I'm a sucker for a silly space creature, and Operation - Annihilate! Has loads of them: flying, pulsating, parasitic, placenta-like thingies that travel from planet to planet, laying waste to civilisations.
The latest planet to be invaded by the creatures is Deneva, the Federation colony that happens to be home to Captain Kirk's brother, Sam, and his family. When Kirk and a security detail beam down, they find Sam dead, his wife Aurelan irrational, and their son Peter unconscious. After taking Aurelan and Peter to The Enterprise, Kirk returns to Deneva with a landing party, where they discover gelatinous aliens attached to a building. Spock is attacked by one of the creatures, which injects tentacles into his back that entwine the nervous system.
Unless a method of destroying the creatures can be found, Kirk is faced with the possibility of having to kill millions of people to prevent the creatures from spreading further throughout the galaxy, Spock and Peter included.
Kirk's dilemma could have made for some suspenseful drama, but not much is made of this, the captain quickly surmising that subjecting the aliens to intense light is the answer; likewise, Bones guilt at blinding Spock during an experiment is soon resolved, the Vulcan regaining his sight thanks to his alien anatomy: inner eyelids that automatically close to protect the eyes from bright light. That said, this is still a fun episode, just one that doesn't dwell on any intellectual issues.
6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.
The latest planet to be invaded by the creatures is Deneva, the Federation colony that happens to be home to Captain Kirk's brother, Sam, and his family. When Kirk and a security detail beam down, they find Sam dead, his wife Aurelan irrational, and their son Peter unconscious. After taking Aurelan and Peter to The Enterprise, Kirk returns to Deneva with a landing party, where they discover gelatinous aliens attached to a building. Spock is attacked by one of the creatures, which injects tentacles into his back that entwine the nervous system.
Unless a method of destroying the creatures can be found, Kirk is faced with the possibility of having to kill millions of people to prevent the creatures from spreading further throughout the galaxy, Spock and Peter included.
Kirk's dilemma could have made for some suspenseful drama, but not much is made of this, the captain quickly surmising that subjecting the aliens to intense light is the answer; likewise, Bones guilt at blinding Spock during an experiment is soon resolved, the Vulcan regaining his sight thanks to his alien anatomy: inner eyelids that automatically close to protect the eyes from bright light. That said, this is still a fun episode, just one that doesn't dwell on any intellectual issues.
6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.