50) A Piece of the Action
04/03/22 • 108 min
Put your choppers down, that's no way to treat our special guest for our 50th podcast episode of "Enterprise Incidents!" We excited to be joined by respected entertainment journalist and acclaimed author Ed Gross, who shares his archive interview with "A Piece of the Action" director (and legendary TV producer) James Komack.
A hundred years after being visited by an Earth vessel, the Enterprise arrives at the planet Sigma Iotia II, where it discovers a world steeped in chaos and run entirely by gangsters. During their investigation into the cause of this parallel culture, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy are captured by notorious crime boss Bela Okmyx, who wants a hundred phasers (or "heaters") to knock off the other bosses and take full control. That's when they discover the root of the contamination: a book left behind by the previous ship called "Chicago Mobs of the Twenties." In an effort to clean up their mess and unify the planet, Captain Kirk realizes that the best way to reason with the Iotians is to speak their language, which he attempts to do with often humorous results. "The Trouble with Tribbles" may be the most popular of the comedic "Star Trek" episodes, but "A Piece of the Action" is the bigger fan-favorite, because it's funniest and the coolest of the bunch. It's also the most irresistible, thanks to game performances by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, not to mention guest stars Anthony Caruso and Vic Tayback, who are clearly having a ball. As a result, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more fun and gleefully-entertaining episode of "Star Trek" than "A Piece of the Action." In fact, the odds are astronomical -- except at night, on Tuesday. Right?
You can support Enterprise Incidents right here (Think of it as a "Tip Jar"): https://anchor.fm/enterpriseincidents
You can follow Enterprise Incidents on social media at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EnterpriseIncidents
Twitter: @enterincidents Instagram @enterpriseincidents
Follow Scott Mantz @moviemantz on Twitter and Instagram
Follow Steve Morris @srmorris on Twitter and @srmorris1 on Instagram
Put your choppers down, that's no way to treat our special guest for our 50th podcast episode of "Enterprise Incidents!" We excited to be joined by respected entertainment journalist and acclaimed author Ed Gross, who shares his archive interview with "A Piece of the Action" director (and legendary TV producer) James Komack.
A hundred years after being visited by an Earth vessel, the Enterprise arrives at the planet Sigma Iotia II, where it discovers a world steeped in chaos and run entirely by gangsters. During their investigation into the cause of this parallel culture, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy are captured by notorious crime boss Bela Okmyx, who wants a hundred phasers (or "heaters") to knock off the other bosses and take full control. That's when they discover the root of the contamination: a book left behind by the previous ship called "Chicago Mobs of the Twenties." In an effort to clean up their mess and unify the planet, Captain Kirk realizes that the best way to reason with the Iotians is to speak their language, which he attempts to do with often humorous results. "The Trouble with Tribbles" may be the most popular of the comedic "Star Trek" episodes, but "A Piece of the Action" is the bigger fan-favorite, because it's funniest and the coolest of the bunch. It's also the most irresistible, thanks to game performances by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, not to mention guest stars Anthony Caruso and Vic Tayback, who are clearly having a ball. As a result, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more fun and gleefully-entertaining episode of "Star Trek" than "A Piece of the Action." In fact, the odds are astronomical -- except at night, on Tuesday. Right?
You can support Enterprise Incidents right here (Think of it as a "Tip Jar"): https://anchor.fm/enterpriseincidents
You can follow Enterprise Incidents on social media at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EnterpriseIncidents
Twitter: @enterincidents Instagram @enterpriseincidents
Follow Scott Mantz @moviemantz on Twitter and Instagram
Follow Steve Morris @srmorris on Twitter and @srmorris1 on Instagram
Previous Episode
49) The Immunity Syndrome
While investigating the loss of the Starship Intrepid and an entire star system containing billions of inhabitants, the Enterprise discovers the cause to be a giant space amoeba that is about to reproduce. In an effort to figure out how to destroy it before it kills billions more, Captain Kirk must send a shuttlecraft on a suicide mission into the heart of the amoeba, and he must decide which of his trusted officers is more qualified to go: Mr. Spock or Dr. McCoy. After being rushed into production when NBC-TV picked up “Star Trek” for the balance of the second season, “The Immunity Syndrome” feels contrived, lacks finesse and qualifies as one of the weaker episodes of the series. But it still has its merits, the first of which is the amazing visual effects, which were groundbreaking when it aired in 1968 and still hold up to this day. “The Immunity Syndrome” also contains great dramatic conflict, as Captain Kirk agonizes over which of his closest friends he must send to their uncertain death.
You can support Enterprise Incidents right here (just think of it as a "tip jar"): https://anchor.fm/enterpriseincidents
You can follow Enterprise Incidents on social media at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EnterpriseIncidents
Twitter: @enterincidents
Instagram: @enterpriseincidents
Follow Scott Mantz @moviemantz on Twitter and Instagram
Follow Steve Morris @srmorris on Twitter and @srmorris1 on Instagram
Next Episode
51) By Any Other Name
When Captain Kirk and his landing party respond to a distress call from an alien race called the Kelvans, they have the tables turned on them when they are immediately captured and held as hostages. The reason: high radiation levels in their own galaxy will eventually make life there impossible, so the Kelvans need the Enterprise to make the 300-year return journey back to their home world to deliver the message about this new galaxy that their race can conquer and occupy. Since the Kelvans have taken on human form, Captain Kirk's only hope in defeating them lies in engaging them on a human level and stirring up their newfound emotions, reactions and temptations. Written by D.C. Fontana and Jerome Bixby, "By Any Other Name" packs a lot into its 50-minute running time and really does have it all: action, suspense, drama, conflict, romance and -- in an abrupt and remarkably effective shift in tone -- humor (and lots of it). The result is an engaging, briskly-paced and very entertaining "Star Trek" classic that fully deserves to rank up there with the very best of them.
Special guest: Mark A. Altman (Host: "Inglorious Treksperts"; Author: "The 50 Year Mission"; Executive Producer: "Pandora"; Writer-Producer: "Free Enterprise")
You can support Enterprise Incidents right here (think of it as a "tip Jar"): https://anchor.fm/enterpriseincidents
You can follow Enterprise Incidents on social media at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EnterpriseIncidents
Twitter: @enterincidents
Instagram: @enterpriseincidents
Follow Scott Mantz @moviemantz on Twitter and Instagram
Follow Steve Morris @srmorris on Twitter and @srmorris1 on Instagram
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