Balance of Terror

When the Romulans come, they will not be bearing gifts; no, they bring with them war - war and conquest. As any familiar with this episode know, it is a redux of the war film "The Enemy Below" from the fifties. The obvious difference is that instead of a battleship and a submarine (or an American Destroyer & German U-boat) engaged in lethal war games, it is two starships in outer space. In Trek history, about 100 years before the events here, according to this episode, Earth fought the Romulan Wars. After about 5 years of conflict, a stalemate brought about a treaty and the institution of the Neutral Zone, a boundary between us and the Romulan Empire. Now, on this stardate, the treaty appears to be broken, as our outposts are being attacked and destroyed by some weapon of immense power. Yes, the Romulans are back, testing their new war toy, and Kirk must now earn his pay: he must make decisions that would affect this sector of the galaxy, such as figuring out how to avoid a...oh, I dunno - an interstellar war, maybe?

I think what makes this episode so effective is that it doesn't shy away from the grim aspects of war, as one would expect of a mere TV episode from the sixties - especially an episode from a science fiction show. It's all very tense and gripping, like the best war films, such as when Kirk sits down with his key officers for what amounts to a war council. The writers and the actors aren't kidding around here: this is all preparation for a ghastly conflict, potentially the beginning of another years-long battleground. In the final analysis, Kirk's aim is to keep this battleground to just the two ships - but even then it's an endeavor fraught with peril and probable casualties. In fact, I believe this episode holds the record for ship casualties by the end of it. Right at the start of the episode, we see the devastation such battle can produce, in that supposedly well-protected outpost. Then begin the cat-and-mouse war games between the Enterprise and the Romulan ship - it's as exciting as any conflict we've seen on the big screen. Of course, if you're not into war films, you'd have to look for other things to admire in this episode.

What elevates this episode even further is the revelation of just what and who the Romulans are - it's an electric shock of a sort. Now we have even further inter-crew conflict on the bridge of the Enterprise - war does tend to bring out the worst in some people. Due to still nasty attitudes about race in this future, the tension is ratcheted up even further - Kirk has his hands full in this one. I suppose the one weakness in the story is the convenient relenting of the bigotry issue by the conclusion. On the Romulan side, actor Lenard makes his first appearance in the Trek universe as the Romulan commander; he's terrific in the role, the flip side of Capt. Kirk or Capt. Pike, take your pick, done up to resemble Spock more than a little. Surprisingly, his character is not war hungry as we would expect, another eye-opener for this episode. The actor would next return to this universe as Sarek, Spock's father, so he's nothing if not versatile. It's also telling how the first appearance of such characters as the Romulans is usually their best shot, as it is here. They showed up in "The Enterprise Incident" next.

This has to be one of my 3 favorite Episodes from the Original TV Series.

What makes it great is the battle of wits between The Romulan Commander and Kirk, as well as the top-notch acting from Mark Lenard, who later went on to play Spock's father in other TV Episodes and movies. This is a case where those around rose to the level of the talent around them, and Shatner, Nimoy, and the whole cast deliver an outstanding performance in this episode.

The writing and plot are also excellent, and I love the direct approach used to show us the characters, and the feelings and thoughts of those characters, and how freely they are expressed by the actors.

This very entertaining episode ranks 10 out of 10. AWESOME!! Desert-Buddha

At face value, 'Balance of Terror' is as straightforward as they come; this is a classic submarine movie, complete with cat-n-mouse and silent running. Enterprise faces off with a Romulan warbird on the edge of the Neutral Zone; it's uncomplicated, but makes for some tense television.

But then there's the sympathetic opponent, less a villain and more a like-minded captain on the opposite team from Kirk (Mark Lenard plays this well, and I can see why they brought him back to play Spock's father; the two don't seem all that far apart). These are two evenly-matched adversaries sizing each other up. This episode focuses on the profound responsibility of being a starship captain, the immense weight of some of these tactical decisions; and it's a great example of the Kirk/Spock/McCoy dynamic as they hash this thing out from all angles.

In the end, it's just a riveting episode from start to finish; the grudges run deep, the conflict's great, and it's one of the more accessible episodes I've seen.

9/10

A science-fiction version of the 1957 WWII film The Enemy Below, in which an American destroyer stalked a German U-boat, Balance of Terror pits Captain Kirk and his crew against a Romulan warship (armed with a high energy plasma weapon and a cloaking device) that has launched attacks on several Earth outposts. A tense game of cat and mouse ensues, as Kirk and the Romulan commander (Mark Lenard) take it in turns to try and out-maneuver and out-guess their enemy.

After the quite dreadful The Conscience of the King, Star Trek is back on track with this excellent episode that delivers suspense, excitement, action, and a classic foe in the form of the Romulans, whilst delivering a poignant message about the futility of war and bigotry. Kirk proves himself a great leader and military tactician, intelligent, cunning and calm under pressure, more than a match for the crafty Romulans, but when all is said and done, there is no clear winner in this conflict: the Romulan ship is destroyed, but it is the innocent who have really suffered, several Federation outposts obliterated and the only Enterprise fatality a young man who, in the episode's opening scene, was about to be married.

Somewhere in space, cloaked and unseen, a metaphorical, figurative, space submarine, that hides and evades all enterprising eyes, waits patiently to snare its most treasured prize, with two chess players pitched toe to toe, second guessing what each other does, or does not know, a waiting game with everything to lose, the aim to deceive, and then confuse.

The Enterprise and Captain Kirk go head to toe with the Romulans and their cloak of invisibility.