The Savage Curtain

Season 3, Episode 22, Aired
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Episode Summary

Kirk and Spock meet Abraham Lincoln and Surak of Vulcan and must do battle with some of history's most terrible villains.
7.2
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Fan Episode Reviews (7)

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  • The crew of the Enterprise are confronted by what appears to be Abraham Lincoln, which leads to Kirk and Spock being forced into battle against illusionary villains by a race trying understand 'good' and 'evil'. One of the far better late episodes...moreless

    8.5
    "Great"
    By Jay-Spacedust, May 25, 2011 Report Abuse
    At first, I expected very little from this episode. I expected the appearance of Abraham Lincoln to be gimmicky, and combined with the whole "forced to fight to the death while the ship's crew watch on the viewscreen", which had been done before in a number of other stories, I really wasn't expecting much.
    But to my pleasant surprise, "The Savage Curtain" turned out to be one of the much better episodes from the tail end of the series, and I am surprised that it isn't held in higher regard amongst most fans.

    Unlike many late Original Series episodes, where the plot is pretty much laid out in the first five minutes, I liked how the story of this one gradually unfolded. Was this really Abraham Lincoln? What is he doing in deep space? The explanations, and the leading on to the forced battle on the planet below, are well paced, and I didn't feel that the story really dipped at any point.

    As well as Lincoln, we also meet Surak, the "father of Vulcan civilization", adding some more background to Vulcan's history.
    Out of the villains, Colonel Green and Klingon Kahless aren't bad (well they ARE bad, but you get what I mean!), but the other two barely get a look in.

    Back on the ship (which, of course, is endangered, to add some more urgency to the situation), there are some nice moments between Mr. Scott and Dr. McCoy; I would have liked to have seen more of those through the series.

    As I say, I personally found this to be one of the far better third season instalments, to the extent that it could just as easily been from the first or second season. It might not look much on paper, but the final episode is a good one.moreless

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    2 1

  • Kirk and Spock are forced to take part in the ultimate battle between good and evil.

    5.5
    "Mediocre"
    By Celedorian, Jan 13, 2011 Report Abuse
    This is a morality play that Gene Roddenberry began writing but never finished. (Producer Fred Freiberger had Arthur Heinemann finish it.) While the episode isn't that good, it is historic for introducing the two gurus for Vulcans and Klingons, which future Trek writers would delve into in more detail. The plot itself, featuring the universe's greatest heroes (including Kirk and Spock) forced into battle against the universe's greatest villains, seems more like a story you'd expect from the Star Trek animated series or perhaps the Super Friends cartoon. The guest stars are good, and the episode begins interestingly enough, but when you get to the point where Gene passes the baton to Heinemann, it's all downhill.

    (By the way, it surprises me that Kirk's favorite president is Lincoln. The captain strikes me as more of a Bill Clinton kind of guy. But I suppose we should be happy Richard Nixon didn't agree to appear on Star Trek and play himself, joining the "good guys" in their fight against evil.)moreless

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    0 0

  • Okay, good vs evil. They\'ve done this 100 times. Even the most absurd parallel Earth idea isn\'t nearly as trite.

    5.5
    "Mediocre"
    By HypnoToad72, Jan 01, 2011 Report Abuse
    Okay, it\'s an alien who wants to observe good vs evil and already seems to be evil, which makes little sense. We see Lincoln (which actually starts as a nice idea and kudos to all for playing it straight) and Surak of Vulcan... they, with Kirk and Spock, are forced to battle 4 evil figures. 3 from Earth\'s past, and Kahless the Unforgettable (it\'s a riot how TNG and later spinoffs turn the guy from being an evil sleaze to a heartwarming guy with a melted candy bar glued to his forehead...)

    But it\'s good versus evil with all the stereotypes within. Trek TOS always discussed human nature. But this story doesn\'t bother with any overlapping ideas. As a result it\'s trite and fairly obvious too.

    But it\'s the straight-faced approach to Lincoln that makes it interesting... but it\'s also obvious the scene where \"Lincoln\" calls Uhura the N-word was hard to watch, even though it is plausible - that if Lincoln were alive and teleported 400 years into the future, he would likely say the n-word. Uhura\'s answer is a bold attempt to give hope for the future, and that context is one most people won\'t see today and, as with many elements of TOS, get overlooked because the context of the 1960s is long gone.moreless

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    2 0

  • "The Super Best Friends" (Kirk, Spock, Lincoln and Surak) get in a fist fight with "The Super Worst Friends" (Assorted mostly past earth villians) in yet another alien-controlled gladiatorial arena

    5.8
    "Mediocre"
    By altotick, Jan 01, 2011 Report Abuse
    This episode is really not as bad as it should be considering that it says nothing of particular value, and uses the "fight to the death in an alien arena" motif again. Rather than making things worse as you'd expect, Lincoln helps the episode slightly, though it feels somewhat cheap to trot him out simply to commune with Kirk and then fight to the death.

    As to the the reviewer claiming that Lincoln says "the N-word," he says "Negress" which is probably not the "N word" most people would ever think of. It's still not something you would ever call a black woman today, but is more of an antique term than the common, intentional, ugly racial slur that "the N word" usually refers to.

    Since Lincoln is so iconic, you'd expect him to do or say something useful or profound. Instead he simply lends his icon to the Enterprise for a while, he says some things about fighting if a fight is forced upon you, and crawls around on the rocks and bushes for a while.

    Could've been a better episode. I call foul for calling up historical characters and then putting them in a World Wrestling Federation match. Is that the best they could do?moreless

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    3 1

  • Clear foul

    2.0
    "Terrible"
    By JonathanFox2, Jan 01, 2011 Report Abuse
    Ok its very late in thrid and final season, however, that is not an excuse for this turkey. First of all kirk pays up to a creature (Abe Lincon)known by all to have been dead for over 300 years, and in any event out of office due to his not receiving the majority of electoral votes, or any electoral votes since 1864. Secondly, much of scrip is recycled from pior shows. Thrid just image you get to fight to the death and to aid you you get a middle age lawyer, and a paficist. Oh Goody. How about asking for young Robert E. Lee, Audie Murphy, or Alivn York. Plus you have tend to agree with evil col. green- let us fight the rock think firstT. After all this plan for World War II and seems to work asd





    Some have said it not turkey due to the lack of red shirt or skirt deaths. I disagree.moreless

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    0 1
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • Right before the commercial break, Yarnek says Kirk has four hours until the Enterprise explodes. However, after the commercial break, Scotty makes a log entry saying they have two hours, and Kirk and the others are in the same position on the view screen as when Yarnek said four hours. Edit
    • During the talk with Lincoln over the view screen, old footage is reused. Notice that in shots facing the view screen, Checkov is replaced by another crewman and Sulu is wearing a season one uniform. Edit
    • About 25 minutes in, there is another reversed shot as the good guys discuss what to do, right before Colonel Green comes over. Notice that Shatner turns left to talk to Lincoln who is on his right and that the Starfleet insignia is on his right side, not left. Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • This marked the last performance given by Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Nyota Uhura until the Animated Series. Edit
    • The century in which the series was set was still vague at this point and Scotty's line that Lincoln died three centuries ago (the nineteenth century) suggests the show was set in the twenty-second century, rather than the twenty-third. The episode "Tomorrow is Yesterday" implied this as well. Edit
    • This episode first introduces Surak of Vulcan, the Klingon leader Kahless the Unforgettable, and the infamous Colonel Green. These characters are later mentioned in other series and films. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Yarnek: It would seem that evil retreats when forcibly confronted. Edit
    • Surak: I am pleased to see that we have differences. May we together become greater than the sum of both of us. Edit
    • Kirk: How many others have you done this to? What gives you the right to hand out life and death? Yarnek: The same right that brought you here - the need to know new things. Edit

  • Allusions

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