Kirk, Spock and McCoy visit a planet that both the Federation and Klingon Empire want to mine for important minerals.
This is an enjoyable episode for the character moments, world building, and interplanetary politics.
The story is quite strong as it shows the regular characters in contact with an alien society and the sensitive nature of interactions between different cultures. I appreciate the exploitative nature of this type of situation being reflective of real life Earth history. Although the Federation is not depicted as conquering like the Klingons, they are looking to exploit the resources of the planet for a strategic advantage. This is a far cry from what the Star Trek ideals became during 'The Next Generation'. All of this I found to be very interesting.
From a character perspective it really shines, with Kirk, Spock, Scotty, and especially Bones having some very memorable moments.
Kirk is written well as an explorer, diplomat, and soldier in this episode. William Shatner gives both a physical and verbal performance of strength, intelligence and sensitivity.
Spock is as cold and logical as ever, delivering a number of excellent lines. Leonard Nimoy provides great dry humour in another depiction of his classic outsider looking in on humanity.
While the two senior officers are away we are treated to more great scenes of Scotty in command of Enterprise. James Doohan brings a great balance of excitement and confidence to the commander's chair.
Dr 'Bones' McCoy has one of his quintessential episodes as a humanitarian caught in the middle of a conflict situation, who has the responsibility of caring for a pregnant female. In several excellently written scenes we see him contend with an aggressively reluctant mother and these for me are the highlights. DeForest Kelley is on top form and has solid chemistry with Julie Newmar as Eleen.
The visuals are mostly great. I love the fight scenes, particularly some of the early fist fights that are entertaining and quite well done. One part where Shatner throws a pillow at another performer cracks me up every time. This episode uses Vasquez Rocks park to great effect much like other episodes. The downside is the costuming which is relatively funny, but some of those outfits have zero aesthetic quality.