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Star Trek: Day of the Dove (1968)
Well-paced, thoughtful, wonderfully acted actioner from the third season
A malevolent alien that thrives on the aggressive emotions of others lures the Enterprise and a Klingon ship to a planet using false distress signals, then manipulates the situation so that the Federation and Klingons are all imprisoned together on the Enterprise. There, the alien begins to warp their minds to get them to fight each other so as to keep feeding the alien's need for aggression. Kirk discovers the alien, and must find a way to convince the Klingons not to play the alien's game. But the ship's power is draining, and once the power is gone the two groups will be locked together forever in futile combat.
This is an excellent episode with a good, steady pace, logical plot developments, great characters, and a collection of superb performances. At the top of the performance list is Michael Ansara as the Klingon leader Kang: he's charismatic, ferocious, and honorable in his own brutal way, a great match for Kirk. The actors playing Scotty, McCoy, and Chekhov all put in great work showing the usually-reasonable Enterprise men being infected with induced hate and rage. It's also fun to see Sulu get in on the action a little.
It is always good to have a firm plot as the foundation for everything, and this episode has it. The stakes are established immediately, the limited options make the tension increase steadily, and the final resolution is satisfying and shows us, once again, Kirk at his best.
It falls just short of a ten for a few minor mistakes here and there, and the fact the final dissolve was so sudden: I'dve liked to see how Kang and Kirk finally say farewell.
Many people malign season three, but it did give us a pretty fair number of good episodes: Day of the Dove stands as the very best of the third year.
Star Trek: Shore Leave (1966)
Another of the top flight, well-written, well-acted fun episodes
An Enterprise landing party investigates a idyllic planet that sensors show has no life on it. But the landing party members start seeing things that seem to have leaped from their imaginations: Dr. McCoy sees the White Rabbit from "Alice in Wonderland," Sulu sees a samurai, Kirk meets an old academy bully and an old flame and things like tigers and fighter planes crop up. The landing party must figure out what's going on, because this seemingly idyllic planet is draining the Enterprise of power, and the at-first innocuous visions are becoming more and more threatening.
Shore Leave is right up there with Doomsday Machine; Mirror, Mirror; and Errand of Mercy as the very best episodes of the series. It is well-paced, intelligently written, and it has a nice breezy comedic tone. For the most part the plot developments make sense and nobody does anything illogical for their situation: and the stakes and air of danger grow and keep the audience interested. And characters commit no contrived, dumb actions obviously forced into the story to move it along (arguably. Even if they do it's not so bad to ruin the quality of the story). It is also nice to watch the characters reveal sides of their personalities by the things they imagine. We learn a little about Sulu's fascination with history, for example. This episode is also another chance for Spock to be at his best: cool, composed, indispensable to his captain, and effectual under pressure. I always liked Spock when he was that way. The rapport between Kirk and McCoy is nicely on display in how they discuss McCoy's sighting of the White Rabbit. The crew's camaraderie has always been a factor in any episode's success.
The episode falls just short of a ten rating with me because of Kirk's awkward scene where he first encounters his old flame, Ruth. Also, the characters of Rodriguez and Angela are not properly closed out. A moment or two of time taken from the lengthy Kirk-Finnegan fist fight could have been used to fix that. Guest characters should always get a proper close-out. The script needed just the smallest polishing.
But overall, a great, fun episode.
Star Trek: Errand of Mercy (1967)
One of the best of the series.
The Federation and the Klingon Empire go to war. Kirk and Spock beam down to the pacifist but strategically-located planet Organia to negotiate with the inhabitants for use of their world in the coming conflict. But then the Enterprise gets driven away from the planet by a Klingon invasion fleet, and Kirk and Spock get marooned on Organia as the Klingons occupy it. And as Kirk and Spock try to figure a way out of this mess, the native Organians seem inexplicably indifferent that the Klingons have taken over their world and threaten their lives.
This episode resides at the top of the heap of Trek. Here is a well-paced, tension-filled, logical plot with good characters and an intriguing riddle at its core. John Colicos gives a simply great performance as the Klingon commander Kor, who is menacing and ruthless, yet oddly likable as he pontificates on martial virtue and survival of the fittest. And he gets the all time great line in Trek: "I don't trust a man who smiles too much." What is so interesting is that, despite Kirk's protests that he and Kor have completely different world views, and despite Kirk's obvious disgust with the Klingons, Kirk and Kor do seem to have similarities in character. They certainly agree in their contempt for the passive Organians.
John Abbot is fascinating as the seemingly spineless Organian leader who turns out to be a lot more than anybody anticipated. And the riddle of what the Organians are all about, and why they seem so aloof to what's happening around them, drives the episode nicely. And as always, the interplay between Kirk and Spock is familiar, comforting, and entertaining; note the scene where Spock provides a guesstimate of their chances of surviving a particular ordeal, and Kirk is as always respectfully amused at his best bud's brilliant yet socially oblivious personality.
And the final scene, where we learn why and who the Organians are, is a perfect wrap up of character and plot. It's great to see Kirk and Kor both devolve into helpless outrage when they realize their war is being preempted by beings they had previously looked down upon as weaklings. And it's even better to see Kirk grow embarrassed when the Organians bring it home to him that he is behaving as much like a bore as the Klingons are. It's a triumph of realistic, sympathetic character development.
Overall, "Errand of Mercy" nails it. It's too bad every episode could not be this good.
Star Trek: Spectre of the Gun (1968)
Good premise, good plot, good characters, spooky atmosphere
Kirk, Spock, Scott, McCoy, and Chekov beam down to a planet to make contact with a reclusive alien race. The aliens, offended by the landing party's arrival, punishes the landing party by catapulting them into a surreal scenario where the landing party is forced to act as the Clanton gang, old west outlaws who lost the gunfight at the OK Corral. Now the landing party must try to find a way to return safely to the Enterprise while a clock inexorably ticks down to a deadline when they must re-enact the historical gunfight. It is a gunfight in which they are slated to be killed.
This is an under-appreciated gem of Star Trek. The sets are wonderfully bizarre and off-kilter, the actors playing the Earps superbly otherworldly and creepy, the entire atmosphere foreboding, ethereal, and weird. And at the episode's foundation is a premise that actually make sense. Usually, when Star Trek does a "novelty" premise (Nazis, Ancient Rome, etc.) it makes little sense and drags down what might have otherwise been a great episode. But the "Old West" novelty premise here is great because the aliens plucked it from the mind of Kirk; there's no tortured and unsuccessful attempt to explain how an Earth culture could exist light years away.
And the basic plot works well, too. The characters get quickly, efficiently thrust into danger, do perfectly rational things to get out of it, and the threat remains lifelike. And a clock counting down might be a clichéd way of keeping the intensifying danger in the audience's mind, but, like everything else in this episode, it achieves its aim very, very well.
And of course, the characters work well. The five heroes behave here as the familiar, competent, human team who make Star Trek the beloved institution it is. Their interactions are believable and the five show the personalities perfectly. Walter Koenig gets a special nod: he gives us Chekov exactly as he should be portrayed: irreverent, short-tempered, and brave. The only drawback I find in the whole episode is that the character Wyatt Earp, the main villain, was not developed enough. If he's going to be Kirk's main foe, we need to hear from him more.
Some people might dismiss "Spectre of the Gun" as a third season failure, but I give it nine out of ten. The whole thing fits together and runs like, well, clockwork.
Star Trek: Whom Gods Destroy (1969)
A poor script but fun performances
Kirk and Spock beam down to a mental institution for the criminally insane where they are immediately captured and held as prisoners: it turns out the lunatics have taken over the asylum. The leader of the lunatics is Garth, a once-great starship captain, now a raving and delusional madman who can shape-shift and assume other people's identities. His plan is to pose as Captain Kirk, take over the Enterprise, and go off into the galaxy to wreck havoc. But he cannot get on board the ship without knowing the chess-move-password. Kirk and Spock, or course, won't tell him what it is, but the unstable Garth is ready to torture them both until they do.
This episode suffers from a terribly nonsensical climax: Spock is faced with two Kirks, one the real one and one Garth in disguise. All he had to do was ask some question only he and his long-time pal Kirk would know the answer to. Instead, he allows himself to be hit on the head and lets the two Kirks duke it out. The script at this point just does not work, and serves only the rob the whole episode of dramatic tension: we're not going to be impressed by something that makes no sense.
Still, the guest performances help keep the episode from collapsing entirely. Steve Inhat is just great as Garth. He's sauntering, hysterical, and violent, yet his view of the world as a place that needs a strongman is interesting to hear about and his histrionics a joy to watch. Yvonne Craig manages to be both creepy and sexy as the dangerous but beautiful Marta (apparently Marta's a serial killer). And the dinner scene where Garth extols his plans and desires to Kirk and Spock was great drama. Garth's maniacal ravings contrast wonderfully with Spock's calm, composed responses. Watching fascinating characters battle with differing opinions is always great TV. Too bad all of this fits into an episode where the script disintegrates.
I can't help enjoying this episode because of the loopy fun of the guest stars. So I will give it a five out of ten. Like "Plan Nine from Outer Space," it is not competent, but its giddy likability makes it entertaining enough.
Star Trek: That Which Survives (1969)
An adequate episode, dragged down by bad characterization
When the Enterprise investigates a strange planet, a mysterious woman abruptly appears to sabotage the ship and put it in danger of exploding, while simultaneously threatening to wipe out a stranded landing party led by Captain Kirk. Kirk and his crew must find out who or what this woman is, and why and how she is putting them all in such peril, before the ship is destroyed and the landing party killed off.
This episode has a good, steady pace, solid plot, and a genuine sense of the Enterprise crew desperately trying to cope with a sudden, unknown threat before disaster overtakes them all. It manages to convey dramatically the idea that out in deep space our heroes will encounter unexpected and random threats any one of which might be more than they can handle. Also, I like that they take the time to give a little depth to the D'mato character (a likable guy who is enthusiastic about his work in geology) before killing him. And the regular characters treat his death with a little mourning and gravity. Too often on Star Trek the deaths of minor characters are glossed over by episode's end, like in installments where many men died horribly and then the script concludes with a lame joke. It ruins an episode's dramatic heft Here, we really care about D'mato's demise. Also, we get to see Scotty at his best, doing emergency repairs when danger looms, and taking risks because he does not want Spock to be the one to have to do it.
This episode could have gotten a top ranking from me but it gets dragged down by serious mistakes in characterization. For one thing, Spock's personality in this episode is completely different than it is in the rest of the series. The usually composed, polite, patient Spock suddenly and inexplicably is turned into an arrogant, rude jerk who deserves to be demoted for his treatment of his shipmates during a time of peril. Ordinarily, Spock would only criticize someone's illogical thought patterns during laid back moments of reflection and spare-time conversation. Here, he is emotionally shooting people down right and left when he should be concentrating on solving the problem. It is completely inconsistent with everything we know about this character.
To a lesser extent something similar is done with the Kirk character. Early on he is meaninglessly short and callous in his comments during the landing party. He returns to regular form quickly enough, but the damage is done. We now have two regular characters spewing dialogue inconsistent with what we know of their personalities and it serves to remind the viewer we're just watching actors reciting lines rather than actors being characters. It short circuits the drama. This one major error in the script manages to spoil the quality of the whole episode.
This just goes to show you that what is really important in fiction is the characters, and if you get them wrong, you get the story wrong. The writers of this episode apparently thought the only way to create interesting dynamics between characters was to have them say pointlessly abrasive things people would not really say in real life. It is the mark of an amateur, so it is astonishing Gene Roddenberry himself and the great D.C. Fontana were two of the three writers who did this. They may be the admirable giants to Star Trek, but on this episode, they dropped the ball. But the plot's execution, at least, helps keep the episode floating enough to earn a seven out of ten.
Star Trek: Dagger of the Mind (1966)
An irretrievably poor, apathetic script dooms this one
After a doctor from a mental institution goes mad and invades the Enterprise, a suspicious Kirk beams down to the institution to investigate what's going on there. The man in charge of the place, however, has been conducting unethical and tortuous experiments on patients, and decides now it's Kirk's turn.
This one is not particularly cheesy or goofy. In fact, the premise of a doctor using an isolated institution as his own personal laboratory holds plenty of promise. But in this episode character and plot are handled in an indifferent manner.
For starters, Dr. Van Gelder's rampage on the Enterprise takes too long and fills up time with meaningless running around that could have been spent developing the main plot. Then, the character of Dr. Adams in completely undeveloped: what is he up to and why? What are his motives? His world view? Why bother subjecting Kirk to his machine when he can simply entertain him and let him go without Kirk ever finding out what Adams is up to? We don't know, the episode does not tell us, and consequently we don't care about what he does next.
Nothing about the plot of developed adequately. Apparently the institution consists of vegged-out followers of Dr. Adams, but we only get that when Kirk mentions it in one line of dialogue, then it's never mentioned again. It's certainly never shown to us for any dramatic effect.
A episode of TOS can be cheesy and still be fun to watch. But it should never, never be as indifferently constructed as this.
There are two good things, though: Morgan Woodward certainly gives an energetic performance as Dr. Van Gelder, even though the character gets senselessly dropped by episode's end. He sure earned his pay on this acting gig. And the character of Dr. Noel is a positive portrait of a strong, brave woman who can take care of herself, exactly the kind of female character sixties TV needed more of.
Star Trek: The Empath (1968)
A moving portrait of camaraderie and concern for others
Kirk, Spock, and McCoy find themselves trapped in the laboratory of two callous alien scientists who subject them to experiments to measure their will to live and their willingness to sacrifice themselves for others. At the center of the experiments in Gem, a mute woman with the ability to absorb the injuries of others, but only at great cost to herself. The three Enterprise men discover the experiments are to see if Gem will sacrifice her own life to save them from the tortures the aliens will inflict.
This episode falls just short of a ten. The flaws include the rather silly slo-mo running scene. Also a problem: the aliens' ultimate motive for their experiments. Once the motive is revealed, it seems a little too contrived and strained. The motive could have been handled better. And the aliens' decision to show compassion at the end seems a little too abrupt, but that part probably was unavoidable given the episode's time constraints. Also, the deaths of the two human scientists seem to get forgotten and glossed over by episode's end. Glossing indifferently over the deaths of minor characters by an episode's end, especially the deaths of red shirts, has always been a problem in the scripts of Star Trek. It takes away some of the humanity of the main characters.
But, here, these are minor quibbles. Stacked up against all of that is an excellent script that slowly builds the foreboding and mystery as to what the aliens are up to and where Gem fits in. And we see a wonderful message of compassion and camaraderie in how the show's Big Three interact with each other and with Gem in this episode. Note, especially, how Spock reacts when he realizes McCoy is dying: there is no big change in his usual impassive demeanor, yet Leonard Nimoy manages to convey the real grief Spock must be feeling. This is the episode where the Big Three's friendship is put on full show, and it is awesome to watch.
And at the center of the show is a superb performance by Kathryn Hays as Gem. Her Gem is utterly beautiful, gentle, and heart breaking, and Hays' silent movie style acting a joy to watch, especially in the final scene. Whatever chronic script problems Star Trek TOS ever suffered from, that show frequently got great guest performances.
Star Trek: Bread and Circuses (1968)
Entertaining, acceptable, and imperfect
Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam down to an unexplored planet to find out what has become of the crew of a ship that wrecked near there six years ago. They are taken hostage by the planet's leader, a despot determined to make sure the Enterprise crew never gets back home to tell anybody about the existence of this society. This society is like a cross between Ancient Rome and 20th century American in that it has televised gladiator fights, and slaves and cars existing side by side. While the despot threatens Kirk and Company's lives, there stands on the sidelines the captain of the crew they had come to find. He sides with the despot. Or does he? This is a perfectly adequate action episode that simply suffers from the sheer goofiness of its premise: the planet that just happens to have a lot of stylistic similarities to Ancient Rome.
It has a lot going for it: three very interesting guest characters: the sleazy, xenophobic despot who extols ideals of violence and domination, the cowardly ex-captain who has allowed himself to become the despot's dog, and the escaped slave-gladiator who insists he is now a peace-loving sun worshipper but is forced back into the arena. And the episode features some of the best interaction between Spock and McCoy of the whole series. And watch the scene were Kirk, Claudius, and Merrick engage in a subtle battle of wits and world views while McCoy and Spock are fighting.
But the characters, especially the slave-gladiator, do not get enough coverage to be completely meaningful, and the battle of world views between Kirk and his two foes could have been developed a little more to make a really satisfying, thought-provoking episode. And again, that whole Ancient Rome premise is just too far-fetched and distracting to be overlooked. Couldn't they have just done this episode as being about a fight-loving, TV-hooked society and cut out the Ancient Rome thing altogether? So yes, it's good. But it's imperfect.
Star Trek: What Are Little Girls Made Of? (1966)
Some good material buried in a mediocre script
Captain Kirk and Nurse Chapel beam down to a remote planet to meet Dr. Roger Corby, a brilliant scientist and Chapel's former fiancé who had been presumed dead years ago. But Dr. Corby quickly takes them hostage. He has a plan and he wants to convince them to join up. He wants Kirk to smuggle him to a planet with more resources and more population. His long term objective is to build a legion of androids and insidiously sneak them into the human population. Of course, Kirk and Chapel won't join him, but there's no telling what Corby might do to anyone who refuses to cooperate.
The good: the character of Roger Corby is fascinating because he sincerely believes he is doing the right thing, and sincerely wants to work constructively with Kirk and Chapel. But he might be a very likable and ultimately dangerous madman. Also, the interplay between Kirk and his android double, and between Kirk and Chapel, is solid writing.
But surrounding all this is a script that keeps letting down its promise. Towards the climax, Kirk suddenly, and without any foreboding, starts turning the androids against their master. He confuses one by snogging her (this would not be the last time Kirk would try to snog his way out of trouble) and the other just suddenly blows up with rage against Corby on the slightest suggestion from Kirk. The later plot developments just do not work very well.
But then the episode redeems itself toward the end with the surprise reveal of who, and what, Roger Corby really is, and that reveal explains how a previously reasonable man could become the complex villain we see in this episode.
So overall, it starts well, holds promise, flies sadly off the rails, then comes back a little. It could have been written better.
Star Trek: The Immunity Syndrome (1968)
Intelligent, brooding episode that takes some getting used to.
The Enterprise flies out to investigate why the starship Intrepid and an entire solar system have been destroyed, and gets sucked into an energy-draining field. There, they find a giant organism, like a germ, that drains all life - including the Enterprise and the life energy of the people on board - as it pulls things towards it. The ship and crew are being drained slowly down to the point of death, and on top of that it looks like the organism is going to multiply, posing a danger to the whole galaxy. The crew races against time to find a way to destroy the organism before it is too late for everybody.
The episode is excellent because it shows the Enterprise crew working as a team under pressure against an unknown and overwhelming threat. It touches on the idea of what it might mean if we really do explore the vast universe beyond our solar system, and presents the fascinating idea of a giant organism, like those that cause diseases in our own bodies, and the even more fascinating idea that perhaps we ourselves are antibodies protecting the vast body of our universe against foreign germs. And it presents the solid drama of Spock and McCoy competing to see who gets to be the pioneer/hero in the research of the threat. And it does all this with intelligence, eschewing hokey melodrama, embarrassing attempts at romance, or inane attempts at humor.
At the same time, this episode is an acquired taste. There is no standard action and no bombastic plot twists. It is just a lot of atmosphere, carefully doled out foreboding, character development, and dialogue. There is also a lot of scientific and medical talk you have to listen to carefully in order to keep yourself updated on why you should care what is happening. It can be a little too dense for some people who are used to the kinds of dorky sci-fi lite episodes that Star Trek is sometimes guilty of.
So, it gets a nine from me, but I can appreciate why some might want to rank it lower.
Star Trek: Friday's Child (1967)
A few imperfections do not stop this being a solid, entertaining episode
Kirk, Spock, and McCoy arrive at a primitive planet to negotiate a mining treaty with a volatile and tribal warrior society. But they get unwillingly entangled with a treacherous Klingon agent and dangerous local politics, and before long they have to flee natives out to kill them. To make matters worse, they have in tow a dead chief's hostile, pregnant wife who does not want her child, while the Enterprise is in no position to rescue them because it is tangling with a Klingon warship.
This episode manages to be engaging and entertaining despite some problems here and there. It's a good example of a Star Trek episode that is not the highest quality, but worthy nevertheless.
It effectively presents the theme of the Federation having to deal with cultures that have different values and outlook. The tribal culture is honorable yet brutal, polite yet lethal if someone makes a misstep. Also, all the regular cast members get to do solid character work, especially DeForest Kelly as our cranky yet compassionate Dr. McCoy: he cares for his patients but is not above slapping one if she gets out of line. And James Doohan's Scotty does some of his best episode work here in the very well-done subplot about the Enterprise's troubles with the Klingon ship. The presentation of the local politics is an effective bit of mini-drama that helps establish what's at stake for our heroes.
But imperfections creep into the script: the Julie Newmar character was adequately developed as someone who grows sympathetic toward her new allies and her own newborn baby, but the script wasted her precious screen time on the annoying, unfunny "our child" and "child is yours" humor sequences. That time could have been spent exploring the Newmar character's reasons for not wanting her child, and could have made the transformation in her attitude more gradual and effective.
Also, the climax involved the Klingon blowing his top and defying everybody without much motivation.
But while those problems decrease the episode's quality, "Friday's Child" still stands up as an enjoyable, agreeable journeyman entry and a chance to see our regular characters at their best.
Star Trek: The Changeling (1967)
Some promising material wasted in a badly written episode
Nomad, an intelligent, deadly, and seemly indestructible space probe, comes on board the Enterprise. It's objective is to destroy any imperfect life forms (which pretty much means all life forms). The only thing that buys the Enterprise crew time before Nomad kills them all is that Nomad erroneously thinks Kirk is its inventor, but that stroke of luck might not last forever.
This episode is so sad, because there is a lot of good material here that is inexplicably wasted through needlessly bad script decisions.
The good: Nomad is genuinely menacing. You can sense Kirk and his crew are terrified, watching what they say and do because at any moment this unpredictable machine could effortlessly kill them all. The episode manages to create that real tension, and that real feeling the crew is walking a razor's edge.
But such an effective atmosphere of fear, which could have supported a great episode, is ruined by some terrible additions. Lt. Uhura is drained of her knowledge and has to be re-educated, and that whole scene is embarrassing and drags down the episode. And it was not necessary. Why was it put in there at all? Then Spock does a mind meld with the robot and provides another embarrassing, silly scene. Once again, it was not necessary: there were other ways to convey the admittedly fascinating idea of two robots merging in the depths of space.
Then four red shirts die in a contrived way: Kirk just sends them to guard Nomad, they inexplicably shoot at it, and all die. Admittedly it helps establish that Nomad does not kid around, and is lethal, but it also was contrived. Nomad's lethality could have been communicated without the need for anybody, especially Kirk, to do anything stupid. Nomad could have simply killed somebody for making a routine mistake.
Finally, and worst of all, the episode, filled with fear and death, ends with a lame joke, as if all the lost lives move no one. This "lame joke ending" approach almost tanked "The Galileo Seven" episode, but here it puts the last nail in the coffin of "The Changeling." Star Trek has lots of good episodes. "The Changeling" is one of the worst, and the saddest part is it could easily have avoided that.
Star Trek: Who Mourns for Adonais? (1967)
There is more depth to this episode that there appears at first glance.
Kirk and his crew are waylaid by a powerful alien who claims to be the ancient Greek god Apollo. Apollo demands they abandon their ship and become his worshipers like the Greeks of old Earth had been, and Apollo is not taking no for an answer. Kirk and Co. have to figure out how to escape his clutches without falling victim to his extraordinary powers and his violent temper.
At first glance, this seems like a too-goofy premise. They encounter a Greek god replete with laurels on his head living on a planet replete with marble temple and statues. It seems like something out of Lost In Space. But closer examination reveals a deep, meaningful character study of a being who is either unwilling or unable to accept that the world has left him behind.
Apollo, wonderfully and sympathetically played by guest star Michael Forest, is a powerful creature who masqueraded as a God on ancient Earth and obviously thinks it is his right and duty to continue to serve as a God to Earthmen. And at one point in the dialogue he indicates that his kind, of which he seems to be the last, need worship and attention. Perhaps it is a form of sustenance for them, or maybe Apollo just has a deep-seated neediness, it's never clarified. Either way, it is an important feature of what drives him. Another fascinating part of his character is shown when he suggests he disapproves of the clinical, dispassionate creatures he might think Earthmen are becoming as they continue to learn about the universe: to him, they have lost their passion and character as they have grown in power. And it seems his interpretation of reality is different from that of the Earth men, although at one point in the dialogue he seems to suggest he knew his God status was always just a masquerade. But finally, it's clear Apollo really believes he is doing the right thing by Kirk and Co.
When he is finally defeated, his sense of hurt, his broken-heartedness, and his sense that all that he looked forward to and believed in are destroyed, is genuinely affecting. You understand why he commits suicide at the end, and I for one felt sorry for him. He never meant any harm.
Also this is the episode where Walter Koenig gets to be vintage Chekov: irreverent, effusive, but very capable.
The thing that keeps the episode out of superb territory is that the premise, although it sets up such a good character study, is still unavoidably just a little on the goofy side, but that should not stop you from enjoying it, and should not stop you from feeling sorry for Apollo at the end, just like Kirk and McCoy did.
Star Trek: The Doomsday Machine (1967)
One of the top TOS episodes
The Enterprise encounters a giant, seemingly unstoppable planet-destroying machine in space. The planet killer is on course to destroy a densely populated part of the galaxy. Not only must Kirk and Co. find a way to stop the machine, they have to deal with Commodore Decker, a mentally unstable survivor of a starship the machine has previously wrecked. Decker takes over command of the Enterprise and launches a madly reckless attack on the planet killer, an attack that could get the Enterprise crew killed.
"The Doomsday Machine" joins "Mirror, Mirror," "The Trouble with Tribbles," "Errand of Mercy," and "City on the Edge of Forever" at the very top of the heap of Star Trek episodes. It is a superb, tension-filled episode that features one of the best climaxes and one of the best guest starring turns of the whole series.
William Windom is just great playing the traumatized Decker, a man who will risk the Enterprise to destroy the machine that killed his own crew. Check out how he seems about to emotionally disintegrate on the Constellation, then turns near-manic and determined as he sits in the captain's chair. And check out Windom's acting in the final moments of his sad personal suicide run toward the planet killer.
The climax is a classic count-down to disaster that blends seamlessly with all the action leading up to it, and William Shatner plays the scene wonderfully, showing our confident Kirk feeling genuinely afraid as his escape from danger starts coming down to the wire. James Doohan and George Takei get to do excellent support work, too, and Leonard Nimoy gives us the best portrait ever of Spock as the calm second in command in the midst of a high pressure situation.
My only quibble- and it's a matter of opinion only- is that the Decker character could have been a little better developed leading up to the moment he takes command of the Enterprise. Windom should have been given Shatner's "doomsday machine" speech from the Constellation's control room, and perhaps a little more interaction with Dr. McCoy about how he felt about losing his crew. That lack of character development is the only thing that stops this episode getting a ten rating from me.
Star Trek: Mirror, Mirror (1967)
One of the best TOS episodes ever
Kirk, McCoy, Scott, and Uhura get thrust into an alternate reality where the Federation is an evil empire and their shipmates and friends are now malicious, dangerous adversaries. Now the four have to find a way to get back to their own reality without being discovered and killed.
This is one of the best-written, best-acted TOS episodes ever. Ordinarily there is some aspect of the writing to nitpick about. Not here. Every action anybody takes makes sense, the characters are developed superbly, and the pacing is swift and invigorating. This is quality TV writing, and if every script had been this good the series would have lasted a lot longer, I think. One moment I'd like to point out especially: early on Kirk proposed to disable the phasers so they can avoid phaser-bombing a helpless planet, but Scottie subtly reports to Kirk he cannot because the phaser banks are being guarded. This is good writing: the good guys had a sensible (not contrived) solution to a problem, and the obstacle to that solution also made perfect sense (and was not contrived). That makes the tension feel very real.
The acting takes it over the top. William Shatner's Kirk displays the quick wits and cleverness that make the character so interesting. And notice how our good guy Kirk is not entirely uncomfortable in his new, dangerous environment. Sure, he's disgusted by all the cruelty around him, but you can sense he gets a thrill out of navigating all the treachery. Leonard Nimoy's evil version of Spock is genuinely menacing in a cool, calculating way. Nichelle Nichols' Uhura shows us a cunning, wily side of her we have only ever seen suggested before (and check her out in that revealing outfit.) But the acting prize goes to George Takei. In this episode, his evil Sulu is slimy, sleazy, scary, and wonderfully despicable. As another reviewer suggested, Takei should have played more villains.
Overall, Mirror, Mirror is a ten.
Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before (1966)
Just a little more polishing and this would have been superb
When the Enterprise hits an energy storm in space, Kirk's long time friend, the irreverent but lovable Gary Mitchell, gets turned into a mutant super-human whose megalomania grows as his mental powers increase. Now Kirk, egged on by the ruthlessly clinical Spock, must decide if he is to maroon his old friend to protect everybody else from a progressively psychotic Mitchell.
This is a great episode that, in my opinion, has two flaws: the exposition takes too long and gives us too much unimportant material, and there was not enough development of the Gary Mitchell character before the plot really gets rolling.
The exposition features retrieval of a space "black box" device carrying information the plot requires but could have gotten more economically, and it also has some other extraneous discussion; it all could have been pared down to leave more room to develop what kind of character Mitchell was before he was inflicted with his great powers. While the Mitchell character is developed in a rudimentary way, he could have been more fascinating and sympathetic with just a little more dialog: for example, they simply could have had him sitting at the table while Kirk and Spock played chess, and Mitchell could have delivered just one or two lines of the "certain you don't know what irritation is Spock?" variety. Just a little bit more goes a long way in making a character come to life, and I think we needed just a little more to make Mitchell into the full-fledged person we needed to create a completely satisfying episode. And that could have been accomplished by trimming extraneous information elsewhere to make more room for the one thing that makes or breaks good story-telling: characters you can care about.
But ultimately these are minor flaws: Mitchell is still someone we can at once fear and empathize with, and Kirk and Spock's just-starting friendship is a wonderful background tidbit. "Where No Man Has Gone Before" is a early gem of Star Trek.
Star Trek: The Galileo Seven (1967)
A good episode could have been a great one, with some rewrites.
A shuttle craft crew gets stranded on a hostile planet, and they must find a way to lift off again while dangerous creatures lay siege. Meanwhile, Kirk races desperately against the clock to find them before he is forced to abandon the search to pursue a priority mission.
On the plus side, "The Galileo Seven" is a superbly tense, suspenseful episode, including excellent character development of coolly logical, emotionally remote Mr. Spock. His conflict with his human shipmates is solid, thought-provoking drama. The secondary guest characters of Boma, Gaetano, and Farris all work very well: they are good examples of efficient characterization with little screen time. The creatures are genuinely menacing and scary, all the more so because the filmmakers wisely keep the viewer from seeing too much of them. And the death of Mr. Latimer is an excellent stakes-raising jolt.
On the downside, the exposition and denouement just stink. The exposition is plain awkward: there is a plague to go deal with on some planet but coincidentally they stop to send a shuttle craft to look at a space anomaly, and the shuttle crew just happens to include the doctor, engineer, and some expendable secondary characters? Too contrived. But the denouement is even worse: after a tension-filled, engrossing near-hour of drama, they wrap it up with a lame humor scene where the ship's captain publicly embarrasses the guy who just pulled his comrades through a horrible experience. A quiet, introspective scene where Spock acknowledges to his friends that command is harder than he thought would have been so much more satisfying. And why was there no wrap-up of the development of the interesting Boma character? So the episode was worthwhile and I liked it, but somebody should have spent more time polishing the script.
Star Trek: Charlie X (1966)
A very good, and surprisingly poignant, early Trek
In this episode the standard monster-of-the-week plot line is tweaked with pathos and a fascinating guest character. Charles Evans grew up without exposure to other humans, and so he has no social skills, a desperate need to be liked, a sincere desire to do good, and a growing frustration about not succeeding among his own kind. But he also has godlike abilities imparted on him by the benevolent aliens who raised him. When his frustrations and neurosis boil over, he acts out, using his powers to hurt, until finally he becomes a vicious tyrant because, in his eyes, everybody around him deserves it. The Enterprise crew has a problem for which the only real solution is the sad ending Charlie inevitably arrives at.
It's such a good episode because his character makes it work: he wants everything to work out well but he doesn't know how to do it. It's also good because it presents a realistic, sad resolution to the problem: Kirk and company want to help him, but like most of us they do not know the right way to address Charlie's problems. Nobody gets to be the hero and save the day: all anybody can do is helplessly watch as poor Charlie gets taken back by the aliens to the lonely, unhappy life he had before. Watch William Shatner carefully in the final moments of the episode: grieved for the kid he couldn't save. It's science fiction at it's most heart-tugging.
The episode has one pretty jarring drawback: the scene where Uhura sings to Spock is awkward and difficult to sit through without feeling embarrassed for Nichelle Nichols; it could have been played better.