I know this will probably sound mean, but I was surprised by one comment about this episode that said the performance of the leading lady ranked with the "best of the silent era". I have seen hundreds of silent films and I would seriously beg to differ! Her character was pretty dreadful and it reminded me more of a mime than a silent actress.
Now as for the rest of the episode, it's pretty sub-par, as the threesome of Kirk, Spock and McCoy are stuck in a dark sound studio that is supposed to be some lab run by guys who look very reminiscent of the aliens in THE MENAGERIE (the first Star Trek pilot). Here, they do lots of experiments on the men in order to get the mute woman to develop empathy--all of which time the crew behave very protectively towards her. In the end, after a whole lotta torture (even worse than for us watching the episode), they are released and everything is apparently cool.
The bottom line is that this is a minimalist episode where most of it could have been filmed in a dark theater. The plot is ultra simple and the show is amazingly dull and lethargic. Not a great episode at all.
Now as for the rest of the episode, it's pretty sub-par, as the threesome of Kirk, Spock and McCoy are stuck in a dark sound studio that is supposed to be some lab run by guys who look very reminiscent of the aliens in THE MENAGERIE (the first Star Trek pilot). Here, they do lots of experiments on the men in order to get the mute woman to develop empathy--all of which time the crew behave very protectively towards her. In the end, after a whole lotta torture (even worse than for us watching the episode), they are released and everything is apparently cool.
The bottom line is that this is a minimalist episode where most of it could have been filmed in a dark theater. The plot is ultra simple and the show is amazingly dull and lethargic. Not a great episode at all.