Ep. 16 The Menagerie Parts I & II

Spock kidnaps his former captain, Pike, who has been seriously wounded, and hijacks the Enterprise to take Pike to Talos IV, an act that will condemn Spock to death. Kirk and Commodore Mendez chase Spock down, and he is forced to slow to pick them up or let them die when their shuttle runs out of power. Spock saves them and surrenders to McCoy for the charge of mutiny, triggering his court martial, but leaves the Enterprise on his automatic program to continue to Talos IV. During Spock's trial he plays a mysterious tape from an unknown source on Talos, showing Pike's mission to the planet years ago, which included a younger Spock serving on the ship. During that mission, Pike was captured as a mate for another human, Vina, by a superior species. They could make Vina look any way they want, and make Pike's fantasies comes true. When it is discovered where the evidence is coming from, Kirk is relieved of command and both Spock and Kirk face the death penalty. Spock is trying to return Pike now that he is an invalid so he can live out the rest of days in happiness. It turned out that Mendez was never on board, and the court martial was merely a distraction until Pike was able to get to the planet, so it all ended happily, without Spock being punished, and Pike living out a fantasy life.

This was the only two part episode of the original series, though it is only listed by one episode number in the episode guide because that was how it was budgeted, due to use of old footage. It is a little odd because Kirk was just tried for court martial in the last episode, and tampered records were involved again. But this episode was so different that it can be forgiven. Not many shows make two completely different pilots, but only Star Trek continued the original pilot canon, in large part because much footage from the original pilot was used in this two parter so that the studio didn't feel that it had thrown away money on the original episode. It was a good thing that Chapel wasn't in this episode because she was playing Number One on Pike's ship and the computer voice, and having a third character might have been chaos. It is interesting that Pike only had about two hundred crew on the Enterprise in his day, when Kirk had over twice that many on the same ship a few years later. It is also weird when Spock smiles, Roddenberry not having decided that Vulcans would not show emotion when he made the original pilot. It was also a bit odd that the fake Mendez was never swayed in Spock's guilt, while the real Mendez, seeing the evidence, absolved Spock. I just wonder if the Pike / Vina happy ending was pre-filmed, or if they tried to recreate it for this episode. It had to have been pre-filmed, as Jeffrey Hunter wasn't available to play Pike again. Whatever. It was good.

Despite some glaring differences, I love the original pilot, and this was a very clever way to use it in the series. When "The Menagerie" was first aired, no one had seen the original pilot, so this would have been very interesting, finding out more of Spock's history. Both hours were compelling, and it was a successful experiment. It is no wonder that many choose this episode as one of the best, and it was released at select movie theaters last year. The framing story was engaging, and the idea of living in an illusion is intriguing.

RECURRING CHARACTERS:
DeForrest Kelley as McCoy
James Doohan as Scotty
Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
Hagan Beggs as Mr. Hansen

NOTABLE GUEST STARS:
Malachi Throne as Commodore Jose Mendez
Sean Kenney as Captain Christopher Pike (injured)
Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike (evidence footage)
Susan Oliver as Vina
Meg Wyllie as The Keeper
Majel Barrett (credited M. Leigh Hudec) as Number One
John Hoyt as Dr. Phillip Boyce
Peter Duryea as Jose Tyler
Laurel Goodwin as Yeoman Colt

Quote:
"Mr. Spock is, um, under arrest. Is confinement to quarters enough?"
"Adequate, Doctor." ~ McCoy and Spock

Ep. 10 What Are Little Girls Made Of?

Kirk and Chapel go to meet Chapel's fiance, a man named Roger Korby, who captures them and makes a duplicate android of Kirk. Of course, it is discovered that Korby himself, and all of his companions, are also androids.

To be honest, this wasn't my favorite episode. There were some glaring plot holes, at least the way I saw it. For instance, how did Spock know so easily that the android wasn't Kirk, just by one insult? And if Kirk's brain were truly doubled, as Korby said, Kirk chanting the insult during the doubling wouldn't have fooled the android. He would have known what Kirk was doing. It was interesting that William Shatner's then-enormous ego was sated by having two Kirks AGAIN. This was only the ninth episode of Kirk's show, and it was the second he was doubled. I also found in unbelievable how Kirk out-witted the androids, causing them to kill themselves. I certainly didn't see the logic in that, and it just didn't make sense to me. Another inconsistency was the security guard waiting several seconds before pulling his phaser when startled, and even then not pulling it urgently. I didn't even hear a sound from him until he plunged to his death. Shouldn't a trained Starfleet office react quicker, and fight off an attacker? He had just pulled his phaser, albeit very late. He should have been on his guard. I also was amused that in Chapel's second episode of the series, she was featured. Must pay off to sleep with, then marry, the show's creator. I did miss the rest of the supporting cast. Uhura had very little to do, and even McCoy was left out completely. It wasn't a terrible hour of television, it just wasn't one of Star Trek's best.

RECURRING CHARACTERS:
Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
Majel Barrett as Chapel

NOTABLE GUEST STARS:
Michael Strong as Dr. Richard Korby
Harry Basch as Dr. Brown
Sherry Jackson as Andrea
Ted Cassidy as Ruk

Quote:
"Mind your own business, Mr. Spock. I'm sick of your half breed interference." ~ Kirk, trying to give his android double a 'tell'

Ep. 7 The Naked Time

The crewmen are struck by a disease that makes them drop their inhibitions, then not care and die.

It was Chapel's first appearance, who would be a major recurring character, and even appear in the movies. This episode also introduced the tricorder, a staple of Star Trek technology in every incarnation. The Next Generation had a sequel to this episode. Riley took over the ship and almost destroyed it, but in a twist, he did not die, and came back for at least one more episode and several books. It was a mostly fun episode with an undertone of danger. It did allow Sulu, Chapel, Spock, and others to really stretch their role, and Kirk almost seemed secondary, until he finally caught the disease. This episode was pretty cool, despite the corny ending where they discover time travel and get to live a few days over.

RECURRING CHARACTERS:
DeForrest Kelley as McCoy
James Doohan as Scotty
George Takei as Sulu
Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
Grace Lee Whitney as Rand
Majel Barrett as Nurse Christine Chapel
Bruce Hyde as Kevin Riley

NOTABLE GUEST STARS:
Stewart Moss as Joe Tormolen

Quote:
"And as for my anatomy being different from yours, I am delighted." ~ Spock