A Private Little War
- Episode aired Feb 2, 1968
- TV-PG
- 50m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
3.3K
YOUR RATING
Peaceful, primitive peoples get caught up in the struggle between superpowers, with Kirk unhappily trying to restore the balance of power disrupted by the Klingons.Peaceful, primitive peoples get caught up in the struggle between superpowers, with Kirk unhappily trying to restore the balance of power disrupted by the Klingons.Peaceful, primitive peoples get caught up in the struggle between superpowers, with Kirk unhappily trying to restore the balance of power disrupted by the Klingons.
Bill Blackburn
- Lieutenant Hadley
- (uncredited)
Roger Holloway
- Lt. Lemli
- (uncredited)
Jeannie Malone
- Native Woman
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Mugato was called The Gumato in the original script. But DeForest Kelley kept mispronouncing it so it was changed. The closing credits still name the creature as The Gumato.
- GoofsTire tracks are visible as the villagers climb the hill while pursuing Kirk and Spock.
- Alternate versionsSpecial Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
- ConnectionsFeatured in William Shatner's Star Trek Memories (1995)
Featured review
More Than A Vietnam Allegory -- Coming of Age in a Fallen World
Fifty years ago this was one of my top ten episodes of Star Trek. As a six year old kid I wanted action, fist fights, gunfire, and adventure. I wanted Kirk in action with his fists, fighting the bad guys. I also loved the low-tech feel of the muskets and the powder horns. This episode to me has the perfect balance of action, adventure, romance, and heartbreak.
Now a lot of reviewers judge this episode solely on what it says (or fails to say) about the war in Vietnam. Certainly you can fault Gene Roddenberry for failing to take on the human cost of war -- this isn't Born On The Fourth of July. (Imagine a sequel where the Federation signs a peace treaty with the Klingons, and Kirk finds a wheelchair-bound Tyree in a bar, cursing Kirk for persuading him to enlist!)
But the thing is, this episode may not have the "answer" to what went wrong in Vietnam. But it raises a lot of timeless questions about loss of innocence, the end of childhood, and the price of change. Many, many Star Trek episodes show Kirk running across someone he liked or admired before his five-year mission with the Enterprise. Usually the other person fails Kirk in some way -- they've become crooked, or corrupt, or simply gone insane.
This time around, though, Kirk's friend Tyree is just as pure and just as innocent as Kirk remembered. The two of them were boys, once, hunting and fishing in the wilderness just like Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. But now Tyree is a man, and a leader -- like Kirk. And that means he has to change in ways that are genuinely tragic. The arc of Tyree, from helpless and innocent to hardened and ruthless, really mirrors the price Kirk has paid to become a legendary star ship captain. And Kirk's sadness only makes the tragic journey more profound and meaningful.
Tyree is the most likable and sympathetic companion of Kirk's "younger days" that we ever meet in the original series. I would also argue that of all the deadly, seductive women Kirk ever encountered, Nona is the most alluring and the most memorable. She's initially presented as being much more strong-willed and street-smart than her husband, and it's hard not to admire her genuine outrage at the way Kirk puts the Prime Directive above her husband' s survival. ("Then he has the wrong friends -- and I have the wrong husband!") But the way she over-estimates her own charms and fatally under-estimates the brutal cruelty of the villagers makes for some of the most graphic and disturbing violence in the series. And watching Tyree deal with what follows is genuine drama.
Everything is great about this episode -- even the big and furry Mugatu adds just the right unintentional comic relief, a touch of campy silliness to offset the genuine sadness and the explosive drama!
Now a lot of reviewers judge this episode solely on what it says (or fails to say) about the war in Vietnam. Certainly you can fault Gene Roddenberry for failing to take on the human cost of war -- this isn't Born On The Fourth of July. (Imagine a sequel where the Federation signs a peace treaty with the Klingons, and Kirk finds a wheelchair-bound Tyree in a bar, cursing Kirk for persuading him to enlist!)
But the thing is, this episode may not have the "answer" to what went wrong in Vietnam. But it raises a lot of timeless questions about loss of innocence, the end of childhood, and the price of change. Many, many Star Trek episodes show Kirk running across someone he liked or admired before his five-year mission with the Enterprise. Usually the other person fails Kirk in some way -- they've become crooked, or corrupt, or simply gone insane.
This time around, though, Kirk's friend Tyree is just as pure and just as innocent as Kirk remembered. The two of them were boys, once, hunting and fishing in the wilderness just like Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. But now Tyree is a man, and a leader -- like Kirk. And that means he has to change in ways that are genuinely tragic. The arc of Tyree, from helpless and innocent to hardened and ruthless, really mirrors the price Kirk has paid to become a legendary star ship captain. And Kirk's sadness only makes the tragic journey more profound and meaningful.
Tyree is the most likable and sympathetic companion of Kirk's "younger days" that we ever meet in the original series. I would also argue that of all the deadly, seductive women Kirk ever encountered, Nona is the most alluring and the most memorable. She's initially presented as being much more strong-willed and street-smart than her husband, and it's hard not to admire her genuine outrage at the way Kirk puts the Prime Directive above her husband' s survival. ("Then he has the wrong friends -- and I have the wrong husband!") But the way she over-estimates her own charms and fatally under-estimates the brutal cruelty of the villagers makes for some of the most graphic and disturbing violence in the series. And watching Tyree deal with what follows is genuine drama.
Everything is great about this episode -- even the big and furry Mugatu adds just the right unintentional comic relief, a touch of campy silliness to offset the genuine sadness and the explosive drama!
helpful•192
- Dan1863Sickles
- Jun 26, 2019
Details
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content