This show had great potential: however, its analogy on racism is much too crude to have any impact on the viewer. Basically 2 aliens--Bele and Lokai--repeatedly fight on the Enterprise with the use of forcefields and other infernal devices with neither side gaining an upper hand. They are so filled with hatred for one another that they cannot stop quarreling and turn the Enterprise into their own 'battlefield.' Captain Kirk is compelled to travel to their original home only to discover that both Bele and Lokai's native planet of Cheron have been totally destroyed by their racial conflict--and no human life exists. Indeed, the planet is so desolate that animals are even encroaching into the planet's now empty city centres, notes Spock from his sensor scans.
The repeated emphasis of Bele and Lokai running around the battleship and attacking one another just demeans the seriousness of the topic on racism. It is much too heavy handed to be taken seriously. If the episode had been played more subtly, its effectiveness could have been more substantial. Basically, the show had a good premise but extremely poor execution. The makeup is also below average but at least the producers had a good excuse here--NBC's serious cutbacks in Star Trek's budget. There are a few good lines such as the scene where Spock tells Bele that his planet was once a violent world which the Vulcans eventually resolved through logic and cool reasoning. Bele, however, is much too irrational to make peace with his arch-enemy Lokai or to settle on a new life other than his native Cheron.
The repeated emphasis of Bele and Lokai running around the battleship and attacking one another just demeans the seriousness of the topic on racism. It is much too heavy handed to be taken seriously. If the episode had been played more subtly, its effectiveness could have been more substantial. Basically, the show had a good premise but extremely poor execution. The makeup is also below average but at least the producers had a good excuse here--NBC's serious cutbacks in Star Trek's budget. There are a few good lines such as the scene where Spock tells Bele that his planet was once a violent world which the Vulcans eventually resolved through logic and cool reasoning. Bele, however, is much too irrational to make peace with his arch-enemy Lokai or to settle on a new life other than his native Cheron.