Errand of Mercy

The Enterprise crew are the first Star Fleet representatives to arrive on the planet Organia as hostilities break-out between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Organia offers tactical advantages and is inhabited by a passive, non-progressive, agricultural, humanoid people.

John Colicos turns in a landmark performance as a Klingon colonial administrator who arrives a few minutes after Kirk and Spock, with a full military contingent (uninhibited by the Federation's Prime Directive). Colicos' Kor becomes the archetypal personality for Klingon military leaders until the Klingons are somewhat redefined in DS9. Kor establishes mercilessness as his model and begins executing Organians who do not offer complete and open cooperation. And the Organians don't care. They sit back, aloof - neither resisting nor cooperating, and frustrate both Kor and Kirk.

The episode offers a brilliant, somewhat nihilistic and humbling resolution - which you will have to see for yourself, and is one of the most satisfying of TOS. It's only negative point is the over-abundant and unnecessary 'witty banter' between Kirk and Spock as they plot against the Klingons - more subtly exploited in later Coon scripts.

Highly recommended.

Sayeth Kor, the Klingon garrison commander of Organia. Colicos has the most memorable lines in this episode; commenting on everything from being touched to the glory of the Klingon Empire.

The Klingons, as originally written in the Star Trek bible, were a riff on the Communist Chinese, seen from a social dynamic as one being economically aggressive at one time in history, only to have fallen from grace and embrace the share-and-share-alike servitude from Marx's mind. The Klingon Empire is described as being a military dictatorship. The Klingons are the self proclaimed conquerors of space (or will be anyway), and Organia being in the disputed region, it is one of the first planets to fall into the fray.

Kirk and Spock take it upon themselves to show the primitives how they can resist the tyranny of Klingon occupation. Kor protests and takes action.

But there's a twist here. The battlefield that would be, one inhabited by the primitives of a far flung world, has a secret that the warring parties will discover.

It's a bit of a condescending episode in terms of what causes international conflict, and on the same vein rather naive. There's a real ivory tower perspective on the part of the author of this particular episode as he imparts his personal wisdom and outlook on why countries war with one another.

But, there it is. Opposing sides stare one another in the face, ready to annihilate life on a planetary scale when something happens. There's an admonishment from an over-bearing school teacher with all of the common sense of a PTA mother who utters inane phrases to her children after they've been bullied. The concept was to show how ridiculous the exercise would be, and the bloodshed as a result.

This episode is a reflection the face between the then so called First and Second World powers, with the Third World caught in the middle. It is an unexpected twist from the Third World representative that we get the PTA mother for the episode.

As such the action in this episode is confined to Star Fleet's executive officers hailing from the U.S.S. Enterprise, our vessel and home for our favorite TV show.

The highlight is seeing Star Fleet's finest pitted against the best the Klingon Empire has to offer. Who wins? You be the judge.

Enjoy.

William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy are at a loss to explain what they're encountering on a planet called Organia. There is an imminent invasion by the Klingons that will pass this planet and its location makes it a great place for a military base.

Yet these Organians led by Peter Brocco are so docile and placid to Captain Kirk's warnings and later to the Klingon arrival led by John Colicos it defies explanation. Possibly Gandhi's non-violence taken to the extreme?

It's not of course and the explanation is something that neither human or Klingon like to contemplate. In the end the Organians become peacemakers in a most unusual manner.

One of the best Star Trek prime episodes and a favorite of mine.

This is the first episode where you see the Klingons--you know, the ORIGINAL Klingons who look a lot like humans with dirty skin. The bumps on the head and long scary hair are not to be seen--this didn't come until the first Star Trek movie (and even then, they still didn't look exactly like the later Klingons). Fortunately, the leader of the Klingons is John Calicos--a slimy character actor who almost always played villains. He was just perfect for the role and contributed a lot to the episode.

The show starts with Spock and Kirk landing on a planet that is about to be invaded by Klingons. The pre-industrial residents seem to care less about the invasion despite their best efforts to warn them of impending death or slavery. However, before they can go back to the ship, the Klingons land and the guys are stuck among the smiling and somewhat zombie-esquire residents. For most of the rest of the film, Kirk and Spock try to wage war against the Klingons--hoping to get the residents to join them. How this is all handled is truly interesting and a fitting conclusion to the madness.

The pacifists of Organia say, confrontation is not how we play, the guns that you don, human or Klingon, we object to in our conscientious way.

Kirk and Spock are trapped on a planet where the Klingons are digging in ready to do battle against the Federation, as two space armies gather above.