Like last Sunday, I'm posting back to back Star Trek reviews because I was outta town on Saturday.
64. For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
FORMULA: The Return of the Archons + The Paradise Syndrome
WHY WE LIKE IT: McCoy finally gets some lovin' action, and a great title!
WHY WE DON'T: The deus ex machina was expected, but done a little too easily.
REVIEW: This episode has a terribly beautiful title, though I'm a little disappointed they "plugged" it in the dialogue itself. It just didn't ring true. And that's the major problem with For the World - it has trouble with truth. Oh, DeForest Kelly is quite believable as a lonely man who has only a year to live. He's a good and likeable actor. So that part of it works. Great emotional center to it all. And it's possible that the people of Yonada have a culture that makes it quite possible to ask a man in marriage within minutes of their first exchange.
The problem is possibly that For the World is a little too theatrical for its own good. The old man who has touched the sky, for example, is right out of greek tragedy, and Yonadan language is poetic to the point of being stilted. It's like they tried to make the story grandiose, but didn't quite manage it. The ending has Natira sending McCoy away as easily as she invited him in, for no important reason. It's like "oh, it's the end of the episode, I guess that's that." Another sore point with me is the effects shot of the Enterprise and the asteroid. A reuse of the rock from The Paradise Syndrome, it's been re-superimosed on the film or something, and looks really bad. The slow motion on the ship doesn't help either.
But I don't want to sound too negative about the story either, since it DOES work. The love story is a little odd and awkward, but you can believe and understand McCoy in this. The look of the temple and language, as well as the fun moving sets, are all quite good. And the dilemmas are interesting ones, trying to balance the Prime Directive and the fate of two worlds, as well as McCoy's plot-driven illness. Big reset button at the end, but at least Kirk lets us believe McCoy and Natira did see each other again.
LESSON: You will find love at the worst possible moment. (Chinese cookie saying)
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: Yes, Kirk destroys another computer-driven society, but at least the focus is on something else this time. It's a good McCoy story with likeable performances, but suffers from various contrivances.
64. For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the SkyFORMULA: The Return of the Archons + The Paradise Syndrome
WHY WE LIKE IT: McCoy finally gets some lovin' action, and a great title!
WHY WE DON'T: The deus ex machina was expected, but done a little too easily.
REVIEW: This episode has a terribly beautiful title, though I'm a little disappointed they "plugged" it in the dialogue itself. It just didn't ring true. And that's the major problem with For the World - it has trouble with truth. Oh, DeForest Kelly is quite believable as a lonely man who has only a year to live. He's a good and likeable actor. So that part of it works. Great emotional center to it all. And it's possible that the people of Yonada have a culture that makes it quite possible to ask a man in marriage within minutes of their first exchange.
The problem is possibly that For the World is a little too theatrical for its own good. The old man who has touched the sky, for example, is right out of greek tragedy, and Yonadan language is poetic to the point of being stilted. It's like they tried to make the story grandiose, but didn't quite manage it. The ending has Natira sending McCoy away as easily as she invited him in, for no important reason. It's like "oh, it's the end of the episode, I guess that's that." Another sore point with me is the effects shot of the Enterprise and the asteroid. A reuse of the rock from The Paradise Syndrome, it's been re-superimosed on the film or something, and looks really bad. The slow motion on the ship doesn't help either.
But I don't want to sound too negative about the story either, since it DOES work. The love story is a little odd and awkward, but you can believe and understand McCoy in this. The look of the temple and language, as well as the fun moving sets, are all quite good. And the dilemmas are interesting ones, trying to balance the Prime Directive and the fate of two worlds, as well as McCoy's plot-driven illness. Big reset button at the end, but at least Kirk lets us believe McCoy and Natira did see each other again.
LESSON: You will find love at the worst possible moment. (Chinese cookie saying)
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: Yes, Kirk destroys another computer-driven society, but at least the focus is on something else this time. It's a good McCoy story with likeable performances, but suffers from various contrivances.
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