The Doomsday Machine: Commodore Matt Decker

  Perhaps one of the best episodes of the original series, "The Doomsday Machine" deals with a planet-killing super weapon from a bygone era wreaking havoc on innocent star systems.  Investigating the destructing of several planets, the U.S.S. Constellation finds itself in a hopeless battle with the devastating weapon.  Her shields gone and her engines inoperable, the Constellation faces imminent destruction.  Hoping to save his crew, Commodore Decker orders all hands to abandon ship.  Beaming down to the third planet in the system, the crew seeks shelter.  Decker tries to draw the machine away from the planet but to no avail.  Decker watches in horror and the third planet is destroyed.  Suffering catatonic shock, Decker collapses aboard the ruins of his ship.

  When rescued by an Away Team from the Enterprise, a visibly disturbed Commodore Decker describes the events leading up to his ship's destruction.

 

    Beaming aboard the Enterprise at the moment the planet-killer returns, Decker assumes command and engages in yet another hopeless battle.  Decker is brilliantly portray by one of the best actors in American theater.  A capable leader rendered unstable by the horror he had witnessed. 

 

 

 

  To get the look, I took a basic face and painted the hair to look more like the Commodore.  The rank insignia were easy, as I have done them before with Commodore Wesley.  The Constellation mission patch was difficult but I think reads well.  I created two diskettes and placed them in the Commodore's hand--his nervous fiddling with them was not only a brilliant acting choice, but conveyed the emotional state of the character.