Writer: D.C. Fontana
Director: Joseph Pevney
Producer: John Meredyth Lucas
This episode, one of fandom's most beloved, really does deserve all the accolades it gets. And really all those accolades start with Dorothy Fontana, and the immensely tight and well written script she delivered for this installment.
In fact they only problem with this episode might be that it's too jam-packed with great ideas, subplots and character interactions. Not that they aren't balanced well, they absolutely are, but you can perhaps tell that the first cut of this episode went over time a bit -- the editing in this thing is lightning fast, with no room to breathe almost, trying to pack everything in. It makes for a thrilling viewing experience almost.
The premise comes from the simplest and most obvious of places. Logical, even. Throughout the series, we've learned ever more about Spock's heritage. He's half-Vulcan. His mother was human. She was a teacher, his father an ambassador. And for some reason they weren't at his "wedding" in Amok Time. So what's the deal? Who are these people? Fontana gives us a story that gives a reason for them to be on the ship -- a major Federation diplomatic conference, and a reason for their absence so far -- a major falling out between Spock and his father, Sarek.
From there Fontana plays with two strands -- an intergalatic political thriller revolving around the diplomats, with assassinations, spies and an attacking vessel, and a family drama between Spock and his father. And of course, like any good writer, she brings these two strands to a head when circumstances force Spock to save his father's life and bring these two stubborn men back together, while an injured Kirk must save the ship from it's attackers.
One of the reasons Trekkies love this installment, other than it's taut writing and general excitement, is it's departure from the standard Original Series formula. Generally, TOS concerned itself with the "strange new worlds" premise of the show, which meant that the ship was so busy finding "new life; new civilizations" that it doesn't much explore the sandbox of the world the Federation already exists in. We've met the Romulans, Klingons, and Vulcans in episodes past, but this episode gives us a plethora of new Federation member races -- Andorians and Tellarites primarily -- and in addition to showing us how new members are accepted into the Federation, we also get more information on the Orions, those green-skinned aliens from the original pilot, and their status as "neutral" raiders and pirates.
We also learn, of course, about Spock and his parents. This filling in of backstory not only serves character, but is also the stuff that the burgeoning Star Trek fandom was starved for. More information about the characters and the worlds they inhabit was always desired. Of course, Spock as the most popular character got the most development and backstory of any of the cast -- other characters, even Kirk & McCoy, are largely mysteries outside of licensed tie-in fiction and other apocrypha. Their lives are a fannish exercise in "filling in the blanks" between tantalizing mentions of past history.
The actors for Sarek and Amanda, Spock's parents, couldn't have been better cast. They're utterly perfect in their roles, and it was to the franchise's great advantage that they continued to reprise them through future spin-offs.
But the ultimate victory is to Dorothy Fontana. This is a fantastic script, and established her as the "Spock expert" for a long time afterwards.
Rating: 4 out of 4
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