Bread and Circuses

Kirk, Spock, and Bones beam down to a planet because it is quite possible that the survivors of a space catastrophe have ended up there. They find that the society of this planet is modeled after ancient Rome - complete with gladiators and slaves - except that it's been given a 20th century twist. (These people are fond of television.) Our trio of heroes are going to end up participating in the "games" before there is any chance of escape.

By this point, it was clear that the series was in something of a rut, with too many stories set in representations of moments in Earth history, and too many stories in which the Prime Directive is broken. A former associate of Kirks' is involved, a man named Merik (William Smithers, "Papillon"), but he's not the true villain; rather he's a weak character dominated by a man named Claudius (Logan Ramsey, "Walking Tall"), who comes to respect Kirk but who is still determined to see him die for his defiance.

I do understand Roddenberry's following of a formula, as it allowed him to examine various social & political facets of our own history through the funnel of a science-fiction series. It just comes as disappointing if one is hoping for more tales of a cosmic nature. Certainly the tales are provocative, however, and do get us talking about them afterwards.

There are pleasures to be had, of course: the ongoing arguments between Spock & Bones (including a dramatic moment where Bones believes he's gotten to the heart of Spocks' character), the sight of Spock & Bones carrying swords & shields, Kirk romancing yet another woman (gorgeous blonde Lois Jewell), and appearances by two other top character actors: Ian Wolfe ("Witness for the Prosecution") and Rhodes Reason ('White Hunter').

Even though these kinds of episodes do tend to get repetitive, they're always "interesting" in the way that they hold a mirror up to our own lives - if not "fascinating".

Seven out of 10.

While this is an enjoyable episode, one of the things that sets it apart is that it has some great lines in it.

"Doctor, if I were able to show emotion, your new infatuation with that term would begin to annoy me."

"Really, Doctor? I had no idea they were trained. Watching you, I assumed it was trial and error."

"You bring this network's ratings down and we'll do a special on you!"

"Fight, you pointed-eared freak!"

"I'm trying to thank you, you pointy-eared hobgoblin!"

"Oh...we've preempted 15 minutes on the early show for you...in full color. I guarantee you a splendid audience."

If nothing else, this episode gets high marks for the script.

Kirk, Spock and McCoy visit a planet mirroring the Roman Empire of Earth.

This is an enjoyable but unoriginal episode with some good character moments.

The plot is mostly uninspired as we see yet another Federation character breaking the Prime Directive in a similar way to 'Patterns of Force' and 'The Omega Glory'. I prefer this one to both of the above, but the source of the Roman cultural imitation is not explained, much like the situation on Omega IV. Though, I do like the themes regarding slavery and the role of the entertainment industry to help curtail civil unrest.

The character interactions are good, with the central three having some strong exchanges, particularly Spock and McCoy.

The guest characters are mostly solid, particularly Claudius and Flavius, played well by Logan Ramsey and Rhodes Reason respectively. I enjoyed the scene with Drusilla who suitably entertains Kirk, distracting him from the plight of his two friends.

Where it falls down cinematically is the gladiatorial fights. Not only are they cheaply staged, but poorly choreographed. It looks suspiciously like a one-take rush job. Aside from this the visuals are reasonably good.

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley are on good form. It's also nice to see Nichelle Nichols chipping in briefly towards the end, but as always she is underused.

Season 2, episode 25. The Enterprise is on it's routine patrol when it runs across some wreckage of the SS Beagle. The Beagle has been lost for 6 years and it's captain was R. M. Merik, a man Kirk once knew. They find no signs of humans so they guessed that the crew was able to leave the ship before it was destroyed. They follow the debris trail to an unknown planet - never charted before. They discover the planet is very much like planet Earth and even pick up radio and video signals from it. The ship's computer picks up survivors from the Beagle on the planet. Kirk, Spock & McCoy beam down to the planet's surface and are soon met with a group of men with shotguns - they are runaway slaves. Kirk, Spock and McCoy befriend the runaway slaves. It is revealed that their slavery is over a belief or dispute of gods: sun god vs other gods. Kirk is looking for Captain Merik the slaves have mentioned a man named Merikus - is it one in the same man? The planet is similar to Earth's ancient Rome but mixed with 20th century Earth and soon they find themselves in a 20th century jail cell while searching for Merik... they soon find Merik. Merik takes them to the pro-council where Merik explains what happened to him, his crew and the Beagle. Later Kirk is made to order some of his crew members down to fight in the old Roman style arena. He tells Mr. Scott code green, all is well. Scotty knows that means trouble, don't interfere but stand by. Kirk refused to bring down his men so Kirk, Spock and McCoy are taken to the arena in a real fight to the death which is broadcasted on television. The Enterprise can pick up television signals which is in their favor but must stand-by under the captain's orders - Scotty cannot send down a landing party but he can do other things from the ship.

There are some excellent moments between Spock and McCoy - and we are able to learn a bit more about Mr. Spock. Yes Spock does worry about Kirk just like the very human Dr. McCoy.

9/10

Communication's officer Lieutenant Uhura sums up the decline and fall of the Roman Empire as the world knows it. The plot is really secondary. It's there to drive the story forward, but the underlying theme tells of the human condition via a reign of pure strength, and its ultimate failure.

This theme is reinforced by one of the supporting characters, an escaped 20th century Roman gladiator, Flavius, and his ultimate sacrifice. He represents the old way, once reformed, but gone back to the rule of Rome by fighting the Romans the only way he knows how.

The basic story is a rescue mission, but the real story is the heartfelt examination of the futility of a society that relies on a slave class to sustain itself on all levels, even down to bloody gladiatorial games as entertainment. Kirk is put through the rigors of experiencing both the pains and pleasures of such a society, and although he understands that he cannot change this world, he does help reinforce the message that will ultimately alter it and its Roman Empire on the most fundamental level.

Note Kirk's line as he talks to Flavius in the cave and pats him on the shoulder. Attach that to Uhura's summation at the end, and you got yourself the entire story: "It's not the sun up in the sky. It's the ..."

Positives; Kirk scores with a hot blonde. Druscilla is a HOTTIE! At least she was in 1967 :-) If I were the captain of the Enterprise I think I would bend the rules a little and beam her up to the ship before breaking orbit. Heck... I'd deserve it! The production values in this episode are also top notch. Largely because we're not dealing with aliens and spaceships here, but a historical retrofit to then modern times.

Excellent social commentary on not only a personal spiritual level, but also on the imperial nature of unbridled profit.

Enjoy.