William Shatner as Captain Kirk using a communicator in Star Trek The Original Series
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Craig Elvy
Published 1 minute ago
Craig began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016 and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. After previously writing for various outlets, Craig's focus turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally became useful. Craig has previously been published by sites such as Den of Geek.
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The basic equipment carried by any self-respecting landing party member in Star Trek: The Original Series consists of three main items: a phaser, a tricorder, and a communicator. The phaser for dealing with angry aliens, the tricorder for taking scientific readings, and the communicator for... er, communicating. Each piece of equipment became iconic in its own way. "Set phasers to stun" gave Star Trek another catchphrase, the tricorder's spinning and whirring invited intrigue, and the communicator made flip phones cool 40 years early.
Typically, an Enterprise officer will use their communicator as a plot device to keep characters in different locations abreast of the developing plot. They were particularly great for bridging the gap between Enterprise scenes and action taking place on an alien planet. Often overlooked, however, is how the communicator can double as a weapon - those used by Captain Kirk and his crew in Star Trek: The Original Series, at least.
Two Communicators Could Combine To Create A Powerful Weapon In Star Trek: The Original Series
Kirk and Spock hiding behind rocks in Star Trek The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series season 2's "Friday's Child" involves the Federation, represented by the Enterprise, jostling with the Klingons to strike a deal with the inhabitants of resource-rich Capella IV. To grease the wheels of diplomacy, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy hand over their phasers at the episode's outset, immediately upping the tension as Starfleet's heroes are forced to rely on wits rather than weapons.
Such diplomacy comes back to bite the landing party when Capella IV erupts into civil war and the Klingons' influence grows stronger. A manhunt for the humans begins, and while McCoy is busy playing midwife, Kirk and Spock mount a defense, cobbling together some rudimentary bows and arrows.
At Kirk's suggestion, the pair also sync their communications to create a sonic disruption. The heroes combine "sound beams" to generate a vibration strong enough to trigger an avalanche at Vasquez Rocks, but this is no gentle nudge. Admittedly, Kirk and Spock aim their improvised sonic cannon at a weaker area of the cliff face, but the result is a surprisingly violent explosion and a storm of flying rock raining down upon their enemies, taking out at least three opponents.
Used as sonic disruptors, Kirk and Spock's communicators don't just free a few loose rocks, they create a blast roughly equivalent to a stick of dynamite going off.
Star Trek Could Have Used The Communicators' Sonic Disruption Feature More Often
Looking back, it's surprising that Star Trek didn't make more use of the communicators' most destructive function. There's very little fiddling involved in setting up the trap, with the only apparent requirement being the presence of two separate handsets. No added components or dismantling necessary.
And given the power of the impact Kirk and Spock's joined communicators create, the function could surely be applied to more than just rocky foothills. A well-aimed blast at a piece of troublesome machinery could surely short the circuit, or at a load-bearing pillar to bring down a building. Or maybe just another avalanche during the next visit to Vasquez Rocks.
There are a couple of possible reasons fans haven't seen communicators used as weapons much across Star Trek's timeline. Firstly, it's suggested that the technique could be unreliable, as Spock initially responds to his captain's idea with, "Only a very slight chance it would work." While it does work in "Friday's Child," Spock's immediate reaction implies an element of luck - either that, or Kirk and Spock are simply Very Good and other Starfleet officers would screw it up.
It could also be argued that very rarely in Star Trek would two characters have communicators on their person but not phasers. All gadgets are confiscated in "Friday's Child," but the landing party only has time to retrieve their communicators before going on the run, hence the lack of weapons. That isn't necessarily a common situation, and if Kirk had been in possession of his phaser, he would undoubtedly have used it to trigger the avalanche instead of the communicators.
Nevertheless, it's an intriguing addendum to Star Trek canon that communicators can, in a pinch, be just as lethal as phasers.
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Star Trek: The Original Series
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-PG Drama Action Adventure Sci-Fi Release Date 1966 - 1969-00-00 Network NBC Showrunner Gene Roddenberry Directors Marc Daniels, Joseph Pevney, Ralph Senensky, Vincent McEveety, Herb Wallerstein, Jud Taylor, Marvin J. Chomsky, David Alexander, Gerd Oswald, Herschel Daugherty, James Goldstone, Robert Butler, Anton Leader, Gene Nelson, Harvey Hart, Herbert Kenwith, James Komack, John Erman, John Newland, Joseph Sargent, Lawrence Dobkin, Leo Penn, Michael O'Herlihy, Murray Golden Writers D.C. Fontana, Jerome Bixby, Arthur Heinemann, David Gerrold, Jerry Sohl, Oliver Crawford, Robert Bloch, David P. Harmon, Don Ingalls, Paul Schneider, Shimon Wincelberg, Steven W. Carabatsos, Theodore Sturgeon, Jean Lisette Aroeste, Art Wallace, Adrian Spies, Barry Trivers, Don Mankiewicz, Edward J. Lakso, Fredric Brown, George Clayton Johnson, George F. Slavin, Gilbert Ralston, Harlan Ellison
7 Images
William Shatner in photo as Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek
Leonard Nimoy as Spock and the Horta in Star Trek The Original Series
Dr McCoy and Nancy smiling together in Star Trek
Nichelle Nicholas as Uhura talking to Leonard Nimoy's Spock in Star Trek
Dr Mark Piper (Paul Fix) helps up Captain James Kirk (William Shatner) in Star Trek TOS Where No Man Has Gone Before
Star Trek Miri and Captain Kirk
Enterprise at Delta Vega in Star Trek TOSClose
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Star Trek: The Original Series
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