98. BemFORMULA: The Empath + The Apple + Elaan of Troiyus
WHY WE LIKE IT: It's kinda fun to see Bem get under Kirk's skin.
WHY WE DON'T: Bem's unexplained abilities. They're just silly.
REVIEW: Fans of continuity may be interested to learn that Kirk's middle initial is first revealed to stand for "Tiberius" in this episode. In live action, it wouldn't be until Star Trek VI that this would be confirmed. Other than that tidbit, Bem offers a fair story, with some unusual aliens, but nothing too spectacular.
The idea of an exchange officer would reccur later, but is pretty original here. Bem is appropriately alien in attitude and methods, though his ability to dissassemble his body is ultimately too strange and fantastic to be believed. Tribble creator David Gerrold wrote this episode, and he seems to have a fondness for characters that annoy Kirk. William Shatner plays that well enough here. As for the antagonists, the primitive lizard-men look pretty neat, and for once, Kirk doesn't try to destroy the alien (machine?) intelligence that's in charge of the native culture.
Overall, I think this episode keeps us guessing, with a few good twists and turns. I only wish they didn't feel the need to go into science fantasy territory with Bem himself, or else give a reasonable explanation of his splitting abilities. The lesson at the end is all too heavy-handed, but not a bad one to pass on to the Saturday morning crowd.
LESSON: In case you didn't get it from watching - It's ok to make mistakes as long as you learn from them.
REWATCHABILITY - Medium: Some canonical interest, a more-or-less unpredictable story, and some fair visuals. On the other hand, it's not quite that memorable.
Comments