Star Trek: The Animated Series (TV Series) The Survivor (1973) User Reviews

The Eye of the Vendorian...

[Xstal · 7/10 · 28 February 2022]

A many armed philanthropist, behaves like he's misanthropist, then becomes a table, a shield quite unstable, a veritable alien lycanthropist.

A shapeshifting alien comes aboard in a familiar form and causes upset and intrigue.

Could be the forerunner to Deep Space Nine's "Odo"

[garrard · 9/10 · 3 October 2010]

"The Survivor" is one of the best episodes in the short history of the animated sequel to Gene Roddenberry's classic series. It tells that tale of the surprise rescue of a well-known space trader, Carter Winston, who has been missing for five years. The "survivor" comes aboard the Enterprise, much to the surprise to his fiancé who had long given up the thought of marrying him.

Winston, however, has no interest in rekindling the romance, much to the fiancé's disappointment. Also, Dr. McCoy's examination of Winston reveals some inconsistencies that the medical expert can't figure out.

Soon, Winston is revealed to be a Vendorian, a race of shape-shifters. The shape-shifter cared for the real Winston until his death. Feeling a bond with the late traveler, the creature decided to assume Winston's identity.

The story opens up all sorts of possibilities, chief among them would inter-species relationships when Winston's fiancé finds herself attracted to the Vendorian, even after finding out his true identity.

The creature itself could be considered a precursor to the shape-shifting Odo from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." The episode also stands out as one of the few that utilized a "guest star" in the form of Ted Knight as Carter Winston/The Vendorian. The budget-conscious series frequently utilized the talents of regular cast members Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan, George Takei, and Majel Barrett as other characters as well.

The (re?)kindling of an interspecies romance

[cashbacher · 10/10 · 22 April 2020]

This episode has some aspects of "The Man Trap," the first episode of the original series to be broadcast. In that episode a being is capable of altering its appearance in order to accomplish nefarious acts. While patrolling the Romulan Neutral Zone, the Enterprise encounters a man that has been lost for years and beam him aboard the Enterprise. He appears to be Carter Winston, a well-known philanthropist that once used his fortune to buy food for a colony that was on the brink of starvation. His former fiancé, security officer Lieutenant Anne Nored, is onboard the Enterprise, but Winston jilts her, telling her that it is over between them. Winston is in fact a Vendorian, a creature capable of assuming any shape of equal size. He is a Romulan spy, sent to the Enterprise to impersonate Captain Kirk and order the ship into the neutral zone. Once there, it can be intercepted by the Romulans and taken as a prize. However, the Vendorian's long association with the real Carter Winston has impressed many of his traits on it, including his love for Nored. When the Romulans attempt to capture the Enterprise, the Vendorian assumes the form of a missing deflector shield, saving the Enterprise from being captured. The Vendorian then willingly is arrested as a spy and accepts its fate. At the end, Nored agrees to be his jailor and there is the potential (re?)kindling of an interspecies romance. As humans move out of the solar system, they will no doubt encounter other beings, most of which will be quite strange and bizarre. Of course, humans will be strange and bizarre to them as well. In this episode, the prime alien is capable of absorbing human traits along with assuming the form. Of all the speculated forms that aliens could take, an intelligent shape-shifter is one of the most plausible. On Earth we have chameleons that can change color and other creatures that can dramatically alter their appearance.

Not Much Here

[Hitchcoc · 4/10 · 18 March 2017]

This is a pretty lame offering. A famous explorer and philanthropist who has been missing for five years shows up in a disabled spacecraft. He is brought aboard, but there are some questions about him. On board, in all the gin joints, etc, is his long suffering fiancée. She is really about as sharp as a bowling ball. She goes to see her beloved and he tells her there is nothing left between them. We then find out that the thing is some sort of octopus shape-shifter who can turn himself into anything he wants. He is a spy for the Romulans, who have been using him to get the Enterprise into the neutral zone. The plot is bad enough, but the portrayal of this woman is really insulting. She cares about him even after she sees he is an intergalactic octopus.

Stupid woman.....

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 9 April 2015]

This is yet another episode of the horribly animated "Star Trek" cartoon series. While the 1960s and 70s were a terrible time for animation, the horrid quality of this show sets it apart--being even crappier than the stuff coming from Hanna-Barbera! With slide show- like animation, it's hard to imagine much worse!

When the show begins, somehow the Enterprise locates Carter Winston- -a famous explorer who's been lost for several years. However, soon it becomes apparent that it's NOT Winston--it's something more akin to Squiddly Diddly! But this squid-like being can assume all sorts of forms--human and non-human as well as non-living! But when the creature takes them into the Neutral Zone and the Romulans show up, the crew is forced to deal with TWO menaces at the same time.

This is a fair episode but suffers not just from the craptastic animation but the female guest character who is an idiot. I assume if the show had been made today, in addition to better animation it would also feature a female character who isn't dumber than a zucchini.

Master of Disguise

[Samuel-Shovel · 4/10 · 3 December 2018]

In "The Survivor", the Enterprise runs across a damaged ship near the Romulan Neutral Zone. It's sole occupant, famous philanthropist Carter Winston, has been missing for 5 years. His wife is aboard the Enterprise on the security team. But something is slightly off about Carter.

It turns out Carter is actually an imposter, a shapeshifting creature known as a Vendorian. The alien can change into basically everything and later impersonates Kirk (to lead the Enterprise into Romulan territory) and Bones. It is secretly working for the Romulans so they can take control of the Enterprise. But it has been Carter so long that it starts to feel bad about betraying Carter's wife and friends. It defends the Enterprise from a Romulan attack and the Enterprise escapes. The Vendorian is arrested and must go to Federation trial.

Most of this episode was a fun enough ride but the ending fell flat for me. This is an alien from a race that is in quarantine from the Federation because its people are deceitful with their abilities. This one takes a job with the Romulans and then has a change of heart because he's pretended to be something so long that he became it? I just don't buy it.

It seemed like the episode set up Anne to be the one to take this imposter down. Instead, she falls for him! It just felt like a lame conclusion.

I did enjoy the appearance of M'Ress though. Got a love a new weird race to add to the Star Trek mythos. It won't be the last we see of the Caitians.