THE CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER FOR STAR TREK THE ANIMATED SERIES

 

Episode Title:  Yesteryear

Air Date: 9/15/1973

Written by Dorothy C. Fontana

Directed by Hal Sutherland

Cast: William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk    Leonard Nimoy as Commander Spock        DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard H. McCoy AKA “Bones”              James Doohan  as Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott AKA “Scotty”, The Guardian of Forever, Aleek-Om, Lieutenant Bates, Lieutenant Erikson, Commander Thelin, unnamed Vulcan Healer       George Takei  as Lieutenant  Hikaru Sulu              Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura          Majel Barrett as Amanda Grayson and Lieutenant Grey       Mark Lenard as         Ambassador Sarek                 Billy Simpson as Young Spock                Keith Sutherland as Young Sepek

Ships: USS Enterprise NCC-1701

Planets: Guardian’s unnamed homeworld, Vulcan

My Spoiler filled summary and review: The crew of the Enterprise has returned to the planet that hosts The Guardian of Forever.  When we last saw this famous time travel device, Kirk having been traumatized after saving the Federation from being wiped out of existence, wanted nothing to do with the Guardian and its journeys.  However, the Guardian seems to have gotten its wish and the artifact is now being used by the Federation as a source of research. 

The Guardian of Forever

This still seems like a pretty dangerous idea to me but Starfleet and the Federation strongly believe in going boldly, so long as you go carefully, with the whole time travel business.  Also, if The Guardian of Forever is going to become more user-friendly who wouldn’t want to take advantage of that?  Kirk, Spock, and Lt. Erikson emerge from the past having just witnessed the origins of the Orion Syndicate.  However as soon as they arrive something is wrong as McCoy doesn’t recognize Mr. Spock.  Kirk thinks McCoy is playing a joke on him, you would think he would know better, and orders the landing party to be beamed up.  When they materialize on the Enterprise none of the crew recognize Mr. Spock.   McCoy then introduces Kirk a Andorian named Commander Thelin, who McCoy explains has been his first officer for what is now the fifth year of their mission. 

Research

In the conference room the senior officers brainstorm about what happened, even Thelin is getting in on it despite the fact that if they restore things to the way they were he won’t be here anymore.  It turns out that Spock in the new time line died as a young child, his parents soon then divorced and Amanda was killed in a shuttle accident on her way back to Earth.  Ever since Sarek has been devoted to his work representing over seventeen Federation worlds at one time or another.

Spock's replacement

Given the age he was said to have died and the time period being investigated on Vulcan by the other researchers while Spock was with Kirk and Erickson in the past, Spock concludes that his death occurred during his kahs-wan maturity test.  In the original time line Spock was almost killed but a distant cousin of his, who had been recently visiting, saved his life.  The cousin, who was named Selek, was never seen by him again.  This prompts Kirk to ask if that “Selek” looked like him now.  With that Spock realizes what he must do: he must go back in time and be his own rescuer.  Kirk volunteers to go with him but Spock says he must do so alone.  With everyone’s support, even Thelin which is a surprise, Spock is given some supplies and change of clothes that prepare him as he heads back to the past through the Guardian.

"Selek" and Sarek

Spock returns a home and notes in his log that he forgot how beautiful Vulcan was.  There he is able to convince Sarek that he is a long-lost cousin.  It is rather interesting that Vulcan doesn’t have these records readily and electronically available to confirm this but Spock is protected by the power of plot.  Spock has discussions with both of his parents and watches his younger self fall victim to vicious bullies and be called an “Earther.” Young Spock is also embarrassed as he has yet to learn the Vulcan nerve pinch.

Later Sarek is talking with Young Spock about the kahs-wan, which involves desert survival.  He explains that it is not unusual for Vulcans to fail the first time and succeed at second or even third attempts.  However, since Spock is only half-Vulcan he must not fail for if he does others will say it was because of his weak human half.  Young Spock therefore decides that he must have some training and elects to try out the desert on his own. 

Spock being bullied

He packs and says good-bye to his pet sehlat, I-Chaya, and then heads out to the desert.  Unknown to Young Spock both I-Chaya and his future self are close behind.  Young Spock notices I-Chaya and tells him to stay behind as he is too old and too fat to be of any use.  However, I-Chaya still follows and when Young Spock is attacked by a le-matya, it is the loyal pet who saves him battling the beast.  Spock shows up and nerve pinches the le-matya to end the fight but the damage has been done. I-Chaya is dying of poisoning from the le-matya.  

shelat vs le-matya

They need a veterinarian, so Young Spock decides to take it upon himself to run and get one.  Young Spock returns with help but it is too late, Young Spock has to make a decision does he prolong I-Chaya’s life and also prolong the suffering or does he give him a more peaceful death.  Young Spock decides on the later.

I-Chaya lay dying

Young Spock reconciles with his parents and they are both proud of him.  Spock, as Selek, tells Sarek to do right by his son, which is all he can say without endangering the time line further as we know Sarek won't.  Spock returns home and all has been returned to normal. However, he is disappointed that he lost a pet that he didn’t lose at that point in the pre-tampered timeline.

Additional thoughts: Absolutely amazing episode but that is what you can always expect from DC Fontana. This episode also has a very important message for young children who have a pet.  You are most likely going to outlive your pet. One of the saddest episodes of my life is when my father and I had to put my boyhood dog Rex down when I was in early college.  It is an odd memory because even though it is sad, I am content with it.  I am glad I was there to hold him in his last moments.

My boyhood dog, Rex!

It seems Kirk has gotten over his anger at The Guardian of Forever.  When he last left, he wanted nothing to do with it.  Time heals all wounds, even the loss of Edith Keeler?  Or maybe it is just Kirk being the ultimate professional that he realizes some of his missions are going to be painful.  Speaking of the Guardian, did anyone else notice how user friendly it is now?  They can just tell the Guardian the time and it sends them right there. Before they had to scan with a tricorder and patiently wait for the right moment during the time run through to jump.  It is much better this way.  Maybe the Guardian realized more people would pay attention to it if it had a more useful interface.

I did notice a minor plot hole. It was established in the “The City on the Edge of Forever” that those in the immediate vicinity of the Guardian are immune from the time change.  Remember the entire landing party was still fine after McCoy went through the Guardian.  So, when Spock returned the first time everyone with the landing party should have still known him.  It is not until they got back to the ship that people should have started to notice who this strange Vulcan was.  Also Thelin sees Spock into the Guardian, so he should remain unaltered by the correction. 

This episode continues the tradition of rather bizarre log entries.  Why Spock is stopping to make these log entries?  His existence has been wiped out of history and he is going back in time to make sure he doesn’t die as child and he is doing log entries. Who is going to read these if he fails?  He isn’t in Starfleet anymore.

So, let’s talk about the Commander Thelin.  Where is he in the regular time line?  His existence wasn’t on the line just his job.  So, I imagine he is still in Starfleet but where is he?  First officer of the USS Lexington, perhaps?  I think he is doing well, the only one who suffered with Spock being re-added to the timeline is the last person to get accepted the Academy the year Spock was supposed to join.  That person had to find a new career.

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that Mr. Spock was so replaceable?  Shouldn’t there be more butterflies from Spock dying as a kid?  The only three we had was Amanda dying, Serek being over worked, and Thelin getting Spock’s job.  Spock saved Kirk’s career in “Court Martial.”  He saved whole ship multiple times a good example is “The Immunity Syndrome.” How did these adventures go down without Spock there?  Thelin stepped in every time?  I think it might have been better if nobody notice change on the surface, and when they beamed up not only did everyone not know who Spock was, but they were shocked to see McCoy.  As McCoy had died chasing the giant one-celled organism in a shuttle.    Maybe Thelin saved Kirk from Finney but Captain Pike is probably having a miserable time in physical therapy. 

Jimmy Doohan was a great voice actor and he pulls a lot of weight on his show filling in for many characters and aliens not just Scotty.  However, his Guardian of Forever is not his best work.  It sounds weak, off, and nothing like the Guardian from “The City on the Edge of Forever.”

Spock comforts his dying pet!

Speaking of the Guardian’s original appearance, in that episode a homeless man accidently vaporized himself with a phaser.  In this episode Spock’s boyhood pet died before he had in the timeline Spock remembered.  Now talked about my boyhood dog Rex dying when I was in college, how would my life have altered if I had lost my dog in high school?  I don’t know but I think it would.  This is how I often explain continuity errors.

FINAL GRADE 5 of 5

THE MOST INSANE TIME TRAVEL PREMISE EVER

 

Episode Title:  All Our Yesterdays

Air Date: 3/14/1969

Written by Jean Lisette Aroeste

Directed by Marvin J. Chomsky

Cast: William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk    Leonard Nimoy as Commander Spock             DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard H. McCoy AKA “Bones”              James Doohan  as Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott AKA “Scotty”        Mariette Hartley as Zarabeth          Ian Wolfe as Mr. Atoz               Kermit Murdock as The Prosecutor        Ed Bakey as The First Fop              Albert Cavens as Second Fop                  Anna Karen as unnamed Woman   Stan Barrett as The Jailor       Johnny Haymer as The Constable

Ships: USS Enterprise NCC-1701

Planets: Sarpeidon

My Spoiler filled summary and review: The Enterprise arrives at the planet Sarpeidon, whose sun is about to go nova in three hours.  To their surprise the entire planet’s population seems to have disappeared.  Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam down to investigate and arrive in some type of record storage facility.  There the three men run into the librarian; an older gentleman named Mr. Atoz who seems surprised to see them.  He insists they don’t have much time but is very glad that they are here.  They can look at the tapes and choose a time period, he says, but when Kirk points out that he wants to know what happened recently, Mr. Atoz is a little slow to respond saying there was not much demand.

Meeting Mr. Atoz

  

The three begin to explore this library and quickly run into Mr. Atoz again.  After having a similar conversation with him they turn away only to have that 180 degree turn result in a third encounter with the same man.  The third encounter seems to have turned Mr. Atoz into a grouch.  We do learn from this Mr. Atoz that the nicer two are duplicates who are there to assist him with his task.  He appears to have had something to do with the disappearance of population and he keeps pointing the three in directions of the disks.  For the moment they choose to amuse him glancing at some of the disks.  McCoy looks at one with images from an artic region while the Captain begins to look at one from a pre-industrial period.

Spock and McCoy going through the portal

Kirk suddenly hears a woman scream.  He runs through a door, ignoring the panic screaming of Atoz’s saying he is not ready, vanishing into thin air.  To Mr. Atoz’s horror, Spock and McCoy run after him and vanish as well.  Kirk ends up in a pre-industrial setting while Spock and McCoy find themselves stuck in some sort of ice age.  The equipment and weapons are inoperable. For a brief moment they can hear each other’s voices but Kirk gets distracted by the screaming woman.

The greatest fighter in the galaxy vs. a caviler dandy!

The woman is being attacked by a couple of cavalier-looking men.  Kirk rushes to her defense, and as the greatest fighter in the known universe, Kirk makes quick work of them.  Kirk, after he is sure the woman is okay, walks back to find the entrance to the library.  He talks Spock and McCoy some more and this makes the woman believe that he is some sort of witch.  The fact that he saved her life doesn’t enter into her decision at all.  The cavalier-looking men return with more of their number.  They too hear the voices and come to the same conclusion.  Kirk is arrested and charged with witchcraft.

Spock and McCoy desperately seek shelter.  They are not having any luck finding it.  McCoy is about to be finished when they are found by woman who takes them to her shelter.  And what a shelter it is complete with heat from natural hot springs to keep them nice and toasty!  This allows the woman, who we learn is Zarabeth, to walk around in a sexy outfit.  Zarabeth tells Spock she was marooned in this time period by Zor Kahn, a tyrannical ruler of her planet as punishment when members of her family failed to assassinate him.  As Spock nurses McCoy to health, he finds himself strangely drawn to their rescuer and is starting to have other strange thoughts pop up in his mind.

In prison Kirk denies he is a witch but he quickly figures something out about his jailer.  Like him he is from the future, Kirk calls him out on it and the man tries to play stupid.  However, they quickly begin talking about time travel.  Kirk expresses his desire to get back to his own time.  His jailer explains that he can’t go back as once you are prepared your molecules must live in the time you are sent.  Kirk explains that he wasn’t prepared.  To which the man explains that not only can he leave but he must.

For Kirk no good dead goes unpunished!

Back in the ice age, Spock is going through some changes.  Zarabeth has prepared some cooked meat for them but Spock is a vegetarian.  Now there is a survival factor here that does make some sense but it goes beyond that.  Spock likes eating the meat and he also seems to enjoy getting nice and close to Zarabeth.  He starts to lose all sense of where he is when he tells Zarabeth the Vulcan is a planet millions of light-years from Sarpeidon.  Which if true would put Vulcan several galaxies away from its actual location.  This is probably the biggest confirmation that Spock is losing it.   When McCoy points this out to Mr. Spock, Spock almost attacks him.  McCoy can still appeal to his reason.  He reminds Spock what Vulcan was going through in this time period.  Spock realizes that he is reverting to the ways of his ancestors as a consequence of returning to the past.  However, when talking to Zarabeth she informs him that they can’t go back to the present because of the process unaware that McCoy and Spock did not complete it.

Spock and McCoy before Zarabeth rescue!

Not trusting the judge from the future to be honest and fair, Kirk arranges his own escape. He forces his adversary to bring him to the library door so he can return to the present. When he returns to the library Kirk confronts Atoz but the time librarian is determined to prepare Kirk and send him back.  Kirk is having the hardest time convincing the old man that he is not even from this planet.  At one point Atoz knocks Kirk out and tries to push him back in a cart before Kirk wakes up.  This scene is kind of funny.  

I was amused!

McCoy calls Zarabeth out for wanting to keep them here.  She confesses that there might be away and takes them there out of guilt.  When they arrive Kirk and Atoz have located the correct disc and Kirk can communicate with them.  They can only return if both do so at the same time.  This means that in order to ensure that McCoy survives Spock can’t choose to stay with Zarabeth.  They say their goodbyes and the two Starfleet officers return to the present.  Atoz flees to the past and the landing party beams back to the Enterprise.  McCoy tires to comfort Spock but Spock doesn’t want to hear it.  Zarabeth he points out has now been dead and buried for thousands of years.  If he wanted to be even more depressing about it, he could point out that the ground she is buried in is about to be destroyed in a fiery supernova.  The Enterprise warps out as Sarpeidon is destroyed.   

Additional thoughts: Not counting that quick trip in “The Naked Time,” the first-time travel episode was “Tomorrow is Yesterday.”  In it the Enterprise accidently picks up Captain Christopher of the U.S. Air Force, at the time it is believed they may have to take him with them to prevent any disruption to the time line.  However, Spock later figures out that the Captain’s descendent Col. Christopher will lead the first trip to Saturn, mandating Captain Christopher’s immediate return.  In “The City on the Edge of Forever” a drugged Dr. McCoy gets trapped in the past.  When he recovers, he saves a random woman, Edith Keeler, from a car accident.  This helpful act caused the Nazis to win World War II and wipes the Federation straight out of existence.  Kirk and Spock were able to fix everything because they had been standing so close to the Guardian of Forever the moment McCoy went in.

Spock about to meet his own "Edith Keeler"

Yet in this episode we encounter Mr. Atoz who has sent his entire planet’s population back to the past.  Your mind will quickly go numb at all the possible butterfly effects flying around.  How the Atavachron time travel device survives all these time alterations I have no clue.  It was amazing not to mention lucky for them to dodge all these potential temporal paradoxes to continue to sending their massive population to the past.  Now the Atavachron did require its subjects to go through a preparation where their cells and brainwaves were to match their intended time period.   This is interesting because we have seen our characters go back in time and have never required such a thing.  It could be that this method is what is used to ensure that the participants conform to their time period and prevents them from interfering with historic events.  The prosecutor that Kirk encounters seems quite scared to talk about his time in the future.  There aren’t listening devices time period so who is yelling to that he believes in witches?  Perhaps if he doesn’t adapt fully, he might drop down dead?  It’s worth thinking about.

Falling in love

So, we have a star about to go nova and a fully populated and developed planet in orbit about to be destroyed.  Starfleet is monitoring this and notices that the planet’s population has seemingly disappeared so they send the Enterprise to investigate.   So, what would have happened if Kirk had found them all hiding in underground structures praying to whatever deity they believed in to come save them?  Would Kirk have been like “Oh, Okay we just wanted to know where you were.  Good-bye enjoy the last three hours of your life.” The Enterprise doesn’t have the resources to evacuate an entire planet.  Maybe Starfleet has a fleet waiting for the Enterprise to report?  But they are cutting it a little close, aren’t they?  There is only three hours here how are we going to evacuate an entire planet. Starfleet shown to either immoral or just stupid.

Kirk and his jailer from the present!

Golly doesn’t Sarpeidon looks just like Earth?  Their people are indistinguishable from humans, and their 17th century England are filled with knights and accused ‘witches!’ If this were an earlier season of Star Trek, they might have called it another Earth instead of giving an actual name.  It is almost they wrote the episode based on what they could find in the prop and costume departments at the studio. 

Spock and Zarabeth looking at their third wheel!

There is so much potential for unseen stories from this planet.  From the tyrant Zor Kahn, who was so evil that even Mr. Spock, who was not from this planet has heard of him; to all modern inhabitants living in their past. 

Going home without her!

The worst part of the episode for myself is the fate of poor Zarabeth.  It bothers me even more than the deaths of Edith Keeler and Miramanee.  Mainly because their deaths were sudden where Zarabeth was condemned to a life of loneliness.  However, an even bigger reason I am so bothered is they don’t attempt to fight for her.  You can say there was no time but there is plenty of time in time travel.   Even if they cannot bring her through the Atavachron they can still try to save her.  McCoy could have taken a sample of her hair and Spock could have grabbed the time disc in the library right before they beamed up.  McCoy could devise a way to undo to her cells what the Atavachron’s process did to them.  Spock can use the disk to locate the exact time period she is in.  They can then use the Enterprise to warp around a star in a nearby system and get to her time period.  (Don’t tell me that is too dangerous they did it “Assignment: Earth” just to answer some local historians’ questions about the late 1960s.) Once there they can fly back to Sarpeidon pick up Zarabeth and McCoy can treat her.  With that done they warp back to and around the nearby star returning to present time.  Since there is only one episode left, we don’t have to worry about how this new addition will impact the series. 

FINAL GRADE 4 of 5

THE WORST LIGHT SHOW EVER!

 

Episode Title:  The Lights of Zetar

Air Date: 1/31/1969

Written by Jeremy Tarcher and Shari Lewis

Directed by Herb Kenwith

Cast: William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk    Leonard Nimoy as Commander Spock             DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard H. McCoy AKA “Bones”              James Doohan  as Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott AKA “Scotty”        George Takei  as Lieutenant  Hikaru Sulu              Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura          John Winston as  Lieutenant Kyle            Bill Blackburn as Lieutenant Hadley        Jan Shutan as Lieutenant Mira Romaine         Roger Holloway as Lt. Lemli                        Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel          Walter Koenig as Ensign Pavel Chekov      Frank Da Vinci as unnamed Crewman                Jeannie Malone as unnamed Yeoman       Libby Erwin as unnamed Crewman      Barbara Babcock as voice of Zetar              

Ships: USS Enterprise NCC-1701

Planets:  Memory Alpha

My Spoiler filled summary and review: The episode opens with Kirk being very concerned about his Chief Engineer.  Mr. Scott is in love with the new officer Lt. Mira Romaine.  Considering that last time Mr. Scott fell in love it brought the wrath of a god upon them, Kirk has his reasons to be concerned.

Scotty's love life rarely leads to good things

They are bringing Lt. Romaine to Memory Alpha to do some work there.  Memory Alpha is the center for all the cataloged knowledge of the entire United Federation of Planets.  Then something strange happens.  This bizarre entity in space that emits random colors shows up and seemly attacks the Enterprise.  The ship’s shields protect them from the main part of the blast but bright rainbow lights flutter the ship like a strobe light.  Kirk finds himself unable to speak.  It is later discovered that each member of the crew lost some function, but not all the same indicting an attack on different areas of the brain.  Romaine gets hit the hardest and when they go to help her, she starts speaking with an odd voice.  It's total nonsense and she seems like a person possessed.  She recovers and is sent to sick bay for observation.

Sulu discovers that the entity that they encountered is now heading directly toward Memory Alpha.  The facility on that planetoid does not have shields because it was determined that its scientific and peaceful mission would be open to all so defensive measures wouldn’t be necessary.  (I have some ideas about that in my “additional thoughts” section.)  While hanging out with Scotty, Lt. Romaine has a vision that the Chief Engineer explains away as common space sickness.  In the vison she sees people dying.

"I think I am alright not quite sure."

When the Enterprise gets to Memory Alpha, the landing party discovers that nearly all the occupants are dead, the memory banks had been damaged, and the one survivor was talking in a way similar to Lt. Romaine.  They bring Romaine down to the station and she freaks out when she sees the bodies are all positioned just like in her vison.  

A bad day for the cause of science

The energy light show returns and chases the Enterprise around the system.  Kirk attempts to communicate with it but has no luck.  The thing leaves the Captain no choice to but to defend the ship so he has Mr. Sulu fire phasers.  This works at getting the entity to back off but at the same time Lt. Romaine screams in pain.  Scotty calls the bridge to inform them of the situation.

She doesn't survive

    

They have a meeting to figure out what to do about the situation.  McCoy has discovered the Romaine’s brainwave pattern has been altered to match the entity outside. It appears to be trying to make a new home out of the Lieutenant.  Romaine is also concerned that she has seen images of Mr. Scott dying.  They brainstorm that the entity is so use to be non-corporal that if it enters her body, they may be able to force it out with a compression chamber.

Coming for Romaine

The entity is able to get through and enters the body of the Lieutenant.  Speaking with an augmented voice the possessed Romaine explains that the light entity is actually a collective.  They are from the planet Zetar, a world that had died.  The last hundred survivors were able to transform their consciousnesses into a disembodied form.  They have been searching the universe for a host that can receive their consciousnesses so they can live out their lives.  Kirk insists that Romaine’s life is her own and when they don’t release her the four men stick in the compression chamber.  This works the Zetars can’t take it and they flea the body and the Enterprise.  In the end Lt. Romaine is judged healthy enough to begin the repairs at Memory Alpha.  

Additional thoughts: Poor Scotty every time he falls in love some great power in the universe tries to show up and take her away.  First it was Apollo the God of the Sun, and now it is a great job on Memory Alpha.  Also, the annoying Zetars.  In the end the day Scotty’s on true love is the Enterprise and no woman will change that. 

When Romaine first got zapped it made me wonder what would happen if they had brought her to the edge of the galaxy.  However, the episode does make it clear that she had no prior ESP ability. I wonder if that would change now?

The Zetars are not the first disembodied-aliens-looking-for-some-bodies that the Enterprise has encountered. It is however the first time they decided not to even attempt to help them. When talking to them through Romaine you think Kirk would at least suggest that they could work together to find some solution.  Heck maybe the androids on planet Mudd might be willing to help. But no, its “that is her body you get out of it. You had your time but dead aliens need to stay dead.”  To be fair when they did lend their own bodies out to disembodied aliens in the past it didn’t go well.  So maybe Captain Kirk is just operating on his own experience.

I don’t know how I feel about the ending.  On one hand its to simple for me.  They have a quick meeting, discuss what they are going to do, and then do it.  No problems, no set backs and no drama.  However, since it is an ongoing series where we see greater struggles in other episodes, it is nice to show how capable the crew is with a quick brainstorm and an easy win.   

Just lie down and let the machine do the work!

Now to Memory Alpha. Okay for a place that is supposed to house all the knowledge of all worlds of the Federation, who hired some turd-brain to design its defenses.  Despite it the facility’s having no military objective or use there are still all kinds of natural disasters where shields are very useful.  I mean in a universe where doomsday machines drop by, nomads go loose on multiple planetary systems, giant cells dropping down from heavy galaxies, cloud vampires move from planet to planet, or a random asteroid knocked off course by a passing starship.  There are many nonaggressive reasons to get yourselves some shields.  Hopefully the new staff at Memory Alpha will figure that out.

FINAL GRADE 3 of 5

THE BEST EPISODE TITLE EVER

 

Episode Title:  For The World is Hollow and I Have Touched The Sky

Air Date: 11/8/1968

Written by Rik Vollaerts

Directed by Tony Leader

Cast: William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk    Leonard Nimoy as Commander Spock             DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard H. McCoy AKA “Bones”              James Doohan  as Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott AKA “Scotty”        George Takei  as Lieutenant  Hikaru Sulu              Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura          Frank da Vinci as Lieutenant Brent     Walter Koenig as Ensign Pavel Chekov                 Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel      Jeannie Malone as Fabrini Servant         Byron Morrow as Admiral Westervliet         Katherine Woodville as Natira     Jon Lormer as Old Man        

Ships: USS Enterprise NCC-1701, Yonada

Planets:  none

My Spoiler filled summary and review: The episode starts right out running when the Enterprise is attacked by some atomic space missiles.  It is not much of crisis as the ship’s phasers take care of it quite nicely.  Kirk orders Chekov to tract where those warheads came from when he is called down to sickbay.  McCoy then gives Kirk the bad news that that upon examining himself he discovered he has xenopolycythenia and the condition is terminal.  Dr. McCoy only has a few months to live.

The Enterprise meets Yonada

They trace the source of the attack to an asteroid however after some observation with the ship’s sensors they discover that what they are seeing isn’t an asteroid but a spaceship that seems to be abandoned.  The real bad news is given its present course it is going to crash into the Federation colony Daran V.  They would rather not destroy it so Kirk decides to beam over with Mr. Spock and, after a request, Dr. McCoy to see if they can stop it. 

Both a bad fighter and a bad dresser!

Well, it turns out the place isn’t abandoned after all the people were just hiding underground.  Also, what is strange is this ship’s insides are made to appear as if they were on a planet.  The away team is able to fight off their attackers, Captain Kirk is one of the greatest fighters in the galaxy and the three do well, but fight ends as Natira calls it off.  Natira explains that she is the high priestess of her world which is named Yonada.  She invites her new guests down to meet the Oracle, which is their leader.  The Oracle is an AI who doesn’t realize how much of a threat it is in if it wishes to go against Captain Kirk.  In order to show their new guests what would happen if they took up against Yonada it zaps them unconscious. 

Kirk and Spock wake up first.  Spock wonders what is taking the good Doctor so long to awaken.  Kirk then confides in Spock about McCoy’s condition.  McCoy wakes up but before they can have any serious discussion a familiar looking old man walks in the room.  He gives the guests some herbs.  At which point Kirk starts to ask the man about the nature of their planet.  The man confesses that he has at times been curious about it.  Once in his youth, he climbed the tallest hill in Yonada an action that is forbidden by the Oracle.  The man started to feel pain then returned to his story.  He tells them that he discovered “the world is hollow and I have touched sky!” With that he drops down dead.  It turns out that those in Yonada have an implant that ensures obedience and if they ignore their warning signs it kills them. 

Natira appears after the death of the old man and explains things to them.  She takes a strong liking to Dr. McCoy and he to her.  Here Captain Kirk sees an opportunity.  He doesn’t know why Natira doesn’t have the hots for himself, as the women on this show naturally do, and instead has them for McCoy, as women on this show normally don’t.   However, Kirk sees the opportunity of a distraction, while McCoy is being entertained by Narita, he and Spock plan to get into the Oracle room and see what they can find. 

Yonadians being more friendly

McCoy and Natira are hitting it off extremely well and McCoy even tells her of his condition to which she responds with her intention love him as long as they have together.  She is so excited that she goes to the Oracle to ask for permission to marry him.  The Oracle says so long as McCoy agrees to all their rules and gets the implant, he is good.  However, by turning on the Oracle it senses the intruders and beings to blast them.  McCoy realizing that his friends are about to be put to death he tells Natira that he wants to stay but the only way he can do that is if he knows his friends are alright.  She agrees and will send them back.  McCoy tells the Captain he is staying.  With McCoy certainly only with months left and the people of Yonada maybe with only months left, Kirk agrees to let him stay as he and Spock return to the ship.

The Oracle!

Kirk receives orders from Admiral Westervliet that the Enterprise is being reassigned and that another Starfleet starship will take over.  On Yonada, McCoy learns of a book that contains all of the society’s secrets.  Realizing there is now a way to save his new world, as soon as his new wife leaves him alone, he contacts the ship.  Kirk and Spock quickly return but McCoy is punished by his implant and it nearly kills him for giving the information to Spock.  Spock saves him by simply removing the implant.  

Natira

Natira walks in on them and Kirk confronts her with the truth.  She rejects it but an idea is taking root in her brain.  She goes to the Oracle and confronts it with what she knows.  The Oracle is angry that she is questioning it and begins to kill her. Spock and Kirk show up however and save her the same way they did McCoy. 

McCoy finding his love

Oracle tries to kill them by baking them alive but using the book McCoy told them about they are able to take control of the ship and shut the Oracle down.  As an added bonus they discover the cure to Dr. McCoy’s condition that is stored in Yonada’s databanks.  With McCoy recovered and the truth of Yonada reveled to their people, Natria realizing her place is helping her people live their lives in truth and Dr. McCoy’s place is with the Enterprise.  With that she lets her husband go and he goes to return to his ship.  On board Kirk let’s him know that it will be possible for the Enterprise to return later this year, to see how they are doing.  This would allow McCoy to be with Natria again.

Additional thoughts: This episode hit a little too close to home for me.  In this episode a dying Dr. McCoy meets a woman who loves him for all his flaws and even though he had enjoyed his time on the Enterprise there is still a certain type of loneliness that he experiences that she ends.  The two understand each other and he is happy.  McCoy even gets inspired to search for a cure to his condition.  When he is finally cured and the planetary crisis is averted, Natria has an epiphany and shows him the door.  Well, that was a lot like my summer.  I meet someone and she was like me a bit socially awkward but willing to meet people.  We had a lot in common, large families, and desire to form our own.  A number of similar interests and differences to grow on.  We talked everyday online for over a month and went on a few dates and officially became an item.  Then one day in the middle of an IM chat she suddenly says that since no one had ever been romantically interested in her, she was just so amazed meet someone who was that she didn’t think about if she were truly that into me or not.  She decided that she wasn’t and broke it off all the while explaining I had done nothing wrong.  I was so depressed I didn’t leave my house for two days.  During that time, I watched this episode to review it, at the time I was just glad I had already reviewed A City on the Edge of Forever, but I wasn’t prepared for the emotional impact.  When it rains, it pours. 

True love!

So why did Kirk have to send to Starfleet for a new CMO?  Isn’t there any doctors on McCoy’s staff who could take over?  What about Dr. Joseph M'Benga?  He is plenty capable. When did we last see him? I just feel this should be an in-house promotion for the stake of the ship.  Someone should find Dr. M’Benga.

Learning about each other!

Well after all the episodes where they are the “only ship in the quadrant” it turns out Starfleet has some ships to put on this problem and no longer needs the Enterprise.  Where were they when the Enterprise was half broke down fighting an asteroid for months.  The one time they get relief from Starfleet is the one time they don’t want it.

Like almost every critic who has ever reviewed this episode I find myself wondering why it was exactly the founder of Yonada thought it necessary to trick their descendants into thinking they were on a planet when it was actually a starship.  What was the purpose?  Wouldn’t it be better to let them know where they were going so, they could better prepare?  I mean I understand why you make your ship look like a planet, after all you want those who would have to spend their entire lives there to be comfortable.   I also don’t understand people smart enough to build a ship like this would design such ugly hats for their people.

Poor guy he just wanted the truth!

What luck it was that Spock was able to just pick the cure right out of their databanks. One would think when righting the direction of a starship probing for unknown cures might have been the farthest from one’s mind.  Mr. Spock however is a multitasker. 

FINAL GRADE 4 of 5