Star Trek always had what I called the "Macy's Parade" approach to working within a budget--especially in season three. Matte paintings, props,sets, visual effects shots, all were fair game for the producers to utilize, repaint and reconfigure to save money. They must have thought viewers had short memories. Not "Trek" fans. With that said, this episode did a great job of pulling off a lot with the barest of essentials. The Enterprise's landing party transports down to the planet's surface to find a deserted city. This is odd because they were recently sent a distress signal by the inhabitants of this world. A crew member, planet-side, stupidly, takes a drink from a cascading water fountain and disappears. Kirk and the others hear (but don't see) buzzing insects. They are, needless to say, a little perplexed by this turn of events. They scurry back to the ship. On the bridge, Kirk drinks a cup of coffee and he too disappears. The Scalosians, you see, have been able to accelerate themselves into a state of hyper-space. Their motives are not good--it's a trap. I wonder if one of the ideas for this wacky story, may have sprung from a movie titled "The Time Travelers," and it's low-budget remake, "Journey to the Center of Time." Something to keep in mind when you watch this episode, one of the best from Star Trek's final season. Space trivia alert: Kathie Browne, Kirk's love interest in this story and female leader of the Scalosians, was married to the "Night Stalker" himself, Darren McGavin. Sadly, Ms.Browne and her husband passed away in the last few years. But their cult status as icons of 60's television remains intact.
32 Reviews
The Accelerated Invasion of the Enterprise
Bogmeister12 February 2007
We're back to space invaders in this one, similar to "By Any Other Name" in the previous season. These aliens hail from a planet where volcanic upheavals and radiation have accelerated them - make that 'hyper-accelerated' - to the point where they move too quickly for normal humans to see them. It's almost like they're stuck in another dimension (another level) and the concept is similar to the "Flash" comic book character, who moves so quickly at times that everything else appears to be frozen still. There are obvious discrepancies in the way the concept is presented here: though all Scalosians supposedly move at a pace of 100 times that of normal, they go through the same amount of experience in this episode as the normal-moving crew; the crew get just as much done as the invaders during the course of the episode. For example, the Scalosians should have completed their invasion plan in the time it took for Spock to head down to McCoy's medical lab in mid-episode. Right after Kirk is accelerated on the bridge, he heads for the turbolift, but that mode of transport would now take him an eternity; though it isn't mentioned, he must have used the stairs, er, ladders. This seems to be some careless scriptwriting. However, maybe the Scalosians were using the turbolifts in ignorance and this slowed them down enough for the discrepancies to make sense.
Despite a surprisingly slow pace in spots even though this is such an, uh, accelerated episode (we see video tapes of the Scalosians over & over), this comes off as fairly entertaining due to Kirk's odd conflicting attraction with the leader of the invaders, princess Deela, played by actress Kathie Browne like some naughty valley girl from outer space. It's amusing to see Kirk allow himself a very brief lecherous smirk when he first sees her, even as he knows he's in the middle of a hostile invasion. Here's where Kirk's rep as the super-stud of Trek space may have gained the most traction, ahem. There's even a scene of him putting his boots back on after he and the foxy invader have obviously done the nasty deed (since this is the sixties, all other TV episodes on this show never went beyond subtle suggestion, say, a veiled wink or two; by contrast, this scene was very direct). He and Deela obviously felt a genuine sexual heat, much more apparent and honest than the usual family-oriented titillation. In fact, the entire plot of the episode revolves around the theme of survival based on necessary procreation - mating for the sake of a species, but also seeking as much enjoyment as possible in the act. This is almost an episode for grown-ups only. Almost. But, the outfits on the male Scalosians were a bit too kinky for my tastes.
Despite a surprisingly slow pace in spots even though this is such an, uh, accelerated episode (we see video tapes of the Scalosians over & over), this comes off as fairly entertaining due to Kirk's odd conflicting attraction with the leader of the invaders, princess Deela, played by actress Kathie Browne like some naughty valley girl from outer space. It's amusing to see Kirk allow himself a very brief lecherous smirk when he first sees her, even as he knows he's in the middle of a hostile invasion. Here's where Kirk's rep as the super-stud of Trek space may have gained the most traction, ahem. There's even a scene of him putting his boots back on after he and the foxy invader have obviously done the nasty deed (since this is the sixties, all other TV episodes on this show never went beyond subtle suggestion, say, a veiled wink or two; by contrast, this scene was very direct). He and Deela obviously felt a genuine sexual heat, much more apparent and honest than the usual family-oriented titillation. In fact, the entire plot of the episode revolves around the theme of survival based on necessary procreation - mating for the sake of a species, but also seeking as much enjoyment as possible in the act. This is almost an episode for grown-ups only. Almost. But, the outfits on the male Scalosians were a bit too kinky for my tastes.
"I want to keep this one a long time. He's pretty".
classicsoncall29 January 2011
Warning: Spoilers
On a strictly sci-fi level, this one's pretty good. Bodies moving at a highly accelerated frequency are invisible to the normal human eye, much like high pitched noises dogs can hear are inaudible to people. It makes for an interesting give and take between the effort of the Scalosians to take over the Enterprise, and the crew led by Spock and McCoy to save the ship and get the Captain back.
I was amused by the name of the red-shirt character who disappeared first while on Scalos. In the 1969 movie "Joe", Peter Boyle's character utters the line "It's your ass now Compton" when his businessman friend gets himself jammed up in that story. Somehow it seemed utterly appropriate here.
And sure, how can I let it go by that this episode played the viewer for a gut level response to the Captain fixing his boot at the edge of the bed with Deela (Kathie Brown) standing nearby. There did seem to be a chemistry between the two that was much more evident than any of Kirk's past associations except maybe Natira (#3.8 - For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky), Miramanee (#3.3 - The Paradise Syndrome), or Ruth (#1.15 - Shore Leave). On second thought, never mind.
The solution to the Enterprise predicament was handled quite cleverly I thought, with the Captain's secretive switch with the computer tape. Unable to communicate verbally with his crew, you took it pretty much at Deela's word that Kirk was good and stuck where he was. Kudos to the writers for coming up with a novel save that required some ingenuity instead of some manufactured fight to the finish between the good guys and the bad guys.
I was amused by the name of the red-shirt character who disappeared first while on Scalos. In the 1969 movie "Joe", Peter Boyle's character utters the line "It's your ass now Compton" when his businessman friend gets himself jammed up in that story. Somehow it seemed utterly appropriate here.
And sure, how can I let it go by that this episode played the viewer for a gut level response to the Captain fixing his boot at the edge of the bed with Deela (Kathie Brown) standing nearby. There did seem to be a chemistry between the two that was much more evident than any of Kirk's past associations except maybe Natira (#3.8 - For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky), Miramanee (#3.3 - The Paradise Syndrome), or Ruth (#1.15 - Shore Leave). On second thought, never mind.
The solution to the Enterprise predicament was handled quite cleverly I thought, with the Captain's secretive switch with the computer tape. Unable to communicate verbally with his crew, you took it pretty much at Deela's word that Kirk was good and stuck where he was. Kudos to the writers for coming up with a novel save that required some ingenuity instead of some manufactured fight to the finish between the good guys and the bad guys.
The buzzing Scalosians
bkoganbing14 June 2014
This Star Trek story has the Enterprise answering a distress call from the planet Scalos where one can see a lovely futuristic city, but no people at all. But as William Shatner remarks there's a lot of insect life because he hears this buzzing like bees in his ears. The disappearance of an Enterprise crewman sends the landing party back to the ship.
Whereupon Captain Kirk disappears like the crewman. He finds himself living at an accelerated speed. When he was at normal speed the Scalosians whom he now sees and interacts with sounded like buzzing insects. There are only five Scalosians left, Jason Evers, Kathie Browne and three others. And there is crewman Geoffrey Binney as well, but he dies from a little too much accelerated living.
The Scalosians are quite frank as to their intentions as they don't think that Shatner can do anything. But he's not a knowledgeable Star Trek captain for nothing. Human and Vulcan ingenuity do triumph.
A nice Star Trek episode without an earth cultural reference for a change.
Whereupon Captain Kirk disappears like the crewman. He finds himself living at an accelerated speed. When he was at normal speed the Scalosians whom he now sees and interacts with sounded like buzzing insects. There are only five Scalosians left, Jason Evers, Kathie Browne and three others. And there is crewman Geoffrey Binney as well, but he dies from a little too much accelerated living.
The Scalosians are quite frank as to their intentions as they don't think that Shatner can do anything. But he's not a knowledgeable Star Trek captain for nothing. Human and Vulcan ingenuity do triumph.
A nice Star Trek episode without an earth cultural reference for a change.
Great episode, wth a puzzling plot issue at the finale
shakspryn22 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This is classic Star Trek! This episode stands out for: strong premise; enjoyable
relationship between Kirk and Deela; and that Kathie Browne is a total knockout!
I wonder if others have noticed a similarity between this series and Wild, Wild West? (1965-69). Both had good-looking leading men, and often had a beautiful woman who was a romantic interest for the hero. I imagine that for an actress in the 1960's, it was especially fun to be cast as one of these sci-fi women guest stars of Star Trek. Partly because the costumes were colorful, memorable and often very sexy! For a number of actresses, that was the one role for which they are most remembered--those were really showcase roles. Kathie Browne was one of the great beauties on the show, and also one of the best actresses.
Here's the plot problem: Why, for heaven's sake, did Kirk not offer the Scalosians the antidote that he and Spock took? Would it not have worked because they would still be on the planet, drinking the water? Or would it be interference with their almost-extinct society? I would have offered them the antidote!
A Creative Idea
Hitchcoc6 May 2014
This is a case of clashing cultures caught in conflicting time accelerations. After a visit to a barren planet, people begin to disappear on board the enterprise. Kirk and one of the unfortunate red shirted crewman have been moved to a ship where time is passing at an alarming rate. This is with coffee that's not on Starbuck's menu. A small group of aliens wearing shiny Mylar suits (well, I take that back. The women wear almost nothing) are on the brink of extinction and must bring people from a different time designation to mate with. Kirk, of course, gets the queen of the whole bunch. She likes him because he is a "pretty" one. She is quite sexy and doe eyed. Because they don't fear Kirk, he is allowed access to the ship. This is a mistake because he is nothing but trouble. There is also jealousy at work on the ship. Kirk's mission is to get a message to the crew who are moving at an indecipherably slow speed. This is a good concept. It comes up short but is engaging enough to keep one's attention.
An interesting concept--one that is very unique
planktonrules8 December 2006
Warning: Spoilers
The Enterprise receives a distress signal, but when they arrived on the planet, they see it was once inhabited but is now totally depopulated. When they transport back to the ship, something is slipped in Kirk's coffee by an unseen force. Suddenly, everyone but him appears to be moving slower and slower, though it's actually Kirk that is accelerating in speed to such a degree that he seems to disappear--moving too fast for the human eye to detect. Once this occurs, he discovers that there were survivors on the planet and they beamed aboard undetected because they, too, were moving at this hugely accelerated speed. These humanoids plan on putting the ship's crew in suspended animation and using the crew as breeding stock to be thawed out as needed, as the same thing that makes these being accelerate also makes their men shoot blanks, so to speak! The shear originality of the script make this a very memorable episode. While not among the very best, it is well worth seeing and you'll once again see an alien hottie fall for the super-studly Captain.
Life in the fast lane!
Tweekums7 August 2015
Warning: Spoilers
When the crew of the Enterprise respond to a distress call from the planet Scalos they find no sign of anybody despite beaming down in what appears to be a modern city; the only sign of life is the annoying buzz of a fly. As they investigate a red-shirt suddenly vanishes! With no idea what happened the rest of the team return to the Enterprise and soon after systems start failing then a strange device suddenly appears on the life support system; what is more that fly appears to have beamed back with them. Kirk drinks a cup of coffee then something strange starts to happen; those around him appear to be slowing down then suddenly a scantily clad blonde, Deela, appears in front of him and kisses him! It turns out she is one of the last Scalosians left; they are a species that lives at a much faster pace than other species but they are dying out and can only breed by luring suitable humanoids to their planet and 'accelerating' selected ones (in Kirk's case by spiking his coffee). They plan to take Kirk back to the planet and freeze the rest of the crew for later use. Meanwhile back in 'normal time' Spock figures out what has happened and replicates the Scalosian accelerating agent as well as a theoretical cure; he just has to hope he can use it before it is too late.
This is an enjoyable episode with some great ideas; it also requires the viewer to not think about things too deeply or plot holes appear. Moving as fast as they do the Scalosians should be able to compete their plans almost as soon as the crew notice the captain has gone but the crew not only notice but manage to do rather a lot while the Scalosians are making their modifications and there is no suggestion that a lot more time has passed for Kirk and the Scalosians than the rest of the crew. If you can ignore these details there is a lot of fun to be had; yet again Kirk ends up in the arms of a beautiful human-looking alien and there is a sense of danger we see that the slightest injury to an accelerated person leads to rapid ageing and death Deela may be interesting in Kirk but fellow Scalosian Rael is violently jealous. Overall another decent episode despite a few flaws.
This is an enjoyable episode with some great ideas; it also requires the viewer to not think about things too deeply or plot holes appear. Moving as fast as they do the Scalosians should be able to compete their plans almost as soon as the crew notice the captain has gone but the crew not only notice but manage to do rather a lot while the Scalosians are making their modifications and there is no suggestion that a lot more time has passed for Kirk and the Scalosians than the rest of the crew. If you can ignore these details there is a lot of fun to be had; yet again Kirk ends up in the arms of a beautiful human-looking alien and there is a sense of danger we see that the slightest injury to an accelerated person leads to rapid ageing and death Deela may be interesting in Kirk but fellow Scalosian Rael is violently jealous. Overall another decent episode despite a few flaws.
The Enterprise "goes fast"
XweAponX21 October 2013
The Voyager Episode "Blink of an Eye" has a similar premise - People living so fast you can't see em. Kind of like my neighbors (EX neighbors).
What was in The Scalosian Water, a super concentrated version of "That stuff that keeps you awake for a long time"?
Whatever it was, it really makes people go fast! In fact, when the "Landing Party" gets down there, Kirk thinks there are bugs flying around. Bugs that apparently talked all the time, to make that noise. Kirk finds out later, the Queen Scalosian "Deela" (Kathie Brown) was smooching him without his consent.
So, these parasites get Beamed up with The Landing party and immediately take over, changing the Enterprise into a huge refrigerator, so they can get "Take Out" food. Oops, would not the Transporter Chief see a sudden increase in MASS on the Transporter Pad, and the outlines of unknown people being beamed up? I dunno, I suspend a LOT of disbelief for some of these episodes. It's because I dug Bill Theiss' great costumes for these chicks, and none of those costumes ever cost more than a buck in material costs, so to say they are 'Skimpy' is an understatement of mass proportions.
It's actually because of the Scalosian Chicks, who can't get knocked up with their own men, so they have to kidnap unsuspecting spaceships passing by, pick a few choice morsels and freeze the rest, have several orgies, and then unfreeze more men. What do they do about the Women? Uhura would have been SOOL.
I just wanna say that, these people would have been dead after the first 10 minutes of real time on The Enterprise. Unless maybe they have a lifespan of several hundred years in comparative Earth-Time.
One thing they got relatively accurate is the DAMAGING EFFECT of substances that "stimulate" you - One guy dies of a mere scratch. So, as far as "Fair Warning" goes about abusing these kinds of things, this is a good horror story for that, an exaggeration, but true nevertheless.
If you think about this, how can you fight this kind of thing, being attacked by people who live at a different speed than you? It's utterly impossible, you have to fight them on their own level, which Spock does and he can do this because he himself has a very long life span.
The whole thing is so unbelievable that I loved it anyway. And Kirk BLATANTLY gets "Lucky" with Deela.
What was in The Scalosian Water, a super concentrated version of "That stuff that keeps you awake for a long time"?
Whatever it was, it really makes people go fast! In fact, when the "Landing Party" gets down there, Kirk thinks there are bugs flying around. Bugs that apparently talked all the time, to make that noise. Kirk finds out later, the Queen Scalosian "Deela" (Kathie Brown) was smooching him without his consent.
So, these parasites get Beamed up with The Landing party and immediately take over, changing the Enterprise into a huge refrigerator, so they can get "Take Out" food. Oops, would not the Transporter Chief see a sudden increase in MASS on the Transporter Pad, and the outlines of unknown people being beamed up? I dunno, I suspend a LOT of disbelief for some of these episodes. It's because I dug Bill Theiss' great costumes for these chicks, and none of those costumes ever cost more than a buck in material costs, so to say they are 'Skimpy' is an understatement of mass proportions.
It's actually because of the Scalosian Chicks, who can't get knocked up with their own men, so they have to kidnap unsuspecting spaceships passing by, pick a few choice morsels and freeze the rest, have several orgies, and then unfreeze more men. What do they do about the Women? Uhura would have been SOOL.
I just wanna say that, these people would have been dead after the first 10 minutes of real time on The Enterprise. Unless maybe they have a lifespan of several hundred years in comparative Earth-Time.
One thing they got relatively accurate is the DAMAGING EFFECT of substances that "stimulate" you - One guy dies of a mere scratch. So, as far as "Fair Warning" goes about abusing these kinds of things, this is a good horror story for that, an exaggeration, but true nevertheless.
If you think about this, how can you fight this kind of thing, being attacked by people who live at a different speed than you? It's utterly impossible, you have to fight them on their own level, which Spock does and he can do this because he himself has a very long life span.
The whole thing is so unbelievable that I loved it anyway. And Kirk BLATANTLY gets "Lucky" with Deela.
Cheerful and original.
fedor821 April 2008
Warning: Spoilers
One of the very best ST episodes, partly because it offers a real sci-fi premise and not some run-of-the-mill by-the-numbers plot that is so standard it could be used for almost any non-sci-fi TV show. While somewhat similar to "By Any Other Name" (which is one of the worst episodes), the overtaking-of-the-ship shtick is almost devoid of the usual clichés and cheap plot-devices. Kirk's love-interest is played by a charismatic actress who does the role with perfect tongue-in-cheek cheerfulness. The chemistry between Browne and Shatner is very effective, offering a totally different kind of relationship than the other, more standard conquests Kirk has; there is far more humour in it and it looks genuine.
I don't even see any glaring logic problems. A minor point would be that the events in "Spock/McCoy time" were sufficiently long as to imply that Kirk must have spent weeks, if not months, in accelerated time, yet there isn't much evidence that the aliens needed so much time to prepare the Enterprise for freezing. As for annoyances, the only irritating aspect was yet another red-shirt crew member showing an absurd lack of discipline, loyalty and morale, by very quickly taking the side of the enemy - much like the red-shirt gal in the very mediocre "Space Seed" episode. (Those damn red-shirts... either they betray you or they die on you!) Since there was zero explanation as to why "they soon come around to it", I can't accept that idea that acceleration makes humans docile. It certainly had no effect on Kirk, who is supposed to be human, the last time I checked.
Some of the episode's scenes were shot at a tilted angle, something that would be later used ad nauseum in the wonderfully silly "Battlefield Earth".
I don't even see any glaring logic problems. A minor point would be that the events in "Spock/McCoy time" were sufficiently long as to imply that Kirk must have spent weeks, if not months, in accelerated time, yet there isn't much evidence that the aliens needed so much time to prepare the Enterprise for freezing. As for annoyances, the only irritating aspect was yet another red-shirt crew member showing an absurd lack of discipline, loyalty and morale, by very quickly taking the side of the enemy - much like the red-shirt gal in the very mediocre "Space Seed" episode. (Those damn red-shirts... either they betray you or they die on you!) Since there was zero explanation as to why "they soon come around to it", I can't accept that idea that acceleration makes humans docile. It certainly had no effect on Kirk, who is supposed to be human, the last time I checked.
Some of the episode's scenes were shot at a tilted angle, something that would be later used ad nauseum in the wonderfully silly "Battlefield Earth".
Eye Eye Captain...
Xstal16 February 2022
Living life in the super-fast lane, a rapid accelerating speedy domain, express and fleet, they've very quick feet, flying along like a swift bullet train.
A fast forward race of aliens in a hurry have designs on the crew of the Enterprise.
A fast forward race of aliens in a hurry have designs on the crew of the Enterprise.
Move Over, Circe and Calypso -- Deela Always Gets Her Man!
Dan1863Sickles28 January 2017
Kirk's love affair with a playful princess who hides a deadly secret!
This was always one of my favorite episodes as a kid, and I think I know why. It's got a science fiction premise ("acceleration") but the mood and tone is that of a classic fairy tale or Greek myth. Enchanting, golden-haired Deela (short for Delilah?) is a real archetype -- the doomed temptress who lures great heroes to her bed for an eternity of love, only to exact a terrible price in slavery and loss of self-respect.
Ironically, this is one of the most "timeless" Star Trek episodes, precisely because it's not based on technology or social issues, but on myths, dreams, and memories. Kirk's can-do spirit is admirable, but in the end he can't find a solution for Deela or her people, and he has no answer to her tearful image at the end, except to say "Good-bye."
This was always one of my favorite episodes as a kid, and I think I know why. It's got a science fiction premise ("acceleration") but the mood and tone is that of a classic fairy tale or Greek myth. Enchanting, golden-haired Deela (short for Delilah?) is a real archetype -- the doomed temptress who lures great heroes to her bed for an eternity of love, only to exact a terrible price in slavery and loss of self-respect.
Ironically, this is one of the most "timeless" Star Trek episodes, precisely because it's not based on technology or social issues, but on myths, dreams, and memories. Kirk's can-do spirit is admirable, but in the end he can't find a solution for Deela or her people, and he has no answer to her tearful image at the end, except to say "Good-bye."
What would you do if you could accelerate you internal sense of time?
chrisbaird-ma3 April 2013
Warning: Spoilers
I found the underlying plot device of this episode intriguing and well performed. The Scalosians live in a state where time is greatly accelerated compared to those around them. This enables them to become virtually invisible and accomplish many things in a short time span. I found this possibility intriguing. What would you do if you lived at a faster rate than those around you? The Scalosians accelerate Kirk into their time state so that he can come live with them and help propagate the race. Kirk and Spock are physically in the same room, but it is as if they are stuck in different universes. Kirk sees Spock as virtually frozen in time he is going so slow, and Spock experiences Kirk only as a waft of air and a buzzing sound because he is moving about so quickly. Kirk must figure out a way to communicate with Spock so that they can defeat the Scalosians. He cleverly thinks up to record a computer message and have Spock play it back at low speed. He could have just as well written a message on paper, but I guess there's no paper around in their century. The other thing is that Kirk wasn't really invisible, he was just going too fast for Spock to see. If he just sat motionless for a few minutes in front of Spock, Spock would have seen him just fine. But I guess such an approach does not make for very exciting television. Oddly, despite the crew's time running one hundred times slower than the Scalosians, they still manage to accomplish just as much.
The only thing I didn't like about episode was the trashy prostitute-like head Scalosian female and her trashy relationship with Kirk. She kept throwing herself at Kirk, and he eventually gave in and played along. Some people like this kind of thing in a TV show, but I find it just cheapens everything. Somehow Kirk has the discipline to be captain of the military's flagship, but he doesn't have the discipline to keep his lips off every girl he meets. Riiight.
It would have been interesting to see Kirk use this time acceleration trick in future episodes to thwart his opponents now that he has mastered it. Sadly, such in not possible in non-arcing episodic television.
The only thing I didn't like about episode was the trashy prostitute-like head Scalosian female and her trashy relationship with Kirk. She kept throwing herself at Kirk, and he eventually gave in and played along. Some people like this kind of thing in a TV show, but I find it just cheapens everything. Somehow Kirk has the discipline to be captain of the military's flagship, but he doesn't have the discipline to keep his lips off every girl he meets. Riiight.
It would have been interesting to see Kirk use this time acceleration trick in future episodes to thwart his opponents now that he has mastered it. Sadly, such in not possible in non-arcing episodic television.
Star Trek: The Original Series - Wink of an Eye
Scarecrow-8824 September 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Accelerated life forms known as Scalosions beam (somehow) to the Enterprise and manage to bring a device on board (somehow) which is locked on the life support. Malfunctioning to the Enterprise and a buzzing sound clue the crew in on a presence they are unable to see (radiation from volcanic eruptions caused the life on Scalos to become exponentially accelerated to such a degree where humans/other beings can't see them, with their talk sped up to the sound of bee buzzing!). Scalos water causes Kirk to be "hyperaccelerated" as well, with him meeting the pretty Scalosian, Deela (Kathie Brown), who is provocatively dressed in a revealing attire, with an infectious smile and charm. Kirk is enchanted by her although he has no plans of being her sperm donor...yes, the radiation also caused sterility. Deela explains that the crew will be placed in suspended animation for breeding purposes to rebuild their race on Scalos! Jason Evers is Rael, Scalosian also on board the Enterprise, a rival of Kirk's ultimately because he loves Deela. The transporter trickery Kirk causes helps buy him some time. A taped recording to Spock regarding Scalosian plans could help his cause.
The science and plot logic are dubious at best. The methods used by Scalosians, and how they operate on the Enterprise don't hold under scrutiny. The accelerated alien repropagation project made me chuckle a bit. Kirk unable to avoid a little lovin' and capitalizing on Deela's attraction to him is fun because Shatner and Brown have good chemistry...his stubborn unwillingness to accept his fate as the Scalosians have decided makes him even more appealing to Deela. The love triangle gets fierce when Rael realizes there has been some hanky panky going on. Because of human weakness in hyperacceleration if the flesh is harmed, cell death results in rapid aging! So Rael plans to get his pound of flesh... fortunately Deela won't allow it! The frozen crew, sped up and slowed down bodies as acceleration takes hold, and the whole process is rather imaginative in its execution, but when picked apart under close inspection, the plot doesn't hold water. Geoffrey Binney's officer, Compton, is chosen for the mate of a Scalosian, but cell damage, caused by Rael, kills him...Compton actually turns on Kirk, accepting his new role as a male stud for a Scalosian hottie!
The science and plot logic are dubious at best. The methods used by Scalosians, and how they operate on the Enterprise don't hold under scrutiny. The accelerated alien repropagation project made me chuckle a bit. Kirk unable to avoid a little lovin' and capitalizing on Deela's attraction to him is fun because Shatner and Brown have good chemistry...his stubborn unwillingness to accept his fate as the Scalosians have decided makes him even more appealing to Deela. The love triangle gets fierce when Rael realizes there has been some hanky panky going on. Because of human weakness in hyperacceleration if the flesh is harmed, cell death results in rapid aging! So Rael plans to get his pound of flesh... fortunately Deela won't allow it! The frozen crew, sped up and slowed down bodies as acceleration takes hold, and the whole process is rather imaginative in its execution, but when picked apart under close inspection, the plot doesn't hold water. Geoffrey Binney's officer, Compton, is chosen for the mate of a Scalosian, but cell damage, caused by Rael, kills him...Compton actually turns on Kirk, accepting his new role as a male stud for a Scalosian hottie!
Timing Inconsistencies
Samuel-Shovel12 August 2018
Warning: Spoilers
In "Wink of an Eye", the Enterprise visits a planet emitting a distress call. The planet seems to be extinct... But in actuality, the beings of the planet, due to radiation, move at such fast speeds that they are imperceptible to the naked eye. These aliens need to speed up people in order to use them to breed offspring. The aliens speed up Kirk through some type of potion and a woman chooses him as her mate. They have modified the Enterprise to make it livable for them. Kirk must figure out how to get back to his own time duration and get these aliens of the ship. Spock and Bones must figure out how to counteract the potion.
This episode is an example of a really cool idea that was poorly executed. The writers definitely didn't think this one through. The crew of the Enterprise are able to accomplish wayyyyy too much in the allotted time. These Scalosians are suppose to be so much faster than the humans that Spock and Bones shouldn't have had nearly enough time to foil the Scalosian plan. It really took me out of the episode a bit if I'm being honest.
Still, I liked the idea and the supporting cast in this one is pretty good. Definitely not the best of Season 3 but there are definitely worse ones!
This episode is an example of a really cool idea that was poorly executed. The writers definitely didn't think this one through. The crew of the Enterprise are able to accomplish wayyyyy too much in the allotted time. These Scalosians are suppose to be so much faster than the humans that Spock and Bones shouldn't have had nearly enough time to foil the Scalosian plan. It really took me out of the episode a bit if I'm being honest.
Still, I liked the idea and the supporting cast in this one is pretty good. Definitely not the best of Season 3 but there are definitely worse ones!
Capt. Kirk Loves Blonde Alien Babes!
mike481287 December 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Deela (Katie Browne) is one of only 5 survivors of an alien race that lives in accelerated time, so she and her cohorts appear like buzzing insects until she spikes Kirk's coffee with alien water. He accelerates also, but one of the luckless "red shirts" only lives for about 10 minutes and misses out on a "date" with the other alien girl, a red-headed beauty. Of course "Deela" is also a "knock out" with big blonde hair. She is also very well-endowed, or at least her skimpy costume is. Our oversexed Capt. Kirk probably "scored", as usual. The hyperactive aliens use "inferior" beings to repopulate, as all their men are sterile. That's a big plot-hole: It can't be working too well if they are down to 5 people! (There should have been more "extras".) A well-paced episode with an otherwise good premise. All the action takes place on The Enterprise, which the aliens intend to turn into a big suspended animation "meat locker" to store the frozen crew as they need them. Spook and Dr. McCoy manage to save-the-day and rescue our poor Captain before he is "burned out" from cell damage and lovemaking. It's amazing that none of the sick or dying aliens can ever come up with their own "miracle cures", but "Bones" always can! A fun episode with a sexy alien pin-up girl!
Great idea, decent performances, strong visuals, but has it's problems
snoozejonc23 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Enterprise is taken over by a race of people who exist at a faster speed.
This is reasonably enjoyable episode that for me has more positives than negatives.
The main premise of the story is a brilliant sci-fi concept, but unfortunately it generates a Grand Canyon size plot hole that requires a generous nature to suspend the disbelief.
Luckily, I have a generous nature and made my self focus on the positives. In true Star Trek style, it involves some quite clever moments of characters thinking their way around the problem and using the higher rate of speed to their advantage.
From a character perspective, I enjoyed the exchanges between Kirk and Deela. Despite being a romance of the week, there is a clear screen chemistry between William Shatner and Kathie Brown. Even though she falls for a seduction tactic, Deela is an relatively interesting and strong character, who leads her people and has some quite memorable dialogue.
Leonard Nimoy is as great as always playing the 'fascinated' Mr Spock as cool and industrious as ever. When Kirk and Spock glance at it each other in the corridor, you know all will soon be well.
I like the cinematography, which tells the story visually through good use of angles and character body language. One moment where Kirk is visible in the mirror as Deela brushes her hair works very well, as does the fairy risqué post-coital sequence. I love the costumes and not just for the awesome dress worn by Deela, but that transparent garment worn by the men which looks very uncomfortable on Jason Evers, but is hilariously memorable.
Where it fails is in the obvious problem of the plot threads involving characters moving at different speeds progressing alongside each other. Plus there is too much repetition and virtually no mystery. Personally I would have written it in a way that showed Kirk disappearing first and then we see Spock, McCoy etc figure it out via a series of clues. They could have shown everything from Kirk's perspective much later after the reveal. The ending feels pretty cold and uncharitable with no signs of Kirk or the Federation looking to help the Scalosians.
For me it's a 6.5/10, but I round upwards.
This is reasonably enjoyable episode that for me has more positives than negatives.
The main premise of the story is a brilliant sci-fi concept, but unfortunately it generates a Grand Canyon size plot hole that requires a generous nature to suspend the disbelief.
Luckily, I have a generous nature and made my self focus on the positives. In true Star Trek style, it involves some quite clever moments of characters thinking their way around the problem and using the higher rate of speed to their advantage.
From a character perspective, I enjoyed the exchanges between Kirk and Deela. Despite being a romance of the week, there is a clear screen chemistry between William Shatner and Kathie Brown. Even though she falls for a seduction tactic, Deela is an relatively interesting and strong character, who leads her people and has some quite memorable dialogue.
Leonard Nimoy is as great as always playing the 'fascinated' Mr Spock as cool and industrious as ever. When Kirk and Spock glance at it each other in the corridor, you know all will soon be well.
I like the cinematography, which tells the story visually through good use of angles and character body language. One moment where Kirk is visible in the mirror as Deela brushes her hair works very well, as does the fairy risqué post-coital sequence. I love the costumes and not just for the awesome dress worn by Deela, but that transparent garment worn by the men which looks very uncomfortable on Jason Evers, but is hilariously memorable.
Where it fails is in the obvious problem of the plot threads involving characters moving at different speeds progressing alongside each other. Plus there is too much repetition and virtually no mystery. Personally I would have written it in a way that showed Kirk disappearing first and then we see Spock, McCoy etc figure it out via a series of clues. They could have shown everything from Kirk's perspective much later after the reveal. The ending feels pretty cold and uncharitable with no signs of Kirk or the Federation looking to help the Scalosians.
For me it's a 6.5/10, but I round upwards.
Great Season Three Episode, But Questions Begin
florida8723 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
For season three this is one of my favorites, it also ranks high for the entire TOS run in my book. Kirk shooting the phaser after accelerating remains a vivid memory from my childhood, I just thought that was so cool. Only real criticisms I can think of are the ending, was Kirk that po'd that he just left them there? Where is the branching out the Federation of Planets stuff? At least tell them your going to send back a diplomatic ship to work on a resolution. And why didn't they offer them the antidote that McCoy made? Another criticism I have is Trek TOS encountered all these different alien races for exploration reasons but I never see them adopting any of the stuff they find other than in that episode, never later on. Case in point that Scolosian water accelerates and McCoy has an antidote to counteract it. Wouldn't it have been cool for the Enterprise to be in a hopeless situation in another episode and surrounded by alien ships (take your pick), so Kirk beams Spock on board the alien ship after he takes the acceleration water, Spock disables all the ships and beams back, no problem! Well I guess you can't beam with shields up, so it would have to be another situation, but that acceleration water could have come in handy. Anyway, meeting all those aliens I could see some of the humans learning stuff like levitation and the ability to fly, it would have made things "fascinating". My rating for the coolness of the aliens 9 of 10.
Queen Deela Wants Kirk As King
Rainey-Dawn13 January 2017
Season 3, episode 11. The Enterprise receives a distress call from the planet Scalos. Kirk and a party beam down to the planet to find no one there but they did find a strange insect-like sound buzzing around them. The crew inside the Enterprise are still seeing the Scalosians on the screen, they do not see the landing party and the coordinates match exactly. McCoy is watching a red shirted crew member named Compton who suddenly disappears right before McCoy's eyes. Kirk and crew beam back aboard, they are watching a delayed, taped message from the Scalosians on the screen. Strange things are happening on the Enterprise - constant malfunctions, things in sickbay have been moved in the cabinets, buzzing sound can be heard by Kirk and something invisible touching him and more. Kirk discovers that something has beamed aboard the ship with them. Only Kirk and Spock are allowed to search engineering by the invisible aliens. A bit later Kirk grabs some coffee on the bridge, then all crew members suddenly start moving very slow then are in a state of suspended animation - suddenly Deela, Queen of the Scalosians appears to Kirk. She grabs and kisses Kirk and introduces herself as "Deela the enemy". Deela has made Kirk like herself so the crew members only hear Kirk as an insect because they move very quickly - accelerated. She wants Kirk as the King to her Queen. The crew is moving at their own normal speed and can't see Kirk anymore - he vanished to them. Kirk finds that what happened to him also happened to Compton. It's up to Kirk to get back to normal from his end, while Spock and crew try to get Kirk back from their end.
Another average episode that embodies what Star Trek is all about.
7/10
Another average episode that embodies what Star Trek is all about.
7/10
An under-explored Sci-fi plot device
isa-alsup21 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Writers have given us countless stories of time travel and its paradoxes, they've taken us to alternate dimensions; forked time branches; but few writers play with the concept of life existing at higher speed of time or quantum frequencies within our own dimension. Although this would arguably be another dimension.
Lame, but my kind of lame!
mm-3915 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Lame, but my kind of lame Wink of an Eye is known as the super fast people episode. Kirk disappears and the Star Trek crew must try and find him. A super fast race which we can not see, because there so fast the human eye to register the fast people. A true Twilight Zone gold star sci fi in writing. Of course Kirk is a babe magnet, Spock with his logic rescue the ship again. Kinda lame, with over acting, fast and lose directing, but fun to watch. The story is the catch here. Memorable but lame. 6 out of 10 stars.
This episode is a guilty pleasure of mine
hmoika13 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I give this one 8 stars.......maybe at least 2 of those stars are guilty-pleasure stars.
Given the fact that it's a third season entry, I am more than satisfied with it.
On the other hand, given the fact that, in so many earlier episodes, the Enterprise/Federation could come up with some kind of antidote for an ailing civilization, it almost beggars belief that the only option Kirk has is to maroon them on their planet and warn off future space crafts from coming too close.
Ah well, it was, after all, the 3rd season.
Ah well, I must admit.... I do enjoy this one.
Given the fact that it's a third season entry, I am more than satisfied with it.
On the other hand, given the fact that, in so many earlier episodes, the Enterprise/Federation could come up with some kind of antidote for an ailing civilization, it almost beggars belief that the only option Kirk has is to maroon them on their planet and warn off future space crafts from coming too close.
Ah well, it was, after all, the 3rd season.
Ah well, I must admit.... I do enjoy this one.
Exploiting sympathy.
amusinghandle9 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Hard to have much sympathy for a society that captures ships with a distress signal to use as sex slaves. Well, okay --- I guess if Deela wants to use me as a sex slave there are technically worse fates but even that would get old after a time.
I agree with the other reviewers that this episode could have benefited from the crew/kirk working together (more) to sabotage the Scalosians.
It is interesting that Kirk essentially tells the Scalosians to pound sand and leaves them to a grim fate. That is not the sympathetic big softy I have come to know over the past three seasons.
This is a competent episode if not a bit too straightforward. I like a little twist thrown in here or there. This one ends with the tried and true, "shoot the device until it blows up" method.
I agree with the other reviewers that this episode could have benefited from the crew/kirk working together (more) to sabotage the Scalosians.
It is interesting that Kirk essentially tells the Scalosians to pound sand and leaves them to a grim fate. That is not the sympathetic big softy I have come to know over the past three seasons.
This is a competent episode if not a bit too straightforward. I like a little twist thrown in here or there. This one ends with the tried and true, "shoot the device until it blows up" method.
Horny Track strikes again
agof10 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Yet another episode where an antagonist female falls for Kirk's dadbod and does everything to assure the failure of her own plans. And as usual the crew displays utter incompetence, including, obviously, Kirk.
Why use the computer in hopes that someone will notice the record and will try to decipher it, when he can just write the entire message on the wall with his excreta? That assures an instant delivery of the message to the crew. And even after recording the message on a computer he just left it there instead of giving it directly to Spok, so he would notice.
And the whole premise is flawed. Why the sirens kidnap one guy at the time, if they could ask nicely for the whole crew to provide them with material, freeze it and let them be on their way. They can speak english = they can write english on the walls. The federation can even provide regular humanitarian cumbardments to help the natives in their struggle.
Why use the computer in hopes that someone will notice the record and will try to decipher it, when he can just write the entire message on the wall with his excreta? That assures an instant delivery of the message to the crew. And even after recording the message on a computer he just left it there instead of giving it directly to Spok, so he would notice.
And the whole premise is flawed. Why the sirens kidnap one guy at the time, if they could ask nicely for the whole crew to provide them with material, freeze it and let them be on their way. They can speak english = they can write english on the walls. The federation can even provide regular humanitarian cumbardments to help the natives in their struggle.
Child support for the Captain
mhubbard-546577 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
In answering a distress call, our team beams downs to the planet, but apparently no life is there, other than possible mosquitoes, on the basis of the high pitched sound. A red shirt disappears in a mysterious way. They beam back up, not knowing they are bringing with them several members of an "accelerated" species invisible to humans. Soon the accelerated aliens slip something into the Captain's coffee to accelerate him, so he can be a mate for the queen. There is much interaction between Kirk and the female alien, who of course, is good looking and has a quite the sexy blonde up- do. At one point, Kirk is shown getting back into his boots after an apparent romantic interlude. Kirk nevertheless wants to return to his world and he tricks her into thinking he has accepted the situation. He has also figured out how to get word to Mr Spock through a computer tape. Mr Spock arrives into the accelerated world, and together they foil the plans of the enemy.
Decent episode. I always wondered if the Captain actually had sex with the ladies or was it just a little kissing? Now I know!
Decent episode. I always wondered if the Captain actually had sex with the ladies or was it just a little kissing? Now I know!
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