Star Trek: Errand of Mercy

Long, long before Klingons were portrayed as a noble warrior race, or fixated on honor -- and before writer Gene L. Coon could have conceived that Klingons would have more life beyond the script he was rushing to finish that week -- we had "Errand of Mercy."

The Enterprise arrives at the planet Organia shortly ahead of a Klingon invasion, and Captain Kirk is determined to persuade them to stand against it. But the non-technological, stalwartly pacifist Organians are utterly unmoved by Kirk's argument. When the Enterprise is chased away by a Klingon attack, Kirk and Spock must live in cover amongst the Organians. Will the evil Klingon captain Kor see through their ruse? And is there more to the Organians than meets the eye?

This is the first appearance of the Klingons in Star Trek, and to any Trekker who came of age in the era of Next Generation and its spinoffs, there's very little that's recognizable about them. The differences are more than skin-deep -- though to be sure, these Klingons sport (instead of ridges) a slapdash "shoe polish" makeup that inches uncomfortably close to the line of offense. Kor delights in torture, orders mass executions on a whim, and is constantly relying on a "mind sifter" technology we never hear of again. These Klingons, quite plainly, are a villain of the week.

I would point to two reasons the Klingons had life beyond this single episode. One is the way the story ends: the promise that one day, Klingons and the Federation would be fast friends. That's a classic bit of Star Trek morality, and you can't help but want to see that come to pass. (As a bonus, that ending comes after an episode in which we get multiple, classic "we're not so different, you and I" comparisons between Kirk and this bitter enemy.)

The other reason is the performance of actor John Colicos. Kor is not written with subtlety, and Colicos doesn't really bring any to the part. But he plays the villain with a gleeful relish that's just plain fun to watch. (I mean, listen to how he says "vegetable.") The story goes that the Star Trek writers tried twice to bring the character back, but conflicts in Colicos' schedule forced them to create other Klingon captains in his place. Sci-fi fans would have to wait about a decade for Battlestar Galactica to come along and give us Baltar, a regular source of Colicos' winking evil camp. We may not have gotten to see Kor again on the original Star Trek, but he sure did make audiences want to see more Klingons.

The episode does have its shortcomings. It strains belief that Kirk -- and especially Spock -- are utterly incurious about how one of the Organian council members seems to know where the Klingons are without consulting any device, or how the leader Ayelborne manages to free them from prison. I also think it's a shame (though clearly a budgetary necessity) that we don't get to see much of Sulu in command of the Enterprise when he's forced to abandon the landing party.

Also -- to me, this episode feels uncomfortably close to "Arena." Fundamentally, both stories are about Starfleet and an alien enemy at each other's throats until some god-like beings swoop in to teach them both a lesson. At least this time, you do get John Colicos instead of a lizard suit, and that tantalizing "fast friends" ending. 

Other observations:

• "Curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want." That's just a really great line. Even though the most famous line from this episode -- for any child of the 80s, at least -- is Spock's "pure energy," sampled by Information Society for their song "What's on Your Mind."

• Scotty isn't in this episode. (Hence, Sulu taking command.) More strangely, neither is McCoy. (He would be in every remaining episode of the series, though.)

• Allegedly, the baldric worn by Kor in this episode is the exact one that was spruced up and used for Worf in the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. If not literally true, it's clearly at least the inspiration. 

• Spock's ultra-precise stating of the odds feels like a direct touchstone for The Empire Strikes Back. 

Star Trek can hardly be blamed for the Klingons not arriving on the scene fully-formed. "Errand of Mercy" was a story for a particular place and time. But the fact that Klingons changed so much from what we got here maybe highlights the shortcomings of the episode. I give it a B-.