Review of Star Trek Continues Episode 9: "What Ships Are For"

Image Courtesy of Star Trek Continues.

Not since I’ve watched Star Trek: Enterprise have I been so excited to see another Star Trek series surface. With Star Trek: Discovery on the horizon and the explosion of fan-made shorts and film-length tales, so many want to whet their appetites. It has been 12 years since Enterprise aired and for Trekkies (like me), that is much too long. Star Trek Continues (STC) is one of those fan-made series that has filled the void with their unique homegrown offering, like a good friend that has returned after a long voyage (literally). They have released eight episodes extending The Original Series (TOS) by finishing the last two years of the 5-year mission. A time machine back to the days of TOS. One week ago, fans had the pleasure to view its ninth, and what I believe to be the best webisode released thus far: “What Ships Are For”. And if it’s any indication by fan response, this episode hit a home run.

From what I’ve seen on social media fan pages and postings, STC has managed to invigorate the fan base with comments that overwhelmingly give praise to something that has awoken, genuine Roddenberry storytelling. This episode engrains every fiber of the TOS morality-based themes. A great many fans (and I) are hungry for this, something for which CBS should take note.

Story telling along with great lines are what make something memorable. Something thought provoking. Like so many good TOS episodes, this one relies on metaphors and contemplative dialog, with some scenes of reflection and conflict. There are also the nods to familiar characters, such as the Admiral’s mention of Nurse Chapel acquiring her doctorate degree, and the rib-poking and banter of McKennah teasing Spock about wearing drab garb, and McCoy debating Spock over the use of the word “hermit”.

The story threads a needle through a fabric of prejudice, fear, love, and ultimately, realization and acceptance. It begs you to consider its message, to think of our own contemporary analogs to similar situations of racism and segregation dividing members of our society each day. It is done with respectful deference to not becoming self-righteous yet delivering an entertaining story. All of the elements that manifested themselves in TOS resurface as a different flavor for us to taste.

What drew the attention and excitement of many to this episode was the fact that it stars The Next Generation alumnus John de Lance (“Q”). He plays Galisti, the society’s inner council leader. Galisti’s wife, Thaius, played by Anne Lockhart is the Ambassador to the Federation. Elizabeth Maxwell appears in a pivotal role as the beautiful Sekara. Other actors include Mark Rolston as Admiral McGuinness and Jim Gleason as Tomiat. I found the teleplay itself well developed sprinkled with a mix of deep personal statements and conflict among parties. Let us now dissect the episode. 

Admiral McGuinness asks Enterprise to engage with a seemingly benevolent reclusive society residing on an asteroid (Hyalinus) to determine the cause of an illness that afflicts its people. Without a cure, this society would eventually become extinct. It becomes the responsibility of Doctor McCoy, given the technology at his disposal, to come up with a cure to save this civilization.

Image Courtesy of Star Trek Continues.

When the landing party arrives and our view of Hyalinus’s world suddenly turns to black and white, it bemused me.  I thought this were some kind of homage paid to TOS. Not so. It was a script ploy and an effective one to bring “light” (no pun intended) to a problem they faced. The asteroid’s inhabitants can only view their world mono-chromatically as the sun's radiation disables their eye cones from seeing color. They are literally “color blind”, an important metaphor of this story.

Galisti and Thaius inform Kirk, Spock and McCoy that this society believes they are under attack from external forces. Yet they are unaware of the presence of aliens residing among them. They cannot “see” the difference in their skin tone, just as they cannot discern the meaning of differences in other species. So, when they do detect them, their naivety of recognizing its meaning becomes even more apparent. Mistakenly assuming Spock is a human female, McCoy’s answer is timeless: “Madam, if our human females looked like that we’d go extinct”. Spock renders his trademark logic with grace and Thaius realizes her mistake, saying, “How often we look but forget to see”. Our metaphoric plot has been set in motion and it’s off to the palace to meet the members of the inner council.

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The fear by a council member of bringing in outsiders is exposed when Tomiat points a pistol at his forehead and shouts out claims of hypocrisy to Galisti. Not all Hyalini want outsiders to intervene. Spock sneaks up on Tomiat with a Vulcan nerve pinch and his suicide is averted. This prompts the reveal of the disease with Sekara and the threat of extinction looming.

To affect a cure for the radiation’s effects, the doctor must bring aboard a stricken member of Hyalini society for study in his sickbay. The stricken member turns out to be the endearing and loved Sekara. Once on board the Enterprise, she is at first petrified to see there is a world of color she knew nothing about. Her reaction was priceless: “Is it alive”? Kirk reassures her there is nothing to fear and she is completely safe. This begins a bonding between the two that will grow into something more as the episode unfolds.

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Discovering that radio-toxins are responsible for “acute radiation syndrome”, the doctor begins treating Sekara. The officers deliberate over these findings in a familiar setting, the “Briefing Room”, a significant TOS staple and one I welcome. Spock indicates a permanent solution for both radiation poisoning and color-blindness can be implemented by altering the spectral signature of Hyalinus’s sun with a probe. It also did not go unnoticed when Mr. Sulu alluded to the asteroid’s vegetation as a way to decontaminate the environment. Again, a reference to his botanical knowledge in TOS’s episode “The Man Trap”. Spock has yet another surprise. We learn of a different skin tone that exist among 27.2% of the Hyalinus population belonging to an alien race somewhere in the neighborhood of their asteroid. In particular, Sekara’s skin tone indicates she is one of them. Do you confront Sekara about her origins not knowing if she even realizes she is different from the rest? A question Spock poses to Counselor McKennah. It is determined to be too risky without knowing how she or the native Hyalinis will react.

A personal visit with Kirk reinforces developing mutual affections by discussing her experience with color. As Sekara puts it “There are so many of them”. And there is no doubt left in my mind Vic knows just how to turn on the charm as Kirk, using the meaning of color to seduce Sekara. This naturally leads to a kiss; it’s the empirical TOS equation: A beautiful woman + private quarters + proximity to Captain Kirk + some awkward admissions = sexual tension + loving embrace + seductive music = downright passionate kissing. Just one of many ways Vic and Elizabeth have nailed this scene. Oh, and “Purple”. (Factoid: Kirk becomes romantically entangled with a woman in one out of every 4 TOS episodes.)

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Once the Enterprise locates radio signals announcing the existence of the alien race we have something tangible. We see two ships, shuttle pods heading to Hyalinus with humanoid life, 12 travelers. Not a welcome sign for Hyalinus as they will not have them, firing warning shots with their defensive orbiting weapon at the ships and prompting Kirk to destroy the weapon. Sekara can now confirm these travelers are Abicians, and according to her, a savage race. “Are they criminals, or are they refugees?” asks Kirk. “They are invaders” she says. There is skepticism from Kirk as he probes further. What I was struck by is the willingness for the Captain to assume these “invaders” were benign rather than remain neutral in his beliefs. He has nothing to go by and if anything, could be swayed by the information he’s received thus far from the Hylinis. What I enjoyed was the spunk exuded by Sekara in response to Kirk’s position on this. It made for some good mild contention, pitting his beliefs, assumptions and hopes against engrained distrust. Sekara believed her parents, diplomats to Hyalinus, were murdered by Ambicians when in fact, she is Ambician; it was the Hyalini that killed them. Very ironic and twisted indeed, a clear case of poisoned thinking. By dropping a bombshell about her true origins, Kirk forces Sekara to see what she truly is, a genuine person not to be feared and not to be hated: “And you are the opposite of what you believe…of what you’ve been told”. Classic Trek script writing!

John de Lancie was Q-ishly delicious. His lecturing of Kirk who questions the preparedness of the Hyalinis to shed their racial preference put him right on a pedestal where he debates the Captain about the audacity of justifying the Prime Directive given the circumstances. “Granting entrance to some is an invitation for all”, viewing Abicians as a “scourge”. This was clearly meant to draw parallels with contemporary problems of mass migration and emigration. As the debate heats up, Kirk phrases a line we’ve heard in a different form: “You can’t condemn the many for the crimes of a few.” Not to be outdone, de Lancie delivers a most clever rebuttal: “You condemn the many for the crimes of none. Who do you think you are?". Kirk was noticeably intimidated. The performance of these two were stellar and this was a great tribute to the “many-to-few-or-the-one” lines heard in “Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan”. 

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Fear versus anger. The encounter with Galisti has left Kirk torn on the decision of affording help or withholding it. This is tackled in a conversation that follows between McKenna and Kirk. To her, the underlying driver in Kirk’s emotional state is his concern that Sekara will be seen by the Hyalini as an alien, to be cast off once they can see in full color. McKenna poses this echoing his own words: “So is it justice to deny them aid? To turn our backs on desperate people with nowhere else to go?”, setting off a light bulb in Kirk’s head. Realizing this, she exclaims “Damn, I’m good”. Cute. Some have questioned the introduction of a ship’s Counselor in the TOS timeline but this scene is where I believe it has provided an added element of conscience for Kirk and the crew, as well as an echo of our own collective conscience.

We see Sekara with Chekov on a tour of the ship and the Engineering room. His bouncing enthusiasm at the opportunity to escort Sekara, and Scotty’s reaction to the whole thing was a light-hearted moment that made me smile. But this quickly turns dead serious when Sekara realizes the implication of using the stellar probe and what could happen as the population recognizes who lives among them. To her it could all turn sour and so she decides to grab a laser tool that could destroy the probe. Kirk overhears the commotion and races to Engineering just in time to persuade Sekara to reconsider. "Could you go back to a world without color?" he asks. Her fear: “Their eyes will change but their hearts may not.” Very powerful words and again, excellent writing. At a deeper level, those words have a meaning beyond the light spectrum.

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The episode climax has Kirk, Spock and Bones appearing before the Hylani council with the news that the probe was launched. Before Kirk can reveal this to Galisti, he first must prepare them for what is to come. Telling them there are Abicians among them, Galisti responds "You would have us doubt our resolve....holding our salvation hostage?" KIrk ponders "What does it mean to be worthy?" And this brings us to the essence of this story, the title of the episode, as echoed by Kirk: "There is an old saying. A ship in the harbor is safe. But that's not what ships are for." The best of Kirk is on display and now its time for the Hyalini to be lectured, to understand that belonging to a community of starfaring peoples they must venture out, to achieve and embrace what is different, to not hide within the security of their walls: "Do you serve the hope, or have you twisted it to serve you...this is your moment". Vic really delivers on these lines and once again, he's preaching classic Trek. In a brilliant come-back only possible from de Lancie, Galista retorts "And now will you launch the probe?" And to the Hyalinis chagrin, the probe had been launched. A wonderful plot twist and a speech reminiscent of the one Kirk gave in the TOS episode "Omega Glory".

The effects of the probe's transformation is witnessed in all of its poly-chromatic glory. And another plot twist, but this one much more impactful. With the Abicians now in full-view, we see Thaius is one of them. Poor Galista! He is appalled and yet he was warned, but not prepared. His utter repulsion of his adoring wife is horrifying. I actually didn't expect such an extreme reaction of someone who exhibited such love and devotion. Still, we react with such extreme emotion when we learn someone we trust isn't what we believed them to be. By Thaius's own admission, she always knew her origins. Astondingly, it is the Abicians that have the key to the society's repair and the Captain intends to ensure that the Hyalinis rely on them to bring things in balance, for both the Hylanus and Abician worlds. As Spock points out to Galista "They are what you would become". With Sekara and her ability to be that bridge and bond, this can now happen. Thaius: "There is no them anymore" and Sekara: "Only us". A fitting message, as a global society living on a single planet we all should heed.

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There were interesting Easter eggs in this episode. It did not go unnoticed that Sulu had an affinity towards the asteroid’s vegetation. Again, a reference to his interest in botany in TOS’s episode “The Man Trap”. Even something as mundane as the comradery, background busy-work, and chitchat (something a fan called “weighted dialog”) that occurs when the landing party walks to the transporter room invokes such fond memories of TOS. A fan on the Star Trek Continues Official Group Facebook site puts it eloquently about this story: “emotional resonance of ‘The Paradise Syndrome’ with the social commentary of ‘A Taste of Armageddon’”.

Just two personal observations. The first is how color blindness is dealt with. I've been told by knowledgeable folks with first hand experience that discerning between skin tones may or may not be possible, depending on the severity of the colorblindness. Since Hyalinus has an induced condition and not a genetic defect of one's cones and rods, it is plausible the Hyalinis could distinguish the differences once exposed to color.

The second is the proximity of rocky debris to Hyalinus. With so much junk surrounding the asteroid (which, by the way, has an atmosphere and should be considered a planetoid), I would expect these bodies to become disturbed and plunge down to the asteroid's surface causing great damage. However, neither of these two "facts" caused me any appreciable concern with the integrity of the story.

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The acting was nothing short of stellar. I honestly enjoyed each and every performance. Some have indicated they thought de Lancie may have been a bit over the top during the end scene but I did not. I felt the reaction he displayed is something quite expected. Anyone in such a situation would exhibit utter aggravation with intense anger once they discover their spouse is not who they appeared to be. And the keyword here is “appeared”. All superficial.

The cast included Vic Mignogna (Captain Kirk), Todd Haberkorn (Cmdr. Spock), Chuck Huber (Dr. McCoy), Chris Doohan (Lt. Cmdr. Scott), Grant Imahara (Lt. Sulu), Kim Stinger (Lt. Uhura), Wyatt Lenhart (Lt. Chekov), Michele Specht (Lt. McKennah), Kipleigh Brown (Lt. Smith), and Cat Roberts (Lt. Palmer). The cast gives an appearance of being comfortable in their roles and seem to gel well. Vic fits Kirk like a glove. Spock is right on point (with the ears of course!). McCoy captures the essence of McCoy. Chekov is dead on. Uhura is just right. McKennah is a good addition. Scotty, is, well, how can you go wrong if you are the wee lad of a Engineer Scotsman? The cast as a whole have a chemistry that you feel on screen as well as in real life with social media and at conventions. Perhaps this is because it is borne from a place of love for Star Trek. After all, that is what brought them all together on this mission (literally).

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KipLeigh Brown (right) who is a regular cast member and an incredibly talented writer created the teleplay. There were no loose ends from what I could tell. Her finesse of dialog and plot puts her among the Star Trek elite writers in my book. Vic Mignogna, James Kerwin, and Brown also collaborated on the story. This episode, like the others, blends the original music, sound effects, and sets of the Enterprise seamlessly and incorporates CGI on par with today’s standard, giving the production a “fresh” look. The episode was magnificently directed by Vic. Make-up artistry was second to none thanks to the brilliance of Lisa Hansell (left) who also serves as Producer along with Matt Bucy, Larry Hastings, Ralph M. Miller, and Kasey Shafsky as Co-Producers, Steven Dengler as Co-Executive Producer and Vic as Executive Producer, and many, many others serving in specialty roles of the crew who make this a professional production. Lisa even gets a small role as a crewman (an unnamed navigator) in this episode who I kiddingly named 'Pokey' Giberol (a nod to Roc Ingersol in Galaxy Quest). She can drive starships too!

This is the Star Trek I am familiar with having the best traditions of writing, scenery, acting, and flawless execution. Some may believe it’s “your father’s Trek”, and they would be right. You walk away contemplating a message and there is a moral undertone to each story with social and political commentary. It is not meant to be politically correct. It is meant to be the vision of Gene Roddenberry, driven by neither corporate ratings nor profit. This was an achievement and they managed to entertain a lot of people. If I may borrow a line from Carl Sagan and rephrase it: “These are some of the things that Star Trek fans do, given 50 years since TOS was a weekly program we all enjoyed.”

Star Trek Continues is a fan-made web series based on the
continuing mission of Star Trek: The Original Series. It covers
years 4 and 5 of the mission.
Its objective is to bring to a graceful conclusion
The Original Series.

You will find details and all webisodes released to date at
www.startrekcontinues.com

Gary A. Brown is a Trekkie from the start and a budding sci-fi TV series and movie reviewer

in his free time.  As a student enrolled in an Astronomy program at Hayden Planetarium

in New York City one summer, he met Issac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke

in closed quarters. Together, they were a trip and it left him enthused to engage
in all aspects of science and sci-fi. So why is he working in IT?