Remastered “Errand Of Mercy” Airs This Weekend

Kirk and Spock try an save some peaceful aliens fro some not so peaceful Klingons

Preview | Episode Info | Show times

This classic cold war allegory written by Gene Coon introduced  Klingons into the Star Trek universe. The TOSR team have a good amount to work to do with plenty of ships shots. This includes doing some ‘retcon’ by adding in Klingon ships that had yet to be designed when the episode first aired. The Organians themselves are getting a bit of an upgrade as well. 

Sorry but no videos from Rick or Paul this week, but in honor of the first Klingon episode there is this found on YouTube, to remind us just how evil Klingons are

 

…but life isn’t all evil for Klingons

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Shatner knew John Colicos back in Montreal. I talked to the Shat on the Larry King radio show back in 1988, just after Star Trek V premiered. It’s too bad they didn’t bring back Colicos as Kor in the film series, an antagonist to rival Khan. It would have been glorious. Colicos was great as Baltar on the original Battlestar Galactica. By your command.

“It is an ‘Errand of Mercy’ which brings me here. Pray, let me discharge it.” per “The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby” by Charles Dickens.
Errand of Mercy is written by the Great Gene L. Coon. John Newland directs his only Star Trek episode – – he’s best known as being the host of the series “One Step Beyond”.

Plus an interesting tidbit as reported in a previous thread by Community Member ‘TheVamp’, the Emmy Award Winning Composer for the series Lonesome Dove (1989), Basil Poledouris (August 21, 1945 – November 8, 2006) appears as a Klingon extra.
http://img170.imageshack.us/my.php?image=basilvk2.jpg

Basil Poledouris was a KLINGON? Just when you thought you knew all the good TOS trivia… guess that explains why his score for Conan was so awesome. Nice one Greg.

I thought it was interesting too. But the credit goes to ‘TheVamp’ for the discovery.

Nice YT clips also, Anthony – the beautiful thing is no matter how hard Steve Carrell tried to poke fun at the would-be Kilngons, the Klingons already looked like they were poking fun at themselves…

Who the heck is “Neptunian”? TAS alien? And “Cheron”? Err….ummm…thought that was the name of his/their planet?

Regarding the episode itself, rather than the videos, Kor will always be my favorite Klingon. He’s kinda like the J.R. Ewing of Klingons. He’s so evil, you can’t stand him yet you can’t help but admire the guy!

OMG, where did you get that old commercial for the Star Trek action figures? They (and the commerical) are delightfully awful!

I hope that if J.J. must have Klingons in his Movie, that they are at least like the John Colicos rendition. Real mean, and WITHOUT bumpy foreheads like rugby balls…

That whole post-series Klingon culture stuff is stomach-wrenching. Painful.

The action figures are cool, though, apart from some of those aliens.

Klingon – Their evil threatens the universe!
Gorn – Half man half beast!
Cheron – Is he good or evil?

LOL!!

The Mego Uhura doll resembled her not in the slightest.

The NEPTUNIAN? They must have had it left over from some other proposed toy line (Lost in Space?) and just stuck it in there. Pitiful.

Colicos is the Klingon by which I measure all Klingons.Ewe, joyfully dispicable

I liked John Colicos as Kor in DS9! that was cool

Basil Poledouris a Klingon? I’m gobsmacked. After 30 years, I am still learning things I didn’t know about Star Trek. And Basil Poledouris was an amazing talent. Lonesome Dove, The Hunt for Red October, and of course that brilliant score for Conan the Barbarian, which would be a crown jewel in any composer’s career.

#14 steve623 – Your right, after all these years we’re still learning things we didn’t know and lately I’ve learned them all right here at Trekmovie.com.
I’m glad you listed some of the other works of Poledouris I always enjoyed his work.

Who else can deliver the line: “Veg-a-table” like John Colicos! He’s the man, er, Klingon!

“Cheron”? Is he good or evil?

Better yet, who is he?

Are these Gold Key Comic Villains or a parallel toy line usurping the Trek Franchise (1976-I was born there) much like the Transformers were a an amalgamation of different toylines.

Cheron from “Let That be Your Last Battlefield”– 1968-1969 Trek ep. Either Loki or Bele, can’t remember which, equably. Can’t vouch for the spelling c-h-e-r-o-n.

Have just seen the episode. CBS Digital does a good job this week squeezing in SFX shots where there really isn’t that much time to do so (possibly a good argument for extensions beyond the original for the DVDs).
Great to see the Klingon Fleet, many will debate the appearance of the Weapons Fire upon the Enterprise’s Screens/Shields, NO Federation Fleet shot (disappointing but where would it have gone?), and the “Fortress in the Distance”, “Arms Dump Explosion” and “Hand Phaser” effects seem to be unchanged but they do look better with the New Transfer.
Syndication Editing (Necessary Evil) – – No Comment.

“And new for 1976…”

Ahhhh, nostalgia….

11. “The Neptunian” was in actuality an “Ebonite” from the original Outer Limits series.

Disregard post 21…not true. My bad.

Saw the episode earlier today. The new Klingon ship footage was welcomed and looked good, but wow were the edits quick. I understand it was hard to squeeze new shots into the original flow of the teaser, but it would have been nice if there had been a little more time to linger on the shots. The shield hits were quite a departure from the original look, but it didn’t offend my sensibility. I’m still confused by the rational for the depiction of the Enterprise’s weapons. Kirk orders phasers fired, but the effect looks and sounds like photon torpedoes, although I suppose maybe I’m supposed to understand its “proximity phasers” as in “Balance of Terror”. It just registers as a confusing error in my brain. Maybe I’m not a sophisticated enough viewer.

Anyhoo, the Klingon fleet shot was terrific and I really liked the Organian transformation at the end. The alteration to the original version was well done while still retaining the flavor of the original. I was a little disappointed that the obvious use of stock footage, especially during the munitions dump explosion, wasn’t tweaked or completely redone, as that scene always came across as “on the cheap” to me.

And a brief word about the guest stars: the Organians were all terrific and spot on in their roles. I love the staging of the scene about 2/3rds of the way through the show, where they’re all standing, with their backs to the camera and facing the open council chamber doors, talking about the horrible violence to come, et cetera. The staging is so atypical of television, but it really conveys a weird, mysterious feeling. Kudos to the director there. Colicos is, of course, nothing short of brilliant – cold, calculating, even charming in a devious way, hot only at the end. So different than the Space Vikings the Klingons became in the years that followed (although Colicos’ “Kor as Falstaff” on DS9 was another terrific performance, but was basically a different character). And I am always amused by Kor’s aide, the guy Kirk nearly strangles with his belt. What a wuss! He folded like a cheap suit. If more Klingons had been like that guy, they would have never conquered their fear of heights, let alone a galaxy.

#23 steve623 – Excellent breakdown. The “Proximity Phasers” as in “Balance of Terror” is how I interpreted that opening shot as well.
Watch for Trefayne (David Hillary Hughes) as he “mumbles” in the background of some scenes. Supposedly the actor is reciting everyone’s lines until it’s time for his own, his way of keeping up.

I always thought Trefayne was summoning his energy to morph.

Naw, that’s just Trefayne showing his oracular powers by anticipating what everyone else is saying. “Our friend Trefayne is quite intuitive,” after all.

The ad for the action figures is funny as hell. Heck the last alien character did look like something out of the OUTER LIMITS! Other than that it is all good Klingon fun for all!

I still have my Keeper figure.

Did you catch the background of that commercial?

“Star Trek…Star Trek…Star Trek…Star Trek…”

#23 and #24:

Phasers are blue. Photon torpedoes are red.

its hard for me to remember. i keep confusing it with the original version of the show, when photon torpedoes were white-ish … at least in the second and third seasons … i think …

Just caught this episode in Boston. Overall, CBS-D’s work was passable but not particularly memorable in any way. The shots of the Klingon torpedos bouncing off the Enterprise’s shields were particularly weak. Also, while it was nice to see some actual Klingon ships, the cuts were so quick you literally would have missed them if you blinked. I know the FX team was constrained by the show’s original running time in terms of what it could show but they could have gone further. Even the shot of the Enterprise flying off at the end could have been augmented by adding in a few more Starfleet ships. Also, the edits for time really stand out in this episode. It was one of the best written shows from TOS and even the most minute cuts immediately make themselves apparent. It gave the show a very disjointed feeling.

#30 Kirk orders that Phaser Banks return fire – – we were simply noting that they returned fire with “Proximity Phasers” as in “Balance of Terror” vs “Phaser Beams”.

#33:

Yeah, I know. I was just pointing out that phasers and torpedoes are different colors (for the remastered versions). So, it’s easy to tell the difference.

Hey–what does Kirk yell when they are first attacked. He and Spock hit the bridge rails and he yells something while the weapons are hitting the Enterprise. Can anyone make that out or know what I am talking about?

Steve623 wrote:

> I was a little disappointed that the obvious use of stock footage,
> especially during the munitions dump explosion…

The munitions dump explosion was stock footage? From what movie or t.v. show did it come?

> …wasn’t tweaked or
> completely redone, as that scene always came across as “on the
> cheap” to me.

Ah, you want the miniature work to be replaced with digital work?

re: 36. Selarrac Prime – May 12, 2007

Thanks for that link. Great site!

Why do the phasers looks like photon torpedoes? Huhhh?

I don’t buy that proximity phasers bit. The production crew just didn’t know the difference between phasers and photon torpedoes back in the sixties when the series was getting its legs. But I would like to know if CBS/Paramount knows that or not. forty years later. After the red flame rather than the blue flame in the remastered “The Paradise Syndrome,” I am somewhat skeptical.

20. Ro-Dan: “And new for 1976…Ahhhh, nostalgia….”

You said it! Great memories of being of the kids playing with the Mego Trek figures/playsets that year!

Gorn – Half man half beast!
OK, who went home at closing time with the she-Gorn? Fess up, guys!