Execute the “Conscience of the King” Preview

Wanna bet the scene where McCoy tries to get Spock to have a drink with him gets cut for syndication?

Oh I just rememebred – there’s another ship in the episode that’s mentioned and Kirk talks to the captain, but you never see it in the original version of the show. The Astral Queen or something like that. Maybe we’ll get to see it this time, like the Antares in “Charlie X”.

Those stars don’t move in the original. Now the question is, will we see the hanger deck from those windows. Are the stars moving in the correct direction?

She certainly knows how to wrap her lips around the word “throbbing”, doesn’t she?

Ah. Great psychological cat and mouse game between Kodos & Kirk. A slight shift in the mood of the series after this episode’s final appearances of Riley & Rand.

I wonder what CBS-D will add to the shuttle observation deck, if anything.

“Conscience of the King” may not be one of Trek’s most exciting episodes (and certain important details, like the tense relationship between Kirk and
Spock, feel considerably off), but it happens to be one of its best-written–and Arnold Moss as the conscience-stricken mass murderer Kodos may very well have turned in TOS’ all-time best guest star performance.

nice commercial. This was a good episode.

ahhhhh finally…..a solid favorite of mine

It would be nice if they could add a shot of the view of the observation deck from the shuttlebay floor with some CGI Kirk and Lenore before they cut to the shot we’re used to of Kirk and Lenore walking along the deck. Its not necessary but it would be nice to establish that is where they are supposed to be. Would be nice for new Trek fans who haven’t pored over the blueprints like some of us have.

Riley: Got milk?

is it possible that these promos might not contain all the updated effects? Im sure there are different teams cutting the commercials. Sometimes CBS-D is working on pretty tight deadlines.

Perhaps they’ll include a quickie shot of the overloading phaser exploding outside the Enterprise. If I remember correctly, that hatch does lead to outer space and not some below-decks laundry room right? In all seriousness, I think the blurb accompanying the preview window says it all: This preview for the remastered version of “The Conscience of the King” shows the improved image quality apparent in all the restored episodes.

Nothing but image enhancement, and a couple of new ship shots, for this episode I wager.

Loooking forward to this episode.

“Worlds may change, galaxies disintegrate, but a woman always remains a woman.”

2 & 3 — I only saw that scene for the first time a couple of months ago on Nick at Nite. Thank God somebody doesn’t butcher old TV shows. (“Care for a drop of the true, Spock?”)

For me, this episode looks like something recycled from another genre. Not that that’s necessarily bad, but it doesn’t quite make the transition without pain. Mostly, it highlights once again how crappy security does its job on a starship. Mysterious killer finds no trouble stealing a phaser, getting into the captain’s cabin, and sneaking into engineering. Hello! Who’s minding the gate, guys??

The other glaring problem is Lenore. She’s just too much of a dingbat, even for Kirk. “She’s an exciting creature,” says McCoy. Of course, he’s been drinking at that point.

There are nice character moments, but not really a great story here. Just a rehash from some western, cop show, or whatever. (I know, it’s supposed to be Shakespeare and the Stars, but that doesn’t quite work, either.)

IMHO

Okay, is it just me? Am I crazy? This is the one episode of Trek that puts me to sleep. It’s just boring. I don’t think remastered effects are going to make it any better. Anyone else really dislike this episode?

I hated this episode as a kid. Now, at 52, it’s slightly more palatable…..

#32: Maybe I’ll give it another chance and I’ll think differently this time. Funny thing was that I had all the episodes recorded on tape from their syndicated airings in the early 80s (stayed up until midnight on Saturdays every week for a year and half to catch them all…I was 12-13 y.o.)…all except this episode. All I knew was that I was missing one, and then I finally saw it (probably 15 years later). It was almost like the lost episode for me…and after seeing it I wished it would have stayed lost.

Rich, I understand your feelings completely! Here’s an interesting intellectual exercise that seems to help me in some situations.
When you sit down to watch this episode, just picture the mindset of William Shatner at the time of filming. Here you are, a talented T.V. actor with a considerable resume under your belt. You’re now the star of this hot new sci-fi show with some episodes good, some not so good. Here comes this week’s script and, even though you have a Shakespearean background, you think it’s a piece of s**t!
Knowing that the show must go on, you forge ahead with the commitment to put the best dramatic “spin” you can on said storyline. Imagine being in Shatner’s shoes, knowing the success of the show rests squarely on your shoulders, and you’re being forced to perform crapola? It makes it entertaining to watch the episode in that context, to look for even a glimmer of disgust hiding behind the actor’s eyes….but, of course, they’re usually too professional to let even a hint of that show through…..the one exception to that was Doohan in ST:III, when they were stealing the Enterprise and he says to Kirk, “I’d be grateful Admiral if you’d give the word”. Just by tone of voice you could hear Jimmy’s disgust and disrespect for Shatner, the person. If you didn’t spot it the first time, go back and watch it again. It’s interesting when you spot it!

What was with Kirk and some of these Flightly/ Ditzy women?

It’s either that or the Janice Lester/ Carol Marcus type. One would think Kirk was commitment-Phobic!

I’m with Harry and you guys as well. I know that a lot of Trek fans like this one, but as a kid not so much. I know it sounds immature, but all the yapping, yapping, yapping, Lenore is cute but I always felt that Kirk was just foolin’ around, know what I mean? Nothing here for my 8 year old mind to wrap around. OK, maybe the phaser overload,but that was about it.

Ironically, I realized as I got older it provided some of the best background info on Kirk that was mentioned in TOS. But alas, too late. Me brain hath labeled it dullsville.

#36

Harry, you’re hearing things! The line Doohan delivers in III is affectionate & nostalgic. I’m hard-pressed to detect any malice toward Shatner in the way he gives the line. Doohan was just as much a professional as Shatman.

Has anyone else noticed the unfortunate reason why Barbara (Lenore) Anderson’s face is photographed in soft-focus and half-shadow during several scenes of this episode? It was not for dramatic effect, although, fortunately, it can be interpreted that way. I wonder if they will attempt to correct the problem in re-mastering, although it would be fairly difficult. I only noticed this after watching the episode on DVD and it will almost certainly be even more noticeable in HD.

Given the camera angle – looking straight, not downwards – you probably wouldn’t see the actual shuttlebay floor, just the opposing wall. And from the preview, it looks like they didn’t even add the wall.

“Conscience” wasn’t one of my favorites back in the 1970s, but it’s really grown on me.

#41

Okey, I agree with you. And although most avid trek watchers are smarter then the average bear, and may know this, is much more pleasing to the eye to have moving stars. There just needs to be something to let the audiance know “hey the ship is going somewhere” A static starfield gives the impression that the ship is not moving at all, no matter how sicentificly correct it is.

Engon whats wrong with Lenores face?