THE PLOT
A visit to a colony of scientists takes an unexpected turn. Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Chekov, and a pretty young lieutenant beam down to find no signs of life. Chekov is terrified when he discovers dead bodies in one building. McCoy determines that the colonists all died of old age... which should be utterly impossible, since none of them were over thirty. I would say that a colony of scientists - not traditionally a young man's field, at least not in the highest ranks of science - all being under 30 is, if not impossible, then at least unlikely, but whatever. Two survivors are found - a couple who should also be in their twenties, but appear to be quite elderly.
The survivors are beamed up with the landing party, only to die in sickbay soon after. Kirk decides to stay in orbit until his crew can solve the mystery, against the wishes of Commodore Stocker (Charles Drake), who is en route to Starbase 10. Before much progress can be made, McCoy discovers signs of rapid aging among all members of the landing party. All except Chekov, who appears to be mysteriously immune. If the crew cannot reverse the effects, then Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty will all soon die of old age!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Kirk: The opening and particularly the closing show us the typically assured, confident, commanding captain. But as the aging affects Kirk, we also get to see a less flattering side to his character. The same edge that makes Kirk an effective commander makes him short-tempered and paranoid as the rapid aging sets in. In the late 1960's, the word "Alzheimer's" did not exist, its symptoms being simply folded into the term "senility." But the aging Kirk shows many of the effects of Alzheimer's disease. He's initially forgetful, then irritable when questioned. He becomes confused and angry, lashing out mindlessly at his friends and undermining his own authority when called upon to give testimony at a competency hearing. It cuts off before Kirk loses his own identity or is reduced to crying out incoherently, and of course it's all reversed by the end. But it's still somewhat chilling to see Kirk reduced to a shadow of himself, and Shatner is very good throughout.
Mr. Spock: Spock ages more slowly than the humans, and so the effects are initially less noticeable. Still, even before the gray powder comes out for his hair, we see Leonard Nimoy altering the pace of his walk and even the pitch of his voice, to let us know that Spock is feeling the effects. Nimoy gets some excellent scenes opposite Shatner in which Spock endures Kirk's irrational ire, first at the captain's perception that Spock has betrayed him to steal his command, then at Kirk's more well-founded fears that Spock isn't taking command and is instead allowing Commodore Stocker to run the ship.
Dr. McCoy: Despite the stress of the aging on his own body, he works tirelessly to try to find the answer. The way in which McCoy and Spock complement each other is shown yet again as Spock comes up with a theory about radiation from a passing comet, which McCoy is able to confirm. Oddly, despite being significantly older than Kirk, McCoy is less affected by the aging.
Chekov: Gets a reasonable role in this episode. As the only member of the landing party not affected, he spends a lot of time being used as a "lab rat" in sickbay, and gets some amusing lines about the blood and fluid samples being taken from him. He obviously is not thrilled with Stocker's command of the ship, particularly when Stocker freezes during a Romulan attack.
Hot Space Babe of the Week: Sarah Marshall is Janet Wallace, an old flame of Kirk's. Yes, another one. From the background we receive, it seems that Janet was more instrumental in calling off their affair than Kirk was. The man she ended up marrying was much older, something Kirk references when Janet becomes noticeably friendlier to him after he begins aging. She works closely with McCoy, and is instrumental in finding a cure for the aging in time for Kirk to swoop in and save the ship from Stocker's incompetence at the finale. I'm not usually one to comment on such things, but her costume is genuinely atrocious. Her performance is also weak, and I'm glad that this is the only time she appears.
Annoying Space Bureaucrat of the Week: Charles Drake is Commodore Stocker, the latest irritating bureaucrat to be a passenger on the Enterprise. Stocker is obsessive about reaching his new post at Starbase 10, almost comically so. It's as if he's afraid if he doesn't get there in record time Starfleet will reconsider and give the job to someone else. Given what we see of him, I can't say that I'd blame them. Though his relieving Kirk of command actually is reasonable under the circumstances, the writers make sure that he looks like an ass while doing so anyway. Then he violates treaty, provoking the Romulans, in order to try to save a little time - and panics when the Romulans attack (as of course they would). Drake does a solid acting job, but I wish Stocker was a little less cartoonish. Stocker is incompetent because the script requires it - a failing in the script, in my opinion.
ZAP THE REDSHIRT!
Redshirt count: One. Lt. Galway (Beverly Washburn) ages to death just as the other landing party members are starting to really be affected by the aging. It's a disturbing death, given her incoherent shrieking just before she collapses.
THOUGHTS
Though a step down from episodes such as Mirror, Mirror, Amok Time, and The Doomsday Machine, this is another solid episode in a rather good run. It's interesting, and disturbing, to see our regulars brought low by something as simple as old age. Having Kirk be the most affected raises the dramatic stakes considerably. Spock is too devoted to duty to bend the rules, thus leaving the way clear for Stocker to put the ship in jeopardy. It is also dramatically effective to see the always confident Kirk so reduced as he is here, and the senility gives Shatner something new to play in a role where he's already sometimes falling back a bit too often on the same few acting tricks.
The rapid-aging disease is an enjoyable MacGuffin, as long as you don't think about it too hard. I do wish the script laid out some rules for the disease. Why is the oldest member of the landing party (McCoy) the least affected of the humans, while the youngest (Galway) is the first to die? Well, obviously it's because we need McCoy to be compus-mentus in order for him to hit upon the solution, while Galway dies because she's an expendable guest character. But it doesn't actually make any sense. One could speculate that the faster metabolism of the younger crew members makes them actually react more to the aging... but then Scotty (the second oldest of the landing party) stumbles in, looking half-dead already, which kills off that theory. The disease, like the warp engines, moves at the speed of plot.
In addition, I didn't really believe that the crew would stand by while Stocker ordered them into the Neutral Zone. Wouldn't such a suicidal (not to mention illegal) act be grounds to remove him from command? Would Stocker himself have risen to the position he holds by being that level of stupid? Even a career paper-pusher would know better than to pilot a ship into the equivalent of a minefield that he knows about. Stocker does this amazingly stupid thing, and the crew lets him do it, simply because the ship needs to be in jeopardy for the climax to work. I can put my brain on hold and accept it... but why should I have to put my brain on hold? Most TOS scripts have managed to be entertaining without that kind of idiot plotting, which makes me a shade less forgiving of it here.
Rating: 6/10.
Previous Episode: Mirror, Mirror
Next Episode: I, Mudd
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