TOS - That Which Survives

There's not much to say about "That which survives". Its a mildly entertaining, if forgettable, action-filled episode. Lee Meriweather is killing people, the Enterprise commanded by Spock is about to blow up, and Kirk, McCoy, and Sulu are trying to stay alive on a barren, uninhabitated planet.

Several points:

1) Spock really needs McCoy or Kirk to play off. Here, he just has Scotty, and in order to generate some interest Spock is super-sarcastic and logical. Its good as far as it goes, but there's not much tension. Spock figures out how to save the ship, and Scotty does it.

2) The planet scenes are too low-budget with too many fake rocks. This is one episode that should have been shot on location.  Roddenberry wondered why a wind machine wasn't used (as it was in Specter of the Gun) to make the planet more "alien".

3) It also needed much better direction. It seems that Director Wallerstein wasn't really that talented, but got selected because he always came under budget. Having the writer John Meridith Lucas as director might have improved things.

4) This has the worst supporting TOS cast, I've ever seen. Sulu and McCoy need to be replaced since they're trapped on the planet. And who do we get? Unattractive, charisma-free replacements. The new helmswoman is horsefaced and can't act. McCoy's replacement is no great shakes either. And yes, and its nice to have an increased minority presence, but going from just Uhura every week - to Uhura, a black doctor AND a black engineering assistant is jarring. We even get a "Dr. Sanchez"! 

Meanwhile D'mato, who beams down with Kirk, looks and sounds like a middle-aged NYC Deli worker. Why do we get this 50 y/o bald guy with a paunch, when everyone else on Star Trek is young and fit? He's not a good actor either.  Plenty of  good young Italian actors in 1969, why didn't they hire one?  Note: seems he was a friend of the producer. So he got the job!

5) Lee Meriweather does suprisingly well as the killer android. She's a killer with a heart of gold. She doesn't want to kill, but hey orders are orders.  The ending message was touching, and not in the original script.

6) Checkov given the week off.  And Bones might as well been. McCoy only has 41 lines and does nothing more than patch up Sulu, and ask Kirk "What do you think, Jim? "