26. The Devil in the DarkWHY WE LIKE IT: The Horta is the most memorable alien from the Original Series. Oh, and the first time McCoy says he's a doctor and not something else!
WHY WE DON'T: Many find the Horta laughable. I don't think she's any more laughable than the papier-mâché sets.
REVIEW: An excellent episode that starts as a monster story (à la The Man Trap), but turns into a message of tolerance right up Star Trek's alley. As with the Gorn, we're at fault in this story, and the antagonist was basically protecting itself. Kirk, while adamant that the creature be killed at first, even after Spock's pacifist objections, changes his mind once confronted by the Horta. It leads to some very good set pieces, such as McCoy's healing touch (he believe he could even cure a rainy day) and Spock's impressive mindmeld with the thing. Since the creature is basically a big rubber rug, it's up to Leonard Nimoy to make us empathize with her. It's perhaps amazing that we do.
Now, I know a lot of people find the Horta ridiculous, but the design is unique and its method of locomotion interestingly achieved. It looks real enough to me that I don't think about there being a guy underneath. I'm more let down by the matte painting of the mining colony, which looks too much like a painting when compared to some others like Starbase 11 or Emeniar VII. The cavern sets are pretty fake, especially the smooth studio floors, but I like the blue atmosphere it gives the whole piece.
LESSON: "No kill I" is a lot easier to understand than "Shaka, when the walls fell".
REWATCHABILITY - High: While this isn't a perfect story - the pump MacGuffin the Horta steals rather than destroys is particularly contrived - it's a nice crossing of genres, with a marvelous example of first contact with "new life". Deserving of being a classic.
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