94. The Slaver WeaponFORMULA: The Soft Weapon + ½ the Enterprise crew
WHY WE LIKE IT: Larry Niven wrote an episode!
WHY WE DON'T: It's more Known Space than Star Trek.
REVIEW: A very odd episode for two reasons. First of all, it's notable for not featuring the Enterprise or all of its crew. Only Spock, Sulu and Uhura are featured. Secondly, SF superstar Larry Niven brought in the Kzin from his Known Space series, along with many elements of Known Space history, the only time Star Trek has really crossed over with another property in an episode (the comics have done it, though).
Unfortunately, there's a lot more Niven than there is Roddenberry here, with Known Space's history being added to Star Trek's wholesale. How can the animated series truly be considered canonical when we now have to include the Slavers, the Man-Kzin war, the gravity belt as basis for starship anti-grav, etc.? Niven didn't even respect the show's format, simply plugging in three of the crew into his short story instead of its original protagonists. What's more, all the new history has to be related to the audience in the form of long exposition.
On the upside, there's a richness to Niven's setting that certainly makes for interesting listening (if not viewing, unless Niven actually meant the Kzin to be dressed in screaming pink spacesuits). It's also fun that Uhura and Sulu get some action. Both come off as smart and gutsy people, still managing to stay true to their characters. The plot itself is fine, though it's no replacement for reading the actual short story. It's just severely out of place in the Star Trek universe.
LESSON: The Suliban aren't the only "important" alien race to have disappeared from history without a trace.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: Though a solid enough piece of writing with an ok final twist, it suffers from not really being Star Trek. Better than Assignment: Earth, but just as mystifying.
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