By William Kozy

What a strange, unwieldy episode “The Encounter” is. It’s a big disappointment as many fans have attested to, but it does have some assets. For one thing I’m pleased over how the two actors, who have not been recognized as…shall we say, master thespians in the annals of television history, actually come off surprisingly well. Kudos to director Robert Butler (who also helped Jackie Cooper give a fine performance in the episode “Caesar and Me”), and kudos to the two leads in one of the few episodes with a total cast of two or fewer performers. Neville Brand, in reality one of the most highly decorated combat soldiers of World War II, has a strong tank of a face and plays his part of a tough ex-Fight Nav, with equal parts bluster and wounded psyche. And George Takei, famous for playing the Starship Enterprise’s navigator, had become something of a pop culture joke in recent years, but here in this episode we are reminded that he actually had some chops.