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Star Trek: The Original Series - "Balance of Terror" Full Reaction! (Patreon)

Published:
2023-10-02 17:00:04
Edited:
2024-09-03 04:56:17
Imported:
2026-06
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Star Trek: The Original Series - "Balance of Terror" Full Reaction!

Comments

Greg

Been waiting to see your reaction to this one Bunny! 'Balance of Terror' is my second favorite episode from the original series (you've already watched two more of my top five, Space Seed and Naked Time) and it's so good on so many levels that I could gush about it for hours. :) Not only do we see the introduction of the Romulans here (one of the major races and antagonists of Star Trek who were used in MANY episodes and movies to come) but you also get a master performance from Mark Lenard as the Romulan Captain. And you get to see Kirk lay down the law on the bridge when someone starts being raciest toward Spock. As usual, the original series handles it's morale messages here about as subtle as a brick to the face, but I always loved how Kirk makes it clear that he's not going to tolerate that bullshit among his officers. Also the first use of the cloaking device, which also becomes a staple. There's a LOT to take in in this episode, more then a single watch, so understandable your reactions here. :) Finally, this episode also reinforces the idea of just how 'alone' and isolated that starships such as the Enterprise were during this time period. It could take many hours to get a response to someone from Command so Captains like Kirk had to make a lot of choices on their own.

Preaching to the Horse's Mouth

Balance of Terror, let's fucking gooooo! I'll be back here after I've watched it, super pumped for this!

SuicuneSol

This episode is usually included in the top 10 episodes that reacters watch. It's a good one, and I like that it's the first episode to seemingly expand the universe of Star Trek, introducing the Romulans and showing the Enterprise isn't just an exploration ship, but is also a ship of war if it needs to be. However, the episode I'm really looking forward to is the next one. My dad used to love the next one--he used to rewatch the VHS all the time--and I've barely seen anyone react to it. It's also very relevant, especially in recent days... the female guest star also wears a pretty "interesting" outfit.

Preaching to the Horse's Mouth

One of my favourite episodes in the entire ST Universe. The back and forth between Kirk and the Romulan commander is dramatic and fun. We already have a lot of naval influences in the show aboard the Enterprise and the Cold War style battle with the two ships basically playing hide and seek like two submarines is just a great time. Another dramatic outing for William Shatner and in that same spirit of tit for tat Mark Lenard as the Romulan commander brings everything he's got to his role also. Few little things I think I can clear up (I get it, there's lots going on in this one and you picked up on pretty much all of it) First, I think the idea with the comet is that both things were true, a ship would leave a visible trail in and out but would be hidden while inside it which was the Romulan's plan, to hide inside and then turn back unexpectedly. But of course they both outguessed each other simultaneously. Regarding hitting an invisible ship with the Enterprise's weapons, there was a brief comment at one point about setting the ship's phasers to "proximity blast." I think the idea was that the Enterprise wasn't scoring direct hits but rather causing nearby explosions that were causing some damage. When Spock accidentally tripped the signal that allowed the Romulans to find them despite silent running, Kirk realized he could use that to bait them in. "It's ok" he tells Spock as it occurs to him after the switch gets flipped. The definition of helmsman is pretty basic. He flies the ship, of course in tandem with the Navigations officer like we talked about before. There's some overlap with weapons and other things since the show has a tendency to just kind of randomly assign things to people even if we've seen someone else do those things in the past. We can just chalk it up to that crosstraing/intentional redundancy so that no one thing is reliant on a single station or officer. Regarding Sulu in particular he's also in the direct chain of command, often being left in charge of the bridge or even the ship if both Kirk and Spock aren't there. Technically Scotty is ahead of him in that regard (Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Sulu in that order) but Scotty is often needed in Engineering while Sulu being a bridge officer is almost always already present. Not only Uhura at Navigation again but at one point with that chair cocked to the side like a fuckin' boss. Big HBIC energy, love it. Phew, that was a lot lol. I guess get used to these giant posts from me most episodes 😬😆 See you in the next one 👍

Greg

Great comments about this episode! Your post also made me think 'well, it would have been better and fit more neatly into the plot if they had used photon torpedo's instead of phasers' but then I remembered this is SO early that they hadn't been 'invented' yet, just like the shuttles hadn't been 'invented' yet. They really were making stuff up on the fly.

Preaching to the Horse's Mouth

I agree. We're still laying all the groundwork for what becomes a hugely expansive fictional universe. The writers and everyone are still figuring all this shit out. Things get a little more standardized as we go along, especially once we expand into TNG. So I always try to also focus on what they're going for rather than just hammering down all the minutiae, even though all the minutiae is a lot of what makes ST so much fun, certainly for myself as well.

bunnytails

Oh thanks! That clears up a lot. The accidental signal flip was confusing because Spock had an "oops" look on his face but then when Kirk acted like it was a good thing I was wondering if it was planned or something. But now I get it and it seems obvious in retrospect. :P I love the whole battle of the wits thing going on in this episode, where the two captains try to put themselves in their opponent's shoes to figure out his next move, knowing they are both near equals in battle strategy. The mutual respect and disappointment of a friendship that could have been was nice to see as well.

bunnytails

There was A LOT of lore/world building in this episode which was really cool to see and learn about.

bunnytails

Yeah, there really was A LOT to take in on this one. I just finished editing this one for YT and boy was it rough because there was so much going on I could barely say anything as I was just trying hard to keep up. The second watch through (by way of the editing) really helped. Great episode!

Mike_G

This episode is intended to mimic a submarine being chased by a destroyer. The movie "The Ememy Below" is the primary inspiration for this episode. The antagonists are Germans instead of Roman.

Preaching to the Horse's Mouth

It's one of those things that I think we're just supposed to infer through acting, facial expressions etc rather than direct dialogue. Plus it is kinda subtle. And I think the intention here is to show us how quick Kirk is about thinking on his feet and what a great tactician he is, not just going move for move but taking advantage of a random situation. Much like how Spock mentioned how Kirk was able to beat him at chess by playing in a way way that was unexpected and unconventional back in Charlie X.

Mike_G

The helmsman inputs the courses supplied by the navigator. The helmsman also steers the ship manually in close maneuvers such as docking and combat. In the original series the helmsman usually controls the weapons. Monitoring the internal security of the ship is one of the secondary duties.

Carlos Stevens

For The Record, and to avoid future confusion, they were not firing phasers in this episode, they were firing Photon Torpedoes. The writers just had not coined the term yet. Of course you've seen previous episodes where they fire the hand phasers, and The Cage where they had that Phaser Cannon set up to blow a hole in the Talosian's door/elevator. So let's clarify the two types of ship weapons used by the Enterprise. The primary weapons are the Phasers. They are a directed energy weapon that fires high energy particles. The firing of the particles can be adjusted both in frequency and intensity. At low intensity the phasers will stun. At high intensity, the phasers will vaporize matter. The secondary weapon (which is what were being used in this episode for dramatic effect) are the Photon Torpedoes. These torpedoes carry a small amount of anti-matter which, when it comes in contact with matter will create a devastating explosion as matter and anti-matter annihilate each other. The torpedoes are fired like depth charges, with either a timed fuse, or a proximity fuse which is consistent with what we saw in this episode.

Greg

But they clearly use the term 'phasers' several times in the episode, and phasers and torpedo's in the TOS did look different, and they were using phasers.

Carlos Stevens

Phasers are beam weapons...those were not beams they were shooting. "It's spelled 'Luxury Yatch,' but it's pronounced 'Throatwabbler Mangrove."

Preaching to the Horse's Mouth

Additional comment on rewatch: Stiles' concern about a spy on board is another very Cold War drama idea, the sleeper agent that's been planted among us. I suspect it's there to give Stiles another reason to distrust Spock. The idea of a spy aboard, a coded signal and now *gasp* our First Officer bares a striking resemblance to our enemy. I think it's less about Stiles being generally xenophobic and more about the fact that Spock resembles a Romulan.

Texas Anla'Shok

Yes, Vulcans are MUCH stronger than humans. A movie I’d recommend is Master and Commander, which has a lot of similarity to this, two captains pitting their ships against each other, maneuvers and counter-maneuvers, stratagems. It’s worth checking out.

Carlos Stevens

Vulcans are 5 times stronger than humans. And yes...love that movie Master And Commander. Another one for the Bunny List.

Carlos Stevens

If I'm not mistaken, I think Sulu was 3rd in command. Technically, I think that would make him the XO (Executive Officer). On a navy vessel, the XO would be 2nd in command... however in the Star Trek world, the Science Officer is 2nd and the XO is 3rd. I could be wrong about this, and I'd appreciate anyone with Navy experience clarifying.

Carlos Stevens

And for the record, those were Photon Torpedoes...not Phasers. (GAH! You cannot set Phasers for a proximity blast nor more than you can set a flashlight for a proximity lighting or something). Based on the way they looked when they were fired (Phasers are beam weapons, and they were not firing beams), based on the sound effects they used, based on how they acted when they were fired, those were Photon Torpedoes...not Phasers. I will be very fascinated to see the episode when they first used the term "Photon Torpedoes." And yes, it not so much that they were making stuff up on the fly. It was more that there were multiple writers for the series who apparently were not working together to make a cohesive plot. That's one of the things I love about The Next Generation; they really went out of their way to solidify a lot of the loose ends in the Star Trek universe.

Carlos Stevens

Loved that movie. Bunny, you might just want to put that one on your list just so you can see how much was plagiarized. Well, maybe plagiarized is a bit much...borrowed, inspired, co-opted, ripped off?

Romano Mlinarević

Well, Legend of the Galactic Heroes has a new viewer! Thanks a lot for the hint :)