The Enterprise crew is waylaid from their current mission by an all-powerful being (Michael Forest, "Cast Away") who claims to be the ancient Greek god Apollo. He intends for the crew to take up residence on his planet where he will provide all the amenities for them - *provided* that they adore & worship him.
The typically provocative Trek script is this time written by Gilbert Ralston, in his only script for the series. (A few years later, he adapted the novel "The Ratmans' Notebooks" for the screen as the killer-animal classic "Willard".) It means to explore the idea that humanity, despite Apollos' assertions that it has changed little in the course of thousands of years, basically outgrew the need for such beings as the Greek gods. Kirk intends for Apollo to learn this lesson, even if he has to learn it the hard way.
The result is a fairly poignant and entertaining episode, and one in which we see a different side of Scotty as he is clearly enamored with a co-worker (the lovely Leslie Parrish, of "The Manchurian Candidate" fame), and this causes him to act awfully irrationally at times.
Guest stars Forest (a true physical specimen) and Parrish add weight to this engaging tale, one in which Spock is his typical all-business self while running the starship in Kirks' absence, and one in which Kirk & Bones end up regretting the steps that they had to take. All in all, this is fine entertainment.
Eight out of 10.
The typically provocative Trek script is this time written by Gilbert Ralston, in his only script for the series. (A few years later, he adapted the novel "The Ratmans' Notebooks" for the screen as the killer-animal classic "Willard".) It means to explore the idea that humanity, despite Apollos' assertions that it has changed little in the course of thousands of years, basically outgrew the need for such beings as the Greek gods. Kirk intends for Apollo to learn this lesson, even if he has to learn it the hard way.
The result is a fairly poignant and entertaining episode, and one in which we see a different side of Scotty as he is clearly enamored with a co-worker (the lovely Leslie Parrish, of "The Manchurian Candidate" fame), and this causes him to act awfully irrationally at times.
Guest stars Forest (a true physical specimen) and Parrish add weight to this engaging tale, one in which Spock is his typical all-business self while running the starship in Kirks' absence, and one in which Kirk & Bones end up regretting the steps that they had to take. All in all, this is fine entertainment.
Eight out of 10.