Not so much a Cold War analogy as some Star Trek episodes tended to be, this particular installment of the classic 1960's Star Trek franchise dramatizes the push and pull, the ebb and flow, of two nations coming into conflict with one another, and how the game of denial, deception, and bluff (usually in the form of classic saber rattling) can remand relations to square one.
This is the genius of Star Trek. The ability to codify everyday experiences into a dramatized setting for comment. When I first viewed it I understood the underlying message, but not the entire theme and ramifications thereof. It would take another thirty years for me to go "Ah-HA! I get it now..." Oh sure, I understood the whole misunderstanding and suspicion thing, but I figured it was story filler. As it turns out, this episode, like nearly all Trek episodes, cleverly illustrates the extension of male oriented interpersonal relations manifested on a national level. A little counter to this high minded philosophizing is the introduction of a character on the bridge who represents the fear and loathing of the common man, and the innate reptile (or inner child) as he follows orders (or his inability thereof). And therein lies a whole other level of meaning above and beyond geo-politics.
Production Values; the SFX for 1960s television are what they are; i.e. not always convincing, but able to get their point across. Ditto with one artificial "alien", though this is countered by some optical effects and the overall thesping by the cast (including the voice actor for the off-screen dialog). I've not seen the remastered episodes, but, of all the classic Trek that have had their SFX and other production values tweaked for modern visual sensibilities, I'm very interested in seeing this one.
Enjoy.
This is the genius of Star Trek. The ability to codify everyday experiences into a dramatized setting for comment. When I first viewed it I understood the underlying message, but not the entire theme and ramifications thereof. It would take another thirty years for me to go "Ah-HA! I get it now..." Oh sure, I understood the whole misunderstanding and suspicion thing, but I figured it was story filler. As it turns out, this episode, like nearly all Trek episodes, cleverly illustrates the extension of male oriented interpersonal relations manifested on a national level. A little counter to this high minded philosophizing is the introduction of a character on the bridge who represents the fear and loathing of the common man, and the innate reptile (or inner child) as he follows orders (or his inability thereof). And therein lies a whole other level of meaning above and beyond geo-politics.
Production Values; the SFX for 1960s television are what they are; i.e. not always convincing, but able to get their point across. Ditto with one artificial "alien", though this is countered by some optical effects and the overall thesping by the cast (including the voice actor for the off-screen dialog). I've not seen the remastered episodes, but, of all the classic Trek that have had their SFX and other production values tweaked for modern visual sensibilities, I'm very interested in seeing this one.
Enjoy.