Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 18: The Squire of Gothos
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VHS Tape Cover Information
Actor: Leonard Nimoy, William ShatnerProducer: Douglas S. Cramer
Writer: Gene Roddenberry
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
Running Time: 46 minutes
Release Date: 1994-04-15
Publisher: CBS Paramount International Television
Studio: CBS Paramount International Television
VHS Movie Reviews of Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 18: The Squire of Gothos
Movie Review: The Alien Who Just Wanted to Have Fun
Summary: 5 Stars
The first time you watch this episode, it plays as a traditional (though excellent) story. Kirk and Spock solve a puzzling mystery and overcome an alien who has trapped them.
But watching it again recently (and knowing the ending) I was able to see it completely differently. Trelane -- the super-powerful alien in human form who has detained the senior Enterprise officers -- is not the villain at all but is actually the most sympathetic character! Over and over, Trelane eagerly invites the Enterprise officers to "play" and makes them his honored guests. Each time, they refuse him rudely and treat him with fear and contempt (although their actions are completely logical from their point of view). All Trelane's reactions make sense once you know what he's really up to.
That's the genius of the episode. The actions of Kirk and co. make sense, but the more you watch it, the more sympathetic Trelane becomes. There's a subtlety here: Trelane threatens the crew, but only after they treat him meanly and break his toys. It's arguable that he was never going to hurt anyone despite all his raving. In the end, I suspect he would not have stabbed Kirk -- or if he did, he would have fully repaired Kirk so that the captain could "play" again. I believe he really LIKES the humans, so why don't they like him? The answer of course is that intelligent creatures don't like their lives disrupted... but isn't that a lesson that we humans need to learn as well?
The acting and writing are first-rate. Shatner has never been better. But Bill Campbell, as Trelane, steals the show. Watch the ending and ask yourself if you are not moved to tears feeling sorry for Trelane. Throughout the episode, watch Campbell's reactions closely. Except when they break his toys or manage to escape, his face shows delight and amusement. This is a powerful clue as to what's really going on.
Trek never got better than this. Trelane was so terrific a chararcter that the TNG tried to do something similar with Q, but the Q episodes don't cut it by comparison. Was there ever a better line in Trek than this: "You broke my sword! You cheated! You're not playing the game right!"
Summary of Star Trek - The Original Series, Episode 18: The Squire of Gothos
A real treat for long-haul Trekkers: "The Squire of Gothos" is an entertaining program in its own right and the obvious blueprint for "Encounter at Farpoint," Gene Roddenberry's pilot episode for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Guest star William Campbell plays Trelane, a bratty, impulsive alien given to wearing costumes appropriate for an 18th-century French aristocrat. Equipped with godlike powers that allow him to alter and manipulate the world around him, Trelane is the prototype of The Next Generation's beloved quasi villain, Q (John de Lancie). Like Q, Trelane regards the crew of the Enterprise as playthings, and when Captain Kirk (William Shatner) disrupts his games, the omniscient boy-man puts humanity itself on trial. Great stuff. --Tom KeoghHorror VHS Video
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