Star Trek (TV Series) The Apple (1967) User Reviews

Paradise with Killer Plants and Exploding Rocks

[Bogmeister · 6/10 · 26 August 2006]

This reworking of the Adam & Eve/the Garden of Eden story on another planet, along with the theme of population control, ends up being representative of the many things the original Trek series is known for. It almost seems that the writer took many of those Trek-like elements we've become acquainted with throughout the first season and simply plugged them in here arbitrarily: the numerous red-shirts, the stagnant culture ruled by a machine ("Return of the Archons"), a steadily-worsening threat to our beloved Enterprise, a return-to-nature scenario and a convenient disregard for the Prime Directive. But, it's probably the issue of the doomed red-shirts which dominates - if one had to pick that one episode which illustrates the original Trek's approach in terminating the careers of Starfleet red-shirts - this is the ultimate episode in that regard. Check out that huge landing party in the beginning - nine personnel! It's so big, it takes two beam downs. Why is it so big? Because there are four - count 'em 4! - red-shirts in the party. Get ready for some heavy-duty whittling down of a landing party.

Yes, this is probably the episode from which sprang much of the legend, amusing as it is, about how you shouldn't wear a red shirt when beaming down with a landing party. And, I'll have to say, each one in this story meets a creatively different demise. Unfortunately, or amusingly (depending on your mood), this episode also began a trend of unintentionally amusing episodes - case in point, "Catspaw" coming up soon. Though the 2nd season contained more entertaining episodes, in quantity, than even the first, it also had more with those awkward weaknesses that leaned towards silliness, whether due to the writing, directing and/or acting. Shatner began to seriously overact around this time - he wasn't always hamming it up as many might misremember - he hardly ever did in the first season. So, while we felt for him every time a crewmember was killed in older episodes, here there's a tendency for viewers to want to chuckle (the first doomed red-shirt gets it via a plant; Shatner: "What'd somebody say?... That...Paradise!..must've looked like this?!"). Oh, that angst!

The other weakness here is a rather truncated feel to the writing - many questions remain unanswered by the end. Why would there be land mines as rocks, for example, scattered around an otherwise idyllic world? OK, our god-machine might have placed them there against, what, visitors from space (red-shirts from space)? And exactly who or what is this Vaal? How did it come to rule over these villagers? What do they feed it? It looked to me like they were carrying typical food down into the bowels of wherever Vaal resides. How would a machine gain sustenance from such food? It just seems that much of the plot points are arbitrary, like the threats - presented merely as a means to kill off red-shirts in various manners. This episode does contain one of my favorite melodramatic proclamations from Scotty: rather than just telling Kirk he can't beam the party back up, he stresses that not even a fly could be beamed up! That surely gets the point across!

The Cult of Gamma Trianguli VI...

[Xstal · 6/10 · 16 February 2022]

If you've been to Gamma Trianguli VI, there's just no way that you could have missed, the haircuts and tan, of both woman and man, though the snake with the fangs will play tricks.

A curious race of folk, under the control of an automated system masquerading as a divine authority make life difficult for the crew of the Enterprise as they try and release them from its thought control - familiar territory, even in this day and age.

What do you want, violins?

[snoozejonc · 6/10 · 17 August 2021]

Enterprise visits a planet where the inhabitants are strongly controlled by what appears to be a supreme being.

This is a reasonably good prime directive episode with plenty of decent character moments, but it feels quite unoriginal.

The plot has been done before in 'Return of the Archons' in a slightly different setting. However there are some good character moments that make up for that.

Kirk, Spock, Bones and Chekov have plenty of good moments and memorable lines, particularly Kirk and Spock. There is some good focus on Kirk's command responsibilities and decision making. His regret of rigidly following orders is addressed in a later situation quite well.

The prime directive is an important factor in the plot resolution and it is refreshing after watching a lot of 'The Next Generation' episodes to see Kirk's more cowboy attitude to interference.

The Redshirts have a tough time on the away mission and there is noticeably little more than lip service paid to their deaths.

Visually it's a very plastic and papier-mâché looking set with some quite odd looking alien costumes. Some of the props look fairly ropey too. As with most away missions in the original series all these aspects are part of the sixties charm.

Most performances are enjoyable, especially Leonard Nimoy and Walter Koenig.

A Weak and Silly Episode on "Gilligan's" Planet

[mike48128 · 6/10 · 7 September 2014]

The "red shirts" must die! So, the security guards die: by poisonous "Triffid" plants, lightning bolts, exploding balsa wood rocks and a "konk" on the head. A cute and adorable "yeoman" smooches with Checkov. The native people have orange skin and white hair; like tall Ommpa Loopas or large Troll Dolls.They live in bamboo huts stolen from the Gilligan's Island set. The computer's entrance looks like a paper-mache "dragons-head" parade float. Budget on this episode about $1.98. Typical studio orange-lit sky. Plot: an unseen computer has made willing slaves of a small group of village people who must feed it daily to perpetuate it. In turn, they live almost forever, in harmony, but create nothing, not even children. Special effects: "Zapping" lightning bolts and puffs of white smoke. Stock footage of menacing rain clouds with fake lightning bolts. Costumes: White swimsuits and "My Favorite Martian" antennas sticking out of a natives' head. Everyone wears a grey-platinum blonde wig. We never see what they feed "Vaal" the "evil" computer. Maybe this is the first wood-burning powered PC? Also, to save money, we never see the "guts" of "Vaal", the computer, either. Really "cheapo" and really bad.

Ever notice this?

[chrisf0047-52-773123 · 4 September 2017]

Anyone notice that in this particular episode where the guys are essentially running around bare-chested, that no one seems to have nipples? They have clearly been covered with makeup. And this is not the first time. In other episodes even Kirk has had that treatment. On the other side they definitely are not shy about the clothing that the women wear. Just an observation.

The Great God Vaal

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 2 November 2013]

Alien worlds under some kind of thought control process was a popular theme for Star Trek stories. In this episode the natives are happy in a paradise where all is provided for it, that is unless they do not feed the beast. It's power source is that of the simple Eloi type creatures who live on the planet and gather fuel for it. They call it Vaal.

It's a fearsome looking dragon like statue with a mouth and a roar and defensive capabilities that is keeping the Starship Enterprise at bay. Nevertheless William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and a few other beam down.

Inside this thing when it's at rest is just a very sophisticated computer left millions of years ago by alien creatures who wanted to keep this world a Garden Of Eden.

I'd say the prime directive was good and broken here, but all in a worthy cause.

Really people

[tonygraves-93025 · 7/10 · 17 October 2021]

This is the first series. Low low budget. But set the stage for true treks shows with real budgets to be what you judge this series to. Even actors thought it was not a series to count on but yet it opened our minds to space as the years prove my point. It's a cult classic that I was lucky enough to become a sifi man. Thanks Roddenberry for holding to your position for us that tagged along and still do.

Well, there goes paradise.

[thevacinstaller-03350 · 6/10 · 21 December 2022]

I guess you take what the episode what you will but for me it felt like a commentary on the stagnation brought about by strict adherence to religious Dogma. The culture on the planet are innocent/docile and despite a prolonged life they exist to serve the 'god' with no advancements or room for evolution apparent.

This episode suffers from poor pacing and a uninspired plot element of the enterprise being in peril. I can see why they added it ---- tension --- but it feels manufactured and certainly does not have me on the edge of my seat throughout.

This episode needed to spice it up a bit. Perhaps one of the inhabitants could have been a love interest for our cast of characters or even been developed to be sympathetic somehow so that I am invested in this culture breaking free of the iguana God chains that bind them.

I enjoyed watching Martha performing some starfleet judo and I enjoyed the meta message. Bit of a slog to watch all the way through.

Not A Classic, But This IS The Definitive Original Series Episode

[Dan1863Sickles · 8/10 · 3 October 2019]

This is not the greatest episode of Star Trek, but I like it because it really has most of the classic Star Trek themes and situations. There's a landing party that gets mixed up with natives, and to save his crew Kirk has to take drastic steps to alter the course of their civilization. There's a lot of romance in the air, (though interestingly, no romance for Kirk.) There's plenty of time for Spock and McCoy to debate concepts like free will, change, and material comfort versus freedom. And of course, several red-shirt crew members are killed along the way. There's a big fight and plenty of storms and lightning.

As other reviewers have pointed out, this episode deals in themes that are handled much better in later episodes like "A Private Little War" and "The Paradise Syndrome." But this one is still a lot of fun -- have to love the albino Polynesians learning how to smash melons, and the stunning blonde showing off her long legs in those devastating karate kicks!

The People of Vaal

[Rainey-Dawn · 7/10 · 8 January 2017]

Season 2, episode 5. The Enterprise happens upon the planet of Gamma Trianguli VI, which resembles what some would say is like the biblical garden of Eden. Spock, Kirk, McCoy and a small landing party beam down to meet the inhabitants and inspect the planet. They are followed by Akuta a man who is the eyes and ears of Vaal. The people of Vaal must keep Vaal fed and in return it is said that Vaal makes the fruit on the trees, the sun to shine and the rain to fall. Vaal also controls and rules over it's people not allowing love, touch or children. Vaal is also holding on to the Enterprise, draining all power sources and not allowing the landing party to beam back aboard the ship. The landing party must find a way to get back to the ship but in order to do that they must conquer Vaal and in doing so they free the people Vaal.

This episode is a biblical reference to the garden of Eden and the story of the apple.

Not a bad episode but I do have one question: how on earth did Spock break that rock without it exploding? When he threw the unwanted piece it hit the ground and exploded. Later on, one of the red shirts stepped on a rock and it exploded. I guess Spock really does have the Vulcan touch. lol.

7/10

Apart from David Soul, this episode is a HUGE disappointment

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 7 December 2006]

Apart from seeing a pre-Starsky and Hutch David Soul run around in rags and sporting Oompah-loompah orange paint on his body, there's not a lot to recommend this episode. Like the episode with Apollo and STAR TREK V, any episode where Kirk kills a god is bound to fail and so this one is doomed! Doomed by a silly plot and some really annoying orange aliens.

The landing party lands on a new planet and a bunch of "red shirts" out of the crew are killed by such fanciful things as killer shooting flowers and exploding rocks!!! They soon find that this totally dull but very hostile planet is peopled by some orange idiots who worship what looks like Godzilla's head in rock form (Vaal). For some odd reason, Vaal takes a great dislike to the humans and orders these dopey Ooompah-Loompah wannabes to kill them. But, their attempt is pretty lame and they are quickly overpowered (that is, after a red shirt is killed). In the end, it's either Kirk or Vaal! If you put your money on the Kirk-Meister, than you will no doubt be very happy about the conclusion.

If you haven't noticed my sarcastic tone, I am surprised. The bottom line is that this episode isn't all that well-written and the aliens living on this evil and dangerous paradise are pretty naive and annoying. Watch it if you are a fan, but if you aren't, then see some better episodes first. There just isn't a lot to recommend it--and it proves that even with an excellent TV series, sometimes you don't have a winner.

Paradise, with a twist.

[Hey_Sweden · 8/10 · 10 June 2023]

Various Enterprise crew beam down to the planet Gamma Trianguli VI to investigate the people & their culture. What they find are a lush environment full of vegetation, plants that shoot poison darts, exploding rocks, and a local populace that are meek and submissive, always obeying the word of some being named Vaal. And Vaal requires regular "feeding".... Meanwhile, the starship is in incredible trouble due to the power that Vaal is emitting.

There are numerous pleasures to be had watching this episode, scripted by Max Ehrlich ("Z. P. G.", "The Reincarnation of Peter Proud") and directed by prolific 'Star Trek' director Joseph Pevney. Part of the thrust of the story is that Kirk & company may have to actually *interfere* with the normal lives of these people, which is usually NOT something permitted by Starfleet. These people may not want for anything, but they don't *grow* or *progress* as a species. (Everybody seems to be the same indeterminate age, and none of them know what children are!). In the end, the story is equated with that of Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden, hence the title 'The Apple'.

It doesn't pay to be a red shirt in this episode, as they all get knocked off on a frequent basis. Adding to the humor is the fact that the people of Vaal laugh HARD when Spock states that he fails to see what is so amusing. Kirk gives Scotty a lot of grief as the beleaguered engineer is faced with all these technical issues facing the Enterprise. I can believe that he's doing his best, but to hear Kirk threaten to FIRE him was quite a hoot indeed. Spock takes a licking more than once and keeps on ticking.

The excellent guest stars include physical specimen Keith Andes ("Clash by Night"), the gorgeous Celeste Yarnall ("The Velvet Vampire") who is able to join in the ass-kicking during a requisite action scene, and a young David Soul (of "Magnum Force" and 'Starsky & Hutch' fame) as another of the locals. Most endearing is when Soul and Shari Nims ("Easy Come, Easy Go") mimic Chekov & Yeoman Landon in an act of affection, since that sort of thing is new to them.

The ending is absolutely hilarious, putting a fine capper on this overall engaging episode.

Eight out of 10.

A deadly paradise

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 24 June 2015]

When an away team beams down to the planet Gamma Trianguli VI they believe it to be close to paradise; the soil is fertile and the temperature is pleasant and uniform. It soon becomes clear that it is a dangerous paradise as a crewman is killed by darts fired from a poisonous plant. Soon more dangers emerge; rocks that explode like landmines and lightning that strikes with deadly accuracy. Their mission is to contact the natives and they do that when they catch one observing them. He is a strange individual with antennas behind his ears; he explains that these are because he is the 'eyes and ears of Vaal'. It turns out Vaal is a computer they treat like a god; it regulates the planet to such a degree that the natives don't appear to age or have any need to reproduce. The away team are initially welcomed but when Vaal judges them to be a danger he orders them killed! To make matters worse the Enterprise is caught by what appears to be a powerful tractor beam and if Scotty doesn't think of something it will burn up in the atmosphere.

From the very start we can guess this planet will be far from a paradise… as well as Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Chekov the away team includes no less than five red shirts; four blokes who are destined to die and an attractive blonde for Chekov to behave inappropriately with! As other reviewers have said the natives look disturbingly like tall Oompah-loompahs making it hard to take them seriously and we never actually see Vaal; both details that detract from the story. The conversation about how any natives who die in accidents would be replaced if they didn't breed was more cringe-worthy than amusing… but not as cringe-worthy as Chekov's behaviour with the blonde red shirt. On the plus side it was nice to see Kirk worrying about the possible consequence of his decision not to leave the planet after the first death and his threat to fire Scotty if he didn't save the ship was rather amusing. Overall a somewhat weaker than average episode saved by the unintentional laughs provided by all the dying red shirts!

Same show, different day

[mstomaso · 3/10 · 10 July 2007]

As much as I hate to rate an episode of TOS poorly, there is really very little to recommend The Apple. The plot is yet another version of Patterns of Force, Return of the Archons, Shore Leave. The chief conflict is between an Enterprise landing party and the local God, Vaal (a supercomputer which runs the planet on which the party has landed). Inexplicably, explosive rocks, targeted lightning, and killer plants also inhabit this planet. Of course, the humanoid population are a group of large young-looking, white haired, orange skinned, immortals who are literally and figuratively the children of Vaal.

Redshirts die in new and original ways. Scotty gets fired. And writer Max Ehrlich also provides some of the strangest and least appropriate attempts at humor TOS ever had. One thing that does come across well in the mediocre script is the desperation and indecision of the landing party. Unfortunately, at times, Kirk become uncharacteristically whiney.

Joe Pevney's direction for this episode is decidedly pedestrian. Surprising given Pevney's track record (director of the great Trouble with Tribbles, Devil in the Dark, Amok Time, Wolf in the Fold, etc), and the budgetary limits on the sets, props and effects are very apparent.

Avoid unless you are a fan.

Cave-lizards prefer blonds.

[fedor8 · 19 April 2008]

The episode starts off with a red-shirt getting killed, yet only minutes later Chekhov flirts with an Enterprise blonde. Clearly, Chekhov doesn't give a rat's a** about his fellow crewmen! Wonderful stuff...

Speaking of blonds, the Enterprise crew comes across a tribe of extraterrestrial, tanned Swedes. This tribe gives us unusual insight into why the birth-rate has been so low in Sweden: making kids is prohibited. However, there is an essential factor that separates the Scandinavian Swedes from these: the Space Swedes do not even have sex! As for why they're so tanned, I have no idea how a perpetually red sky affects the skin-tone, but even if it doesn't, one can always argue that the tribe goes inside the lizard cave for their daily dozes of tanning; I'm quite sure there is enough space there for a solarium.

If the lizard-cave, Val, is a machine and not a Kilmer then why does it require human food to be brought to it as energy? Should it require oil or something like that? It's also never explained how the machine got there in the first place. Hence there was no reason for Spock to even bring up the infamous Non-interference Directive; evidently someone had already tampered with the Swedes. This directive is the single-most broken rule in Starfleet, methinks.

Spock gives a cringe-worthy speech, filled with barely concealed bitterness, about mankind and their violence. Apart from this illogical attack of emotionalism from him, Spock also inexplicably quotes the Bible - Genesis, to be exact. He talks about the forbidden fruit and all that jazz. Surely Spock, an unemotional scientist, has to be an atheist and as such must realize that the Tree Of Knowledge story represents every religion's opposition to man's scientific and cultural progress.

But I'm ranting now. After all, this is only Star Trek.

TA is a typical ultra-cheesy ST episode, hence a very good one. People whine about Kirk's supposedly atypical behaviour, about the clichés (yet another God-like being that needs to be disposed of), etc, instead of focusing on the wonderful reddish look of the planet and the cheap sets. I've always preferred the interior, obviously fake sets as backdrops for the action, as opposed to on-location filming.

I Didn't See a Single Apple

[Samuel-Shovel · 6/10 · 16 May 2018]

In "The Apple", the Enterprise is asked to do further analysis on a strange, uncontacted planet. After beaming to the surface and finding an Eden-like garden, the crew quickly realizes that something is off. One crewman is killed by the spores of a plant, another is struck down by lightning, a third steps on an exploding rock. The people of the planet, known as Vaalians, live in peace and good health under their god Vaal, an ancient computer disguised as a statue of a dragon-like creature. The Vaalians sole purpose is to worship and feed Vaal. Meanwhile, Vaal has a tractor beam slowly pulling the Enterprise down to the surface, jeopardizing it and the crew. The landing party must figure out how to disable the machine to save the Enterprise and free the Vaalians.

This episode stuffs more Star Trek tropes into it than it can handle. There's a robotic overlord, red shirts are dropping left and right, the Enterprise is on the verge of destruction, it's all a bit much.

How many races can Kirk free from computer overlords in a 2 season span? The answer: a lot. This plot has reoccurred numerous times thus far and unfortunately, this episode isn't the best of the bunch.

"Would you mind being careful where you throw your rocks...?

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 18 November 2010]

Back in the day, the similarities between episodes wouldn't have been as apparent when you had a span of weeks or a season between them. But watching them in series order a day at a time, one becomes acutely aware that a number of themes were recycled with some regularity. 'The Apple' reminds me a lot of the first season's 'This Side of Paradise', where the resident population has become accustomed to having all their needs taken care of at the expense of individual and societal growth. The story is particularly lazy in using an exact same plot point from the earlier episode, that of the spore shooting flower, and at the same victim no less - Spock.

Given the setting, one can capably make the connection between the title and the Biblical tale of Adam and Eve, but if that was the intent, the story didn't do a very good job in explaining a lot of the plot flaws. No mention of the origin of Vaal, how the machine processes real food (a real head scratcher), and within the context of the Star Trek universe, how and why Captain Kirk sees fit to violate the Prime Directive. The one interesting tidbit I managed to pick out of the episode was Captain Kirk's comment to Spock that Starfleet Command considered their officers an investment. I actually stopped to think about that, since an Academy education would have to have been a sizable sum if an Ivy League school goes for upwards of forty grand a year today. You're talking a heck of a student loan program.

Dont listen to some comment

[nicofreezer · 8/10 · 23 May 2021]

This episode is a good as most of The episodes in Season 1 , so guys please just be fair.

" The apple" is a very Solid episode of star trek.

A sweet little story that we already have had in Season 1. Spock and Kirk together fighting to survive on this strange paradice. Also Scotty have to find a way to save the enterprise from crashing on the planet... Very Solid watch, 8/10 here (People Always review badly episodes from every Season except the first, its the same thing for every shows. Its like if they only like the element of surprisethen they just write Bad critics. Put this episode in season 1 and they would have give it a 7.5/10. But sorry guys its Season 2 now, and its still the same show, maybe you should go watch another first Season from an another show than change again, stpid reviews kills me. And for season 3 its even worst, a great episode will be a 7/10, just for the love of hating of a Legendary show like Star trek. )

Every negative Star Trek cliché is here

[mhubbard-54657 · 1/10 · 6 February 2017]

How many different 1960's science fiction tropes and clichés can you think of? Have no fear, all of them are here. This episode is a poorly done and obviously low budget rehash of several previous episodes. Only this time, it is impossible to suspend our credulity. The writing is horrendous. We have Kirk and Spock saying things they shouldn't be saying. Acting out of character. The silly spores are there again from a previous episode. There is a different vacuous female crew member with almost the same blonde "Yeoman Rand" hairdo. Mr Checkov with his wig imitating a "flash in the pan" rock star. The aliens with the ridiculous looking huts and the fake Coppertone tans. The computer that controls everything. No apparent thought or larger message here. Almost unbearable to watch. Did I mention I really hate this episode? It would be a shame if this were the first or only episode someone saw.

One of the BEST OG Trek

[robertdlar · 9/10 · 1 March 2024]

Why the Apple is one of the most imortant and Iconic Episodes. In my opinion this is one of the best well written episodes. It has everything that made TOS the best: Exploration, the discovery of a new world, new peoples, the very basis of what TREK is supposed to be about. It has a strong plot, that of surviving a planet bent on killing them. A moral story; what happens when we let machines run our lives, progress over stagnation, servatude vs freedom and love vs oppression. You have Kirk showing you how much he loves his crew and ship, how the burdon of command weights heavily upon his shoulder. How he needs both Spock and Bones for their contrasting views. It featured one of the best planetary sets that had to be built from scratch, some of the best costumes and make up seen. We establish the 'red shirt' curse by having all the security guards negated by Vaal. We get to see just how tough Spock is as he manages to shake of death TWICE! We get to to see a strong woman, Yeoman Landon, not only hold her own in a fight but manage to defeat two men with her martial arts training. We get one of the BEST lines form McCoy when he finds out the people of Vaal are forbidden from intimacy; "well so much for paradise" and in the end during the epiloge the whole scene were they liken Spock to the role of Satan from Genesis. For those who do not know, after "The Cage" pilot they wanted the Spock character removed because of his visual similarity to Satan. I absolutely love this episdoe.

Pretty weak

[intp · 3/10 · 1 August 2014]

After a fairly strong start for the second season ("Amok Time", "Who Mourns for Adonais", and "Mirror Mirror"), this clunker came along. Mostly a silly retread of previous story ideas.

Basically, the Enterprise crew are exploring a planet which seems idyllic, but turns out to have deadly plants and explosive rocks (for no good reason; why are there deadly dangers in paradise??), as well as a simple native race that worship a sophisticated machine they don't understand and deify as an entity called "Valla". Valla's story is never really explained; it inexplicably provides for the natives' needs while needing periodic 'feeding' for some strange reason. Valla basically serves as a plot device to temporarily disable the Enterprise and place the ship and crew in mortal danger (yet again). Valla's oddest shtick is its ability to control the weather and direct deadly lightning bolts at ground targets. Kirk's dilemma is to take out Valla and free both his ship and the natives from their seemingly benevolent dictator.

Not much different here than in "Return of the Archons", which had a very similar theme. Slightly better resolution than in that episode, though, where Kirk lamely used "superior human logic" to "trick" the machine into destroying itself. Here, the machine puts up a better fight but goes down to the Enterprise's focused attack.

Some mildly amusing silliness here about the natives' ignorance about physical love, inspired by Chekov's cute girlfriend, played by Celeste Yarnall.

This episode does have some minor significance, as I believe it is the first episode in which the Prime Directive is mentioned (though I think it's referred to as something like 'code of noninterference'), which I don't remember being mentioned in "Return of the Archons".

Well, I like this episode

[marcuscoltro · 8/10 · 18 January 2021]

And I can even imagine what would happen after a few years when the male inhabitants communicated with the Federation:

• Federation, can you please explain what a "headache" is on the women?

The one with the bad hairdos

[dharmacrown-83684 · 3/10 · 12 November 2021]

Poorly written episode. Felt very cheap and silly. Funny how all 'aliens' the crew encounter speak fluent English and have little makeup and in this episode's case a funny looking hairdo to distinguish them from humans.

A few red-shirts die...no one cares. The Alien leader is a snake head statue and Mr. Sulu and Lt. Uhora are missing in action for some reason. At least the last 2 min were funny to redeem this poor episode.

I Could Barely Stand to Look at These People

[Hitchcoc · 3/10 · 28 April 2014]

Talk about an exciting new idea. A local god who is actually a computer. A hostile planet which is filled with toxic substances and exploding rocks. People with orange skin and blonde hair with no will. A god who must be appeased. A group of the Enterprise's future leaders wiped out (the old red shirt thing). Nothing new. Noting advanced. Is there a writer in the house? Perhaps Chekhov is available. Not the little guy played by Walter Koenig; the great Russian playwright. Anyway, the actors walk through this one. There is romance and, of course, sort of a Blue Lagoon kind of on the job training. Steer clear of this episode. You know everything that will happen ten minutes into it.

Rotten.

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 4 June 2022]

The Apple is content to regurgitate several themes/ideas already seen in previous Star Trek episodes: a civilisation is controlled by an all-powerful machine; the crew of the Enterprise are threatened by poisonous vegetation; Kirk's star-ship is trapped in a decaying orbit and will burn up unless...something... is done about it; hell, there's even a sexy yeoman on hand, this time as the love interest for Chekov.

It all adds up to a not-too-thrilling, seen-it-all-before adventure that turns into a trite biblical parable at the end: Kirk and company have freed the inhabitants of Gamma Trainguli VI from a life of servitude, but in doing so have forced them out of paradise. Did they have the right to intervene in such a way?

There's some fun to be had from the deaths of several red shirts by deadly plant, lightning, exploding rocks and blunt force trauma (as if they ever stood a chance); also look out for a young David Soul learning about the birds and the bees by watching Chekov and Yeoman Martha Landon (Celeste Yarnall) canoodling. However, for the most part, The Apple is too familiar and predictable to make it a memorable episode.

3.5/10, rounded up to 4 for Yeoman Landon's impressive martial arts moves.