TOS – The Doomsday Machine

Plot – The Doomsday Machine refuses to start small and immediately raises the stakes with the Enterprise discovering the destruction of an entire solar system. That’s huge. Imagine an episode starting and it was our solar system that had be brushed aside? Straight away we know that whatever did this, it is a force to be reckoned with. I’m not the sort of person that gets moved by the destruction of technology but the Constellation floating adrift in space, beaten, is a powerful image. We automatically know that whatever this thing is, it can take on a Starship and win.

‘A robot weapon that purposely destroys entire solar systems?’ is a premise that most science fiction shows would kill for and Star Trek got there first. The Moby Dick homage is a familiar one in science fiction but it’s superbly handled here, mostly because the ‘whale’ is such a powerful opponent and ‘Ahab’ has a rock-solid reason to want to pursue and kill it.

Character – It’s one of those rare episodes that shows everybody from the main cast that it features (because Uhura and Chekov are a no show) at their finest. Spock gets the best scenes, as usual, using logic and regulations to relieve command from Decker and humbly relinquishing that when he is outmanoeuvred. He’s very respectful of Decker, whilst keeping one eye on his behaviour at all times and responding adroitly. Kirk is the ultimate risk taker, the stray bullet that shouldn’t hit its mark but always seems to. Every move he makes to bring down the machine is countered by the beast until he is forced to make an unpredictable and bold move that almost costs him his life. He got that reputation for a reason, you know. Scotty gets to show off his technical expertise and is seen working under real pressure and constantly thinking up answers and McCoy gets all the best one liners, brilliantly standing up for Spock when Decker takes control of the Bridge.

Performance – He might have been the second choice for the role but there is no sign of that in William Windom’s damaged performance as Commodore Decker. Unhinged Starfleet Officers are tenapenny across the franchise but Windom is given a powerful reason to be obsessed with taking down the Doomsday Machine and he inhabits the role with absolute conviction. I simply couldn’t tell how far he was willing to go with the character, and I love that kind of dangerous performance (it’s the reason I adore Avery Brooks as Sisko so much). He’s a genuinely unpredictable character, driven by a script that affords him some great dramatic opportunities both as a villain and a sympathetic hero.

When Spock is relieved of duty, Leonard Nimoy is the height of calm collectiveness. Every line he delivers in that scene is perfect. Where Khan proved to be the standout foe for Kirk, I feel Decker is the most perfect counterpoint to Spock because his emotions are completely out of control.

Production – It is very easy to mock the music that accompanies the Original Series but I am one of those crazy people that thinks the louder and more present the music is, the more enjoyable it is. The score for this episode is in no way subtle or ambient; it’s bombastic, dramatic and extremely memorable. I know I am going to humming the Doomsday Machine theme for the next couple of weeks every time something dramatic happens in my life (and people will look at me in a very strange way). This is a deliriously enjoyable score, one of the best.

I watch all of the Original Series episodes in HD with the spanking new special effects and whilst I am the last person to judge a programme on the quality of its effects (I’m a Doctor Who fan first and foremost) I think they have done an exceptional job of enhancing these episodes and making them more appealing to a less forgiving audience. The Doomsday Machine is a tremendous example of the stunning FX work they have achieved and everything from the debris bouncing off the hull of the Enterprise to the fiery jaws of the Doomsday Machine (and the awesome scarring on its sides).

I am often very impressed with Marc Daniels direction on this show. He moves the camera creatively, selects moody lighting and brings some very intense performances from the cast that make his episodes some of the best of the Original Series. You can happily watch this piece and admire its production techniques, even given the leaps and bounds that we have made since then.

That’s a great fight in the corridors of the Enterprise because Decker has already proven himself to be a wild character, and now he’s tipped over into somebody feral and out of control.

Best moment – The unveiling of the machine itself. I’ve had 15 minutes of build-up studying the psychological and physical ramifications of contact with this thing and so I was already suitably tense when it finally made its presence felt.

The sequence of Decker piloting the shuttlecraft straight down the throat of the Doomsday Machine is ridiculously intense. The music builds and builds and builds and at every point I thought that was as far they would go it continually ratcheted up a notch. It’s one of the most shocking deaths in the whole of Trek, stunningly directed.

The climax with Kirk piloting the Constellation into the machine on self-destruct and not being able to bean away to the Enterprise remains one of the most nail-biting and exciting sequences Trek ever pulled off. It’s edited perfectly to get you hiding behind a cushion.

A reason to watch this episode again – A purely dramatic episode of TOS with very little of the light relief that the show is so famous for, The Doomsday Machine is a standout episode of Star Trek and one that raises the stakes constantly throughout the episode until you are gasping for air at the climax. It’s powerfully intense and at times uncomfortable viewing and the latter half makes you question if Kirk and crew will be able to think their way out of this one. This is one of the very episodes that makes the idea of trekking through the stars a terrifying one.

***** out of *****

Clue to tomorrow's episode: