Investigating a distress call from the planet Triacus the Enterprise discovers that the adults have apparently killed themselves leaving a small group of children who appear utterly unconcerned. While exploring the site Kirk goes into a cave and suffers a feeling of total dread which passes when he leaves. Back aboard the Enterprise the children appear happy but start behaving oddly when their parents are mentioned. Alone they chant and summon an alien being which tells them to take the ship to Marcus XII. It soon becomes apparent that they have some strange power which enables them to tap into adults most basic fears and to trick them into believing they are still orbiting Triacus when in reality they are heading to Marcus XII. Kirk and Spock manage to break the children's grip on them and struggle to regain control of the ship; frequently having to confront their own crew in the process.
This episode is somewhat weaker than average but it isn't terrible. Starting with the faults; the children are initially somewhat annoying, the alien isn't particularly threatening and the hand-pumping action the children do each time they use their powers is just silly; surely there could have been a better way of showing they were using a power. On the plus side the children were pretty creepy once we realised what they were up to. The acting here isn't the best; I wasn't surprised to read that Melvin Belli, who played the alien Gorgon, wasn't even an actor. Overall a bit of a disappointment.
This episode is somewhat weaker than average but it isn't terrible. Starting with the faults; the children are initially somewhat annoying, the alien isn't particularly threatening and the hand-pumping action the children do each time they use their powers is just silly; surely there could have been a better way of showing they were using a power. On the plus side the children were pretty creepy once we realised what they were up to. The acting here isn't the best; I wasn't surprised to read that Melvin Belli, who played the alien Gorgon, wasn't even an actor. Overall a bit of a disappointment.