This is one of my more favored episodes of the series. Morgan Woodward gave an excellent performance as a tortured mind escaped from the penal camp. James Gregory turned in a nice performance as the sadistic doctor that has been corrupted by his power over the patients. Marianna Hill was great eye candy although they didn't give her the lines to portray a credible doctor of psychiatry. At least she got to show off her chops in Godfather II years later. Her romantic interest with Kirk gave the show a few humorous points but the kisses between her and Shatner seemed so forced. Nimoy and Kelley turned in some excellent performances. This episode is where they finally started fleshing out Vulcan culture with the introduction of the Mind Meld. The scene where McKoy comes onto the bridge and expresses his doubts about Adam's version of Van Geldar's escape deepens McKoys character.
This plot is more like the theme of Star Trek that future incarnations would adhere too. A future society that has advanced methods and technology to treat age-old problems in a new way but sometimes with disastrous consequences. There were fewer plot holes and failures of basic science in this episode than many. It was well written to place a penal/mental health facility for dangerous offenders miles below the surface of a gas giant with an unbreathable atmosphere covered in a shield and only escapable by transporter. Still a man half crazed figured a way out... Maybe they shouldn't put central air conditioning ducts in a penal colony without bars or force fields every few meters? In room only climate controls? A machine that can remove memories from a brain is a fantastic discovery and I'm sure people would pay dearly to access it. Too bad the writers concluded it was 'evil' instead of just concluding that the person using it needs to be overseen by several colleagues and an AI assistant. While I don't believe in psychic phenomena and found the Mind Meld to be more fantasy than science it is great drama and part of the Star Trek universe. It got off to a great start in the scene between Nimoy and Woodward.
Morgan Woodward was a hook from the producers to the Gunsmoke crowd to sit down and watch this new fangled Star Trek. James Gregory also was a regular on Gun Smoke, Bonanza and The Big Valley and I remember my father sitting down to watch Star Trek being drawn in by the familiar faces from some of his favorite TV Westerns. He didn't watch for long because it wasn't really cowboys in space so I watched in reruns in the '70's.
Anyone that hasn't seen the remastered episodes they are cleaned up nicely and I have never seen TOS in this clarity before. The TV was always too fuzzy and the shows had lines and flecks of hairs or dust in the broadcast episodes from years of playing. The opening scene with the Enterprise over the penal colony planet is breath taking.
This plot is more like the theme of Star Trek that future incarnations would adhere too. A future society that has advanced methods and technology to treat age-old problems in a new way but sometimes with disastrous consequences. There were fewer plot holes and failures of basic science in this episode than many. It was well written to place a penal/mental health facility for dangerous offenders miles below the surface of a gas giant with an unbreathable atmosphere covered in a shield and only escapable by transporter. Still a man half crazed figured a way out... Maybe they shouldn't put central air conditioning ducts in a penal colony without bars or force fields every few meters? In room only climate controls? A machine that can remove memories from a brain is a fantastic discovery and I'm sure people would pay dearly to access it. Too bad the writers concluded it was 'evil' instead of just concluding that the person using it needs to be overseen by several colleagues and an AI assistant. While I don't believe in psychic phenomena and found the Mind Meld to be more fantasy than science it is great drama and part of the Star Trek universe. It got off to a great start in the scene between Nimoy and Woodward.
Morgan Woodward was a hook from the producers to the Gunsmoke crowd to sit down and watch this new fangled Star Trek. James Gregory also was a regular on Gun Smoke, Bonanza and The Big Valley and I remember my father sitting down to watch Star Trek being drawn in by the familiar faces from some of his favorite TV Westerns. He didn't watch for long because it wasn't really cowboys in space so I watched in reruns in the '70's.
Anyone that hasn't seen the remastered episodes they are cleaned up nicely and I have never seen TOS in this clarity before. The TV was always too fuzzy and the shows had lines and flecks of hairs or dust in the broadcast episodes from years of playing. The opening scene with the Enterprise over the penal colony planet is breath taking.