The Squire of Gothos

What is it that compels two factions to engage in conflict with one another? What propels them to a state of warfare? An exercise whose only product is the destruction of life? How can sane and mature men engage in such a practice? The "Squire of Gothos" examines a possible explanation for this proposition. Kirk and crew must escape and evade a wandering planet controlled by a being who has all the respect for life that a sadistic child might when it levels a magnifying glass and sunbeam at an unsuspecting ant. Said child gets a sick thrill out of this. But can we blame the child? Does it know enough not to do what it is doing? It is, after all, an undeveloped mind--not having reached full maturity. But is this really an excuse? Excuse or no the author of this episode offers it as a possible explanation to the fascination of warfare by a certain kind of adult. The child reads or hears tales of gallantry on the battlefield, and wants to act "grown up" by mimicking said deeds and his heroes. But, because he is a child, he knows not the peril of the bloody pastime he hopes to partake in.

All boys (and some girls too I guess) went through the period of playing "cops and robbers" or "war" prior to adolescence. For some people that little boy never leaves. Sometimes that's a good thing. Sometimes it's bad. "The Squire of Gothos" is slightly farce by sending up a caricature of the proverbial brave yeoman on a 18th or 19th century battlefield. Trelane is a parody of the idolatry that surrounded and generated the myths of battlefield heroics, and shows the audience the absurdity of lionizing the image he portrays.

What's worse is that Kirk and the Enterprise are powerless to stop him. The episode becomes fairly symbolic and drives home a very poignant message near the end. It is ultimately a parental responsibility and obligation to their fellow man to raise and reign in their child and his behavior.

Were it only that simple when it comes to armies clashing on the battlefield.

Science fiction at its thematic best.

Enjoy.

p.s. the "Q" comparison is apt, but is really a minor cog in a much larger clockwork of symbolism.

I did enjoy watching Squire Trelane jerk around the crew in this episode, though after a while the whole thing just seemed a little too long. Sure, the histrionics were kind of funny for a while, and the ending was a pretty good way to wrap the whole thing together. I think the problem was that I enjoyed seeing Trelane when he was full of bravado and fun, the fun seemed to vanish when Trelane became vindictive and nasty. Talk about a mood killer--going from the obnoxious but affable host to the guy sentencing Kirk to death! But, despite this, the episode was enjoyable and worth my time. For die-hard Trekkies, this is a must-see, for others it's just a pretty run of the mill one.

The Enterprise encounters the planet Gothos and its resident.

This is an interesting episode that I found entertaining up to a point, but overall I think it wastes a great concept with too silly a tone.

The plot is a pretty unimaginative 'god-like being' narrative that pits members of the crew against someone much more powerful. These stories never work for me as I know our protagonists will triumph, it renders the antagonist as more of an irritating distraction than a genuine threat. This is mainly how I felt about Q, however Q was an improvement on the concept and was used for more than antagonism.

On a more positive note, ever since 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' I have loved the idea of the violent and barbaric nature of humanity being seen through the eyes of extra terrestrial beings. This one cleverly subverts the idea by presenting a child-like, non-corporeal being who seeks to emulate man's warlike behaviour. This works as fairly effective allegory for the example humanity sets its own children. My favourite parts are without a doubt Trelane's exchanges with Spock and his little observations on man.

The production values are generally very good with a good set, props and costumes. Trelane's hair and one instance of poor sound effects are the only downsides, but they do generate humour.

Performances are solid with William Campbell very much the star of this one. Only Leonard Nimoy for me can hold the screen with him, as William Shatner doesn't really get the opportunity to do much other than act impatient, irritable and generally go through the motions of standing up to a baddie of the week.

The planet Gothos has an irritating presence, a being that's progressing juvenescence, infantile and immature, devoid of all allure, at this rate he'll struggle to make it to adolescence.

The starship crew encounter a child who likes to throw its dummy out of the pram.

An apt description by Spock of an all-powerful fop into whose clutches fall the crew of the Enterprise. This was one sector of space our starship should have avoided: first Sulu & Kirk simply disappear off the bridge; a landing party follows them to the surface of an unknown planet and encounter Trelane, a seemingly aristocratic man dressed in attire from an Earth of many centuries past. But he demonstrates abilities of someone or something far beyond human and doesn't register on McCoy's medical tricorder. The officers manage to escape back to the ship but, like some bad cosmic penny, Trelane keeps popping up. He brings them all back, including some female companionship, to continue his games. The dilemma now takes on elements of 'The Most Dangerous Game' out in space and there's an exasperating, even infuriating aspect to the crew's utter helplessness before such unbridled power.

What really makes this a great episode is the memorable performance by guest star Campbell as the overpowering but not all-knowing alien. His character is obviously an early version of Q, who was introduced 20 years later in the pilot for the TNG series. Trelane's confrontation scene with Spock stands out among all the strange drama which unfolds. As usual, Kirk quickly begins to look for possible weaknesses in his new nemesis, despite being quite outmatched. The answers to exactly what or who Trelane is are right in front of us the whole time so, when we do learn the truth, it makes complete sense in view of Campbell's pitch-perfect acting. He indulges himself constantly, preening before some unknown audience, remarking on things with a flair which is infectious but not quite right - we can't quite pin it down at first, but there's something missing here. Every few minutes, his tone becomes sinister and the crew now appears to be in serious danger. In a way, you can't take your eyes off him, always waiting to see what he does next. Actor John de Lancie captured that similar tone as Q on the Next Generation series.