A science-fiction version of the 1957 WWII film The Enemy Below, in which an American destroyer stalked a German U-boat, Balance of Terror pits Captain Kirk and his crew against a Romulan warship (armed with a high energy plasma weapon and a cloaking device) that has launched attacks on several Earth outposts. A tense game of cat and mouse ensues, as Kirk and the Romulan commander (Mark Lenard) take it in turns to try and out-maneuver and out-guess their enemy.
After the quite dreadful The Conscience of the King, Star Trek is back on track with this excellent episode that delivers suspense, excitement, action, and a classic foe in the form of the Romulans, whilst delivering a poignant message about the futility of war and bigotry. Kirk proves himself a great leader and military tactician, intelligent, cunning and calm under pressure, more than a match for the crafty Romulans, but when all is said and done, there is no clear winner in this conflict: the Romulan ship is destroyed, but it is the innocent who have really suffered, several Federation outposts obliterated and the only Enterprise fatality a young man who, in the episode's opening scene, was about to be married.
After the quite dreadful The Conscience of the King, Star Trek is back on track with this excellent episode that delivers suspense, excitement, action, and a classic foe in the form of the Romulans, whilst delivering a poignant message about the futility of war and bigotry. Kirk proves himself a great leader and military tactician, intelligent, cunning and calm under pressure, more than a match for the crafty Romulans, but when all is said and done, there is no clear winner in this conflict: the Romulan ship is destroyed, but it is the innocent who have really suffered, several Federation outposts obliterated and the only Enterprise fatality a young man who, in the episode's opening scene, was about to be married.