As always, Critical Notes are at the end.
ONE
Approaching a planet. On the bridge, Nurse Chapel stands next to the captain’s chair and waits. She’s worried about a man on the planet who hasn’t sent a message in five years. Spock gives Kirk (and us) a report on the surface temperature (it’s cold) and on Roger Korby, the “Pasteur of Archaeological Medicine”. Whatever that means! Uhura can get no communication contact.
And then a signal and a voice comes over comms. Haha, the camera swoops around and racks focus on the little speaker for Uhura’s console. It’s Korby. Another swoop and we go extreme closeup for Christine Chapel’s relief to hear his voice.
Dunh-dunh! Roll credits.
Captain’s log repeats what we know. Prepare for a landing party. As Kirk starts to inform Korby that Chapel is with him, Korby interrupts. Can you beam down alone? Spock rises and approaches the chair. Clearly, this is an odd request. He asks if Chapel is certain she recognizes his voice. Oh, she’s engaged to Korby! So, yes, she’s certain.
TWO
Kirk agrees, and says two will beam down. Chapel says hello, and Korby immediately recognizes her voice. They’re on their way. Oh, look! Uhura rises and gives Chapel a cheek kiss of congratulations. That was sweet. Did she ad lib that?
THREE
(There is no Three.)
FOUR
Stock footage of an icy landscape. Chapel and Kirk materialize in a strange room with a window looking out on the snow. No sign of Korby. Wow, cool set. Styrofoam stalagmites lit purple. Kirk calls up to Spock to send down two security men. They’re in some kind of archaeological ruin coated in ice.
Here come the red shirts.
One man accompanies them as they descend, searching for Korby. Suspenseful music as they go. It’s a beautifully lit styrofoam set, so they drag the scene out, showing it off, Willow’s Village-style. A strong beam of light hits them, and Kirk draws his phaser, holding Chapel back from rushing forward. A man in silhouette dims the light, and Chapel recognizes Korby’s assistant, Brown. While they’re occupied greeting Brown, a falling scream is heard.
There goes the first red shirt.
Aargh! It’s Lurch! Ted Cassidy, bald and with sculpted make-up and some kind of alien-looking robe, sneaks away unseen while the other three look over the ledge into the bottomless pit where the security man fell.
Brown doesn’t seem too upset, though. It’s a creepy place with creepy people. Chapel’s enthusiasm for her reunion is too high. Her emotions have no place to go but down. She questions Brown: Don’t you recognize me? A beat, then he smiles and says, “Christine.” All of this is shot from a low angle, pit POV, if you will, and the unease of the camera is reflected in Kirk. He comms up to the red shirt at the landing point, letting him know they’ve lost a man.
Of course his back is to the camera. Yup, there’s Lurch, sneaking up. Kirk is blathering on with instructions on informing Mr. Spock about security, entrusting this whole plan with someone who’s about to die. Face grab while Kirk says, “Out.” Second red shirt gone. We get a good look in full light at that purple sculpting make-up on Cassidy’s head. Bold.
Brown leads the other two down, deeper into the ruin, lecturing about the culture as he goes. Are we supposed to understand him? I don’t think it matters. We just want to get to Korby. It is giving us a sense of time passing, and of how deep they must travel.
Through a door and into living quarters. As they look around, another door opens and a woman enters. She’s young, pretty, and scantily clad. Haha! Closeup on good old Christine’s opinion. “Andrea” is a husky whisperer. And then, there’s Korby. He stops, seeing Christine, then crosses. Ooh, clench and kiss. Sparkly music.
Introductions, and Brown tells Korby of the lost man. So far, Korby seems genuine. Brown is weird, and Andrea is — well, I know where this episode goes. The clues are already here. Kirk moves on to business, calling his security man to prepare to beam up, while Korby protests. Wait.
Rut-roh. Brown pulls out a weapon. No communications, Captain. Korby starts to explain, and Chapel objects. Korby — “This is necessary, Captain” — orders Andrea to take Kirk’s phaser. He gets the drop on her, using her as a shield. Oh, no! He pushes her aside and shoulder rolls behind the desk! Yes!! Whoa, he shoots Brown. Yikes! It’s Lurch!! He comes through the door.
Hahaha! Oh, my God, haha! Cassidy grabs Shatner and lifts him into the air like a doll! Whoa, what! Cut to Christine looking over at Brown, seeing that his phaser wound is a hole showing circuitry rather than tissue. She gasps. (Damn, this moves fast!) Haha! Push in on Kirk’s face, as Lurch holds him high up against the wall, then push in on the smoking wire wound. Dunh-dunh! Cut to commercial.
Orbit, and the bridge of the Enterprise. Uhura puts Kirk through to Spock, who has the chair. His voice through the speaker is monotone as it says, “No problems.” Cut to the real Kirk, not speaking, while his voice checks in. It’s Lurch, imitating him. Korby looks on, smiling. Spock asks if Kirk is alright, but that’s all. Kirk out.
Korby, still smiling, keeps saying, just let me explain. You’ll see. Kirk is respectful of Korby because of his reputation. So, he’s listening. Korby commands (Is that the right word? Not sure of the power dynamic.) Lurch to speak in Andrea’s voice. He does Korby, too, and then Christine. No, you’re not to mock Christine, Korby says. Ah, a little eye flare from Lurch over that tone. He commands (that is the right word) him not to harm Christine and, at Kirk’s prompting, to obey her orders.
As Korby continues to rail against superstition and its detriment to science, Kirk asks, “Where’s my other crewman?” He insists on an answer, and Korby must admit that Lurch killed them both. Against his wishes, totally. Bad robot. Oh, Lurch speaks for himself! He’s superior to Brown, left here by “the old ones”. Korby found him tending the machines when he arrived. With Lurch’s help, he built Brown.
Kirk says, “You’ve convinced me.” Then he grabs his weapon and dashes for the door. Nope. Good effort, but Lurch tosses him across the room. (Wow, Cassidy wears a pink-flowered nightgown under his alien robe, I swear! He really looks magnificent.)
Cut to Chapel as Andrea comes into her room. Andrea, wearing her suspenders-no-shirt sewn with pointy bust darts outfit, questions Chapel, who really hates that. In comes Korby with Lurch holding Kirk. Korby uses “darling” as he says, again, that he must explain himself before Kirk is allowed to report to the ship. Andrea introduces herself as an android. As Korby extolls Andrea’s wonders, Chapel purses her lips and says, “How convenient.” Korby insists, though, that the computer girl means nothing. Kiss Captain Kirk, he says.
Cringe.
SWITCH
After she kisses Kirk, she’s told to strike him. Slap. See? Korby says. No emotion. Finally Kirk gets to ask a question that moves the story forward. If these things feel no emotion, only programming, why did Brown try to shoot me and Lurch kill my men?
FIVE
Holy crap, holy crap. Korby says he’ll answer all the questions, and we cut to Lurch loading some proto-human form onto a machine table. Yikes. “This is how you make an android.” Scary music going off the charts. The camera cranes up and back, and we see a disc surface. On one side is the clay man, on the other is Kirk. (Naked except for a metal locking belt over the interesting parts, naturally.) Cut to commercial.
And then we’re right back where we left off as the table starts to whirl. He’s not being harmed, Korby says, as Christine just stands there looking upset. Round and round Kirk goes, until the proto-man is now also Kirk. “Which is your captain?” Korby asks Christine. Time for the synaptic transfer, in other words, the memories. Kirk hears this. While Korby is busy at the machine controls Kirk starts reciting slurs against Spock, implanting them in his mind. The transfer is painful for Kirk. (Pfft, “not being harmed” he says.)
Andrea serves up some dinner, telling Chapel she is now programmed to please her also. In comes a Kirk. Christine immediately starts talking to him as if he’s the real Kirk. (Yeah, we can see this one coming.) He tests her loyalty to Korby, asking questions. She answers well, staying true to both, basically. When she pushes away her meal, though, Kirk does as well. Androids don’t eat, Nurse Chapel. The real Kirk, dressed in those hideous coveralls, enters with Korby. It’s Kirk vs. Kirk! They both smile slyly at each other. As Kirk eats, he tests the duplicate’s memories of his life. (Pretty good split screen, by the way.) Korby dismisses fake Kirk.
Now he tells them that he could’ve kept going and transferred Kirk’s entire consciousness into the android. Immortality. Kirk recites a list of the villains of history. Korby keeps pushing, listing all the wonderful traits he can program in or out of this perfect human. While talking Kirk reaches down to free a rope from the chair leg. (Wut? Heh.) He appears to go along with Korby’s idea to be dropped on a planet with plentiful resources, a place where he can begin his android race.
Why do you need me? Kirk asks. (Good question.) Korby claims he created the other Kirk only to impress, not to replace. Boom — Kirk springs, wrapping the twine around Korby’s neck and keeping Lurch at bay. Meanwhile, throughout all of this, Chapel sits there blinking. What she thinks (if she thinks) we can’t tell. Kirk tosses Korby at Lurch and escapes through a door.
For a big man Cassidy is very light on his feet. Pink nightgown flowing beautifully, Lurch chases after Kirk while Chapel shouts behind him, “You are supposed to obey me!” When Lurch loses Kirk, he resorts to calling for him in Christine’s voice. Eh, he falls for it. Whoa, Kirk goes over the ledge and hangs on by fingertips. Suspenseful face-off. Cut to commercial.
And then Lurch saves him. Cassidy gives it his all, but we can’t read his mind and figure out why.
Orbit. Here’s fake Captain Kirk coming onto the bridge. (Yay! This will be epic!) No, I’m sorry, just a hallway, and here’s Spock notetaking next to some duct work. (Wut, why? Shh.) Surprised, he follows Kirk, calling out. Kirk in his room removes some papers, and Spock asks what he’s doing. “Mind your own business, Mr. Spock. I’m sick of your half-breed interference.” Haha! That gets an eyebrow lift. Away goes Kirk while Spock contemplates. Security, meet me in the transporter room after the captain has beamed down.
Meanwhile, real Kirk lies on his bed as Andrea enters to take away his tray. Kiss me, he says, then blocks the slap that’s coming afterward. He grabs Andrea’s arms and forces her to kiss him again. Wow, he left a mark on the actress’ arms. Andrea resists and says, “I’m not programmed for you.” He nuzzles her neck. Confused? (He’s that irresistible, apparently, that even a computer will be swayed by him.) As he moves to follow her out, Lurch steps between and shoves Kirk back on the bed. Emotions? You disapprove of Chapel’s orders?
What happened to the Old Ones? Kirk asks him. Ah, they grew fearful of their androids. Isn’t Korby the same? Yes, although I’d forgotten, it’s been so long since the Old Ones made us. Kirk works on him, trying to convince Lurch that Korby is as inconsistent as the Old Ones were. “Survival must cancel our programming,” Lurch remembers, grabbing Kirk in a waist pinch. In comes Korby. Lurch tosses Kirk aside and turns on him. “You brought him among us.” Whoa. As Lurch accuses and stalks Korby, Korby shoots him with the phaser, vanishing him. I had no choice, he says.
That was weird. Bye, Lurch.
Kirk, Korby, and Christine walk away, Kirk distracting him. As they go through a door, Kirk attacks.
SIX
Korby pulls out the phaser and aims it, but in the fight his hand has been injured. Chapel gasps: yup, Korby has circuitry for a wound.
SEVEN
She tears up as she listens to him justify himself. He was dying, frozen, broken. It’s still him on the inside. He’s interrupted by a signal: Spock is in the outer room. He sends Andrea to protect him.
EIGHT
Phaser in hand, she steps out, but there’s fake Kirk. I will kiss you, she says. No, it’s illogical, he says. Hahaha! She shoots him! Just like that, he’s gone.
While Korby still tries to convince Christine, Andrea enters saying she destroyed Kirk. She sees the real Kirk and becomes confused. She’s not programmed for defense, lol. Kirk goes on the offensive. Arguing his logic, Korby says, “I’m still human. Test me.” All he can come up with, though, are computations. He begins to doubt himself, and calls to Christine. No go.
Kirk convinces him to give up the phaser to prove he’s still human. When he tells Andrea to give him her weapon, she says, “No. Protect.” Haha, no, then she feels compelled to kiss Korby. Aw, Korby tears up and says, “You cannot love, you’re not human.” Whoa, as she pulls herself in for the forced kiss, Korby reaches down to the phaser and shoots it, disintegrating both of them. Chapel breaks down.
NINE
Spock and his security team enter. He asks after Korby, and Kirk answers, “Dr. Korby was never here.”
The bridge as they put the planet in their rear view screen. Chapel thanks Kirk for letting her decide: she’s staying with the ship. Spock complains to Kirk about the term “half-breed”. Aw, they’re just razzing each other. It’s their way of saying they’re glad each other is safe. End.
CRITICAL NOTES
This is the first episode in which I can see the story structured around the commercial breaks. Like a Three-Act structure in a feature film, this is a useful structure for a television show. Not only are the breaks at suspenseful moments in this episode, they’re at turning points in the story. Depending solely on the Three-Act or the Commercial-Break in a filmed medium will leave part of the story unfulfilled, though. This is why this episode, which did not adequately mark, even subconsciously, the Enneagram, drifts through the beginning, meandering without direction. They’re just waiting to get to the Brown-is-an-android reveal. It’s also why Chapel spends the whole episode dumbstruck. It’s her episode, but they didn’t give her the structure. Her reactions rest on nothing, no story backbone, and so it’s always the same semi-weepy disbelief. Barrett tries to put fresh intention behind every close-up, but she can only do so much.
The Six through Nine are clear and well done. As we realize Korby is an android, he simultaneously realizes that he’s lost his humanity. Nice. His decision to send Andrea to protect is flawed because he’s flustered and not thinking straight. (He probably could’ve used that fake Kirk right about now, lol.) When we see such a clear and lovely Six, though, it’s immediately obvious that the Three needed to be the Brown reveal. What a beautiful bookend those would’ve made! The showrunners held the Brown info too long, dragging out the pacing in order to hit the Commercial-Break, and missed the beat. Something else should’ve been the commercial break hook. That clench and kiss was pretty dynamic.
And it would’ve worked if they’d put Christine at the heart of the story. This is her fiance, a respected scientist, who’s been missing for five years. She should not be tangential, a series of reaction cutaways, so that we pity Korby. (She’s fridged without the actual dying!) I mentioned that she started way too high emotionally, with nowhere to go but down. But she never went anywhere at all.