TOS S01E10, The Corbomite Maneuver
Dir. Joseph Sargent, Wri. Jerry Sohl
The Summary: The Enterprise goes a really long way away and finds a weird space cube. The space cube isn’t very friendly, and Kirk has to come up with a way to survive the encounter.
The Good: We get our very first Bones “What am I” quote. I’m pretty sure that this is the first time we have everyone from the original core crew all operating in a single episode, and it is great to see all of these characters in a room bouncing off of each other. The character dynamics are excellent even at this early stage. Bones saying “I never say that” is a wonderful joke and character moment. There’s an excellent sense of stakes—this one is serious business from first to last, and doesn’t suffer as much from pacing problems as previous episodes. There’s a great Kirk speech about the inherent decency of intelligent life that perfectly encapsulates much of Trek’s philosophy. Kirk doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario, by God. The crew sharing last-minute-of-life moments is profoundly affecting and well acted all around. Kirk actually gets a chance to put his money where his mouth is with regards to federation ideals, and the payoff is interesting, if a bit weird.
The Bad: Every time the cube is on screen they play an absolutely absurd musical sting that really deflates all of the tension (for me at least). Janice is still here, unfortunately. The Balok (Clint Howard) puppet has not aged well, unfortunately. The towing scene lasts a little too long (but nothing compared to the pacing issues of other episodes). I don’t feel like they build up to Baily’s (Anthony Call) decision well—he’s a loose cannon who’s not ready for the big leagues, and then…huh? Ambassador? I guess, but it’s definitely a stretch.
The Review: It’s astonishing that despite the fact that nothing happens in this episode, it’s riveting throughout. Even though almost the entire time is just people talking about what’s going on in really tense voices, it works. The ensemble cast is a large part of that. The gang’s all here for this episode and they work together like a well-oiled machine already. Everybody has a job to do or a role to fulfill, and that synergy makes for an exciting and enjoyable episode where we learn more about each of our major players (except for Janice), and get some really cool science fiction out of the bargain as well.
The Corbomite Maneuver itself I’m more torn on. It simultaneously feels very cool and a little silly, and I think that’s my modern sensibilities winning out. The patent absurdity of the Kirk’s solution to the problem grates up against my knowledge of chemistry and physics. Just looking at the text of the episode, it’s one of Kirk’s greatest moments in the entire first season, for sure. Thinking too much about it can start to make you question. If the enemy is so bleeding-edge advanced, how would they not be able to test something like that? Why would they believe the bluff in the first place? Etc., etc. But really, that’s nitpicking. If anyone wants to criticize Trek for scientific accuracy, they’re probably not really a fan of the show. If you’re willing to take this episode at face value, it’s absolutely one of the best episodes you could grab.
The other significant benefit of this episode is that it really takes very little outside knowledge to follow along with and give a really solid story. This would make a great introduction to this show for people who haven’t seen it before (and might even be my top pick for that honor). You get a really solid idea of who everyone is and what their roles are in a compressed time frame, you get to see the characters be cool and professional, and the payoff for the episode is exciting in that “golden age of sci-fi” way. Although it’s not perfect (Baily in particular is a bit too weird of a guest character, and is characterized too inconsistently for this to attain perfection), this is a great episode of the show, and is a fan favorite for a very good reason. Recommended to anyone, Trek fan or otherwise, as a really solid piece of 60’s science fiction.
The Score: 
