“Arena” is, by all accounts, a classic episode of Star Trek. It’s a wonderfully paced, purposeful story that also manages to actually be about something worthwhile – knowing when, and under what pretenses, fighting is necessary. The episode also has its full measure of Star Trek cliché which, depending on your tastes, may be a liability. But if we’re suspending disbelief enough to accept most of the bad effects for aliens and so forth, why not cut this episode a bit of a break and enjoy the ride? If you can manage to do so, you’ll find a great deal about this episode that is worthy of praise.

The story begins with the Enterprise crew unsuspectingly beaming down into the middle of a war zone. The whole setup and execution of these introductory sequences are exceptionally well done. The planet of Cestus III looks legitimately like a war zone, with buildings scarred and scorched, and with craters and smoke confusing the landscape. Into this setting, Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down and are immediately ambushed. What follows are a series of tense war-driven scenes which are plausible in terms of the crew’s reactions – and casualties. All the while, the Enterprise is under attack by an unidentified vessel, and watching Kirk tell Sulu to safeguard the ship, even at the expense of himself and his landing party, only reinforces his dedication as a commander. About the only issue I can think of with the Cestus III scenes is the “magic bullet” Kirk uses to finally chase off the invaders.

But what these scenes do, more than provide a thrilling, captivating opening, is to establish a very compelling mystery. Who attacked the colony? Why? For what purpose? These questions are given voice by the colony’s lone survivor. And based on the scant evidence at hand, Kirk quickly comes to the conclusion that the whole thing – from the attack on the colony to the false message which brought the Enterprise and crew into an ambush – is a prelude to invasion. As such, he summarily decides to hunt down and destroy the alien vessel – to dispense with justice, as he sees it. Spock tries to ask a few pointed (pun not intended) questions about the decision, but Kirk simply brushes his objections aside.

This then sets up the primary focus of the episode. Is Kirk right? Is Spock? Is there some other answer? The interactions between Spock and Kirk not only illustrate their personal relationship, but also reflect the opposite sides of the issue. To what extent is violence an acceptable means of solving a conflict? Kirk has already decided that destroying the ship is the only option. Spock clearly objects – but not to the point of insubordination. He’s clearly being an effective First Officer by raising concerns, but not questioning the authority of his captain.

The chase sequences, much like the ambush on Cestus III are very well-paced and suspenseful. And it would seem that Kirk’s choices would ultimately win out if not for the episode’s primary contrivance: a super race, called Metrons, intercepts both ships and forces them to settle their differences by way of a personal duel between each ship’s captains. In an episode about the appropriateness of violence, I find this course of action to be particularly intriguing. It’s as if the Metrons are saying that some violence is acceptable, but not on a wide scale as ship-to-ship combat – even though they’ve decreed that the losing captain’s ship will also be destroyed.

The result is one of the more memorable sequences in all of Star Trek: Captain Kirk’s duel with the lizard-like Gorn. But viewers will remember different things about this duel. And whether or not you truly enjoy this episode may depend entirely on which parts of the duel your memory decides to emphasize. Will you focus on Kirk’s ingenuity and strategy in the face of a physically superior foe? Will you focus on the limited movement and comical sound effects from the alien? Or can you simply not get past the fact that the lizard is, clearly, a man in a very bad looking rubber suit? Any and all of them are entirely valid because, let’s face it: the Gorn captain is, clearly, a man in a very bad looking rubber suit, who moves like a sloth, makes very silly noises, and is ultimately defeated by a much more resourceful adversary in Captain Kirk.

I happen to enjoy the sequences and think that they, much like the rest of the episode, are very well paced and effective in evoking suspense and danger – and very real drama. But the rubber suit doesn’t bother me a whole heckuva lot, and perhaps that is just me being overly apologetic to it because I find the rest of the episode so engaging. In any event, whichever way you choose to remember the scene, there no denying that it is without a doubt (for better or worse) a memorable, iconic moment for the series.

The episode concludes with the Metrons finally making an appearance after Kirk chooses not to kill his opponent – demonstrating the seeds of “civility” (or rather maturity for the human species). But even so, humanity is still very predatory and has a long way to go to fully realize its potential. But as Kirk is meant to symbolize in the episode, we can learn about how and when violence is necessary – especially to the point of killing your enemy, especially an enemy you do not truly understand.

“Arena” is truly a Star Trek classic. What keeps it from being a transcendent episode is, unfortunately, the laughable rubber suit used for the Gorn captain. Otherwise, the sequence would have been strong enough to convey the intended horror and terror of seeing a human-sized lizard stalking you relentlessly, like the Terminator.

Filed under: Original Series