Star Trek: V16

Friday's Child-Here, by contrast with have a classic action episode about a war-like people caught between the Klingons and the Federation. This is one of the more nuanced cultures we encounter on Star Trek, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that they are not 'highly advanced'. The thoughtful, conscientious scripts of the first season often made the most of more advanced civilizations, but as the show became less introspective and more action-oriented, it made more sense to include less advanced cultures. The second season episodes often did so with success (see also Bread and Circuses, A Private Little War, and a Piece of the Action). By the third season, they were relying almost exclusively on more advanced aliens since it was easy to introduce the 'danger' theme, but without the complex motives we might expect of advanced people (contrast the subtlety of A Taste of Armageddon and Errand of Mercy with the sadism and nihilism of, say, Plato's Stepchildren and The Savage Curtain). The latter episodes lack both suspense and plausibility.
But back to Friday's Child. Julie Newmar gives a strong performance, and we begin to see one of the signatures of the 2nd season-real humor-first in the play between Newmar and McCoy. It just seems like the cast had fun making the second season shows. But this episode isn't all fun; it's one of the more violent episodes. This is captured in the show's heavy music and dark lighting. (3.5 stars)

METAMORPHOSIS© PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: Love & Companionship / Mortality / Freedom & Captivity

Historical Milestone: The first appearance of warp-drive inventor Zephram Cochrane

Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: None

REVIEW/COMMENTARY: This particular outing in the classic Trek mythos is one of a handful of eppies that have been used as a weapon in the war between the old-school Trekkies and the NextGen crowd. The big deal is as follows: How can Zephram Cochrane go from a rather large-framed, tall and handsome man with a somewhat cheerful demeanor (as played by Glenn Corbett in this episode) to a gaunt, haggard, somewhat pessimistic alcoholic with dreams of avarice (as played by James Cromwell in Star Trek™: First Contact©)? Then the old-schoolers gripe about how the new Cochrane isn't heroic enough, and the NextGen guys counter with the notion that the old Zef was too idealized, and didn't have enough faults and human weaknesses. But in my opinion the most important question in this debate is: why would anybody care one way or another? I mean, c'mon, guys, it's a freakin' TV show! Okay, so it is one of the greatest cult shows ever made, and consistently conveys an optimistic look at humanity's future, but still! You know, Shatner was right on the money when he told those Trekkies in that SNL sketch to "get a life!" Yeah, yeah-like I'm one to talk, right? And just where was I going with this, anyway? Nowhere it seems, which means it's time for me to move on...

FRIDAY'S CHILD© PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: Strength & Weakness / Compassion & Mercy

Notable Gaffe / Special DE-fect: Remember Star Trek IV, where Chekov was inquiring where the 'nuclear wessels' were? Well, in this episode, he has no trouble pronouncing the word "vessel" with a V instead of a W!

Expendable Enterprise Crewmember ('Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: 1 dead

REVIEW/COMMENTARY: If you've been looking for a classic Trek eppie that has more action than usual, 'Friday's Child' ain't too likely to disappoint. Sure, it still has that element of melodrama along with the usual morality play that's the staple of every Star Trek™ show, but at least you get to see the kinda funky hand-to-hand battle sequences that helped make this show the goofy cheese-fest it is today and forever more! Then there's Kirk & Spocks' on-the-fly production of bows & arrows, as well as their unbelievably accurate marksmanship with the weapons! Throw in a devious Klingon agent and a guest shot by an alumnus from the Batman™ TV show (Julie Newmar), and you've got... um... well, sortuva connection between the two classic 60s cult TV faves. Kinda like that game where you try to connect another actor with Kevin Bacon in six steps or less, you know?

Anyhoo, I'm pretty sure the anti-spousal-abuse activists will cringe at the scene where McCoy and his expectant patient (Ele'en, played by the aforementioned Newmar) exchange a couple of slaps to each others' faces. But despite their somewhat tumultuous start, she eventually warms up to him-- well, except for that time where she belts him in the back of the head with a rock-- and finally honors his assistance by naming her kid after him and the captain. It's such a (sniff) beautiful thing, you know? It (sob) gets me right here...

'Late

METAMORPHOSIS is one of Trek's better love tales. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy accompany an ill Assistant Federation Commissioner Nancy Hedford on the Galileo shuttle to the Enterprise. However the shuttle is pulled off course by a mysterious cloud entity and sent safely to the planet Gamma Carnaris N. There Kirk and his party meet Zephram Cochrane, the man whom discovered warp drive 100 years before. He appears young and vital and Cochrane explains that the cloud like entity called 'the companion' has kept him young all these years. However when the crew tries to leave with Cochrane the companion refuses to allow them to leave. Kirk discovers that the companion has a female personality and after realizing that Cochrane has fallen in love with Nancy Hedford it decides to bond with the Assistant Commissioner to save her life from the deadly Sakuro's disease she suffers from. This is truly one of Trek's most touching stories. Simply wonderful.

The other episode features Julie Newmar as a guest star in FRIDAY'S CHILD. This episode definetly has more action than the previous episode on this DVD but it doesn't necessarily make it a better episode. The crew lands down on Capella IV in order to have a mining treaty signed. However a Klingon negotiator named Kras has also arrived on the planet trying to get the same treaty signed. If the Starfleet/Klingon Empire conflict isn't enough The Capellans are in a sort of bizarre civil war. And when Capellan rebels murder the Teer Akaar, Kirk fears that Eleen his pregnant widow is going to be killed next and therefore Kirk, Eleen and the others are on the run from the Capellans and Kras.
FRIDAY'S CHILD is a decent episode but it's standard Trek at best and in comparison to METAMORPHOSIS it's nothing special. Except the 'oochie woochie koo' bit at the end of FRIDAY'S CHILD: thats priceless!

Overall a decent collection but not necessarily the most essential DVD in this series. Still METAMORPHOSIS is a definite must see. Recommended!