Star Trek TOS 1x15 | Balance of Terror | First Time Watching

[@michaeltomsic9485]

This episode is based on the movie "Enemy Below" with Robert Mitchum and Kurt Jurgens. A WW2 destroyer vs sub movie. The Star Trek writers admit it in interviews. You should check the movie out sometime.

[@jamesalexander5623]

"They Build'em good in Germany, Eh Heine?"

[@dudermcdudeface3674]

Trek shows sometime do blatantly plagiarize classic films. A show that shall remain nameless, that was usually better than that, did an almost scene-for-scene acting out of "Donnie Brasco".

[@JoePlett]

Run Silent Run Deep is another WW-2 submarine 'battle of wits' film worth watching. I think the Romulans felt that between their new weapon & cloaking technology. they had what they needed to break the stalemate and win the war. This was a test of their tech. The Romulan commander knew the only way to prevent war was for the Romulan initial sneak attack to fail.

[@Fallschirmjager4242]

​@JoePlett I can't hardly watch Run silent running deep. If you read the book you'll understand. If you read it also read the sequels Dust on the Sea and Cold as the Sea.

[@rodentnolastname6612]

Mark Lenard played the Romulan Commander. He later plays Spock's father Sarek and plays a Klingon in the first movie. This makes him the only actor playing 3 of the main alien races in the series. 😲

[@GymQuirk]

Jeff Combs also plays three aliens; arguably “main” species for their series (Ferengi and Vorta on DS9; Andorian on ENT).

[@rodentnolastname6612]

@@GymQuirk I meant the TOS cast series

[@jrd2102]

There is a movie called The enemy below. It is a submarine vs. Destroyer movie and this episode was heavily based on that.

[@jamesalexander5623]

At Least the Romulans didn't sing!

[@masonames4537]

The actor who plays the Romulan officer Decius, Lawrence Montaigne, reappears as a Vulcan in a later episode that's ranked among TOS best.

[@MichaelJohnson-vi6eh]

I didn't realize that. I now remember the voice similarities.

[@tommargarites2811]

Lawrence is also a Canadian actor, and made a brief appearance in "The Great Escape".

[@MrDdaland]

This is one of the better episodes from the 1st season, glad you enjoyed

[@brucechmiel7964]

Season 1 had some bangers.

[@kingscorpion7346]

I grew up on the original show, before there was any of the movies, the next generation and so on. there was only one Star Trek! Balance of Terror was one of my all time favorite episodes of the series!

[@JOSEMunoz-tc5rq]

I agree there is only one Star Trek and that's the original nothing else compares

[@CanadianFabe]

There Is a great episode of Star Trek:Strange New Worlds where Captain Pike is shown a alternate future where He Was still in command of the Enterprise during this episode. Definitely worth checking out.

[@Asher8328]

This is my favorite episode of TOS. Glad you liked it too.

[@sarahfullerton6894]

The commander of the Romulan ship wasn't a Vulcan, but the offshoot race of the Vulcans, called Romulans, a much more martial, warlike race. Also, the "Phasers" used for the fight later were re-named "Photon Torpedoes", and the "Phasers" became long beams, similar to the hand-phaser beams, used for space-battles!

[@sarahfullerton6894]

P.s.: One of my favorite StarTrek scenes, that you omitted, was during the 9+ hour delay, after Yeoman Rand visits Kirk in his quarters, and then Bones drops by, and Rand leaves. Kirk's vulnerable question, asked of McCoy, is performed so, so well by William Shatner. And then, we get Bones' poetically beautiful answer, concluding with..."don't destroy the one named Kirk." So, so well performed by DeForest Kelley! Wow! The whole episode was wonderfully written, directed, and acted. And what amazing lighting!

[@k1productions87]

We did see beam phasers in a previous episode - The Corbomite Maneuver But yes, Photon Torpedoes will not be introduced until later, and will re-use the original visual effect for this episode's proximity blast phasers. The remaster though still visually distinguishes between these blast phasers and the later Photon Torpedoes, though still using the same sound effect. Though, speaking of sound effects, on the original broadcast of this episode, there was no sound effect for the phasers firing, only the music stings where the beats occasionally matched with the shots, which I used to think was a cool choice... but that changed later on. It used to be the one and only episode where there was no sound in space. Alas, that did not remain.

[@Philbert-s2c]

"Kind of like North and South Korea?" Yes. This show was made during the 60's during the height of the Cold War so it can't help but use symbolism from the period. The Klingons are the Soviets and the Romulans are the Chinese.

[@Fallschirmjager4242]

Actually the other way around the klingon were the Chinese and the romulans were the soveits.

[@iKvetch558]

Oh, and I did it again...I stopped watching another video to come here and watch this as soon as it came up.😁 The "phaser" shots that the Enterprise was using were treated much more like depth charges, which is why they showed the Romulan ship being damaged by shots that were going off nearby. This episode was early in the series, and they had not coined the term "photon torpedo" yet, but the effect they would use for it is the same as the phaser shots from this episode. After there were such things as photon torpedoes, this episode would sort of be retconned such that the Enterprise was actually firing photon torpedoes in "proximity detonation mode"...or something like that. ✌

[@rodentnolastname6612]

Phasers and photon torpedoes became more well defined and canonized later in the series.

[@tofersiefken]

It is interesting that the star chart showed Romulus and Rom II. Rom II is likely short for Romulus 2 (the second of two moons), but I imagine it could also refer to Remus. The inhabitants of Remus, a separate planet in that star system, (with no moons), controlled by the Romulans, with one side always in darkness and the other always light, come into play in Star Trek: Nemesis. The Remans are a subjugated race used as forced mining labor among other things. While Romulans and Vulcans share a common ancestor and likely both races originated on Vulcan, Remans are an unrelated race indigenous to Remus.

[@JeshuaSquirrel]

On a podcast I listen to, one of the hosts is former Navy. He served on a ship with a coed crew. He said many marriages came out of the Navy, not necessarily from the same ship.

[@Ralph64]

The comparison with "Master and Commander" is interesting. Russell Crowe played Horatio Hornblower, who was mentioned by name as a prototype for the Star Trek captain, in Gene Roddenberry's initial treatment, around 1964.

[@sdfried4877]

Master and Commander has often been referred to as a Star Trek film by fans. Captain Kirk himself is based on the character of Captain Horatio Hornblower. This whole episode is based on submarine warfare, presented in many films over the years. The phasers are set to “proximity detonation”, so they’re blowing up up all around where they hope the Romulan is. This is a very deliberate attempt to take phasers, which are normally shown as a fine beam weapon and to present them as depth charges. Likewise, the debris trick up to and including occasional bodies was often seen in sub hunt films, though I don’t know if it was used in real life. They would load the stuff into a torpedo tube and fire it. Moments later, objects would appear on the surface. They would also try to send up as much oil as possible to create the impression they had been destroyed.

[@OpenMawProductions]

This is a high watermark of the series. The first example of a space battle in all of Star Trek. Granted, it's primitive by today's standards, but these things were very expensive to do back in those days. This is pre Star Wars, pre motion control cameras. All the weapons fire is hand drawn animation or other crazy effects done in-camera. One example, the transporter beaming effect is actually Alka-Seltzer in a glass. Stirred up, photographed, and then overlaid onto the actors during the transition.

[@empirejeff]

Romulans showed up before the Klingons 😮

[@gallendugall8913]

Balance of Terror is so similar to the WWII film The Enemy Below I'm surprised they weren't sued.

[@iKvetch558]

That is an interesting point...I do not see any notes about legal issues with a quick web search, so my guess is that perhaps the holder of the rights to the story was paid off an amount of money to not object...or maybe for a one time use of the story. The Enemy Below was based on a book by a British author, so the payoff would have gone either to the holder of the movie rights or to the British book author, depending on how the deal for the movie rights had been structured.

[@Sopmylo]

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea did it a year before. It even uses footage from the movie.

[@Realmasterorder]

One of the Best Season 1 episodes nice reactions guys,Also you still have to make "amends" somehow for not recognizing Chekov in B5 somehow 🙂

[@tofersiefken]

My favorite fleet battle would probably be during the Dominion War on DS9. Starfleet, Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, The Dominion (Jem'Hadar) and more are all represented. I equate it to the opening sequence of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith with all the battle cruisers and small fighters jumbled in a chaotic swarm. One big difference I find between Star Wars battles and Star Trek, it's that in Star Wars the space battles are conducted more like WW2 dogfights, (by George Lucas' own admission, this is what he was trying to recreate), rapid-fire, agile and adaptive, (like a basketball game or soccer match). Whereas in Star Trek the battles are treated more like a naval battle, still in 3-D space as if some ships are below like submarines, stalking, while other ships maneuver into "heavy artillery" firing position. More slow, calculated, and manipulative of the opponent, like a chess match.

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

Mark 8:54. This episode is infamous for using the wrong special effect for PHASERS! They used the one for Photon Torpedoes! But by the time of the Digital Remastering Process, they had come up with a plausible retcon to explain what happened. So now you see how they made Photon Torpedoes look like PHASER Bolts/Blasts rather than rays or beams! JJ Abrams used the shortened version, too. 🖖

[@brucechmiel7964]

It’s marriage between a hobbit and the giant. “Fee fi fo fum, tonight I’m going to get me some.”-SF Debris.

[@DVDNewsFlash]

You guys should also check out SPACE: 1999 (1975-1977). 1999 and TREK were my two favorite shows when I was a tot back in the 70s.

[@williambranch4283]

Married people in the military can't supervise each other and ideally work in the same location but different departments to avoid conflict and favoritism. An exception is if one is an officer and the other is enlisted, because fraternizing is not allowed between those two levels.

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

Mark 1:24. I don't know what a "Malta" is, but I appreciate the insert! 😎

[@williambranch4283]

This episode was early canon, they didn't seem to even have our technology ... which leads to the surprise and conflict. Destroyer vs submarine (recent movie Greyhound). Romulans are a classic trope, they add drama all the way to the end of Picard 3.

[@sagnhill]

This episode was based on a movie called Run Silent Run Deep (1958).

[@amlor]

"we will find you and we will thank you"😂

[@davidchase1439]

This could have been a full length motion picture!

[@RKnights]

100% agree

[@jamesalexander5623]

It Was! .... "The Enemy Below".

[@jamielandis4308]

Love this episode! Yeah! If they get married they might conspire to steal the ship or something! The back and forth between Kirk and the Romulan commander reminds me of the movie “We Were Soldiers.”

[@tofersiefken]

Many of the support actors in TOS play multiple characters. The Romulan commander is portrayed by Mark Lenard. Pay particular attention to this actor because he will be back in a multi-episode, multi-series character that spans the franchise. Apart from TOS, you see him a lot in TNG and he even makes a cameo as different characters in some of the movies.

[@RKnights]

That's great because he was amazing in this episode.

[@photonicus]

The Federation tech is a little bit ahead of Romulan tech, but the Romulans mean to catch up quickly. This battle was a test of what's working for them, what's not, and figuring out(the hard way) how strong Starfleet vessels currently are. If they cross paths again, the Romulans may have a few surprises.

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

Mark 12:19. Congratulations on not jabbing that pen into your eye! 😁

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

I mean that! When I was four or five, maybe six, I wasn't doing a face palm, I was pulling the cap off of a felt tip pen that was part of a coloring set. Once it finally popped off, the hand holding the pen part jabbed one of my eyes! OUCH! At least it wasn't a hard ballpoint pen or something sharper! Also, the ink wasn't toxic! But my eye had to be washed to get rid of the ink! Also, OUCH!

[@tofersiefken]

I really loved the Romulan ship in this episode. In TNG episodes, the Romulans have a completely different design. Actually, I heard that the reason the design of the Romulan ships changes was because the model used for filming was lost / discarded after filming this episode and when they needed it again, they had to use a model from a different "race" for the episode. In universe it was written off as Romulans purchasing different starship designs from other races. The unique feature of Romulan ships is their propulsion. Rather than using a matter / anti-matter explosion to power a warp drive like Starfleet and many other races do, the Romulans contain a "quantum singularity" (basically an artificial black hole) which powers their drive.

[@sdfried4877]

That artificial singularity stuff won’t be made up for another 23 years. The Warbird in TNG is a brilliant design.

[@davidchase1439]

This was the movie enemy below taken into outer space one of the very best shows history star trek

[@randallwong7196]

Spock's mistake of accidentally pushing those buttons should be pretty surprising to all viewers.

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

Mark 16:34. She needs to beware of the "Mitsubishi Zero"! 😁 And trees!

[@sdfried4877]

Angela! She showed up twice and disappeared.. just like Riley.

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

@@sdfried4877, his grip must have been too strong if she couldn't prevent him from running her into that tree? 🤔 🤫🫣

[@JimmieRayGiboney]

"The Tommy Westphall Universe"! "Days of Our Lives" is set in a fictionalized version of Salem, Illinois. It is the home of the fictional "Salem University" whose sports teams are rivals with their Maine counterparts in the former "NBC" daytime drama "Passions" that was set in the fictional city of "Harmony". You had to be able to read computer monitor screens and newspapers to notice, though. Actors and actresses from "Passions" showed up as similar but different characters in "DOOL" when "Passions" got canceled. Side Note: "Passions" was a favorite show shared by "Spike" and "Joyce Summers" in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"! But anyway, "Passions" had a big crossover link to the series, not the movie "Bewitched" and the spin-off series "Tabitha" thanks to shared characters such as "Doctor Bombay"! "Bewitched" has an animated cartoon sequence for the opening credits that was made by "Hanna-Barbera"! The animated cartoon versions of "Darrin & Samatha Stephens" would crossover into an appearance in the prime-time animated cartoon series "The Flintstones" not the live-action movies. Characters from that show have appeared in the prime-time animated cartoon series shown on "FOX" and "The Simpsons" had an episode that crossed-over with "The X-Files"! That show has it its own spin-offs and other crossovers. "Detective John Munch" appeared in so many shows, and so the "Law & Order" franchise is linked to "The X-Files"! "Passions" characters visited "Las Vegas" the "NBC" hub series, for a lot of their shows. Shows such as, "Heroes" and "Knight Rider", to name but two. By the way, Jean-Claude Van Damme played himself in "Las Vegas" and, as such, got killed off! The "Knight Rider" franchise includes "Team Knight Rider" and some television movies, including one with actor James Doohan playing himself! In dialogue, they say he starred in 10 "Star Trek" movies! William Christopher plays the young version of "Jackson Roy Kirk" in "Team Knight Rider"! That character invented the "NOMAD" space probe that appears in "Star Trek"! Whew! 🖖

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

Mark 10:50. Well, that would fit with the metaphor or analogy of destroyer and submarine. But they are impact weapons.

[@jimamos7984]

With the exception of a Klingon ship in Star Trek 6 (it was a prototype), a cloaked ship has to turn the cloak off to fire. Cloaks require a good amount of power (you can use sensors, life support and propulsion). Also, until season 3 the Romulans, they only have sublight speed.

[@Daniel-Strain]

The Romulan BOP in this episode had warp speed. Not only would that be necessary for the distances, but they are chasing them at warp speed. Further, Matt Jeffries sketches identify the nacelles on the side of the Romulan ship as warp nacelles. Scotty said their **power** was simple impulse (not impulse speed). That means the fusion reactors in their impulse engine fed plasma to the warp coils instead of plasma from a matter-antimatter reactor (which would give much more power, and thus a higher warp speed). By the time of TNG the Romulans were using an artifical singularity as the power source for the warp coils.

[@jimamos7984]

@@Daniel-Strain Thank you. I was remembering something from third season (won't go into details; spoiler), and misremembered details.

[@JimmieRayGiboney]

Mark 16:07. The ceremony wasn't "emergency rushed" like in a sitcom, so she isn't a widow with spouse benefits now. If Kirk had skipped ahead to the pronouncements, she would be a widow about to collect them. 🙄

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

Mark 17:38. "The last episode" hey? But air date order is not storyline order! 😕 So that doesn't mean anything! 😁🙄

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

Mark 7:50. "Go uninvisible"?! 😁 "Decloak" or "become visible"!

[@rodentnolastname6612]

One of the concepts for the show is that Star Fleet is quasi-military and not the strict discipline we have today. The reasoning being that we have evolved past the need for such specialized organizations. 🤔

[@kingdave31]

The funny thing is that Angela Martine shows up again a few episodes later and she already has a new boyfriend.

[@JimmieRayGiboney]

PS: The bride! She has one more appearance after this episode, but only because the actress actually collided with that tree and required hospitalization! So she didn't get to finish the episode, let alone the series! 😮😢

[@davidchase1439]

Romulans basically savage vulcans had to destroy the ship to avoid the war

[@JimmieRayGiboney]

Mark 14:12. That actor in the helmet? He, too, goes on to play a Vulcan! Otherwise, you can see him in WW2 movies and Westerns!

[@visionaryventures12]

In all that discussion, you didn’t talk about Stiles’ prejudice towards Spock, nor the Romulan commander wishing politics were different.

[@davidchase1439]

Per the peace treaty enterprise itself expendable to prevent another war

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

Thumb Up #83! 👍 You're welcome! Thanks! 😊 Notes: Thanks to the foresight by seeing a movie so early on, you know who survived this series, the animated cartoon series, and the first movie! 😀 You'll appreciate the first movie more if you see the two "Space Odyssey" movies first. I get the feeling that too many people didn't see those, but they did see "Star Wars" first, so they get excited more for the combat in Outer Space than for exploration of it. 🖖

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

Mark 19:33. Guys! Guys! The technology was just a coincidence! Not being captured alive is their tradition! "Death before Dishoner!"

[@RKnights]

This enemy was impressive

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

@@RKnights , in a positive way! ✨️

[@fredklein3829]

Since you guys are in New York State, you might enjoy planning a group visit someday to Star Trek Original Series Set Tour at Ticonderoga, New York.

[@RKnights]

NYC is my hometown, but we live in Florida. Maybe next time I visit.

[@kacornish1]

This is a top 3 TOS episode of all time

[@maingun07]

I like how they humanize Kirk. On the bridge he's everything you expect a captain to be, confident, decisive. But in private he's in turmoil. Not only is he risking his ship and crew, but millions or even billions of lives hang on his decisions. Kirk is lucky that he has McCoy as a confidant. Most real life military commanders don't have that luxury. Regardless, I don't envy his job.

[@gallendugall8913]

In the USN marriage is preferred. There is both official and unofficial preferential treatment for married officers and senior enlisted. Commitment to a relationship is considered a sign of "good character" and of course marriage within the ranks is frowned upon within the same unit and married couples will be separated into different chains of command to avoid favoritism. When I was in boot camp, the first integrated male female USN boot camp company, there was a minor scandal when they found out we had a married couple in the company three weeks into training. They moved the guy to another company.

[@OpenMawProductions]

And the inverse, if you are found to be cheating on someone serving you will get a boot up your ass, figuratively speaking. They don't look kindly upon that in the US military.

[@txheadshots]

Anecdotally… this is the late 60s and the Cold War is in full force. Star Trek addresses these tensions with the “enemy” races - The Klingons are the Soviets (honorable warriors) and The Romulans are Red China (mysterious and exotic, using subterfuge and guile)

[@mrgreydayofravenwood2769]

The shock waves from the phazers were hitting the enemy ship like depth charges hitting a submarine . Also the Romulans were testing the power of the Federation . Be safe & GB4N. PS the funny thing the sound of the phazers becomes the sound of the Photon torpedoes.

[@heromaniacz]

"Spock DIED for us!" AHAHAHAHAHAHa

[@MichaelJohnson-vi6eh]

At this time. Romulan ships now have this cloak but the ships are not very fast.

[@rodentnolastname6612]

Of Note; this is the introduction of the concept of a cloaking device onto popular culture.

[@jeffborowiak9398]

Angela Martine might have bean Catholic, as she is seen genuflecting before the altar in the ship's chapel during her wedding ceremony. While hardly controversial today, for the 1960s it was a fairly bold thing to show, considering the prejudice against Catholics that was still common in the United States in those days. This is not exclusively a Roman Catholic practice. Some Episcopalians also genuflect in front of the altar.

[@Dreamfox-df6bg]

The thing is, if the Romulan were able to destroy the Enterprise, the Romulans could assume their ships are better and they could have considered to start a full war. The way it played out, even if they got a last moment report of the battle, they could not be sure of their superiority. And if the Federation brings this incident up, the Romulans would say that the Romulan ship were full of extremists that wanted to start a war. Without solid proof, the Federation couldn't press the issue, even if they wanted to. Cold War movies had such stuff all the time. Ice Station Zebra (1968) had a fallen spy satellite around the North Pole. the USA and the USSR rush to get the film from the satellite. A lot of high jinks ensues. Not going to spoil the ending, but all the news on both sides print was that they did a successful joint rescue operation at the North Pole.

[@davewhitmore1958]

This can be recreated in the boardgame "Star Fleet Battles"

[@jeffborowiak9398]

The Romulan Empire is modeled after the Roman Empire.

[@P-M-869]

The debris was a WWII Sub tactic to make the other side thing that they had killed the sub. Plus, the subs had a self-destruct weapon to keep the enemy from capturing the sub.

[@davidw7]

I recommend on of the worst episodes some claim of Star Trek - WAY TO EDEN. I personally think it is just sooo UNIQUE in being Star Trek was from the 60s Hippy era.... This episode had this mix of HIPPIES with like ancient instruments, but the talk....as key to the episode. I THINK IT IS TRULY WORTH A CHECK-OUT as JUST SO UNIQUE no matter if not the best reviews. I enjoyed it the first time I saw it in the 70s in reruns when young not understanding much. Saw it a few years ago and still it has something that only that era could utilize into a space show....

[@billallen1307]

Ah, you need to see this revisited in Strange new worlds.

[@davidchase1439]

Only tome phasers were shown as photon torpedoes

[@JimmieRayGiboney]

Thumb Up #281! 👍 You're welcome, and thanks! ☺️ Notes: Mark Lenard? 😁 So you know that he does go on to play Spock's father?! This is a fun episode about a battle that inspired a game publisher to create the board game, as opposed to an electronic game known as "Starfleet Battles"! A source for so much apocryphal data that stubborn fans insist on using as a canon source! 😀 😮

[@shermanlin5554]

Remember in 1966 they were only 20 years removed from WW2 So its like today when they're making a show or a movie we had lived thru WW2 in 2003 D Day would be like 2002. In other words the actors writers directors etc lived thru WW2 Scotty landed on Dday. So the audience the writers etc were not as Gung ho to see battles war etc because they had lived thru the real thing 20 years earlier. Cheers

[@quasarte4701]

No fleet on fleet battles in the original serirs. There is a great one in DS9 during the Dominion War.

[@tmcgrenere]

Glorious battle!

[@tmcgrenere]

Your Klingon looking officer understood fully the reason for the attack and battle! He should play war games!

[@SuStel]

Don't think of Starfleet as "the military." They do have military functions, but it's not just military. You'll notice there are no petty officers, no salutes, and the opening intro doesn't include fighting as part of the five-year mission of the Enterprise. Not every protocol of the US military brances apply.

[@SuStel]

@@miller-joel They superficially resemble the navy, but their mission is much broader.

[@SuStel]

@@luminiferous1960 Just what do you think I think?

[@luminiferous1960]

@@SuStel I think you think Starfleet's "mission is much broader" than that of the navy since that is what you wrote. Since both the Navy and Starfleet have missions of military duties, exploration, and research, in what way is Starfleet's mission broader than that of the Navy?

[@tranya327]

The Romulan Empire attacked the Earth outposts (Federation outposts), because that is often what Empires (and other military-based societies) do. The Commander and his Centurian (the Romulan Commander’s friend in the crew) acknowledged this in their dialogue: The Romulans had last fought the combo of Earth and allied races (the precursor of the Federation) more than a hundred years earlier. The Romulan philosophy is that the strong should survive. ((The Commander is tired of it, but can’t change the fate of the Empire.) In Trek, alien races are frequently encountered with a philosophy similar to ancient Sparta or the ancient Roman Empire: The strong should survive, and the weak should perish. (What we might call the worship of STRENGTH - physical, mental and societal-military - as a false god). How can you know if you are still strong and whether your enemy is weak? By testing them from time to time - by probing for weakness. The implication of the episode, is that if Kirk had followed orders (if he’d allowed the outposts and/or his ship to be destroyed), the Romulans would, in fact, have taken that as a signal to do a massive attack against the Federation, which would have demonstrated weakness to the Romulan provocation. So Kirk did, in fact save many lives. We see this dynamic in many areas in real life - not only between nations on an international arena (Pearl Harbor, 9-11). How far can a city street gang expand its territory before they’re stopped by an opposing force - other rival gangs, the city police, the State National Guard, or the Mexican cartels? How far can a crusading social movement like environmental extremism or wokeness go before they encounter pushback from organized victims, who are ready to declare, “Hold it: this has gone too far.”? •••• The Original Series deals with danger and risk, but is generally more optimistic in tone than the visions behind most of the other Trek series. In TOS, there is the •threat• of a wider war involving fleets of ships, etc., but it is not realized. (Which doesn't prevent Kirk & crew from saving the galaxy on a number of occasions.) (You get to see something like a space battle in the episode, "The Doomsday Machine.") A Star Trek series that involves large scale military conflicts between Great Spacefaring Powers in the galaxy, can be found in Star Trek: Deep Space 9.

[@pleasantvalleypickerca7681]

Thanks for reviewing a fan favorite. Just one question. Why is the episode sound so low? Could barely hear it.

[@julienn8844]

Besides what the gentlemen above me said it is also for copyright issues we have commonly had happen.

[@RKnights]

Star Trek has become a copyright crusade so we have to make changes to what we normally do.

[@pleasantvalleypickerca7681]

@@RKnights Thanks for replying. I had a feeling that was the reason, but wanted to ask in case you were having tech issues. No worries guys I still enjoy your reactions/reviews.

[@britt-marierobrecht5775]

After you watched "Balance of Terror" I really think you need to watch Strange New Worlds 1x10 "A Quality of Mercy" which is the season finale of SNW. They took the original BoT story and gave it a great plot twist you won't expect (I won't spoiler you though). It was awesome (and SNW is IMHO maybe the best of the current new Star Trek series out there). Highly recommended!

[@jimmiegiboney2473]

Mark 9:12. Another annoying part is how the stage effects people only knowing how to simulate damage to buildings on land as evidenced by the dust and such as if the starship was made of bricks AD mortar, et cetera! 😁🙄

[@TexasAnlaShok]

Your comments about British admirals and generals being ostracized if they suffered defeat, I don’t think it’s actually true. The British understood that defeat is as much a part of war as victory. What would make you a pariah was showing cowardice in the face of the enemy. That could ruin your career and depending on the time period it might actually get you hanged.

[@randallwong7196]

For large space battles there are some on TNG and huge ones on DS9. If you're looking for them in the original series you'll be disappointed.

[@mab-qe5wh]

Really need to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 Episode 10 A Quality of Mercy : An alternate time line version of this episode...

[@CarlosMoreno-jt3vm]

I hope y'all are pausing the episode when you get too heavily involved in your discussions, because if not, you're missing critical dialog that would most likely contain the answers to most of your questions anyway.

[@purplegreenredyellow]

"He said the V word" lol

[@hemmojito]

This is practically the first time cloaking was ever shown right?

[@davidchase1439]

ROmuluns were probing to see if now was time to wage war against Earth and federation.

[@theomegaman218]

Watch part two of this episode “ The Enterprise Incident” season 3 episode 2

[@ZalerosEmissary]

Can’t wait to see you guys get into TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT and all the new Trek… it’s gonna be great! TOS doesn’t really have arcs or plot lines that build upon each other… you’ll see that kind of stuff later in TNG and onward…

[@ThornyLittleFlower]

An acknowledgement of all today's tech that 1st featured in TOS would be great addition to this series 👍 kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5q4c2WGl8Skiqssi=xSJz4RxHD6Zolumg

[@vasquezovj65]

Was that guy a racist or a specist? 15:35

[@julienn8844]

Sounds like a specist.

[@TombunnyHunter]

Where is the rest of the series? You guys give up on Star Trek?

[@RKnights]

We were having a ton of copyright issues, so we took a break. We will be back on this soon

[@TombunnyHunter]

@@RKnights Hope you can get it resolved, look forward to more ST reactions.

[@BammerD]

You should check out "The Enemy Below" starring Robert Mitchum and Curd Jürgens. It is a movie that takes place during World War II. This episode barrowed heavily from that movie.

[@JULIASMITH-eg9kp]

Good series