The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) is legendary in the make-believe world of science fiction television. Kirk orders that Decker and McCoy go back to the Enterprise while he stays there and sorts everything out. “The Doomsday Machine” was the very first “Star Trek TOS” episode I ever saw 50 years ago. It's never meant to be used. "The Doomsday Machine" sets the standard for all-out TOS tactical space action, with flawless pacing, a terrific score by Sol Kaplan, and lots of boldness. Well, let’s talk about Commodores for a moment. He is still waiting for his flying car. The reason is that this very shuttle would be destroyed again when Decker steers it into the Planet Killer, requiring yet another Galileo for later episodes. Maneuvering in the field that it helped to create slowed the machine down. Enterprise (NCC-1701). Kirk then concludes that he thinks this robot planet eater is a Doomsday Machine left over from a war. Something like the old H-Bomb was supposed to be. A doomsday machine that somebody used in a war uncounted years ago. The totally bonkers Decker seizing control of the Enterprise and almost getting it destroyed in futile attacks on the Doomsday Machine. Or both. This was an overlay of film footage of the doomsday machine model over an existing star field. Decker notes they're not even sure whether it's a living organism or a machine. A giant machine b. Since Decker is so determined to destroy the doomsday machine, why does he never once fire photon torpedoes at it? I was 8 years old. Decker said as the ship turned into the debris field. Boot scuff marks can be seen on the floor of the corridor before Decker fights the guard, showing that there had been practice or prior takes of the fight. But things changed and, after another TV show from the 1960s was remade into a movie, Paramount decided they wanted to do the same with Star Trek, so they decided that instead of a second series, they wanted to do a movie. Edit. MCCOY: No. We are told that the antimatter aboard the Constellation has been "deactivated". A Constitution Class heavy cruiser . The fixed labeling is "Einstein NCC-1701/6". Almost all the original series were stand-alone plots rarely did we see non Enterprise characters reappear. In the episode, the "Enterprise" gets a call from the Time planet where the Guardian of Tommorow was being studied by a Federation science team. Decker warned Kirk that a Doomsday Machine was on its way, destroying any planet in its warpath with its antiproton beams! So strong, it could destroy both sides in a war. Spock's arguments against Decker are logical and undeniable; Decker's actions are risky to the point of the madness, and his need to expurgate his guilty clearly clouds his judgment. 12. Report This. This really should be impossible. In the Next Generation novel Vendetta the Doomsday machine is said to have been built not as a weapon of aggression but one that was designed to combat the Borg. When the Enterprise reaches system L-374, they discover the crippled Constellation with her captain, Commodore Matt Decker, as its sole survivor. Why did you keep it a secret!'' What effect does flying a shuttle into the planet killer have on the machine? A starship captain usually commands a single vessel, but a Commodore ordinarily commands more than one ship. - A minute drop in power. He hid the shuttle in his garage. The thing is it's thematic (which is good) for the Decker we saw in the Doomsday Machine episode. Decker limped back to Earth in the shuttle and integrated himself into pre-Trek society. - So where had they been planning to tow the Constellation to? A robot c. An organism d. A living ship. 14. They took a two hour script that was supposed to be the pilot for 15. Stars are clearly visible through the Doomsday machine's neutronium hull on several occasions. Kirk, facing the incoming wrath of the Doomsday Machine, set off the detonator with a thirty second delay. The machine fired a massive blast, and barely missed. Constellation pivoted under the machine and fired a spread of torpedoes into the machine's underside. KIRK: It's a weapon built primarily as a bluff. ... Decker steals a shuttlepod and takes it into the monster. The Doomsday Machine Synopsis "The Doomsday Machine" Stardate 4202.9: The Enterprise receives a distress call from the USS Constellation. The Star Trek: The Original Series episode The Doomsday Machine" aired on October 20, 1967, or 52 years ago today. Decker had beamed his crew down to a planet, only to see the Doomsday Machine destroy said planet! - The third planet. 'The Doomsday Machine' In 'Doomsday Machine,' the Enterprise finds another Federation starship, the Constellation, badly damaged and with only one surviving crew member: Commodore Matt Decker. Decker tells Kirk that his ship was attacked by a "planet killer". KIRK: Bones, did you ever hear of a doomsday machine? They did a good job of Decker having a sympathetic position. up the enhanced versions. Decker then decides that now would be a good time to have a freak out about killing the robot thing. “The Doomsday Machine” Written by Norman Spinrad Directed by Marc Daniels. BUT we're not really playing THAT Decker right? THAT Decker doesn't have a card in the game yet. That Decker is dead. Being a “spaceship groupie” it’s always been my favorite episode; something I was proud to have in common with the late James Doohan. So how does Commodore Wesley in "The Ultimate Computer," or Commodore Decker in "The Doomsday Machine" fit into the spectrum of Starfleet insignia? The Doomsday Machine. - That hit was so hard even the klaxon didn't work right. a. The machine is an automated warship designed to destroy planets and then consume the debris to refuel itself, presumably converting the mass directly into energy by unknown means. He even took a wife and started his life over again keeping his secret from the world. Mission Summary: When the Enterprise receives a garbled distress signal (only the word “Constellation” is intelligible), they approach system L-370 to discover that all seven planets in the solar system have … It is undoubtedly the most famous space vessel to ever grace the small screen. Why do I enjoy this episode? What is missing? Usually … (And if the movie worked, they could do sequels or use it to start a new series.) Season 2, Episode 6 Production episode: 2×06 Original air date: October 20, 1967 Star date: 4202.9. Also, at the end as Decker drags the guard out of the hall into the room, the floor seams appear to be uneven, as if they were coming apart - … But Constellation got another spread to torpedoes into the thing. Decker takes matters into his own hands by using a shuttle craft to explode inside the machine. Decker explains that he … Let's see, it's very old, its origins and motives are unknown (Kirk's speculations about it being a doomsday machine not withstanding), it's [[WeaksauceWeakness virtually]] indestructible, and is capable of generating a jamming field preventing the ''Enterprise'' and ''Constellation'' from calling for help. A Commodore is a flag officer rank, one position above Captain. Doomsday Machine features a grieving, vengeful captain that separates it from the rest of these episodes. The death of Decker's crew has sent him into an insane obsession to destroy the device, even if it means suicide. In the Star Trek: TOS episode The Doomsday Machine, the Enterprise encounters the USS Constellation, where the last surviving crew member is Commodore Matt Decker. “The Doomsday Machine” Written by Norman Spinrad Directed by Marc Daniels Season 2, Episode 6 Production episode 60335 Original air date: October 20, 1967 Stardate: 4202.9 Captain’… -The alert light near Sulu . Shuttlecraft (TOS: "The Doomsday Machine") In this one episode the stock footage of the Galileo was not replaced with a CGI with the same number. Characteristics. In this latest guest post by Joseph Dickerson, we dive into the Original Series episode “The Doomsday Machine” and revisit why it might just be one of the best episodes of Star Trek. To what planet in the L-374 system did the captain beam his crew? One of the things I've always wondered about Star Trek is why someone as clearly capable as Spock never rose to the captain's chair, and in an odd way, "The Doomsday Machine" gives us a reason. What we're playing is the man he was prior to the episode -- the one who is presumably calmer and more thoughtful and doesn't have PTSD. I suppose that one might imagine that the doomsday machine's … On “The Doomsday Machine” there were several shots and dialog cut from the aired episode tonite. Where No Man Has Gone Before. This money-saving technique also was used in Star Trek: The Original Series: The Squire of Gothos (1967) when Trelane's planet blocks the Enterprise's path. It is also deeply woven into the pop culture fabric of America. The auxiliary control room is first seen in this episode aboard the Constellation. It does however cause something which Kirk gambles on, the destruction of the Constellation. Kirk realised that the only way to stop the planet killer was to fly directly into it and detonate it from the inside. That's what I think this is. I'm a doctor, not a mechanic. galaxy you *have* a doomsday machine! It naturally causes little damage. Decker ends up doing damage, so Kirk takes the Constellation in. This would have been a stretch. After Commodore Matt Decker sacrifices himself by flying into the "throat" of the machine, it can finally be disabled, but not completely destroyed, by the U.S.S. 13. It's a classic, of course, one that gave us Commodore Matt Decker and that bizarre horn thing known as the Planet Killer. The Doomsday Machine (sometimes called the "planet killer") is a planet destroyer of extra-galactic origin that appears in TOS "The Doomsday Machine". Apparently towing vehicles at warp does require preparation on the recipient's part, though; see also `Errand of Mercy'. To celebrate the occasion, StarTrek.com is pleased to share some facts, figures and anecdotes about "The Doomsday Machine." The scene of Decker’s kamikaze attack on the Doomsday Machine is always going to be one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever seen on this show. Again, I’m drawn right back to William Windom’s acting, since all we during that sequence is the uncaring maw of the Machine and Decker’s increasingly horrified face. Some time later Na'kuhl once again approached several factions, offering them Doomsday Devices, ancient weapons of immense power, in exchange for support in the Temporal Cold War . As frightening as the Doomsday Machine was as shown in the original 1960's offering, the new Doomsday Machine as presented via CGI is a horrific wonder to behold; a behemoth the length of the Great Wall of China with a maw the size of Mt Everest that could swallow "a dozen starships".