THE PLOT
Answering an urgent distress call from a planet previously thought uninhabited, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam down to find a society based on ancient Greek culture, ruled over by the powerful Plutonians. The Plutonian leader, Parmen (Liam Sullivan), is dying of an infection - which his body has no resistance to, because they have become so powerful that they have had no need of medicine. McCoy manages to cure him, but that is only the start of the Enterprise command crew's problems.
His recovery having left him aware of the need for a skilled physician, Parmen insists that McCoy remain on the planet. When McCoy refuses, the Plutonians respond violently, using their powers to lock the Enterprise in orbit and making Kirk and Spock into playthings. If the humans cannot find a way to break their awesome power, then they are destined to remain slaves forever!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Ham: Shatner not only unleashes the ham, he actually gets down in the slop to wallow when controlled by Parmen. He gyrates on the ground, making spastic movements with his arms and legs. It almost looks like Kirk is attempting to have intercourse with the marble floor. He even gets on all fours and whinnies like a horse, all the while making constipated facial expressions in close-up while grunting out his defiance. It goes so far, and is so over-the-top and protracted, that it eventually moves from the comic to the genuinely disturbing. What starts out funny becomes unsettling.
Kirk's loyalty to McCoy is a commendable trait. But there's more than just that. As Kirk notes, Parmen has no intention of letting the Enterprise go. Kirk can put himself in the enemy's shoes (one of the things that makes him a good tactician), and he knows that Parmen will surely destroy Enterprise if McCoy agrees to stay. He just won't do so in front of McCoy. Thus, Kirk must find a way to defeat Parmen, not only to save McCoy but to save the entire ship.
Spock: While controlled by Parmen, Leonard Nimoy gets to play emotion again, first laughing and then crying. In previous episodes where this has happened, it's been very much like a release. Here, the emotion is forced out of Spock, almost like a mental rape. Spock's response afterwards furthers that parallel, as he withdraws from the others, using all his mental discipline to gain control of the anger and hate that he feels boiling within. Nimoy is particularly good in the latter scene, even selling the melodramatic bit in which Spock crushes a goblet on a table.
McCoy: At first, he is the concerned doctor, absolutely professional in his determination to treat his patient. Even when Parmen's delirium results in bursts of dangerous psychic energy, McCoy insists on staying by his patient's side until his fever breaks. All of which makes him all the more outraged when his patient turns into his captor, making puppets of his friends as emotional blackmail for McCoy's consent to slavery. The always excellent DeForest Kelly is particularly good value reacting to the very long scene in which Spock and Kirk are so used. His reactions, both verbal and nonverbal, really help that scene to cross from ludicrous ham into genuine horror.
Uhura: This is, of course, the famous episode in which Kirk and Uhura kiss. The kiss created scandal in the Southern markets - to their shame, I would hope. It's played as anything but titillating for Kirk and Uhura, and even at the moment their lips touch (which behind-the-scenes info. tells us only happened because William Shatner kept insisting on retakes and deliberately botched the only "non kissing" take), Kirk gives Parmen a vicious glare, clearly outraged at having Uhura turned into an entertainment. In the midst of this, Nichelle Nichols gets a splendid little scene in which she defiantly insists that she is "not afraid."
Frosty Alien Space Babe of the Week: Barbara Babcock is Philana, Parmen's equally evil wife. When Alexander (Michael Dunn), the powerless "court jester," starts to warn Kirk and Spock about Parmen, she silences him with a look. She has no patience for Kirk's moralizing, urging Parmen to simply get rid of Kirk and Spock. She has minimal interaction with Kirk (yes, this is one episode where Kirk doesn't even attempt to bed the attractive alien chick), but she is still an effective presence, sitting aloof and taking in the scenes of torture.
Villain of the Week: Liam Sullivan is Parmen, leader of the Plutonians. Parmen is suitably pathetic when ill. But once restored to full health and power, he is utterly cold and malevolent. We never doubt for a second the conclusion that Kirk and Spock instantly reach: Parmen has no intention of letting any of the Enterprise crew go. The "entertainment" he arranged with Uhura and Chapel is simply the horrible, logical conclusion of Parmen's power and behavior. Left unchecked, he would have made "entertainments" of every man and woman aboard the Enterprise, with likely fatal results. His humanity and clear intelligence make him all the more chilling, because - minus the telekenetic abilities - there are despotic rulers very much like him. The only "rare" thing about Parmen is that he actually is stopped. Well-played by Sullivan, he is an all-too-convincing monster.
THOUGHTS
An episode often mocked, and not entirely without reason. Plato's Stepchildren does give William Shatner a full slab of ham and bacon to play with, including multiple moral speeches to deliver. There is very little science to the episode's science fiction, with the explanation pure mumbo-jumbo to justify the fantastical nature of the story. This is a purely ridiculous episode, utter hokum, and wide open for jeers by those who want hard science fiction in their Star Trek.
It was also one of my favorite episodes as a child. And as an adult? It honestly holds up a lot better than I had expected.
Like a surprising number of Season Three episodes, its production turns the limited budget into a virtue. There are, effectively, two sets, and the scenes tend to run very long. But with only two major sets, and only one of those in any way elaborate, the production designer is free to really put some thought into creating something visually interesting. The Grecian atmosphere is effectively established by the set dressing and costumes, neither of which were probably a difficult matter for Desilu studios to obtain. The rest is done by the dialogue and acting.
Plato's Stepchildren is surprisingly disturbing. The extended scene in which Kirk and Spock are first exposed to the mind control powers is vivid. Shatner and Nimoy are called upon to behave ridiculously, and Shatner particularly rises to the challenge. But it goes on so long, and DeForest Kelly wisely plays his reactions so very much in earnest, that it becomes horrific. This is enhanced by Spock's reaction in the following scene. In the final sequence, when Kirk and Spock are paired off with Uhura and Nurse Chapel for added entertainment, the efforts to fight it continue to add that disturbing element, particularly when Spock is being forced to embrace Nurse Chapel, apologizing to her for his inability to fight the control even as she begs him to fight back.
So... an episode that's basically nonsense, and I can certainly understand why it is often made into the butt of jokes about Season Three. It's all very silly, the finale even moreso, and the villains are let off entirely too lightly. But I have to admit, I not only wasn't bored by this one, I was actually quite gripped. Leading to another solid score, though I'm sure plenty will argue with me about it:
Rating: 7/10.
Uhura: This is, of course, the famous episode in which Kirk and Uhura kiss. The kiss created scandal in the Southern markets - to their shame, I would hope. It's played as anything but titillating for Kirk and Uhura, and even at the moment their lips touch (which behind-the-scenes info. tells us only happened because William Shatner kept insisting on retakes and deliberately botched the only "non kissing" take), Kirk gives Parmen a vicious glare, clearly outraged at having Uhura turned into an entertainment. In the midst of this, Nichelle Nichols gets a splendid little scene in which she defiantly insists that she is "not afraid."
Frosty Alien Space Babe of the Week: Barbara Babcock is Philana, Parmen's equally evil wife. When Alexander (Michael Dunn), the powerless "court jester," starts to warn Kirk and Spock about Parmen, she silences him with a look. She has no patience for Kirk's moralizing, urging Parmen to simply get rid of Kirk and Spock. She has minimal interaction with Kirk (yes, this is one episode where Kirk doesn't even attempt to bed the attractive alien chick), but she is still an effective presence, sitting aloof and taking in the scenes of torture.
Villain of the Week: Liam Sullivan is Parmen, leader of the Plutonians. Parmen is suitably pathetic when ill. But once restored to full health and power, he is utterly cold and malevolent. We never doubt for a second the conclusion that Kirk and Spock instantly reach: Parmen has no intention of letting any of the Enterprise crew go. The "entertainment" he arranged with Uhura and Chapel is simply the horrible, logical conclusion of Parmen's power and behavior. Left unchecked, he would have made "entertainments" of every man and woman aboard the Enterprise, with likely fatal results. His humanity and clear intelligence make him all the more chilling, because - minus the telekenetic abilities - there are despotic rulers very much like him. The only "rare" thing about Parmen is that he actually is stopped. Well-played by Sullivan, he is an all-too-convincing monster.
THOUGHTS
An episode often mocked, and not entirely without reason. Plato's Stepchildren does give William Shatner a full slab of ham and bacon to play with, including multiple moral speeches to deliver. There is very little science to the episode's science fiction, with the explanation pure mumbo-jumbo to justify the fantastical nature of the story. This is a purely ridiculous episode, utter hokum, and wide open for jeers by those who want hard science fiction in their Star Trek.
It was also one of my favorite episodes as a child. And as an adult? It honestly holds up a lot better than I had expected.
Like a surprising number of Season Three episodes, its production turns the limited budget into a virtue. There are, effectively, two sets, and the scenes tend to run very long. But with only two major sets, and only one of those in any way elaborate, the production designer is free to really put some thought into creating something visually interesting. The Grecian atmosphere is effectively established by the set dressing and costumes, neither of which were probably a difficult matter for Desilu studios to obtain. The rest is done by the dialogue and acting.
Plato's Stepchildren is surprisingly disturbing. The extended scene in which Kirk and Spock are first exposed to the mind control powers is vivid. Shatner and Nimoy are called upon to behave ridiculously, and Shatner particularly rises to the challenge. But it goes on so long, and DeForest Kelly wisely plays his reactions so very much in earnest, that it becomes horrific. This is enhanced by Spock's reaction in the following scene. In the final sequence, when Kirk and Spock are paired off with Uhura and Nurse Chapel for added entertainment, the efforts to fight it continue to add that disturbing element, particularly when Spock is being forced to embrace Nurse Chapel, apologizing to her for his inability to fight the control even as she begs him to fight back.
So... an episode that's basically nonsense, and I can certainly understand why it is often made into the butt of jokes about Season Three. It's all very silly, the finale even moreso, and the villains are let off entirely too lightly. But I have to admit, I not only wasn't bored by this one, I was actually quite gripped. Leading to another solid score, though I'm sure plenty will argue with me about it:
Rating: 7/10.
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