35. The AppleFORMULA: The Return of the Archons + This Side of Paradise
WHY WE LIKE IT: If you like redshirts getting killed, this is the one for you.
WHY WE DON'T: If you like original, well-told stories, this isn't the one for you.
REVIEW: Once again, Kirk flies in the face of the Prime Directive and destroys a computer-run society, and a happy one at that. It's not that I don't agree with him, but we've seen this a few times before, and The Apple isn't the best of these episodes. It's not a good episode for Kirk in general, his self-doubt monologues coming off as dull and affected.
Not a good day for redshirts either, this episode probably being the greatest contributor to that joke in the history of Trek. It's just ridiculous that three men die from three different dangers, but Spock survives them all - including being hit by lightning! Not a good episode for him either, although I did enjoy his fake argument with Chekov. At least that little exchange was supposed to sound affected. The rest of The Apple features pretty lame dialogue, constantly hammering on the theme of the Garden of Eden (we get it already!). They keep mentioning it, but still feel the need to explain it again at the very end, where amusement is apparently supposed by gained by comparing Spock to Satan. Eeech.
Worse still is the whole conversation about the birds and the bees. 1960s television couldn't really discuss such matters, I guess, but though the scene tries to be cute, it's not funny, and it's not in character. Kirk and Spock actually embarassed to discuss this topic with other adults? Sheesh. Yeoman Landon is at least asked her opinion, and then kicks some serious tail in the fight scene with the Vaalians (she should consider a transfer to security as she's better than those guys). Her relationship with Chekov works fine, but they are a bit unprofessional about how they go about it.
Other notes: There's a sweet innocence in the People of Vaal that reminds one of the Blue Lagoon, and the jungle sets are expansive, with fairly good effects. The crushing of the melon is quite violent in content, and creepy as well. Scotty has some good scenes aboard the Enterprise, and if you listen carefully, there's the first mention of some kind of saucer separation. The camera work is at times shaky however. All in all, more boring than not.
LESSON: It's not polite to discuss... biological matters... at the dinner table.
REWATCHABILITY - Low: The reuse of a plot device already seen a couple times is unforgivable at the 35-episode mark, and the acting and characterization just aren't up to the usual standards.
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