6. The Enemy Within
WHY WE LIKE IT: The kind of metaphysical sf Star Trek does well, exploring the human condition.
WHY WE DON'T: It's all a bit over the top, isn't it?
REVIEW: Hey, our first transporter malfunction! Unfortunately not our last, though. This time, Kirk is split into two halves, one essentially good, the other evil, or so they would have us believe. It rather looks like he was split into instinct and reason, which corresponds better with onscreen events.
But despite the scientific silliness of the premise, and the rather theatrical presentation as far as lighting, camera angles and over-the-top acting of the "evil" scenes, it's an enjoyable episode. Evil Kirk is caught much earlier than we would have thought, etc. making it not so predictable. Sulu keeps his away team alive smartly and courageously. The secondary characters were still being developped, in this era before the stars hijacked all the attention. Rand gets good copy too.
Interesting point that our dark side (or our animal instincts) is a positive influence in our lives. And Spock telling us it's always like that for him is good character development too. And for all that, I feel it's a bit one-note, probably because of the OTT performances.
LESSON: You can always tell someone is evil by the eyeliner and flashlight lighting.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: Always fun, but rewatching it for this, I wasn't as engaged as I thought I would be.
WHY WE LIKE IT: The kind of metaphysical sf Star Trek does well, exploring the human condition.WHY WE DON'T: It's all a bit over the top, isn't it?
REVIEW: Hey, our first transporter malfunction! Unfortunately not our last, though. This time, Kirk is split into two halves, one essentially good, the other evil, or so they would have us believe. It rather looks like he was split into instinct and reason, which corresponds better with onscreen events.
But despite the scientific silliness of the premise, and the rather theatrical presentation as far as lighting, camera angles and over-the-top acting of the "evil" scenes, it's an enjoyable episode. Evil Kirk is caught much earlier than we would have thought, etc. making it not so predictable. Sulu keeps his away team alive smartly and courageously. The secondary characters were still being developped, in this era before the stars hijacked all the attention. Rand gets good copy too.
Interesting point that our dark side (or our animal instincts) is a positive influence in our lives. And Spock telling us it's always like that for him is good character development too. And for all that, I feel it's a bit one-note, probably because of the OTT performances.
LESSON: You can always tell someone is evil by the eyeliner and flashlight lighting.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: Always fun, but rewatching it for this, I wasn't as engaged as I thought I would be.
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