I thought this episode was reasonably well done but badly marred by its rather starkly negative portrayal of psychiatry. The most 'renowned' psychiatrist of all time, Adams, turns out to be a slick and rather vicious man who seems to enjoy 'playing' with and abusing the minds of others. Kirk's "expert" psychiatric assistant, Dr. Helen Noel, turns out to be almost willfully ignorant and more hindrance than help for the most part. A slightly more balanced perspective on psychiatry would have been much preferable; not every psychiatrist had to be portrayed as either corrupt, or incompetent. But maybe that's too much to expect from a TV series, even one like Star Trek.
For someone who Kirk almost seems reverential toward, Adams is strikingly stupid here, in that he leaves the 'neural neutralizer' room open to see for anyone who visits the facility. All he had to do was place the device in an isolated and concealed room and Kirk probably wouldn't have learned a thing.
McCoy's instincts turn out to be right, here. Kirk is forced to investigate only because of McCoy's actions. Spock, while skeptical at first, nevertheless helps McCoy's investigation by performing the series' first Vulcan mind-meld. Both officers come off a bit better than the rather credulous Kirk.
Dr. Noel (Marianna Hill) doesn't fare too well either, here, being rather worthless as a psychiatrist, but did have one decent moment when she kicks the henchman at the end at a critical moment. But her character is a bit of an embarrassment otherwise, functioning primarily as Kirk's eye candy of the week. The episode would have been much more interesting IMO if she, rather than Kirk, had been the suspicious one calling for a closer investigation, once they were at the facility, especially since Kirk had been so resistant to investigating at all, in the first place, while she was supposed to be the 'expert', not him. I kind of wonder if Shatner had something to do with that.
For someone who Kirk almost seems reverential toward, Adams is strikingly stupid here, in that he leaves the 'neural neutralizer' room open to see for anyone who visits the facility. All he had to do was place the device in an isolated and concealed room and Kirk probably wouldn't have learned a thing.
McCoy's instincts turn out to be right, here. Kirk is forced to investigate only because of McCoy's actions. Spock, while skeptical at first, nevertheless helps McCoy's investigation by performing the series' first Vulcan mind-meld. Both officers come off a bit better than the rather credulous Kirk.
Dr. Noel (Marianna Hill) doesn't fare too well either, here, being rather worthless as a psychiatrist, but did have one decent moment when she kicks the henchman at the end at a critical moment. But her character is a bit of an embarrassment otherwise, functioning primarily as Kirk's eye candy of the week. The episode would have been much more interesting IMO if she, rather than Kirk, had been the suspicious one calling for a closer investigation, once they were at the facility, especially since Kirk had been so resistant to investigating at all, in the first place, while she was supposed to be the 'expert', not him. I kind of wonder if Shatner had something to do with that.