Star Trek: The Animated Series (TV Series) The Eye of the Beholder (1974) User Reviews

Alien Artefacts...

[Xstal · 7/10 · 28 February 2022]

The tables are turned, the roles have been reversed, the view is looking out, a position that's unrehearsed.

A super intelligent mind reading slug elephant race capture the landing party of the Enterprise and install them in their zoo of foreign bodies.

One of the better cartoons of the series.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 11 April 2015]

I was surprised by this particular episode of the animated "Star Trek" series...it didn't suck. While the quality of the animation was horrible, as usual (and DON'T attack me for saying the obvious-- -it IS among the ugliest and worst animated TV shows ever), the story was interesting and seemed to fit into the style of the previous TV show much more than most of the animated shows.

Enterprise is looking for the crew of a scientific expedition. Their ship is in orbit but the crew beamed down to a planet and haven't been heard of since. When the usual three beam down, they find a strange planet which seems artificial because it has so many different terrains and geological features in such a small area. Only when it's too late do they realize it's a zoo...and they are the new exhibits!

The plot was clearly inspired by a "Twilight Zone" episode with a similar idea. But, the show was intelligently executed and kept my interest throughout. Now brilliant but for the cartoon series, it was a high point.

We're Going to the Zoo

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 21 March 2017]

The Enterprise crew goes to a planet where six people have disappeared. Three of them left their ship in search of a landing party. When Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam down, they encounter some dangerous creatures and different kinds of terrain that should not be there. Soon they are captured by things that look like giant snails with tentacles. It turns out that they are going to be exhibited in a zoo. This is what has happened to the others who were kept here. The species on the planet have telepathic powers and while looking like slugs are formidable and highly intelligent. It all depends on Scottie back at the ship.

Cribbing Off The Cage

[Samuel-Shovel · 5/10 · 29 December 2018]

In "The Eye of the Beholder" the Enterprise is searching for a missing science crew on an unexplored planet. Kirk, Spock, and Bones beam down to find the surface littered with strange animals and landscapes. They're captured by Heffalump-looking creatures who put them in a zoo cage. This species is so advanced that it can't even understand the humans. They reunite with the missing crew and learn more about their captors.

Since the unknown aliens are telepathic, Kirk uses his mind to trick them into giving him his communicator. He uses it to ask Scott for a beam up. Scotty mistakenly beams aboard one of the children of the aliens, causing a panic. Since the child isn't fully developed, Scotty is able to communicate with it and they head back down to the surface. The child explains to its parents that the humanoids are intelligent and they decide to release the crew. The crew beam back aboard and head off to space once again.

This feels like a rehash of the original pilot that didn't air until later. The main difference is the captors knowledge of their captives and how intelligent they are. These aliens seem more benign than the Talosians. There are other differences but none especially worth mentioning.

This episode is about average compared with the low standards of this series. The animation never improved, the scripts are typically slow, and the voice acting phoned-in and lazy.

My favorite part about this is Kirk getting and at the other captain for beaming down against Star Fleet regulations even though Kirk does it all the time.