ST: Gettin' medieval

Possibly, anyway. This episode is known to its friends and relations as The Squire of Gothos and I have no idea yet what it's going to be about. But what I am reminded of by the word "squire" is this interchange from the under-appreciated Soderbergh film The Limey.

Enough palaver, onto the episode!

We open on the bridge with yet another anonymous female yeoman handing out coffee in blue painted styrofoam cups. OH NOES!!1! Soon after spotting a planet not yet charted that is where it should have been charted, Sulu is disappeared from the bridge as soon as Kirk gives orders to navigate around it. Then Kirk is disappeared with him. Of course, the planet is interfering with their subspace communications in some way.

This is the first time I recall Spock making the log report instead of Kirk.

In the log report I think Spock uses "red alert" for the first time.

I think this is the first time anyone pays attention to good procedure when forming an away team. Spock refuses to allow Scotty to go or to go himself, but sends McCoy and a couple extras. No redshirts, however, so when the extras die, as one must expect they will, it will not be as a result of the trope yet.

This set is one of the worst in a while. The "sky" is clearly a green painted wall about 20 feet away.

Ah, they blew the budget on the castle set they just found.

Right on, they recycled the monster costume from the original episode and put it in a niche in the wall like a mounted trophy in the castle interior.

Apparently the captain and Sulu were selected to be part of the collection?

Turns out the alien is confused about the time period because of the speed of light and earth is 900 light years away.

He's convinced that everyone wants to be a soldier and is interested in the military campaigns of earth and its inhabitants.

Interesting, the opponent is more clearly flawed than some others that come later, such as Q.

This is one of the better episodes, actually. There isn't too much to mock and make fun of. The villain is a bit over the top, but the circumstances are pretty consistent.

Kirk thinks he has a clue to the weakness and challenges him to a duel. Fun times.

So, Kirk shoots the machine that controls things, but the villain swears vengeance.

Now every which way they go, the planet is in front of them trying to force them to crash on it.

Of course, Kirk goes back himself ruining the good example Spock set earlier about not sending high-ranking officers on away missions.

Kirk is now sentenced to death by the villain via hanging. He's very reminiscent of Q.

The end is a bit weak. Turns out he's a kid of some strange uber-powerful species of glowing, green, flying amoebas.