My biggest complaint about this episode isn't really the fault of the episode itself. Let me explain. Despite this being, at best, an ordinary episode, it was re-tooled years later into the first Star Trek movie. And, if you haven't seen it, this movie is horrid--being one of the dullest sci-fi movies ever. The problems were many with STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE, but one fundamental problem was that the idea didn't merit an entire LONG movie. At only one hour, this concept was workable--at 2348362 hours (or so it seemed when I sat there opening night to see it), it's pure padding.
Now, let's set aside the trauma that was STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE and concentrate on this episode. The crew encounters an evil little space probe (M-5) that destroys everything in its path. How this little hovering pile of scrap is able to do this does seem a bit hard to believe, but the worn and torn device seems to think that Kirk is its mother and so it stops its murderous galactic rampage. So far, so good. But, later, it runs amok on the ship and does some nasty little things. Then Kirk, using his vastly superior mind, confuses the crap out of M-5 and it blows itself to bits.
The episode is stuck on the ship, so some might find the action a bit subdued and claustrophobic. My problem is that the show was only mildly diverting.
Now, let's set aside the trauma that was STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE and concentrate on this episode. The crew encounters an evil little space probe (M-5) that destroys everything in its path. How this little hovering pile of scrap is able to do this does seem a bit hard to believe, but the worn and torn device seems to think that Kirk is its mother and so it stops its murderous galactic rampage. So far, so good. But, later, it runs amok on the ship and does some nasty little things. Then Kirk, using his vastly superior mind, confuses the crap out of M-5 and it blows itself to bits.
The episode is stuck on the ship, so some might find the action a bit subdued and claustrophobic. My problem is that the show was only mildly diverting.