Court Martial (Star Trek)

ST episode
name = Court Martial


Kirk is tried for the wrongful death of a crewman
series = TOS
ep_num = 20
prod_num = 015
remas._num = 69
date = February 2 1967
writer = Don M. Mankiewicz
story by
Don M. Mankiewicz
Stephen W. Carabatsos
director = Marc Daniels
guest = Elisha Cook Jr.
Percy Rodriguez
Joan Marshall
Richard Webb (actor)
Hagan Beggs
Winston DeLugo
Tom Curtis
Alice Rawlings
stardate = 2947.3
year = 2267
prev = Tomorrow is Yesterday
next = The Return of the Archons

"Court Martial" is an episode of "". It is a first season episode, #20, production #15, and was aired on February 2 1967. It was written by Don M. Mankiewicz, and Stephen W. Carabatsos, and directed by Marc Daniels.

Overview: Captain Kirk stands trial on charges of negligence.

Plot

On stardate 2947.3, the starship USS "Enterprise", under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, sustains severe damage from an ion storm and seeks repairs at Starbase 11. Soon after the "Enterprise" arrives, Commodore Stone begins an investigation of the only reported casualty; the death of Lt. Commander Ben Finney. Reports show Finney had been killed during the storm when his research pod was jettisoned from the ship. Kirk claims the ejection of the pod was necessary to save the "Enterprise". Stone refers to computer logs which show Kirk had ordered the pod ejected while the ship was at "yellow alert" status; indicating the ship was not yet considered to be in serious danger.

Kirk however, maintains his claim that the ship was at "red alert" status during the ejection of the pod. Suspicion grows when Stone uncovers that Mr. Finney was disgruntled with his Captain. This stemmed from an incident aboard the USS "Republic", when a young Ensign Kirk accused Lieutenant Finney of carelessly leaving a switch to the atomic matter piles open which would have blown the ship up in a matter of minutes. Since the incident, Starfleet has put Finney at the bottom of the promotion list and Finney accused Kirk of "keeping him down".

Stone believes there is enough evidence for Kirk to be guilty of negligence and urges Kirk to stand down as Captain of the "Enterprise", and take a ground assignment for the rest of his career. Kirk denies the accusations as absurd and demands to be put on trial to prove the charges. Kirk seeks legal representation from attorney Samuel T. Cogley on the advice of Lt. Areel Shaw, a former girlfriend of his. Kirk finds Cogley quirky, but very meticulous. Kirk is taken aback when he learns that Shaw herself will be acting as the prosecutor in the trial. The trial is overseen by Commodore Stone with a bench consisting of Kirk's peers; including Starfleet Command Representative Lindstrom, and starship Captains Chandra and Krasnovsky. Among the trial audience is Finney's young daughter Jamie. Kirk is given an uncomfortable glare by Jamie who believes he killed her father.

The trial begins and testimony is given by Dr. McCoy, Mr. Spock, and Kirk himself, but none of it is enlightening or consistent with computer records. During the trial, Spock checks to make sure nothing is wrong with the computer system which diagnostics show to be functioning normally. The prosecution presents a computer visual/audio recording of the events on the "Enterprise" bridge during the ion storm in question. The evidence proves damning as the recording clearly shows Kirk hitting the button to jettison the pod while still at yellow alert. Kirk and his counsel are all but ready to give up, and Kirk notes to Spock that he might find a better chess opponent in his new captain. This comment gives Spock an idea.

Later during recess, McCoy discovers Spock playing 3D chess and he angrily questions how Spock can just waste time with all that is going on. Spock then reveals he had in fact been conducting an investigation of the computer, noting he has been able to beat it at chess five times. This is despite the fact that Spock was the one who wrote the computer's chess program and the machine should therefore be incapable of doing any worse than a stalemate. McCoy asks how that is possible, and Spock explains he is convinced that the system has somehow been tampered with since game programming he made three months before has now been altered.

The court martial resumes and the bench is prepared to hand down a sentence; however, Spock enters, ready to present new evidence on behalf of his Captain: the suspected tampering of the computer system. Without any real evidence to back up the claim, Spock insists that aside from himself and the Captain, only Mr. Finney had the knowledge and clearance to alter the computer logs and he believes Finney is still aboard the "Enterprise". Kirk's lawyer asks the trial to reconvene aboard the "Enterprise" to see proof of the defense's new theory. The prosecution objects to the new request, stating the computer files are proof enough of Kirk's guilt. The court overrules when Cogley states that a man's guilt can not be proven by a machine, since machines can make mistakes. The court seems to agree.

Now aboard the "Enterprise", Kirk orders all unnecessary personnel to disembark for the time being. Dr. McCoy then takes an auditory sensor that detects the slightest sound, and attaches it to the ship's computer. The device is so sensitive, it detects all remaining human heartbeats that are still aboard the ship. One heartbeat is found unaccounted for and located down in engineering. Tracking the sound to its source, Kirk discovers Finney alive, and in an agitated mental state, and that he has tapped into the ship's control systems.

Upon the discovery, Kirk goes after Finney and a struggle ensues. Kirk subdues Finney, but the crazed officer informs Kirk he is too late and points out he has drained the "Enterprise's" energy circuits which will eventually cause the ship to fall out of orbit and burn up in Starbase 11's atmosphere. Kirk manages to trick Finney however, telling him that his daughter Jamie is also aboard the ship to sit in the trial. Alarmed, Finney breaks down and realizes has no choice but to surrender. He then tells Kirk how to regain control of the ship.

After undoing the damage, Kirk has Finney taken into custody, and Kirk's record is cleared. After informing Kirk that Cogley is to defend Finney's case, Shaw kisses Kirk on the bridge of the ship before the two former lovers part ways once more.

40th Anniversary remastering

This episode was remastered in 2006 and aired May 10, 2008 as part of the remastered "Original Series". It was preceded a week earlier by the remastered "" and followed a week later by the remastered "A Private Little War". Aside from remastered video and audio, and the all-CGI animation of the USS "Enterprise" that is standard among the revisions, specific changes to this episode also include:

* The opening scene shows the "Enterprise" in orbit of Starbase 11, and there is visible damage to the side of the hull. A small hole is shown in the hull where Ben Finney's pod was, and has a red light illuminating from inside. A crew member (played by Denise Okuda) can be seen moving within a window near the damaged area.
* Shuttlecraft have been added to the orbit scenes flying around "Enterprise".
* The Starbase 11 planet (also seen in "The Menagerie") appears more realistic.
* The surface shots of the Starbase's original matte paintings have been changed, now people can be seen moving around inside the windows of the buildings as well as the addition of shuttle craft flying about in the sky. A new night scene now shows the ringed gas giant on the horizon.

Notes

*The terms Starfleet and Starfleet Command were used for the first time in this episode, and since then have been the sole designation for the operating authority of the "Enterprise". (The prequel series "" also uses the term.) In previous TOS episodes, various other phrases such as "Space Command", "United Earth Space Probe Agency", "Space Fleet Command", and "Space Central" were tried before the term "Starfleet" was decided upon.
*In the bridge scene before the climax, Kirk states that the bridge computer will magnify the sounds of people's heartbeats by "one to the fourth power." One to the fourth power equals one, so there would be no magnification. Furthermore, although the heartbeats of everyone on the bridge can be heard, Kirk's voice is never amplified. Also, everyone's heart seems to be beating at the same rate, even though some are younger, some older, some standing, some sitting, some stressed, some relaxed. When McCoy whites out Spock's heartbeat, he applies it in the breastbone location, rather than on the side under the arm, as established eleven episodes earlier ("Mudd's Women").
*This is the only episode of the original series in which anything like a personal computer is seen. Throughout Star Trek's three-year run, terminals are used which access large mainframes; stand-alone PCs or laptops are never shown. When Captain Kirk first meets his attorney Samuel T. Cogley, Mr. Cogley shows Kirk the computer on the desk – which he turns on, says it is like the one in his office, and then quickly turns off, stating he prefers to use books instead; that computer also seems to resemble the terminal in the Enterprise briefing room.
*Voice-over narration by Kirk is used during the sequence where Kirk finds Finney and repairs the tapped out power supply so the "Enterprise" can re-establish orbit around the Starbase. This sort of storytelling device (versus the usual log entry) was rarely used on TOS.
*This is the only episode where Kirk is able to issue any "Alert" through buttons on his chair. All other episodes, he simply verbally orders it while another officer sets it in motion.

External links

* [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TOS/episode/68690.html Court Martial] on StarTrek.com
* [http://trekmovie.com/2008/05/11/court-martial-remastered-review-video-screenshots/ Review of the remastered "Court Martial" at Trekmovie.com]