THE PLOT
The Enterprise responds to a distress call from Camus II. A team of scientists led by Dr. Janice Lester (Sandra Smith) was exploring the ruins of a dead civilization when Janice became exposed to toxic radiation. Janice is an old flame of Kirk's (yes, another one) who was with him at the Academy, but who was consumed with bitterness at Starfleet's refusal to allow women to become starship captains.
Once she and Kirk are alone, she uses a piece of alien technology to switch bodies with Kirk. Now in Kirk's body, Janice has command of the Enterprise. But "the captain's" irrational behavior is quickly noticed by McCoy and Spock. When a mind-meld confirms that Kirk is now in Janice's body, Spock moves against the usurper - and is immediately charged with mutiny!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Ham: This episode gives William Shatner a final opportunity to revel in sheer, unadulterated ham. His performance as the Janice-possessed Kirk is a bacon/pork marvel. He feminizes his walk and his gestures, introduces a tremor into his voice, and even raises his voice a pitch in any scene in which Janice becomes upset. No one could accuse him of underplaying, particularly when he throws himself around the corridor and makes fish faces when Kirk and Janice switch back. But it's entertaining, and goes a long way toward making such a fundamentally idiotic episode work as well as it does.
Spock: With Kirk incapacitated, Spock is effectively the hero of this episode. He calmly assesses "Kirk's" irrationality, assesses "Janice's" insane-sounding claims, then uses his Vulcan Voodoo to determine the truth. Once he knows the truth, he does not waver in his defiance of the false Kirk. Spock's absolute composure, contrasted with the false Kirk's hysteria, helps sway the command staff in Spock's favor. It also gives the series' two leads an excellent scene, with Shatner's over-the-top fervor offset by Nimoy's unflappability.
Dr. McCoy: He is forceful in insisting that "Kirk" undergo a battery of tests. But when the tests show no evidence of any disorder, he is honest about that fact and very hesitant when Scotty solicits him to defy the "captain" regardless.
Scotty: After "the captain" becomes hysterical in the face of Spock's defiance, Scotty makes a decision. As he tells McCoy, he has never seen Kirk behave in such a way. He trusts Spock, and he knows Kirk well enough to know that the man he just saw dissolve in front of him could not possibly be Kirk. So he decides that, despite the evidence, he will vote for Spock - and enlists McCoy to agree to do the same.
Hot Alien Space Villain of the WeeK: Sandra Smith gives a solid enough performance as Kirk-in-Janice. It doesn't even approach being a match for Shatner's hilarious mincing, but she keeps her performance calm and level-headed. We don't exactly see Shatner when we look at her, but we do see a temperament suited to command in contrast to the increasingly hysterical Janice-in-Kirk.
THOUGHTS
Star Trek began with a pilot that was rejected by the network, in part for having a female first officer who didn't seem to know her place. It is somewhat ironic, then, that it ends with an episode that all but flat-out states that women are mentally inferior to men and that those who don't remember their place are probably mentally unhinged and a threat to everyone around them.
Turnabout Intruder isn't quite as offensive as it should be, if only because it's far too silly to take seriously. Take Dr. Lester's entire plan. Her big body-switch with Kirk depends upon her being left alone with Kirk for several minutes in order to make the switch. With the help of an accomplice, this is doable... given that McCoy and Spock are the only people besides Kirk to beam down. What if a full security team had beamed down with them, with some guards staying in the room when Spock and McCoy left? That would be an elaborate villainous plan down the tubes very quickly, wouldn't it?
Despite it being basically one big Idiot Plot, Turnabout Intruder is actually one of the season's better-paced episodes. The body switch is done before the teaser is finished. Spock and McCoy are suspicious of the changed "Kirk" and actively investigating by the twenty minute mark. Spock is charged with mutiny by the thirty minute mark. And everything goes gloriously insane in the last ten minutes or so, with plans hatched for a mass execution and a cold-blooded murder while Janice-in-Kirk tries to fight back the body switch wearing off (never mind that the script never pauses before this point to indicate that the switch wearing off is even a factor). It's dizzying and dumb, but it moves. Given that static nature of many of even Season Three's good episodes, there is something to be said for a fast pace.
In my review of All Our Yesterdays, I remarked that I wished that had been the finale. I stand by that, as it was a good script realized with above-average production values, centered around a genuinely interesting concept. Turnabout Intruder is "B movie" material at best, and by the end I was laughing more at it than with it.
But there is one respect in which it's a more suitable finale than All Our Yesterdays would have been: It actually uses the ensemble. Uhura's MIA, with her role filled by a random brunette. But Scotty, Chekov, and Sulu all get strong moments, while in the previous episode, the latter two were not even present (or inded mentioned). So if nothing else, it's nice that the final episode of 1960's Star Trek both features and uses most of the show's cast.
Finally, as dumb as it is, I have to acknowledge that it's an entertaining dumb episode. With Shatner's glorious ham giving it a boost, I had a good time watching it. A bit like Spock's Brain, this is deeply stupid - but fun to watch in spite of itself.
Rating: 4/10.
Season Three Overview
Review Index
To receive new review updates, follow me:
On Twitter:
On Threads:
No comments:
Post a Comment