Star Trek TOS S01E21 – Return of the Archons
Dir. Joseph Pevney, Wri. Boris Sobelman
The Summary: There’s a purge planet that the Enterprise crew ends up on. Everyone is super chill until they go bonkers crazy and then Kirk and crew have to figure out what’s going on and how to escape.
The Good: As is so often the case, there is a good setup, with Sulu acting very strange. This continues into a nice mystery with them trying to figure out why these crazy people are doing all of this purging down here. All those regular looking people picking up bricks and pipes for weapons is creepy–there are actually some mild elements that seem Borg-like here. Mind-controlled Bones is also really creepy, and he eventually escalates to outright manic insanity. The Prime Directive discussion is one of the most interesting discussions we’ve had about the concept thus far in the show. Despite being kind of nonsensical, this episode is never boring, and maintains a good momentum throughout. This automatically puts it above many of the more meandering episodes of the show. There is a ridiculous part of me that loves when Kirk talks a computer to death. I know it doesn’t make any sense, but I really don’t care —”help me help me help me help me”.
The Bad: The specter of poor special effects rears its ugly head again in this episode, and is particularly egregious when there are a bunch of mooks getting Roman Candled to death. This episode’s structure is surprisingly confusing, with its en medias res beginning and it’s rushed first half—I feel like the situation isn’t well developed, with too much time committed to the chase and not enough to the actual setup or ideas of the setting. The ‘mind-controlled’ Kirk is an artificial/false cliffhanger, and those always frustrate me. They’re a shortcut to establishing stakes as opposed to developing tension organically. Ultimately, though, all of this pales in comparison to the real problem this episode has, which is that it makes no sense. In fact, it is really badly written—it uses ambiguity to cover up for plot holes and general inconsistencies. It seems clear that the writer felt that if they were vague enough with their handwaving, people wouldn’t ask too many questions. Well, I have questions.
The Review: This episode speaks to a lot of weirdo ideas about computers that are very 1960’s. Because of that, it doesn’t make a lot of sense in the modern context. And that’s not something that can really be held against it, honestly. I’m not upset that people when this was written didn’t understand the limits of computing. If that were the only problem the episode had, it would be forgivable as a relic of its time. But its not. The general confusion over how exactly computers work is exacerbated by the script not really feeling like it has to explain things very well. We want to have an episode where ordinary people turn into violent monsters, and it’s a computer’s fault! OK, but how exactly is it– Doesn’t matter, just make it happen. That being said, however, it is a fun episode that moves at a good clip and entertains. A great example of turn-your-brain-off, pulpy Trek. If you aren’t too worried about the bizarre computer talk, and just want to see some characters you like deal with a crazy situation, this one is a really good time. It’s not an all timer, but it’s worth watching for the fun ride.
The Score: 
