When a crew member is killed in an accident Captain Kirk claims that he had to jettison the pod containing Lt. Commander Finney to save the ship shortly after going to red alert during an ion storm
the problem is computer evidence suggests he jettisoned the pod prior to going to red alert. It doesn't help that it is known that Finney blames Kirk for his inability to get a ship of his own as Kirk reported one of his mistakes years before and it is speculated that this animosity is mutual and the prosecuting attorney is one of Kirk's former girlfriends. As the trial progresses all the witnesses say that there is no way Kirk would panic or let personal feelings affect his judgement yet computer evidence including video recordings suggest otherwise. If Kirk is to avoid a guilty verdict Spock will have to show that the 'infallible' computer was wrong.
There is little action in this episode; we don't even see the events that lead to Kirk's court martial until the computer evidence is played during the trial while this might make it a 'cheap episode' it doesn't mean it isn't entertaining. The highlight of the episode is Elisha Cook Jr's performance as Samuel T. Cogley, Kirk's defence attorney; a delightfully old fashioned character who one would imagine would feel more at home in a western than on a spaceship! The ending featured a good if somewhat melodramatic twist that I hadn't seen coming. The episode isn't without flaws; it is hard to believe that Kirk's ex-girlfriend would be leading the prosecution and the possibility that somebody could have tampered with the computer isn't raised till surprisingly late in the story these aren't enough to spoil the episode. Overall a decent enough episode but far from a classic.
There is little action in this episode; we don't even see the events that lead to Kirk's court martial until the computer evidence is played during the trial while this might make it a 'cheap episode' it doesn't mean it isn't entertaining. The highlight of the episode is Elisha Cook Jr's performance as Samuel T. Cogley, Kirk's defence attorney; a delightfully old fashioned character who one would imagine would feel more at home in a western than on a spaceship! The ending featured a good if somewhat melodramatic twist that I hadn't seen coming. The episode isn't without flaws; it is hard to believe that Kirk's ex-girlfriend would be leading the prosecution and the possibility that somebody could have tampered with the computer isn't raised till surprisingly late in the story these aren't enough to spoil the episode. Overall a decent enough episode but far from a classic.