"The Enterprise Incident" Full Reaction! - Star Trek: The Original Series Season 3

It was the early seventies, and I got to choose what to watch one night during dinner; of a family of eight. The corner of the kitchen was a small black and white 10” tv. This was the episode we watched. The family thought the Vulcan death grip was funny, and when the intimate scene with the Romulan commander and Spock happened, with the weird hand rubbing, my sister asked, “what the heck was that?” I immediately interjected, “Why, that was the Vulcan love grip”. I was pleased it was received with a round of laughter; especially from a 9-year-old. I’m here all week; try the veal. Also, while watching this episode today (A bit late and catching up), I really noticed the color. A Mucho use of color, but not as gaudy as I would have expected. Something that would’ve been missed on a BW tv. A very good episode. Always enjoyable to watch. This reminds me, and I will mention it again at the end of this season, to watch Star Trek Continues following season 3. I cannot recommend it more highly, and it will continue the 5-year journey for another 13 episodes. It is the best of the best, and I am happy I contributed to the production financially. Others may disagree. However, the production, acting, and story lines are top tier. So many professionals involved in the loving tribute. I hope you get the air fixed. That’s tough when it happens,

Mark Gosine

Ack! Spoilers. It was all I could do not to mention this.

Mark Gosine

Search Google for Amy Rydell Romulan, and you will see her appearing identical to her mother's character. She did appear in an episode of ST:Continues as her mother's character.

Dave Riley

A weird episode, but you sussed it almost instantly. Dorothy’s episodes always focus on Spock and his complexity. I don’t care for the underhanded nature of the Fed’s mission to get a cloaking device, and I think the Federation actually later had a treaty where they would not use the technology. Romulans and Klingons began sharing technology. The Vulcan technique of Tal-shaya was a form of “merciful execution” in ancient times. It broke the neck instantly, but it was not a “Death Grip”. A Romulan Centurion is a high rank, not sure it has anything to do with age or experience. Spock’s interest in the Romulan Commander was genuine, even though he knew it could never be.

Trilogian

I think I'll go with that explanation for the Centurion bit. It makes sense!

bunnytails

That's cool that her daughter cosplays as her!

bunnytails

Others have said they no longer had access to the Romulan ship's model and didn't have the time/funds to create a new one.

bunnytails

Thanks! I don't know why I just assumed Centurion had to do with years. I've never heard of this rank before.

bunnytails

Okay, yeah the warp numbers confuse me a bit. I remember in a previous episode Scotty protesting saying that going warp 8(? Can't remember the exact number) would be too much and would eventually break up the ship. I made a mental note that warping at that speed would be extremely rare and dangerous. Then we are just casually going warp 9, I was like WHAT??

bunnytails

You're welcome!

bunnytails

Thanks, makes a lot more sense now!

bunnytails

Thanks for the clarification :)

bunnytails

Yes, she was fantastic!

bunnytails

Ahh thanks!

bunnytails

Luckily this week it will be in the 90s, and no longer over 100 degrees outside!

bunnytails

Great!

bunnytails

Awesome!

bunnytails

Okay, thank you!

bunnytails

Ohh wow! Okay, makes sense!

bunnytails

Ahhh thanks!

bunnytails

Thanks! Yeah I loved this one!

bunnytails

I also loved it!

bunnytails

As far as why the Romulans wouldn't know their own Centurions used to really bug me as just too convenient for the plot. But I've explained it to myself by assuming that, with THREE Romulan ships surrounding the Enterprise, perhaps they were assuming Kirk-in-disguise was a Centurion from one of the other two ships, maybe temporarily attached to the Commander's flagship during this unexpected incident. Otherwise, it isn't explained. There is actually a lot of questions unanswered but, since it's such a cool episode, we just roll with it. For instance, did Kirk REALLY have to have plastic surgery in order to pull this off? Still, a really fun plot device! Fans have always loved the Romulan Commander in this episode. Unfortunately, we she is never given a name. But like in Balance of Terror, the Romulans and Federation officers do seem to have a kind of military respect for each other, even though they are sworn enemies. I always liked that aspect. They seemed to "understand" each other, at least as soldiers. And even though the Federation did NOT have female captains or commanders (at least in those days), Star Trek could still show women believably in high-ranking positions, albeit in other cultures. This episode was loosely based on the actual Pueblo Incident involving the USS Pueblo, an US Navy spy ship and a North Korean ship during the Vietnam War, just a few months before this episode was produced... a recent current event at the time.

J. Scott Phillips

I hope your A/C gets fixed. The new refrigerants are the basic cause. They accelerate degradation. The old r-12 worked great. I digress 🥴. Wotta great reaction episode!!! 😁. Much as I enjoy a Spock's Brain outfit, The Commander's outfits are very nice eye candy. Oh, Yes, The Cloaking device... a neat story and refining of Spock's Character. 😂. Swirly Swirls. ***. Romulan Commanders Daughter also cosplays as her mom at some conventions. She's identically cute (For a Romulan 😉) It's always a great time to watch your reactions. You're very good at figuring the plot out. Such good stories on a '60's TV budget. Even on a movie budget, very rare to have a good story. Effects? Yeppers. Story? Oh Yeah Those guys... A Favorite episode 🖖

timothy w moyer

The Klingon ship design was used by Romulans for one single reason: either the Klingon models were easier to manipulate and film… or the production company just thought the Klingon ship looked better. I don’t remember which it was… but it was one of them. I’m not joking. The treaty between the 2 sides in this episode was written to accommodate the use of the Klingon ship model by the studio.

Tom Occhipinti

From an online site that has great detail and cross referencing of all things Star Trek inluding every episode aired of every series through this year so far. I won't mention the name, best you avoid accidental spoilers. I copied from that site their definition of centurion. Centurion was a military officer rank, common in many cultures. The rank was used by the ancient Romans on Earth. Roman centurions would occasionally be put in charge of patrolling the various Roman provinces. The Romulan Star Empire also used the rank of centurion. A crew member of the Romulan Bird-of-Prey that destroyed several Earth outposts along the Earth-Romulan Neutral Zone in 2266 was a centurion. (TOS: "Balance of Terror") Captain Kirk infiltrated a Romulan ship as a centurion in order to steal its cloaking device in 2268. (TOS: "The Enterprise Incident") I have to admire your ability to recall detail of the episodes you have seen so far, and to associate how every detail has been put together. I originally watched Star Trek, as a teenager, when it first ran on NBC in the 1960's. Color TV was a brand new thing and there was a lot of "that's cool" appeal that grabbed attention more than the stories. when I first saw them.

Dave Riley

I always really enjoyed this episode -- not a top one for me, but a solid episode. It has a great plot and leaves you wondering what's going on and guessing all the way through, lots of suspense, and great guest acting as always. Also great to see that by the end of the episode you could tell how conflicted Spock was. It was also fun seeing you figure things out Bunny, as your so very good at doing! A lot of what I would say has already been said, so I'll just add a few things: 1) The real world reason why the Romulans are using Klingon ships has already been said. The 'cannon' reason is that the Romulans and Klingons had a short lived treaty in which they shared technology with each other. The Klingons got the cloaking device, and the Romulans a bunch of Klingon ships which they retrofitted. Had this alliance lasted it would have posed a MAJOR shifting of power in the galaxy and made things bad for the Federation. However, the alliance didn't last long, for reasons that are spoilers right now. 2) Also related to the Romulan Cloaking device -- they already had one, this was just a new and improved version that the Federation had no way of tracking. Hence Starfleet, once their intelligence service figured out the Romulans had it, came up with a plan to get their hands on one so they could study it. However, the Federation was prevented by treaty with the Romulans from creating or using their own cloaking devices. 3) Warp 9 is totally a mistake, and one of several that happened during the original series due to the fact the Star Trek 'Bible' was still being made. Top speed of Federation ships during this time was Warp 8, and that was only used for emergencies. Warp 6 was a more common cruising speed. 4) Kirk did say at the end of the episode that the Romulan commander would be dropped off on a Federation planet so she could be returned to the Romulan Empire. They hadn't planned on taking her along, so Kirk tried to make her as comfortable as possible. I agree with you finally that it's always great to get a episode with the Romulans. They are one of my favorite Star Trek races, right behind the Klingons.

Greg Polander

William Terry

A Centurion is a leader responsible for 100 soldiers, as in "century." A good episode. Sadly when they filmed this one, they discovered that the Romulan Bird of Prey model was damaged when filming The Deadly Years - and thers was no time nor money in the budget to get a new model. So, presto-change-o, "The Romulans are using ships of Klingon design!" When they did the CGI remasters, the surrounding ships consist of BOTH Klingon and Romulan designs in the fleet - as there were digital models of both available. But it wasn't that way until the remasters were done.

John DiGiantomasso

The Vulcan Death Grip is a fabrication. Spock simply used the mind meld to put Kirk physiologically into a near death state and pretended it was a 'death grip'. In Journey in Babel, the Vulcan technique Tal'Shaia was actually a mode of merciful execution. The regular neck pinch is simply used to disable an adversary.

3dbadboy1

It's a shame that the writers of the series made a continuity mistake. In Balance of Terror, the Federation did find out about the cloaking device way back then. Also, only a few Romulans had a good look at the Captain so having his look altered was a decent disguise. The name Centurion is simply a higher rank in the Romulan Empire as it was in the Roman Empire.

3dbadboy1

A top tier episode. Bunny, you are definitely NOT “overthinking”. In fact it’s impressive how you picked up on a lot of things that would later be solidified into canon. 1. Romulus ships were SLOW compared to Starfleet and the Klingons. The Romulans traded cloaking tech which was a game changer for Klingon ships which were more battle capable. 2. You have to love Spock getting the chance to be the “one with the riz” in this episode. Kirk gets to show he’s a smooth operator every episode. Spock has game too when he wants to. 3. Joanne Linnvile is one of the GOATs of Trek TOS guest stars. Beautiful, SMOULDERING, and ruthless.

Matthew Graves

I believe the Centurion in Balance of Terror was a political officer. On board to make sure there is no deviation from the wishes of the Romulan Praeter. In that episode he and the Commander had been together so long, they had developed a close friendship. Vulcans have a lifespan of about 250 Earth years.

Mark Chrisco

Great episode! Spock deceives the one lady steals the cloaking device! Hey Bunny we bought a new furnace central air unit in 2022 goes down to 50 degrees in the house in the summer - borrow it any time!

dave zink

I always liked this one too, and the Romulan commander!😊Had fun watching it with you!😋

ded cowbowee

This is one of my favorites!

Mark Amorosi

Loved your reaction, that was fun to watch along! :) You're thinking of the Vulcan Nerve Pinch, sometimes called the Vulcan Neck Pinch. Centurion is a Roman military rank that commanded 100 men, though what it means to the Romulans is not well defined. In Balance of Terror he seemed to be a senior advisor to the Commander (Captain). In this episode and TNG they seem to be mid-level officers below Commanders and Subcommanders.

Bret K

Welcome to the latest edition of Lee's Context Corner, wherein background information and wild speculation mingle to create a post of questionable interest and/or value! This episode was inspired by a real-life event, the capture of the American vessel USS Pueblo by North Korean forces during the Vietnam war. There's no indication that the North Koreans were using cloaking technology at the time, but no doubt there are details about the incident that remain classified to this day. The real-world explanation for the Romulans using Klingon ships is that the original Bird of Prey model had gone missing since the first season. One account suggests that the modelmaker, Wah Chang, who was not part of the propmakers' union and thus could not receive onscreen credit for his work, was given the model back and may have destroyed it himself. Whatever actually happened, it wasn't until the remastered version was made that a Romulan Bird of Prey appeared again on TOS. (The remastered episode also added the bird motif to the underside of the Klingon ships to solidify their Romulan alignment.)

Lee

Centurions are kind of a "non commissioned officer" rank from the Roman Empire, he commanded a "Century" which is a Roman unit, is where the name comes from. And since Romulans are space Romans, they have them too. Remember there were 3 ships, so there were probably dozens of Centurions that a specific crew member might not know from another ship,

Chuck Rice

There are some klunkers in season 3, but there are also good ones like this. Great reaction!

kenneth brown

The day I fell for a Romulan 😍😍 This is one of my favorite episodes.

Anthony Silva