More Star Trek podcasts and videos here! kzfaq.info

Great piece of dialogue: Kirk: Where's your crew? Decker: On the third planet. Kirk: There IS no third planet. Decker: Don't you think I know that? There was, but not anymore! They called me, they begged me for help, four hundred of them! I couldn't! I...I couldn't!

This has long been my favorite episode. In part it is because it is actually plausible. In a lot of other episodes where they confront overwhelming alien threats, those threats are a bit over the top or just absurd. And yes, Windom turned in the greatest performance of his career.

My favorite too, especilly because of William Windom''s unbelievaly good acting. Every time I see this I'm overwhelmed by him.

I saw the first broadcast of this episode when I was in grade school. It fired my imagination for months afterward and also remains my favorite episode. Decker was both sympathetic and despicable

Another cool thing to mention are the two yellow cards that Decker fidgets with on the bridge during the crisis. Just like the ball bearings that Capt. Queig fidgets with in “The Cane Mutiny”

My 5 rules for a great Star Trek episode are as follows. 1) a great story. Trek writers of the time were extremely talented for the most part and fit in subtle things like Windom's nervous tick reminiscent of Captain Quegg in the Caine Mutiny. 2) a great performance by a guest star. Windom's acting was superb. The pain and anguish in his voice when he says don't you think I know that, there was but not anymore. And then his professional manner when reporting facts. Or his understated line of they say there's no Devil Jim. And he switches so fluidly and rapidly between all of these things. 3) Good interaction between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy or any two of the three. We get that here when Spock protects McCoy, when McCoy is ready to certify Decker insane. And later when Kirk had Spock take command on his personal authority. Kirk is protecting Spock by saying that. 4) Good interaction between any of the big three and one of the regular crew. Kirk and Scotty working on the Constellation. And Scotty earning his pay for the week as Kirk says. 5) getting to see what a starship can really do. This is taken from the episode Bread and Circuses just before Scotty blacks out the Roman city. The Enterprise withstands several attacks from the Doomsday Machine. Attacks that can slice up a planet. I gauge each category as good better or best. This gets a best rating from me in all five categories, especially Windom's portrayal of Commodore Decker. So absolutely number one in my book

This episode was my favorite when it first aired, and has been since I was a 5th grader in elementary school. A childhood friend of mine and myself reenacted, made jokes, laughed at the errors we saw, but still loved it. The climax of our adoration resulted in our building our own doomsday machine and filming it with my father's 8mm movie camera. We first took a 5lb coffee can so the maw would hold its shape, the covered it with aluminum foil tapering the end to the shape of the cone. It was about 3 1/2 feet long. Next, we placed it on my father's "creeper" which is a board with wheels that you use to roll under cars when servicing them. That night, we rolled it into the street pointing the camera at it with a halogen "Sun Gun" light, then realized it needed one more thing--a red road flare stuck in the maw. The flare nearly lit the whole scene. You couldn't see the creeper in the dark, the Sun Gun reflected off the foil exterior, and the flare was so bright, it "dark boxed" the street, the curb, the creeper, all the things we didn't want to show anyway. So we rolled it around, passed in front of the camera, then finally turning it into the camera and moved in till it filled the frame while both of us hummed the tune. As for the grand finale, I placed an M-80 in the coffee can and ran the film a little faster for a slow motion explosion. It was fun, we had a blast doing it. (I think there was a pun in there somewhere.) .

Brilliant performance by William Windom. Every time I see this episode in rerun I get chills watching it.

I had the pleasure of meeting William Windom once; my dad used to teach a screenwriting class in the Bay Area, and one of his students wrote a script that was read in front of an audience by the Ross Valley Players (in Ross, CA; Marin County). Turns out, Windom lived in or around Ross and was a member of this troupe, and took part in this reading. I had a short chat with him, in which he appeared as grumpy and misanthropic as a lot of his characters were. But I was happy to at least have had the chance to tell him how much I'd loved his work.

I agree 110% this is my all time favorite episode of TOS and the favorite of James Doohan as well which is why I love this episode so much as Scotty was my second favorite behind Captain Kirk

The Ultimate Computer,Space Seed, Mirror Mirror, Doomsday Machine, And the one where Bones goes back in time through the Guardian of Forever. Easily the best episodes of Star Trek TOS.

Hey bro, that's Frank from Italy and I quote every single word of yours about this masterpiece. Doomsday Machine is clearly one of the best TREK episode ever produced.

It is also my favorite episode. I was introduced to William Windom in this one, and thought that he did a superb job!

I keep flipping back and forth between this episode and Balance of Terror as my #1 favorite.

Absolutely one of my all-time favorites. It also contains one of my favorite pieces of Star Trek dialogue, if only for its simplicity (and the skill with which the actors deliver it) and ability to elegantly establish character. It's the scene where Spock threatens to have Decker removed from the captain's chair for mental instability. What follows is what I call screenwriting at its best: DECKER: You're bluffing, Mr. Spock. SPOCK: Vulcans don't bluff. (Long pause.) DECKER (with a sigh): No, I don't suppose they do. For some reason, this key exchange was cut from many syndicated versions of the episode. It remains one of my favorites.

Yup absolutely my favorite Star Trek TOS episode of all time!

City on the edge of forever is probably my favorite. It has some of the best humor along with a great story line. I always thought it was silly how Kirk fell in love so quickly but after watching it recently I had the thought that maybe He and Spock were there for several weeks waiting for McCoy if not longer, not just a few days.

Totally agree that this was the best episode. I was so pumped when Scottie managed to recharge the phasers while working on the impulse engines of the Constellation.

I won't argue with anyone who picks this as their favorite, but a strong case could be made for "Balance of Terror" and "The Enterprise Incident".

In TOS the captains were bolder, almost reckless. They weren’t out to make friends, they pushed their crews hard in the terrifying world of space. They were enigmatic, charismatic. At the same time removed, almost strangers to the crew. Perhaps this represents the top-down zeitgeist of the 60s. Later captains were softer. Team leaders, collaborators. Kirk is still the best. So much passion and contradiction. Also so smart. New every bit and bolt on his ship.

indeed - flawless original Trek - script performance and production are superb

An overlooked highlight of this episode is John Winston's (Lt. Kyle) facial expression and body language while he's attempting to beam Kirk aboard using an unreliable transporter before the climactic explosion. He really sells it. Great acting. Great direction.

My favorite episodes of star trek TOS were the first two pilots! They had the best production values the best writing and among the best acting.

William Windom should have won an Emmy...

BRAVO !!!! This is the greatest of TOS...This is my all time favorite ...The other episodes that I can never stop watching are The tholian Web, & The Enterprise incident....Great show even for 2024...

Nicely done. I agree with your opinion. It's the best TOS. I think the Sol Kaplan music is what puts it over from good to great. Have a good day.

Yes! THIS one was the BEST. It had EVERYTHING...ESPECIALLY the Music!

Also, City on the Edge of Forever, Devil in the Dark, Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, the Enterprise Incident, and The Corbomite Maneuver.

00:20 this is a pic of another great Trek composer Alexander Courage, NOT Sol Kaplan. I totally agree that his score is "the icing on the cake." It's as good as any FILM score & one can experience the whole story just by listening to the soundtrack. Amazing! Another interesting piece of trivia- Captain Willard Decker in ST:TMP was, in addition to being Roddenberry's prototype for one William T. Riker, the son of Commodore Matt Decker. I think this never-mentioned bit of info adds tremendously to his character. Knowing this adds significant layers to the relationship he will have with Admiral Kirk. After the experiences of this episode, Kirk was probably a peripheral person throughout young Will Decker's life. You could certainly imagine Kirk being at Commodore Decker's funeral & helping guide Will's Starfleet career from getting into the Academy all the way to his first command as Captain of the refit Enterprise (& we all know how dicey that turned out!). There's a huge amount of impact in Will's resolution when one compares to his father's sacrifice. Kirk would log Matt Decker as a hero, possibly omitting the circumstances of his attenpted take-over of the Enterprise. I love Trek lore. This episode is rich in content, quality, & relevance to today's world. I'd tie this as my fav episode alongside "Balance of Terror."

This IS and, frankly, WILL ALWAYS BE my favorite episode. Also, if it had a competent movie adaptation, I may end up having to choose between this and 'The Wrath of Khan' itself. A choice I'd love to HAVE...but none that I'd like to MAKE. ...Aw hell no. Don't even ask. "...I COULDN'T...I COULDN'T DO ANYTHEHEHHHEHHIHEHH..." *distressed voice degrades into hysteric sobbing...*

I would love a prequel movie about the this long ago war between planets and the building of this machine. The ravages and attrition of war grow more and more until the moment the machine is launched while the brain trust necessary to operate and control it is killed in the ensuing madness. Tell me that wouldn’t be a great sci-fi movie. The final scene depicting the planet killer left adrift in space.

Star Trek TOS had great episodes but the Doomsday Machine was one of the great TV sci-fi episodes of all time. It was just on another level.

I normally dont like the CGI remastered versions, Especially of the trademark Enterprise shots but I think this one kinda needed it and in this case they did a decent job

TOS is great because IT'S ALL REAL! Seriously, they were primarily great actors. It had the best special effects until Star Wars came along. Great analysis, thanks. I saw this when it first came out when I was a kid. Still love the originals. It was commentary on social issues in the way some shows were like Rod Serling's Twilight Zone. By the way, my favorite episode was "Mirror, Mirror". It should've been made into a movie.

This is one of my top 4 favorites, the others being "Mirror, Mirror", "The Changeling", and "The Ultimate Computer".

City on the Edge of Forever, Doomsday Machine, Balance of Terror. Top three - period. Number 4 is Bread and Circuses - don't ask me why - I just like the way the whole episode is built together.

I would have the say my favorite Star Trek episode from the original series are in this order: with number one tied between balance of Terror, and the Doomsday Machine, then Mirror Mirror, space seed, guardian of forever

Thanks for your excellent take on the Doomsday Machine! It's a tough call, but my favorites are 1) All Our Yesterdays (McCoy and Spock confrontation was earth-shattering) and 2) City of the Edge of Forever.. a quintessential classic by Harlan Ellison.. had all the drama of a full length movie! Thanks for your channel!!

Saw this episode as a child, before knowing about Ahab and the whale. That's the only way I can explain never making that connection before. Now it seem so obvious. My all time favorite which is even more enjoyable with the original low budget special effects.

Also my favourite. The one weak spot for me has always been Bones's inability to relieve Decker of command. At the risk of attracting ire, I actually really liked the remaster as well.

Definitely one of my favorite episodes. Others include: "This Side Of Paradise", "Operation: Annihilate", "The Immunity Syndrome", "Day Of The Dove" &, of course, "The Trouble With Tribbles".

Absolutely!!! The Doomsday Machine has always been my favorite TOS episode since I first saw it when I was like 10 yrs old back in the 60s. And have been a diehard Star Trek fan ever since. I'm 64 now and I own all the Star Trek DVDs. And the one I still watch the most is The Doomsday Machine. And yes, I like the remastered version.

Amok Time, because it's one of the few Star Trek where the crew of the Enterprise is exploring a new civilization.

Yes - great episode - especially William (Weepy) Windom - who trained himself to cry on cue anytime the directors needed him too.

I totally agree. This one was the best, and has been all along for me--and in this early episode, Kirk wasn't a nursemaid to Spock (as started later in season 2, after Star Trek fans demanded more time and attention for Spock), but a heroic, effective captain and leader, as he was meant to be. The quintessential Star Trek episode, beats 'em all, including the later Star Trek series that were created.

Space seed will always be my favorite episode. But the squire of Gothis is a very close second.

I remember watching this episode for the first time back in the 70's and feeling the tension of the final act, getting up from my chair and pacing the floor with anticipation. I've said it before on other videos, Windom should have gotten an Emmy and the score should have gotten a Grammy. Along with Balance Of Terror this is in my top 2. Tribbles is third simply because it's such a fun episode. City would be up there but I'm tired of the Kirk losing his love plot device. Call me weird.

I remember seeing this episode when it first aired in 1967. I was all of 8 years old. In 1975 it was shown at a NYC Trek convention to an audience filled with people who had never seen it. I will save that story for a time when I am at a keyboard; it is one of my favorite film watching experiences.

THANK you for appearing in your video and doing your own narration. More and more "creators" are using AI and avatars. They suck. You rock! Thank you.

Yes, I agree the best episode of the series! I've seen it countless times, and know every line. Best guest actor ever, best music, best drama, action. And I feel the music was replicated by the great John William's for Jaws 1975, the episode was 8 years earlier, 1967. STAR TREK at it's VERY BEST. Best Lines "Vulcans Never Bluff." "Gentlemen, I suggest you beam me aboard." "What the devil is going on." "Mr.Scott, try inverse phasing." Mr James Doohan stated at a convention, that I went to, that this is also his favorite episode of all time.

Agree that this is one of the very best episodes of the original series. Amazing that the monster adversary of the episode could evoke such awe and terror and yet look so simple - I understand it was modeled on a wind sock! In later years I started to wonder how such an invincible machine could be destroyed simply by sending a big enough bomb down its throat. And I came up with my own (fanfic) answer. I would suppose that the machine was originally equipped and programmed to deal with such threats from an enemy civilization's defenses. But being so inconceivably ancient, its self-protection mechanisms no longer operated as they once did.

Great comments. And yes, THIS is the best episode. Great stuff. Better than the movies to me.

Many good episodes in TOS. This one is definitely high on the list. I also loved the episodes I refer to as "Spocks Father" where Kirk and crew chase the Romulin war ship and eventually destroy it as well as the silly "Fantasy Island" episode where Kirk fights his old star school rival. There are other favorites as well.

Growing up, this was the only episode on TV that haunted and terrified me. Every time after the first time, every time I saw the commodore I felt dread.

Going down story lines of my own, even the first time I saw this episode. The design of the doomsday machine drew me to the last years of a long forgotten war, resources, and manpower spent, they used scrap, other machines and what workers they could find to assemble it in haste and try futility to end the long millennia of war only to bring the destruction of not only their enemies but themselves.

Yeah, that's my favorite too. Windom does a fantastic broken man.

My favorite episode is “The Omega Glory”, but I had “Doomsday Machine” on a VHS as a kid. I’ve seen it more than any other episode.

From when it first aired on NBC back in 1967, "The Doomsday Machine" has been my favorite episode of Star Trek The Original Series. Always #1!!

Good words !

That's the episode that got me into star trek as a casual viewer. I caught it on tv one day and I was like "wait, that's REALLY good"

This episode is definitely in my top ten if not my top five. My only complaint is that when they were evacuating the Constellation, nobody thought to take a shuttlecraft? I'm sure there's a lot of reasons why they wouldn't or couldn't but none of them is mentioned in the dialog.

Yup, my favorite. I would watch every night in syndication hoping it was the doomsday machine.

I loved this episode as a child because it felt like all action and I loved it for that. Repeated viewings as a teenager I could empathise with what drove Decker's thirst for Vengeance. The guilt he felt for failing to protect his crew. Outstanding stuff. As for favourite episodes I'm always torn between The Doomsday Machine and Where No Man Has Gone Before.

Balance of Terror is my favorite. This one is a close second.

This one of my fave's too !!!

Interesting that shooting something into the area that fires its most potent weapon is also the way they took down the saucers in Independance Day...

He's wrong; this is not a retelling of "Moby Dick." It's a retelling of "The Caine Mutiny." Decker rolls two tapes in his hand, obviously intended to remind the audience of Captain Queeg rolling two steel balls in his hand. The conversation of the legalilstic basis for relieving the superior officer is very similar to "The Caine Mutiny," a Pulitzer Prize-winning best-seller as well as a popular movie starring Humphrey Bogart, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray, and Jose Ferrer.

Doomsday Machine is my favorite SF oriented episode, Space Seed my favorite character driven episode.

undoubtedly the best episode for me

For me, the best episode is a toss up. On the one hand, you have "The Doomsday Machine" with the orchestration and character acting which shines through. On the other hand, you have "Balance of Terror." Sure, the wedding is campy, but the acting during the battles and evaluation phases, gives the episode more depth than expected when the episode starts. Mark Lenard and the Romulan crew, in one room, pull off the tension and feeling about friends and war. We find out that some Romulans have human feelings just like the Enterprise Crew.

I always liked the stories that took place on the ship better than the ones that took place on a planet.

I like the fan film showing how Decker gets sent back in time to live a good life. Kirk and Spock meet him in the past. Windom reprises his role with Barbara Luna portraying Veronica.

I did enjoy this episode very much. 'The City on the Edge of Forever' was also a great one for me. As a boy I can remember when the next shows were announced to debut in the Fall and this new 'space' series was coming called 'Star Trek'. I've been a fan ever since.

You, Sir, are 100% right.

This has been my favorite episode since the first time I saw it hewn I was a kid. I have it slightly above Balance of Terror.

Windom's performance is tattooed into the Trekkie collective lore, FOREVER! ... One wonders which terror was most terrifying to Kirk, the Doomsday Machine, or more likely the emotional and mental collapse of Decker as it SHINED an agonizing revelation for what could very well also happen to him (Kirk) under similar circumstances. ... (Full disclosure - as a child The Doomsday Machine introduced me to my very first agonizing doubt of the existence of God.)

Great presentation. Cant wait to see the Doomsday Machine.

Managerie followed closely by Balance of Terror. Everything else starts in fifth place after those.

I can't disagree! Since I was a kid, this episode left such an impression on me the even the theme music for the Doomsday Machine became an iconic memory. I know that it was used in other episodes, but even with that, if I heard it I was always reminded of the Doomsday Machine. I think it's one of the greatest sci-fi episodes of all time, IMHO.

I'm astounded how your synopsis of this classic parallels mine to the letter. This is the best take I've seen yet regarding this episode, and if this reflects any bias, so be it.

Good choice! Agree with everything you said. That may be a boring comment, but that's how it is.

A small simple something that gave me great joy watching this episode was how it showed the front of the bridge. This was an intentional decision on the part of the director, but this simple bit of camera work wasn't done ever either befor or after

That is a great episode… but “City on the edge of forever” is probably my all time favorite.

I love the portrayal of Decker. He takes command over the Enterprise and attacks the doomsday machine not because he's an egotistical jackass, but because he is terrified of its power, is drowning in trauma and guilt and knows it must be destroyed before it can destroy more planets. You actually feel sorry for the guy and you understand his motivations.

I agree...this episode is THE BEST of TOS. What follows it is perhaps Balance of Terror.

One of the best episodes, for sure, but I still think the best is "City on the edge of forever"

"Balance of Terror" would probably be my personal 1favorite episode, but there are so many great ones including "The Doomsday Machine." But I feel that the "best" one would have to be "City on the Edge of Forever."

Wish I could give 10 thumbs up to this analysis

I’m also a huge fan of this episode. My Dad loves telling the story of how as a kid I honestly thought Kirk would die at the end.

Kirk felt helpless in trying to save Commodore Matt Decker. His failure to do so caused him to look after his son, who became Captain (for a short time), of the refitted, redesigned NCC-1701 Enterprise, Will Decker.

The Best episode in the History of Star Trek. Nothing comes close

I would have loved to have seen a Star Trek series with William Windom as Commodore Matt Decker commanding the USS Constellation. Obviously the series would have taken place before this episode in the Trek timeline.

The obvious inspiration is Fred Saberhagen's Berserker novels.

This one and Balance of terror.

This was a great episode but probably my favorite is The City On the Edge of Forever.

One of the best episodes without a doubt but "Balance of Terror" and "The Corbomite Maneuver" delved more deeply into the psychology of the crewmen under stress. Also they had much more interesting solutions to the problem. Just blowing up a ship from the inside isn't nearly as good as the chess game Kirk played with the Romulans or the Poker game he played with Balok.

I think The Wounded Part 2 is one of my top 3. It's kinda like this story.

i am very much hoping that we get to see Decker as the fantastic and admirable captain in SNW possibly. (i do like that he is someone confronting Kirk with how someone facing their own Kobayashi Maru. and kirk seeing that this could have been HIM.

The Doomsday machine takes its form from an old windsock that Roddenberry saw.