Reacting to Star Trek TOS S2 Eps 2x23 "The Omega Glory" & 2x24 "The Ultimate Computer"
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- čas přidán 27. 06. 2024
- Hey guys! I hope you enjoy my reaction to Star Trek TOS S2 Eps 2x23 "The Omega Glory" & 2x24 "The Ultimate Computer."
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0:00 Intro
0:21 The Omega Glory
12:01 The Omega Glory Review
15:58 The Ultimate Computer
30:27 The Ultimate Computer Review
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Daystrom is played by William Marshall, a Shakespearean stage actor who later achieved fame in the cult classic BLACKULA.
The words must apply to everyone, or they mean nothing.
In the Omega Glory the actor who played Captain Ron Tracey was in the first season episode as Dr. Simon Vangelder who struggled to even say his own name until Spock did his first mind meld with him after the neural neutralizer messed up his mind.
The Omega Glory is not the highest rated episode, but I've always rather liked it despite how on the nose it was for the times. Ron Tracey is a great and menacing villain.
Morgan Woodward.
Props to the actor who played Daystrum, well played....also, James Doohan did the voice of the M-5 . Enjoyed your reactions Courtney.
Thanks for that trivia tidbit on the M-5's voice. Amazing what one can learn after watching Trek for the last 50-60 years. 👍
William Marshall was brilliant 🎭
William Marshall from the ultimate computer was blacklisted during the Mccarthy hearings as a communist.
He might have had a much bigger career otherwise.
The classic Schoolhouse Rock is a fantastic series of educational videos and they definitely need to continue being shown to youngsters.
I've seen this episode many times over the years and only now, just realized that William Marshall played Dr. Daystrom. Marshall also played "Blacula".
He does such a great job playing a genius on the edge in this episode.
Also a little Star Trek trivia. concerning the original series. There are 4 guest stars with the last name Marshall. William Marshall, as you mentioned Sarah Marshall. She was on the deadly years Joan. Marshall was on court-martial and Don Marshall. Who was on irwin Allen's" land of the giants"
William Marshall was also an incredible stage actor, director and opera singer as well. Shatner and Marshall were both veterans of the stage and it shows in their scenes together.
With all the recent talk about A.I., the episode "The Ultimate Computer" suddenly means a lot more.
The voice of M-5 and of the admiral were provided by James ("Scotty") Doohan.
Glad you mentioned the "Nomad" moment. Kirk can out-think Spock at chess too!!
You nailed the main (only?) flaw with the great Ultimate Computer...the inappropriately jocular finale. A more solemn ending was called for. A minor quibble, the defeat of M-5 is a bit abrupt, maybe it would be more convincing if it took longer. One thing that's never addressed, since the M-5 malfunctions due to Daystrom's paranoia and insanity, couldn't they have tried it again, this time impressing the ingrams of a more rational person? Nonetheless, a classic episode. Thanks.
At the beginning of the episode the space station didn't need permission because it was an admiral sending Captain Wesley aboard. The admiral outranked Kirk.
29:00: "Are we about to have a Nomad moment with this computer?" The great thing about Court is that she can usually guess what's about to happen, and she did it throughout this episode. (And I agree with what you says about self-checkout).
Courtney, just a note regarding something you said about self check-outs. Dollar General is currently removing most of their self check-out terminals from the stores, and the ones that remain will be for 5 items or less only. They have finally realized that they are losing money as some customers are not scanning all items, and they don't have enough employees in the stores to combat the issue. I read where Walmart will also cut back on self check-out and also impose a low item count limit to use them. Self check-out, like the M5 multi-tronic unit, was an interesting concept, but it just didn't fully deliver.
Looks like Dr. Simon "Dagger of the Mind" van Gelder escaped the Tantalus Colony and changed identities. But he was still crazy cunning as Captain Tracy. FYI, "Omega Glory" was one of the stories suggested for the second pilot of the series.
Barry Russo played Commodore Wesley, and also Chief Giotto in "Devil in the Dark". He played a red shirt who actually survived the Horta, but got clubbed by the miners.
The fan series "Starship Exeter" has two episodes about the adventures of the salvaged Exeter after the events of "Omega Glory". The fan series "Avalon Universe" features a spooky 2-part episode entitled "Ghost Ship" about the salvage of the Excalibur.
30:40 The funny thing about self checkout is it isn't that computers took the cashier's job, YOU (the customer) took the cashier's job, and you aren't even being paid anything. Back when I was young, not only did cashier's check out your groceries, they had baggers who put them in the bag for you AND walked you out to your car, then loaded your groceries for you. (Yes I know they have online pickup, but half your stuff gets substituted for something else, or you might not get everything you needed, so it's not the same)
You just unlocked my memories of going to Ukrop's with my parents. They would bag the groceries and walk outside with you 😁
@@CourtReacts-zm9yv When I was a kid, we went to a grocery store regularly where the customers had to see what the price was and write it on the item for the cashier.
"Vulcan mind meld" is the phrase you're looking for.
This is likely the silliest "parallel earth" story TOS did, but if you take Kirk's oration of the preamble on its own, it's a good delivery.
Endings of episodes having to almost always follow the dumb rule that the top characters have to have a good laugh together (not doing this is another reason "The City On The Edge Of Forever" is so exceptional, with it's "let's get the hell out of here") frequently makes for wildly inappropriate endings.
"Well, we've just killed a couple of starship's crews, maybe a thousand Starfleet personnel, a few minutes ago, but let's have a joke and some good chuckles now. Kthxbai!"
Sulu couldn't have sent the volunteers down without authorization and he would have endangered them knowing about the bacteria.
I refuse to do self checkout
It is so rewarding to watch you truly become a Star Trek fan. I will be a fan of your Star Trek reactions for as long as you keep reacting to Star Trek episodes & later Star Trek movies
I am so glad you're watching this episode. It's one of my favorites and just like you and your dad. It is a cautionary tale for me about computers taking over.
I find it interesting that people talk about William Windom's performance in “The Doomsday Machine”, but in this episode, they talk about the character Richard Daystrom. If I were actor William Marshall, I would consider that the ultimate compliment. But let us remember, boys and girls, that without the incredible performance of Mr. Marshall, there is no Daystrom.
It is an overlooked performance.
This wasn't the first series to explore the idea of automation threatening jobs. The Twilight Zone episode "The Brain Center at Whipples" from 1964 was a whimsical look at the subject.
CVS Rite Aid Walgreens all have self check out. Even McDonald’s has those kiosk machines where you can order and pay for your food.
Hey Courtney! 😊 I enjoy watching ur Star Treks!
lol School House Rock helped me get an A in my elementary history class. I was out a few days sick and when I got back had to stand up and do the preamble. I was hesitant at first then the song popped into my head and I let it out. Hardest part was saying it without singing the words, lol :)
Your review of "The Omega Glory" was right on point. School House Rock was such a fantastic educational tool. Such a shame they don't use that method anymore.
I believe James Dothan also did the voice of the Star fleet officer authorizing the distraction of the Enterprise.
Loving your reactions to one of the few shows my dad and I watched together when it first came on in the 60's. You're doing a great job!
You've noticed Kirk's superpower against out-of-control computers!
Like your reactions!!!!
Gotta remember The Cold War Era of the 60s. Patriotism and Anti Communism was still very common back in those days and even McCarthyism. It gets a little political with the modern day comparisons but Patriotism at the time was still a very real thing. Today globalism seems to be much more popular than Patriotism or even just plain old nationalism. If you watch older movies like Yankee Doodle Man or mamy war films from the 30s and 40s you will see how common patriotic fervor was back then.
dear all William Marshall is a lengendary actor. that is all
OG is usually one of the most controversial and misunderstood episodes but you did quite well with it. OG served me well when I lived in US & A (2000-2002) and had to deal with TRUMP-ites and pre-TRUMP era Republikkkans. / In UC, William Marshall was magnificent as Mr. Intensity and the whole episode was memorable and still relevant 55+ years later. You can catch Marshall again as BLACULA in the 1972 Blaxploitation film.
Another excellent review Courtney! You picked two episodes that featured other Constitution class starships in the fleet: the Omega Glory featuring the U.S.S. Exeter commanded by Captain Ron Tracy and the attack force commanded by Commodore Bob Wesley in the Ultimate Computer. The Federation starships Lexington, Excalibur, Hood and Potemkin. Dr. Richard Daystrom according to Star Trek canon, designed and developed the main computer systems used in these constitution class starships. Looking forward to your next review!! Have a great week Courtney.
The ultimate crazy captain awaits in the episode "Whom Gods Distroy"
Spock can mind meld from a distance, but it's more difficult for him without physical touch. Takes everything he has. It's unlikely he can distance-meld with more than one person without physical touch, unless they're receptive. The two Yangs in the cell were hardly receptive with all that Kirk killing bloodlust in their minds. The normal touch mind meld is the most powerful, but of course he was separated from them.
The more interesting of the two is The Ultimate Computer. In my area they're now hiring more people to monitor the self checkout lanes and the problem is shoplifting. Automation is fine when it assists a person to do a safer, better or more efficient job. Dumb rich people think if they replace all employees there will still be an economy with just a few automated corporations trading with each other, but humanity has no civil obligation towards machines, and excluded from fair trade the masses will just steal what they need from these corporations with machines helpless to stop them.
In my professional opinion in any war between man and machine the machine will lose quite badly as human ability to find blind spots in the computer's programing and exploit them has proven to be astonishingly effective. Begin fast and strong is good, but deeper understanding and a capacity for treachery is superior.
If you are a chemistry major, you have to laugh a bit. I believe McCoy said 40% potassium when he meant phosphorus. But that is also too much phosphorus. LOL.
The same actor who play Van Gelder. He's a very good character actor. I also liked seeing another insignia for the Exeter crew.
For me Omega Glory was a very good episode until the last 5 minutes. You will find this opinion mainly from non-Americans and the odd American who gets that the USA is not everything. But the worst is that there is another "parallel" that makes zero sense. Miri's identical Earth is another. There will be more, but some are done in an OK way.
“ I pleg li I Neptune flag en .” - I did not know Neptune had its own flag😂 Problem is that Neptune is a gas giant with 1,200 mile an hour winds. Plant the flag in their clouds and woosh. It has been blown half way across the planet. Yes, this was a very unusual episode.
Couple of factoids.
1. Starship captains go bats**t crazy when they lose their crews. Captain Tracy, Commodore Decker etc
2. The old guy in the bad wig in OG who objects when Kirk looks at the scroll is the same guy at the beginning of Return of the Archons who realizes the Enterprise crew is “not of the body”
3. Lt Galloway despite being “killed” by Tracy in OG returns to the same role in season 3.
4. Cloud William’s voice was artificially slowed down
"The old guy in the bad wig in OG who objects when Kirk looks at the scroll is the same guy at the beginning of Return of the Archons who realizes the Enterprise crew is “not of the body”
So it is! I didn't recognize him with that tribble on his head!
Omega Glory
Old Glory
As long as we don't have an A.I. Courtney, I'm happy with that.
Two things about self-checkout:
Except in the rarest of circumstances, I will pick the checkout lane that has a person. Both because I appreciate that it gives the person a job and because I prefer to pay for things in cash.
My second observation is that the news has reported how stores, in the cities that foolishly defunded the police force & put a pause on locking up criminals, are shifting back to manned checkout lanes to try and curb the shoplifting crime wave they have been suffering under.
I was recently chided by a Walmart employee when I insisted on the manned checkout lane, telling me that self-checkout was for my convenience and everyone is doing it. But AI is taking jobs away everywhere. Artists and writers can go away fully soon. Truck drivers? Robots will be everywhere before we blink. Humans are all becoming Captain Dunsels at a very fast rate.
@@Bfdidc There is indeed a danger of that.
All that is needed is for quiet acquiescence. Society needs to make some noise and push back to keep us from having our skills and purpose fade away.
18:50 William looks really tired, even the makeup and stage lighting can't hide it!
Destroy it Kirk??!!
"The Ultimate Computer" was far ahead of its time. While the story is set in the 23rd century, we are starting to see it in the 21st. Already, AI is a part of life and accelerating. Your dad's concern was correct, he was just ahead of the curve. The real change will come within the next few years as Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) kicks in in a big way. That is where machine have the ability to make decisions independent of human input. Dr. Daystrum's M-5 was not just AGI, but something called Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) which is not too far behind AGI. While AI is all its iterations can be of benefit to humanity in a variety of fields, we need to insure that it has human guidance to prevent it from magnifying either human weaknesses or becomes insensitive to human needs.
Loved the reaction. Gave you a sub.
I would love to see you react to, or just present "schoolhouse rocks."
Enjoyed the episodes. Yeah, computers, AI and software are designed by humans so are flawed. Self-checkouts don't recognize coupons, devices have to be rebooted for correct operation. This was another example of Sci-fi warning us about placing too much trust in computers, going back to the 60's.
23:03 "It's not your lover."
You don't know that.
At night when no one is looking, he could be making sweet sweet love to it.
Self checkout is popping up a lot here lately. I work in retail and no I don't like it😢. Btw the ultimate computer was a good episode
Love the Ultimate Computer - William Marshall's performance as Daystrom is one of the best guest performances in Trek. The ending chuckles are, as others have noted, misplaced.
I think the first 45 to 50 minutes of the Omega Glory are wonderful - and then it falls to pieces with the ridiculous parallel Earth charade at the end. Without that ending, it could have been a powerful examination of one man's grief and guilt, and what he, and we, might do if pressed into a situation where he thought he was acting appropriately even if in reality he wasn't.
"The Ultimate Computer" is one of those episodes where it is interesting to compare the original 1967 effects vs. the remastered CGI (2009) effects. I still prefer the original effect of the Enterprise firing phasers and photon torpedoes. czcams.com/video/HzmLRNRhltU/video.html
I agree with your comment about the ending of the ultimate computer. I didn’t like the little humourous chuckle at the end. But for some reason, Star Trek always wanted to do that. Perhaps, as a way of showing that everything is returned to normal now. But I did find it discordant with the fact that all of these other Starfleet personnel were killed. In a fleet like this somebody on the bridge might even have known somebody killed on one of the other ships. I think it would’ve been much more powerful if there had been some sober reflection on the bridge, some grief. It would’ve felt more like a warning about too much automation. And now in this time we have self driving cars and AI coming on.
As far as the omega glory. I actually detest that episode lol.
I did like Spock's joke aabout McCoy's engrams on a computer, but they probably should have used it earlier in the episode. There have been a number of good TOS episodes that have ended very successfully on somber notes, but yeah, they generally wanted more hopeful endings.
👍 ❤ x
For me "Omega Glory" is too silly. "Ultimate Computer" is a much better episode. An examination on AI and the arogance of the people that build it, more relevent than ever. A good solid epidode.