I've read a number of reviews slamming this episode, but in actuality, it's one of the best thought-out and acted episodes of the third season.
The Enterprise visits a scientific colony and finds all of the adults dead, and their children surprisingly unaffected. After taking the children aboard the ship, they find that the adults realized that a malicious presence was dominating them through their children and that they killed themselves to prevent the presence from taking control. The children then begin to try and take control of the Enterprise with the help of the presence (called Gorgon, and amusingly played by legendary attorney Melvin Belli).
While this episode might have been an utter disaster, it is written (like "Miri") with a decent understanding of how children can resent parents and deal with grief through denial. More interestingly, it is one of the few episodes where Shatner actually underplays, and it works particularly well in his scenes with the children.
All in all, very nicely done.
The Enterprise visits a scientific colony and finds all of the adults dead, and their children surprisingly unaffected. After taking the children aboard the ship, they find that the adults realized that a malicious presence was dominating them through their children and that they killed themselves to prevent the presence from taking control. The children then begin to try and take control of the Enterprise with the help of the presence (called Gorgon, and amusingly played by legendary attorney Melvin Belli).
While this episode might have been an utter disaster, it is written (like "Miri") with a decent understanding of how children can resent parents and deal with grief through denial. More interestingly, it is one of the few episodes where Shatner actually underplays, and it works particularly well in his scenes with the children.
All in all, very nicely done.