Star Trek at 50: Balance of Terror

Season 1

Episode 8: Balance of Terror

Filmed: July 1966

First Air Date: December 15, 1966 (14th episode aired)

Karen: We've come to one of my favorite Star Trek episodes. 'Balance of Terror' is a perfect mix of suspense and social commentary, putting the Enterprise crew in a game of cat and mouse with a Romulan warship, and having to face unsuspected bigotries of their own. It's well done on every level, especially considering the extremely limited budget the show was working with. 

Karen: When several Federation outposts are discovered destroyed along the Neutral Zone between Federation and Romulan space, Kirk must decide whether to pursue the Romulan warship into enemy space, risking igniting war between the two star-faring civilizations. To complicate matters, Mr. Spock manages to lock on to signals from the Romulan bridge, getting the Federation's first look at the Romulans -and discovering they look just like Vulcans! This uncanny resemblance stirs up feelings of bigotry in navigator Stiles, who casts aspersions on the ship's First Officer, which are strongly rebuked by the Captain. In a very powerful scene, when Stiles suggests under his breath that Spock could decode the Romulan signal, Kirk says to him, "I didn't quite hear that Mr. Stiles." Stiles mutters, "Nothing, sir." Kirk says, "Repeat it." "I was suggesting Mr. Spock can probably translate it for you." Kirk says, "I assume you are complimenting Mr. Spock on his ability to decode?" "I'm not sure, sir," Stiles says. Kirk walks past him, and then abruptly spins his chair around and looks him right in the eye. "Here's something you can be sure of mister. Leave any bigotry in your quarters. There's no room for it on the bridge. Do I make myself clear?"

Karen: Kirk pursues the Romulan ship, and he and the Romulan commander engage in a battle of wits. Mark Lenard portrays the commander of the alien vessel as a noble man, every inch the perfect adversary for Kirk. It's clear that the Romulan Commander is going to do his duty, even though he does not want a war. As usual, Trek did not give us a one-dimensional villain. Lenard would don the pointy ears many more times, but as Spock's father, Sarek. The character would be introduced in the second season episode 'Journey to Babel' but would appear in two films and Star Trek: The Next Generation. He also played a Klingon in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. (The clip below also shows the remastered CGI effects.)

Karen: Kirk's defense of Spock, his declaration that he won't tolerate any bigotry from his crew, his respect for his defeated foe, really define the character and Shatner does a fine job in this episode. I also appreciated his ability to show Kirk's vulnerability. At one point, he has a heart to heart with McCoy. He says, "I look around that bridge and see the crew waiting for me to make the next move -and Bones, what if I'm wrong?" The position of captain is a tough one, a lonely one. This is really brought home in the final scene. At the start of the episode, Kirk had been presiding over a wedding, which is interrupted by a red alert. At the end, he returns to the chapel to find the young bride-to-be. Her fiance was killed during the battle with the Romulans. Kirk tries to console her, by telling her she has to know it was for a reason. But even he feels the hollowness of his words. Shatner subtly shows his regret and the weight he carries as the commander of the Enterprise, as the show closes on the captain walking down the ship's corridors. It's a very effective ending.

Karen: Leonard Nimoy also gives an excellent performance, building Spock up even more with this episode, working carefully to convey the thoughts and buried feelings of this stoic Vulcan. When it is clear that the Romulans are somehow related to the Vulcans, Nimoy gives Spock a slight uneasiness. He knows he is suspect, but is uncertain how he can prove himself. Of course, Kirk never doubts him, and Spock does wind up saving his primary accuser, Stiles, from the toxic gas in the phaser control room.

Karen: In These are the Voyages, Marc Cushman notes that with this episode, changes were made to the theme song. Fred Steiner scored the episode and a new version of the theme song was recorded that sounded less 'outer-spacey' and did not utilize electronic violins. This was the version that was used for the rest of the season.

Karen: Everyone connected with the show wanted to broadcast this episode as soon as possible, but unfortunately the effects took so long to produce that it was delayed quite some time. The Romulan ship was designed by Wah Chang, who had worked on other shows, like The Outer Limits. He designed and built a number of items for Trek, including the tricorder, the Salt Vampire from 'The Man Trap,' and other creatures. Film Effects of Hollywood shot the effects, and with all of the phaser and plasma blasts, it took four months to produce, and the optical effects came in at $47,336 -more than any other episode. I think it was worth it though!