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Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 27, Episodes 53 & 54: The Ultimate Computer/ The Omega Glory

starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy

: Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 27, Episodes 53 & 54: The Ultimate Computer/ The Omega Glory
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780792174707
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
ISBN: 0792174704
Label: CBS Paramount International Television
Manufacturer: CBS Paramount International Television
Number Of Discs: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: CBS Paramount International Television
Region Code: 1
Release Date: July 10, 2001
Running Time: 100 minutes
Sales Rank: 21616
Studio: CBS Paramount International Television
Theatrical Release Date: September 08, 1966



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Editorial Review:

Description:
'The Ultimate Computer,' Ep. 53 - Kirk stands by helplessly as his ship is used to test an advanced computer that turns out to be as flawed as its inventor. 'The Omega Glory,' Ep. 54 - Kirk and crew encounter a ghost ship, a madman captain, a deadly virus and 1,000-year-old natives on planet Omega IV.

Amazon.com:
'The Ultimate Computer'
Kirk reluctantly agrees to play along with a Federation test of a new supercomputer, designed by the brilliant Dr. Daystrom (William Marshall, the booming baritone stage actor most famous for Blacula) to run a starship almost single-handedly. It does its job too well, locking the human crew out of ship operations and using deadly force during the Federation war games. Spock and McCoy continue their now-legendary banter about man versus machine while Kirk muses over the obsolescence of his own command. Marshall is excellent as a former-boy-wonder genius banking his reputation on this breakthrough, treating his creation like a son. That's not too far from the truth: designed after his brain pattern, this thinking, reasoning, learning machine carries with it the insecurities and desperation of its creator. The fears of the emerging digital revolution explored in The Ultimate Computer in 1968 remain today: what is the fate of man in the face of technological efficiency? Films from 2001: A Space Odyssey and Colossus: The Forbin Project to Demon Seed and The Matrix have echoed these themes, and this Trek episode--primitive special effects, zero-budget sets, and all--stands up to them quite nicely. --Sean Axmaker

'The Omega Glory'
What is it with Starfleet captains? So many of them become wildly grandiose. Witness 'The Omega Glory,' in which another starship commander, Ronald Tracey (Morgan Woodward), tramples the Prime Directive by interfering in a long-running conflict between primitive societies, in this case the Yangs and Kohms of planet Omega IV. Siding with the Kohms, Tracey creates an imbalance of power that Kirk works to adjust by arming the Yangs proportionately. The script by series creator Gene Roddenberry is one of his not-so-subtle allegories for the state of the world in the 1960s, specifically our own cold war between nuclear superpowers. So bluntly drawn is Roddenberry's parallel between Omega IV and 20th-century Earth that this is one of the few Star Trek episodes that risks becoming completely absurd after a point. William Shatner (Captain Kirk) takes the biggest risk of all with a passionate, lengthy speech of the sort pranksters like comic actor Kevin Dunn are wont to imitate today. But the fact is that Shatner pulls off such chancy material very well, and certainly does so here. --Tom Keogh



Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - "this unit must survive"
In 'The Omega Glory', 'Yangs' (Yankees) on Omega IV, a parallel Earth, take back American from occupying ... Read More


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - One Really Good Episode and One Really Ridiculous One!
If you are deciding which volumes to keep, this one only just falls under the "nice to have but dispensable" ... Read More


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Still fun to watch
Even though the original "Trek" is showing its age and the effects weren't digital. I think they are still fun ... Read More


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Brillant
Dr Daystrom created the ultimate computer, M-5. Spock observes that M-5 does not think in a logical order. McCoy ... Read More


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Makes you wonder how Trek wou;d've looked w/Ron Tracy in command.
These two episodes share the theme of great genius gone wrong. In "Computer", Kirk struggles to free the Enterprise ... Read More

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Copyright ©2003, Mark Carey.