The Omega Glory

Plot

The Federation Starship Enterprise approaches the planet Omega IV and finds the USS Exeter orbiting it. Captain Kirk, First Officer Spock, Dr. McCoy and Lt. Galloway beam over to the Exeter. They find the ship deserted except for uniforms covered with a crystalline substance that is human remains. The logs show the Exeter's crew died from an infectious disease brought from the planet, and the landing party is now infected and must beam down to survive.

They beam to the last coordinates in the Exeter's computer and find Captain Ron Tracey. Tracey explains he was stranded when the disease ravaged his ship and that remaining on the planet confers immunity. He reveals the villagers he lives with, called Kohms, are at war with savages called Yangs. After a Yang attack, Spock finds evidence Tracey has been helping the Kohms, violating the Prime Directive.

Kirk tries to contact the Enterprise but is prevented by Tracey, who justifies his violation by revealing the natives are immune to the disease and have lifespans over 1000 years. Tracey orders McCoy to investigate the longevity and locks Kirk and Spock in a jail with two Yang prisoners. Kirk has the male Yang loosen the cell window bars, but the Yang knocks out Kirk and escapes with the woman. Kirk and Spock escape on their own.

Spock modifies medical equipment into a makeshift communicator, but Tracey destroys it. Kirk and McCoy explain the longevity is unrelated to immunity, but Tracey tries to force Kirk to order weapons from the Enterprise.

Analysis

Daniel Leonard Bernardi, in his book Star Trek and History: Race-ing Toward a White Future, wrote that the Kohms have full command of English with a homogenized Asian accent, while the Yangs are white-skinned savages. He argued this counters the hegemonic representation of Asians as a yellow horde. Allan W. Austin, Professor of History at Misericordia University, discussed racial stereotypes in the episode. Citing Bernardi, he argued the Yangs can be seen as an example of mindless nationalism run amok, still salvageable in Roddenberry's optimistic view.

Austin noted that many qualities ascribed to the Yangs mirrored terms used to describe the yellow peril in U.S. history, such as Tracey describing them as vicious and deceptive enemies who cannot communicate intelligently. In a 2006 essay, Michael Chabon reflected on the episode's portrayal of devolved Yankees who venerate the Preamble to the Constitution as sacred gobbledygook, needing a Captain Kirk to interpret it for the American way of life to flourish.

Production

Roddenberry originally offered this story as an option for the second pilot under the title The Omega Story. The original script had significant differences in characterization and background. Since Dr. Leonard McCoy had not been created, the ship's surgeon was named Milton Perry; in one version Perry attempts to signal the Enterprise with a Medi-Scanner but is killed when Captain Tracey destroys it with his phaser.

The script also called for Dr. Carter of the Exeter to dissolve onscreen. Costume designer William Ware Theiss made a production error, giving the USS Exeter crew a unique uniform insignia different from the Enterprise's delta. The mistake was caught too late to correct, and a memo announced that, after consulting Gene Roddenberry, all starship crews would use the same delta insignia going forward.

Reception

Entertainment Weekly once called Kirk's reading of the U.S. Constitution in this episode a key moment for the character. Multiple critics have ranked it among the franchise's worst: WhatCulture placed it 15th, ScreenRant rated it 8th worst overall in 2017, and Den of Geek named it the 5th worst of the original series that same year.

CBS News also listed it among the original series' worst. However, SyFy argued in 2016 that it deserved a second chance despite its bad reputation. CBR went further in 2018, calling it so bad it must be seen.