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| An android duplicate is made of Capt. Kirk! |
Original Air Date: Oct. 20, 1966. Written by: Robert Bloch. Directed by: James Goldstone.
THE PLOT
The Enterprise travels to the planet Exo III to investigate the disappearance of an archaeological expedition under the command of Dr. Roger Korby (Michael Strong), who is also Nurse Chapel's fiancé. They are all prepared for the worst - which makes it even more surprising when they actually make contact with Dr. Korby, who is alive and well!
Kirk, Chapel, and two security guards beam down. They learn that Korby survived by moving underground, where he discovered that the planet's long-dead civilization had left behind androids so advanced that they are all but indistinguishable from living beings. Korby plans to use this technology to create an android civilization, replacing human beings with robot doubles.
Korby views this as virtual immortality. Kirk has a different view, seeing the androids as an invasion threat that must be stopped at all costs!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Beefcake: Kirk gets as close to a nude scene as 1960's television would allow for. As Korby prepares an android duplicate of Kirk, Shatner is left lying on a big, spinning wheel, with only his waist covered for discretion's sake. This same scene shows Kirk thinking fast, finding a way to "program" his double to tip Spock off that something is wrong. Kirk also shows what a real man he is by successfully seducing an android woman. Now, that takes skill!
Nurse Chapel: She is still in love with Korby, and she refuses to condemn him as evil despite his actions. However, while she prefers not to be put in a position where she might have to betray him, she remains loyal to Kirk. When Kirk escapes, with the imposing android Ruk (Ted Cassidy) in pursuit, she calls out to Ruk not to harm him, using the exact conditioning Korby had established to keep Kirk alive.
Hot Android Space Babe of the Week: Andrea (Sherry Jackson) is a very '60s sci-fi android: gorgeous, loyal, and dressed in a revealing if highly impractical outfit. In an earlier draft of this review, I noted that many would enjoy such an android. Korby's thoughts may have run along similar lines. When Kirk kisses her (because of course he does), her immediate reaction is that she isn't programmed for him - indicating that she may be programmed to do such things with someone else. Not much mystery who that would be.
Villain of the Week: Michael Strong makes Roger Korby a reasonably three-dimensional Trek villain. He is soft-spoken and behaves with sincerity and empathy at all times. He genuinely believes that what he is doing is right, and he hopes to get Kirk to come around to his way of thinking. Even creating an android duplicate of Kirk is not an immediate takeover bid. He wants the captain to see how effective this process is, with actually using the android a last resort. By the end, he emerges as a tragic figure, making the episode's final moments a lot memorable than they might have been.
LET'S PLAY... ZAP THE REDSHIRT!
Redshirt Count: Two. When two security guards beam down with Kirk and Chapel, we know instantly that they're in for it. One gets thrown down a pit to become a redshirt pancake. The other is crushed by the gigantic android Ruk (an imposing Ted Cassidy).
THOUGHTS
The first of several Trek scripts by suspense/horror scribe Robert Bloch, best known for penning the novel that was adapted into Hitchcock's Psycho. What Are Little Girls Made Of? is not top-tier Star Trek, but it's still a well-paced and passably intriguing bit of fluff science fiction.
Questions of what would separate a sentient android from a true human being were not exactly new material for science fiction literature, not even in the 1960's, but it likely felt thought-provoking and fresh for television viewers. The Korby/Chapel romance is also reasonably convincing, with Chapel neither too emotionless nor too soppy to be sympathetic. There's a twist ending that isn't exactly surprising, but it also isn't so telegraphed that we're left to wait for the characters to catch up.
The remastered shots are once again carefully blended with the episode itself. Online comparisons between the original mattes and the remastered ones show improved detail that makes the underground caves look a little more atmospheric. However, the revamped caves still look like sets and mattes that could have been achieved in the 1960's, albeit with more time and money than the original version had to work with. I find that type of remastering commendable. It looks better, but it also looks like it belongs. It enhances the episode without distracting from it.
That said, if they can fix the mattes, why leave the glaringly obvious jump-cut in the Kirk duplication scene? That jump-cut does jar me from the episode for a few seconds, and it could have been fixed. It makes no sense to replace mattes and model shots and leave that in place!
Rating: 6/10. Engaging enough on its own merits, but far from the show at its best.
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