Probably among the best 4 or 5 episodes in ST:TOS. Well scripted, acted and directed.
That's more like it! Suspenseful and well executed, dramatic story. Spock and McCoy are really settling into their characters. A shame the bigotry subplot was so heavy handed.
Most of the time, my status as having seen most of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space 9, Voyager, etc., but having seen little of the original series works well for me going back and watching the first Star Trek show. It means I know enough about the concept of the show – the wagon train to the stars, alien-of-the-week premise – and details of the franchise’s universe to where I don’t have to get up to speed on the whole kit-and-kaboodle, but that there’s still blank spaces to fill in. It means that I already know who Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew are, but that I don’t know their individual stories. It means the show is a mix of the familiar and the new in a way that works to its benefit much of the time.
But “Balance of Terror” is one of those episodes where knowing the details of the Star Trek world works against an individual installment of the series. With the build of Earth and the Romulans having worked out a treaty, but never actually seen one another, the reveal of what they look like, the fact that they resemble Spock, and the details of their ship and society, it’s all meant to be something of a mystery and a grand unveiling. But if you already know the Romulans, who have been antagonists in early episodes of TNG up through the 2009 reboot film, there’s not much intrigue here.
Sure, there’s some novelty to seeing (what I can only imagine) is their early conception and appearance, which, with some variations here and there, is surprisingly consistent with their later counterparts, especially relative to a species like the Klingons. But for the most part, there’s nothing particularly thrilling about seeing the Romulans in action for a longtime Trek fan, and that hurts an episode like “Balance of Terror.”
But for whatever it’s worth, the episode epitomizes what I thought of as TOS’s M.O. before actually sitting down to watch it. Its premise is a not very subtle cold war allegory; it has an Important Lesson™ about prejudice, and it features Kirk as the risk-taking commander in battle. Throw in a few green women and a transporter malfunction, and you basically have my prior conception of what the show was on a week-to-week basis.
And frankly, that’s why this one bored me. There was something mildly interesting about Kirk and the Romulan Commander playing a game of chess among the stars, with each trying to guess the other’s move, attempting some new maneuver, and gradually developing a respect for this unknown enemy who could go toe-to-toe with their plots and plans. But for the most part, there was a lot of the Worthy Adversary™, "We're not so different, you and I" type of stuff that, whatever its status in 1967, has become a notable cliché in 2017.
That's the sort of problem that's inevitably going to befall a series made sixty years ago. During the Cold War, I'm sure there was a potency to the idea that the hated enemies, the ones whom we'd set up a treaty with a generation ago and had little contact with since, were distinct in their practices and threatening at times, but also smart, caring, and very much like us. In the modern day, however, that point has been hit so many times that it doesn't have much power unless you come at it differently.
What does have power, and what briefly elevates this one a bit from the back-and-forth strategic doldrums, is that the episode goes into what too many blockbuster films these days are missing – the calm before the storm. While there’s merit in trying to take an all killer no filler approach to movies and episodes with action, taking a beat here and there to show the characters reacting to their surroundings helps give color to the (in this case repeating stock footage) of explosions. Moments like Captain Kirk and Yeoman Rand huddling close when an energy blast, the same kind that destroyed an outpost, is headed toward them, makes that moment feel more real and more important than the blast alone ever could. (As an aside, I learned recently that the actress who plays Rand left the show and/or was fired after she was sexually assaulted by an executive at the network, which adds a tinge of sadness every time she appears.) Details like both ships being offline and having to bide their time, giving us an opportunity to see Kirk and the Romulan Commander mulling over their options before the next big conflict arises, add character to the phaser blasts and energy weapons.
The episode also tries to show the human costs of these conflicts with the only casualty being the man who was getting married that day. While I appreciate the idea, the ceremony being interrupted by the attack and the young bride declaring something along the lines of “you won’t get away from me that easily” telegraphed pretty hard that one or both of them wasn’t going to make it down the aisle. Still, there’s a modicum of power in Kirk’s comforting her and walking down the hallway with his 10,000 yard stare, presumably contemplating what’s been lost in this conflict.
And however cheesy the execution is, I at least like the idea of the not-so-subtle xenophobia subplot at play. It’s not hard to connect the crewman’s prejudice against Spock to Roddenberry & Co. making a statement about the way people of Eastern European descent were treated in the United States during the Cold War. The fact that Spock, despite his ill-treatment at the hands of the crewman, saves the day and his compatriot is a nice, if predictable touch. Again, it’s hard not to be inured to such things when that same message has been hammered home in a myriad of different works in the decades since Star Trek, and the episode lays it on pretty thick, but it’s something worth appreciating at a time when the country wasn’t far removed from McCarthyism.
But that’s really the best you can say for “Balance of Terror.” Iconic lines like “In a different reality, I could have called you friend," don’t land with the same force in 2017 as they did fifty years earlier. You can try to appreciate these things for what they would have meant at the time, but appropriately enough, they’re still at a remove from us, hard to fully understand and appreciate in the same way someone watching live would have. For episodes like this one, so tied to the culture as it stood when “Balance of Terror” aired, modern viewers are as far from the context of the episode as the humans and Romulans in the episode, able to bridge some gaps, but still very much at a distance.
This is a great episode! The story takes place almost entirely on the bridge of the Enterprise, with Kirk matching wits with a Romulan commander. I really like how Kirk uses input from his crew to make decisions and plan their strategy. Captain Kirk would be a good boss to have. I was surprised to see Spock make a blunder.
STAR TREK: BALANCE OF TERROR
WRITING: 75
ACTING: 70
LOOK: 85
SOUND: 65
FEEL: 85
NOVELTY: 90
ENJOYMENT: 80
RE-WATCHABILITY: 85
INTRIGUE: 90
EXPECTATIONS: 85
A historically important episode, introducing the Romulans. This is a tense and action-filled episode from the onset. The pacing is admirable and the many twists are delicious. It’s an episode filled with strategic warfare and feels like a story that we will return to later.
81% = :white_check_mark:
I can see how that was suspenseful and exciting back when this episode originally aired. Introducing Romulans, the Neutral Zone, Romulus and Remus. Watching it the first time in 2022, I can't take this very serious. Acting is bad, Romulans and their ship look stupid, the action-packed story is kind of ridiculous. It was probably a solid 7/10 but I can't ignore all that I know from TNG and DS9.
A very good episode with lots of tension. The writing and dialogue is good and we get to see our first real battle scenario with strategy. Something we only really get with Kirk and is curiously missing by the time we get to tNG.
I'm not sure why the wedding couldn't have been completed while they were in transit. There isn't anything to do until the Enterprise is near the Neutral Zone, so finish up the wedding before going into battle. It would take 10 minutes and transit likely took a hour or two.
The enemy ship is a little cheesy looking with the decal on the bottom and is very generic looking. Like something out of Buck Rodgers or Flash Gordon. No real style or flair like we see in later enemy ships. I'm actually very disappointed with the episode on this point.
All in all, I can wee why this is considered one if the best episodes in all of Star Trek. Not my favorite, but very well done.
Wait what?? Isn't the Romulan Commander Sarek????
A pretty good story...but the ending ruined it.
Review by FinFanBlockedParentSpoilers2022-05-11T13:06:08Z
This episode is among the best of the show's whole run.
Not only is it a thrilling cat-and-mouse game between the Enterprise and the Romulans. It shows their commander as much more than just a one-dimensional enemy. He wonders if everything he does makes sense. If there isn't a better way. But he can't escape his drilled in sense of duty. That alone would have make this story stand out. And even Kirk has it's moment showing a little doubt if his decisions are always right. It's basically the question if war is always unavoidable given certain cirsumsatnces, or if it isn't better to avoid it and search for other solutions.
We also have the character of Stiles who openly hates Romulans because his anchestors dies in the war at their hands. When he learns their is a connection to the Vulcans his hatred reflects upon Spock. Stiles only comes around when Spock saves his life despite everything. Yes, it's very on the nose. But for a TV show in the 60s, openly showing that form of bigotry, is exceptional and a reason for Star Trek popularity to this day.
The drama of the young couple supposed to get married at the beginning, with one of them being killed in the line of duty, looses a bit of impact under the weight of everything else. But it leaves us with a final word from Kirk:
"There's always a price to pay"