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| Kirk and Spock examine a knight on a planet where fantasy is becoming dangerously real... |
Original Air Date: Dec. 29, 1966. Written by: Theodore Sturgeon. Directed by: Robert Sparr.
THE PLOT
When the Enterprise discovers a world that is lush, peaceful, and completely uninhabited, Kirk decides this is an ideal opportunity to give his weary crew some shore leave. Before the first shore leave team can beam down, however, he receives a report of a strange apparition: a giant white rabbit, followed by a little girl. Kirk dismisses it as one of Dr. McCoy's jokes... until McCoy insists that he's serious, and he's further able to produce a giant rabbit footprint. At this point, Kirk puts all leave on hold until further investigation.
Apparitions continue to appear. Kirk sees one pleasant one in the form of his old flame, Ruth (Shirley Bonne) - followed by the unpleasant one of his old Starfleet Academy bully, Finnegan (Bruce Mars). Sulu finds himself menaced by both a Samurai warrior and a tiger. Meanwhile, a couple of other crew members come under attack by World War II-era fighter planes on strafing runs.
As these encounters grow ever more dangerous, Kirk worries that this superficially peaceful planet may just lead to the deaths of them all!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Kirk: A pleasantly relaxed performance by William Shatner. For more than half the episode, he reacts mainly with bemusement to the bizarre occurrences. He is intoxicated by the vision of Ruth, and he even seems to enjoy the irritation of Finnegan, happy at the thought of getting a bit of revenge on his one-time tormenter. But when events turn dangerous - even deadly - he shifts to the tightly focused captain of most Season One episodes.
Spock: This is a fairly Spock-lite episode. Still, we get a very good character scene in which he tricks Kirk into accepting shore leave. Later, Spock beams down to the planet to investigate directly, and it isn't long before he gains some important insights.
McCoy: He enjoys a dalliance with the much younger Yeoman Barrows (Emily Banks), and much of his time is spent flirting and enjoying her company. Even near the end, when he finds himself in a confrontation with an armed knight, he seems to be playing the part of the protector - and there's very much a sense of playacting to the way he approaches the encounter, with him not realizing that the situation is serious.
Hot Space Babe of the Week: She seems to be a bit of a romantic, with fantasies about knights in armor and Don Juan (both of which come back to haunt her in ways she wouldn't have anticipated). Her crush on McCoy actually makes a refreshing break from all the young women we've seen swooning over Kirk or Spock. The age difference is real, and for a rare change is even noted by the show itself, but it isn't so great that I couldn't imagine her being interested in the gentlemanly, compassionate, and wryly humorous middle-aged doctor.
THOUGHTS
"Refreshing" is probably the best description of this episode. I'll admit up-front that this is a personal favorite, probably my single most rewatched episode of the series. It's a jaunty, vaguely surreal romp that asks viewers to suspend logic and just enjoy the ride. No wonder Spock had to be sidelined this time out!
It's a particularly good-looking episode, production values benefiting from lots of location shooting. Studio sets, even well-designed ones, date, while country exteriors don't. Yes, the World War II planes are obviously stock footage, but the editing of the footage with the actors is well-done. I initially believed the tiger to be stock footage, as well... but per Memory Alpha, the animal was actually on-set, with William Shatner evidently needing to be shown the tiger at feeding time to discourage him from "wrestling" it on camera. [My thanks to The Whovian Zorker on the now-defunct Outpost Gallifrey for pointing that out.]
The script, by noted science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon, is a good one. It's well-structured, with new questions teasing the viewer at every turn. Everything appears ordinary, until an off-hand comment by McCoy creates the first illusion, leading us into the teaser. The pace at which new apparitions appear is slow at first, gradually increasing alongside the threat level to the regulars. When the situation spirals completely out-of-control, answers are finally provided... ones that fit with everything we've seen up to that point. It's a tidy little masterpiece of television scripting and an episode that rewards multiple viewings.
Besides, it's kind of nice to see the regulars all having a good time.
Rating: 9/10.
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