Minister Faust
A
0. One of my favourite TOS episodes, and from the much-maligned third season (which, while having many stinkers, also had some of the best episodes in all of Trekdom). Gene Coon wrote it under the pseudonym Lee Cronin. One can make the argument that ...
01:12 PM - Apr 04, 2023
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Minister Faust
A
In response to Minister Faust.
0A. Coon was simply copying his season one entry "Arena" (itself arising from the Fredric Brown short story "Arena"), but "Spectre of the Gun" is superior, from my perspective, for several reasons:

1. It has a far more lyrical, mythic title.
01:13 PM - Apr 04, 2023 (Edited)
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0
Minister Faust
A
In response to Minister Faust.
2. It turns the bug of season 3's low budget into a feature; the production couldn't afford to build a complete Old West town, so the buildings are half- or quarter-made. The script explains that...
01:14 PM - Apr 04, 2023
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Minister Faust
A
In response to Minister Faust.
2A. ...the Melkot alien judges/executioners are recreating only the basic elements required for their "theatre of the damned" (my phrasing) to unfold. The result is one of the most memorable and...
01:15 PM - Apr 04, 2023 (Edited)
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0
Minister Faust
A
In response to Minister Faust.
2B. phantasmagoric production designs in all of US TV (in animation, the parallel is the creepy caverns of Ralph Bakshi's *Spider-Man* and *Rocket Robin Hood*).
01:15 PM - Apr 04, 2023 (Edited)
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Minister Faust
A
3. The exploration of good vs. evil is richer because, unlike the alien Gorn in "Arena," the evil cowboys aren't even *alive*. They're merely *simulations* drawn from Kirk's (and probably McCoy's) recollections of USian history.
In response to Minister Faust.
01:16 PM - Apr 04, 2023
1
0
Minister Faust
A
In response to Minister Faust.
3A. More strikingly, these cowboys are actually *the good guys* from the shoot-out at the OK Corral. They're the *law*. And these cops are some of the most terrifying villains in all of US TV, especially ...
01:16 PM - Apr 04, 2023 (Edited)
1
0
Minister Faust
A
In response to Minister Faust.
3C. ...as our folks (ironically, rendered as the criminal Clanton gang) are begging for their lives and the chance to avoid being slaughtered.
01:18 PM - Apr 04, 2023
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