The Omega Glory
- Episode aired Mar 1, 1968
- TV-PG
- 50m
Responding to a distress signal, Kirk finds Captain Tracey of the U.S.S. Exeter violating the prime directive and interfering with a war between the Yangs and the Kohms to find the secret of... Read allResponding to a distress signal, Kirk finds Captain Tracey of the U.S.S. Exeter violating the prime directive and interfering with a war between the Yangs and the Kohms to find the secret of their longevity.Responding to a distress signal, Kirk finds Captain Tracey of the U.S.S. Exeter violating the prime directive and interfering with a war between the Yangs and the Kohms to find the secret of their longevity.
- Lieutenant Hadley
- (uncredited)
- Security Guard
- (uncredited)
- Lieutenant Leslie
- (uncredited)
- Enterprise Lieutenant
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis is the second of three times the Enterprise encounters another Constitution-class star ship with the entire crew dead. The other two were in The Doomsday Machine (1967) and The Tholian Web (1968).
- GoofsWhen Kirk and Cloud William are twisting the iron bars in their jail cell, they are actually working against one another at times. At certain points one is twisting clockwise while the other is twisting counter-clockwise.
- Quotes
Captain James T. Kirk: Among my people, we carry many such words as this from many lands, many worlds. Many are equally good and are as well respected, but wherever we have gone, no words have said this thing of importance in quite this way. Look at these three words written larger than the rest, with a special pride never written before, or since, tall words proudly saying, "We the People". That which you call Ee'd Plebnista, was not written for the chiefs of kings, or the warriors or the rich or the powerful, but for ALL the people! Down the centuries, you have slurred the meaning of the words, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty, to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution". These words and the words that follow, were not written only for the Yangs, but for the Kohms as well! They must apply to everyone, or they mean nothing!
- Alternate versionsSpecial Enhanced version Digitally Remastered with new exterior shots and remade opening theme song
- ConnectionsFeatured in William Shatner's Star Trek Memories (1995)
I've long felt this was a very stupid episode, and I've found online that a lot of fans feel the same way, often ranking it as "one of the worst" in the entire series.
My original impressions remained intact watching it UNCUT again tonight. The opening sequence is the most intriguing part, where they discover the crystalline remains of the Exeter crew. (I did, after all these years, suddenly find myself wondering WHY Kirk didn't have the Exeter scanned for life before beaming over; instead, he gets on the ship's intercom and asks, "Is anyone on board?")
I've since learned that Morgan Woodward had a long career in westerns, but man, to me, he will always be Captain Ron Tracy-- a starship commander who due to circumstances went COMPLETELY INSANE!! Matt Decker (from "The Doomsday Machine") has nothing on this guy. One scene I hadn't seen in ages (clearly it's usually cut in syndication) was when Tracy decides to talk with a bound Kirk and, after quoting regulations at length, give him his reasons for violating "The Prime Directive". (Did Roddenberry really come up with this idea so early? In the order of filming, it didn't turn up until halfway thru the 1st season.) All that aside, if there's any reason Kirk should NOT have played ball with the guy, it's when Tracy, for NO apparent reason, VAPORIZED the already-injured Lt. Galloway! (Was he trying to make a point?)
Between Kirk & Cloud William in the cell, Kirk & Tracy in the street (with a battle-axe!!), and Kirk & Tracy in front of the assembled tribe, this episode has no less than 3 of the most BRUTAL fight scenes in STAR TREK history! Just the kind of thing to grab the attention of the average viewers (and no doubt keep the network happy).
Of course, the extreme annoyance of focusing on The Prime Directive aside, I didn't mind the "parallel development" concept here so much... that is, until the FINALE. When they pulled out the flag of the United States of America, followed by the US Constitution-- "WE-- THE PEOPLE...", that just went too far over the line for me. Always did, always will.
And yet... and yet... in spite of this, tonight I found this episode remains one GRIPPING watch. You just can't take your eyes off it-- no matter how stupid Tracy's actions got, no matter how outrageous Gene Roddenberry's ideas about sci-fi got, no matter how preachy Jim Kirk got. In fact, when Kirk speaks to Cloud William and the tribe, in spite of, if not because of how outrageous it is, I felt myself welling up with emotion. It's GOOD to be an American, and REMEMBER what BEING an American is supposed to be about.
Whatta ya know? I ENJOYED this tonight. And I remember that, yes, there ARE several ST's that are MUCH worse, and far more unwatchable than this one. (Including "Miri", "The Paradise Syndrome", "And The Children Shall Lead")
Funny enough, the plot about a Federation officer violating the Prime Directive and trying to wipe out an indigenous population so he can profit from something on a planet that could benefit the rest of the galaxy wound up being reused in the movie STAR TREK: INSURRECTION. (That film also borrowed the "back to nature" theme of another oft-maligned ST episode, "The Way To Eden".)
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- Mar 18, 2010
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