History Recap / StarTrekS1E10TheCorbomiteManeuver

* AssPull: [[invoked]] An example of the "Character Made It Up On The Spot". It worked so well, he pulls it out again for some Romulans in "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E12TheDeadlyYears The Deadly Years]]".

* IResembleThatRemark: Kirk berates [=McCoy=] for not telling him about an alert. After Kirk leaves, [=McCoy=] says to himself, "If I jumped every time a light came on around here, I'd... end up talking to myself."

[[caption-width-right:299:You know. '''That''' face.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The first instance Kirk is NotAfraidToDie. He's using it as a BrandishmentBluff this time, but later episodes (like "Arena") will have characters concerned about how much he finds the ship more important than his own lidf.

* NotSoDifferent: During their conversation at the end of the episode, Balok points out several things he and Kirk have in common, such as the fact that each is proud of his ship.

** While Kirk is mostly different from Pike (younger, and tired in a different way), he's still annoyed at a female yeoman, when he'd defend women on the ship later on.

You know how often at the end of a ''Star Trek'' ep they'll show a CreditsMontage, often ending with a [[NightmareFace creepy, blue alien face]]? Well, this is the ep that still came from! And if you watch it all the way through, [[NightmareRetardant that face won't seem so scary anymore.]] Ironically enough, facing your fears is the [[AnAesop Aesop]] of this episode.

* BottleEpisode: As the first proper (non-pilot) episode, almost all of it is spent on the Enterprise bridge getting to know the main charcters, both old (Spock's infamously stoic new personality; George Takei as helmsman rather than a bit part) and new ([=DeForest=] Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, and Grace Lee Whitney make their debut).

* SmartPeoplePlayChess: In light of this episode, maybe the trope should be "Book Smart People Play Chess" and a new trope be called "Street Smart People Play Poker".

* WhereIsYourXNow?: Averted as Balok is civilized enough to respect such beliefs as they might help the Enterprise crew accept their inevitable fate.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment[=/=]ThrowItIn: The script directed Spock to emote a fearful reaction upon his first sight of the Balok puppet, but director Joseph Sargent suggested to Creator/LeonardNimoy that he simply ignore what the script called for, to see it as an object of curiosity rather than a threat, and react with [[CatchPhrase the single word: "Fascinating."]]

** Sargent was also the one who insisted the bridge crew ''must'' include black personnel. The episodes weren't filmed in the order you see them, so Uhura appears in "earlier" episodes, but this is where Joe d'Agosta brought in Nichelle Nichols and the rest is history.

** The episode has some solid character-building moments for Kirk, Spock, and Bones, but the FreudianTrio concept hasn't been realized yet. In fact, Spock and Bones hardly interact at all.

* RaceAgainstTheClock: They only have 10 (Earth) minutes to get out of this. Sulu is watching the clock for them when Balok isn't reminding them. Scotty eventually gets annoyed by Sulu's counting down, saying he has "an unhealthy obsession with timepieces".

!!Tropes for this episode include:

* HelloNurse: Yeoman Rand. Kirk has a hard time ignoring her charms.

* ReadingsAreOffTheScale: Spock says this of Balok's mothership when they're attempting to measure its size.

* DissonantSerenity: InUniverse when Bailey freaks out over everyone's calm response to their imminent death.

* YouHaveNoChanceToSurvive: Justified seeing as the object is a SecretTestOfCharacter. It's not like Starfleet doesn't do something similar to see how their recruits face certain death.

* WeComeInPeaceShootToKill: Though advocated by Bailey, not Captain Kirk who'd prefer to leave peacefully, and only fires at the last moment when the [[ExactTimeToFailure increasing radiation levels]] emitted by the buoy endanger their lives.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodSandwich: Kirk is annoyed when Yeoman Rand serves him salad on DoctorsOrders, but fortunately a RedAlert gives him an excuse to leave it behind.

* YouWastedAPerfectlyGoodSandwich: Kirk isn't happy when Rand serves him salad on DoctorsOrders, but fortunately a RedAlert gives him an excuse to leave it behind.

* YouWastedAPerfectlyGoodSalad: Kirk isn't happy when Rand serves his salad on DoctorsOrders, but fortunately a RedAlert gives him an excuse to leave it behind.