Star Trek TOS S1 E15 and 16 Review

These episodes are not really my favorites, but one of them is silly and fun, and the other is a pretty solid character study, so they are still quite good despite my personal opinions on them.

The first episode I will be reviewing is called Shore Leave. The episode starts off with some of the Enterprise crew, including Doctor McCoy, beaming down to a seemingly idyllic planet as somewhere to relax for their shore leave. Things get complicated, though, when McCoy encounters a white rabbit and, you guessed it, a girl named Alice following after him. When Kirk beams down to investigate, he finds there is a lot more to this planet than it seems. This episode is definitely more light and playful in tone, with a pretty happy ending. The idea is that this planet can literally bring the imagination to life, and the crew later learn at the end that it was just intended as a fun retreat by an advanced alien race. There is a particularly funny scene with Kirk fighting against one of his old schoolmates from his academy days, and the acting from said schoolmate is over the top and was very entertaining to watch.

The other episode I will be reviewing is called The Galileo Seven. After Spock, McCoy, chief engineer Montgomery Scott, played by James Doohan, and four other crewmembers end up going missing while investigating a quasar in the shuttlecraft Galileo, Kirk has to race against the clock to find his missing crewmembers. At the same time, Spock has to learn how to deal with the stresses of command in addition to trying to help his away team make it safely back to the Enterprise. I think the biggest thing was seeing Spock having to learn that logic is not always the best option in a crisis, and that sometimes emotional responses are just as valid to command. I felt that while this concept was great, the episode just dragged on for too long, and felt like they were trying to fill time more often than not. Good character study on Spock, but not one of the better episodes overall.

Next time, Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise encounter a strange man who seems to have a very...limited knowledge about Earth culture, and has some odd powers to boot. What will happen? You'll have to find out when I review The Squire of Gothos.

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