Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Weird Star Trek Eps. - Day of the Dove aka "We Must Beat This Hate Alien with Love and Peace!"

Well, I've come back to the 3rd season of The Original Series. Man, that's a pretty sub-par season. Still, I don't know if can say that about this episode. It has Klingons, swords, a bit of racism, and a hate monster. I think should just start at the beginning...
You know, this ending would have been even more over-the-top if Spock laughed along.

In "Day of the Dove," an energy being that feeds on hate lures the Enterprise and a Klingon cruiser to a planet. It has the ability to manipulate the minds of the crew and their technology. The Klingons are teleported onto the Enterprise since their ship is badly damaged. Then, the being is able to transform their weapons into swords... insert random Highlander joke here. It also tries to make the crew hate Klingons and vice-versa. Luckily, Kirk and Spock figure out that they are being manipulated into hate and violence. They along with Kang's first officer are able to convince Kang that the violence needs to stop. The episode ends with everyone having a big laugh as the love-hating alien leaves the ship.

The episode is okay. I don't necessarily like it, but it's not horrible either. We get a memorable Klingon commander in Kang and we even have the first appearance of a female Klingon. The episode is also action-packed with some sword fighting. It's not great sword fighting, but I'll take it. We also get some over-the-top acting from Shatner and even Keoing who turns into a ravenous maniac.
"Captain! I think I'm on the wrong set again!"

The message of the episode is simple: hate and violence suck. Unfortunately, it kind of beats you over the head with that message. The episode even has an  "Let's all laugh" ending. It kind of makes you want to laugh at the screen and wonder what you just watched. Overall, the episode is okay and that's a good thing since the 3rd season has some truly sub-par episodes. I end the post with  the words of a man known as Vash the Stampede:

"This world is made of love and peace!!!"

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