First Time Watching ALL of Star Trek - Episode 35: The Doomsday Machine (TOS S2E6)

[@robphillips1797]

Guys, keep giving your intelligent, honest reactions. You are seeing this for the first time and amidst a whole different set of series, movies, cliches, etc. Trekkies (like me) need to remember we have spent years falling in love with the show. Sometimes I feel like it's become a cult like thing for us. I love tos and this is one of my favorite episodes, but I still appreciate and respect your analysis. And you have every right to your opinion! Plus, I get a kick out of your humor. Live Long and Prosper!

[@finenebula]

Yea I saw it as a teenager and grew up with it. Would be different seeing these first time as an adult and all in quick succession.

[@Daniel-Strain]

Best part of this episode was William Windom's acting. When he says, "don't you think I know that?" AMAZING.

[@callicordova4066]

William Windom's acting in that entire scene is amazing.

[@arsbadmojo]

In this household "Don't you think I know that?" impressions are the only acceptable answer to trivial mistakes. "Hey, you left the garage door open." "Don't you think I know that?!"

[@Daniel-Strain]

@@arsbadmojo LOL

[@powerbad696]

Windom's acting was GREAT.When he said that particular line,he had me SHOOK as a kid !!! LOL.

[@dongilleo9743]

That was a really good moment in this episode. When the Enterprise first arrives, Spock announces that that the first three planets have been destroyed, and the fourth is breaking up. So if you've been paying attention, when Decker says he sent his crew to the third planet, you come to the awful conclusion of what happened almost simultaneously with his saying it.

[@garanceadrosehn9691]

Whenever I watch this, my assumption is that Commodore Decker (the character) had been a perfectly fine and reasonable officer, but here he's unhinged after losing his crew. And not just "losing", but having to sit there on his ship while the crew on the planet is calling for help, and being utterly powerless to do anything about it. People he's probably worked with for years, and who he liked just as much as Kirk likes Spock, McCoy and the rest of his main crew. He wants revenge, and he wants to redeem himself from the failure of losing that crew.

[@richelliott9320]

Exactly my take

[@richierich398]

Yeah no offense to these guys, but I don’t understand how they don’t see that it’s pretty obvious. Even when I was a kid I understood that.

[@arsbadmojo]

This exactly! His desire for revenge has blocked out all else; PTSD has twisted his judgement.

[@pskopsyke]

These guys need to watch with better eyes; less jocular comments, if you’re poking fun then you are not getting or care about the story. It’s a Moby Dick story with PTSD, loss, friendships, survivor’s guilt and the threat of all human life ending. The guest star was the star. Check out the Galifrey Girls they totally understood this episode.

[@garanceadrosehn9691]

​@@pskopsyke - Actually I'm fine with the way they do these reactions. It's their reactions, and I do believe they are showing us their honest initial reactions. They're not saying things to play up to the fan base, nor attacking the shows to play up to those people who think Star Trek is greatly overrated. I understand why they felt that Commodore Decker as a character was rather obnoxious, because that's exactly what the actor was portraying for the middle part of the show. If I thought they were doing a lousy job, I wouldn't have taken the time to watch this.

[@garywillig5143]

The thing about Decker is he's actually a great commander and captain. In this case his judgement has been impaired because he's so traumatized by the loss of his entire crew. He's not a villain, he's a broken man pushed trying to redeem his failure who has a death wish since he had tried to sacrifice himself for his crew and ended up as the only survivor. Under any other circumstances he'd be making smarter decisions, but his determination still proves critical by showing how the machine could be destroyed, and he was the one who was smart enough to figure it out.

[@rttoonist4275]

The true horror of this episode is that Kirk would have ended up EXACTLY like Decker if the Enterprise had encountered the planet killer first.

[@Dave3Dguy]

Exactly. Having PTSD and tremendous guilt doesn't make you an "*sshole" as these guys characterize him. Try to see what he's been through. He is a tragic character.

[@ExWEIMan]

It is obvious these guys have never read Moby Dick. He is indeed a tragic character. @@Dave3Dguy

[@toddwalker4301]

​@@rttoonist4275 Well, I'd like to think that Kirk would have made better choices, especially since he had Spock to advise him as well.

[@marthachlipala4538]

The actor that played Decker based his performance on Humphrey Bogarts portrayal of the Captain Queeg in the Caine Mutiny. Holding the computer discs and shuffling them in his hands, to portray someone who was suffering PTSD or battle fatigue.

[@stephenriggs8177]

I think his was the best performance of the entire series.

[@m.e.3862]

Yes. Deckard shuffled discs like Capt queeg nervously rolled little metal hand excercise balls in his palm

[@indetigersscifireview4360]

I recently rewatched the Caine Mutiny. What's really fabulous is that the exec's lawyer tears into the officers after they "win" their case.

[@m.e.3862]

@@indetigersscifireview4360 my favorite part and an amazing performance by a young Jose Ferrer

[@xeon4044]

William Windom is the actor. He was quite a popular television actor during TV’s early years.

[@williamozier918]

One of those magic times on Star Trek when hammy over the top acting actually worked like a charm and eleveated the episode to drama.

[@Theomite]

I wouldn't call it "hammy" I'd call it wrenching. Shatner trying to out-act Windom is hilarious because of how futile it is.

[@buffstraw2969]

They wanted veteran actor Robert Ryan to play Decker, but he was unavailable so they brought in William Windom. Decker was originally supposed to be a Captain Ahab-type character, only concerned with killing the Doomsday Machine (a mechanical Moby Dick) with zero regard for his dead crew, but Windom created a more human side to Decker, showing him grieving for them. James Doohan (Scotty) stated in an interview that this was his favorite episode.

[@alucard624]

Robert Ryan would've been awesome as Decker too.

[@buffstraw2969]

@@alucard624 Ryan had seen the show and expressed interest in being a guest star, but scheduling conflicts got in the way. You're right, he'd have been great as Decker.

[@markymarknj]

I like how William Windom humanized Commodore Decker; he did a GREAT job!

[@penoyer79]

you're half right. Windom hated being on Star Trek. Shatner and Nimoy were fighting a lot at the time which created a toxic and unwelcoming atmosphere on set (this may explain Nimoy's rather stiff and robotic performance). Windom thought the episode was ridiculous so he purposefully overacted in it. it wasn't until years later he realized it was a reference to Captain Ahab.

[@BruceCarroll]

I am 57 years old and grew up watching Star Trek. I do not think either of you are negative towards the show. I watch your videos because I'm glad to see youngsters like yourselves can enjoy Star Trek. I feel like we are enjoying the show together. TBH, sometimes you two are more forgiving of Trek than I am.

[@tempest20000]

Best Star Trek episode of them all. Great action, great story. This one has everything.

[@ravenwind1062]

The Enterprise and the Constellation were both Constitution Class Heavy Cruisers, the Federation's "go to" ship for this time period, as they were capable of combat and exploration. Quite a few were sent on "5 Year Missions" meaning they were to go the edge of federation space and explore in addition to normal duties, and were not expected to return to earth for 5 years. Of the original group of "5 Year" ships only the enterprise survived to return and complete her 5 years.

[@davewhitmore1958]

The Star Fleet Technical Manual showed Destroyers, Scouts (both single engined) & Tugs, along with their NCC numbers It also showed the outline of a proposed Dreadnought (with 3 engines)

[@kinagrill]

They were the go-to for the long-range extended exploration missions in those, oh 5 year type missions.

[@RLucas3000]

That’s a really sad statistic. Didn’t they kill between 2-4 in the UC episode?

[@pleasantvalleypickerca7681]

The actor who played Decker was William Windom. He was an excellent actor that has a huge amount of roles in not only TV but movies and theater. He won an Emmy award in 1970 as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his series "My World and Welcome to It". He had a career that spanned 56 years!

[@cdfreester]

The Doomsday Machine was an airport wind sock covered in cement. Another example of creativity from the sfx group of a 1960's sci-fi TV show. Never thought about it looking like a joint, but now I can't watch this episode again without at least a smile when it first shows up.

[@tomyoung9049]

in the actual original series. They are watching the 'enhanced' so the exterior effects are all digitally updated.

[@cdfreester]

@@tomyoung9049 And thank heaven this episode was significantly updated with those effects. I love TOS but am fine with enhancing the appropriate episodes and scenes with more modern effects.

[@lucinavonnolaran8728]

​@@cdfreester I do wish they kept the OG Planet Killer in, just cgi-ing it. the original one looked pretty damn terrifying imo, this one... still terrifying, but not as much as the OG.

[@OpenMawProductions]

@@lucinavonnolaran8728 The CGi is a little muddier than the actual filming model.

[@GrumpyOldGuyPlaysGames]

The communications officer who isn't Uhura in this episode is Lieutenant Lizabeth Palmer, played by the late Elizabeth Rogers. During season two Nichelle Nichols was taking vacation with family, and Rogers was cast to be sort of a "permanent back-up Uhura". She'd make a total of three appearances in the series, this one being the first.

[@frankb3347]

When the characters aren't on the show I like to imagine they're on leave. Probably enjoying themselves on a vacation planet somewhere.

[@ronchapman8881]

I thought she was gone planning on leaving star trek but me Dr. Martin Luther King and he changer her mind so she came back

[@LeutnantJoker]

I wish more writers would pay attention to what you said in your review of this episode at the end there. Action and effects can help tell a story and can be visually entertaining, but what makes a story great and timeless at the end of the day is the characters, the drama, the motivations. 'splosions are only impressive for a very short amount of time. I think that's why older movies and shows that had limited budget hold up way better to this day. Because they focused on the human condition and on the story that happened to characters. And those stories you can still relate to a 50 years later. That's why we still read or redo stories from thousands of years ago. You have to do something truly groundbreaking with effects, like Star Wars, to make it timeless and impactful. But a TV show laser effect is not going to change the entire industry. The back and forth between Spock, McCoy and Kirk... that's what made it last, not the phaser effect.

[@cdfreester]

And this is why we love this show: the characters and the stories. It was never about the effects (especially considering how bad TV sci-fi effects were back in the 60's).

[@robabiera733]

The action in this episode works because of the characters and the drama. Without them, yes, it would be just empty show.

[@kathrynroat9139]

Amen!!!

[@richardb6260]

True. But the space battles in Deep Space Nine are spectacular. It's a genuine thrill when the Defiant fires those pulse phasers.

[@TheLibrarianOG1]

@Witcher Joker I swear it's like you and me share the same brain, especially when it comes to this topic, and especially with Hollywood. I've been saying this for like the past 20 or so years cause it's like from the 1920s or so to early 2000s is where you can find the really good content, and everything else these days is white noise. The era of cancellation where there's too much production but nothing of quality, reboots, adaptations, renewals, repetitions, all of which look very good, but poor and weak stories. No originality As far as SciFi goes, the only shows I still watch these days are The Orville and Doctor Who, nothing else. I can actually count the number of shows I consider still good, that are still going on, on one hand, nowadays, which is really sad. This era of film and television may never reach "Classic" status ever, except maybe for a handful of content. It's just not the same anymore. People are not as driven as they were, back in the idea. If any show or movie tries to tell stories on the human condition, it's considered woke or whatever and people get sensitive about it, because they don't wanna confront the truth about who they really are. It'll just never be the same or better

[@oobrocks]

William Windom deserved an Emmy for guest actor: the best representation of terror I’ve ever seen. Btw: this episode employes trumpets for the first & only time in TOS

[@Philbert-s2c]

He was a fantastic actor and doesn't get enough recognition these days.

[@anthonyleecollins9319]

@@Philbert-s2c He appeared on a lot of shows back in those days, in a lot of different types of roles.

[@oobrocks]

Concur

[@trhansen3244]

He was terrific here. One of those actors who appeared on a lot of shows and always delivered.

[@cdfreester]

Agreed. He was the best guest-star of the whole Original series, imo. This episode shows off lots of good character interaction and tension. No bad performances.

[@Lethgar_Smith]

William Windam gets a lot of praise from Star Trek fans for his guest appearance in this episode much to the actor's dismay. He has a very funny and self deprecating sense of humor and has in interviews discussed how geeky he thinks Star Trek fans are. This episode is also one of the few that got its own unique score, pieces of which will be heard throughout subsequent episodes. Sal Kaplan did an amazing job and uses character themes throughout the story to highlight the drama and each emotional beat of the script. The director for this episode, Marc Daniels, does something interesting in that he always includes the background actors reacting to the drama that is unfolding in front of them. Instead of having the extras on the bride just keep pushing buttons like nothing is happening, He actually has them stop what they are doing and turn around and look at the actors as they yell at each other, just as real people will do. It's a subtle touch and he does it without close ups, its just a little background action that matches up with the foreground action. Something a lot of directors overlook.

[@arsbadmojo]

Which came first, Sal Kaplan's score or the 'Jaws' theme? ;)

[@Pothos969]

@@arsbadmojo The Doomsday Machine (TV Episode 1967); Jaws (1975)

[@noahbawdy3395]

@@arsbadmojo Sal's

[@arsbadmojo]

@@Pothos969 I knew he answer, I was just trying to point out the similarities. ;)

[@robabiera733]

Windom actually came back to do at least one fan production that I know of.

[@jsharp3165]

"NCC-1017?" In the original effects, the model for the Constellation was just an AMT hobby Enterprise model bought from a toy store that was then given battle damage. Since the model only came with the hull numbers for the Enterprise, they were forced to just rearrange 1701 into 1017.

[@Quantarum]

My favorite episode from any iteration of the show. The soundtrack is amazing and the machine's theme gets reused a few times in later episodes. The machine was supposed to produce a high pitched noise that intensified as you closed on it, you can see the actors reacting to it in a few scenes, but the sound was not added in the post production.

[@trhansen3244]

It's one of the most rewatchable episodes in all of Star Trek.

[@batape1965]

Agree: one of my favorites too. Way better than Mirror Mirror, which is fun, but kind of ridiculous. The music for this episode was amazing. I think our Target Audience lads spent too much time pausing to crack middling jokes. That really cuts down on immersion and the building tension.

[@crystalheart9]

I didn't know that about the sound. This was a fabulous episode. I love the ones that have you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen.

[@ChrisS-no3ft]

You are right on, Alex. Star Trek, while it had some action-adventure elements, was focused on great stories told in an allegorical way. To me, the most emotional part was when Kirk says “there is no 3rd planet!”, and Decker in tears, looks at him “dont you think I know that? There was, but not any more!” And he describes how his crew was screaming for his help as the planet killer destroyed the planet. So sad. The writing and characters are what Trek is about. Although I will admit (not to jump the gun) but Star Trek II, while being a character movie, really pulled out the stops on battles, which were very realistic and gruesome. Something you might see in a WWII submarine film. But I digress. Great job to both you Alex, and Josh. Fresh perspective as always!

[@JnEricsonx]

Fighting this thing in Star Trek Online is a Pain In The Ass.

[@rscottdjr]

9:05 "This guy is so deranged I wouldn't be surprised if he jumped off the ship yelling 'I have to kill it!' ". Again, you guys are sure you have not watched these episodes?

[@richardpetty9159]

Yeah, when I heard him say that I kind of laughed to think how pleased he’ll be with himself at the end of the episode.

[@PNolandS]

This is my favorite episode of the original series hands down. I’m not saying it’s the best, or that it has some big underlying theme, but it’s exciting, it’s dramatic, and the new effects depict so much movement that the original effects just couldn’t. I find myself watching this episode over and over again without it ever getting old. So glad you guys are reacting to this show, been loving everything so far and can’t wait for more!

[@utterlee]

I loved this episode as a kid, especially as it was more of an action-adventure type story with the "big" starship battles. If you think it looks dated now you should see the original effects where an actual commercially available model kit was used as the Constellation, hence the registration number just being a rearrangement of the Enterprise's numbers.

[@tempest20000]

Yea it was a first edition AMT model. Wish I had one. Would be cool to make a Constellation model. Kinda weird though that they chose 1017 instead of 1710. Now, it makes no sense for it to be 1017 since most ships at that point were either 1600 series to 1700 series for registration. But back then, they probably were like “Don’t want it to look like the Enterprise registry”.

[@pleasantvalleypickerca7681]

Guys this is a fan favorite episode. Often makes top ten lists. It has a tension throughout that works well. William Windom's performance is excellent as he really nails the mental state of a man who has suffered extreme trauma. Just think he had his entire crew die because of his errors in judgement and some of them would have been close friends. By the way the rank of "Commodore" is one level above a "Captain". So Decker had the right legally to assume command. One more thing I wish to point out. This is one of the TOS episodes that had an original music score written for it and I think it's excellent.

[@porflepopnecker4376]

My all-time favorite episode of Star Trek! Especially that incredible Wagnerian score by Sol Kaplan, in which even the transporter gets its own musical theme. The thrilling "countdown" music was reused numerous times throughout the remaining episodes. Word is that when Decker says "It was miles long...with a maw that could swallow a dozen starships", cut-up Shatner remarked, "Maw? Did you see its paw too?"

[@DocMicrowave]

One of my top favorite episodes from TOS. Great deliveries from Shatner, Nimoy and Windom.

[@cdfreester]

Agreed. Great performances all around.

[@TheNeonRabbit]

William Windom's acting in this is as powerful as any in the entire Star Trek franchise

[@Whalewraith]

I watch this at least once a year. This and the Space 1999 episode Dragons lair are my favourite episodes of anything ever. I constantly come back to both of these after 45 years of 1st seeing them. In case you didn't get it, this episode is basically Moby Dick. Something Patrick Stewart constantly referenced. Fyi in the Peter David book Vendetta this was actualy a protype for a anti Borg Weapon. Decker was a Commodore. He is in charge of the whole fleet. He outranks Captains & can take command of anything he sets foot upon.

[@arsbadmojo]

So many great things about this episode. For me, this really brought home the idea that Starfleet was more than just the Enterprise; that there were other ships out doing the same exploration. Also, it really hits home that a starship isn't invulnerable. Because the Enterprise always seems to make great escapes - here is a starship that wasn't so lucky. Things to notice: 1. When Kirk sees the Constellation, he nearly immediately concludes it was attacked - watch how he calls for Red Alert. He doesn't walk over, sit down and look for the button - he jumps down, hits it with his fist from beside the chair - it's such a boss move!! 2. When they discover Decker, McCoy gives him a 'shot', watch William Wendham reach up to his shoulder like he feels it - it's subtle, but awesome.

[@powerbad696]

Good observations and comments.I too liked seeing another Constitution-class starship,especially as a kid.As a kid I had no concept of tv budgets,hence the toy/model use for the Constellation. LOL.Windom's acting had me so SHOOK as a kid,I truly believed he lost his ship and crew !!! LOL. LOVED the fight scene between Decker and the sercurity officer-NICE.And as a kid I FELT for Decker as he died,because he couldn't live with himself for the death of his crew.

[@imocchidoro]

Just a note: William Windom was also great in TZ "Five Characters in Search of an Exit" RIP

[@tyranusfan]

The tie-in with atomic weapons at the time was more powerful. A lot of the "terror" of the Cold War was the relatively automatic nature of it all. Notice of a Soviet launch on the USA would trigger a retaliatory launch, and vice versa. Massive, civilization ending destruction was seemingly literally on a hair trigger. In that light, an automated superweapon that got loose and killed both sides was an interesting metaphor.

[@anthonyleecollins9319]

Very much so. Makes me think of Dr. Strangelove, from three years earlier, where a "doomsday machine" (under that exact name) is central to the plot. "Mutually Assured Destruction" ("MAD") was on everybody's minds (including little kids watching Star Trek).

[@lastofusclips5291]

well, we're closer to nuclear destruction now compared to the last few decades. this episode is still very relevant today

[@thewheatharvester9156]

Decker’s performance is amazing! To watch a man work through his grief in all the wrong ways. Denial, anger, blame, depression. Because it all happened so quickly, bones couldn’t get him the help he needed. His descent into madness and his eventual death was done perfect.

[@christopherduffy1703]

I like to think of this episode as the outer space version of Jaws. That Doomsday Machine being the shark and Commoder Dekker being Captain Quint. There's a similar story line.

[@jameswarner5809]

'Gentlemen, I suggest you beam me aboard' is one of the coolest line deliveries, along with Spock's "Mr Scott.... MR SCOTT' which has just that hint of urgency that you wouldn't expect to hear from a Vulcan.

[@ammaleslie509]

The logo on his shirt is different because he has a different rank. Commodore is a navy rank between Captain and Admiral

[@sarahfullerton6894]

The Director of this episode was Marc Daniels. He always had people behind the main characters, reacting to what those characters did. In the tense back and forth between Decker, Kirk, and Spock, watch the communications officer standing behind Decker and Spock. Note that, when Decker is being stubborn, she has a look of disapproval. Yet, once he is relieved of command, and concedes the bridge command, and Spock takes over, you see a lifting of her head, and a slight smile of satisfaction and approval. Subtle, but there. Excellent direction, in my book.

[@tbirdguy1]

My favorite episode of the entire series. The mystery of the machine, the deep sci-fi existential horror of it all. It's almost love-craftian in it's construction, and it works perfectly as an object of unfathomable origin. This thing could be many billions of years old, built by a civilization whose abilities are far beyond any technology we can imagine. It's intelligent but not, like a shark, uncaring unfeeling, with the need to do one thing... consume. I'm actually amazed no one has followed up on this story. What if this thing was just the harbinger of an entire fleet of machines? Or a machine capable of reproduction, which is why it was consuming material? Kirk's little joke at the end hinted at this possibility. It took an entire kamikaze of one earths most powerful ships to stop one of these behemoths. Imagine a hundred? A thousand? To me this is the first episode that captures Q's quote from TNG: "You are about to move into areas of the galaxy containing wonders more incredible than you can possibly imagine - and terrors to freeze your soul." and one more " It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid."

[@colinbayley6764]

There was a fan produced episode some 20 years ago where they were up against a fleet of doomsday machines. I'm afraid I don't have any more information to give you as I'm working from memory. It was very good tho.

[@reverts3031]

When Oumuamua passed through our solar system, this episode was on my mind. Eeek!

[@LeutnantJoker]

Regarding Uhura not being in her seat: The enterprise crew is serving in shifts :) She can't be there 24hrs ;) And of course they also get days off :) From what I know there's three shifts, 8 hours each.

[@robabiera733]

If you're not seeing Sulu as much this season, it's because George Takei was off filming "The Green Berets" with John Wayne.

[@pauld6967]

Rotation is the way in the Navy and Starfleet is based on that. :-)

[@pskopsyke]

Star Trek was just a side gig for Nichelle. Her real job was singing, she probably had a booking engagement.

[@powerbad696]

@@pskopsyke Nichelle was also a burlesque dancer in her YOUTH.

[@JedWhitten]

Of course, while they're on red alert everyone is on duty but her station isn't necessarily on the bridge.

[@williamjackson6705]

The actor who played Decker was the late great William Windom. Popular character actor from the late 40`s until his death in 2012. He had his own show in the late 60`s called My World & Welcome To It, based on the works of James Thurber. As a kid I saw him on what seemed like one or another every week. He was almost like a visiting relative.

[@dethtongue945]

Fun to see people watching this one for the first time. Not gonna lie. This episode scared the absolute shit out of me as a kid. Commodore Decker was played by the late William Wyndom who was a fairly prolific character actor. This is ironically probably his most famous role to most modern audiences. And yes, as per your observation Star Fleet continues its unbroken streak of captaining starships with psychotic melt downs.

[@TwistedSisterHaratiofales]

In TOS every Star Ship/Star Fleet ship had their own Logo. This episode along with a few others show this. By TNG the warp angle logo from the Enterprise had been adapted to all star fleet in the com badges, and there were many variations of that, but the core of them has the warp angle emblem.

[@hv3926]

😂 "How has Starfleet made it this far with so many assholes?" 🤣 Classic!!!

[@mariovaccarella6854]

Great Video, as usual, guys. It was a Great Episode with the Actor, William Windom, as The Commodore Matt Decker. His going in & out of Shock was Great Acting. By the way, as he stated to Kirk, he's a Superior Officer to Captain Kirk. I like his acting, also, as he drives The Space Shuttle down the things throat. You guys know that it's Moby Dick, with Commodore Matt Decker in The Captain Ahab Role.

[@hawkmaster381]

Notice how Decker kicked that young bucks ass? Don’t fool with the old, seasoned dudes!

[@artboymoy]

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas to ms! My favorite episode. Such a great story and action with William Windom playing Commodore Decker! So over the top but sooo good! The ice cream cone of death! You have to give it to the show to come up with something that is pretty simple but pretty alien. The original prop was a wind sock dipped in cement.

[@lawrenceschuman5354]

The Constellation is a retail model kit. By season 2 there was some merch. They built it, painted it, and set parts of it on fire. You can really tell in the original episodes without enhanced VFX.

[@athos1974]

My favorite TOS episode, and in my top 20 favorite of any Trek series I have seen. In TOS, the Enterprise is a Constitution class starship. There are 12 Constitution class starships in the Federation fleet during this era. Each ship has its own ship insignia, which is why Decker is wearing a different one than Kirk.

[@DeltaAssaultGaming]

Unless you go by people making STD…

[@athos1974]

@@DeltaAssaultGaming Ugh. I tried watching Discovery for a couple of seasons and finally gave up. The writing was just too mediocre. I do like Strange New Worlds so far though.

[@idea2go]

William Windom as Commodore Decker was great in this! I think he once told a story where he asked how he should play it, and they told him don't worry about going overboard just have fun with the part --- it was perfect!

[@ianjohnson7646]

After much deliberation, I have decided...that content is indeed also made for me

[@dennismason3740]

The climax features music by Sol Kaplan, composed specifically for this story, which was borrowed by John Williams for the Jaws theme 6 years later.

[@racookster]

In the 'sixties, nobody in the audience would have missed the reference to the hydrogen bomb. We understood it just from the episode's title. There were rumors back then that there actually were "doomsday devices," and that either Russia or the U.S. would set theirs off if they were on the verge of losing a thermonuclear war. "If we can't live on this planet, no one can."

[@russellharrell2747]

Dr. Strangelove is the prescription for these young whippersnappers. Maybe that should be a choice for a movie reaction

[@katheryns1219]

"Don't you think I know that?"- one of my family's favorite quotes done with a lot of drama.

[@thelordofhellaz]

There's a brief moment in this episode where you can see that James Doohan (Scotty) is missing a finger. It was shot off during D-Day in World War II.

[@michaelvincent8208]

I worked at a video store years ago, and his daughter was taking classes at the local University. She dropped in to pick up a few videos, and while she gave me in information, I recognized her Dad's name. As she thanked me leaving, I told her to say "Hello" to the Commodore for me, and she almost fell down!

[@gordondavis6168]

While this has always been a great episode, it is the episode that benefits the most from updated special effects. Now the ships pinwheel around the planet killer, and the shot of the asteroid hitting the saucer of a destroyed Constellation during the title is great.

[@christhompson6010]

Amazing seeing this generation appreciate a show from the 60,s. Considering the shape of society when these shows were released. It had a cult following due to the storylines being so sophisticated and advanced for its time. My older cousin watched this religiously . The rest of the simple minds like myself "where is the scary monster where's the bikini chicks "Not a real sci-fi without that. Wasn't until syndication in the 70,s myself and people of my generation began to appreciate the writing of the show which lead to a resurgence of Star Trek resulting in them hitting the big screen in movie theaters. Can't think of another TV show that's done that in a way that's inspire so many over decades.

[@Shasta--1]

Remember this was during the cold war. Children were practicing jumping under their desks in school to protect against the bomb. Families were building bomb shelters in their backyard.

[@kevenpinder7025]

William Windom (Decker) was so well known and respected that, during the scenes where he is alone in frame at the beginning, he gave Windom and the camera man several pages and shot blocks and said "give me a about 20 minutes of takes, I'm gonna go have a smoke." His professionalism was that trusted.

[@linphillips8331]

Oh, and to your point regarding discussion and critique, yes, I absolutely tune in for that. There are too many KZbin cheerleader channels--why would I watch that. I appreciate critical thinking.

[@anthonyleecollins9319]

Absolutely. Every show can't be the best, and every episode can't be the best. (Hey, even when I was twelve I could tell some Trek episodes were a lot better than others. 🙂 ) So, if some are the best and most aren't, what are the differences? That's where it gets interesting.

[@peterschairer488]

The character of Commodore Decker is supposed to be the father of Will Decker from ST: TMP.

[@thelionsshare6668]

Commodore, in the old navy rankings, is the rank above Captain. I think now it's something like "Rear-Admiral, Lower Half."

[@sparky6086]

Because of the action, Moby Dick theme, & pulling rank drama, this was my favorite episode, when I was a kid in the late '60's. As an adult, it was superceded by "The City on the Edge of Forever". "Doomesday Machine" is now tied in my book for second w/ "Mirror, Mirror", "The Enemy Within", and several others.

[@shermanlin5554]

Great reaction this was my favorite episode. William Windom shortly before his death reprised his role as Commodore Decker in a fan made series episode. You can look it up on youtube.

[@clarencewalker3925]

The actor who portrayed Commodore Decker was the late William Windom, one of our finest character actors. Watch him on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents".

[@markpekrul4393]

True story - in the original, non-enhanced version, the Constellation was a model of the Enterprise - the same kind you could purchase from a store at that time. They damaged it up, but in the shots you could still see things like the nacelles wobbling. The Constellation's registry - 1071 - was simply a mix-up of the Enterprise's - 1701 - they cut and re-ordered the decal that came with the ship model.

[@mxbishop]

One of my favorite episodes of Star Trek TOS. Thanks for reviewing. Commodore Decker is played by William Windom - a great character actor from the 60s and 70s - with lots of TV credits. Check IMDB to see his 260 credits. In this episode, I love the interplay between Spock and Decker - and the tension that builds as Kirk is left, seemingly stranded, on the doomed Constellation at the end. The updated FX shots are also very nice. One point about modern action shows vs clunky old television shows from the 1960s - in the 60s, many of the shortcomings in the FX department were compensated for, by much better, and often brilliant writing, along with excellent character work. With today's action/thrillers, the writing gets very little polish before the movie is filmed - and the improved FX usually can't save what amounts to an excessively dull script. This is why many of us still occasionally watch shows from the 1960s. It's just me - but I'll take better writing over superior FX shots every time. It's the writing the makes a film timeless. Cheers!

[@lauramiller4939]

This episode made me a fan-I liked this one as a kid because it was a story I could understand, but so many episodes were too much for me, so if it got too out there for my 5-yr old brain I'd go do something else. My family watched it and some years later the guys even watched the reruns after work all week long. My bedroom was next to the living room, so I often heard an episode's music drift in and I'd get curious and poke my head out. Btw, I was 16 by this time. Every time I looked it was THIS episode! I wondered if the guys had gone looney and the station was playing only that episode. I started to watch with them and was finally old enough to understand the shows...and got hooked.

[@richardb6260]

Scotty nearly bumping his head reminded me of one of my least favorite scenes in a Star Trek movie. There's a Trek fan film that deals with an alternate timeline where a fleet of Doomsday Machines is ravaging the galaxy. The Doomsday Machine also figures into the great Star Trek novel, Vendetta by Peter David.

[@peterschairer488]

In the TOS every starship/star base had a different emblem on their uniform. The symbol from the Enterprise uniform eventually became standard on all Starfleet uniforms.

[@DeltaAssaultGaming]

Not according to the lunkheads making STD.

[@Daviddaze]

In bluray the emblems are standout.detailed

[@ModerateHipster]

I built a 4 foot long model of the Doomsday Machine (the "Flying Blunt," the "Cornucopia of Doom," the "Ice-cream Cone of Death") that lives in my living room. Big Trek fans see it and say "That's amazing!" and everyone else asks, "What's that thing supposed to me?"

[@powerbad696]

This is one of my favorites episodes of TOS,because of Windom's performance,the tense danger,good action and the redemption of DECKER.

[@snr9365]

Doomsday Machine is definitely a terrific episode in terms of a super tight plot -- they fit in a really complete and satisfying arc for Decker and the themes of his struggle/story. I agree with ya'll's assessment on it -- I like this one but it's never been a #1 favorite. I feel like we have similar tastes in our Star Trek -- preferring the episodes that are heavy in character development over episodes with a focus on plot (even if the plot is legit great as this episode has!)

[@benvolio15]

The truth is that there isn't really any such thing as "The Best of Star Trek". Every Trekkie will have their own different version of a Best Of or Top 10 list, and especially when it comes to TOS, since back in the 1960's it was a five-year mission that was only on the air for three years. But for me, this is the episode that tops even all of my favorites hands down. It's the winner, the all-time winner---and not just because I was lucky enough to catch it on Friday night, home from junior high school for the weekend when I was 10, although that's a big part of it. The quality of the acting, Sol Kaplan's Jaws-like score, the special effects of both the original and remastered versions---this is truly a work of Star Trek art.

[@timbrown8038]

I had the privilege of meeting William Windom at a Star Trek convention. He was so laid back and friendly. I spoke with him about Trek and Twilight Zone. He signed a photo for me Cheers Tim!

[@Vulcanerd]

I live for Alex’s “NO!” every time something, inevitably, goes wrong in every episode.

[@RetroRobotRadio]

Wouldn't it be funny if in the Mirror Universe the crew of the Enterprise was all backstabbing jerks, but the rest of Starfleet were all professional and competent individuals?

[@idea2go]

William Windom later had a guest appearance in a pretty decent fan made followup to this called "In Harm's Way" by a group called Star Trek New Voyages. A later episode called "World Enough and Time", guest starring George Takei and written by star trek and sci-fi veterans Michael Reaves and Marc Zicree, is in my opinion one of the best TOS episodes ever even though it's fan made. It would be super cool if Alex and Josh were to watch these! You have to look past some of the less professional fan acting but it's done with a lot of heart and enthusiasm and respect for the original series.

[@pyronuke4768]

I love how for the original model of the Constellation they just took the Enterprise and changed the registry numbers around, so instead of NCC-1701 it's NCC-1071. Cracks me up every time.

[@mastershake2782]

Just noticed Commodore Matt Decker was Will Decker's father...

[@markfilla9305]

Nice reaction guys! This is another episode that really scared me as a kid watching it when it first aired during its original airing. The idea of a world-destroying machine really got to me. Now, of course, it's just another common sci-fi trope. But back in the day this was all new - especially to a little kid.

[@chrismacphail7041]

oh shit. i am so excited for you guys on this one

[@angie99656]

When I was 6 years old and this was all the Star Trek there was, in reruns, I saw this episode and for months afterwards was terrified of the "Log Monster" that I genuinely imagined would come down out of the sky and get me. And it was William Windom who made me so afraid, he just sells it.

[@TgrHwke]

Regarding the chest insignia; in the original series every starbase, outpost, and ship had it's own unique insignia. You'll see this more in later episodes. It wasn't until the movies that they took the Enterprise's insignia and made it the single type for all of Starfleet.

[@HobbyView]

I understand that's not quite correct. All Starfleet ship personnel were supposed to have the same insignia as we see on the Enterprise. I believe Decker's was different due to him being a Commodore (or something like that). There is a letter you can find from Gene Roddenberry admonishing the costume people for making an insignia error on another episode.

[@athos1974]

Yep. Captain Tracy of the USS Exeter will have a different insignia when they get to that episode.

[@brianpencall4882]

It was a wind sock which had been dipped in concrete, and painted.

[@zoppie]

Norman Spinrad was another big-name sci-fi writer Roddenberry badgered to get him to write an episode. Spinrad put a video on KZbin to discuss this episode when Paramount first released it on TV in its remastered form. He said that GR also wanted him to draw a picture of what he envisioned the doomsday machine to look like. At first, Spinrad was fine with just leaving that to the TV pros. But he relented and drew up a few sketches and sent them in. Then, after watching the episode's premiere on TV, he saw that they had gone with a windsock dipped in concrete. Gene apologetically told him that they had run out of money and had to go with that. What I wouldn't give to see those sketches, though. William Windom was a descendant and namesake of a founding father. I remember seeing the guy's portrait online and saying to myself _damn, he's got quite a resemblance to the old fellow!_ This was the first of two second-season episodes that were clearly inspired by the classic _Moby Dick._ Not saying any more, just a heads up.

[@carlpeterson8182]

Great review and comments as usual. I saw this earlier in the week because I am a patron. It has its perks. The next one is a weird clunker IMO but then the season starts to get consistently good. Even the shows with crazy concepts are fun. i.e. A piece of the action.

[@LA_Commander]

I'm an "Army" guy but I do know enough about Navy ranks to help you guys with the context here. Kirk has the rank of Captain and he is also the Captain (commander) of his own ship (Enterprise). In the Navy, "Captain" is both a rank and position. A Lieutenant could be the "Captain" of a small vessel, for example. Commodore Decker held the rank of "Commodore" which is just above the rank of Captain and just below an Admiral. So he was also a "Captain" by position equal to that of Kirk, but Decker held a higher rank on his sleeve. I hope that makes sense.

[@wcemichael]

The Windsock dipped in cement Machine. Probably the best episode, or at least in the top 5. The "green sweater" you keep referring to is called a tunic. As the Capitan tends to have less down time than most of the crew.. the tunic allows the captain a more casual choice in unform

[@sparky6086]

The tunic also helps the audience differentiate between Kirk & Decker. It's also employed in other episodes to either differentiate between good & evil Kirks or throw off the audience.

[@wcemichael]

@@sparky6086 Yes..sure. BUT the tunic was in play long before that episode....Hmmm maybe for that very reason I'm telling you the "Starfleet" reason for the tunic. Does it help the story line?? OK I can see it

[@sparky6086]

@@wcemichael I wouldn't have noticed it, when I was a kid, back when Star Trek was first on, but nowadays, I realize, that movie & TV show makers have to put themselves in the audience's place, and make it easy for them to differentiate between characters, so they don't get mixed up, since they usually only have between 22 minutes to 3 hours to tell the story. I also notice, now that I'm older, that aside from the lead roles, casting directors look not so much for people who are beautiful or handsome, so much as an assortment of different looking people who aren't ugly or otherwise repulsive, because, just like with the clothes, they have to make sure, that various characters look different, so the audience doesn't get mixed up. This may be obvious to many people, but I've only taken notice of it as an older adult. Now, when I watch something, I think, "Oh, they gave her a red dress, because she's in a crowd of people wearing white, and they don't want the audience to lose sight of her".

[@andywindes4968]

For nearly half of Trek fans, myself included, this is considered the best episode. William Windom (Decker) is universally hailed as the best guest star. Look at his mix of Captain Ahab and Captain Queeg. He even shuffles tapes the way Queeg played with ball bearings. The last ten minutes or so are the most edge-of-your-seat moments in the series. Sol Kaplan's score influenced "Jaws." I could go on and on. Watch the original, non-CGI show sometime. Just great.

[@huskerjpg]

The best episode by far. Nimoy and William Windom deserved Emmys.

[@sparky6086]

"Over the top" acting is completely okay in order to get dramatic points across. There's only so much time to work with in a non-serial/episodic TV show, stage play, or movie. Many old school actors are unfairly maligned for this. The subtle or otherwise understated acting which began to be possible in the 1970's, because by then, audiences knew character types & themes from older movies, so didn't need the over dramatic acting as much. It's cyclical, now audiences need a good long period of overacting, to make up for the last couple of generations of subtle acting, in order to familiarize the new audience with character types and themes.

[@christopherthorkon3997]

While in command of the Enterprise, Decker (William Windom) is constantly fiddling with the small plastic computer "disks" in his hand. It is meant to be reminiscent of Captain Queeg from the Caine Mutiny Court Martial, who often nervously fiddled with ball bearings in his hand.

[@greenmonsterprod]

Good review, but I was surprised you didn't include the moment when Kirk, on the Constellation, gets the viewscreen working, sees the Enterprise on an attack run, and can only gasp, "What the devil's going on?" Nicely understated reaction.

[@jollyjohnthepirate3168]

They made this episode when the AMT Enterprise model was made. You'll notice that the registration number NCC 1017 a reworking of NCC 1701. During Star Trek TOS each ship and Star Base had it's own shirt insignia. Later the Enterprise insignia was used throughout Starfleet.

[@tonyadler1319]

One of my favorites but I guess I could say that about a lof them. Great review at the end and I always liked the actor who played Commodore Decker. He'd show up from time to time in 70's tv and movies. On a production note, the audio had some compression artifacts throughout out the video. I'm not sure if you guys did anything different this time? EDIT!!!! It was my fing headphones. Your audio was excellent as always. The Bluetooth connected with some hands-free poor audio option.

[@EvanG529]

Haven't watched the video yet but I'm so excited for your reaction to this one.

[@destinycaptain247]

14:08 - Did you guys catch the Jaws stuff in there? There’s a great video on it here on YT.

[@frankb3347]

For me the interesting thing to consider in this episode is what would happen to Kirk if he survived getting his entire crew killed?

[@dongilleo9743]

I thought it was weird that Decker would send his crew to the third planet. He had already seen the Machine slicing up other planets. What did he think was going to happen? Decker claims his ship was crippled, with no power, engines, weapons. Yet when Kirk and company come on board, there's life support and minimal power. Mr Scott(admittedly a starship genius) and two damage control men are able to get the ship moving and charge one bank of phasers. Decker couldn't have done the same or better with a full crew? You could say that Decker had an ultimately absolute commitment to the safety and well being of his crew, but he had no loyalty to his ship. He was willing to abandon it. Kirk was likely just as devoted or more to his crew, but he also had an intense devotion to the Enterprise. On more than one occasion he spoke and manifested his absolute commitment to his ship. Under the same circumstances as Decker faced, I find it hard to believe the Kirk character would have been willing so quickly to abandon his ship without trying to save it.

[@BlindPidePiper]

You've got to be kidding. This one is ALWAYS in the conversation of the best 2 or 3 episodes.

[@donsample1002]

The first lie Vulcans tell you is when they say they don’t lie.