Like many other Star Trek episodes, The Corbomite Maneuver is a good exploration of an essential 20th century theme such as the futility of war, with the addition of a riveting portrait of what makes a commander worthy of the title, as seen in the episode's depiction of Captain Kirk's skills.
Once again, danger lies ahead as the Enterprise continues on its five-year mission. This time it's more serious than usual, since the mysterious alien attacker claims to be able to destroy the ship with no risk of anything stopping him, and therefore grants the crew ten minutes to pray or something to that effect. Of course, he hasn't considered Kirk who, being the stubborn son of a gun he's always been (when Spock points out the two always argue about decisions Kirk won't take back, the latter explains that arguing makes him feel good), threatens the alien by saying he has a device that will annihilate both the Enterprise and its attacker, and he's not afraid to use it. Obviously it's a bluff, but it may come with a price, as Kirk and his opponent engage in a dangerous battle of wits to determine who's more willing to go through with their alleged threats.
Whereas most Trek episodes have pretty predictable outcomes, mostly because of the formulaic structure of the scripts, The Corbomite Maneuver is commendable for offering a very neat and intelligent twist that sits well with the episode's overall critique of the political climate of the Cold War (yes, subtlety has never been one of the show's strengths, but NBC didn't care since it was sci-fi). The acting is as inspiring as ever (even William Shatner's much mocked speech patterns come off as more serious than usual), especially Clint Howard's (that's Ron's brother) cameo at the end. Fun, tense and clever.
Once again, danger lies ahead as the Enterprise continues on its five-year mission. This time it's more serious than usual, since the mysterious alien attacker claims to be able to destroy the ship with no risk of anything stopping him, and therefore grants the crew ten minutes to pray or something to that effect. Of course, he hasn't considered Kirk who, being the stubborn son of a gun he's always been (when Spock points out the two always argue about decisions Kirk won't take back, the latter explains that arguing makes him feel good), threatens the alien by saying he has a device that will annihilate both the Enterprise and its attacker, and he's not afraid to use it. Obviously it's a bluff, but it may come with a price, as Kirk and his opponent engage in a dangerous battle of wits to determine who's more willing to go through with their alleged threats.
Whereas most Trek episodes have pretty predictable outcomes, mostly because of the formulaic structure of the scripts, The Corbomite Maneuver is commendable for offering a very neat and intelligent twist that sits well with the episode's overall critique of the political climate of the Cold War (yes, subtlety has never been one of the show's strengths, but NBC didn't care since it was sci-fi). The acting is as inspiring as ever (even William Shatner's much mocked speech patterns come off as more serious than usual), especially Clint Howard's (that's Ron's brother) cameo at the end. Fun, tense and clever.