The Enterprise arrives at a planet called Omicron Ceti III where the locals *should* have perished long ago. The planet has been bombarded by "Berthold" rays that have been known to be lethal. But the landing party finds a bunch of beaming residents that welcome them with open arms. It's a mystery to Kirk, Spock, Bones, and everybody else in the party, especially as Bones is able to determine that the residents are all in perfect health. Then all of the various Enterprise crew members end up in the same smiling, euphoric state, and Kirk has to deal with a mutiny as everybody deserts to beam to the planet below!
This excellent script by D. C. Fontana comes up with some brilliant humor as well as a pointed observation on the whole idea of "paradise", and whether it's really all it's cracked up to be. Kirk opines that a species can grow stagnant if it's not challenged enough.
The mystery is soon solved in a clever way, and nobody is really immune from the effects - until Kirk is the last crew member standing, and it's up to *him* to come up with a counter-action. The result is a wonderful scene where he must motivate a much-changed Spock to respond to him in a negative way. And it's Spock who figures in some of the brightest laughs - we actually get to see him swing from a tree! Truly in touch with his emotions for the first time, he responds to the overtures made by an old acquaintance (the lovely Jill Ireland). Bones has fun moments of his own as he addresses Kirk as "Jim boy" and talks about making himself a mint-julep.
There is also a genuine haunting quality when Kirk is alone on the starship. He realizes for the first time how vast it is, without a crew to fill it. And the potential for the starship to be lost forever is there, once Kirk beams down and the craft is unmanned.
One very entertaining sequence is the Kirk-Spock fight. Here we get to see just how strong a Vulcan can be.
Overall, this is one very effective episode that works on multiple levels.
Eight out of 10.
This excellent script by D. C. Fontana comes up with some brilliant humor as well as a pointed observation on the whole idea of "paradise", and whether it's really all it's cracked up to be. Kirk opines that a species can grow stagnant if it's not challenged enough.
The mystery is soon solved in a clever way, and nobody is really immune from the effects - until Kirk is the last crew member standing, and it's up to *him* to come up with a counter-action. The result is a wonderful scene where he must motivate a much-changed Spock to respond to him in a negative way. And it's Spock who figures in some of the brightest laughs - we actually get to see him swing from a tree! Truly in touch with his emotions for the first time, he responds to the overtures made by an old acquaintance (the lovely Jill Ireland). Bones has fun moments of his own as he addresses Kirk as "Jim boy" and talks about making himself a mint-julep.
There is also a genuine haunting quality when Kirk is alone on the starship. He realizes for the first time how vast it is, without a crew to fill it. And the potential for the starship to be lost forever is there, once Kirk beams down and the craft is unmanned.
One very entertaining sequence is the Kirk-Spock fight. Here we get to see just how strong a Vulcan can be.
Overall, this is one very effective episode that works on multiple levels.
Eight out of 10.