WHAT THE ???

Episode Title:  The Alternative Factor

Air Date: 3/30/1967

Written by Don Ingalls

Directed by Gerd Oswald

Cast: William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk    Leonard Nimoy as Lieutenant Commander Spock             DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard H. McCoy AKA “Bones”              Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura          James Farley as Lieutenant Lang      Eddie Paskey as Lieutenant Leslie                 Janet MacLachlan as Lieutenant Charlene Masters              Bill Blackburn as Lieutenant Hadley        Frank Da Vinci as Crewman                      Arch Whiting as Assistant Engineer        Christian Patrick as Transporter Chief               Vince Calenti as Security Guard           Ron Veto as  Security Guard      Tom Lupo as Security Guard                  Richard Derr as Commodore Barstow              Robert Brown as Lazarus             Al Wyatt Sr. as Anti-Matter Lazarus Being #1            Bill Catching as Anti-Matter Lazarus Being #2

Ships: USS Enterprise NCC-1701, Lazarus's ship

Planets:  Unnamed maybe a Fake Earth

 My Spoiler filled summary and review: The episode begins with the USS Enterprise doing a routine survey on a newly discovered planet.  The planet is itself unremarkable then however everything shakes and everyone sees stars.  As far as they can tell, Mr. Spock explains, it seems reality itself ‘blinked out.’ Spock is at lost to explain how that is even possible.   Sensor readings now show a life form on the planet below.   Captain Kirk decides to go down to investigate.  He forms an away team consisting of himself, Spock, and number of redshirts then transports down to the planet where they find a type of space ship and a man screaming about stopping a murder before he then falls down unconscious.  When the man comes to he identifies himself as Lazarus, who comes off as a kind of wacky figure.  He claims he is fighting an evil force that is a destroyer of worlds.

Reality cutting out!

With Scotty apparently on vacation the engineering officer in charge, Lt. Masters, informs Kirk and Spock that the “blink” caused the dilithium crystals to be drained and they need to be recharged.  Despite Lazarus’s oddness given he showed up right as this happened.  They have to take him more seriously.   

Strange ship

 Starfleet issues a General Alert Code 1, which is an order for all ships to prepare for an invasion of the Federation.  The Enterprise receives a communication from Commodore Barstow, he and Kirk discuss worst-case scenarios.   The Commodore informs them that “the blink” they’ve been feeling has been felt all across the entire United Federation of Planets.   He also tells Kirk as the rest of the Starfleet prepares for whatever might be coming through the Enterprise will be facing the initial wave alone.  

Lt. Uhura receiving General Alert Code 1 

Kirk talks with Lazarus, who doesn’t seem any more rational that he was earlier, he continues to insist that he has an enemy who is responsible for all this.  He keeps referring to the monster as the destroyer of worlds.  Kirk decides that they should go to the plant to investigate his claims and beams down to the surface with Lazarus.  When they get to Lazarus's ship Spock informs him that there is no evidence that anyone else was here and he outright accuses Lazarus of lying to them.  Before they get into the consequences of Spock’s revelations reality blinks again. Lazarus is injured and they have to bring him back to the ship.

Finding Lazarus

McCoy treats Lazarus and reports to Captain Kirk that symptoms including an injury on his head simply disappeared.  When Kirk inspects this the injuries have reappeared making him think McCoy was laying a joke on him.   Which is an odd character moment for Kirk as McCoy doesn’t typically lie about such things.

Mr. Spock appears to have solved at least part of the question, he still does not know what is causing the reality “blinks,” but he does know where the cause is.   The ship’s sensors have discovered what Mr. Spock could only describe as a “rip in space”: a place with the normal laws of physics would not apply.  He is also discovered that dilithium crystals could be used to open or alter the “rip.” This is music to Lazarus’s ears and he wants the crystals right away.  Kirk refuses, of course we know from earlier episodes how important the crystals are as they power the Enterprise.  Lazarus responds by going to the engine room and stealing two of them.

 Kirk confronts Lazarus about the theft but he denies it.  Once again he brings up his rival as the one responsible for all this and is wacky as his story still is the two missing dilithium crystals are not on his person nor on his ship.  Kirk demands the truth from him and Lazarus tells a new origin story for himself.  He explains that he is a time traveler and the dead world that they are orbiting is his world, his “Earth.”  However he is from the past he traveled here to what was his time's distant future to stop the madman who is responsible for destroying his world. 

Kirk and Spock sit together alone and chat.  Between the two of them they figure out everything that is going on.  They reason that there is another antimatter universe and if the two universes would connect they would see a disruption similar to what they were now seeing.  They also realize the reason Lazarus’s injuries seem to come and go is that there are actually two of him.

Kirk and the good Lazarus

Lazarus starts a fire in the engine room and steals the remaining crystals and beams down to the surface.  Kirk follows him through the transporter.  He finds Lazarus in his ship.  As Kirk tries enter it he finds himself sent to the other universe.  In the other universe he meets with the other Lazarus.  The calmer nicer Lazarus explains that scientists on his world found a gateway to the matter universe.  In the gateway no harm is done to either universe, if you open the gateway however it can be like dropping a bomb.  When the Lazarus of our universe learned of his counterpart he went insane and had to destroy him.  It was he that led to the destruction of their worlds and if the doorway remains open it could lead to the destruction of both their universes.  If they could repair the nice Lazarus’s ship he could send Kirk back and Kirk could force his counterpart into the doorway with uniting the two and then by destroying the two ships it would close the doorway forever.  Nice Lazarus would destroy his ship and the Enterprise with its phasers could destroy the other.  This would have the effect of trapping the two men in there forever a sacrifice that nice Lazarus is willing to make for two universes.   

Kirk agrees to help the nice Lazarus.  When they finish repairs Kirk goes back to his universe where he tackles the evil counterpart with his amazing fighting skills unparalleled anywhere in this galaxy.  While Mr. Spock and other crewman are looking on Kirk throws the evil Lazarus into his ship sending him into the gateway.  They grab the remaining crystals go back to the Enterprise, put the crystals back, and destroy Lazarus’s ship.  Kirk is then left wondering about the fate of the good Lazarus.   

Locked together forever!

Additional thoughts: Okay what the Hell just happened?  I've watched this episode number of times over the years, I have just reviewed it, and for the life of me I still don’t understand it.  This episode seems to be one with a lot of potential but it just falls apart with its execution.  When the good Lazarus explains things it seems to make sense, but a good twist is one that surprises you the first time but when you re-watch should seem obvious and this twist never does.  Except for the end, I can never tell which Lazarus we are dealing with.  The injuries are not obvious, it seems sometimes his beard is a little thinner but I can’t make out for certain whether not the thin beard belongs to the good or the bad one, and there’s no reward at the end.

Little to no beard, good one or bad one?

What was Lazarus?  Either one. He described his planet as his “Earth” was he speaking metaphorically or literally?  Is this one those fake Earths like we saw in “Miri?”  According to Spock the sensor readings have him as human. How does he know how to work a Starfleet transporter?

Another narrative fail in this episode is the very minimum security assigned to Lazarus despite that he is a clear and obvious danger.  The one guard can’t keep up with him and Kirk let’s McCoy talk him into letting Lazarus go without the guard at all.  And the dilithium crystals are so easily stolen not once but twice.

Let's not put any security on this guy!

The Antimater universe so how does it work? Shouldn’t antimatter be destructive to any form of matter not just the matter of your doppelgänger?  I don’t see how the antimatter people could come into our universe and vice versa if contact should be so destructive.  Again this episode fails from start to finish.

On a lighter note Mr. Scott had chosen a great time to go on vacation.  With all this action in engineering is so strange not see him there.  Lt. Masters does fine, I suspect Mr. Scott must’ve stole her for Mr. Spock’s science division considering she’s wearing a blue uniform.  She is also referred to as being a lieutenant despite the fact she has no rank insignia on her uniform.  I think I can safely assume her transfer and promotion were recent hence why she hasn’t gotten the upgraded clothing materials yet.

I usually don’t vocalize why I give a certain final grade or not as think the review should just speak to it, however I feel I need to directly justify my decision here.  I’m giving it three but it is a low three if I did pluses and minuses I’d give it a three minus.  This was going to be a two but there were some great character moments between Kirk and Spock that it actually saved the episode for me but of the episodes reviewed so far this is clearly the weakest. 

FINAL GRADE 3 of 5