Turnabout Intruder 

An insane woman forcibly switches personalities with Capt. Kirk.

Director:

Herb Wallerstein

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (created by), Arthur H. Singer (teleplay by)

Stars:

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
William Shatner	...	Captain James T. Kirk / Dr. Janice Lester
Leonard Nimoy	...	Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy
Sandra Smith	...	Dr. Janice Lester / Captain James T. Kirk
Harry Landers	...	Dr. Coleman
James Doohan	...	Scott
George Takei	...	Sulu
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov
Majel Barrett	...	Nurse Christine Chapel
Barbara Baldavin	...	Communications Officer
David L. Ross	...	Lt. Galoway
John Boyer	...	Guard

Storyline

In answering a medical emergency at an archaeological expedition, Kirk confronts the deep hatred of an old love, Janice Lester, who supposedly lies severely ill from celebium radiation. In payment for jilting her back at Starfleet Academy, Dr. Lester arranges for an alien machine to swap her consciousness with that of the captain and takes command of the Enterprise. Once aboard, Kirk (in Lester's body) tries to convince Spock that he is trapped in her body. As a result, Janice (in Kirk's body) conducts a court-marshal with the intent of executing Spock and Kirk (in Janice's body), and later McCoy and Scott, to keep her secret. The crew realize something is seriously wrong with their captain and, not wishing to incur an illegal death-penalty themselves, begin a passive resistance.

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Plot Keywords:

series finale | security guard | attempted murder | murder | court martial | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 June 1969 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television, Norway Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

51 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lieutenant Uhura does not appear in this episode.

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Goofs

When Spock and McCoy are conversing in sickbay, McCoy is wearing his medical garb. However, in the first couple of close-ups, his shirt changes to his regular uniform.

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Quotes

Mr. Spock: I have a few questions to ask her.
Lt. Galloway: Did the captain order it, sir?
Mr. Spock: Why should he? They are my questions, therefore I am ordering it, Lieutenant.

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Connections

References Battleship Potemkin (1925)

User Reviews

The end of the beginning

Airing in June of 1969, "Turnabout Intruder" was aired as an afterthought (as TV shows typically bowed out during March and April back then), and in some ways was produced as an afterthought: the climax of this episode seems excessively rushed, robbing an interesting premise of the time and care it deserved.

Instead, the series' only episode focused primarily on gender issues comes across as an impediment to the wrap party. Add this to the fact that Dr. Lester, disturbed as she might be, might actually be *right* about the Starfleet of the Original Series, and you have a less-than- fitting end to a landmark television program.

This isn't to say that the entire episode is bad: Sandra Smith turns in an excellent performance as Dr. Lester, and more importantly, Kirk-in-Lester's body, better than Shatner's rushed take as Lester-in-Kirk's body. Also, there are numerous references (primarily by Smith as Kirk) to previous episodes, a nice touch in this, the final episode of the series.

What probably disturbs me the most about this episode is how poorly it has aged since I first saw it in the mid '80s. While Janice Lester is clearly off her rocker, the direction seems uncharacteristically harsh towards her. After all, we've seen a number of captains (and a few commodores, as well as a collection of admirals and high-ranking civilians) on Star Trek, and other than Chris Pike, Matt Decker, Garth, and Bob Wesley, they're generally a fairly pathetic bunch (and even Decker and Garth were all too human), validating Lester's claim that she could also do the job just as well, if not better. It's almost like the rare episodes of The Twilight Zone where the good characters are punished-while there might be a "good" ending, the viewer is ultimately cheated, as justice has clearly not been served.

But, then again, maybe that's the point-viewers in 1969 were clearly not content with the end of Trek, and they turned a failed TV show into a cultural icon.