"Spectre of the Gun" Full Reaction! - Star Trek: The Original Series Season 3
Added 2024-09-06 18:00:03 +0000 UTCFollow along using your own copy of the episode!
Comments
It's on my must see list!
bunnytails
2024-12-14 06:26:23 +0000 UTCYes, watch the movie Tombstone for a different perspective of the Earps and Clantons. Great script and great cast.
Timothy Bennett
2024-12-12 02:04:00 +0000 UTCI think what he meant was, "you look absolutely great on both of them."
John DiGiantomasso
2024-09-08 01:57:25 +0000 UTCI like this episode overall. When a kid, I thought, "Hey they ran out of money for the sets", which I'm sure was a thing. I've seen other Sci-Fi shows of the time do something similar when they couldn't afford to build a full set, but it works here. Trek was always meant to be a hopeful view of the future. I'm sure by now you've seen Roddenberry's hard nose line on the writers on leaving human faults out of the Starfleet characters and only put them on the aliens. A lot more difficult to create drama that way. It's something the 'new' Trek, a-hem, is severely lacking, along with competent writers.
Mark Gosine
2024-09-07 23:13:19 +0000 UTCI love that hexalogy. I couldn't wait for the next Donaldson release in my book club. I recommended it once, to a female friend. She had a totally different reaction to the first book. She didn't like it at all. To each their own, but I think the main character's angst and the one rape scene (not graphic or detailed) was too much for her. Granted it was a controversial thing, especially at the time, but this one scene was central to the following story line. Such a great series. Been 50 years, but I need to read it again. Now, who can forget the giant Seafoam.
Mark Gosine
2024-09-07 23:09:15 +0000 UTCIt's on my radar now for sure :)
bunnytails
2024-09-07 17:43:16 +0000 UTCI am not really looking for recommended books QUITE yet since by the time I finish the ones I have I will probably forget what was recommended to me. I will try to keep Ready Player One in mind, though. I've heard about it so many times over the years.
bunnytails
2024-09-07 17:42:40 +0000 UTCYou see no difference? Well that sucks cause this lens is like $300 more than the old one that broke. 😭
bunnytails
2024-09-07 17:41:32 +0000 UTCI like your idea for the mind meld not being complete on Kirk!
bunnytails
2024-09-07 17:40:42 +0000 UTCI definitely have Tombstone on my radar now!
bunnytails
2024-09-07 17:31:31 +0000 UTCI am learning more and more about the core of what makes Star Trek so special as I go. :)
bunnytails
2024-09-07 17:30:12 +0000 UTCThanks!
bunnytails
2024-09-07 17:29:19 +0000 UTCI was thinking the same thing! Season 3 has been pretty strong so far!
bunnytails
2024-09-07 17:26:36 +0000 UTCI'd say with series like Harry Potter, Goosebumps, and Animorphs being so well-loved at the time, us Millennials love to read. We loved when the Scholastic book fair came to our schools.
bunnytails
2024-09-07 17:25:32 +0000 UTCI also found myself wondering why the Federation is so keen on risking a very expensive starship and one of their best captains/crew like that.
bunnytails
2024-09-07 17:19:38 +0000 UTCThat novel you're reading does sound very interesting, especially since I'm on a Rome stint lately. I usually read fiction, though maybe I should get into some non-fiction as well.
bunnytails
2024-09-07 17:11:02 +0000 UTCI learned about the existence of the movie Tombstone when I was doing some light searching regarding the OK Corral event. And now I do wanna watch it :D
bunnytails
2024-09-07 17:08:35 +0000 UTCThanks dave!
bunnytails
2024-09-07 17:02:45 +0000 UTCWe haven't made it to the 23rd century yet so there is still hope for us to learn how to coexist by that time. We can hope!
bunnytails
2024-09-07 17:02:25 +0000 UTCHappy Friday!
bunnytails
2024-09-07 16:53:22 +0000 UTCVil Kilmer played Doc Holiday. But he is admittedly very Johnny Depp-esque.
John DiGiantomasso
2024-09-07 15:18:29 +0000 UTCGreat episode, I remember it from when I was in middle school. This episode sparked an interest in the old west that lasts to this day. Awesome reaction Bunny, in "Tombstone "Doc Holiday" is played incredibly well by Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell as Wyat Earp is legendary for the mustache!
ded cowbowee
2024-09-07 14:44:32 +0000 UTC"Tombstone" is definitely a must watch! After the "gunfight", whatever political faction held sway in town determined who was the cause of it, in the wrong. Sometimes the Clantons were martyrs, sometimes villian
ded cowbowee
2024-09-07 13:30:25 +0000 UTCCan we all get together and lobby Bunny to make her next movie review "Tombstone"?
Carlos Stevens
2024-09-07 06:47:31 +0000 UTCSeriously Bunny, you have to do a movie review of "Tombstone." ..and maybe "Ready Player One."
Carlos Stevens
2024-09-07 06:43:38 +0000 UTC"that hopefulness... " Bunny, You are so going to love TNG.
Carlos Stevens
2024-09-07 06:41:34 +0000 UTCOk, maybe not as terrible as I remember.
Carlos Stevens
2024-09-07 06:40:30 +0000 UTCBunny, after this episode, you might want to add the movie "Tombstone" to your list of movies to watch. Really really REALLY good western movie. Johnny Depp as Doc Holiday was just EPIC!
Carlos Stevens
2024-09-07 06:02:42 +0000 UTCHmmm... So you're looking for books to read? May I suggest the Thomas Covenant series, by Stefan R. Donaldson? (many people can't get through the first book, and I understand...But, if you push through it, it's the best book series since the Lord Of The Rings)... Or if you want to get into GenX/Boomer fan service books... Ready Player One. The book is about 1000 times better than the movie... and yes, you should do a review of the movie.
Carlos Stevens
2024-09-07 05:48:27 +0000 UTC...AAAAND... Space Cowboys. Seriously... this is the episode that made me realize that there was something amiss in the Star Trek world. Fortunately there were sufficient good episodes that redeemed the franchise. And on another note... Seriously Bunny, I see no difference in your camera. Don't sweat the small stuff. Just do the best you can. We all appreciate you.
Carlos Stevens
2024-09-07 05:40:26 +0000 UTCThere are numerous episodes in season 3 that I haven't seen in many years or at all. This episode was the latter. I really like the alien design, and the script was pretty strong, but I think this episode would have benefited from being on location instead of a set. I think the execution (pardon the pun lol) could have been better. I also thought the Vulcan mind-meld was somewhat of a cop-out. It would have been so bad-ass if Spock ran out of time to mind-meld with Kirk, and Spock was just like, "Jim, you must believe that the bullets won't hurt you." And Kirk somehow makes it through. I SWEAR Sulu was in the gunfight this episode! I thought I saw him in the thumbnail. UGH.
SuicuneSol
2024-09-07 04:27:59 +0000 UTCI love your fence comment! That never occurred to me. Of course, the fence was part of the same artificial construct as the bullets, so it had to be affected by them.
Lee
2024-09-07 03:24:47 +0000 UTCI always liked this one as a kid. It was supposed to be filmed on one of Hollywood's many western backlots but the money wasn't there. So they whipped up a simulation set, which does work here. As a kid I was fascinated that THE FENCE believed the bullets were real. I struggled with the fact that if our heroes knew they did not exist, why did their reality reveal bullet holes in the fence? And, with our "heroes" being the Clantons, I always thought they were the good guys in the real conflict. To clarify, the Clantons were an outlaw gang, and the town sheriff "tolerated" them. The Earps, and Doc Holiday, were Federal Marshalls, responsible for law enforcement in Arizona Territory before it was ever a state. So when the locals didn't confront the Ckanton gang the Earps did. Like today if the FBI set up shop in a town to busr a crime gang, more or less. The movie Tombstone starring Kurt Russell as Wyatt and Val Kilmer as Doc is excellent. Doc Holiday steals every scene he is in; you'll learn a lot about him. You sould do a reaction of that one! Just forget all the "non-historical" stuff you learned in this Star Trek reaction. Great reaction, as always. And you are right about the message of hope. Back in the sixties, the Cold War was very real. People thought the world could end at any moment. Commies were evil and bad and were out to kill us all, unless we could kill them first. The threat wasn't global warming or nature, it was other men. And we had the wespons to kill them all. As they had the weapons to kill us. The only hope was if we could find some way to change and overcome our fear, amimosity, hatred, and violent tendencies. Star Trek showed us what that might look like.
John DiGiantomasso
2024-09-07 03:02:24 +0000 UTCYou absolutely understand why so many of us looked to this hopeful message growing up. Friendship, tolerance, loyalty. Glad you liked the episode, it was always a favorite of mine, strange, surreal, and plenty of good character moments. Still some strong episodes to come! Lens works great! Don’t let a noisy few discourage you. Bunny is a diamond.
Trilogian
2024-09-07 01:38:43 +0000 UTCI've always loved this episode. The last few minutes is the philosophy and message of Star Trek. Behind the scenes, the casting director kicked himself for years for rejecting future Oscar winner Liza MInelli, who came and read for the role of Sylvia. Your comments really touched me. The 60s was a turbulent confusing time. Star Trek said we would grow out of our violent tendencies. Many fans feel with the similar situation we find ourselves in today, the time for Star Trek and it gentle message of hope has come again.
Mark Chrisco
2024-09-07 00:54:02 +0000 UTCSo far, the conventional wisdom regarding the low quality of Season Three episodes has been proven questionable, if not outright false: of the six stories that Bunny has reacted to, I'd rate four of them as very good or excellent, one of them a guilty pleasure ("Spock's Brain"), and the last one arguably the worst episode in the entire series. That's an impressive ratio. We'll see how long it holds up as Bunny charges forward. In my opinion, this one is tied with "The Enterprise Incident" for the top spot so far. Even though the themes and certain plot elements are familiar, I think the surreal Tombstone sets and historical setting are distinctive enough to make it worthy of high regard. Despite Star Trek's 23rd century timeframe, the main characters were created to be relatable to a late-60s viewing audience and, as such, the emphasis on adopting non-violence was aspirational. The Viet Nam war and ongoing civil rights conflicts, along with the tragic assassinations of several popular national figures, made for a tumultuous and bloody decade. Kirk was presented as a model of enlightened thinking that still had to contend with his own violent impulses from time to time, but usually managed to overcome them. Sadly, our world's ongoing lethal conflicts indicate that we as a people aren't ready to adopt non-violence.
Lee
2024-09-06 21:36:36 +0000 UTCRoddenberry wrote for many shows before becoming a producer, and several of them were Westerns (he wrote 24 episodes of "Have Gun - Will Travel"; despite the title, the main character preferred to settle conflicts without resorting to violence, but the demands of network television ensured that someone was getting punched, if not shot), but he has no directing credits to his name.
Lee
2024-09-06 21:07:03 +0000 UTCThe Melkotian voice was provided by Abraham Sofaer; he previously appeared as the disembodied Thasian in "Charlie X."
Lee
2024-09-06 20:55:15 +0000 UTCThat's good Bunny more power to ya -reading actual books! millennials today say "what's that ? "🤔
dave zink
2024-09-06 20:44:23 +0000 UTCYeppers, I like the lens, seems better. No problem with the reading. I have a brand new Peter F Hamilton novel "Exodus" which seems to be based on the the upcoming game release Exodus from Mass Effect. Sept.17th release for the book. I'm a great Peter F Hamilton fan (as well as others). Re reading Pandoras Star and Judas Unchained part 2 of 2. BIG LONG books . * Spectere, I liked and re like the episode. The colors and sets are gorgeous and I do like the story. Proper and suspenseful. Great fun in an altered sense of reality kinda way. I liked the Star Trek rant at the end, means a lot, says a lot, should be more a lot. People act like Festival with Landru, pushed like Val from the Apple, and deceived with crap like Melakon from the Nazi episode. No wonder they get turned. Not easy. Take heart, we're getting there,in spite of the "whatever it's called this week".
timothy w moyer
2024-09-06 20:19:24 +0000 UTCOthers have commented on some of the themes and ideas here so I'll agree with all of that. This is a favorite episode for me -- not Top 10, but up there, and one of the strongest IMHO from Season 3. You had all the usual trademarks of Star Trek -- great guest acting, good music, nice writing, good acting and emotions between all of the crew members. Gene had a background in Westerns -- he had pitched Star Trek to NBC as 'Wagon Train to the stars' -- so of course there was going to be a Western themed episode. I'm just surprised it took them to Season 3. LOL Again, this must have been a cheap episode to made, as Western's were all the rage in 60's. This is not the first time the Federation has sent someone or a starship to make contact with someone regardless of the danger -- and it won't be the last. I question this sometimes, saying why the Feds are being so aggressive in violating the wishes of other races even if they have good intentions, but it's a plot staple for many episodes in the franchise. The Mind Meld solution at the end is one of those 'of course, it's so simple, why didn't I think of that?' when your first watching the episode. :) So the Gunfight at OK Corral did happen, and the people in this show are all from that fampus even, with some liberties taken and all that. Actual shoot outs in the old west were very rare, despite what Hollywood and fiction wants you to think. But the OK Corral was one of the few times it actually DID happen. You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunfight_at_the_O.K._Corral Once again Kirk had that same message at the end 'Yes, I wanted to kill. We are from a race of killers. i just have to say to myself each day that i won't kill today'. It's how they overcame those feelings and instincts that are still present. This was DeForest Kelley's third trip to the O.K. Corral. Previously, he had appeared in an episode of You are There as Ike Clanton. Then he played Morgan Earp in the 1957 film, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Very great and passionate speach at the end Bunny, and I agree with you fully.
Greg Polander
2024-09-06 19:54:50 +0000 UTCGreat inside jokes: Spock says "fascinating" during the opening scene as the buoy closes in @ Kirk gives him a look. And Spock steals a "he's dead Jim" from McCoy. Doohan's voice as the Melkotian is excellent. I like this episode for the VR and plot of the O.K. Corral gunfight. As far as historical memory goes, this episode soured me on Wyatt Earp for a long time. The real story is that the Clantons and McLaurys were bonafide outlaws and the Earps' actions were totally justified. I never read "Lord of the Flies". My teacher was an "Animal Farm" person. You can say, broadly, that "Animal Farm" is the anticommunist while "Lord of the Flies" is the antifascist book. I never liked Orwell, at least not his novels, his essays are great, but thanks for reminding me about Golding. I'm currently reading "Atlas of Empires: The World's Great Powers from Ancient Times to Today" by Peter Davidson. Lots of maps and good discussion. Bunny seeing the alien spacecraft got us a great joke about the lava lamp colors, like the slowly changing colors in bunny's studio! Beautiful dress on Chekhov's girlfriend!
William Terry
2024-09-06 19:43:53 +0000 UTCA pretty good episode. Not quite great IMO, but there’s a lot to like. The behind the scenes reality is that the reduced budget precluded a realistic, looking western set, so it’s kind of genius that they worked those limitations into the story itself. Some good acting too. There’s still some of that repeated dialogue that is sometimes see in Coon/Cronin’s scripts, but it’s not as bad as in Spock’s Brain. I predict you will be inundated with recommendations for a movie called Tombstone in the comments section for this episode, since you expressed an interest in the setting. It IS a pretty fun movie, and an interesting contrast with this episode as it is told from the Earp’s POV.
Matthew Graves
2024-09-06 19:35:35 +0000 UTCHi Bunny - Hope you're doing well today -this is an all right episode - I heard that Gene Roddenberry directed westerns before Star Trek - they were really popular back then- Gunsmoke , Bonanza, The Rifleman etc. thus the similarity-anyway we're closer to some awesome episodes coming up- Thanks again for the reaction - lots a love♥️♥️
dave zink
2024-09-06 19:35:16 +0000 UTCAs mentioned before, "Lee Cronin" was the pen name for Gene Coon, so that Season Two residue can largely be credited to his script for this episode. Even if we didn't know that Coon wrote this, the recurring themes of compassion and deciding not to kill are such hallmarks of his that we would have to note his influence on the writer.
Lee
2024-09-06 19:25:17 +0000 UTCSpectre of the Gun: Yes, agreed, this is another strong episode from Season 3. The impressionistic, Western-themed sets (forced by budget) create a surreal feeling that just makes the episode seem more intimate. 2 main directives were in order for Season 3: one from Gene Roddenberry: less "chumminess" from the Captain to his subordinates. This might be why Kirk addresses Spock as "science officer" twice. The other was from NBC: no more Earth-like planet episodes! And right off the bat, we get the "American West" episode, lol. This episode is most closely related to Season 2 because it was the first episode shot for Season 3 and I think some of that fantastic season rubbed off on Spectre of the Gun. All that being said, the thing I most wanted to say was, Bunny, how impactful your end comments were. Man, I got emotional listening to you. Star Trek's message was one of compassion and understanding and we can only hope it will somehow resonate in all of us, here today and, maybe, even far into the future...
Skyman's Follies
2024-09-06 19:11:54 +0000 UTCnice lens!
Skyman's Follies
2024-09-06 18:01:55 +0000 UTCOhh I've been looking forward to seeing your reaction to this one! Happy Friday, Bunny!
Bret K
2024-09-06 18:01:33 +0000 UTC
