The Corbomite Maneuver
- Episode aired Nov 10, 1966
- TV-PG
- 50m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
4.9K
YOUR RATING
After the Enterprise is forced to destroy a dangerous marker buoy, a gigantic alien ship arrives to capture and condemn the crew as trespassers.After the Enterprise is forced to destroy a dangerous marker buoy, a gigantic alien ship arrives to capture and condemn the crew as trespassers.After the Enterprise is forced to destroy a dangerous marker buoy, a gigantic alien ship arrives to capture and condemn the crew as trespassers.
Anthony D. Call
- Dave Bailey
- (as Anthony Call)
Majel Barrett
- Nurse Christine Chapel
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Bill Blackburn
- Lieutenant Hadley
- (uncredited)
Ted Cassidy
- Balok's Puppet
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Frank da Vinci
- Crewman
- (uncredited)
Walker Edmiston
- Balok
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Jeannie Malone
- Yeoman
- (uncredited)
Sean Morgan
- Crewman
- (uncredited)
Eddie Paskey
- Lieutenant Leslie
- (uncredited)
Frieda Rentie
- Enterprise Lieutenant
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlthough the script instructed Leonard Nimoy to emote a fearful reaction upon his first sight of Big Balok, director Joseph Sargent suggested to Nimoy that he ignore what the script called for and instead simply react with the single word "Fascinating." The suggestion of this response helped refine the Spock character and provide him with a now-legendary catchphrase.
- GoofsWhen Balok begins his 10-minute countdown of the Enterprise's destruction, McCoy enters the bridge wearing a standard long-sleeve uniform shirt. Shortly after this, camera cuts around the bridge include one focused on Spock and McCoy standing by the science station, with McCoy wearing his short-sleeve medical tunic. Then, when Lt. Bailey has his frantic outburst, McCoy goes to him to calm him, wearing the long-sleeve shirt again.
- Alternate versionsSpecial Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song. The Remastered version has the alien cube change the direction of its spin when the cube also reverses direction, but is not consistent in maintaining this in all shots.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Star Trek Logs: An MTV Big Picture Special Edition (1991)
- SoundtracksTheme From Star Trek
Written by and credited to Alexander Courage
Featured review
Not Chess, Poker
Stardate 1512.2 through 1514.1
Approximately 2266 AD
On a routine star-mapping mission, further out into the galaxy than anyone has ever been before, the Enterprise encounters an unusual cube that does not allow the ship to pass. After being forced to destroy the cube the Enterprise is threatened by Balok, commander of the Flagship Fesarius of the First Federation. The Fesarius is a much larger ship which forces the crew of the Enterprise to believe Balok when he said that he will destroy the Enterprise and everyone onboard in a few minutes.
This is one of the all time great "Kirk" episodes, where we see Kirk run out of logical solutions and think completely outside the box to solve his problem head on. We learn a lot about Kirk's character and his relationship to his crew. We see Kirk not only being a great mentor to his crew, but we also learn that he is a stern disciplinarian who demands perfection and runs a tight starship.
There is a misconception about Captain Kirk floating around out there, one that I blame entirely on the newest generation of Star Trek films led by JJ Abrams. People tend to see Kirk as a spontaneous wild card, always following his gut feelings. The original series is a lot smarter in its approach to Kirk. Kirk is an entirely logical individual, almost always taking the advice of his first mate Spock. Kirk differs from Spock, however, in that he still has the capacity to look past pure logic and take advantage of his human nature to bluff, trick, and sneak to a solution. His human nature in the original series does not negate his logical self, but rather enhances it in a way that Spock in later episodes learns from. In the episode "Charlie X," Kirk actually beats Spock in a game of chess, which is much like beating a computer at chess. Spock blames Kirk's irrational playing style but we must not forget that Kirk still beat him in this game of logic. Not cheating, but following the rules to achieve his desired outcome. It's a subtle difference, but I think it's an important one.
Near the beginning Kirk got a checkup from Bones, and we got to follow a shirtless and sweaty Kirk around the starship minding his own business. I actually had a great deal of fun watching Kirk just exist on the Enterprise doing his thing, I think the show could do a lot more mundane day to day actions of the crew.
My biggest complaint of this episode is the very end when we see Balok's true form. I'm not going to get into too much detail, suffice it to say it is certainly the weakest part of the episode. It's not just that the ending is corny, it's that it makes the whole episode entirely pointless from the beginning. Surely there must be a better way to end an episode that has such an interesting concept.
On a routine star-mapping mission, further out into the galaxy than anyone has ever been before, the Enterprise encounters an unusual cube that does not allow the ship to pass. After being forced to destroy the cube the Enterprise is threatened by Balok, commander of the Flagship Fesarius of the First Federation. The Fesarius is a much larger ship which forces the crew of the Enterprise to believe Balok when he said that he will destroy the Enterprise and everyone onboard in a few minutes.
This is one of the all time great "Kirk" episodes, where we see Kirk run out of logical solutions and think completely outside the box to solve his problem head on. We learn a lot about Kirk's character and his relationship to his crew. We see Kirk not only being a great mentor to his crew, but we also learn that he is a stern disciplinarian who demands perfection and runs a tight starship.
There is a misconception about Captain Kirk floating around out there, one that I blame entirely on the newest generation of Star Trek films led by JJ Abrams. People tend to see Kirk as a spontaneous wild card, always following his gut feelings. The original series is a lot smarter in its approach to Kirk. Kirk is an entirely logical individual, almost always taking the advice of his first mate Spock. Kirk differs from Spock, however, in that he still has the capacity to look past pure logic and take advantage of his human nature to bluff, trick, and sneak to a solution. His human nature in the original series does not negate his logical self, but rather enhances it in a way that Spock in later episodes learns from. In the episode "Charlie X," Kirk actually beats Spock in a game of chess, which is much like beating a computer at chess. Spock blames Kirk's irrational playing style but we must not forget that Kirk still beat him in this game of logic. Not cheating, but following the rules to achieve his desired outcome. It's a subtle difference, but I think it's an important one.
Near the beginning Kirk got a checkup from Bones, and we got to follow a shirtless and sweaty Kirk around the starship minding his own business. I actually had a great deal of fun watching Kirk just exist on the Enterprise doing his thing, I think the show could do a lot more mundane day to day actions of the crew.
My biggest complaint of this episode is the very end when we see Balok's true form. I'm not going to get into too much detail, suffice it to say it is certainly the weakest part of the episode. It's not just that the ending is corny, it's that it makes the whole episode entirely pointless from the beginning. Surely there must be a better way to end an episode that has such an interesting concept.
helpful•20
- Aaronb00
- Nov 26, 2021
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