This episode is unique in that for the majority of the episode Spock reacts like a normal emotional human.<\/p>\n
The Enterprise is sent to a recently colonized planet to confirm that the colonists have succumbed to the effects of deadly Berthold rays, which apparently are very bad.\u00a0 But when they arrive, they find the colonists very much alive and in perfect health. \u00a0McCoy discovers that not only are they healthy but show remarkable signs of regeneration such as self-repaired lung damage and regrown organs that had been surgically removed.\u00a0 In addition, one of the colonists, Leila (played by the very attractive Jill Ireland) is an acquaintance of Spock\u2019s.\u00a0 She had been in love with him when she knew him previously though he never reciprocated the feeling.\u00a0 She asks Spock to go see some plant life that was important to the investigation into why the colonists had survived.\u00a0 When she brings him into a field, she points to a flower shaped like a lily and when Spock approaches it, a puff of pollen blows into his face.\u00a0 After exhibiting pain from the exposure, suddenly Spock began behaving as a human expressing happiness to see Leila.\u00a0 He kisses her and they talk about how the plant spores protect the colonists from the Berthold rays.\u00a0 And Spock agrees to stay with Leila and live on the planet.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Kirk has been telling the colony leader Elias Sandoval (played by talented character actor Frank Overton) that the Enterprise will be evacuating all the colonists to a nearby star base.\u00a0 Sandoval placidly refuses.\u00a0 When Kirk attempts to call Spock on his communicator, at first, no one answers.\u00a0 This is when we cut back to Spock sitting with his head in Leila\u2019s lap watching the clouds in the sky and acting like a man in love.\u00a0 Finally, he answers the call and tells Kirk that he isn\u2019t leaving the planet and to stop bothering him.<\/p>\n
Kirk and several crewmen search for Spock.\u00a0 When they find him, he\u2019s swinging on a tree branch and smiling like a man without a care in the world.\u00a0 When Kirk demands an explanation, he brings them to one of the lilies and all the crewmen except Kirk are sprayed with spores and begin acting like Spock.\u00a0 Eventually everyone but Kirk are controlled by the spores and begin to transport down to the planet from the Enterprise.\u00a0 Kirk is basically in despair because without his crew he cannot even leave the star system with the Enterprise.\u00a0 Finally, a lily that is on board the ship sprays spores onto Kirk\u2019s face and he becomes like the others.\u00a0 He calls Spock and tells him that he will be joining them soon on the surface of the planet.\u00a0 Kirk goes to his cabin and collects his effects (which he packs into a very recognizable samsonite carrying case) but as he is looking at one of his Star Fleet medals, he becomes angry and this has the effect of shaking off the control by the spores.\u00a0 Kirk then dictates a captain\u2019s log to let us know that his plan is to lure Spock back onto the Enterprise in order to get him angry enough to escape the control of the spores.\u00a0 He adds that considering the much greater strength of a Vulcan he is taking a dangerous risk by angering the very emotional Spock.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what he does.\u00a0 He calls Spock a half-breed and a traitor out of a race of traitors.\u00a0 Spock flips out and throws Kirk around the transporter room.\u00a0 Bu the plan works and Spock overcomes the spore control and assumes his normal Vulcan persona.\u00a0 Together Spock and Kirk rig a subsonic noise that irritates the colonists and crewmen and they all start fighting and then come to their senses.\u00a0 Leila says a sorrowful goodbye to Spock and everyone heads up to the Enterprise.\u00a0 On board Kirk asks Spock to describe his experience and he replies, \u201cI’ve little to say about it Captain, except that for the first time in my life, I was happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was a pretty good episode.\u00a0 Let\u2019s call it a 7.\u00a0 As far as mockery, there were some pretty good payoffs.\u00a0 When Kirk is throwing off the control of the spores, he is hunched over in a pose that I guess is supposed to be towering rage.\u00a0 It looks more like constipation.\u00a0 During his baiting of Spock, he taunts him in a voice that is more whiny petulance than anger.\u00a0 And perhaps the most embarrassing aspect of the whole episode is the awful southern accent that Doctor McCoy affects when he is controlled by the spores.\u00a0 He blathers on about mint juleps and other inane things.\u00a0 Terrible.<\/p>\n
So, I\u2019ll call this a 7 \/\/ 6.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This episode is unique in that for the majority of the episode Spock reacts like a normal emotional human. The Enterprise is sent to a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[237,244,2149,240],"tags":[2150,2281,38,1355,44,309,265,1691,293,2398,154,1692,837],"class_list":["post-10340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","category-sff-tv-reviews","category-star-trek","category-tv-reviews","tag-gene-roddenberry","tag-mr-spock","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-sci-fi","tag-sci-fi-tv-review","tag-science-fiction","tag-sff-tv-show-reviews","tag-star-trek","tag-this-side-of-paradise","tag-tv-review","tag-tv-reviews","tag-william-shatner"],"yoast_head":"\n