History YMMV / StarTrekS2E6TheDoomsdayMachine

--->'''Kirk''': Built primarily as a bluff. Never meant to be used for it's so powerful it would destroy both sides.\\

* HamAndCheese: William Windom thought the episode "seemed kind of silly, with the planet eater and the spaceships", and acted as though he was playing in a cartoon. Some have noticed Windom's exaggerated accent in some scenes and decided that [[HollywoodNewEngland Decker must be from "Bahston", Massachusetts]]. [[GoneHorriblyRight This backfired]] in that it gave his performance as Decker the intensity and unhinged lunacy it needed to become truly memorable and effective. Today it's considered one of Windom's most iconic roles; upon his death, many obituaries reflecting on his career led with Decker even over his Emmy-winning turn as James Thurber or his long-running supporting role on ''Series/MurderSheWrote''.
* HarsherInHindsight:

* NarmCharm: The Planet Killer was literally a windsock dipped in cement due to the NoBudget nature of the show with no discernable aerodynamics to make its movements seem anything less than a prop on wires. But with a gaping maw that looks like a gateway to hell and appearing as a chunk of rock lacking evidence of intelligent construction makes it one of the most imposing enemies of the series.

* IAmNotShazam: The planet killer is consistently referred to as just that—however, it is sometimes remembered as "The Doomsday Machine", that being the name of the episode and everything. The title refers to Kirk's theory that this is a doomsday machine from some ancient war long after the builders are gone. In truth, we never really learn if that is the case...or something completely different.

* HeartwarmingInHindsight: At the end of the episode, Kirk and Spock discuss how the CaptainsLog will say that Decker died in the line of duty. A FreezeFrameBonus in the season 2 premiere of ''Series/StarTrekPicard'' confirms that Decker is indeed remembered as a hero, in more-or-less the way Kirk intended. [[note]]The ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' [[Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse novel]] "Vendetta" has a segment that takes place while Picard was an academy cadet. As a class assignment he studied the life and times of Commodore Decker and informed the professor that the logs said little beyond the fact that Decker died heroically.[[/note]]

** In the years following the release of the episode various individuals have compared the planet-killer to a giant join, doobie, massive lit cigar, cannol, or flying eggroll. Episode writer Norman Spinrad thought it looked like a giant turnip but after the episode initially aired referred to it as a "wind sock dipped in cement." [[https://www.startrek.com/news/doomsday-more-with-norman-spinrad-part-1]]

** In the years following the release of the episode various individuals have compared the planet-killer to a giant join, doobie, massive lit cigar, or flying eggroll. Episode writer Norman Spinrad thought it looked like a giant turnip but after the episode initially aired referred to it as a "wind sock dipped in cement." [[https://www.startrek.com/news/doomsday-more-with-norman-spinrad-part-1]]

** Still, when the damage control team replays the ''Constellation" logs Decker sounds like a much more rational individual. For his part, Kirk clearly believes the situation could have been easily reversed, with Decker and a fully functional ''Constellation'' coming across a severely damaged ''Enterprise'' with him being the last survivor and suffering from major PTSD.