William Shatner Gives An Extraordinary Performance In The Final, Terrible Episode of Star Trek!

The Good: ACTING!
The Bad: Plot, Characters, Terrible sexism, Contrary to much of the prior established universe
The Basics: When a crazy woman swaps bodies with Captain Kirk, the good captain begins acting like an irrational woman in the terrible series finale to Star Trek.


The various incarnations of Star Trek have usually known when they are ending and tried to make a phenomenon of the event. On Star Trek The Next Generation, Q returns to bookend the series with "All Good Things," on Star Trek Deep Space Nine, there is mass carnage and the resolution to most of the plots and characters, on Star Trek Voyager, the crew actually remembers that they're trying to get home, and on Star Trek Enterprise, the producers try to lift the ratings by tying the show to the more successful Star Trek The Next Generation. The original Star Trek series, however, ended without fanfare with an episode entitled "Turnabout Intruder."

The U.S.S. Enterprise arrives at the distant planet Camus II, which is the site of an archaeological expedition. One of the scientists studying the ruins is Dr. Janice Lester. While other members of the landing party are looking for the source of the radiation that is killing Lester, Lester imprisons Captain Kirk and uses an alien device to swap bodies with him. Lester, in Kirk's body, then returns to the Enterprise and the ship heads off with Kirk, in Lester's body, to cure her illness. Along the way, the apparent Captain Kirk begins to act erratically and soon Spock figures out something in wrong and most of the senior officers end up in the brig facing the death penalty.

Yeah, it starts with a real sketchy idea, then it just evolves into something absolutely terrible. "Turnabout Intruder" has potential on the page; someone swaps bodies with the leader of the ship. The execution of it, however, becomes a terrible gender-issue analysis that is as medieval as it is pointless. Dr. Janice Lester has memorized all of the workings of the starship in order to pull off acting like Captain Kirk, but she's not able to hold it all together because she's a woman. Lester essentially goes crazy in Kirk's body and the only real reason we're given is that she's emotionally unstable. The source of her emotional instability? Jealousy over StarFleet's sexist policy that prevents women from being starship captains.

That very idea is antithetical to the vision of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, yet he signed off on this episode. When Star Trek was created, Roddenberry was attentive to creating a crew that involved ethnic minorities and women in all levels of the Star Trek universe. There are Commodores - who outrank Captain Kirk - who are black, the ship is driven by the Asian Mr. Sulu and the only way they get their calls in most episodes; through Uhura at the communication's station. So, why are we to assume that everyone is welcome in the world except women as starship captains?! This is just beyond suspension of disbelief and it mortgages much of the capital Star Trek bought for creating a progressive vision of the future.

There's nothing like going out on a low note and Star Trek does that with "Turnabout Intruder." At a time when mental illness is mostly cured, Star Trek clings to outdated notions of sexual discrimination to make Lester crazy. And the audience is simply supposed to watch, shrug and say "women!" We don't.

There are two things that are noteworthy about "Turnabout Intruder." First, this is one of the only episodes of Star Trek where a prior episode is referenced. When trying to prove his identity, Captain Kirk (in Lester's body) he references events from earlier third season episodes "The Tholian Web" and "The Empath." That's cool. What's even better is Spock's response, which is to simply say that Lester could have gotten that information out of the computer (good realism!).

The only reason to watch "Turnabout Intruder" is for the acting of William Shatner. For all of the problems with the original Star Trek in terms of hammy overacting and erratic delivery, Shatner gives an amazing performance as the "possessed" Captain Kirk. He alters his body language entirely to attempt to make it (his interpretation of) more feminine and it's a clever, subtle performance that works. Of course, he does the over-the-top crazy woman thing while Lester degenerates and he does that well, too.

But it's still a poor outing and a tragic end to a classic science fiction series. Star Trek deserved better than to end on such a downbeat. But it does.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek - The Complete Third Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the third and final season by clicking here!
Thanks!]

3.5/10

For other Star Trek reviews, please be sure to check out my index page (updated daily!) for the listings of all I have reviewed!

© 2010, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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If It Weren't For The Plot . . . The Mostly-Fine "Whom Gods Destroy"

The Good: Fine acting, Moments of character
The Bad: Over-the-top interpretation of insanity, SAME tired theme as most of "Trek," Contrived plot
The Basics: When Kirk and Spock are trapped in an insane asylum by a vindictive, shape-shifting former starship captain they (and the viewer) are tormented.


When I first fell in love with Star Trek, it was very much an all-consuming love. My love for the series began when VHS was the only home video medium and right around Christmastime, the videos would often be reduced from their regular price of $12.95 + tax to $9.99 + tax. The difference was all the difference: three week's allowance versus four! That first year, when I still had not even seen every episode of the series, my video collection was growing and my father and stepmother gave me the video for "Whom Gods Destroy" and when we were all done opening our presents, I rushed downstairs to watch the episode and savor it alone. When the fifty-one minutes were done, I came back upstairs, beaming, thrilled I had just seen this new-to-me episode. I recall my parents being annoyed; I had disappeared for an hour and they had not noticed, but they were irked that an hour after presents were opened, I had already watched my lone video.

That seems kind of crazy to me. I mean, after all, why wouldn't I rush down and watch it?! It was one of the episodes I was most wanting to see of the series! The expectation that I would save it for a rainy day or never derive pleasure out of rewatching it, now that was crazy! And it's crazy that "Whom Gods Destroy" is all about!

The U.S.S. Enterprise arrives at Elba II, home of the last population of criminally insane people in the Federation bearing a medicine meant to cure them. Kirk and Spock beam down to the secure facility, where they are promptly captured by a shape-shifting inmate, a former StarFleet captain named Garth who was brilliant, but went insane following an accident. He assumes Kirk's form after locking the captain and Spock up and attempts to beam up to the Enterprise only to find that Scotty will not transport him without a code countersign that was prearranged. Garth, not knowing the proper chess move to respond to the current commander of the Enterprise, begins to torment Kirk, the warden of the asylum, and his own people in a desperate attempt to get beamed up and begin a reign of conquest through this section of the galaxy!

"Whom Gods Destroy" is a pretty straightforward "thwart-the-villain" storyline where Kirk and Spock must take on a man who is in many ways their equal. Garth, being a starship captain whose strategies Kirk studied, has all the training Kirk and Spock have in addition to a sense of creativity and strategy that made him a force to be reckoned with back in the day. Crippled by debilitating craziness that takes the form of delusions and violent mood swings, Garth makes up for his serious disadvantage with his ability to alter his form in a rather chameleon-like fashion. Garth's style of shape-shifting is most like that of Martia in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, so he seems limited to mostly humanoid shapes.

Garth makes for an interesting enough villain and he is accompanied by his psychotic Orion slave woman, Marta who fills the role of sidekick. Whereas Garth seems legitimately damaged, Marta is crazy in an inspired and unpredictable way. She flirts with Kirk and Garth, both of whom she becomes violent with as well. Garth keeps her in her place using violence and intimidation, though he seldom has to be overt with it. But where Garth is played as a man with seeds of sanity and the insinuation of former greatness, Marta is just played as batty, insane with no center to return to and that works when one considers that these are supposed to be the final insane people in the galaxy.

The problem here is that the portrayal of insanity is over-the-top in a theatrical/television way and it begins to lose its sense of balance and perspective quickly. Unable to maintain a reasonable presentation of insanity and keep the "Kirk and Spock need to escape" simple plot fresh, "Whom Gods Destroy" quickly degenerates into a very standard hour of television and a very cliche hour of Star Trek.

Why? Because as soon as the story has worn itself to the point where there is nothing new to do with the characters or the plot, writers Jerry Sohl and Lee Erwin whip out the standard plot device, er, standard prop device, in this case a chair that was designed to provide therapy for the insane inmates of the Elba colony, but is now twisted into a torture device. Yes, it's virtually the same plot of the only other insane asylum story in the original Star Trek, "Dagger Of The Mind." I suppose the producers and director were hoping fans would not notice because there are almost two full seasons separating the two episodes. But no, in context, this becomes a somewhat ridiculous rehash of the earlier episode.

What works on the character front for "Whom Gods Destroy" is the level of commitment Kirk, Spock and Scotty all show to their principles and the need to protect the ship and nearby planets from the crazies living on Elba II. Kirk watches others be tortured, killed, and is tormented himself to protect the people on planets nearby and he stands by his commitment to protect the ship and Federation citizens.

And what is he protecting them from? Mostly a terrible stereotype of mental illness. Sure, the argument could be made that all the realistically crazy people in the Federation have been cured, leaving only the theatrically ridiculous and over-the-top insane people left to fill out the episode. The problem is that Garth is able to assert his will on them, most notably a Tellarite and an (apparently cross-dressing, if the feather boa is any indication) Andorian which seems strange. After all, why the inmates would follow Garth as opposed to Donald Cory, the warden, seems unrealistic. Indeed, far more real would be that most would collapse from the lack of structure or all would violently compete for dominance. And my money would go on the blue skinned guy in the pink boa; he's cagey!

Despite its problems with plot and the obvious "good piece of technology twisted into a torment device" theme that Star Trek has done to death, "Whom Gods Destroy" has a generally good sense of pace and tension. To be sure, the viewer pretty much knows that Garth is not going to be able to take over the Enterprise and conquer the galaxy, but as the episode progresses, how many people might die before Kirk and Spock thwart the shapeshifter becomes a very real concern.

What makes an episode that is pretty legitimately campy even bearable is the acting. William Shatner acts against himself having to portray Garth playing Kirk and he manages to make it a performance that is distinctive and not just a rehashing of other doppleganger type episodes. Shatner seems to have studied Steve Ihnat to get a few performance traits to mimic and he makes the moments where he is asked to stretch his range work well.

And while Ihnat is interesting as Garth, it is Yvonne Craig as Marta who gives the performance to watch in "Whom Gods Destroy." She plays Marta as sexy, unpredictable and dangerous and she throws her whole body into the role. More than anyone else in the episode, she is convincing in her portrayal of an unstable mind and she makes the episode watchable.

Ultimately, though, it's still one that's not quite worth watching. Sure, I loved it when I was younger, but now as I have developed some sense of taste, it's hard not to see the many, many flaws in this, the most glaring of which is the question of how a man in a maximum security asylum would have time and resources to do weapons research and development! And the recurring dominance of technology issue here has become passe.

Who will like this? Fans of science fiction camp. Star Trek fans will want to see it and Buffy The Vampire Slayer actually alludes to this episode in the Xander doppleganger episode from the fifth season, but other than to catch the allusion, it's too tough a sell. Despite the good tension, the lack of real plot and substance will turn off non-genre fans.

Of course, it still beats spending time with the family on Christmas morning . . .

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek - The Complete Third Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the third and final season by clicking here!
Thanks!]

5.5/10

For other Star Trek reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2010, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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You Can Put Miss America On Star Trek, But You Can't Guarantee It'll Be Good: "That Which Survives!"

The Good: Intriguing twist on the same old plot, One or two lines, Acting is fine
The Bad: Nothing stellar on the character front, Theme has been done to death on Star Trek.
The Basics: When the Enterprise and a landing party are both attacked by the same holographic woman, Spock must race to rescue Kirk and his team before they are killed.


Long before Star Trek sold out to the Baywatch audience by sticking well-endowed main cast members in catsuits, as the franchise did in season four of Star Trek: Voyager and every subsequent season and spin-off, they had a classier way to highlight the beauty of women. Star Trek is filled with wonderful costumed from gold lame bikinis, to netting to costumes that are essentially two strips of fabric radiating up from the crotch to cover the breasts. With "That Which Survives," Star Trek tried something new; bring a tremendously beautiful woman to the show - in this case the Miss America of the day, Lee Meriwether - and provide her with hair, make-up and costuming that makes her look pretty hideous.

Or maybe I'm just WAY out of touch for what passed for hot from the 1960s!

The U.S.S. Enterprise is exploring a distant planet when a landing party decides to beam down. While the quartet leaving the ship is in the act of transporting, they witness a woman appear and kill the transporter operator. Confused, Kirk materializes on the planet and attempts to contact the ship only to discover it is no longer in orbit! The Enterprise, cast a thousand lightyears away, begins the return trip to the strange planet when another crewman suffers a death by cellular disruption and the ship begins to accelerate out of control! On the planet, Kirk, McCoy and Sulu fall prey to the same woman they saw aboard the Enterprise after she kills the other member of the landing party. Desperate to survive, the landing party tries to figure out who the mysterious woman is, why she is killing them, and how to defeat her!

"That Which Survives" is, at best, a mediocre episode on its own, an even less inspired episode when looked at in the context of the original Star Trek. This is yet another "technology gone amuck" episode, this time in the form of a security system that has outlived the beings it was protecting. It's a decent plot, one that ends up being reused by Star Trek: The Next Generation with "The Arsenal Of Freedom," which is a stronger episode overall. But here it's the novelty of the episode that seems to be what the episode is about. After so many Star Trek episodes where technology has enslaved a people, here is an episode where technology is so efficient it outlives its creators and keeps enduring, even though it has no one left to defend.

Sadly, it is still defeated in the usual Kirk-using-logic-to-confuse-a-computer method. It's sad to see so many sophisticated computers destroyed by the old basic logic gap word problems. If Star Trek had begun in this day in age, no doubt it would be seen as a huge metaphor for the fallibility of Microsoft platforms, but here it's just another in a long line of technophobic themed episodes that seem to have been pretty commonplace in 1960s science fiction.

The woman, Losira, is essentially a killer hologram who destroys a single target with her touch. This is not a bad idea and it is fairly well executed. Actually, I think I might like the visual effect more than most reviewers as Losira essentially morphs into a solid line and then condense to a dot to disappear. It's a neat concept that makes for a speedy getaway, even if the graphic is very 1960s.

I am far more disturbed by the hair and make-up in "That Which Survives." Lee Meriwether's Losira has the worst hair I've seen on Star Trek. Indeed, it looks like someone stuck mousse in her Catwoman get-up (she was one of the Catwomen from the 1960s Batman) and removed the mask with its cat ears and the hair was left molded like that. Moreover, the costume is just plain terrible. Losira is defined in costume through baggy maroon pants with an ascending flap that covers her bellybutton, a basic (though non-supportive) halter top with shoulder flaps and - I kid not - a bib. This outfit is just too terrible for words and one wonders if Meriwether was given a challenge after being accused of being too good looking to appear on a nationally broadcast show looking terrible. If she was, she won with this! Sure, she still has her innate physical beauty, but this is pretty much the closest the costume department could get to a sackcloth for her.

If it seems like I'm obsessing a bit on the costume, there's a very simple reason for that; there is not much that happens in "That Which Survives." Kirk and company beam down to the planet, once per act, Losira appears and takes a swing at one of the crewmembers who is around, before she is stopped and disappears. Meanwhile, the Enterprise is headed back to the planet and to make that more than just a pointless waiting game that does not utilize the crew in any fashion, the ship is sabotaged by Losira and it is stuck accelerating. It's not terribly thrilling.

Nor is it much of a surprise when Scotty finds a way to deactivate the sabotaged warp drive moments before it would have destroyed everyone. Nor is it a surprise when Spock is in command that he acts logically. Nor is it a character leap at all that Kirk, Sulu and McCoy need to rely on one another to stay alive while they await rescue from the Enterprise. Yeah, this is a low character episode. There is no character development among the main crew and Losira's character is simply established as a very straightforward thing.

The only real treat on the character front is the reappearance of Dr. M'Benga. M'Benga appeared in the second season episode "A Private Little War" (click here for that review!) and was the physician who healed Spock while McCoy was stuck with Kirk on the planet. M'Benga studied the ways of Vulcan medicine, so he and Spock get along just fine while McCoy and Kirk are elsewhere. He's a fun character, even if he only appears twice.

M'Benga is enthusiastically portrayed by Booker Marshall and he brings a quiet dignity to the role. He plays off the regular cast well in his brief scenes and makes just enough of an impression to be recognizable to the die hard fans. The rest of the main cast simply does their usual thing. Because there are no great character leaps, none of the main cast are given any parts they need to stretch for.

George Takei gets to scream as he portrays Sulu being attacked by Losira, but that's pretty much the big acting moment of the episode.

As for Lee Meriwether, her presence on Star Trek (as well as Batman) should have been enough for Marlee Matlin to not take flack for her acting career. In addition to appearing on Spin City, Matlin had the recurring role of Joey Lucas on the seven seasons of The West Wing (click here for that review!). People seem to begrudge Miss America acting, but she did great and to be fair to the poorly coifed Meriwether, she plays robotic and deadly just fine in "That Which Survives."

But it's not a complicated part, just like it's not a sophisticated episode. Fans of general drama will not find anything redeeming, fans of science fiction will likely be bored as this is very standard "villain must be stopped" storyline, and fans of thrillers will likely find it not tense enough to be engaging. It's just not enough of anything.

Perhaps it would have been different if Losira had worn a catsuit.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek - The Complete Third Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the third and final season by clicking here!
Thanks!]

5/10

For other Star Trek reviews, please visit my index page for a list of all of the episodes, movies and boxed sets I have reviewed!

© 2010, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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The Alien Outside, The Menace Of Madness Inside, "The Tholian Web;" Star Trek Sans Kirk!

The Good: Most of the acting, Mood, Character, Effects aren't bad
The Bad: Little bits throughout, Very simple plot
The Basics: When Captain Kirk is lost in an interdimensional rift, Spock takes command of an Enterprise besieged with problems within and without and has only McCoy to turn to!


It's rather rare for an episode of television to take a "wait and see" attitude. Yes, most of us like characters that act, rather than those that simply react. It is seldom that a show involves much in the way of sitting around and waiting. And, truth be told, there are few shows that could pull that off. And yet, Star Trek does just that with the waiting game episode "The Tholian Web!"

The U.S.S. Enterprise comes upon the derelict U.S.S. Defiant in an unexplored region of space. While aboard the Defiant, Dr. McCoy notices that matter is not reacting normally, that it is out of phase, a fact he perceives when he puts his hand through solid objects like a table. The exploratory party beams back, save Captain Kirk, who is aboard the ship when it fades out of existence. Spock soon concludes that the ideal course is to wait and he has calculated the next interval when the Defiant and Captain Kirk ought to reappear.

Unfortunately for Spock, who is in command of the Enterprise, members of the crew begin to go crazy, hallucinating and flailing about in a manic manner. As individuals in the crew deteriorate, Spock is faced with an external challenge; the arrival of a Tholian ship. The Tholian commander agrees to wait the precise interval Spock says he will need based on his calculations. Alas, when the time expires, neither Kirk nor the starship appear and Spock has nothing to beam aboard! The situation gets even worse when the Tholian ship opens fire! With the Tholians spinning an energy web around the ship, the crew going mad and Kirk lost between dimensions and running out of air, Spock must choose to save the ship or Kirk, before losing both!

No doubt there is someone reading this and wondering, "Why can't Spock just leave and come back?" This is actually addressed in the episode itself and the answer is simply that Spock believes that with space being so unstable in this area, if the ship were to move, Kirk would be irrevocably lost. So there!

The science behind the "weakened space" in the Tholian Web is rather interesting and the tie in between the stellar and the physiological is a clever connected concept from writers Judy Burns and Chet Richards. McCoy's explanation for it makes some actual sense; if the space in the area is breaking apart and slipping into another dimension, this has an effect on the neurons in the brain, lessening the mind's ability to control itself and regulate the victim's actions. When McCoy says it, it actually sounds plausible!

But "The Tholian Web" is full of good ideas like that. They are so good that Star Trek: The Next Generation will essentially utilize the idea of what happened with Captain Kirk in their episode "The Next Phase." And while I am no fan of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Force Of Nature" on its own, in the context of the franchise it is made even worse. "The Tholian Web" clearly describes a phenomenon much like the ozone-depletion analogy phenomenon from the inferior Next Generation episode. In context that episode becomes even more ridiculous because there is hundred year old evidence that similar phenomenon exist, the reticence of the scientific community to believe it is unexplainable.

But on its own, "The Tholian Web" is a truly strange episode in that it actually succeeds. The Enterprise crew sits and waits. Scotty complains about the energy demands in keeping the ship still, McCoy complains about the crew going mad, the Tholians slowly build their web and not much of substance actually happens. We're waiting for Kirk to appear, we're waiting to see who goes crazy next, we're waiting to see what happens when the Tholians finish their web around the Enterprise, but against all odds, this simple-plotted episode works!

"The Tholian Web" succeeds because it keeps the tension ratcheted up. Spock is almost constantly counting off the time left to the ship. The Tholians are portrayed as efficient, punctual and ultimately inflexible. There is a real sense of danger promoted in virtually every scene. And when Captain Kirk is lost it is presented as a very real possibility that this time it's for real. I am an unabashed cynic when it comes to such things. Star Trek, traditionally, only kills off its big names for big events. The silly god-creature episodes don't hold water with me because the seasoned viewer knows that it's not going to be one of the ridiculous Star Trek comedies when a character like Kirk is killed off. If you want a show that messes with your head like that, Buffy The Vampire Slayer is for you, especially the fifth season.

But "The Tholian Web" presents odds that are stacked against Captain Kirk's safe return. There's a new adversary and were this a serialized show, the idea of Captain Kirk's death sparking a conflict with the Tholians would hold water. There's the deteriorating ship and crew; the idea that even if Kirk is out there, he might not be able to be recovered. The episode plays it all quite convincingly and it is very engaging, despite the limited plot.

Part of the reason for that is because the characters treat it so seriously. When the Defiant does not rematerialize like Spock predicted, Kirk is declared dead. There's a funeral, Spock and McCoy argue over watching the Captain's final message to them, Spock begins to get comfortable in the captain's chair. Spock, McCoy and Scotty all react exactly as we might expect if Kirk were dead and gone forever. Director Ralph Senensky effectively drags out the process of emotionally manipulating the viewers.

This is a good character episode for McCoy and Spock as well. Sure, there are the obligatory scenes where McCoy is yelling about Spock being an unemotional Vulcan, but this is an episode where the two truly gel and come together for the sake of the ship as well. McCoy and Spock, on a metaphoric level, may be seen as the Id and Super Ego of the Enterprise and in that model, the react perfectly the the death of Kirk (the Ego) and the breakdown between them is actually wonderful on the metaphoric level.

And in the literal sense, the characters become fresh and interesting again with the shakeup. McCoy can't simply stand around annoying Spock because he has a task he desperately needs to attend to. And Uhura is given the chance to shine when she fears for her sanity when she sees Captain Kirk after he is pronounced dead!

"The Tholian Web" spends much time playing Leonard Nimoy's Spock off DeForest Kelley's McCoy and the episode works as well as it does for one simple reason: Nimoy and Kelley are able to act! In this case, they act like two people who don't entirely like one another and given the friendship the actors shared, this is quite a convincing performance. Nimoy and Kelley have great on-screen chemistry and their performance in the taped message scene is truly one of the best of the series.

As well, that is one of the few scenes to contain actor William Shatner. Shatner's absence from most of the episode makes the scene that much more poignant and Shatner provides one of his most reserved and convincing performances of the series.

Fans of Star Trek will flock to this episode and fans of science fiction and "ticking bomb" stories are likely to enjoy the episode well enough, though they may not appreciate the depth of the character idiosyncrasies. Conversely, fans of character studies and dramas will likely enjoy "The Tholian Web" for its well-defined character moments and character interactions, even if the plot might seem a little too fantastic for them.

All in all, this is a strangely effective episode given that so little actually happens in it! Worthwhile for anyone looking for something different to watch.

It is worth noting that the Tholians are mentioned occasionally in the various Star Trek series that follow, though they only appear again on-screen in two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek - The Complete Third Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the third and final season by clicking here!
Thanks!]

8/10

For other Star Trek reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2010, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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