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Star Trek Season 2 Episode 6

The Doomsday Machine

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9.0

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AIRED: 10/20/67

The Enterprise must stop an ancient doomsday weapon that is capable of destroying entire worlds...and has already totaled one Constellation-class cruiser.

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Fan Episode Reviews (11)

The crew of the Starship Enterprise must find a way to stop an ancient planet-killing 'doomsday machine', which has already destroyed the USS Constellation. An exciting episode...

9.5

By Jay-Spacedust, Apr 25, 2011

"The Doomsday Machine" is an exciting, well directed second season episode of the classic series.

As the Constellation is the same design of the Enterprise, it is quite eerie to see it drifting through space, practically destroyed.

One thing that did niggle me was that Uhura for some reason wasn't on the Enterprise bridge, replaced by some other Lieutenant. Part of the appeal of the series for me is the familiarity of the crew, and to suddenly have someone else in her place didn't feel right. But that was only a little thing.

William Windom gives a great performance as Commander Matt Decker, commander of the Constellation who is shell-shocked after the death of his crew and the near destruction of his ship. When he took command of the Enterprise from Mr. Spock, I wished Spock would just break out the Vulcan pinch and get rid of him; I don't think Decker was necessarily a bad commander, just very distraught at the death of his crew.

The climax of the story, with Kirk waiting to be beamed across from the Constellation, which is heading directly into the Doomsday Machine, is real edge-of-the-seat stuff, and one of the most exciting climaxes seen in Original 'Trek'.

Some have commented that the special effects let the episode down slightly (I'm reviewing the original version; I haven't seen the enhanced, re-mastered versions at time of writing); true they might not be the best in places, but at the same time they didn't spoil the episode for me either.

This episode ranks in many fans' Top 10 episode list. It might scrape the upper echelons of mine - although my Top 10 list often changes as I come to appreciate different episodes for different things. But it's certainly a good one, and one of the second season's best.moreless
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Playing chess on the bridge of the Enterprise while an automated planet-killer threatens the most densely populated section of the galaxy.

10

By williamwanker, Apr 25, 2011

I, for one, actually think the allusion to whaling is pretty cool, and to Melville's Moby Dick in particular (I'm embarrassed to admit, however, that I hadn't quite put it together on my own before, even though I must have seen this episode a couple dozen times). I mean, that's what great science fiction-or great fiction, in general-does: makes connections to and draws from archetypal characters and conflicts in order to show the timelessness and immutability of the human "drama". And the Ahab-Moby Dick story is certainly archetypal. As Ricardo Montalban's Khan observes in "Space Seed": "I am surprised how little improvement there has been in human evolution. Oh, there has been technical advancement, but, how little man himself has changed." Since we're on the subject, tell me if this sounds familiar: "I'll chase him round the moons of Nibia and round the Antares maelstrom and round perdition's flames before I give him up!" This, paraphrased from the original: "I'll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition's flames before I give him up."

No idea? Then try another: "To the last, I grapple with thee; from hell's heart, I stab at thee; for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee."

Still no? Google it.

As far as the similarity between the incidental music in "The Doomsday Machine" and the "Jaws" theme by John Williams goes, well-the connection between Jaws and Moby Dick, I believe, has already been firmly established. Quint, of course, is pretty much a modern day Ahab, and the great white is what it is.

I guess, then, it's not a great leap of the imagination to ponder that, perhaps, Williams had seen the Star Trek episode some years before being commissioned to write the Jaws score, and either consciously, or subconsciously, was influenced by Sol Kaplan's thematic music. That's the beauty of the artistic process-borrowing, incorporating, reshaping to fit a similar theme under difference settings and circumstances.

Of course, this is all incidental to what makes "The Doomsday Machine" such a great story and episode. For me, it's the political-who's the biggest monkey-bantering between Decker, Spock and McCoy-and Kirk, to a lesser degree; the delicate chess play over Starfleet rules and regulations, about who's in charge, who's in command of the Enterprise, while there's this automated planet-killer breathing down their necks, threatening the most densely populated section of the galaxy.

In the new Remastered and Enhanced version, the ship exteriors are very good, but Decker now seems a little drunk piloting the shuttlecraft out of the Enterprise's hanger bay; either that, or the guy operating the wires is drunk. Also, the perspective of the take off in the original is better. Rule of thumb: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.moreless
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Shades of Moby Dick...

10

By DojinFan_2K, Apr 25, 2011

This particular episode of Star Trek stands out as the reason that i became a fan of the series ever since i first saw it back in the 80's.

Capt. Kirk must reason with Commodore Decker(William Windom)who was the lone survivor of an attack by an ancient space weapon capable of destroying entire planets and is now on an obsessive vendetta to seek out & destroy the weapon, even though it is virtually invunerable to any attack.

This is one of my all-time favorite episodes of the series & for good reason since i am a big fan of classic Sci-Fi TV shows.moreless
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One of 26 weapons not meant for this world!

9.0

By GeorgeJobson, Nov 28, 2010

One of the best episode of the series, and I got a long way to geo before I saw all 70 epiosdes of the series. that will take a little over a year. but in "the Doomesday Machine" the Enterprise must stop a killing machine from destroying more worlds, including Earth. the commander of the Constullation seize power on the Enterprise and trying to destroy the Doomesday Machione without success. Captain Kirk is trying to get the Constellation into working order again, as the machine tries to attack. the exchange between Decker and Spock is a classic. the outcome is very good. I like "the Doomsday Machine," especailly the ship itself. It's scary.moreless
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The Enterprise confronts a planet killer that has left a path of destruction.

8.0

By Celedorian, Nov 28, 2010

This is one of the most memorable Star Trek episodes and is a favorite among fans, but I'm not the biggest fan of it. It guest stars veteran character actor William Windom as Commodore Decker. He plays the role over the top and it can be a little annoying at times, though it is an effective portrayal of what a starship leader would be like after losing his or her crew. It's an episode with a lot of special effects, and I'm sure they were very effective in the 1960s and even 1970s; today, however, the original effects don't look as nice. (The effects especially have a problem with their scale: the starships, the doomsday machine, and the shuttlecraft are out of proportion with each other.) The nice thing is that all the original Star Trek episodes were remade with new special effects, and this episode probably benefited the most. As far as the music goes, it does have one of Trek's best original scores. All in all, it's a good one, though I think it's a bit overrated.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Leonard Nimoy	Mr. Spock
William Shatner	Captain James Tiberius Kirk
DeForest Kelley	Dr. Leonard Horatio "Bones" McCoy

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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William Windom	Commodore Matthew Decker	Guest Star
Jerry Catron	Crewman Montgomery	Guest Star
Tim Burns	Crewman Russ	Guest Star
William Blackburn	Navigator (uncredited)	Recurring Role
James Doohan	Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott	Recurring Role
Eddie Paskey	Lt. Leslie (uncredited)	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (11)
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- Kirk beams over with a damage control party, but only Scotty is wearing a red Engineering uniform. Washburn is wearing blue and the other two men are wearing yellow.
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- When phasers are fired at the Doomsday Machine they are shown radiating out from their point of origin like spokes on a wheel, yet when the scene changes to show the two beams striking their target the beams are now parallel. (This is fixed in the remastered 2007 version.)
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- On the Constellation, when Captain Kirk tells Scotty to check the phasers and see if they've been fired, he inadvertently says "fireds."
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- James Doohan briefly loses his "Scotty' accent when wishing Kirk good luck before beaming off the Constellation.
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- When entering the Doomsday Machine, both the shuttle and the Constellation are almost identical in size as compared to the Machine. (This is corrected in the remastered 2007 version.)
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- The Doomsday Machine is made of solid neutronium, a material so dense that a teaspoon weighs tons. And yet, in several scenes, the background stars can be seen through the machine! Most likely, this is because the machine was a matte painting on a transparent background, superimposed over the star background in post production. Anywhere the color is dark (i.e. not much paint), the stars can be seen through. (This is fixed in the remastered 2007 version.)
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- Scotty is attempting to jury rig the Constellation. He advises Kirk that one particular set of repairs "will make the ship almost impossible for one man to operate". Inasmuch as the normal complement is over 400 men and women, one assumes the ship is "almost impossible" for one man to operate when everything is working. It's likely that a wrecked ship like the Constellation would be darn near impossible for even its full complement to operate. (Indeed, in another episode, "The Ultimate Computer," Kirk believes that a crew of 20 is too few to operate the Enterprise even with a state-of -the-art automation system installed).
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- When the Enterprise was shown from the left, the starboard (right) side running light was green instead of red and the "NCC-1701" was reversed.
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- When Kirk pressed the self-destruct for the Constellation, it was set for 30 seconds but it took 70 seconds for it to be destroyed.
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- When they beam aboard the Constellation they head off to Auxiliary Control. Then we see Kirk walk past a room, turn, and see Decker inside. The room is apparently... Auxiliary Control. so why did Kirk walk past it--didn't he know where it was?
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- It seems odd that McCoy can't immediately certify Decker as unfit for command in the middle of a crisis situation, but must conduct a "battery of tests" as Spock says. In other episodes such as "Obsession" the ship's Chief Medical Officer clearly has the authority to certify the captain as unfit without a series of tests, and Decker is certainly acting shocked and distraught.
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QUOTES (16)
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- Kirk: Mr. Scott, it worked. Great! (the Machine comes after them) I think it's great. Scotty, get us out of here.
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- Decker: Doctor, you are out of line.
  McCoy: So are you. Sir.
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- Decker: Right out of hell! I saw it!
  Kirk: Matt, where's your crew?
  Decker: On the third planet.
  Kirk: There is no third planet.
  Decker: Don't you think I know that? There was, but not anymore!
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- Scotty: Captain, the impulse engine's control circuits are fused solid
  Kirk: How about the warp drive control circuits?
  Scotty: Aye, we can cross-connect the controls, but it will make the ship almost impossible for one man to handle.
  Kirk: Worry about your miracles, Scotty, I'll worry about mine.
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- Scotty: A cranky transporter is a mighty finicky piece of equipment to be gamblin' yer life on, sir.
  Kirk: What about the detonator?
  Scotty: I've linked it in with the impulse control system. (flips switch) It's armed now. Press this one, 30 seconds later, poof! Once it's activated, there's no way to stop it.
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- Kirk: He gave his life in an attempt to save others. Not the worst way to go.
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- Kirk: Ironic, isn't it? Way back in the 20th century, the H-bomb was their ultimate weapon, their 'doomsday machine,' and we used something like it to destroy another Doomsday Machine. Probably the first time any such weapon has been used for constructive purposes.
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- Decker: Enterprise to Kirk, Commodore Decker speaking.
  Kirk: Matt? What's going on? Give me Spock.
  Decker: I'm in command here, Jim.
  Kirk: What happened to Spock?
  Decker: Nothing. I assumed command according to regulations, since your first officer was reluctant to take aggressive action.
  Kirk: You mean you're the lunatic who's responsible for almost destroying my ship?!?
  Decker: You are speaking to a senior officer, Kirk.
  Kirk: Get me Spock.
  Decker: I told you I am in command here, according to every rule in the book, Captain. If you have anything to say at all, you will say it to me.
  Kirk: There's only one thing I want to say to you, Commodore: get my ship out of there!
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- Kirk: Matt, where's your crew?
  Decker: On the third planet...
  Kirk: There is no third planet!
  Decker: Don't you think I know that?!? There was! But not any more!! They called me...they begged me for help...four hundred of them...
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- Spock: Random chance seems to have operated in our favor.
  McCoy: In plain non-Vulcan English--we've been lucky.
  Spock: I believe I said that, Doctor.
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- Spock: Commodore. I do not wish to place you under arrest.
  Decker: You wouldn't dare. You're bluffing.
  Spock: Vulcans never bluff.
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- Kirk: If I only had some phasers...
  Scotty: Phasers. You've got 'em. I have one bank recharged.
  Kirk: Scotty. You've just earned your pay for the week.
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- Kirk: Am I correct in assuming that a fusion explosion of 97 megatons will result if a starship impulse engine is overloaded?
  Spock: No, sir. (helpfully) 97.835 megatons.
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- (as the ship prepares to self-destruct)
  Kirk: I suggest you beam me aboard...
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- Kirk: Bones... did you ever hear of a doomsday machine?
  McCoy: No. I'm a doctor, not a mechanic.
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- Kirk: What hit? What attacked you?
  Decker: They say there's no devil, Jim, but there is. Right out of Hell, I saw it.
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NOTES (9)
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- To save time and money, the Constellation bridge is described as "uninhabitable" so they don't have to take the effort to redress the Enterprise bridge set. Only Auxiliary Control and Main Engineering are shown on the Constellation.
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- When Scotty restarts the Constellation engines, stock shots are used from "Tomorrow is Yesterday" showing Scotty hanging on the engine grating.
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- William Windom would go on to reprise his role (sorta, despite being dead here) as an older Commodore Decker in the fan series Star Trek: New Voyages.
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- Kirk was using the laser beacon from "The Squire of Gothos" as a repair tool.
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- The U.S.S. Constellation's registration number is NCC-1017. They originally built the ship from a model but only had the decals from the Enterprise model, so they scrambled the numbers 1701.
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- Desilu No: 5149-35.
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- Although Commodore Matt Decker (William Windom) dies near the end of "The Doomsday Machine," Stephen Collins later portrayed his son, Willard Decker, in the 1979 Star Trek movie. Roddenberry's novelization clarifies this point.
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- Richard Compton (Washburn) returned to direct the first-season episode Star Trek: The Next Generation "Haven." His assistant director: Charlie Washburn, for whom his character had been named 20 years earlier!
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- This is the first episode featuring a Federation starship other than the Enterprise's.
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ALLUSIONS (1)
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- Episode Title: The Doomsday Machine
  The notion of the "doomsday machine" has been around for some time. One builds the device, and hopes enemies realize that an attack spells their own demise as well; as a last resort, you will trigger the doomsday device. One might reasonably say that the entire "Cold War" between the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. was based on this premise.
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