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===Act One===
 
===Act One===
Kirk uses the ship's intercomm to raise anyone on board the ship. Spock hails Kirk and reports the same thing as in engineering, while Galloway reports all four of the ''Exeter'''s shuttlecraft are on board, proving the crew didn't leave that way. McCoy and Kirk then head to the [[main bridge|bridge'']] and then order both men to meet them there.
+
Kirk uses the ship's intercom to raise anyone on board the ship. Spock hails Kirk and reports the same thing as in engineering, while Galloway reports all four of the ''Exeter''{{'}}s shuttlecraft are on board, proving the crew didn't leave that way. McCoy and Kirk then head to the [[main bridge|bridge''<nowiki/>'']] and then order both men to meet them there.
   
 
:"''Captain's log. Aboard the USS ''Exeter'', commanded by Ron Tracey, one of the most experienced captains in Starfleet. What could have happened to him, and the over 400 men and women who were on this ship?''"
 
:"''Captain's log. Aboard the USS ''Exeter'', commanded by Ron Tracey, one of the most experienced captains in Starfleet. What could have happened to him, and the over 400 men and women who were on this ship?''"
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===Act Two===
 
===Act Two===
Tracey explains that his goal was mere survival, but Kirk soon learns that he has an ulterior motive. The Kohm people have no record of any kind of disease but possess extremely long lifespans, well over 1,000 [[Earth]] years. He wishes to use the resources of the ''Enterprise'' to isolate the cause for this "super-immunity", cure themselves and share the agent with the Federation. To do this, he must keep the Yangs at bay, and asks for additional [[phaser]]s to slaughter the remaining Yang force. When Kirk refuses to assist him, Tracey confiscates the landing party's phasers, takes the party prisoner and throws Kirk into a cell with the Yang "savage" while he plans a massive assault against the Yang armies. After a fight, however, Kirk comes to realize that the Yangs worship concepts such as freedom and bear remarkable similarities to the native peoples of North America &ndash; the "[[American Indian|North American Natives]]" &ndash; and helps the Yang prisoner escape. However the Yang prisoner knocks Kirk unconscious with an iron bar while he and his female partner escape. Seven hours and eight minutes later, Kirk awakens and together he and Spock (who is in the next cell) get the keys to escape their cells.
+
Tracey explains that his goal was mere survival, but Kirk soon learns that he has an ulterior motive. The Kohm people have no record of any kind of disease but possess extremely long lifespans, well over 1,000 [[Earth]] years. He wishes to use the resources of the ''Enterprise'' to isolate the cause for this "super-immunity", cure themselves and share the agent with the Federation. To do this, he must keep the Yangs at bay, and asks for additional [[phaser]]s to slaughter the remaining Yang force. When Kirk refuses to assist him, Tracey confiscates the landing party's phasers, takes the party prisoner and throws Kirk into a cell with the Yang "savage" while he plans a massive assault against the Yang armies. After a fight, however, Kirk comes to realize that the Yangs worship concepts such as freedom and bear remarkable similarities to the native peoples of North America &ndash; the "[[American Indian|North American Natives]]" &ndash; and helps the Yang prisoner named [[Cloud William]] escape. However Cloud William knocks Kirk unconscious with an iron bar while he and his female partner escape. Seven hours and eight minutes later, Kirk awakens and together he and Spock (who is in the next cell) get the keys to escape their cells.
   
 
===Act Three===
 
===Act Three===
McCoy, in the meantime, learns that both the super-immunity enjoyed by the Omega IV inhabitants, and the plague which killed the ''Exeter''{{'}}s crew are the results of [[Biological weapon|biological warfare]] similar to experiments researched by Earth in the late [[20th century|twentieth century]]. The plague still exists, but after this war, the planet's ecosystem developed powerful immunizing agents. McCoy discovers that the longer a person stays on the planet, the more well-established the immunity; if the ''Exeter'' landing party had stayed on the planet just a few hours longer, no one would have died.
+
McCoy, in the meantime, learns that both the super-immunity enjoyed by the Omega IV inhabitants, and the plague which killed the ''Exeter''{{'}}s crew are the results of [[Biological weapon|biological warfare]] similar to experiments researched by Earth in the late [[20th century|twentieth century]]. The plague still exists, but after this war, the planet's [[ecosystem]] developed powerful immunizing agents. McCoy discovers that the longer a person stays on the planet, the more well-established the immunity; if the ''Exeter'' landing party had stayed on the planet just a few hours longer, no one would have died.
   
 
When Kirk asks if these immunizing agents are the "Fountain of Youth" that Tracey believes in, McCoy scoffs and says the Kohms are descended from the survivors of that long-ago biological war, who had the strongest natural resistance to the plague, and whose descendants have built up powerful antibodies over several centuries. In short, the Kohms' longevity is simply the result of [[evolution]], and the immunizing agents will do little for others except maybe "cure the common cold."
 
When Kirk asks if these immunizing agents are the "Fountain of Youth" that Tracey believes in, McCoy scoffs and says the Kohms are descended from the survivors of that long-ago biological war, who had the strongest natural resistance to the plague, and whose descendants have built up powerful antibodies over several centuries. In short, the Kohms' longevity is simply the result of [[evolution]], and the immunizing agents will do little for others except maybe "cure the common cold."
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===Act Four===
 
===Act Four===
[[File:CloudWilliamPledge.jpg|thumb|[[Cloud William]] badly mangles the [[Pledge of Allegiance]]]]
+
[[File:Spock in trouble.jpg|thumb|"''No, wait! There's a better way.''"]]
The Yang prisoner is [[Cloud William]], their chief, and the "holy words" (which only a chief may speak) are a badly slurred version of the [[Pledge of Allegiance]]. Kirk interprets the Pledge and speaks the words himself, and begins to explain where he is from, but Tracey picks up on the theme and tries to turn the Yangs against Kirk by declaring he was "cast out of heaven" &ndash; pointing to Spock's appearance as similar to the appearance of "the evil one". To test Kirk, Cloud William reads from the "greatest of holies" and challenges Kirk to translate. Unable to initially translate, Kirk counters that their sacred legends promise that good is stronger than evil, and fights Tracey man-to-man to prove it. While the fight takes place, Spock uses his telepathic abilities to get Cloud William's mate, Sirah to use one of the communicators, after which a landing party of volunteers from the ''Enterprise'', led by Lieutenant [[Hikaru Sulu|Sulu]], beams down to take control of the situation. Fortunately, Kirk wins the fight with Tracey anyway. Seeing these events, Cloud William believes Kirk to be [[God]]'s servant. Kirk informs the Yangs that the "holy words" were not merely written for chiefs, but for everyone, even the Kohms. He reads the "greatest of holies" &ndash; the preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America, and tells Cloud William the words must apply to everyone or they are meaningless. When Spock asks Kirk if his actions do not also violate the Prime Directive, Kirk explains he was simply explaining the meaning of what they were fighting for... as ''all'' the Yangs read the Constitution.
+
The Yang prisoner is [[Cloud William]], their chief, and the "holy words" (which only a chief may speak) are a badly slurred version of the [[Pledge of Allegiance]]. Kirk interprets the Pledge and speaks the words himself, and begins to explain where he is from, but Tracey picks up on the theme and tries to turn the Yangs against Kirk by declaring he was "cast out of heaven" &ndash; pointing to Spock's appearance as similar to the appearance of "the evil one". To test Kirk, Cloud William reads from the "greatest of holies" and challenges Kirk to translate. Unable to initially translate, Kirk counters that their sacred legends promise that good is stronger than evil, and fights Tracey man-to-man to prove it. [[File:CloudWilliamPledge.jpg|thumb|left|[[Cloud William]] badly mangles the [[Pledge of Allegiance]]]]
  +
While the fight takes place, Spock uses his telepathic abilities to get Cloud William's mate, Sirah to use one of the communicators, after which a landing party of volunteers from the ''Enterprise'', led by Lieutenant [[Hikaru Sulu|Sulu]], beams down to take control of the situation. Fortunately, Kirk wins the fight with Tracey anyway. Seeing these events, Cloud William believes Kirk to be [[God]]'s servant. Kirk informs the Yangs that the "holy words" were not merely written for chiefs, but for everyone, even the Kohms. He reads the "greatest of holies" &ndash; the preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America, and tells Cloud William the words must apply to everyone or they are meaningless. When Spock asks Kirk if his actions do not also violate the Prime Directive, Kirk explains he was simply explaining the meaning of what they were fighting for... as ''all'' the Yangs read the Constitution.
   
 
==Memorable quotes==
 
==Memorable quotes==
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"''A star captain's most solemn oath is that he will give his life, even his entire crew, rather than violate the Prime Directive.''"
 
"''A star captain's most solemn oath is that he will give his life, even his entire crew, rather than violate the Prime Directive.''"
 
: - Excerpt from '''Kirk'''{{'}}s log entry, on Tracey's actions
 
: - Excerpt from '''Kirk'''{{'}}s log entry, on Tracey's actions
  +
  +
  +
"''Keep trying, captain. Their behavior is highly illogical.''"<br />
  +
"''No point in repeating that it's illogical, Spock. I'm - quite aware of it.''"
  +
: - '''Spock''', as '''Kirk''' is being choked by Cloud William in his cell
   
   
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"''That is a worship word. Yang worship. You will not speak it again.''"
+
"''Freedom? Freedom? That is a worship word. Yang worship. You will not speak it.''"
 
: - '''Cloud William''', after he hears Kirk say "freedom"
 
: - '''Cloud William''', after he hears Kirk say "freedom"
   
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"''There's no serum! There are no miracles! There's no immortality here! All this is for nothing!''"
 
"''There's no serum! There are no miracles! There's no immortality here! All this is for nothing!''"
: - '''Kirk''' to Tracey, on the search for human longevity
+
: - '''Kirk''' to Tracey, on the search for Human longevity
   
   
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: - '''Kirk''', before departing Omega IV
 
: - '''Kirk''', before departing Omega IV
   
==Background Information==
+
==Background information==
 
=== Story and script ===
 
=== Story and script ===
* This was one of three draft stories considered for the second pilot of the series, first draft {{d|7|June|1965}}. The other unchosen draft was {{e|Mudd's Women}}. {{e|Where No Man Has Gone Before}} was the script eventually picked. (''[[The Star Trek Compendium]]'', p. 17) "The Omega Glory" was filmed in middle and late [[December 1967]].
+
* This was one of three draft stories considered for the second pilot of the series, first draft {{d|7|June|1965}}. The other unchosen draft was {{e|Mudd's Women}}. {{e|Where No Man Has Gone Before}} was the script eventually selected. (''[[The Star Trek Compendium]]'', p. 17) "The Omega Glory" was filmed in middle and late [[December 1967]].
 
* The original 1965 script draft named the missing starship as the USS ''Argentina''. The ''Enterprise'' landing party consisted of Kirk, Spock, a young navigator named Lieutenant Commander Piper, a helmsman called Lieutenant Phil Raintree, and the ship's doctor named Milton Perry. The latter two were killed during the actions on the surface. At the climax, Kirk fought Tracey in a western-style gunfight, during which Tracey shot Spock twice. However, he survived, because of the different anatomy of Vulcans (his heart not being in his chest). The first draft also featured a comic relief of the ''Enterprise'' computer having a female personality, an aspect which was eventually used in {{e|Tomorrow is Yesterday}}. (''[[The Star Trek Compendium]]'', p. 100) In his novelization of the episode in [[Star Trek 10]], [[James Blish]] uses the Raintree character in place of Galloway.
 
* The original 1965 script draft named the missing starship as the USS ''Argentina''. The ''Enterprise'' landing party consisted of Kirk, Spock, a young navigator named Lieutenant Commander Piper, a helmsman called Lieutenant Phil Raintree, and the ship's doctor named Milton Perry. The latter two were killed during the actions on the surface. At the climax, Kirk fought Tracey in a western-style gunfight, during which Tracey shot Spock twice. However, he survived, because of the different anatomy of Vulcans (his heart not being in his chest). The first draft also featured a comic relief of the ''Enterprise'' computer having a female personality, an aspect which was eventually used in {{e|Tomorrow is Yesterday}}. (''[[The Star Trek Compendium]]'', p. 100) In his novelization of the episode in [[Star Trek 10]], [[James Blish]] uses the Raintree character in place of Galloway.
 
* Spock attempting to telepathically "suggest" [[Sirah (Yang)|Sirah]] to pick up the communicator, was reminiscent of the early concepts that Spock has special powers over women. (''[[The Star Trek Compendium]]'', p. 100)
 
* Spock attempting to telepathically "suggest" [[Sirah (Yang)|Sirah]] to pick up the communicator, was reminiscent of the early concepts that Spock has special powers over women. (''[[The Star Trek Compendium]]'', p. 100)
  +
* Roddenberry originally wanted to produce this episode early in the first season, along with "Mudd's Women", but [[NBC]] thought the script was weak and ordered the staff to 'shelve' it for an indefinite time to be possibly reworked and produced later on. Despite NBC still objecting against it, Roddenberry finally had his way to make "The Omega Glory" during late in the second season. (''[[Inside Star Trek: The Real Story]]'', ''[[These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two]]'')
  +
* Husband and wife writing team [[Les Pine|Les]] and [[Tina Pine]] were assigned by Roddenberry to write a teleplay based on his previous outlines and scripts, however their finished product was not up to the producers' standards, and Roddenberry decided to develop the project further himself. (''[[These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two]]'')
 
* A letter reprinted in ''[[Inside Star Trek: The Real Story]]'' reveals that Roddenberry personally submitted his teleplay for consideration for an Emmy Award.
 
* A letter reprinted in ''[[Inside Star Trek: The Real Story]]'' reveals that Roddenberry personally submitted his teleplay for consideration for an Emmy Award.
 
* [[Robert Justman]] wrote a long memo to Roddenberry, in which he pointed out the flaws of the episode's script, but he thought it was too devastating, and tore it up, and made a few suggestions orally instead. ''"[Roddenberry] took the advice, but as anyone who has seen the episode knows, it didn't do much good"''. (''[[Inside Star Trek: The Real Story]]'', p. 137)
 
* [[Robert Justman]] wrote a long memo to Roddenberry, in which he pointed out the flaws of the episode's script, but he thought it was too devastating, and tore it up, and made a few suggestions orally instead. ''"[Roddenberry] took the advice, but as anyone who has seen the episode knows, it didn't do much good"''. (''[[Inside Star Trek: The Real Story]]'', p. 137)
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=== Other information ===
 
=== Other information ===
  +
* It is not made clear that Sulu and the landing party must remain on the Omega IV for a certain duration before they can safely return to the Enterprise.
 
* This was the first of five ''Star Trek'' projects to be adapted into [[View-Master]] reels. In a duplicate of one of the shots from the episode taking place at the [[communication station]] on the bridge, [[George Takei]] is taking advantage of the time for the View-Master shots to study his script: you can see it open on the console in front of him as he sits in [[Nichelle Nichols]]' chair and she stands next to him looking down at him.
 
* This was the first of five ''Star Trek'' projects to be adapted into [[View-Master]] reels. In a duplicate of one of the shots from the episode taking place at the [[communication station]] on the bridge, [[George Takei]] is taking advantage of the time for the View-Master shots to study his script: you can see it open on the console in front of him as he sits in [[Nichelle Nichols]]' chair and she stands next to him looking down at him.
   
 
===Production timeline===
 
===Production timeline===
* Story outline, {{d|20|April|1965}}
+
* Story outline by [[Gene Roddenberry]]: {{d|20|April|1965}}
* Story outline, {{d|23|April|1965}}
+
* Revised story outline: {{d|23|April|1965}}
* Story outline by [[Gene Roddenberry]], {{d|25|April|1965}}
+
* Second revised story outline: {{d|25|April|1965}}
* Rough draft teleplay, {{d|28|April|1965}}
+
* First draft teleplay: {{d|28|April|1965}}
* Teleplay, {{d|15|December|1967}}
+
* Revised first draft: {{d|21|May|1965}}
* First draft script, {{d|20|December|1967}}
+
* Second draft teleplay: {{m|March|1966}}
  +
* First draft teleplay by [[Les Pine]] and [[Tina Pine]]: {{d|19|September|1967}}
* Filmed mid to late {{m|December|1967}}
 
  +
* Second draft teleplay by Roddenberry: late-{{m|November|1967}}
* Score recorded, {{d|22|December|1967}}
 
* Original airdate, {{d|1|March|1968}}
+
* Final draft teleplay: {{d|11|December|1967}}
* Rerun airdate, {{d|26|July|1968}}
+
* Revised final draft: {{d|15|December|1967}}
  +
* Additional page revisions by [[John Meredyth Lucas]]: {{d|18|December|1967}}, {{d|19|December|1967}}, {{d|20|December|1967}}
* First UK airdate {{d|24|August|1970}}
 
 
* Filmed: {{d|15|December|1967}} - {{d|26|December|1967}}
 
* Score recorded: {{d|22|December|1967}}
  +
* Original airdate: {{d|1|March|1968}}
  +
* Rerun airdate: {{d|26|July|1968}}
 
* First UK airdate: {{d|24|August|1970}}
   
 
===Remastered Information===
 
===Remastered Information===
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
File:USS Exeter orbiting Omega IV, on screen.jpg|The ''Exeter'' in orbit, on screen.
+
File:USS Exeter orbiting Omega IV, on screen.jpg|The ''Exeter'' in orbit, on screen
 
File:Omega IV Exeter.jpg|The original version of the ''Enterprise'' encounter with {{USS|Exeter|NCC-1672}}
 
File:Omega IV Exeter.jpg|The original version of the ''Enterprise'' encounter with {{USS|Exeter|NCC-1672}}
 
File:Omega IV Exeter remastered.jpg|The ''Enterprise'' encounter with ''Exeter'', after remastering
 
File:Omega IV Exeter remastered.jpg|The ''Enterprise'' encounter with ''Exeter'', after remastering
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===Apocrypha===
 
===Apocrypha===
In the novel ''[[Forged in Fire]]'' Sulu's presence in the landing party which rescued Kirk, Spock and McCoy would turn out to be fortuitous - having assisted [[Kang]], [[Kor]], and [[Koloth]] in their hunt for [[The Albino]], disobeying orders from Starfleet Command in doing so, Sulu is also infected with the [[blood oath]]-spawning [[genetic virus]] (actually a [[retrovirus]], which is why it was the children of the Klingons who were killed), but because bacteriological elements from Omega IV, to which Sulu had become immune, were a key component of the virus, it did not affect him as intended.
+
* In the novel ''[[Forged in Fire]]'' Sulu's presence in the landing party which rescued Kirk, Spock and McCoy would turn out to be fortuitous - having assisted [[Kang]], [[Kor]], and [[Koloth]] in their hunt for [[The Albino]], disobeying orders from Starfleet Command in doing so, Sulu is also infected with the [[blood oath]]-spawning [[genetic virus]] (actually a [[retrovirus]], which is why it was the children of the Klingons who were killed), but because bacteriological elements from Omega IV, to which Sulu had become immune, were a key component of the virus, it did not affect him as intended.
  +
* Another novel, ''[[Forgotten History]]'', postulates that the natives of Omega IV are not human, and that the copies of the Constitution and American flag were left behind by an [[Earth Cargo Service]] freighter, the ECS ''Philadelphia'' (whose crew left the artifacts on Omega IV to inspire the Yangs in their fight for freedom). The artifacts shown in the episode actually could not have been thousands of years old, as the natives said they were, as the paper and fabric would have long since crumbled into dust from age. (Unless their years are shorter than Earth years)
   
 
===Video and DVD releases===
 
===Video and DVD releases===
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===Also starring===
 
===Also starring===
 
* [[Leonard Nimoy]] as [[Spock|Mr. Spock]]
 
* [[Leonard Nimoy]] as [[Spock|Mr. Spock]]
:And
+
;And
 
* [[DeForest Kelley]] as [[Leonard McCoy|Dr. McCoy]]
 
* [[DeForest Kelley]] as [[Leonard McCoy|Dr. McCoy]]
   
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* [[Frank da Vinci]] as [[Vinci]]
 
* [[Frank da Vinci]] as [[Vinci]]
 
* [[Eddie Paskey]] as [[Leslie]]
 
* [[Eddie Paskey]] as [[Leslie]]
  +
* [[Unknown actor]]s as:
  +
** [[USS Enterprise lieutenant 1|Lieutenant]]
  +
** [[USS Enterprise operations security guard 5|Security guard]]
   
 
===References===
 
===References===
[[1990s]]; [[American Indian]]; [[Asiatic]]; [[auto-navigation]]; [[ax]]; [[bacteriology]]; [[blood-analyzer unit]]; "[[Bones]]"; [[bow and arrow|bow]]; [[calcium]]; [[carbon]]; [[chief]]; [[common cold]]; [[Communist]]; [[Earth]]; [[evil]]; [[Evil One]]; [[USS Exeter (NCC-1672)|''Exeter'', USS]]; [[fire box]]; [[Fountain of Youth]]; [[God]]; [[good]]; [[Haggai]]; [[hangar deck]]; [[heart]]; [[Holy Word]]; [[king]]; [[Kohm]]; [[lance]]; [[logic]]; [[medi-scanner]]; [[meter]]; [[mortar (masonry)|mortar]]; [[Omega IV]]; [[Omega IV virus]]; [[Omega IV native]]; [[phosphorus]]; [[potassium]]; [[pound]]; [[power pack]]; [[Prime Directive]]; [[red bird]]; [[republic]]; [[skin]]; [[shuttlecraft]]; [[star captain]]; [[Starfleet General Orders and Regulations|Starfleet Regulation 7]]; [[tribe]]; [[United States Constitution]]; [[United States of America]]; [[Vulcan]]; [[Vulcan nerve pinch]]; [[warrior]]; [[water]]; [[Yang]]; [[Yankee]]; [[Year of the Red Bird]]
+
[[1990s]]; [[American Indian]]; [[Asiatic]]; [[auto-navigation]]; [[ax]]; [[bacteriology]]; [[blood-analyzer unit]]; "[[Bones]]"; [[bow and arrow|bow]]; [[calcium]]; [[carbon]]; [[chief]]; [[common cold]]; [[Communist]]; [[Earth]]; [[evil]]; [[Evil One]]; [[USS Exeter (NCC-1672)|''Exeter'', USS]]; [[fire box]]; [[Fountain of Youth]]; [[God]]; [[good]]; [[Haggai]]; [[hangar deck]]; [[heart]]; [[Holy Word]]; [[king]]; [[Kohm]]; [[lance]]; [[logic]]; [[medi-scanner]]; [[meter]]; [[mortar (masonry)|mortar]]; [[Omega IV]]; [[Omega IV virus]]; [[Omega IV native]]; [[phosphorus]]; [[potassium]]; [[pound]]; [[power pack]]; [[Prime Directive]]; [[red bird]]; [[republic]]; [[skin]]; [[shuttlecraft]]; [[star captain]]; [[Starfleet General Orders and Regulations#go7|Starfleet Regulation 7]]; [[tribe]]; [[United States Constitution]]; [[United States of America]]; [[Vulcan]]; [[Vulcan nerve pinch]]; [[warrior]]; [[water]]; [[Yang]]; [[Yankee]]; [[Year of the Red Bird]]
   
===External links===
+
=== External links ===
*{{NCwiki|The Omega Glory}}
+
* {{Startrek.com|omega-glory|"The Omega Glory"}}
*{{Wikipedia|The Omega Glory}}
+
* {{mbeta-quote|The Omega Glory}}
  +
* {{wikipedia-quote|The Omega Glory}}
  +
* {{ml|the-omega-glory|"The Omega Glory"|external}}
   
 
{{TOS nav|season=2|last={{e|The Ultimate Computer}}|next={{e|Assignment: Earth}}|lastair={{e|By Any Other Name}}|nextair={{e|The Ultimate Computer}}|lastair_remastered={{e|Plato's Stepchildren}}|nextair_remastered={{e|Return to Tomorrow}}}}
 
{{TOS nav|season=2|last={{e|The Ultimate Computer}}|next={{e|Assignment: Earth}}|lastair={{e|By Any Other Name}}|nextair={{e|The Ultimate Computer}}|lastair_remastered={{e|Plato's Stepchildren}}|nextair_remastered={{e|Return to Tomorrow}}}}
 
[[Category:TOS episodes|Omega Glory, The]]
 
   
 
[[de:Das Jahr des roten Vogels]]
 
[[de:Das Jahr des roten Vogels]]
 
[[es:The Omega Glory]]
 
[[es:The Omega Glory]]
 
[[fr:The Omega Glory (épisode)]]
 
[[fr:The Omega Glory (épisode)]]
[[ja:TOS:細菌戦争の果て]]
+
[[ja:細菌戦争の果て(エピソード)]]
 
[[nl:The Omega Glory]]
 
[[nl:The Omega Glory]]
 
[[pl:The Omega Glory]]
 
[[pl:The Omega Glory]]
 
[[Category:TOS episodes|Omega Glory, The]]

Revision as of 17:09, 3 November 2015

Template:Realworld

For the VOY episode with a similar title, please see "The Omega Directive".

The Enterprise discovers the derelict starship Exeter drifting in space, its entire crew killed by an unknown plague and her captain missing.

Summary

Teaser

The USS Enterprise discovers the starship USS Exeter in orbit around the planet Omega IV. When Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Lieutenant Galloway beam over to the ship's engineering section to investigate, they discover the ship to be seemingly abandoned... only uniforms and some crystals remain.

Act One

Kirk uses the ship's intercom to raise anyone on board the ship. Spock hails Kirk and reports the same thing as in engineering, while Galloway reports all four of the Exeter's shuttlecraft are on board, proving the crew didn't leave that way. McCoy and Kirk then head to the bridge and then order both men to meet them there.

"Captain's log. Aboard the USS Exeter, commanded by Ron Tracey, one of the most experienced captains in Starfleet. What could have happened to him, and the over 400 men and women who were on this ship?"

McCoy's analysis finds the crystals to be what was left of the crew with all the water removed. A tape left by the Exeter's ship's surgeon reveals the crew was killed by a virus which was brought up to the ship by the landing party; only Captain Ronald Tracey remained alive by staying on the planet's surface.

(Log entry made by medical officer of the USS Exeter) "If you've come aboard this ship... you're dead men! Don't go back to your own ship. You have one chance. Get down there. Get down there fast. Captain Tracey is..."

Kirk orders the landing party to beam down to the planet at once, and gazes down at the remains of the ship's surgeon.

Once on the planet, Captain Tracey informs them there is a natural immunity offered by the planet's environment – they will stay alive only as long as they remain on Omega IV. Captain Tracey lives among the Kohms, an iron-age people engaged in a war with the Yangs, a seemingly primitive, savage and fierce tribal culture – one of whose leaders has just been taken captive. Kirk learns that Tracey has been driven insane by the loss of his crew and ship. The result of that nervous breakdown has led Tracey to the use of Federation technology to assist the Kohms in their fight. Because of this, he has become something of a leader of the group, for which is a clear violation of Starfleet's Prime Directive of non-interference with developing civilizations.

"Captain's log, supplemental. The Enterprise has left the Exeter and has moved into close planet orbit. Although it appears the infection may strand us here the rest of our lives, I face an even more difficult problem – a growing belief that Captain Tracey has been interfering with the evolution of life on this planet. It seems impossible. A star captain's most solemn oath is that he will give his life, even his entire crew, rather than violate the Prime Directive."

Act Two

Tracey explains that his goal was mere survival, but Kirk soon learns that he has an ulterior motive. The Kohm people have no record of any kind of disease but possess extremely long lifespans, well over 1,000 Earth years. He wishes to use the resources of the Enterprise to isolate the cause for this "super-immunity", cure themselves and share the agent with the Federation. To do this, he must keep the Yangs at bay, and asks for additional phasers to slaughter the remaining Yang force. When Kirk refuses to assist him, Tracey confiscates the landing party's phasers, takes the party prisoner and throws Kirk into a cell with the Yang "savage" while he plans a massive assault against the Yang armies. After a fight, however, Kirk comes to realize that the Yangs worship concepts such as freedom and bear remarkable similarities to the native peoples of North America – the "North American Natives" – and helps the Yang prisoner named Cloud William escape. However Cloud William knocks Kirk unconscious with an iron bar while he and his female partner escape. Seven hours and eight minutes later, Kirk awakens and together he and Spock (who is in the next cell) get the keys to escape their cells.

Act Three

McCoy, in the meantime, learns that both the super-immunity enjoyed by the Omega IV inhabitants, and the plague which killed the Exeter's crew are the results of biological warfare similar to experiments researched by Earth in the late twentieth century. The plague still exists, but after this war, the planet's ecosystem developed powerful immunizing agents. McCoy discovers that the longer a person stays on the planet, the more well-established the immunity; if the Exeter landing party had stayed on the planet just a few hours longer, no one would have died.

When Kirk asks if these immunizing agents are the "Fountain of Youth" that Tracey believes in, McCoy scoffs and says the Kohms are descended from the survivors of that long-ago biological war, who had the strongest natural resistance to the plague, and whose descendants have built up powerful antibodies over several centuries. In short, the Kohms' longevity is simply the result of evolution, and the immunizing agents will do little for others except maybe "cure the common cold."

Since they are now cured of the plague, Kirk tells Spock to repair the transmitter so they can beam up to the Enterprise. Just as Spock does so, the console is destroyed by a phaser blast, injuring Spock. Tracey stumbles into the room, trembling, and recounts how his Kohm force was routed by the Yangs, despite the thousands of Yangs that Tracey and his allies killed with their phasers. Tracey realizes that Kirk freed the Yang prisoner to warn the others of the attack. Kirk demands that Spock be beamed up to the Enterprise for medical attention. When Tracey objects that they are still infected, McCoy tells him that they are all safe from the plague now.

Excitedly, Tracey demands to know if McCoy has isolated the "serum" he is seeking. Kirk and McCoy furiously tell him that there is no serum - the Kohms' lifespans are the results of natural evolution, and there is nothing that Tracey can "extract" that will excuse the atrocities he has committed. On being told that he has thrown away his crew, his career, and his honor for nothing, Tracey seems to lose what remains of his sanity. Focusing on the impending Yang attack, Tracey marches Kirk outside and tells him to call the Enterprise and have it beam down more phasers. Kirk obligingly relays the request to Sulu, who says that he cannot do that without clarification. Staring down the muzzle of Tracey's phaser, Kirk carefully says that the landing party is in danger. Sulu says that, if that is the case, then teams of armed volunteers are ready to beam down - which is the last thing Tracey wants. Kirk says the danger to the away team is not imminent, and tells Sulu not to beam anyone else down, before signing off.

Just as Tracey begins to understand that he is stymied, Kirk tries to overpower him, and the two men fight, only for them both to be taken prisoner by the Yangs. Kirk and Spock eventually realize that Omega IV's culture was an extremely close parallel of Earth's ("Yangs" is a mispronunciation of "Yankees", while "Kohms" originally were "Communists") except the Omegans fought the war Earth managed to avoid, and the Kohms took over the planet. The Yangs have been fighting to regain their land ever since; this is confirmed when the victorious Yangs bring in their battle standard – an ancient, tattered "stars and stripes" US flag.

Act Four

Spock in trouble

"No, wait! There's a better way."

The Yang prisoner is Cloud William, their chief, and the "holy words" (which only a chief may speak) are a badly slurred version of the Pledge of Allegiance. Kirk interprets the Pledge and speaks the words himself, and begins to explain where he is from, but Tracey picks up on the theme and tries to turn the Yangs against Kirk by declaring he was "cast out of heaven" – pointing to Spock's appearance as similar to the appearance of "the evil one". To test Kirk, Cloud William reads from the "greatest of holies" and challenges Kirk to translate. Unable to initially translate, Kirk counters that their sacred legends promise that good is stronger than evil, and fights Tracey man-to-man to prove it.

File:CloudWilliamPledge.jpg

Cloud William badly mangles the Pledge of Allegiance

While the fight takes place, Spock uses his telepathic abilities to get Cloud William's mate, Sirah to use one of the communicators, after which a landing party of volunteers from the Enterprise, led by Lieutenant Sulu, beams down to take control of the situation. Fortunately, Kirk wins the fight with Tracey anyway. Seeing these events, Cloud William believes Kirk to be God's servant. Kirk informs the Yangs that the "holy words" were not merely written for chiefs, but for everyone, even the Kohms. He reads the "greatest of holies" – the preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America, and tells Cloud William the words must apply to everyone or they are meaningless. When Spock asks Kirk if his actions do not also violate the Prime Directive, Kirk explains he was simply explaining the meaning of what they were fighting for... as all the Yangs read the Constitution.

Memorable quotes

"If you've come aboard this ship, you're dead men."

- Carter, chief medical officer of the Exeter in a recorded message


"A star captain's most solemn oath is that he will give his life, even his entire crew, rather than violate the Prime Directive."

- Excerpt from Kirk's log entry, on Tracey's actions


"Keep trying, captain. Their behavior is highly illogical."
"No point in repeating that it's illogical, Spock. I'm - quite aware of it."

- Spock, as Kirk is being choked by Cloud William in his cell


"Pity you can't teach me that."
"I have tried, captain."

- Kirk and Spock, on the Vulcan nerve pinch


"Freedom? Freedom? That is a worship word. Yang worship. You will not speak it."

- Cloud William, after he hears Kirk say "freedom"


"Who knows? It might one day cure the common cold, but lengthen lives? Poppycock! I can do more for you if you just eat right and exercise regularly."

- McCoy, on why the Kohms' "super-immunity" has nothing to do with their longevity


"They sacrificed hundreds just to draw us out in the open. And then they came, and they came. We drained four of our phasers, and they still came. We killed thousands and they still came!"

- Tracey, on slaughtering the Yangs


"There's no serum! There are no miracles! There's no immortality here! All this is for nothing!"

- Kirk to Tracey, on the search for Human longevity


"Ay plegli ianectu flaggen, tupep like for stahn –"
"And to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

- Cloud William and Kirk, both reciting the Pledge of Allegiance


"Spock, I've found that evil usually triumphs unless good is very, very careful."

- McCoy, as Kirk and Tracey prepare to duel


"What are you doing?"
"I'm making a suggestion."

- McCoy and Spock, as Spock uses his mental powers on Sirah


"They must apply to everyone or they mean nothing!"

- Kirk to Cloud William, on the Holy Words


"Liberty and freedom have to be more than just words."

- Kirk, before departing Omega IV

Background information

Story and script

  • This was one of three draft stories considered for the second pilot of the series, first draft 7 June 1965. The other unchosen draft was "Mudd's Women". "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was the script eventually selected. (The Star Trek Compendium, p. 17) "The Omega Glory" was filmed in middle and late December 1967.
  • The original 1965 script draft named the missing starship as the USS Argentina. The Enterprise landing party consisted of Kirk, Spock, a young navigator named Lieutenant Commander Piper, a helmsman called Lieutenant Phil Raintree, and the ship's doctor named Milton Perry. The latter two were killed during the actions on the surface. At the climax, Kirk fought Tracey in a western-style gunfight, during which Tracey shot Spock twice. However, he survived, because of the different anatomy of Vulcans (his heart not being in his chest). The first draft also featured a comic relief of the Enterprise computer having a female personality, an aspect which was eventually used in "Tomorrow is Yesterday". (The Star Trek Compendium, p. 100) In his novelization of the episode in Star Trek 10, James Blish uses the Raintree character in place of Galloway.
  • Spock attempting to telepathically "suggest" Sirah to pick up the communicator, was reminiscent of the early concepts that Spock has special powers over women. (The Star Trek Compendium, p. 100)
  • Roddenberry originally wanted to produce this episode early in the first season, along with "Mudd's Women", but NBC thought the script was weak and ordered the staff to 'shelve' it for an indefinite time to be possibly reworked and produced later on. Despite NBC still objecting against it, Roddenberry finally had his way to make "The Omega Glory" during late in the second season. (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two)
  • Husband and wife writing team Les and Tina Pine were assigned by Roddenberry to write a teleplay based on his previous outlines and scripts, however their finished product was not up to the producers' standards, and Roddenberry decided to develop the project further himself. (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two)
  • A letter reprinted in Inside Star Trek: The Real Story reveals that Roddenberry personally submitted his teleplay for consideration for an Emmy Award.
  • Robert Justman wrote a long memo to Roddenberry, in which he pointed out the flaws of the episode's script, but he thought it was too devastating, and tore it up, and made a few suggestions orally instead. "[Roddenberry] took the advice, but as anyone who has seen the episode knows, it didn't do much good". (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, p. 137)
  • Another McCoy-Spock debate was filmed for this episode, but edited. Just before the landing party left the Yangs' flag room, Kirk cut short an argument which seems to be about nothing. The reason McCoy and Spock were in an argument was cut from the episode. The dialog excised from the final print was as follows (taken from the final draft shooting script for the episode):
    • McCoy: Jim, the parallel's too close. They seem so completely Human. Is it possible that... ?
    • Kirk: The result of Earth's early space race?
    • Spock: Quite possible, captain. They are aggressive enough to be Human.
    • McCoy: Now listen, Spock, you...
  • A fairly lengthy scene from the final shooting script was edited from the final print of this episode. Soon after the landing party arrived on Omega IV, Kirk directly confronted Tracey about the possibility of his having violated the Prime Directive and Tracey attempted to defend his actions. Tracey also displayed open hostility towards Spock during this scene, revealing his dislike of Vulcans. James Blish does write up the scene in his adaptation of the episode in Star Trek 10.
  • While analyzing the crystals into which the Exeter's crew have dissolved, McCoy says that we are all about 96% water. The actual figure is closer to 70%.

Reception

  • According to author Daniel Leonard Bernardi, "Like the Federation, the Comms have full command of the English language (although they speak with a homogenized 'Asian' accent). The beginning of the episode thus shows that those with white skin can be uncivilized savages and those with yellow skin can be civilized and rational [...] This would be counter to the hegemonic representation of Asians in the United States media; that diverse collective of peoples are consistently constructed in film and television as a menacing 'yellow horde'." Bernardi goes on to say: "'The Omega Glory' is not, however, a counter-hegemonic episode. In fact, the episode not only reveals an unwillingness to be critical of the hegemony of racist representations, but also systematically participates in the stereotyping of Asians. As the story progresses, the Yangs are constructed as noble savages; their cause to annihilate the Comms is established as justified. The Comms, on the other hand, are constructed as brutal and oppressive; their drive to suppress the Yangs is established as totalitarian. This more hegemonic articulation of race is made evident when Kirk and Spock realize the extent to which the Yangs and Comms parallel Earth's civilizations. In this light, the Yangs are no longer savages, but noble warriors fighting for a just and honorable cause. They want to regain the land they lost in a war with the Asiatics." (Star Trek and History: Race-ing Toward a White Future, pp. 57-58)

Continuity

  • In this episode, the USS Enterprise visits another world possessing a parallel-Earth culture. Other such examples include "Miri" and "Bread and Circuses". There are also Earth cultures in "A Piece of the Action", "Patterns of Force", "The Paradise Syndrome", and "Plato's Stepchildren", but they were introduced deliberately or accidentally and did not originate organically.
  • This is the second of three times the Enterprise encounters another Constitution-class starship with the entire crew dead. The other two were in "The Doomsday Machine" and "The Tholian Web".
  • It is learned that the Exeter had a standard complement of four shuttlecraft. During the search for survivors, Galloway informed Kirk that "all four of the craft" were still on the hangar deck. Whether all Constitution-class vessels were equipped with that number of shuttles is not made clear.
  • This is the first time the chief medical officer of another Federation starship, Dr. Carter, is seen. Although he is sitting in the command chair on the bridge, it is unclear if he is in command of the Exeter or is merely recording his warning. Not until Dr. Crusher was placed in command of the USS Enterprise-D in "Descent, Part II" would a doctor clearly be in command of a starship. (Dr. Crusher was technically in command in "Remember Me" when she was the only crewmember left; however, since it wasn't the real Enterprise, it cannot be counted.)
  • This episode marks the first and only time in the original series that reference is made to phaser "power packs."

Production

  • Roy Jenson's voice was electronically altered for this episode. The preview for the episode contains unaltered dialog for Cloud William which doesn't have the "slowed down" effect.
  • Fred Steiner arranged the "Star-Spangled Banner" motifs for this episode. (The Star Trek Compendium)
  • Identical female screams are heard in this episode and in "A Private Little War" and "The Gamesters of Triskelion".
  • The shot of Sulu manning the helm station with an empty captain's chair in the background in mid-Act One is recycled from "Arena".
  • One of the places on the Exeter seen empty during Kirk's intercom hail is engineering. Curiously, that's the location of the landing party.
  • NBC announced that Star Trek would be renewed for a third season during the closing credits of this episode, on 1 March 1968. In the announcement, they also wrote "Please do not send any more letters", responding to the vast amount of mail received during the protests organized by Roddenberry and Bjo Trimble. (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, p. 386)

Cast and characters

Other information

  • It is not made clear that Sulu and the landing party must remain on the Omega IV for a certain duration before they can safely return to the Enterprise.
  • This was the first of five Star Trek projects to be adapted into View-Master reels. In a duplicate of one of the shots from the episode taking place at the communication station on the bridge, George Takei is taking advantage of the time for the View-Master shots to study his script: you can see it open on the console in front of him as he sits in Nichelle Nichols' chair and she stands next to him looking down at him.

Production timeline

Remastered Information

The remastered version of "The Omega Glory" aired in many North American markets during the weekend of 30 June 2007. The episode included dramatic new effects shots of the Enterprise and the Exeter in orbit of a more Earth-like, computer-generated Omega IV. Among the fine details inserted into the show, a small glimpse of the Exeter appears on the Enterprise viewscreen as it approaches the planet at the start of the episode.

Apocrypha

  • In the novel Forged in Fire Sulu's presence in the landing party which rescued Kirk, Spock and McCoy would turn out to be fortuitous - having assisted Kang, Kor, and Koloth in their hunt for The Albino, disobeying orders from Starfleet Command in doing so, Sulu is also infected with the blood oath-spawning genetic virus (actually a retrovirus, which is why it was the children of the Klingons who were killed), but because bacteriological elements from Omega IV, to which Sulu had become immune, were a key component of the virus, it did not affect him as intended.
  • Another novel, Forgotten History, postulates that the natives of Omega IV are not human, and that the copies of the Constitution and American flag were left behind by an Earth Cargo Service freighter, the ECS Philadelphia (whose crew left the artifacts on Omega IV to inspire the Yangs in their fight for freedom). The artifacts shown in the episode actually could not have been thousands of years old, as the natives said they were, as the paper and fabric would have long since crumbled into dust from age. (Unless their years are shorter than Earth years)

Video and DVD releases

Links and references

Starring

Also starring

And

Guest star

Also starring

Uncredited co-stars

References

1990s; American Indian; Asiatic; auto-navigation; ax; bacteriology; blood-analyzer unit; "Bones"; bow; calcium; carbon; chief; common cold; Communist; Earth; evil; Evil One; Exeter, USS; fire box; Fountain of Youth; God; good; Haggai; hangar deck; heart; Holy Word; king; Kohm; lance; logic; medi-scanner; meter; mortar; Omega IV; Omega IV virus; Omega IV native; phosphorus; potassium; pound; power pack; Prime Directive; red bird; republic; skin; shuttlecraft; star captain; Starfleet Regulation 7; tribe; United States Constitution; United States of America; Vulcan; Vulcan nerve pinch; warrior; water; Yang; Yankee; Year of the Red Bird

External links

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