The Doomsday Machine (TOS episode)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Star Trek: TOS episode | |
| "The Doomsday Machine" | |
 The Constellation enters the planet killer, The Doomsday Machine. |
|
| Episode no. | 35 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 035 |
| Remastered no. | 20 |
| Airdate | October 20, 1967 |
| Writer(s) | Norman Spinrad |
| Director | Marc Daniels |
| Guest star(s) | William Windom Elizabeth Rogers John Copage Eddie Paskey William Blackburn Richard Compton Tim Burns Jerry Catron John Winston Vince Deadrick |
| Year | 2267 |
| Stardate | 4202.9 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "The Apple" |
| Next | "Catspaw" |
"The Doomsday Machine" is a second season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. It is episode #35, production #35, and was first broadcast on October 20, 1967. It was repeated on April 19, 1968. It was written by Norman Spinrad, and directed by Marc Daniels.
Overview: The starship Enterprise plays a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with an alien planet-killing machine.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
On stardate 4202.9, the Enterprise, under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, responds to a distress call and finds that the seven planets they charted a year earlier in star system L370 have been destroyed. A check of a nearby system, L374, finds that all but two of its planets have also been destroyed. Energy output within the system interferes with communications, but as they move more deeply into the system they pick up the weak automated distress signal of the USS Constellation. The ship is found adrift, nearly wrecked and barely operating on reserve power, its Bridge damaged and uninhabitable.
Kirk beams over with a damage control party in an attempt to find out what happened. They find the Constellation's commanding officer, Commodore Matthew Decker, to be the last crewman remaining aboard, holed up in the Auxiliary Control room. Enterprise Chief Engineer Mr. Scott reports that the ship's warp engines are damaged beyond repair and the Phaser banks are exhausted. Decker is incoherent and in shock, unable to respond to questions and can only mutter about "that thing" which attacked his ship. Kirk orders the Constellation sensor log tapes to be beamed over to Mr. Spock for analysis.
Scotty plays back the ship's Captain's log and they find out that Decker and his crew discovered the obliterated systems and moved in to investigate as one of the worlds in L374 was breaking up. They soon encountered an enormous machine with a conical shell miles in length and a giant opening at one end filled with sparkling energy. The machine, which resembled nothing so much as a gigantic Bugles corn chip, then attacked the Constellation, damaging the ship so severely that Decker had to beam his surviving crew to the surface of one of the remaining planets. The machine then destroyed that world and all Decker could do was watch helplessly.
Mr. Spock describes the machine as "a robot, an automated machine of immense size and power", the function of which is to break down planets into rubble which it then consumes for fuel. Kirk believes that it is a "doomsday machine", built according to the theory of mutually assured destruction.
Decker is beamed aboard the Enterprise where Dr. McCoy is to look him over, while Kirk and Scotty oversee repairs on the Constellation. However, upon their arrival, a red alert sounds, and both doctor and patient head for the bridge. Drawn to the energy output of the Enterprise, the machine has reappeared in the vicinity, and is generating sufficient subspace interference to render communication with Starfleet Command impossible. Spock orders an evasive course back to the Constellation, planning to pick up the boarding party and warn Starfleet after exiting the vicinity. However, the machine attacks them before they can move off, but fortunately the initial damage is limited to the transporter and communications. Suddenly the robotic weapon appears to lose interest and veers off. Still distraught over the loss of his ship and crew, an unstable Decker decides to take more direct action against the machine, and quoting Starfleet regulations pulls rank on Spock. Over the protest of both the First Officer and Dr. McCoy, he assumes command of the Enterprise and orders a full on attack against the machine.
Spock warns Decker that the ship's weaponry will be ineffective against the machine's pure neutronium hull, but is ignored, and the Enterprise is badly damaged in the machine's counterattack, including loss of its warp drive capability. The ship is then caught in a tractor beam and drawn towards the machine's maw, unable to break free. Back on board the Constellation, Kirk, unable to sit on the sidelines while his ship is being attacked, is able with Scotty's help to get the shattered hulk moving under one quarter impulse power. Using a phaser bank Scotty recharged, the Constellation distracts the planet killer, freeing the Enterprise. The doomsday machine then begins to rapidly close on the Constellation, but Decker returns Kirk's favor. The mindless artificial intelligence of the planet killer implacably sets it once again in pursuit of the Enterprise. Decker orders Enterprise helmsman Lt. Sulu to put some distance between them and the deadly machine, but Sulu replies that it is once again closing with them. Spock informs Decker that with their warp engines out the ship can only maintain its current power consumption on impulse drive for seven hours, whereas the planet killer has virtually unlimited fuel.
After contacting the Enterprise and learning about Decker's takeover, Kirk invokes his personal authority as ship's Captain and furiously orders Spock to relieve Decker of command. A charged standoff ensues, during which Decker attempts to brazen it out. Spock threatens to have Decker arrested if he does not accept being relieved, declaring that "Vulcans never bluff,". Even the obsessed Decker has to finally accept that the Enterprise crew will not follow him over the objections of their own officers and yields the Bridge. Spock orders the Commodore to Sickbay, but on the way Decker overpowers his Security escort and steals a shuttlecraft. He pilots it on a direct suicide attack course into the planet killer's maw despite the pleas of Kirk and Spock to break off the run. At first it seems Decker died in vain, but a slight reduction in the machine's energy output, believed caused by the anti-matter explosion of the shuttle's reactor, reveals that the attack did indeed have some effect.
Kirk realizes that Decker had the right idea, just not enough power, and orders Mr. Scott to rig the Constellation's impulse engines with a 30 second delay detonation timer. The Captain next asks Mr. Spock if it is correct that an overloaded impulse engine would explode with a force of 97 megatons, and if such an explosion could destroy the planet killer. Spock corrects Kirk, telling him that it would result in a nuclear explosion of 97.835 megatons, still not enough to penetrate the machine's neutronium hull. Kirk adds that he intends to detonate the engines from "inside" the planet killer, ramming the Constellation right down the machine's throat. Spock objects that this would result in Kirk being killed - the same as Decker, but Kirk further explains that he plans to have the Enterprise beam him away at the last second and use Scotty's 30 second timer to explode the starship as it is engulfed by the planet killer.
While remaining behind to helm the Constellation, Kirk orders Scotty and the rest of the damage control party back to the Enterprise.
With everything prepared, Kirk steers a course into the planet killer's maw. At the last second he presses the detonation timing switch and calls for his beam out. However, the earlier battle had damaged the Enterprise transporter, and as it is activated the system's emergency repairs short out at the worst possible moment. Scotty rushes to make repairs while Kirk nervously watches the inexorable menacing maw of the doomsday machine drawing closer. Scott's desperate repairs succeed at the last second, and Kirk is beamed out as the ship enters the maw. The resulting explosion burns out the doomsday machine, leaving its indestructible body shell drifting dead in space.
The episode ends with speculation that if this really was a doomsday machine, there may be more of them out there somewhere.
[edit] 40th Anniversary remastering
This episode was remastered in 2006 and first aired February 10, 2007 as part of the remastered Original Series. It was preceded a week earlier by "Journey to Babel" and followed a week later by "Amok Time". Aside from remastered video and audio, and the all-CGI animation of the USS Enterprise that is standard among the revisions, specific changes to this episode also include:
- The planet killer and the wreck of the USS Constellation have been redesigned.
- In keeping with other episodes of the Original Series, The Doomsday Machine had several scenes cut to reduce the episode time for syndication. These include the "Vulcans' never bluff" scene, much of the fighting between Commodore Decker and the security guard in the corridor, as well as truncating the scene involving the sacrifice and destruction of the Constellation.
Remastered "The Doomsday Machine" at Trekmovie.com
Remastered FX reel on Youtube
[edit] Trivia
- The character of Matt Decker parallels two other famous fictional ship captains, Captain Ahab (Moby Dick) for his "great white whale" obsession of the planet killer and Captain Queeg (The Caine Mutiny) for his fidgeting of computer tape cartridges as opposed to Queeg's steel balls.
- The incidental music of this episode was composed by Sol Kaplan and is considered one of the classic series' most signature themes. The distinctive martial cadence and innovative use of the muted trumpet and a powerful brass section made it one of the most stirring themes of dramatic tension. Major parts were recycled in later episodes when a sense of nail-biting suspense was called for in the direction.
- The planet killer itself was created from a design by Greg Jein and consisted of a conical form covered with tin foil and photographed with special lighting to give it an alien texture. The inner core was a slow-motion matte overlay of a welding arc. Fans have dubbed the planet killer "The Great Space Cannoli".
- Some of the 60's era special effects in this episode left a great deal to be desired. In one shot as the planet killer moves through space, stars supposedly passing behind it can be seen through its hull. In another shot where the Constellation is swallowed by the planet killer the ship is quite obviously a small model, and as it moves toward the maw can even be seen to bob slightly as the string supporting it is jostled.
- This is the first episode of Star Trek to feature a Federation Starship other than the USS Enterprise.
- The actual filming prop of the Constellation was constructed from an AMT model kit of the Enterprise. The Constellation's registry of NCC-1017 was produced by rearranging the Enterprise's registry (NCC-1701) on the model.
- Writer Norman Spinrad conceived of the role of Decker being portrayed by Robert Ryan, who was unavailable due to other commitments.
- In most of the earlier drafts of the screenplay, Decker did not sacrifice himself, but instead survived to admit his mistakes and voluntarily retire. The James Blish adaption of the episode is based on this earlier version, and also has Decker's first name being "Brand". The core of this scene was later recycled into the ending of "The Deadly Years", where Commodore Stocker admits to Kirk that his taking command of the Enterprise was in the wrong.
- The episode is constantly ranked in the top five of any "top ten" polls taken amongst fans with regards to their favorite Star Trek episodes.
- Willard Decker in Star Trek: The Motion Picture was based on a character intended to be the son of Matt Decker in the Star Trek: Phase II series. This piece of information is not mentioned in the movie, however; the characters' familial relationship is not canon.
- The planet killer is similar in concept to Fred Saberhagen's Berserker in his series of short stories on the subject.
[edit] Spin-off sequels
- According to the game Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, there is a school of thought that speculates that the energy barrier around the perimeter of the galaxy was created to keep these planet killers out. This information is found in the library computer on the bridge. If this is true, then it is not 100% effective.
- Another, and far more popular, school of thought connects these planet killers with The Preservers, an ancient race first mentioned in "The Paradise Syndrome", and may have fought the Borg as well as created the energy barrier. This was the premise behind Peter David's TNG novel Vendetta. This method of attack used against the Borg would be consistent with that seen used by Species 8472 in Star Trek: Voyager.
- "In Harm's Way", the first regular episode of the fan-made series Star Trek: New Voyages, was an unofficial sequel to this episode. That episode even had a cameo by William Windom, reprising his role as Commodore Matt Decker.
- The Doomsday Machine appears in Amarillo Design Bureau Inc.'s Star Fleet Battles first monster-based scenario (SM1.0) as "The Planet Crusher" (or "The Creature that ate Sheboygan III"). It was a basic monster scenario enabling a beginning player to learn how to fight his starship. The monster moved by automatic rules, allowing for one person to play the scenario.
- In "Devices and Desires," a short story by Kevin Lauderdale in Constellations (the anthology celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Original Series), the crippled Doomsday Machine was taken to "The Yard", Starfleet's alien technology research station.
[edit] External links
- "The Doomsday Machine" article at StarTrek.com.
- "The Doomsday Machine" article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
| Last produced: "Amok Time" |
Star Trek: TOS episodes Season 2 |
Next produced: "Wolf in the Fold" |
| Last transmitted: "The Apple" |
Next transmitted: "Catspaw" |
