impact of violent, historic political tragedies in the news. This aspect reaches its peak when, after the seemingly dismal failure of an alien encounter so harrowing, amid bloodshed with nothing gained - Kirk reflects on the heroic inspiration of figures such as Saruk and Lincoln: "So much of their work remains to be done in the galaxy." In this one episode TREK offers the exception to its own rule, deviating from its usual idealism, whether in tragedy or comedy - by an unrelenting realism of urgent perspective. Dion's 'Abraham, Martin and John" offers an ideal comparison for this episode, from pop music of the era, in terms of themes and context. The song ministers to mass grief in the wake of real life events its lyrics reference literally, to which 'Savage Curtain' alludes figuratively by allegory (a fave among good ol' TREK's many tricks). So I rate this one a uniquely good voyage from the hallowed cellars of 1960s TREK - 'the real thing' (not the pepsi generation). Its like fine wine - some stuff only gets better with age.