The immunity syndrome is the name of a classic trek episode where the crew uses the services of an alien whose very appearance drives people mad. from both its title and from what happens at the start it is clear that johnny byrne/fred frieberger (and possibly more the latter) was aware of that particular story. the similarities are too obvious to ignore. after that, however, it becomes more surprising and more original than that. there are some good ideas here, the way the alien uses the planet including its atmosphere, food and water against the alphan exploration team is inspired and leads to much suspense and dramatic moments. the eagle crash scene is superbly realised by brian johnson and his team and genuinely exciting, in a way more of year two should have been but perhaps wasn't. the story actually conveys the impression that are characters are in life threatening danger, tony anholt goes mad very convincingly which is more than his character usually got. barbara bain and catherine schell get good character development, their characters are actually left in charge of the base which is a strong advance both for them and for female roles within moonbase alpha; their plan to reach the planet by glider is also inspired and works a treat. the discovery of the alien installation works as a plot development, the way the solar panels are used to make a communication device is very clever (plastics don't corrode in the way that metals do). the ending carries tension, i really thought that koenig might die or go made. overall this episode was very satisfying and would have worked really well if it had been set within year one. as it is, it came a little late; the rest of year two should have been this good, if it had we might rightly have seen another season.
Review of The Immunity Syndrome
