The Enterprise is assigned to pick a scientific team of a planet which is soon going to die - only to find the team dead - in very mysterious and bizarre circumstances. Thus begins one of THE most essential Trek episodes of all.
When the team of Spock and young Joe Tromolen returns to the ship, Tromolen begins acting in a remorseful and then suicidally way - stabbing himself out of regret for 'polluting space' - infecting Sulu and navigator Kevin Riley in the process - beginning the fast spread of madness throughout the ship.
Very cleverly, Roddenberry and company use the disease to display the inner thoughts and desires of some of the characters, even as the ship spins closer to death.
This is beautifully acted, and expertly directed by veteran TV director Marc Daniels. Some of the highlights:
The scene in the briefing room with Spock slowly losing his emotional control is perhaps one of the best Trek scenes ever. It is done in one take, with a slow dolly shot that subtly closes in on Spock's breakdown. THIS is the scene which made Spock as a character -with a few slips, Nimoy never looked back as far as overplaying Spock.
The incredulous look Scott gives Kirk when he finds out that the engines have been totally shut down -"It'll take thirty minutes just to regenerate them!" basically sets the Scotty character mold also - right through the "I canna change the laws of physics!" line.
From the point where Kirk finds Spock in the briefing room ("My mother..I never told her I love her!") through Kirk's infection, and HIS lamentations about a captain's relationship with 'his' ship, all the way through the risky engine implosion and subsequent time warp, are as dramatic and exciting science fiction ever done. The key line here is Kirk, gathering his strength to return to the bridge, wistfully looking up at his love (The Enterprise), and whispering to himself, "Never lose you...never" I have literally seen this more times than I count, but it STILL gets to me, as THIS is Kirk laid bare - and it stays part of his character for the rest of the shows AND movies.
And of all the goofs - anyone notice Spock NEVER gets 'the cure'?
When the team of Spock and young Joe Tromolen returns to the ship, Tromolen begins acting in a remorseful and then suicidally way - stabbing himself out of regret for 'polluting space' - infecting Sulu and navigator Kevin Riley in the process - beginning the fast spread of madness throughout the ship.
Very cleverly, Roddenberry and company use the disease to display the inner thoughts and desires of some of the characters, even as the ship spins closer to death.
This is beautifully acted, and expertly directed by veteran TV director Marc Daniels. Some of the highlights:
The scene in the briefing room with Spock slowly losing his emotional control is perhaps one of the best Trek scenes ever. It is done in one take, with a slow dolly shot that subtly closes in on Spock's breakdown. THIS is the scene which made Spock as a character -with a few slips, Nimoy never looked back as far as overplaying Spock.
The incredulous look Scott gives Kirk when he finds out that the engines have been totally shut down -"It'll take thirty minutes just to regenerate them!" basically sets the Scotty character mold also - right through the "I canna change the laws of physics!" line.
From the point where Kirk finds Spock in the briefing room ("My mother..I never told her I love her!") through Kirk's infection, and HIS lamentations about a captain's relationship with 'his' ship, all the way through the risky engine implosion and subsequent time warp, are as dramatic and exciting science fiction ever done. The key line here is Kirk, gathering his strength to return to the bridge, wistfully looking up at his love (The Enterprise), and whispering to himself, "Never lose you...never" I have literally seen this more times than I count, but it STILL gets to me, as THIS is Kirk laid bare - and it stays part of his character for the rest of the shows AND movies.
And of all the goofs - anyone notice Spock NEVER gets 'the cure'?