Our Mortal Enemy is Captain Carter
Episode 12 of Star Fleet
This review contains spoilers for this episode and previous episodes in the series!
Episode 12: Our Mortal Enemy is Captain Carter is a turning point in the series. After this episode things will never be the same again. It can pretty much be divided into two halves.
The first deals with themes of slavery and suicide in the context of what TV pros sometimes call a “bottle show” or a story that takes place within the confines of the regular, standing sets.
The second half deals with themes of treachery, honor, and the search for redemption. Needless to say, it’s powerful stuff for Saturday morning, even by Star Fleet standards, so let’s dive in!
Eschewing action for an introspective opening, Peter Marinker’s narration tells us that Captain Carter’s voice has been heard demanding the F-01. Presumably this is in reference to the past few encounters with Carter, but it could also be something that occurred between the last episode and this one.
The mood around the table is pretty grim. The others can no longer deny Shiro’s belief that their mysterious adversary is indeed Captain Carter– a former close ally of Dr. Benn and the teacher of all three cadets. “I gotta hand it to you, Shiro. You were right,” Hercules admits, “I just wish you were wrong.”
Hercules reckons the change of allegiance is the result of a new form of brainwashing. Lee agrees that Carter wouldn’t have betrayed them all in any other way, but not before he quaffs an entire mug of hot cocoa.
PPA points out that Captain Carter believes Lamia is F-01. It’s a reasonable assumption because, at this point in the story, the audience doesn’t have a lot of other options for what F-01 could be.
Nevertheless, the suggestion really sets off Lee and Hercules. The idea that Lamia could be caught up in some sort of cosmic mystery really scares them. Dr. Benn stops the argument and returns the focus to the mission. They have to find the Skull to get the answers.
Lamia calls to interrupt them. An unidentified craft has appeared on the radar.
One familiar (and long) stock shot of X Bomber later and everyone is in the bridge area at their usual stations minus Lamia, which is odd considering she’s the one who reported the disturbance in the first place. But she and Kirara have cleared out to make room for the boys. Lee announces a distress call and the Doctor is surprised, which he shouldn’t be given the fact that there is an unidentified craft on the loose.
The unidentified craft turns out to be a very identifiable Imperial Fighter being chased by three others. The pursued craft varies a bit in design from the standard model. It has larger and more elaborate attachments beneath the wings and an expanded gunport. It’s possible that this is an unarmed scout vessel and the additional pieces are sensor equipment.
The pilot calls X Bomber requesting assistance.
Shiro, the brains of the operation, points out that the caller is an Imperial Soldier. Before caller ID, you needed someone like Shiro to tell you who was on the line.
Hercules can’t understand why he’s being fired on by his own people, but Benn decides to intervene. There’s a chance he’s a deserter and could provide valuable intelligence, not to mention be worthy of protection. A Dai-X launch is ordered.
Using some sound effects from the Cinesound library (very recognizable from their use in the Gerry Anderson series Supercar) the Dai-X crew make short work of the three pursuit craft plus a few extra who appeared from nowhere. Turns out it was a whole squadron of fighters after all.
The Imperial soldier refuses to identify himself despite Shiro’s request but somehow the tone of his repeated requests for assistance indicate that he’s hurt. Shiro decides to bring him onboard.
The baddies are infuriated. Makara is absolutely steaming that the deserter got away. Orion demands to know who the escapee is and we’re told by a termoid that he’s known as 0171. Anagram of the USS Enterprise registration number or the screenwriter’s PIN number?
To Orion’s credit, he knows his men/numbers well enough to know that the soldier is assigned to the “battlecarrier” craft under Captain Carter’s command.
Carter is very relaxed despite this supposed disaster and condescendingly chides Orion for not knowing the story of the wooden horse of Troy.1 His plan to get a man on the inside has worked perfectly. It’s a lovely scene with exceptional voice acting, particularly from Sean Barrett as Orion. His delivery of “tactic?” is a gem.
Aboard X Bomber, the soldier is in a bio-bed of some sort in sickbay. Nothing more is said of his craft, which could have been useful for Star Fleet to study since they were previously unable to defeat Imperial Fighters in combat. Given the damage it sustained, perhaps it exploded after the soldier was removed from it off screen.
This is a nice top-down angle and particularly tricky to achieve with under controlled puppets. I speak from experience.
My film Astral Beacon has a shot like this in its proof of concept trailer. You can watch it on my YouTube channel or support the film on Patreon.
Dr. Benn thinks he can gain some intelligence from the hapless termoid, a concept Shiro didn’t intuit on his own. Lamia is playing nurse, but only up to the point where he can be questioned. Dr. Benn thinks the houseguest should heal on his own “guarded by the solar rays here in sickbay.” Whatever those solar rays are, they presumably have healing properties.
Ordered to resume the search for the Skull, Shiro and Hercules head back to their stations. Hercules has decided to give Shiro a ribbing about his feelings regarding Lamia– feelings he says are “pretty obvious to us.”
Shiro gets steamed that anybody might have thoughts about him and Lamia. Methinks he doth protest too much. PPA attempts to break it up, but that only starts another one of his world famous arguments with Hercules.
While they trade barbs, Shiro reveals that he was actually thinking about the deserter. Something seems off somehow.
Lamia floats into sickbay, accompanied by footstep sound effects.
Forever a compassionate soul, Lamia chats to the convalescent. She wonders what his homeworld is like (good question) and tells him she doesn’t even know where her homeworld is (not such a good idea to mention that bit). Bored of the one sided conversations she’s used to having with Kirara, Lamia wishes he would wake up.
With a growl and glowing eyes, the prisoner bursts out of his candy glass prison.2 Lamia screams and there’s a few seconds of chaos and explosions.
This swinging lampshade (solar rays?) is here because the puppets can’t technically do much to sell a scene like this, but this limitation is turned into a strength. The audience is forced to imagine what is happening to Lamia based on the sound design alone and that makes it a lot scarier. It’s a helpful device!
From this complex 8 paneled warning system, we can clearly discern that the alert is coming from sickbay. Or, at least, Shiro can discern that.
I’m really fascinated by this blue IV. What it was doing dripping blue raspberry fizz into the patient is anyone’s guess, but it’s a cool looking prop and gives a nice indication that things got wild here in sickbay.
“I knew we shouldn’t have saved him!” Shiro backpedals. Probably the smart thing would’ve been to place him under armed guard instead of leaving him alone with Lamia, but never mind.
While Shiro and Hercules are busy being impressed by the cleverness of the ploy, Lee is being useful and looking for clues. A handkerchief or similar has been found and the lads deduce that Lamia has been kidnapped. The game is afoot!
PPA seems to be able to track the intruder’s movements using this map. Currently, he is in “passage E.” Thus, we can conclude that the X Bomber’s corridors are sorted by letter and Hercules can deduce that the termoid’s destination is the engine room.
After warning them that Lamia is in great potential danger and to use the utmost care, Dr. Benn sends the boys to rescue her. Meanwhile, PPA is ordered to check the memory banks from sick bay for more data.
Heroic music accompanies awkward shuffling as the puppets make their way through that maze of corridors to the engine room. It’s tough to make puppets move at all, let alone create a dramatic sequence like this.
Lamia and guest have reached the engine room (you can tell it’s the engine room because the door says “ENGINE ROOM”) and the termoid celebrates by violently hurling his hostage against it and then leering over her.
“This is the engine room,” he tells Lamia, as if she’s never been there before.
Just as he opens the (unlocked) door, the lads arrive– they made pretty good time! Shiro pulls a gun and the termoid responds by using Lamia as a body shield. Hercules displays touching concern for her welfare and forces Shiro to lower his weapon.
Without attempting to negotiate, the intruder/deserter/termoid ducks into the engine room and locks the door. The trio of heroes rush forward in time for the door to clunk shut with great awkwardness. They have no means to force the lock to hand, so Shiro and Hercules just bang on the door. Via the radio, Dr. Benn suggests using “solar torches.”
Safe from pursuit for the moment, the termoid appears to think things over and contemplate the machinery around them. It’s become apparent by this time that he’s got some blue goo around his jaw, which could be termoid blood, something from the IV bottle in sick bay, or (my personal favourite explanation) some sort of psychedelic drug Captain Carter gave him in order to get him to go on this insane mission.
When Lamia takes the chance to ask what his next move will be, the termoid roughs her up some more.
Hostage cast aside, he begins laying what can only be explosive charges.
Lamia watches the soldier carefully as he sets about destroying himself along with the entire ship.
John Lee is as cheerful as a chickadee as he announces the torch is all set up. Hercules begins to cut without anything so crude as eye protection.
As Shiro watches Hercules cut with the laser-like solar torch, Benn keeps in touch with PPA. No help from the computer bank yet!
More bombs are placed as Lamia tries again to communicate. This time the creature is more receptive.
Accused of deception and destruction, the termoid fervently accepts the charges. There is a fanatical tone to his voice that is very alarming.
Waving around a detonator, he declares that he can now destroy X Bomber at any time. Since he hasn’t done it yet, Lamia asks if he is willing to die too. When he turns his back, Lamia calls for help via an intercom.
Hearing that there are bombs in place and that Lamia is being assaulted, Dr. Benn urges Hercules to step up the pace.
Clearly, every frame of the laser torch (sorry, solar torch) was added in post-production via cell animation. It looks pretty cool and I definitely wanted one of these when I was a kid.
The Doctor, possibly due to a lack of things to do, is insistent that PPA hurry up computer analysis, but the robot says it’s a no go. Insufficient data for any conclusions. Thus, Benn tells Shiro their only course of action will be to rush the intruder as soon as they can get in the door.
Great plan.
I love that Hercules isn’t trying to damage the door lock or mechanism, but rather cutting a big hole. Also, in the future, people will still be smoking. Just not near the engine room.3 Whatever danger of fire there is, it doesn’t bother anyone under the circumstances.
Crewman 0171, with black goo dripping out of his forehead, calls Lamia a fool for warning her friends. “Do you want to die?” he taunts.
Unwilling to let such brazen hypocrisy slide past, Lamia points out that he wants to die for the Imperial Alliance. She questions his dedication to its greatness and it seems that she may be right. He still has not pressed the button despite having ample opportunity for a suicide attack.
“Life is a precious gift.” In the first of what will be many emotional moments in this episode, Lamia’s words seem to have an effect on the injured enemy soldier. He hangs his head as he contemplates his own destruction.
“We saved your life because we trusted your call for help,” Lamia says, “if you surrender we won’t hurt you now.” It seems unlikely given Hercules and Shiro’s ‘punch ‘em first and ask questions later’ policy, but Lamia’s appeal is gaining ground.
Suddenly the death trooper turns and snarls at her.
Fingers poised over the button, 0171 re-declares his intentions to blow them all away. “Your friends will be too late to save you!”
In true Bond villain style, the deserter continues to taunt Lamia rather than just get on with it. It’ll prove to be a fatal mistake.
I bet you forgot all about Kirara in all the excitement, didn’t you? As he lands on the bad guy, he doesn’t accidentally blow them all up (which is good because I seriously doubt whether the soldier would’ve pulled the trigger on his own), but instead sends the device flying. Lamia scrambles for it.
Hercules finishes cutting through the door and Shiro and company storm the gates. Lamia appears to faint and Shiro rushes to her aid. Benn orders the others to find the bomb. Kirara pounds the termoid against a bulkhead.
With a scream and bone cracking crunch, the termoid is hurled across the room. He whizzes past Dr. Benn, who watches him go in a moment of unintentional comic genius.
Shiro asks Lamia if she’s OK while Kirara takes the kind of stance Bruce Lee used to take after devastating one hundred of the best trained ninjas in the world.
Ignoring his embrace and concern, Lamia holds up the detonator. More important things going on here, Shiro.
However, she does lay her head on his chest with a sigh, so in Shiro’s book I’m sure that’s a big win.
Dr. Benn has compassionately turned his attention to the wounded soldier and now that the immediate danger has ended, he asks the boys to take him to sick bay for treatment. What a guy that Benn is!
The termoid is given futuristic X-rays without the help or presence of Lamia, who would normally assist in medical situations. While PPA is measuring the extent of his injuries, Dr. Benn spots something in his right shoulder.
It’s Hercules who recognizes this device for what it is– a time bomb. Dr. Benn concludes that this “poor fellow” was doomed to death from the beginning. Shiro wants to remove the bomb but there isn’t time. In fact, Benn calmly relates that there are only seconds left. So Lee and Hercules leave to shoot him into space. It’s just as well for her that Lamia wasn’t around to see the death of 0171.
While the other two save the lives of everyone else aboard by jettisoning the ill-fated crewman, Dr. Benn and Shiro realize that someone with inside knowledge of X Bomber had to have planned the operation.
They conclude that the responsible party is Captain Carter, which would imply that at some point during X Bomber’s development, Carter left either Pluto Base or Star Fleet Training School to go see the top secret project and retained an accurate knowledge both of sickbay’s Solar Guard and the location of the engine room.
Farewell, 0171. We hardly knew ye.
The actual explosion of the capsule takes place offscreen. Only some flashes of light through the window are shown, and without sound effects. Hardly a fitting end for such a fascinating side character.
Also offscreen is a conversation between Lamia and Benn where the former makes one final appeal to save the crewman. True to form, she remains compassionate. Benn blames the death on Carter. Presumably, Shiro is hearing what we hear because his thoughts turn to vengeance.
This marks a turning point in the episode and what is effectively the first act. It's a fun story, but riddled with plot holes. The most glaring is why the soldier didn’t simply blow up X Bomber the second he got on board. Or, if he was implanted with a time bomb, why allow the Star Fleet crew so much time to save themselves? Couldn’t a remote detonator have been used? Plus, there’s the lack of explanation for what happens to the Imperial Fighter.
Nevertheless, the termoid’s failure to pull the trigger suggests that he wanted to live in spite of the brainwashing he endured. It makes his story all the more tragic.
Of course, if tragic is your thing, stay tuned for the rest of the episode… you might want to take a break, grab your favourite beverage, and come right back. Because it’s a corker!
Makara, milking the moment for its drama, puts Carter on the phone with Shiro. Interestingly, he claims not to know Shiro despite their recent interactions. The man is clearly unwell as well as under mind control.
Shiro, in a gesture of honor worthy of a samurai movie, challenges his old teacher to a duel. The forces of good against evil.
His challenge issued, Shiro doesn’t pause to arrange any further details or even wait for a response from the challenged Carter. This could be a result of compressing the story into half-hour segments, but it feels like a character motivated moment to me. Shiro is so overwhelmed by the pain and emotion of having to challenge is beloved instructor that he has to cut off the communication for fear of losing control.
PPA is the only witness to this call on the X Bomber side and, perhaps sensing that emotions are involved, urges Shiro to discuss his feelings with Dr. Benn. But Shiro is determined and leaves to go fight, slamming the bridge door in PPA’s face.
Makara is just tickled pink by this turn of events. She jeeringly reminds Carter that his 0171 plan has failed and Orion is quick to join the pile on. But Carter is confident. Makara assures him Shiro’s death will be his redemption in the eyes of the Alliance and Carter leaves the bridge heading for redemption of another kind entirely.
As Shiro flies towards his destiny his shipmates attempt to contact him but in the time-honored tradition of such tales, he refuses to allow contact in order to keep them out of what is now a matter of honor. “Does he have to be a hero?” Benn wonders.
Shiro switches off his radio entirely, giving himself over to thoughts of Carter’s betrayal. He is particularly heartbroken and galled by the Captain’s use of stealth and treachery rather than fair fighting.
After a long sequence of Shiro introspecting, we at last encounter Carter. “Come and get me boy!” he booms. Even though the radios are off, the two opponents don’t hesitate to call each other out.
As a dogfight begins, Carter appears to give Shiro an advantage. He allows himself to fall into his student’s sights, but Shiro can’t pull the trigger. Carter has no such inhibition.
With Braincom spewing smoke, Shiro goes in to attack full force. He gets his old master in his sights again but this time he can open fire.
“I’m hit,” Carter says in surprise. He hurtles towards a nearby planetoid and Shiro follows.
In an impressive and subtle bit of puppetry, Shiro ducks under the cannon of Braincom and walks toward Carter’s fighter. The screen direction is very consistent here so the viewer feels very oriented in the new location.
In this and the preceding shots, the filmmakers also make excellent use of foreground elements to hide the puppet’s movements. The illusion of walking is created through suggestion and is very effective.4 These technical elements work together with the performances to create one of the series most powerful scenes.
Shiro spies Carter splayed out facedown over a rock. Despite the lack of breathing equipment, he concludes he is alive, holsters his weapon and rushes over. As he does, something strange happens.
The biological crustacean-like symbiont attached to Carter’s head drops away. Shiro recoils in horror from the specter. Dreadful squishy sound effects and the sight of Carter’s closed (and possibly blinded) right eye help make it scary.
With a groan, Carter finds himself in Shiro’s arms. “It’s me,” Shiro says touchingly. The man seems to recognize him, sounding like his old self.
As his memories begin to return, Carter straightens, stands, and walks away from Shiro. “Don’t come closer,” he says defiantly. He feels isolation is the only valid choice.
Then, in a furious rage, Carter smashes his mutant appendage against the rock. “Damn Makara!” he rages, “The things they made me do.” He pounds the claw mercilessly until it shatters.
Shiro cries for his injured and disgraced teacher. The true horror of these moments of revelation are difficult to grasp. A real life, non-Saturday morning equivalent would be waking up to find one morning that one had been helping the Nazis commit genocide unawares.
Also at the heart of the horror is Carter’s questioning. “Why, oh why?” he wonders and we all might well wonder the same thing. None of us reading this have (hopefully) been complicit in a major war crime or the betrayal of our entire species, but we’ve all accidentally been caught up in things beyond our control that end up causing harm to someone. Despite all of our good intentions, we can still fail or be manipulated by other forces. These kinds of themes are key to my interest in puppetry which is a kind of visual metaphor for how Carter feels now. The fact that Garrick Hagon’s vocal performance is so intense only deepens the power of the emotions that come with failure– the failure to resist evil.
Spewing sparks from his shattered limb, Carter orders Shiro to finish him off. Some viewers might find his attitude hard to accept. Japan is traditionally known as an honor/shame culture, rather than the tradition of guilt/punishment found in more Western cultures.
“I’m not Carter, Commander of the Earth. I’m just a traitor,” he hisses.
The perpetration of a dishonorable act is seen by Carter as irredeemable and deserving of death. Paradoxically, he belives only death can free him from his shame.
Shiro espouses the view more typical of a guilt/punishment society. He sees that Carter has been “brainwashed” and therefore believes the man is not responsible for his actions. Shiro might even argue that the terrible pain Carter is now feeling IS the punishment, perhaps even the atonement for his guilt. He begs Carter to return with him to the sanctuary of X Bomber.
Carter will have none of it. He says he refuses to live in dishonor and reminds Shiro of all of his sins. “Tried to shoot you down on the planet of war, tried to blow up X Bomber, tried to kidnap Lamia…” he recites like a young Martin Luther.5
Hardening, Carter declares that the duel is not over. On the count of three: “If you do not fire I will blow you right out of the galaxy.”
As Shiro protests, Carter counts down. The next few moments take place in slow motion as well as in a repeating sequence. Each moment seems to happen three times as if time has slowed down or become distorted.
Carter concludes his countdown and raises his weapon.
He fires.
Shiro whirls to dodge the blaster bolt…
…and returns fire as he draws his own weapon.
Captain Carter falls.
We don’t see Shiro rushing over to help his teacher. We only see their final moments together. It’s worth noting that the scene has played in silence until now. Paul Bliss’ soundtrack begins to play a most mournful tune.
“Shiro,” Carter says, “Good shooting.” He dies in Shiro’s arms, gripping him firmly with his human arm.
With very little more, the episode ends.
It’s tragic. Not least because Shiro’s own father was very absent and Carter served as something of a substitute for the young man. It is almost an Oedipal twist that Shiro is forced to kill his own father figure.6
But beyond Freudian analysis, I can’t help but be touched by the tragedy of this story. Carter could have been saved if he had been able to move past his own guilt and shame. If he had been able to cope with the idea and the feelings, he might have been a powerful ally in the fight against the Alliance. His knowledge of the interior and workings of Imperial craft is just one of many possible ways he could have been of help.
I can’t help but reflect on the times in my own life when I let my feelings of guilt get in the way of moving forward towards help and healing. I hope this example, coming as it does from something as simple as a Saturday morning adventure story, can help illustrate to you the importance of mastering your pride and reaching out to those that love you. Redemption is possible, and it doesn’t have to come at the barrel of a gun, literal or metaphorical.
If you or someone you know is struggling and has no one to talk to, please reach out to https://www.samaritans.org/ in the UK or to one of the many crisis hotlines listed here: https://www.healthcentral.com/mental-health/get-help-mental-health
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For the record, the Trojan horse was used by the Aegeans (Greeks) to capture the city of Troy. It’s believed to be a purely mythological creation mostly featured in Virgil’s Aeneid. How Orion was supposed to know any of this when he never even set foot on Earth is a mystery.
Candy glass, or sugar glass, is a confectionary made to look and shatter like real glass. You can sometimes identify it by its slightly yellowish color.
It begs the question… Just what kind of fuel does X Bomber run on? Something flammable evidently. If you know, drop me a comment!
In comparison to, say, the chase scene aboard X Bomber earlier in this episode.
Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a prominent figure in the Christian reformation and was said to have been tormented by constant feelings of guilt. Engaging in self-flagellation, he would eventually come to emphasize the doctrine of God’s grace over the doctrine of good works and this change of heart would eventually divide the church in two.
In the classic Greek drama Oedipus Rex, the hero unknowingly sleeps with his mother and kills his father. In the popular interpretation of the theories of Sigmund Freud, every male child subconsciously holds these actions as unconscious desires which must be resolved in order to become a healthy adult. Needless to say, these views are very controversial and much written about.