"Court Martial" is the better of the courtroom episodes, a deep and rich dip into the legal and political machinations behind Starfleet operations. Returning for repairs after surviving a violent ion storm Kirk faces the disciplinary weight of Starfleet Command when computer logs record he violated storm protocol resulting in the death of a senior officer. That this officer nursed a grudge for years against Kirk layers the mystery with personal animosity, yet the reveal comes rushed so late in the story it arrives without impact, with scenes patched sorely together by voice-over for goodness sakes!

Success of an action-free (mostly) episode depends on the performances. Richard Webb has little time but still manages to express considerable range before being beaten into sobbing. Stealing the show is Elisha Cook Jr. as crackpot attorney Samuel T. Cogley. (Books and crackpottery make rare appearances in TOS but here they are together!) The character nevertheless remains credibly competent as does Percy Rodriguez as former captain now Commodore Stone. Joan Marshall earns that sole female dress uniform fleshing out a marvelous Areel Shaw, odd kiss on the bridge and all. Even Alice Rawlings is memorable as Jame Finney in her funky metallic miniskirt.

Kirk brazenly bears the confidence of an innocent man from barroom collisions (with non-shipmates in Enterprise badges?) to heated confrontations with superior officers. All the time his crew shows unfaltering loyalty (love the personnel officer mouthing apologies during the trial), with Spock even divining the vital clue from Kirk's brief moment of weakness. It's not clear how changing a video record would be sufficiently disrupting to alter a computer's chess programming but hey, that's why he's Spock. And that's less anachronistic at least than a handy wrench in a fight or starship reports filed on paper (not even gonna touch "below decks, engineering"!).

It strains belief that Finney could be so maniacal yet patient aboard his enemy's ship for a chance at a serious ion storm just when he is the current officer slated for pod duty. Were Kirk convicted, how was he planning to get off the ship and go anywhere as a dead guy? And is there really no easier way than a heartbeat to detect a body on a starship? (Maybe use heat, motion, or terrible stunt doubling?) In this subtle application of Kirk vs. Computer however, it's made clear that the machine is to be trusted only so far, and that does not include an incursion into the realm of human rights. It's written in the books.