| Remastered Balance of Terror - Miri. |
Summary[]
The wedding ceremony of Angela Martine and Robert Tomlinson is interrupted by a red alert because Earth Outpost 4 is under attack, after Outposts 2 and 3 have already vanished. These outposts were set up a century ago to monitor the Neutral Zone that was negotiated via subspace radio after a war with the Romulan Star Empire.
Now the Romulans have sent a cloakable vessel with a powerful plasma weapon to get rid of the outposts. When Spock manages to retrieve a video signal from the attacking ship, Lt. Stiles, who lost a relative in the war and suspects that there could be Romulan spies on the Enterprise, is shocked to see that the Romulans look just like Vulcans. Spock surmises that the Romulans may be an ancient offshoot of Vulcan colonization.
When Kirk finally manages to anticipate the moves of the cloaked enemy vessel, the Romulans desperately detonate a nuclear warhead directly ahead of the Enterprise. The Romulan ship is already on its way home, when Kirk orders the Enterprise to play "dead", luring the enemy into a trap. The Romulan commander refuses to be rescued from his crippled ship and initiates the self-destruct. The Enterprise has lost one crew member: Tomlinson.
Errors and Explanations[]
Internet Movie Database[]
Character error[]
- While officiating at a wedding ceremony, Captain Kirk says, "Since the days of the first wooden vessels, all shipmasters have had one happy privilege: that of uniting two people in the bonds of matrimony." This is false; whatever Starfleet's own fictional regulations may be, the captains of seagoing ships have no particular power to perform weddings and, at least for the US, the UK, and the former USSR, there is no evidence that they ever did. In fact the navies of the US, the UK, and various other countries specifically prohibit a commanding officer from performing marriage ceremonies.The fact that under naval regulations, service captains are specifically prohibited from performing marriage ceremonies, doesn't stop civilian captains becoming ordained ministers. In any case, the prohibition was probably cancelled during the founding of the world government, as it dosen't make sense for captains to be allowed to conduct funerals but not weddings!
Continuity[]
- When Spock first opens the vent under his science station, flames and smoke come out. These disappear between shots even though no one takes any measures to eliminate them.The console could be fitted with an early version of the automatic fire suppression system featured in Up the Long Ladder.
Nitpicker's Guide for Classic Trekkers[]
Plot Oversights[]
- Ability of the outpost to maintain position. They must have manuvering thrusters embedded in the rock.
- Romulan home world names taken from Earth mythology. Either they were chosen by Starfleet for identification purposes, or Romulan mythology shares many elements with that of Earth.
- Differing names for the second planet in the Romulan system. Rom II could be an alternative name for Remus. [N 1]
Equipment Oddities[]
- Scott stating that the Romulan ship only has impulse power, despite being able to cover great distances in a short amount of time. Perhaps it just appears to only have impulse power, because it takes a lot of power for the weapon from other systems, such as the warp drive.
- Kirk not telling Sulu to move the Enterprise to the side while escaping the energy bolt from the weapon. Such a move could reduce the speed of Enterprise enough for the bolt to come into contact with the rear of the nacelles.
Nit Central[]
- Nove Rockhoomer on Sunday, April 13, 2003 - 12:26 am - What took the Romulan ship so long to fire when they dropped the cloak at the end of the episode? Spock had time to run back down the corridor, ready the phasers and fire before the Romulans did a thing. The systems for transferring power between the cloaking device and the weapons may have been damaged.
- inblackestnight on Thursday, July 27, 2006 - 6:26 pm - If the Romulans left the Vulcans before warp was invented, it must've taken them a very long time to get to what is now Romulas/Remus. They probably used a generational ship.
Notes[]
- ↑ Listed under Continuity in the IMDB entry.
| The Original Series Season 1 |
| Pilot episodes: The Cage I Where No Man Has Gone Before |
| Regular episodes: The Corbomite Maneuver I Mudd's Women I The Enemy Within I The Man Trap I The Naked Time I Charlie X I Balance of Terror I What Are Little Girls Made Of? I Dagger of the Mind I Miri I The Conscience of the King I The Galileo Seven I Court Martial I The Menagerie Part 1 I The Menagerie Part 2 I Shore Leave I The Squire of Gothos I Arena I The Alternative Factor I Tomorrow Is Yesterday I The Return of the Archons I A Taste of Armageddon I Space Seed I This Side of Paradise I The Devil in the Dark I Errand of Mercy I The City on the Edge of Forever I Operation: Annihilate! |