The lack of professionalism among the crew never ceases to amaze me... Kirk gives simple enough instructions - "fire at a gas cloud if it appears" - and yet one of the red shirts stupidly hesitates, hence condemning all three extras to Red-Shirts Heaven, where they join all the other luckless extras that had to be killed off in order to prove how real a threat was.
Some time later, a new red-shirt HESITATES for too long before firing, despite also being given clear instructions to fire at the cloud. Considering that both red-shirts KNEW that they were expecting a cloud - as opposed to a horned three-headed frog-lizard - they couldn't have been so shocked as to freeze like such dim-witted amateurs. In fact, I'd expect this kind of brief fear reaction more in case of an attack by a three-headed frog-lizard then a damn cloud. Those things are so menacing...
Still, it's awesome how one of the red shirts uses the metric system when asked about the deadly cloud gas. It would seem the 23rd century will finally do away with pounds, gallons, inches, feet, yards and other American nonsense! It's a pet-peeve, yes...
But hold your horses... Just a minute later the red-shirt uses yards. I guess it's gonna be tough to teach an old American horse new tricks, after all, even in this "advanced" 23rd century.
What makes even less sense is that the allegedly logical Spock is skeptical about the cloud having an intelligence. Jesus wept, considering all the weird things they'd encountered throughout the years there is no reason for such misplaced skepticism. It's like that dumb, bland, nepotist dullard from "X-Files" constantly being skeptical - when she'd had ample opportunity to start believing in little green aliens. Of course, I hate that lame show... Spock and McCoy have enough evidence, yet they believe - exactly what? That this cloud COINCIDENTALLY snuck up on their crew - twice - then killed them, and then disappeared AGAIN by accident? That'd be one helluva efficient cloud considering it's not sentient.
Even AFTER the Enterprise starts chasing the cloud across the galaxy, Spock still refuses to be admit that the cloud has purpose i.e. Intelligence! I mean, what does a killer gas have to BLOODY DO to impress a stubborn, slow-witted Vulkan?! To sing "Oklahoma" while juggling 11 tennis balls?! What?
Minutes later, Spock finally gives the cloud the respect it deserves. Except McCoy, of course, who still has doubts...
Speaking of flawed logic, I don't quite understand why the killer cloud withdrew from the scenes of the crime, considering that human weapons were ineffective against it. Likewise, it makes no sense for the red-shirt to not put 2 and 2 together regarding his failure to fire at the it on time: he was on the bridge, witnessing the use of lasers and "photon-torpedoes" against the cloud, so he should have been able to instantly realize that his indecisiveness made no difference at all. Just as Kirk needed Spock to explain this obvious fact to Kirk, the red-shirt needed Kirk to explain it to him. So perhaps the cloud is intelligent whereas Kirk and the red-shirt aren't? Spiffing. By this point the score was Cloud 17 Humans 0.
How Kirk managed to guess that the cloud was heading back to the location of the first encounter between it and Kirk from 11 years ago... Well, that's anybody's guess. Kirk's "intuitive explanation" certainly sounded muddled and unconvincing.
Even more unconvincing is the nonsense that transpires on the planet. Kirk freezes, just like the useless red-shirts, so another plan is necessary. Kirk gives an order to the red-shirt to beam back up, but the red-shirt proceeds to chop-sokey Kirk, which is daft. They then actually start FIGHTING!
Some time later, a new red-shirt HESITATES for too long before firing, despite also being given clear instructions to fire at the cloud. Considering that both red-shirts KNEW that they were expecting a cloud - as opposed to a horned three-headed frog-lizard - they couldn't have been so shocked as to freeze like such dim-witted amateurs. In fact, I'd expect this kind of brief fear reaction more in case of an attack by a three-headed frog-lizard then a damn cloud. Those things are so menacing...
Still, it's awesome how one of the red shirts uses the metric system when asked about the deadly cloud gas. It would seem the 23rd century will finally do away with pounds, gallons, inches, feet, yards and other American nonsense! It's a pet-peeve, yes...
But hold your horses... Just a minute later the red-shirt uses yards. I guess it's gonna be tough to teach an old American horse new tricks, after all, even in this "advanced" 23rd century.
What makes even less sense is that the allegedly logical Spock is skeptical about the cloud having an intelligence. Jesus wept, considering all the weird things they'd encountered throughout the years there is no reason for such misplaced skepticism. It's like that dumb, bland, nepotist dullard from "X-Files" constantly being skeptical - when she'd had ample opportunity to start believing in little green aliens. Of course, I hate that lame show... Spock and McCoy have enough evidence, yet they believe - exactly what? That this cloud COINCIDENTALLY snuck up on their crew - twice - then killed them, and then disappeared AGAIN by accident? That'd be one helluva efficient cloud considering it's not sentient.
Even AFTER the Enterprise starts chasing the cloud across the galaxy, Spock still refuses to be admit that the cloud has purpose i.e. Intelligence! I mean, what does a killer gas have to BLOODY DO to impress a stubborn, slow-witted Vulkan?! To sing "Oklahoma" while juggling 11 tennis balls?! What?
Minutes later, Spock finally gives the cloud the respect it deserves. Except McCoy, of course, who still has doubts...
Speaking of flawed logic, I don't quite understand why the killer cloud withdrew from the scenes of the crime, considering that human weapons were ineffective against it. Likewise, it makes no sense for the red-shirt to not put 2 and 2 together regarding his failure to fire at the it on time: he was on the bridge, witnessing the use of lasers and "photon-torpedoes" against the cloud, so he should have been able to instantly realize that his indecisiveness made no difference at all. Just as Kirk needed Spock to explain this obvious fact to Kirk, the red-shirt needed Kirk to explain it to him. So perhaps the cloud is intelligent whereas Kirk and the red-shirt aren't? Spiffing. By this point the score was Cloud 17 Humans 0.
How Kirk managed to guess that the cloud was heading back to the location of the first encounter between it and Kirk from 11 years ago... Well, that's anybody's guess. Kirk's "intuitive explanation" certainly sounded muddled and unconvincing.
Even more unconvincing is the nonsense that transpires on the planet. Kirk freezes, just like the useless red-shirts, so another plan is necessary. Kirk gives an order to the red-shirt to beam back up, but the red-shirt proceeds to chop-sokey Kirk, which is daft. They then actually start FIGHTING!