Star Trek Flashback: The Return of the Archons

One drawback of the classic TV show model, which produced 20+ or even 30+ episodes a year, is how quickly those episodes had to be made. If the sets look cheap? Well, the team probably had only hours to build it. If the actors seem wooden? They might have had just one or two takes before they had to move on? If the script doesn't make sense? There probably wasn't time to iron out the story in a new draft. To some extent, all these problems hound the original Star Trek episode "The Return of the Archons."

The Enterprise visits a planet where a brainwashed populace blindly obeys the will of a mysterious and unseen ruler, Landru. When an encounter with a landing party leaves Sulu pacified and another crewman missing, Kirk and company have no choice but to solve the mystery of Landru.

In my eyes, "The Return of the Archons" is not a particularly good episode of Star Trek. But you do see hints of the really good episode it might have been if they'd just had more time to make it. There's a Star Trek morality play at the core, a message about what happens when free will is given over to a powerful government (and more specifically relevant to today, to artificial intelligence). The episode marks the first of several times that Captain Kirk "talks a computer to death." It seems at least possible that, decades later, this episode might have inspired the film franchise The Purge.

But so much about the episode is not fully cooked. Let's start with that Purge-like "Festival" we learn about in the opening act, where for one night, the citizens of this planet engage in a violent bacchanal. Absolutely nothing about this is made clear. Does this happen periodically, or every night? Why are people inside buildings unaffected? (Or is it that they're older?)

Most importantly, what purpose does this Festival serve? Landru's control over society seems rather complete, and it's never suggested that the Festival is a failure of his abilities, a necessary concession to human urges, a consequence of the actions against him by the resistance, or any other explanation of any kind. Indeed, at the end of the episode, when Landru's control has been broken, the team of sociologists left behind by the Enterprise reports that violence has broken out among the once-peaceful population, as though this was an unprecedented development. The Festival is a clever gimmick, but it cuts completely against the rest of the story, both narratively and metaphorically. It seems certain that, had they had just one more week to work on the script, it would have been either integrated more logically, or cut.

In the course of the story, we learn that the people of this planet are mind-controlled by Landru. (Though we never learn how this control is asserted.) We also learn of people who are immune to Landru's control. Allegedly. They don't seem particularly motivated to do much to stop Landru, acting as cowed in their own way as the brainwashed masses. Is this all part of the system? Are they actually immune? If so, how and why? The episode isn't interested in any of this -- not for the potential intellectual puzzle, nor the exploration of how dissent is quelled in a fascist society. This is the stuff of prime Star Trek, but this episode just isn't interested in any of it.

When Sulu is brainwashed in the opening teaser, it's a rapid rush into the plot of the episode, paced more like a modern episode of television than the slow build of other episodes thus far. But the extent of his control is never explored. Is he a danger to the ship? When McCoy is brainwashed later on, he's a threat to the rest of the landing party who must be dealt with. But Sulu is also among other people who are "not of the body" of Landru, and apparently does nothing about it.

The performances are all over the map. DeForest Kelley goes 10 out of 10 with a manic, screaming performance; George Takei embraces the persona of a stoned hippie with equal commitment. Both probably could have used a few more takes to find a more realistic pitch. Some guest stars are giving uncharacteristically grounded and realistic performances; others feel like they're reading their lines off of cue cards. One or two extra days in the shooting schedule might have done wonders to improve the episode, even with the script as written.

The episode doesn't feel cheap. It films extensively on a studio backlot, with dozens of stunt performers, period costumes for everyone, a rather elaborate dungeon set, and more. But then when we get to the big reveal, that Landru is actually a computer, the money simply runs out. The computer doesn't even look as "convincing" as the consoles of the Enterprise, and the sad spray of sparks and smokes that marks its "death" are woefully small for the defeat of the episode's ultimate villain.

Other observations: 

• There's a great new effects shot in the remastered version, zooming down from the Enterprise in orbit to an aerial view of the city below.

• Some Star Trek fixtures are coming into focus. Here, the ship's defenses are "shields" (not "screens"). And we get the first mention of Starfleet's "Prime Directive" of non-interference -- though it's a bit muddled with Landru's own "prime directive" being discussed in the same episode.

• You can definitely tell with these classic Star Trek episodes that they were made for a time when audiences for another program would switch channels after a half-hour show and join in to an hour show midway through. Kirk always has a helpful log entry at the halfway point to recap everything that's happened.

• The moment Landru is destroyed, a de-programmed Sulu is ready to go back to work. When did he change back into his uniform?

There are enough neat aspects of "The Return of the Archons" that I don't actually think it's a bad episode. But it's such a jumble of misplaced and half-finished thoughts that I don't find it a good one, either. I give it a C+.