Stardate: 1512.2
Quick Summary: The Enterprise ventures further out into a part of space that has never previously been explored and encounters a spinning cube that could be either an object or a life form. When the cube emits a lethal radiation, the Enterpise destroys it, but that only draws the attention of an alien named Baylock, claiming to be from the "1st Federation", who seeks to destroy the Enterprise in retaliation. Utterly helpless and at the mercy of a far more advanced species and technology, Kirk decides to bluff Baylock into thinking the Enterprise would actually destroy his ship instead, leading ultimately to a detente and eventually friendly relations and an information exchange between humans and this new alien species.
Review: From the opening shots of an unnecessarily shirtless and sweaty Captain Kirk to the surprise ending of Baylock as a tiny and completely unimposing alien, this episode hits all the right chords. It hadn't even dawned on me that none of the previous episodes thus far had even been centered on space-related issues until the Enterprise fires its phasers for the first time here. The Corbomite Maneuver is the perfect vehicle for not only raising the primal fears and likely problems of deep space exploration, but also for communicating Gene Roddenberry's philosophy for how those problems ought to be addressed in an ethical and enlightened manner. When faced with annihilation by a far more advanced species, Kirk is forced to resort to good old-fashioned human ingenuity in devising the "Corbomite Maneuver" - nothing more than poker-style bluffing - to avoid that annihilation, and then proceeds to reach out and save his distressed adversary as a show of good will. When questioned about why he would help Baylock after everything he just put them through, Kirk's emphatic response is, "WHAT'S OUR MISSION?!". This is the encapsulation of the entire Star Trek ideology; to seek out new life; to be on a mission of exploration, not conquest. Indeed, the greatest threat in the face of the unknown is not what's out there; it is most often ourselves.
Waxing poetic, sure, but this is what it's all about. When the curtain is finally pulled back and Baylock is revealed to have used his own version of the Corbomite Maneuver to bluff the Enterprise into thinking he was more of a threat than was true in reality, it's an awesome twist, but almost unnecessary - the soul of the show had been revealed long before.
Review: 5 stars
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