Star Trek (TOS): The Ultimate Computer

[DanteC]

Review now at http://sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/s053.php

And now I might have to watch Ice Pirates.

[MadAmosMalone]

Liked this episode and Chuck's review of it. This episode seems more relevant today than when it came out. Driving around in the Philadelphia area, yesterday, I couldn't help but think "self driving cars can't get here nearly fast enough."

[Robovski]

Yeah, I might have to re-watch Ice Pirates again myself. Would love for Chuck to review it someday.

As for the episode, I always considered it a strong one of theoriginal series, and assaid above, still relevant today. All those self driving cars are just the tip of the iceberg.

[lsgreg]

My big observation: How is McCoy a better ship's counselor than actual ship counselors from other Trek series?

[CMWaters]

My big observation: How is McCoy a better ship's counselor than actual ship counselors from other Trek series?

Troi and Ezri weren't allowed to give out non-synthohol drinks on a regular basis.

[Capt Dunsel]

I have a soft spot for this one...

[Revolverman]

My big observation: How is McCoy a better ship's counselor than actual ship counselors from other Trek series?

Drug policy tightened up in the 24th.

[MissKittyFantastico]

The M5 deciding the away team made me think about Troi taking her bridge officer test - it'd be kind of chilling to run M5 through the same scenario and have it spit out a punchcard reading 'kill Geordi' before you'd even had time to blink. And it'd be the right choice, but still... (Mind you, I still question whether, after hours of failing the test over and over, any Lt Cmdrs passed by accident just by getting frustrated and sending holograms to their death to vent. Might explain the admiralty.)

The bit with Daystrom protesting that 'you don't switch off a child because it makes a mistake' reminded me of Extant, where someone asks Halle Berry's husband if he's got a plan to shut off his robot child if it goes wrong, and he counters by asking if she's got a plan to kill her child. Good comeback (if not the most diplomatic thing he could've said) but I always wanted to see his face if she'd just replied "She's a regular seven year old, I'm pretty sure I can just wing it if I have to." Even at episode one we had the impression we'd need black comedy to get through the season.

Edit: the stupid punchcard got my brain going again:
"M5, how do we save the ship?"
"Kill-Lt-Cmdr-LaForge."
*phaser fire*
"Okay, now what?"
"Perhaps-I-should-have-been-more-clear..."

[Rocketboy1313]

Am I the only person who doesn't anthropomorphize AI?
"Would you kill a child?" Is a massive begging of the question as far as "Is it alive?" and "If alive is it worth moral consideration?" or "If it is alive and worth moral consideration, can we still remove it from torpedo control until we are sure it won't lose its shit and murder a bunch of people?"

We boxed up Lore and it was a humanoid android.

Couldn't we run a bunch of simulations for this computer to make sure it wouldn't murder anybody first? It is not like the computer can tell the difference between a simulation and reality any better than a Matrixed human could.

[ChiggyvonRichthofen]

One of the more underrated episodes of the series and a personal favorite. I think the episode gets lost in the shuffle a bit due to being yet another in a long line of "Kirk vs. the computer" episodes, but it is the best of those. William Marshall is one of the show's best guest stars, and the episode is thematically and dramatically strong. There's a lot of good and quotable dialogue (Captain Dunsel has entered my lexicon, anyway), the pacing is good, and the characters are all on point. And as others have said, a relevant issue is addressed.

There's a lot of nuance in the characterization here. In another episode, Daystrom could have easily been left without any motivation or sympathy at all. As Chuck points out, Kirk is proven right, but that's almost coincidental. He and McCoy are biased against the thing. Kirk's frustration with being "useless" is almost palpable and fits the character perfectly.

Commodore Wesley, on the other hand, is an enthusiast to the point that he insults Kirk and is blind to the possibility of M-5's failure. Spock's support of Kirk here despite his enthusiasm is a good example of his human and Vulcan halves operating in harmony. Fontana deserves a lot of credit for her understanding of the characters, which is what really elevates the episode.