MovieChat Forums > Star Trek (1966) Discussion > A Piece of the Action

A Piece of the Action

posted 7 years ago by BiffGG (662)
8 replies | jump to latest

I always knew this episode was uneven and that the actors were the high point with Shatner hamming it up as a 1920's gangster but the rest of it now annoys me. The first time Oxmyx bags them I get because they did not understand what was going on with the Iotians but to walk in it time after time after the initial trap is too much. I know McCoy is not security trained but to walk past a wall without taking into account who was waiting behind it was too much even for McCoy. Of course then we would not get Kirk's witty exchange with Krako about saying "one last good bye." The biggest offense for me now is if the Iotians are bright which was stated repeatedly throughout the episode then it seems they would have recognized a society run by criminals for what it was and avoided it. I guess that the "out" for that has to be the Iotians may very well have a different set of social values than Earthmen.

[–] [email protected] (5497) 7 years ago

It's a purely comedy episode that I can't think about too deeply or my head will explode. It's funny but SO illogical

Some of the dialogue is fairly hilarious like Spock being "alarmed" at Kirk's driving. But really, shouldn't Kirk have said, "Being alarmed is an emotional response Mr. Spock!" lol And there's Mr Scott referring to cement overshoes as "concrete galoshes".

It's interesting that the book about 1930's gangsters also included detailed descriptions about the type of clothing they wore, the hairstyles, and the automobiles.

The whole premise of the episode is totally ridiculous. Just WHY in the world would a starship crew leave a book about 20th century gangsters on a planet that they visited? And considering that today many people are using a kindle or nook to read books or downloading them on their computers, it's a given that people won't be toting around books made of paper by the twenty third century! Unfortunately the writers in the 1960's didn't imagine those inventions.

[–] BiffGG (662) 7 years ago

A book made of paper makes perfect sense for a primitive culture. It does not require any batteries that need frequent charging nor will the battery leak or explode rendering the device inoperative. If the culture is the type that can break an anvil with a rubber mallet (hammer) then oh well. I assume the degree of adaptation that happened in terms of mechanical devices is attributed to the Iotians being "bright" which is referenced throughout the episode. Like I said the biggest issue is the Enterprise officers being repeatedly captured. It makes them look stupid but then if we had them operating by stealth then we would not have all the witty exchanges with Vic Tayback and Anthony Caruso. I think that indifference was already setting in by the production staff in terms of knowing cancellation was going to happen rather soon. I think if this episode had happened during season 1 which could have happened that some of those details would have been cleaned up.

[–] [email protected] (5497) 7 years ago

Oh yeah, I agree that a paper book would make sense for a "primitive culture". I just wondered why a starship crew would be carrying around paper books?? They'd have no need for them!

It IS a big issue that the Enterprise officers kept getting captured. They should have been smarter than that. True! Of course there were so many episodes where Kirk beamed down with his First Officer, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Engineer which by military standards was REALLY stupid!

Someone in Starfleet should have been thinking about "Away Teams". No way would the Captain of a ship put himself in danger repeatedly like Kirk did. But as Gene Roddenberry admitted, it was inaccurate, but Shatner and Nimoy were the stars of the show so they had to be front and center in all those episodes. Even if it meant putting them in danger all the time.

Another thing when I am overthinking this episode (which I often do with Star Trek,lol) How exactly did the Iotians read the book? We've been led to believe that the Universal Translator allows the crew to communicate with all those alien races. But a book printed in English? How would the Iotians understand it without some device to help them decipher an alien alphabet and language?

Like I said, a fun comedy episode, but if I analyze it, my head explodes!

[–] BiffGG (662) 7 years ago

Again, if the Iotians were "bright" they may have been able to pickup on English while the Horizon was there. The Horizon could have been there for weeks giving opportunity to learn English.

As to your other point it reaffirms why the best episodes were ones where the crew was threatened while onboard the Enterprise. Or that the danger was not apparent along with no real jeopardy at hand such as with "Errand of Mercy" or "The Corbomite Maneuver." Even "The Gamesters of Triskelion" cleared the hurdle as the landing party was to make a routine check of a remote station not expecting danger.

[–] [email protected] (5497) 7 years ago

Yes, you cited some of the best episodes, imo. The ship went into the unknown and faced dangers. One of my favorites was "Journey to Babel" which should not have been a dangerous assignment. They were just ferrying a group of ambassadors to a conference. But it turned out to be dangerous.

In my comments about Kirk going into danger a lot I was thinking about a commentary I read about the show. It said that the episodes were often "puzzlebox" problems for Kirk. He'd beam down into danger, allow himself to be captured, lose his communicator or somehow be cut off from the ship. Then he'd have to figure a way out of danger when he shouldn't have put himself in danger in the first place!

Those "bright" Iotians. Yeah I guess they could've picked up English pretty fast. Anything is possible with an alien race. But once again, being able to READ English? Imagine that you had a Russian neighbor. You spoke to him a lot and picked up basic Russian. If he gave you some of his books from back home, would you be able to read the Cyrillic alphabet?

Sorry, I just love to go on and nitpick about Star Trek! Just a hobby (and a habit). But I do enjoy talking about the show.

[–] tanyalawrence (352) 6 years ago

It's a bit like Obi-Wan Kenobi hiding down the road from Luke and changing his name to Ben Kenobi so no one would be suspicious! It pays not to dwell too much on these things and just enjoy them.

[–] strntz (10806) 6 years ago

"It's a bit like Obi-Wan Kenobi hiding down the road from Luke and changing his name to Ben Kenobi so no one would be suspicious!"

Kenobi was as common a surname on Tatooine (which is also where Hervé Villechaize came from BTW) as the name Smith is in Chicago. Obi-Wan however was quite unique, even on Tattoine...

You're welcome.

[–] kenburke (2280) 6 years ago

Lighten up, guys. It's not meant to be taken seriously.