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? "  

TOS - Wink of an Eye

Wink of an Eye is an above-average TOS epsisode that benefits from a great guest star. Kathie Browne absolutely nails it, as the "villian" Deela. TOS often lives and dies by its guest stars. Second-rate Jeff Corey helped ruined Cloudminders for me. But here, Browne makes Wink of an Eye very enjoyable. She brings the right amount of intelligence, playfulness, beauty, and strength to the role.

As for the story, its tightly written, but a rehash of other SF stories and previous Star Trek episodes. It  moves at a fast pace. Like Specter of the Gun (also based on a Gene Coon story outline) it shows that a low budget "Bottle episode" can be entertaining if done correctly.

I'd put it in the top 30 episodes of TOS.

Best Quote:

Kirk: Mr. Spock. My compliments to your repair work and yourself.

Spock: Thank you, Captain. I found it an accelerating experience.

TOS - The Cloudminders

Plot: The Enterprise arrives at Ardana to obtain "Zenite", the only cure for a plague on another planet. However, the troglodyte miners and the elite rulers in the beautiful cloud city of "Stratos" are locked in conflict. Can Kirk find a way to get the rare mineral in time to save millions?

Pros: Beautiful actresses and set design, not a bottle episode, philosophical plot, some Spock flirting, Kirk behaves like Kirk
Cons: Obvious message, weak villain, bad fights, static first half.

Cloudminders while average in execution is a welcome change from most of season 3. Finally, we're given a "new civilization" with some good set design. And we're not looking for Spock's brain, but following Kirk as he attempts to obtain a needed rare mineral and navigate the conflict between the "have-not" minors in revolt, and the upper-class cloud dwellers.

And Kirk is Kirk 

He's focused on the mission - not some beautiful android. Also nice are the two beautiful actresses. One, in a pretty blue dress, plays Plasus' daughter, and has some nice flirty moments with Spock. The other, is the tough resistance leader, battling for justice.

Substandard Jeff Corey as the villainous Plasus.
Corey simply doesn't have enough Charisma for the part. This guy is the leader of Stratos? I don't think so.   Corey is more of a  supporting actor, and playing against Shatner exaggerates his limitations.  Plus, he's far too old to be fighting with Kirk.

The talky over-obvious first half
While its enjoyable to visit Stratos and learn about their society, the first-half is far too talky and static. We pick up the situation fairly quickly: 

(1) the planet divided into workers and cloud people;

(2) Parus is prejudiced against the troglodytes; and 

(3) the workers are oppressed. 

But after these points are made, the first-half just drones on, with a needless torture scene and Plasus- Kirk arguments. Its not until the 3rd act, when Kirk decides to beam down to Vanna's prison cell, so she can help procure the Zinone gas, that the story starts moving again.  Albeit in a predictable direction.

The bad fights
The Director does a poor job with the two extended fights The one between Corey-Kirk is unbelievable, since Corey is too old and small. The beginning fight is poorly choreographed. Why Spock doesn't use his nerve pinch, and can't beat a 120 lbs girl isn't made obvious. Both lack any sense of danger and go on far too long. 

Best Quote

Droxine : You only take a mate once every seven years?

Mr. Spock : The seven-year cycle is biologically inherent in all Vulcans. At that time, the mating drive outweighs all other motivations.

Droxine : And is there nothing that can disturb that cycle, Mr. Spock?

Mr. Spock : Extreme feminine beauty is always disturbing, Madam.

Plasus : Gentlemen, one of our planet's most incomparable works of art: my daughter Droxine. 

Captain Kirk.  And First Officer Spock.

Droxine : I have never before met a Vulcan, sir.

Mr. Spock : Nor I a work of art, Madam.

Summary:  An average episode let down by some bad casting of the villian, and weak direction.  A message episode that needed less repetition and more wit.  However, the actresses are lovely, we get off the Enterprise, encounter a new world,  and the story is logical and mildly interesting.   

TOS - Lights of Zetar

Plot: Scotty's romance with a new Star Trek officer is interrupted when aliens attempt to take over her body. 

Pros:  Guest star looks good in a short skirt.  Memory Alpha,  Conference to solve the problem
Cons: Bad romance, dull guest star,  Scotty plays the fool,  another bottle episode, plodding story

Quite rightly considered one of TOS' worst episode, there's really nothing terrible about LOZ, its not And the Children shall Lead,  it just covers familar ground and is very mediocre. Designed to appeal to a female audience, we get some standard 3rd Season tropes;

• A plot centered on a female guest-star (Mira)
• A romance (this time with Scotty)
• Aliens taking over a human body
• A bottle episode 

The script is pedistrian and the execution is poor.   Scotty is written as a love-sick mooncalf,  Gushing over Mira, and being overly-protective. Its hard to believe this version of Scotty has ever seen a woman before. Mira, meanwhile,  never even smiles at him. Her love for Scotty only appears at the end.  And the two actors (Doohan and Jan Shutan) have zero chemistry. Its a very odd romance.  

And while Shutan isn't bad in the role,  Mira - as written - isn't particularly likable or interesting.  She snarks at McCoy, and is often strong-headed and egotistical for no reason.  And that's a big problem, because there's nothing in the story  itself that's interesting.  Shatner, Bones, and Spock, help solve the problem and "cure" Mira, but she's really the center of the story.  A space battle with the alien lights, and a few dead people on Memory Alpha are thrown in, to gin up the action,  

Typical Bad Scotty Dialogue

SCOTT: You're the sanest, the smartest, the nicest woman that has ever come aboard this ship.
MIRA: Anything else?
SCOTT: Anything else, I'll keep to myself for the moment.

And:

KIRK: Get to Sickbay, Lieutenant. That's an order.
MIRA: Yes, sir.
SCOTT: Captain, would it be all right if I went along to Sickbay?
KIRK: No, Mister Scott. Stay at your post for the moment.
SCOTT: But Captain

Summary:  "The Lights of Zetar" is so bland and boring its hard to write about.  A talky, talk fest on the Enterprise, it plods along from A to B.  The aliens aren't particulary interesting either,  they just want to live.  Nor is the resolution exciting or belivable.  Given all that, the central character Mira, needed to be something special - and she's not.  Skippable.  

TOS - Mark of Gideon

One of the best things about Star Trek, The Original Series, is that while its sometimes silly, its rarely boring. Unfortunately, Mark of Gideon is an exception. For what seems like the whole episode, we alternate between two situations. First, Spock on the Enterprise Bridge talking to the Gideon leader and getting the run around. Second, Kirk, on a duplicate empty Enterprise, wandering around with a confused blond woman seeking answers. Eventually, Spock beams down and we learn Kirk's kidnapping was related to Gideon's overpopulation problem.

Its incredibly static and talky. There's almost no action. Neither guest star (Sharon Acker or David Hurst) is charsimatic, and we never feel Kirk is in danger. On the plus side, there's no sadism or annoying child actors. That's the best I can say about it.

Best Quote:  

SPOCK: Diplomats and bureaucrats may function differently, but they achieve exactly the same results.

Summary: A forgettable episode, its all talk, none of it interesting. Usually, I go into more detail, or review the reviewers, but this episode is so dull, its not worth the effort.  Basically, the Producers wanted to fill time, spend as little $$ as possible, and push their  politics. One of Star Trek's worst.

TOS - Plato's Stepchildren

Plato's Stepchildren is a perfect example of why TOS Season Three was so terrible. We start off with an interesting concept. A group of Space Aliens, after a brief sojourn in Ancient Greece, settle on a new Planet. After 2,000 years, the Enterprise comes calling and meets these ageless "Greeks" with vast mental powers.

Plenty of possibilities here. 

How do they handle being almost immortal and ageless? What have they done with their vast amounts of free time, meditation, and study? How has Greek philosophy formed their society?

But We get none of that.

These "Ancient Greeks" are just shallow, arrogant, self-entitled jerks. And there's nothing "Ancient Greek" about them, except their customs and dress. They just as easily could've been 18th Century aristocrats or Romans.

And the entire episode consists of these "Greeks"  trying to force McCoy to stay behind, by subjecting Spock and Kirk to sadistic humilation and torture. Almost 13.5 mnutes of it.  Here's the breakdown:

12:00 to 12:30 - Kirk is forced by Parmen to slap himself for 30 seconds.

19:45 to 25:15 - Kirk is forced to sing/dance, be a horse, and grovel.  Spock is forced to sing/laugh.

38:45 to 45:15 - Spock is forced to sing to, kiss, and threaten Nurse Chapel.  Kirk does the same to Uhura, except no singing.  

It should be noted that the last two scences are accompanied by McCoy shouting for Parmen to stop it, while we get close-ups of Alexander (looking pained/disgusted) and Philania (amused or excited).  

The Simple simon plot 

Act I - Hello there earthlings, please save our leader, he's ill. Have you met Alexander? He's small and pathetic. We like to bully him.
Act II - Please don't go Doctor McCoy - otherwise we'll have to Kill/torture your friends
Act III - Torture and Humiliation of Spock, Kirk
Act IV - Oh no! Now, you're more powerful than we are. Don't punish us, we'll be good. Adios Captain Kirk!

Now, is the episode boring? Nope. Torture and humiliation are never boring. But its very unpleasant. And when all is said and done, what is the point? Absolute power corrupts? Yeah OK, but we've had that moral/message about 10 times already.

The Annoying Alexander
I found Alexander very annoying this time round. His character is so pathetic, and the writers try to manipulate us into hating Parmen and his wife for bullying him. And cheer Alexander for being so cute a and lovable. Subtext? "Those upper-class Greeks may be beautiful and smart, but  they're really snooty swine,  The ugly little person, the outsider, the oppressed minority, is the only decent one in the bunch.  Its terrible, how they abuse him! 

Its such an old Trope. Remember the movie Spartacus? On one side, the nasty decadent Roman Aristos. On the other hand, the decent, full of life, salt-of-the-earth slaves. This is just another riff of that old tale.  

And again, what is the point? Why would they still be so nasty to him after 2,300 years? Why wouldn't any of that noble Greek philosophy and endless meditation have an effect? 

Typical Dialogue:

ALEXANDER: You think that's what I want? Become one of them? Become my own enemy? Just lie around like a big blob of nothing and have things done for me? I want to move around for myself. If I'm going to laugh or cry, I want do it for myself. You can keep your precious power. All I ask is one thing. If you do make it out of here, take me with you.

Other problems 

This is one of the lazier TOS scripts. Not only do we do "The Greeks" again (see Who Mourns for Adonis) but once again, we have a set of all powerful space aliens who have trapped our crew and need to be taught a lesson in humility.  We even get the patented Kirk "You've forgotten how to live" speech. The sets are cheap, and character development is minimal.  Alexander is the only character who shows any complexity. Parmen is an arrogant evil one-note johnny.  Philana is the same, only vain. Spock is given little to do. McCoy just protests he won't stay. Kirk is Kirk.  Memorable quotes are few. 

In addition to the 13.5 minutes of Torture porn,  we get 2 minutes of objects flying around when Parmen is delerious with fever, and another 1.5 minutes of Kirk/Parmen playing Ping-pong with a knife wielding Alexander.  Almost 17 minutes of  badly done "action". 

The Acting
Probably the best thing about the episode is the acting. Barbara Bobcock, Liam Sullivan, and Michael Dunning are very good in their roles. Too bad the story/script is so bad.

Reviewing the Reviews

Given how sensitive most Star Trek internet male reviewers are, I expected them to dislike the episode and be turned off by the sadism.  After all,  a few words of "Sexism" reduces them to tears, so all this unneccessary abuse of Kirk/Spock/Uhura/Chappell should really get them going.  Wrong!  Hey, they have no problem with it,. In fact, some of them seem to be into torture porn and only wanted Kirk to get some payback.  Otherwise, they go on and on about how great Alexander is, and hey, what about that 50 year old inter-racial kiss?

But   the  Fascinating star trek podcast has a wonderful take.   One of them likes the episode because he wants Shatner/Kirk "Taken down a peg".   And both wonder if the writer was expressing  his hatred of the two stars!

Summary:  This episode is the closest TOS ever came to trashy, sadistic sex porn. If you like seeing our heroes abused and humilated for 12 minutes or love little people, this episode is for you.  Myself, I consider it one of the worst. 

TOS - Is There no Truth in Beauty?

Plot: Dr. Miranda Jones boards the Enterprise with an alien ambassador so repulsive that the mere sight of him drives men insane.

Guest star: Diana Muldaur
Pros: Acting, Music, Direction, dialogue
Cons: weak 2nd act, lack of action.

Best Quote:
KIRK: Yes, I think most of us are attracted by beauty and repelled by ugliness. One of the last of our prejudices. At the risk of sounding prejudiced, gentlemen, here's to beauty. (they stand for the toast) To Miranda Jones, the loveliest human ever to grace a starship.
McCoy: [toasting] How can one so beautiful condemn herself to look upon ugliness the rest of her life? Will we allow it, gentlemen?
All: Certainly not.
Dr. Miranda Jones: [counter-toast] How can one so full of joy and the love of life as you, Doctor, condemn yourself to look upon disease and suffering for the rest of YOUR life? Can we allow THAT, gentlemen?

Originally, entitled "Miranda", the Star trek producers picked this script by an unknown female writer as their 5th aired episode. The Producers wanted to increase the female audience and this story fit the bill.

Its a well written, well acted, and well directed story that kept me interested. Leaving aside the absurd amount of respect that the Star Trek officers show Miranda Jones, its plot is logicial, and the dialogue is every good. Its main flaw lies in the lack of action and a weak 2nd half. There's too much focus on Miranda Jones and her feelings and not enough action, or focus on the Medusans.

The weak 2nd Act
As stated, the producers liked the script, but they needed more action. The solution was to make "Larry" attempt to assassinate Kollos, go mad, sent the Enterprise into another Galaxy and then die. The problem is we don't really care about Larry. Nor do we really care about his unrequited love for Miranda. Hey, we just met the dude. Had been played by George C. Scott, well, we might have cared, but the actor cast doesn't make much of an impression.

So, it all comes off as padding. Trying to stretch the story to meet the required run time. Too bad. Perhaps if more budget been available, an alien vessel could've attacked, or maybe Larry could've been made into a alien spy, trying to steal the Kollos for the Klingons. But as it is, we don't care about this pathetic incel with a crush on Miranda.

Diana Muldour
I can't praise Diana Muldour enough in this episode. Next to the musical score, she's the best thing in the episode. She plays her part perfectly, and has great chemistry with McCoy, Spock, and especially Shatner.

The Odd Ending
Sadly, the ending of this episode is almost ruined by some bad editing. The episode SHOULD have ended with Spock's line " Live long and prosper, Miranda." Instead, for no good reason, we cut to Kirk who absurdly says "Peace", and then we get a reaction shot of Kirk, without his visor. Good God, what was wrong with the editor/Producer ? Talk about a "tin ear". The Director felt the same, and never did another Star trek.

Reviewing the Reviews
I read and listened to many reviews of this episode on the internet, and I was shocked. You can take the stupidity of the "Elanne of Troyius" reviews and multiply by 20. Almost all the reviewers are male. You get the impression they don't really like a "chick episode" and cover for it by sreeching "sexism" at the top of their voices.

Or maybe I'm giving them too much credit. Maybe they're so stupid they think that men can't admire a woman's beauty without wanting to hop into bed with her. Or they're OUTRAGED that a man could compiment a coworker for her stunning good looks.

For example, The Dinner scene (that I've quoted) litteraly drives them mad. One would think they'd just saw Kollos without a visor. Anyway, the officers involved, escpecially McCoy behave in a Gallant fashion. And McCoy ooze ol' Southern gentelmenly charm. (note: I assume the respect shown for Dr. Jones, isn't just for beauty, but for her accomplishments as a pyschologist). Do these internet reviewers/podcasters pick up on that? Nope. To them McCoy and the others are just sexist pig-dogs who want to rape Dr. jones back in her quarters!  In other words. men can only do two things with women:

1) Treat them as "one of the guys" who fight, work, and think like men
2) "Chat them up" in order to have sex with them.

Otherwise, its SEXISM!