Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 28, Episodes 55 & 56: Assignment: Earth/ Spectre of the Gun

"Spectre of the Gun"
In this taut, exciting episode, the Enterprise trespasses Melkotian space and is punished in a unique fashion. Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Scotty (James Doohan), and Chekov (Walter Koenig) are all transported to the planet's eerie surface, where they are trapped in a re-creation of 1881 Tombstone and mistaken for the Clanton brothers, doomed principals in the infamous gunfight at the OK Corral. Despite their efforts to avoid trouble, Kirk and company can't seem to avoid their fateful duel with the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday (Sam Gilman). When Chekov is shot dead by Morgan Earp (Rex Holman), the danger is all too clear. The strange Twilight Zone look and atmosphere of this episode--tumbleweeds and Old West facades popping up in a black void--grips one's imagination and doesn't let go until the very end. Fans of Captain Kirk's street-fighting style will especially enjoy the thrilling climax. --Tom Keogh

Tidbit: Kirk was never any rounder than he was right here; well, not until the Trek movies anyway. (3 stars)

Spectre of the Gun was the first third season episode to be produced, and one need watch no more than the teaser to sense that the show would have a very different feel during the 1968-1969 season. First off, those shiny, synthetic-looking uniforms that replaced the corderoys of the first two seasons. A minor point, yes, but perhaps a metaphor for other changes. The third season shows have a slick quality about them, an emphasis of style over substance. There is a sense that everyone is somehow in the know, no longer willing to invest themselves in the simple morality tales so common in the first season. This process was certainly well underway by the midpoint of season 2, when we began to see action (and high camp in the seminal case of I, Mudd) episodes that were light, devoid of moralizing, and somewhat tongue in cheek. By the third season, it could no longer be reigned in. Gone was the moral foundation of the show, but also gone was the feeling that the actors were having fun. What's left is highly formalized episodes.

It should be added though that stylistically season was 3 was by far the most developed season. Musically, scores became more florid and psychadelic, unusual camera angles and cuts became more common, and character' actions became less predictable. I for one enjoy the fluidity, trippyness, and dark tone of the third season. I know I'm in the minority (to say the least) here though.

But this is supposed to be a review of Spectre of the Gun, in which the crew are forced to participate in the events leading up to the gunfight at the OK Corral. Overall this is a pretty good episode, with more action than most 3rd season shows. Better though is the fact that this episode is very atmospheric, with a stong score, wind, and effects contributing to the sense of unreality and futility. But this too is an illusion. We end with the positive message that the crew were tested, and found worthy, for not killing. They are not judged on the basis of wanting to kill, but rather for not killing (although upon scrutiny even this worthiness is undermined somewhat by the fact that at that point the crew knows the Earps are unreal).

This episode doesn't hammer the moral theme as earlier seasons did. Surprising is the extent to which the crew must focus on their own survival, even to the extent of accepting demeaning abuse the Earps.

This episode has it's flaws though. Most notably, only Kirk seems phases by Chekov's death; of course the others were no doubt constrained by the new production team. (3.5 stars)


"I can't just kill them!!!"   May 13, 2003
 0 out of 5 found this review helpful

REVIEWED ITEM: Star Trek Original Series DVD Volume 28- Assignment: Earth / Spectre of the Gun

ASSIGNMENT: EARTH PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into the Ground: Messin' with the space-time continuum; trusting the motivations of complete strangers

Expendable Enterprise Crewmember (`Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: Three incapacitated

REVIEW/COMMENTARY:

Was `Assignment: Earth' just another rip-roaring Star Trek adventure, or was it the teaser for a possible spinoff show? Well, let's see now... the guest stars (Gary Seven and his not-so-trusty receptionist Roberta Lincoln) are given an extensive amount of screen time and character development, much more than what most other guests have been granted on classic `Trek. The screen time that Kirk, Spock and company use up is minimal, with most of the celluloid dedicated to Gary Seven embarking on and completing his mission, and Roberta getting in the way in a supposedly humorous fashion. And if those two bits of evidence don't seal the deal for ya, there's Mister Spock's statement at the end of the show where he predicts "interesting experiences in store for them (Seven and Lincoln)". I dunno `bout the rest of ya's but it definitely looks like a set-up to me...

Sadly, `Assignment: Earth' didn't grab me as a show that would've had much promise if it were made into a series. Robert Lansing's portrayal of Mister Seven could have used a bit more charisma, especially during his bizarrely comic exchanges between himself and the rookie receptionist. Speaking of which, Teri Garr didn't impress me as the young and slightly dense Roberta Lincoln, whose personality consisted of an annoying meld of ditzy naivete and "whoa, far out, man"-style hippiness. She also has way-too-easy access to her new boss' hi-tech equipment, which she always seems to discover by accident. The addition of the shape-shifting feline Isis and her pathetically fake meows (what, they couldn't record a real cat meowing and dub it in where needed?) adds the final death knell to any hope of seeing these folks venturing beyond the confines of the original Star Trek series. Which is probably just as well...

SPECTRE OF THE GUN PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: Reality versus unreality and illusions that kill; Humans dealing with and overcoming their instinct for violence

Historical Milestone: Star Trek's second temporary death of a core cast member (Mr. Chekov). This is also one of the small handful of eppies where a crew member other than Kirk (Chekov again) bags the babe-of-the-week. Hah, take THAT, you overacting, starship-commanding horndog!

Notable Gaffe/Special Defect: During the climactic scene at the OK Corral, the lightning strikes cause the trees to cast shadows on the "sky" (back wall) of the indoor set where the scene is being shot.

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

REVIEW/COMMENTARY:

The Melkotians told ya to stay away, but no-o-o-o-o, that wasn't acceptable to you, was it Jim? You just had to butt in where you weren't welcome! I guess "boldly going where no man has gone before" includes disrespecting the wishes of other beings, as well as trespassing on their territory! And then you had your three head specialists and Chekov beam down with you on the Melkotians' home planet so they could share your punishment! It's a good thing Mr. Spock had special abilities that helped save you and your fellow crewmen's sorry hides from certain death in the end (except for Chekov of course) or else you'd have been-- well, dead I guess. Or would the death have been merely an illusion? Wow, man... that's kinda deep. I gotta sit down and think that one through...

Taking into consideration all of the other historical eras and characters the Enterprise has encountered during its three-year run (Nazis, mobsters, a modern-day Roman empire, the Great Depression, hippies, 19th-century American Indian tribes, an angry Greek god), it was only a matter of time before the wild west got its day in the Star Trek spotlight. Throw in Gene Roddenberry's past work as the self-proclaimed "head script-writer" of the classic western series `Have Gun, Will Travel', and the status of this episode goes from "destined-to-happen" to... um, "destined-to-happen-and-then-some" I guess. I wish I could describe the whole thing better, but I'm still tryin' to wrap my mind around that whole `illusionary death' thing I brought up at the end of the previous paragraph...

`Late


AN ODD PAIR OF EPISODES BUT STILL WONDERFUL!!!   November 17, 2002
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Volume 28 of The Star Trek DVD series may be the most bizarre DVD in the series. Partly because it contains the last episode of the second season and the first epiosde of the third. These two episodes differ greatly and it is interesting to compare and contrast between them however both of these episodes are above average Trek tales despite their strange differences.

ASSIGNMENT: EARTH was the season finale of the second season. Essentially it was a pilot for a proposed series by the same name. At the time Star Trek was going to be cancelled and it was quite apparent that Roddenberry developed this to have something to fall back on once the network had made their decision. I'm assuming Roddenberry was planning to have Robert Lansing and Terri Garr as the main charcters in this new series and have the Star Trek cast make various guest appearnaces. Anyways as it turned out Star Trek managed to stay on for a further season and Roddenberry and the network ditched the whole 'Assignment:Earth' idea. All we were left with was this strange episode of Star Trek (which makes you wonder if the show had been cancelled and Assignment:Earth had been accepted by NBC). The episode finds the Enterprise crew travelling back to 1968 (at the time this was aired: modern day earth). Upon arrival they cross paths with Gary Seven (Robert Lansing) and he has come to earth in order to slow down it evolutionary process to put a stop to destroying themselves. He does this by sabotaging U.S. rockets and Kirk feels he will change the course of time. However Seven insists he is doing this for the good of mankind. The episode is rather strange and complicated as most of the screen time is given to Lansing rather than Shatner which is quite a change. The rest of the episode involves Kirk and Spock chasing Seven around trying to stop him. In the end everything turns out fine as usual and the course of time is not affected but many viewers may be left scratching their heads after this episode is over. It is good but rather hard to follow. Terri Garr makes one of her first appearances as Roberta Lincoln a hip chick who applies for a secretary job for Mr. Seven. The casting was great in this one (Both Lansing and Garr are excellent) and perhaps Roddenberry should have salvaged the Assignment: Earth idea after Star Trek was cancelled in June of 1969? Sadly this was never done.

The other episode here is SPECTRE OF THE GUN which kicked off Star Trek's inconsistant third and final season. There is such a big change between this and ASSIGNMENT:EARTH. It's amazing that Star Trek was able stay on for a third season but it's obvious that the production budget was way tighter (which explains the true reason why there are incomplete sets in this episode). Still this is one of the better episodes in Star Trek's haphazard final season.
The Enterprise is abducted by a mysterious alien race called the Melkotians Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty and Chekov beam down to their planet only to end up in a situation where they are the Clampetts in the middle of the historic 'Gun Fight At The OK Corral' against the Earp's. This episode is ironic because Deforest Kelley did play Morgan Earp in the classic 1957 film. Despite being another bizarre Star Trek outing SPECTRE OF THE GUN is an awesome episode of Star Trek in my opinion especially for the majority of lackluster scripts submitted in the third season. Besides the casting of the Earps is impressive and the gunfight at the end is kinda cool.

Overall a bizarre pair of episodes but both are wonderful and interesting in their own ways. SPECTRE OF THE GUN is more enjoyable to watch than ASSIGNMENT:EARTH in my opinion but they are both special. Highly recommended.