The Enterprise Incident
From the Encyclopedia of Speculative Fiction - http://encyclopedia.wizards.pro
| Image:RomulanBattlecruisers3.jpg | |
| Series: | TOS |
| Season: | 3x04 |
| Original Airdate: | 1968-09-27 |
| Production Number: | 59 |
| Broadcast Number: | 57 |
| Year: | 2268 |
| Stardate: | 5027.3 |
| Written by: | D.C. Fontana |
| Directed by: | John Meredyth Lucas |
| Image:KirkRomulan.jpg | |
After Kirk inexplicably orders the Enterprise across the Romulan Neutral Zone, it is captured by the Romulans.
Contents |
Summary
After Kirk inexplicably orders the Enterprise across the Romulan Neutral Zone, it is captured by the Romulans. Commander Tal demands the surrender of the Enterprise.
Kirk and Spock transport aboard the Romulan vessel where Kirk is arrested for espionage. In an altercation between Spock and Kirk, Spock appears to kill Kirk with the Vulcan death grip.
Thereafter the Romulan commander attempts to pursuade Spock to side with his Romulan cousins, and claim his rightful position of the Enterprise. Meanwhile Kirk is revived by McCoy, and surgically altered to appear as a Romulan. Kirk transports aboard the Romulan battle cruiser and steals the cloaking device. Scott installs the cloak, and the 'Enterprise escapes with Spock, and an unexpected prisoner, the Romulan commander.
Background Information
- Interestingly enough, the script originally didn't have the Romulans in Klingon ships, but the series had a lot of money invested in the Klingon model and they needed to get their money's worth out of it.
- This episode was originally aired before Elaan of Troyius so when the audience first saw the Klingon ships they were used by the Romulans.
- Although Spock, at the episode's end, is only escorting the Romulan Commander to Deck 2, the ride takes several minutes!
- In a very strange continuity error, Spock acts as if he's sharing new information when he says he has a theory that the Romulans have developed a cloaking device. It had already been well-established in "Balance of Terror" that the Romulans had such a device and this wasn't something that just the command staff were aware of.
- Mike Howden, previously appearing in "I, Mudd" as Ensign Rowe, was a strange choice to cast as a Romulan. In a Northeast accent he asks Kirk if he has "clearance for this arear."
- D.C. Fontana intended this story to be a comment on the capture of an American patrol boat by North Korean forces during the Vietnam War, the Pueblo Incident. Script changes made it a purposeful trespass intended to steal technology. Fontana's original idea was for Kirk to question his orders and thus, headquarter's idea that the ends justified the means.
- The interiors of the Romulan ship are the corridors of the Enterprise set with all wall-props removed and a different lighting scheme. The cloaking device room is a section of the Engineering set.
- Originally, Spock was supposed to kiss the Romulan Commander, but both Nimoy and Linville agreed they needed something different than normal "human" love expressions, and suggested the hand contact instead. Nimoy, in fact, wrote a long letter of complaint to Gene Roddenberry about this issue.
- You see the Romulans using Klingon hand weapons, undoubtedly to save money by not having to make new ones.
- Romulan uniforms and helmets are reused from Balance of Terror.
- The Romulan/Klingon bridge set is reused from Elaan of Troyius.
- The Matt Jeffries-designed Romulan symbol, composed of a yellow hexagon in the center with three colored spokes coming out of it, is seen in the corridor of the Romulan ship. This symbol was purposefully made to look similar to the Klingon insignia because in the shots of the ships you could somewhat make out the Klingon markings.
Memorable Quotes
- "All right, Doctor. It'd better be important...." -- Scotty
- "What is your present form of execution?" -- Spock
- "That's a Klingon ship!" -- Scotty's astonished reaction to a Klingon ship in Romulan space suggests the two empires already had a history of conflict.
- "You are being clever, Commander. That is unworthy of a Romulan." -- Spock
Links and References
Main Cast
- William Shatner as Kirk
- Leonard Nimoy as Spock
- DeForest Kelley as McCoy
- James Doohan as Scott
- Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
- George Takei as Sulu
- Walter Koenig as Chekov
- Majel Barrett as Chapel
Guest Stars
- Joanne Linville as Romulan Commander
- Jack Donner as Tal
- Richard Compton as Romulan Technical Officer
- Robert Gentile as Romulan Technician
- Mike Howden as Romulan Guard
- Gordon Coffey as Romulan Soldier
- Eddie Paskey as Leslie (uncredited)
- Roger Holloway as Roger Lemli (uncredited)
References
centurion; cloaking device; Klingon Empire; parsec; physiostimulator; Romulans; Romulan ale; Romulan battle cruiser; Romulan Neutral Zone; Romulan Right of Statement; Romulan Star Empire; Romulan-Klingon Alliance; Romulus; Starfleet Intelligence; subcommander; Vulcans; Vulcan death grip.
DVD Media Information
- Star Trek: The Original Series, Volume 30 (original two episode single-disc release)
- Star Trek: The Original Series - The Complete Third Season (disc 1 of the set)
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| Previously aired episode: Spock's Brain | Next aired episode: The Paradise Syndrome |