The appearance of Clayton Rohner in old man makeup as the eighty-year-old Admiral Mark Jameson had me recalling the way Jeffrey Hunter looked in the original series pilot 'The Cage', reworked as 'The Menagerie: Parts I and II'. The difference here is that Hunter's character, Captain Christopher Pike, was saved by the technology of Talos IV, while Jameson couldn't escape the fate of the age-reducing, drug and herb remedy he obtained from the grateful citizens of Cerebus II. I thought it just a bit comical the way he reacted when the drug started to kick in, getting a little handsy with his wife while she was trying to figure out what the heck was going on with her husband.
I thought the plot of the story was somewhat muddled regarding the revenge plan being carried out by Karnas (Michael Pataki), governor of Mordan IV. It was explained that forty-five years earlier, Karnas appropriated weapons from Jameson to avenge the death of his father against an opposing faction. Fearing Karnas would use the weapons against his enemies, the Admiral also supplied arms to the opposing side, resulting in a civil war that lasted forty-five years. Just four decades later, Jameson laments over the death of millions against the sixty-three hostages that he was able to save during the original negotiation to have them released. When I lay it out like that it doesn't seem so unbelievable, but I couldn't wrap my head around the idea while watching.
It would have been interesting to see Jameson revert all the way back to childhood in this episode, but the dire effects of the drug he was taking exacted its toll well beforehand. For his part, I thought Karnas came to his senses all too quickly after having all that retribution in his heart. I guess he was moved by the love expressed by Jameson's wife (Marsha Hunt) as he finally succumbed to the condition brought about by doubling down on the youth remedy. Regarding Marsh Hunt, I just checked her bio here on IMDb and learned that she recently passed away in 2022, just short of 105 years old!! She sure didn't need that life extending concoction!
I thought the plot of the story was somewhat muddled regarding the revenge plan being carried out by Karnas (Michael Pataki), governor of Mordan IV. It was explained that forty-five years earlier, Karnas appropriated weapons from Jameson to avenge the death of his father against an opposing faction. Fearing Karnas would use the weapons against his enemies, the Admiral also supplied arms to the opposing side, resulting in a civil war that lasted forty-five years. Just four decades later, Jameson laments over the death of millions against the sixty-three hostages that he was able to save during the original negotiation to have them released. When I lay it out like that it doesn't seem so unbelievable, but I couldn't wrap my head around the idea while watching.
It would have been interesting to see Jameson revert all the way back to childhood in this episode, but the dire effects of the drug he was taking exacted its toll well beforehand. For his part, I thought Karnas came to his senses all too quickly after having all that retribution in his heart. I guess he was moved by the love expressed by Jameson's wife (Marsha Hunt) as he finally succumbed to the condition brought about by doubling down on the youth remedy. Regarding Marsh Hunt, I just checked her bio here on IMDb and learned that she recently passed away in 2022, just short of 105 years old!! She sure didn't need that life extending concoction!