The Enterprise Incident by: D.C. Fontana and directed by: John Meredyth Lucas

 

“The Enterprise Incident” is written by: D.C. Fontana and is directed by: John Meredyth Lucas.  It was filmed under production code 59, was the 2^nd episode of Star Trek Season 3, the 57^th episode of Star Trek, and was broadcast on September 27, 1968.

 

When I knew I would be going into the third season of Star Trek, I was ready for even the highs to not match what worked about the first two seasons.  “The Enterprise Incident” exceeded those expectations largely because D.C. Fontana was allowed minimal interference in her script, plotting a tightly paced thriller split entirely between two ships so the episode could be shot on a tighter budget, for the model shots ships are reused to great effect.  “The Enterprise Incident” begins with the viewer brought into a mystery: instead of Kirk it is McCoy who gives the opening log narration, noting how Kirk has become erratic as the tease has Kirk demanding the Enterprise cross the Neutral Zone between Federation and Romulan space and become surrounded by three Romulan ships in their own space.  William Shatner’s performance is dialed to eleven here, snapping at the rest of his crew to go forward and eventually being transported to the Romulan ship with Spock as prisoners.  Then the twist hits, the Federation is entirely aware of Kirk’s actions, he has sealed orders to infiltrate the Romulan ship with Spock to steal a new cloaking device in a piece of espionage.  This is a Cold War story that directly paints the United States in a negative life while the Romulans, representing largely the communist enemies of the United States during this period, yet still manages to have them coming out on top at the last moment.  The Federation is largely portrayed in this episode as shady: Kirk is being used for this mission because of his previous recklessness would give them plausible deniability in the event the mission goes awry, only Kirk and Spock are initially aware of the mission with the rest of the crew having actual deniability and are saved because the Romulans realize that they are just following orders, and the Enterprise itself is at stake during the mission.  Shatner’s performance is reflective of this, after dialing back the outbursts once the twist is revealed Kirk undergoes plastic surgery to imitate a Romulan which is one of those ridiculous plot points that is somehow played completely straight.  Shatner dials it back and plays Kirk as the strategist throughout, becoming almost sinister in achieving the goal, something that is done with a decent amount of the runtime left so a further wrench is thrown in with Spock’s plot of the episode.

 

Leonard Nimoy once again is the standout performance of the main cast (though there are moments where DeForest Kelley as McCoy early on gets wonderful moments to be caring and James Doohan as Scotty gets the chance to be over the top in command of the Enterprise while Kirk is on the Romulan ship).  Spock throughout this episode is established to be unable to lie, so D.C. Fontana’s script is careful in the wording of Spock’s conversations with the Romulan commander, played by Joanne Linville, and sub-commander Tal, played by Jack Donner, as to be obvious enough to show he is hiding something while never giving the game away.  Spock does this verbal dance, building the idea that perhaps as a Vulcan and genetic cousin to the Romulans he may actually wish to build power within the Romulan Empire of his own, only if he gives the Enterprise over to them properly.  Joanne Linville as the Romulan Commander, like the Romulans in “Balance of Terror”, is one of the most complex characters developed for Star Trek.  Both D.C. Fontana’s script and John Meredyth Lucas’s direction allow this rare female character to have her own power, set completely outside of her sexuality, while building this little romantic temptation with Spock.  It’s something that female characters really haven’t been allowed to have with Gene Roddenberry’s views on women in power interfering, but Fontana has clearly written the commander to be powerful.  Lucas never shoots the commander through the male gaze either, her costume is also not accentuating her sexuality in any large way, and Linville’s performance is often even and measured.  It’s one of the best guest star performances in Star Trek and it ends with the character a prisoner on the Enterprise and the world going on.  “The Enterprise Incident” becomes an episode where the development of the Romulans cannot change but the Federation inherently does, it’s opening the door for Star Trek to become a modern story not afraid of criticizing the dominant power structure all in late 1968.

 

Overall, “The Enterprise Incident” is an episode that Star Trek needed after a very lackluster third season premiere.  D.C. Fontana proves that she is one of the best scriptwriters on the show and clearly deserves her spot in the history of the show.  Director John Meredyth Lucas shoots the limited sets incredibly tightly and Leonard Nimoy and Joanne Linville carry the episode with their excellent performances throughout.  Heck even William Shatner’s over the top performance at the beginning is fun and the transition from mystery to thriller is wonderfully done to make this up there with some of the highs of the series.  9/10.