TOS - And the Children Shall Lead

Plot:  The USS Enterprise arrives at a Research Colony and finds all the adults dead, and the surviving children devoid of grief over their parents' deaths. Once onboard the  Enterprise, the children  - in service of an evil Alien Entity - induce hallucinations and mental distress in their victims. 

Typical Dull Dialogue: 

Evil Alien: The universe will be mine to command, yours to play in.

Dr, McCoy: As Medical Officer I must warn you that unless the normal grief is tapped and released from these children, you are treading dangerously.

Shatner: Neither good nor bad. Forgettable and standard. Once again, Kirk has to convince someone of the error of their ways. And succeeds. Of Course. Rating **1/2

Supporting Cast: Uhura and Sulu are given a chance to do some acting, showing their deep seated fears. The Child actors are simply awful.  Rating *

Spock and McCoy: Not given much to do, but they do it competently. McCoy constantly reminds Kirk to go easy on the Kids. In City on the Edge of Forever,  McCoy tells Joan Collins "I'm a surgeon, not a pychiatrist".  Here, he's a pyschatrist.   Rating **/12

Guest Star: Melvin Belii wins the "Glen Campbell worst performance by a non-actor" award. Maybe Belii was confused and thought he's was reciting an anti-trust trial transcript instead of doing Star Trek. Besides being fat and non-threatening, his line readings are lifeless - when they're not weird. The "stunt casting" occured because the Producer (not Gene Roddenberry) was a friend of Belii.  Rating Zero stars

Summary: Terrible acting, abysmal special effects, and a repetitive, rather unpleasant story. The kids pump their fists, our characters react.  Belii shows up every 10 minutes and tries to be evil. And what a lame villian.  Guess, I'll use six kids to take over the Universe!  One of Star Trek's worst episodes. Rating *

Rewatchability Rating:  Poor. Its like spoiled milk. It doesn't getter any better with more viewings.