Star Trek Review: SPECTRE OF THE GUN

Director Vincent McEveety's, SPECTRE OF THE GUN, is a stylized yet entertaining Sci-Fi fantasy tale. McEveety's classic Trek credits also include: "Miri", "Balance of Terror", and "Dagger of the Mind". His feature directing credits include: "Million Dollar Duck," (1971), and "Herbie goes Bananas".

This is one of the few episodes where Chekov "dies". We don't care about his character they way we do about Kirk, or Spock, or even McCoy, so his "death" and resurrection" don't pack much wallop.

Rex Holman ("The Bounty Man", "The Legend of the Golden Gun") plays Morgan Earp with a calm intensity. He later showed up, in "Star Trek V", proving that classic "Trek" guest stars are not forgotten.

The Teleplay, by Gene Coon is stylized yet gripping. Coon also wrote the scripts for "Devil in the Dark", "Space Seed" and "Errand of Mercy", among others.

My favorite scene is when the Enterprise crew, standing in for the Clanton gang at a recreation of the classic gunfight at the OK Corral. When the Earps and Doc Holliday open up on the "Clantons", the Enterprise crew is unharmed but the fence behind them is peppered with bullet holes. The FX here are cool and convincing.

This episode offers an example of how budget limitations can work in favor of a story. The minimal sets, which apparently didn't cost jack diddly, contribute to the dream/nightmare atmosphere of the episode.

SPECTRE OF THE GUN should be rather watchable for many Sci-Fi viewers. Western fans may enjoy this unusual Futuristic/Old West hybrid.

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