Spectre of the Gun

"Spectre of the Gun" is the sixth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by former producer Gene L. Coon (under the pseudonym of Lee Cronin) and directed by Vincent McEveety, it was first broadcast on October 25, 1968.

"Spectre of the Gun"
Star Trek: The Original Series episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 6
Directed byVincent McEveety
Written byLee Cronin
(Gene L. Coon)
Featured musicJerry Fielding
Cinematography byGerald Finnerman
Production code056
Original air dateOctober 25, 1968 (1968-10-25)
Guest appearance(s)

In the episode, having been found trespassing into Melkotian space, Captain Kirk and members of his crew are sent to die in a re-enactment of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Plot

The Federation starship Enterprise has been directed to make contact with a reclusive species known as the Melkotians. As they approach the Melkotians' planet, they encounter a space buoy warning them to stay away, but Captain Kirk orders the ship to remain on course. Once in orbit, Kirk and First Officer Spock, Chief Engineer Scott, Chief Medical Officer Dr. McCoy, and Navigator Ensign Chekov transport to the surface.

They are met by a Melkotian who declares that they have been condemned to death for trespassing. The landing party then find themselves in an abstract landscape that resembles a Wild West town, though many buildings are only facades. Further, they find their phasers have been changed into six-shooters, and they cannot contact the Enterprise.

Exploring the town, they find a newspaper dated October 26, 1881, the date of the infamous gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The townspeople believe the landing party are members of the Cowboys: Kirk as Ike Clanton, Scotty as Billy Clanton, Bones as Tom McLaury, Spock as Frank McLaury, and Chekov as Billy Claiborne. Further, the Earp brothers, lawmen Virgil, Wyatt and Morgan, and Doc Holliday are preparing to fight them at the appointed time.

Knowing that in real history the gunfight was fatal to most of the Cowboys, the Enterprise crew make several attempts to alter their fates, but their efforts are unsuccessful, leading them to believe that history cannot be changed. However, when one of the townspeople, Sylvia, gets close to Chekov, Morgan Earp interferes and kills Chekov. Spock remarks that the real Billy Claiborne had survived, suggesting that the day's events could be changed in other ways. To that end, Spock creates an improvised tranquilizer gas grenade to subdue the Earps before the shootout, and is surprised when the gas fails to work.

The time of the shootout arrives and the landing party suddenly finds itself at the O.K. Corral, with the Earps approaching. Spock realizes from the failure of the gas grenade that these events are not real, and that as long as they are convinced of that they cannot be harmed. Kirk has Spock mind-meld with the rest of the team to imbue them with Spock's conviction, allowing them to ignore the illusion of the Earps' gunfire.

Kirk chooses not to shoot Morgan Earp in revenge for the death of Chekov, and discards his weapon. They then find themselves, along with a still-living Chekov, on the Enterprise bridge, apparently at a time before the appearance of the Melkotian buoy. The Melkotians make contact, inquire about Kirk's refusal to kill, and finally welcome the Enterprise to approach their planet.

Production

In Star Trek 3, author James Blish's novelization of this episode was called "The Last Gunfight".

The show was the last episode to air on NBC at 10 p.m. on Fridays.

DeForest Kelley had played Morgan Earp in the 1957 film, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

As money was not available for a full set, director Vincent McEveety was asked to use a stylized Western street of false building fronts and no sides.[1]

Reception

Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave the episode a 'B+' rating, marking it down for loose writing but praising its impressive final showdown and "weird, arrhythmic vibe working for the show for once".[2] In 2012, The A.V. Club ranked this episode as one of top ten "must see" episodes of the original series.[3]

In 2012, Christian Science Monitor ranked this the ninth best episode of the original Star Trek.[4]

Keith R.A. DeCandido of Tor.com initially criticizes the episode for its historical inaccuracies, but then praises it on a philosophical level, noting that Kirk and company never fight when provoked, don't kill for revenge, and ignore the initial warning in favor of carrying out their directives to seek out new life.[5]

In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter ranked "Spectre of the Gun" as the 20th best episode of the original series, and noted its western style gunfight.[6] In 2017, Den of Geek ranked this episode as the 10th "best worst" Star Trek episode of the original series.[7]

References
  1. Solow, Herbert F.; Robert H. Justman (1997). Inside Star Trek: The Real Story. Pocket Books. p. 403. ISBN 978-0-671-00974-8.
  2. Handlen, Zack (December 18, 2009). ""Is There In Truth No Beauty?"/"The Spectre Of The Gun"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  3. Handlen, Zack. "10 must-see episodes of Star Trek". TV Club. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  4. "Star Trek: The Original Series: The 10 greatest episodes (+ video)". Christian Science Monitor. September 8, 2012. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  5. DeCandido, Keith R.A. (May 3, 2016). "Star Trek The Original Series Rewatch: "Spectre of the Gun"". Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  6. "'Star Trek': 20 Greatest Episodes from the Original Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  7. Kaye, Don (September 16, 2017). "The 15 Best Worst Episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series". Den of Geek. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
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