The Doomsday Machine

Chicago was amazing! I am very glad that I decided to take the time and have a bit of out of town fun before the school year starts in a few days. An 8 hour drive sounds daunting but I found it pleasant and a lot of fun, I think having two good friends with helped a lot. Stimulating conversations, impromptu sing alongs, laughter and the “book of questions” made for a great time. Chicago itself was fun as always. When you are there next visit Giordano’s Pizza and just say to yourself “Diet Be Damned” because it is really worth it. The Hancock center was a bit of a letdown because of the cloud coverage at the time but it was pretty overcast most of the day so it would have been bad no matter what. I would have to say two of the highlights would have to be the people watching in Millennium Park and Navy Pier and getting checked out by people at the clubs! Yeah for working out and having a little more self-confidence from losing some weight! This will be a trip I cherish for a long time.

In other good news… my classroom is finally finished and I’m organized to start school!

Today’s Workout:

Treadmill: 2.3 miles and 314 calories

The Doomsday Machine

The Enterprise enters a solar system that has been crushed to rubble and finds another ship severely damaged. The ship is the USS Constellation, which happens to look just like the Enterprise. This is another example of cost cutting techniques used to keep production costs lower. Well when Kirk, Scotty and an engineering party beam over they discover the ship’s captain, Commodore Decker, to be the only surviving member of the crew. Decker nearly goes into shock when asked to explain what has happened and reveals that to keep his crew from dying he beamed them onto the 3 planet in the system. This planet was destroyed and he could do nothing to save his people. Commodore Decker has clearly gone crazy. When the “planet Killer” attacks it leaves Kirk and company stranded on the Constellation. Decker immediately takes over the Enterprise and nearly destroys it in the same way his own ship was paralyzed. Decker outranks Spock and McCoy so they have no authority to do what they know is right and must follow orders. When the Enterprise is nearly destroyed Spock then relieves him of his command. The Constellation regains some power and together the Enterprise and Constellation attempt to destroy this massive weapon. In the middle of a crazy fit Decker hijacks a shuttle and runs it into the mouth of the “planet killer”. It has little effect but inspires Kirk to do the same but with the Constellation. His hope is that a ship of that size will cause a bigger explosion and neutralize the threat. It works in the end and Kirk barely makes it back to the Enterprise alive.

This episode is really fun science fiction and a lot of action but at its core it is a bold statement against the Cold War and the arms race of the 1960’s. The episode tells the tale of an alien society’s weapon that destroyed their civilization and their enemies and now continues to destroy without reason. Bold stuff for 1960’s TV!