According to "Star Trek; the Inside Story" by Solow and Justman (the two original producers of the Star Trek series) there were some contractual issues with the actor who was supposed to play the guest lead, and thus this caused some scheduling issues which cascaded into other areas of production.
Result; this episode.
Well, what can a guy say about an installment that was supposed to be the crown jewel of Trek, but wound up being a bucket of swill? An "A" for effort... err... maybe.
Things that I spotted; there's an exterior shot showing Kirk and Spock leading a search team, but the actors are their stunt doubles, and not Shatner and Nimoy. The lead character seems prone to injury, and the science fiction in this episode is more fiction than science.
I'll say this, the reason I tend to prefer classic 1960's Trek to the TNG+ era, is because the first season of TOS Trek is psychological; the second season is sociological, while the third season is more interpersonal (with all its flaws). This episode really strove to be a true science-fiction story, and not some encoded amalgam conveying a comment on contemporary society.
No, this episode really wanted to post the question of sacrifice to save two realms of existence. As stated earlier, director Gerd Oswald wanted the son of a famous actor who had star power (the name escapes me). Said actor was drunk and didn't show up for the shoot. SAG threw the book at the actor for breaking his contract, and torpedoing what could've been an interesting, and a true first pure sci-fi masterpiece for this very memorable series.
But, blaming the guest star for all the foibles isn't fair. Truth is the writing was a little weak in this episode. Without a psychological formula to rely on this episode was truly trying to break new ground. But, because the author(s) did not know enough about the science they were dealing with, and only the philosophical dilemma of what they wanted to pose for the audience, the story falls flat.
Even so, it's still fun to see our favorites run around on the screen to save the Federation (and everyone else in this case) from a fate worse than death.
Not a sterling installment. Watch only in passing... if at all.
Result; this episode.
Well, what can a guy say about an installment that was supposed to be the crown jewel of Trek, but wound up being a bucket of swill? An "A" for effort... err... maybe.
Things that I spotted; there's an exterior shot showing Kirk and Spock leading a search team, but the actors are their stunt doubles, and not Shatner and Nimoy. The lead character seems prone to injury, and the science fiction in this episode is more fiction than science.
I'll say this, the reason I tend to prefer classic 1960's Trek to the TNG+ era, is because the first season of TOS Trek is psychological; the second season is sociological, while the third season is more interpersonal (with all its flaws). This episode really strove to be a true science-fiction story, and not some encoded amalgam conveying a comment on contemporary society.
No, this episode really wanted to post the question of sacrifice to save two realms of existence. As stated earlier, director Gerd Oswald wanted the son of a famous actor who had star power (the name escapes me). Said actor was drunk and didn't show up for the shoot. SAG threw the book at the actor for breaking his contract, and torpedoing what could've been an interesting, and a true first pure sci-fi masterpiece for this very memorable series.
But, blaming the guest star for all the foibles isn't fair. Truth is the writing was a little weak in this episode. Without a psychological formula to rely on this episode was truly trying to break new ground. But, because the author(s) did not know enough about the science they were dealing with, and only the philosophical dilemma of what they wanted to pose for the audience, the story falls flat.
Even so, it's still fun to see our favorites run around on the screen to save the Federation (and everyone else in this case) from a fate worse than death.
Not a sterling installment. Watch only in passing... if at all.