14. The Reveal Of Balok From The Corbomite Maneuver (1966)
The saddest thing about The Corbomite Manuever is that, up until the last five minutes, it's a tense, enjoyable episode. The Enterprise is confronted with a menace that seems absolutely unstoppable and which is bent on their utter annihilation. Balok, the alien commander of the vessel (pictured above), is genuinely creepy. Then, the whole thing turns to crap when Kirk and company beam aboard the ship, discovering that the alien above is a puppet (again with puppets) and that Balok really looks like...like... ...um, yeah. Actually, that's more horrifying. And he's a drunk, besides, immediately offering the crew some Tranya. Just a shame the audience can't have some as well, or maybe something else that'll erase the memory of this reveal - like a Pangalactic Gargle-Blaster. Or a gun. Would that this were the only 'surprise' reveal in Classic Trek that makes you want to slap yourself in the forehead (or better yet, the writers' faces), but there's another one of these beauties in the next season...
Tony Whitt has previously written TV, DVD, and comic reviews for CINESCAPE, NOW PLAYING, and iF MAGAZINE. His weekly COMICSCAPE columns from the early 2000s can still be found archived on Mania.com. He has also written a book of gay-themed short stories titled CRESCENT CITY CONNECTIONS, available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle format. Whitt currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
