Rockets, Robots & Ray Guns

Mikey does his best Matt Decker impression.

The actor William Windom passed away Thursday last. He is remembered fondly by Trekkies everywhere as Commodore Matt Decker, the captain of the ill-fated starship U.S.S Constellation which met it's end in the maw of the doomsday machine.

"The Doomsday Machine" easily makes the top five of my favorite Star Trek episodes. I must have been three or four when I saw it in first-run with my big brother. It scared the Hell out of me. I clung to the edge of my seat as I watched, totally enthralled. I loved it and I was hooked. It impressed itself so indelibly on my tender engrams it is no wonder that I became a life-long fan.

Windom was sometimes criticized for overacting in this episode and I don't think it was a performance he was proudest of, but I think he gave a fine portrayal of a man coming unhinged in a crisis. Mr. Windom reprised his role as Matt Decker in the the Star Trek fan production Star Trek Phase II in their inaugural episode "In Harm's Way." That may have been his last performance.