Plot – You know you are watching science fiction when you are threatened with ‘an extremely dangerous bolt of energy!’ And bugger me if it doesn’t hit and throw all of the actors across the set this way and that. It’s the same energy as 90 photon torpedoes and so you would expect some kind of terrible impact. So, when they are hit three times surely that is the equivalent of being hit by 270 torpedoes? Surely the Enterprise would have been destroyed under that onslaught?
The idea of the Enterprise encountering a probe from Earth that was sent out on the same missions as there’s – to seek out new lifeforms but that programming has been altered to a point where it attempts to wipe out biological infestations, is a fascinating one. Sometimes when I hear the bold concepts of these Original Series episodes I can see immediately why this show caught on so well with the public at the time.
The trouble with episodic television is that you can introduce a character as smart and capable as Nomad but ultimately he is always going to have to slip up because it has to be defeated within 50 minutes. And usually that means it making an out of character or stupid move. Nomad is defeated by an argument of logic by Kirk, which is a really fun scene as he essentially talks the machine into committing suicide. The Changeling demonstrates that you don’t have to take a dive into illogic at the last hurdle in order to resolve the episode. Fabulously, Spock admits to Kirk that he didn’t think he had such a dazzling display of logic in him.
Character – I love Kirk’s reasoning that as soon as Nomad is brought on board that it will no longer be taking any shots at them. This is one of the best episodes to expose Kirk as a strategist. There’s a real battle of wits between Kirk and Nomad and he has to try and understand his opponent in order to defeat it.
How does Spock perform a mind meld on a computer? I was on board with Scotty dying, Uhura losing her memory…but the idea of Spock going head to head with a machine baffled me? I thought it was memories and emotions that he can sense? Surely, he cannot get that from wires and circuits? Leonard gives the scene exactly the kind of gravitas that it needs to convince you that this is taking place, but on a logical level my brain just couldn’t make the leap.
Great Dialogue – ‘Intelligence does not necessarily require bulk, Mr Scott.’
Production – Nomad has a sleek and impressive design, even for the time, and how they achieved it floating about the ship is genuinely impressive. What truly sells the machine, however, is the ever-recognisable voice of Vic Perrin, who gives a terrific performance as the logical and cold computer. This is an acting role that requires the computer to go head to head with Kirk. I can only imagine how intolerable this would have been had Nomad just emitted a series of bleeps and bloops. Some of the best moments of this episode are Nomad on the move and the creative ways that the director makes his transportation feel so smooth. The handheld camerawork is especially dramatic. Even in the special edition you can see the string in shot from time to time.
Best moment – How refreshing to give Uhura some focus and in the first half of the episode you might be fooled into thinking that she was a fully paid up member of this crew rather than somebody who often chirps up with the odd line. I love seeing her this involved. She’s a vital part of the Bridge scenes, she’s heard singing (and how lovely that the crew listen to her on the comms, she has a beautiful voice) and she is confronted by Nomad because of it. When she is attacked, a massive deal is made of that (of the kind that is usually reserved for Spock or McCoy) and I am thankful that Nichols fought her corner and had Uhura speak in Swahili once she has regressed mentally. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the episode that Whoopi Goldberg watched when she called in her mother and exclaimed that a black woman was on the television and she wasn’t a maid. The implication is that the loss of Uhura would have a huge impact on the show, and I like that.
Worst moment – Scotty’s death is exactly the sort of cheap tricks that TOS played all the time. It’s like Steven Moffat is in charge. I was counting the minutes until he was alive again.
I wish they hadn’t done that – It takes a shocking ten minutes for the crew to make contact with Nomad and in that time there is relatively little character material to be found, just a ton of technobabble. I have heard an argument that these TOS episodes could all do with being edited much tighter and I have to say I agree with this assessment. There is plenty of hanging about with relatively little happening here (I remember The Corbomite Maneuver was the same) and with a little judicious editing those episode ten minutes could easily take place in two or three. I realise what I am saying is probably heresy to hardcore fans of this show but in terms of empty air time, this is very guilty.
A reason to watch this episode again – A memorable episode for the fact that Kirk has to oppose and defeat a powerful piece of technology, but in doing so a Trek cliché is created and would be repeated ad nauseum over the next two seasons. Nomad is memorable, both aesthetically and creatively, and there are some awesome scenes where the crew have to try and outsmart it. How they take a piece of technology that originally had the same mission as this crew and twist it so it is directly opposed to any other life in the universe is quite inspired. It shows us what this show could be like if it was about a ship that seeked out new life and new civilisations…and destroyed it. Season two features a lot of my favourite TOS episodes (Amok Time, The Doomsday Machine, The Trouble With Tribbles) and this game of cat and mouse isn’t quite up there with those but it is still an engaging piece with some smart writing (DC Fontana gave this polish) and really fun scenes (especially when Nomad is on the move). Ten minutes shorter and it might be a classic. Nomad should have had his memory wiped and remained on the Enterprise. He would have made a memorable addition to the crew.
**** out of *****
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