TOS - The Squire of Gothos

[clearspira]

Who was Trelane's actor? He thrived in the "imp" role. Hell, from the reactions of people here, I can see the truth of what Chuck said, this is a polarizing episode, but I agree with him. I think it's just good fun. And... I love the contrast here between TOS and Voyager. When TOS uses the word "ancient," it's a bit kitsch, but fun. When Voyager does it, it's just to be "future-y."

William Campbell. Same actor who played Captain Koloth.

Impressive. He must have been a very versatile actor to play both an imp and a Klingon well.

[Mickey_Rat15]

Who was Trelane's actor? He thrived in the "imp" role. Hell, from the reactions of people here, I can see the truth of what Chuck said, this is a polarizing episode, but I agree with him. I think it's just good fun. And... I love the contrast here between TOS and Voyager. When TOS uses the word "ancient," it's a bit kitsch, but fun. When Voyager does it, it's just to be "future-y."

William Campbell. Same actor who played Captain Koloth.

Impressive. He must have been a very versatile actor to play both an imp and a Klingon well.

In "The Trouble With Tribbles" Koloth was a snarker who was having great fun trolling Kirk until the climax of the episode. They gave him a more serious temperment in the DS9 episode.

[PerrySimm]

Trelane is certainly the most whimsical of all the hyperpowered aliens Kirk had to face off against, and possibly the most powerful single threat, given that Kirk had to pull an Apollo-style power-source explosion *and* wait for a Charlie X-style intervention from the adults.

And yet... at least with Trelane you see someone who's got some kind of misplaced admiration for humanity, and clearly framing the encounter in the sense of pantomime, toys, and play. Compare with the Metrons and Organians, who, though supposedly 'responsible' with their powers, only showed that after staged battles between lesser species.

[Durandal_1707]

It was great fan service to see the three major TOS Klingons show up on DS9, including Campbell. Campbell also reprised his role as Trelane in the game Judgment Rites.

Yes, and it was far and away the most fun mission in that game. Highly recommended to anyone who hasn't played it.

[Yukaphile]

It's one of the many ways Trek used to be sophisticated. Trelane was intelligent, learned, but also highly energetic in a way that makes sense once you learn what he is.

[Mecha82]

You know Trelane doesn't really impress me. I have always found Q to be better take on same concept than Trelane. Look William Campbell is good actor so it's not his fault but fault of character he plays and how that character was written.

[Yukaphile]

Eh, I love it regardless. Miles better anything found in Trek since 2001. Yes, I will confidently make that statement, because even never having watched Enterprise, I know a lot about it from Chuck's reviews. And even Season 4 doesn't impress me, despite the improvement.

[Beastro]

I'd note that, if you accept this episode's statement that it's taking place at least 900 years after the Napoleonic Wars, then describing the dueling pistols as "ancient" is decently accurate.

Oddly enough, I've come to think more on the use of ancient as something without a set time limit. We could go into how the Norman Conquest is almost a thousand years old, and still isn't ancient, yet the Early Middle Ages has an air of that given how nebulously undefined it is between the two times bordering it.

I think ultimately, the use of ancient has mainly been a lauditive or a pejorative; either to praise a time for its greatness in the distant past, or to heap scorn on it. Renaissance Italy used it to praise the Romans due to their biases towards the vulgar age which came afterward while, Roddenberry being very much of the mid 20th Century and it's known biases, it's clear it was always used in Trek to look down on and belittle in contrast to the now fully modern man of Trek that was no longer alloyed with the past.

You know... I have to wonder if... When Gene Roddenberry was reworking the original "Encounter at Far Point" into a two part story by adding all the Q material he didn't originally use Trelane in the script.

That he liked the character and wanted to rehash him... but he changed the name to keep from having to pay royalties to this episode's writer, Paul Schneider.

Like how Tom Paris bears no resemblance to any character who might have appeared in "Star Trek: The Next Generation".

Could be. A counter to that is the simple fact that Roddenberry loved his god-like antagonists and Trek kept bringing them up in their old, overt way until he set down his reins on the franchise. After that only Q endured. Even then Q too, and others which were god-like, like the Prophets, were either used with more nuance or ceased to be antagonists.

Beyond Roddenberry's time the only real one that stood out fully as a good old fashioned god-like antagonist was the leprahcaun from early DS9, which I look on more as a symptome of early DS9 struggling to find its footing and rehashing older Trek stuff just like TNG did with the Naked Now.

[cdrood]

I never really noticed, but it's mentioned in the video that this episode has one of those things that bugs me in The Alternative Facto. It's the idea that Kirk would leave the transporter room, get in a turbo lift, travel to the bridge, go to his chair, and then give the time sensitive order.

Jim, there's a communicator right on top of the transporter console.

[cdrood]

Who was Trelane's actor? He thrived in the "imp" role. Hell, from the reactions of people here, I can see the truth of what Chuck said, this is a polarizing episode, but I agree with him. I think it's just good fun. And... I love the contrast here between TOS and Voyager. When TOS uses the word "ancient," it's a bit kitsch, but fun. When Voyager does it, it's just to be "future-y."

William Campbell. Same actor who played Captain Koloth.

Impressive. He must have been a very versatile actor to play both an imp and a Klingon well.

I've seen him in a couple of westerns, usually playing either the young punk or something of a sidekick who needs to learn from the main character.