Errand of Mercy

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.

Here they come...now they're here, the Klingons - aggressive, ruthless and sadistic - make their first appearance in the Trek universe. Kirk describes their society as a military dictatorship and there are parallels to Nazi rule in Europe during World War II. The Klingons take over a seemingly primitive civilization here briefly, with Kirk & Spock stuck in disguise in the center of it as a genuine war escalates up above in space (back to the folly of war as in "Balance of Terror"). The Klingons, as first presented here, are not total barbarians (tho they come close), as they do place value on glorious battle & courage in the middle of their penchant for torture, and only start executing populations when affronted somehow (well, good for them). The Klingon commander, Kor (Colicos in a sinister, threatening performance), also resembles a disciple of Genghis Khan and his marauding hordes, as if those invaders suddenly got their hands on 23rd-century technology. There's talk of political causes for the sudden escalation to war with the Federation, but how can anyone expect such an aggressively violent society as the Klingon Empire to stay out of war for any reasonable amount of time? It seems like a closed book and an inevitable outcome when trying to come up with reasons to stop the widespread hostility on display in this episode.

This may be the real motivation for the actions of the Organians in this episode. When their true nature is revealed, we get the impression they see very little, if any, difference between Starfleet (Kirk, Spock) and the invading Klingons. This attitude, of course, was on display from the beginning of the episode, causing Kirk great frustration before the truth was, er, illuminated in front of him. From his perspective, how could anyone not see the differences between his benevolent society and the slave-labor worlds dominated by Klingons? But, if you or I look down on the ground and see two armies of ants waging their little war, would we really pick a side? To us, ants are ants - why would we prefer one side to the other? However, we probably wouldn't take the trouble to stop the ants from fighting - and this is the puzzling aspect to the actions of the Organians in the end. Perhaps they realized, due to the nature of the Klingons, leaving them and the Federation to their own devices would lead to some kind of galactic devastation. Klingons continued to bedevil Kirk is several more episodes of the original series and the Trek movies. In the TNG series, they began to lean towards the honorable traits and away from the sadism.

But, this episode works on other insightful levels, from our perspective in the 21st century. Throughout the episode, it's spelled out, even by Kor himself, that there is indeed very little difference between Klingons and Humans, besides minor 'ideological' ones. Kor also has one of the better lines in this season ("I do not trust men who smile too much"). He and Kirk find themselves agreeing a bit too well on their erroneous view of the seemingly contemptible Organians and, despite Kor's amusing protests, the episode's function as prophecy seems to hold true - that eventually the two warring factions will be allies in some future. Though it does seem unlikely during this episode, it does predict the events of the "Star Trek: the Undiscovered Country" film and the TNG series. This episode also has distinct similarities to "Arena," where-in the Metrons, another highly-evolved race, also interfered with our immature warlike tendencies. The deus ex machina nature of these story lines, courtesy of such 'higher powers,' makes them a little weaker than the more hard-hitting episodes of the series, but they remain high concept science fiction.

Kirk, representing the Federation, and Kor, the Klingon Empire are engaged in a struggle to save the Organians, a docile people who allow themselves to be walked all over. They don't seem to care who dominates them, not distinguishing between good and evil. Kirk and Spock self righteously decide these people need saving, despite their lack of interest. The boys begin to wage war with Klingon forces, altruistically becoming their defenders. They explode bombs and fire weapons. In the meantime, several Organians are killed to make a point. This is the first appearance of the Klingons and they are set forth as evil adversaries. The conclusion is one of the most satisfying moments in all of Star Trek because it shows us that we often lack imagination when it comes to our self centeredness. Everyone is taught a lesson.

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.

"Errand of Mercy" is one of this reviewer's favorite. Indeed, guest star John Colicos, who plays the series' first Klingon commander, took the part because of the excellent script. The episode involves the Enterprise being sent to peaceful Organia to prevent the Klingons from using it as a strategic location in its expansion and enslaving its apparently primitive and non-violent inhabitants. However, instead of accepting Kirk's offer of help to prevent a Klingon take-over the Organians don't appear to be the least bit interested, to the consternation of Kick and Spock. Meanwhile, in space the Federation and the Klingon Empire prepare for all out war, paralleling Nazi Germany's expansion and the US being drawn into WW II. In true TOS fashion, the plot twists take you on a merry roller-coaster ride, each more fantastic than the last. Colicos' role as the Klingon Commander is superbly acted, portraying the ruthlessness and violent nature of the Klingons. Mr. Colicos was supposed to appear in that role in future episodes, but was unfortunately unable to due to other acting obligations. A tight script and surprise ending make "Errand of Mercy" one the TOS best.