The story is old - as old as antiquity. A two-tiered society, which is actually two separate and very unequal societies. It goes back at least as far as Spartan citizens and Helots. Roman citizens and slaves. Plantation owners and African-Americans. H. G. Wells' Eloi and Morlocks. Fritz Lang's Metropolis. Jim Crow. And here, in this episode of Star Trek, we have City-Dwellers and Troglytes.
It's an entertaining enough episode, as there is much eye candy in terms of attractive females and special effects, including the floating city of Stratos. I have some quibbles with some of the actions of some of the characters which don't make a lot of sense (like folks doubting that an unseen gas can have deleterious health effects on people). But that is not unusual for Star Trek.
However I didn't really detect any new or original thoughts regarding the basic premise of a society divided into a large group of people doing all the hard work and a small elite group of people reaping all the benefits. So it makes the episode seem like little more than a rehash of old ideas, dressed up in the garb of science fiction.
As a result, I can only give the episode a 6/10. But I can understand how some folks will like it better than that, depending on their expectations. Watch it and form your own opinion.
It's an entertaining enough episode, as there is much eye candy in terms of attractive females and special effects, including the floating city of Stratos. I have some quibbles with some of the actions of some of the characters which don't make a lot of sense (like folks doubting that an unseen gas can have deleterious health effects on people). But that is not unusual for Star Trek.
However I didn't really detect any new or original thoughts regarding the basic premise of a society divided into a large group of people doing all the hard work and a small elite group of people reaping all the benefits. So it makes the episode seem like little more than a rehash of old ideas, dressed up in the garb of science fiction.
As a result, I can only give the episode a 6/10. But I can understand how some folks will like it better than that, depending on their expectations. Watch it and form your own opinion.