DeForest Kelley said, “I enjoyed working with Ricardo the best [of all of Star Trek’s guest stars]. I was privileged. He is a marvelous actor.” (98-1)
Montalban said, “It was a very happy company and everybody was very cordial; very nice. All the regulars were wonderful to me, most helpful, and I loved it.... I thought [the script] was well-written, it had an interesting concept, and I was delighted it was offered to me.” (120-1)
Jerry Finnerman said, “That was a wonderful show.... I mean, this show was so good that they made a feature out of it, which was a big-time feature.... And, if you realize it, you take a show like that, where there’s hardly any action -- very little action; mostly dialogue -but you never get tired of it.... Now, if you can hold people with that dialogue for what, 48 minutes, isn’t that wonderful? I mean, we had strong shows, and that just goes to show you how strong the writing was.... And that’s the way most of our shows were.” (63-3)
The 11-foot, 2-inch model of the Enterprise, alongside the Botany Bay, with blue screen behind, at Film Effects of Hollywood, 1966 (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)
32
Episode 24: A TASTE OF ARMAGEDDON
(Incorrectly listed in all other sources as Production #23)
Teleplay by Robert Hamner and Gene L. Coon
Story by Robert Hamner
Directed by Joseph Pevney
David Opatoshu in deleted scene (Courtesy of Gerald Gurian)
NBC’s January 30, 1967, press release announced:
David Opatoshu guest-stars as the ruler of a seemingly peaceful space nation whose reluctance toward establishment of diplomatic relations draws Captain Kirk (William Shatner) into the center of an interplanetary war, in “A Taste of Armageddon” on the NBC Television Network colorcast of Star Trek.... The unexplained hostility of leader Anan 7 (Opatoshu) baffles Kirk who is denied permission to deliver Ambassador Fox (Gene Lyons) to the planet Eminar [sic] for a top-level diplomatic conference. Kirk and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) decide to investigate and soon find themselves prisoners of war in a simulated but deadly conflict between two planets.
As in “The Return of the Archons,” we witness the pitfalls of man submitting to machine. New here: a “disguised” anti-war statement.
SOUND BITES
- Kirk: “Disease, suffering, hardship -- that’s what war is all about. That’s what makes it a thing to be avoided. But you’ve made it neat and painless -- so neat and painless, you’ve had no reason to stop it. And you’ve had it for five hundred years!”
- Anan 7, to Kirk: “Once in orbit around our planet, your ship became a legitimate target. It has been classified destroyed by a tri-cobalt satellite explosion. All persons aboard your ship have twenty four hours to report to our disintegration chambers.”
- Spock, distracting a guard with a deadpan lie: “Sir, there is a multi-legged creature crawling on your shoulder.”
- Kirk: “I’ve given you back the horrors of war. The Vendikans will now assume you have abandoned your agreement and are preparing for a real war, with real weapons.... The next attack they launch will do a lot more than count up numbers on a computer. It will destroy cities; devastate your planet. You’ll want to retaliate, of course. If I were you, I’d start making bombs.... Yes, councilman, you’ve got a real war on your hands. You can either wage it, with real weapons, or you might consider the alternatives. Put an end to it. Make peace!” Anan 7: “There can be no peace! Don’t you see -- we’ve admitted it to ourselves! We’re a killer species.” Kirk: “All right, it’s instinctive. But the instinct can be fought. We’re human beings, with the blood of a million savage years on our hands. But we can stop it! We can admit we’re killers, but we’re not going to kill today. That’s all it takes -- knowing that you’re not going to kill today.”
ASSESSMENT
“A Taste of Armageddon” is well-regarded, despite looking rather dated, more so than most other episodes of the original series. The sets and costumes on Eminiar 7 are reminiscent of those seen in the old Buck Rogers serials. Adding to the problem, writer Robert Hamner and even Gene Coon, who made significant changes to the script, displayed a fondness for exclamation points in their dialogue, contributing to the melodramatic delivery of many of the speeches. The combined result makes a look into the future seem more like a trip into the past. That disclaimer aside, this story had profound purpose when it first aired and remains insightful to this day.
In 1966, when this episode was conceived, napalm was being dropped in Vietnam in an effort to burn the Viet Cong from the jungles, while the men dropping the bombs never had to see the faces of their victims ... or hear their screams. War had become impersonal. In “A Taste of Armageddon” we encounter a world in which individual significance is so unappreciated that characters have names like Anan 7, Mea 3, and Sar 6. Even the planet is identified with a number. It is the seventh world in this system called Eminiar.
Mea 3 tells Kirk that she has been declared a casualty and must report to a disintegration chamber. He asks, “Is that all it means to you? You just report -- and die?” She answers, “Don’t you see, if I refuse to report, and others refuse, then Vendikar would have no choice but to launch real weapons. We would have to do the same, to defend ourselves. More than people would die then. Our civilization would be destroyed! Surely you can see that ours is the better way.”
With this, the script offers an abstract but clear comparison to our world of 1966. At that time in America, the first of the draft-dodgers were fleeing to Canada. They were refusing to “report.” Those loyal to the U.S. government’s policies saw this as a threat, believing one resister would lead to hundreds, then to thousands, causing the downfall of a system. In this regard, the political agenda of “A Taste of Armageddon” is apparent.
Some things to watch for:
“The Federation” had previously been mentioned in “Arena.” The organization’s full name, “The United Federation of Planets,” is revealed in this episode, again courtesy of Mr. Coon.
This is the second time that a soon-to-be familiar formula was used: landing party in trouble; ship under fire and unable to help; Kirk must save all (first used in “The Return of the Archons”).
We previously saw Spock’s ability to perform the Vulcan mind-meld (from “Dagger of the Mind”). Here we learn he can also use “inception” to plant ideas into the minds of others. This device would be used again in “By Any Other Name” and “The Omega Glory.”
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
Script Timeline
Robert Hamner’s story outline, ST #36: September 12, 1966.
Hamner’s revised outline, gratis: September 23, 1966.
Hamner’s 2nd Revised Story Outline, gratis: September 26, 1966.
Hamner’s 3rd Revised Story Outline, gratis: September 28, 1966.
Staff revised story outline: Early October 1966.
Hamner’s 1st Draft teleplay: October 17, 1966.
Hamner’s 2nd Draft teleplay: November 9, 1966.
Steven Carabatsos’ script polish (Mimeo Department “Yellow Cover 1st Draft”): November 23, 1966.
Carabatsos’ second script polish (Final Draft teleplay): November 28, 1966.
Gene Coon’s rewrite (Rev. Final Draft teleplay): December 12, 1966.
Additional page revisions by Coon: December 15 & 21, 1966.
In the Bible, Armageddon is where the last decisive battle between the forces of good and evil will be fought before Judgment Day. Writer Robert Hamner believed that if man didn’t soon change his evil ways, Armageddon might be just around the corner.
“At the time, the military was developing neutron bombs,” Hamner said. “These were designed to kill people without harming the buildings. It was like big business going to war. ‘Don’t destroy the factories, just kill the workers!’ I thought it would be terrible if a neutron bomb were developed. It would take all the devastation out of war and just leave death.... That was the whole idea of the script when I walked into Gene Coon’s off
ice.” (78)
Hamner, at 38, was very much in-demand. He had already written for The Fugitive, The Wild, Wild West, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. One year before this, like Roddenberry and Coon, he was a writer/producer. His series: A Man Called Shenandoah (taking over for Fred Freidberger, later to produce Star Trek).
Robert Hamner’s original outline and screenplay called for very different staging than the filmed episode. Damaged by a meteor storm, the Enterprise heads to nearby Eminiar 7 to make repairs, but is refused permission to approach. With no other options, Kirk ignores the warnings and transports down to search for the mineral elements needed to repair his ship. The landing team, which includes Yeoman Janice Rand, materializes in a rural area with a large modern city looming in the distance. An anti-gravity “bubble car,” carrying representatives from the government, approaches. The Eminiar officials, who had warned the Enterprise people to stay away, have now relented, treating them with courtesy and giving assistance, hoping to quickly send them on their way. While a search is made for the needed raw materials, Kirk is invited to visit the city and meet Anan 7 and the ruling council. The city that Hamner describes is something out of Metropolis. It is grand, futuristic and very alien. And we spend much time in it --- not inside buildings but out on the streets. It is further established that the computers and machines do everything for the people.
While visiting the city, Kirk meets Mea 3, the daughter of Anan 7. A romance brews between her and Kirk. When Eminiar 7 is attacked and Mea 3 is classified a war casualty, Kirk is determined to keep her from reporting to a disintegration chamber. For this reason, he argues with the rulers about the foolishness of their virtual-reality computer-generated war, and then sabotages the computer system, saving Mea 3 and forcing the people of Eminiar to seek peace or face the horrors of a real war. Kirk then returns to the Enterprise, bidding farewell to Mea 3 and leaving her and her people to work out their troubles with their enemies ... or perish.
Coon wrote to Robert Hamner:
Your entire idea, Kirk’s philosophy, that this war goes on only because it is so neat and clean and non-destructive, is intriguing and exciting ... as is Kirk’s hypothesis that making war horrible again would bring about peace. (GC24)
Hamner had told Coon that he felt his own treatment lacked action. Coon responded: You are right about one thing. We have too little action in the body of the story. I think Kirk, as a fugitive from the anti-matter stations, must be pursued, captured, escape, get into fights, and so on, in the process of gathering his forces. Don’t forget that Kirk has a strong military force, and many weapons, on board the Enterprise. I think the thing to do here is have Kirk on the surface of the planet at the time when the authorities on the surface stop the systems of the Enterprise. All systems would be unworkable except routine communications, for we would want Kirk to be able to talk to those aboard ship to establish the danger of the Enterprise’s condition, and so on. (GC24)
Coon had issues with some elements within the story. Regarding budget, he told Hamner:
Do not stage the barrage of meteorites on the Enterprise. Too expensive -- a big horrible optical. Pick up the Enterprise after a meteor shower, as the ship limps, badly injured, toward [the planet].... We must not -- repeat NOT -- have scenes laid on the city streets. This would mean total set construction of the sort restricted only to multi-million dollar movies. Interiors we can do, long distance matte shots we can do, but we cannot have our principals walk down a street which is obviously of design and construction far ahead of ours. (GC24)
Coon also had problems with the way Hamner depicted the people of Eminiar. If played as written, how could a man such as Kirk be attracted to a person such as Mea 3. More importantly, how could a 1967 television audience get the references to the Vietnam war if the society depicted was so alien to our own? Coon told Hamner:
Please do not have the computers and machines doing everything for the people of this culture. Have them used to a great extent, but at all times under the complete control of the people.... These should be vital people, well in control of the situation. (GC24)
Coon was left cold by the story’s resolve. Of this, he wrote:
The problem -- the main problem -- with this story as presently outlined is that Kirk really accomplishes nothing, wreaks no changes, gives us no solutions. Why not let him be the big hero? By threatening to bring down the total war in all its horror upon them -- a seemingly inhuman thing to do -- he is in effect insuring the coming of peace and the settlement of the long dispute. (GC24)
Kirk’s agenda, as written, was clouded. His motivation seemed to be primarily driven by love -- a love he would have to abandon in the end, anyway.
Coon was not about to send the outline, as written, to NBC. He told Hamner:
Okay, Robert, I think we’re close. But there are, of course, some things in this we cannot do, and some areas I think can be improved. (GC24)
Hamner turned in three more drafts of his story outline, at no charge, with an eye toward reining in the costs, providing Kirk with better motivation and endowing the story with a more satisfying resolve.
Robert Justman, well-aware that there were major cost concerns, nonetheless embraced the story, writing to Coon:
I find myself extremely intrigued by this idea.... I am very eager to read a First Draft screenplay on this. (RJ24-1)
Stan Robertson at NBC was also impressed. He wrote to Coon:
This story idea has all of the ingredients to be developed into one of our more outstanding Star Trek teleplays. The writer shows great logical imagination in setting up this alien society; and, in doing so, isn’t he subtly, almost by osmosis, getting across to the viewers a very weighty message without being overly cerebral? The point he sinks home, of course, is a very strong plea for the abolition of war. (SR24)
This story, like “The Return of the Archons,” was what Robertson wanted to see on Star Trek -- planet stories with oodles of action and adventure and, as a bonus, a profound message conveyed without grandstanding. He told Coon:
I would suggest that all of us who are so vitally concerned with telling action-adventure stories which have some substance carefully analyze this storyline and use it as a guide as to how we can achieve our goals and not short-change the creative heights we’ve set, to come up with something which is truly distinctive for television. (SR24)
But Star Trek’s budget could not afford such stories produced on a regular basis. Creative thinking and further deep cuts would have to be implemented.
Hamner’s First Draft script arrived on October 17. After running the numbers, Robert Justman wrote to Coon:
I can see why NBC is so happy with it. If I were the Network, I’d like to have a script like this all the time for our show. My only problem is, liking it doesn’t mean that I feel we can afford to make it. (RJ24-3)
In a barrage of interoffice memos, Roddenberry, Coon, Justman, and Carabatsos began making suggestions as to how to chip away at the pricier parts of Hamner’s story. One wrote:
I wonder if [the meteor shower] is valid. We have established the Enterprise has a meteor deflector shield [in “Mudd’s Women”]. This would have to be a helluva storm to damage us this badly.... Can we find some other way to damage the ship, if we must? Why are we always damaging the Enterprise anyway? (STAFF24)
The meteor shower was eliminated and the character of Ambassador Fox was introduced. The ship was now on a diplomatic mission with orders to make contact and establish an alliance at any cost.
Another wrote:
Generally, there are too many extras and explosions, too many sets to be constructed, too many “futuristic city” mattes to lay-in ... to say nothing of that futuristic bubble-car. (STAFF24)
The Eminiar city became smaller still, represented primarily by a series of corridors and windowless rooms; the explosions were downsized; and the bubble-car was stricken entirely.
Another on the staff asked, “Why do we need Janice Rand in this script?” (STAFF2
4)
They didn’t. Rand’s part was reassigned to a character named Yeoman Tamula. The extras were reduced, as were many of the speaking parts.
Another wrote:
We have Kirk being a do-gooder for the benefit of a whole society -- which we said we didn’t want. (STAFF24)
Someone else had a solution, and wrote:
Kirk and landing party are among those “killed” in the attack. Now they are ordered to report to the anti-matter machines to extinguish themselves... and Kirk ain’t about to go. Escape and be hunted. And away we go on an action story. (STAFF24)
The change was made. Kirk and his landing party weren’t declared casualties but, instead, the entire crew of the Enterprise was. Now Kirk was fighting for the lives of over 400 of his people. There was nothing to run away from; only something to beat.
Hamner was sent back to his typewriter. His Second Draft script arrived on November 9. Much still needed to change and it was clear to Coon those changes had to be handled in-house. Steven Carabatsos was assigned the job, his final task as the series’ Script Editor.
Carabatsos’ rewrite -- the Yellow Cover First Draft -- hit Coon’s desk on November 23. After some discussions between producer and rewriter, Carabatsos did a polish, designated as the November 28 Final Draft.
Of this, Bob Justman wrote:
I think Steve has done a good job in converting this show into an action piece. Let me digress.... I wouldn’t want Steve to get the idea that I dislike this screenplay, because I do like it very much…. My only problem is liking it doesn’t mean that I feel we can afford to make it in its present form.... I am normally rather calm, but the amount of action fights and stunts called for in this show and the extensive nature of them causes me to lose my cool…. I do think we have established the fact that our Enterprise people are not to interfere with the culture of any civilization they come across. Since Kirk must necessarily interfere with the culture of this planet, it would be best if he was forced to interfere with it. He should not, therefore, start to do anything to change the course of this planet’s civilization until the Enterprise and its crew are declared casualties of the war with the other planet. At that time, he can then proceed to take effective steps to save the ship and crew…. I am not exactly sure that I am going to end up liking the girl in this story. After all, who is she supposed to be in love with? Is she supposed to be in love with the fellow from the planet, or with Captain Kirk? If she is in love with the fellow from the planet, then what in hell is she doing screwing around with Captain Kirk? I think she may end up a two-timing little tramp. And Kirk is not too much better. He’s kind of a snake in the grass with the girl. (RJ24-3)
These Are The Voyages, TOS, Season One Page 85
