Star Trek (TOS): Court Martial

[Starbug]

wouldn't that just make her want to get out of it that much faster?

Like I know anything about fashion?

[goodperson25]

Am I the only one who saw Jamey's outfit and thought "Huh, Sailor Senshi are in Star Trek"?* I mean, there's supposed to be one for every planet/significant astrological body, so it's not like there'd be any shortage of planet/oids she could possibly be embodying. Although I don't think they'd get along well with Starfleet, their captains tend to have a real problem with supposedly god-like beings, especially ones in humanoid form.

*Yeah, I know it's just a coincidence, but people have based silly "theories" on less.

That's pretty much what my mom thought. (just without any real knowledge of the series)

[CrypticMirror]

I think the fact that jettison pod is the third option on the captain's chair's control panel after red and yellow alert. How many pods do you think get jettisoned when kirk is trying to find the red alert button.

Dammit. Now I'm wondering how many diplomatic crises have been caused in TNG because of faulty autocorrect while typing on their touchscreens?

I'm thinking of all the times that Riker just sat on the consoles. Those ones up behind Worf right at the back of the bridge, Riker would just go up to them and rest his ass on them while talking to (usually) Data when they were doing the tech-tech portion of the episode. Yeah, I know Frakes trying to take stress off his bad back, but in-universe...?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drWM2r9f9YY

[professor_iago]

Kirk: Mr. Spock, eliminate his heartbeat.
Spock: Done. He's now dead.

LOL

[STNeish]

You know, I did study Law, and that may be why this episode bugs me.

Apart from Shaw being in a terrible conflict of interest, we have Cogley, perhaps the worst defender EVER. His entire case was to put Kirk on the stand to say "I didn't do it!" He didn't do ANYTHING to even TRY to undermine the prosecution's evidence. He offered no testimony, didn't even cross-examine witnesses who were CLEARLY going to support Kirk.

He only won because his theory that Finney was still alive miraculously happened to be true, despite no real evidence to support that theory.

Atmospheric, but utterly illogical.

[Tonesthegeek]

Since Chuck didn't mention it, I'm wondering if I remember this episode differently. I recall Finny making the point that it wasn't just Kirk who ruined his career, but the higher ups in Starfleet who are quick to bury anything or anyone that reflects poorly on the service and the fact that they were so quick to court martial Kirk proves that. I'd like to think Finny's plan was to fake being dead until Starfleet railroads Kirk as badly as he was, then come out and rub it all of their faces, prove his point that they were all arrogant bureaucrats who preach Starfleet infallibility but fail miserably in its execution. Given how many stuck up and insufferable admirals we've had to deal with in TNG and DS9, perhaps an internal shake up was something the service needed.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

I think the fact that jettison pod is the third option on the captain's chair's control panel after red and yellow alert. How many pods do you think get jettisoned when kirk is trying to find the red alert button.

That may be realism/verisimilitude. Like the latest Hawaii nuke false alarm.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

You know, I did study Law, and that may be why this episode bugs me.

Apart from Shaw being in a terrible conflict of interest, we have Cogley, perhaps the worst defender EVER. His entire case was to put Kirk on the stand to say "I didn't do it!" He didn't do ANYTHING to even TRY to undermine the prosecution's evidence. He offered no testimony, didn't even cross-examine witnesses who were CLEARLY going to support Kirk.

He only won because his theory that Finney was still alive miraculously happened to be true, despite no real evidence to support that theory.

Atmospheric, but utterly illogical.

Yeah TV defense attorneys tend to be pretty shit. I wonder if that's part of a larger cultural problem where defense lawyers are viewed as people who just want to help criminals get away with crime, and you don't ask for your lawyer when arrested unless you're guilty.

[Starbug]

Like the latest Hawaii nuke false alarm.

I'm waiting to see how they work that into an episode of Hawaii 5-0

[ChiggyvonRichthofen]

I'd agree that Cogley is a horrible attorney. Part of the problem with this episode is that the script went through a lot of changes to reach its televised form, and the number of things cut out was kind of unusual for a workmanlike production that needed to push out a new episode regularly on a tight schedule.

Cogley and his role is one of the element that is fleshed out and works better in the earlier version of the script, as well as Jame and her motivations. Even so, the episode doesn't make much sense, which is again why I think its really one of the worst episodes of the first season despite exploring a decent idea.

Also kind of an important one for introducing "Starfleet" to the Star Trek universe.

Finally, the matte painting in this episode of Starbase 11 is just fantastic. It really helps to sell the location and the idea that this is an outpost on an alien world.