Star Trek (TV Series) By Any Other Name (1968) User Reviews

Invaders From the Andromeda Galaxy

[Bogmeister · 8/10 · 10 December 2006]

"We do not colonize. We Conquer! We Rule!" Guess we know where these Kelvans stand, don't we? Or, perhaps not. For, they have taken human form. Actual Kelvans are 'immense beings' with a hundred tentacles. Such beings would have problems with a turbolift (and sixties FX would have problems depicting them). So, hearkening back to the aliens of "Catspaw" and "Return to Tomorrow," these Kelvans have set themselves up for major seduction trouble by assuming our treacherous human form. And, strictly speaking, they're not invaders, merely an expedition force on its way back to the Andromeda Galaxy, where radiation levels will make life impossible there in about 10,000 years. Once back home, they'll tell the rest of the Kelvans to go ahead and proceed to our Milky Way galaxy and then conquer the hell out of it. But, the Federation would have no immediate worries; the invasion force probably won't arrive for at least 600 years (the round trip). If they ever create a Trek show set in the 29th century (or even the 26th), there's at least one story arc ready to be used.

So, I'm not sure why Kirk and his officers were so worked up. Of course, their personal situation was a bit grim: the prospect of being stuck on the Enterprise for the rest of their lives as it hurtles towards Andromeda is kind of a downer. Though there are only half-a-dozen of these Kelvans, they easily take over the ship with their paralysis field weapons. They also modify the ship's engines. We're back at the galactic barrier first seen in the 2nd pilot episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" - and through it. Then most the crew are turned into small weightless tetrahedron-like blocks. When I first saw this as a kid, a genuine chill ran thru me when one these blocks was crushed to dust, thereby killing a crew member in a rather horrifying manner. This was super-science employed as a war tactic, as an instrument of terror. This was alien invasion thrills and chills, no doubt, and these Kelvans seemed a step up from the usual baddies encountered on the original show (Klingons, Romulans, etc).

But then, as was customary with many episodes after the first season, a grim tone changes to a playful one in the 2nd half of the episode. Then we get games of seduction and inebriation, of Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty using their wits rather than their brawn, though in a manner befitting a Marx Brothers comedy instead of a sf adventure. It's still entertaining, sure, but I would have preferred some payback for that first half of terror, and the episode is rather uneven as a result of the precious ploys. The sugary ending is so cloying, so convenient, I usually need a shot of Scotch to get rid of the taste. On the plus side, Kelinda (Bouchet) is probably the sexiest alien we see on the original show and Kirk's super-stud status was assured with this episode. Scotty has the best scenes - it's green, indeed - and rumors of his alcoholism might have started here. And those images of the Enterprise zooming towards another galaxy stay in the mind for awhile. This imagery was repeated in the 3rd season's "Day of the Dove."

Very good up until a very "pat" conclusion

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 8 December 2006]

A group of super-advanced but painfully unfunny aliens from another galaxy commandeer the Enterprise. They are able to do this by having really cool belly-packs that can be used to control humans and even turn them into large Dungeons and Dragons dice! And, to convince Kirk that they mean business, they turn one of the "red shirts" into one of these dice (about half he size of a basketball) and then crumble it apart--killing the poor sap. Another "red shirt" is transformed as well, but is magically restored to normality by the device!! So, they have no choice but to comply.

During the long voyage, most of the crew is transformed into these dice. A small skeleton crew remains and Kirk has a plan--get these aliens to learn what it's like to have a humanoid body since their original forms were not humanoid at all. So, Scotty introduces one of them to hard liquor and Kirk takes it upon himself to introduce sex to one of the female aliens (wow--this is a major shock). After a while, they have the aliens behaving illogical and stupid--just like people. At which point, the Captain magically convinces the aliens to be pals and give up their goals for galactic domination! Wow,...talk about an overly simplistic solution--this could have easily happened 45 minutes earlier and made the episode unnecessary!! But, despite this, it had some fun moments and it was cool seeing everyone becoming cubes of minerals!

"I'm sorry, this galaxy is already occupied".

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 19 December 2010]

That Scotty - using the old Rigelian Kassaba Fever trick and getting the Kelvan Tomar (Robert Fortier) wasted on cheap booze! This while Bones is drugging Hanar (Stewart Moss) with vitamin shots, and the Captain is seducing another space alien-babe (Barbara Bouchet as Kelinda). Getting the Kelvans to OD on human emotions seemed to have done the trick by the end of the episode, as their leader Rojan (Warren Stevens) finally agrees to Kirk's suggestion to have the Federation find them a place to stay. It's a bit of an anti-climactic resolution considering the Kelvans were starting out to conquer an entire galaxy, but hey, that's the way it goes sometimes.

It wasn't often that the writers mentioned a series continuity element, but they did it here by recalling Eminiar VII and Spock's prior use of a Vulcan Mind Probe. That would have occurred in #1.23 - A Taste of Armageddon, and I don't seem to remember it now, so I'll have to go back and take a look.

Another interesting point was made about the idea of intergalactic travel. With the Enterprise routinely engaging in multiple warp factors and the distance between galaxies being impossibly distant to comprehend, the idea that it would take the commandeered ship three hundred years and more than a few generations of Kelvan and Earth descendants to get there was a nice touch. By then, Kirk and Kelinda might have created an entirely new species.

A Human will always be a Human

[woljm45 · 23 March 2006]

A small group of superior alien beings take the form of humans in order for them to hijack the Enterprise. They need the ship so they can return to their old world that is beyond the Great Barrier. They turn almost the whole crew into these clay balls, except for Kirk, Spock, Scotty, and Bones, whom they need to help them run the ship. The only weakness the hijackers seem to have is that since they're in human form for the time being, they're vulnerable to human emotions. The episode starts out very serious and dreary, but ends up to the amusing as the crew exploits the human emotions of these so called, "superior beings". The best one is Kirk and Spock driving their leader insane with jealously over a woman. Excellent episode.

Never play quarters with Scotty

[BrandtSponseller · 10/10 · 7 August 2006]

In which Captain Kirk and crew finally find themselves being conquered by a superior alien race.

Well, almost.

Lots of episodes have had Kirk and company almost conquered in some way or another--heck, it seems like they're prisoners of some twisted personality in just about every other episode. And we know that it's unlikely that they'll be conquered with any finality. The show must go on. Or at least it did for another season and a half.

But there's a tasty, palpable sense of doom in By Any Other Name, moreso than in just about any other episode. Surely this is amplified by the fact that the aliens can zap humans into little, brainy sugar cubes. But it also helps that the writers made the aliens hail from another galaxy--it makes them more exotic and in the context of the series to date, unpredictable.

As doomy as it gets, however, this episode isn't without an enjoyable sense of humor, and most admirably, Scotty gets a longer turn in the spotlight, as we learn what we've always suspected--no matter who you put up against him, he can drink them under the table.

Kirk's love interest is also a source of humor on many levels, including when you keep in mind what Spock said about the aliens' true physical nature. On the other hand, when you look at her in her "disguised" form, courtesy of actress Barbara Bouchet, she was some knock-out--one of the best in the whole series, so I'd gladly forget about the tentacles, too.

It's good to see Kirk not always easily triumph, and he's in a quagmire he almost can't bluff his way out of here. The writers also get to explore human flaws and assets in a fresh new way.

Aliens commandeer the Enterprise with the intention of going to the Andromeda Galaxy

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 17 July 2015]

Responding to a distress call Kirk, Spock, McCoy and a couple of red shirts beam down to a planet and find people claiming to be Kelvans from the Andromeda Galaxy. They also say that they are taking command of the Enterprise and its crew for the three hundred year journey home taking a message back that our galaxy is suitable for conquest. They demonstrate the power they have over Kirk and his team by first using a device on their belts which instantly immobilises a person; then when Kirk defies them another feature is used to turn the redshirts into cuboctahedral blocks. The leader of the Kelvans, Rojan, then crumbles one before bringing the other back to life. It doesn't take long for the Kelvans to take the Enterprise and make the modifications required to return home. Kirk misses one possible opportunity to destroy the ship before Rojan turns most of the crew into blocks. The Kelvans have a weakness though; by taking human form they are susceptible to human weaknesses and emotions.

This episode gets off to a decent enough start with the introduction of the Kelvans, in particular their leader Rojan and an attractive female named Kelinda. Their powers are nicely demonstrated and Spock's attempt to use his mind powers tells us a bit about their true nature. Once on the Enterprise we have the dilemma of whether to destroy the ship in order to prevent an invasion that might come in six hundred years' time… not that that anybody will expect that to happen! Once the senior crew realise the Kelvans are susceptible to human weaknesses things get quite amusing as Scotty gets one of them drunk, McCoy gives another injects saying they are vitamin supplements but actually they just make him very irritable and, perhaps inevitably Kirk sets about seducing the beautiful Kelinda causing Rojan to get jealous. Since the Kelvans have taken human form they aren't particularly interesting in appearance and the backless costumes worn by their females are clearly designed to please the male viewers… not that I'm complaining!

Well.... It's Green....

[florida87 · 7/10 · 14 March 2007]

Scotties line when asked by the alien what the fourth bottle of booze was, drunkenly says after sniffing it, "Well, it's green!" Thats classic! An average overall Trek episode, thats not a put down because an average rating to me means very good compared to other sci fi shows which seem to be very very dull. Another reviewer here (I am assuming a young or somewhat young one), slams this episode for too much Scottie, excuse me? You are joking correct? The scene with Scottie getting the alien drunk under the table is all time best Trek material. Hello, this was made in the 60's.... miniskirts are worn by the female crew, Kirk is tagging as@ throughout the galaxy.... and Scottie has some booze stashed onboard without the preaching of a ex junkie liberal bartender (as in STTNG) to make you make you feel guilty that you want to kick some alien as@! This is what sets TOS apart from all the rest, its that they could GET away with it! And lets look at that Scottie point anyway, the ship was a DRY ship, just like a modern day US Navy ship is (McCoy had some booze just like a US Navy ship (1960-1980's) had for a pick me up shot if you fell overboard (saw a guy that got one), they don't even have that anymore). I love that TOS took the concept that these were starSHIPS, mostly because I am a Navy vet, but I mean not to stir up inter-service stuff, but if this was like a Army/Air Force gig, it wouldn't hold the charm of these rouge personalities like a Scottie in my humble opinion. Shore leave with the Army or Air Force, boring, lets go Navy! Anyway, this episode is cool, they kill the redshirt crewman in the beginning and they didn't pick the black male but the white female, I thought that was genius writing. Putting the black male (who had a few lines also, kudos's) in that role was awesome but hey, that was late 60's TV, Trek was very supportive of minorities in the future and nurtured my social liberal ideals. I could delve more into this episode but it is a good episode and holds up great to season two's standards. 7 of 10 (even after repeated viewings).

THE BIGGER THEY ARE...

[zitacarno · 9/10 · 28 September 2018]

...the harder they fall. Those Kelvans were, at bottom, a bunch of greedy grabalots, and it didn't take long for Kirk and Co. to catch on. And believe me, they had lots of fun doing something about it. When they realized that Rojan and company, having taken human form, were starting to experience human reactions---human emotions---they made the most of the opportunity. I got a huge kick out of Bones pumping one of the invaders full of formic acid, which would make anyone climb the walls---Scotty drinking another one of them under the table and then passing out himself (although in a good cause)---Spock, although unsuccessful with the mind-meld, nevertheless getting a good idea of what Kelinda really looked like---and most of all, Captain Kirk's "apology" which spread like wildfire and thoroughly discombooberated the Kelvans who now realized they were stuck with their human forms and could never return to Andromeda. This was a good seriocomic story; I enjoyed it.

In rememberence of Yeoman Thompson

[thevacinstaller-03350 · 7/10 · 26 December 2022]

Once has to sit opened mouth in utter awe at just how much forgiveness Captain Kirk has in his heart. Um, Jim ---- the leader of Kelvan's turned a female member of your crew into a cube and then killed her! I suppose we can infer after a few days aboard the Enterprise that the war mongering Kelvins will change their ways because they have adopted human form and can now partake in pleasures of the flesh? Is that what we are going with?!

I thought the actor that played Rojan did an excellent job of making him intimidating and they established the ruthless nature of the Kelvans so well that I couldn't believe Jim Kirk offered them a way out without consequence.

Even with all that said ----- I did enjoy the episode and the quick pace. It just got a bit messy at the end for me. I dig the creative idea of a completely alien species taking on the traits of the human forms they create --- that's a solid idea.

Fun and typically 60s Star Trek

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 14 September 2021]

Enterprise is taken over by the Kelvans, who are scouting planets to conquer before returning home to the Andromeda galaxy.

This is an enjoyable episode with decent concept and some good character moments.

The plot involves a fairly straightforward problem of baddies taking over Enterprise for the crew to resolve. In true Star Trek manner it is done in a mostly non-violent way that is quite fun to watch unfold. The theme about humanity and how it's weaknesses are used against the Kelvans is a good one.

There is a quite ominous tone to the initial set up of the situation with the Kelvans seemingly almost impossible antagonists to overcome, but the writers cleverly put their human form to good use. A little too much in some ways, as they do not seem to just have human emotions, but also develop human stupidity.

It is in this stupidity and in the rather silly scenes during the final act that the episode loses any suspense it had developed. However, for me there is still plenty left to enjoy from a humorous perspective. Scotty's drinking contest, Kirk's seduction of Kelinda, Rojan's jealousy, and Spock stirring the pot all provides great entertainment.

Visually it's good, with nice set design, costuming, props, and well worked physical confrontations.

All performances are solid, with William Shatner, James Doohan and Warren Stevens standing out. I'm not sure what Barbara Bouchet aiming for with her performance but if it was deliberate awkwardness of a character unfamiliar with human emotion she pulled it off well.

Star Trek: The Original Series - By Any Other Name

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 13 September 2016]

The Enterprise follows a distress signal to a spacious, colorful planet, encountering "Kelvins", a type of species inhabiting humanoid bodies but adapting to them awkwardly. The Kelvins have this paralyzing device that renders those they target "frozen in place". The device even can turn those they target into cube-like blocks (they call it a "neutralizing process"), easy to crush (the only time a Yeoman woman suffers the curse of the redshirt beam down, the one chosen to die). Kirk must watch her die, holding the crushed powder remnants in his agonizing hands, while his other redshirt (an African American man) is spared. Those devices are how Kirk sees them (Spock and McCoy) getting any advantage whatsoever. The leader of the Kelvins, Rojan (Warren Stevens, a recognizable face in 60s television, as well as, The Forbidden Planet) tells Kirk to accept that his crew (and the human race) are defeated, conquered, but the captain won't just accept that without a fight. It will take using their intellect to manipulate the situation, clued in by Spock when he notices that one of the Kelvins is interested and stimulated by food consumption. Soon Kirk has Scotty introduce the Kelvin to liquor! Meanwhile, Kirk gradually seduces female Kelvin, Kelinda (giallo goddess Barbara Bouchet), which makes Rojan jealous and eventually confrontational. The whole point is forcing the awareness of the emerging human emotion to be recognized by the Kelvins as they journey to Andromeda to meet back with their own species. If the Kelvins are too human, their own kind will not accept them upon return. Another Kelvin, Hanar (Steward Moss), is getting injections by McCoy to "help his body function properly", but it ultimately is just so he is troubled enough to be a hindrance to Rojan. Despite a horrible death that Kirk couldn't stop (Rojan tells Kirk, you will now watch your "non essential personnel" die), and watching his crew onboard the Enterprise reduced to chalk cubes, the episode is actually light-hearted in tone as it goes along. Seeing Kirk, Spock, Scotty, and McCoy capitalize on the "human factor" of the aliens with devices that place them always in disadvantage, once again having to use their wits to outsmart seemingly superior adversaries. Bouchet is just wow, quite a woman. Stevens is robotic, to start, with more human traits, through responses that surprise even him (his inquisitive expressions after feelings emerge), arising as Kirk makes a move for his woman. The Enterprise full of cubes (seeing Uhura and Chekov reduced on the Bridge, especially painful) and how Kirk aches at the situation is some of Shatner's best work as the character. The way he conveys the loss of his Yeoman (Julie Cobb) proves just how excruciating it can be to the captain of the Enterprise. Spock's chess game with Rojan, and how Kirk and Kelinda were "meeting up" elsewhere is most amusing. Within the series, this episode isn't one of the standard bearers, but it has its moments. That opening scene, where Rojan addresses Kirk, paralyzed, and his away team, really shows how helpless it can be when encountering lifeforms with "tricks up their sleeve".

Everybody Remembers This One

[movies-109 · 9/10 · 27 November 2020]

Star Trek had 80 episodes counting the first pilot, but the majority of fans or just casual viewers only remember a few. And not always the best ones.

BY ANY OTHER NAME is so iconic, such a boilerplate second season episode, that it has been parodied or evoked three times on Saturday Night Live, and most of the audience got it. Because everybody remembers. Everybody remembers the crushed dodecahedron and the little brunette yeoman is dead. The paralysis rays. Scotty getting his mark drunk, while Bones gets his target wired on speed - meanwhile Kirk hits on the female. Of course. To make the boss man jealous.

A word about Barbara Bouchet as Kelinda. One of those times when Bill Theiss's standard treatment revealed much, but didn't flatter the actress. Her hair and makeup are severe. Youtube has a video of her platform dancing (Shake It All Over) in a bikini. She's absolutely stunning. Very unusual for any actress that Bill Theiss and Star Trek did not show her at her sexiest. Reference: Mariette Hartley.

Anyway, everybody knows this episode. I remember seeing the trailer for it the week before and it looked scary. This guy (Warren Stevens) strutting around asserting his authority while Kirk and his crew are paralyzed. I have to admit at the age of 10, the whole crushed cube bit was scary.

The first season SNL episode where Elliott Gould appears as an NBC executive coming to cancel Star Trek (via a deep space Chevy Nova) is reminiscent of By Any Other Name but not sure if it's directly referenced. Taking over the Enterprise is a pretty common theme in seaons 2-3. But it was comedian Franklin Ajaye's legendary line, directly referencing this episode, that solidified our memory even among non-Trekkers. Lastly, in the 1985 episode hosted by William Shatner, his Trek-con sketch has an appearance by Julie Cobb (not actually her but an SNL cast member) as "the yeoman crushed into dust" or soemething like that. Interestingly, that was Ms. Cobb's acting debut, and started a long career as a TV guess actor, active until very recently. She even guested with Shatner on an episode of TJ Hooker, although I don't know what her fate might have been. Hopefully the musical score wasn't playing Kansas's "Dust In The Wind" for her entrance.

There are many references back to this episode - especially in TNG episode "Relics", when Data as acting bartender serves the aging Scotty something green from under the bar. The tactics the crew uses to defeat the Kelvans, who seem to hold all the cards, remind me of how the "underdog" Cincinnati Reds beat the "superior" Oakland Athletics in the 1990 World Series. By playing National League style baseball... bunt, squeeze, steal, don't sit back and wait for the home run.

I doubt that anyone involved with the show at the time realized they were printing a standard. BAON is not the best Trek episode, a long way from the worst... but perhaps it's the most typical - the definitive mainstream of the show. And check out that video of Barbara Bouchet.

Turn to Stone...

[Xstal · 6/10 · 16 February 2022]

Starship Enterprise becomes a taxi, moves aliens from galaxy A to B, but they'll turn you to stone, if you try to dethrone, though one is partial to a drop of whiskey.

Hijacked, the Enterprise must make it to another galaxy to move some homesick and lost aliens back to where their journey began.

The Enterprise Hits Warp 11

[Samuel-Shovel · 5/10 · 16 June 2018]

In "By Any Other Name", the Enterprise heads to a planet's surface after receiving a distress call. It turns out to be a trap as a technologically superior race known as the Kelvans take over control of the Enterprsie with a weapon that can freeze people in a force field or turn them into a small rock. After discarding the unnecessary crew and leaving Kirk, Spock, Bones, and Scotty, the Kelvans steer the ship for their home world, a 300 year long journey intended to relay a message that the Kelvan have found hospitable planets to conquer in the Federation's galaxy. Kirk must figure out a way to wrestle back control of his ship and regain his crew from the Kelvan in control Rojan.

This episode is... bizarre. It starts off very gruesome and dark; a member of the landing party is killed to send a message. The rest of the crew is placed in rock form and left for dead. The Enterprise is recommissioned as a taxi service taking the Kelvans back to their empire. Despite all this dire situation, the second half becomes very light-hearted and comical. Spock figures out that since the Kelvans were forced to take human form, they can be corrupted with human desires. Scotty turns one of the Kelvans into an alcoholic and drinks him under the table. Kirk puts the moves on another, seducing her, much to the chagrin of Rojan who has developed feelings for her in this short time. Spock sows seeds of distrust between Kirk and Rojan, aggravating things further.

Everything is all tidied up nicely in the final few minutes. Kirk convinces Rojan to turn around and colonize the planet where the two men first met. Kelinda does a 180 and decides she loves Rojan instead of Kirk. Scotty passes out drunk. Everyone lives happily ever after or something. Alrighty then...

The idea of a species forcing themselves to take humanoid form and then being corrupted by humanoid desires is a fun idea and has been done in Star Trek before (see Catspaw for one example), but the tonal shifts of this episode makes the payoff less fun. This episode either needs to stay dark like the first act or be comedic like the last two; combining the two is problematic.

There's no repercussions for Rojan. He killed a member of Star Fleet for no good reason, yet nothing comes of this that we know of. The Enterprise is modded to go warp 11 by the Kelvans, yet this is never addressed in future episodes. The script is what is mostly wrong with this episode; it causes the tonal shift and leaves a lot of unanswered questions for the audience to have to piece together.

The Star Trek 'Why'

[gerry-636-868677 · 30 July 2011]

In many episodes baddies pointed ray guns into the stomachs of the goodies - however a lightning karate strike to the neck by Kirk or Spock usually did it. The baddies in this episode derive their power from their ability to react to any sudden movements by reaching for a pad on their belt, finding the right button then pressing it. However, for some reason Kirk etc blindly comply with every instruction, even when they are front-on to a baddie who has his arms at his side. Kirk could easily do one of his karate chops ages before the baddies could react and press their button! Why doesn't he? Even worse, Scotty and Spock apparently had the run of the ship and look down from an upper balcony in Engineering onto an alien below. Why didn't they just phaser the alien?

Entertaining despite the biggest plot hole of the whole series

[wgreview-1 · 8/10 · 15 October 2021]

The first half of the episode is not as good, but the last half, showing the four remaining Enterprise crewmen trying to overload the Kelvans' emotions is one of the most entertaining episodes. Good performances by Stevens, Bouchet, and Fortier in particular.

But unless Kelvan biology is totally different from any other living organism I've ever heard of, it's a lunatic idea to think that you can run a multigeneration ship on a 300-year voyage with five Kelvans and four humans. How are they going to produce several new generations of Kelvans? Even if the Kelvans can interbreed with the humans, there isn't enough genetic diversity with nine people, and the descendants who reach Andromeda will be biologically inferior, possibly even feebleminded.

Into Andromeda Galaxy With Kelvans

[Rainey-Dawn · 8/10 · 11 January 2017]

Season 2, episode 21. The Enterprise receives a distress call from an uncharted planet and answer it. Spock, Kirk, McCoy and red shirts beam down. Two of the people on the planet walk up to the group and use a device that holds all the party as still as statues then releases them. Rojan is the leader of these "humans" and he proceeds to tell Kirk and the others they are from Andromeda galaxy and what they want is the Enterprise to get back to there. Next the group is imprisoned, then attempts to escape, a red shirt killed then they are held again in a cell. In order to get back to the ship, Spock goes into deep meditation to appear very ill then Kirk & McCoy tell a guard that they must get to Sickbay or he'll die. One of the Kelvans beam up with Spock & McCoy to watch what happens in Sickbay. Kirk tries to talk the lead Kelvan into getting back to the ship - he agree and all head to the Andromeda galaxy. Now the crew of the Enterprise must find a way to overcome the Kelvans - their only hope, Kelvans are not used to their current human forms.

Another neat episode concerning aliens in human bodies or form. Most intense when they attempt to cross the energy barrier into Andromeda galaxy - once there the situation becomes more intense.

8.5/10

Predictable, but I like it anyway

[mhubbard-54657 · 7/10 · 25 February 2017]

Decent episode with a lot of plot holes, but this is Star Trek, and you just have to take it on faith. An handful of super-powerful but stranded aliens has commandeered the Enterprise, turning most of the crew into little cubes of a crumbly nature. What will the Captain do? Due to the distance between galaxies, the aliens will need another 300 years to return to their galaxy, even at Warp 11. Taking on unaccustomed humanoid form was necessary in order to fit into the ship's environment, but Kirk realizes this is the key to overcoming the intruders.They are not used to dealing with various human foibles. Soon,Kirk is romancing the female alien, creating jealousy, while Scotty is getting soused with one of the males.This must have been a Gene Roddenberry re-write. The aliens realize the error of their ways and our heroes return to The Milky Way.This episode illustrates the size and scale of galaxies and the space between them. Overall, good episode. But would Scotty really have bagpipes in his quarters?

One of the very best of all Time !

[nicofreezer · 10/10 · 4 June 2021]

Man oh man what an episode ! One of the best ever Star trek ! There is everything that made Star trek great in this episode, the crew Legends beeing prisoners but find a way out, then they are prisoners in the enterprise and find an Incredible way out of it.... Humor, emotion, a girl for kirk, Spock intelligence, McCoy and Scott great moments. Perfect episode what a science fiction masterpiece... 10/10 (Of course nothing will ever beat " the City on the edge of Tomorrow" I think... But This one is a far better episode to discover the show, because you dont need to already live the characters) I dont understand the 7.5/10 rating here, People are so crazy, this episode deserve at the very least a 9/10 rating. But its in season 2 so people love to hate on latter seasons in TV show's.

How Many Times Can You Save the Galaxy?

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 3 May 2014]

Once again what seems like a benevolent planet proves to be a threat to the universe. The Enterprise crew have once again been made slaves to some guys from the Andromeda Galaxy who are on a search mission to colonize. They put belts on people which paralyze them. They are also able to reduce crew members to blocks of what looks like plaster. Their essence is in the chunks and if the chunk is destroyed, so is the person. This ultimately leads to a terrible decision. The crew must decide if they must sacrifice themselves in order to put a stop to this invasion. The superiority of the invaders is compromised when Scotty and the others begin to push them emotionally. They feel they are beyond the petty human stuff. There is one scene where Scotty sacrifices an ancient bottle of scotch whiskey to get one of the invaders drunk. Kirk also pushes the leader into an old fashioned fist fight. As is often the case, these vastly superior species seem to have feet of clay. Also, Kirk gets to use his testosterone to benefit the cause.

"We do not colonize. We conquer! We rule!"

[Hey_Sweden · 8/10 · 14 April 2024]

Various Enterprise crew encounter a species called the Kelvans, who are stranded on a fairly lush planet. The Kelvans, however, are anything but grateful, overtaking the landing party and forcing their way onto the starship where they completely take over. They're determined to fulfill their mission of conquering numerous other parts of the galaxy.

We've seen Kirk be an excellent problem solver before, but this time he really has his work cut out for him. He has to watch as crew members get reduced to blocks of matter. Seemingly, there's no way of combating these Kelvans. Finally, he & Spock realize that this species - ordinarily of immense size and sporting a great many tentacles - are bound by the laws of these human forms that they've assumed. So he realizes what he has to do: OVER-stimulate the Kelvans!

We're treated to another classic Kirk fight, as he tussles with Kelvan leader Rojan (Warren Stevens, "Forbidden Planet"), and we watch as he shows his amorous side with luscious Kelvan babe Kelinda (the stunning international icon Barbara Bouchet ("Casino Royale")). A hilarious bit of business occurs when Scotty drinks Kelvan character Tomar (Robert Fortier, "McCabe & Mrs. Miller") under the table. His drunken "It's....green." line is a classic Scotty moment.

While the conclusion, where Kirk manages to make Rojan see reason, is not really convincing, overall this is a bright, lively episode with some great moments, and typically wonderful interplay between the regular players. The very good script is by D. C. Fontana and Jerome Bixby, based on Bixby's story.

Stewart Moss ("The Bat People"), who'd previously been in a first season episode ('The Naked Time'), Carl Byrd ("Telefon"), and Julie Cobb ("Just You and Me, Kid") also guest star.

Eight out of 10.

not a bad episode

[Brucey_D · 7/10 · 21 June 2016]

So the Enterprise gets hijacked by aliens who have eschewed their many tentacles for -in some cases rather shapely- 'human form' whilst they are aboard. They want to return to their galaxy prior to invading ours. They soup-up the Enterprise so that it will do warp eleven without breaking sweat, so the journey will 'only' take 300 years. If the crew don't comply, they get paralysed and/or turned into polyhedral lumps of tofu (*). But hang on, they mostly get turned into lumps of tofu anyway! [ (*) sometimes known as 'soylent white'...?]

So the premise is a bit daft, but no worse than in many other episodes, and there is a mix of humour and insight into the human condition to keep us entertained.

Now, I wonder why Scotty wasn't paying enough attention to learn how to make the Enterprise do warp eleven in later episodes? Hmm, actually, that is obvious; he was too drunk...? But then again, if you wanted to nit-pick, there is plenty to go at; for example, why, when approaching the 'negative energy, negative mass' of the galactic barrier, does the temperature increase and all the instruments start to 'go off the scale'? Do two negatives make a positive?

The slightly nerdy amongst viewers will doubtless be wondering 'how can I go on, without knowing the correct name for the polyhedral shape of those tofu pieces? Relax; I think it is what is known as a 'Cuboctahedron', which is a special variety of truncated cube.

Overall; not a bad episode. Not that it is a big deal, but I am also now slightly less keen on tofu than before.

Barbara Bouch-whey hey!

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 12 June 2022]

The Enterprise responds to a distress call on an uncharted planet. A landing party beams down to an unconvincing studio set where they encounter a humanoid man named Rojan (Warren Stevens) and a very hot woman in a backless outfit named Kelinda (played by sexy giallo babe Barbara Bouchet), who demand that Kirk surrenders his ship. Naturally, the captain isn't about to do so, but when he refuses the aliens paralyse the landing party using devices worn on their belts. Rojan explains that he and Kalinda are Kelvans from the Andromeda galaxy, on a mission to find planets in the Milky Way suitable for conquest .

Held prisoners in a cave, Kirk and his crewmates attempt to escape but are quickly apprehended. As punishment, the two redshirts are transformed into large Dungeons and Dragons dice. Mr. Spock uses his telepathic powers to learn that the Kelvans have assumed human form so that they will be able to function on the Enterprise; in reality, they are large creatures with one hundred tentacles, unsuitable for life aboard the spaceship. When it becomes apparent that the Kelvans are starting to develop human reactions, Kirk uses the aliens' newfound emotions against them. Eventually, the captain convinces Rojan that, by the time the Enterprise reaches Andromeda (a journey of 300 years), the aliens' descendants will be virtually human and considered inferior by their own race. Instead of returning to Andromeda, the Kelvans decide to colonise the uncharted planet where they were found.

Given how long it has already taken the Kelvans to reach the Milky Way, it seems to me that Rojan and Kelinda are very quick to shirk their responsibilities: their ancestors dedicated their lives to travelling beyond their own galaxy, but Rojan is willing to give up all plans of conquering new worlds just because he likes how it feels to be human. It's a weak and rather unconvincing conclusion to the episode, but one that I am willing to forgive because of Barbara Bouchet as Kelinda, who has to be one of the sexiest women of Star Trek. She looks absolutely amazing throughout, so it's no wonder that Kirk finds time to add her to his long list of women that he has snogged (who cares if she's really an immense creature with numerous appendages?).

Humanoid shape leads to humanoid behavior.

[bkoganbing · 3/10 · 1 March 2014]

I'm not a big fan of this episode, I don't think it was particularly well thought out. Still the idea of Andromedans taking human form and coming to our galaxy to take over is somewhat intriguing.

Why Andromeda has suddenly become inhabitable, I mean ALL the Class M planets in the galaxy, a bit much I thought. Still Warren Stevens or at least that's who the Andromedan has morphed into has overpowered the away team and come on board the Enterprise with the express purpose of enhancing it's warp drive to God only knows what factor and taking it home to let the invasion know it's time to begin.

Reducing the crew to blocks of clay with only William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, James Doohan, and DeForest Kelley left to run the ship these four have to convince them that humanoid shape leads to humanoid behavior.

Somehow I can't grasp that Scotty drinking one of the Andromedans under or Kirk making a play for Stevens's wife stopped a wholesale galaxy invasion. But the most faithful of Star Trek Trekkies will not doubt like it.

Fun Episode After a Dramatic Beginning

[verbusen · 7/10 · 30 July 2020]

I watched this again, after a 13-year hiatus, this time with my wife and not alone as the many times before either on DVD or commercial TV with commercials in the 70s and 80s. She enjoyed it and laughed at the back shots of the Kelvan woman, Kelinda. I told my wife this was made in the swinging 60s and the reason why I would love to watch it as a teenage kid; it was my favorite show after school while growing up! The ending is over-simplistic and we never see them go back across the great space barrier that had infected three Federation crewmen in Where No Man Has Gone Before, nor did any of the crew get it in this episode either as they go across; despite happening at least two times before in Star Trek history (the USS Enterprise 2 persons and the USS Valient, 1 infected). So, not to be taken too dramatically (except the early killing scene) and more of a humorous episode that's memorable almost as much as The Trouble with Tribbles, 7 of 10.