STAR TREK: "THE ENTERPRISE INCIDENT" (1968)

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *drama*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *sociological*


It's been bruited about, not least in David Gerrold's WORLD OF STAR TREK, that "Enterprise Incident" was meant to be scripter D.C. Fontana's version of the contemporaneous "U.S.S. Pueblo" event. The real-life occurrence may indeed have been Fontana's proximate inspiration. Yet, given STAR TREK's tendency to reproduce aspects of the Cold War, the content of "Incident" has a greater resemblance to an event from the 40s, when the Soviets began gathering intelligence on the Manhattan Project and other nuclear development sources.

"Incident" starts off by suggesting that Captain Kirk has gone around the bend by ordering the Enterprise into the Romulan Neutral Zone. Yet the pointed way in which the script works in the Romulans' acquisition of a brand-new weapon-- a cloaking device that makes it easy for them to approach enemy ships without warning-- rather telegraphs that Kirk and company are on a "Mission Impossible" to gain intelligence on the new Romulan tech (which ironically puts the Earth-organization in the position of the Soviets' atomic spies).

The actual mechanics of the Enterprise spy-plot don't track all that well. If the Federation can use plastic surgery to give humans the appearance of Romulans, why wouldn't they send some crewman lest recognizable than Kirk to perform the tech-theft? Of course, the scripters wouldn't have wanted to create some new throwaway character, since Shatner's Kirk was the principal star of the show.

Far more interesting is the restrained dalliance between Spock and the unnamed Romulan commander, whose high military status contrasts rather dramatically with the Federation's masculinist exclusion of women from positions of command. While Spock is clearly seen to be playing a spy game, it should not be overlooked that the Commander's attempt to literally seduce the Vulcan to her cause may not be merely an expression of her personal tastes. Their exchanges make clear that the Commander can deliver the undamaged Enterprise to her superiors for analysis, that will be a feather in her cap. Thus her attempt to suborn Spock-- particularly when she suggests that Spock's Federation career may be compromised by the Federation's pro-human bias-- may be primarily motivated by her desire for prestige among other Romulans. Joanne Linville delivers a nuanced performance that allows for expression of her femininity without losing a sense of her capacity for command.